#Xy just accepted that it was expected and was glad to see the ending of it lol

[humbuns]

does xy have anyone they cannot stand at all?

Funny enough, none whatsoever, which I think it's both a flaw and strength of theirs because they don't take anything personally and it will take a lot to get them extremely mad (and boy, if you reach that level with him, you must have pissed them off)

So while some may annoy him or make them tired, he will straight up ignore them and just move on with his business even if you like it or not

[sneakydraws]

Well, here it is - a lengthy explanation of each card in my mdzs major arcana deck and what I meant to convey/what i would have changed in retrospect/what alternatives i considered! It’s a bit messy and my typing style is lazy but hopefully it will be an interesting read to some of you :)

And so you don’t say I didn’t warn you - jiang cheng’s section (11 justice) is absurdly long lmao

0 the fool  I elaborated on this in the post itself but yeah basically jin ling is kind of representative of all the damage and trauma caused by the past, and there’s a kind of danger there of him falling victim to the same vices as the older characters and repeating the same mistakes and perpetuating the cycle of war and misery (the cycle that we already see with how the jin sect became the new wen sect, and later with how jgy became the new wwx) and he has a lot of room to grow! He grows so much over the course of the novel, comes to realise the complexities of the past and gets a harsh life lesson in how nothing is as black and white as it seems. But ill save talking about his progress for the end, for now whats important is that he has room to grow and also a dog. I don’t really have a justification for the sun, i mostly just thought it looked sick? It made its way to the next card as well, where it makes a bit more sense, but then i realised it was a dumb motif to include 1 the magician I still very much like wwx for the role, and that illustration would have probably had him raising a corpse on his left and pointing threateningly to the sun on his right. I considered including the table as well, with some mdzs relevant items replacing the card suits. Anyway, like i said wwx got a few cards to himself already so i went with the alternative wq design, since i think she fits the card as well. Both she and wwx are highly skilled people, extremely driven once they set their mind to something. The card to me symbolises the creative mind as well as a general drive for action, which fits them both - wwx was famously a prolific inventor, and wq came up with a previously unheard of surgery, after all. This card strays pretty far from the rider-waite deck design, largely because i was still figuring out how i wanted to approach this series, but you can still see the influence. 2 the high priestess I was actually going to skip this card at first because I couldn’t think of a fitting character, but once i considered a qings character post death, it all fit pretty well. She was already a highly intuitive person in life, and in sharing her memories with wwx she is, in a way, relaying a kind of secret knowledge. Anyway she’s one of my fav characters so im glad i got a chance to include her. The coffins could be interpreted to be xxc and sl or xxc and xy 3 the empress Theres other mother figures in mdzs who got to be mothers for a longer time, but jyl definitely embodies the positive aspects of this card the best. She’s nurturing, kind, emotionally supportive, she already mothered wwx and jc quite a bit when she was young. Plus i liked that the rw card had both water and flowers, making an easy lotus connection. In retrospect the stars look kind of out of place and i should have replaced them with something more relevant... Also, i should have had her hold a lotus seed pod instead of a flower, haha 4 the emperor Like i said I considered jc for the role but hoching bullied me into admitting that nmj was better… they’re both more of an inverted emperor than an upright one but then again theres hardly any character in mdzs who would fit upright emperor so. Jgs was also considered but he’s even uglier than nmj so i couldn’t bear to draw him 5 the hierophant It was pointed out to me that lqr would have fit this card better and the truth if that statement haunts me to this day. Unfortunately I have no space in my brain for lqr so lxc got the role instead. My main reason was his role during the wen destruction of gusu lan, when he ran away with the contents of the library - this is why there’s bookshelves behind him. The keys, take, from the rider-waite deck, are meant to represent the gusu pendants that allow you to enter 6 the lovers Im sure many people would have chosen wangxian here but I uhh don’t really care abt wangxian personally? And also their love story is so convoluted that jyl and jzx seem idyllic by comparison lol. Also i didnt really have an idea for who to put in the angel’s place for wangxian… mme jin certainly did not get these two together in the end but undeniably she and mme yu did initially give them a chance to fall for each other so. Thats something i guess. Anyway the trees became their sects’ flowers and the mountain became the burial grounds - an omen of their tragic fate, basically 7 the chariot There might have been other characters who fit this card better but i couldn’t really think of another card for lwj and i thought it would be weird to not include him… anyway i don’t really care for current timeline lwj BUT i do like that he was clearly influenced by wwx to walk his own path in life based on his moral convictions rather than follow his sect’s rules blindly. The chariot is to me a card of self control, self determination and focused action, so it seemed fitting. The composition felt kind of empty without the actual chariot so i padded it out with the guqin, the cloud recess in the bg (it doesn’t look great but i tried to replicate the drama design….) and the bunnies which conveniently fit the colour scheme of the sphinxes in the rider-waite design 8 strength Like i said before, my interpretation of this card is more… morally ambiguous than the quote unquote official meaning, so i thought about manipulative or duplicitous characters more than kind characters whose strength is expressed through gentleness (though i did consider jyl briefly for the latter interpretation). As such, i considered both jgy and nhs, but ended up going with jgy largely because i couldn’t pass up the opportunity to put the nie sect’s beast as the lion. 9 the hermit My thoughts immediately went to bssr lol. It may be an overly literal interpretation but whatever, i like it just fine. And i like that i managed to echo the rider-waite silhouette in the mountain and the tree (and even in bssr herself) 10 wheel of fortune God i love the parallels between these 2… this card to me is about how you cant trust your current situation, good or bad, to last forever, and these 2 embody that perfectly imo. Wwx went from son of a well off servant and a powerful cultivator, to street rat orphan, to adopted son of sect leader jiang, to double orphan, to MIA, to terrifying but admired warrior, to terrifying and despised traitor, to dead, to, at the very end, suddenly respected and trusted again. The dishonesty and cheapness of whatever the public’s current opinion of him is is portrayed beautifully as far as im concerned. And jgy of course claws his way up to power only to instantaneously become public enemy number one, to the point that he’s probably blamed for stuff there’s no reason to believe he had a hand in. Wei wuxian’s silent astonishment at how quickly the cultivation world turns against jgy and towards him again is a delicious moment of thematic resonance.  11 justice I settled on this card for jc after he got booted from the emperor seat but i do think it fits, in a somewhat convoluted way. I turned both the sword and the scales into visual representations of the golden core transfer (can you tell im obsessed with it). According to biddy tarot, the justice card is partly about searching for the truth, and the scene where jc finds out about the transfer is of course a big deal. I was also very influenced by the reversed meaning again - which is about being reluctant or unwilling to face or accept the consequences of your actions. I feel on an intuitive level that this fits jc but I’m not sure how well i can explain it - it’s something about how he’s a little too comfortable scapegoating wwx for things that were also, if much less so, influenced by his actions, and also something about the way he keeps wwx at an arm’s length emotionally but still leans on him and accepts his support when he really needs it, and somewhat hypocritically expects wwx to put the needs of him and the jiang sect before the needs of others. And also something about the core exchange is the consequence and proof of wwx’s deep - terrifyingly deep, even - love and care for him, which is something jc doesn’t seem to let himself acknowledge. Maybe even something about how you could argue that the way all of the jiangs acted around wwx - jfm’s favouritism that left him with the feeling of a debt he needs to repay, mme yus insistence that he be a servant more than a brother to jc, prepared to give his life for jc, and jc’s own unwillingness - or inability, he was a child after all - to clearly acknowledge wwx as an equal to himself, enabling wwx’s self sacrificial and protective tendencies - that all of this was what caused wwx’s complete and unquestioning willingness to do whatever it took to protect jc, and therefore paved the way to the golden core transfer. And i don’t mean this to be scapegoating jc - especially considering how young he was when this all went down, it wouldn’t be fair to expect this level of emotional perceptiveness, awareness and maturity of him - but i think adult jc has to grapple with the fact that the chain of cause and effect was not as simple as wwx fucking everyone’s lives up to be a martyr, and that both jc and his parents had a role in that story as well. I don’t even necessarily think this is something that jc only realised in the current timeline - i think it’s something he felt on some level this whole time, and it probably led to a lot of feelings of guilt - but the suibian reveal definitely puts it in sharp focus, and i think he’s now better equipped to handle this introspection than he was as a recently orphaned, traumatised teenager, lol. ANYWAY the window with the fabric is both a nod to the rider-waite design and a reference to the destruction of lanling - i actually did some basic ass research for this, and it seems that in ancient china fabric would indeed be hanged in a window if the normally used paper was damaged. The design of the window, as well as the very idea to use it to imply the reconstruction of lanling, was taken from this great piece of jc angst by my pal moroll1! Oh yeah also the covered window kind of works as a denial of forgiveness for jc because it’s like a halo but covered up... Also I completely forgot to put a blindfold over his eyes which would be perfectttt because blind justice and the core exchange......... ok moving on 12 the hanged man I always have issues with this card because i cant find a satisfactory summary of what it’s really about. Best i can tell it symbolises a need to hit pause, surrender or let go of something… ive also seen it tied to sacrifice? So mo xuanyu doesn’t fit perfectly, but sacrifice is definitely there in a surface level reading kind of way, and the idea that you have to surrender or let go in order to achieve your goal does fit the whole deal of getting revenge but giving up your life in exchange and not being there to see it 13 death This is probably one of my favourite cards, definitely not because I have huge issues with change or anything…. I see this card as signalling the necessity of change or putting an end to something / leaving something in the past in order to start anew? At first i considered putting past wwx, mxy and current wwx here as a kind of transformation and one cycle flowing into the next... But firstly, I’d already used mxy in the very previous card, so putting him in again would feel like overkill, and secondly, the longer I thought about it the less convinced I was that this would even fit with the card’s meaning? Because coming back from the dead doesn’t like... trigger an internal transformation within wwx or anything? Anyway, fun fact: the design I ended up going with was actually originally intended for judgement! I thought I was being very clever with the whole “figure plays an instrument and the dead rise” parallel, but apparently I’d just completely forgotten that the judgement card had a completely different composition... Truly I was boo boo the fool... But yeah anyway at the end of the day I figured the design would kind of work for death as well, with Wen Ning and the theme of transformation, (since in his case coming back as a fierce corpse does actually mark a certain transformation in behaviour) and Wei Wuxian’s protection of the Wen people essentially signifying an attempt to break the cycle of oppression if that makes any sense? Like, wwx is trying to revolutionise the way the world works a bit, if you catch my drift 14 temperance  The centrist card! Again this is probably going off track from the “official” interpretation, but to me this card has a certain “don’t commit fully; do everything in moderation; don’t take either side” flavour to it that i personally find infuriating irl and that i very much assign to lxc. It’s entirely possible that I’m misinterpreting his character because i didn’t really pay him (and the 3zun in general) much mind while reading, but hell, I’m allowed to pick favourites and choose who i want to interpret deeply vs shallowly. Again, i wish id chosen lqr for hierophant because its so annoying for a character i don’t care about to get two cards…. But oh well 15 the devil My alternative idea for this was jgy as the devil and lxc plus nmj as the figures, but since all three had been featured already (multiple times, even!) i figured I’d go with xy instead, especially since he’s among my faves lol. I think the devil signifies something along the lines of unhealthy attachment, obsession or addiction, which isn’t 100% accurate in the case of xxc and a-qing, but if i stretch it a bit to cover toxic relationships in general, and especially manipulation or negative influence, i don’t think it’s half bad. My main struggle here was to choose who amongst the xxc/sl/aq trio to choose for the human figures. 16 the tower Arguably jin zixuans death and the following massacre of nightless city were the final and most direct reason for the siege of burial mounds, and the tiger seal is good shorthand for wwx’s loss of control over his powers, which led to the deaths of jzx and jyl. When reimagining major arcana i like to feature some kind of building in this card (spoilers for a possible future project but in my rose of versailles major arcana set the tower is bastille) and even if it’s not a tower, the image of wwx looming over the gathered crowd from atop a rooftop is so good i couldn’t resist 17 the star Struggled with this one - considered both jin ling and lsz for it, as symbolising a hope for the future, but that was kind of covered by the world so it wouldn’t make sense to include here as well... As usual when I struggle with interpreting a card (as opposed to understanding it but struggling with matching a character to it, like with death or moon) I went to biddy tarot and read all the details about its meaning. What i got was that this card signifies an incoming period of introspection and inner peace following a time of turmoil, as well as a general moving on into a new, better phase of one’s life or finding new meaning and purpose. The figure also suggests someone vulnerable, but possessing a keen sense of intuition as well as a good degree of practicality and common sense. Given all those, I settled for mianmian because IM LOVE HER..... I also kind of see her as a prelude to the “just one person is enough” theme present in tgcf!! And i think her decision to abandon her sect because she saw the toxicity and corruption in it is a very inspiring action - even if it didn’t make a large visible impact, i think the appearance of her and her idyllic family at the very end of the novel - paralleling and mirroring wangxian - implies that at the end of the day, it was a meaningful one 18 the moon Another card i ALWAYS fuxking struggle with - this time less because i can’t grasp its meaning and more because I can never find a character that fits it well. I usually get fixated on the “dreams and subconscious” part, but if i lean more on the “disguise, deceit, anxiety and fear” part, i eventually figured the whole yi city arc wouldn’t be a bad fit. I say the entire arc because it really does encompass all those themes if you include both the past and the present - xue yang’s disguise, his tricks with the villagers, a-qing’s lies and even xxc’s reluctance to talk about his past as well as xue yang pretending to be xxc all fit the disguise and deceit angle, and the general mystery and creepiness of the current timeline yi city work well with the anxiety and fear - the mist, the slow uncovering of the past, even a-qing being revealed to be an ally after scaring the shit out of the protags. I definitely struggled with including all the elements and characters, and even moreso with making them vaguely fit the rider-waite composition, but i think it ended up okay ish. OH and i completely forgot to draw mist swirling around them :( 19 the sun I was considering mianmian’s family for this one, but since I used her for star, I ended up with wwx and his parents instead. Once again I’m reinterpreting the card a bit - normally I think it symbolises incoming times of pure happiness and abundance, as well as a connection with the inner child, but I gave it more of a nostalgic or sentimental twist - wwx looking back at the brief glimpse of his happy childhood. 20 judgement another card that i struggle to interpret a bit... Here i actually used the tgcf tarot zine as a reference! In it judgement is summarised as “rebirth, following duty, absolution” SO i figured that nhs, mxy and wwx all together would fit pretty neatly... wwx achieving (public) absolution through clearing his own name after being reborn, and nhs sort of calling on wwx to expose jgy’s crimes... It’s a bit messy but not bad I think! 21 the world This ties very closely to my read on mdzs as a story - which is that it’s, at the end of the day, largely about cycles, and about how hard it is to break them, but how we gotta keep trying and have hope anyway. Or maybe more precisely, that the people directly involved with and influenced by the trauma of the past might not be able to get over said trauma and that the hope for healing from it will be shouldered by the new generation. Or something like that… Basically what i mean is that jc and wwx and lwj and lxc and nhs and jgy and all these people who were in the thick of the sunshot campaign and the siege are so profoundly affected by it that it genuinely feels by the end of the story like there is little hope for them to ever truly overcome that trauma and build a better future without repeating the same old mistakes - but there is a glimmer of hope in the new generation, specifically in jl and lsz. And it’s a bit paradoxical, because they have also been directly impacted by the past tragedies - lsz having his entire clan wiped out after wwx failed to protect them, jl losing both his parents to wwx’s mistakes - but despite that loss, and despite coming from arguably the two opposing sides of the past conflicts, they are both, in the end, capable of moving past that tragedy, of recognising the complicated nature of those conflicts (jl’s moment of clarity at the end is both heartbreaking and hopeful) and forging friendships between clans in the process. I honestly think that the extra where jl is struggling to assert his authority as sect leader, to treat his subjects well and to cooperate with other sects in a truly amicable way is the single hopeful ending note for the larger themes of the novel - it allows us to imagine that maybe these kids can learn from the mistakes of their elders rather than getting sucked in by resentment at those mistakes, and actually build a brighter future for the cultivation world. And sidenote, this is also why i have a soft spot for jin ling and lan sizhui as a ship... speaking of which their poses were directly referenced from the lovers card ehehe

Looking back, I’d like to add some symbol of jin ling’s trauma so that it mirrors baby wen yuan in the tree stump... maybe his father’s sword? 

[airi-p4]

Pirate Luka AU

I wrote this fic for my amazing friend @katydoodles​ Birthday. This story is based on Katy’s Pirate Luka AU (check her art if you haven’t yet because it’s amazing!), and it’s Luka/Harem (with Kagami, Chloe, Marinette and Adrien).

Beware this story may differ from Katy’s original story.

TW: mentioned violence (cut tongues / severed body parts) idk how I should tag this

Happy Birthday Katy! 💙💙💙

AO3

________________________________________

Luka admired his newly acquired prize in his ship chamber- the captain’s room. His boots were on the table, legs crossed and his back laid back, while he observed, satisfied, the jar that contained XY’s freshly cut tongue in it. His lips curled in a pleased smirk. He had been considering throwing it to feed the sharks, but the gratification the reward gave him made him glad to have dismissed the idea.

XY deserved to be silenced.

And he was now.

Once more, Luka reached where ‘justice failed’ with his law of silence.

Luka stood up to place the jar back to its place on the shelf. He took one step backwards and walked slowly around the wooden room contemplating his collection. Dozens- hundreds- of jars filled with tongues decorated the room, as if they were the displays of a museum. Each jar was completed by the owner’s name, the date, and their crime properly tagged.

All jars full- except for one.

The pirate ship’s captain teeth clenched and his black nails sank in his skin as he remembered that man- the man who betrayed his father’s tongue, the man who ruined his family. The man he swore revenge to. The man that turned him into a pirate, and the one he couldn’t wait to kill. His blood boiled at the memory of that face- that ugly face he had many ideas of how to destroy, such as-

A knock at the door distracted him from his thoughts.

“Come in” Luka ordered, releasing his anger; and his first officer obeyed, entering the room and closing the door behind her.

“Captain. Everything’s ready”

“Very well. Thank you, Kagami” he smiled, fixing one of the tags that were blurried by dust with his finger.

“Were you watching your collection again, Captain? It certainly is impressive. As expected of my Captain.”

Luka smiled proudly at his first officer. Who would have thought a noble Lady like her would fit so perfectly in his crew? He clearly remembered how grossed out she was the first time she entered his chamber. Now she was grossed out by the people those tongues belonged to: rapists, murderers, dishonorable and corrupted powerful people (such as judges or city rulers), slavers, pedophiles (the real kind, not those who draw harmless art like some people overreacting may say) and art reposters (those had all their tongues in the same jar, nameless but still punished). All of them were silenced now in Luka’s jars on the shelves.

His crewmates were mostly people saved from the hands of those men. He had let them choose if they wanted to join him or leave freely, but most of them wanted to stay to serve their savior. Nino had been one of the slaves Luka rescued. Alix was abused by her step-father, a corrupted ruler of one of the cities they stopped at. Kim was forced to hard work for stealing from a noble for the poor, and he was about to be hanged just before Luka stepped in to help. Ivan and the rest of his crewmates had similar stories to share.

Captain Luka was more than respected by all his crewmates, and he considered them friends. He trusted them blindly with his life, and it was the same for them.

“Let’s go, Kagami”

“Yes, Captain!”

Luka stepped out of his chamber followed by his first officer, who closed the door behind them. They walked upstairs to the deck.

“Land in sight!” Kim yelled from up the crow’s nest when he noticed Luka.

Luka approached the bowsprit, put one of his feet on it, and gestured to Kagami for a telescope. She immediately lent him one, and he observed the new landscape in front of him: a cliff, a lighthouse, a harbor, and a town. And more importantly: a castle up a hill.

Perfect.

“Ivan, turn 20 degrees to your right, we’re stopping behind those rocks”

“Yes, Captain!” Ivan obeyed.

“Nino, Alix, stay on your positions and take care of the sails”

“Yes Captain!” They answered in unison.

A smile formed on Luka’s lips. That’s the piracy he liked- steal treasures from the rich and punish the bad guys. That island appeared to have both. Luka licked his lips in excitement as he returned the telescope to Kagami.

“Hey!” Out of nowhere, a female voice from below yelled. “Help me up!”

Kagami’s eyes narrowed as she recognized the voice owner. She was about to draw her sword when Luka stopped her.

“It’s fine, Kagami, I’ll take care of her”

Kagami followed his instructions, but she didn’t even try to hide her disagreement. “We should sell her and she would leave us alone…” she mumbled, and Luka chuckled at her reaction. Jealous Kagami was always adorable and a delight. He couldn’t help but feel fortunate and moved for having her full attention- not that he didn’t have some worship for her too.

Luka walked towards a fishnet that rested at the side of the ship. He looked down, amused at the difficulties the person below was having to climb up. “You again, huh?” Luka asked. “Why do you keep coming back? Aren’t you scared of pirates? We could sell you, Lady Siren.”

“My name is Chloe!” her yellowish eyes glowed from below. “Hurry up and help me up! I have something to show you”

“Hmm… Those magical jewels from under the sea again, maybe? Weren’t they guarded by your other siren friend? Did you steal them?”

“Yes! I snatched a few! Now help me and let you show you!”

Luka sighed, but he couldn’t hide his curiosity as he helped her up. What he thought made him almost fall on his butt to the floor.

The siren had LEGS. Legs that still couldn’t control enough to carry her own weight, apparently, but still legs. Human legs. Luka’s breath was taken away by the sight, and even Kagami couldn’t hide her astonishment.

What was going on?

“What? Surprised?” Chloe attempted to stand up holding onto the rail, smiling triumphantly. “I told you those jewels were magical! I’m a human now! So hurry up and propose to me. Your ridiculous excuse is not valid anymore!”

Luka’s eyes started glowing in yellow, bright as the former siren’s one, but before he could open his mouth, Kagami stepped between them. “Show respect to our Captain! He would never marry someone unworthy like you!” She pointed her sword to Chloe’s throat and noticed Luka’s eyes return to his original sky blue color, freeing him from Chloe’s spell. “Try something funny and I’ll cut you,” she warned.

“How did you do that?” Luka asked, gesturing Kagami to lower her sword. “What happened to your legs? Is it the jewel’s power? What other powers do they have?”

Chloe directed a victorious smirk to Kagami from behind Luka’s shoulder. The first mate was boiling in anger, but her respect for Luka was more important to her own feelings. Loyalty was what Luka valued the most about her, her Captain had confessed to her before. She couldn’t betray his trust- not even for her jealousy.

“I told you they were amazing, didn’t I?” Chloe raised her chin proudly as she laughed hysterically. “I have this one for you too - the snake one. It has the power you just need to get your revenge. I can give it to you if you accept to marry me!”

“I’m not interested in marriage, but I’m interested in those jewels. What are their powers?” Luka asked, fascinated to see how she had indeed real feet and toes. He examined them with his hands and she giggled at the tickles.

“All of them have the ability to give legs to sirens. The Bee one, the one I have, can paralyze opponents with just one gaze. The snake one is special: can control both time and space. You can know where and when you can find whatever you’re looking for, and even predict your opponent's moves beforehand. For example... “ Chloe continued, and with a finger snap he made Kim teleport down to the deck.

“What the-!?” he yelled. “What happened? I was up the crow’s nest!”

Luka looked mesmerized at the magic he had just seen. “Kim, go back up. Sorry about that”. Kim scratched his head in confusion and started climbing up again. “How much for that jewel?”

“My Captain! You can’t accept that! That would be cheating!” Kagami shouted. “You’re better than that!”

“No, listen, Kagami. I don’t pretend to use this to take advantage of my enemies. I just want to find that man- the man who ruined my family. The man I swore revenge on. I’ll find him thanks to this jewel and I’ll finally be free from this hate that haunts me. The chase will be over”

“What about us, then, Captain!? What about this ship, our adventures!?” Kagami seemed heartbroken at the thought of her piracy story ending. And also scared to be separated from her dearest Captain. “I left everything for you and this crew! You can’t just betray us like that!”

“Oh, no, my dear Kagami. Finding that man will not change much. I want to keep sailing together with all of you, forever. You’re my family too” Kagami blushed at Luka’s unusually tender smile. “But I need to keep my promise. You know I never leave business unfinished”

“I understand, captain” Kagami used her sleeve to dry her tears. “But I still think it’s not worth it losing your freedom and marrying that- that fish for that purpose. We’ll find that man, we don’t need magic for that!”

Luka stared at Kagami, moved by her trust in him. She was really cute, wasn’t she? He almost couldn’t hold his smile back. “I know we will.  And I don’t plan to marry. I just don’t want someone else to kill him before we find him” He reassured his first officer, and she smiled fondly. That was his captain.

“Oh, no, pirate! No marriage, no deal!” Chloe rumbled under Kagami’s judging stare. “You have no idea how hard it was to get this! Not even all the gold from your world would be enough to buy it!”

“Then we just have to kill you and steal it, right?” Kagami glared, getting her sword ready causing Chloe to shriek.

“Wait, Kagami. We don’t know how to use it. We can’t kill her” That wasn’t exactly the only reason he wanted her alive. Luka couldn’t deny he felt himself… attracted to the siren’s looks. She was beautiful, even if she was somewhat noisy. And her singing voice was hypnotizing… He didn’t want her or her song to die.

“Make your decision fast, because if you don’t, I’m destroying it!” Chloe warned.

“No, no, wait!!

“Captain, no!”

“I’m going to destroy it! I’ll give you 10 seconds…! 10… 9…”

“No- wait!”

“8… 7…”

“Captain, you can’t do it!”

“6… 5… 4…”

“I know but-!”

“3… 2…1….”

"Chloe wait, I-"

“STOP WHERE YOU ARE, CHLOE!” A new voice shouted, and a new siren jumped from the sea to the deck. Her hair was long and black, and her tail was beautiful in pink.

“Argh! Not now, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” Chloe groaned in disgust. “He was about to accept my proposal!”

Luka stared as the new siren called for some magical words and shifted his tail to legs. ‘Another magical jewel’ he realized, and was fascinated by her beauty (the fact that she was naked didn’t help either). She looked as if she had come straight out from a painting, and his heart beat fast in an unknown feeling. The most beautiful song he had ever heard: clear as a music note, sincere as a melody. He wished for that melody to last forever in his ears.

“Chloe! Give the Miraculous back!” The siren shouted in anger. “You know how dangerous they are yet you stole them!”

“Hey!” Luka snapped out at Chloe’s cry and hurried to grab a tablecloth from nearby and offer it to the naked siren, while looking the minimum as possible. “Use this”

Marinette turned to look at him confused, wondering what was supposed to do with that. She noticed how Chloe was wearing something similar to cover herself, and the blush on that unknown man made her remember being naked was a big deal in the human world. She exploded in embarrassment. “Thank you…” she hurried to snatch the clothes.

She found herself staring at his relieved smile. And her heart started beating faster. Breath-taken by his handsomeness and calm. Their eyes met and time stopped, and Marinette finally understood why Chloe would wish to steal those jewels for selfish reasons. She would consider it too if she wasn’t the guardian.

“Hey! He’s mine, don’t you dare take him away from me!” Chloe hissed. She clumsily ran to Luka’s side and fell into his arms when her legs couldn’t support her any longer.

“Captain!” Kagami soon cried in worry, and approached to try to separate them.

“Chloe!” A new emotion formed in Marinette’s chest. Jealousy. “Give it back!” she jumped to pull her away from Luka.

And Luka- well, he couldn’t move. Surrounded by beautiful ladies… He had always been a heartbreaker, never a ladies man- what was wrong with him? He was enjoying that situation too much for his own sanity.

Suddenly, another siren jumped to the deck- a blond man with the most beautiful emerald colored eyes Luka had ever seen. Even Kagami seemed impressed by them, and that was new in Luka’s first officer.

“Adrien!” The mermaid called Marinette called him. “Help me!”

“Immediately, M’lady!” even his voice was cute, Luka thought. That couldn’t be healthy for his heart.

Adrien shifted to a human after calling for some magical words and Marinette tossed him a part of tablecloth she tore from hers. He looked confused at first, but imitated Marinette’s use for it.

Adrien tackled Chloe from the side, resulting in all of them falling down to the floor. Taking advantage of being on top after falling down, Luka managed to steal the snake Miraculous from Chloe. He raised up his hand… “Kagami! I’ve got it! Take it!” but… an eagle descended and took it from him in its talons and flew away from them towards the island in sight. “Ah-”

All of them observed in denial and powerless how the bird carried the powerful jewel away. Their faces turned blue out of the shock, and Marinette entered in panic.

“No no no! That can’t be happening! What are we going to do now!?” she bawled. “Chloe! This is your fault! You better help us recover it!”

“No, this is Luka’s fault! If he had agreed to marry me and didn’t try to play dirty this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Don’t you dare badmouth My Captain!”

Everyone’s eyes were on Luka, who, confused, was trying to process what had just happened. “Give me a minute”. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and waited for one minute. He came to his conclusion.

“I can’t deny this is partly my fault… So I’ll take responsibility. I’ll help you find the jewel, but with one condition: you’ll let me use it once when we find it”

“We can’t allow that!” Marinette and Adrien complained.

“Oh, and I’ll need you tell me more about these jewels in order to help you”

“Deal” Chloe quickly agreed, to Marinette and Adrien’s shock.

“Hey! You can’t decide that alone!” Marinette protested.

“You’ve seen the bird- it went into the lands. The rest of lost jewels could be on land too. What’s better than humans to help us? It would be ridiculous not to accept when all they ask in return is to use one of them just once!” Chloe exposed.

Marinette’s eyebrows frowned as she looked at Adrien, who seemed convinced with Chloe’s explanation. She couldn’t deny anything to those green eyes of him who desired to discover more from land and the human world, so she gave in, still unconvinced. “Fine”

“Great. Welcome abroad. I promise we’ll recover that jewel” Luka stood up and helped the rest of them up too, one after the other. “My name is Luka. I’m the Captain of this pirate ship. And this lovely lady is my first mate, Kagami.” She bowed despite her glare shown killing instincts towards all of them. Luka noticed and patted her back, causing her to calm down immediately. When he blinked at her with a sneaky smile she knew well, she realized his true intentions: he was going to get the jewel without having to marry the annoying mermaid. ‘As expected of my captain’, she smiled fondly.

“I’m Marinette and he is Adrien. I’m the guardian of the Miraculous and he’s my partner for this job. Nice to meet you, Captain”

Luka’s piracy adventures seemed to have just started now that 3 new unusual members joined his crew. Misunderstandings and fun seemed ensured.

What fantastic adventures lie before them? They couldn’t wait to find out.

[youcancallmecirce]

Haste & Leisure Chapter 7: Back to School

The fall semester gets underway, our heroes blow off some steam, and Max makes a change.

Thank you so much to @cheshiremadd for your help in working out the rest of the story line! 

Read this chapter on AO3  Read from the beginning on AO3

“I’m glad to see that you survived your first week of classes,” Marinette said as she joined Theo at the bar.  

Theo brightened, pausing with his beer halfway to his lips.  “Marinette!  You made it!”  

“Yup!�� That assignment wasn’t as difficult as I’d expected.”  When Theo had mentioned meeting up at the Forester Club that night, Marinette hadn’t been sure she’d be able to go.  Her Art and Spirituality professor had hit the ground running, Day One.  She flagged down the bartender and ordered a drink, then turned back to Theo. “How are your classes going so far?”

He winced, and set his drink back on the bar.  “You were pretty spot on about the teachers.  Especially Mendeliev.”

“Yeah, the rumors about her are pretty consistent.”  Marinette grimaced sympathetically.  “I’m not looking forward to my turn in her class.”

“She’s brutal.” He shuddered theatrically, then nudged Marinette’s arm with his elbow.  “How about you?”  

“Great!”  The bartender returned with her drink; she accepted it and paid with a murmured thanks.  “I think I’m really going to enjoy this semester, even if I am going to have to work my butt off to get through it.”

Theo cocked his head.  “You like a challenge, then?” At her nod, a roguish smile curled one corner of his mouth.  “So maybe I shouldn’t be making things so easy for you?”

Marinette laughed.  “You think a lot of yourself, don’t you?”

“I think a lot of you,” he said.  He’d leaned in toward her, how voice low and warm and his eyes sparking.  “Is it working?”

She pushed him back with a finger on his nose.  “Alright Casanova, I haven’t had enough alcohol for bad pick up lines.  Let’s finish our drinks, and then you can show me whether you can dance as well as you say you can.”

“Yes ma’am,” he drawled in English, making her laugh again.  

They chatted for several more minutes as they each finished their drinks, then she took him by the hand and led him to where Alya and Nino were dancing nearby. 

As they moved through the dancers, she threw a glance at her sister, who was dancing happily with Adrien on the other side of the club, and smiled.  Behind them, Felix stood with the Bourgeois girls, staring moodily out at the dance floor.  Then his eyes suddenly locked with hers and she resisted the impulse to look away.  Instead, she raised an eyebrow and smiled in challenge.  Felix’s scowl deeped and she allowed her smile to widen.

Theo followed her gaze and frowned. “It’s too bad that you and your sister have been forced to part ways for the evening,” he said, leaning forward to speak close to her ear.  “I hate to think that Felix’s beef with me might come between you.”

Marinette stopped walking to turn and frown at him. “What are you talking about?”

“Doesn’t it bother you that you can’t hang out with your sister, because of this feud?”

Marinette shook her head.  “We hang out all the time, but we’re not joined at the hip.  This isn’t the first time that we’ve had friends who didn’t get along, and it won’t be the last.”  She shrugged.  “I’m just sorry that his presence might make things harder for you.”

He smiled.  “Don’t worry about me.  It’s not for me to be put off by him.”

She smiled back, and they went back to wading through the crowd.

“Took you long enough!” Alya said when they got close enough, shouting to be heard over the music.

“Hush,” Marinette shouted back, falling into the rhythm of the music.  “Not all of us have such easy classes this semester.”

Alya scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because not all of us are insane.”

Theo chuckled as he moved in behind her, his hands on her hips, and proceeded to demonstrate that he was, indeed, just as good a dancer as he’d said.  They moved together in perfect sync.  Marinette felt herself relaxing.  She tipped her head back to speak into his ear, so that he would hear her over the throbbing music.  “I’m glad you suggested this,” she said.  “I hadn’t realized that I needed a break so badly until just now.”

“Of course,” he answered.  “You spent all week either buried in books, or slaving at your parents’ bakery.  “I’m glad you came out.”  She hummed her agreement and for a long time, no one said anything.  The four of them shifted as they danced, sometimes moving in a group and sometimes dancing in pairs.

When Alya tilted her head towards the bar sometime later, then began moving in that direction, Marinette and the guys followed.  She was surprised to discover that more than an hour had passed while they danced.  

“Are you going to the Agreste party next weekend?” Alya asked while they waited for their drinks.

“You think Bri would let me skip it?” Marinette said, smiling wryly.  “You guys are going right?”

Both Nino and Alya nodded, but Theo frowned.  “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to go.  I doubt I’m invited.”

“But it’s a university sponsored event, dude.  Everyone is invited.”

Theo shook his head at Nino as the bartender returned with four draft beers.   “Felix hates me, which means that Adrien and his sisters do, too.  They won’t let me through the door.” He pushed his credit card across the bar, and waved the others away when they tried to pay for their own.  “I got this round,” he said.  “I want to thank you guys for making me feel so welcome here.”

 “No worries, man.” Nino clapped him on the back with a grin.  “Just let one of us get the next round, alright?”

“I think you should go, Theo,” Marinette said decisively.  “It is an open event for students, and you are a student.  Besides,” she added a bit wickedly, they won’t dare make you leave if you’re there as my date.”

Theo lowered his drink, staring at her.  “You’d stick your neck out for me?  Even knowing what Felix is capable of?”

Alya chuckled.  “Clearly, you don’t know Marinette very well yet.”

Theo grinned at her.  “I think I’m starting to,” he said.  Then he lifted his glass.  “To Marinette!” he said.  “Santé!”

Felix watched as Marinette began dancing with Theo, feeling something acidic roil in his gut.  Her arch smile had cut him from clear across the room and now, the sight of her head leaning back on his shoulder, laughing at something he said as they moved together had his hands curling into fists.  

He wanted to pull her away from that deceitful bastard, to shake her and tell her what a fool she was, to kiss her senseless.

Then he wanted to punch Theo right in lying mouth.

“Still admiring her ‘fine eyes’, Felix?  Or has her abominable taste finally shown you what trash she is?”

Felix glanced from Chloe’s smug face to Sabrina’s, then turned his back on the dancing crowd and the woman who’d just put him in his place without saying a word. He ground his teeth.  “Her lack of judgement is irrelevant,” he said.  Apparently he had a masochistic streak, because he found himself adding, “it makes her no less beautiful.”  He muttered it into his glass, the words meant for no one else, but both of the girls heard him.

Sabrina snickered, and Chloe’s smug expression wilted and turned sulky. 

Sabrina, who was already halfway drunk, rolled her eyes at him.  “Would you just fuck her already, and get her out of your system?”

“Sabrina!” Chloe gasped.  “He would never!”

He felt his cheeks heat, but he ignored them both.  That barb was entirely too close to the mark.

Instead he watched Adrien’s conversation with Bridgette.  The music was far too loud to hear what they were saying to one another, but it was a perfect opportunity to observe them.  Adrien was clearly smitten; even if he hadn’t said as much, Felix could tell just by looking at the man.  Bright eyes, flushed cheeks, leaning toward her ever so slightly, as if he wanted to be closer but didn’t want to invade her space.  Yeah, Adrien was a goner.

But the girl?  She was much harder to read.  She liked Adrien, at least, but Felix didn’t think that her feelings were engaged.  Her expression was far too composed, her behaviour around Adrien far too controlled.  They were so different, their backgrounds markedly so; nothing less than love would keep them together.  Even then, he doubted Bridgette DuPain-Cheng could possibly stand up to the cruel, haughty Audrey Bourgeois.

Felix shuddered.  He had never been at odds with Adrien’s mother, and hoped he never would be.  The woman was a dragon.

“Felix?” An arm slipped through his, but he didn’t notice.  “Are you alright?”

If he was right about Bridgette, Adrien was going to end up getting hurt.  Badly.

The hand on his arm jerked him around so that he was no longer facing Adrien.  “Felix!” 

“What!” he snapped at last, glaring at Chloe.

She glared back, and flipped her smooth blond hair over her bare shoulder.  “You know we can’t let them get too close.”

He blinked.  That was not at all what he’d expected, and uncomfortably close to what he’d been thinking.

She rolled her eyes.  “You know it’ll never work.  He’s the Bourgeois heir, and she’s a bakery girl.  He’s wealthy and cultured and well traveled, and she thinks that visiting Marseilles is an adventure.  It’s ridiculous.  What could they possibly have in common?”

It sounded so snobby, put that way, but Felix still had to agree.  “Maybe it would be better if they didn’t spend so much time together,” he allowed.

“Exactly!” Her smug expression had returned.  “Though if that’s what you think, then I don’t understand why you agreed to host that ridiculous party next weekend.”  

“Neither do I,” he admitted wryly.  “But it’s too late now.”

Chloe sniffed.  “Well at least you recognize your folly,” she said primly.

“Don’t act like you’re not taking full advantage, Chlo,” Sabrina said, slurring the words a bit.  She had a fresh drink in her hand, and Felix realized she must have gone to the bar to get it.

“I do seem to recall organizing a VIP room for you and your entourage,” Felix said, brow raised.  “And don’t think I haven’t noticed that Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, and XY have all announced their intentions of attending.”

Chloe certainly looked pleased with herself, and Sabrina giggled.  “To hear her talk,” she said to Felix, “you’d think it was her party!  Didn’t you tell what’s-his-name that you’re co-hosting with Felix?”

“That’s enough, Sabrina!” Chloe snapped, plucking the glass out of Sabrina’s hand.  “Clearly, you have had too much to drink, if you’re spouting nonsense like that.”  

Felix pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “What have you done, Chloe?”

“Nothing!  I only invited a few more people to the party, as you already knew.”

“Chloe--”

“This place sucks, and we’re leaving.” She tossed her hair again as she dragged Sabrina behind her.  “Honestly, I don’t know why we came back here to begin with.”

Felix shook his head.  He had a feeling that Nathalie would soon be putting down a new round of rumors about a liaison between the Agreste and Bourgeois families.  

If he didn’t strangle Chloe, he suspected that Nathalie would.

Saturday, at last.  

After another grueling week of classes, closing the bakery on Friday and opening it again that morning, Marinette was exhausted.  What she really wanted was a night in, but she’d not get that until tomorrow. 

Tomorrow would be a much needed Do Nothing Day.  Her homework was done, her back to back shifts with Bridgette had netted them three straight days off at the bakery, and after tonight’s party she had no social commitments. She didn’t have any intention of changing out of her pajamas, much less leaving the house.  

First things first, though: the party.

Marinette sat across from Bridgette at their tiled dining table, their makeup spread between them.  They were nearly finished with it when Max came out of the guest room looking stiff and awkward in a striped sweater vest over a starched while dress shirt and pleated khaki pants.  The girls shared a brief look.  His attire might have been perfect for leading a church youth group meeting, but for an upscale, all out college party?  Not so much.

“This gathering tonight,” Max began, trying and failing to sound nonchalant, “will it be like the other university functions we’ve attended?”

Bridgette paused in applying her eyeliner and shrugged.  “Yeah, for the most part.”

“There’s probably going to be a bit more drinking and general debauchery at this one than the others,” Marinette added.  “Since it’s being held at a private venue, and is only nominally associated with the university. Why?”

“Ah.”  Max shifted uncomfortably, his blush clear even on his warm cocoa skin.  “That is, yes.  That is good.”

Bridgette smiled sympathetically. “You know, Max, you don’t have to go with us if you don’t want to.”

He straightened his spine and finally met their eyes.  “Nonsense,” he said firmly.  “While such a party will be in no way edifying, I believe that mother would want me to go.  She is convinced that a thorough social education is as important to my success as clergyman as my theological studies.  How else am I to relate to my future flock?”

Bridgette blinked.  “Ah--right.  That is why she sent you to us, isn’t it?”

Marinette, who had been struggling not to laugh, thought that perhaps Aunt Catherine should have begun that education well before now. Still, she supposed, it was better late than never.   Her sister’s comment had a light bulb going off in her brain, though, and she sobered.  

“Max,” she began carefully, “do you think you’ve made any progress on that front?”

He stiffened.  “Progress?”

“Have you gotten to know anyone?  Started to feel more comfortable in social situations?”

“But, Marinette!” he spluttered.  “These things take time! I only just moved a few weeks ago!”

Marinette tossed her blending brush to the table as she stood.  “I know, but--Max, how would you feel about letting us help you?”

“Help me?” he repeated, frowning.  “Help me what?”

“Break out of your shell?” Marinette answered, her rising inflection making it a question.  She wanted to help Max, not offend him.  “You mother has kind of thrown you into the deep end here, and I kind of got the feeling that you’re drowning--”

“What my sister means to say,” Bridgette cut in with a warning glance for Marinette and a kind smile for Max, “is that you’ve seemed pretty uncomfortable at the other events we’ve taken you to.  It’s completely new to you, isn’t it?”

“Your entertainments have been nothing like my mother’s society affairs,” he said stiffly.  “That is true.”

“So maybe it might help if you know better what to expect?” Bridgette went on.  “Things like dress codes, and the types of people who are likely to attend?  

Max’s expression had relaxed a bit, and turned thoughtful.  “Perhaps you are right.  If academic instruction is beneficial to my education, it stands to reason that social instruction would be beneficial as well.”  Then he frowned.  “Is there something wrong with my clothes?”

“N-no,”  Marinette said.  “Not if you like your clothes.  But, have you ever experimented with other styles?”

He shook his head.  “Mother has always selected my wardrobe.”

“Well, would you like to try now?” Bridgette asked.  You shouldn’t change anything about yourself for other people, but if you’d like to explore your own sense of style for yourself, we could definitely help with that.”

He looked uncertainly between his cousins.  “I suppose it is too late to change anything for this evening.  There is no time to go shopping--”

“Yay!” Bridgette squealed, clapping.  “Of course it’s not too late!”

At the same time, Marinette said “Nonsense.  You live with a budding designer, Max.  It’s never too late.”  She grinned delightedly as she eyed him up and down, mentally calculating his size and what styles would be flattering on him.  “Come on Max, we’re going to raid your closet.”

Bridgette gave an encouraging nod, and Marinette gestured for Max to precede them into his room.  He stopped just inside the door, and turned back.  

“Marinette, I’m sure that nothing in my current wardrobe--”

She waved him to silence as she looked around his immaculate room.  “Where are those jeans that Maman got for you right after you arrived?”

“Oh.  Those.  They are at the back of the closet.”

Marinette dove into his closet and began flipping through the hangers, looking for likely candidates.  She found the jeans and held them out behind her, then shook them when he didn’t take them from her.  The hanger left her hand, and she went back to digging.

“Are you certain that denim is an appropriate choice?” he said uncertainly.  “Mother says--”

“Max, I love you,” Marinette interrupted him again as she emerged with several shirts in her hands.  “But I need you to please forget everything your mother has told you about fashion. Her fashion sense is several decades out of date, and anyway, we’re trying to find your fashion sense.”  He frowned, but nodded. “Good.  We’ll try a few things, and if nothing works for you then we’ll stick with this for now, until we can go shopping.”

“So, jeans?” he asked.

“Jeans,” she said, nodding firmly as she laid out the shirts on the bed.  “Those in particular are perfect, because the darker color means that we can dress them up or down pretty easily.  As for your shirt...”  She trailed off, eyeing their options consideringly: a surprisingly current white button down dress shirt, thankfully not yet starched and ironed to within an inch of its life; a fuzzy fawn colored sweater with a shallow V neck; a previously white long-sleeve henley that her father had accidentally turned pink in the wash; and the t-shirt that had been hanging with the jeans.  Her mother had bought that, too, and while Max had expressed thanks, no one had seen either article of clothing since.  “Okay,” she said.  “Of these four, are there any that you definitely don’t want to wear tonight?”

“The sweater, if you intend for me to wear it alone.  It is wool, and itchy if I’m not wearing something under it.”

“Fair enough.” Marinette took the sweater and hung it back in the closet.

“Anything else?”

He frowned.  “I am not fond of this one, either.  It was kind of your mother to think of me, but--.”

She whisked the t-shirt away and put it with the sweater.  “So that leaves us with the henley and the button down, yeah?”  At his assent, she moved for the door.  “Why don’t you go ahead and get changed?  Put on whichever shirt you like more.  I’m going to go and finish my make up, and then we’ll see what you think.”