#and we have another akuma arc on our hands | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

frayaziwriter · 3 months ago

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The Strings Of The Universe Will Lead Me To You

Chapter 2

19th of November, 2025

The freezing night air cut into your skin as you trekked up the steep mountain.

The path you were on was only lit by the flashlights in your hands, and you followed behind your comrades as they navigated the dark forest.

“We should be getting close to the entrance now,” Someone called up from ahead. You turned from studying another path veering off to the right to see Lavi glancing over his shoulder at the rest of the group, “The locals said it was somewhere around the giant boulder halves. Anyone see them?”

He furrowed his eyebrows at the answering ‘no’s and ran a hand through his normally bright red hair. It was muddled to a dark brown in the shadows, but once a beam of light flashed over him, it returns to its original glaring hue.

You eyed the trail with narrowed eyes. Something plucked in the back of your mind.

Lenalee spoke up and addressed the entire team. “How about we split up and look for them? Go in pairs and return in ten minutes?” You gasped and immediately latched onto Miranda and Marie. “Dibs on these two!” At this, the other four paired up; Lenalee and Kanda continued ahead while Allen and Lavi stepped off the path to the left.

You happily led the two Assist Exorcists to the diverging path you noticed earlier.

“Keep your eyes peeled Miranda!” You chirp as you maneuvered her in-between you and Marie, “It’s pretty dark out here even with our torches, and there’s only two of us with vision right now!” She nodded shakily. It was only a few minutes until you and Maire paused. You blinked as a tugging sensation picked at your subconscious, directing you to the path behind you. You almost turned around to look when Marie directed his sightless gaze to the two of you. “Do you two hear that?”

You paused and cocked your head every which way, cupping your hands around your ears to hear better. Pouting, you shook your head. Miranda glanced around her nervously. “N-No. We d-don’t.”

Marie’s face scrunched up. “(Y/N), get your Innocence ready.” Startled, you grab your kusarigama hanging at your hip. “Hear something weird?” He nodded, and you surviewed your surroundings carefully.

(The tugs on the edge of your subconscious weren’t helping you, so you ignored them for now.)

Shadows clung to the trees stubbornly, and you slowly moved your flashlight in an arc around you. Nothing in the forest. Above…?

You flick your flashlight up and your gaze followed it. Nothing. You pursed your lips and returned to the forest around you. The wind brushed against your hair, rustling the tree branches and disturbing the hood of your cloak. It whispered in your ears as you searched, sounding unusually like distorted voices.

“(L/N)..?”

Your eyes snapped to behind you. There was a deep chasm of darkness behind you. You stared into it. Something stared back. Flicking your flashlight towards the darkened path behind you, you saw a flash of a red face, resembling that of a troll. However, it was gone instantly. Frowning in confusion, you stared for a moment longer before slowly dragging your beam of light away-

-and promptly forgot about the red troll mask as your gaze landed right on a Level 3 Akuma that really shouldn’t have been that close to you in such a short amount of time.

You squeaked and immediately activated your Innocence, blocking the bullet it shot at you with the blade part of the kusarigama. “Akuma!” You yell and jump towards the Level 3 as Miranda activated her Innocence and created a shield around herself.

Pulling at the ball at the end of the miniature scythe, you shot the handle dagger towards the Level 3 in a swift flick. The chain connecting the two blades rattled as it extended, and the dagger sunk into the Level 3’s chest smoothly. It screeched and grabbed onto the chain, yanking you closer and raising a clawed hand for a probably painful swipe.

Letting out a feral yell, you slammed into the Akuma and wrapped your legs around the raised arm. You twisted yourself around the limb, throwing the Level 3 off balance. As you swung to its back, you flicked out your scythe hand and let the blade slide out of your grip and sink into the Akuma’s neck. It howled in pain, letting go of the dagger buried in its chest and reaching behind it to grab you. You clung onto the chain wrapped around its body and swung back to its front. Grabbing the dagger, you pulled it out and stabbed the helmet covering most of the Level 3’s head.

It sunk in swiftly and you grabbed the scythe once more. Swiftly wrapping the chain tight around its neck and falling backward, you pulled on the metal chain hard, flipping the Akuma over you. It slammed into the frozen earth with a loud thud. You stomped on its back as you landed and swung the scythe by the chain in a circle at a high speed.

Dropping your arm, you sliced the Akuma in half and jumped away. It exploded while you grabbed the chain and pulled the dagger back to you. The wind suddenly picked up as the toxic gas made its way to you, blowing it away. Feeling a phantom brush in the back of your mind, you shivered in the cold wind and turned around.

Just as you went to run back into the fray, a harsher tug on your mind jerked your attention to the trees by your side. You glanced at them and saw nothing but a flash of that troll mask.

“(Y/N)! There’s more Akuma!” Marie yelled, and you snapped back into action. Swinging the scythe in a circle once more, you flicked it towards where you left your two friends. It latched onto a tree and pulled you forward.

Soaring through the branches, you landed feet first onto a Level 2 trying to break through Miranda’s shield and stabbed it with both blades. You jumped away while it exploded and glanced over both Miranda’s shield and her. No cracks or injuries. Good. You nodded at her and spun around to face the rest of the Akuma.

However, the sight before you stopped you dead in your tracks.

About ten Akuma were twisted in probably uncomfortable positions, hanging by threads that crisscrossed through the trees and bushes. You winced in sympathy as Marie tightened his Innocence’s hold on the poor Akuma and they creaked and groaned while their limbs twisted even further.

You stepped up to the huge man and glanced up at him. “You know if that’s all of them?”

“I believe so, at least for this area,” Marie replied, “There really must be an Innocence fragment here, seeing as there’s so much Akuma in one place.” You nodded in response.

Suddenly, all three of the golems flapping by your heads flashed red. The three of you turned to your golems as they crackled to life.

“Hey, anyone there?” Lavi’s voice crackled through, and you heard Lenalee reply with an affirmation. Marie rumbled beside you while Miranda dropped her shield and walked closer to you two. “We’re here as well, Lavi.”

“Good,” This time, Allen spoke up, “Did anyone else just get ambushed by Akuma?”

“Kanda and I did. We’re both fine, though.” Lenalee’s crackled voice said.

“So did we, Allen. Everyone is safe. Speaking of which,” Marie turned to you, “(Y/N), do you mind purifying these tortured souls?”

You blinked before jumping into action. “Oh. Oh! Yeah, I’ll go ahead and do it!” You skipped closer to the tied-up Akuma and swung both blades in circles. You drove both ones in the middle of each Akuma and stepped back once they exploded. Smiling, you saluted Marie, despite the fact he couldn’t see it. “All done!”

With a nod, he dropped his strings and the threads returned to the ten rings on his fingers. Following his lead, you deactivated your Innocence and watched as the chain retracted and both blades clicked together.

You spun the miniature scythe around your hand before reattaching it to your belt. “Let’s regroup and treat whatever wounds we got from that fight,” Allen spoke up, and most of the group let out noises of agreement.

You started walking back to the two Assist Exorcists when another harsh tug and a flash of the troll mask in the corner of your eye gave you pause. The wind picked up once more, bringing with it a distorted voice you’re sure you heard this time. You froze completely.

“Over...here…”

You glance over to the troll mask. Your eyes connected with the eyes of the mask, and this time it stayed longer.

“Follow...me…(L/N)...”

Your eyes widened with a gasp, and you took a confident step towards it. The troll mask disappeared slowly, and you faltered. “(Y/N)?” Miranda called out to you, causing you to glance over at her. The brunette fidgeted nervously, her chocolate brown eyes flicking between you and the gap in the trees Troll Mask disappeared in. “I-Is something w-wrong?”

Pursing your lips and turning back to the dark gap before you, you shook your head slowly. “...No, everything is fine. Go on ahead, I’ll catch up soon.”

“A-Are you sure?” She replied, and you nodded. “Yeah, it’s fine! Don’t worry! I’ll just check on something over here and catch up in a minute.” Miranda glanced up at Marie, and the giant man hummed. “If you are sure, (Y/N). If you’re not with us within ten minutes, however…”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it!” You waved them off. “I’ll be super quick! You won’t even notice I’m gone!” With that, the two reluctantly left, leaving you alone. Well, not really alone. Troll Mask is here.

Speaking of which…

“Come…”

“Alright, alright,” You say as you stepped into the dark shadows, “Let's see what you’re so desperate to show me.” <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

You stand in disbelief at the giant boulder before you. Well, two halves of a boulder with two pieces of decaying rope lying around it.

You’re...not sure how it managed to be split so evenly, nor how it was such a clean cut. You stepped closer. The edges were smooth and slightly rounded, probably by decades of rain falling on it. It didn’t look like it had been cracked open by something much heavier and bigger, but you had no idea what could have cut it so cleanly.

But, enough of that. You have more important matters.

Tapping on your golem’s screen, you let it connect to the other golems of your comrades before speaking. “Hey, guys? I think I found the boulder. It’s cut straight down the middle like something chopped it in half with a laser.”

“Wait, seriously?” Lavi replied instantly.

“Where is it?” Allen and Lenalee said at once. You hum. “It’s just off of the path Miranda, Marie, and I were on earlier.”

“Alright, stay there! We’ll be there soon!” With that, the connection cut off, leaving you in heavy silence. Sighing, you glanced around you. “So, why are you helping me?”

Silence answered you. You should have known. Of course, the one time you need answers, Troll Mask doesn’t want to talk. You rubbed a hand over your face. The plucks were softer this time around, almost apologetic. Shaking your head, you wave a hand at where you think Troll Mask is. “Eh, it’s okay. You don’t have to answer that if you want. Thanks anyway!”

The wind picked up, rustling your hair slightly and brushing the top of your head. It felt like a hand laying there for a brief second. You furrowed your eyebrows as the sensation left just as quickly as it came. In the corner of your eye, you saw Troll Mask, but it wasn’t alone this time. Two other masks, both foxes, floated beside it.

You turned around to see the three masks just staring at you. The wind whistled in your ears, and you could barely hear faint voices over the breeze. Finally, Troll Mask bobbed up and down before slowly fading away. The two little foxes slowly followed.

When they were all gone, you shivered. It was suddenly a lot colder than it was earlier.

Just then, you heard the voices and footsteps of your friends as they made their way toward you. They broke through the treeline and froze at the sight of the giant boulder halves in the middle of the clearing.

Lavi let out a whistle while Allen gaped up at it. “Wow...” The others silently agreed. Lenalee walked up to you and placed a hand on one half of the boulder. “Strange, a clean cut. What made it like this, I wonder?”

(You didn’t notice the three masks watching from beyond the treeline, their presence too far away from the edges of your subconscious.)

(Kanda did.) <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

The cave entrance loomed in front of you. The dark shadows inside were dense, and the flashlights you all were using did nothing against the thick layers of blackness. You stared up at the fanged mouth, which probably housed hundreds of bats and thousands of spiderwebs inside, and thought, ‘We’re going to die in there, aren’t we?’ You gripped your kusarigama a little tighter.

Lavi nervously turned to the rest of you. “So, ladies first?” Lenalee shot him an irritated look, and with a swish of her shiny black hair, stomped straight into the cave with barely a shiver. Allen gently pushed the older Exorcist in after her with a shit-eating grin before jogging to catch up with her. Lavi fell in step with the two Assist Exorcists, leaving both you and Kanda to bring up the rear.

You beamed up at the scowling man as the two of you took one last look around the forest. He glared down at you, hand twitching on the hilt of Mugen, his katana Innocence. He shoved past you into the cave, sending you stumbling and fighting to stay upright. Once you finally regained your balance, you skipped after Kanda.

The cave was just as dark on the inside as it appeared on the outside. You couldn’t tell just how big the entrance was, but you didn’t dare flick your flashlight up; bats may be there, and you definitely don’t want to be swarmed by them. Water dripped from somewhere high above, echoing loudly off the walls. Your feet splashed in random puddles on the floor, and one time a drop of liquid landed on your head. You weren’t quite sure you wanted to know if that was actually water...or something else.

You shivered slightly as a cold draft crawled over your skin from the cave entrance. Kanda sent a glare over his shoulder, but when you glanced back, there was nothing there. You furrowed your eyebrows at him, to which he ignored.

“The locals said that it’s a maze the deeper we go, so we should stick together closely,” Allen called from up ahead, “(Y/N), Kanda, when we start making turns, mind marking the walls or floor?”

“Okay!”

“Jeeze, it’s creepy in here...” Lavi muttered, his soft voice echoing eerily in the caverns. You silently agreed. The group paused at a fork in the path. At this, Lavi joined Allen and Lenalee at the front and spoke quietly with the other girl. You all quickly moved along on the right fork, and you scratched a mark in the wall with your kusarigama. Kanda did the same on the other side.

This repeated several times until Allen froze, and the sounds of a mechanical cog turning reached your ears. Everyone snapped their attention to him and he turned to the left and right tunnels of the three-way fork in front of you all.

It was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

...Not that someone brought a pin (except for Lenalee, she probably has some hairpins on her), but if someone did you could definitely hear it if they dropped it in this tense silence.

“Allen?” Lenalee nudged him. He turned to face the rest of the group.

The beams of the flashlights instantly turned his stark white hair into a glowing halo around his head, and his already pale skin was white as a sheet of snow. The bright red of the unusually shaped scar on the left side of his face stood out even more in this light. The sudden brightness that Allen turned into made your eyes instinctively blink shut, and you squinted slightly to see his features better. He looked like a demon straight out of hell. But what had your hands trembling was the mechanical cog floating in front of his left eye.

It was composed of two cogs, one big enough to cover his entire eye and the other one smaller and whirling off to the side. Each cog had a red iris staring through the glass in the middle, contrasting sharply with his normal right eye, which was a dark silver. You gulped. His cursed eye had activated, so that means-

“There’s Akuma in the left and right tunnels,” Allen spoke, voice hushed yet still loud enough to echo, “None in the middle one. But the Innocence is down the middle tunnel, I can feel it.”

-you’re in trouble. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

It had been decided to continue down the middle tunnel for now, and hopefully, you all can sneak past the Akuma until the time comes when you have a straight shot at the exit. Fighting in these cramped tunnels would be dangerous, and you really didn’t want to be trapped between a rock and a horde of Akuma.

Since you had extreme difficulty fighting in cramped areas such as this cave, you had moved to the middle of the group with the two Assist Exorcists while Allen took your place by Kanda’s side. Lavi and Lenalee continued to lead the group closer to the Innocence.

With each echoed thud and rattle of rocks falling, you jumped. Each noise could have been normal cave sounds, or it could have been the Akuma creeping closer to you all. It was hard to tell. The thought grated against you in the worst possible way. You would be a big liability if the group was caught now, and you hated it. The only thing you could do was to protect Miranda from stray bullets, but if there was Akuma up ahead then it would be extremely hard for you to do so from both ends. And if you messed up...

You shook your head. No point in stressing yourself out even more.

Suddenly, Lavi stopped right in front of you, causing you to almost smack right into his back. You stumbled back with a squeak but were immediately caught and set back on your feet gently. With a glance up, you spotted Marie supporting you and you sent him a beaming smile, even though you knew he couldn’t see it.

“Dead end,” Lavi called out, and Allen made a confused noise as he peered over Miranda’s and Lenalee’s shoulders. “What do you mean, ‘dead end’? The Innocence is directly-oh.”

You peered over Lavi quizzically and frowned.

Just like he said, a huge rocky wall blocked the way. But, that wasn’t right, Allen had said that the way forward was the right way. Maybe there’s another way?

“If it’s blocked,” You jumped at Kanda’s deep, growly voice right above your head and you whipped around to see him glaring at the redhead in front of you, “Then knock it the fuck down with your hammer, Baka Usagi."

Lavi’s left eye widened (maybe his right one did too, but you don’t know. It’s currently covered by a black eyepatch. You’d like to think that it is, but then it would probably be uncomfortable with the eyepatch pressed against his eyelid...but what if he has no eyelid???) and he gulped. With a shaky nod, he slid his deactivated Innocence out of its holster and held it up.

“R-Right! Big Hammer, Little Hammer; activate!”

With a twirl of his fingers, the hammer in his hands grew with a flash of green light until it towered over even Marie, which was kinda hard to do. The man was unnaturally huge, and he towered over pretty much everyone back at HQ. (Except for Hevlaska but then again no normal human can ever hope to beat her size.) But then, too little too late, you realize that if Lavi hits the wall with his Innocence-

“Wait, Lavi!” You say, but he was already swinging the enlarged hammerhead into the rock wall. You slammed your eyes shut and smacked your hands to your ears to block out the rumbling, bone-rattling, earth-shaking, mind-numbing noise that commenced from your fellow Combat Exorcist breaking the wall.

Except, it never came.

You slowly peeled open one eye before gasping loudly and dropping your hands.

Big Hammer, Little Hammer had phased through the wall. And the wall was sparking with pretty green lights, which you belatedly realized was very similar to the energy Innocence fragments give off.

Blinking, you closed your eyes and focused, expanding your subconscious to the limit and delving your conscious deep into the bones of the universe. When your eyes blinked open, you were surrounded by a pitch-black world. All around you were different colored strings. The threads were transparent and faded in and out of view.

The rocky walls were the dark green of the earth and dark blue strings stretching out into the abyss. The light yellow strings twisted abnormally, signifying the artificial light the flashlights produced. Around each Innocence shard was a coil of light green and light red strings. Like always, they shifted and plucked at one another strangely.

Your comrades were a collection of strings woven into a circular pattern; bright red for energy, dark blue for the physical world, and dark brown for animals. Each person had a unique pattern, the meaning behind the shapes and swirls unknown to you, and not for the first time you wondered what yours looked like.

Huffing out a breath you didn’t need, you focused harder on the wall of dark green strings in front of you. Your eyes picked up the lighter green and light red strings intertwined abnormally with the threads of the earth.

Glowing strings of light green and light red woven together in an unnatural way. The strings of the Innocence.

This wall wasn’t a real wall.

(You didn’t notice the black strings just barely brushing against your senses, nor did you notice how they slowly shifted closer unnaturally.)

You blinked, and you were back in your body.

“W-What...? What the fuck?” Lavi spluttered, and you couldn’t help but agree...At least he hadn’t stupidly busted down the wall and caught the Akuma’s attention.

Allen stepped closer to the wall as Lavi stumbled back, placing his human hand on the stone. He hummed. “It’s a real wall, I think. I can touch it with my right hand..”

“W-What about y-y-your Innocence hand?” Miranda timidly spoke up, and Allen cocked his head to the side. Without another word, he placed his left hand over the wall and pushed against it. His hand immediately phased through. Allen let out a yelp as he lost balance, making his arm sink even further through the wall. He grunted when his shoulder passed through and stopped. After a few moments of silence, he glanced back at the rest of you all with a furrowed brow. “I can’t phase through anymore. It stopped right at the line between my human body and my Innocence.”

Lenalee shared a look with Kanda and stepped closer to the wall. “So, that means that only Innocence can pass through. Since Kanda and I have Innocence in our blood, maybe it’ll let us pass?”

“It’s a good theory. Go ahead,” Allen stepped aside, shivering as his Innocence arm slipped back through the wall, “Though I have to warn you, it feels extremely weird.”

“Duly noted. Well, here goes.” The Chinese girl inhaled deeply before placing her hands on the wall and pushing forward. You watched in awe as she stepped through, the wall slowly swallowing her up until she disappeared from view. A few seconds later, her head popped back onto your side. Lenalee turned to Kanda. “It seems to work. Come on Kanda, we better get a move on and get that Innocence.”

Kanda, ever eloquent in his words, grunted in response and walked closer. However, just before he phased through the barrier, he turned to you.

“Oi, Squirt.” You perked up at the age-old nickname. “Yes, Yuu?”

He narrowed his eyes at you. “Stay out of the way, and make sure these two idiots,” He gestured towards Allen and Lavi, who protested quite loudly, “Don’t get themselves killed before we get back. Marie, be in charge.” And with that, he turned and stalked through the wall.

“Ugh, he’s so mean!” Lavi threw his head back, and you giggled in response. “But he means well…?” Both he and Allen pulled a face at your words and you placed a hand over your mouth to stifle your giggles.

“Debatable, Squirt.”

“Unlikely, (Y/N).” You rolled your eyes at their words. But just as you went to say something in response-

The strings yanked on your mind harshly.

“EXORCISTS!”

Your wide eyes met with the other Combat Exorcists.

Shit.

Leaping into action, you pushed Miranda out of the way and landed harshly on the rocky ground. A bullet whizzed past your head, only a few centimeters from grazing your ear. You heard the tell-tale sounds of a machine gun whirring to life from the path behind you and Innocence activating from your comrades.

Clang!

You glanced up to see Allen grab a bullet with his activated Innocence. The large and violet bullet filled with poison scrapped harshly against the metal claws his hand turned into. The white cape and silver mask of his Innocence, Crowned Clown, settled over his shoulders, and the calming aura of the sentient Innocence shard soothed the jumping nerves shooting through your spine.

Allen crushed the bullet between his claws as Lavi stepped over you and Miranda with his hammer already activated. He sent you a look over his shoulder while he twirled his Innocence to block the incoming shots. You nodded and jumped up, reaching down and pulling Miranda to her feet.

You led her to a corner and tucked her behind you. As soon as she was situated, you spun around and whipped out your kusarigama.

“Brimstone Beithir; activate!”

As you pulled the handles apart, the green gemstone on the scythe glowed, and the blades in your hands turned a light green. Swinging the scythe around in a circle, you let the weapons pick up speed. “Serpent’s Pass!” Flicking your left hand while pushing Miranda backward into the corner, you jerk the chain into a violent torrent of movement. The blade cut deep into the stone walls around you and shredded the bullets coming your way.

Lavi, who had been covering you two, nodded before lifting his hammer and extending the handle. The hammerhead slammed into several Akuma, pushing them back while Allen darted forward and sliced a few more in half.

“Aria of Grief!”

You jumped when a sudden noise echoed off the rock walls, and when you glanced over at Marie, you spotted distorted Akuma bodies hanging from his strings above him. You shuddered at the groans their limbs made as they were twisted into impossible angles.

“Hey!” Allen yelled into the nearest golem, “Lenalee! BaKanda! Where the hell are you? We got pinned!”

“We got it!” Lenalee replied and, with a pluck to your subconscious, you grabbed onto Miranda right before the wall disappeared. She squeaked quietly in fear. You breathed a sigh of relief while she clung tightly to your cloak. “T-Thank you, (Y-Y/N)...”

“You’re very welcome!” You chirp back at her.

“The tunnel opens up a bit more past the blockade! Guys, try leading them there so (Y/N) and Lavi can fight properly!” Lenalee continued. You shared a look with Miranda and Lavi.

A grin broke out on your face just as Lavi’s face fell. “No. Don’t you dare.”

You stuck out your free hand. Lavi’s eye hardened and he shook his head at you. “(Y/N), no. Get whatever idea out of your head right this second.”

You hummed. “(Y/N), yes.”

Brimstone Beithir smacked into your hand, instantly cutting the shield off. Lavi cursed loudly as he slammed his hammerhead in front of the three of you. You grabbed Miranda’s hand and ran through the previously blocked passageway. “Come on, Lavi! This way!”

“Goddammit, (Y/N)!” The redhead yelled out and extended his hammer handle. He ran after the two of you while his hammer continued to extend. “Warn us next time before you do shit like that!” You laughed in response.

You skidded to a halt once you reached the wide cavern that Lenalee spoke of and pushed Miranda behind you before twirling back around to face the Akuma. Lavi stopped beside you, retracting his hammer back to him. He looked at you. “Ready?” You grinned. “Good. Miranda, step back.”

The Assist Exorcist shuffled back and hid behind a pillar. You heard her mutter to her Innocence, and a green shield sprouted up around her.

“Alright,” Lavi twirled his Innocence in his hands with a rather large grin, “Let’s get this party started!” <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

Off to the corner, three figures stood there watching the unfamiliar slayers fight unfamiliar demons.

The tallest one, wearing a red troll mask, stepped closer to one slayer in particular. They wielded a very familiar weapon, and their fighting technique was just as swift and deadly as he remembered seeing it decades ago. But, how-?

“Urokodaki,” The taller one of the fox-masked children by his side spoke up, “Isn’t that one-?”

“Yes, I believe so,” He responded, his voice deep and gruff. His hands clenched as he watched them engage the unfamiliar demons with the kusarigama he remembered so well from the time of man-eating demons.

The smallest one, wearing a fox mask with a gentle smile painted across it, eyed the other two slayers that finally reappeared with a familiar green stone in their hands. Her eyes widened behind her mask while one of them tossed it to the hidden woman. “I think,” Her gentle voice instantly caught her companions' attention, and they both turned to her, “I know what happened.” <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

“Guys! We’re back!” Lenalee yelled from somewhere behind you, and if you weren’t already fighting an Akuma you would have allowed yourself to be distracted by the relief her words brought you.

“Die!” The Akuma before you swung a punch towards your head, which you promptly ducked and slammed the scythe part of your kusarigama into its stomach. It let out a pained cry, hacking up black blood while you twist the blade inside the Level 2 and slice it open up to its head. Rolling under its floating form, you swung your kusarigama and latched onto a rock nearby, pulling yourself over to avoid the painful explosion of the Akuma.

Rolling to a stand, you flick the dagger in your right hand into the back of an Akuma Lenalee had propelled herself to. It screeched and reached back to pull it out, yet Lenalee managed to slam its head into the ground with one kick beforehand.

You pulled the dagger back to you while she dealt the final blow on it and glanced around.

Kanda was currently slicing the Akuma Marie had caught in pieces with his Innocence, Mugen. Lavi and Allen were working together to destroy a group of higher-leveled Akuma, while Miranda-

-was currently being swarmed.

You scowled at the sight of the Level 3’s slamming their fists into her shield, causing her to cry out in fear and curl into herself.

Taking a deep breath, you slipped the two blades out of your hands and tightly gripped the chains linking them together. ‘Time to fuck shit up.’

You placed a foot in pointe before slowly turning onto it, spinning in a chaine turn. You flicked your blades in a lazy circle around you; horizontal, then vertical, then diagonal and repeat, clockwise then counter-clockwise, and back. The chain wrapped and unwrapped from your limbs over and over. You spun faster, flicking your kusarigama in a deadly dance as you went. You spun one way and leaped into a choreographed kick, the blades singing as they spun around you, unfolding like a flower unfurling its petals while your cloak flapped around your body.

Spinning one more time and leaping, you throw your scythe and pierce the rocky ground near the horde. The chain pulled tight, yanking you forward.

You landed lightly on your feet, the blades still whipping around you. Slowly, you turn your wide-eyed stare onto the Level 3’s still pounding away at Miranda’s shield. “Dance of the Divine Dragon.”

It was over in a moment.

The blades of your kusarigama shredding the Akuma into thin slices, singing loudly as they spun, the chain wrapping around the Akuma and squeezing them in half. You twisted and pulled, shredded and squeezed, until the Akuma were all purified.

You slowed to a stop.

Breathing deeply, you glance over to Miranda. She was staring at you with wide eyes, shaking but seemingly unharmed. In her hands was the Innocence Lenalee and Kanda had retrieved. You quirked your lips to the side and stepped closer to her shield. "You alright, Miranda?"

Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened in fear as they flicked behind you, and a harsh yank on your subconscious had you stumbling.

"(Y/N)! WATCH OUT!"

Time slowed down. It felt like you were moving through molasses when you turned.

The grinning face of a Level 4 Akuma greeted you when you finally managed to turn your head. Your (e/c) orbs flicked downwards to see an orb growing in its hand. 'Oh shit.'

"Time Record; Rewind!"

A painful electric jolt traveled through you. For a split second, your insides squeezed and pulled, and you had to clamp your mouth shut tightly as bile climbed up your throat. You clenched your eyes shut to fight off the sudden vertigo attacking your senses. A second later, and you were thankful you did so; a light so bright shined onto your eyelids, and you thought for a split second that your eyes were open.

You spun, head over heels, senses whirling and disoriented, until you finally found yourself on your hands and knees.

Breathing harshly, you choked and vomited the contents of your stomach up onto the ground. When you were done, you sat back onto your heels and panted, trying desperately to regain your breath.

But...why are you staring at grass??

Your breath hitched and your head shot up. Grimacing when your head spun painfully, you clenched your eyes shut briefly before slowly looking around.

You were...in a forest. Why were you in a forest? How are you in a forest?? And why the fuck are there disgusting noises coming from behind you??!!

You whipped around and immediately spotted several figures ambling towards you. They were walking through the shadows of the trees, so you couldn't get a good look at any of them, but if the shivers crawling up your spine meant anything, you should probably start running...

"Is that?" One figure spoke, their voice grating and disturbing. You grimaced and tried to subtly move to your feet. "Marechi! It's a Marechi! Mine!" You furrowed your brows. 'It'? 'Mine'? Were they talking about you? Why 'it', though? There were a bunch of other good things to call you, but they chose 'it'? That didn't seem good...

"No, it's MINE," Another growled, and once you were to your feet, you stepped back away from them, "The Marechi is mine! I'll tear you apart!" The group laughed cruelly.

'Marechi'? The hell was that? Briefly closing your eyes, you searched for the glowing green strings of your Innocence while you deftly ignored the sounds of an argument. Where is it...? Where - there it is! Brimstone sat a few feet away from you, crumpled in a heap.

(In your panicked frenzy you didn’t notice the dark red strings shift and pluck against the other strings in an abnormal and completely wrong way.

They resembled the black strings of death that you see sometimes around Akuma, and once, a Noah. Twisted and inhuman. Like they were never supposed to exist. (Except, the black strings of death were cut, and those weren’t. You ended up chalking it up to your mind playing tricks on you when you spotted them.))

Suddenly, one of the figures lurched towards you, snapping you back into reality as it entered the moonlight with a loud screech. “IT’S MINE!” Your breath hitched at the sight of them.

They weren't human. At all.

You lunged to the right, hands outstretched to grab your Innocence. The screeches from those things echoed through the woods, and just as you felt a clawed hand brush against your foot, you snatched up your kusarigama.

"Flame Breathing, Fourth Form; Blooming Flame Undulation!"

There was an almost unbearable heat against your back then, and the sickening slice of flesh ripping apart was loud and clear to you. The force from what you think is an attack blew you away and you landed harshly on the hard ground. Your kusarigama fell out of your hands, clattering onto the earth just out of your reach. Groaning, you roll onto your back and stare up at the night sky.

A flowing mane of yellow and red soon blocked that view, and you locked gazes with a red-orange one.

“Normally, someone in this same situation would be fear-stricken, but you must be used to being attacked by man-eating demons! Who are you?” You stared up at the man bending over you.

“What the fuck?”

notes: and the story actually begins! what did you all think about it? enjoyed it? anyways, stay safe out there everyone, and please remember that you're all AWESOME! XP

#fanfiction #fanfic #ao3 fanfic #d.gray man #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #kamado tanjiro x reader #kamado tanjiro/reader #frayawrites

0 notes

turtletaubwrites · 7 months ago

Text

Numbers Game ~ Part 16

Anything for a Friend

!!! SPOILER WARNING !!! This chapter, and the following chapters will contain a spoiler for the end of the Wano arc. This spoiler occurs in the anime before the Cross Guild is formed, but I realized that some readers aren't caught up with the show yet, and are just enjoying Cross Guild fics for the "vibes" 🥵😅 I apologize if this means you'll have to wait to continue. I detest spoilers, so it didn't occur to me until I was editing that there might be people reading Numbers Game that haven't made it to the Cross Guild yet. I'm not sure if you'll care about this spoiler or not, but you have been warned!

Pairings: Cross Guild x Fem!Reader

Numbers Game Masterlist

Word Count: 9686

Ao3 Link

Ongoing Series Playlist: Youtube Music Link | Youtube Link

Summary: Red Haired Shanks comes to visit with an interesting request, and you learn a bit more about your lover's past.

Author's Note: Sorry this one's extra long, I hoped you'd prefer longer with smut vs less long with no smut, lol. I hope you enjoy it!

Flashbacks from reader's past are bracketed between these symbols: ~🌲🌲🌲~

Rating/Warnings: Author has Chosen to Exclude some Smut Warnings for this Chapter to Avoid Spoilers, Explicit Sexual Content, 18+ ONLY, MDNI, AFAB!Reader, She/Her Pronouns for Reader, Reader-Insert, Dark Content, Swearing, Alcohol, Cigars, Smut, Fluff, Manipulation, Humiliation, Pet Names, Power Imbalance, Cross Guild boys are VILLAINS, Possessive Behavior, Teasing, Threats, Size Difference, Daddy Kink, Overstimulation, Degradation, Hair-Pulling, Vaginal Fingering, Cock Warming, Unprotected Sex (stay safe out there), PIV Sex, Rough Oral Sex, Comeplay, Inappropriate Use of Akuma no Mi | Devil Fruit Powers, Shameless Shameless Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Shanks and Mihawk shared pleased laughter while your mind reeled, shocked to be face to face with another terrifying pirate, this Emperor of the Sea.

This cheerful, flirtatious man that was bringing his eyes back to you, still holding your fingers in his hand.

Cold metal pulled at your wrist, a golden hook chilling your blood as it passed between you and the red haired pirate, breaking your contact with him.

“Miss Y/N isn’t his ‘bunny,” Crocodile warned, his hand tensing against your back before he led you to the couch. You sat in your usual spot, with his arm draped around your shoulders. Shanks stared at the two of you, then caught eyes with the swordsman before cracking up.

“Don’t be sour, Crocodile,” Mihawk coaxed through smug, fading laughter, “I��m sure our little rabbit wouldn’t mind a new nickname.”

“She’s got plenty,” he growled, pulling you in against the warmth of his body. “I won’t have you loaning out my sweet girl to every lowlife that comes to visit.”

Shanks grabbed a heavy, velvet chair, dragging it close before lounging across from you. His eyes gleamed while he grinned at you, and Crocodile’s body was stiff beside yours while you were still too dazed to speak. Mihawk took his seat, chuckling when you jolted at the touch of his hand on your thigh.

“We can talk business,” he soothed, looking over your head at the larger man, “but it seems cruel to deny our little vixen a treat. You’re already dripping with excitement, aren’t you, darling?”

A tiny sound left your throat, your eyes wide as Shanks tilted his head, looking down at your tensed thighs before meeting your gaze.

“It’s alright, darlin’,” he purred, that deep voice doing too much to you. “I don’t like to scare my bunnies as much as ol’ Hawk Eyes over there. I bet he’s real mean, isn’t–”

“That's enough,” Crocodile warned. He wrapped his arm around your side now, practically squishing you against him, bringing another small noise from your lips.

“Why don’t we ask Y/N what she would like,” Mihawk taunted, leaning down to pour his vicious words into your ear. “I know your body is just aching for another owner, isn’t it? Would you like his sweet tongue to taste you? Want to give us a pretty show while another man has his way with you on the table?”

Your body was quivering, and you were almost grateful when Shanks cut in, until his words shook you more.

“Mihawk, it’d be a shame to have my first time with such a beauty in front of an audience. Surely Miss Y/N would prefer some privacy.”

“Not happening,” Crocodile spat, and you couldn’t believe how calm Shanks seemed when he gave a little shrug, imploring the larger man.

“I’m just shy, Crocodile. I’ll take good–”

“You are the furthest thing from shy,” Mihawk laughed, his fingers digging into your thigh as he leaned toward the red haired man. “You just enjoy making your toys fall in love with you before you break them.”

For the first time since he’d sauntered into the room, Shanks was frightening. It was so fast, so subtle, but something dangerous flashed in those deep, brown eyes when he looked at you. A wicked purr filled his voice as he spoke to Mihawk, his eyes never leaving your face.

“Hush now, old friend. Don’t scare the little bunny away before we’ve even gotten acquainted.”

“Fuck this,” Crocodile scoffed, kissing the top of your head. “We’re leaving. You two can enjoy your–”

“Just a moment,” Mihawk prodded, dancing his fingers along Crocodile’s wrist. “It’s Y/N’s decision. Tell me, little rabbit, would you like to enjoy some alone time with this delightful, old friend of mine?”

Shanks’ eyes gleamed at you until you clenched yours shut, nails digging into your palms to stop yourself from moaning “yes,” fighting to remember why you shouldn’t.

“No, thank you,” you croaked, trembling as you wrapped your arm around Crocodile’s waist, burying your head against his silk vest. He gave a surprised hum, smoothing his hand along your side. You kept your eyes closed, but could feel the stares from the other men crawling up your skin.

“Good girl,” Crocodile praised softly, the vibration of his voice letting you sigh with relief.

“Oh, I don’t think our little treasure is being good for you, Crocodile,” Mihawk taunted, patting your thigh a few times before playing with the hem of your dress. “I think she’s valuing the clown more than her own desires again. I thought we fucked that out of you, darling. We even let you keep him in our bed, our little toy. Yet you’re still going to deny yourself–”

“Buggy’s your…” Shanks interrupted, sitting up a little straighter. “You didn’t tell me he–”

“Shanks, please. After how you went on about him, and how Miss Y/N can't seem to let him go, you can’t blame me for being curious,” Mihawk sighed, taking a large swig of wine. “Even if he is a clown.”

You coughed, trying to pull away from Crocodile, but his arm held you in place. Shanks started to speak, but turned to watch as steely words rolled over you.

“Is it true, sweetheart,” Crocodile questioned, leaving your mouth dry. “Don’t lie to me, Y/N. You really want this stranger to fuck you right now, don't you? But you’re pretending to be a good girl because you don’t wanna hurt the clown’s feelings?”

Blinking away tears of overwhelm before they could stain your cheeks, you caught the soft smile of the red haired pirate across from you. There was no lying to Crocodile. The thought of what he might do if he ever caught you in an outright lie made you shiver.

“It’s true.”

“What a sweet, little bunny,” Shanks hummed, leaning over the table to grab your chin with a gentle touch. The red haired man just looked at you, his eyes too soft for a stranger’s. Before Crocodile’s anger could boil over, the large door creaked open, and you watched a painted smile go taut.

“Shanks?”

“Buggy, old friend,” he beamed, looking over his shoulder to see your clown slamming the door shut. “Just who I was hoping to see.”

Buggy moved forward, his eyes flaring at Shanks’ hand on your chin. That hand pulled away as the pirate stood, holding his arm out wide, but the gesture went ignored.

“Friends? In what fucking world, shithead,” Buggy scoffed, getting a bit taller in his stretchy clothes. You couldn’t hold in a gasp as Buggy got in his face, looking down at the other Emperor. He was going red under the light coat of paint, his voice more vicious than you’d ever heard. “Did you forget the last time I saw you, asshole?”

“I don’t know what you mean, we–”

Buggy fisted his hands into the collar of Shanks’ cloak, pulling him even closer, and you would have tried to stop him if strong, dangerous hands hadn't pressed you further into the couch. All you could do was watch.

“You lied to me, AGAIN,” he seethed, Shanks’ face not showing a hint of reaction, just a bland smile as Buggy continued. “And now you’ve got the nerve to come into my own fucking house, and touch my girl…”

All that rage died in his throat when Buggy’s wide eyes looked to you, then to the two men with their hands on you.

“Your what, clown,” Crocodile scowled. He was as cold as stone while he watched Buggy reconnect, returning to his normal height.

Buggy opened his mouth but nothing came out, until Shanks patted him on the back.

“Miss Y/N’s your girl,” Shanks asked, whistling as he shook his head. “No need to worry, friend. She already shot me down.”

Anger had coursed through Buggy's body again at Shanks’ touch, but those words sent confusion flying across his face. He risked another glance at you, tentative pride pulling his lips into a tiny, crooked grin.

“Really?”

A split second of warmth, and Buggy’s sweet disbelief made you smile so freely for him.

Forgetting that you weren’t quite free.

“I believe that was still up for debate,” Mihawk drawled, lightly pinching your thigh. “Now, if you’re done acting like a blowfish, pull up a chair. Unless you’d rather leave your girl all alone with three, scary men.”

As everyone settled, you held your breath. Crocodile had found your forearm, tracing his fingers down your wrist until he held your hand in your lap, so tiny encased in his. He wasn’t hurting you, but the pressure of that large hand gripping yours felt more like a trap than a comfort.

You leaned against him, looking up until those stony eyes met yours.

He gripped a little tighter.

“You haven’t even been here for thirty minutes and you’ve already caused chaos,” Mihawk scolded, the faintest hint of twisted delight in his words as he pulled your attention. “Since you refused to tell me anything over snail, I can’t imagine what sort of ‘business’ you claim to have on our little island.”

Buggy had pulled up a chair as far from Shanks as possible, and you couldn’t look at him on the other side of Crocodile without moving your head, so you didn’t. Instead, you stared at the easy smile of the stranger as he unhooked his cloak to lay across the back of his chair. His loose shirt was tied off at the left sleeve, showing that he was without a left arm.

How often does that happen to pirates?

You started to turn your head to glance at Crocodile’s hook, but caught yourself, not wanting him to think you were looking at Buggy.

But Shanks was looking at Buggy.

“It’s time, old friend.”

“Stop fucking calling me that, dickskin,” Buggy grumbled, only making the man smile wider.

“I wasn’t ready back then,” Shanks confessed.

You didn’t know this man. You hardly knew anything about him, but somehow you knew this was important to him. It tasted like reverence was dripping from his words as his eyes implored Buggy to listen, to be happy.

“I know it’s been a long time,” he continued as the world seemed to freeze, “but I’m going now, Bugs. I’m going after it, and I’d like you to join me.”

The silence was thick with things you didn’t understand, even Crocodile and Mihawk going taut beside you.

“You fucking ASSHAT,” Buggy fumed, almost screeching as most of his body parts flew toward the red haired man who just covered his face with his arm. “You think you can just show up, and say that shit after TWENTY FUCKING YEARS? You sick fuck. Piece of shit. You trying to fuck with me? Think I’ll forgive you after all— OW.”

Crocodile had released you, making you yelp as his hand shot forward to grab a piece of Buggy’s floating body, squeezing it until Buggy went quiet. You were trembling now, unable to stop after Crocodile let go of Buggy to sit back, wrapping his arm around your shoulders again.

“Calm down,” he ordered, his voice steadier than you expected after all the anger he seemed to be holding back since Shanks walked in. “You’ve talked yourself into enough trouble today, don’t be more of a nuisance than usual.”

Buggy pulled himself together, breathing heavily while he stood beside the source of his rage. You started to understand Buggy’s frustration when the red haired pirate just gazed at him, as if the clown had been showering him with compliments instead of insults.

“So,” Mihawk changed the subject, waving his hand as if to brush the moment away, “it seems you’ve come to steal away our colorful leader so that you can sail off into the sunset together. To find the One Piece, if I understood that correctly?”

“I don’t think our clown wants to go anywhere with you,” Crocodile rasped. Your trembling stopped at what sounded like a possessive note to his voice, as your brain took in Mihawk’s words without fully processing them in the face of your other lover's exchange.

Buggy blinked at Crocodile a few times, mirroring your confusion before rage took over his features again, his gloved fists clenching when he met Shanks’ doe eyes. His next words came out through his teeth, almost growling as he held himself in.

“You scum sucking liar. You expect me to believe that you’ve finally stopped being a coward? You betrayed everything we–” his voice cracked a bit, and he coughed to shake it away. “How dare you use the One Piece to trick me. To use our dream– my dream... This is a new fucking low for–”

“Buggy,” Shanks soothed, grabbing one of those gloved hands. Buggy took a step back, but his hand disconnected, held firmly by the other man. “I’m not lying to you. I’ll even show you my proof if you like, it’s on the ship... I stayed with you back then, remember?”

Crocodile let out a quiet sigh, as if he’d rather be anywhere but here, while Mihawk seemed to have electricity running under his skin. The emotions and pain running across Buggy’s face sent an ache into your chest, but you couldn’t reach for him yet.

“I didn’t ask you to stay with me,” Buggy sneered, though his voice was weaker now.

“I didn’t wanna go without you,” Shanks coaxed as he stood, moving close to place Buggy’s hand back on its wrist before gripping the clown’s shoulder. “I know it’s later than you wanted, but there’s room on my ship if you’d like to join me now. For old time’s sake?”

Buggy’s mouth went slack, his shoulders slumping, even under Shanks’ touch. A touch he didn’t shrug off.

Then he looked at you.

Your chest caved in, a hammer of pain and guilt hitting deep.

Buggy's going to leave me.

The selfishness you felt in that moment made you sick. You hadn’t known anything about their relationship besides Buggy’s rage, but their connection practically radiated off of them. Who were you to keep him from that?

People like me don’t get love after all.

Bile hit your throat at that self pitying thought. Crocodile and Mihawk startled you, their hands moving in soothing motions at the same time, everyone waiting for Buggy to speak.

He didn’t.

“I heard you’re throwing a party,” Shanks broke the silence, his relaxed voice a bit tight as he patted Buggy on the back. “Could I stay for a few days to enjoy the festivities? You can think on it, and we can all have a bit of fun, eh?”

“Was all of this simply a ruse so you could drain us of all our liquor, Red Hair,” Mihawk cut in, his sharp tease giving Buggy a chance to step away as Shanks’ attention was pulled. Buggy plopped down in his chair beside Crocodile, and you didn’t care this time, tilting forward to look at him, but he had leaned back to stare up at the ceiling.

“Worry not, Hawk Eyes,” Shanks laughed, "we made sure to stock up before we came. In fact, I even brought a few vintages worthy of your refined palate.”

“I’ll let Y/N be the judge of that,” Mihawk praised, helping you breathe again with a soft kiss to your temple. “My little rabbit is more skilled at detecting quality after a couple of weeks than you've been your entire life.”

“Miss Y/N does seem to have good taste,” Shanks grinned, catching your eyes again.

“Can we drink now,” Buggy groaned, earning laughs from everyone, even Crocodile who stood, walking around to pat him on the back. Buggy gasped, but there was no violence in the touch, or in the larger man’s eyes.

“Come on, let’s go grab some more bottles. I doubt there’s enough in here.”

It took him a long moment, but Buggy agreed, and you couldn’t help but stare after them. Crocodile never “fetched” anything. Buggy didn’t need to either, there were servants in the hall. You didn’t know whether to feel touched or scared on Buggy’s behalf.

“Why do you always make such a mess,” Mihawk complained. He wrapped his arm around you, and you let the scent of him calm you down as he pulled you against him.

“This is actually me trying to clean up a mess,” Shanks laughed, propping his feet up on the table.

“Are you going to hurt him again?”

Those words rang through the air, and your eyes went wide when you realized that you’d let them escape your lips. Mihawk squeezed you to him gently while Shanks gazed at you. His eyes were so damn pretty, and it felt impossible to think of him as anything other than sweet and handsome. Another slow smile almost took your thoughts away, but you dug your nails into your palms to ward off his charms.

“I don’t think you’ve made a good impression with our numbers girl,” Mihawk purred, his voice not filled with the usual warning it held when you were doing something he didn’t approve of.

“I’m glad he’s got someone like you to look out for him,” Shanks praised, and the jovial tilt to his head pissed you off.

“You don’t know what kind of person I am, and you didn’t answer my question.”

Mihawk chuckled, pulling back from you as if giving permission.

“You’re right,” the red haired pirate agreed, dipping his head. “I never meant to hurt Buggy, and I don’t plan to do it again.”

“Then why didn’t you say you were sorry,” you snapped.

I really do have a fucking death wish.

The Emperor of the Sea finally showed something else on his face besides humor, his brows furrowing as if he didn’t understand. He paused for too long, so your voice went high, fear almost getting in the way.

“Even if you didn’t mean to do it, you hurt him,” you explained, hoping there was more behind those soft eyes than charm. “You know you hurt him, you just said it. Even if you hurt someone by accident, and especially if you care about them, you should fucking apologize. Otherwise, you’re just an asshole.”

You held your breath.

Shank’s eyebrows raised, and his lips parted just a bit, while Mihawk laughed openly now, taking a sip of wine as if he were having a lovely time.

“Let’s get shitfaced,” Buggy yelled as he crashed through the door with a case of wine, the bottles clinking like chimes. Crocodile followed close behind, his face unreadable as he offered you his hand. Confused, you stood while you watched Buggy’s hands fly to the bar to grab more glasses. Crocodile pulled you to the side, pressing another kiss to the top of your head.

“Take your spot, clown,” he ordered, gesturing to your normal seat. Everyone paused while Buggy sat down, leaving you to stand awkwardly while Crocodile sat, until he smoothed his hand along his thigh, giving you one of those smiles that made you shy. “Take your spot, sweetheart.”

Even with the tension in the room, Crocodile’s attention washed it all away until you bit your lip, your body swaying slightly. You leaned in for a kiss, and he didn’t let you pull back. His large hand grasped your waist, his thumb tracing up and down the fabric of that expensive, purple dress he’d picked out for you.

“Come here, babygirl,” he whispered, helping you climb onto his lap. He guided you to lie back with your legs stretched out across Buggy’s thighs, but ordered the clown to grab the cushion from his vacated chair to prop up behind you. You hummed, perfectly comfortable laying across all three men on the couch.

Mihawk’s cool fingers tracing over the tops of your feet made you shiver, while Buggy’s grin, and his gloved hands running up and down your bare legs warmed you up. Crocodile supported your head with the base of his hook, hidden behind that velvet cushion, while his hand reached down to your hip, smoothing and holding your dress in place as he stared down the man you’d completely forgotten about.

When you turned to look at Shanks again, he wasn’t holding that perfect, jovial smile as he took you all in. Instead, his eyes held some of that danger you’d seen before, but there were no emotions that you could read.

Except for hunger.

Those soft eyes that were suddenly anything but soft met yours.

“So, Y/N, how long have you known Buggy?”

Thank gods for alcohol.

You thought drinking wine from your relaxed position would be difficult, but your lovers kept taking turns holding the glass to your lips. Laughter grew in the room, but it didn’t quell the rotating guilt, sadness, and anger that kept moving through you every time you looked at Shanks, every time you heard his welcoming voice, so full of joy.

He said it’s his dream. He needs to go. I can’t let him stay.

Buggy was wiggling in his seat while he told a story, swaying back and forth as he pinched and squeezed lightly up and down your legs. He looked so happy and cute, and seeing him this way between Crocodile and Mihawk made you close your eyes, sighing as you pressed your head back against the cushion.

“I’m going to take my little rabbit out for some fresh air,” Mihawk announced, still massaging your ankle.

Crocodile looked down at you as if to disagree, but nodded, helping you to your feet.

“I’ll join you. Could use a smoke.”

You couldn’t argue as Mihawk's strong arms carried you out into the hallway. Buggy’s wide eyes followed you, and you caught a glimpse around the swordsman's shoulder of that red haired pirate standing up to move closer to your clown.

Throat tight with trapped emotion, you held yourself up, knowing that relaxing into Mihawk’s warmth and scent might make you lose what control you had.

The stars were out in full force, sparkling over the balcony like stage lights that were just a tad too far away. Nothing interrupted that silence except for a few small sounds as Mihawk set you comfortably in his lap, and the flick of a lighter followed by the thick scent of smoke as Crocodile sparked his cigar, his silver eyes never leaving your face.

“Want us to make him stay?”

“What,” you choked out, not sure if you’d imagined that deep voice.

“All you gotta do is tell me what you want,” Crocodile reminded you, that curling smoke hypnotizing you as you tried to understand. “I’ll even fight our hawk eyed friend if he disagrees. Do you care more about making our sweet girl happy, or impressing your red haired ex?”

A tiny sob squeezed from your chest as you closed your eyes. You didn’t have the energy for one of their fights right now.

“Shh, rabbit,” Mihawk hummed, tracing fingers through your hair. His voice went listless as he stared into the stars, holding you to him. “Shanks is one of my oldest– ha, maybe one of my only friends... But he’s also a grown man with a trail of mistakes. I can’t promise you that his request will lead to joy or sorrow.”

Words couldn’t pass through the threat of tears in your throat.

This isn’t real.

Those long, dangerous fingers kept playing with your hair, pulling you back into the moment as he tugged and scratched at the strands at the nape of your neck.

“I won’t trap him,” you declared, voice rough as you sat up straighter. “If he doesn’t want to be here, then I would feel sick to make him stay. It’s… I want Buggy to live the life he wants.”

“Caring more about the clown’s feelings than your own desires,” Mihawk scolded in a whisper after a heavy pause. You waited for a threat, for a punishment, but all you got was a gentle kiss to your forehead.

Crocodile snuffed out his cigar, reaching with those smoke scented fingers to trace along your cheek.

“You really are sweet, aren’t ya?”

You choked out a laugh, still waiting for the ax to fall, gasping when Mihawk sat you on the table. They both stood to look down at you, and you tried not to be empty.

“So,” Mihawk waved his hand again, his sharp voice driven toward his goal, “Buggy gets to decide if he stays or goes, and we still have a few days until the party. What would you like to happen in the meantime, rabbit?”

Mouth hanging slack, you jolted a bit when Crocodile rested his hand on your shoulder, his eyes so far above you from this angle.

“What do you…”

Mihawk grabbed your hand, bringing your knuckles to his lips with an almost wistful smile.

“Would you like to partake in a ridiculous amount of fun with the man that might take your clown away? Or would you like us to make him sleep on his ship?”

Soft shock hit your face, and those golden eyes just narrowed in a tease.

“If it helps your decision, he is a phenomenal fuck.”

“Don’t pressure her,” Crocodile growled, squeezing your shoulder.

Laughter broke through that dam of emotions in your throat, bursting through you to echo up toward those shining stars.

Those pretty stars.

You pressed away the hint of tears from your eyes with the meat of your palm, laughter like a drug to cleanse those bad feelings away.

“Why do you care about me so much,” you coughed, unable to keep that risky question in.

“Get over here,” Crocodile ordered, Mihawk helping to lift you into his arms. “Didn’t I tell you already? When I find something of value, I protect it.”

Your laughter bubbled down to quiet giggles, shy once again as that frightening face smiled down at you. Mihawk tugged at your hand, guiding you both down the corridor.

“Come along now,” he purred as he pulled you back toward the lounge. “Let’s find out how our little rabbit wants to get fucked tonight.”

Mihawk crashed through the door more violently than you’d ever seen, slamming it wide. Buggy was leaning back into the couch, those crystal eyes wide as he looked toward you. Shanks was laying across the coffee table, propped up on his elbow while a floating hand held a glass of wine near his lips.

“Here comes the party,” Shanks called over his shoulder as he sat up. You noticed his knees intertwined with Buggy’s when you were laid out in your new spot, and he was close enough to your clown that you were now laying across all four of their laps.

“Thank you,” you breathed, trying to read Buggy’s overwhelmed face as he brought a glass to your lips.

“Look at you two,” Shanks teased as those playful eyes went back and forth between you. He was so close to you now, and you found yourself pressing your legs together to avoid touching his bare chest, or flashing him as he mirrored Buggy around your knees.

It was hard to focus on any coherent thought with so many idle hands on you. Mihawk was slowly massaging your feet, Buggy still using your legs as a fidget toy, and Crocodile eventually gave up on or forgot about holding up your short dress as he cradled your hand in his. You caught Shanks’ eyes dragging across the exposed skin of your hip, smirking at you when you pulled the fabric up.

The conversations twisted and turned, until he brought it back to you.

“I’ve never met anyone that had such a hold on so many powerful pirates,” Shanks laughed after downing another glass. “At least not at the same time.”

The night had loosened you all by now, and you felt pulled by his smile. He snagged your free hand, rubbing his fingers along yours while he studied you.

“Just where did you come from, little bunny?”

“A snooty little tavern–”

“She’s a mystery actually,” Mihawk cut Buggy off, trailing his hand up your shin. “Our numbers girl has secrets.”

“Secrets you’ll be sharing in a few days. Right, sweetheart?”

“Right,” you gasped, meeting Crocodile’s stare as he nudged your face toward his. The press of lips against your palm tore you away to find the red haired man kissing your hand as Crocodile released you.

“A mystery girl, huh? No wonder you’ve got these three wrapped around your finger.”

“You don’t know her,” Buggy huffed, folding over to lay his head against your stomach. He tugged your hand from those foreign fingers to hold you close, and you couldn’t help but smile.

“Why don’t we all take a walk,” Mihawk suggested, making you sigh again as those deadly fingers worked the muscles of your feet. “I’d like to give a tour.”

Mihawk carried you down the halls, and you weren’t the only person that noticed the direction he was leading you toward.

“I think the tour of the bedroom can wait,” Crocodile complained.

“You can just stay in the hall then,” Mihawk taunted. You heard a disgruntled noise from the larger man, but before he could complain again, Mihawk stood before his old suite, across the hall from the one you shared now.

“Korris,” he called, tapping the bottom of the door with his leather boot.

“Yes, sir,” came a rough voice through the door. He cleared his throat before opening the door, just a crack. “Status report; Adam has continued to show preference for wet food, the litter was changed this morning, and play time has–”

“Thank you, Korris,” Mihawk hurried, and you pretended not to hear the stifled laughter behind you. “We’ll be visiting with Adam, you may take a break.”

“Of course, sir.”

The bearded man that emerged from that cracked door was large enough to match that deep voice. He wore aged leather armor that carried an array of scratches and tears, and you smiled at what you thought might be the source of some of the more recent additions. Korris left the room quickly, holding the door closed to prevent an escape attempt that didn’t arrive.

The changes to the suite were drastic, and you couldn’t keep from laughing as you all rushed inside. The large space meant for multiple humans to live in had been altered into exactly what Mihawk had called it.

A cat paradise.

So many interesting toys and surfaces, covered beds, endless shelves, scratching posts, and plenty of couches for humans and cats to lounge on together.

And there was Adam.

Mihawk kissed you before setting you down, and you went straight to the ground as your sweet tabby came right up to Mihawk to rub against his ankles.

“You assigned the cat a servant,” Crocodile deadpanned while you gave chin scritches in exchange for head bumps.

“This is nothing,” Shanks smirked, patting the larger man on the arm before plopping down on a couch. “I’m amazed there’s only one cat in here.”

Buggy choked out a laugh before joining you on the floor, already snagging a toy for Adam to focus on. Those cute, little eyes went massive as he wiggled his butt before pouncing.

“No more cats,” Crocodile sighed, shaking his head softly as Mihawk walked up to him.

“Everyone should have someone to curl up to at night,” the swordsman teased, turning his back on Crocodile to face the rest of you. “Speaking of that, Shanks, you may have Y/N’s old suite. It’s the door on the left when you leave Adam’s room.”

You and Buggy glanced at each other, and you grinned at the impulse.

“You two can decide which of these three suites you’d like to sleep in tonight,” Mihawk announced, drawing everyone in. “I’m sure Adam would enjoy some company, but we’ll be across the hall if you need us.”

“Mihawk–”

“Come on, Crocodile. Let’s take a nightcap in our suite. Let the little one’s play for a bit.”

“No,” your scarred lover insisted, walking around Mihawk to offer you his hand. “I’m not leaving Y/N alone with a stranger.”

“I’m no stranger,” Shanks started, but Mihawk reached for Crocodile’s hand before you could take it.

“Don’t you remember our brave clown last night,” Mihawk praised. He gestured to Buggy, whose lips parted as he stared at the swordsman, until Adam pawed at that faded paint. “He won’t let anyone hurt her, not even us. Such a loyal little toy.”

He patted Buggy on the head before rounding on you.

“Besides, our little rabbit has a safe word, and you know I’ll hear it if you say it. Tell us your safe word, darling.”

“Hopscotch,” you managed, each surreal moment making you question your grip on reality.

Maybe he did put me away. He said it wouldn’t be that hard. Maybe this is all just a drugged, fever dream, and I’m strapped up in an asylum somewhere.

That could have sent you into the worst sort of spiral, if not for your next thought.

I don’t fucking care. It’s a good dream.

A gasp left your throat when Crocodile took a knee, tugging you up off the carpet to scan your face.

“You’re my sweet girl, huh,” he whispered in your ear, making you melt against him.

“Mhm,” you promised, falling into his kiss.

“Be good.”

You were left with your mouth agape while Crocodile walked toward the door, Mihawk nudging your chin before leaving a wicked kiss, a kiss that made you dizzy.

“Be bad if you like, little rabbit,” he purred, making your eyes roll back before he sauntered out of the room.

“Well,” Shanks stood, wiggling a half-empty bottle toward you. “I’ll trade you a drink for a tour of my suite.”

As soon as Crocodile and Mihawk left you alone, Buggy had his hands on you. Giggling as you squeezed through the door, you smiled at Korris who’d returned to keep Adam company.

It felt strange stepping into that suite. You’d only stayed there a few nights when the new regime had taken over, but heat rushed to your cheeks at the sight of the bed.

The bed you’d buried your face into, trying to relieve the aching need they’d stirred in you, trembling under the desperate fear of being heard.

“You like this bed, huh,” Shanks rasped, leaning to breathe those words against your ear before lounging on the mattress. “Seems pretty normal to me. Care to show me–”

“Lame,” Buggy mocked, letting go of your waist to give two thumbs down while he blew a raspberry. You laughed a little too loudly at the face Shanks made before you kissed Buggy on the cheek.

“You’ve got such a great sense of humor,” Buggy grinned, lifting you by the hips until you wrapped your legs around his waist, giggling as he covered your neck with kisses before leaping onto the bed with you beneath him.

“I’m not used to being the third wheel,” Shanks laughed, moving closer to smile down at you while Buggy kissed along your collarbones.

“Get used to it, shithead,” he mumbled, rubbing his face down your chest, that purple dress about to get smeared with grease paint.

“Stop,” you breathed, grabbing his hand when he pulled away with worry in his eyes. “No, keep doing that, please! Just– Crocodile likes this dress.”

A half second of confusion was followed by that look of ownership you’d missed in his eyes until recently.

“Can I take it off for you? Or does my pretty star wanna put on a little show?”

The normal, giddy nerves you would have felt were magnified when you caught Shanks’ eyes.

“I’ll take it off,” you decided.

“Hold on,” Buggy yelled after letting you off the bed. He dug through both nightstands until he pulled out a tonedial, holding it up with a triumphant laugh.

“I forgot about those,” you squealed, leaning toward him to press the shell. Cliche “sexy” music filled the air, which Buggy had deemed vital to place in every suite.

“Never know which room you might fuck in,” the two of you joked simultaneously, devolving into silliness until Shanks snagged the dial.

“I might need to borrow one of these, Buggy,” he teased, holding it in his palm while he gestured toward you.

“I wouldn’t trust you to return it.”

Buggy’s mouth had opened, but it was your lips that delivered that harsh quip, earning you a raised, red-haired brow, and a red-painted grin.

“We’ve only just met,” Shanks studied you, the corner of his lips teasing into a wicked smirk, “but I think I need to earn your respect, don’t I?”

“Good luck,” Buggy snorted, but you got caught by his old friend’s soft, and dangerous eyes.

“I hope luck is on my side,” Shanks rasped, dropping the tonedial onto the bed to grab your hand, pulling you toward him. Your pulse got heavy as his breath got close, his fingers leaving featherlight touches along your arm, your shoulder, your neck. “Can I try to make it up to you?”

Shanks breathed that question against your ear, his fingers teasing into your hair as you swayed.

“I don’t…”

“Of course,” Shanks backed off, sitting beside Buggy. “I don’t want to overstep.”

“Yeah, you do,” Buggy rolled his eyes, sending a hand to hold against your cheek until you looked at him. “Star, we can leave if you don’t want to–”

“Do you want to?”

A tiny hint of fear touched your words, but you pushed it aside, willing Buggy to see nothing but your gentle smile.

He’s with me right now, and right now is good.

“Yeah, Buggy,” Shanks purred, a shit eating grin taking over his face. “Do you want to?”

“Fuck you,” Buggy grunted, frowning at his own choice of words before studying your face. “I only want to if you want to.”

Letting out a breath, you leaned forward to click the button on the tonedial.

The air shifted as it filled with that cheesy music, and with the heat of consent that left goosebumps along your skin while they watched you dance. They hardly moved, but their eyes that had just been so playful and bright were now heavy with promises you weren’t sure you were ready for.

But as the purple dress fell to the floor, and hunger filled both of their faces, you stopped caring about anything except for those eyes on your skin.

“Fuck,” Buggy breathed as you tossed your lingerie to the side.

“You like to watch, don’t you,” Shanks asked, wetting his lips while his eyes stayed fixed on you. “You like watching Crocodile and Mihawk fuck your girl.”

“I–”

“Yes,” Buggy surprised you, cutting you off with his quiet, but firm agreement.

“Wanna watch me take care of her for you,” Shanks rasped, your body reacting before you could think. “One apology isn’t nearly enough, is it, Buggy? I need to make it up to you. Need to make your little bunny come ‘til she cries, huh?”

Buggy pulled you onto the bed when you gasped, your knees going weak before he set you down next to Shanks.

“I want to if you want to,” Buggy teased into your ear. The tension in your body relaxed as you nodded, smiling when he addressed the other man. “Take care of her for me.”

“Of course,” Shanks vowed, cradling your face as he leaned toward you. “Anything for a friend.”

“Idiot.”

Buggy’s grunted insult had Shanks pressing a smile against your lips, and after a moment of tightness, you let yourself give in. A satisfied hum left his throat, as if he knew he’d finally caught you. Like a trap slamming shut, he deepened the kiss, his fingers tracing along your bare skin until you whimpered for him, tugging at his loose shirt.

“Want me this bad already, mystery girl,” he taunted, his words burning along your cheeks. That didn’t stop you though, and you hid a smug smile at the little gasp he let out when you started pulling at his waistband.

“I wanna put on a good show for my captain,” your challenging words rolled out in a purr. You couldn’t recall feeling this wickedly powerful before. The danger that flashed in his eyes should have sent you cowering.

Fuck it.

“I was expecting more from the ‘Great Red Haired Shanks,” you risked, looking him up and down as he hopped off the bed. “You’ve been pretty underwhelming so far. No offense, of course.”

You didn’t dare look away from Shanks, even as Buggy started laughing so hard he was wheezing, his body parts floating lazily around the room as if he couldn’t hold himself together. The red haired pirate’s face was frozen, staring at you as if you truly were a little bunny that had somehow learned to speak.

Then he smirked, dropping his clothes to the floor.

“Ugh, seriously,” you complained, rolling your eyes at the sight of his nude body.

Not even a heartbeat passed before he was straddling you, pinching your cheek while a frightening grin pulled at his lips.

“Hey, hey,” Buggy calmed, grasping the other man’s wrist.

“Mihawk must–”

“Do all pirates have perfect cocks, or do I just keep getting lucky,” you cut Shanks off, breathless as adrenaline buzzed through you. You flicked your eyes toward Buggy, giving your clown a wink.

Shanks sucked his teeth, releasing your cheek to tilt your chin up toward him.

“I’ve got a whole ship full of pirates that would love to help you test your theory,” he warned. You couldn’t tell if he was teasing or not, and the potential threat made your mouth dry.

“You can barely handle my pretty star,” Buggy taunted as he wrapped himself around your back, sticking his tongue out at his old friend. “I doubt any of your underlings would last a minute.”

Buggy’s kisses and praise along your cheek brought more breathless giggles, and you relaxed back against his chest. Shanks paused to watch you both before his retort.

“I don’t know,” he hummed, brushing hair from your face. “Ol’ Benn has taught me a thing or two about dealing with bratty little bunnies. Seems like Mihawk’s been going easy on you. Never thought I’d see the day.”

A nervous laugh escaped you at that terrifying thought.

“Y/N,” he soothed, tracing his thumb across your lips, “I know I’ve made a bad first impression, and I’ve been a bad friend.”

“A terrible friend,” Buggy corrected softly, earning another little smile. “A shit friend, actually. Dog shit friend.”

Shanks stayed quiet for a moment, his lips quirking as though a laugh or an argument could come flying loose at any moment. He took your hand, his gentle touch carrying too much heat.

“Please, Y/N,” Shanks started again. Those pretty eyes implored you, and all that ungodly charm weighed your body down. You knew you were falling for it, but didn’t care enough to resist. “Please, let me make it up to you, to both of you.”

The corner of his lips picked up when he noticed your body react, that cocky gleam shining in his eyes when he scanned your features.

“How about I sweeten the deal for ya, gorgeous? Let’s put on a helluva show for our favorite clown, and if you promise to be a good little bunny for me, I promise I’ll make you scream my name so loud, you’ll forget why you didn’t like me in the first place.”

“I remember you being better at this,” Buggy deadpanned, while you failed to hide your snort with a cough.

“Tough crowd,” Shanks sighed, studying you.

I’d like to get fucked sometime tonight.

Laughing at your own impatient thought, you took Shanks’ hand in both of yours, kissing his knuckles, tracing along his rough, calloused fingers. Just your breath moving across his skin was enough to shift the air, and you tried not to gloat.

“Here’s the deal,” you hummed, pausing to drag your lower lip down with his thumb. You gave him wide, innocent eyes, letting your body melt under his gaze. “If you can fuck me dumb enough that I can’t say another bad thing about you tonight, then I’ll let it all go. But if you can’t, then I get to drag you through the dirt tomorrow, however I see fit.”

You ended your demands by sucking two of his fingers into your mouth, your body finally giving in to that desire.

Holy fuck, I am insane.

Buggy was shifting, gasping softly as he kissed your hair, while Shanks stared down at his fingers in your mouth. Your needy, challenging eyes trailed lower, but you choked before you could find what you were looking for, rough fingers shoving down your throat.

“You didn’t say anything about me getting some help,” Shanks taunted, winking at Buggy who let out a soft moan. The red haired pirate kissed the corner of your lips while you fought not to gag around his fingers, his next evil words whispered into your ear. “Could have been so nice and sweet. Could have taken all night to tease and taste you. But my friend’s girl needs to learn some manners, huh?”

Buggy grabbed your wrists, already trapping you for Shanks without needing to be asked. Shanks laughed when your eyes rolled back, the smug sound making you shake. You'd forgotten to tell Shanks what your hand signal was if you couldn't use your safe word, but Buggy was right there.

Buggy's right here with me.

Shanks' commanding voice ripped you back into that edge of fear and need, that loss of control.

“I agree to your deal, little bunny,” he taunted, fingers still invading your throat, “but here’s mine. I’ll do all of those wicked things you want me to do to you. I’ll even let you have this pretty mouth back. But if anything but sweetness falls from these lips, we’ll find out how many body parts I need to shove down your throat until you learn to shut the fuck up.”

Hot tears flowed down your cheeks as you tried to meet those “soft” eyes, struggling to relax while four of his fingers fucked your throat now.

“Don’t piss me off, bunny. I’d hate to fail my own challenge, but if this sweet mouth spills anything rotten, then we'll be too busy cleaning it out to give your pretty pussy any attention. Do you understand?”

“Mnngnm,” you moaned around his hand, drool trailing down your strained lips. He released you slowly, pulling free to smile at the strands of spit connecting his hand to your lips you while you gasped and coughed.

“So pretty with all that mess,” he praised, his thick voice making Buggy pause before wiping your chin with a gloved hand. “It’s alright, you can clean her up. It won’t be the last mess on that beautiful face tonight. Would you like that, darlin?”

A needy moan left your raw throat at the sight of Shanks’ sticky fingers reaching down to trace along his perfect, dripping cock. Mesmerized, you watched his thumb tease that bead of precum around his swollen tip. He hissed softly at his own touch, eyes feasting on you as you started to struggle and whine under their weight.

“Bunny wanna taste,” he offered, holding his thumb in front of your face. Satisfied laughter left his lips as you wrapped yours around his thumb, desperately sucking in the taste of him.

“Mm, is that what this is,” Shanks soothed as he pulled away, freeing your legs to sit beside you. You slumped back, melting against Buggy’s chest while Shanks traced fingers down your thighs. “You really are just a sweet little bunny, aren’t you?”

“Fuck,” you gasped, back arching against Buggy as Shanks plunged two of his fingers into your dripping cunt, his thumb teasing over clit until you moaned for him.

“I knew it,” he laughed, never letting up. “You only acted like a brat because you’re such a good girl, wanting to make Buggy happy. Isn’t that right, old friend?”

“My girl’s so good for me,” Buggy praised, his name now pouring from your lips.

“What a cutie,” Shanks chuckled, curling his fingers up until your eyes rolled back, then he froze until you stared up at him.

“Please–”

“Uh uh uh,” he tutted, tearing a surprised yelp from you when he lightly pinched your clit. “Even though you were acting out for the right reasons, you still need to learn your fucking manners.”

“I’m s-so—”

“You were so mean, and you're already saying sorry,” he wondered, pressing a few teasing circles over your clit with his thumb before leaving another pinch. You recognized a bit of Mihawk’s manic glint in his eyes as he watched you squirm for him. “It’s too bad, huh? Could’ve just shown me what a good girl you were, and I would have helped you.”

“Shanks–” Buggy warned, still holding you against him.

“All you wanna do is please him, don’t you, sweetheart?”

“Yes,” you cried out as he gifted you with pleasure again. “Wanna please you, Buggy. So bad, please…”

“Fuck, baby,” Buggy moaned, meeting your half lidded eyes. It was Shanks’ fingers that were bringing you, but you couldn’t look away from the shocked smile on your clown’s face, ignoring the other man, yet again. Buggy ate your screams, his faded red lips on yours while you came on those wicked fingers. The pleasure stretched on and on, until you gasped at the change in pressure.

Shanks palmed your dripping cunt, still twitching from his work. Both you and Buggy turned to him as he raked his fingers through your core, before dragging all that slick over his cock. Your eyes rolled back, returning to find Shanks’ manic eyes searing into Buggy’s now.

“Can I help her please you, Buggy? Let me do it for you, please?”

The tiniest slip of need from his voice made you shiver, Buggy freezing behind you. He just blinked at the red haired man, until you whispered his name.

“I want to if you want to,” you smiled, giving permission for your lovely clown to enjoy whatever Shanks’ needy request had promised.

“So darn sweet. Come on, Bugs. Let me show our bunny how it’s done.”

“That thirsty, even after our little water break,” Shanks teased, smirking as you crawled across the bed with bare need on your face. He had his back against the headboard, lazily stroking himself while you and Buggy joined him.

“Yes,” you admitted, fighting the urge to grab his veiny shaft when you sat beside him.

“What are you waiting for then? Let me feel that hungry, little pussy.”

Buggy kissed your shoulder as you shuddered, crawling over Shanks’ lap until you hovered over that pretty cock. If not for the last couple weeks of your wild life, you might have been timid. Instead, you moaned as he teased his tip through your folds, dragging all that wetness down his shaft. You didn’t pause when he lined himself up, shoving yourself down slowly.

“Oh gods,” you choked out when you’d taken all of him in.

“Mm, this is what you needed, isn't it,” he rasped, tracing his lips along your neck before chuckling softly, nibbling at your ear.

“Yes, please,” you moaned, starting to move over him, until floating hands appeared at your waist, holding you down. Buggy gave a soft laugh with Shanks’ cruel one as they watched you whine and fight for friction on that swollen cock.

“Come on, little bunny,” Shanks laughed, teasing his thumb over your clit for a brutal moment before smearing it across your lips. “I’m gonna show you how to please Buggy, just like you wanted. Be a good girl, and you might get to do more than just warm my cock tonight. Do you wanna be a good girl for me, Y/N?”

“Mhm,” you panted, catching eyes with Buggy as he sat beside Shanks. The slow, satisfied look in Buggy’s eyes let your body go loose as you glanced back and forth between them. “I’ll be a good girl.”

“You heard her,” Shanks growled as he held his hand in front of your face. His eyes were wide and hungry as he stared at your lips, until his hand was suddenly full. He tilted his head back, letting out a deep laugh while your brain processed that Buggy’s cock was now gripped in his friend’s hand.

“Let me show you how it’s done.”

Shanks kept taunting eyes on yours while he licked and sucked Buggy’s cock like he was born to do it. The sight of him taking your lover down his throat had you clenching around his length inside you, until all three of you reacted to each other, a loop of pleasure and need that had only just started.

“Your turn,” Shanks rasped, planting a sloppy kiss on your lips before shoving Buggy’s dick down your throat.

Digging your nails into your thighs was the only thing you could control, besides relaxing your throat to let Shanks use you. Buggy’s fingers tightened as he kept you in place, your body going frantic with the need to fuck yourself onto that thick cock.

“There ya go, bunny girl. Relax just a bit more for him, and we’ll give you what you need. Mm, that's good. Is she pleasing you, Buggy?”

“F-fuck yes,” Buggy groaned, the press of his fingers only adding to your need.

“Do it, Buggy,” he purred, guiding a little more force down your throat. “Fuck her onto me. Show me what a sweet little cunt you’ve got– gods damn…”

Buggy’s hands on your waist went from pressing you down to lifting and slamming you onto Shanks' cock over and over until you forgot you were human. All the pressure and discomfort of waiting, of getting throat fucked so thoroughly, turned into blinding pleasure as Buggy used your cunt like a toy for his friend.

“I’m gonna–”

“I feel you, Bugs. Fuck, yes. Let me see you make a mess on her.”

Shanks pulled him out, holding that floating dick above you just in time for hot lines of come to paint your face and neck, dripping down to your chest. You were still gasping, relearning how to breathe, but you licked your lips clean. The way they both looked at you made you want nothing more than to please them for the rest of your life.

“Come here,” Shanks growled, before pulling you in for a kiss. He dragged his tongue across your chin first, sharing the taste of Buggy’s come while he ate at you, moaning as he sat back. Your clown’s hands still used you like a fuck toy for the other man, and your body loved to be used.

“That’s right, bunny,” Shanks praised, fisting his hand into your hair. “You’ve been so good for us. Such a messy girl. Mm, what a sweet little pussy, milking my cock like this. Gonna stuff you so fucking full.”

Buggy’s hands returned to holding you down while Shanks groaned, forcing his friend’s come as deep inside you as possible. Your voice was almost lost by the time you could remember language.

“Got anything to say about me now, little bunny,” Shanks threatened, a dangerous laugh leaving his lips as he trailed his fingers down your skin.

You fell against his chest, shaking your head as you took in the scent of him. He kissed your temple, chuckling as he wrapped his arm around you. Sleep felt suddenly urgent, but Buggy’s lips tickled up the back of your neck until you shivered.

“Shower time. Unless you want another hair care lecture in the morning.”

“You know he can still hear you,” Shanks teased over Buggy’s hushed tone.

“Now he can, asshole!”

“Why do you care anyway, clown? Don’t you have your own sense of style?”

“Crusty gizz hair might still be your style, Shanks, but some of us have actually grown up.”

“Crusty?”

“If I don’t go to bed now, I might get grumpy, and say grumpy things.”

“Can’t have that,” Shanks agreed, and you let these two old friends carry you to the bathroom. Buggy asked you both to wash him while he sent his hands out to change the sheets.

Of course, the bed was a mess since he’d done it blind, and you had to interrupt before Shanks finished claiming he could have done a better job one handed.

“Sleeeep,” you chanted, laying down on the plush carpet until they got it together. Humming through the air when Buggy lifted you, you let out a contented sigh as he laid you down in the middle of those clean sheets. You curled up against his chest as you had so many times before, but instead of Crocodile’s large form, it was Shanks that wrapped himself around your back.

Exhaustion hit hard, and you enjoyed the soft, silly banter as you all drifted off.

So comfortable. So happy. You’d almost forgotten about the painful question this man had brought with him. You almost let it go, relaxation so close to winning out.

But even after Buggy drifted off into light snores, Shanks’ hand didn’t stop reaching for him.

The red haired pirate’s arm was curled around you, but he couldn’t seem to pick a spot to rest.

His hand gripping Buggy’s shoulder.

His thumb tracing along Buggy’s hip.

His hand wrapped around Buggy's waist.

His rough fingers teasing across Buggy’s skin until goosebumps rolled over him, until Buggy shivered in his sleep beside you.

Now that Buggy’s snores had grown louder, you doubted you’d get any sleep tonight.

“You can come if he wants you.”

The almost sound was timed with Buggy’s snore, and you jolted when you felt that breath in your ear.

“Wha–”

“Shh, little bunny,” Shanks urged, pressing his hand over your lips until you froze. “Let’s let him rest.”

Likes, comments, and reblogs bring me much ✨dopamine✨ thank you!!

a/n: Hi, yes, hello! How's everyone doing?

Part 17

Operation Olive Branch has compiled a working spreadsheet of ways to help families fleeing from the genocide in Palestine. If you enjoyed this fic, and are able, please click the link to find a list of GoFundMe's, as well as other ways to help.

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charlietheepicwriter7 · 3 years ago

Text

High Priest, Pt. 2

From “The Many Akumatizations of Luka Couffaine.”

The class was, for the most part, silent.

No one knew what to feel after yesterday, Juleka included. It was… Everything was fine, they were all hanging out, and then Lila mentioned that Marinette got out of trouble for bullying her, which was horrible, and… and…

Juleka didn’t know who pushed Marinette. She just knew that someone did. No one goes from backing away from a hoard of angry teenagers to crumpled at the bottom of concrete stairs by the Seine by yourself. And then Lila had said,

“Wow, I can’t believe she’s faking being hurt. She has a lot of nerve after pushing me down the stairs. I didn’t make such a big deal out of it.”

And they all just left her.

But Marinette wasn’t faking. She’d seen it in Luka’s face when her parents had called him, saying that Marinette was in the hospital and that he needed to come, as her boyfriend (her boyfriend, Luka was her boyfriend, when Lila had told them Marinette had bullied her because of Marinette’s jealousy over how close she and Adrien were-). And now…

And now…

The class was silent.

Who was the guilty one, Juleka wondered. Not Lila, she had stood at the back of the group while they accosted Marinette. Not Adrien, who hadn’t gotten involved and hadn’t defended Marinette, a true neutral that wasn’t neutral at all. Not Chloe, who wasn’t even there and chatted away with Sabrina without a care in the world, unknowing or uncaring about their hospitalized friend. But Alya, but Nino, but Kim, but anyone…

There was a murderer among them.

A sharp trill of their phones went off, all of them at once. The akuma alert. Alya, who already had her phone out, was the first to shout. “There’s an akuma at Arc Hospital!”

Juleka paled. (“I’m going to Arc Hospital! Tell mom not to wait for me!”)

“Apparently it can transform the environment,” Alya gushed, like her best friend wasn’t in danger. No one noticed Adrien leaving with a rushed excuse about the bathroom - they were all used to his weak bladder by now. “That’s so cool! I’ve never seen an akuma do that before!”

“There might be a sentimonster along with it,” Nino pointed out. “Maybe on the hospital itself, and that’s why it transformed.”

“Oh, that makes more sense!” Alya replied, already packing up her bag. “I’m going to head to the sight; someone has to document the akuma!”

“I’ll go with you,” Nino said.

The two were heading out the door, nothing too different, when Lila spoke up, shakily raising her hand. “C-Can I come too?” she asked. “It’s just… I’ve been so worried about Ladybug lately; akuma’s have been getting a lot stronger, so I just thought that I could be there for her, cheer her on?”

Alya looked nervous. “Well, actually-”

“That’s a great idea!” Rose gushed, like they didn’t have a friend in that specific hospital. “I’m sure Ladybug will defeat the akuma with her best friend by her side!”

“Yeah!”

“Hey, we should go too!”

“Ladybug will certainly feel empowered if an entire class cheers her on!”

“Sure. She’ll probably end up needing Queen Bee, if the akuma is that powerful.”

We shouldn’t do that, Juleka tried to say, only for the words to get stuck in her throat. Did they see that they were putting themselves in danger, potential hostages for the akuma? But no, they were blind. Lila led them like lemmings, encouraging them, saying “Yes, of course Ladybug would love that, we should all go!”

That’s how, despite her instincts, Juleka was forced into going to ground zero. At least she wasn’t the only one disliking the situation. Both Alya and Nino looked put out for some reason, and Chloe was just unhappy in general.

The hospital had been transformed into a temple. “Aztec,” Rose whispered as they all stared up at the pyramid. “It looks… like those pictures from that research project Luka was doing.” Juleka nodded and suddenly had a horrible feeling about who exactly the akuma was. The stone looked rough, the mica a sandy-grey. Pictographs were carved into the stone, unlike any Juleka had ever seen, with each image growing more and more graphic in violence as the class climbed the pyramid together. They all… looked like people, she noticed.

The truly concerning factor, however, was the group of people that gathered at the bottom of the pyramid as the class trekked upward. But no one else set foot on the temple. They were utterly alone.

There was only one entrance into the temple, a wide, gaping mouth of a door. Fire flickered inside the opening. Alya gave a shaky smile as she readied her camera. “Well, I guess we’re expected, right guys?” Her attempt at a joke fell flat as the class inched into the temple.

The inside was covered in carvings, intricate and beautiful, painted and bright. Most of them depicted a beautiful dark-haired woman with a crescent moon on her forehead being worshiped. Was she the akuma? Some woman with a god-complex that turned the hospital into… this? Torches lined the walls, throwing dark shadows across the paintings. “They look like they’re moving,” Nathaniel whispered, enthralled as the class spread out, everyone looking around the interior.

Alix frowned. “It doesn’t look very Aztec to me.”

At the center of the room was a glass altar. Or, more accurately, as Juleka approached it, a glass coffin. The frosted glass concealed the content’s identity at a distance, but up close, Juleka realized it was… “Marinette?”

That got everyone’s attention. Shocked gasps and exclamations filled the room. Alya pushed her way to the front. “What? No, it can’t be…”

Nino looked at the coffin nervously. “She can’t be akumatized, can she?”

“Of course not!” Alya spat back, coming to the defense of her comatose best friend. “She’s too strong to-”

Lila clung to Alya, cutting her off. “She was probably so upset that I revealed she was bullying me!” She wailed, the sound grating in the echoing expanse of the hall. “Oh, it’s all my fault that Marinette finally got akumatized!” For a moment, Juleka thought Lila sounded… vindicated? What?

“Cease your lies, Defiler of this hallowed place. -A strong, male, familiar voice boomed out, seemingly from nowhere-“Lest your accursed tongue wound the ears of our slumbering Goddess.”

From the shadows immerged a blue figure, dressed like a stereotypical Aztec priest. His skin, mostly his bare chest and face, was covered in black tattoos, like the line of triangles under his left eye and over his right. He wore a large, jeweled necklace that sparkled in the fire light, and feathers, dark blue and pink, trailed out of his short hair and down his back, past the linen skirt he wore to cover his modesty.

It was obvious at first glance that the akuma was Luka.

What was also obvious was the large, ceremonial knife in his hand.

“Rejoice, heretics, non-believers, and renouncers of the faith,” the akuma said, looking down on their class with cold rage. “The day has come at last to join our Goddess in everlasting peace at her side. For I, the High Priest, have been given the sacred duty of awakening the Goddess of the Moon, the Melody of all Hearts, the Ever-Resting Queen… and it is with your blood that she will live again.”

Rose trembled at Juleka’s side. “Our… blood?” she whispered.

“Correct.” He could hear them, oh no, oh no… “Either through service or sacrifice, it matters little to me. Though my Goddess may wish for you to bleed through service, I care not so long as the blood is taken.”

“You…” Alya growled, then snapped, pointing at the High Priest. “Ladybug and Chat Noir will defeat you and save Marinette, you fiend. And if you think any of us are joining you, you’ve got another thing coming!”

“So, you have chosen death.” The room grew darker, the torches dimming. The High Priest’s eyes glowed neon blue. “Then may my Goddess have mercy on your fleeting soul…

“For I will have none.”

Taglist: @larasilvestris @vixen-uchiha

#lukanette #yandere luka couffaine #lila salt #class salt #ml salt #akuma luka #villain luka #original akuma #luka couffaine #the many akumatizations of luka couffaine #juleka couffaine #miraculous ladybug #mlb #miraculous fanfiction

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purrincess-chat · 2 years ago

Text

Under the Moth’s Wing (Not-so-Enemies AU) CH4: Bubbler

This chapter gets angsty at the end oops. Nino is the goodest boy in this AU, I swear. Next week will be the last chapter for a while. I will be uploading this story in 5 chapter chunks, so whenever I have the next 5 chapters ready, I’ll start uploading again every Wednesday. I’ve broken this story into smaller arcs that span about 4-5 chapters at a time. This first arc that will wrap up next week is what I call “The Friendship Arc.” Adrien’s sole objective in these first five chapters is to integrate into society and make friends. I’ll see you guys next week with chapter 5 aka Gamer ;)

Read on AO3

Chapter 4

Adrien shot up in bed, a grin stretching his cheeks. A couple weeks had passed since he started attending public school, and while the first few days got off to a rocky start, he was finally starting to settle in. More of his classmates talked to him, and he got picked first for basketball in PE. Of course, it was Nino that picked him, but from what he’d gathered, getting picked first was a big deal!

Marinette and Alya still didn’t pay attention to him, but at least they didn’t glare at him anymore. It was progress, albeit minor, but not even that was going to get him down because today was-

“Happy Birthday, Adrien,” Nathalie said when she entered his room. “Your father has requested to see you in his office.”

Adrien kicked his blanket off and rushed downstairs, biting back a grin. Every year he asked his father to have a birthday party, and he always said no, but this year was different. He and his father were closer than ever. Adrien had a good feeling as he walked through the doors of his father’s office.

“Good morning, Father. You wanted to see me?” Adrien clasped his hands behind his back, veins pumping with excitement.

“Yes, I need you to be on the lookout for a potential candidate for my akumas today. These past two weeks have been nothing but failures. We need someone whose emotions are strong,” he said.

“Oh.” Adrien slumped.

Another day, another briefing. It was true, the last several akumas his father created were all lame. Honestly, they peaked with Stoneheart, though his father could only blame himself for following the rock monster up with a deranged pigeon man. He even akumatized a little girl having a tantrum over some dolls. Surprisingly, their efforts were thwarted more easily than they thought by Ladybug — she filled everyone in Paris with too much hope. Among other things in Adrien’s case, but now wasn’t the time for daydreams. He had party plans.

“Father?” Adrien squeezed his hands into tight fists.

“What is it, Adrien?” his father asked without looking up from his tablet.

“Well, I was just thinking since today is my birthday…”

“Ah, yes.” His father nodded, stooping to retrieve a gray giftbox. “I got you a gift to celebrate.”

“Really?” Adrien perked up as Nathalie carried it over to him. Usually his mother bought all the gifts, but perhaps his father was stepping up in her absence.

Tearing through the delicate wrapping, Adrien pulled the lid to find an assortment of pens, paper clips, safety pins, and post-it notes. He stared down at his “gift” in silence, wondering if it was a joke, but seeing as his father had no sense of humor, it was unfortunately real.

“Uh, thanks, Father.” Adrien closed the lid, biting his lip hard.

“Don’t forget our plans today. With any luck, we may have your mother home for dinner,” his father said.

Adrien returned to his room with a sigh. He should have known better than to expect arcade machines and flat screen TVs from his dad, but a box full of office supplies? What was he thinking, hoping he could have a real party? His father would never change.

He hadn’t thought about it before, but as he packed his father’s gifts into his schoolbag, realization dawned on him: It was his first birthday without his mom. Usually, she’d wake him up singing happy birthday with a big slice of cake and a candle. They’d eat it together in bed before she gave him a big gift. Last year, she got him a basketball hoop and scoreboard. She made him help plant roses in the garden all afternoon just so he wouldn’t catch them installing it…

He missed her. His father’s methods made his skin crawl, but it would have been nice to have her home for dinner, like he said.

“Adrien! Are you ready to go to school?” Nathalie called from the doorway.

He pressed his lips together and zipped his bag closed.

“Yeah.”

***

“Morning, dude!” Nino extended a fist when Adrien met him at the base of the stairs outside the school. They exchanged the secret handshake they’d made up — Nino’s idea.

“Hey, Nino,” Adrien replied, lacking his normal enthusiasm.

“Why so down today? You’re usually stoked to come to school.” Nino tilted his head to the side.

“Happy Birthday, Adrikins!” Chloe sprang from the steps into his arms, shoving Nino out of the way and planting kisses on Adrien’s cheeks. “I ordered you a present, but those stupid delivery guys are taking forever to get it here.”

“Thanks, Chlo.” Adrien unlatched her arms from around his neck.

“Yo, it’s your bday? Why didn’t you tell me, dude?” Nino punched his arm.

“Probably because he didn’t want to pretend to enjoy gifts from you poor losers after seeing my amazing gift,” Chloe said.

“Chloe.” Adrien shot her a warning look, and she turned away with a huff.

“Fine, let the peasants give you cheap gifts, but don’t be mad at me when they all pale in comparison.” She sauntered back up the stairs, ponytail flipping over one shoulder.

“I know you guys are tight, but she’s the worst.” Nino shook his head. “But still, you should have told me your bday was coming up. We’ve got to throw you a big bash! I can DJ, and we can invite Marinette and Alya to get some good vibes going between you guys.”

“Thanks, but I’m not having a party.” Adrien sighed as they made their way up the stairs.

“What? Why not?”

“It’s my father. He barely even lets me out of the house. I doubt he’ll let me invite friends over. I think he’s allergic to joy.” Adrien shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Oh, come on. He can’t be that bad,” Nino said.

Adrien looked him in the eye. “He got me office supplies as a gift.”

“Ouch.” Nino winced. “Okay, so your pops is uptight, but he just needs someone with the right vibes to ask him. Let me talk to him today, and I’m sure I can convince him to change his mind.”

“He won’t, but I appreciate the sentiment.” Adrien smiled. “Really, thanks, Nino.”

“Have some faith, my dude. And get your dancing shoes for tonight.” Nino draped an arm over his shoulders.

“I don’t think I have dancing shoes. Should I buy some?”

“I swear, I’m gonna write you a cool kid dictionary.” Nino groaned.

“You’d do that?”

“Ugh.” Nino shook his head, a gesture Adrien was starting to recognize every time he said something lame. Something told him he wouldn’t be getting that dictionary.

“Yo, party at Adrien’s house this afternoon!” Nino called to their classmates as they passed through the locker room.

“Whoa, wait a minute. You haven’t even talked to my dad yet, and besides, he’s gonna say no,” Adrien said.

“Relax, dude. Parents love me. I’ll convince your pops, no sweat.” Nino ruffled his hair. “It’s about time you got out more. Then the idea of a cool kid dictionary won’t be so exciting to you.”

“But it would be so helpful!” Adrien said.

Nino placed his hands on Adrien’s shoulders. “That’s what worries me. You need to hang with more kids your age, so help me spread the party buzz!”

“But-”

“Come on, don’t you want to have your first party?” Nino asked.

“Well, yeah, but my father isn’t a reasonable person. I just don’t think we’ll be able to convince him.” Adrien lowered his gaze.

“You mean you’ll be unable to convince him without my help.” Nino corrected. “Get hyped, dude. We’re throwing you a party today. There’s no way my bud is gonna miss his own bday.”

Adrien did want a party. Plus, he knew his father’s secret, and he did want Adrien to deliver him someone to akumatize. A party was the perfect way to deliver a lot of potential akumas…

A smile curled on Adrien’s lips. “Okay, yeah. Let’s do it. Thanks, Nino.”

“That’s the spirit.” Nino patted his shoulder. “Spread the word. Tonight’s gonna be sick.”

“Sick means good, right?”

“Yes.” Nino rolled his eyes, spinning Adrien around. “Now, go tell people that.”

The electric giddiness he’d felt that morning returned as he relayed Nino’s party plans to his schoolmates in the locker room. Everyone seemed just as excited as he did, which only added to his enthusiasm. He was finally throwing a party! They still had to convince his father, but Adrien could get anything he wanted out of his father if he said it was for the mission. Besides, Nino sounded so confident.

Rounding the corner to the next row of lockers, Adrien stopped short, breath catching in his throat. Marinette and Alya stood by their lockers, backs turned to him. Nino did recommend inviting them, but Adrien wasn’t sure he had the guts. Would they even want to come? Probably not. But if he didn’t invite them, would they get mad at him and ruin the small steps toward friendship they’d already taken? Forget the cool kid dictionary, Adrien needed a whole textbook on friendship.

Their conversation slowed to a stop when Adrien approached, and Alya quirked a brow at him. Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders.

“Um, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but today is my birthday,” he said.

“No, we haven’t heard,” Alya said.

“Oh, well, uh, Nino is kind of planning to throw me a party this afternoon, and it probably won’t happen because I’m pretty sure my father is going to say no, but if it does happen, you two can come. If you want!” Nailed it.

Alya and Marinette exchanged looks, and Marinette turned to him.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to-”

“We’ll be there,” Alya said.

“What?” Adrien and Marinette said in unison.

“I said we’ll be there.” Alya winked at Marinette, linking their arms together. “See you later, birthday boy.”

Adrien blinked a few times, a smile spreading across his lips. “Awesome! See you there.”

It worked! They wanted to come. Adrien was no expert, but that had to be good news. Who knew? With the luck he was having, his father might say yes to a party after all. And even if he didn’t, it was already one of the best birthdays he’d ever had. Sure, he didn’t get a fancy gift, though the thought of whatever Chloe bought him both worried and intrigued him, but he had friends now. Friends that wanted to celebrate with him. He’d take that over a basketball hoop any day.

Nino rode home with him that afternoon, and Adrien’s good mood plummeted with each passing block. The idea of convincing his father was nice in theory, but in actuality…

“This was a bad idea.” Adrien hugged his knees to his chest as Gorilla pulled into the front gate.

“Relax, dude. I got this.” Nino nudged him, but Adrien felt far from encouraged.

Nathalie’s eyes narrowed when they entered, the first crack in their plan. Adrien’s shoulders curled.

“Your father didn’t give you permission to bring a friend home.” She looked Nino up and down. “I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

Nino shot Adrien a wink and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to barge in unannounced, but I was hoping to speak to M. Agreste regarding Adrien’s birthday party.”

“M. Agreste is very busy. Besides, Adrien isn’t having a party,” Nathalie said.

“Yeah, but that’s the problem!” Nino blurted. He paused to regain his composure and continued, “I understand it’s an inconvenience, but is there any way you could make an exception?”

Nathalie flicked her gaze to Adrien.

“Please, Nathalie? I’m sure my father will find that this will suit his plans today.” Adrien pressed his palms together.

Nathalie pushed her glasses up with a sigh and beckoned them to follow her. Nino glanced around the tall ceilings and sparkling tile floor in awe, but when they entered his father’s studio, he straightened his hat.

“What is the meaning of this?” his father asked.

“Remember what we talked about this morning, Father?” Adrien said. “I think what my friend has to say will be of interest to you.”

“Go on.” His father narrowed his eyes.

“Well, du- er, sir! Adrien has never had a birthday party, and that’s so messed up! He does all of the modeling stuff for you and makes good grades. Don’t you think it’s about time he had a real party for his bday?” Nino asked.

“No.”

“But it’s all he wants! It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, just some pals from school. Please, du- sir!” Nino pressed his palms together.

His father stroked his chin in thought, and Adrien shot him a pleading look for good measure. A small smile tugged on the corner of his father’s lips, a rarity Adrien had only ever heard stories of.

“You’re right, Adrien. This is of interest to me,” he said. “I’m now concerned that you’ve been given too much freedom. Your so-called friends are a bad influence, and I never want any of them to set foot in this house again. Do you understand?”

“But-”

“Nathalie, see this young boy out and make sure Adrien returns to his room.” His father dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

“But that’s so unfair, dude!” Nino pleaded.

“M. Agreste has a lot of work to do. It’s time for you to leave.” Nathalie gestured to the door.

Nino flashed Adrien a panicked look, those golden eyes wide with fear as Nathalie and Gorilla flanked him through the foyer, ensuring he made it out the door.

“Great work, Adrien. I can already feel his negative emotions.” His father turned toward the portrait where the buttons for the secret elevator were concealed.

Adrien’s heart dropped. He had intended for the party guests to supply a victim for his father’s akuma, but his father thought he was delivering Nino! He’d unknowingly lead the best friend he had right into a trap.

“Nino!” He took off after him, catching the door before Gorilla could close it. “Nino, I’m really sorry.”

“You were right, dude. Your old man is impossible!” Nino threw his hands up with a huff.

Adrien lowered his head with a sigh. “I know. Thanks anyway, Nino.”

“Adrien.” Nathalie’s voice was a warning behind him.

“I’ll see you at school.” Adrien waved, but Nino was already stalking up the driveway.

His eyes burned hot when he shut the door to his bedroom and flopped onto his bed. How could he have been so stupid? Of course his father wasn’t going to let him have a party! Now Nino was probably going to get akumatized, and he wouldn’t even get to see Ladybug because he was stuck inside. He rolled onto his stomach, burying his face in a pillow with a sigh. So much for the best birthday ever.

An alert beeped on his phone, reminding him to do his homework. Great. He didn’t even have time to sulk. Not that it would matter because Nino was bound to be akumatized in a few minutes, so he’d have to go support his father in the lair anyway. Not even the sweetness of Ladybug’s angelic face could overcome the sour taste from getting his best friend akumatized on accident. He and his father really needed to work out a system of hand signals.

He set to work on their maths problems, figuring they’d be easy enough to knock out before his akuma duties. Things were still quiet after maths, so he moved onto physics. After an hour, he crept out into the empty halls, finding the house silent. Maybe his father hadn’t akumatized Nino after all?

“Nathalie?” Adrien’s voice echoed through the foyer.

They must have been in his father’s lair. He pushed open the door to his father’s studio, nearly jumping out of his skin at the red and blue figure standing just inside.

“Hey, dude!” Golden eyes glinted behind a blue and red mask. “I was just about to come get you. You ready to party?”

Adrien blinked. “Nino?”

“Yeah, dude!” He draped an arm over Adrien’s shoulders. “Well, technically it’s Bubbler now, but don’t worry. I still know how to hang.”

Bubbler extended a fist, and the two exchanged their secret handshake.

“See? Still me, now come on. My best bud isn’t going to spend his bday inside,” he said.

“As validating as it is to hear that I’m your best friend, my father said no, remember?” Adrien said.

“Well, I did come in here to give your pops another talking to.” Bubbler reached back to pat the large bubble wand in the container on his back. “But he wasn’t here, so I sent his assistant and that beefy dude to time out.” He pointed to the window where Gorilla and Nathalie were floating outside in large green bubbles. “Either way, dude. I’ve bubbled like all the adults in this city, so let’s go have some bday fun!”

Adrien eyed the portrait of his mother. His father would want him to help the akuma defeat Ladybug, and if Bubbler wanted to throw him a party, then…

“Okay, let’s do it.” Adrien grinned.

Bubbler pumped a fist, leading Adrien to the front door. All of their classmates cheered when they walked into the courtyard, party banners and tables of food lining the driveway. Adrien could barely contain his grin.

“Happy Birthday, dude.” Bubbler patted Adrien’s shoulder. “Now, let’s get this party started!”

Bubbler had pulled out all the stops. There were lights, confetti, music, dancing, cake, all of their friends and classmates. It was the party of Adrien’s dreams. Sure, his best friend was akumatized, but it guaranteed that Ladybug would show up sooner or later. In a weird way, it was the best birthday ever, and Adrien was starting to learn what Nino meant by putting on his dancing shoes.

Somewhere in the middle of dancing with Rose and Juleka, Adrien spotted Marinette walking through the front gates. She had come after all! Should he go talk to her? It would be polite to welcome her to his party, right? Were cool kids polite? What would Nino say? That cool kid dictionary would have come in handy.

Stay calm.

He was overthinking it. She and Alya were both over by the snack table, and the fact that they were both at his party meant that they liked him a little bit. He was confident. No second-guessing. Just the start of two new friendships. He could do this.

“Hey.” He waved. Their conversation petered out when he approached, but he didn’t let that faze him. “Are you two enjoying the party?”

“Uh, yeah,” Alya said. “Totally awesome.”

“Yeah.” Marinette sipped her drink, side eyeing Bubbler. “You’re not concerned at all that Nino has been akumatized?”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I am, but Nino just really wanted to throw me a birthday party. Besides, Ladybug will show up to save us sooner or later.”

“Rumor has it you got to work with her when Mr. Pigeon attacked. Care to talk about it?” Alya pulled out her phone.

“If by work with, you mean acted as bait, then spent the whole night draped over a humidifier, then yeah. I worked with Ladybug.” Adrien shrugged.

“Wow, what a scoop, Alya.” Marinette smirked.

Alya tucked her phone back into her pocket with a pout. “Can I use your bathroom?”

“Uh, yeah, it’s inside up the stairs to the right.” Adrien instructed.

Alya quirked a brow at Marinette and scurried off, leaving the two of them alone. The perfect chance to talk to Marinette without anyone looming and finally make friends!

“So, uh, how are you liking the party so far?” he asked.

“I just got here.” She shrugged, swirling her drink.

“Right.” Adrien nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. He read somewhere that it made people more at ease. “Do you want to dance, or we could just stay here and talk if you want.”

“Actually, I think I’m gonna join Alya in the bathroom.” Marinette gestured over her shoulder with her thumb.

“You don’t want to hang out with me because I’m friends with Chloe, right?” Adrien sighed. “Look, I know she’s awful, but I didn’t know she was like that until I started coming to school. She and I were friends as kids, but we’re not even that close anymore.”

As if on cue, Chloe materialized beside him, latching onto his neck.

“Ugh, get lost, Dupain-Cheng. It’s Adrikin’s birthday, and he doesn’t need to waste it talking to a loser like you,” she said.

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you two are totally distant.” She set her drink on the table and stalked off.

“Come slow dance with me, Adrikins.” Chloe insisted, preventing him from chasing after Marinette. She stretched up, lips puckered, but Adrien pulled away.

Horrified shrieks saved him from having to evade her advances, and everyone stared at the giant green bubble floating in the air above them. Ivan twisted and fumbled clumsily inside, face blanched in terror.

“If any of you peeps think you can sit this party out, then you can join the adults in the sky, got it?” Bubbler brandished his bubble wand. “Now, dance!”

Whimpering, their classmates complied, and Adrien searched their terrified expressions with a frown. As it turned out, having your best friend turned supervillain throw you a birthday party where everyone was forced to attend didn’t make for a very lighthearted party atmosphere. What was Adrien thinking, letting Bubbler host his party? He should have gone to his father’s lair instead of taking advantage of the situation to get what he wanted. Now everyone was suffering because of him. This was all his fault in more ways than one.

The music screeched to an abrupt halt, and Bubbler turned over his shoulder with a growl.

“Who turned off my mix?”

“Sorry, Bubbler, but the party’s over.” Ladybug snapped her yoyo back to her palm on top of the wall.

Adrien’s classmates cheered her on, much to Bubbler’s annoyance.

“I don’t remember inviting an insect to this party. Only true VIPs are allowed for my boy,” Bubbler said.

It was a tense situation for everyone, but Adrien had to admit, he was touched.

“When you take innocent people hostage, you can always count on me to crash the party.” Ladybug tossed her yoyo, but Bubbler deflected it with his wand.

Classmates dove out of the way as Bubbler and Ladybug sparred, cowering behind the walls of the front porch. Adrien hung back, looking for an opening to assist Bubbler, but he couldn’t help admiring how powerful Ladybug was. The way her muscles moved under her suit with each twist and kick. Why did she have to be so stunning?

“Ah!” Ladybug gasped as a bubble encased her. She kicked the sides, but it was no use — she was trapped.

Bubbler threw his head back with a triumphant laugh. “You should have just been cool, Ladybug, but you’re even lamer than the adults.”

“No, you’re lame if you think a world without adults is better.” She shot back.

“Oh, come on. Adults are the worst. They’re always setting these unfair rules and forcing us to do stuff we don’t want to.” Bubbler had a point.

“Kids need adults! They keep us safe. They love us!” Ladybug said.

Most adults anyway…

“If you love the adults so much, why don’t you join them?” Bubbler said.

The earrings!

“Nino, wait!” Adrien stepped in. “Look, I appreciate you wanting to throw me a birthday party. Really, it’s like the coolest thing anyone’s ever done for me, but I don’t want to force our friends to be here against their will.”

“What, so you’re on her side?” Bubbler grunted.

Their classmates huddled together, hands trembling and eyes wide. Adrien had always wanted a birthday party — he’d always wanted friends — but what kind of friend was he if he forced them all to like him? The truth of the matter was, Adrien didn’t know how to make friends. Alya and Marinette couldn’t stand him. Chloe only liked him because he was rich and famous. All of their other classmates didn’t know what to think of him.

Nino was the only person at school that considered him a true friend, the only person that wanted to throw him a birthday party, and Adrien delivered him on a silver platter for his father to chew up and spit out. This mess was all his fault. He never should have let Nino come. He didn’t need a big party, and he certainly didn’t deserve one. Adrien would have been content with just the two of them, his friend on his birthday.

“I’m not saying I’m on her side, but I’d much rather spend my birthday with my best friend Nino, not the Bubbler.” He retrieved a safety pin from his back pocket and slipped it through the slippery outer layer of Ladybug’s bubble behind his back. Might as well make his father’s gift useful, besides if it earned him a kiss from Ladybug, it really would be the best birthday ever. He held up cautioning hands to Bubbler when he reached for his wand and approached slowly. “I’m really happy that you did all of this for me, but please, Nino. Let all of our friends go.”

Sadness flashed in Bubbler’s eyes, but just as quickly as it came, it vanished. Bubbler clenched his jaw. He brushed past Adrien, sprinting toward Ladybug’s bubble and kicking it into the sky. Her adorable shrieks grew fainter the higher she soared. Bubbler turned back to their classmates and crossed his arms.

“Fine. All you haters can leave if you’re so unhappy, but once I get Ladybug’s earrings, we’re gonna be partying without adults forever.” Bubbler jumped over the wall, chasing after Ladybug’s bubble as their classmates clambered for the gate.

Adrien rushed into his father’s office, nearly colliding with Alya just inside. She hid her phone behind her back and pressed her lips together.

“I wasn’t snooping to find dirt on you!” she said. “Uh, I mean, this isn’t the bathroom?”

There was no time to deal with that.

“Bubbler captured Ladybug. They’re heading for the Eiffel Tower,” he said.

“What? Ladybug showed up and I missed it?” Alya raced out the door.

Adrien eyed his mother’s portrait, biting his lip, and followed after her. Alya was strapping on her helmet when Adrien caught up with her by the front gate.

“I’ll go with you,” he said, and when she quirked a skeptical brow at him, he added, “Nino is my best friend. Maybe I can talk some sense into him.”

“Fine.” Alya rolled her eyes and pointed to her bike. “But you’re peddling.”

Adrien considered himself physically fit between his fencing and karate classes, but peddling two people across the Trocadero on a small bike was a lot harder than it sounded. When they made it to the base of the Eiffel Tower, he leaned the bike on the ground, gasping between ragged breaths.

Alya charged straight for the elevator without so much as a thank you, and Adrien hobbled after her. While Adrien was happy for the adventurous birthday to shake things up, he could have done without the exercise.

When the elevator made it to the top, Alya jumped out, pressing record on her camera. Ladybug summoned her Lucky Charm, a pipe wrench, and surveyed the scene with pursed lips. She deflected another bubble with her yoyo that curved straight for Alya.

“Hey!” she gasped as she floated off.

Everything moved in slow motion. Adrien flicked his gaze between Bubbler and Ladybug, thoughts racing. What should he do? Help Ladybug put an end to this birthday nightmare? Or help his friend at the expense of the girl he loved? She still hadn’t figured out what to do with her lucky charm. If he was going to sabotage her, it would have been the perfect opportunity, but his legs wouldn’t move in either direction.

What kind of birthday did he want? One with his mother? Of course he wanted her there, but part of him wished his father had just given him the day off instead. That they were spending the day together, even in her absence. That Nino could have come over just to hang out and play games, even for a little while. Anything other than spending another birthday locked alone in his room with a shiny new toy.

Bubbler might have been the one to throw him a party, but he wasn’t Nino. And Adrien was starting to miss his real friend. His only friend.

Red flashed across the ducts as Ladybug charged for the air pipes and fit her wrench to the bolt perfectly. Her mask narrowed over her eyes when Adrien raced over to help.

“What are you doing here?” she growled.

“Getting my friend back,” he said.

Together they loosened the screw, and Adrien caught the tube as it burst free. He held it steady, blowing bubbles away from Ladybug as she grappled with Bubbler. She hooked her yoyo around his wand, yanking it into her hands and snapping it over her knee. The black butterfly fluttered out, and Nino collapsed to his knees as dark energy washed away from him.

Adrien sat back with a sigh, catching his breath as Ladybug’s magic repaired all of the damage to the city. She approached him, offering a hand to help him up.

“Thank you. I couldn’t have done that without you,” she said. Not even her soft smile was enough to cheer him up.

Adrien shrugged. “I guess this isn’t exactly the birthday I wanted.”

“Bro!” Nino raced to his side, enveloping him in a tight hug. “I’m sorry, dude. I lost my cool and totally wrecked your bday.”

Adrien leaned against his shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut to prevent tears from spilling over. “It’s okay, Nino. It wasn’t your fault.” It was mine.

“Hawkmoth will take advantage of any negative emotion he can find. Don’t be too hard on yourself.” Ladybug patted Nino’s shoulder.

Nino pulled away with a frown, squeezing Adrien’s shoulders. “We’ll have a better party for you next year. Something totally chill with just a few friends and sick beats, and we won’t tell your pops about it, okay?” He extended a fist, and they exchanged their secret handshake.

Adrien smiled. “Thanks for everything, Nino.”

When Ladybug’s earrings beeped, she palmed her yoyo. “I’ll only have time to take one of you home.”

Adrien stepped back, nudging Nino forward. “Take him. I don’t live that far from here.”

“You sure, dude?” Nino asked.

Adrien flicked his gaze to Ladybug, mask furrowed in an expression of concern more beautiful than any statue at the Louvre. Of course he wanted to nuzzle close to her while she carried him over the rooftops, and his father would have insisted he swipe the earrings the moment they landed. But after everything, he was just ready for his birthday to be over.

“Yeah. I’m sure.” He nodded.

Ladybug wrapped an arm around Nino’s waist, but her hands hesitated on her yoyo. “Happy Birthday, Adrien. I’m sorry things didn’t work out.”

Adrien offered her a small smile, an expression she returned before tossing her yoyo and swinging off with Nino. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Adrien headed for the elevator with a sigh.

His father was waiting in the foyer when he made it home, but Adrien wasn’t fazed by the frown darkening his father’s expression. It wasn’t that different from any other day, and Adrien was too numb to care.

“It’s disappointing that we lost today. I was really hoping we could get your mother back to celebrate your birthday,” his father said.

“Yeah, Ladybug pretty much already had him beat by the time I got there.” Adrien lied.

His father patted his shoulder. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out the way we wanted, Adrien. We will succeed next time.”

Adrien nodded and paced past him toward the back door. “I’m gonna sit in the garden for a while.”

His father gave a relenting nod and disappeared back into his office. Adrien shoved open the door to the kitchen, riffling through the drawers until he found what he was looking for. He paced down the corridor and out into the garden, the towering walls casting late afternoon shadows over the yard. His mother’s statue was cold against his cheek as Adrien curled up by her feet, resting his face in her lap. Retrieving the candle from his pocket, he struck a match and lit the wick.

“Joyeux anniversaire. Joyeux anniversaire…” Adrien sang, watching the flame dance between his fingers.

He’d ended up alone on his birthday after all. It wasn’t exactly the party he wanted, but he should have expected as much from his father. Even if they saved his mother, Adrien’s father would never be comfortable with his friends — what few he had anyway. At least Nino was okay in the end. The last thing Adrien wanted was to lose him.

He blew out the candle with a sigh, hugging his knees to his chest. Maybe his father would come around some day. Maybe they’d succeed in bringing back his mother. He just wished his next birthday would be better than the last.

#miraculous ladybug #ladrien #adrien agreste #marinette dupain-cheng #ladybug #my writing #under the moth's wing #not so enemies au #simply ladrien au

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flightfoot · 3 years ago

Text

Forgetting Enemies, Rediscovering Friends - Ch. 1

AO3

Thanks to @khanofallorcs for betaing! Set in @buggachat Bakery Enemies AU, before the wine arc.

The morning had started off fine. Marinette had been working on a new design to showcase her talents. A black dress with green trim—great for any occasion.

(Only the most keen-eyed observers would find the small paw print embroidered on the inside of one of the sleeves)

Adrien was hard at work in the kitchen, as usual. Probably plotting how best to steal the Miracle Box, or make her meet the same fate as his mother or—or some other nefarious end. Yes. He must be. No one could be THAT nice, not after everything he went through. It had to be fake.

*beep beep*

Marinette blinked. Her stomach twisted. “The Akuma Alert app? But it can’t be- unless-”

A video popped up, showing the new threat.

“Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news! Past Pirate has made the trip from the U.S. all the way to our fair city of Paris. With Ladybug and Chat Noir still missing, we can only hope that other superheroes arrive soon, before everyone in the city forgets who they are.”

Ah.

Not an akuma or sentimonster, then. Just a random supervillain that thought the absence of Miraculous wielders made Paris an easy target.

Somehow that didn’t make her feel better. At least if it was a sentimonster, she might’ve been able to catch Adrien in the act, prove that he was evil, and recover the lost Miraculous. This- this she could do nothing about.

She was useless.

*beep beep*

A text warning popped up, issuing an evacuation order. A giant orb had been spotted near Collège Françoise Dupont, one that looked very, very similar to the one Oblivio had threatened the city with, all those years ago.

Marinette suspected it served the same function.

She needed to get out of there, NOW.

Her parents were out at dinner on the other side of the city, so hopefully they’d be safe?

The only ones here were her and-

Oooooh crap.

Her and ADRIEN.

...He’d be fine on his own. Right? He got to work every morning after all. He could evacuate on his own.

But his apartment had to be close by, close enough that it’d be in the evacuation order, too. He’d have to go to some public place for cover.

During a supervillain attack.

With a lot of people scared and worried and having flashbacks to what his father did.

...and with him having one of the most recognizable faces in Paris.

Crap.

She was gonna have to take him with her, wasn’t she?

She hurried downstairs. Adrien was already putting on his coat, getting ready to run out the door.

“Wait!”

He froze. An instant later, he turned around. “Marinette? You’ve gotta get out of here, the supervillain-”

She nodded. “I know, come with me.”

He blinked. “Are— are you sure? You don’t need to put up with me just because we’re both heading out, I can go a different direction if it’s more comfortable for you.” His voice dropped. “I know you probably have some trauma associated with what my father did and this situation isn’t helping.”

Why did Adrien have to be so unfailingly nice?!

Marinette shook her head. “My parents would be devastated if something happened to you and I- I don’t want you hurt, either,” she got out in a rush. “I don’t want you out there alone.”

Adrien stared at her, startled. His eyes softened. “Thank you, Marinette.”

Her face heated up. “Po Noblem!” She shook her head. “I—I mean, no problem! Anyone would do it.”

He shook his head. She didn’t have time to think about that before she grabbed his hand, running out the door.

And into a purple beam blast.

-------

Blinking rapidly, he looked around.

He appeared to be on a street… somewhere and—

A purple blast hit a few feet away from his head.

Right. Get out of here first, figure out what was going on second. Maybe he’d find someone else someplace AWAY from the scary light blasts.

He attempted to run down the street and away from whatever the purple blast thing was.

“WAAAAH!”

Attempt at running: failed. Attempt at finding someone else: success!

He winced. “Sorry I dragged you down. Didn’t realize I was holding your hand.”

The girl nodded, eyes wide, still on top of him where she landed. “What’s going on? Who are you?” Her breath caught. “Who am I?”

“I… have no idea.” He admitted. “I don’t remember anything before a minute ago.”

Another purple blast fired. He flinched. “I don’t think sticking around here is a good idea. Let’s get somewhere a little safer first, THEN try to figure out who we are.”

She nodded, getting up and pulling him to his feet. She didn’t let go of his hand. “This way?” she asked, pointing away from where the blast had fired from, down the street the direction he’d tried to run.

He nodded.

They booked it, running in unison, automatically adjusting their gait to exactly match their companion’s.

After they’d gotten some distance away, they slowed down, huffing and puffing from the exertion.

“You think that’s far enough?” the girl asked.

He shrugged.

She started digging through her purse. He blinked, tilting his head. “What’re you looking for?”

She didn’t look up, sticking her tongue out the side of her teeth, appearing to concentrate even harder.

It was adorable.

Huh?

Well, he HAD been holding her hand when he woke up…

“This!” she said triumphantly, holding up her ID card.

He shelved his previous line of thought. For now, at least.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Nice to run into you, Marinette!”

She giggled. “I enjoyed falling for you too, uh…”

His face heated up. “Let me check.”

After looking through a few of his coat pockets (one of which held some cheese. Did he normally like the gooey food that much? It didn’t look that appetizing to him right now) he at last located his own ID. “Adrien Agreste.”

“You have anything else that’s useful?” Marinette asked.

“Let’s see…”

After emptying out his pockets, he concluded he had his phone, ID, that piece of Camembert, a debit and credit card, and 70 Euros.

“Well, at least we’re not memoryless AND broke,” Marinette commented.

“What about you?” he asked.

“Well…”

She proceeded to pull out several cookies, a sewing kit, a first aid kit, duct tape, an umbrella, a few items that he felt he should recognize that Marinette hastily stuck back in her purse, saying they weren’t relevant to this situation, and a small black box with an intricate red design on the top, as well as her phone and wallet.

Adrien looked critically at the mass of items. “I don’t think all that should be able to fit in that tiny purse.”

Marinette looked at the objects she had pulled out. Then looked at her purse. Her brow furrowed. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Especially that umbrella. Doesn’t matter how I put that in, it shouldn’t fit. Plus that box- that wasn’t there when I first started rooting through my purse, I’m sure of it!”

He tilted his head. “It wasn’t?”

“I’d shoved everything around a few times,” she explained, “trying to see to the bottom of it. The first few times I didn’t see it, though there WAS some black fabric in the way - that was the umbrella - and once I pulled the umbrella up, well, there it was, lying beneath it.”

“Anything inside it?”

Marinette opened it.

“Nothing,” she said, disappointed. “Just two indentations where something used to be.”

Adrien peered at Marinette. “Maybe it’s the casing for your earrings?”

She startled. “My earrings?”

Reaching up a hand, she felt her ears. “Maybe? Let me see.”

Taking them off, she set them in the box. They fit perfectly.

They also looked different.

“Spotted earrings?” he wondered. “They didn’t look like that before.”

Marinette blinked. “They didn’t?”

He shook his head. “They were black before, not red with black spots.”

“Maybe the lighting just made them look weird?”

“Maybe…”

He looked more critically at Marinette’s ears. “Wait. Something’s weird here, too.”

“Here?”

“With your ears.”

“What’s wrong with my ears?!” she said, sounding on the edge of panic.

“Feel where the earrings were, where you took them out of.”

She shot him a puzzled look, but complied, feeling her lobe, then her entire ear. “Where were they?” she wondered. “I can’t find the holes.”

“Exactly. I can’t see them either.”

“Hold on, let me try something,” she said.

Picking up the earrings, she put them back. “Oh that is WEIRD.”

“How’d you do that?” Adrien asked. He still hadn’t seen the holes she was using, not until the earrings were in again.

“I just let my muscle memory do the talking. I wasn’t threading them through a hole or anything, I just stuck them where I felt like they should go and then— then they were there.”

“They’re back to looking black, too,” Adrien said, squinting.

“Wonder whether your earrings are the same?” Marinette said, looking at him - or rather, at his ears.

Adrien felt his ears, his fingers hitting metal. “Huh. Didn’t know I was wearing them, too. Let’s give it a try.”

He wasn’t quite as fast at removing them as she was, needing a moment to unhook and align them so they’d slide out smoothly. He held them out to her. “Did their look change?”

She shook her head. “No, they still look the same.” Looking closer at his ears, she noted, “I can see the holes left behind, too. I don’t think your earrings have the same weird properties as mine.”

“A purse that can hold more than it should, earrings that change color and leave no mark— maybe it’s magic?” Adrien wondered.

Marinette opened her mouth, looking somewhat indignant - then closed it. “I… can’t come up with a better explanation. Don’t know why I’d have some magical objects, though.”

“Maybe you’re a witch?”

“Do those even exist?”

“No idea.”

“It doesn’t feel like the right term. These are just magical objects, right?” she said. “I might not have any magical powers myself.”

“You think anything else has magical properties?” he asked.

“Let’s see…”

After messing about with the duct tape, wallet, and umbrella for awhile, they concluded that, if they had magic, they were keeping it well-concealed. Unless “closing unexpectedly” was the umbrella’s magical power.

“Any of your things secretly magic?” she asked him. “We checked your earrings, but what about everything else?”

He tried stuffing things into his coat pockets, but they only held as much as one would expect them to. The wallets didn’t have anything special, and the only thing ‘magical’ about the cheese was how much it stank outside of its plastic baggie.

As he was putting it back in the bag (trying not to gag), he glanced at his hand, noticing a silver ring.

Figuring he might as well, he slid it off.

Light ran over it, turning it from silver to black, with a green pawprint on its face.

“You have one, too!” Marinette cried happily.

He nodded, feeling a warmth in his core. Whatever was going on, he was the same as her. “Guess I’ve got magic, too.”

“Think they do anything except change color?” Marinette asked.

Adrien shook the ring for a minute. “If it does, I have no idea how to activate it,” he concluded.

“Let’s move onto our phones, then,” Marinette said, turning hers on. A lockscreen popped up.

She hesitated for a moment as Adrien winced. “That suc-”

Marinette smiled deviously. “Not so fast.” She breathed on it, showing the most common pathways her finger traveled. Swiftly she followed the path, unlocking her phone.

Adrien’s heart went pitter-patter. “Brilliant!” he told her, copying her idea and unlocking his own phone.

“I don’t have a lot of contacts,” he told her, turning it to face her. “Only four people.”

G, Chloé Bourgeois, Sabine Cheng, and Tom Dupain. That was it. “You’re not even in here,” he told Marinette. “Though I’m guessing Sabine and Tom are your parents, at least?”

She scrolled through her own contact list. It was far more extensive than his, easily over a hundred contacts. “Yeah, they are,” she said, comparing the picture for ‘Maman’ with the one Adrien used for Sabine, and the one she used for ‘Papa’ to the one he used for Tom.

“Maybe we should call them?” he suggested. “Especially since they know both of us. Maybe they can help!”

She nodded, clicking on the Call button for Maman.

“Hello?” she asked, sounding nervous.

“Marinette? Are you okay? Is Adrien with you? I hadn’t checked my phone until just now, I had it on silent. You’ve evacuated from the bakery, right? Without Ladybug around to fix everything, who knows when everyone hit by Past Pirate will recover their memories!”

“I’m— well I’m mostly fine, Maman, I got away from the purple blasts. I’m guessing those were from Past Pirate? Adrien and I lost our memories, though. What should we do?”

“Oh. Oh NO.” Sabine sounded horrified. “That’s very, very dangerous, especially for Adrien.”

“Why is it dangerous for me?” he asked.

“Oh, Adrien! Glad to hear from you,” Sabine said, relieved. She hesitated, appearing to choose her words carefully. “Your father—he did some very bad things. Things that people blame you for, despite having no part in them. You’re very recognizable, too. If people see you, they could react badly.”

“People blame Adrien for what his father did? That’s terrible! Why would they do that?” Marinette said, flabbergasted.

Sabine suddenly sounded very awkward. “Well, dear, sometimes people have trauma and it just latches onto innocent people, even when it’s undeserved. They’re wrong, but I wouldn’t judge them too harshly.”

Marinette still looked indignant. “That doesn’t excuse treating him badly!”

Sabine coughed. “Yes. Well. Just be careful. Maybe try to find a disguise for Adrien if you can, before wandering into public areas? Until you’re back home and this crisis is abated.”

Marinette muttered quietly, “He shouldn’t HAVE to.” More loudly, she told Sabine. “Yes, Maman. I have everything I need for that.”

Adrien could practically feel Sabine beaming through the phone. “You’re always prepared, aren’t you?”

Marinette smiled. “Hopefully I’ll see you soon, with my memory intact.”

Stowing her phone, she reached for her sewing kit. “One disguise, coming right up!”

#forgetting enemies rediscovering friends #bakery enemies au #ml fanfic #Miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrienette

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boldlyanxious · 3 years ago

Text

Detected

Prompt 4 undercover | stay

Marijon series

Masterlist

Marinette knew that was an akuma but to keep her undercover identity she would have to be careful. She tried to get back up from where she was awkwardly on top of Jon but another shake caused her to slip back down against him. His hands steadied her with his hands at her hips but as the shaking continued he pulled her closet. He turned so she was situated beside him but used his body to cover her until the shaking stopped.

She was flustered by his closeness but she had to focus. She would need to find a way to get away from Jon so she could transform without him suspecting. They stood and looked around. She didn't know if she should risk heading down to her room and possibly getting trapped or trying to climb down outside. More shaking left them with only the outside as a possible escape route.

More intense tremors shifted the angle of the roof. Her bed and ladder crashed down inside. She likely would have fallen and slid down the sharply angled balcony if Jon hadn't taken hold of her hips and steadied her. She pointed and he seemed to know what she meant without any explanation. They worked together to get to the railing. It wasn't safe but would make an excellent point to springboard to the next roof.

They jumped in sync but they went further and landed softer than was actually possible. Jon was using his flight abilities to get them away more safely but without making it obvious. He was just as much undercover as she was. Marinette led the way to the next jump. She hesitated as another shock shook the building but Jon had seen where she was headed and once again carried them across. The building was still shaking as they landed.

Not just shaking. It was falling. Marinette had twisted slightly when they landed and was out of his grip. She had made it feel like they had slipped apart but she was trying to find a way to get distance from him. She hadn't realized the building would be falling when she had planned that. She didn't have time to worry about the panicked look in his eyes. The building was quickly toppling but she could see how she needed to speed up to jump to the next building.

She sprinted to the edge and jumped against the next building. There was no way to grip it there but that hadn't been her plan. She shoes said against the brick and her fingers dug into the groove to get her just enough of a grip to jump across to the ladder on the next building. The hanging ladder released with her sudden weight and slid her down until she was hanging about 3 meters in the air. She dropped and tucked into a roll to avoid injuring her ankles.

She rushed into the nearest alley and looked around. She was alone so she whispered to Tikki to transform. She had to believe that Jon would be safe on his own. She had a job to do. She ran down the alley towards the sounds of screaming that she was certain was near where she would find the akuma. She turned the corner too quickly and ran right into a person moving the other direction. His hands were at the back of her forearms to steady her once again.

His hands did not immediately release her and neither did his gaze. Ladybug pulled her arms away from him and he released her slowly as if he hadn't realized he was still grasping her. She excused herself and tried to move past her but she froze when he finally found his voice.

"You use magic," he said. "You said you aren't evil like Hawkmoth. You are the opposite. You aren't evil but you use magic to fight him."

"Are you okay, Sir? I think you are confused. You may have been hit by the akuma." Ladybug replied.

"You know I wasn't. I am not confused. Everything suddenly makes sense."

"Right. I need to go."

She swung her yoyo up to the tallest stable building. Before she could swing away he put a hand on her arm. She paused and looked back at him.

"I can help."

"Stay," she said, before swinging away.

She didn't look back to see if he listened. She didn't have the time. She needed to get to where the battle would be and end this. She hadn't even been able to spare a thought for how her parents or his parents had managed as the bakery fell. Maybe he would go back and check on them rather than interfering with the akuma. That thought gave her comfort even though she knew that everything would be reversed when the battle ended. She didn't know what power they were facing and didn't want to risk him being turned by whatever power Hawkmoth had granted his victim.

She realized she was arriving at the battle scene when she saw Chat Noir flying towards a building that hadn't fully fallen. She jumped to meet him in midair and sent her yoyo out to pull them both back. She released him mid swing when he extended his staff. She continued on to get a look at what they were dealing with before joining him where he had landed.

"Have we learned anything useful about our opponent today?" she asked.

"No. I was seen and hit as I arrived. That's when I found you."

When they looked back at him he was slamming a comically large lug wrench into the ground causing the tremors they had felt. Still angry, the akuma ran for the building they were on and swung at it. They scattered away as it fell. They landed directly behind him and Chat Noir taunted as they both ducked out of the way.

"I hate to throw a wrench in your plans but you are going to have to try harder."

Ladybug wrapped her yoyo cord around the wrench but his arm swung at her next and sent her flying. She released the weapon and caught herself. Chat Noir had retaliated by whacking the akuma with his staff while Ladybug returned to the action. She called for a lucky charm.

Into her hands fell an overlarge inflatable ring. She threw it and Chat Noir extended his staff into him while the ring arced through the air. As soon as it went over his head she used her yoyo to pull the auto inflate tag. She sent her yoyo right back for the wrench and tossed it right to Chat Noir who had activated his cataclysm in anticipation.

She tossed the item in the air, cleansed the akuma, and called out the "miraculous ladybug". She left the rest of the clean up with Chat, not even bothering to find out what had caused the akuma. She just quickly told him that she had been with people in a building as it fell down and they would be looking for her. She swung back without waiting for a response.

She managed to get back near where she was within a minute of the ladybugs righting everything. Jon and both sets of parents were there. Her parents rushed to her when they saw her.

"I told them I had seen you safely on the ground," he said. "but that you had just stayed with a couple children who were separated from their parents."

She looked over at him from her parents' embrace. He knew her secret but he was keeping it. At least from her parents. That would have to be enough for now.

Taglist

#marijon week 2021 #marijon #mlb x dc #boldlyanxious #jonette

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olivia-anderson-fanfic · 4 years ago

Text

Soulmarks, Part 15

First part

Gotta take a break for exams. I’ll probably still update every once in a while, but I probably won’t be fully back until the 10th. <3

~~~

She fell to her knees, clutching her head.

“Inamovibi-Lady, I am Hawkmoth.”

She needed to shut down. Why couldn’t she? She’d definitely hit her max. Her breath came out in shallow gasps, her eyes stung with tears. Why was she still feeling? Why couldn’t she stop? God, she wanted to stop --!

“The world is a cruel place, but only to people who don’t deserve it. Tragedy only befalls the best of people, and the wicked live without consequences.”

She couldn’t give in. Paris needed her. Any damage she did while she was akumatized would remain. She needed to summon a lucky charm. Her eyes found their way to her yoyo. Should she try and make a lucky charm at risk of being akumatized with it?

No. They would need the yoyo to purify the akuma.

Hopefully she wouldn’t cause too much damage.

“I am giving you the power to finally make them pay for what they’ve done.”

She needed to say no. No one had ever managed it before, but she had to do it. It was her responsibility. She couldn’t get akumatized. She couldn’t. She couldn’t let Paris down.

“They will finally see justice, all you need to do is give me the ladybug and cat miraculi.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. She could hear Adrien running away and had to hope that Tim was with him.

She couldn’t let them down.

“All you have to do is say yes.”

Her fingers dug into her scalp.

Just.

Say.

No.

“Yes, Hawkmoth.”

He cursed as he skid across the grass, tugging at the yoyo string as he attempted to free himself. The last time he’d been tied up like this hadn’t gone well, and he wasn’t eager for a repeat.

Adrien stood next to Marinette for a second, a shocked expression on his face as she fell to the floor.

“HEY! HELP!” Yelled Tim.

He snapped out of it and ran over. He tried to untie him for a second, then seemed to decide that it was a problem for later as Marinette was engulfed in purple and black smoke. He threw Tim over his shoulder and started running.

They had only gotten a block away before she walked out. Was that even her? Sure, she was still in her Ladybug outfit, but…

Her skin was bleached so pale that it shone in the moonlight, and a wide smile made up half of her face. She swung a giant judge’s gavel. He tensed at just how much the akuma reminded him of a mix of Joker and Harley.

Adrien glanced over his shoulder and picked up speed.

And then Tim watched her swing the gavel in a large arc. It morphed into a yoyo. Her smile stretched ever wider.

Her yoyo hooked around a lamppost nearby and she practically flew to them. Her yoyo detached itself midair and she did a flip that would have made Dick proud as she landed in front of them, a microphone now in hand.

Adrien skid to a stop.

“Hello!” She said without moving her mouth. Her voice boomed through Paris’s streets and people began to poke their heads out of windows. She looked around, her black eyes glittering like beetles, and started talking again when she apparently decided there was enough of an audience: “Don’t you know missing a court date is enough to get arrested?”

“I’m not French, so no,” said Tim awkwardly as Adrien set him on his feet to start detangling himself.

“True! I’ll give you a pardon for that, then. The crimes you were originally going to be tried for, though, I’m afraid can’t be ignored.”

Adrien sighed lightly as he pulled out his baton. “I don’t want to fight you, Nette --.”

“My name is Inamovibi-Lady, thank you.” She twirled the microphone in her hand and it stretched back into her original gavel. “Anyways, your crimes were that you never brought yourself to believe me, even when the truth was right in front of you.”

“I know your defenses, so I’ll tell them to everyone for you. Cheval didn’t listen because he thought I was too good to be true and Chat didn’t want to believe ill of his family.” She gave a fake sniffle and rubbed under her eyes like she was wiping away tears. “Enough to bring a tear to my eyes. If I could cry, of course.”

“But your personal issues don’t give you a warrant to push all your problems on me. Trust me, I’m a judge. I know all about warrants.”

Tim finally managed to get himself out and the yoyo hit the floor at his feet. He could breathe properly again, thank god.

But then she stepped closer, her gavel poised for a hit, and he seemed to forget how to breathe.

“So, your sentence is to live your lives through without anyone ever believing anything you say ever again! Good luck, darlings!”

Adrien brought his baton up to keep her from hitting them, but it seemed they weren’t quite her target. She slammed her gavel on the ground at their feet. A red circle stretched around them and they were engulfed in bright red light. He brought his hands to his eyes as the light threatened to blind him, and when he’d finally managed to open them again she was gone.

Fuck.

They tore through the streets, looking around for Inamovibi-Lady, but she’d completely disappeared.

“Right, her targets are definitely Hawkmoth and Lila.”

“Says who?” Said Adrien, raising his eyebrows. “She can’t fight Hawkmoth without getting deakumatized and Lila has nothing to do with what we did.”

Tim snorted. Really? Like getting deakumatized would stop Marinette from beating up a terrorist and Lila definitely had something to do with his half of the sentence. “Even if you were right, which you’re not, we’d be stupid not to check up on them.”

Adrien rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “We’d be wasting our time.”

“This conversation is wasting our time,” hissed Tim, before pressing a hand to his comm. “Hey, we have a problem in France. Ladybug got akumatized.”

“Yeah, now they’re an evil judge,” said Adrien.

Dick had the audacity to laugh. “Marinette? Akumatized? An evil judge? Funny joke, guys.”

“Yeah, she’d never let that happen,” agreed Barbara.

He groaned and let his hand fall back to his side. This was definitely going to be more of a problem than he’d originally thought. No wonder Inamovibi-Lady felt comfortable leaving them to go and enact her revenge. What could they really do? There was no way they could ask for help and even talking to each other was a pain...

They detransformed and they went to Marinette’s parents’ bakery. He needed to get some bread for Kaalki so he could open up a portal. Marinette would probably agree to go through the portal, if only because Joker and Harley were practically inaccessible. The bats might not believe him now, but he had to hope that seeing Inamovibi-Lady would be enough to convince them.

They sat down in a nearby alley to wait for their kwamis to recharge. Adrien didn’t need to do that, but he’d apparently decided that they should stick together.

Their phones buzzed and they frowned at each other as they pulled them out.

Inamovibi-Lady’s face beamed at them from their screens (not that her face seemed to be able to do anything else).

“Hello, Paris! Well, it’s really just my classmates and the police. No matter! Welcome to our second hearing of the night! Our special guest is…” She did a drumroll on her legs before stepping to the side with a wide flourish.

Lila was pressed back against her wall, looking like she’d rather be absolutely anywhere else.

“I was right,” muttered Tim, sending Adrien a glare.

He only got a shrug.

Both of them considered going to save Lila. There was a pretty high chance Adrien knew where she lived, but…

Nah.

“YOU CANT DO THIS! MY MOTHER WORKS FOR THE EMBASSY!” Screamed Lila, pulling their attention back to their screens.

“Your mother isn’t here, now, is she?” She spun her yoyo at her side lazily. “Right, how about you plead your case? Would you like to defend yourself on the whole ‘lying to everyone in your class’ thing or the ‘working for Hawkmoth’ thing first?”

Lila sputtered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t want to talk, huh? Don’t you know that you get a lighter sentence when you plead guilty?”

Her yoyo wrapped around Lila’s neck. The liar gasped and clawed at her throat. Tears began rolling down her face.

“How about you talk?” Said Inamovibi-Lady. “I won’t be giving you another chance to tell your side if you don’t.”

Lila sobbed and continued trying to pull the string off of her neck.

The akuma gave her a few seconds before giving the camera an overexaggerated shrug. “Right, I tried. Every word that comes out of Lila’s mouth is a lie, anyways. You shouldn’t trust her to tell you the sky is blue without pictures... and, who knows, they’re probably photoshopped.”

“On top of that, she works for Hawkmoth. Isn’t that right?”

Lila hung her head.

“Cool! I actually wasn’t sure on the Hawkmoth thing, but it’s great that she didn’t deny it. Come get her, coppers!”

“Unless, of course, she wants to say something. Don’t really think there’s anything she can say to make this better for herself, can’t claim self-defense when your victims can’t fight back, after all.”

Inamovibi-Lady unhooked her yoyo and it morphed into a microphone. She pressed it to Lila’s mouth.

“I’m innocent! You have to believe me!” Her voice boomed around Paris.

The akuma tapped her hand to her chin as if considering it, then shook her head as she brought the microphone to her own lips. “Anyone who believes a word that comes out of your mouth is stupid, but I’ll make it so they can finally trust you! Your sentencing is that you can never lie again!”

“Wait, what?”

She turned it back into a gavel with a wave of her hand and hit the wall right beside Lila’s head and the girl screamed as she was engulfed in light.

The akuma picked up her camera and started out into the streets. “Right! Now that that’s done…” Her eyes narrowed. “I know you’re watching this, Chat and Cheval. I added you to this for a reason. How about we play a game? Hero to hero… and vigilante.”

Adrien and Tim gave each other wary glances.

“I can’t see you, but I’m assuming you said yes! I have three targets that I’m going after tonight. Well, five, but two of those are a bit harder to get to. I’m going to need a little bit of help, could you give me a hand, darlings?”

“Either way, you probably can guess who the third is. Feel free to go over to his place now if you don’t want to use your brains… but, if you want to help the other two, my first target is actually on this call, too! She and I have the same noble rank, and we used to be friends, but unfortunately we just stopped connecting like we used to.”

She winked and the screen went black.

Tim frowned, resting his head on his hand. “Marinette is nobility?”

Adrien shrugged and shook his head.

Tim nodded slightly and rested his head back against the stone. It was definitely a riddle, then, but what did she --?

Wait a minute. Tim had believed him.

That didn’t make sense. He wasn’t supposed to believe a thing Adrien said.

But he hadn’t technically ‘said’ anything.

Tim snapped his fingers and pulled out his phone, typing a few words and then pressing send.

Timberly: Hey, I kissed Nette earlier

Adrien looked down at his phone and raised his eyebrows slightly. He rolled his eyes and typed his answer.

Adrikins: Cool? Not able to say that out loud?

Tim grinned.

Timberly: I could but I found a loophole

Timberly: As long as we’re not speaking out loud people can believe us

Adrien’s eyes widened.

Timberly: Is there a way to have our phones on us when we’re in our suits

Adrikins: Yeah. We just can’t be holding them when we transform.

And then Adrien facepalmed. Tim raised his eyebrows at him and waited for his text.

Adrikins: LADY WIFI.

Timberly: Who

~~~

Next part

Me, frantically scrolling through a wikipedia article on the French Judiciary system: there has to be a pun here SOMEWHERE

This was the best I could do ;-;

I, too, am disappointed by my inability to make a good pun for Akumanette

Taglist

@pawsitivelymiraculous @golden-promises @salty-fang @kitsunebell @sassakitty @octobitch @glastwime859 @miyla-lokidottir @onlyabatfan @ira-sairain @2confused-2doanything @ultimatetornshipper @ladybug-182 @laurcad123 @we-want-mini-mini @roguishredaxion @just-reblogs-by-h @futursworld @magic-miraculous @nathleigh @smolplantmum @vroomtaka @emimar7 @toodaloo-kangaroo @charme-de-malchan @spicybelladonna @fusser90 @indecisive-mess-named-me @rosesgonerogue @celestialsiren @bluesimani @loysydark @trippingovermyfeet

#timinette #timari #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #red robin #tim drake #adribat #maribat

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lunarianillusion · 4 years ago

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A change in fate

authors note: Sorry this chapter took a while, writers block is a pain and school takes a lot of time. Still I hope you enjoy this chapter and this story is now also on archive of our own under the same name. Now on with the story.

a maribat fanfic

Chapter 07

Marinette had been greatly relieved when Mist had returned so quickly and seemingly having succeeded in their mission. The miracle box safely tucked in their tail, a ball of memories between the leopard’s jaws and Wayzz sitting upon their silvery head. A small smile graced her lips at the sight.

But the small moment of joy had been shattered when a. unknown presence made themselves known. How had she not noticed them, she was the true holder of the miraculous of emotions, she could feel everyone’s emotions within a six-mile radius clearly. Even if she could not on a person’s scent, she should have been able to sense his emotions long before they made themselves known. So, how had she not been able to sense them following her guardian.

In a quick and flowing motion Royal shifted into her battle stance. Her fan at the ready in one hand miracle box in the other, Mist had her claws out and growled from deep in their throat and Wayzz nuzzled into the female’s neck hiding away from the possible danger. All their eyes focussed on the figure that now slipped out of the shadows.

To a certain degree the wielder of the peafowl was relieved that the intruder was neither Chat Noir nor her replacement. That however did not rule out the possibility that this was another akuma, albeit a better dressed one. The male wore upon a quick glance a near skin-tight suit made out of a reinforced material she could not quite place. His main colors consisted of red and black with a golden yellow coloring for his utility belts, that sat on his waist and crossed over his chest. Overall a decent ensemble, definitely better than what some akumas wore. The only things that really did not sit well with her was the length of the cape and that bloody cowl!

The male raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and moved his head to bear his throat. “I am not here to fight you, Blue Royal,” the stranger stated calmly. “Or should I refer to you by your old identity, Ladybug.”

The blue clad hero went absolutely rigid at this comment as did her companions. How? How did he find out?

Seeming able to read her body language he went on to give her a simple explanation on how he got to this revelation. He told her about how he had been there when the last akuma attacked and had made the connection due to her mannerisms around the so-called heroes and her overall combat experience. For not even someone trained in any form of martial arts, no matter how long they may have trained, would be able to pull of what she did in that little of time without real life experience. And from her reaction he could tell that his theory was correct. Great so she ratted herself out, well done Marinette.

“Who are you?” she more demanded then asked.

“I go by Red Robin and I was formerly known as Robin and protégé of the Batman of Gotham. I have come to Paris to offer you my help in taking Hawkmoth down,” Red Robin told her, while looking straight at the female before him. Though his eyes were covert by the cowl’s white lenses, Mari swore their eyes were locked.

“And how am I to be certain that you are not one of His akumas or accomplices?” The blue clad girl asked skeptically with a cold tone her eyes narrowed into a glare. The tension in the air could almost be touchable as the two continued their stare of.

Red Robin nodded at her reasoning, seeming to understand her suspicions and following cautios manner. “Understandable concerns. Though I doubt I shall be able to put your worries to rest, with just my words. But quite a few people have made my existence public to the world. I hope that when you have seen that you can be assured that I am here to help,” He spoke calmly as he lowered his hands.

“Not very secretive of you to become known to the public, protégé of the Bat,” Royal could not help to comment. It gained a small chuckle from the male before her. “Well the existence of the League is not really a secret either, hence why I were the cowl,” He bantered back. Marinette could not help her lip twitching upward even as she kept her look skeptical. For her nerves were not put to rest.

Since she could not sense his emotions, he must have a strong control over them, she focused her connection to miraculous to look into his soul. It was in correlation with a trick that Duusu had been telling her about during training. How when transformed a true soul can look through the eyes of their kwami and gain the ability to see someone’s soul. It was however a very exhausting technique and she would most likely have a massive headache in the morning, but it was a small price to pay to see if he was a threat.

The only thing giving away her use of this skill was the thin glowing ring of silver surrounding her pupil.

His souls held several shades of blue implying to someone who was loyal and strong of mind. But the colors were dull and several cracks could be seen in the core of his soul and were festering in a malicious black veins. While black could been seen as a color of mystery, which would fit with his secret ID, the way the veins seemed to be invading re-laid to him being hurt greatly. From Blue Marinette could tell though was that the vigilantly infront of her was being sincere to her at the moment. Though it took a second as she got distracted by the sight of his soul.

Still best to play save and do a background check on this ‘protégé of the Batman’ when she got back to her room. “If I were to believe you and you truly are here to help end the reign pf Hawkmoth. How would you be able to help me?” The female asked firmly as she called off the leopard beside her.

“Do not assume me to being rude, but even though you are capable the akuma’s in battle. Far better then your stand in or the mangy cat. I have come to surmise that detective work is not your forte,” Red Robin answered as he took to leaning on the railing. “I was trained in the fields of being a detective, combat and stealth by one of the best that I know of. I believe if we combine both our skills, we will be able to finally to put the plague that Paris is under to rest,” he finished.

He was not wrong she did need help in that department. She could deal with the combat part more easily now than in years past, having learned from experience. Though she had also collected some leads on the possible identity of Hawkbitch, she was unsure on how to follow up on said leads. If he truly was trained by the Bat of Gotham, someone who was considered the number one detective, he would definitely be a useful asset to the mission.

She only had one question left.

“Why now?” The question seemed to startle the vigilante before. The raw emotion in her voice a reflection of her young thirteen-year-old self, sounding so tired and confused. “I sent a message to the league years ago. Why is their only now a response?”

The male’s expression turned soft at her tone of voice and seeming to understand why she would ask this. “I have no excuse to the sheer incompetence of the one who thought your call of distress was nothing more than a prank. The suffering and deaths of the people of Paris is not something to be brushed off as a prank,” he seethed in anger a small flicker of emotion slipping from his control. Telling the blue clad hero of his sincerity.

A beeping sound of the peafowl wielders miraculous rang through the air. Six minutes.

“I get the feeling that our time is limited so I shall get to the point. Will you give us working together a chance?” And that was the question wasn’t it. Could she trust him to help her?

No, she could not, but she needed someone who could dig deep. And if the Bat had trained him his skills in what he mentioned prior would definitely of use to the cause. Still, he was an unknown with strong control of his emotions and even by looking at his soul, she was able to get more information on the male, she did not feel that she had a good read on him. So, this would be a gamble on her part. She needed a second opinion.

Turning her head, she looked at the little turtle god on her shoulder. For while she and Fu had not always had been able to see eye to eye, Wayzz has always been there to come to some sort of compromise. The little kwami always staying level-headed when there was a whirlwind around him and for that she was grateful. So, she knew she could trust him with being her second voice. The kwami and omega duo locked eyes into a silent conversation as Mist kept watch over the anomaly.

The omega’s eyes soon locked back on the vigilante’s masked once, her decision made. Marinette only hoped she would not come to regret this in the future.

“We will meet to compare notes and come to a full partnership arrangement on Wednesday at eleven p.m. at the arc de triomphe. Should there be an akuma attack before that time I want you to focus on evacuating the civilians away from danger. Try not to get spotted by Chat or LB for I belief we both agree they are not to be trusted,” the peafowl wielder informed the male of her decision. She barely made out the smallest amount of tension leaving his shoulders as Red nodded his head in agreement.

“To that we can most certainly agree,” Red Robin voiced. “Then we shall leave further questions to each other for Wednesday.”

The silence that followed his statement gave the vigilante the impression that it was time to leave. However, as he was about to take of the hero Paris called for his attention once more. Turning back to the blue clad female he motioned for her to continue. “Can you make certain no other heroes come to Paris,” her command gained her a curios tilt of the other humans head, question implied but not voiced.

“When I started being a hero, I thought the JL would be able to help, but after some research of the battle tactics they would only bring more problems than actually solve. For most league heroes seem to rely on an emotion power boost,” Red nodded along with her statement gears starting to turn. “And with Hawkmoth feeding on those emotions would make them a liability.”

“Agreed, I for one do not want to fight a mind controlled and upgraded superman,” The cowled male answered giving her some assurance that he would make sure the league would not interfere with Paris.

Being assured things would be stable until they could talk things out in two days, the two bid each other goodnight.

As Red Robin took off into the night Blue Royal took one more look at his soul, but instead of looking at his core she observed the spectral dragon that was coiling around his soul. It was the mark of a true soul. Which led to the question: Was that Timothy?

The nudge of the leopard beside her snapped Marinette out of her head and back to reality. Swiftly she and her companions took off to her nest. She had a lot to think about, to plan for and to do and the night was not getting any younger.

taglist: @moonlightstar64 @iloontjeboontje @mickylikesstuff@myazael @scribblinggraveyard @incredulous-reader@mewwitch@woe-is-me0 @fan-written @coolspidermanmusicflower@heretopasstimebi @jjmjjktth @ichigorose@cmouse @nyx-in-line@chocolatecatstheron @bookgirl14 @toodaloo-kangaroo@iglowinggemma28 @itsmeevie01

#maribat #timinette #timari #marinette dupain cheng #tim drake #red robin #kwami swap #miraculous ladybug

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fandomsilhouette · 4 years ago

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meet me halfway (i hope you’ll stay) part iv

Riposte, parry, advance, slay, watch the fencers fight today. Pull the mask down, keep it tight, one of them will win the fight this very night the darkness shutters, then off the butterfly will flutter onto wristbands and broken hearts, secrets and counterparts that fall apart, don’t start this fight they cannot win, for they don’t know who they have been.

Happy @felinettenovember, y’all! This is actually the last of the angst arc, and the last two days of the month will come towards a resolution and cathartic fluff; luckily, the nonlinear timeline means that you’ve read the character development before today’s instigating catalytic event, so we can move directly into the healing. I wrote this entirely on @musicfren‘s support and baby cousin’s hype (she doesn’t know, but I love talking to her, it gives me so much energy to create), and I hope you feel it in the story.

Part 1 here. Part 2 here. Part 3 here. Part 4 below. Part 5-6 coming.

Marinette splays out in the playground grass and tucks into his side, and Felix curls up around her near-protectively, except they both know which one is the dreamer, which one is the doer. Felix always argues it doesn’t make sense to assign identities so unilaterally, that both of them dream and both of them do, and Marinette scrunches her nose and says he’s ruining the aesthetic of the ideal, and that they do pick roles in contexts even if they switch later, and she yanks on her ponytail if he agitates her enough. Felix thinks it’s pretty cute and doesn’t let up until she pouts at him in that crinkled nose, scrunched eyebrows kind of way.

She’s making that face now, half annoyed, half wholeheartedly upset, tracking Chat Noir as he races gleefully across the nearby skyline.

“Not a fan of our resident alley cat?” Felix teases, bumping into her shoulder with his head. Her expression sharpens, more pronounced in its disgust, and she shakes her head against the grass until stray leaves are caught up in her hair. Felix laughs and picks them out, one by one. “Why not, then?”

“He’s a bad partner. It shows.” Marinette speaks in clipped tones and impatient, twitchy gestures, like there’s more she has to say and is tamping down the impulse, vicious and unforgiving with her own self.

“Partnerships take two, though,” he comments idly, “It’s Ladybug’s fault just as much as his.”

Marinette is already scrambling backwards, rolling out of his arms the way she’s never done before. “What? Why would it be? Chat Noir is no hero. Chat Noir is the one who doesn’t keep his word. Chat Noir is the one who doesn’t show up, who doesn’t plan or lead or even follow. He’s a hero under his own agenda and no other, and that’s nothing more than a little boy with eyes too big for his heart and greed bigger than any akuma.” She’s panting as she comes to a stop, shocked to find herself no longer speaking, as if there was more she kept saying that never managed to make it past her vocal chords, a screeching halt directed by long earned muscle memory and desperation.

She’s pushing to her feet, agitated, pacing, so Felix stumbles up to match her. “Ladybug does too much.” He leans back against the tree they’ve been lazing under and crosses his arms to look at her.

“How could a hero possibly do too much.” It’s not a question when she asks and she makes sure he knows it.

“It’s-- Paris is going to collapse one day!”

“Of course it is!”

“So why won’t she just let it?!”

“Why would she?!”

They’re matching each other tone for tone, tomb for tomb, step for angry forward step until they manage to notice where they are, find themselves in each other’s space, crowded in by the anger and frustration.

“...she needs to let Paris crash.” Felix waits, expecting an interruption, but Marinette has settled back down onto her heels and is waiting for him to explain. “She keeps picking up all the slack, carrying a weight that’s not hers,” and at that Marinette huffs a wry agreement, so Felix feels encouraged to keep going. “And as long as she does, no one in the city is ever going to learn to bear their share of responsibility. She’s going to break under the pressure, and as long as the city isn’t prepared, they’re not going to handle it, Marinette, they’re going to break. We need to practice, we need a controlled crash, we-- we’re going to destroy ourselves because some little girl thought she needed to do everything on her own power, like some kind of control freak--”

Marinette snaps. “You would know about that, wouldn’t you! You have no idea the way--” her words dry up in her throat, and Felix crows about this evident proof that she has nothing of substance to say at all, now that she’s finding herself speechless.

“You’re right, I would know about that, because I’ve lived it, you’ve seen me! And I had to learn to fall and get back up on my own, I never stopped until everyone around me stopped cleaning up my messes all the time! And I never learned to trust anyone until I learned to let go, and I felt so. Much. Better. Ladybug should try it,” Felix adds snidely, just because he knows it’ll rile her up.

It does.

“How! How can she try it, when you fell and left a crater with a wreckage diameter the size of your personal bubble of three whole people, and had your mother and your teachers and me. Who do-- does Ladybug have, who’ll hold her hand when she scrambles back up? Hers would level the city and ripple through the country from there and there’s no one around to pick up the pieces.”

“That’s why she has to do it now!” Felix doesn’t realize he’s shouting until he is, and he doesn’t know how to stop. He wants to, he wants to, he wants to; he remembers being the kind of person who shouted and feels the pressure of all the work he’s put in to be better, live up to someone else’s standard of good, and scrabbles for purchase on this improved self.

“That’s why she can’t!” Marinette isn’t yelling. She’s heartbroken, and it’s clear across her face, and Felix cannot find the piece that makes this puzzle make sense. She’s never even been akumatized.

“You have no idea the way Ladybug has destroyed civilians.”

She recoils, struck. Her voice is quiet when she speaks. “Don’t I, though?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

And then: “Okay. You’re right, I’m sorry, please--” Marinette is reaching out for his hand, hurt and humiliated and hating the way she might lose the only support she has left. “Please don’t go.”

But Felix has remembered how much work it is to be the kind of good that someone else decides is valuable, constantly stretching and straining to clear their expectation of good, right, kind. He slips into the same scowling boy he used to be and finds an old chest of tools tucked up against a wall lined with new weapons in his arsenal of cruelty and self-protection. He takes one, and fires.

“You don’t know how to be sorry. Not about this.” He shakes her hand off and stalks away. Felix was so used to holding onto Marinette, gripping her hand or leaning on her shoulder or tucking an arm around her waist, that walking through the places they used to haunt without her feels lost, untethered, like he’s drifting through a graveyard of corpses that have yet to pass away. It feels like he’s come home.

Ladybug spends the night on rooftops, avoiding streetlights and windowsills and her own tempestuous thoughts, trying to flee faster than the burnout can catch up to her and make its home in her body, swinging from one place to another hoping to catch enough height to clear the bar for a city’s expectation to be good, right, kind. The city’s expectations to be a hero, just like she’s always lived up to, always will so long as there’s nothing below her to fall onto. So long as there’s something left to lose.

They don’t look at each other for a week, and avoid each other altogether when cold winter falls and they settle into break.

#Notte Writes #Fanfiction #Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction #ML #Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous: Adventures Of Ladybug And Chat Noir #Felix #PV Felix #Felix Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Felix/Marinette #Felinette #Playground Fights #Swinging Through The Night #He Hurts Her And Doesn't Know Why #She Can't Talk And It Hurts #Angst #Felinette Month 2020 Day 28 #Felinette Month 2020

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miraculous-rewrite · 4 years ago

Note

Hi, I really love the rewrite you guys are doing. I have a What If prompt. What if Adrien received the Ladybug Miraculous, and Marinette got the Black Cat Miraculous?

Can we just say, right out, his name is Not ‘Mister Bug’?

The big thing about this is that… it’s also been done a lot? So there are some elements that are gonna sound similar to other what-ifs along this vein, before we get into the big changes that exist within our set-up of a re-write.

So we should start by the difference between how Our Plagg and Tikki handle their users. Tikki gets attached very easily, that’s not exactly something that's up for debate, so I can see her taking on a sort of Maternal role in Adrien’s life that Nathalie couldn’t fulfil as a Secret Aunt that he’d been missing since Emilie’s ‘death’ But since this is Also Tikki, that isn’t just ‘treating him softly and encouragingly’ like she is with Marinette, that would also be into the ‘perfectly willing to reprimand him when he’s being an idiot’ way. Adrien’s arc wouldn’t be as dramatic as it is in our Rewrite canon since Tikki has been telling him from moment fucking one that this isn’t a game and if he doesn’t take it seriously things are gonna go really poorly for everyone. Which may or may not be a good thing. On the one hand yes that does mean Adrien is taking things more seriously from the get-go so something like Syren never happens, but that could also mean that he doesn’t have any healthy outlets to work his feelings out through. Because maybe VERY early in he might be the same kind of ‘excited free spirit’ as he is in canon, but sitting through enough ‘this isn’t a game you CANNOT afford to be reckless because we need you to purify the Akuma’s would very quickly turn this into ‘just another responsibility’ and in that regard he probably isn’t very close to Lady Noire, she’s just a coworker. No romantic subplot sure, but we lose a pretty great friendship at the cost.

Meanwhile with Marinette and Plagg… Plagg is a bit different in the rewrite than how he is in canon. He’s still fun loving and mischievous, but there’s method to his madness. He’s still trying to guide his charge, just in a more roundabout way than Tikki does. So for Marinette, he’s a menace. He’s TRYING to get her to calm down, that staying so high strung and anxiety ridden is going to trip her up. And Yes being a planner is a wonderful attribute for a hero, being the Black Cat means you have to be better at improv. Maybe he’s the one who says to himself that maybe this whole thing would be smoother if he and Tikki swapped charges. She’d far better benefit under Tikki’s calm. But whatever she’s stuck with him. But here’s the thing, it’s not working. Nothing of Plagg’s more ‘round about think on your feet IMPROVISE’ methods are working. He probably PURPOSEFULLY got his head wedged in Chloe’s bracelet in this world as an attempt to force Marinette to think on her feet, to get it back to Chloe without ever letting her know what really happened. And then Marinette nearly had a panic attack over it. So for the first time in probably Centuries, Plagg had to change tactics. He’s not very good at channeling his inner Tikki, but once he starts trying to ease Marinette into more difficult situations and is upfront with her about things she almost instantly starts improving. Marinette and Plagg start out with a very rocky, borderline antagonistic relationship, but once Plagg starts to figure out how to actually HELP her things even out, by the time season two comes along they’re getting closer as Kwami and wielder, and Marinette makes him a lil plush bed to curl up in.

So going into the Rewrite Specific events:

So, things don’t really kick off plot wise until Volpina, yeah? But unless Adrien comes up with a REALLY good reason as to snoop in his father’s safe, Tikki would immediately try to talk him out of it. And since this is Season one Adrien, he doesn’t have as much righteous anger fueling his need for superheroes so he’d probably eventually give in to Tikki’s arguments and just go to school. So Lila wouldn’t have a book to steal to eventually use as a basis for Volpina. So Tikki never even SEES the book and realizes it needs to go to Master Fu.

In that case Master Fu doesn’t reveal himself until it’s only on his own terms.

But this also means The COllector doesn’t happen, since Gabriel remains in full possession of the Book, neither Marinette nor Adrien are aware of its presence in the mansion, and therefore don’t suspect Gabriel of collusion with (Being) Hawkmoth, and the book itself never goes missing so Gabriel doesn’t have a supposed Motive for his self-akumatization.

In order to maintain the arrival of Aux. Heroes in Sapotis and Christmaster, that would require Master Fu to make the decision on his own, perhaps through seeing the difficulty our heroes are having with these threats, to make himself known to at least one of the two heroes. It’s quite possible, in fact, for Master Fu to arrive before BOTH of them together, while the two are transformed, on a rooftop.

Adrien has been far more mellowed out by Tikki’s influence, less of a flight risk and reckless, and more serious when it comes to the fight. Marinette will always be a serious fighter, even if Plagg’s influence has helped her in some ways to loosen up. There is little reason for the Guardian of the Miraculous not to come forward to both.

He does, however, make it clear that he will come to them, and he’s not to be searched out when not in the field.

In this regard then Master Fu is far more obviously keeping an eye on everything as it unfolds. And from there he’s the one whose oftentimes choosing which Miraculous should lend extra backup. To keep his own identity a secret, Master Fu is probably transformed whenever he makes his presence known, so in that regard Nino’s probably not the Turtle unless Master Fu specifically came to the conclusion that they would need Wayzz’s shelter in a fight and thus arrives proobbbaabbbllyy in Hopps’ protection.

This also guarantees that Syren won’t happen as it did in the Rewrite, because Adrien and Marinette are on equal footing when it comes to knowledge of the Guardian. He appears to both of them, only transformed, and to give them a Miraculous to hand to another. No secrets are being kept from one another at the Guardian’s request. So even if Tikki hadn’t changed Adrien’s thoughts and views on the matter up until now, this would be the final nail in that particular coffin.

Instead, what may happen is a reveal for the mid-season finale. Master Fu did still need help to finish the potions that would give the heroes their means of access to even the odds in the akuma fight. But without Marinette (or even Alya), he likely would’ve taken too long and more damage and possibly even worse circumstances might’ve occurred. Therefore, in order to get the extra sets of hands he needs, he may well have sent Wayzz to fetch both heroes to give him that help. And because being transformed for long periods of time IS a strain on the old Guardian, it would mean both know who he is now… and because it means the two could find him in his daily life, would find the risk of the two trying to approach him at the same time more trouble than it’d be worth (the two trying to come up with excuses) and allows for the two to reveal themselves.

Safe to say, from here a LOT of things are different. It’s basically an entirely different story at this point really.

#What If Game #Mod Vega #Mod AImee #Kwami Swap #Anonymous

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shiroganeryo · 4 years ago

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D.Gray-Man Tag!

I got tagged by my friend Violet to hop into this little game she made, and there are few things I love more than babbling about DGM, so let’s go! The rules are to tag three people to get the game going, so I’ll do it at the start because this will get looong. I’ll tag @14th-melody, @metzzi and @rudimentor0x0. Here’s the blank post. Sorry if you have already done it, I might’ve missed the posts ;;

⭐ What year did you first get into DGM? Hmm, actually, that’s a hard question because I didn’t get into it right away? If memory serves me right about what grade I was in high school when that happened, I was 15 - so, 2008. Pull a chair, I’ll tell you how that went. It was actually a recommendation from a friend of my best friend; we weren’t particularly close, I just knew he and I had a similar taste for anime/manga and I was looking for getting into a new series... but I wanted it to be worthwhile. So I asked my bestie if her friend wouldn’t give me a rec. He recommended me D.Gray-Man, and just like I do before watching any series, I watched the first opening to get an overall “feel” of it and I quite liked it: cool aesthetic, music was dope, characters were nice-looking. But, for some reason, I didn’t watch it and eventually forgot about it.

Then, one day on my way back home from school, I stopped by a nearby newspaper stand since here they also sell manga. They were all very cheap at that time, so I would often look for new volumes of the titles I was collecting (my allowance was enough to buy two or three!). I saw DGM’s first volume there, and went “oh! It’s that one series he had recommended me! I’ll take it and finally give it a shot.”

I fell in love.

I really liked it at first, but the point where DGM completely won my heart was during Lala’s arc. I had never cried with a manga before.

⭐ Who’s your favorite character? This is probably very unoriginal, but it’s Allen! At the start I was very lukewarm about him, but as time went on, I felt like I could relate more and more to that kind-hearted boy and he became my role model. DGM has been with me through some of the worst of my life, and Allen’s resolve to keep going, keep walking, no matter how hard things were for him was what motivated me many times in past. It still does. Allen also taught me to be kinder and through him I realized being there for others makes me truly happy. Sadly, I also share with him the same trait of being unable to truly see how appreciated I am and all the good I bring others just for being there... But I’m working on that! He became the first character I felt like I could fully relate to, and I was surprised - but still very happy - to realize that, now that I’m an adult with more experience and maturity, I feel like I can understand him even more and better than before. Our connection didn’t wane with time, I feel so much closer to him now. He’s very special to me.

Standing at the second spot - because it’s also fair I would mention her -, is Miranda! I always say that if Allen didn’t exist, Miranda would be my number 1 since she stands so close to him hahaha After him, she’s another character I deeply relate with. My self-esteem isn’t the best out there so I’m quick to think I’m worthless or useless, just like her. Even so, she wouldn’t give up. Every time I felt like giving up because of auto depreciation, I would think “Miranda would try again, she would work harder”.

It’s like the two of them were walking me through the steps so I could move forward and keep doing my best.

⭐ Who’s your least favorite character? I’m going to say Chaozii. But, before we get to the usual “Chaozii slander” we’re used to doing in this fandom, let me elaborate. It has nothing to do with him not siding with Allen. As much as I love Allen, I know we’re able of sympathizing with his ideals because as the readers we have a plethora of information on his motives; if not for that, we would probably take the same stance as Chaozii has taken about him.

What riles me about Chaozii is that, unlike all of the characters, his mindset is either black or white, good or bad. Everyone seems to have a perfect mix of both, showing many facets just like, well, real, imperfect people. Chaozii is the only one who doesn’t have that. Being simple-minded is not a bad trait, but when that clouds your judgement, then it turns into a bad thing.

It all fell apart when he snapped at Allen when he refused to kill Tyki. That particularly bothered me a ton, even if I understand his feelings. Chaozii, who thought it was wrong and cruel to kill humans and was grieving for his lost comrades, was fine with killing a human whom he wasn’t even sure if was being forced to do things or not. Do you see the issue here? Chaozii never feels to me like he’s striving to do the right thing in order to bring justice, but instead, because he wants revenge.

I hope he does get to learn one thing or two in the future. He has potential to be a great character; but he needs a “redemption” first.

⭐ Who’s your favorite general? Tiedoll! Although I like all of them for different reasons. I really love Cross and differently from what some people think, he did care for Allen and I love their rather dysfunctional relationship. He’s a much deeper character than just a womanizer full of fishy shenanigans. He’s also really badass: former scientist, user of magic, (former) wielder of both an Innocence of his own and another person’s (Grave of Maria). I just happen to love Tiedoll a liiiittle more because I can’t take this guy! He’s just so sweet, and his doting nature makes him both funny and lovely. General Sokalo is really cool and all, but I feel like he’s just a cool guy to me. On a side note, General Klaud could step on me and kill me and I’d thank her. I hope we get to learn more about her Innocence sometime.

⭐ Who’s a character you would get along with? I would love to say it’s Allen, but he’s someone really hard to get close to. If I think about the characters I’d like to befriend because of shared traits or interests, I think I could get along well with Miranda, Krory, and Marie. The first two because they’re two softies who just happen to be really awkward, I feel like I would probably befriend them after trying to comfort them too often. And, the latter, because I’m a person who likes calm company whom I can have honest talks with.

⭐ What kind of innocence would you have? I honestly have no idea. If I had to pick one from the ones we already have, I think I would go with the Dark Boots. Being able to fly and maneuver in mid-air would be a dream come true, I feel the happiest when the wind blows against me. If I have to think of something “for me” specifically, I think I would like a long range Innocence. I particularly like firearm-like weapons like guns, so maybe a gun or dual pistols? Yeah, I think I’d really like the dual pistols.

⭐ What’s your favorite ship? Ah, to be in the DGM fandom is to be a multishipper; yet this is the part where I always get nervous at because my favorite is a rarepair. But!!! I’m building up the courage to be more open about (and less self-judgmental of) the things I like. It’s Allen x Miranda. I don’t really know when it started; from what I said before, you already know they’re both my top favorite characters and very special to me, so I naturally loved it when I saw them sharing screentime. When I realized it, I was looking at them and thinking “they would make such a cute couple together”. It just kinda happened.

To keep this short, there’s this blog I really like explaining about this pair’s dynamics. I think they have a great dynamic together and much potential. They could very easily have a wholesome relationship based in lots of patience and mutually covering the other’s weaknesses and helping them become someone better. These are the best kinds of relationships imo. I hope to share some of my headcanons for them (and even writing, hopefully!) sometime in here. I always picture Allen being older, so that gives me some free room for creativity; it doesn’t look like he has time for romantic love right now, and I don’t really feel comfortable with him being a minor for this ship, so both things go hand in hand.

Honorable mentions go to Link x Allen (again, older!Allen), Yulma and LaviLena, as I also get super happy when I see these particular shippings.

⭐ What’s your least favorite ship? I actually have some, but it goes against my policies to publicly (consciously) say negative things about certain things if I can help it. I know I’m allowed to have opinions, but you never know who can stumble upon it and what I dislike can be something that makes someone really happy, you know? I tend to stay silent about such things when it comes to something as harmless as shippings.

So, I think I can say I’m accepting of everything as long as everyone respects each other! And, of course, if it isn’t distasteful (as in, illegal).

⭐ What branch would you want to be part of? We’ve only seen the European and Asian branches properly before but even if there aren’t many choices, this is still a hard question; I think both have lots of good things going for them. I think I would probably want to settle with the Asian Branch! I love how lively the atmosphere is and I also feel like there are way less science division shenanigans in there... Sorry, Komui.

⭐ What’s your favorite arc? I have three! The Rewinding City arc came right after Lala’s arc - that had touched me a lot -, bringing in even more feels. It introduced Miranda and at the blink of an eye, made me care so much about her. The first activation of Time Record after she protected Allen, followed by his thanks to her hit so hard; I get really emotional talking about it. It was such a great, yet touching moment. I think everyone can relate to that; being worthy of receiving gratitude for something they did for someone.

Then, there’s Lulu Bell’s Invasion of the Black Order arc, followed by the appearance of the Level 4 Akuma. I can’t express into words how great the flow of the elements are there. The plot is focusing on multiple characters with their own background dramas happening, all at once, yet none of it feels out of place. Everyone gets their moment, everyone contributes to the big picture (saving the staff and defeating the Akumas). It all felt like one big collective effort of several parts uniting forces, no one was more or less important than the other. It was expertisely done.

And the last mention goes to the Searching for A.W’s arcs (Saying Goodbye to A.W also included). These arcs are being extremely painful but, at the same time, also extremely rewarding to go through. For the first time ever, we’re seeing Allen give in to his wants and acknowledge his feelings; he’s not honest with himself very often, and seeing him actually admit that he still wanted to go on - for himself -, that he still wanted to hold onto hope was something that I suddenly realized I had always wanted to see him do. It’s like I had been waiting for so long. Allen is growing up, and I’m loving to see the part Johnny and Kanda are playing in this. I could talk all day about how happy it makes me, to feel this much hope in the midst of such a difficult situation these arcs are covering. It captures very well the essence of D.Gray-Man imo: the bittersweetness of the hardships of life, and the good things it makes us realize we have had all along. The people we have by our side. The will to continue moving forward because we still have something we love and want to fight for.

Whew, I expected this would get long but guess I got too carried away; those were amazing questions to answer to! If you read until now, you have my most sincere gratitude and appreciation. I wish you have a lovely day! 😊

#dgm #d.gray man #d.gray-man #long text #tag #there are still asks in my inbox but I'll be tending to these sometime later!#I really don't want to spam you with long texts everyday #but I don't really like not elaborating my thoughts when I'm on to discuss something #added a read more not to clog your dashboards!

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kittinoir · 4 years ago

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Phantoms Ch. 6

“Ladybug said I was awesome.” Not entirely true, but Queen Bee never could stand silence. “She said that I’d made huge improvements.”

Koira didn’t even glance her way. “And?”

“And?” Queen Bee repeated as they arced around the Eiffel Tower. “And a compliment to me is a compliment to you. I thought you’d like to know.”

“Compliments from Ladybug are meaningless” Koira said as they began the second half of their patrol.

Outrage boiled up in Queen Bee, for once on behalf of someone else. “Are you seriously saying you think you’re better than her?”

“I’m saying she thinks too much,” Koira said, coming to an abrupt stop on a slanted roof. “I’m saying this whole mess could have been avoided if she’d just asked for help. I’m saying Ladybug doesn’t like me, I don’t like her, and it’s fine. And I’m saying if you worried less about what Ladybug thought of you and more about what you wanted, you’d be even better.”

There was so much to unpack there, Queen Bee didn’t even know where to start. “What mess are you talking about?” Her heart beat painfully in her chest. There could only be one mess he could mean. She’d stupidly thought he of all people would never hold it against her. She’d thought they were the same.

But Koira just laughed, a bitter sound without any real humour. “There’d be no point in telling you.”

Queen Bee stomped her foot in frustration. “Why? You think I’m so enamoured with Ladybug I’ll just take her side? Or am I too stupid to understand?”

Finally, finally, Koira met her eyes. The usual disdain had vanished. In its place was…pity?

“You won’t be able to hold onto it,” he finally said as he began running again. “It’s a waste of time.”

Unease swirled through Queen Bee as she followed, but it was overwhelmed by hurt. He really did think she was stupid. He really did.

“Why do you even bother with me, then,” she choked out. Damnit, she was not going to cry. Especially because Felix had hurt her feelings. As if she cared about what Adrien’s cranky cousin thought of her anyway. As if she cared what any of them thought! She was Chloe Bourgeois! She had beauty, style, grace! She was the real deal; Felix was just too blind to see it. And that was hardly her fault.

“Ugh,” Koira groaned, glancing back at her over his shoulder. “This is why I wanted to wash my hands of this whole thing. I work better alone.” But still, he stopped, dragging Queen Bee into the thing shadow of a chimney.

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” he said, scowling. “But you won’t remember. The team is at a disadvantage because of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s choices. Everyone’s identity is one mistake away from being revealed.”

Even as he spoke, Queen Bee was having trouble remembering the words. She managed to hold onto them - barely. “Speaking from experience, your identity being known isn’t the problem. Hawk Moth had an advantage when the Miraculous were being dropped off, but now that we hold onto them full time - ”

“He can come and get them any time he wants,” Koira interrupted, starting off again.

Queen Bee followed, at a loss. He wasn’t wrong. Hawk Moth had done that very thing to her when he’d targeted her parents. He’d known she’d do anything to save them. And it was her fault most of their team was now at the same disadvantage. But…

“What were they supposed to do?” Queen Bee said at last as she followed her partner through an alley. “What would you have done?”

She was close enough she could see him scowl. He was quiet so long she didn’t think he would answer, but then he spoke.

“It’s impossible to know.” He sped up. “I’ve never loved someone that much.”

Neither had she. She hadn’t even loved herself that much.

“It doesn’t matter,” Queen Bee finally said. “It’s done. The only thing that matters is whether or not you trust them.”

Koira glanced back again, a half-smile on his face. “Not really,” he said, “And if you knew what I do, you wouldn’t either. But that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we have the same goals. That’s enough for me.”

Maybe it was her recent experiences with Ladybug, or the fact that she now knew who wore the earrings, but Queen Bee found herself agreeing with Koira. She trusted Ladybug and Chat Noir to do their best, but around each other…

Love was a weapon. Her parents had taught her that. It had only ever led to pain.

Queen Bee was so engrossed in her warring thoughts that she nearly hit a weathervane, narrowly avoiding it only by throwing herself into a graceful arc over the obstruction.

“Where are we?” she demanded as she glanced around. “This isn’t our normal route.”

“No,” Koira agreed. “I thought it was time to do more than just damage control.”

Queen Bee scowled at her partner. “Meaning?”

“Why are we always cleaning up Hawk Moth’s messes?” Koira said as he led her down another street. “Why are we always being chased instead of chasing?”

“Like, a million reasons.” Trust was one thing, but questioning how things were done… it wasn’t perfect but it worked. “One, we don’t know anything about him. Two, he, like, never shows up in public. Three, we don’t know anything about him.”

“Don’t we?” Koira said, finally coming to a stop on the roof of a random building. “After all, Chat Noir thought he didn’t know anything about Ladybug until he had to find her.”

Queen Bee opened her mouth to argue, but the words died on her tongue as her heart beat once, then twice. A tone rang briefly in her ear, distracting her, until she abruptly refocused on Koira shaking his head, the last few seconds a hazy blur.

“We just think we don’t know anything about him,” Koira continued as though nothing had happened as he pulled a loose tile out. “Truth is, LB and Chat Noir have been so busy cleaning up they haven’t had time to do anything else. But now they have us.”

“Are you going to stop being cryptic or do I have to continue to pretend to be interested in whatever you’re rambling about?” Queen Bee snapped.

Koira scowled, but leaned back to show her the map he’d pulled out from under the tile, marked with dozens of red dots. “Do you know how criminal profiling started?”

“Like…instagram accounts for bad guys?”

“Profiling.” Koira pointed to the map. “Where detectives and scientists would put together a profile on their bad guy based on the data of their crimes to help them catch them when they didn’t even have an eye-witness to go on. It started when investigators would mark where suspects carried out their crimes. More often than not, the crimes would take place in a radius around where the suspect did the deed. They didn’t like to go too far from home, but they didn’t like to be too close, either. Too obvious. Problem is, you’re left with a nice little target on your head that anyone can find if they just notice the pattern.”

Queen Bee frowned at the map. “But that doesn’t look like anything. There’s dots all over Paris.”

“But just Paris,” Koira said, splaying his gloved hand over the map. “So we know he’s probably in the city.”

“Puh-lease! He’s after the Miraculous, right? Which is where Ladybug and Chat Noir are. So he’s creating akumas here. That’s all that proves. After all, you’re not from here.”

“He has to be close,” Koira insisted. “The Miraculous have limits. He wouldn’t be able to feel negative emotions from too far away.”

“Not necessarily,” Queen Bee said, crouching closer to the map for a better look. “The horse miraculous and rabbit miraculous have no limits on distance, temporal or physical. He akumatized a villain in the United States just a few months ago.”

Koira huffed, running a hand through his hair. “This is why I bother with you.”

Queen Bee blinked over at him. “What?”

“You’re so combative.” He traced an invisible line from dot to dot. “You just love to be right.” His hand abruptly froze on the map as he looked over at her. “I see things more clearly with you.”

Queen Bee could feel every nerve in her body tingle as those green eyes bored into hers. So similar, but so different. Amber flecks instead of blue. But looking at Adrien had never made her feel like this, like every nerve in her body was on fire.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re right,” she whispered. “He would want to be here, to get his hands on the Miraculous as soon as possible. Maybe not when everything first started, but now…”

“He’s appeared in the city,” Koira said, but his gaze didn’t stray from her face. “He saved Mayura when she was in danger. He wouldn’t have been fast enough if he’d been elsewhere.”

“So he’s here,” Queen Bee repeated, finally breaking his gaze to scour the map again, but no pattern revealed itself.

“Somewhere. We just have to flush him out.” Koira paused, tracing more invisible lines. “It might take some…bonding time.”

Queen Bee made a face. “Bonding time? With…?”

Koira barked a laugh as he caught her meaning. “God, no. I meant you with our fearless leader and me with my dear cousin. There’s a pattern here; we just need more details. I’m betting the wonder twins have just been too enamoured with one another to see it. But you and I can probably find it, or some clues, to start to form a picture.”

“Oh. Right.” She was definitely not stung that he didn’t want to hang out with her. She was just embarrassed to have jumped to conclusions. That was it. “Well, I must warn you, the Lady’s not my biggest fan. She might be suspicious.”

Koira glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Trust me: play your cards right and she’ll give you just about anything. I, on the other hand, have no such trump card. The cat will have his back up.”

But Queen Bee bit her lip. “Maybe it would be better to just tell them.” Striking out on her own, not trusting Ladybug had been what had caused all her problems in the first place.

“Answer me this,” Koira said, turning to face her. “Do you honestly think they’ll let us do this if we say anything?”

No. No, they wouldn’t. They’d be afraid of the consequences. Queen Bee was afraid of the consequences. But she was beginning to be more afraid of what she already had to lose. A sense of urgency rose up in her, nudging at her in a way she couldn’t quite grasp. She breathed through the panic, letting it guide her to a conclusion.

“Once we find him,” Queen Bee said at last, “We tell them, before we do anything.”

“Deal,” Koira said, reaching for his map. “I would have anyway. I’ve seen first-hand the consequences of taking Hawk Moth on without everyone on board. But until then, this stays between us.”

Queen Bee stood, arms crossed. “As if I’ll even remember what house this is after we leave,” she scoffed.

But she would. She’d memorized the house across the way and the name of the street. She might not get it on the first try, but if she had to, she could probably find it again. She was done, she decided. She was done letting Hawk Moth jerk her around. She was done having her life ruined over and over again because she was afraid. And she was done being on defense.

And she wanted it, she realized. More than anything, she wanted Hawk Moth’s head on a platter. It had been months since he’d last manipulated her, but the wounds were still fresh, and stung more than she remembered.

Queen Bee wanted her life back.

And Hawk Moth was going to damn well give it to her, even if she had to chase him through all of Paris to get it.

#phantoms #felix is a true crime stan change my mind #beelix

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gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights · 5 years ago

Link

Rating: G

Summary: An offhand curiosity leads to Ladybug and Chat Noir riding his baton up as high as it can go. Or, as high as it can go before they get distracted. (It's just nerves about the height that has Ladybug's stomach in knots, she swears.) Ladynoir oneshot for @lovesquarefluffweek, dedicated to @rosekasa who made me a ladynoir stan

Word Count: 3511

XXX

Marinette rested her hands on her hips, watching in amusement as her partner finished wedging his staff in the crack in the dilapidated rooftop.

“This is a horrible idea,” she said idly.

His tongue stuck out as he tried wiggling the stick, ensuring that it was secured fast. “Come on, Bugaboo, none of your ideas have ever been horrible.”

Strictly speaking, this wasn’t her idea. She’d only wondered how far Chat’s baron could extend, if its length was as infinite as her yo-yo’s string. It was her ridiculous, adrenaline-junkie partner who wanted to ride the baton up as far as it could go.

Not that it was that dangerous, really. They’d done it a few times to scout for some akuma or another during attacks. Besides, it would be nice to see the city from such a height without a threat looming over them—or below them.

“It wasn’t an idea. It was a question,” she still said on principle. “I didn’t think you were actually going to test it.”

He rested his chin on the top of the baton and grinned. “How long have you known me? I’m not majoring in Physics for nothing.”

“You’re not majoring in Physics.” She leaned in to flick his nose, which only made him grin wider. “Not for another two months, and not ever if you become a pancake by pulling some stupid stunt before then.”

“How could I hurt myself? I’ll have my amazing partner right there to catch me if I fall.” He winked.

Her stomach twisted like pretzel dough—from nerves about the height, that was all.

“Don’t go treating me like a parachute, kitty. I’ll be more likely to rip my arm out of its socket if I have to yo-yo us out of this.”

Or she’d have to use Lucky Charm and hope for an actual parachute, but it probably wouldn’t come to that. Silly as her kitty could be, he never let her down when it mattered.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be extra careful, I Pawmise.” He crossed his heart with one claw, still grinning like he was already on top of the world.

Ridiculous or not, this idea was worth it just to see him so excited. He’d been bouncing all night since she’d agreed.

“You’d better,” she warned, though her voice was warm.

His grin reached Cheshire proportions as he wrapped one arm securely around the metal staff and extended the other to her. “One catapult, going up.”

“Oh no.” She laughed. “Points for the pun, but please don’t tell me you’re going to launch us.”

“I already said I’ll be careful. Don’t tell me the fearless Ladybug is actually scared?”

“Pffff, you wish. You just want me to hold on tighter.” Her fingers threaded through his teasingly before slipping out just as he tried to kiss her knuckles.

His lips pursed in a pout. “You know me too well, my Lady. ...But seriously, please hold on. I know you can catch yourself if you have to, but I’d really rather not drop you in the first place.”

“That makes two of us.”

She wrapped one arm around his waist and secured the other at his shoulder. His feet lifted off the ground to brace against the staff, leaving his thigh as a comfortable seat.

Enjoying this, huh? She almost expected him to tease as she snuggled closer—because she did want to be safe. It was almost disappointing when he neglected to quip though. Maybe she wasn’t clinging tightly enough after all.

“So high do you think we’ll go?” He asked, holding her by the waist as she finished getting settled. “Think we’ll be dodging planes tonight?”

“I doubt it. Even if we technically could go that high, we shouldn’t. It’ll be freezing up there.”

“What, afraid I won’t be able to keep you warm?” He teased with a gentle nuzzle to the size of her head.

Had it always been this difficult to keep from leaning into his touch? Not that she couldn’t, but, well—if she gave into his jokes, he’d have no reason to continue.

“Why don’t you just focus on getting us up there at all.” She kept her voice flat, hiding any trace of that brief thought.

“Whatever you say, Bugaboo.”

For all his earlier joking, their ascent started fairly slow, more like an elevator than a catapult. It gave her plenty of time to take in the sights below—the warm lights flickering from windows, divided by the dark swath of the Seine. Streets radiating out from the Arc de Triomphe like spokes on a wheel, cars inching their way down them like little lightningbugs. And of course, the Eiffel Tower, sparkling in the distance, a homing beacon that never failed to bring a smile to her lips.

Paris. Their city.

“Pretty amazing, huh,” Chat breathed beside her. With their arms around each other and the glittering lights below, it was easy to pretend they were rulers surveying their kingdom.

...Chat had must have been calling Marinette Princess too much. Or else his My Lady’s were going to her head.

Royal daydreams or not, though, there was no one she’d rather have beside her—no one else she could have beside her. And not just because it was his baton that held them aloft, his embrace that made her feel as secure as if she stood on solid ground. She would have been crushed under the weight of her superhero mantle if he weren’t there to share it. Staring down at just how many people depended on them, it was impossible to forget that.

“Does it ever feel like too much?” She whispered the doubt that had been nagging at her more and more lately. She tried to stay strong for the team’s morale, but when it was just her partner and the hushed sky, her necessary barriers wore thin.

“Does what feel like too much?” He replied just as quietly. His face turned to hers, emerald irises glinting in the moonlight, closer than she’d prepared herself to handle.

The pretzel twist in her stomach made a reappearance, but she was hardly thinking about the height.

“You know. All of this.” She couldn’t let go to gesture to the glowing city beneath them, but he seemed to understand anyway. “We’re the only ones standing between all of them and two adult supervillains. And even after all these years, we still haven’t found them.”

Her voice cracked a little on that last sentence. The uncomfortable truth they’d been dancing around for the last few months—longer, really, but it became more and more urgent as lycee ended and they prepared to go to University. Most of their team of miraculous wielders (not Chat, of course) would be leaving Paris. This was the last summer they would be together, and the last summer they could be kids, only they hadn’t really been kids for four years now thanks to Hawkmoth and Mayura—

And maybe that was why she agreed to this crazy idea. Because they were kids, dang it, and she deserved to do something silly and dumb with the one person she trusted more than anyone in the world. She wanted to spend time with him outside of taking down Hawkmoth’s villain of the day. She wanted them to just be together.

Wait. Not together, together—just, like, as friends. Who could spend time together without wearing magical suits and masks. She wanted to sew them matching shirts, and text him cat memes at two a.m., and kick his butt at video games. Which she could do as Marinette, but—she wanted him to know it was her, too.

The sheer force of that longing took her by surprise, and only multiplied her hatred for Hawkmoth a hundredfold.

“Hey, Little Bug,” Chat said softly. His arm tightening around her dissolved the complicated web of her thoughts. “We’re going to find him. And it’s not just us anymore. Pegasus is analyzing all the data Rena’s collected, remember? And we’ve got her and Carapace alternating patrols with Ryuuko and Viperion. We can even call in Queen Bee or Bunnyx or King Monkey if we need to. We’ve never been closer to taking Hawkmoth down.”

He was right. They weren’t alone. They never would’ve survived the combined powers of Hawkmoth and Mayura if it weren’t for their team, especially since sentimonsters started regularly joining the fray two years ago.

Still, there was something about sitting with Chat among the pinprick stars that brought her back to before then. When it was just the two of them against the world.

Was it weird that she sometimes missed that?

“I know,” she murmured. Her forehead leaned against his chest, where the steady thump-thump of his heart calmed her own. “Sorry, Chat. I shouldn’t worry.”

“I don’t think anyone could stop you from worrying.” His chin rested on her head, his warmth and familiar scent cocooning her. Roses and leather and cheese, juxtaposed in a way that was so uniquely him. “I doubt Paris would still be standing if you didn’t worry. But it’s going to be okay. I promise.”

The rational part of her brain wanted to ask how he could say that. The newspapers cried out against them at every mistake, at every day that drew them closer to the fifth anniversary of Hawkmoth’s appearance.

But the other part of her brain, the part that had worked in tandem with him long enough that trusting him was second nature, calmed at his reassurance.

“Who knows,” he continued. “Maybe we’ll kick Hawkmoth’s butt before summer ends, and then we can throw a party before everyone splits for University. The whole team can show up. We’ll get Multimouse to bring the pastries. Carapace can blast us some sick tunes. I’m sure Queen Bee can get us a venue…”

Marinette giggled at the thought of all the miraculous wielders, unmasked and just hanging out like normal friends, no more worries than what they were going to do in University. Alix and Kim would probably (definitely) end up in some kind of competition, powered by their miraculouses or not. Luka would serenade Kagami with his guitar instead of Viperion’s lyre. Speaking of which, Marinette wondered if Adrien’s brief stint as Aspik would mean he would be there… and how he would get along with Chat Noir. For some reason, she had a feeling it would be odd to see them together.

Regardless, it was a dream worth fighting for. A dream worth hoping for.

“I’m sure Multimouse would love that,” she said, hiding her smirk against his collarbone. By the time such a party could happen, Chat would know the truth about her dual identity, anyway. “I know I would.”

“There’s only one thing that would make it better.” Chat’s voice turned teasing.

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

He didn’t answer as they passed through a cloud, the dampness much colder and all around wetter than she was prepared for. She shivered and sneezed, feeling her pigtails cling to the back of her neck. Chat chuckled and brushed them aside. His claws lingered for the briefest of moments on the sliver of skin between her suit and hairline.

“A private party,” he said softly. “Just the two of us, before everyone else.”

She pulled back just enough to see his eyes again, intending to tease him about what kind of party he was asking for—but the sincerity and softness in his features stopped her short.

“Y-yeah?”

“Yeah. So we can… I mean, I know I want…” he swallowed for a moment before quietly finishing, “I want you to be the first one to know who I am.”

They didn’t talk about revealing their identities often—mostly because she made it clear that they couldn’t, and she already thought about it enough without tempting either of them by saying it out loud. He was Chat Noir, her partner and best friend, no matter who he was under the mask.

But maybe they should talk about it more, if he thought she would want anything else.

“Of course, Kitty.” Carefully, since they were hundreds of kilometers in the air, she moved the arm at his waist to wrap around the back of his neck instead. A few of his damp locks tickled her fingers even though the suit. “I’ve always wanted you to be the first, too.”

His smile could’ve powered the whole city below. “Then it’s settled. Pegasus finds Hawkbutt next week. We storm the castle, Queen Bee Venoms him and Mayura, you rip their miraculouses off, we pound it, and we throw the biggest party Paris has ever seen.”

His optimism, if unrealistic, was contagious. She felt the hope untangling knots in her chest as she laughed again.

“I should’ve left the planning to you, Chaton. Maybe then we’d have beaten Hawkmoth already.”

“Nah, we all know you’re the brains of the operation, Bugaboo. I’m just here to look pretty.” He flipped his soggy hair, and his bangs hit his forehead with a fwap.

She couldn’t help the laugh that burst from her. “You’re such a dork. I love you.”

He froze solid as one of Style Queen’s statues. She half expected him to turn to gold, for his warmth to bleed out like the color currently draining from her face.

She said—

She’d said she loved him.

She’d said she loved him, and the words had come out as easy as breathing, as sure as the pounding of her heart. How—why? She didn’t love him, not like that, she couldn’t couldn’t she’d told herself that long ago—

But any denials caught in her lungs, trapped like the dark butterflies snared by her yo-yo. Only when the words were fully purified were they released again.

“I—I love you,” she whispered.

She hadn’t meant to say it once, much less twice—but with the repetition the truth of it snapped firmly into place. She didn’t know when her kitty had snuck past her defenses, slipped past her blinding crush on Adrien, dodged all the logical reasons she had for not falling for him.

But he had.

She loved Chat Noir. Of course she did.

“You—but you—is there an akuma?” He stammered, eyes wide and disbelieving. She’d been turning down his off-and-on (mostly on) flirting for four years now; of course he wouldn’t assume she was serious.

“No, Kitty.” Her laugh felt suffocating. After all this time she’d been trying to confess to Adrien, and now, when her target was her Kitty, her mouth didn’t give her a choice.

Maybe that was for the best. She would always have a special place in her heart for Adrien, but Chat—Chat was her home. Her partner, her friend, her everything.

The twisting in her stomach finally unwound, swelling into something that she could hardly contain. His face was so close, his lips still parted from the three words she’d dropped on him. It would be so easy to lean in and kiss the shock from his face, until he melted in her arms, until they both believed this was real.

But Chat had always respected her boundaries, and she would do the same for him. Besides, what if he didn’t feel the same anymore, if his flirting was just habit? And she’d just blurted out her feelings before even she realized them—what if she ruined the comfortable companionship they shared?

No. No, she knew better than that. Even if he didn’t feel the same, nothing could tear the two of them apart.

“I know I’m late, but—if you still want me—”

“My Lady.” She felt more than heard the tremor of emotion in his voice. “I’ll always want you. I always have.”

Was this real? How had she gone from flirting with her partner to baring her heart to him? The liquid moonlight washed aside her walls. His golden hair was spun silver in its glow, and her hands ran through it involuntarily. She was lucky Chat had returned his grip to her waist, because otherwise she might have accidentally slipped off him.

As much as his words made her feel like she could fly, it was best not to test that theory.

“Thanks for waiting for me, Chaton.” She rested her forehead against his, still shaking with the realization and love and longing and—how had she ignored this feeling? How long had she wanted him to kiss her senseless before her mind would admit it?

It didn’t matter. She knew now, and the electricity that sparked between them wouldn’t let her forget anytime soon.

“You know I’d wait forever for you. I love you.” His breath fanned across her cheeks, soft and hot and everything she hoped his lips would be. “I love you so so much, Ladybug, I—”

He might be willing to wait forever, but she wasn’t. Her lips consumed whatever it was he was going to say next—

And all she knew was that he tasted like coming home.

He matched her passion with a surprising sweetness. It wasn’t the intense kiss she was expecting, but maybe that was for the best. He was the only thing keeping them from plummeting to the ground far below, and distracting him probably wasn’t the best idea, but frankly after that first touch of lips she was so gone they could’ve fallen and she wouldn’t have noticed—

He yelped against her mouth. Had she done something wrong? She hadn’t kissed a boy since Luka two years ago, but she couldn’t be that bad—

Oh. She hadn’t noticed.

Gravity really wasn’t supposed to be tugging in that direction. And the wind wasn’t supposed to be blowing up.

And Chat’s baton wasn’t supposed to be slipping through his fingers.

Gah! She barely had time to think as his arms tightened around her middle so he was hugging her from below. What was he thinking? Did he expect to cushion her fall?

Jolting out of oh-my-gosh-I’m-kissing-Chat mode, she threw her yo-yo from her hip and lassoed the still-upright baton. Only miraculous magic could be holding it steady, especially when she yanked them towards it—

And in a jumble of limbs and string, she promptly tangled them against the metal length.

She heard a sharp crack, followed by a dizzy groan.

“Chat, oh my gosh, are you okay?” The world was still spinning; she couldn’t turn to see him. Mostly because her back was pressed flush against his chest.

“Purrfectly fine, my Lady.” His laugh sounded near her ear. “I always knew you’d sweep me off my feet.”

She rolled her eyes, unsure if she wanted to laugh or groan. She was so stupid. Making out with Chat with nothing but a pole holding them up? Yes, that sounded like something from her romantic fantasies (which she wasn’t supposed to have with him, but—shh), but she should’ve known better in real life!

“You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?” She muttered.

He hummed thoughtfully. That sound should not have made her shiver, she was just—it was just cold. Even though his body was hot against her back.

Yeah, she wasn’t kidding anyone.

“I could be purrsuaded to forget,” he said to her surprise.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Mm-hmm.” His chin rested on her shoulder. “For the low price of fifty more kisses.”

“Fifty?” She choked, face heating. Fifty brushes of his lips on hers, of his laugh filling her lungs— “I—I don’t know. Actually, you’re the one who let go of the staff. I might’ve kissed you first, but you’re the one who should be getting teased.”

“Fair enough. A hundred kisses, then. Fifty for me to forget, and fifty for you to forgive me for dropping you.”

“Bold words from a guy who couldn’t even handle kissing me once.” She would’ve flicked his bell if her arms weren’t trapped over his around her middle.

“Ah, it just means I need more practice!”

She twisted her head just enough to stick her tongue out at him. “You won’t get any practice if you don’t get us down from here.”

“Oh. Uh. About that… I can’t reach the button.” He laughed awkwardly. “You mind untangling us?”

The magical properties of her yo-yo meant she could still retract the string even tangled as it was, but it would take a minute to lasso them back to the baton properly this time.

“Only if you don’t mind falling again.”

“For you? Never,” he said with a quick kiss to her cheek.

She shook her head. She refused to be distracted by him this time, even if his smell was everywhere, more dizzying than their brief fall through the clouds.

“You’re such a dork.”

“But you love me,” he practically sang.

Despite the fact that they were hanging in an awkward position hundreds of meters in the air, her nerves vanished completely.

“Yeah, Kitty. I do.”

(That truth was far more important than learning how far Chat’s baton could extend, anyway.)

[And then next week they beat hawkbutt and ship him and nathalie off to jail and everyone in the whole team comforts Adrien and he and marinette live happily ever after with a hamster]

#ladynoir #miraculous ladybug #ladybug #chat noir #fic tag #tali writes #lovesquarefluffweek2020 #no reveal here lads #other than marinette gettin her feelings revealed to her

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pulaasul · 4 years ago

Text

Luck and Order 5

The Wizard Shazam, who was once a Lord of Order, that something was amiss. The balance between luck and misfortune was in disarray. So he implores his young Champion - Billy Batson - to investigate and correct the Balance.

Set years after the series Finale of Justice League Unlimited.

1 I 2 I 3 I 4

FFN I AO3

---------

"Kim!" Someone had called the boy in red.

"Madeline." Kim greeted as he approached the girl who called him. "What brought you here?" He inquired.

"No, no, nothing like that." Madeline shook her head. "I just want to thank you for the headband you gave me."

"Gift?" Kim tilted his head in confusion.

"This headband." Madeline pointed at the pink hairband she was wearing. "You gave this to me remember?"

"I-I'm sorry Madeline." Kim chuckled. "But I didn't give you a gift." He explained, still chuckling. "Man, whoever did this, they got you good."

"I-a…" Madeline trailed off, downcast.

Kim realized his mistake and immediately stopped laughing.

"M-ma-madeline." Kim stuttered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." He apologized. "I thought this was just a harmless prank." He admitted.

"I-it's okay K-kim." Madeline stuttered before she ran away from the school.

Kim just stood there unable to do anything before he was dragged by Max to his classroom.

--------

In a furniture-less room with one window stood a man in a purple suit.

"A broken heart is always ripe for the picking." A man in a purple suit chuckled. "I can feel this one's resentment for the deception." He added. "Perfect for my akuma."

The man in the purple suit opened his right hand and a white butterfly landed on his palm. He enclosed the butterfly in between his two hands and charged it with magic.

"Go for that resentful rejected heart my little Akuma and evilize her!"

The now purple butterfly flew out of the lone window in the room searching for the resentful heart that the man in purple ordered to it to find.

---------

At a bench far from the school, Madeline was crying to herself when a purple butterfly landed on her pink hairband and turned it into purple as the insect disappeared.

"Gorgon, I am Hawkmoth." A purple outline appeared a few space away from Madeline's face. "I am giving you the power to get any man you want and do with them as you please."

---------

Back in the dark room, the man in purple also had an identical outline a few space away from his face. It seemed like he was communicating with Madeline through the link.

"All you need to do is give me Ladybug's and Chat Noir's Miraculouses." Hawkmoth offered. "Sound like a deal for a rejected heart no?"

---------

Madeline grinned as she raised her head, exposing her tearstained face.

"Yes Hawkmoth."

Purple magic blob oozed from the purple hairband and engulfed the girl. As soon as the blobs of purple disappeared another figure was in Madeline's place.

Gorgon, as Hawkmoth dubbed her, had a bouquet of snakes as hair, slit eyes and slithering tongue. She wore a green scaly corset and have a snake's tail.

"I will break every girl's heart and claim their men as my own!" Madeline – no Gorgon – declared as she slithered onto the streets of Paris.

---------

Captain Marvel was hovering over the streets of Paris trying to find the source of the Parisian's fear.

All he saw were men wearing Togas in many different variations. They were stationary like they were statues but they weren't discolored like many statues that were inside museums and displays.

"Captain Marvel!" Ladybug called the hero's attention. "Have you found anything?"

"Nothing yet Ladybug." Captain Marvel shook his head. "I was curious why these men weren't moving at all." He explained.

Ladybug nodded as she jumped down from the roof to investigate the immobile men on the streets.

The men were wearing togas in many different ways, some had their torsos covered, some had some parts of their torsos exposed and some were even full on depictions of Greek statues that only have something small to cover their crotch.

"They're like statues." Ladybug pointed out.

"They're still breathing but they're immobilized." Captain Marvel nodded.

"C'mon Milady!" One Chat Noir exclaimed. "I can rock a Toga if that's what meow want."

"Here we go again." Ladybug sighed.

"Not needed Chat Noir." Captain Marvel shook his head. "I think we can follow the trail of immobilized men to find our Akuma." He informed.

"Thank you for that Captain." Chat Noir grinned. "Milady and I can handle the rest." He jumped down from the roof before kneeling on one knee and kissed the back of Ladybug's hand.

Ladybug simply retrieved her hand and pushed Chat Noir's head away from her.

"Is he always like this?" Captain Marvel raised an eyebrow.

"Not exactly, it was plain banter between the two of us." Ladybug sighed. "Somehow he just became worse, aggressive in his advances."

Ladybug pulled her hand from the Black Cat's grasp and pushed his forehead with her pointing finger when he showed signs of approaching her personal space.

"Chat focus!" Ladybug chided. "Captain Marvel is here to help! I can't have you antagonizing him at every turn!" She exclaimed.

"If milady wishes so." Chat Noir bowed.

"Captain?" The spotted heroine looked at the champion of magic expectantly. "We've wasted enough time."

"Just a moment Ladybug." Captain Marvel stepped forward and pointed at the Black Cat hero.

"Got a pawblem with me?" Chat Noir growled.

A small arc of electricity was generated from the lightning hero's finger, shocking the Cat-themed hero.

"Captain Marvel!" Ladybug exclaimed. "Why?!"

"Wait a moment." Captain Marvel dismissed the exclamation.

As Chat Noir's body convulsed from being shocked, pink smoke appeared on the hero's body, congregated above him and formed a silhouette of a girl before it dispersed.

"Meowch!" Chat Noir exclaimed. "What was that fur Captain Marvel?!"

Chat Noir shook his body, trying to shake off the shock from his system as Ladybug watched him in confusion.

"Captain you said we can follow the trail of immobilized people to find the Akuma." Chat Noir shook his head opting to ignore his earlier inquiry. "What are we waiting for?" He asked his two companions. "Let's go!"

The Black Cat Hero extended his baton to jump to impossible heights.

Ladybug was speechless at the turn of events. She was sure that Chat Noir had changed for the worse since he did a 180 one day.

"What just happened?"

"Your kwami will explain." Captain Marvel shook his head. "Chat Noir's right, we need to hurry up."

"Right!"

Ladybug used her yoyo to grapple her way around the city while Captain Marvel flew.

----------

"Nice fur meow to drop in Little Bug." Chat Noir teased as Ladybug landed beside him.

Chat Noir and Ladybug were perched on the chimney looking down on the streets where the Akuma was wreaking havoc.

Madeline – Gorgon – was slithering at the hi-way where any man who dared to glimpse at her eyes would be immobilized and were immovable, as the people the stationary men were with tried to move them with no avail.

The women in the area weren't safe the Akuma's wrath either. She simply forced the women to look into her eyes and they were immediately ridden by fear.

"What have you gathered so far?" Ladybug questioned.

"From what I gathered is that men who looked at her eyes would suddenly stop moving right after donning a random pose and the women who made eye contact with her would be very frightened." Chat Noir reported. "I haven't found the where the Akuma's object is and how the men would change clothes like we saw earlier."

Captain Marvel was silent as he listened to the Black Cat's report. He looked at the Akuma victim closely with narrowed eyes, and he saw that the head had a large concentration of magic that was spreading towards the entire body.

"The Akuma might be on her head." Captain Marvel relayed his deduction.

"How so?" Chat Noir inquired. "There's nothing on her head that's stands out."

"There's a concentration of magic on her head." Captain Marvel explained.

"Captain Marvel's right!" Ladybug interjected. "Look closely on her head." She instructed the two. "Notice how the snakes turn into actual hair past that hair band on her head."

Chat Noir and Captain Marvel narrowed their eyes to take a closer look on the Akuma victim. It was as Ladybug pointed out, the snakes do only come after the hair band that was on the Akuma victim's head.

"How do you reckon we grab that?" Chat Noir asked. "I can see it with Viperion but…"

"No we can't use Viperion." Ladybug shook her head. "It's too dangerous to him and his family."

"So how?"

"The trick is not looking directly into her eyes." Ladybug explained.

"Something's happening." Captain Marvel announced.

As soon as there were no women nearby, Gorgon started planting kisses on the immobilized men's lips one by one. The kiss changed the clothes of the Akuma's victims. They were now wearing traditional togas in various ways.

"So that's how she changes their clothes." Ladybug commented.

"I'm coming for you Kim." The Akuma declared in a sing-song voice. "Not even Ondine can ssssstop me!" She hissed as she slithered her way to Francois Dupont.

"Isn't that way going to a school?" Captain Marvel inquired.

"College Francois Dupont is actually where a lot of Akumatized victims come from." Ladybug answered. "We haven't figured out why that's the case."

"In any case, we have to stop her before she can reach her destination." Chat Noir stated as the heroes revealed themselves.

"You stop right there!" Ladybug declared, earning the Akuma's attention.

"Hello Ladybug, Chat Noir." The Akuma greeted. "Call me Gorgon and surrender your miraculous now."

"How about no." Captain Marvel responded as he fired three electric arcs at the Akuma.

Gorgon simply plucked a snake from her head and threw it in front of her to intercept the attack.

Ladybug and Chat Noir immediately jumped down from the roof and began attacking the Akuma with a barrage of punches and kicks. Neither hero didn't expect her snake locks to defend her as they did, catching them off guard.

Captain Marvel fired off balls of electricity at the Akuma as Chat Noir and Ladybug attacked from the Gorgon's both sides. She caught Ladybug's and Chat Noir's wrists and use their bodies to dispel the electrical balls in the area.

Gorgon decided to throw Ladybug against a wall while she tied Chat Noir's ankles with her tail and pinned him to the ground.

"Boys!" Gorgon yelled. "Be a dear and help me well you!"

"Yes missssstresssssssss!" Every man in the area who were once immobilized responded to the call.

Suddenly a number of men in various ages and togas were attacking Ladybug and Captain Marvel. They were forced to defend themselves from the mob of toga-wearing men that were attacking them with their fists and kicks.

"Come on Kitty, look at me." Gorgon cooed as her victims distracted the other heroes.

"Make me!" Chat Noir growled in defiance and closed his eyes tightly.

"Grab his ring!" A purple outline appeared by the Akuma's face.

"As you wish Hawkmoth." Gorgon affirmed.

Gorgon used one of her hands to pin Chat's upper limbs above his head while her free hand went for the Black Cat Miraculous.

"Oh no you don't!" Captain Marvel declared.

The lightning hero discharge bolts of electricity from his person before grabbing both Ladybug and Chat Noir from their positions and promptly retreated.

Gorgon yelled out in frustration before all the toga-wearing men donned their original poses and stopped moving entirely. She then promptly slithered on her way.

"Thanks for the save." Chat Noir expressed his gratitude. "She almost got my Miraculous."

"We need the others for this." Ladybug stated. "At least Roi Singe or Viperion." She added. "But…" She trailed off.

"Why won't you call them?" Captain Marvel inquired.

"They've been compromised." Chat Noir admitted.

"It's too dangerous for them and their families." Ladybug explained.

Captain Marvel could understand the dangers of identity reveals. He had his own secret identity when he first started out in the league. It was especially dangerous for him and his family considering that none of them could defend themselves from the likes of Black Adam in their mortal forms.

"Let's go after Gorgon." Ladybug spun her yoyo by her side. "If we don't stop her immediately, it'll be difficult to defeat her." She explained.

"Right!"

---------

"Oh Kiiiiim!" Gorgon sang loudly as she slithered inside Francois Dupont. "Where are you Kiiiiiiiim?"

The Gorgon was fortunate enough to catch the attention of the fleeing males in the area, stopping them in their tracks. The women who were unlucky enough to look into her eyes ran away from the school screaming hysterically.

"Kiiiim"

Unbeknownst to the Akuma her target, and his class, was inside the locker room, hopefully locking themselves in until Ladybug has purified them.

"What did you do to her Kim?" Chloe demanded as she glared at the jock. "This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!" She fumed.

"Nothing!" Kim defended himself.

"There is a 90% chance that you did something to the Akuma." Max pointed out as he fixed his glasses. "After all she has you in her mind." He added.

"I may have laughed at the harmless prank done to her." Kim sighed. "I didn't know she'd take it that hard." He continued. "Unlike someone else."

"I'll have you know that you deserve that treatment." Chloe rolled her eyes. "You aren't my type and yet you still kept gunning for me." She added nonchalantly as she looked at her nails. "Blaming me for your weakness is just ridiculous, utterly ridiculous."

"Will everyone shut their mouth?" Alix hissed. "If you don't shut up, might as well hand Kim over on a silver platter."

"Wha-"

"Wait a minute, where's Marinette?" Alya inquired.

"Billy went for the rest room before any of this started." Nino pointed out. "As for Adrien, I've got no clue" He admitted. "Has anyone seen Adrien?"

"He said he'd catch up." Rose spoke up.

"Marinette said the same." Juleka nodded.

"Everyone shush!" Alix hissed. "The Akuma's nearby."

Everyone went deathly still. They waited in anticipation whether the Akuma was going inside the room or not.

Everyone gave out a sigh of relief when the Akuma didn't force her way in.

"I think the Akuma only wants me." Kim started. "You guys go somewhere else safe, I'll lure her away."

"Kim no!" Max hissed. "This'll be like what happened with Animan."

Kim didn't listen to Max as he unlocked the door and went outside of the locker area.

"That nitwit." Alix hissed. "He's not even trying to impress Miss Queen Bee over here."

"First off, don't call me that." Chloe huffed as she walked towards the door. "Once Kim finally gets that girl out of school I'm going to call daddy and go home." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh right, she's Miracle Queen now." Alya snarled. "Because of her Ladybug and Chat Noir are back to square one."

"It's okay babe." Nino comforted her girlfriend.

"She actually dismissed the other heroes?!" Lila exclaimed. "I-I thought she was just bluffing." She sobbed. "Ladybug and I had a fight and she said that she won't use the other heroes anymore because she knew I knew them personally."

"No way." Nino gasped. "A-alya, L-ladybug wouldn't do that right?" He asked his girlfriend.

"I-I don't know." Alya was equally stunned by the revelation. "I-I heard that because of Mi-miracle Queen, their identities were compromised."

"There is 40% chance that, that might be the case." Markov reported. "There is a 60% chance that Ladybug's cure might've purged that from their memory."

"Oh please." Chloe rolled her eyes. "I know who everyone here is." She pointed out. "Almost everyone." She shrugged. "Ladybug's Miraculous cure didn't do anything about Hawkmoth's and My memories."

"Don't you dare Chloe!" Alya snarled.

"Don't you worry Cesaire." Chloe grinned. "I'm holding this over your heads." She smirked. "I'll give everyone a bit of a clue, so you better appreciate it."

"Chloe don't." Nino warned.

"Four of us here were Ladybug's other heroes." Chloe revealed. "Well five, including moi."

Three sets of eyes glared at the Bourgeois at the revelation. The fact that no one else was privy to that information didn't change the fact that Paris's emotional terrorist was in the know.

"I'm so sorry everyone." Lila continued to sob. "B-because of me Ladybug and Chat Noir are helpless right now."

"It's alright Lila." Alya comforted her friend. "It was inevitable that they were forcibly retired because of Hawkmoth's knowledge.

"Ladybug sure has luck on her side." Ivan pointed out. "As soon as she and Lila got into an argument, where she threatened to retire the other heroes, she immediately gets a reason."

"I'm sure Ladybug didn't want that to happen." Rose meekly argued. "She wasn't given a choice in the matter. Right Juleka?" Rose looked at her friend expectantly.

"I hope so Rose." Juleka responded. "I hope that was the case."

---------

Kim was successful in gaining the Akuma's attention, so successful that he was running away from the said Akuma.

"Oh Kim." The Akuma called out. "Why're you running from me?" She asked,

"M-madeline you're under Hawkmoth's control." Kim called out. "I know I probably broke your heart when I laughed at you." He admitted. "I didn't know who played a prank on you and told you that I gave you something but you must I realize I'm going out with Ondine." He pleaded.

"My name is Gorgon!" The Akuma yelled. "Boys!"

"Yes mistress!" The stationary toga-wearing men responded and kneeled on one knee.

"Be a dear and bring him to me." Gorgon ordered.

Toga wearing men successfully surrounded Kim, leaving him cornered.

The Jock tried making his own opening, flipping some of his assailants on the floor, he pushed some of them out of his way, but to no avail. Kim was overwhelmed by the sheer number of the men who were helping his fellow swimmer.

One of the toga-wearing men forced Kim to look into his eye and as a result, Kim donned the pose of the discobulus statue as the men who prevented his escape donned the poses they had before.

"Oh Kim, I was never going to hurt you." Gorgon stated as she slithered forward. "Was I really that ugly that you had to run and hide from me?" She continued. "But I forgive you Kim." She continued her monologue. "After all you're mine now."

"I don't think so." Ladybug declared.

"Boys!"

"Yes missssssstressssssssss!" Every Toga-wearing men hissed.

Without prompting from the Akuma, the toga-wearing men started attacking the three heroes who just arrived, distracting them.

With the heroes distracted, Gorgon immediately planted a kiss on Kim's lips, changing his clothes to that of a simple white cloth tied to his hips, covering it all the way down to his thighs.

"This is getting nowhere?!" Ladybug groaned. "Distract them!"

"By meow command, Ladybug." Chat Noir teased.

The spotted heroine jumped back to get away from the horde of toga-wearing men as the Black Cat hero distracted and blocked them from chasing Ladybug.

As soon as Ladybug got to higher ground, she immediately threw her yoyo above her.

"Lucky Charm!"

A swarm of ladybugs appeared from all directions and congregated at the yoyo. The magical ladybugs created a shiny circular shield and landed on the heroine's hands.

"A shield?"

Ladybug looked around and identified the shield, Chat Noir, Captain Marvel and the thing the Akuma possessed from her eyes.

"Chat Noir! Catch!" Ladybug called out!

"A shield?" Chat Noir questioned as he caught the Lucky Charm.

"Go head-to-head against the Akuma!" Ladybug stated "Make her see her reflection!"

"The hero Perseus!" Chat Noir exclaimed in realization.

Chat Noir used the shield to bash against the enemies near him before extending his baton to his desired height to escape the horde.

The Black Cat hero landed before the Akuma and brandished his baton as a makeshift sword as he tightened his hold on the ladybug-themed shield.

He immediately charged at the snake-themed Akuma.

"Do me a favor Kim, and fend off the black cat."

"As you wish mistress."

With the response, Kim intercepted Chat Noir's attacks. He amateurly blocked all of the Black Cat hero's strikes and got hit a few times.

Ladybug and Captain Marvel on the other hand dealt with the enemies Chat left. The two of them were on the defensive, holding them back from interfering with Chat Noir's fight.

As the heroes were busy with their respective battles, Gorgon sneaked behind Chat Noir's back and waited for an opportunity to strike.

The Akuma didn't wait long as Kim managed to land a hit on Chat's gut, who doubled over as a response. She immediately used her tail to knock the Black Cat hero down.

Kim immediately grabbed Chat's hand that wore the Miraculous and presented it to Gorgon.

"Impressive Kim." Gorgon praised. "I knew I could always count on you." She smiled as she plucked a snake from her head and used it to tie Chat's ankles together.

As soon the Akuma made an attempt to grab the Miraculous, Chat Noir immediately flipped the shield and made her look at her own reflection.

"You think seeing my own reflection would defeat me?" Gorgon scoffed. "You're burning out Ladybug." She mocked.

"Kitty now!"

At the signal, Chat Noir immediately threw the shield to the air as Captain Marvel discharged arcs of electricity against the enemies surrounding him and flew to catch the shield.

The world's magical champion immediately reflected the sunlight unto the Akuma's eyes, blinding her from the glare of the sun.

Chat Noir immediately freed himself from the snake that bound his ankles together and used it to bind Kim's hands and pushed him away from him.

Ladybug immediately swooped in and lassoed the Akuma's object from her head.

"Chat you're up!"

"Cataclysm!"

Ladybug threw the hairband towards Chat Noir, who caught it with the hand that was charged with magic, disintegrating the object to dust.

A purple butterfly emerged from the ashes of the Akuma's object and tried to fly away.

"No more evil doing for you little Akuma." Ladybug chimed as she spun her yoyo. "Time to de-evilize." She declared as she caught the flying purple butterfly. "Gothcha!"

"Bye bye little butterfly." Ladybug waved at the pure white butterfly flying away after it was released from the yoyo's confines.

Gorgon's body began to ooze purple blobs from her feet to her head as she transformed back to her old self.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" The spotted heroine threw her Lucky Charm in the air.

The Lucky Charm disintegrated into a giant swarm of Ladybugs that flew all around Paris to undo the damage the Akuma has caused, including returning the Akuma's victims' clothes to them.

The Akuma's victims soon began shake the shock from their systems as they realized where in Paris they were.

"Pound it." Chat Noir, Ladybug and Captain Marvel shared a three-way fist bump.

As soon as Kim managed to regain awareness, he immediately rushed to Madeline's side, who was still out of it.

"Ugh, where am I?" Madeline groaned.

"Hawkmoth akumatized you." Kim answered honestly as he gently helped her in a sitting position.

"Kim?"

---------

"You may have got the better of me this time Ladybug." Hawkmoth growled. "I will soon get what's rightfully mine and fulfill my wish." He sneered as the lone window of the room closed.

---------

"Ladybug!" Alya immediately called out.

"Yes Alya?" Ladybug smiled.

"Could you confirm Captain Marvel's statement last Saturday?" Alya asked. "No offense Captain, but when a new hero showed up it turned out to be an Akuma under Hawkmoth."

"No offense taken." Captain Marvel assured.

"What Captain Marvel said is true." Ladybug nodded. "The use of the butterfly miraculous was what forced Chat Noir and I into action." She explained. "To restore the balance that was tipping towards chaos." She added.

"The use of the Butterfly miraculous to make villains out of Paris's citizens is chaotic in and of itself." Chat Noir supplied. "Now even more chaotic that the Peacock miraculous is in play." He added.

"I should also note that Captain Marvel isn't a member of that mysterious order you mentioned in your Ladyblog Alya." Ladybug grinned.

Chat Noir's and Ladybug's earrings sounded off at the same time.

"Looks like that's our cue." Ladybug grinned at the young reporter. "Bug out."

Ladybug looked behind her and found that Kim was helping the Akumatized victim. "Kim, can you help your friend?" She called out.

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