#also the cat pupils- while I like them- don’t make sense- sex wouldn’t separate pupil shape would it?

[spaghetticat3899]

Kinda wish male and female Turians looked identical. I don’t care if it’s lazy, if anything it would’ve been easier to pull off, since the only reason they were introduced so late is because of the reduced memory the games had, therefore having difficulty adding a whole new model. Now, I don’t hate the female turian design, I know some folks do, but I’m kinda indifferent to them, there’s things I like and dislike. Their faces can be pretty, but the lack of back-head-covering feels a tad odd to me, especially since the plates are meant to provide protection from solar radiation. They could’ve still had the crests, just smaller or flatter, no? There’s also a line of dialogue saying most can’t tell the difference between a male and female turian, which implies they’re near-identical, right?

I don’t know, it was just something I was thinking about because I’ve been thinking about Mass Effect again.

[freedom-shamrock]

Subtle Valse Musette - Chapter 5

Also on AO3 Chp 1   Chp 2   Chp 3   Chp 4   Chp 5   Chp 6 Marichat May day # 28 - hostage situation

 This chapter includes intimidation, sass, a non graphic fight scene, and the phrase "moth fucker."

Initially, the only thing Marinette was aware of, was how dry her mouth felt.  After a couple of moments licking her lips and not finding any improvement she realized she couldn't move much.  She let out a groan of annoyance, and it echoed in the dark. She blinked her gritty eyes, wishing she could rub them, and tried to take stock of her situation.  

She appeared to be tied to a chair, and it wasn't a nice comfortable chair, but firm wood. She could still feel her feet and hands, but they were starting to get a little prickly.  Her neck was stiff from her head lolling to the side and she rocked it a bit to try to ease the muscles. The room was dark and disturbingly quiet. She tried to remember what had happened, where she'd been before whatever this was had happened.  She recalled her morning clearly. Breakfast at the dining hall, her history of textiles class. She wasn't sure about lunch. Was today the day of her big meeting with Mr. Agreste? Had she even made it? If she missed it, she was going to beat the crap out of whoever was responsible.

She took a deep breath to push down the panic rising in her chest.  She'd obviously been abducted or captured by someone. She pushed her ear against her shoulder, relieved to feel her miraculous stones safely where they belonged.  She had to assume Tikki was hiding, biding her time until they had a good chance. She was clever in a bind and would be on hand to help Marinette when the right moment presented.

There was a mechanical shushing noise, and a low purple light came on around the edges of the room, letting her get a better feel for the size of the place.  The room filled with an eerie fluttering sound. "Are you quite awake over there, Ms. Dupain-Cheng?" a man's voice asked. It was cold and haughty, and while it reminded her rather eerily of Adrien's father, she knew this voice.  She'd heard it when she and Chat Noir faced the akuma face of Hawk Moth at the Eiffel Tower during their first mission.

"What?"  She looked up and flinched.  Hawk Moth stood before her. A vision of gray and purple.  Instead of a simple domino mask like Ladybug, Chat, and Rena, he wore full face coif armor, and the effect was disturbing.  "Who are you? Where am I?" She was freaked out, but as someone who had faced akumas and horrible situations for years, she hadn't frozen in fear, unable to consider her options.

He grinned, which only made him look creepier.  "Surely you know the answer to that question," he drawled.

His entertainment at her expense brought up a rage that shoved aside her initial fear.  She glared at him. "I think you underestimate the strange costumes I've seen. You could be Hawk Moth's latest fashion disaster.  You're giving off the vibe of a badly managed sex dungeon refugee with a butterfly fetish. I guess there's a chance you're Hawk Moth himself.  But seriously, have you seen some of the things the more artsy theaters do?"  She'd helped design and create more than a few artsy theater costumes.  She shuddered, remembering burlap and sequins. "I'm kind of leaning in the butterfly kink direction at the moment, so you should probably clarify."

He scowled at her.  "I'm not sure you realize the precarious nature of your position, Ms. Dupain-Cheng."  His cool voice held a warning.

"Obviously."  She channeled Chloe Bourgeois and rolled her eyes.  "I just woke up in a dark room, tied to a hard chair, with no memory beyond lunch.  I'm kind of missing some critical information here."

Even with the mask, she could see his jaw clench.  "So instead of asking like a civilized human, you thought an attitude would help?"

She cocked one eyebrow.  "Have you not looked at yourself in a mirror in that getup?"  She closed her eyes and sighed. "I was trying to speak in a way a butterfly fucker would understand."  She paused. "No judgement, by the way. You do you. Or do your creepy flock of butterflies.  Whatever works."

His eyes were narrowed and angry.  "I am Hawk Moth. My akuma obey my commands; I do not have relations with them."

"Sure."  She intentionally sounded unconvinced.  "Are you going to akumatize me then?" she asked.  "Send me out to fail to retrieve the miraculous, only to be cured by Chat Noir and Ladybug?"  She shrugged, as much as was possible with her bindings. "Have at it. The sooner you slap me in one of your hideous costumes, the sooner I can get back to my day."  She was pretty sure it wouldn't work, but it was worth a try.

He turned his back on her for a moment before poking at something in his pocket.  A television screen on an arm slid out of the wall nearest her. "Please do enjoy the news."

It was a recorded broadcast from earlier in the day.  Nadja Chamack reported live at the Eiffel Tower as a large cloud of black and purple butterflies coalesced into the shape of Hawk Moth's head.  "Heroes of Paris," the mockery of a human face spoke with that same cold haughtiness. "You will all provide me your miraculous within the next two hours.  I'm through with your games. Chat Noir, I advise you to talk sense into your companions if you ever wish to see your darling friend Marinette again. Ladybug, there will be no negotiation. Your time starts now."

So he didn't realize he had Ladybug; that was promising.  How did Hawk Moth even know that Marinette knew Chat? Alya was the only person she'd told.  It didn't make sense. She decided to stretch out on a limb. "Uh, Hawk Man," she called, looking at him as he gazed out his butterfly-leaded window.  She saw his back tense. "I think you got some bad intel."

"Hawk Moth , not Hawk Man," he snapped.

"Fine, Hawk Moth fucker," she amended.

He whipped his head around to glare at her.

"I'm not friends with Chat Noir," she explained.  "I mean, I'd love to be, don't get me wrong. He is my favorite hero, and that guy can fill out a cat suit, if you know what I mean."  She figured it helped sell the lie because her Kit-cat was hot as hell and she was not blind to that.

"He's rescued you several times," Hawk Moth pointed out, unconvinced.

She rolled her eyes again.  "Yeah. Along with most of Paris.  And to be fair, you akumatized most of my classmates, so I have had a bit more need of being rescued than the average Parisian."

His eyes narrowed.  "You're working on hero themed designs for Paris' greatest fashion house."

The press release had made her abruptly popular at school, mostly with classmates who thought she could get them an in with the elusive Gabriel Agreste.  "Yeah. Lots of designers have done the same."

Hawk Moth took two steps closer.  "You got Chat Noir's approval on the first set of designs."

It was true, but now that he was mentioning it, she recalled meeting with Mr. Agreste.  It was hazy, but there. He'd been the only person she'd given that detail to, thinking it would lend her designs credibility.  "That's true, but it still doesn't mean we're friends. It's not hard to put out a call for one of the heroes. The Ladyblog has a whole section dedicated to such requests."  She shook her head. "I'm not nearly as high a bargaining chip as you think I am."

"So you're telling me you're worthless?" he asked in a low voice that dripped danger.  He gave a little tug on his cane, separating it into a sabre and sheath.

"I'm not worthless," she corrected.  This was definitely not the direction she wanted things to go while she was still tied up.  "But I'm not this… what did you call me? Darling friend?" She shook her head again. She felt sudden warmth in her hands.  Her bonds had come slightly loose, and something was nudging her fingers. She'd never been so relieved to feel Tikki's touch.

The leaded glass shattered, shards scattering across the floor as Chat Noir crashed through the window feet first.  His arc brought his heels into a perfect collision with Hawk Moth's shoulder, throwing the older man across the room, his sabre sliding well out of reach.  Chat snarled, sounding considerably more feral than she'd ever seen him, even as Ladybug. He seemed bigger, too.

Marinette pulled her hands free while Tikki magiced knots on her feet.  By the time she was free, Chat had somehow managed to pin Hawk Moth to the floor, roaring into the villain's face.  He was definitely bigger, with longer shaggier hair. The spikes on his tail whistled as it lashed through the air, a visual representation of his anger.  

"Easy Chat Noir," Carapace called as he leaped through the window, closely followed by Rena Rouge.  "You've caught him. No need to do more." His voice was gentle, but his green and gold eyes held concern.

Chat Growled at his ally.

"Stick with the plan Chat," Rena reminded, moving toward Marinette.  "Are you okay? Let's get you out of here," she suggested.

Marinette dodged the hand her best friend's alter ego held out and approached Chat Noir.  "I'm okay, Kit-cat," she said quietly. "You've saved me."

He looked up at her, his pupils a tighter slit than she was used to, and his mouth set in a grimace to accommodate very sharp teeth.  What had happened to him?

Hawk Moth screamed below him and Marinette realized Chat was digging his claws into the man's shoulders, piercing the hideous suit and the flesh beneath it.

She reached out to brush her fingers along Chat's jaw.  "It's okay. I'm safe." When and how did he get a transformation upgrade?  She could see that he was still her Chaton, but wow. He'd gone from overgrown house cat to a panther, bordering on terrifying.  "Let me help you."

He let out a slow breath and nodded.  With that, the tension she felt coming off the rest of the team dropped noticeably.  They weren't used to this Chat either.

She looked down at Hawk Moth, critically assessing him the same way she would search for an akumatized item.  She reached down and plucked off the butterfly brooch at his neck. It immediately transformed into a button pin, and a wave of purple light washed over Hawk Moth to reveal Gabriel Agreste, Chat's claws still buried in his shoulders.

Chat Noir lowered his face to the other man's and let out a roar that shook the room, sending the shards of glass tinkling and scattering.

"Kit-cat?" Marinette said quietly.  "Let the horrible man go." She was half surprised when he obeyed.

Chat straightened up and rubbed his cheek against hers, filling the room with a rumble that rivaled most cars in volume.

Rena came over with the ropes that had previously bound Marinette to a chair, and tied Mr. Agreste's feet together.  "In a perfect world, I'd want the A team here for this," she said, standing up but not getting too much closer to Marinette or Chat.  "But we haven't been able to reach Ladybug all evening, and Chat's clearly in no condition to meet with the police or the press." She looked conflicted, and Marinette was pretty sure she wanted to bring her friend home safe.

"Chat, can you bring Marinette home?" Carapace asked slowly, stepping into Chat's field of vision.  "I kind of think you two have some stuff to talk about."

Marinette frowned at that ominous statement.  "What do you mean?" she asked.

Chat growled at Carapace, who simply raised his eyebrows.  "Do not go there, dude," he chastised, before looking at Marinette.  "It's his business to tell you." He gestured to the broken window with one green gloved hand.  "The police are on their way, dude. If you can get her home safely, I suggest you do that now. She's probably hungry and tired."

"Mari… Marinette?" Rena said quickly.  "Before you go to bed, try to jot down anything you can remember from today so you'll have it for the investigation.  One of us will be by with the name and contact information of a good trauma therapist tomorrow. Tonight, just do what feels safe and comforting, okay?"

Marinette nodded, feeling bad for her friend, being forced to split her focus between her job as a superhero and her role as Marinette's bestie.  "Thank you." She looked at each of them in turn. "For saving me and for taking down Hawk Moth."

Carapace shook his head.  "We were totally backup. You and Chat mostly took care of it yourselves.  And we appreciate the help." He winced. "Ladybug might kill us later, but you're safe.  Paris is safe, and that's the really important stuff."

Marinette glanced back at Gabriel.  "Someone should go see Adrien," she said.  "He's an old friend of mine, and… I'm worried how he'll handle this."  She didn't like thinking about that. "Tell him he can come to me or my parents if he needs anything."  Chat purred again, pressing his face to hers.

"I'll go see him when we're done with the police," Carapace said.  

Chat scooped Marinette up.  "Home."

"Yes please."  She felt her adrenaline crashing and let herself sag against him.

This started as a 30 minute speed write, but I hit the 5 minute warning timer and realized the only way to finish it properly was to take the time to do so. And I wasn't able to wrap it up until this morning.

One more chapter to come on this story, probably tomorrow (hoping to wrap up both remaining Marichat May stories tomorrow).