#Rena of the single colour!

[fruiteggsaladit]

I found nothing on Rena from yyh on tumblr here so I'm making one here (edit: I tangented! edit 2: I edited so it reads a little bit better)

ID: Two sections cut up from a manga side panel from YYH, vol 4, ch 27, pg 41. Right image is a portrait of Lena, smiling: "You're gonna buy it next month! (heart)". Left image reads: "Single-panel characters: Lena, the Angel of Death Friend of Botan. Nothing thrills her more than to spot a hot guy and tell him he's going to die." / END ID.

Lena or Rena (レナ), screenshot here from chapter 27 page 41 volume 4, wearing a headband with the character 死 (death). She appears in only this panel in the manga (I believe?) but she reappears in “Yu Yu Hakusho 100% Maji Battle" Botan Event (EDIT: a translated post about it here) where Botan speaks with her, impressed with Rena for having collected 20 souls that month alone.

"This is a job but I can't help but feel the transcience of human existence," Botan says. Building on her one-panel appearance, Rena responds, "Really? I'm the happiest when I announce a boy my type that he's going to die!" (paraphrased from translated quote).

ID: Botan and Rena in a 100% Maji Battle Event screenshot, similar to a visual novel. Rena (in Japanese): "When I announce to a boy who is my type that he is going to die, I am the happiiiiiest!" (translation: yyh4ever) /END ID.

Love her! Oh and her game appearance is given an orange scarf, I like that renewed design. Really intrigued that she appears to be the only ferry girl who doesn't wear a kimono or hakama; additionally her appearance in the game has an interesting blend of dark and bright colours, reminiscent of Ayame (her only colour-tie to Botan seems to be the eyes, both shades of purple - ferry girl trait? could be neat!) -

Which makes me think she's senior enough to just disregard regulatory uniforms, which is all the more intriguing to me! I also just like Botan having seniors, because she strikes me as young compared to what her job as a ferry girl (psychopomp) is and for how long it may have existed for (more on that on the bottom tangent of this post).

Headcanon section

Even more notable to me tho is that the scarf reminds me of someone...

ID: Images to compare characters Rena and Koenma from YYH. Rena wears an orange scarf, Koenma wears a red scarf. /END ID.

Koenma! Which was the big reason why she gives me Senior Executive Staff (a company president or a COO maybe); that the scarf isn't a personal preference, but a uniform cue for the rank she has within the Spirit Office. That being said...

She strikes me as someone who hides from the newbies how old she really is, because similarly to telling an attractive guy he's going to die, she gets a kick out of a new shinigami learning the truth about her after many months or years of knowing her, and having assumed that she might be their senior (senpai) but could also have entered the Office at the same time as them... although, they don't remember seeing her at orientation... and she doesn't really get bossed around like they do... (the rest of the Spirit Office are too scared to tell the newbies the truth, Rena Will Remember That and no one wants to be remembered by her).

She looks like she could be a mid-to-late 20s-something, but she could also actually be the oldest ferrygirl around. Not by natural age, but because she killed the eldest ones among them because she was younger and wilder back then and got a thrill from killing someone as strong as or normally stronger than herself.

Food for thought: What exactly is a ferrygirl, and do they exist separate from the Spirit Office, or can anyone become a ferrygirl? If they exist separately, when and how were they absorbed into the SO? What were they like and what did they do prior to SO employment?*

I just like her being the most dangerous person at the spirit office and she's turned out a little bit boring in her old age (ferrygirls being a relatively new job potentially, it could be unknown how old one of them could get?). She did some murders, she did some assaults, now she wants to gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss with a silk glove.

Also just really funny to think about Botan specifically never picking up on any of the little red flags Rena is waving. I might thinking of Rena like a shade of Akio from Utena? In the sense that she'd made a place for herself and others and she's displeased when the fun is interrupted. That seems like the right amount of crazy for a character who never appears canonically in the manga but exists all the same thanks to one side manga panel and one game event (two appearances in total across the manga, anime, games, and adaptive canons...).

Last Rena headcanon: Botan gets a lot of her mannerisms and work ethic from Rena, including that hand-pointing gesture.

* I think I remember a post where Togashi was asked about the Spirit World and how it related to Earth... Cannot find that post (I recall that it was yyh4ever who translated it?). I think I remember it saying how Spirit World was like a parallel reality/world of Earth's, prompting the interviewer(?) to ask if there were things beyond the Office in the Spirit World realm, similar to Earth (schools being one example), and Togashi said yes? It's very annoying I can't remember the exact phrasing or find the post!

Tangent on shinigami or ferry girls:

Several "fun facts abt YYH" articles link Botan to Charon, the greek ferryman carrying souls of the dead to Hades, and I thought I had read an interview with Togashi about his inspirations regarding Botan being related to that, but this must be a false memory. The myth from those articles probably builds on the localised translating of Sanzu River into Styx, and mine derives from believing the yyh wiki a little too much.

(Granted, she does carry an oar like Charon does, but until I find a proper quote, I'm disgarding this as nonsense.)

A comment on a FB post points to Wikipedia's page on the Sanzu River, the last paragraph of which (as of Sep 14 2023) refers to Jizou, or Kṣitigarbha. The Kṣitigarbha Boddhisattva Sutra mentions a Sacred Girl/Daughter (Brahmin), who through -

"“earnest and filial devotion of making offerings to the Buddha of Flower of Meditation and Enlightenment that [her] mother was relieved. Not only did [her] mother receive deliverance from Hell, but all sinners of the Avici 18 Hell also benefited from it, for they ascended to Heaven on the same day.” (...) She then knelt before the Buddha of Flower of Meditation and Enlightenment and expressed this strong vow, “I shall exercise my best to relieve people of their sufferings forever in my future lives of kalpas to come.”" (translated from Chinese to English by Ms Pitt Chin Hui, president of the Singapore regional centre of the world fellowship in Buddhism and a founder of Poh Ern Shih Temple in Singapore). Establishment that the translator belongs with reads a little sus to me, but I appreciate an English translation of the passage.

In her introduction, she describes herself as a shinigami. "I am what you call a grim reaper," (Eng sub; Japanese dub uses "shinigami"), which becomes a little more interesting. Shinigami in traditional Japanese myth apparently did not have as noble roots as the Sacred Girl did: classical literature from as late as 1841, "Ehon Hyaku Monogatari", includes a story of a malicious ghost. They do not guide as much as invite a human to death!

Loose extrapolation: It's a convenient way to explain suicide, maybe? I recall smarter people than me reporting that suicides are usually very spontaneous, and that one has a sense of immediate regret (when one is able to survive an attempt). Having the explanation that a ghost made me do itcould lessen the burden for my own and loved ones' state(s) of mind, because one investigates one's surroundings then from the perspective of "what can I do to avoid this ghost (sucidical thought) from overwhelming me again?" People become more alert to my moods, and check in on me, and the effort is probably reassuring. Also, there's the factor of being able to blame my lack of control on something other than myself: the social stigma being somewhat alleviated from it being the work of a ghost, rather than me being "weak-willed" or "-minded".

Remembering something now: I looked this up before and my eye caught at Wikipedia's entry on shinigami, "the Western notion of a god of death entered Japan, and shinigami started to become mentioned as an existence with a human nature". No particularly good source to find on the web for that one at the moment!

There was one more mention of a "death god" being confused with "god of paper" in one late 1700s play of a tragic romance, which would land the YYH ferrygirls, following this logic, to perhaps having existed for some 200-220 years. Not a very long time for a species, even fictional, or a job related to the Spirit Office, which has supposedly existed for thousands of years.

Concluding headcanon: Similarly to Spirit Detectives, Koenma developed the occupation of ferry girls to involve humans more with the Spirit Realm. (However noble Koenma thinks his intent was with this...)

[miracle-sham]

Simple Architecture (Shot Volition).

| {MGI Civil War 3 Event} |

| {Secrets} |

| [Ao3 Link] | | [Masterlist Link] | | [Spotify Link] |

———

| Ladybug was on a mission, she knew her orders, she knew the rules. So why did she keep hesitating, why didn't it feel right? |

| It was only a matter of time before she failed. |

| Word Count: 4164. |

| Warnings/Tags: Villain and Hero!Marinette, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Implied/Referenced Kidnappings, Dehumanisation, Canon-typical Violence, Narcotics (Sleep Dart), Threats of Gun Violence, Mission Gone Wrong/Rescue, Protests, Interrogation, Panic Attacks, Guilt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending. |

———

| A/N: Here's the first fic I've finished for the event! Whilst not one of my more graphically angsty fics, please still do double check the tags before reading! Anyway I hope you enjoy reading! |

| Also side note, Don’t Like? Don’t Read. |

———

 The Collége Françoise Dupont school's rooftop was near deathly quiet, despite the two dozen secret strike force operatives setting up on it and the muffled chants of the still steadily accumulating crowd in the street below—spilling over onto the pavement and steps in front of the building's doors. Signs and banners waving in the wind, illuminated by the golden and white glow of street lamps and phone torches. The protestors had been there since half past eight that morning, and it was now just turning eleven pm. There was apparently some symbolism behind the start time and location from what rumours had been circulating back at base, but the handlers and police assigned to work with them had kept tight-lipped about what that symbolism was exactly due to it not being "relevant" to the mission at hand.

 Chat Noir brushed his knuckles against Ladybug's arm as he passed her. The only comfort they could safely offer each other at the moment. Any more and they'd both be facing punishment once they returned.

 “H-14dy8u9, and H-Ch47 N012. Stop idling and take point.” The riot police Capitaine sneered at them both, signalling sharply with the flick of his gun to the edge of the roof.

 That was their cue; they had been caught being too human.

 H-Ch47 N012 immediately turned without a word—without hesitation, expression blank behind his white faux-Akuma mask—and stalked to the southeastern side of the front (crowd-facing) roof, where he was stationed to stand guard.

 H-14dy8u9 nodded to the Capitaine, and complied with the order he had issued, stepping over to the front-facing wall near the southwestern edge that she had been assigned to alone.

 H-V01p1n4, in her own inverted coloured suit, swiftly flanked H-Ch47 N012 as she had been assigned to him, whilst Carapace—H-C424p4c3, and Rena Rouge—H-23n4 20u93 had already moved into their respective positions situated on the two back corners of the roof (Carapace on the northwest, Rena Rouge on the northeast), both also in faux-Akuma versions of their usual outfits.

 The rest of the operatives on the roof were all riot police under the command of the Capitaine, who were split equally along the strip of roof between herself and H-C424p4c3, H-C424p4c3 and H-23n4 20u93, and H-23n4 20u93 and H-Ch47 N012, Creating a sort of upside down U shape of coverage where the arch faced the back, and the tails faced the crowd.

 Not a single protestor had bothered to look up at the roof—a glaring mistake on their part, seeing as it would now be their undoing—but even if any of them were to be or had been noticed, with the assigned heroes' suit colours all inverted in the style of their fake Akuma counterparts, any civilians would simply be mistaken for said Akumas and that the nearby riot police were under their control.

 Thus giving the police a convenient statement to scapegoat their participation in this planned assassination upon, without losing any reputation with the public; which allegedly had already started crumbling with the ever-increasing rate of disappearances and kidnappings since Hawkmoth's first Akuma appeared (or so the rumours and conspiracies they weren't supposed to know, claimed).

 Squatting in front of the roof lip, H-14dy8u9 eyed the crowd below; then as silently as a wraith, placed down the hefty dark grey briefcase beside her. With a flick of the clasps and two dull metallic clicks, she flipped it open and quickly scanned the inside for any imperfections.

 None, luckily.

 Assembling the black and red spotted rocket launcher within was easy. She'd done this a thousand times before back at base, timed until perfection. Prying each piece out from the foam in the briefcase, slotting and twisting and inserting each piece until a fully functional rocket launcher was produced.

 Slowly she readied the launcher against herself, the weight heavy on her shoulders, steadying her grip as she began to stare down the scope. Her targets—Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng, the Bruel family, and Nadja Chamack and her news crew—were conveniently all clustered together at the forefront of the crowd, standing on the steps; the two families each with a megaphone in one hand and a sign in the other, as Nadja and her crew live reported the protest.

 Her finger rested on the trigger as she adjusted her aim by a fraction.

 It wasn't raining, but H-14dy8u9 wished it was. The rain would've made this job harder. Would've made it easier to bear though. Could've cried without reprimand. Though why she felt like crying, she wasn't quite sure. It was not as if she had any connection to the civilians in the crowd. Perhaps she would be required to be returned to the retraining centre once again to fix her broken emotional reaction; so as to not risk a false reaction interfering with any assigned missions. She hummed, mulling it over, most likely she would, seeing as she had been caught earlier. Wrinkling her nose at the thought, H-14dy8u9 adjusted her aim once more to hide her reaction in case the Capitaine was watching.

 Before her thoughts could wander any further again, her earpiece crackled the second a fancy black limousine rolled up to the edge of the protest.

 “Bruce Wayne spotted.” The Capitaine announced across the mission channel on the earpiece, as a broad-shouldered man in an even fancier suit exited the vehicle with the aid of an elderly chaperone. “Keep an eye out for any Bat-themed vigilantes, or the Justice League in general. We cannot risk them falsely connecting the missing Wayne son to our secret operations and interfering with the mission. Understood.”

 A chorus of “Understood, sir” followed from each member of the strike force on the roof, H-14dy8u9 included.

 Breathing in and then out slowly, she closed her eyes for a moment. The strike force would only get one shot to complete the assassination before chaos would erupt below, so she couldn't afford to mess this up, not when she was the shot they were all waiting upon.

 Blinking her eyes open again, she readjusted her aim one final time. H-14dy8u9 began to press down on the trigger when her earpiece crackled once more.

 An unfamiliar American voice cut across the line. “You don't have to do this, please. Put the gun down and step away from the edge.”

 H-14dy8u9 pulled her finger off the trigger, hand drifting up to tap the buttons on her earpiece but hesitated at the last second. She shouldn't respond. She should report that the channel was hacked—compromised to the Capitaine. She should—

 Her gaze flicked across the Seine, catching on where an almost unnoticeable figure stood perched on the closest-facing roof of the Notre Dame. Dressed in red and black, too far away to make out any further details bar the flutter of a cape silhouetting the figure. But, with a jolt of nervousness tingling down her spine, she didn't need any further details to now recognise him as one of the Bats they had been warned about.

 Chewing on her lip, H-14dy8u9 quickly scanned the surrounding view for any further heroes. She needed to report this now.

 Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the Capitaine, flushed a furious red and positively snarling, making sharp and angry gestures at her.

 Her hand slinked tentatively back down to the trigger.

 “Please,” The red and black Bat asked gently with an edge of desperation, far nicer than anyone had ever asked her before. “I know you've been forced to do this—”

 —Had she? H-14dy8u9 didn't know the answer to that. Almost didn't want to know the answer to it. Would it even change anything if she did, though? How did he even know?—

 “—But we can help you, and help any others like you who have also been forced into doing things they don't want to. So please, just put the rocket launcher down, and step away from it and the edge.”

 She pursed her lips, finger fluttering against the trigger. A glance to her side, the Capitaine was approaching—quickly—and behind him, H-Ch47 N012 was giving her a very visibly concerned look by his furrowed brows and deep pout edging into a grimace.

 It was too late.

 She'd be in trouble no matter what she did. Nor what choice she takes.

 Dropping the rocket launcher like a rock. She flipped backwards—away from the edge, away from the gun. A moment of weightlessness as she soared, watching her legs and body arc through the midnight sky, before planting one hand down on the roof to steady herself and follow up with a second flip.

 The second her feet hit the ground after the follow-up, she immediately turned heel into a dead sprint across the roof. Not even daring to look back at where the Bat had been.

 She couldn't risk it.

 Out of the corner of her eye, H-V01p1n4 dashed towards the abandoned rocket launcher; whereas H-Ch47 N012 was racing after her, as was the Capitaine, finger on his earpiece hurriedly whisper-shouting orders most likely.

 Her own earpiece was strangely silent.

 The Bat must've disconnected her from the main channel to speak with her…

 H-14dy8u9 wasn't quite sure what to think of that but she didn't have time to dwell as the riot police began to rush towards her, all attempts at stealth abandoned.

 They pulled out their guns. She grabbed her yo-yo. They shot at her. She swung her yo-yo. Deflected the bullets, with the barrier formed by the magical yo-yo. Faint screams erupted from the protesting crowd.

 H-14dy8u9 leapt, using the nearest riot officer as a springboard to flip into the air once more. Her mind was blank as she focused on the fight, the danger around her. More riot officers ahead, with H-C424p4c3 at the rear, shield held ready to face her.

 If she got close, he could trap her with Shell-ter. She needed another way off the roof.

 Louder, calm-sounding shouts rose above the screams from the crowd—other heroes protecting and diverting protesters perhaps? The earpiece crackled yet again, drowning the shouts out as the Bat spoke. “Use the yo-yo to grapple onto the wall you're running from to swing yourself around. There's a staircase to the métro, we can help you lose them down there.”

 She knew that. She knew the métro was near but did the Bat not realise there were police stationed on the platform because of the protests? She would be running into a trap.

 But staying on this roof would also be running into a trap.

 H-14dy8u9 needed to make a decision…

 She took the Bat's instructions.

 Skidding to a halt, she turned around and lobbed the yo-yo towards the outcropping wall, narrowly missing both the Capitaine and H-Ch47 N012.

 She tugged on the string as soon as the yo-yo was grappled onto it and dove from the roof, swinging her legs to increase momentum.

 Almost in slow motion, she watched as H-Ch47 N012 summoned Cataclysm in his hand and reached out towards the yo-yo string rapidly descending away from him.

 The drop wouldn't kill her, not in this suit. But it would hurt. It would stun her long enough for them to safely scale the side to the ground and capture her.

 She could only watch, with a slowly spreading coldness in her chest that felt like a dropped stone, as his fingertips brushed but a hair's breadth away from the yo-yo's string. The crumbling shadowy rot just millimetres from preventing her the chance for freedom.

 H-14dy8u9's heart ached, as she swung past, and she wasn't quite sure why.

 Tucking into a roll as she hit the pavement, smoothly keeping the momentum as she sprung up into another dead sprint towards the métro stairs.

 They didn't follow. Or, perhaps more accurately, H-Ch47 N012 didn't try to use his baton to slide down the side of the school after her. He could've, he would've caught up if he had, he always was the faster runner between the two of them. But he didn't.

 The Bat had definitely unintentionally led her into a trap then. She was regretting listening to him already.

 Still, she had come this far.

 Bounding down the steps, two to three at a time, just enough to keep her speed but not too many steps as to risk tripping.

 Until she reached the final step, a faint whistle of air whipped passed her, followed by a sudden sharp pinch to her neck. Flinching, and catching her foot on the last edge, she careened forwards with all the grace she usually lacked outside the mask, arms whirling in a desperate attempt to stabilise herself, hair slipping from their distinctive ponytails and veiling her sight, and neck. She had spoken far too soon.

 Just as she was about to smack face-first into the floor, a hand grabbed one of her flailing hands in a vice-like grasp and pulled her up and close to another body—presumably, the one attached to the hand but there had been documented foreign heroes, and Akumas within Paris, with the ability to detach limbs. So it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that her saviour could have detachable hands 

 On instinct, she flung a wild punch towards where the arm came from. Unfortunately, whoever had her, had good close-quarter reflexes. They harmlessly caught her fist in their palm.

 “You okay?” Asked an American-accented voice.

 It was the Bat.

 Mortifying.

 H-14dy8u9 huffed, rather unsuccessfully blowing her hair out of the way and so settled for peering up at him through the strands of her hair.

 “Yeah, that's fair. Dumb question.” The Bat responded, seemingly unfazed by the situation. “You're Ladybug right?”

 She hesitated. Yes, she was Ladybug but also no, her official designation was: Hero-14dy8u9, even though she was dressed as an Akuma version at the moment but she was still designated as a hero and the mission was classified as a hero mission. The protests had been causing civil unrest and numerous disruptions, especially to the Mayor. She made no move to answer.

 The Bat pursed his lips at her as the silence became drawn out. “Okay, I'm Red Robin, do you have a name you'd like me to call you?”

 H-14dy8u9 stared at him blankly. She didn't have a name, only a designation. Ladybug wasn't a name, it was a mantle, a title, a mask.

 “Can you stand?” He asked, glancing towards her fist still caught harmlessly in his hand.

 She nodded and pulled her hand from his loose grip. Staggering to her feet, H-14dy8u9 stumbled for a moment as static filled her head and vision.

 “Woah, careful.” Red Robin exclaimed, gently grabbing her shoulder to keep her steady.

 Oh, she mused, that's why they didn't come after me. Black spots danced across her sight, slowly blotting out everything.

 “Help.” She rasped, knees buckling and head spinning.

 “Shit! I gotcha, I gotcha don't worry.” Without letting go, he darted in front of her to catch her before she could fall again.

 Her mind slipped into the darkness just before he caught her.

———

 H-14dy8u9 woke up in a small minimalistic white cell with a medical cot tucked into one corner, a private walled-off toilet and sink for an adjoining bathroom, and a glowing barrier facing a blank sterile white corridor.

 She had been captured… Her suit and Miraculous were untouched however, for whatever reasons, whoever had taken her—most likely Red Robin and the other heroes that had interfered with the mission—had left her armed.

 It didn't take long for a hero, as guessed, to approach her cell.

 Wonder Woman smiled warmly at her. “Hello, Ladybug.”

 H-14dy8u9 did not smile or respond in return.

 It didn't seem to deter the hero though, as Wonder Woman deactivated the barrier with a gentle tap, though she did not approach any further. “I know you must have many questions but we will answer them shortly if you will just follow me.”

 What little choice did she have? H-14dy8u9 nodded, standing up from the cot slowly and making her way across the cell. She nearly hesitated as she crossed the threshold where the barrier had been.

 They walked down the hallway in relatively peaceful silence. Through a set of double doors at the end of the hallway, Wonder Woman guided her to the first door on the right side of the new hallway. It was a featureless dark grey door with neither a knob nor handle, though a scanner was situated on the wall beside it. Wonder Woman pressed her hand to the scanner for a moment and a second later the door slid open with an automatic hiss.

 She gestured into the open doorway, so H-14dy8u9 took the hint and scurried inside.

 So this was their destination?

 The room was small and plain. White painted walls, a dark grey window sill framing a (presumably) one-way mirror on the wall to the right of the door.

In the centre of the room, was a rectangular dark grey plastic table and three uncomfortable light grey plastic chairs. Red Robin was sat on one of the two chairs closest to the door but facing the opposite wall.

 The rest of the room was empty of anything else of interest or colour.

 Simple architecture, just like their training and education rooms had been back at base.

 Speaking of back at base, strangely enough, not once had Wonder Woman attempted to disorientate or confuse her on the way here, and sure the walk hadn't been far but back at base, the route and distance travelled to reach the same training room each day would vary to ensure in the event of enemy capture, they would be disadvantaged by tactics such as that.

 Wonder Woman followed her inside, and the door slid closed behind her. She made her way to the empty chair beside Red Robin and gestured towards the last empty chair. The one on the other side of the table to them both. “Please, take a seat, this may take a while.”

 Nodding again, H-14dy8u9 obeyed, walking over to the gestured seat and sitting down to face them.

 Red Robin cleared his throat, leaning his elbows on the table and clasping his hands together. “We'll begin with some simple questions, if that's alright with you?”

 H-14dy8u9 nodded yet again, still remaining silent. However, she did not let her confusion show at the lack of interrogation tactics—both were being polite and respectful towards her, when one should have been rude or stern instead.

 “Please state your name.” He asked.

 She hesitated. They had already referred to her as Ladybug but she was not dressed in the usual colours of the suit, for the mission. But they had always been strictly prohibited from sharing their designation outside of the base. She closed her eyes as she took a slow breath in. “Ladybug.”

 Red Robin nodded. “And do you have a secret or civilian identity, yes or no?”

 Ladybug swallowed thickly. These were not simple questions. “No.”

 “Do you know the names of your parents and or guardians?” He followed up.

 She bit her tongue gently to hold back her answer. Refusing to speak.

 Frustratingly, both the two heroes facing her kept perfectly blank faces. As such, she had nothing to go by as to work out whether she was answering correctly or not.

 Without missing a beat, Red Robin continued, “Ladybug, why are you wearing your suit with inverse colouration when you aren't Akumatised?”

 Biting her lip, she glanced down at the table to avoid their eyes. She didn't know what to say. Yes, they were fellow heroes but she was under explicit orders to not reveal any information not immediately pertinent to the completion of a mission and she had… She bit her lip harder. She had already failed the mission, she'd be punished no matter what once she went back.

 Wonder Woman shifted her shoulders back. “Why don't we move on to the next question. What's your favourite drink?”

 Ladybug paused, blinking rapidly as she processed the question. “Uh… Orange juice, why?”

 Humming, Wonder Woman glanced back towards the door briefly, “would you like some now?”

 “N-No thank you.” Ladybug shook her head.

 “If you change your mind, just say so.” Red Robin piped up. “We don't want you to feel uncomfortable.”

 Ladybug nodded bewilderedly.

 “We're going to move onto some harder questions if that's alright.” He continued.

 She bit back a retort, if the earlier questions were easy then how bad would the following be?

 “As one of the most active local Parisian heroes, are you aware of the string of disappearances and missing people reports that have risen sharply in the past few years?” Red Robin asked, resting his clasped hands against the table as he watched her.

 The weight of the stare was almost tangible.

 Ladybug grimaced. “I have heard rumours of the increased disappearances, and I've noticed the number of kidnappings I've stopped increasing over time, yes.” Taking a moment to breathe and steady herself. “I was not aware these were connected, however.”

 Red Robin made a noise of contemplation. “That's not surprising, whoever is behind the disappearances is very smart and dangerous.”

 The two other heroes exchanged quick looks.

 Wonder Woman sighed, “We have reason to believe you were amongst the first of the missing people.”

 Ladybug flinched backwards, nearly toppling out of the chair in shock. Furrowing her brows she glanced up at them in confusion.“What!? Why?!”

 “Of the connected disappearances, the first three to go missing were children all from the same class in Collége Françoise Dupont.” Wonder Woman began.

 Ladybug's heart dropped, blood turning to ice in her veins. No.

 Wonder Woman pursed her lips. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng was the first to go missing, her parents saw her leave their house at twenty-eight past eight am.—”

—That explained the protest’s location and start time.—

 “—She was last seen by witnesses, crossing the road to the school after helping an old man stand up after he had fallen in the middle of the road and nearly got run over.” Crossing her arms, Wonder Woman watched Ladybug as well. “If you know anything—”

 “—No!” Ladybug retorted far too quickly. She licked her lips and swallowed thickly. “No. I don't.”

 The two heroes exchanged another look.

 Red Robin tilted his head to one side. “Adrien Agreste also went missing just outside of the school on the steps, only a few minutes after class had already begun. It was supposed to be his first day at school after being homeschooled.”

 If she was… then… Chat must've been…

 She felt sick.

 He continued as if he wasn't aware of her reactions already. “Ivan Bruel was the last of the three to go missing. Midway through the first lesson, he was sent to the Principal's office. The school's security cameras showed that he left the classroom but were disabled immediately afterwards, and re-enabled a few minutes later, leaving no trace as to who or why Ivan was taken.”

 Stoneheart, it had to be. Stoneheart was the designated villain who had been at the base for as long as she and Chat Noir could remember. They had been the first three at the base. Which lined up with the protest and the first three disappearances.

 Wonder Woman frowned. “I know this is shocking and scary. But if you can tell us anything, absolutely anything at all that could be used to help either rescue and reunite any of the missing people with their family, or stop the person behind it all, then please don't hesitate to inform us, it would save countless lives.”

 Ladybug had stopped listening before Wonder Woman spoke. She slowly rested the backs of her hands against the table. A sob tore its way from her throat as she stared down at them, stained in unseen blood.

 The Dupain-Chengs had been one of her targets.

 She had nearly killed her own parents.

 And she didn't even remember them, not even as she held the trigger.

 Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she gasped for breath, squeezing her eyes shut and curling up into a ball as best she could upon the uncomfortable chair.

 Distantly, she heard noises in the background but it took a while until she registered that Wonder Woman was trying to walk her through breathing exercises in a hushed and gentle tone.

 It nearly set her off again.

 Keeping her eyes shut, she took a wobbly breath, heart beating wildly in her chest. “The others will fight if you try to save them.”

 Red Robin huffed lightly. “That's fine, wouldn't be the first time that's happened.”

 “You'll save them all, if I tell you everything I know, right?” She whispered, throat tightening.

 “Of course, Ladybug. You have our word.” Wonder Woman responded, offering a hand out to Ladybug.

 Her breathing hitched as she slowly opened her eyes, glancing to the outreached hand. Shaking like a leaf, she too reached out, and gently grasped Wonder Woman's hand. “Okay, h-here is everything, all the secrets, that I know.”

———

| Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this oneshot fic! Comments, Likes, and Reblogs are much appreciated! |

| And if you liked this, don’t forget to check out my teammate’s works as well! |

| @maribat-get-in |

[downtowns-universe]

OC-tober day 25

Glimpse

*

You are not the ones I’ve met before.

Zian opened his eyes as he heard the voice – something he perhaps shouldn’t have done. A bright light greeted him, reminding him of the fact that his head hurt – why did it hurt again? He couldn’t remember. The rest of his body hurt too, but at the same time it felt distant and numb, like he was floating.

When he closed his eyes again, he saw strange, elongated shapes twisting and turning, melding into each other to later separate again.

But you feel like them, the strange voice continued.

Zian realised whoever was here with him wasn’t speaking words; instead, he felt sensations being pushed into his mind, much like the way dragons communicated. But this was unlike any dragon language he’d ever encountered. Still, he understood the intention behind them just fine.

“Who are you?” he asked, opening his eyes again and squinting against the light.

His voice sounded raspy, and seemed to echo in the space, which felt big and small at the same time. The only other sound here was a steady ticking noise, which overlapped perfectly with the one in his head. Now that he’d noticed it, it grew increasingly louder until it filled the entirety of his mind.

“Please, make it stop!” he gasped, feeling like his head was going to explode.

A descendant, perhaps?

Wherever this voice came from, it did not seem to have heard him and continued musing to itself.

He tried to move his body but couldn’t seem to remember how to do so. Everything here felt blurry, like his senses got all scrambled. The strange shapes seemed to curl around him, but at the same time looked like they were miles away. He couldn’t move and he couldn’t tell up from down. It was almost as if distance didn’t matter here, like the space he was in wasn’t anything he could comprehend. Or perhaps it wasn’t a real, tangible place at all. He had never encountered anything like this before – but why then did it feel so familiar?

Zian took a deep breath – ignoring the way his body screamed at him that something was wrong – and attempted to reach out to whatever was out there as if it were a dragon. He wasn’t sure what kind of feelings he was projecting – confusion, most likely; he just needed them to hear him. He reached out blindly, trying to do what Rena had taught him, but this was not a dragon’s mind-space. There was nothing to project onto, just the ongoing ticking noise, every beat feeling like the inside of his skull was being hit with a hammer.

Then he realised he did not know what time it was, or how long he’d been here. These were things his abilities had always supplied him with. No matter if he was drunk or had recently been unconscious – he always knew the time.

But not in here.

Thinking there must be a connection there, he called his powers to him. Although he couldn’t quite remember what had happened before he’d ended up here, he knew he’d pushed himself to the limit, using up all that he had at his disposal. While the state of his body told him that he couldn’t have recovered much, he didn’t know what else to try anymore.

He conjured up the last wisps of energy and sent out a weak little thread into the void around him. It wasn’t long until he felt it latch onto something.

Colours exploded in every direction. An energy rushed through him with such a force that Zian was sure it would rip him apart. It felt as if every single one of his nerves was on fire, and yet he still couldn’t manage to move a muscle. All he could do was let it happen.

Oh good, I was starting to think you’d died, the voice sounded when the energy started to die down.

Who are you? What is this place?

Zian realised he didn’t need to put conscious effort into communicating now: it just happened.

An answer came, but his mind failed to grasp its meaning as he was hit with another splitting headache. “Time”, was all he could make of it.

A presence surrounded him; white-hot but still comforting. Zian felt connected to it: the energy flowing through him also passed through it – seemed to originate from it, even.

You should not be here, the voice continued. Zian could tell it was picking its words carefully now, to not cause him any further pain. This place is not good for your kind – even one with my blessing.

Your blessing? My abilities come from you? From this place?

The presence replied affirmative.

I was once pulled into your world. Three of your kind aided me. I have shared with them my blessing, so that I could return home. It seems like my blessing has passed down to their descendants.

This story sounded familiar to him. Well, not the part about the otherworldly being, but he knew there were three influential Natural families who possessed the talent for time manipulation. He’d been trying to find a trace of the others, but so far, he hadn’t succeeded yet.

Zian felt the energy swirl around him, as if the entity examined him with long fingers. It rushed through every fibre of his being, flooding him with power. His nerves were screaming, telling him it was too much, but at the same time it felt so, so good.

Interesting…

Something about the way the words were spoken unnerved him.

What is it?

The entity was quiet for a moment, seemingly looking for the right words.

No one like you has been here before. The others who received my blessing stayed on their side as I passed through. I had to split the blessing across the three of them as to not drive them insane with it. And here you are, on this side, where the energy is many times stronger – and somehow, you’re still alive.

I’m a special case, I guess.

Zian tried to grin, but his body still wasn’t cooperating. Apart from the energy rushing through it, it was like it wasn’t even there. Should he be worried?

Not special enough to stop this place from eventually driving you mad and ripping you apart, I’m afraid.

That doesn't sound good, Zian had to admit.

I don’t know how you’ve managed to make your way here, but I can put you back. However, the connection with your body is weakening, so I don’t have much time.

Zian chuckled. Ironic.

He gasped as the entity tightened its grip on him.

Believe me, I’m pulling enough strings as it is to allow you to exist here. On top of that, your body is in a poor condition from whatever you did before you got here. Forces on the other side are fighting to save it, much like I am. If we wait any longer, returning may not be possible.

Alright, alright, send me back!

I need a moment to prepare. Sit still.

Couldn’t move if I tried, Zian pointed out.

He fixed his eyes on his surroundings once more as he felt the entity pulling threads of energy and weaving them together. The shapes in the distance twisted and folded in their strange patterns, moving to the beat of the ticking noise – and, for a split second, Zian felt like he could understand them.

Then something blocked his line of sight. A glowing entity, almost human-shaped, appeared in front of him. It seemed surprised to see him look back at it.

Your mind is starting to make sense of this place, it spoke. That’s bad. We need to hurry.

Will we meet again? Zian asked.

I’m not sure. But I will always be here.

It touched a long finger to his chest, which, Zian noticed now, was completely covered in intricate patterns of glowing lines.

The entity brought its face closer to Zian’s and looked him in the eyes.

This is going to hurt.

Zian wanted to comment that he’d had his fair share of pain, and it couldn’t possibly be that bad, but he didn’t get the chance to. Perhaps it was a good thing, because he would have been gravely mistaken. Nothing he’d ever felt in his entire life compared to this. The energy built up inside of him until he felt like it was going to tear him apart, and then it kept going. Something tore into him, something in between fire and acid, burning away inside his chest, moving to his limbs, his head… until everything turned black.

He'd been drifting for what could have been seconds or years, likely something in between. Sometimes he’d see the twisting shapes dancing before his eyes, sometimes there was only a stark white, accompanied by the smell of disinfectant.

Today was different, though. He could see dirt and rocks, the red and black of uniforms, accompanied by the sounds of hundreds of marching feet. Then, a feeling hit him; a feeling of unease, of something not being right. A familiar feeling.

Right as he wondered when and where he’d felt like this before, the sky split open. A thundercrack, followed by a wave of reddish-purple energy washing down the mountainside. Zian didn’t hesitate, throwing his arms out to catch the oncoming wave with his energy. He met it just a few metres above the heads of his men, bringing it to a halt. He’d caught the entire valley into his bubble, freezing all of it in time.

He looked around, groaning under the weight of it. Some of his men had started to run away, others stared at the oncoming storm, frozen in fear. Frozen in time, now. Safe, but unmoving. He tried to shift the bubble away from them, but even the slightest movement would destabilise it. If he let it slip, they would all die.

And so, he held it up, calling on his connection to Dai for more power. He will notice, and he will come check on me, Zian kept telling himself. If I can keep this up, he’ll come and fix this. I can save them.

His muscles strained as he kept pulling more and more power towards himself. He could feel the seconds ticking by; the sound reverberating inside his mind. Strange shapes started to dance before his eyes.

I can do this. I have to do this.

Then the world turned black.

Zian gasped as he shot upright, trying to shake the memories.

He immediately regretted doing so, as every single fibre of his body seemed to protest, and he let himself fall back down into the pillows.

He was in a bed in an all-white room. A hospital? How had he ended up here? How long had he been here? And why couldn’t he tell?

At that moment, the door was thrown open and Rena burst in, in her human form. She looked ready to throw herself on top of him, and Zian braced himself for impact, but she seemed to stop herself at the last moment and grabbed his hand instead, squeezing it so hard it hurt. The images she sent into his mind were a little overwhelming.

“We leave for two minutes, and he wakes up,” a different voice sounded.

Zian looked over to see Dai standing in the doorway, a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” he grinned. “…Well, sort of.”

Zian’s mind was teeming with questions, but all he could manage was a weak “Hey…”.

“You had us worried there for a bit, but according to the doctors you’re going to be just fine.”

Dai’s face turned serious as he joined Rena at the edge of the bed.

“We’ll fill you in on everything when you’re ready, but first you need to rest, alright?”

“Hmm, sounds good.”

Zian felt his eyes getting heavy. Even though it was very likely he spent the last couple of days in bed, he was so, so tired…

He closed his eyes and listened for the familiar tick-tock noise in his mind. It was faint, but it was still there. Listening to its steady rhythm, he dozed off to sleep.

[these are the same events referred to in We'll talk later]

[skeshinkaioshi]

Inuzuka Asana’s twitter:

れなちゃんと海、そしてジョナサン

何気にこっちゃん。

First is Rena-chan in the sea then with Jonathan and Kocchan.

Kocchan didn’t want to pay attention.

笑 3枚目はあさなさんきてーって言ってるれなちゃんだよ。 笑

The first set was of Rena-chan saying “Asana-san came!”

楽しそう笑笑笑

it was so much fun! lololol (trollol trollol!)

[emtornado]

I'm cancelling majority of Season 4 of Miraculous. INSTEAD...

Oh my gods, I just saw the trailer for 'Hack-san' and I AM SO ANNOYED RIGHT NOW!!!

As far as I am concerned right now, I will accept SOME parts of this season.

Telling Alya? Questionable but okay

Luka getting to know? This will help them in the future cuz Luka is awesome.

Chat getting sidelined? Heartbreaking but okay fine, I'll take it.

ALYA BECOMING LADYBUG? BITCH NO.

This show is about Ladybug and Cat Noir- Marinette and Adrien.

For me, Season 4 right now is gonna be Chat being heartbroken cuz wtf man, his lady is being distant as fuck. Being Chat Noir always gave him a sense of freedom, but now he feels more and more like Adrien as Chat as well, trapped and useless to everyone around him.

So my dude goes and tells Ladybug that he can't do this. It's too much and she has Rena Rouge, Carapace and the others to help her. He is not important anymore, so it'll be fine if he gives his miraculous back to her.

Ladybug is shocked. She never wanted this. The main reason she was staying away from Chat is because of all the mental damage she suffered from Chat Blanc, because them being close, them being in love, basically destroyed the world.

So she sits there and she listens to her best friend (cuz Chat is her best friend, not Alya, fight me Thomas Astruc) say that he is gonna leave her, and she just kinda freezes.

Chat being Chat, sees this and goes to her being like, "Milady are you okay "

and before he finishes, he sees that she is basically having a panic attack and she's not breathing (duh. The number of expectations this kid, YES KID SHE'S LIKE 14, has is heartbreaking and she's been bordering on Anxiety and Depression for too long) and has tears streaming down her face and Chat immediately goes and hugs her and helps her through it (Imma stick to the 5-4-3-2-1 technique cuz its been effective for me).

After that happens they finally show some vulnerability to each other, and Ladybug finally tells him about Chat Blanc and how she's basically traumatised because of it.

Chat is heartbroken.

He never thought that him loving Ladybug could have such drastic consequences, and so he asks her if she wants him away. She could choose another Chat Noir, but this time so the fate of the flipping world doesn't hang in the balance, and after like a few more hours of opening up to each other, they decide that Ladybug and Chat Noir will always be Ladybug and Chat Noir. Best friends, partners and each other's solace.

Nothing else. At least until Hawkmoth is defeated.

And so they both go home, and Marinette is finally at peace cuz her partner is her partner again and she doesn't have to do all the unnecessary crap of having new superheroes in every new episode.

Adrien on the other hand is defeated as fuck. My man is so sad and he doesn't know what to do. He can't talk to Nino about this, he can't talk to Alya about this (they're just not that close, honestly) and he doesn't know what to do.

So, he bribes Plagg with a wheel of Camembert and transforms before going to the one person he trusts as much as he trusts Ladybug (3 guesses who lol)

Marinette is a little surprised to see her partner less than half an hour after having a huge talk with him. Of course, Chat doesn't know that and he just wants a friendly face who he knows will listen to him without an ounce of judgement.

And so Mari invites him in for passionfruit croissants she definitely made for Adrien that morning and makes them both comfortable in her room.

And then Chat talks.

He talks about how alienated he felt, he talks about how scared he is and he doesn't stop talking to Marinette until they're both just wrapped around each other, asleep, leeching off of each other's warmth cuz getting up to take the blanket was just too much work.

In the middle of the night, Plagg detransforms and goes to the other Kwamis to look at these two dumbass kids, who have way too much weight on their shoulders.

As the sun rises, Plagg (after being told by Tikki to 'be subtle for fucks sake, Plagg') gently wakes Adrien up, and Adrien leaves a note for Marinette, thanking her for listening to him, and leaves again.

And then, they go about their days as usual. Go to school, fight Akumas side by side, with a little extra help from Rena Rouge and any other hero, but people in Paris can see that it's The Ladybug and Chat Noir team once more.

And at night if the two heroes spend a little extra time together, as Chat Noir and Marinette, then nobody knows about it.

ON THE OTHER HAND, Alya is getting a little annoyed (just like we did with her lol) and straight-up asks Marinette what was the point of telling her all this if she was just gonna use her as a sidekick and Marinette (who has a lot more confidence considering during day time Adrien boosts her ego, and at night Chat does it) just goes "cuz you are a sidekick...? Your job, along with every other hero I give the miraculous to is to help Chat and me." (is this a little OOC for Mari? I don't care lmao)

Alya bristles and goes on to make a series of bad decisions to prove that she is vital to the tram, but she only adds a lot of drama smh.

OKAY BACK TO CHAT AND MARI. Gods they are SO in love. These two fools really do friends to lovers properly and cutely. Mari unknowingly gets over her crush on Adrien, and develops one on Chat instead, never realising that she fell in love with the same idiot.

And Adrien? Gods, he doesn't know how he never SAW Mari. Funny Mari who always beats him in Videogames and always gives him the best food (cuz gabby is a dick and doesn't feed his son enough) and gives the best hugs and always comes to every single tournament of his to cheer him on and laughs at all his puns and talks to him every night until they fall asleep together, either in each other's arms or over the phone. (If you think Adrien didn't get another phone just so he could talk to Mari as Chat at night and to send her memes during his photoshoot, then you're lying to yourself, bestie.)

And so one night, they kiss.

And everything seems so, so right.

And then they both get an akuma alert so Chat has to go asap, and Mari quickly transforms to meet him. They get there, and Rena Rouge is there, but with different colours and Ladybug and Chat Noir are confused cuz you know.

This is their friend. Their ally.

And then Rena turns around and says,

"Hello, Marinette."

End of Season.

Okay yeah, thanks for reading that. If I ever get the time I'm making this a full fanfic hehe

[sylphs-talks]

My 2021 Art Journey

Under the cut to avoid clutter.

I didn't actually have one from January, so I will post this one from December 2020. It was for Secret Santa that year! I didn't participate in 2021 for personal reasons, but hopefully I can this year!

FEBRUARY

February was when I really started getting into D&D! So I drew Rena in the dndverse. She started out as just a Sorcerer, but as I learned more, I had her multiclass into Fighter as well!

MARCH

Didn't have much for March, so I will just post this WIP. I should really finish this lol

APRIL

Again, not much for April. I did make a new Undertale OC that I never did anything with lol

MAY

The only thing I had for May was this cute little sketch. Don't even remember why I drew this lol

JUNE

I think June was when I really started getting into content creation on youtube. So I had to draw an icon for myself. You may remember this was my icon for tumblr as well for a while. I pretty much made it for all my social medias haha.

JULY

Didn't have much for July again, but I had just watched Merg's playthrough of OMORI, and I absolutely loved it, despite never wanting to play it cus I am really bad with horror games.

AUGUST

This is Mani, they are another D&D character of mine for a Sci-fi campaign I was in. I really liked their design!!!

SEPTEMBER

Now this, THIS is the single best piece I have ever done and I am so so proud of it. This is my Homebrew D&D race, the Ailuren. I love it so so much, I think this is where I peaked lol.

OCTOBER

This is a redraw of a really old, really bad proportioned bit of art. I tried using the same method of colouring I did for the pic above, but it just didn't work unfortunately.

The rest comes in a reblog cus tumblr won't let me post more than 10 images.

[iruludavare]

repost with your answers.

GENERAL

name: Serena Nikolayevna Letova

alias(es): ‘Rena, Looker (post-x), Hero of Kalos, Xerneas’ chosen

gender and pronouns: Cis female (she/her)

age: 22/23 (swsh), 18 during the events of X

date of birth: 30th Decemeber

place of birth: Hospital in Jubilife City

hometown: Floaroma Town

spoken languages: Floaroman (fluent), Sinnohan (fluent), Unovan, Kalosian

sexual preference: Bisexual

occupation: Champion of Kalos, prima ballerina

APPEARANCE

eye color: Slate blue

hair color: Golden/honey blonde

height: 5’7”

scars: None

burns: None

over weight: No

under weight: Yes

FAVOURITE

colour: Green

hair colour: N/A

eye colour: N/A

songs: Giselle Act 1: Finale

movie: She doesn’t really see movies much?? So she doesn’t have one

tv show: Same as movies!

food: She’s a simple girl– give her any kind of poffin and she’s over the moon (particularly sweet ones).

drink: Genmaicha tea

book: Any history book, in all honesty. She’s weak for that stuff.

HAVE THEY

passed university: No

had sex: No

kissed a boy: Yes

kissed a girl: No

gotten tattoos: No

gotten piercings: Yes (ears)

been in love: Yes

stayed up for more than 24 hours: Yes

ARE THEY

a virgin: Yes

a cuddler: Yes

a kisser: Yes

scared easily: Depends

jealous easily: No

trustworthy: Yes

in love: It’s complicated

single: Yes

RANDOM QUESTIONS (tw for self harm/suicide mention)

have they harmed themselves: Not on purpose

thoughts of suicide: Yes

attempted suicide: No

wanted to kill someone: No

drove a car: No

have/had a job: Yes

have any fears: Yes

FAMILY

sibling(s): Emma (adopted sister)

parents: Grace (mother), Looker (father)

children: None

pets: Her pokemon!

[2manyfandoms2count]

You can count on me (I will be there for you)

Aaaaand here we are with the final chapter of this story! A very cracky finale, with a surprising amount of fashion judgement and a lack of serious damage. I’ve made them suffer enough on their wedding day.

Thank you so, so much to everyone who’s read so far! It was a genuine pleasure to write this story, and the positive response has warmed my heart. Lots of love for everyone 💕 Hope you’ll enjoy this!!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | AO3

---

Chapter 9

Max has conveniently chosen the room they’d all met up in earlier for their lift back, Ladybug notices as she steps out of the portal. Rena Rouge and Queen Bee are standing at the door, discreetly peeking at the reception on the other side. They turn around when they hear the portal’s low hum.

“How’s it going?” Ladybug asks, joining them in their stakeout.

“I think they’re starting to feel a little uncomfortable.” Alya nods towards the next room, and Marinette steals a look, not knowing if her friend is referring to their primary suspects, or Nino and Kagami.

A look inside answers her question. The four of them are standing in the middle of the room, and it’s quite clear from their body language that her friends are doing their best to look at ease, while their interlocutors are clearly desperate to go. They show it differently, though: whereas Gabriel is standing straighter than ever, eyes darting towards the nearest exit as Nino enthusiastically speaks to him about something involving large hand gestures and a lot of shoulder pats, Nathalie seems exhausted, shrunk on herself while Kagami talks about something technical, if Ladybug can trust her frowns as she explains.

“Well, as long as it’s them and not the guests, it should be alright. Wouldn’t want a mass akumatisation on our hands.” Ladybug straightens up and sighs.

“So, it’s really them?” Alya asks.

“I think saying ‘most probably’ would be an understatement.” She shakes her head.

“Poor Adrien,” Queen Bee mutters next to them. “This is honestly the last thing he needs.”

Marinette looks at Alya worriedly, and her friend squeezes her hand. “He’s up to speed, I think he’s hanging in there.”

“I’ll have a talk with him later.” Ladybug promises herself.

“Anyway, what’s the plan now?” Queen Bee turns towards her expectantly.

“Well, see, that’s my problem, I’m not entirely sure how to go about it-”

“I am.” Chat Noir walks straight past them, stormy eyes fixed on the two suspects, his tail slipping through Ladybug’s fingers, and he's out in the open before she can retain him. She hadn't heard the portal close behind him, nor his approaching footsteps.

She starts to run after him, we don’t have a plan, what is he doing, but Rena Rouge grips her arm before she can, yanking her back inside their honorary headquarters. Ladybug’s offended look melts as her friend delicately takes her veil out of her hair. She’d completely forgotten about it.

“Might not want to out yourself to them right now, since they probably don’t know who you are,” her friend says softly.

“Now go make sure your partner doesn’t get into too much trouble. Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. We’ll figure something out if anything happens, but you generally do pretty well without the B team.” Queen Bee pushes her out of the room with a wink.

Ladybug glances back one last time before she heads in; Max has come closer, and her three friends smile at her reassuringly as she does. She smiles back, hoping it expresses just how much she’s thankful for them being there, and not how worried she is about what might unfold.

---

Chat Noir barely hears the guests’ gasps as they make way for him. He strides purposefully into the room, his eyes trained on his father. Gabriel Agreste. Hawkmoth.

When he catches sight of the dark figure approaching him, the man tenses even more than he’d already been, which Chat hadn’t thought was possible. Yes, you can be worried, he thinks, nodding at Nino and Kagami to relieve them of their duties. Both stand aside, and start ushering people away from the newly formed trio.

“Chat Noir,” Gabriel greets coldly, eyes flickering to his right hand’s ring finger.

Even now, that’s all he can think about, Chat shakes his head, protectively balling his hand into a fist. He’s ready to seize the opportunity, even if it means disrupting his only son’s wedding. He hopes his scorn is visible as he looks at him.

“What a… pleasant surprise,” his father lets out without conviction, a hint of a smirk playing at his lips.

It takes all of Chat Noir’s willpower to not spit at his feet, and even more to not spit in his face.

“Mr. Agreste,” he says through gritted teeth. “I believe we need to talk.”

“Do we? Whatever about?” His eyebrows shoot up, and he looks around the room with fake amusement, as if trying to find an allied face in the crowd. Most people look away uneasily. He’s a powerful man, but his challenger is one of Paris’ most trusted protectors. Something must be up, and although it isn't clear what side it's best to be on, something tells them it's not Gabriel Agreste's.

To the untrained eye, Gabriel looks perplexed, almost hurt by the request. To Adrien Agreste, though, who has spent years scrutinising his father’s facial expressions, searching for any hint of pride, love, anything positive, there’s no mistake; he can read the fear in his eyes.

He takes a step forward.

“That’s a nice scarf you have today.” He nods towards his father’s neck, sporting his classic candy-cane Ascot. “A little… ten, fifteen-years ago, though, don’t you think? If it ever was in fashion.”

“It’s a signature look,” Gabriel scoffs, offended by the superhero’s words. “As Chanel once said, la mode se démode, le style, jamais.”

“Yet that implies that you actually have style, which is a statement I’m sure I’m not the only one to disagree with.” He takes a look around the room, pouting pensively. “Actually, you know what? I think the scarf should come off. It clashes with the wedding’s colour scheme. Unless it holds a higher meaning to you?” He asks innocently, but there’s no mistaking the threat in his eyes as he holds a hand out.

Gabriel shares a look with Nathalie, who nods uneasily. He takes off the tie, revealing a single, gleaming, amethyst underneath (bingpot, Chat thinks), and hands it over to Chat Noir. “Of course not. In fact, if this is a way of getting something of mine, you know, I would’ve given it to you for a lot less hostility. Would you like it signed?” He smirks again.

Chat is about to lunge at him when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“Chat Noir, don’t you think we should take this some other place? Somewhere less public, perhaps?” Ladybug asks soothingly.

Chat’s eyes flicker to her for the briefest of instants. It’s enough for Gabriel to seize the opportunity.

“Nooroo, dark wings rise!” Gabriel makes the most of his opponent’s distraction, yanking Ladybug by the arm to hold her against him.

She yelps as she feels the cold metal of his cane against her neck, almost choking her. Her eyes dart wildly around, taking in the panic that washes over the room, and she tries to free herself, but Hawkmoth tightens his grip. People scream and push each other as they run for shelter. This is exactly what she’d wanted to avoid.

“There, you have what you want, don’t you?” Hawkmoth lets out a dry laugh. “A public reveal. Maybe you should’ve consulted with your girlfriend first, though.” Ladybug feels the cane start digging in her neck, and she gasps.

“She’s not my girlfriend anymore,” Chat Noir snarls, taking another step forward. He knows he can't go straight for his opponent with Ladybug trapped like she is. He'd run the risk of her getting severely injured.

Ladybug is thankful for his diversion; her captor’s attention is fully on him, rather than on the hundreds of agitated guests. Her mind whirrs as she tries to think of something to do that wouldn’t end in total carnage, but the lack of oxygen is making her mind fuzzy.

“Oh? What a shame. You know, I could help you get revenge for her breaking your heart. I’ll take her earrings as down payment, and you can give me your ring when you’re done.” His smile makes him look deranged. Chat Noir can feel the panic rising in his chest, but represses it.

“Who says she broke my heart?” He shoots him a look of disgust and opens his hand, ready to invoke his Cataclysm.

He doesn’t get that far - a portal opens behind Hawkmoth and out flies Carapace’s shield in a flash of green, hitting the villain straight in the head before falling at his side.

He grunts and loses his grip on Ladybug, who seizes the opportunity to take a deep breath and scramble to Chat’s side. Her partner steps in front of her, his arm extended protectively in front of her body, as Hawkmoth pushes himself up to reach for his cane.

He stumbles back down before it can fly back in his hand, yellow flashing out from the same portal and hitting him in the lower back. His knees buckle under him. Queen Bee and Carapace step out of the portal, the former rewinding her spinning top.

Chat Noir yanks Hawkmoth’s brooch off of his immobilised body, releasing his transformation. Kagami comes forwards, holding Nathalie with her arms pinned behind her back. The assistant had apparently tried to make a break for it when her accomplice had transformed. They are soon joined by the police special forces, advancing cautiously behind their shields to secure the perimeter.

As Gabriel and Nathalie are cufflinked and brought out of the room, Ladybug catches Adrien and an illusion of herself out of the corner of her eye. She doesn’t think she’d look as panicked and distraught as Alya is making her, were she a mere bystander, but then again, her expression matches Adrien’s. It probably isn’t as over the top as she thinks it is.

Carapace picks up his shield once the floor is cleared, dusting it a little before fastening it to his back.

“I know it’s not the first time I knocked Hawkmoth in the head, but man, it feels even better now that I know who he is.”

“He deserves all the worst.” Chloé looks at Nathalie and Gabriel’s backs the same way she’d looked at socks in sandals the previous summer - with complete and utter disdain. Ladybug is almost surprised that she doesn’t sprint after them to kick them or something.

Chat nods along, before his attention snaps to Ladybug. Worry wrinkles his forehead as he holds her at arms’ length, looking for any sign of injury. “Are you alright, my Lady?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me.” She waves his concern away, even if her voice is hoarser than usual. She pushes him back slightly and cups his cheek.

He’s the one she’s worried about. An anger she’d never seen so potent on him had seemed to emanate from him as he talked to Gabriel Agreste. She needed to talk to him about it.

“Marinette?” Alya’s voice sounds in their ear, interrupting their fussing over each other. They wince a little at the volume.

“Yes?” She replies, keeping a hand on him.

“People are starting to fuss over you and Adrien, I think you should come and detransform. I’m not sure I can handle hugs.”

She glances at Chat Noir.

“Go, I’ll be fine.” He squeezes her shoulder. “I’m going to make sure they don’t escape their lift to jail. I promise no punching will be involved, even if I feel like I missed out earlier.” His smile is a little tense.

“Okay.” She lets go of him cautiously. “Come and find me after?”

“I purr-omise.” He kisses her forehead and watches her walk out of the room, barely sparing a glance at their doubles who start following her. She therefore misses fake-Adrien retaining fake-Marinette and whispering something in her ear. The latter nods, and he kisses her knuckles before leaving through another door. Fake Marinette blushes and gives him a small wave with a lovestruck smile. Alya really has us nailed down, hasn’t she, he shakes his head as he watches the scene unfold.

“Hey dude, how are you holding up?” Carapace drapes an arm around his shoulders. Queen Bee and Kagami move closer to them as well. From the concerned look on Chloé’s face, Adrien deduces that the others must have brought her up to speed on the situation. She’d never been a big fan of Chat Noir.

“It’s a lot.” He admits, raking a hand through his hair. “But I’m so thankful for you guys. I lost it earlier, and that almost lost us Hawkmoth and Ladybug.” He looks up at his three friends with a small smile.

“We’ll always have your back.” Chloé pats his arm. “Especially when it’s this satisfying.”

“Now, go and watch your progenitor get driven away. I hope you’ll find it enjoyable.” Kagami nudges him towards the exit.

He nods and takes his leave. He has one last card to play to make it truly fulfilling, and he’s definitely putting it down.

---

Chat Noir walks towards the van, feeling his anger boil again at the sight of his father’s profile through the back doors’ windows. He takes a moment to breathe in deeply and think happy thoughts. Now that Hawkmoth has been arrested, he’ll finally be able to reveal his identity to Marinette. He’ll do it before the end of the day, so they can make the most of their honeymoon. Maybe there is a silver lining to this, after all.

Having regained his cool, he strides up to the van, his step unusually heavy. Gabriel Agreste looks up at the sound of his footsteps on the gravel, and frowns.

“What do you want?” He asks dryly.

“See, I just thought our conversation earlier was cut a little short. What with you attacking Ladybug and everything.” His eyes shoot daggers.

“Why would you care, if you’re not together anymore?” His father scoots a little away from the van’s back doors as Chat Noir approaches.

“I never said we weren’t together anymore. And even if that were the case, I’ll remind you that we’ve been fighting evil, you, for over a decade. Nothing could break our bond at this point. But what I actually meant was that ‘girlfriend’ is no longer a suitable title for her. She’s now my wife.” He tells him, an almost manic glint in his eye. This is going to hurt you so much, and I'm going to enjoy every last minute of it. This is for hiding Maman from me.

“Are you expecting congratulations from me?” Gabriel all but rolls his eyes, his voice laced with sarcasm.

“Well, even if you didn’t exactly say it, I feel like you covered that part earlier.” Gabriel’s eyes are on the verge of reckoning. He would probably figure it out with a little mulling over during the drive, but Chat needs the satisfaction of seeing his expression at the exact moment he realises what he means. “She’s a bit busy at the moment, but I’m sure she’d join me in thanking you for coming to our wedding today… Father.”

Gabriel’s jaw drops and Chat enjoys watching the thousands of emotions that flicker through his eyes, distorting his face as the van starts to drive away. It’s perfect timing. He can see his father shouting, banging on the doors, but he’s out of earshot. He stands on the porch until the vehicle is out of sight, then heads back inside.

He’s almost tackled by Marinette as he does.

“Chaton, something just… doesn’t seem right,” she whispers as she hugs him. She’d thought about it while she reassured her parents and some other guests that she and Adrien were fine, although the latter's absence made her question his well being. Not wanting to worry too much about it, she’d dissected the events in her head, instead. “Everything seems to be sorted now, we uncovered Hawkmoth’s identity, but then who was blackmailing me? Who was blackmailing him? And why?”

Chat Noir notices people are looking at them a little pointedly, whispering. He untangles himself from her arms and reluctantly steps away. “We’ve got all the time in the world to discover that, Princess.” He nods towards their audience and she nods in understanding, although she looks a little disappointed. “It was an honour saving your wedding.”

“Yes, thank you for that.” She clears her throat.

“We can discuss it with Ladybug after your honeymoon.” He says, and she notices he’s a little tense, almost brooding as he stands before her.

“Speaking of which, I… I should go and find Adrien.” She looks around, hoping she’ll finally spot the familiar mop of blond hair in the crowds that have returned, slightly shaken. Alya told her that he’d gone to freshen up after the arrest, and she can’t help but wonder if he’s okay. It’s been a little while. “Want to come with?”

“I don’t think my presence is necessary. I’ll catch up with you later.” He feels a giddy smile spread on his lips, his thoughts clinging to his reveal. Marinette shoots him a quizzical look before heading off towards the stairs leading to the bedrooms.

He manages to beat her to his. He detransforms, and opens the door right as she’s about to knock.

“Oh, hey, Marinette.” He jumps back a little, pretending to be caught off-guard by her presence. “I was just about to join you downstairs. Is everything alright?”

“That’s my line.” She tries to joke, but his jumpiness concerns her a little. “Can we talk, just for a second?”

“Yeah, of course.” He opens the door wider for her and leads her inside the room, fidgeting with his ring. He invites her to sit at the foot of his bed.

Marinette opens her mouth, then closes it. She frowns as she tries to find a good opening question, comment, anything. She hasn’t been this tongue-tied since collège, and this has got to be the worst moment for it to strike again. She utters a couple of words, but backtracks again and again. None feel really right in these circumstances.

Adrien patiently listens as she tries to find the words. She doesn’t dare touch him, if her distance on the bed tells him anything. He wished she would though; he could do with a hug, their previous one having been interrupted. He knows hugging Adrien could make her feel uncomfortable, though, on account of the fact that she thinks he might have feelings for her, and that she doesn’t want to lead him on. Always so thoughtful, his Lady.

“How are you feeling, Adrien?” Marinette finally says, carefully taking his hands in hers and squeezing them. “You say the word, and everybody goes home. I’m really so sorry things turned out this way, had I known, I wouldn’t have done anything today…”

“Marinette,” Adrien squeezes her hands back and looks at her earnestly. “Trust me, you did the right thing. It would never have been a good time to learn about my father’s… activities anyway. At least you had everybody who matters with you, ready to help. It might have been more complicated to have that any day.” He smiles sadly. “Besides…” He starts, but hesitates.

“Adrien, I’m here for you. You can count on me to be there, to listen. Don’t hold back.” She leans forwards, encouraging him when his silence stretches.

Adrien’s smile strengthens, becoming almost hopeful as he shifts closer to her on the bed. This is it, he thinks. Now or… well, not never, but this is as good a time as any.

“Besides,” he clears his throat, “I’ve been meaning to tell you something for a while now, and I guess this is just a sign that we should have this conversation now. You said that we should wait, but-”

“Ah, there you two are!” Alix barges into the room without knocking, and Marinette would have flung herself at her to thank her for the interruption, had she not been afraid of hurting Adrien’s feelings. She carefully lets go of his hands and stands up, crossing her arms over her chest.

She hadn’t liked Adrien’s tender eyes just now. Like they were hoping for something she knew he knew she couldn’t give him. She didn’t feel like turning him down today, not after everything that had happened, after he’d basically lost his family. But she wouldn’t really have a choice if he tried again later.

Where are you, Chat Noir? she thinks. Having him around would probably keep Adrien at bay. She wonders what better things he could have to do at this moment, but nothing comes to mind.

She turns towards her friend. She’d have to do, for now.

“Alix?” The young woman had started slow clapping about halfway through her inner monologue, looking excessively smug.

“I’ve been looking for you two everywhere, I wanted to congratulate you in person.” She grins.

Marinette and Adrien look at her, slightly puzzled. Marinette wonders if she’s off somewhere, and just wanted to say goodbye. Clapping seems a little over the top, though.

“You solved my mystery!” She clarifies, prompting Adrien and Marinette to look at each other.

“Care to elaborate?” Adrien raises an eyebrow.

“She got us a sort of escape game as a wedding present,” Marinette starts explaining, although she’s failing to see how everything ties up together.

“Yeah, and you did really well! Not gonna lie, I was expecting more drama from today, but hey, it was probably for the best.” She sighs when she sees her dumbfounded friends’ faces. “See, both of you were just so cute together, it was honestly getting a little nauseating back in the burrow.” Alix sarcastically joins her hands near her cheek. “Everything was in order, no end of the world in sight” she shoots a pointed look at Marinette, “but that made you slow down on the Hawkmoth hunt, so I had to do something. I know I’m not supposed to meddle, but hey. Hawkmoth and Mayura were getting on my nerves, and I’d kept my mouth shut long enough. ” She shrugs. “And I thought the detective play was pretty fitting, remember Mylène’s Akumatisation, when we were trying to film that movie for a competition in collège? You guys played some agents or something, and I think it was the moment pretty much everyone started shipping you two together, if they hadn’t already been.”

“But, we're not..." Marinette starts before another thought goes through her mind, the first of many that prevent her from finishing her sentences. "And the envelopes…” She shakes her head, trying to organise her thoughts. Things don’t add up in what Alix is saying, but she’s too stunned to figure it out.

“Planted by me, for you and Hawkmoth. I thought it would speed things along, whoever made the first move. Sorry for freaking you out so much. I actually wasn’t expecting you guys to go through the fake wedding route, but it ended up making things a lot easier for me. Everybody was in the same place at the same time, so really, great job on that.” She nods to herself before looking up at them again. “It was even super easy to get Max to bring his equipment, just had to make a post on one of his usual forums saying a life-size hide and seek was a great wedding activity, especially if you had earpieces for the seekers, and voilà. You have a convinced man.” She gives them a satisfied smile. “I’ll get him to launch a game before the end of the day. He might be disappointed otherwise.” She adds pensively.

Her friends still look at her like she’s grown a second head. She rolls her eyes at the lack of response, but kind of understands.

“Anyway, I know there’s a lot to unpack, but just know that everything’s fixed now. I’ll leave you two to enjoy the honeymoon you so deserve. Ladynoir for the win!” She winks.

Turning around, she takes a couple of steps, hands digged in her suit pockets, mentally counting down for Marinette to connect the dots.

3, 2, 1…

“Wait, Alix?” Marinette calls out to her friend.

“Yes, boss?” Alix smirks as she turns around.

“What do you mean, Ladynoir?” She’s frowning, eyes darting between her and Adrien.

“It's a ship name, for Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Alix asks, angelically batting her eyelids. "Oh, no, don't tell me; you guys hadn’t reached that part of your discussion yet.” She snaps her fingers and shakes her head, her grin giving away how unrepentant she is. “Well, spoiler alert, then, I guess.”

Marinette turns towards Adrien, who’s smiling sheepishly at her.

“I was just about to tell you, Bugaboo,” he says and her eyes widen in response.

"I'll leave you two to it!" Alix smiles as she walks out of the room, whistling the wedding march tune. She doesn’t need to turn around to know Adrien has probably taken his bride’s hand in his and is probably kissing her knuckles, while Marinette is on the cusp of having a meltdown.

Her job here is done.

She slides the ‘do not disturb’ panel on the door handle; something tells her they might need it. So what if the first dance is even more delayed. She’s not in charge of the day’s schedule.

But she definitely won the best present award.

[miraculous786]

The Protector’s Battle

Masterlist

"Shut up," a voice growled.

The Italian it addressed didn't heed the warning - instead they chose to scream louder.

"Help!" Lila screeched. "He's going to kill me!"

Protector stalked forward, watching as she edged backwards and quieted in fear. Alya moved to stand protectively in front of her figure.

"I don't know what your problem is, but Lila hasn't done anything wrong to you!" the reporter shouted. "She's the nicest person I've ever met!"

"That fox might not have done anything to me, but she still had the audacity to dare hurt my Angel and Moon."

"What?"

"And so did you," he snarled, stepping closer and ignoring her confusion. "Pushing, shoving, accusing of unspeakable acts. If anything, you're worse than her."

Damian raised his gun to aim at Lila, yet Alya bravely got in the way. She glared at the akuma for a few seconds, before appearing to have processed his words. Then, her expression somehow became even more heated.

"Oh, why am I not surprised? It's Marinette and Felix you're talking about, isn't it? I knew that they were working with Hawk Moth, but I didn't think they'd use him to torment us!"

Protector pulled out his katana in a swift movement, and held it right beneath the girl's throat. His shadowed face was clearly seen to be angered, despite the fact that a dark mask was on it.

"I advise that you stop talking, or I won't hesitate to do what most are afraid to."

The threat caused Alya to zip her mouth, as he used his other hand to point his firearm in Lila's direction. Said person paled exponentially, pressing against the Eiffel Tower rails behind.

"Let's see how you fare with the pain you yourself forced them to suffer," Damian snarled, narrowing his emerald eyes and pulling the trigger to his weapon.

The brunette shrieked, her body shaking as a purple bullet shot at her. She sunk to her knees, holding the sides of her head whilst her sclera turned a bright white.

Alya gasped, about to face Lila, until Protector made her freeze with the snap of, "I can promise that you'll suffer sooner if you try and stop me from completing my mission."

The villain slowly tilted his head to the helicopters above, capturing the scene with several cameras. His lips twitched upwards, as he took a step back from the two females and turned away from them.

"Stop!" Lila yelled, trembling. "I hate it, please, Hawk Moth, make it stop!"

Protector let out a dark chuckle. "I doubt that that wretch will answer to his lackey at this point in time," he spoke, revelling in the gasps from the people around. "I already took care of him."

"What did you do to her?" Alya asked. "How do we make it stop?!"

"It's simple, really. All the fox has to do is admit what she did to my Angel and Moon, then it'll all go away."

"But she didn't do anything!"

Damian smirked. "We'll see if you keep that opinion in the future."

His smile widened into a grin when he heard a faint zipping noise far away, as he faced Alya and Lila again. The action was done just in time to see three teens land in front of the duo.

"Angel," he acknowledged with a nod.

"Damian," Ladybug pleaded. "Please, you don't have to do this. We can expose her another way."

"I doubt that will be possible," he denied. "And besides, we can do it now. I've been waiting for your arrival, and now that you've come, well..."

Protector brought his gun up.

"...We can start the show."

"Run!" Marinette commanded, spinning her yo-yo where the beam of light from his weapon would have hit. The blur of red in her hands redirected the shot onto a pillar of the Eiffel Tower.

A baton extended into the akuma's chest, forcing him to be sent back and off of the monument. He kept a straight face, and wordlessly fired out his grappling hook to save his fall.

Lila's scream echoed in the distance. From where she was, Chat Noir and a male in ivory were glancing at her and each other with worried expressions.

"What should we do?"

"I'm not sure," Adrien responded. "Alya, what did the akuma say on how to rever- Alya!"

The teenager jumped, giving him a look from over her phone. "What?"

"Are you seriously recording at a time like this?"

"Of course!" she said. "Now, everyone watching live will know how Marinette is working with Hawk Moth, and my blog will be famous!"

In the corner of the elevator, Lila whimpered, shaking her head in frantic motions. Her eyes were still a pure white.

"Don't worry, girl. Ladybug's cure will fix everything. Then we can go ask her to expose Marinette for us. I'm sure she'll do it since you're her best friend."

Felix felt a growl bubble in his throat, and before he knew what was happening, his shadow was towering over Alya. The tall ears atop his head and tail from his waist thrashed from his mood.

"It's always about hating Marinette, isn't it?" he barked, usually calm facade gone. "Well, I bet if you stopped kneeling at this liar's feet, you'd realise how Mari is the most amazing person there is!"

The reporter's eyes widened, and she lifted her phone higher. "You and Marinette wouldn't happen to be in a relationship, would you? Ooooh, then I could ask her for an interview with you! Unless you'd let me ask you questions now, in which cas-"

"I suggest you be quiet, Alya," Chat Noir advised in a low tone, leaning on the wall to the side whilst twirling his staff. "Foxes are very...protective, of what they deem theirs."

"...Foxes? Wait, you're the owner of the Fox miraculous?"

"Why yes," Felix sneered. "I'm Arctic Fox - the new and improved version of Rena Rouge, and permanent replacement for this necklace."

He reached to where the jewellery was hidden with clawed fingers, and pulled it out so that his suit didn't cover it up.

"Y-You-"

The elavator doors opened with a ping, allowing the four people to see the crowd at the bottom of the monument. Chat Noir picked up Lila, taking her over to where paramedics were.

"She's been affected by the akuma," he explained. "Keep her safe - we'll cast the Cure soon."

As several professionals escorted the Italian to where an ambulance was, Adrien couldn't help but mumble, "Hopefully..." as he glanced up to the tip of the Eiffel Tower.

"Let's go help her," Arctic Fox decided, and the blond beside him nodded in agreement. They grabbed their respective weapons - a baton and flute - before leaping up high.

Both pairs of their ears twitched when they heard the voice of Marinette from above. Though they could make out her words from such a distance, the helicopters flying about thankfully couldn't.

"As you said, Angel, we don't have to fight. All you have to do is tell me where our Moon is, and then I can force the fox to admit her lies for you two."

"Please, Star. If you know that I'm a hero, you know that I have to stop you."

"Not when I've taken care of Hawk Moth already," Protector replied, grinning. His head turned to Arctic Fox and Chat Noir as they landed nearby.

Ladybug pursed her lips, pulling out her yo-yo and spinning it fast. "I'm sorry, Damian, but we have no choice."

The villain flickered his eyes between the trio, before unsheathing his katana and bringing his firearm up.

"I see how it is, Angel," he spoke, a touch of gentleness in his tone. "I understand. But that doesn't mean that the show will stop - it must always go on."

Protector focused for a second in concentration, and what followed was a faint scream heard at the bottom of the Tower by Adrien and Felix.

Chat Noir, alarmed, turned to Damian, and gripped his own staff tighter. Then, he sent a nod to Arctic Fox, and they both charged forward in a flurry of colour and noise.

Marinette watched the fight with a narrowed gaze - scanning the akuma's outfit and items for anything out of the ordinary.

A katana. Utility belt. Mask. Cape. Gun.

Ladybug inhaled deeply, closing her eyes tight. A moment later and she was joining the battle too, as she whacked her yo-yo around to get to his blade.

Arctic Fox spotted her focus on the Protector's sword, and gave her an imperceptible nod. Felix proceeded to hit his flute fast, in time with Adrien's baton, so as to distract Damian.

"Now!"

The heroine threw her yo-yo towards the metal article, and when the end latched onto it, pulled back. When doing so, her friend stumbled from the force of her strength, allowing the other heroes to land a few solids hits on him.

"Time to de-evilize!"

Marinette dropped the katana onto the ground, then stomped on it roughly. Her eyes caught onto the crack in the handle of it, and she waited with baited breath.

However, nothing came out.

"What?" she breathed.

Protector sprung up on his heels, twisting around in midair whilst kicking a foot out. He managed to push back both of his attackers with the single hit.

Gloved hands reached for a grappling hook, shooting it up onto a higher beam above. Damian landed with barely a whisper of noise, and gazed down at the animal-themed folk below.

"Nice try," he commended. "But you'll have to work harder than that. Unless you want to give up and take me to our Moon."

"Never!" Ladybug exclaimed, as she communicated with her eyes to the teammates standing beside her in a protective manner.

"Lucky Charm!"

~*~*~

@thestressmademedoit  

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[robin-birb]

Thanks for tagging @morkee and @ask-pakistan

you both are kind 💖

Rules: Answer 10 questions and tag 10 people you want to know better

Relationship status: Just happily single lol

Favourite colour: Pastel pink, purple and peach

Three favourite foods: Mmm spicy noodles, chocolate and rice

Song stuck in my head: Any of favorite or new recent songs stuck in my head

Last thing I googled: Ateez boyfriend lmao

Dream trip: I'd like to go around East Asia or Southeast Asia would be fun for travel

Anything I really want? Anything i wished and manifested i want will come true and also i must to be confident and success naturally for my attempts that i can interaction with people outside

Time: 1: 90 Am (i will go to sleep i swear)

I don't know how many people i can tag them don't mind them tagging

@mystarsandflowersuniverse @mysticalmusicwhispers @rena-reindeer @ask-gilbert-and-ludwig @ask-zhongguo

@askfourkindsofparadise

[crowbarstodd]

Course Of Nature (4)

Chapter Summary: *banging pots together* DAMINETTE! DAMINETTE! Word Count: 3,272 Rating: G Paring: DAMINETTE!

Prologue | One | Two | Three | Four | Five |

Rena Rogue gagged as soon as she opened an aging door, hands covering her nose and mouth as she took a large step back. “This place stinks!”

Marinette felt inclined to agree with Rena Rogue, nose wrinkling as a foul stench invaded her nostrils, so strong her eyes stung from unshed tears. “You’ll have to get used to it,” Marinette said regretfully, “we’ll be spending some time here.”

Rena moaned, edging inside carefully, nose still pinched between two fingers.

The little off-white townhouse they’d been sent to investigate in Paris’ nineteenth arrondissement was almost charming at first sight. It sat trapped between a high fence marking the end of the street, and a baby-pink, connecting unit with a strip of green at the front only just large enough to fit a few common elder hedges.

The place itself was only slightly overrun by weeds, not enough to appear unseemly, which was probably why it was left alone by most of the unsuspecting neighbours. Marinette herself would have overlooked it completely had it not been for the large mold stain on the bottom right side of the door, and the putrid stench that coated the home. Oh, and the mission sent by Batman and Master Fu.

The inside was drowned in dust and rust, and none of the lights would turn on, so she and Rena resigned themselves to exploring the place with the limited light their torches provided.

“This is literally the worst villain hideout. Unhygienic and unaesthetic is what this place is,” Rena griped, searching through shelves for anything that looked mildly useful.

“There’s no proof this was a hideout. Just that Queen Bee sent a package here about two months ago.”

Rena stopped in her tracks. “Queen Bee? Like, Chloe?”

“No, like the politician.”

“Are you being sarcastic?”

Marinette sighed, tilting her head to the sky, eyes shut. “I thought Chat gave you a debrief?”

“Sure, but he didn’t use any names. Just said that another villain sent a package probably for Hawkmoth.”

Wily cat, making her do all the annoying jobs. She’d get him neutered the next time she saw him. “Queen Bee is a corrupt Bialyan leader, part of the light.”

“So not Chloe?”

“Not Chloe,” Marinette confirmed.

“What do we call Chloe then?”

Tired of the conversation, and without any real answers to give, Marinette returned to searching the room for clues. “Call her whatever you want, Rena.”

“Bitch it is!”

“No.”

She zoned out Rena’s following playful whinges, focused on the wooden desk that sat alone in the otherwise empty room connected to the living room that Rena was investigating.

With careful hands she pulled the drawer of the desk open, worrying her lip as her heart pumped with excitement. Where else would one keep a package but their desk?

It was empty.

Disappointed, she shut it closed, only to hear Rena’s resounding shriek.

The living room was a mess of white.

An upturned milk bottle appeared to have fallen from atop the cupboard above the stove. It must have been balancing precariously already, relying on the shut door for stability, and tipping over when Rena pulled the cupboard open.

She stood in the center of the kitchen, an orange lighthouse in a sea of white, utterly drenched, and completely miserable.

In her hands, Marinette spotted something promising.

“Is that a USB?”

“Are you okay Rena? That sucks for you Rena, but don’t worry too much about it,” Rena muttered, peeved.

Marinette scratched the back of her head and let out an awkward laugh. “Sorry. You alright, Rena?”

“I’m drenched in milk, LB. But I found a USB and I managed to keep it dry.”

Marinette cheered under her breath, getting closer to inspect the gadget. It was a simple single-toned grey stick, made by LexCorp. “Only four gigabytes?” She mused aloud, expecting something more monumental.

Rena paid her no mind, wringing her hair over the sink, and yelping when the water that poured out of it was brown in colour. “Ugh, I should have just let Chat take this mission,” Rena grumbled. “Might have even enjoyed the milk.”

Marinette shrugged, a lazy smile painting her face. “I don’t think anyone’d enjoy an unexpected milk-bath, Rena, even silly kitty’s like him.”

Rena shook her leg clean, watching with wry eyes as droplets splashed onto the floor. “You always call him Kitty or Chaton,” Rena commented. “It’s kind of cute.”

If it was Carapace saying it, Marinette wouldn’t have batted an eye, but Rena was sort of pushy, and undeniably not-so-secretly interested in Ladybug’s (love) life. Marinate could see the teasing glint in Rena’s eyes and hear the mischief in her voice, enough to get what she was suggesting.

“Yes I do,” Marinette agreed. “Because we’re partners.”

“You don’t have nicknames for me!”

Marinette raised a brow. “You’re not my partner,” she sung.

Rena pouted, jutting her bottom lip out dramatically enough that for a second, Marinette saw her mask disappear and make way for her best friend who she knew was behind it. She’d never say it aloud, lest it encourage her friend’s more dangerous habits (running headfirst into attacks without a mask or protection) but Alya’s determination and vivacity had always been qualities that Marinette admired. That, and how lush her thick locks always seemed to be.

“What about your new partner then? Lark?”

Marinette snorted. Guess Alya held some second-hand anger on her boyfriend’s behalf after all. “You mean Robin?”

Rena rolled her eyes, waving a dismissive hand in the air. “Yeah sure, Robin.”

“What about him?”

“Well if not Chat, then?” Rena trailed off, but Marinette was sharp enough to know what she’d been suggesting.

Involuntarily, her cheeks burst bright red. Memories of last night that she’d tried so hard to forget — moonlight, a surprising confession, and lips —nope! She shook the thoughts out of her head, bringing her hands to her cheeks in an attempt to cool them down.

“Oh my god! Girl!”

“N-no!” Marinette stuttered out, adamant to explain things before Rena got the complete wrong idea. “It’s not like that! I don’t like Robin! Not even in a friend way!”

“Clearly not in the friend way! Girl, does he know?”

Stupid Robin. Stupid dumb Robin and his stupid dumb lips and their stupid dumb conversation and the terrible, awful, cringe-inducing, stupid-dumb ending to last night! “No! Alya!”

“What happened to no secret identities on the field? I don’t even know yours so you’ve got an advantage there.”

“I don’t think that’s the point, Rena.”

“You’re right,” she agreed. “The point is are you gonna tell him?”

“No, there’s nothing romantic happening at all!”

Knowing better than to push when Marinette was sure she looked ready to explode, Rena simply wiggled her brows cheekily and returned to searching for hints. “Okay LB,” she said as she passed, patting Marinette on the shoulders almost patronisingly.

Marinette had to bite her lip to prevent a scream.

Perusing the little unit was much less eventful than either of the two girls expected, and in the end, they found nothing of use apart from the single USB stick that Rena had risked milk-dousing for.

“Literally the worst hour of my life,” Rena commented, inhaling deeply when they finally locked the rotting door behind them. “Never again.”

“You okay to get the USB to Master Fu by yourself?”

“Sure thing Ladybug. You go ahead and get your Z’s, you’ve got patrol tomorrow night as well.”

Marinette moaned at the reminder. Damn, and she was getting excited to make a new dress-shirt too.

—————————————

School the next day was interesting, to say the least. The class was abuzz, all gravitating around Chloe’s desk where she was sat bragging (no surprise there) about some celebrities her dad’s hotel was hosting.

“The Waynes are ridiculously famous and important,” the blonde said, leaning back against her chair as if she didn’t care at all. (She cared very much, and wasn’t as good an actress as she thought she was, Marinette noted.) “Bruce Wayne is like, the most eligible bachelor, and he brought three of his sons with him!”

“Three?” Marinette mumbled under her breath, taking her seat beside Alya. “Why does she say it like he has more?”

“He has five,” Alya supplied helpfully, flashing her a smile in greeting.

Soon enough Alya’s head was down, and her chemistry notes were out, but it was obvious that she was paying more attention to what Chloe was saying than what was on her page, but a tad too prideful to admit to herself that Chloe had anything of particular worth to say.

Chloe’s voice was loud enough that Marinette could join her friend in pretending to overhear, rather than listen to the blonde. “They’re going to be staying at my daddy’s hotel for two weeks,” she boasted.

“Wow Chloe, that’s so cool!” Rose awed. Even from the other side of the room, Marinette could stars forming in her eyes. It was like Prince Ali all over again. “I’d love to meet them! I heard the Wayne foundation helps hundreds of people every year, and that Dick Grayson is nice to everyone!”

She nudged Alya lightly with her elbow. “Dick Grayson?”

“Eldest son, I think.” Was Alya’s simple reply.

Chloe sneered, “someone like him would want nothing to do with you.”

“Well, I’m going to say hi anyway!” Rose replied hotly, learning from last time. Her chest puffed out in pride, leaving her to look like a bright pink penguin, but Marinette was happy for her. It looked like she wasn’t going to let Chloe talk her down anymore.

Chloe opened her mouth, probably to dish out an insult, but straightened as if remembering something important. “Fine,” she said instead. “Do what you want.”

Alya raised a brow and made a face that looked to a cross between impressed and disbelieving.

In a weird way, Marinette felt almost proud. Sure, each awful word out of Chloe’s mouth gave her some sort of vindication (who doesn’t love being right?) that always lead to her feeling guilty, but every time Chloe acted politely, against Marinette’s expectations, she was being influenced by Ladybug. There was something humbling about seeing her impact on the small scale, however minute it was.

“Will you all come with me?” Rose asked, wide eyes directed at the girls of the class.

Don’t look, Marinette urged herself. The moment she looked into Rose’s big Bambi eyes she’d be gone, and however much she loved Rose she needed to go to bed before patrol that night.

“Please?”

“Sure thing, Rose!” Alya agreed. “Marinette and I’d be happy to come.”

Raising her head to refute Alya, Marinette found herself staring right into Rose’s baby blues. Crap. “Yeah Rose, I’d love to come!”

Marinette’s mouth moved faster than her mind, and by the time she’d realised what she had done it was far too late. Rose had already turned to ask Alix.

God, if only Rose was a tablespoon less cute.

(“You’re going to see Dick Grayson? Can I come? I love Dick Grayson!

“Sure, Kim!”)

—————————————

Dick Grayson really was nice to everyone he met, and it didn’t take long for Marinette to understand why all of Paris seemed to swoon over him.

He was charming, had eyes bluer than blue, and a smile that looked so familiar, Marinette could have sworn she’d seen it directed at her before. Really truly, he was great. But all she could focus on was the screaming that was happening somewhere further down the hotel that nobody else seemed to care about.

Marinette inched backwards until she was out of sight, bolting down the nearest corridor, following the sound the best she could.

Tikki peeked out from inside her bag, gazing at her with questioning eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to transform, Marinette? It doesn’t sound very good.”

“I just wanna check first, Tikki. It might not be an attack.”

It wasn’t one. What she’d mistaken for innocent lives threatened by some Akumatised being was, in fact, two boys screaming at each other in the hotel hallway. Or rather, one boy screaming as the other responded, just as heated, but not as loud.

“You will regret this, Drake!” The shorter boy seethed at the other, who stood across from him, clearly unimpressed, back slouched and left hand in his corduroy pants.

The taller one, Drake, raised his hands in apparent frustration. “It’s a room. You’ll just have to settle with sharing with Jason.”

“I had the room with Grayson first. Return it immediately!”

“You sound like a brat.”

The shorter boy huffed, launching a well-aimed kick at the taller boy’s head, which he somehow managed to block, hand still in his pocket. “Your attack will be returned tenfold,” the shorter one announced, leaving ‘Drake’ alone at last. Marinette squeaked as he walked in her direction, slipping around the corner as his eyes narrowed.

He didn’t seem to care though, walking out of the hotel without another look back.

Concerned about a potential Akuma victim, she trailed after him.

She felt childish to have been lulled in such an obviously false sense of comfort, but she was genuinely surprised when he disappeared from her sight after exiting the hotel, only to reappear behind her. He had one hand around both her wrists, keeping her from fighting back with her arms.

“What business do you have following me?”

Marinette spluttered, struggling not to let her eyes dart to her bag in concern as she felt Tikki’s concerned shudder. “I was just making sure you were okay!” Marinette insisted. “I just didn’t want you to get akumatised!”

He let go of her wrists, but his eyes were still in slits, and his knees were bent as if ready to bolt at any given chance. “Explain yourself,” he demanded.

He was pretty snooty if Marinette was being honest, but she supposed she’d be paranoid too if someone was following her. “If you get too upset, Hawkmoth will be able to use you to destroy the city,” Marinette explained, omitting some important parts about certain Miraculous’. It was weird he didn’t know any of this yet. “Are you new here or something?”

The boy sniffed in disdain. “My family landed here this morning.”

This morning…

Marinette gave his outfit a quick once-over.

Black skinny jeans; Givenchy, black shoes; Armani, Burberry jacket, and Wayne-Tech watch. Wayne tech phone peeking out from his pocket too… Rose was going to be so jealous.

(His target-brand Nightwing t-shirt confused her, though.)

“You must be a Wayne!” Marinate exclaimed, extending her hand to greet him. “I’m Marinette.”

He looked at her hand with a raised brow.

He didn’t move until her face shifted into a glare. “Damian.”

He was a little rough around the edges, but he was also mad, and she wouldn’t be Ladybug if she left some innocent person alone to be akumatised. “Nice to meet you, Damian. Do you like ice-cream?”

“I’m not fond of sweets.”

“I’ll find something for you.”

She grabbed his wrist, ready to tug him along, when he snatched his hand right out of her grip. “Unhand me!” He bellowed, looking angry again. Marinate wanted to slap a hand on her forehead, feeling idiotic for upsetting him even further.

“I’m not going to do anything weird, I promise. I just want to take you to my family’s bakery, get you some tea or something to calm you down.”

He looked on the verge of protest, but she must have said something right because he deflated soon after. “Some tea would be acceptable.”

They sat across from each other on the table nearest to the front window, seats comfortably cushioned with little round pillows that were decorated with flowers; one of Marinette’s own creations.

The bakery was one of her favourite places in the world. Little personal splashes made the place warm, from the cushions she’d made, the three small tables on the right side of the bakery for inside dining that she’d suggested herself, and the small red stain on the underside of the front counter that she’d created by spilling dye while making red-velvet cupcakes. She and her mom had spent almost an hour trying to remove any traces of it, but that little mark, shaped like a coma, was far more stubborn than either of them.  

He liked rice tea, she learned. Rice tea and plum dacqouise.

Well, he never said he liked plum dacquoise, but he clearly didn't dislike plum dacquoise. Her dad had asked if he’d like anything else with his tea, and when he looked to her for suggestions, there was one thing she couldn’t not recommend.

“I’d like the Marinette,” he’d said, voice frank. Her heart had pounded at how the sentence sounded, but she didn’t correct him or mention it in case it’d embarrass him. He wasn’t a native speaker after all, so it was impressive enough he could maintain a conversation and order all on his own.

“It’s my favourite cake,” she informed him after his first bite. He replied with a ‘hn.’

Easy silence befell them as Damian sipped his tea, looking out the window with slight interest. She was eating his cake, well her cake that he bought, content to sit in silence, appreciating how he simply nodded her way when he caught her, not too miffed at her eating his food. “Did you come here for a holiday?” She asked, striking up a conversation.

He tilted his head to the side, thinking. The bright lights seemed to highlight his jawline perfectly, because Marinette couldn’t stop her eyes from trailing downward. “For business mostly, but I suppose Gra— my brother might consider this a holiday.”

“Must be nice to have so many siblings.”

Damian huffed, folding his arms the way Alya’s younger sisters did when they heard something they didn’t like. “They’re not my siblings.”

“You just said you had a brother though?”

Damian spluttered, mouth moving as he protested mutely, unable to come up with a convincing response. “It’s not fun,” he said instead, replying to her initial comment.

Marinette smiled behind her hands at his petulant behaviour, not yet brave enough, or close enough to him to laugh at him to his face. “I wouldn’t know,” she shrugged. “I’m an only child.”

“I was too, once.” Damian’s eyes had a misty quality to them that Marinette wasn’t sure she wanted to touch on. Instead, she latched on to what felt like the only tangible part of what he said.

“Are you adopted?”

Damian all but hissed, leaning over the table to exclaim his response. “I’m the blood heir! The rest of them were adopted!”

She leaned back into her seat, surprised by his outburst.

Prepared to spend the rest of the hour suffering in heavy silence, Marinette was almost grateful to see a large, thorn breaking through the bakery window, engraving itself deep into the floor.

It shook the building down to its foundations, leaving the counter and the cakes it displayed utterly obliterated. Marinette coughed, inhaling a lungful of dust and debris caused by the projectile, wheezing out a breath. Her heart thrummed as she readied herself for a battle.

“I have to go!” She and Damian said in sync. She let him leave, expecting his worry for his family, and preoccupied with planning how to get to the Akuma.

Marinette let out a quiet “sorry,” as she trapped her parents in the back room, locking the door on them so they would be safe without noticing her absence.

“Tikki, spots on!”

End Notes: hhhhhhhhh so this is actually only half of my original plan for chapter 4 so I guess you can expect chapter five soon. I was so excited for the fight but chapter 4 got so long and I felt that the fight deserved it’s own chapter and I didn’t want too many events in one chapter because it’d feel too cluttered oh man.

But also! Daminette!!!!! 

Classic Bruce gets there secret identities to arrive later than their hero ones to avoid suspicion. We got our first peek at Tim, and a mention of Jason. If anyone’s wondering why Chloe only mentioned three sons,,, Jason’s legally dead so ye theres that. 

Daminette!!! They met!!!!!!!!! For those curious, his acceptance of tea was thanks to his appreciation of Alfred. Daminette!!! 

Things to look forward to next chapter: Akuma fight!!! Addressing the ‘Queen Bee’ situation completely, kind of addressing what happened the night damian stormed of jealous and MORE maridami goodness. (Is it obvious how much I love chapter 5 and how much I wanna get it DONE?

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[kittinoir]

Echoes of You Ch. 9

Read on Ao3

“I’m going to design something based on Ladybug’s new suit.”

Marinette grinned, glancing over at Alya as they swayed with the metro as it took a graceful turn beneath the banks of the Seine. They were headed for Trocadero Gardens to work on Mme. Bustier’s latest fashion assignment: formal wear inspired by the heroes of Paris. Alya had suggested the Gardens, and though it was Marinette’s secret place for inspiration, she found she wanted to share the space. She’d missed her best friend. 

“Long black gloves?” Marinette suggested with a knowing look. “Ombre skirt?”

Alya shook her head but stifled a giggle. “It’s like you read my mind, girl. Kinda obvious I guess, but…”

“I think it’s sweet!” Marinette said. “You’ve been a staunch supporter of Ladybug since the first day. You’ve been running the Ladyblog for a year and a half. A Ladybug gown only makes sense.”

“What about you?” Alya asked, tugging on her bag strap. “A stunning gown inspired by Rena Rouge? Or maybe Ryoku? You always love a challenge.”

Marinette shrugged. “I was actually thinking something inspired by Chat Noir.”

“Seriously?” Alya said, eyes wide behind her glasses. “You think he’s the lamest thing since, like, creation.”

“I do not!” Marinette said. “I think he’s…well, I think he’s really cool. And funny. And sweet. And the way he fights is just…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Alya held up her hand in front of Marinette’s face. “Since when do you have a crush on Chat Noir? What happened to Adrien?”

“A crush?” Marinette repeated. “I do not have a crush on Chat Noir!” But she felt a familiar blush creeping across her cheeks as her heart kicked into double-time. 

“Uh-huh.” Alya raised a single brow, eyeing the red stain. “I can see that.”

“Seriously!” Marinette said, but Alya just winked and went back to scrolling through her blog for inspiration.

She did not have a crush on that…that tom cat. There was no way. Her heart was dedicated to Adrien, one hundred thousand per cent. He was the first thing she thought of when she woke up and the last thing she thought of before going to sleep. She still swooned every time he smiled.

So what was up with her heart doing the tippy-tappy thing over Chat Noir!? She could tell Alya whatever she wanted to; Marinette knew what it meant. She didn’t not have a crush on Chat Noir.

Marinette stifled a sigh as they arrived at Trocadero and she followed Alya off the train. Maybe designing a gown inspired by Chat Noir would be a mistake. Maybe she should focus on one of the other heroes intstead. Rena Rouge did have a beautiful colour palette.

“Let me know if you have any, uhm, questions,” Alya said as they walked to the gardens. “About…well, you know.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “The Miraculous.”

A crease appeared between Marinette’s brows. “…Questions?”

“Yeah,” Alya said with a nod. “I know you had that whole…thing a few weeks ago.”

“Thing?” Now she was really confused. “What thing?”

It was Alya’s turn to frown. “The thing. The thing where you forgot all about the super heroes? Hawkmoth? The Miraculous? You called me totally freaking out.”

Marinette tried to comb through the last few weeks in her memory, but nothing jumped out at her as out of the ordinary or suspicious. She’d missed one or two akuma attacks, but she’d seen them later on the news or on Alya’s blog. She used to get a thousand notifications on her phone whenever one happened, but she’d disabled them; they were way more annoying than they were helpful. She didn’t even remember downloading half the apps.

Finally Marinette shrugged. “Must have just been stress,” she said as the picked a spot to start working. “You know how I get sometimes.”

“Not really,” Alya said slowly. “Not like this.”

“Oh.” Marinette bit her lip, but she was still coming up empty. “I’m sorry if I worried you.”

“Worried me?” Alya squinted at her friend as they sank onto a bench near some rose bushes. “How many heroes are there?”

Marinette frowned. “Trick question, Alya. Obviously Ladybug and Chat Noir are the main duo, but there a team of six other heroes that help them out from time to time.”

“Trick question you answered wrong,” Alya said triumphantly. “There are seven others.”

Marinette made a face. “I wasn’t really counting Chloe, but sure, I guess, technically seven.”

Alya seemed surprised but let it go. “Ok, who are they fighting?”

“Hawkmoth,” Marinette answered immediately, “But he sometimes has help from Mayura. Ooh, she has a great costume. Do you think Mme. Bustier would let me do a design based on her instead of one of the heroes?”

Alya rolled her eyes. “Never mind,” she said, flipping open her notebook. “It was clearly fever-induced hysteria.”

“Sorry,” Marinette said. She nudged her friend with her shoulder. “Seriously though, I’m fine. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

Alya gave Marinette a half-hearted smile. “You just scared me, girl. I’m glad you’re…well, feeling better, I guess.”

“Right as rain,” Marinette promised. Alya just shook her head, either in fake exasperation or real exasperation, Marinette wasn’t totally sure which, then dove into her sketch. 

Marinette opened her own sketch book, flipping past old designs of derby hats and reception dresses until she came to a blank page. She pulled a pencil out, but she hesitated before putting lead to paper. She had to decide before she started. She only hesitated for a moment more before committing to the design that had been flickering around her mind since the homework had been assigned. Besides, if she didn’t like it, she could always change it later.

She began with the bodice, sketching out the silhouette of a cheongsam. Marinette had discovered some time ago that she enjoyed infusing her designs with aspects of her culture from her mothers’ side.

She followed the simple and elegant lines down to the floor in a fit and flare skirt, forsaking the yards of fabric and billowing skirts she normally favoured. While his suit had more embellishments than Ladybug’s, they were few, far between, and utilitarian. Well, she thought, smiling to herself as she added a bell to the collar, almost. 

Marinette scrawled notes in to the side of the design indicating colour and texture, then tilted her head as she considered what she had. She liked the silhouette, but many cheongsams had some floral design embroidered across the fabric. There was also the matter of the belt. She added a modest slit to the skirt on the left that came up to the knees while she thought on it.

Before she reached a decision, alarmed shouts erupted around them. Marinette twisted, her sketchbook falling to the paving stones, as she searched for the source. Sure enough, Alya’s phone erupted with at least six notifications, alerting them to an akuma attack in the area.

“Score!” Alya cheered, shoving her book back in her bag. “Talk about inspiration!”

“I don’t think it’s normal to be that happy about someone else’s misfortune,” Marinette chided, but Alya had already set her phone to record.

“Are you coming with me this time, girl?” Alya asked, but as she spoke the paving stones beneath them began to rumble.

“I don’t think I’ll have to,” Marinette said, her voice vibrating with the impact. “I think whatever it is is coming to us!”

Sure enough, something exploded from the ground mere feet away from them, showering stone and dirt in a 5 metre radius, a black rose clutched in its hand. Marinette and Alya ducked, wincing as small pebbles pelted them. Alya shrieked as a larger stone ricocheted off her phone with a loud crack and the screen went black.

“My phone!” Alya smacked the side of the device, trying to get it to light up again while Marinette watched in horror as the monster turned towards the noise. “My phone!”

“Alya!” Marinette leapt at her friend, tackling her out of the way as the monster crashed towards them. It missed them by a wide margin, and a second later, Marinette could see why: its eyes were clouded over. Either this thing was blind, or could see very little.

“Time to go,” Marinette said. She grabbed Alya by the wrist and tugged her after her as she sprinted back towards the train station.

“But Marinette, my blog - ”

“These things are dangerous, Alya!” Marinette snapped as her friend tugged her to a stop. “Why don’t you get that!”

“Dangerous?!” Alya sniped back. “Ladybug’s miracle cure always fixes everything !”

Marinette wanted to rip her hair out. “But what if it doesn’t? What if she loses? She’s just a girl, Alya, and Hawkmoth is getting closer and closer to cornering her! Do you even realize how much pressure you put on her by putting yourself in danger like this?”

For once Alya seemed to be at a loss for words. “I.. I just…”

Marinette knew. She wanted to be a reporter. She admired Ladybug so much. She loved superheroes. She wanted to be a part of the team. She wanted to help do what was right.

“Come on,” Marinette said, “Let’s head for the roof of the Musée de la Marine. It’ll be safer and you can probably still see what’s going on.”

Alya said nothing, but let Marinette pull her along again. They hadn’t gotten very far, however, when the monster exploded from the ground again, closer this time.

“I WANT THE MIRACULOUS,” it shrieked. It writhed , and before they could react, it pounced on Alya, burrowing back into the ground with her trapped between its hideous arms.

“Alya!” Marinette clawed at the ground where they’d disappeared, but the dirt sifted through her fingers, empty. She whipped around as the monster burst from the ground again, thirty metres away. Alya was no where in sight.

“Give her back,” Marinette shrieked. She seized a large rock by her foot and flung it with all her strength. A small part of her was surprised when the rock actually nailed the thing in the forehead, but it was swept away in the flood of her rage. She grabbed another rock, and another, pelting the monster’s wide body as it searched wildly for her. It dove suddenly, and Marinette flung herself to the side, scraping her arms and cheeks on the rough stones as the akuma resurfaced where she’d been crouched.

“Lucky Charm!”

Marinette threw her arms over her head protectively as the battle cry rang throughout the gardens. She could see the shadow of the monster arcing towards her, and then she was flying, the Trocadero Gardens far below.

“Nice aim,” a voice said in her ear. “I think the akuma’s still shaking.”

Marinette looked up into the face of Chat Noir, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck as she put the pieces together.

“It took Alya,” she blurted, and she was embarrassed to discover she was tearing up. “It took her, please, you have to - ”

“We’ll get her back, Marinette,” Chat Noir promised as they landed somewhere new in the gardens. He gave her a crooked smile. “I swear on one of my nine lives.”

“It’s holding a rose,” Marinette rambled as he set her legs back under her. “I think that’s where the akuma’s hiding. It’s in its right fist.”

Chat Noir’s grin actually faltered. “What - How do you know that?”

“The rose was black.” Marinette turned back towards the monster, as though she could see it from where she was. She couldn’t, but faint dirt clouds marked where it was hiding. “There aren’t any black roses grown here. I wouldn’t be surprised if the monster  is actually a gardener here.”

Chat Noir nodded, squeezing her shoulder. “Thank you, Marinette. We’ll get your friend back.”

He extended his baton and used it to vault back towards the action. Marinette crouched by a near by bush, making sure to note whether or not the ground was shaking, but it seemed Ladybug and Chat Noir were keeping the villain well occupied. Minutes later a red cloud burst from where the fight had taken place. She could hear the cheers of people nearby. 

Marinette began to straighten but froze as a small cloud of ladybugs sought her out and swirled around her face and arms. It was only then she truly noticed the scrapes, but as she watched, they faded. Seconds later they disappeared altogether. Still, the ladybugs danced over her skin, tickling, caressing, comforting, almost as though greeting an old friend, but slowly their light began to fade. They only lasted moments more, and then they, too, vanished with a small, red sparkle.

[homeforchristmas-au]

Character bios/descriptions

Here’s some descriptions of the sides in this au cos i wanna talk about them like all day lol

Patton Sanders (formerly Shepard):

Age: 29

Pronouns: he/him

Height: 5’6”

Straight chestnut brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, hint of a tan but nothing too extreme, rectangular glasses with black frames, usually wears clothes that are comfortable (especially oversized jumpers), loves wearing beanies (often steals Logan’s, who hesitantly allows it) (mostly cos he’s really freaking cute in them)

Really good with kids (ofc) and is such a people person, but can get shy around older people (specifically men old enough to be his dad)

Very good at reading emotions and knowing what people need, whether it’s a hug or alone time

Has asthma, but it’s not nearly as bad as it used to be

Is an only child to a mother and father, but ended up running away cos his dad became really overly aggressive

His uncle on his mothers side is Emile, who is married to Thomas, and they both took Patton in once it became clear that emiles sister and her husband were unfit parents (although Patton’s mom was much better with Patton and actually helped him run away) which was when he had his last name changed to Sanders

He met Logan when he ran away and they both went to emile and Thomas’s house together (I actually wrote the story of how they met for 25 Days of Ficmas on my main blog uwu)

They started out as friends for a long time until Patton found himself falling for Logan, who revealed that he had been crushing on Patton for quite some time

Their relationship started out rocky as neither of them knew exactly how to date (theyd dated other people before, they were just remarkably bad at it) but they made it through in the end

Logan Sanders (formerly Adams):

Age: 28

Pronouns: he/him

Height: 5’11”

Curly, light brown hair, amber eyes, moderately fair skinned, a lot of freckles on his face and arms, round glasses with silver frames, dresses much differently depending on if he’s home or in public - at home he’ll wear T-shirts and casual lounge pants and beanies and stuff, but in public typically sticks with a polo shirt and jeans, sometimes with a necktie depending on the setting

Has a tendency to put up a cold exterior around strangers or when in a public setting, but around loved ones he’s much more relaxed and casual, but still usually struggles to express his feelings.

He’s an amazing father, although sometimes he doubts this despite how much his kids absolutely adore him (he also has a tendency to doubt his own intelligence, even though he’s incredibly smart)

Is autistic, on the high functioning end of the spectrum, and has worked with professionals for basically his whole life to work on reading social cues and such, which he’s much better at now

Has three younger sisters - from oldest to youngest, Ellen, Renae, and Ashley. Logan being the oldest sibling, he’s always felt quite protective of his sisters. Can and will physically fight the whole planet for them

Their father died when Logan was 16. He was completely distraught over this and ran away from home. It was the most reckless, impulsive thing he’d ever done, but he doesn’t regret it for a single second, because that was how he met the love of his life

He did end up going back home to his family, because he knew they needed him

Virgil Sanders:

Age: 4 (birthday December 19)

Pronouns: he/him

Height: idk however tall four year olds are

Floppy black hair, gunmetal blue eyes, about as pale as a vampire, always wearing something purple (most notably the light purple polo shirt Logan couldn’t resist getting him, as well as his dark purple jumper that’s a size too big)

He’s fairly shy, though Patton and Logan tend to avoid calling him as such (they typically say introverted), but once he warms up to new people he’s a delight (it took him quite some time to fully trust Janus, but even from day one it was clear they connected on some level). He adores insects and arachnids, and much to Patton’s dismay, his favourite is spiders. He wants to be an entomologist when he grows up, but he can never remember the word for it, so he says “bug scientist”

Is suspected to be autistic but has yet to be tested for it

He was adopted by Patton and Logan when he was an infant. His mother was sixteen years old and had to give the baby up, due to her parents insistence, plus she knew she was unfit anyway, and it didn’t help that the father completely abandoned her. Patton and Logan matched with her in the adoption process when she was three months pregnant and it was quite the journey from start to finish

Roman & Remus Sanders:

Age: 8 (birthday June 14)

Pronouns: both he/him

Height: uh average

Both fairly tanned having spent over half their childhood in the sunlight, Roman has short dark mahogany brown hair and forest green eyes, Remus has longer, curly dark mahogany brown hair with jade green eyes, they both have dark freckles, Roman’s mostly on his cheeks while Remus’s are basically all over his body, and Remus has a gap in his extremely crooked teeth as well as green braces. Roman has all manner of Disney apparel, but he especially loves wearing his white Mickey Mouse shirt with the long red sleeves, and he’s also unafraid to wear traditionally “feminine” clothes like dresses and skirts. Remus... prefers not wearing clothes at all honestly but Logan and Patton insist on it, so he tries to wear as few clothes as possible, usually his neon green tank top and dark brown cargo shorts

They’re very different from each other but they do have similarities and can work well together. They pretty much never admit it but they do love each other despite their differences and near constant bickering.

They’re both dramatic, but in somewhat different ways. Roman is dramatic in that way that���s like “I’m literally tinkerbell because you have to give me attention or I’ll die”, while Remus is more like “this little tiny thing inconvenienced me so I’m gonna overreact and formulate murder plans against whoever/whatever dare make my life unbearably difficult”. They’re also both very creative, but of course they have different views on creativity (I doubt I need to get into specifics). They also both love Disney, but roman is more into classic Disney while Remus prefers Pixar

They both seem to exhibit traits of ADHD but haven’t been tested for it yet

They were around three years old when their mom and dad both died in a car accident. It was two years after that that Patton and Logan decided to adopt them both, despite only planning on adopting one child. Virgil was a year old at this time, and they wanted an older kid, and they ended up with two. And really that was fine by them, they just knew that this was it; no more kids, at least for a little while

Janus REDACTED

Age: 15 (birthday February 3)

Pronouns: he/him/they/them

Height: 5’7”

Medium length light golden brown hair, two different coloured eyes (right - cognac, left - chartreuse), fair skinned with a red birthmark taking up most of the left side of his face, missing right leg where he had to get an above-the-knee amputation, which causes him to need forearm crutches, he usually wears clothes that cover as much of his body as possible, and he oftentimes - if not constantly - wears foundation and concealer to hide his birthmark, although Patton and Logan insist it’s not necessary

He tends to avoid people when possible, since he’s developed quite the trust issues over the years. Going from foster home to foster home has made it difficult to allow himself to get close with anyone. In spite of this, he always seems to find himself bonding with the kids in his foster families. Especially the Sanders family when they first took him in (their original plan was to simply foster him... that plan fell through as they very quickly decided they wanted him to be part of their family)

Overall they’re a sarcastic cynic with a knack for storytelling, and while they seem cold and reserved on the outside, completely uncaring about the world around them, really deep down they just want to feel loved by someone, they want to feel accepted and like they’re really part of a family, like they’re actually wanted

They developed a bit of trauma from their birth family situation but a lot of it has been worked out, although they still have issues to work through even after all this time

They were ten when their dad got blackout drunk, forced them and their mom into the car, and started driving. Janus still has no idea where he was trying to go, but they never made it. They got into a monumental car accident, and Janus was lucky they made it out alive, although it costed them their leg. Their mother died unfortunately and their father was on life support last they heard. They never found out if he woke up or if he was taken off of it, so they have no idea if their dad is dead or alive. They tell themself they don’t care, they don’t wanna know either way, but they do. They feel like they shouldn’t, since their dad hurt them and got their mom killed, but they did have fond memories of their dad, which made the entire situation that much worse

So yeah on the happiest of notes there’s the main fam-ILY!!! :,)

I might continue this post with descriptions of the entire extended family, who knows!!!! :D (let me know if I missed anything in the tags btw, although I reached the limit so oof if I did)

[pessimisticlatte]

Glass Roses - Chapter 6

Marichat ~ Adrienette ~ Platonic Marigami ~ Lukagami ~ Chlobrina ~ Nathalie x Emilie ~ DJWifi/Rougapace/Alynino

-Eventual Reveal-

Bit of a reveal in here, my wonderful readers! I love making things a bit complicated so that’s exactly what I’ve done! Enjoy my explanation as to why I described Lila as being ‘strawberry blonde’ in the last chapter! It’s going to be very important very, very soon :P

~~~~~~~~ Gabriel could feel Nathalie’s disdain toward him radiating off her. He was unsure of what he’d done to turn her against him but he didn’t have much reason to care, she was a means to an end and a way of bringing Emilie back to him. She didn’t have to like him anymore, she just had to obey his orders.

~~~~~~~

School had been active for a month. There hadn’t been a single akuma attack just yet, Marinette didn’t exactly understand the full extent of Hawkmoth’s powers but Master Fu had explained that he chose his victims by judging the strength of their emotions. Mari couldn’t grasp how that worked. Chat hadn’t come to see her since school had started and she could feel a deep, jittery worry sludging through her veins. He was on her mind near constantly, so much so that her anxiety around Adrien had almost completely diminished. 

Mari stood on her balcony with a light cardigan wrapped around her slim shoulders, if Chat didn’t appear in the next twenty or so minutes, she’d decided that she was going to head out on a patrol as Ladybug. Rena Rouge, Carapace, Chat Noir and Ladybug had formed a roster for patrolling so that it wasn’t a responsibility placed solely on Ladybug and Chat’s shoulders and everyone had the chance to get a full night’s sleep. Mari had been meaning to raise the idea of adding another to their slowly growing band, she’d taken the Dragon miraculous back off Kagami before Kagami had gone away. The Bee miraculous, Snake miraculous, Horse, Monkey and the others were all still in the Guardian Box. She wouldn’t mind adding Ryuko to the roster or Viperion, maybe both, but tonight wasn’t her night to patrol. It was Chat’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lila stood in front of the dimly lit washbasin in her ensuite, looking at herself in the grimy mirror above it. All the lies she’d told the students at school about her mother always ran with an undercurrent of truth. Yes, her mother was absent, and yes, they hadn’t spent proper time together in years but it wasn’t because she was a super-spy or world-famous model, it was because of something far more sad.

Unwrapping the towel from around her head, Lila remembered the last time she’d seen her mother. The tanned skin of her mother’s face was stretched across the frame of her face, the meat of her cheeks created cliffs under her round cheekbones from the extent that it had withered away, once lively brown eyes now hollow and sunken, glassy and unseeing. The tangled, waist length strands of Lila’s hair came free from the towel and fell in damp clumps around her pyjama clad hips. Lila’s mother was a housemaid, a migrant one at that, who worked herself to the bone to keep Lila in school and clothed as best she could. The clothes on Lila’s back had been painstakingly hand-sewn by Lila herself to replicate the fashions she saw daily. Chloe Bourgeois didn’t know how lucky she was, her father was alive and her mother made time for her. She had money to throw around on stupid things like manicures she’d get redone in a different colour the very next day, while Lila didn’t even have enough spare to buy new bobby pins when she really needed them.

Brushing her hand through her limp, newly re-bleached hair, Lila sighed through her nose. Even Dupain-Cheng had it good. Her mother and father adored her, they always made time for her and never left her completely, utterly alone. A large chunk of Lila’s hair came off in her hand, the damp blonde ball tangled around her fingers caused a sob to rise in her throat. The tips of her butter yellow acrylic fingernails shone within the hairball, the manicure that she’d stolen money to get. The manicure that now held knotted bundles of her once magnificent brunette mane. Lila felt a hairy clump whisper against the skin of her back as she moved her head slightly, the weight of her drying hair was now pulling the dead, chemically destroyed roots directly out of her scalp.

She’d worked herself to the bone over the holidays to afford the hair bleach, the make up, jewellery, even her criminally paid for manicure. The family her mother worked for rarely let her go home and her wage scarcely covered their rent, not to mention school, so Lila worked when she could, as much as she could. She cleaned, she cooked, she sewed things, all so she could afford groceries, when she’d come up short of her calculations on how much she’d need to spend on her new appearance, she’d stolen cash from the till at the fast food restaurant she took the graveyard shift at. The manager had been none the wiser as Lila swiped petty change and other employee’s tips as well as bills and coins from the register.

Tears stinging her eyes as she tied what remained of her once thick, soft, glistening hair into a straggly, thin plait and repeated the mantra she told herself daily.

“When you marry Adrien Agreste, you will never go hungry again, you will be the daughter Gabriel Agreste never had, and you will make Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chloe Bourgeois, Alya Cesaire and Kagami Tsurugi pay for everything they have done to you. You will rule Paris one day with Adrien and his wealth by your side, and you will make them know how to feels to have nothing, to have no one, to be nothing. You will destroy their families and serve justice for them not helping your mother.”

Lila and her mother had lived in Paris for longer than Marinette and her family. The Dupain Bakery had been run by a cantankerous old man before Tom Dupain and his new wife, Sabine Cheng, returned from China with their young daughter and took over the business. Lila’s mother had asked the old man to take her on as a baker or even as a waitress but he’d spat slurs at her until she’d fled the bakery with her damaged pride and worry for the young mouth she had to feed. Her mother never went back to the bakery but every time Lila saw the smiling faces of Tom and Sabine at an event they were catering, she thought of a time when her mother wasn’t too exhausted to function.

Alya’s mother, Marlena, was the head chef at Le Grande Paris restaurant and had been kind to Lila’s mother for as long as she worked there. Marlena and her husband were born in France but had Creole heritage, Marlena understood some of the disdain Lila’s mother endured and tried to make her feel welcome. Lila never had the chance to meet Alya before she started at College Francoise Dupont but after Marlena had been forced to fire her mother, Lila had vowed to make the other girl pay. It wasn’t her mother’s fault that a patron had assaulted her and she’d accidentally spilled hot soup on him, the man who grabbed her ass should have been punished, not her mother who was working to feed her. Alya had two parents and wouldn’t ever have to worry about her next meal, Alya’s mother had taken a woman who was supporting a sick child with what she had and left her in the gutter to die.

Kagami had taken Adrien’s focus off her. He no longer worried about settling Lila into the school and helping keep her caught up on work. He’d barely spoken to her today when he sat next to her in class. She’d spent quite a few painstaking hours forging her mother’s signature on a letter to the school to ensure Adrien would have to spend as much time as possible with her but he hadn’t deigned to say more than a few words, instead looking around the room to avoid her gaze. He’d spent lunch with Kagami too, and Marinette, and Alya. Lila would make him love her. He had no choice.

She didn’t know where to begin when it came to the pain Chloe had caused her. Lila’s mother had applied for a job at the Bourgeois residence a year ago, after Lila had started at Francoise Dupont, and Chloe had mercilessly mocked her for it. Chloe had hired Lila’s mother for a week, and held her mother’s job over Lila like a carrot to a horse, ensuring that Lila did whatever she wanted. Lila had almost been akumatised but Ivan had been instead, his rage so much more susceptible to the butterfly than her frustration. Her mother had then been unceremoniously let go, leaving her bedridden as Lila scraped in what she could to afford doctors visits for her now raging cold. After her mother had finally gotten better, Mayor Bourgeois had hired her again, saying that she was lucky that Chloe had taken pity on her and convinced him to take her back on as a maid. Chloe had spun a false story that made it appear as if Lila’s mother had stolen a valuable necklace from her, Lila knew that Chloe had actually given that very necklace to Sabrina several weeks before; but that was where her mother worked now, doing all the jobs other servants didn’t want to do. Her mother worked longer hours than she should, did jobs damaging to her already fragile health, and her employers paid little attention. Every time something broke, which was awfully often, the cost of repair would be taken out of Lila’s mother’s paycheque. 

The cost of renting in Paris was ridiculously steep, meaning that pay that had once seemed generous barely kept them alive but after the deductions from every broken object, it was even less.

Looking at her face in the mirror, Lila vowed to make each of them pay and take from them what their families had denied her. Adrien was beautiful and kind but, most importantly, he was wealthy. He was the only person who could love Lila, who could fix the terrible life she came from. But Lila knew that there was no redemption for her, even if he loved her.

In her heart, she knew that she wouldn’t stop once she got everything she wanted. She was going to kill the man who sired her and leave his body in a gutter. She was going to completely isolate Adrien so he had no one and nothing but her, then she was going to use his family’s influence to become the most powerful person the world had ever seen. No matter how horrible the life she had was, she would never be happy unless everyone else was not. 

She would tear Chloe Bourgeois’ life apart and take it for herself, looking exactly like the girl who had caused her and her mother more pain than they already endured.

~~~~~~~~~

Dressed as Chat Noir, Adrien leaned against a chimney and watched Marinette standing on her balcony. She looked so serene but so tense and worried at the same time, her body like a tightly coiled wire. Her azure eyes flicked around the houses in front of her, a frown growing on her beautiful face. He knew that she was looking for him but he wanted to wait another minute before he skipped across the roof-tops to her. Adrien had let Rena Rouge and Carapace know that he had plans come up tonight, meaning that he was going to be unable to finish his patrol; the two had looked at each other, sharing a knowing glance, and agreed that Carapace would take over his patrol tonight. Rena had pulled him aside afterwards and asked him, not so subtly, if he had a date planned; he’d felt his cheeks flare red under the mask and the gleam in Rena’s eye told him that she hadn’t missed it, something about her multicoloured opal eyes reminded him of Alya and the stance she held before him echoed the reporter perfectly. 

It had been a while since Chat Noir and Rena Rogue had seen each other, just the two of them, and both had grown older and wiser over the summer holidays. Adrien was more perceptive since discovering Marinette was Ladybug, spending a lot of time analysing the way she walked, the way she talked and the way she stood. Alya had never stopped being perceptive but she’d always been so preoccupied when she dressed as Rena and she’d never taken the time to pick apart every aspect of who the boy in the black catsuit could be.

“Alya?” Adrien’s voice had softened. Carapace behind him was tapping a message to Ladybug to tell her of the patrol change tonight on his shell-phone (as he jokingly called it). The way he said her name had Alya’s eyes widening to saucers and her jaw dropping.

“Is that you behind that mask, Adrien Agreste?” Alya flicked her fingers against his forehead, Adrien batted her hand away.

“Who else could it be, you tricky fox?” He gave a devious smirk and winked.

“Somehow, you had been the last person I’d ever expected to be Chat Noir but I’d never expected Nino to be Carapace eithe-,” Alya slapped her hand over her mouth and shook her head, not looking at Adrien at all.

“N-Nino is Carapace?” Adrien’s eyes widened too, the black pupils shrinking to a pinprick. “That means Marin-, Lady-.”

“Marin? Do you mean Marinette?” Alya cut Adrien off with a quizzical look. She didn’t understand why he’d correlated Nino with Marinette and she was sure that she could dissect it but she didn’t have the mental space currently after discovering that Adrien ‘I live in a tower’ Agreste liked to dress in a skintight black cat suit and skip across Parisian rooftops, putting himself in near constant danger.

“Uh….,” Adrien paused awkwardly and shuffled his feet. “No?”

Alya’s eyes widened even further, the sclera fully haloing the glimmering rainbow of her eyes. “Marinette is Ladybug,” The words felt so weird but so right on her tongue. “Oh my god, Marinette is Ladybug and Ladybug is Marinette. How did I not notice earlier!”

“Shhhh, sh, sh, sh,” Adrien covered Alya’s mouth with his hand before she could call Cara- Nino’s attention to their discussion. “She doesn’t know that I know and she can’t know that you know.”

“It makes sense why she chose me now. It wasn’t because of the Ladyblog or just because Ella and Etta became the Sapotis, it was because I’m her best friend and there’s nothing like fighting crime with your bestie,” Adrien’s hand muffled Alya’s rambling, but he nodded.

“Oh shiiiiiit, what’d you do, Al?” Nino’s casual tone broke through the awkward air surrounding the position Alya and Adrien were in. “Wait, sorry, lemme try again, what’d you do, Nine-tails?”

Adrien took his hand off Alya’s mouth and sighed. Alya and Nino knew who each other were and if their superhero relationship was anything like their civilian one then secrets wouldn’t stay secret between them for long. 

“Well shit, Nino,” Adrien rubbed his fingers across his brow. “You blew her cover.”

“I’m not Nino, who is Nino?” Nino put on a fake accent, looking awkwardly around the rooftop as if that would erase the knowledge Adrien now had.

“Can I say it?” Alya looked at Adrien who gave a single nod. Placing her hand gently on Nino’s cheek, Alya turned his face so his eyes would meet hers. “Adrien is Chat Noir, Speilberg.”

“Uh, not a good time to be pulling my leg, Al,” Nino looked so confused, his eyes tearing from those of his girlfriend to assess Adrien. “Like, really not a good time. I’m about to head out on a patrol and this prank really isn’t gonna help me keep a level head if I have to spend the whole time freakin’ out about Adrien possibly lying to me.”

Something cold formed in the pit of Adrien’s stomach. “She’s not pranking you, Nino,” Adrien dropped the jovial tone he used specifically for Chat Noir and slipped into his usual restrained voice, the one Nino heard daily and would have no choice but to recognise. “It’s me.”

Alya’s hand still on his face, Nino’s head snapped between the two of them.

“You’re definitely pulling my leg, this isn’t funny, how’d you get Chat to copy Adrien’s voice so well, Nine-tails?” Nino shook his head vigorously, removing Alya’s hand from his face by her orange clad wrist. “This isn’t funny.”

“Plagg, claws in,” Adrien knew there was no other way to convince Nino that he was Chat Noir and if he didn’t show him the truth, Adrien might very well ruin his relationship with Alya. Marinette would skin him alive if he tore Nino and Alya apart, they had found each other when both of them were very lost and had found their way together, if he destroyed that she would never, ever forgive him. The Chat Noir suit melted off Adrien’s body and clotted together to form Plagg who promptly fell, groaning, to the floor of building the three were stood upon.

Nino’s eyes bugged out of his head, stretching further than should be humanly possible. He shook his head, eyes closed, before looking at Adrien again.

“Dude, you...you’re Chat Noir?” Nino looked at Alya as he confusedly questioned his best friend. Alya gave her boyfriend a reassuring half smile and nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I-Ladybug said that I couldn’t tell you that I was Chat Noir because it could put you and your families in danger,” Adrien’s brow creased as he remembered Marinette insisting that their loved ones came first. “But, now that you’re Carapace, you and Alya should know who I am.”

“Does Ladybug know?” Nino went straight to the point. With an air of sadness, Adrien shook his head. “So, you don’t know who Ladybug is?”

“He didn’t say that, Speilberg,” Alya cut in over the top, reminding the two boys that she was still there and a part of the conversation.

“So you do know who Ladybug is?” Nino cocked his head. He was well aware of Adrien’s crush on Ladybug and if his best friend knew who the girl behind the mask was then surely he’d asked her out.

“Uuuuuuuh………,” Adrien bit his lip. “Plagg, claws out.”

The Chat Noir suit folded back around Adrien’s body, the Cat Kwami groaning as his form dispersed into the costume.

“You know who Ladybug is but she doesn’t know who you are?” Nino had taken Adrien’s sudden transformation as an avoidance tactic. “Is she someone we know?”

“Uh,” Adrien didn’t want to give Mari away to Nino like he did to Alya. Being Chat had been his best kept secret but only because he’d never interacted with anyone aside from Ladybug before Rena Rouge and Carapace had joined them. Marinette had never asked who he was under the mask and had actually insisted that he didn’t tell her, he wasn’t going to disobey her wishes. Especially after his interaction with Tikki.

“Nino,” Alya pinched his arm. 

“We definitely know her,” Nino rubbed his arm where Alya had pinched him. “Al knows who she is doesn’t she?”

Adrien opened and then closed his mouth, Nino bit his tongue to hold back making a joke about how good Adrien’s fish impression was.

“Imma start rifling off names cause I’m getting impatient and ya both know that I’m not a fan of puzzles. I’m a music man and filmmaker extraordinaire but puzzle maester I am not,” Alya pressed her lips together and rolled her eyes, she loved his stubbornness but she wasn’t sure if this warranted another pinch or letting him continue to press Adrien. “Ahhhh...Chloe?”

Adrien shook his head. Why would Nino immediately go for Chloe?

“Good, even if she has changed, I couldn’t imagine her keeping being Ladybug a secret, plus she did fight with us as Queen Bee, didn’t she? So I should-a ruled her out immediately,” Alya grimaced. “Sabrina?”

Another head shake, this time Alya gave one too. Neither Adrien nor Alya realised it but in deciding to ask the name of every single girl Nino, Adrien and Alya knew, Nino was attempting to hold them up as long as possible before he went on patrol. It may be selfish but he wanted to spend more time with Alya and he was still getting used to the fact that Adrien, his best friend, was Chat Noir. He knew that he’d asked why Adrien would want to lie to him but after accepting that it was Adrien in front of him, he didn’t want to bring that back up; Nino didn’t like hurting people and he especially didn’t like hurting Adrien. The look on Adrien’s face after Nino had made the statement told him that his words had injured his best friend. 

“Ladybug has dark hair...dark hair...dark hair,” Nino tapped his chin and started to pace. Alya shot a look at Adrien and mouthed the words ‘I think all the thinking is hurting him’, Adrien sneezed out a chuckle. “Juleka?”

“Nope,” Alya responded this time, cocking her hip and gently folding her arms below her bust. The smile on her face was casual and loving.

“Am I getting warmer or colder?” Nino pursed his lips.

“You’re getting soup,” Adrien stuck his chin out and leaned forward, extending his baton and resting both his hands and chin on the top of it.

“I dunno what that means. It can’t be Marc, I know they could match the voice but I don’t think they’d fit the suit,” Nino paused. “The voice, Ladybug’s voice, Al, do you have a recording?”

“Of course I have a recording,” Alya whipped out the Illusion flute and flicked the cap on the end off, opening up the screen beneath. Running her glove covered finger across it, Alya started to play a recording of Ladybug’s voice through the flute. She’d hooked the computer in the flute up to her phone and now had access to all the recordings she had of her interviews with Ladybug.

“...don’t worry, I’ve got you,” The soft voice coming through the speaker cooed to whoever was on the other end. Alya had taken this recording last time she’d helped Marinette take down an Akuma, the victim had been a little toddler who had immediately started bawling as soon as the possession left her body.

“T-that sounds like Mari,” Nino pointed at the flute with a knowing grin. “That’s a recording of Mari. Mari is Ladybug.”

“Ding, ding, ding,” Adrien wiggled his hips slightly, still balancing his chin on the baton. 

“Wait, I’m correct?” Nino actually looked very confused. He’d been playing to win but Mari was the last person he thought would be Ladybug. She was incredibly clumsy, not overly strong and very, very shy; Nino wasn’t sure that she could survive the stunts Ladybug did. Then he remembered that he’d seen Mari actually remained balanced during a gymnastics lesson at school, he’d seen her moving stacks of chairs heavier than she was, and she’d become more open, so much less shy. “Mari...Marinette is Ladybug.”

“Yes, she is,” Alya walked over to her boyfriend and placed her hands on his shoulders, her smaller frame melted into Nino’s as she hugged him. “I don’t think there could be anyone better to be Ladybug.”

“She’s selfless, caring, and so strong, that’s why I love her,” Adrien stood up fully and collapsed his baton, sticking it to the magnetic patch on the lower back of his suit. “When I discovered that Marinette was Ladybug, I realised that I was lucky to love someone so brave. Yeah, I was kinda mad at first that she hadn’t told me that she was Ladybug but she did it to protect me.”

“Mari is the perfect Ladybug,” Nino pressed a kiss to the top of Alya’s head, a grin breaking across his face. “You love her, eh?”

“Dammit, Speilberg, that’s what you take from this?” Alya rested her chin against his chest and looked up at him with round eyes. 

“It’s alright, Alya,” Adrien chuckled awkwardly. “I told Nino that I had a crush on Mari during the holidays and he’s been trying to get me to admit to it for weeks.”

“Hell yeah, I have,” Nino rested his arms on Alya’s shoulders and rubbed his chin against her forehead, drawing an annoyed groan from the red-head in his hold. “So you know that Mari is Buggaboo but she doesn’t know that you’re Kitty boy?”

“Yeah,” Adrien chewed his bottom lip, ripping a flake of skin off.

“We know that Mari is Buggaboo and that you’re Kitty boy but she doesn’t know that we know and she also doesn’t know that we know that she doesn’t know,” Nino nodded his head, rubbing his chin against Alya’s forehead again, she struggled to pull out of his grip.

“Basically,” Adrien watched Alya wriggle around in Nino’s grip, trying to make him let go of her. With a grin and a wink toward Adrien, Nino squeezed Alya tighter.

“You’re going to go see her tonight as Chat, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Adrien’s embarrassment flush painted his cheeks again, even Alya hadn’t asked that. 

“Do you do it often?” Alya stopped struggling and turned her head as much as she could to face Adrien, her half crushed smirk just as all knowing as she wanted it to be.

“I haven’t gone and seen her since school started. I haven’t really seen Ladybug either since we sorted out the patrol roster,” Nino loosened his hold on Alya, who simply spun around in his arms and leaned against him.

“Why’re you still here then? Go get her, tiger...cat….dude….Go get her, Kitty boy,” Adrien gave them a wide grin. “Nine-tails and I have got tonights patrol, we’re gonna get on the same page about all-a this.”

“Thanks, Nino, you’re the best,” Adrien walked over to Nino who fully let go of Alya and pulled Adrien into a tight hug. Adrien hugged his best friend back.

“I didn’t mean it, man. I understand that you didn’t tell me cause you wanted to keep Al and I safe. It means so much to me that you did it for us,” Nino’s voice was soft, a level that only Adrien was meant to hear but the enhanced hearing that came with Alya’s Fox miraculous meant that she’d heard them too. “I’d ask you to stay safe but that’s impossible in this line of work, so just...don’t get yourself killed. Love you, man.”

“Love you too, Speilberg,” Adrien squeezed a little tighter and lifted Nino off the ground slightly. Nino was taller than him so it wasn’t easy but it didn’t stop him. The two boys let each other go and engaged in their rather complicated handshake. Alya flung herself at Adrien and pulled him into a bone crushing hug before letting go and walking to stand beside Nino.

“Don’t hurt her, Agreste,” Alya’s voice was barbed as she gave him her warning. “I don’t care if you’re this jackasses best friend,” Alya pointed her thumb at Nino. “I will gut you, understand?”

“I understand,” Adrien swore with his hand over his heart. They walked across the roof to the edge, Nino glanced at Alya who nodded. Nino vaulted himself over the edge, leaving Alya lingering in the dimming sunlight, a halo of gold illuminating her orange and white costume.

“Please, let her tell you first,” Alya’s voice was soft and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. What she was crying about, Adrien didn’t know. “Don’t tell her that you’re Chat Noir until she asks, please don’t force her to come out as Ladybug to you either; you’ll stress the ever loving shit out of Mari if you do and it could send you both right into Hawkmoth’s clutches. She is the sweetest, strongest, most wonderful girl I have ever met but she carries her life on the head of a pin and the slightest wobble could send everything she has falling to the ground. She loves you, as Adrien and as Chat, but you need to let her tell you first.”

“Tikki said the same thing,” Alya gave him a confused look, her head tipping slightly. “The Ladybug Kwami.”

“Great minds think alike,” Alya laughed through her nose. “But give her time, Adrien, her heart is made of glass and we don’t want her to shatter. You might think that telling her that you know, that Nino and I know, would make things easier for her but rocking the boat before she has a lifejacket on will kill her. The work Mari does for Jagged Stone, her designs, her friendships, her grades, her job at her parent’s bakery, and her life as Ladybug are all on the line.”

“I promise you, Alya, I’ll take care of her and I won’t do anything to hurt her. You have my full permission to bury me in an unmarked grave if I do,” Alya slid her foot slightly over the edge of the roof, her heel planted on what was left of the roof beneath her.

“It’s laughable that you think I need your permission,” Alya leapt off the roof, leaving Adrien all alone, watching the space where she’d been until the forms of both her and Nino could be seen racing across the roofs through the glaring, setting sun.

Immediately after Alya and Nino had disappeared into Paris, Adrien had made his way to Marinette’s where he still stood, watching the now cooling wind pick up the wisps of her fringe. Exhaling his nervousness, Adrien started to move across the roofs into Marinette’s line of sight, he saw her head perk up as her eyes locked onto him. She had been waiting for him after all. Her smile set a blaze burning in his stomach, his chest, and his head, with a full and dimpled grin he catapulted onto her balcony and drew her into an embrace.

~~~~~~TAGLINE~~~~~~ @lady-charinette @katieykat513 @nifflerstorm @mochegato @aussie-lesbian @maniic-pixie-dream-girl

DM to be tagged :P

[cheltranslations]

Clothes/Hello Ani@Nonaka Miki (2020-8-12)

Chel here 💗

 💛 Yesterday’s 2 choices

Do you have a pet Yes？No？

No was the majority

But everyone who said they have a pet

Also left comments about their pets

And reading those was super fun 😻

     I have a pet cat called Rena-chan

Back home in Shizuoka 🌠

She’s already 17 years old？I guess so！

   I don’t have any photos of her、on my new phone。。 😿

(I’ve uploaded some in old blogs！)

    💛 Personal Outfits？ Single Outfits？

 Which do you all prefer？！

I’m curious！ 🌸

     💛 A recent outfit！

I love wearing cute pastel colours✨

  Summery co-ord 🍹

  A mermaid？co-ord笑lol 🍨

       💛 Have you checked out Hello Ani？

   https://youtu.be/jxJQLYrfvHk

    https://youtu.be/7PTFgSfiVEw

      Nonaemon’s first appearance in a while？！、

The theme song to Yakusoku no Neverland

Is a song I’ll love until the end of time！

The high parts、were kinda hard、、 🙀

  I was also able to sing a song by Mrs.Green Apple-san

Which makes me super happy！ 😻

      I’ll be waiting for your thoughts and impressions on it 😜

 Original - https://ameblo.jp/mm-12ki/entry-12617429635.html

[emmdaenovice]

Towards a better future #1

Daminete

#1

next

So I should probably put a few trigger warnings on this

Ah, suicide, abuse, um… depression, mature readers only?

On a cool night in Pairs Marinette Dupain-Cheng stood alone on the highest spot on the Eiffel tower she could climb to while not being a danger to herself and a potential nasty mess on the sidewalk. She looked at the stars hiding behind a thick layer of cloud, or at least she imagined they were there, silently sparkling looking down on all. thinking that holding onto faith is only easy thing to do when its something physical, like the stars. As you see her faith was slowly wavering, mostly due to her miraculous partner Chat Noir but also Paris’ civilians, and. Herself.

It all began barely a month ago, it’s amazing how Marinette’s world could change this much in a small matter of time. She and her parents traveled to China to visit her Uncle, Wing Cheng, partially to escape from the stress of school life (a holiday) and also because of the grand finale of the D.A.B,’s cooking competition. Which no one was surprised when it was announced that Wing was winning. Marinette was so excited for so many reasons, she would be able to see her extended family again and get some more ideas for this new jacket she’s working on, and new inspiration, all the colours, flora, fauna, people, trends, smells, people, places, things!… She had to remind herself daily that she as Marinette Dupain-Cheng could to do all of those things but, she wasn’t just here as Mari. No, what not many people know is that Ladybug and Chat Noir planned to meet in Beijing for a secret mission to involve more miraculous holders and guardians in their mission to defeat Hawkmoth.

The plan started when Chat Noir informed Ladybug that he would be unavailable due to the psychopathic wishes of his father, forcing him to relocate for a few months.

Ladybug and Chat Noir had become closer and closer with each fight they won together and now found themselves in a sibling like relationship. They knew almost everything about each other, except their identities. Which neither of them really knew why but resorted to the explanation of the danger it would cause if one of them was compromised. To say that they trusted each other with everything was an understatement. Because of this Ladybug knew there was nothing she could do about Chat Noir leaving, the fact that the father managed to be a helicopter parent, an absent parent and a psychopath with trust issuers all in one makes her head spin. So, she decided she would make the best of the situation.

Marinette began to pull stings to make sure everything fell into place perfectly, she encouraged Wing to compete in the D.A.B’s, began letting cracks in her emotions show through to her family more than usual, asked if they were going on any upcoming trips, she researched and planned way into the night for months, this would be the most successful trip Ladybug and Chat Noir took together in the history of miraculous. They would find help, and they will take down Hawkmoth. Chat Noir bid his good buy to ladybug and the semi-permanent team of miraculous holders consisting of Rena Rouge, Carapace, Viperion and Ryuko. Ladybug then explained that she was also going to be out of area for a while but will always have the miraculous of teleportation on her for Akuma purification and emergencies. She trusted the group with small Akuma’s but didn’t think Alya and Nino really took the job seriously, Marinette blames herself for not giving the Kawami better matching holders.

So, the plans were set, everything was ready, she was ready.

Chat Noir and ladybug often conversed and went through the plan of attack through the days after Ladybugs arrival. To be honest that’s false, they were trying to find the bloody thing, the entrance to Hunan’s miraculous league. They found information on it thanks to the miraculous book and some odd new posts hidden deep within the internet. One might think that this was a long shot and it was, but it was the only shot they had. They needed adults, people with expert knowledge on battle strategies, physical and mental training, detective skills, … someone with a car. Literally anything would help, they both agreed that nothing would get worse in this situation as why they were trying their best to find it. Oh boy how they were wrong.

When they finally found it, they were ecstatic, so excited to learn more and to finally get help, but they were met with unenthusiastic faces. It seems that this ancient place only held artifacts of the past, no trainers, no holders, no guardians not even Miraculous. To say they were heartbroken would be an understatement. Marinette found herself slipping through the superhero façade as a single tear fell as soon as they were out of the temple, which soon was followed by more until they turned in to full on sobs as Chat Noir held his lady tight whispering sweet nothings into her hair. She knew she shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up, she tries to always expect the worse when it comes to new material on miraculous and hero work, but she couldn’t help herself. Just this one time she hopped things would go her way. After a while she calmed down and realised how she was truly thankful for her partner, the beautiful heart and hair of gold, mischievous little tom cat, her Chat Noir. They conversed and decided to take a deeper look at all of the artefacts the next day to see if they missed something, and to also discover where the mysterious aura within the temple walls was coming from.

They returned to Paris the next day at an alarming pace as they both realised that they haven’t been called over to help in any battles all week let alone purify any Akuma. They both came up with possible scenarios that would explain their absence but most of them were impossible or much in the worse scenario possible category. When they arrived in Paris they found that everything was quite normal, everything seemed to be in place, they located the hero’s and discovered that Hawkmoth hasn’t attacked in quite some time… This freaked the duo even more so. The heroes have been looking after petty crimes for the past 7 days without any suspicious activity at all. Well at least Viperion and Ryuko have. It seems that Rena Rouge and carapace have been keeping up the social experience of the team, to an extent where they were over sharing. Ladybug was furious at this for first not telling her about the suspicious activity (and yes no activity counts as suspicious activity) and secondly for sharing private information about their hero work to the public. Furious doesn’t even begin to describe what she was feeling especially when she found out that Rena Rouge was sharing yet again information, but about the hero’s personal lives, and even identity on Alya’s blog. This time she had gone too far. Chat Noir stood besides his lady silently supporting her as she disciplined his friends, he couldn’t say that he wasn’t mad, he thought he could trust them with more than this, they broke his trust.

It might be because Chat Noir’s and Ladybugs spirits were already broken but they were seriously thinking of the next best step to take as permanent miraculous holder and guardian. Drastic measures such as demoting them to normal civilians was thrown around, but they decided against that, instead they planned to revisit the situation when their civilian identities came back home, and their minds refreshed. They spent the rest of that day checking out potential suspects relating to Hawkmoth. When It came to Gabriel Agreste they weren’t sure how high or low to put him on the list of suspects, but when they visited his mansion to find that he was absent struck a cord with Marinette. She knew something was wrong. Chat Noir didn’t seem too keen on looking around the place determined that his father was a good person.

‘He just doesn’t seem like the type of guy you know?’

‘Chat I don’t think anyone thinks that a fourteen-year-old could ever be Ladybug, suspects are suspects’

When Chat wouldn’t tell her why he was acting weird Ladybug dismissed it as Him just feeling weird being in her old crushes house.

Ladybug found herself feeling off in the house, an especially when it came to Gabrielle’s study, a feeling in the pit of her stomach like a void sending sparks down her legs. They let Kaalki explore the room as they had her on handy, exited to be in a famous person’s study she eagerly obliged to snooping around the room. She zoomed quickly around the room knocking over books and papers, which Chat Noir quickly put back into place, as she finally took a plunge into the floor. They both stood there for a minute conversing in whether a Kawami can get stuck in the ground or not, but didn’t have to act as Kaalki soon flew out beneath the floorboards slower than before with a grim look on her face.

‘Well, what did you see?’ Chat said eagerly wondering what the Kawami found. Forgetting to drop a pun in the process. The Kawami only looked solemnly at the guardian.

‘I advise you to never go down their” she said, almost afraid of the words she spoke

‘Kaalki, why? What’s down there?’ Ladybug spoke, the Kawami squirmed and Chats face paled. What could be down there? What could be down there that a Kawami that has been around for thousands of years is afraid of?

‘I do not wish to speak the horrors. But I can confirm that Gabriel Agreste is in fact Hawkmoth’ her words hung beneath them like a dead man swinging side to side by a noose.

‘What.’ Was all Chat Noir could say. His mind a mess filled with memories and arguments. Finding there was two sides of himself, one that always knew and one who knows he’s innocent.

‘Are you sure’ Ladybug said grimly. meanwhile Chat Noir sat down on his father’s desk staring at the painting of his mother, his emotions running astray within his heart.

“my guardian I am sure as the sky is blue.’ Kaalki looked up at the duo both with horror and sorrow in their eyes, ‘There is refinance of the torcher of Kawami down there as well as a room filled with butterfly’s and Akuma alike. Not to mention a motive for his wish’ she continued.

‘We need to get down their’ Chat Noir decided.

‘You can’t access the tunnels from here there all been sealed off mechanically.’ She thinks for a moment ‘We can open it with Hawkmoth present’

Ladybug thought for a minute, she doesn’t want to attack a man without seeing the proof herself… But she trusts the words of her Kawami ‘Ok’ Ladybug decides ‘lets go find Gabriel Agreste’.

‘I’m glad you decided on this, It is the best to have a clear head while defeating Hawkmoth and this room will do quite the opposite’ Ladybug feeling true terror within her for a moment then turned to Chat Noir.

‘We have to find Gabriel Agreste’ she said with a determining tone ‘if I was an evil mastermind, where would I be if I weren’t at my house?’ Ladybug thought out loud. Finally coming to her senses she sees Chat Noir on the floor.

‘Hey, you ok?’ she sits down next to him and pulls him into a hug ‘Perhaps Hawkmoth has gone to catch butterfly’s’ she laughs trying to make light of the mood, trying to put a smile on his face. But Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste has never felt more conflicted in his life, his emotions were tearing him up inside, all he felt like doing was crying. He would be safe in his lady’s lap, within the embrace of his partner, his best friend, she would listen to him. ‘heck maybe he’s taken a vacation to Hawaii.’ Chat Noir jolts out of Ladybugs arms, quickly remembering where his father is and why he might be there.

“He’s in China.’ he spoke as if there was a hair ball in his mouth.

‘What.’ Ladybugs eyes wide as he has ever seen them ‘Chat what do you mean?’

‘Ladybug. Gabriel Agreste is in China.’

The statement dropped out of the cat’s mouth and rolled around the floor. This is bad. It couldn’t be, that he was also looking for the hidden miraculous association in Hunan like they were… right? No, of course not. Probably, because everything that can go wrong must.

The pair teleported to the temple once again fighting large tree branches in the way, they had no time to care for the nature in the way of their path. They had to get to the association as soon as possible, they had to make sure that everyone was ok, sure they were unhelpful but that doesn’t mean they deserve to suffer at the hands of Hawkmoth. Questions like these and more flowed through their head faster than a cat jumping out of water like; what was Kaalki  so afraid of, is Gabriel really Hawkmoth, where do my parents think I am now, what am I going to do now, will we win? After all these years of fighting finally will we win.

They ran towards the temple stopping halfway to catch their breath, understanding that if Hawkmoth was there that he would feel the presence of the portal but still silently cursing Kaalki for not bringing them closer. A scream was taken out of their lungs as large boom thundered across the forest accompanied by a large dust storm and the deepest colour of orange licking the tips of the sky. Someone had blown up the temple. Who were they kidding hawkmoth had blown up the temple. All that ancient memorabilia, the history, the connection to the miraculous, even the old farts that occasionally dust the entrance. All gone. All obliterated by the hands of one man, and for what?

‘Milady theirs something I need-‘

‘There he is’ Ladybug points at a shadow emerging from the debris ‘let’s go Chat’ she extends her hand to him, he pauses for a second then grasps her hand tight.

‘I would go anywhere with you my lady’ Kaalki quickly teleports the duo directly behind their villain of four consistent years. He turns noticing the presence, but Ladybug quickly wrapped her yo-yo around him. She pulled on the strong fiber forcing him onto the ground.

‘Gabriel Agreste’ Ladybug yelled in the most fearsome Guardian like tone Chat Noir has ever heard. To both heroes surprise Hawkmoth lifted his head off the ground looking them both in the eye

‘Ah beetlebug and kittycat, I would say I’m surprised but honestly, it took you long enough’ he spat, quite confident for a trapped man. ‘I suppose that’s what I get for fighting a bunch of children’ he huffed.

‘Well these children kept you busy for four years now didn’t we!’ Chat Noir yelled. ‘fuck you’ he said less confidently his voice breaking, both unable to move an inch towards their captive, like a moment in time that froze completely

‘I had certain obstacles in my way preventing me from defeating you, if I had a powerful miraculous this little game of cat and mouse would be over a lot quicker’

‘So, you got angry when you didn’t find any here and blew up a sacred miraculous temple?!’ she yelled her arms shaking a little from the adrenaline, unable to explain this monsters thought process

‘No, no, no little girl, I’m afraid you aren’t quite right’

‘Don’t belittle us, you’re the one trapped’ Chat Noir said growling, like a hungry beast in front of its prey.

Hawkmoth began to laugh manically ‘That’s where your wrong foolish boy, I’m right where I want to be. Don’t you know what happens if you back a wild animal into a corner?’ Chat shakes in fury as this grown man, his father laughs at him. All of those years of looking up to him, trying to get him to be proud of him, acting as the best child one could have, … all those years fighting for his life, dying again and again for the sake of his lady for the sake of taking him down. All for what. Chat controlled by rage silently walked towards the man, looked at him in the eyes, those deep dark eyes holding horrors he never wants to see. This man has tortured him for years mentally, physically and emotionally in all meanings of the word, he wanted him to pay. It was time for Adrien Agreste to finally get his revenge. With all the force he could muster he kicked his father in the ribs, feeling or maybe imagining the satisfying crack of ribs underneath his boot. One part of him thought he should be sad, but all he felt was empty. Hawkmoth coughed and wined in pain looking up at Chat smiling.

‘Is that all you got? Pussy’ his laugh this time was cut off by chats fist finding its place on garbles cheek.

‘Chat that’s enough’ Ladybug said a solemn look on her face. He looked at her and stood back.

‘Oh, I see, the little stray has an owner.’ he laughs ‘Come on ladybug give it a go! Hit me! Though I doubt you could hurt me with that tiny whore body of yours‘ he laughs one again and ladybug turns away, she knows that Hawkmoth wants to rile them up, no matter what he throws at her she won’t give in to what he wants, she will not give control to him. Chat Noir however couldn’t say the same, he wanted to follow the rules of his lady but Hawkmoth was laying in front of him completely defenseless asking for a beating ‘Oh oh I’ve got it the bitch owns the bitch’ that was the last straw for chat Noir he tackled his father the one that helped bring him into existence and started beating him unable and unwilling to hold back.

Ladybug was frozen in time afraid of her partner, afraid of how violent he had become, though she didn’t blame him. The sheer force of his attacks and the emotion behind them, such raw hatred, she’d never seen her best friend like this before. That small moment in time was all it took. Both heroes distracted one hitting the terrorist which forced the entirety of Paris under extreme pain, and the other afraid of her most trusted friend, her partner of four years. Kaalki’s glasses were slid off ladybugs head and placed into the hand of Myura. The ladybug yelped in terror as she realised a plant like looking Amok had stolen the miraculous from atop her head with its long wipe like vines. Chat also looked up from his pray in time for him to be thrown off Hawkmoths body like a sack of potatoes. Before chat could get up off the ground, he was hold tight by the forest monster as he found his lady was as well. Hawkmoth was slowly picked up off the ground by the vines and placed on his feet. His bloody face dripping with crimson and slight black bruises starting to form where Chat punched him repeatedly. How could they forget about Myura, how could they forget? They should have just transported Hawkmoth to Paris then and there, they should have tied him up, they should have checked their surroundings, they’re ladybug and Chat Noir for miraculous sake they heroes. Heroes don’t make stupid mistakes like this, freezing up when things are finally going their way. No. real heroes would have done better. They’re not heroes they failed Paris they failed the guardians before them they failed themselves. The only thing that they are is children. Scared children trying to save the day in feeling like adults dressing up in their parents clothing. How could this have happened?

‘You won’t get away with this Hawkmoth” ladybug yelled ‘Our miraculous don’t belong in the hands of evil. Good will always find a way, and it will punish you for you evil doings, the terror you have spread across Paris and now the world, if not us then the next.’ She spoke proudly as if she had won the battle, her words spoken like a true hero like a true guardian. Hawkmoth was steadied by Myura, as she gave him Kaalki’s miraculous, looking at them like she had said something strange

‘If you kill us now you will regret it, the weight of two innocent, in your word’s children, weighing on your soul for eternity. Don’t you have a kid? Adrien?’ This got Hawkmoths attention ‘He’s about the same age as us, what will you see when you look at him. Will it all be worth it? all this death and tragedy for a wish? A wish that will blow up in your face?’ Chat finished wanting to back up what Ladybug said in his own way. Hawkmoth laughed once again as if Chat had said something funny, for a moment Adrien wondered what type of face Hawkmoth would make when her realises he had killed his own child, would he laugh, just as he is now? Would he be happy that the burden of his perfect son would be gone?

Ha sorry to end it like that

I’m sorry but we wont see the romantic side for a couple of chapters but it’s coming soon I promise!

Tell me if you hate it ~