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shijiujun · 4 years ago

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Time for some BL/Danmei novel recs!

You guys have probably (maybe) seen my novels list here - [X] - but it’s more for my own tracking than anything else, so here’s a brief list (I’ll probably do full ones of the ones I really love in another post, probably on Minmo).

The ones elaborated on below with the asterisks are the novels I’ve actually finished reading.

*since everyone more or less knows MXTX’s works - TGCF, MDZS and SVSSS, I’ll skip those!

1. SCI 迷案集 | SCI Mystery Series by 耳雅*

Summary: Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao are childhood friends and rivals that end up working together under the newly established SCI unit as co-leads, with Bai Yutang providing the brawn as Captain and Zhan Zhao the brains as Vice Captain and the team’s resident genius psychologist. They solve cases together and slowly unravel a wider conspiracy that involves their parents’ generation and beyond. At the same time they also realize that they’re meant for each other!

Other CPs: Bai Jintang (Bai Yutang’s older brother) & the medical examiner, Gongsun Ce, Bai Chi (Bai Yutang’s younger cousin) & magician Zhao Zhen, and at least three other gay pairings, one of which is considered another main couple of sorts from Vol. 2 onwards

Status: Incomplete (Began in 2010, author is still going on strong with one chapter every one or two months, we’re halfway through Vol. 5 right now and it’s been 10 years ;-; Love that the author is going on strong!! Everyone on JJWXC are like “please author it’s okay if you go slow as long as you keep going we’re here for you” and jfc I understand the fear of this not completing, also when will Vol. 5 be completed and printed?!! I need to complete the collection)

Translations: Unfortunately, only the first volume has been translated well so far on novel updates. The one on Wattpad seems to have caught up, but I would not recommend that one.

Drama/Live-Action: Season 1 was filmed and released in 2018 under the same name with slightly changed names for the characters. Season 2 was supposed to start filming this month but... oh well. First season basically covered Vol. 1 novel from start to end.

*I love this one only because it was my very first danmei and so it’ll forever have a special place in my heart, and also because it’s still ongoing so ya know, I relive how much I love this every month

2. 成化十四年 | Cheng Hua’s Fourteenth Year (The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty) by 梦溪石*

Summary: Tang Fan, a prefectural judge, and Sui Zhou, a high ranking officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guards, meet while trying to solve a murder case. Both of them end up partnering very well together, Sui Zhou ends up inviting Tang Fan to live with him, and the rest is history. Through their days living together and solving cases + a larger conspiracy involving the royal palace, they fall in love. Adding to this mix is also Wang Zhi, a powerful, young eunuch who befriends the pair, and the three of them basically help the crown prince to overcome challenges and his enemies to become the next Emperor

Other CPs: None XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: Ongoing on several websites. I’m only translating relationship highlights, but here’s an introduction post I did for it, if you guys would like somewhere to start without getting too invested - [X]

Drama/Live-Action: The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty was released earlier this year, directed by Jackie Chan and starring Darren Chen and Paul Fu, but cases are a little different and there are new characters in the show that weren’t from the novel etc.

3. 杀破狼 | Shapolang by Priest*

Summary: Set in a steampunk universe where flying boats named ‘kites’ and flying armour exist. Young teenager Chang Geng lives with his mother and stepfather - the former abuses him and the latter neglects him, and the only person that he cares about (and cares about him) is Shen Shiliu, his (very young) godfather. He realizes his identity as a royal prince when the Man tribe invades his city and Shen Shiliu, whose real name is Gu Yun, turns out to be an army general whose duty was to protect Chang Geng in secret (among other things).

Chang Geng has been critically poisoned by his mother (who’s not actually his birth mother, if I recall she’s an aunt) which leads to him getting terrible dreams frequently with the end result of him being driven into insanity, while Gu Yun is half blind, half deaf due to poisoning + injury when he was much younger, and he can only regain his hearing and sight fully when he takes a medicine that is slowly losing its effectiveness with every dosage he has.

The both of them navigate learning about each other again, falling in love a few years later when Chang Geng is all grown up and also unravel conspiracies and fight bad guys (both external threats and internal as in the current Emperor and other parties) XD

*Note: The age old debate is that Gu Yun ‘preyed’ on and also ‘groomed’ Chang Geng, but I disagree and stand by the fact that Gu Yun was 90% of the time not around while Chang Geng grew from a teenager to a young adult as he was fighting wars elsewhere, while Chang Geng refused to stay at the Gu manor and insisted on running around, travelling on his own and seeing the world for a few years before they met again. And it was Chang Geng who’d always loved Gu Yun and devoted himself to caring about him, making advances on him etc. when he became an adult

Other CPs: Shen Yi (Gu Yun’s second-in-command) & Chen Qingxu (a renowned physician who ends up healing both Chang Geng and Gu Yun of their ailments)

Status: Complete!

Translations: Fully translated the last I heard, it’s up there in the list of holy grail BL/danmei novels, so I’m sure it’s done hahaha.

Drama/Live-Action: Filming in progress!

*This is up there in the hall of fame for danmei novels for more than just the amazing content and writing - It’s also famous for being one of the most complex novels ever. I don’t know how the translations team did it because DAMN it was complex and I read all my novels in Chinese without much issues but I was honestly STRUGGLING WITH this one and I went through some existential crisis while reading because I was like ‘did I ever learn Chinese, am I even Chinese’ XD

4. 默读 | Silent Reading by Priest*

Summary: Luo Wenzhou, a police captain, and his team including best friend and partner Tao Ran, face a few challenging cases that end up being small parts of a larger conspiracy, and end up having to consult with Fei Du, a flamboyant, charming and flirty, young and rich CEO, who Luo Wenzhou describes as someone who is an expert at ‘crimes’. Not deduction, not solving crimes, but someone who is familiar with how the murderer or culprits would commit crimes. Both Luo Wenzhou and Tao Ran know Fei Du well, because they first met when Fei Du was in high school, when he called the police because his mother had hanged herself in the house, and since then Tao Ran and Luo Wenzhou look out for him, spending holidays with him, giving him presents here and there. Luo Wenzhou and Fei Du overcome their misunderstandings of each other and fall in love while solving all the cases and the larger conspiracy behind it.

Other CPs: Tao Ran and someone he knew first from his school days or was a neighbour when he was younger, I can’t remember, but they meet again at a blind date and end up living in the same building on different floors XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: Complete!! There’s a huge post floating around on Tumblr with all the links (I can’t find it right now) and on Twitter you can also find the collated, epub versions etc.

Drama/Live-Action: Rights for a live-action was signed, no casting confirmation or set dates yet

5. 犯罪心理 | Criminal Psychology by 长洱*

Summary: Police captain Xing Conglian drags psychologist Lin Chen out of seclusion/hiding to solve a case that is indirectly tied to him. Lin Chen was involved in a case a few years ago that led to four deaths - these four victims were the sons/daughters of four of the five huge old-money (super rich) families in the country and these family members sought to make Lin Chen’s life very difficult for him afterwards by making him lose all the jobs he can find, by surveilling his every move and ensuring that he’s not happy etc. Because of that, he backed out of the police force as well and quietly lived as a school dorm administrator, which is where Xing Conglian finds him a few years later. Lin Chen fakes his death after the first case (not deliberately but kind of a by-the-way thing), but as fate would have it, he ends up meeting Xing Conglian on another case, and he decides that he’ll move in with him and also involve himself again, consequences be damned, and they fall in love!

Other CPs: None XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: I think it’s not complete yet.

Drama/Live-Action: None that I know of.

6. 死亡万花筒 | Kaleidoscope of Death by 西子绪* (MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE)

Summary: Supernatural setting where people who are about to die get a second chance to live. These individuals are either in the midst of a dangerous situation (for e.g. a shootout or a deadly mugging incident) or are about to get into accidents (for e.g. an entire bus going off a bridge or a chandelier dropping from above and crushing the person underneath) or are ill (recently diagnosed with cancer or are terminally ill with a condition for e.g.) - The list is endless, and in the situation between life and death, 12 doors will appear before them.

It is said that once these individuals finish all 12 doors, they will truly get a second chance at life and survive whatever cause of death they were imminently facing.

Each door represents a creepy, supernatural mystery, and Lin Qiushi finds himself in a strange place after opening a door when he was trying to enter his apartment one day. He meets Ruan Baijie, a beautiful, tall woman who he happens to meet, and they realize that in this strange world, he and other individuals who came through the door have to complete a given task, find a key and an exit door, and make it out alive. The others in the team (some of which have already gone through several doors) explain to Lin Qiushi, who is a first-timer, what the doors are about.

The catch is, if they die inside the door, in the real world, they’ll die immediately, by accident, throwing themselves off a building, or just throwing up blood until they die (just to name a few)

On the first night, however, three people are slaughtered and eaten by a long-haired ghost/creature. The good news is, Ruan Baijie isn’t all that she seems to be (for one, she’s not exactly a woman) and she takes a liking to Lin Qiushi immediately.

Other CPs: None XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: I think it’s not complete yet!

Drama/Live-Action: None that I know of, but honestly, this novel would be fricking EPIC as a live-action, and really creepy, but this is my all-time favourite novel, I kid you not!!!!

*I’m definitely doing a longer and more detailed to-read for KOD on my translation account, gosh you guys have no idea how much I love this.

7. 当年万里觅封侯 | Those Years in Quest of Honor Mine by 漫漫何其多

Summary: Yu She and Gu Wan were close friends for a short period of time when they were younger, but unfortunately their identities and positions meant that they were opponents. Yu She’s family was for the Second Prince and Gu Wan was taken in by the Sixth Prince’s family, but in the end it was the Second Prince who ended up getting to the throne, while the Sixth Prince was accused of treason and died somewhere far away at war after being captured. Gu Wan’s only wish was to keep the Fifth Prince’s children - Xuan Rui and a pair of twins, Xuan Yu and Xuan Congxin safe, and so he moves them to another province and asks the Emperor (the Second Prince) to demote Xuan Rui’s status to prove that they are no threat to the Emperor, if only to stay alive for another day.

However, their days of hardship have only just begun, and Gu Wan decides to namedrop Yu She, whose family is so powerful now, and claims that Yu She loves him and that he was wooing Gu Wan back in the days they knew each other so that officials and others would treat the children under his care better. A few years pass and Yu She doesn’t expose Gu Wan. Gu Wan thinks they can go on like this forever, until the Emperor asks Xuan Rui and the twins to head back to the palace for a visit.

Gu Wan meets Yu She again, but the boy he knew, who was gentle, a stickler for rules and a proper, well-mannered person, has changed almost completely. Cue palace conspiracies again, brothers fighting for the throne, scheming consorts etc. XD

Other CPs: None XD

Status: Complete!

Translations: I think it’s not complete yet but I’m not super sure on this

Drama/Live-Action: None that I know of!

*They came out with a new reprint edition three days ago and it’s gorgeous! And comes with amazing freebies, and I am a sucker and read it on the day of the printed novel release because I saw the art and loved it, wanted to see if the story was any good, and damn after chapter 2 I WAS GONE and then I checked out two copies from different stores for the two different sets of freebies

A list of those I haven’t read but I see are highly raved about:

1. 二哈和他的白猫师尊 | The Husky & His White Cat Shizun by Meatbun

- I’ve already been spoiled and I know what goes on mostly, and there are a lot of warnings for a reason, but I’m still a fan, and let’s not get into the debate on the content, I know I have to read this but the angst level is apparently ridiculous, so I need like some mental preparation before I sit down for it.

2.��千秋 | A Thousand Autumns by 梦溪石

3. 烈火浇愁 | Lie Huo Jiao Chou by Priest

4. 将进酒 | Qiang Jing Jiu by 唐酒卿

- A really good group of translators picked this up initially on Twitter, but then assholes were complaining that they were being too slow and insisting that machine translation (MTL) did an equally good and faster job, so the OG dropped it, and then another nice team picked it up, but MTL team is still being an asshole XD I’ve heard really good things about this one, it’s apparently quite complex as well, I’d liken it to Shapolang level? But it might be even more complex (with a lot of politics and stuff), so much so that apparently the printed novel comes with a relationship/character chart so readers are at any point in time clear on the characters which is like amazing XD

#danmei #bl novels #novel recs #sci谜案集 #kaleidoscope of death #silent reading #shapolang #犯罪心理 #成化十四年 #the sleuth of ming dynasty #2ha #priest #梦溪石 #meatbun #西子绪 #耳雅 #长洱

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gizkasparadise · 5 years ago

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cdrama rec/review: le coup de foudre

KDRAMA AND CDRAMA MASTER LIST OF REVIEWS

Series: le coup de foudre / love at first sight / i don’t like this world, i only like you Episodes: 35 w/ a special Genres: then & now, slice of life, high school to adult life, romance, reunion/getting back together, working with the ex Spoilers in the Rec: for set-up/light ones for character backgrounds If You Like, You’ll Like: the reply series, sad-looking dogs that are loved very much, because this is my first life (VERY similar male lead), sibling love, my sunshine but if people were nicer and had significantly better hair, multiple couples that are all a lot of fun

Rank: 10/10

PREMISE

flashback to 6-8 years ago (because the OP here can’t remember lol): it’s desk selection day in qiao yi’s classroom! a very dramatic moment for all high schoolers, qia yi has to select who she sits next to. because she’s at the bottom of the class ranking, she gets last pick, which essentially narrows down her choices to that creepy kid who writes love poetry to every female student in the class and yan mo, the scary genius student who has placed 1st in their class since...forever.

taking a gamble, qiao yi goes with yan mo. yan mo eventually agrees to tutoring qiao yi outside of class and they become friends. then...friends? if you know what i mean. it’s very sweet and cute. only problem is that yan mo is both a genius and from a Family of Means, and so is already planning on attending cambridge (yeah, fucking cambridge) after graduation. not wanting to separate, yan mo asks qiao yi to come with him and she agrees to study hard so she can get accepted to a university in the UK, too.

but then, well, bad shit happened.

qiao yi ended up staying in their home town, yan mo left for cambridge, and we got two v heartbroken teenagers on our hands.

4 years later, yan mo returns after studying in the uk, and by chance they end up bumping into each other. angry because qiao yi hurt him, yan mo puts up an ALOOF AND COLD AND I DONT CARE AT ALL front that she sadly buys. but after he leaves for the big city to pursue a business opportunity, qiao yi harnesses some amazing big dick energy to go after him, in a sort of inverse DONT LET HER GET ON THAT PLANE! move. very abba.

the plot bounces between their (and their friends’) high school years, their lives as reunited adults, and their future lives as married folks. i love it very, very much.

MAIN CHARACTERS

zhao qiao yi

as a high schooler, qiao yi was a quiet girl with low self-esteem, who consistently ranked at the bottom of her class and was always attempting to retreat into her school tracksuit like a turtle. despite this, qiao yi has some solid friends and is always kind if somewhat shy or uncomfortable in certain situations. as a adult, qiao yi works as a television producer and is clearly more confident.

she buys truly awful graphic t-shirts as thank you gifts that one feels obligated to wear. falls for scams easily. will help you fold 1000 paper stars for your boyfriend even if she hates your boyfriend because she’s ride or die like that. look at how cute she is no one is allowed to be mean to someone as cute as this.

yan mo / “frank”

if you liked se hee in because this is my first life, you’re in luck because here is a 10% angrier version. at first, yan mo seems cold, aloof, snobbish, pretentious, arrogant...

okay, but he’s ALSO got a lot of feelings and will help people out. well, at the start of the show, he’ll help two people out. but that expands to like 10. so, progress! in high school, he falls for qiao yi in the typical Cannot Spit It Out fashion, buying her sentimental cans of coke, PUTTING IN ONE EARBUD SO SHE CAN LISTEN TO THE BEATLES WITH HIM, feeling Weird about her tying his tie, and single-handedly ruining a for-profit afterschool tutoring business in about 30 seconds, because they weren’t teaching qiao yi anything, and he knew he could do it better. tbh he completely fucking destroys a lot of things and people in under a minute. #ruthless

he’s very protective of qiao yi and rather than explain it, here is a clip from the special episode where yan mo confronts another student who left a love confession meant for qiao yi in his desk by mistake (subtitles have to be selected under settings, but it’s subbed in english):

youtube

zhao guan chao

zhao qiao yi’s twin brother, who has always placed 2nd in their classes after yan mo. despite his high grades, he comes off as a laidback teen heartthrob and has a reputation for being a flake and a playboy. BUT he’s legit a chill dude and clearly popular for a reason--he gets along with (almost) everyone. he loves his sister and is extremely protective of her, especially since she’s so shy and has low self-esteem for Reasons That Will Be Explained in the Tragic Backstory. he’s such a good brother. the best brother. also looks out for qiao yi’s best friend, wu yi. understands the value of shoes.

hao wu yi

qiao yi’s best friend, and another classmate of The Crew. i say this with so, so much love, but she’s got a lot of chaotic dumbass energy. struggling along the bottom ranks with qiao yi during high school. she has the worst taste in men as a teenager, falling for the guy who literally bullied her in like. ep 2. thankfully she’s got qiao yi and guanchao.

the trio are close, and that doesn’t change as they grow up. wu yi ends up becoming a novelist who writes pop and steamy romance novels and has a significant teenage girl fanbase. it’s amazing.

fei da chuan

my boy. another classmate, he, qiao yi, and wu yi make up the official Dumbass Trio of their high school class and have adorable adventures + solidarity in it. he’s also yan mo’s uncle. somehow. because rich people families are wild. while he’s got a place to live, he more often than not crashes at yan mo’s, who Does Not Like It. but da chuan does not notice or care.

abrasive but 100% sincere about everything and toward everyone. people will think he’s an asshole or a gangster but then he’s secretly feeding abandoned kittens in the corner or something. as an adult, has the best business casual outfits. serves as a big brother figure to a lot of people, but qiao yi in particular. cannot, cannot fucking do math.

SUPPORTING

“alicia” / cheng youmei. an old family friend of yan mo’s who is very posh and rich and dignified. studied abroad with him at cambridge, and is cold toward qiao yi after arriving back in china. cosplays B)

teacher gao. everyone’s high school teacher who later owns a bar that seems to be there only for dispensing advice. seriously. there is no way this bar is economically sound as the only customers you ever see are gao’s students coming in one at a time for Wisdom and you never see them pay for anything. also the bar has no fucking roof and is directly above traintracks. i have hang-ups about this bar

lin shu. yan mo’s mother. very sweet and pretty and a ballernia turned program director. is almost never home but clearly loves her son. du chaun’s sister. somehow.

zhao suyin. qiao yi and guan chao’s mother. one of her kinks is roleplaying condor heroes characters? okay okay okay

tian weimin. qiao yi and guan chao’s stepfather who works as police officer. best dad award. he’s so sweet and corny and peak dad humor. he loves them kids & they love him back

grandpa. yan mo’s dog in high school. a very old basset hound with sad eyes:

dollar or d. i cant tell you anything about him, other than he used to be a stray and yan mo says he’s ugly, which, rude.

DRAWBACKS

plot...hm. there’s SOME plot, but this is about characters + romance + friendship + family. if you’re looking for scheming mothers-in-law or tragic car accidents or secret destinies this isn’t the one for you. similar in vibe to Reply 1988 (they even watch the show in the show :’D / make references to it)

OKAY SO every plot summary i’ve seen says that yan mo is in a relationship with someone else when he gets back to china. no he is not. i say this because it was a huge turn off for me/initially put me off watching the series. he is definitely a one-and-only type. there’s no cheating in this show. lmao, hell, neither of the mains are even interested in anyone else but each other

i liked du chuan and his love interest a lot, but they definitely didn’t get as much screen time as the others

while it’s clear qiao yi + yan mo are the mains, another couple gets a lot of screen time as well. this might be a skip if you don’t like multiple couples/secondary relationships in a show

i surprisingly enjoyed the high school storyline a lot more than the adult one? which is super weird for me, but idk i was sad when it was over because it was so cute.

some...weird technical decisions. every once in a while, the camera will have like a nostalgia filter and then it disappears and then the edges get a bit blurry and idk it feels very film school 101 to show that what’s on screen is a ~memory. the soundtrack/music is sometimes also too loud--to the point where it can drown out the actors (particularly janice wu in the high school arc, since qiao yi is soft-spoken)

REASONS TO WATCH

the lead actors (janice wu + zhang yujian) are legit two of my favorites and they have great/easy chemistry. all the actors are amazing. everyone’s loveable

SIBLING GOALS the zhao twins are amazing and they’re both each other’s biggest fans. gaunchao had some really heartwarming brother moments

i love love lmao. this spoke to a lot of my favorite dynamics: exes reunited/having to work together, childhood sweethearts reuniting as adults, “gangster” and princess, childhood friends turned lovers, bickering couples, cold man who actually has a lot of feelings, lots of people being overprotective, idk. everything was just great. 0 complaints on any of the ships.

i genuinely liked every character other than that one piece of shit poppa zhao. even alicia, who’s put into the stereotypical rich bitch role, was actually really fun and subverted a lot of expectations for this trope

it’s just. real cute y’all. probably my favorite cdrama and definitely in my top 10 (maybe 5?) dramas overall.

FINAL THOUGHTS

i love them ;;

#le coup de foudre #janice wu #zhang yujian #eden zhao #ma li #cdrama #gizka does kdrama #!my post #why yes i am procrastinating please have another in this trying time #this one's my favoriiiiiiiiiiiiiiite

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irichika013 · 4 years ago

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2.8. Novel translation - CH129: At the Cheng residence

[They get in, and see CFT in his bed, unconscious. SXR wakes up from his mania after putting his forehead on CFT's hand, and is adamant that he is staying right by his side until he wakes up. CMX is not going to let him, and ushers the soldiers to pull SXR away by force, SXR responds by beating up the soldiers with one hand and clinging onto the bed frame with the other, other soldiers see this and all charge forward. SXR is trapped on the bed with nowhere to run and he's wary with CFT being in the line of fire, so his defense weakens and is just taking all the beating. He doesn't believe that they'll beat him to death right here, and he's determined not to leave.]

Du Qi is yelling and screaming in distress, one soldier intercepted and stopped his advance, confining his limbs. The other guests heard the commotion and rushed in, shocked at the sight. Xue Qian Shan shoved the soldier who stopped Du Qi away and gave him a clean clap, he scolded: "How dare you touch him, you filthy thing!" Cheng Mei Xin doesn't give any attention, and that soldier hung his head and stepped aside.

[After the commotion, the guests all take their leave gradually, leaving the few who are staying after they got enough gossip.]

Only An-BeiLe and Du Qi refuse to move, seeing what it was like today, it was apparent as day how Shang Xi Rui got his injuries. Cheng Mei Xin, as the matriarch of the a militaria household, will probably not even hesitate to kill, let alone hurt Shang Xi Rui, they have to stay behind to protect him. If Du Qi isn't leaving, Xue Qian Shan is also not leaving, Cheng Mei Xin came in and ridiculed the party, saying that because Shang Xi Rui is shameless, the lot who are sticking up for him are all equally as shameless. Du Qi is usually the first to challenge back in response, but now he is just sullen, holding back his temper. An-BeiLe's face was beet red from embarrassment, but did not want to lower himself to argue with a woman, and turned away to look at the artwork on the walls. Xue Qian Shan has his arms crossed, observing Du Qi being humiliated, wearing the same grin on his face no matter what he hears.

Dinner time came, but nobody minded the meals of the few guests in this room, not even a servant to refill the tea, fully displaying the lack of welcome. The nurses and Dr. Fang who were on shifts all came back with a full tummy to change Cheng Feng Tai's medicine and record his heart rate, only to see that three of them almost seem like they're solidified in wax, fixated in their respective standing and sitting posture from before, he asked out of courtesy: "My, have you three not yet eaten?"

Xue Qian Shan stretched his back, he has countless wives and children at home, on top of that, and elderly mother, who always waits on him for dinner, he can't be lingering around for much longer, he smiled at Du Qi: "Shao-Ye, should we get going? Or maybe just to grab a bite?"

Du Qi shooed him away "Fuck off!"

And so Xue Qian Shan promptly fucked off, he's not fond of the women in the Cheng family, so he called the servants to summon Fan Lian to say his goodbye: "Don't be bullying Shang Xi Rui too much, there's two masters of high status here, a BeiLe and a GongZi, why bother to start a feud, making it look bad for everybody?" Fan Lian has been snowed under tending to his sister, and only just realised that it's already meal time, he brought over food to the room himself and ate with them.

#winter begonia #cdrama #du luo cheng #du qi #xue qian shan #xuedu #薛杜 #鬓边不是海棠红 #君花海棠の紅にあらず

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inessencedevided · 5 years ago

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The Untamed, episode 40 - watching notes

For some reason, my last liveblog post got more attention than any of the ones I did before and quite a few people followed me because of it. Welcome everyone! 👋😊 I hope you enjoy this quarantine-endused obsession of mine 😅

The Juniors are still semi-fighting about their judgement of wei Wuxian and his actions. I find this interesting mainly because it's a good example of how gossips and rumours can evolve into facts if passed on enough times. To Jin Ling, who was a baby when thys all happened and who only ever heard this tale from very biased sources, wwx's wickedness is a fact so irrefutable, the mere thought that someone might disagree is ridiculous

I've forgotten his name, but he's too precious :D

I'm howling! The way the Juniors scatter when lwj enters is too cute 😂

Also, thanks to @allhailthedramallama I now know that some of their actors are older than Wang Yibo and I can't not think about that now!

Everyone internally: liquor ... Hanguang Jun is ordering ... liquor

Lwj: don't you dare make a comment!

Did jl just literally stab his foot with his chopsticks? 😂

Lsz being shook by his Hanguang Jun buying Alcohol is right up there with my favourite moments of this show :D Poor baby. That must've rocked his world

Protect them at all costs! 😭😭😭

I got a new brotp and it's Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi 😍

Protect HIM at all cost!!! 😭😭😭

(Nevermind, he's already dead)

😏

He can't believe that lwj would bring him liquor 😭

Also, I'm pretty sure lwj is very worried of what might happen if more people find out wwx is alive, considering there's someone out there trying to frame him

How much of a stab in the heart do you recon it is for lwj every time wwx doesnt remember the song he wrote for him? 🥺

Okay, so Lan Xichen guves them a chance to proof that it isn't wex who's behind everything. But honestly, why do they think it's a good idea for him to just wander into the Jin sect's home with only a mask to disguise him?

I really liked the visuals of wwx and lwj walking after lan Xichen like that. Just aesthetically. 🤷‍♀️

I feel like the carved image of their sworn brothers ceremony is a very deliberate reminder. One of them is already dead ... I hope it's not foreshadowing for another dying or something similar :/

Lwj gently encouraging an obviously nervous wwx ... my heart :')

There is NOTHING that gets me quite as much as the "stoic one" never cracking a smile, always serious letting their guard down in front of the one they love. And that's just lwj in a nutshell. I wanna hug him!!! 😭 (expect he wouldn't like that and I respect his boundaries :P)

That encounter with Jiang Cheng was SO uncomfortable 🙈

This gesture if catching him mid-bow STILL makes me weep 😭😭😭 ... they're equals, still!!!

So Jin Ling just hit from Jiang Cheng at his other uncle's place? 😂

If Jin Guangyao didn't recognize wwx on the spot, I'll eat his ridiculous hat

What is this world we've stumbled into??? Wwx is afraid of embarrassing lwj who's just says "Suit yourself"??? What is this, the upside down? 😱

Is Quin Su Jin Guangyao's wive?

And she knows Mo Xuanyu judging from that look

I should mention at this point, that I read the first view chapters of the novel (up to where the flashback starts on the show). That's why I know that Mo Xuanyu has a connection to the Jin clsn. Otherwise I'd be hopelessly confused by the fact that everyone there seems to know him

But what I missed, if it's been mentioned before is that somehow, Jin Guangyao is sect leader now?? His father died I guess?

Okay what? Did Mo Xuanyu and Quin Su got something going in the past or why does she look so supremely uncomfortable in his presence?

Nie Huaisang, still drama queen no1. Godda love him

"The thing has been solved, but new problems have appeared 😭😭😭"

☝️I feel you man ... i feel you. Adulthood sucks

Let's all be 16 again and go back to Gusu ...

How often does this happen? 😂

Again, I feel you Huaisang. I, too, would like to hug Lan Xichen and get him to solve all my problems *sighs*

Jin ling actually protecting mo Xuanyu wwx ...

Oh so that's why Quin su is uncomfortable around him :/

Jin Ling is soooo much like Jiang Cheng! All "only I can bully my brotheruncle! Don't you dare tough him! Fight me!" :D

I'm so here for Jin Ling and wwx bonding! 😭

He never got to be the uncle he could have been but bow he does!! 😭

Giving terrible advice has never been so touching :D

Another paper man like he created at Guzu!

This is the cutest shit I've ever seen!!! 😭😭😭

Tge little kiss! The touching the forehead ribbon!

I mean ...

Look at it! 🥺

Also, very sneaky wwx :D

What's that music?? Sounds like the little paper man is on his way downtown on his longboard 😂😂😂

So, I'm guessing that wwx somehow transfered his cognition to the paper man?

Oh no ... what happened to Quin Su?

I hate it when obviously something scandalous happened, but they keep dancing around it like "is it true, what this letter says?" JUST to keep up the suspense for the audience. I wanna know!!!

What did JGY do?? 😥

Wait wait wait ... who is this A-Song and should I know them?

Oh, it's their son ... was their son

This scene is killing me! Just tell me what he (allegedly) did!

What the hell kinda secret would he have killed his son for??

Holy shit, what did he just du this wife?

That is a weirdly pretty torture dungeon

Also ... kudos once more to the actor

That performance was chilling

Aaargh wwx, don't be so careless 😳

I'm not one for suspense today 🙈

Ighh

That's the hat!!! So ... jin Guangyao took it. But why?? Seriously that's the thing I've been asking myself with him since he first started to act suspiciously. Why? He's already sect leader. What more could he want?

So wex is now performing empathy while he's already somehow transfered his cognition? 😳

That's a mean cliffhanger! 😭

@sweetlittlevampire @fandom-glazed @elenirlachlagos @allhailthedramallama @luckymoony @kyrrahbird @i-love-him-on-purpose (just 10 episodes left 😭)

#the untamed #sophie watches the untamed #wei wuxian #wwx #lan wangji #lwj #wangxian #lan xichen #jin guangyao #jiang cheng #jin ling #lan sizhui #lan jingyi

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girllovescomic · 5 years ago

Text

Winter Begonia episode 33 recap

The episode start with Lin Danqiu talking about finding what he thought was his family, wanting to turn his life around, but his crippling gambling debt prevented him from doing so. Aiyu told him everything would be alright, she would sell their ancestor’s estate and pay off his debts. At that moment, he decided/realized that he was a Zeng, that Aiyu and him were blood sibling, as he received such a huge favor from the family he never knew. That gave him motivation to protect his ‘sister’, to carry on the ancestral line and repay their kindness. That is all fine and dandy, but that is not your family. You are not blood, Rui Rui is. He slaps himself upon the realization that he got his sister to debase herself for his sake, telling Rui Rui he is sorry.

Er Ye arrives at the station looking for his bae. He spots Zeng Aiyu and asks her if she saw Shang Lao Ban. She tells him that he went for a chat with her gege. She then tells him that Rui Rui told her about Fengyi’s situation. She seems interesting in hearing about her daughter, but CFT tells her that he is raising the child, not to worry. She tells him she is not worried, just curious. He tells her that he knows about her prejudice towards opera performers but the troupe would not neglect the baby, will raise her well, and that she will not always live there. Probably wants to raise the baby with his wife until irresponsible baby Fan Lian grows up. I vote for keeping the baby with her biological uncle since she is Rui Rui only link to his blood sibling. OK, Er Ye pulls a picture of his wifey holding his niece and WHY THE FUCK DOES A STRAIGHT DUDE HAVE A PICTURE OF HIS SO-CALLED BROTHER IN HIS POCKET? Give me an explanation show!? He gives it to Aiyu as a keepsake to remind the baby by, and perhaps give her a keepsake of her real brother. I don’t know, this is still a salient point for me. The fact that Rui Rui and Danqiu look nothing alike, the fact that she can’t even recognize who her real brother is, bothers me. She looks at her daughter, half sad, half happy, calling the baby My Fengyi. Sigh. I wish she could raise the child, but single moms back then were a huge no no. Gone would have been her marriage prospect, her future. Er Ye asks if she has a picture of herself so that he could show Fengyi that her mother was a beautiful woman. She grabs her purse and pulls a picture.

Meanwhile, her two brothers comes out, looking disheveled. She asks what happened, looking angrily at Rui Rui asking if he hurt her fake brother. Lin Danqiu tells her that he was clumsy and fell down the stairs. It’s a little white lie that has a lot of weight; it allows Zeng Aiyu to not leave with rancor in her heart for her real brother. She believes the lie, while Er Ye realizes the sacrifice his bae did in allowing Lin Danqiu to take his place as the eldest Zeng. Lin Danqiu bids his adieu and they leave for the train. Lin Danqiu pauses and gives a deep bow, probably of gratitude that he gets to have a life he never thought possible, due to Rui Rui’s sacrifice. Rui Rui calls out to his sister and tells her to take care of herself. She smiles at him, oblivious of the emotion behind such a simple sentence. My heart is in pain. I can’t. I just want Rui Rui to be happy, to be with his family. WELP.

In the car, Er Ye tells Rui Rui he really thought his bae would beat Lin Danqiu to death. Rui Rui replies it is against the law to beat him to death, it’s not worth it. LOL, wait, since when do you care about such thing?! He adds that besides, it wouldn’t be punishment enough. Er Ye asks how did he punish him, but Rui Rui remains mum. Er Ye pulls Zeng Aiyu’s picture and gives him to Rui Rui. Awwww, so he actually got the picture for his bae! He tells Rui Rui if he doesn’t tell him how he punished Lin Danqiu he won’t give him the picture. Yooo, you know your Rui Rui can be a bit kooky, don’t play with him. As expected, Rui Rui tries to grab the picture and covers his eyes while the man is driving. LOL, I told you Er Ye. Rui Rui takes the picture while Er Ye is like, you might not care about your life, but I do! Awww Rui Rui is happy to have a picture of his meimei. LOL, they settle back into their married routine as Rui Rui tells him he is hungry and Er Ye obliges, asking him what does he want to eat. :Cough: I have some ideas... Oh wait, Rui Rui is talking about real food! He wants pan fried pork dumpling. Hmmm that is also delicious. Er Ye says okay and after that we are going to have a movie date.

Meanwhile, in the train, Lin Danqiu holds Rui Rui’s pendant. I have to say, this breaks my heart. Sigh, I am not happy, but I get it, still I am not happy. This would effectively close the possibility of Zeng Aiyu realizing her mistake, since for her the pendant will act as proof that Lin Danqiu is her real brother. I get why Rui Rui did it and it is a huge sacrifice to make. Our Rui Rui is growing up. We see in a flashback that Rui Rui gives him the pendant as he effectively accept that Lin Danqiu is the person his meimei recognizes as her brother and the punishment he has incurred upon Lin Danqiu is to take care and cherish her for his entire life, and for his sake (Rui Rui’s). If he finds out he tricked her or made her suffer, he will kill him. See, how mature our Rui Rui has become? She sees the pendant and jubilates that her gege has found his lost pendant. He lies and tells her that he suddenly found it while doing his luggage.

Alright, we leave the sadness behind for some ChengShang gushing moment. So, they are discussing the movie they have just watched. Wait, how late did they stay up?????? Our opera addict Rui Rui comments on the actress acting skills, finding it lowly because all she did is straightened her eyebrow and stare at her costars eyes. LOL, oh Rui Rui, you would have a tough time watching half of the TV dramas’ actors and actress, some who are so wooden you wonder how they got their part or fame. He compares her to his acting skills, especially her posture and voice, along with the lyrics she sang. He finds it too simplistic. LOL. He adds that Du Qi would have had a fit if he heard that. I doubt it, since Du Qi lived abroad, therefore as a better knowledge of cinema. Er Ye tells him he thought it was good because it relieves boredom and doesn’t require too much thinking. True, unlike a play, Broadway show or opera, which demands more attention, movies are simple entertainment that can be mindless fun. He says that unlike movies, watching operas can take 3 days for the entire opera to finish. GEEZUS. Yeah, I cannot, sorry Rui Rui. Not only that but you have to know the right time when to shout bravo, when to sing praises, so many freaking rules. If you don’t know the rules, you get ridiculed and called an amateur by an useless sperm donor. It might be too demanding on the audience. Rui Rui asks what does Er Ye like to watch. Er Ye tells him he used to watch movies, but now he prefers watching opera, specifically Shang Lao Ban’s operas more. He tells him that whatever role you play, you bring it to life. It is like he is inhabited by many souls. Whenever he puts on makeup and costume, the soul will borrow his body and come alive while he is on stage. Once he leaves the stage, the soul departs but the story stays alive in him. Rui Rui tells him his writing sounds just as good as Du Qi and is flattered by the compliment, asking for more. LOL, greedy queen.

Er Ye is like, who asks for compliments like that, beside you got so many people praising you already, you don’t need me. Rui Rui tells hubby that his words means more to him than others. Er Ye is like fine, I’ll shower you in compliments. Guys, you better get your salt vapors because the next line might make you faint and ask how the fuck did this get past censors. Ok, so I am directly quoting here: “Shang Lao Ban is like a flower, or a fire that only cares about blooming for itself, flaming in a blaze. For those who likes watching you, you will do your best to show it to them. For those that don’t like watching you, you won’t try to appeal to them by changing yourself and go against your own will. You are such a popular ju’er, but you can still live so freely. This is truly extraordinary. Very rare! It’s true innocence. Everyone says someone like Shang Lao Ban who is so talented can only be looked from afar. Others do not dare to walk shoulder to shoulder with him. Except for me, Cheng Fengtai, who is willing to go into the fire and stay by your side.” I WANT MY CHENG FENGTAI. WHO DO I NEED TO GOAD TO HAVE ONE?????? Rui Rui is so taken aback that he stops walking to look at his hubby.

Er Ye asks what is it. Really Er Ye, after saying such words, you ask him why he is stopping in his track?! Awww shit, trouble is brewing as we heard voices from an alleyway. Rui Rui follows the voices and runs up to the alleyway, followed by Er Ye. A woman is fighting off two lecherous dudes. Rui Rui is pissed, probably thinking of his sister if she were in this situation. He kicks one of them and threatens the lecherous men. One of them tells the woman she should have told them she had a lover. Man GTFO with that shit. The woman recognizes him as he asks if she is okay. Er Ye is like, goddmammit, another fan trying to take away my bae’s precious time. LOL, Rui Rui is like, awww shit, yeah, grabbing his hubby so he wouldn’t have to deal with the fangirl. She blocks their path and tells Rui Rui she’s been looking for them. He is like, que? Who are you? She seems to struggle to say.

We see a man wearing a cast with a bottle of booze. Oh My GOD, it’s my bae Chen Renxiang!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO. Rui Rui asks what happened to Chen Lao Ban to be in such a state. It turns out the woman is the talkative prostitute from Nanjing who had taken Chen Lao Ban away before meeting Liu Hanyun. She had sought her freedom from the brothel and come to him in Shanghai. Upon her arrival, he was already in such disheveled state. Rui Rui asks his bae and the ex-prostitute to leave the room so he can have a heart-to-heart with Chen Renxiang. Rui Rui believes Chen Lao Ban put himself in such a state because he lost the competition. He tells him if he had been the one to lose, he would have done everything to better himself so he could fight him out once more. He had been impressed by how he had defended him against his uncle, seeing him as a hero so how did he become such a coward? Chen Lao Ban still remains quiet as Rui Rui lambast him, saying unlike the ex-prostitute he would have left him to die since he doesn’t seem to care about his own well-being. He sets out to leave when our sad ju’er finally speaks. He tells Rui Rui that he is indeed a coward and that the girl doesn’t care that he lives or die. Rui Rui yells at him that he is ungrateful dog for ignoring all the effort to girl has made to seek Rui Rui out and beg him to help Chen Renxiang out. Xiang Xiang replies that he is not talking about the ex-prostitute named Yueling, but his Shanghai girlfriend he had mentioned when they were on their way to Shanghai after the Liyuan Association incident. Apparently her parents did not approve of their relationship, thus the lovers decided to elope, however, they were caught by goons hired by her family. They broke his leg and dump him barren fields while taking her back home. He asks Rui Rui if he wasn’t a coward, what would he be? Rui Rui is like, yes, you are a coward since his girlfriend probably as no idea that he is injured and hiding out getting drunk off his ass. How would she know he is alright or care whether he is alive or dead if she doesn’t know where he is. That makes him an ungrateful dog, which Xiang Xiang tries to deny, but Rui Rui interrupts him telling him he thought of an idea for him to help him reach out to his girlfriend. Get his leg treated, so he can perform opera with Rui Rui, like this everyone in China will be talking about it, thus his girlfriend will be able to find him. Isn’t it better than him being a drunken stupor? This seems to bring a bit of hope to Xiang Xiang until he remembers the conditions of their bet. Rui Rui laughs at that, telling him he wasn’t serious about not letting him perform for a year. He tells him he will find a doctor to help set his leg back and that he needs to clean up and stop drinking. Xiang Xiang thank him for being his savior, but Rui Rui doesn’t want to hear his gratitude, he just wants him to perform well on stage as a thank you. Btw, even disheveled Tan Jian Ci is one sexy bish.

It takes everyone to help calm Xiang Xiang down while the doctor tries to set his leg. LOL, Rui Rui tells him that a girl is looking at him while he screams like one. The doctor gives Yueling some after-care directives. Rui Rui asks the doctor if his leg will get better, but the doctor is slightly optimistic. Sugar daddy and husband of the over eager penguin asks to speak to the doctor away from the sensitive ju’ers. Xiang Xiang senses something is wrong as he repeats it is destine disaster, then laughs. Rui Rui thinks he’s cray cray, but Xiang Xiang tells him he is laughing at his uncle Jiang Rongshou for having a useless son who he cannot impart his skills to, which kept him from teaching his fairy steps to anyone, until he finally taught it to Xiang Xiang, but now he is crippled, the Jiang Family fairy steps will be lost forever. Xiang Xiang tells Rui Rui that he got his revenge against the elder Jiang, but Rui Rui does not seem to gleeful at the prospect, which even gets Xiang Xiang attention. Rui Rui is like, yeah, I am on bad term with the old fart, but I have nothing against the Fairy Steps. In fact, it would hurt him to see such a superb skill get lost. WHY ARE YOU SO PRECIOUS???? I cannot, he is to sweet, my baby boy!!! Xiang Xiang bemoans the fact that he learned the skill so late in his career, having little time to master the essence of the skill. If he had learned it since he was a kid and hone the skills for years, he probably wouldn’t have lost against Rui Rui, who agrees. AGAIN WHY ARE YOU SO PRECIOUS? Xiang Xiang reveals that when he returned to Shanghai, an Italian fan asked to film his fairy steps and show them in Italy (damn, they were that popular!!!), but they didn’t agree on the price and he worried about his uncle’s objections, so it didn’t work out. He also regrets not taking any disciples to impart of his skills, and now he ponders who would remember his performances. STOP IT, OMG, I CANNOT ANYMORE. My Xiang Xiang is so depressed!! Rui Rui gets philosophical and replies the current situation is too precarious, especially for performers who may not have time to pass down their skills on time. What would be left for future generations to appreciate. Xiang Xiang replies that life and death go hand in hand, and that ups and downs are inevitable. This sounds like a man who has given up. I am balling. Rui Rui tries to comfort him, telling him to stop spitting such depressing things like life and death. How can he be dead when he met him. LOL, oh Rui Rui. He advises him to just live his life and that his girlfriend still waits for him. Xiang Xiang is like, you are right, I must live well and wipes his tears away.

Alone, he dreams about that fateful day when him and his girlfriend were running away from the goons employed by her family. Out of breath and tired of running, Renxiang decides to send her to hide while he deals with the goons, but unfortunately, she is taken away. As he asks the goons where she is, one of them taunts him, talking about his fairy steps and how it mesmerized the first miss (his girlfriend). Wait, what? DIdn’t he have this girlfriend prior to learning the Fairy Steps? I am confused. The man tells him he must break his legs so this filthy actor would not seduce any more young ladies from other good families. DAFUQ. I am tired at how everyone is looking down at opera actors. Even servants act uppity towards them. They are good enough to sleep with and be toys for the rich, but they can’t have meaningful relationship with them? That is fucked up. He wakes, all sweaty while Yueling comes in to bring the medicine. Then we switch to him doing some physical therapy with the crotches. The doctor tells him he is recovering well and Xiang Xiang presses him to find out when he could go back to the stage so he can reach out to his girlfriend. Yueling is like, no way, you are still recovering! It is clear that she loves him, but he is too enamored with his little rich miss. The doctor agrees with her, but Rui Rui is like, who cares about your legs, your voice is not harmed, so we’ll perform a literary piece and he will take of him on stage. Er Ye just stands there, smiling at his smol husband, and I can’t fault him for that. Xiang Xiang seems encouraged by Rui Rui’s pep talk, but Yueling is not happy.

That paper boy is busy af with Rui Rui selling newspapers like hotcakes. He announces the joint performance of Chen Lao Ban and Shang Lao Ban. Oh my Xiang Xiang looks good!! Oh wait, his twin Rui Rui, also wearing a white gown. Xiang Xiang is anxious while Rui Rui tells him to get ready for their performance. Apparently Xiang Xiang is waiting for someone, perhaps someone who had news of his girlfriend or his girlfriend herself. Rui Rui replies that he has been waiting for days and there has been no news. Maybe he told her about his family and she may have gone to Beiping to find him. Right at that moment, someone asks for him. He delivers a letter for him.

We see him looking at picture. Behind it are words written: “ We are not destined to be together in this lifetime. Hope we’ll each live well separately.” OH NO, it’s the girlfriend! I cannot figure out Xiang Xiang mood at this moment. It is kind of indescribable. Then, as he rubs the foundation in between his palms, a tear falls on the back of his. Oh my poor baby looks defeated, yet, a strange smile is on his face. He talks to himself as he stares at the mirror asking why he looks like a ghost. He tells himself that he looks ugly and depressed. I CAN’T CONTINUE, I AM CRYING TOO MUCH. I have a bad feeling about this guys, I just...sigh. He continue saying that he no longer wants to see himself anymore. Tears are forming in my eyes, everything is blurry.

We see him on the stage and the audience is asking why this third sister is carrying a sword. This is not part of this opera, so they wonder if they changed the opera at the last minute. My Xiang Xiang looks beautiful while the other actors are asking the same question as the audience. His character, Sister Yu is not supposed to have a sword. Even the orchestra is baffled. Seriously, who allowed him to carry the sword? Isn’t there anyone to take care of the props? Where is Rui Rui? Xiang Xiang starts singing without the music when Rui Rui finally appears. I guess he was still in his room getting ready. One of the actors asks him what is going on. I don’t think Rui Rui has any idea. He looks at the audience for their reactions and can see the confusion on their faces, but they remain quiet, no booing. The lyrics seemed to encapsulate his life, especially the moment that effectively broke his heart, destroyed his soul. Oh my God, no amount of makeup is able to cover the sadness on his face. GAAAH, and now this show has decided to rip out my heart and step on it, as Jiang Rongshou is seen, lounging on his chair, eyes closed. NOOO, SHOW DON’T DO THIS TO ME!!! We can hear Renxiang singing while we see Jiang Rongshou reaching out for his tea cup, but knocking it down. Oh, I know what that means in dramaspeak and I don’t want to see it. NO SHOW, please, don’t do this!! We see my lovely Xiang Xiang swinging the sword and cut his throat, much to the surprise of the actors, including Rui Rui. OH MY GOD I CAN’T. Jiang Rongshou is feeling some malaise as his son comes to see what is wrong. As Dengbao cleans up (despite my dislike of him, he is really a filial son). Jiang Senior shakes his head and says he doesn’t know. He’s been dozing off today and then asks if the young actors are still training. Dengbao confirms, but Jiang senior seems dissatisfied by them and their progress. They can’t seem to get the basic movements right, yet want to learn the fairy steps. He reminisce about Xiang Xiang and how he was able to learn 70-80 percent of the opera at their age. Dengbao replies how can they compare to the very talented Xiang Xiang. Dengbao tells his father to be patient for Xiang Xiang to make the Fairy Steps famous once he returns to the stage, but grumpy papa Jiang reproach Xiang Xiang for not writing to him since he went back to Shanghai. WAIL, he has no idea of the state Xiang Xiang was! Dengbao is like, you know how Shanghai is, Renxiang is probably having the time of his life. Why you do this to me show? Grumpy Jiang is like, yeah, when he is with me, he pretends to be filial, once he leave, he forgets all about me. Sigh, this show knows how to humanize these characters, even the ones you learn to hate. I hate this show. Stop making me have so much feels right now, even for the Jiangs! Papa Jiang cares for Xiang Xiang, wanting to see how he has improved once he return to perform. He dozes off again, and OH NO SHOW, STOOOOOPPPP. Don’t do this, don’t have Xiang Xiang voice from beyond the grave call on his uncle, asking to look at him. Startled, Jiang papa calls out for Xiang’er, asking if that is him. Jiang papa is taken aback and thinks its his old age causing his to have auditory hallucinations. WELP

Back at casa de Er Ye, we see our Rui Rui sitting pensively as he stares at the window. Er Ye opens the door and quietly enters the room. In the most romantic gestures this show encapsulate (they have so many, especially post-baby drama), Er Ye uses his fingers to imitate a camera, wanting to capture his hubby form forever. THE GAY IS EXPLODING IN MY FACE. If you still have doubt that Er Ye is utterly in love with his bratty penguin, I don’t know what to tell you. He walks up to him and sits in front of his beautiful wifey. So damn domestic! Oh my God is Er Ye really saying this right now? The sun has cast a pattern on your outfit. It’s just like dressing with a golden robe? This is too poetic! I want a man like this. Now I am crying again. He bemoans not bringing a camera to immortalize that moment. He probably would have carried the picture in his pocket like he did the one he gave to Rui Rui sister. He adds that if he went to get the camera, the moment would be lost since the sun would set. Rui Rui eyes are closed as he responds that yes, the moment would be gone, nothing stays. I guess he is referring to Xiang Xiang and the whole Shanghai trip. Er Ye agrees that the good times don’t last long, and tells him to take it easy. Rui Rui tells Er Ye that Chen Renxiang died on stage, it’s also considered a worthy death. Is it though? He didn’t with a happy heart, sacrificing himself for his art. He died depressed, realizing that everything he held dear was gone. What saddens Rui Rui is that life is unpredictable. Awww, our boy is learning about the realities of life and shedding a bit of his naivety. He bemoans what it entails to the legacy of the Fairy Steps since there is no one to showcase it on stage, and how an accident could also make his Goddess Dance along with the Shang Family Stick skill could disappear forever. You got to be thankful we live in the modern era where cameras captured all the dances forever for future generation to learn and nurture. Imagine the thousands of dances lost to us because there were no longer practitioners who cared to learn them or died without imparting their skills. This is indeed disheartening. Er Ye gets philosophical and says that God’s intention is hard to fathom and so is a person’s heart. He adds that Rui Rui’s time in Shanghai has widened his understanding of the world, introducing him to foreign things outside of his Beiping environment. Some were nice and fun, and sheer temptations. Even if life was an utopia, without birth, old age, diseases or deaths, it would be hard to guarantee that he would not succumbed to those temptations, wanting to throw away those things passed down by his ancestors (although Er Ye says ‘our’). Rui Rui says that he won’t, to which Er Ye replies that he might not, but can he guarantee that his apprentice won’t? That subsequent apprentices won’t? You cannot predict the future, nor can he predict what people or God have in store. The only thing that could remedy this is to encapsulate it on film, so it can be passed down for a long time. I agree with Er Ye on that point that movie is long lasting, but in a time of war, films can also be destroyed, either by fire or by enemies wanting to push their propaganda. Anyhoo, Rui Rui is not ready to agree to it, stating that a camera can only shoot the form of a person, there aren’t any details. It is the degree of the expressions, measurement of the footwork, the precision of the hand movements, that can be captured accurately on film and be used as training tools by future generation. He adds it is like drawing a tiger with a cat as a model, the kids would learn the wrong things. Er Ye replies that Rui Rui makes film sound useless, it is no wonder he is unwilling to make records. LOL, he practically called Rui Rui a technophobe. Rui Rui replies it is because he place too much importance on the audience reaction, he doesn’t dare to be careless about all those details aforementioned. He lives for the audience, wanting to be sure they enjoy themselves. Wait, honey, you seem to have no problem provoking them by changing the lyrics. What gives with this talk of hesitation!? He states that he would rather be tired and take on more apprentices to teach them. Er Ye questions this, asking him how long it would take for him to meet an eager disciple like Xiao Zhouzi. How much effort will it take to turn on into Zhou Lao Ban. Yeah, he lucked out with him because the boy was an innate talent. How many out there have such capacity? Rui Rui replies that he will take his time and misses him home, and troupe. Er Ye sighs and says that he also misses his home. Btw, they’ve been in Shanghai for more than a month (probably three at the time they are talking). Ugh, I wasn’t expecting to see Er Nainai so quick. She is still doing accounting, closing out the books for Shuiyin Lou. LOL, she ended up doing the accounting for them after all. Oh oh, she is thinking of Fengyi. That’s not a good thing.

Oh shit, she comes to Shuyin the next day. What is she planning? She is greeted by one of the actors, who tells her they’ve been diligently training and improving upon the things she taught them. Shit starter Shi Jiu does not seem to approve of this ass kissing, and I don’t blame her, especially since he throws his troupe leader under the bus or rickshaw. YOOOO, this maid is opening her mouth again? Shut her up. She once again insults the performers saying their pitch is higher than her bird. SHUT YOUR MOUTH. I have it up to here with her arrogant ass. Shi Jiu is about to tongue lash this bish, but is stop her Rong Lan. Er Nainai states that their boss can easily remove himself from an undesirable situation. LOL, cannot blame him for you suddenly appearing and ordering him around his own house, sweetie. Not only that but you insulted him, looked down upon him, in his own house! Anyhoo, she adds that he left her a big mess that she had to take care of. She had to set order in this house, give them some rules (gurl, they were fine without you).

Best girl Xiao Lai brings her some tea while they sit in that same room where she insulted my baby. Sigh, I really don’t want to talk about the maid, she leaves such a bitter taste in my mouth. She is soiling Shuyin House with her presence. She insults my Xiao Lai by looking down on the tea she has prepared for Er Nainai, saying they brought their own with such indignation, as if the tea was made with piss. I don’t think I have ever hated a character for simply existing. Good job on the actress for being so irritating. Wait, no, I have always hated the maids on C drama. They are insufferable, act haughty af depending on their mistress status, and are the biggest bullies. Er Nainai is like, someone is missing. The troupe responds that everyone is here and that little shit replies that no, people, Er Nainai is talking about the baby. HOW THE FUCK WERE THEY SUPPOSED TO KNOW. Dasheng replies the baby is in the room away from your ugly face. No Rong Lan, don’t do it, let that little shit do some work instead of running her mouth! Rong Lan brings Fengyi to Er Nainai. Sigh, don’t that little shit get anywhere close to Rui Rui’s niece! Well, at least Fengyi is softening Er Nainai who states the baby can catch a chill if not covered properly and tells her servants to take out the items she brought. Lol, even Shi Jiu notices the change in behavior, claiming that Er Nainai went from Empress Dowager Cixi to a living Buddha. Rong Lan is like, well at least with Er Nainai growing closer to the little Goddess of Wealth, Er Ye would not have any problems bringing her home. Shi Jiu does not approve and agree with my shit starter. DAFUQ, is that little shit bossing the actors around. GTFO. Who allowed her to speak. Fuck this. Ugh, I don’t want to hear her voice anymore. She tells her boss that she doesn’t understand why she cares so much for the baby since she has unknown origins. Seriously, GTFO. Er Nainai replies the child should not be punish for the adults’ sins. Wait, is that little shit still believe Er Ye is the father? Bish, go away, get out of my screen. I wished Fengyi would cry so hard to make her deaf. I hope Xiao Lai would disinfect the area when they leave. Gotta get that stank ass out.

Okay, I am done bishing about that maid. I seriously don’t know why the show had to aggrieve me with her presence. Did I do something in my past life to suffer so much? Talking about suffering, why did you kill my Xiang Xiang, show?? I had expected a death similar to the ending of Farewell my Concubine, but I did not expect it would be him. However, in hindsight, his words spoken back in Nanjing revealed his mindset about life. He had admonished Rui Rui for being solely focused on the opera with no outside distractions. For him, his girlfriend offered the distraction he sought outside of the opera. Without her, and without his ability to perform at 100 percent due to his injury, he was left to nothing. The true coward in this depressing episode is Chen Renxiang’s girlfriend, who bowed to her family pressure and married a man she didn’t love. Unlike Yu Qing who willingly left her family behind for an uncertain love, Chen Renxiang girlfriend gave up a willing love for her family. The constant reminder of how people looked down upon performers acted like a shadow permeating this entire episode. Even with the bookending scenes involving the maid, we see the indignation, the dislike towards the performers. Despite their fame, they are look as trash, good enough to admire and even bed, but not good enough to truly respect. It’s a constant theme we are shown throughout the show. Even Rui Rui, who cares so much about the audience, can’t escape this reality. Perhaps why we have that moment when Er Ye tells him he would walk through fire to stand by his side, because only Er Ye seems him as his equal, who respects him and only wants the best for him. Hence the talk about capturing his skills and likeness on film. Sigh, will Rui Rui give in and let him film him so the future generation can gain an appreciation for the art the same way he has?

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hamliet · 6 years ago

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Your Fate Is Up to You

“I WILL CHANGE FATE I DON’T POSSESS. MY FATE IS UP TO ME AND NOT THE HEAVENS!”

So said Shi Wu Du right before he died. In doing so he directly stated TGCF’s existentialist themes on deciding your own fate.

On the most obvious level, within TGCF the roles of god, demon, human don’t dictate whether or not someone is a good or righteous person. I mean, the worst demonic calamity in Bai WuXiang and the head god Jun Wu are the same person.

To start with I might as well just state it outright that my thoughts on Jun Wu are probably a lot harsher than most of the fandom’s. That said the narrative definitely has empathy for him and his ending was perfect and objectively beautiful.

Like most of MXTX’s antagonists, Jun Wu is attempting to force empathy because he feels lonely. It’s the same motivation that drives Shen Jiu, Xue Yang, Jin GuangYao, He Xuan, Qi Rong even, etc, etc, etc. It’s also what drives many of our protagonists (Wei WuXian, Luo BingHe, Hua Cheng, etc.) Yet in the end, Jun Wu is not actually forcing people to empathize with him, but instead dragging them down with him, and he needs to realize this.

The scene where Mu Qing is poised to fall into the lava (a symbol of the hell that started it all) tells us:

Many small broken threads of flames were also singing Mu Qing’s robes, and the hilt was scorching hot, yet he still gripped on hard, afraid to let go, and afraid to look down.

If he was to let go then it was nothing but blazing flames and lava waiting for him down below. There was also the hungry wailing of countless spirits of the deceased, their cries resounding and echoing, as if they were calling for the one struggling, hanging on for dear life above to hurry and join them in companionship.

Jun Wu really just wants someone to hurry and join him in despair. But it’s also symbolic in showing the difference in Xie Lian, because instead of sacrificing parts of himself (aka his three friends: Hua Cheng, Feng Xin, and Mu Qing, plus Mei Nian Qing again), he’s determined to save them even though some might not necessarily deserve it. Feng Xin and Mu Qing haven’t treated him particularly well, but they’re a part of each other. Mu Qing is the part of Xie Lian that others tried to shame, the part of him willing to do whatever it took to accomplish his goals (usually saving people), the part of him that almost led him into becoming Bai WuXiang himself. Xie Lian needs to reconcile that part of him, the choices he made that were both good and bad in these traits, with his animus (Hua Cheng) and with his princely side in all its strengths and flaws too (Feng Xin).

Anyways, all that to say it’s fitting Mu Qing is the one dangling, about to be burned. Because especially after Jun Wu has taken so much from Xie Lian, it’d be fitting for him to deny that part of himself and any risk that he would be like Jun Wu. But he doesn’t do this, because he is similar in some sense, and because he knows it. And even if Mu Qing had sided with Jun Wu by then (and he hadn’t), Xie Lian decides to save him. It works with the theme of rebirth, in which the butterflies cannot fly over, but Xie Lian himself can because he’s strong enough to do it on his own:

Hua Cheng casually let loose a silver butterfly. That silver butterfly fluttered its wings, flying out for a few hundred feet, but before it reached even one third of the way to Mu Qing, it dissipated into silver smoke and vanished in the air.

Xie Lian knew that he was demonstrating that the wraith butterflies could not help; it was a dead end, not worth dying for.

Mu Qing also witnessed the vanishing process of that silver butterfly, his expression gradually turning into one of despair.

He understood. Right now, one, there was no one who had the ability to save him, second, no one believed him, and on the grounds of his triggering, there was no reason at all for Xie Lian to come pull him up at the risk of his own life.

But, while despairing, he still refused to yield, and he was unwilling to give up. Mu Qing gritted his teeth, shouting, “IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE ME THAT’S FINE TOO, BUT I WILL NEVER FALL THAT EASILY!”

(It’s also why during the final physical fight, MQ and FX are yet again dangling over a pit.) Xie Lian chooses to reconcile with himself, with his shadow self and with what he could have (and almost did) become, with the friends he’d driven away. In saving his loved ones, he saves himself.

Therefore, it’s fitting Jun Wu didn’t die. He could not make Xie Lian into anything close to what he became because of his choices. It tells Jun Wu that yes, Xie Lian and him are alike, but that doesn’t mean they’re destined to walk the same path. It was his choices that led him here. And because Xie Lian reconciled, there’s hope for him to reconcile with himself too.

His being forced to remain alive even after having done so much evil, and Mei Nian Qing choosing to stay with him as well, ultimately disproves Jun Wu’s cynical view of the world. It offers him another chance. Someone can always choose to do better, and he is left with MNQ who chose to do better just like he needs to.

He didn’t intend to get up at all, and Xie Lian asked, “Master, are you not coming?”

Head Priest shook his head, “I’ll keep his highness company. After all, in the past, I didn’t stay by his side.”

The rain was coming down harder, scouring Jun Wu’s resting face, washing away the life and blood flowing from his wounds.

As the rain washed, Xie Lian felt the three human faces on his face seemed to have gradually faded somewhat. Maybe it was his imagination.

After a moment of silence, Xie Lian took off the bamboo hat carried on his back, and tossed it from his hand, covering it over Jun Wu’s face.

Not only that, but there is a part of Xie Lian and a part of Jun Wu that are similar, that are good. And that’s the desire to save people and an understanding of hypocrisy. Though Jun Wu completely forsook the whole saving people thing for awhile, it’s not like his actions are entirely useless. The dichotomy between the righteousness of the gods and evils of demons has been completely ripped into shreds, and people on both sides have to make choices to make better.

Like, it’s pretty telling that the three gods we see who are the kindest and most benevolent are Shi Qing Xuan, whose brother cheated to get him an ascension, Xie Lian, who got kicked out twice, Yu Shi Huang, who was scorned by all during her life, and then also there’s Hua Cheng who outright refused to ascend. Everyone else who was expected to ascend and then did is a complete disaster. (Though again, Shi Wu Du outright gave us this existentialist theme with his last words: “I decide my fate!”)

Even among these disasters, we see improvements. Mu Qing is honest with Xie Lian about how he wanted to be his friend. Pei Ming tells a demon whom he wronged who has now stalked him for years to love herself, to do better, that she can choose to be better.

And among the demons, Hua Cheng saves the day with his love for Xie Lian. Qi Rong dies saving a human child, a callback to the same act that started all of this (when Xie Lian chose to save Hua Cheng instead of continuing a festival to the gods). And He Xuan helps save the gods he betrayed, in particular returning Shi Qing Xuan a reminder of who he is. He may not have earned his ascension, but he’s the one in the end protecting the people with spiritual powers, because he is strong enough even without his brother’s help. Instead of defining Shi Qing Xuan by who his brother is, He Xuan defines him by who Shi Qing Xuan is.

When he saw a “Hua Cheng” come by, he quickly called out, “CRIMSON RAIN SOUGHT FLOWER!!! You’ve finally come back! What the heck were you doing leaving for so long, have you thought of a way to connect with his highness? No no no you best think of a way to help me deal with the situation here first, do you see all those fiery rocks coming down from the sky? Think, fast! Blow a breath or make those endless little butterflies go up and chase them away or something, otherwise we’ll die....”

“Hua Cheng” didn’t speak a word, coldly allowing Shi Qing Xuan say that giant pile of words in one breath, and finally, as if he was growing impatient listening, he cut him off directly, “Deal with it yourself.”

Shi Qing Xuan exclaimed, “Deal with it myself? Don’t joke at a time like this, I’m not his highness, I can’t understand your jokes. How do I deal with those rocks on my own…” Before he finished his sentence, “Hua Cheng” seized his back collar, and yanked him out of the human array directly.

...Yet unexpectedly, after “Hua Cheng” had pulled him out he wasn’t done, and a hand came swinging, smacked him and sent him flying out.

...“It’s fine it’s fine, I didn’t die! He didn’t really hit me, he was just lending spiritual powers!” ...

Shi Qing Xuan examined his hands, then looked at his own body, emitting spiritual light from head to toe...

Just then, “Hua Cheng” flung his right hand, and tossed something at him. Without thinking, Shi Qing Xuan raised his hand to catch, but when he saw what it was he caught, his entire face blanched.

That object was the Wind Master fan!...

Shi Qing Xuan was clutching that dearly familiar fan, his neck stiff, and slowly turned to that “Hua Cheng”.“Hua Cheng” then repeated again coldly, “Deal with it yourself.”

He Xuan, someone who had no faith in justice or the gods or anyone, has faith in this one former god, now a beggar. And because of the return of his fan, because of who He Xuan is, Shi Qing Xuan remembers who he is and who he could be as a god, and saves people.

You only need one person to believe in you, to remind you that you can be better, in the end. For Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, for Shi Qing Xuan and He Xuan, for Gu Zi and Qi Rong, for Xuan Ji and Pei Ming, and even for Jun Wu and Mei Nian Qing.

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mnemememory · 5 years ago

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life is yours to miss

Regret is for humans.

At most, it is for the things that still think of themselves as human. The weak. The deluded. He Xuan has been alive too long, has done too many things, to believe himself anything but.

That is where he and the Crimson Rain differ. He Xuan knows himself, knows the price of immortality, and he is more than willing to make the world pay for its misdeeds. Hua Cheng wallows in his power and does nothing but paltry party-tricks to intimidate the Heavens.

Shi Qing Xuan doesn’t seem to quite understand. “His Highness is a very good judge of character,” he says, pulling Ming Yi – He Xuan – Ming Yi down the street. His hands are so soft. Ming Yi wants to smile, and He Xuan suppresses it.

“His Highness has been taken in by a demon,” he says.

Shi Qing Xuan shakes his head, hair flying out everywhere. Ming Yi ducks before he’s walloped on the head by Shi Qing Xuan’s fan.

“No, no,” Shi Qing Xuan says, like a moron. “I think His Highness is right – there’s more to the Crimson Rain than meets the eye! Hahaha, maybe I should go and find my own Supreme to protect me!”

He Xuan’s eye twitches.

Shi Qing Xuan hurriedly turns on his heels, grabbing onto Ming Yi’s hands and drawing them up close to his chest.

“Not that I’d ever abandon my best friend in such a way,” he says, smile blinding. Everything about Shi Qing Xuan is blinding. “You’re all the protection I need, hahaha!”

Ming Yi rips his hands away and crosses them moodily in front of his chest. “Be serious, would you? Supreme’s are nothing to joke about.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry Ming-xiong, please forgive me!” Shi Qing Xuan cries, racing after Ming Yi’s hurriedly retreating back. “And I don’t need protection, I’m very strong! In fact – Ming-xiong, if you ever need protection, just come to me and I’ll do whatever it takes!” he puffs out his chest proudly.

He Xuan grits his teeth. Ming Yi lets out a tired sigh. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he says.

“Ridiculous? Ming-xiong is too mean – I’m being very sincere! If you ever need anything, just come to this Wind Master and I’ll fix it.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” He Xuan says.

Shi Qing Xuan pouts. He falls back into step with Ming Yi, who is still walking at a rather brisk pace. Something uncomfortable tingles at the back of Ming Yi’s spine. They’re not walking anywhere fancy – Shi Qing Xuan had pestered and pleaded until Ming Yi’s paperwork had no longer been a useful distraction. Besides, food had become an uncomfortably easy way to wheedle Ming Yi into doing whatever Shi Qing Xuan wanted. Not like it was hard. The weakness rattled He Xuan, but the larger part of him – the part he had created for himself, the small spark of kindness he had fostered against the engulfing dark – revelled in it.

It would have been so easy to hate Shi Qing Xuan. So easy, if only they had never met.

He Xuan wants to wrap his claws around that pretty pale throat, wants to scream at this slovenly fool who can’t keep a sentence straight before descending into laughter. He wants to shove Shi Qing Xuan down and demand recognition, wants to see the innocent light fade from those beautiful eyes until there’s nothing left but emptiness. He Xuan wants to see himself reflected in this ethereal creature. This is who you should have been, he wants to say (to beg). How dare you smile while my family rots in the ground.

Ming Yi wants to reach out and gently hook his pinkie finger into Shi Qing Xuan’s. Wants to tug shyly at Shi Qing Xuan’s sleeve and kiss his smooth cheek. They balance each other out, the two masks of Black Water.

“I’ll have you know that I was a very diligent and smart student,” Shi Qing Xuan says. “My brother made –”

Ming Yi tunes out, sickness rolling thick in his stomach. He Xuan cackles in the back of his head.

“Over here,” Ming Yi says, interrupting Shi Qing Xuan and turning into a darkened alleyway. He’s hungry. Any mention of Shi Wu Du was usually enough to kill his appetite, but it’s a lovely day, and Shi Qing Xuan is looking very nice in his pale robes and his hair tied back.

“Ming-xiong? This teahouse doesn’t look very –”

“I want to eat here,” Ming Yi says.

Shi Qing Xuan studies him for a second, and the weight of his eyes is enough to leave Ming Yi breathless. Yes, He Xuan thinks, Yes, look at me. Look at what I am. See –

“Okay,” Shi Qing Xuan says, and the moment passes. Ming Yi ducks underneath the awning and looks around inside.

They’re nowhere near his birth town. He is saving that experience – saving the ruined temple, saving the bloodstained actors and the ugly story of his birth – for when things become too much to bear. He Xuan is very good at biding his time. He can’t act too quickly, or things won’t go his way.

(he can’t act too quickly, because once he does, Shi Qing Xuan will never look at him the same way again).

They’re nowhere near Fu Gu, but the stall is a punch to the chest. He superimposes people long-dead onto the smiling faces that welcome their entry. The homely thatch above their heads is both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Ming Yi wonders if he chose this small place as a reminder. Or punishment.

They settle into one of the corners, ordering tea and snacks, and then are left alone. In the heat of the midday sun there aren’t many people in the establishment, so they can chat to their heart’s content. And by “they”, he means Shi Qing Xuan, who hasn’t stopped talking since they entered.

“I still think His Highness must know something that we don’t, to be so attached to the Crimson Rain,” he says.

This again. He Xuan sighs. “I think he is being fooled very skillfully,” he says. “A Supreme is dangerous, and not something to be taken lightly. His Highness does not seem to care.”

“I think His Highness needs someone like Hua Cheng,” Shi Qing Xuan says thoughtfully, balancing his head on his hand and sighing up at the ceiling. “He seems so lonely.”

“Worry about yourself before you worry about someone else,” Ming Yi says.

“Ming-xiong, you do care!” Shi Qing Xuan says, smile delighted. “Don’t worry, though, I’m very careful with who I trust.”

“You’re really not,” He Xuan grumbles, taking a petulant bite out of his cake.

“And I know that Ming-xiong will always be there to help me out if things go wrong,” Shi Qing Xuan says. He’s so careless. He Xuan wants to reach forward and smack his head. Be more discerning, won’t you?

“You’re a horribly judge of character,” he says instead.

“Don’t be so down on yourself,” Shi Qing Xuan says. “You’re my best friend after all, aren’t you?”

“No,” He Xuan says.

“You’re so mean to me,” Shi Qing Xuan says with an absent whirl of his fan. Around them, the air shudders. “It’s okay, though, because I know deep, deep down that Ming-xiong really loves me!”

“I don’t,” He Xuan says.

Shi Qing Xuan laughs, bright and free as the wind.

“MING-XIONG! MING-XIONG! I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY!”

“You’ve called the wrong person.”

Regret is for humans, and He Xuan is no longer human.

#heaven's official blessing #he xuan #ming yi #shi qing xuan #beefleaf #tian guan ci fu #SPOILERS #FOR BLACK WATER #first fic in the random #hope this is decent #my writing #ficlet #cross posted on ao3

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whitebear-ofthe-watertribe · 5 years ago

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That Which Holds Us - Chapter 8

Pairing(s): Adrien / Marinette, Nino / Alya Summary: It has been several months since Ladybug and Chat Noir discovered their true identities. Now that they are not trapped by secrets, they can finally be their full selves around each other and have never been closer. Marinette is going into her final year at university, Adrien is exploring new classes and passions, and their friends Alya and Nino seem to be moving towards a happy future together. It all feels like things could not be better. But of course, nothing in life is quite so perfect. When Adrien starts having vivid nightmares and visions about his mother, old questions begin to resurface. Will he be able to find the answers, or will these ghosts from the past tear apart the heroes of Paris for good? Reminder, you can also read / follow this fic at AO3 here, and FF.net here. Previous Chapters Chapter Word Count: 9,054 Enjoy!!!

SCRATCH THE CAT: CHAT NOIR CALLED ‘CATACLYSMIC’ TO THE CITY’S SAFETY

Paris is in uproar as critical attentions turn to one of our long-time protectors. Dozens of civilian witnesses to recent Akuma attacks have expressed concern for Chat Noir’s mental state. On multiple occasions – the earliest going back to September, when the ‘Beau Constrictor’ terrorized an annual dinner party hosted by esteemed fashion designer, Monsieur Gabriel Agreste – the masked hero has been seen halting in his attacks, often clutching his head or collapsing unresponsive to the ground.

“He’s fine!” Ladybug had said in reply to questions after the Beau Constrictor’s rampage. “That was just part of [the Akuma’s] attack, you know the legends with Medusa and snake charming and stuff, he was just suffering a mental attack no one could see!”

But despite Ladybug’s claims that all is well, reports have shown a pattern that has many suspecting this strange behavior was not an isolated incident. The morning following that initial demonstration showed a repeat of Chat Noir’s disturbing episode. In another attack, eyewitnesses recount how Ladybug had struggled to fight off the Akuma called ‘Plagiaress,’ screaming desperately for Chat to help her while he lay curled up and useless.

“It was scary,” an anonymous witness told us after the battle. “I thought my son and I were going to have to watch Ladybug get killed right before our eyes, while the only person there who could help her did absolutely nothing.”

For much of the last decade, our city has grown comfortable in the knowledge that, no matter how violent or devastating an Akuma attack may be, our heroic duo would always be able to set things right in the end. But this common knowledge was torn to shreds last January, when Marinette Dupain-Cheng – an aspiring designer attending the International Fashion Academy – was put into a coma after being caught in an attack. L’Hotel du Collationer – the location of her class’ annual Student Exhibition Gala – and the street outside sustained lasting damages after the ‘Puppet Master’ raged through.

“[We have] been under the impression that our superheroes could always take care of everything,” says Madeline Linwright, a local museum curator and eyewitness to yet another of Chat Noir’s episodes during the attack of the ‘Songbird’ just two days ago. “But that’s not true, is it? A girl ended up in the hospital last winter because our heroes weren’t paying attention and couldn’t defeat the Akuma in time. So, who’s to say it won’t happen again because Chat Noir is slacking off?”

Many are calling for the cat to turn in his mask and demanding that Ladybug find someone more stable to be her sidekick. While there are still plenty who argue in Chat Noir’s defense, enough believe that the people of our city and their well-being should be a top priority. As another anonymous witness said, “If our heroes can’t protect us, who will?”

Alya frowned as she scrolled through her phone, closing one eye as if it would soften the blow of what she read.

Every news channel coming across her feed was full of similar articles. The consensus seemed to accuse Chat Noir of negligence when it came to protecting the civilians of Paris.

Her jaw clenched as she thought of how unfair their accusations were. After watching Chat Noir spend the last decade fighting to protect them all from countless attacks, seeing everyone suddenly turn against him brought a foul taste to her mouth. She, having fought beside him on numerous occasions, knew more than most how dedicated he was to fighting their enemies. Even though she’d always looked up to Ladybug most, Chat had a level of care and empathy that no one could hope to touch. He was always ready to sacrifice himself for others. And while some might consider that rash or reckless, in her eyes it more than qualified him to be one of the city’s saviors.

Besides, he was nobody’s “sidekick.”

“Excuse me, are you in line?”

A voice beside her made Alya jump. Looking up from her phone, she saw a disgruntled older man raise his eyebrows expectantly.

“Oh, yes I’m sorry!” she said, realizing that it was her turn to step up to the barista and order. She quickly did so and moved aside to wait.

It only took a minute or two before they called her name. She gathered up her cappuccino and a paper bag containing a scone, and made her way to the door.

The afternoon was brisk as sunlight filtered through the yellowing leaves of the trees. It was the first cool day of the season, the promise of Autumn whispering in each gentle breeze. Paris had gotten its first real frost the night before, and though most of the flowers had suffered for it, Alya was welcoming the change after such a blazing Summer.

She made her way to a small rickety table near the sidewalk. Her class was in less than an hour, but the building was nearby, and she was looking forward to a brief moment of calm. On top of the news being a huge source of tension, her first round of midterms had her ready to start tearing her hair out – she half expected to develop an ulcer any day now.

Resting her bag on the ground beside her chair, she pulled out the scone and placed it on a napkin. She took a sip of the cappuccino and pushed all her frantic and jumbled thoughts to the back of her mind, focusing on how the cloud of foam tickled her lips; how the smooth, bold espresso flowed over her tongue, and left a hot trail down her throat. Pinching off a small, flakey bit of scone, she dipped it into the cup and popped the buttery pastry into her mouth.

She could feel herself entering a place of peace as her shoulder muscles began to relax.

A trio of young children were playing in the large stone courtyard beside her and the café. Their similarities made her think that they must be siblings. She could see no adults present to watch over them and assumed their parents must be in one of the nearby shops running errands.

The eldest boy – maybe eleven or twelve years old – was bouncing a ball several feet into the air by spiking it to the ground. His sister – who could have been his twin – would try to punt it back to him using her forearms together as if it were a volleyball. Their younger brother was running around them, one of his shoes coming untied, giggling and trying to kick the ball back whenever they shot it too far. Which was quite often.

Alya grinned as she watched them. They reminded her of her younger sisters when they were children. Taking another bite of her scone, she sighed happily.

It was then that she felt it.

A slight tremor vibrated her cup on the table. Looking at it, she saw the espresso ripple as a second shudder came. It was small enough that most people nearby didn’t react; only a few paused to look around, frowning in confusion.

The eldest boy was one of them. He halted his toss as his smile disappeared, his eyes finding Alya’s as she stared back at him, waiting…

Seconds stretched on as nothing happened. The few people who had stopped what they were doing shook their heads and carried on. The girl and the youngest boy were laughing and calling to their brother to throw the ball already.

He stayed frozen, gazing at Alya.

She could feel herself tensing up again, all sense of calm lost as everything inside her screamed that something was wrong.

A low rumble pulsed through the ground, loud enough to halt everyone in their tracks. With a deafening CRACK, the courtyard split. Massive slabs of stone rocketed skyward, sending great clouds of dust and debris into the air. From the gaping chasm, great vines as thick as trains heaved out of the earth. More vines emerged all down the street, several punching through the walls of the surrounding buildings.

‘An Akuma,’ Alya realized grimly.

Screams filled the air as a hailstorm of cobblestones rained down. One the size of a phonebook narrowly missed Alya as she ducked underneath her small table, clutching her bag to her chest. Coughing, she frantically peered through the gloom, trying to see where the kids had ended up. It looked like one of the largest vines had launched right through the center of their game.

The street’s destruction had been so explosive that all noises were muffled by the ringing in her ears. As she strained to catch any sign of them, she barely made out what could only be a child’s crying. Throwing caution to the wind, Alya sprang out from her table, slung her bag over her shoulders and hurried out into what used to be the courtyard.

The girl and the youngest boy were huddled together near a wall, caked in a thick layer of dust. The boy was crying, his tears leaving muddy tracks down his cheeks.

Alya stumbled over to them, flinching as another small earthquake shook the ground. There was a fresh round of screaming in the distance. Falling to her knees, she held her hands out to them.

“Are you guys ok?” she inquired, her voice sounding distant to her still-ringing ears.

The girl looked at her with wide frightened eyes.

“P-Peter…” she stammered. “He is… we were separated. He shouted that he was going to find Mom, but I-I didn’t see what happened to him…”

“Is Peter your brother?” Alya asked urgently, straightening up a little to scan the area for the third boy. Seeing nothing, her stomach twisted, but she turned back to the other two and asked, “What are your names?”

“Kahlah,” the girl said, her voice small. “This is Rory.”

“Ok, Kahlah, my name is Alya. Where is your mom?”

“M-mom was in the bodega across the street,” Kahlah said, blinking back tears.

Another rumble shook the ground beneath their feet, triggering more screams along their block.

Looking around, Alya tried to discern any safe way to get the two children to the other side of the street; a huge slab of the road had been erected like a wall, and vines bared any other option they might’ve had. As she tried to think, the vines began to writhe.

“Come on!” Alya said, gesturing for them to take her hands. “We need to get somewhere safe, hurry!”

“B-but Peter isn’t back y-yet–” Kahlah stammered, sounding beside herself with fear.

“I know!” Alya insisted. “But it really isn’t safe to wait here, alright? I’ll help you find him and your mom when things calm down a little, I promise!”

Kahlah finally nodded, and they both took hold of her hands.

Alya scooped Rory up with one arm so that he wouldn’t trip over his shoelace. With her other hand, she gripped Kahlah’s tightly and hurried them back towards the café. One of the waiters was standing just inside the door. When he saw them, he opened it and gestured wildly for them to hurry. They rushed past him and joined a dozen other people huddling in kitchen.

It was dim, the only light coming from a door opened to the back alley. Alya realized that the power must have been cut off by the vines tearing up half the street. She knelt onto the tiled floor beside one of the large industrial fridges and settled Rory into her lap as Kahlah tucked her face into Alya’s neck.

“Shhh shh, it’s ok,” she reassured them softly, running her fingers through Kahlah’s hair. She could feel Rory’s silent tears wetting the front of her shirt.

Looking around, she recognized the café’s staff, but most were quite obviously other civilians who had just been out enjoying their day. One older woman sitting on a stool beside the back door held a couple paper grocery bags.

A tremor shook the building, pulling a few gasps from the group.

“Don’t worry,” said an older gentleman with a moustache and staff apron. “I made sure to have my shop reinforced to withstand high-level earthquakes after it was caught in an attack a few years ago. I doubt even a dragon could take it down now.”

A couple people chuckled, including Alya. To someone from anywhere else in the world, his remark might sound like a joke; but to the people of Paris – who had literally seen at least two actual dragons in the last decade – it was a mere statement of reassuring fact.

“See? It’s going to be ok,” Alya murmured to Kahlah and Rory. “In fact, I bet it’s all going to be over soon, you know?”

Kahlah peered up at her, unshed tears in her dark eyes.

“I’m not joking,” Alya continued. “This is exactly the kind of thing that Ladybug and Chat Noir are experts at taking care of. Do you guys like Ladybug?”

Rory nodded, mumbling a watery, “Mmhmm.”

“I like Chat Noir,” Kahlah said quietly.

“Me too,” Alya said, but her words were drowned out by a derisive scoff coming from a few feet away.

A man leaned forward to frown at them.

“Oh please,” he said in response to Alya’s sharp glare. “The guy’s a total failure. The way he’s been screwing up these last few weeks? It’s only a matter of time before that useless pretty boy gets someone killed.”

Alya opened her mouth to give him a biting retort, but before she could say anything there came angry rebukes from the rest of the group.

“C’mon, dude,” said the younger man sitting across from Alya.

“Seriously?” came a woman’s voice. “Now is not the time.”

“What?” The guy looked around indignantly at everyone’s reproachful looks. “Haven’t you idiots been watching the news? That guy is totally not good enough for Ladybug. Or for us!”

“Nobody asked you,” hissed the woman with the groceries.

He clenched his hands into angry fists.

“I’m just sharing an opinion! Are we not civil enough here to tolerate other people’s opinions, now?!”

Another tremble ran through the building. Small bits of dust and plaster trickled down upon them.

Rory clung tighter to Alya.

“If you think being civil is making a couple of kids feel bad during a scary situation,” Alya snapped, “then you can take your civility outside with the Akuma.”

She shifted around a little so her shoulder was to the man.

Kahlah, her face screwed up in fear, still managed to stick her tongue out at him before turning back. That, at least, seemed to shut him up for the moment.

Alya beamed at her.

“Well,” she continued as if there had been no interruption, “I like Chat Noir, too. Did you know that I’m actually friends with them both?”

Kahlah and Rory’s eyes widened as they gazed up at her.

“It’s true! I was the first person to meet them when they defeated that very first Akuma years ago! I ran a blog all about them, so I got to interview them all the time, and –” she lowered her voice to a mock whisper, “– I even helped them save the day a bunch of times!”

“Oh! You’re the Ladyblogger?” the young man sitting across from them exclaimed. “I knew you looked familiar! I used to read your blog religiously!”

Alya laughed.

“Yep! Which is why I can say with total confidence that Chat Noir is one of the greatest and most reliable super heroes there has ever been.”

“Wow!” breathed Rory, his eyes going even more round as his and Kahlah’s fear slowly started to eb.

“It’s true,” a voice beside them said. “He really is one of the best superheroes this world has ever seen.”

Alya looked up to see a tiny old man wearing a cheerful Hawaiian shirt move to sit cross-legged on the floor beside them. His grey hair was balding, but his eyes were bright as he sipped at coffee from one of the café’s white mugs.

“I have been doing my research on the Miraculous holders throughout history for quite some time, now,” he told the children. “And I can assure you that there is no one better to save us from villains than the Chat Noir and Ladybug out there right now.”

Alya eyed him curiously.

“Really?” she asked. “I have done quite a bit of research myself, I would love to hear about what you’ve managed to learn!”

The old man looked knowingly up at her, his eyes twinkling.

“I would very much enjoy speaking with you, Mlle. Césaire. I’m sure we could come up with many interesting things to talk about.”

“Wait…” Alya said, stiffening. “How do you know my –?”

“Kahlah?” a voice cried from the front of the café. “Rory, are you in here?!”

“Mommy!” Rory yelled, sitting up on Alya’s knee as he and his sister turned to voice.

“Rory?!”

A woman, who looked so much like her children, appeared in the kitchen doorway, stricken with panic.

“Oh, thank goodness!” she exclaimed, hurrying over and falling to her knees as Kahlah and Rory jumped from Alya’s lap and into her arms. “I was so worried, I thought… wait, where is your brother?”

Kahlah and Alya exchanged a look.

“Where is Peter?” their mother demanded, going even paler than before.

“I don’t know,” Kahlah said, her voice small. “We lost him when the vines came. I thought he’d be with you?”

Looking into their mother’s terrified eyes, Alya’s stomach dropped.

Peter was still out there.

*******

Chat Noir’s heart pounded as he sprinted along the rooftops.

The Akuma loomed on the city’s skyline before him, a writhing mass of vines that moved like the tentacles of some monstrous, thorny octopus. At the center of the largest vine cluster, whole fields of enormous flowers were growing, their poisonously bright buds erupting and releasing toxic-looking clouds of pollen.

Chat sighed wearily as he neared the monster. If he had been running on fumes a week ago, the last few days of attacks and sleepless nights had taken nearly everything out of him.

“’Nother day, ‘nother monster,” he muttered, whirling his staff around to launch himself over a few more buildings.

“Chat Noir!”

He turned to see Ladybug swing up from the street to meet him.

Ducking behind a large chimney, they peeked around cautiously to survey the scene before them.

Many of the surrounding streets and buildings displayed apocalyptic levels of destruction. Massive trenches had been left by the vines all along the roads, and several buildings looked on the verge of collapsing.

“Have you found anything?” he asked, looking to her as she stared up at the flowers.

Ladybug nodded.

“This is the head florist of a shop a couple blocks down. Her assistant said that he’d accidentally left a flower shipment for a wedding outside last night, and the frost destroyed most of it. His manager went into a state of panic and that’s when things went downhill.”

Chat Noir nodded grimly.

“Any idea where the damned thing is?”

“Apparently they had been making flower crowns,” Ladybug said, glancing up at him. “Her assistant thinks he saw it go into one of the crowns she’d been holding.”

“Ok, so we need to find a tiny crown in all of… this?” he raised his masked eyebrows at her, gesturing at the many, many vines and flowers stretching out at least half a mile before them. “This is… going to take a while.”

“Look!” Ladybug said suddenly, pointing back at the immense flowers.

Chat followed her gaze, frowning until he spotted what she was referring to.

At the center of all the flowers, one large bloom had opened up like some ethereal fae throne. A woman with sickly blue skin sat upon it. Her clothes were rotten-looking black leaves, and a contrastingly bright flower crown was perched on her wild hair, the blossoms interlaced with needle-like thorns. She looked out at the world before her as if she was some mournful queen surveying her kingdom.

“Three guesses where the Akuma is hiding,” Chat Noir murmured, eyeing the crown. Even from their distance, he could see the impossibly long spikes extending from it. “Ok, so what’s the plan, M’lady?”

“You distract, I go in at the first opportunity,” Ladybug said. The calmness in her voice was strangely reassuring.

“You got it,” Chat said, spinning his staff a couple times before preparing to leap off the rooftop.

“Hey Chat?”

“Yeah?”

He turned to see her watching him and recognized the concerned set of her mouth immediately.

“Are you sure you’re up for this? You look… well…”

“Yeah, I’m good,” he shrugged. Part of him was truly touched at her concern; he appreciated having such a caring and attentive partner in his life. But his exhaustion wasn’t letting him feel much other than a strong desire to go take a nap. “I’ll be better once all this is done.”

Ladybug stared at him for another long moment before nodding.

“Ok then, if you’re sure… Let’s do this.”

And with that, they launched off the rooftop in unison.

Ladybug disappeared between the buildings, and Chat knew that she was planning to flank around to the side while he held the Akuma’s attention.

“Oi!” he yelled, perching on one of the higher chimneys before the Akuma. “Did you know there are legal consequences for the destruction of private property, you overgrown houseplant?”

The side of his mouth twisted into a grimace; his quips had not been anywhere near his usual standards as of late, but that was hardly his biggest problem right now.

The Akuma turned to him, glowering.

“My own property was damaged,” she said, her voice hissing and overlapping on itself, as if was being projected from each of the giant flowers surrounding her. “My precious ones lost their lives because of carelessness, so why should I care for what others might lose?”

“You were hurt because someone else made a mistake,” Chat shouted back, carefully watching the writhing vines snake towards him out of the corner of his eye. “You shouldn’t cause more pain and destruction just because you yourself are hurting. That becomes a vicious, never-ending cycle of destruction, and I can’t imagine you’d want that when you know how it feels.”

“People are the ones who destroy!” the Akuma hissed sharply. “They are the ones at the root of the problem, not my defenseless babies!”

“I’d hardly call a vine that can level a building in ten seconds flat ‘defenseless,’” Chat shrugged, but the Akuma didn’t seem to be listening.

“That is why,” she continued, “I am creating a world where there is no more senseless pain and destruction. A world where nature can exist in harmony, where the pollution that is mankind won’t profit from killing the very things that give them life. I am the Oasis that will give our planet a thousand millennia of peace!”

Chat would have expressed his hearty agreement for cultivating the survival and protection of nature, but he never got the chance.

The vines that had been leisurely surrounding him struck in that moment, forcing him to leap out of the way to avoid their spindly thorns. He ran, bounding from rooftop to rooftop, frantically avoiding the attacking vines by mere inches as they attempted to skewer him.

He barely had the thought of, ‘Please hurry, M’lady…’ when his overly sensitive hearing picked up a sound that made his throat constrict.

“Mom?!” a child’s voice called above the din. “Mom, where are you?!”

Taking a hairpin turn, Chat managed to throw the vines off for a split second. It was just long enough to scan the streets. He spotted a young boy, maybe eleven or twelve, running from storefront to storefront, calling frantically for his mother.

Throwing himself into overdrive, Chat leapt in the boy’s direction. He dove off the roof’s ledge and in one swift motion, tackled the boy into his arms and extended his staff directly into the ground. The force propelled them both high into the air not a moment too soon. Dozens of the lethal vines snarled around where they had just been.

Somersaulting, Chat wrapped his arms in a protective vice around the boy, cradling his head as they landed hard on a neighboring building. They rolled a few times before Chat finally caught the ledge with his foot, preventing them both from falling into the street below.

“Hey, are you ok, kid?” he asked, pulling back a little to see the boy staring up at him with wonder in his eyes.

“That was the COOLEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME!” the boy exclaimed, his lack of fear startling Chat Noir into a grin.

“What’s your name, kid?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Peter!” he said, enthusiastically. “It’s such an honor to meet your, Monsieur Noir! Can we do that again?”

Chat laughed.

“The pleasure is all mine, Peter,” he said, rising to a crouch and snatching the boy up with one arm. “C’mon, I’m sure your mother is worried, so let’s get you to safe–”

His words were cut short as a vine the width of a minivan pummeled through the roof they stood on. It missed them by mere inches.

“Hold on!” Chat shouted as he threw himself across the street and onto the next rooftop.

The vines were coming after them, twice as violent as before.

It took all the skill Chat had in him to avoid their gnarls and tendrils. He couldn’t help a twinge of pride at how tightly Peter clung to him, arms around his neck and legs around his waist. He hardly budged as Chat twisted and turned and spiraled thought the air, searching desperately for an escape.

A flash of familiar electric blue in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Chat stumbled in surprise, narrowly managing to catch himself. Shaking a little, he plunged on. He had no time for distractions now.

Another flash of blue caused his vision to go dark for half a second, and suddenly the blood rushing through him was not just adrenaline.

‘No,’ he thought desperately, trying to blink away the hallucinations and focus on where he was. ‘No, please not now! Please!’

“Adrien…”

That familiar voice echoed in Chat’s head, silencing everything around him for a moment.

His heart leapt into his throat, panic causing him to falter as he leapt over the wide gap between buildings. His foot caught on the ledge, and Peter lost his grip as they both tumbled across the tiles.

Chat desperately regained his footing as Peter sat up and held his arms out to him once more.

“Adrien, stop this.”

Flinching, he let out a gasp and dropped to his knees.

“No…” he muttered through clenched teeth. “Please no, not now!”

He glanced up and saw a frightened look cross Peter’s face. Surging to his feet again, Chat gathered the boy into his arms and sprinted across the roof. They had just rounded a large brick divider when the world went utterly black.

“Adrien, that is enough!”

He opened his eyes and saw his mother before him. Her vivid blue glow was so intense in the void that he had to cover his eyes.

One of her hands pulled his away, uncovering his face as her other held his chin firmly.

“Why won’t you look at me, my son?” she asked, her grip forceful but her gaze contrastingly gentle.

It was the same look she had always given him, full of love of kindness. He had ached to see her look at him this way one more time for so long. So long.

“Why haven’t you come to save me, my love?” she asked, her eyes filling with such sadness that he felt his own fill with tears. “The darkness is so strong, I’ve been fighting for an eternity. Please come save me, why won’t you come save me?”

“I’m sorry,” he choked, his voice breaking on a sob. “I don’t know how.”

“Yes, you do,” she said, her voice taking on a strange, bitter intensity. “You have known it for years, you’ve just been too stubborn to do it.”

“Please… I don’t know how to save you…”

His tears were pouring down his face freely now.

“You must do what you have been fighting against for so long,” his mother said, her voice warping, becoming deeper…

Almost like…

“You must give up your Miraculous.”

Something was clinging tightly to his neck. He felt like he was suffocating under the building pressure, the darkness consuming him, choking him, destroying him.

“It is the only way,” his mother said, her voice no longer her own, yet still strangely familiar. “Things can go back to how they were. He can make everything right again. Just stop being so selfish and GIVE UP YOUR MIRACULOUS!”

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” he bellowed. Raising his clawed hand, he grappled with the force around his neck. “CATACLYSM!”

The hold on his neck loosened. He sucked in a breath of fresh air, choking as the darkness receded.

Chat Noir opened his eyes just in time to see Peter’s arms fall away from around his neck as an enormous vine shot towards them. It slammed the boy into his chest and thrust them both across the roof. Chat’s back hit the brick divider. A lancing pain ran up his spin and into his skull. Blinding light stole his vision as he cried out in pain.

He forced his eyes open, gritting his teeth as he held Peter to him. He kicked out at the vine, then knocked it farther from them with a sharp blow of his staff. He forced himself to get up, preparing once more to run.

But something felt wrong. Peter did not wrap his arms around him as he had before. In fact, he didn’t move at all.

Looking down, Chat Noir saw the vine’s thorn piercing through Peter’s chest.

In the distance, he thought he heard Ladybug calling his name, but he could not bring himself to respond. He could not move. He felt frozen as an indescribable horror coursed through his body, numbing him to everything in the world around him.

He stared disbelievingly down at Peter’s blank expression as he lay unmoving in his arms.

The boy was dead, and he, Chat Noir, had killed him.

*******

“CHAT!”

Ladybug’s scream tore from her throat. She felt as if her heart had plummeted into her stomach as she stared, horrorstruck, at Chat Noir hunched against the wall, cradling the still body of the young boy to his chest.

She had seen it unfold, her attack on the Akuma halting when she’d spotted Chat desperately trying to get the boy out of danger. She’d seen the tell-tale faltering in his escape, seen him stumble as he tried and failed to bring his mind back to reality.

‘No… No no no no NO!’

Never before had they failed to protect the people of their city. Buildings had fallen, monsters had rampaged, curses had plunged their world into total darkness… but they had always been able to keep the people safe.

Until now.

“Chat Noir!” she called again.

But he did not respond. He did not move.

She looked down at the yo-yo in her trembling hands. She could still fix this… She had to.

Whipping back around to face the Akuma once more, Ladybug saw the familiar glowing butterfly over Oasis’ face.

Her head was tilted to the side, as if seeing a superhero mourning over the body of a child was a source of deep confusion.

Ladybug couldn’t hear whatever Hawkmoth was saying to her, but she realized this must be why Oasis had not followed through with her attack on Chat Noir.

‘Now’s the time,’ she thought grimly.

She had only a small window before Oasis went back on the offense, and she wasn’t going to waste it.

“Lucky Charm!” she cried, tossing her yo-yo high into the air, desperate for something, anything to help her stop the destruction.

A plastic gallon bucket covered in polka dots dropped heavily into her hands. A pair of matching tongs was connected to the bucket’s handle by a short cord. Looking inside the lid, she saw that it was full of crystalline white cubes the size of her fist. She frowned for a moment before realizing exactly what they were.

‘Dry ice!’

Her mind immediately went back to what the florist’s assistant had told her about the previous evening’s frost destroying their flowers. Looking up at the giant blossoms between her and the Akuma, she realized exactly what she needed to do.

Rushing forward, she leapt onto one of the larger vines, ignoring how it squirmed as she narrowly avoided driving its thorns into her feet with each perilous step. She grasped the tongs firmly as she neared the first flower, its acidic pollen so thick that it was more of a toxic goo dripping down its petals. She collected the first dry ice cube and flung it directly into the flower’s center.

The effect was instantaneous.

With a strange hissing noise that almost sounded like a shriek of pain, the flower’s color paled and its petals shriveled inward. Within moments, it was overcome with frost.

But Ladybug was already moving on to the next bloom.

It took the Akuma losing four different flowers to notice what was happening. With a scream not unlike the dreadful hissing coming from the dying buds, she raised her arms imperiously and the vines surrounding her snapped back to attention.

Ladybug felt the vine she stood on buck violently. She very nearly lost her footing, but threw the next cube down in front of her. The vine quite literally froze, allowing her to continue her onslaught.

She took out several more flowers and vines, holding her breath as she leapt over a sudden cloud of toxic pollen that rose before her. She felt a searing pain as it stung the exposed skin of her neck and cheeks but ignored it.

At last she found herself standing before the Akuma.

Oasis let out another scream of frustration and charged towards her.

Ladybug was ready. Gathering the bucket firmly in her hands, she flung the last of the dry ice onto Oasis and her throne.

This time, the Akuma’s scream was one of pain as she collapsed to her knees, clutching her burned hands to her chest.

Ladybug snatched the flower crown off her head and, carefully avoiding the thorns, she pulled it apart.

The tiny dark butterfly emerged.

In one swift motion, she captured it in her yo-yo. Without a word, she cleansed it and released it back into the world.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” she screamed finally, desperately, tossing the gallon bucket and tongs into the air.

A familiar hum of energy surrounded them as millions of bright lights exploded from the charm, sweeping up and down the city streets and restoring their world to as it should be.

The Akumatized victim was caught up in the magic. In the blink of an eye, her civilian self was sitting on a rooftop balcony, looking around in confusion.

“Oh my – where am I? Ladybug! What happened? W-was I –?”

But Ladybug leapt around her, ignoring her questions. In that moment, she only had eyes for Chat Noir and the young boy.

They had not moved from their place on the roof.

Swiftly, she flung her yo-yo forward and launched up to them.

“Chat?” she asked, almost too scared to learn the truth. “Is… is he…?”

Suddenly, the boy stirred in Chat’s arms, twisting around to gaze up at her, very much alive.

Ladybug gasped, the shock of relief coursing through her.

“Wow! Hi Ladybug!” the boy said, grinning up at her.

She slumped against the side of a chimney.

“Hi,” she said, beginning to laugh. “Oh thank God, you both had me so worried!”

“What’s going on?” the boy asked, gazing over the side of the roof. “Where’s the Akuma? Wasn’t it just right here?”

“Um,” Ladybug hesitated, glancing at Chat Noir for help. But as the boy stood to his feet, Chat remained kneeling, his face stony and his shoulders rigid. “You must’ve just… blacked out? I’ve already taken care of the Akuma.”

“Aw man!” the boy said, crossing his arms. “I wish I could’ve seen it.”

“I think we got a bit too close to that Akuma for comfort, little man,” she sighed. “C’mon, is your family nearby?”

“I think they were down a block or two? I was at a café with my siblings and when the attack started. I tried to find Mom. I don’t know if they’ll still be there, though.”

“Well it’s as good a place to start looking as any,” Ladybug said.

A gentle beep-beep from her earrings told her she only had a few minutes left before detransforming. Putting her arm around the boy, she drew her yo-yo out and secured it around a chimney across the street.

“Chat Noir and I will make sure you get back to them safe and sound, right Chat?”

But Chat didn’t answer.

Looking back over her shoulder, she saw that he hadn’t moved from his corner on the roof. Frowning, she turned to face him.

“Chat? Hey Chat! Chat Noir!”

Finally, he seemed to shake himself out of whatever stupor he’d been enveloped in. Raising his chin, he met her gaze, and the look in his eyes sent a small shiver down her spine. Ladybug could not read his expression, but she could almost feel the cold darkness rolling off him in waves. He stood to his feet and quietly padded over to join them on the edge of the roof.

The boy looked between the two of them, unsure. Ladybug felt him tighten his hold around her waist.

“You ok?” she asked Chat quietly.

The muscles in his jaw tightened, but otherwise he didn’t react to her question. With a swish of his staff, Chat launched himself down the street towards the café the boy had mentioned.

Ladybug tightened her grip on her yo-yo and leapt after him.

They alighted on the cobblestones of the square and the boy had barely released his grip on her when a shout rang from a nearby storefront.

“Peter!”

Turning around, Ladybug saw a young woman rushing towards them looking largely mortified, two young children in tow.

“Oh my goodness Peter!” She dropped to her knees to wrap her son in a tight embrace. The littlest boy had tears running down his cheeks. “Thank God you’re alright, we were so worried.”

“I’m fine,” Peter said laughing as he hugged his family back. “It was so cool, Chat Noir totally saved me from those huge vines!”

“Thank you, Ladybug and Chat Noir,” Peter’s mother said, gazing up at the pair of them and reaching her hand out to hold Ladybug’s. “Thank you, thank you! You saved him, how can I ever thank you enough?”

Ladybug smiled and squoze the woman’s hand warmly.

“There is no need, Madame. We were just happy to help.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chat Noir standing beside her. He said nothing.

Another beep-beep rang from her earrings. With a last smile at the family, she gently released the woman’s hand and left them all to continue their tearful embrace. But as she and Chat turned to leave, their path was cut off by a handful of news reporters and their cameramen.

“Ladybug! Chat Noir!” they were calling, brandishing microphones and small recording devices at them. “Please! Tell us how you saved that boy!”

“How did you manage to defeat this Akuma?”

“Any new leads on Hawkmoth?”

Startled by the sudden onslaught, Ladybug took a step back and bumped into Chat.

“I’m sorry,” she said to the reporters, her hand raising apologetically to her earrings. “We don’t really have time to – ”

“Chat Noir! Why did you freeze up?” one of the reporters demanded over her, pushing his recorder closer.

Ladybug’s polite smile dropped. She felt Chat stiffen against her shoulder.

“Are you losing your edge? Why haven’t you been able to help Ladybug during these recent attacks?” the reporter pushed on. “There’s been talk that you have even been hindering her ability to stop the Akumas. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I – I uh…” Chat finally stuttered, his voice breaking as they all began shouting similar questions. “I don’t… I can’t…”

“Do you think you’re still up to defending Paris with Ladybug?”

Ladybug glanced up at Chat to see a flash pain break through his stoic expression. Furious, she stepped forward and commanded the crowd’s attention with a shout.

“Hey! Chat Noir is as capable and reliable now as he has ever been,” she said harshly, crossing her arms over her chest. “He and I are a team. I am not better than him, we are equals and will continue to be partners in the fight against Hawkmoth until Paris is safe once and for all. So thank you, but we really must be going – ”

“Chat Noir, what makes you so worthy of standing beside Ladybug!” the reporter interrupted her loudly, pushing forward and inspiring another flood of harsh inquiries from the rest.

“Sorry, but we will answer no more questions today,” Ladybug said firmly before turning on her heel and stalking away from the crowd. Wrapping her fingers around Chat’s wrist, she pulled him with her until they both had room enough to launch their way back above the skyline.

They managed to put several blocks between themselves and the attack site before Ladybug’s earrings rang out a final time and her transformation dropped. They were forced to a halt on a rooftop, out of sight from any curious eyes down below.

Marinette gently caught Tikki in her hands before turning around.

Chat had leaned wearily against the side of a heating grate. His head was hung low, and that unreadable expression had returned to his eyes.

Tikki shot Marinette a worried look before diving into the purse that held her stash of cookies.

Hesitantly, Marinette made her way across the roof.

Chat didn’t meet her eyes.

“You know they are all wrong, right?” she said, leaning her shoulder against the wall to face him. “They have no idea what they’re talking about.”

Chat’s only response was to lift his head enough to gaze across the expanse of buildings towards the city’s horizon.

Marinette leaned forward, trying to catch his eye.

He refused to meet hers.

“You did everything you could,” she continued. “Everything worked out in the end, but… do you want to talk about it?”

“We should get you to class,” Chat said finally, straightening up and taking a step away from her, his flat voice betraying no emotion.

Marinette looked at him for another long moment.

“You know I’m here for you, whatever you need. We can figure this out togeth– ”

“There’s nothing to figure out, Marinette,” he cut over her sharply, his hands balling into tight fists.

She leaned off the wall and moved to stand close beside him again.

Once more, he refused to meet her gaze. A small frown furrowed his brow as the silence stretched on.

“C’mon,” he said finally, reaching a hand gently around her waist. “We don’t want you to be late.”

With one last thoughtful look at him, Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck.

Sweeping her feet from beneath her, Chat hoisted her up protectively to his chest. In three long strides, he launched high into the air. They soared from building to building, racing across the city back to the studio Marinette had left when news of the Akuma attack had aired.

Closing her eyes, Marinette buried her face into the crook of his neck. She breathed in his familiar warmth as the wind whipped through her hair. She could tell he was rattled about what had happened to that boy. Hell, just thinking about it made her sick to her own stomach. The image of his family embracing him kept playing across her mind; they had no idea how closed they’d come to losing him…

It only took Chat Noir a few short minutes to reach the secluded alley behind her studio. The back door was sitting ajar, held open by the rock she’d propped it with so as not to need her key-card to get back in.

“Thanks for the lift, Kitty,” she said as Chat gently placed her feet back on the ground.

The smile she offered went unnoticed as he still avoided looking directly at her. There was a stiffness in his behavior that she’d rarely seen before. Perhaps that attack had shaken him more than she’d thought.

“Erm… Will I see you tonight?”

“Probably not,” he sighed, staring off into the mouth of the alley. “I have a lot of work to get done.”

“Oh… ok then,” she said, unsure of what else to do. “I guess I do too. Mathis will probably have my head if he thinks I’m trying to skip out on him before our critique.”

Chat gazed down at his hands, balling them into fists again.

Marinette waited one more long moment before turning to climb the steps up to the door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then, ok?” she called over her shoulder.

“Marinette, wait…” Chat said, and as she turned back to look down at him, he took her hand in both of his. The ring on his finger felt hot against her skin.

“I… well…”

He frowned, struggling to find the right words.

She watched as he furrowed his brow tight for a long moment before he looked back up at her, his emerald eyes piercing into hers.

“I… I just wanted to say… I love you.”

Marinette gave him a soft smile and lifted his hands to gently brush her lips against his fingers.

“I love you too,” she whispered.

He held her gaze for one last moment before finally turning to go, letting her hand fall.

As she turned to kick the rock out from propping the door, she caught a last glimpse of him disappearing like a shadow over the roof’s ledge high above. Her stomach felt tight with an anxiety that she couldn’t place.

‘Probably just still shaken up from that attack,’ she decided as she hurried up the staircase to her studio.

The place was buzzing with activity when she arrived. Meesh and Alec were hard at work just as she’d left them; they both greeted her cheerily and she smiled back, doing her best to hide the confused tension that was welling up inside. Meesh’s tablet – which had been what tipped Marinette off to the Akuma in the first place – was still sitting on her desk, the newsreel now muted.

Mathis, to her displeasure, was also in her corner. He offered her a curt nod as he glanced up from the mannequin he was busy pinning fabric to.

She returned the gesture with a nod of her own.

“Did you hear about that Akuma attack?” Alec asked as Marinette sat down at her desk.

“Hmm?” she said absently, shuffling through a few sketches before landing on the one she was looking for.

“Yeah, it looks like things went a bit crazy,” Meesh said, nodding seriously. “Did you see how those giant vines were just taking over all those buildings?”

“I’d say the more interesting part of that news sequence was the interview after the attack,” Mathis said, surprising all of them with his input.

Marinette stiffened as he continued.

“I mean it’s clear that those reporters had Chat Noir cornered with their questions.”

“I think that was incredibly rude of them,” Meesh said curtly. “I mean how do they really know what went down during that attack? Or any attack for that matter?”

“It seemed pretty obvious to me,” Mathis sneered. “Chat Noir is clearly losing his nerve.”

“What do you mean ‘losing his nerve’?” Meesh shot back. “I think anyone would be caught off guard when a bunch of reporters start attacking them.”

“It’s not like he didn’t have time to prepare for it,” Alec offered. “The news has been saying stuff like that for a while, haven’t they?”

“So what, people are just going to ignore all the years of good he’s done to protect them?”

“Well, maybe all those years are finally catching up with him.”

“I don’t think it’s the years catching up with him,” Mathis cut in. “I think it’s just the fact that he’s finally showing how unevenly matched he is with Ladybug.”

“But even Ladybug herself said they were an equal team!” Meesh cried angrily.

“Oh please! The cat practically let that boy die –”

“Enough!”

Marinette slammed her sketchbook back on her desk with a loud bang, effectively shutting the other three up as they looked around at her in surprise.

“I would appreciate it,” she said in a clipped voice, “if we could all just stop talking about them like we know everything that’s happened.”

“Oh right,” Mathis said, rolling his eyes. “I forgot, you’re all buddy-buddy with the city’s supers, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Marinette turned to face him with a cold glare. “I am close enough with them to know that they always do everything in their power to keep the people of this city safe. And who cares what those news reports say? They still saved everyone from that Akuma, right?”

“Yeah, just like they always fix everything, hm?” he replied, amusement in his tone.

Marinette stared at him, the sick feeling of anxiety filling the pit of her stomach again.

Mathis simply smiled, knowing exactly which Akuma attack he’d made her think of.

“C’mon, let’s just get this work done,” she said stiffly, turning away from him and pulling over the mannequin that held her own design. She could almost feel the smugness flowing off of him, hating the sick joy he got out of reminding her of that horrible night.

Meesh and Alec both tried to catch her eye, but she resolutely ignored them, and they eventually began chatting about other things.

The four of them worked for hours. Their instructors eventually showed up for class, but it was rather informal. They had a midterm presentation the following day, so Charbonneau and a few others merely gave them some last-minute suggestions. Critiques went quickly, and they were soon left alone again with their projects.

Aside from the occasional design discussion with Mathis, Marinette managed to largely tune them all out. As her hands stitched, her mind wandered back to Adrien. She ended up sending several messages to him over the course of the evening, but he never responded. The night grew long, though the studio hardly emptied of fellow students still hard at work. It was not unusual for their class to pull all-nighters to get things done, but now that they were in their final year, the amount of time everyone spent in the studio seemed to be at an all-time high.

Unfortunately, Marinette was finding it difficult to focus. Her glances towards her phone had grown more and more frequent, but it remained stubbornly free of new messages.

“I need a break,” she said finally, standing up from her work as the tension became too suffocating.

“There’s still a lot left to do, Marinette,” Mathis said, looking up from his own garment. “I won’t have us getting a bad review just because you decided to skip out.”

“I’m not skipping out,” she shot back irritably, collecting her bag. “I’m just going to get some food, take a nap, and pick up my other dresses from home. And I don’t have a ton left to do on this one anyways, so stop worrying about the critique. I’ll be back in a couple hours, tops.”

“You’d better be,” he called after her as she shut the studio door behind her.

Marinette rolled her eyes as she hurried down the staircase. Stepping out into the chilly Autumn night, she tightened her scarf about her.

“Are you ok, Marinette?” Tikki asked, peeking out from her bag.

“I’m fine,” she shrugged. “I’m worried about Adrien. I don’t like how he was acting after that attack... I think that whole thing really got to him.”

“And those reporters didn’t help, either,” Tikki said, crossing her arms.

Marinette nodded thoughtfully.

Though it didn’t take long for her to cross campus, it was nearing two in the morning when she finally traipsed through the door of her apartment. Yawning hugely, Marinette moved to retrieve a glass from one of the kitchen cabinets and filled it up with water from the sink. Turning off the twinkle lights Alya had left on for her, she made her way across the dark living room and shut her bedroom door behind her. She kicked off her shoes and shrugged her backpack onto the ground before turning on the light.

As Tikki flew out of her bag and made her way to the tin of cookies on her bookshelf, Marinette shivered a little.

“Why is it so cold in here?” she muttered. The curtains blowing in a gentle breeze from the open window above her desk caught her eye.

‘Strange,’ she thought, moving forward to close the window. ‘I don’t remember leaving that open…’

It was then that Marinette saw it. A small, familiar black box was sitting on top of her desk.

Her heart jumped into her throat. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She knew that box; it was exactly like the ones she had delivered to her friends in times of need. She herself had opened such a box the very first day she’d met Tikki.

It was a box that held a Miraculous.

“Oh no…” Tikki gasped, hovering above Marinette’s shoulder.

Stepping forwards and reaching for the box, Marinette saw there was a piece of paper folded in half beside it. With trembling hands, she picked the paper up and unfolded it. There were only two words written within. Two words in Adrien’s handwriting that confirmed her fears.

‘I’m sorry.’

Hey hey, y'all got a chapter a whole day earlier than scheduled! I have a busy Friday planned, and I wanted to make sure this still got posted :)

Am I sorry for the cliffhanger?? HA! When have I ever been?? ;D

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fic #twhu fic #marichat #ladynoir #ladrien #adrinette #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #abnd fic

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hari-writes · 7 years ago

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Three Sides to the Story

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Pairings: Adrien/Marinette Summary: It's been almost three years since Adrien Agreste walked out of Marinette's life. An accidental meeting at a party starts a course of events that will either drive them together or further apart. Meanwhile, Plagg and Tikki have had enough of their holders' indecision and obliviousness.

Read it on A03

Chapter 1: 10th March

It was opening night of the latest production at Opera de Paris and Adrien, at 21 years old, was deemed ready to attend in his father’s stead. Adrien would watch La Boheme from Gabriel Fashion’s box, then rub shoulders with the city’s elite at an extravagant after-party at Le Grand Paris Hotel.

Gabriel Agreste was becoming increasingly reclusive, and aside from business meetings he barely left the mansion at all these days, so Adrien was expected to do more. Juggling his International Business degree with family responsibilities and modelling (as well as saving Paris from regular akuma attacks) was wearing him down. He’d have to get used to it because in less than eight months, he’d be starting work full time at Gabriel Fashions and he’d be under his father’s scrutiny more than ever before.

“Adrien, I need to you model competition entries for the graduate designers internship so please try not to gain any more muscle in the next week.” Gabriel Agreste raised an eyebrow at his son as the seamstress let his tuxedo jacket out again.

“Yes, father.” Adrien dutifully replied.

“I mean it. Your measurements have already been sent out and the finished pieces must fit you for the fashion shoot.” Gabriel reiterated.

Adrien didn’t answer. He hung his head in a display of acquiescence. Tell Hawkmoth to stop with the akuma attacks and I’ll stop gaining muscle. He thought, bitterly.

“I expect you to be available for individual shoots with each of the students, Adrien, so don’t make plans for the next few weeks.” Gabriel added.

“Yes, father.”

He often yearned for the comparably carefree days of collège and lycée. At least he had his friends around him then. He still saw Nino for lunch a few times a week (often accompanied by Alya), and he was always invited his to games night with the boys from their class, even though he and Max humiliated the rest of them at every game. At least, now that Fashion Week was finished, he’d be able to spend more time with them. He missed their daily companionship, though. And, it pained him to admit, he missed Marinette.

They weren’t friends anymore. He knew he deserved it, deserved her anger, but nearly three years without her in his life was too long. He was studying at Université Paris-Sorbonne (only acceptable to his father because it was located close to the mansion and on the understanding that he would continue to model Gabriel fashions until graduation), while she was at ESMOD towards the north of the city. Even if their paths were likely to cross, he doubted she’d want to speak to him any more. He didn’t mean to hurt her and it was unlikely he’d ever get the chance to apologise.

“Your date is here.”

Nathalie stood in the doorway of his room. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been lost in his thoughts, but at least he’d managed to get dressed in spite of his reverie. His bowtie was crooked so Nathalie straightened it for him. She brushed a speck of fluff from his shoulder and regarded him with scrutiny. Satisfied, the ghost of a smile crossed her lips.

“Very handsome.” She said, almost proudly.

★・・・・・★・・・・★・・・・・★

10th August - 2½ years ago

“You look very handsome, Adrien dear.” Sabine Cheng wore the sweetest smile as she regarded him.

It was enough to calm his nerves and reassure him that the straight legged black wool trousers and dark grey shirt with raw-edged seams were the right choice. Jeans were his uniform and he felt safe in them, but his father insisted he choose an outfit from Gabriel’s newest pret-a-porter collection.

“And just where are you taking our little girl tonight?” Tom asked.

Every time Adrien arrived, Tom tried to do the protective dad thing, but his stern tone was always betrayed by the twinkle in his kind eyes. The warm hug as he greeted the teenager was a giveaway, too. Both of Marinette’s parents were amazing; protective without being overbearing, but permissive. They trusted their daughter, and they seemed to trust Adrien too.

“We’re going to grab some food then we’re going to a jazz club in the Latin Quarter. Adrien told them.

“If the reports are correct, Andre and his ice cream cart are on Pont du Sully tonight, if you two wanted to stretch your legs after dinner,” Tom said as one eyebrow arched so high it almost disappeared into his hairline. It earned him a “Chérie, s'il te plait, don’t put pressure on them.” from Sabine.

Adrien was about to respond but, just then, Marinette came down the stairs in and he forgot how to speak.

She was wearing a black Bardot-style top tucked into a pencil skirt that stopped just below her knees. Bare legs lead to black peep toe shoes with a kitten heel. Her hair was twisted into a messy bun at the nape of her neck, emphasising her bare shoulders. She wore minimal makeup, just mascara and a sheer red lipstick, allowing her natural beauty to shine through.

“Wow” Adrien breathed. “You… er. Amazing. You look amazing.

”Demurely, she nodded to acknowledge his compliment.“You look very handsome.” She said, raising up on her tiptoes to place a soft kiss on his lips. “So, where are you taking me tonight?”

“There’s a bistro near Boulevard St. Michel I like. What do you think?” He said.

“Le Quartier Latin?” She grinned. “Vive la vie bohème.”

★・・・・・★・・・・★・・・・・★

Mireille Caquet stood in the hallway dressed in a champagne-coloured strapless brocade gown with a full pleated skirt. It was from Gabriel’s latest couture collection. Adrien’s waistcoat was made from the same fabric.

“You look nice.” He said, carefully kissing her cheeks, making sure to avoid transferring any of her expertly applied makeup onto himself.

“Likewise, Mr Agreste,” Mireille responded. “Shall we?”

La bise. That was the extent of his love life these days.

His father would select young rising stars who reflected the brand’s values to accompany Adrien to public events. They would wear Gabriel’s designs, be photographed on the arm of Paris’s most eligible bachelor and in return, they would gush to the red carpet press about how wonderful Adrien is and, ‘oh, this? It’s a Gabriel, of course’. It was mutually assured exposure.

Mireille was a popular up and coming TV personality; perfect for Gabriel’s brand. Adrien liked her and they had become good friends over the course of these ‘PR dates’. He knew she was dating Theo Barbot, the artist, so nothing would ever happen between them and he was fine with that. There was no obligation.

The performance was exquisite. La Boheme was one of his favourite operas and Adrien lost himself in the story. He laughed as Schaunard recounted his exploits with the parrot, cheered internally for Musetta and Marcelo and felt his stomach knot as the embroiderer’s illness and Rodolfo’s sacrifice became apparent. The final curtain fell and his eyes shone with tears as he stood to applaud the cast.

The house lights illuminated and Mireille slipped her arm through his as the auditorium emptied. They were ready for the real performance now - the after-party with Paris socialites and celebrities.

An hour later, Adrien was standing one of the smaller ballrooms of Le Grand Paris, a glass of Champagne in one hand. He was bored. He’d spoken to most of the notable people, introduced Mireille to a few TV execs, shmoozed an industry bigwig or two. He’d done his duty.

Mireille appeared once more at his side, reading his expression.

“I know of another after-party that’s more our speed.” She said, smiling.

»»————-————-««

The venue was a late night cafe near the Square du Temple. (They were not far, he realised, from his classmate Alix’s house, it was the venue of many legendary parties in his school days.) It was dimly lit and noisily busy inside. Mireille held his hand and pushed them through the crowds to the private room at the back of the cafe. It was less crowded in here, but no less rowdy. Mireille spotted Theo and left Adrien alone to greet her lover.

Adrien loosened his bowtie and unfastened the top two buttons of his shirt. He looked around the room and smiled. Opera singers, stagehands and musicians mingled freely. He relished every opportunity to be around Paris’s artistic community. He knew his father used to move in similar social circles (that was how he’d met Adrien’s mother) but these days he was all business. Growing up around photographers, hair stylists and makeup artists, Adrien was most at ease amongst creative types.

“Vive la vie bohème,” he said, to nobody in particular.

That was when he saw her.

She was standing by the bar with a glass of red wine in her hand. Her attention was on a flamboyantly dressed woman who was speaking passionately about something, if her over the top gesticulations were any indication. Her blue-black hair hung in loose curls down her back and bluebell eyes peeked through almost-too-long bangs. She wore sheer red lipstick, lending sophistication to her youthful complexion. Next to her, with one hand around her waist, stood a man. His blonde hair was styled high on his head and thick black eyeliner gave him an androgynous look.

A familiar strawberry blonde mop of hair appeared in his peripheral vision. Nathaniel was often at these parties and he and Adrien always took some time to catch up. They were never that close at school, Nath was too shy to make many friends, but art school had brought him out of his shell.

“She’s still the most beautiful girl in the room, huh?” Nathaniel said, following Adrien’s gaze.

“She is.” Adrien sighed, momentarily forgetting himself. “Ahem, I mean… oh, hell. You know the struggle, right?”

Nathaniel patted him on the shoulder in solidarity. “I sure do, man.”

They smiled wistfully at each other, averting their eyes to look once more at Marinette.

“You’ve got to let it go, Adrien. She’s moved on. You should too.” Nathaniel said. “We all have That One in our pasts. She’s always going to be the one that got away.”

#ml fic #ml fanfic #adrienette #marinette x adrien #adrien has angst #miraculous ladybug #my fiction #my writing #a03 fic #Three Sides to a Story

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freedom-shamrock · 7 years ago

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A Little Secret - Chapter 5

Also on AO3

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Amazing art created by @soundofez pg 1 pg 2 pg 3

When Making a Whole Cheese

"Hey, Marinette," Adrien called as his petite friend entered the classroom well before the bell. "I've got hot jasmine tea for you." They both had literature final period, and had partnered up early in the year. He'd had a mid-afternoon shoot, and managed to swing by the coffee shop before returning to school.

"Oh thank you, thank you," she murmured, wrapping her hands around the hot cardboard cup with a sigh. "Oh god this is perfect."

She'd been a lot of fun to work with, but she'd seemed so sleepy the last couple of weeks, and it worried him. He wasn't quite sure if his concern was independent of, or partially fuelled by his similar worry for Ladybug. "I've got something else to warm you up, too," he said with a grin. Last year, Alya told him that she suspected Mari had seasonal affective disorder or some form of anemia. That had been the start of their group's warm-up-Mari efforts, and he had to admit, he liked the close contact. Taking care of her in both his forms made him so happy and it gave him all sorts of ideas for how to best help Ladybug.

"What?" she asked, sliding into her seat beside him.

He shrugged off the coat he'd been wearing, but didn't need. "Here you go. Pre-warmed."

Her eyes went huge, and for a brief moment he was reminded of their early interactions, when she couldn't seem to string three words together around him. "I love you," she blurted, snatching the jacket out of his hands and shoving her arms into the sleeves. "Ooooh," she moaned, hugging the fabric to her. "Sooo warm."

He couldn't hold back the chuckle, and didn't want to anyway. "I run a little hot."

"A little?" she teased.

Shaking his head, he continued. "It's my high metabolism or something, and I'm happy to share." He reached out and zipped the front for her, allowing her keep her fingers tucked in the over-long sleeves as long as possible. "Better?"

"Much. Thank you." Her smile made his chest feel tight, not with sorrow or hurt, but so full of happiness it was stretching.

"Alya said you've entered something in my father's latest contest," he said, nudging her with an elbow. To be more accurate, he'd asked Alya about it so he could claim to have talked to her about it. Chat was fully in the know, though he'd unfortunately not been able to stop by to see the finished piece before she turned it in. The photos she'd taken were good, but he suspected they paled compared to her vision.

Marinette nodded. "Yeah." She glanced up at him and grinned. "I kinda took the suit coat theme to an extreme." She'd included elements of Victorian men's tailcoats, corset lacing, and angel sleeves for something incredibly striking, yet adjustable.

"Yeah, why did my father pick suit coats?" he asked, shaking his head. "They're a freaking plague in my closet."

"We hates them, my precious," Marinette said, pulling off a pretty passable Gollum imitation before switching back to her regular voice. "The official word is that he wants to see what we can do with something we see every day. How do we embrace the mundane?" she said dramatically.

"I personally prefer to embrace them with a torch," Adrien suggested. "Foom! Bye bye poly-blend."

"Oh my god Adrien." She reached out and rested a hand on his arm, her face concerned. "Who is dressing you in poly-blends? You can tell me." Her sleeve-covered hand patted him gently. "What they're doing is wrong, and I can help you."

He let out a strangled giggle. "You going to protect me from my father, then, are you?"

She sat up straighter, suddenly radiating a fierceness that should not have fit in the tiny sweet package known as Marinette Dupain-Cheng. "If that's what you need, then yes." The look she gave him was suddenly far too serious and pointed for the joking they'd started with.

He looked down at her hand on his arm, her fingertips just peeking out of the oversize jacket. "Thanks Mari."

Her hand gave him one little squeeze before withdrawing so she could pull out her tablet. "Anytime Adrien."

"Can you tell me about your design?" he asked. "You've got me all curious now."

"You hate suit coats," she pointed out. Her eyes went wide. "Oh no! You're going to have to model the winning design... and you hate them." She sighed. "I hope I lose."

"Why?" he demanded, surprised. "I'm going to have to model one anyway."

"I don't want you tortured by my design," she said. "Do you think I can pull out of the contest?"

Adrien shook his head. "No. And even if you could, I wouldn't want you to." She'd taken first place in five of the last seven contests, only being beaten by university students enrolled in design programs. He was hoping she could bump the odds up a bit more with this one. He liked what he'd seen of her design, practically designed with him in mind, and he really wanted the opportunity to wear it.

"But…"

"No, Mari," he said firmly. "I have to wear one anyway. It may as well be yours. After all, at least it won't be a poly-blend." He grinned and settled back in his chair. "Tell me about it?" Their teacher walked in and the bell rang.

"If you have time after school, why don't you stop over," she suggested. "I've got photos and fabric swatches."

"Princess?" Chat leaned down and tapped on Marinette's skylight. It was odd for her to not be in at this time of evening, and he couldn't help the stupid alarm bells going off in the back of his head. He was probably over-reacting. She was probably with Alya. But it couldn't hurt to check, right? The skylight lifted easily, always a sign that he was welcome, and he dropped into her darkened room. He listened for a moment before descending the stairs. He'd nearly been caught early on when he was still stupidly excited to be so welcome and Marinette or her parents had company. He picked up Tom and Sabine's voices, and the obvious sounds of food preparation.

"Evening Chat," Tom said, waving from the kitchen, where he stood over a deep silver kettle. "Did you bring Maricake back?"

Chat shook his head. "She wasn't in, and…" he caught himself before he could confess his stupid groundless fear. "There was something I wanted to talk to her about." He didn't like the frown that appeared on Tom's face. "Umm. Where is she?"

"She went to the library directly after school," Sabine said, pulling out her cell phone.

He didn't remember her saying she needed to go study, but then, he'd noticed she tended to not tell him what her plans were when he was scheduled for fencing and Mandarin, because he'd just miss out. "Which one did she go to?"

"François-Mitterrand," Sabine said, holding the phone to her ear. She waited a moment, then shook her head. "She's not picking up."

Chat felt the rush of adrenaline, as her words seemed to reinforce the strange feeling he'd gotten that something was wrong.

"She might just be unable to pick up," Tom cautioned, though his voice was tight.

"Yeah," Chat said with a nod. "But I'm not going to bank on that." He pulled out his baton. He flipped up the communicator and scrolled to Tom and Sabine's contacts, sending them each a message so they could reach him easily. "I'm going to go find her. Message me if you hear from her."

"We will," Sabine promised, her eyes on her phone. "I'm going to check in with her other friends in case any of them have seen her."

"Good plan. Text me what you learn." He didn't even wait for a response, and just darted up the steps to her room.

François-Mitterrand was far enough that she would have taken the train. He ducked in and out of the stop near her house, before taking to the rooftops to get there faster. He forced himself to check the train station near the library before heading to the main desk. As a well-known superhero, he was greeted with enthusiasm and immediate support from the library staff. Each floor and section was quickly checked by librarians and clerks who reported their findings to the head of security while Chat watched the surveillance footage for the main entrance. The clerk from the textile and fashion collection called in to report that three books had been checked out by Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng forty minutes earlier. Chat forwarded the video to times closer to that record.

"Ah!" He pointed, pausing the playback. "There she is."

The head of security tapped the corner of the monitor. "Twenty-two minutes ago." He resumed the video. "And she headed south-east."

Chat scowled at the screen. That was the wrong direction for her to catch the train. "Thank you so much for the help." He lurched to his feet and dashed from the room. When he got to the sidewalk on Avenue de France, he pulled out his communicator and tapped Sabine's contact info.

"Hello, Chat?" she answered.

"Yeah," he replied. "She left the library about twenty-five minutes ago."

"I just got a text from her," Sabine said quickly. "She said she was cold, so she went to L'Arobase Cafe on Rue du Chevaleret, and she'd be leaving any minute."

Chat closed his eyes and let out a sigh as his concern was abruptly abated. It wasn't completely gone, but he could breathe now. His focus was suddenly less narrow and frantic. "She couldn't have gone to one of the three cafes on the library campus?" he wanted to know.

Sabine chuckled. "Apparently they all have less than stellar reviews for a reason."

"I'm going to go meet her," he said. "I'm already here and…" Would he sound controlling and creepy if he mentioned he was still worried?

"I was going to ask you to," Sabine said happily. "She's been having so much trouble with the cold this year, we can't help but worry," she admitted. "And if it fits into your schedule, we'd love to have you stay for dinner."

His fingers slid over the screen to glance at his schedule. "Yeah. That would be great." He never turned down the opportunity to feel like he was part of a family.

Once he'd hung up, he took the quick route to the cafe. He was getting close when his extra sensitive ears caught the sound of a mighty pissed off Princess.

"I have already declined, and I'm not sure why you're having such a hard time understanding that I've said no," Marinette snapped. "Are you stupid?"

Chat really disliked the sound of that, but he slowed his movements to creep up on the situation from above. Marinette stood on the sidewalk a few doors down from the cafe. A young man with light brown hair and a red jacket stood directly in her path.

"I just can't help but feel like we have a connection," he said, his tone wheedling and reasonable, though his words and body language were anything but. "If you give me a chance, I'm sure you'll feel it too."

Chat couldn't quite see her glare, given the angle, but he knew it was there and he grinned. Mari wasn't someone to mess with, and could definitely handle herself in normal conditions. It would only irritate her if he interfered. He'd have no qualms jumping in if she needed it, and given her problems with the cold, it seemed sensible to be ready to intervene.

"The only thing I feel right now," Marinette said, "is a strong urge to bust your kneecaps and kick in your teeth."

"See, I knew you were feisty," the man said, as if this justified his earlier argument. He reached out to touch her chin. "You're beautiful when you play at being dominant, princess."

The growl hadn't even left Chat's throat when she reacted, and she was wicked fast. In mere seconds, the man's hand was twisted up between his shoulder blades while his face was pressed into the nearby brick wall. It was a move his Lady was partial to, and she was probably the only person he'd ever seen do it faster.

"Only one person is allowed to call me Princess," she snarled. "And you are not him."

That sounded as good as any entrance cue. "While it looks like you have this well under control," he said, slowly twirling down his staff. " Is there any chance I could lend a paw?"

She beamed up at him. "Chat Noir, what a delightful surprise. It's fabulous how you're always exactly where you're needed."

"Aww, shucks." Her praise felt genuine so of course his cheeks went hot. "Just doing my job." He embraced the opportunity to look at his communicator for police dispatch, hoping the blush would fade before she noticed. "Hello, this is Chat Noir. I'm at Rue du Chevaleret near L'Arobase Cafe, and we have a harasser for you to pick up."

"It wasn't like that," the man objected, his voice muffled a bit by the wall.

"Hmm," Chat growled. "It looked rather a lot like that, actually. I was watching for a bit, you see. I recognize that some ladies are quite prepared to handle men like you." He allowed his disgust to feed into the last three words. The nerve of the guy. How dare he touch Princess without her consent, and after she'd told him to back off? "And miss, may I congratulate you on your very fine skills? My Lady is fond of that particular defense." Did he imagine that her eyes went wide at that statement? The sudden pink tinge to her cheeks had nothing to do with the weather.

"Oh!" She turned away, seeming quite focused on checking her hand placement, which was still perfect. "Yeah. I've… uh seen Ladybug use it in videos, and I really liked it. So I've practiced it with a friend of mine."

Chat nodded. Had she tried it out on Alya or Nino, or someone else entirely? "Smart of you and your friend."

He stayed with Marinette until the police arrived, and added his witness report to the record, knowing it would hold enough weight that she wouldn't have to be bothered with this mess again. As the young man was being tucked into the back of the car, he approached the door. "A moment, please." He leaned in, leveling the man with a glare that had been quite effective on others. "I realize things didn't go as planned, and you're probably quite upset just now. But I advise against making friends with any purple butterflies, because I will not feel inclined to restrain myself if I have to fight you in akuma form. And Ladybug's miraculous cure doesn't entirely fix those injuries."

Marinette was looking at him oddly when he rejoined her at the sidewalk. "Chat," she said quietly. "Did you threaten that man?"

He shot her low-level kitten eyes, the ones he used to imply innocence that didn't exist. "Why Princess, I would never." He shook his head. "I just recommended against getting akumatized over this incident."

Her lips twitched as she tried not to smile. "Oh. That would be inconvenient."

He nodded. "I've been invited to dinner, and I'd hate to miss it." He held out a hand. "Might I escort you home? Your parents were worried about you."

" Just my parents?" she asked as she slipped her much smaller hand into his.

He shrugged. "My Princess can take care of herself," he noted. "But I don't like it when you have to." He pulled her close to his side, the way he preferred to carry passengers for optimal mobility and safety. "Um… I'm pretty sure you would’ve told me by now, but watching you deal with that jerk just makes me want to be clear on something."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Is it okay that I call you Princess?" He'd hate to give up the nickname, it had come to mean so much more than the word itself. But if it made her uncomfortable, he wouldn't hesitate to stop. Well, try to stop. It would probably take a few weeks to retrain himself if necessary.

"You heard what I said, right?" she asked, leaning forward to look into his face. "I was talking about you. Only you get to call me that."

He spontaneously hugged her, something he didn't usually do. "Thank you Princess." Why did this make him so ridiculously happy? "Let's get you home. Mama Cheng has dinner ready.

Chapter title - "Making a whole cheese" is a French idiom equivalent to "tempest in a teacup."

Chapter artwork by @soundofez, posted with permission, can be found here.

Huge thanks to my betas: Karnival and @chatbug-jk

#Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Big Bang #fanfic #my writing #soundofez #art #A Little Secret

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