#dodged a beetle au

[kommandonuovidiavoli]

Changed some numbers for this AU but yeah, ALL LITTLE SIBLINGS ARE NOW OLDER AND THEY'RE TND OPERATIVES!!!

Penny's there too because I say so. :3

Roles:

#363: Leader no one can stand, but at least he knows what he's doing... for the most part. Still, everyone wonders how he managed to get into the TND in first place since no one wants him around... welp. Older brother of Numbuh 362. The two can't stand each other and Rachel avoids him like the plague. He always screams at her.

#T: 2x4 technology expert, pilot and hacker. He knows any technology around. Sometimes you can catch him play some games when they have nothing to do. Never leaves without his C.E.L.L.P.H.O.N.E. (Compact Electronic Line Linking Pathway Holds Outer Network Expansion). Mostly silent, very chill, keeps to himself. Can't stand Mushi more than Harvey, if you can believe that.

Older brother of Hoagie Gilligan, aka Numbuh 2. The kid loves him and wants to hang out with him more but, as any teenager would, Tommy keeps him away from himself and his stuff and his room. But Hoagie knows he will know ALL his secrets, one day! Let's hope he doesn't find out he's also a TND spy in the Teen Ninja lines (he gets info from Father and passes it to KND, not a real bad guy!)...

#001: Second in command, everyone would prefer her to be the leader but... well. Very active teen, a bit of a tomboy, she's in charge to come up with plans and put them into action. Kids sometimes mistake her for a kid in a teen body.

Loves to skate, play videogames and dance. Works as a mermaid actor at the aquarium in the weekends. Dating Joey Beetles. Sometimes babysits Nigel Uno, who trusts her enough to ask his parents to adopt her so they can be siblings. She... actually loves the idea... but it's impossible.

#40: Weapon and combat expert, especially for sport related actions. Can't talk at all and speaks using his V.O.I.S. (Vocal Operator Imitating Sounds) to speak. Thanks to that, he can use any voice he manages to sample, kind of like an AI.

Very active, plays many sports and he's good at all of them, especially dodge ball. Dating Penelope Doe.

Older brother of Wallabee Beetles, aka Numbuh 4. The two used to be inseparable, but since Wally joined the KND, he kind of drifted away because "teens are the enemy". It broke Joey's heart but... what can you do.

#30: Spy extraordinaire and camouflage master. She can turn anyone into a different person in a make-up session. Someone might say she's too good at that... like she's hiding something.

She's the school queen, a cheerleader, everyone wants to be associated with her. She's also very intelligent and good at art. She's perfect! But somehow, Tommy doesn't like her. Nerds...

Older sister of Kuki Sanban, aka Numbuh 3. The two seem to be very close, playing together and sharing everything, from make-up to clothes (well, those that fit...).

Sometimes Kuki accidentally reveals her KND plans to her, eheh, so silly! Mushi always has a good laugh telling them to her team!

No, I'm not talking about the TND...

No one suspects anything. Not even Tommy, since she never revealed her face while working for Father.

[imthepunchlord]

How many Miraculous AU you created?

Oh man, a lot. Most are currently shelved ideas I'm hoping to get to sometime, but in no rush to quite get to them yet.

By recent, there's Bugettes and Zodiac Heroes.

Ones I need to continue sometime is Copycat and Dodged a Beetle; both technically an arrival swap, where characters are shuffled up on when they arrive (like Felix is there for Origins while Adrien would come to Paris later).

I would like to do an au of what if Alya and Nino were chosen as heroes, and try an au of the Scarabella and Kitty Noire au we got to see.

I also have a thought for A Monarch in Paris, where a different father had the two Miraculous.

Get Your Stripes On! where Fu didn't live to 186, but long enough to see Jagged Stone as the Guardian, but he's ready to retire and focus on his music career so he's looking for his own pupil to take over.

Also trying to some Parent Swaps, which is technically kinda life swaps, but they happen through different unions happening. So like, a take where Marinette is Gabriel's daughter and he married Sabine and Tom married Emilie. Another idea is the what if Gabriel and Audrey married and Andre and Emilie married.

Off the top of my head, those are the major ones. Though there's probably more. Miraculous is a show that's really easy to think of aus and what ifs for.

[stackthedeck]

Ever since I saw your AU ideas post, I have been PLAGUED with the image of beetle sized Ted doing a Ratatouille on Booster, and I'm sure that's NOT what you had in mind 😂😭

oh my god i love the do a ratatouille is just a phrase that i know what it means language is beautiful! anyway they're doing a ratatouille now

"This isn't funny, Booster!"

"Oh my god you even sound like you've sucked on helium." Booster is knelt on the floor, his face pressed to the ground as barely contained laughter shakes his body. "You're so cute!"

"I'm not cute!" Ted stomps his foot against the ground and it doesn't even make a noise even as he's fuming and cursing like a sailor. That settles it he's adorable. "We've got to fix this! Now!"

"Oh but this is a chance to connect with your kind," Booster says. "We could finally find you a nice girl beetle to lay eggs with."

Ted grimaces at that, crossing his tiny arms over his tiny body. Booster reaches out his hand, maybe to pick him up or maybe he wants the chance for Ted to crawl into his hand like a worm on a wet sidewalk. Instead, Ted dodges his fingers with his usual grace, or maybe more of it, with gravity suddenly working less hard to keep him down. He vaults over Booster's fingers, sticking the landing on his palm, then he starts sprinting.

"Ted, what are you doing?" Booster sits up, hoping that Ted will just tumble off him, but he clings onto the fabric of his suit.

"Teaching you a lesson," Ted huffs as he flips onto Booster's shoulder. With a running start, he leaps at Booster's face and grabs his hair like it's the Bug's trapeze wire.

"Ow ow ow—" Ted's still just heavy enough that it feels like Booster's hair is being pulled out of his head. He grabs him as gently as he can, letting him stand in his palm, a safe few inches from his face.

"What was that for?"

"I'm not cute," Ted says, "and I could take you at any size."

"Oh?" Booster chuckles. "You want to take me at different sizes, Teddy?"

Ted's face goes red—or redder—as he crosses his arms. With his goggles and the light catching against the spandex just right, he does look like a bug and Booster desperately wants to make antenna a permeant part of his costume.

"We've got to fix this!" Ted says, gesturing to himself.

As much as Booster would like to keep him like this, he has to admit this might be an emergency. It's a new villain with a shrink ray and an ugly costume who used some kind of teleport as soon as Booster had him on the ropes. Thankfully, he dropped the ray before he disappeared, but a guy with that kind of technology could be dangerous if they don't go after him. Probably would be best to have Ted at his normal size when they do.

Carefully—with Ted still in his palm—Booster stands and grabs the shrink ray from the other side of the lab. He turns it over in his hand but there doesn't seem to be an easy back to normal switch.

"Put it on the table I'll reverse whatever it's done," Ted says.

Booster puts the gun and Ted down on one of the lab tables. Ted regards the shrink ray with his hands on his hips, that thoughtful look on his tiny face. He reaches for his belt then pauses.

"My tools are tiny... so the screws won't fit."

Booster kneels so that his chin is resting against the table and he's eye level with Ted. "A conundrum for sure."

"It shouldn't be a problem, this lab has plenty of tools." Ted surveys the table, pulling up his goggles and putting his hand over his eyes like a man looking up at a mountain.

"How are you going to use them?" Booster asks.

Ted flips him off then marches over to grab a screwdriver. It is the smallest screwdriver for the tiny screws, but even still it's a struggle for Ted to hold it, having to wrap his whole body around it. Booster lets him struggle, watching with fascination as he rolls and positions the screwdriver so he can fit it against the screws. It's a long ordeal, but Ted eventually gets one screw out.

"We don't have all day, Teddy," Booster laughs before grabbing the screwdriver and starting to get the panel off himself.

"Wait just be careful!"

"I will don't worry," Booster says and then after a moment adds, "you know, you can ask for help."

Ted pouts at that. Booster wouldn't have called it a pout when he was normal sized, but now he's so small that even his anger is cuter than usual. Booster would never say it to Ted's face, but he thinks he's cute at any size, but it's not considered a compliment for men in this era.

"I had it," Ted says.

"sure you did."

Booster gets the panel off and watches Ted examine the inner workings of the machine. Then to his surprise, Ted climbs inside it.

"Okay," Ted says as he straddles a cluster of wires, "I could get used to this. The precision has countless opportunities."

"What tool do you need?" Booster asks while Ted is marveling at the circuitry.

"Wire cutters," he says, almost absentmindedly, as if being so close to a machine is so divine he's forgotten his pride. It works for Booster.

Booster grabs them and Ted grabs the edge of them, directing them to the millimeter. From there they fall into an easy rhyme, Ted calling out a tool and Booster hovering it over him tell he's told where to put it and how to use it.

"This reminds me of a saying we have in the 25th century," Booster says as he watches Ted knit wires together strand by strand.

"What is it?"

"I'd love you if you were a worm," Booster says, his voice halfway between a sigh and a laugh and something dreamy in his eyes.

Ted pauses for a moment. "Like the meme?"

"What?"

"You know, it was a thing a few years ago." Ted shrugs and walks across the table to stand closer to Booster. "People would ask their partners if they'd still love them if they were a worm and record their responses."

"Huh." Booster is a little disappointed that this romantic saying from the future is a punchline here. "We'll if we can't get you back to normal size, I'd make you a tiny bed to sleep in and I'd still take you on missions and I'll love you even if you're small."

"That's sweet, boos." Ted chuckles to himself, shaking his head, before pressing a tiny kiss to Booster's cheek.

Booster wraps a finger around his waist to pull him closer so he can place a very gentle kiss to the top of his head.

"You'll be my little love bug."

"And you'll be my... jolly gold giant."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

[benadrylcandlewhack]

Due to a sudden surge in Self-Confidence(tm), here's all my AU designs!!!

All their alt modes:

Optimus: Semi-truck

Elita: Fighter jet

Bumblebee: Volkswagen Beetle (he gets his Camaro mode when he's older)

Jazz: Porsche

Prowl: Motorcycle

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker: Lamborghini Countaches (definitely spelled that wrong lmao)

Wheeljack: Chevrolet Tahoe (gonna change his chest at some point)

Ratchet: Ambulance

Arcee: Dodge Challenger

This is mostly just a very underdeveloped passion project at the moment so prepare to not hear about it for a little while lmao. I still gotta do the Cybertron-bound Autobots... the humans... the Decepticons... I'm gonna be real busy

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters AU

So, Lena as Gretel is the daughter of a grand white witch, right? Which means the grand dark witch is hunting her heart for the ritual. The grand dark witch being Rhea, of course.

I like the idea of Mon-el being the asshole sheriff who tries to turn the town against Lena, Lex, and even Kara. Sowing violence and mistrust so that his mother can act with impunity. He's totally human tho, like his dad. Rhea barely tolerates him but for the role he serves.

When Lena and Lex are separated following the witches' raid on the town, they eventually find their way back to each other by stumbling upon their old childhood home. They barely recognize it, but they know that's a witch's lair in the cellar. And Lena, who has been putting the pieces together, tries to tell him what she suspects, but before she can Rhea arrives, reveals Lena's nature as a witch, and knocks them both senseless. When Lex regains consciousness, Lena is gone.

When Kara offers her knowledge and help to stop Rhea (and save Lena), Lex isn't in a position to refuse. With her help, and the book of light spells they find in the lair, they gain just enough of an edge that Lex stands a chance of getting his sister back.

At the ritual site, Lena is tied up for the slaughter. Rhea monologues in front of the other witches who have congregated, waiting for the blood moon eclipse to begin. As the eclipse draws closer, Lena starts to feel a new power build within her-- her own magic swells, itching to be released.

Lex arrives and starts blasting witches' heads off. In the commotion, Kara scurries through the fray to cut Lena loose. But the ropes are thick, and Kara's knife is small. As she saws through the ropes, Lena spots Rhea marching towards them with murder in her eyes.

"Must hurry, must hurry--" Lena mutters, trying to keep her cool.

"I'm almost-- there!" Kara cries, ducking aside as the ropes split apart and Lena surges from the altar to meet Rhea on her feet. Kara tosses her the knife as she goes, and Lena catches it deftly before swiping at Rhea with the blade.

Rhea easily dodges, snarling. Even after Lex flips her a weapon (her favorite crossbow), though, landing single scratch on Rhea proves difficult. She is a grand witch, after all.

Knocking Lena to one side, Rhea looks up to find the blood moon has passed. Her chance to complete the ritual is gone, and won't return for another generation. With Lena still recovering from the last blow, Rhea whirls towards Lex, and slashes her wand through the air between them.

Lena looks up just in time to see the spell gather on the tip of Rhea's gnarled wand, aimed straight for her brother. She screams.

"NO!"

At her cry, a snarled mess of roots pulls from the ground as though bidden, twisting themselves into a savage point that pierces through the back of Rhea's head to protrude through her mouth, widening until the constraint of her gaping teeth halts its growth.

It's too late. Even as Rhea falls limp, hanging lifelessly from the giant thorn of twisted vines, her spell leaves her wand and blasts into Lex's chest. He drops to the ground like a marionette whose strings have been cut.

"Lex!" Lena scrambles to her feet, dashing towards her brother, skidding to her knees beside him. She cradles Lex to her chest, looking to Kara for help. "Please!" she begs. "Please save him!"

Kara can only shake her head. "I can't. He-- He's already gone..."

Horror washes over Lena as reality sets in. After so many years of having only her brother, of protecting him, loving him-- he's gone. She's lost the one person in the world who never left her.

She's alone.

Grief rises sharp and hot within her. Tears fill her eyes as her ears roar. Emotion overcomes her, blinding them both to the unnatural sounds of bony joints clicking out of place behind them as Rhea's limbs begin to bend the wrong way, gripping the roots piercing her skull and climbing off them like a beetle.

By the time Rhea stands her skull has rebuilt itself. Instead of reaching for her wand, her fingers close around the ritual dagger, intent on taking advantage of the distraction of Lex's death to finish the last remaining Luthor sibling.

Just as she draws the knife back to strike, Lena's power surges through, amplified and made unstoppable by Lena's heartbreak as she sobs.

"No!" she screams to the void, sobbing. "NO!"

Her power blasts out of her in every direction, a bright white light that blinds Kara and saturates their surroundings with warmth and love. The force of Lena's magic halts Rhea in her tracks, and ultimately eats her away to nothing. The dagger drops harmlessly to the ground with no one the wiser.

When the light fades and Lena sags, suddenly spent, hopelessness nearly overcomes her. But then Lex sucks in a lungful of air, audibly gasping as he jerks back to life. Kara can only stare as Lena cries out in joy and relief, wrapping her brother in a fierce hug while Lex reels.

Kara has never seen anything like it. Somehow, Lena's power was enough to pull a life back after death had already claimed it. Truly, Lena is a grand white witch.

In the aftermath, Lex and Lena receive their payment and head off to their next adventure. Kara doesn't see them off from the village-- after all, the townsfolk had nearly murdered her. But her heart is still heavy as she sits in the forest outside her lonely cottage. The woods suddenly feel much smaller than they had before she'd met Lena...

"Hey."

Kara looks up to see Lena leaning against a tree, her crossbow slung over one shoulder. Lex stands with a horse and cart just a bit beyond, his features largely unreadable but not nearly so distrustful as they had been a few days ago.

Kara looks back at Lena in time to see a lazy smirk curl the woman's features.

"You coming?"

[makeitzesty]

RID15 circus au(circus rivalry)

So, for this au Steeljaw's pack would have like a creepypasta/ creature feature circus deal going. Bee team genuinely wants the public to be happy, so a standard circus that the people love. (THIS IS ALL BASED OF A HUMAN FANTASY AU)

Bumblebee would have the wings of a wasp, with two more sets of small eyes and horns like his g1 self. Strongarm is a German Shepherd (anthropomorphic), Grimlock is a dinosaur hybrid, Drift and Jetstorm are oni, Slipstream is a human and Dragon born(lung), Sideswipe is a centaur yearling, Fixit is a serpent)

Steel jaw and Bumblebee are the ring masters, obv. Steel jaw would be very good at hypnotizing children with his voice.

Strongarm is a strongman, reference to that one episode where Fixit watches her lift something of a hundred or a few.

Sideswipe is the stunt man, another reference to where Jazz comes in and he talks about the biker gang jackets on TV. It's also just a very brash very sideswipe thing to do.

Grimlock is the clown, he's definitely clumsy enough and everyone can get a crack out of it.

Fixit was gonna be a clown, but I made him a magician. He's a tech wizard in the series, now he's just a wizard. Makes sense to me.

Drift is a tightrope walker. He would spin some sword tricks and do some skill stuff on the rope cause he just got that skill.

Slip+Jet are trapeze artists. They be fliers at spark, they'd make a good duo in both standard trapeze and flying.

Steeljaw's pack: (NOTE: Thunderhoof would be a centaur, Fracture would be a creature with spines on his back, a long whip like tail, and sharp teeth/claws. The rest would pretty much be furries with Rottweiler Underbite)

Thunderhoof is the circus horse(read bottom⏬) I could see him with lights and streamers prancing around with Fracture trick riding on his back.

Fracture is the jester. He would be like candy pop more like, with the black lines on the eye. He's hothic, don't even argue with that. He's also we'll equipped, with colorful fire, tricks, and such.

Divebomb + Airazor are the lion/tiger doing the hoops. Airazor is a spider, ik, but could still have the fuzzy neck thing and jump hoops with his cat friend.

Underbite is the muscleman. Pretty self explanatory, or a sword swallower. Idk what to do with the fact that he eats a lot so he could do both? I don't know.

Springload is tumbling. He's sticky, he's got the long ass legs. He'd have the little red hatter top hat with Quillfire, who he would also have throw quills at him on a roulette wheel.

And quillfire is knife throwing. He'd volunteer people from the audience, or Springload. He'd use his quills for sure, and sometimes throw them at Thunderhoof to have him dodge them.

Honorable mentions: (Raker would be a being with beetle wings, horns, and animalistic legs.Clipshade is a Rottweiler (anthro) and Windblade is a Griffin born meaning she's half Griffin)

Shadow Raker would be a human fly. (Dancers commonly at a brothel who would dance upside down on the roof) He is also skilled in several stunts such as trapeze and tightrope, which he has taught to Slip, Jet, and Drift.

Clipshade would be a clown, if you've ever read the comics. Or a mime.

Windblade would be a silk aerialist. I don't think I have to explain that much.

[charkyzombicorn]

For Akainu and Luffy's final fight in the marine dad's au Akainu should nearly kill Luffy then have a flashback to raising Luffy, hesitate, and get kill either by Thatch or Luffy :D.

Oh no, Akainu waited too long, way too long

Luffy's already killed Im and the celestials and the emperors and become the freest man in the world by the time Akainu can catch up to him.

Just napping on a beach somewhere, when he sees Akainu again for the first time since he was locked away in Impel Down. Akainu says Luffy should have never been born, that he was a waste of time and resources and was now the most evil being alive, and so Akainu swore to kill him right then.

"What if I am?" Luffy asks, because he's become everything that he thought would keep him from ever knowing people or seeing places, and yet now he's got a family, a sea of friends and all the freedom in the world to see whatever he pleases. "I am a waste of resources, and when I die all those resources will be given back to the earth they came from. But this time is mine, given to me and taken by me, and I'll use it however I please." He said flippantly, not even bothering more than a glance at Akainu.

And Akainu charged, but it didn't even matter. Luffy dodged him, humored him, but wouldn't fight back - didn't need to. He's fought for his right to family and to slouch and to catch beetles and to laugh, he won't fight for no reason, and Akainu hasn't given him a reason. Not with his harsh words that would have torn apart a tiny desperate isolated Luffy, not with his Magma that burned little ten-year-old Luffy's skin before he learned to turn it to steel on command.

"Why do you want to fight me?" Luffy would ask, and Akainu would give a million different reasons except the right one. "Why do you want to kill me?" Luffy asked without grief, because he was only curious.

"Because your father was the devil!" Akainu barked, and Luffy only tilted his head to the side.

"You were my father, once." He replied. "How are you sure you're not the devil?"

"Because!" Akainu panted, trying to send more attacks Luffy's way, who hasn't broken a sweat. "I stick to my morals, I believe in absolute justice!"

Luffy only hummed. "And I believed in you, but I only got hurt for that." He stopped, and let the magma roll off his haki-covered skin like mud. "Why do you waste your time hurting yourself? Time is all we have."

Akainu fell to his knees with exhaustion. Why? Why? Why? Why was he letting this villain in his head?! He sneered at Luffy.

Luffy didn't react, didn't flinch or straighten or pause, only shrugged and walked away.

Akainu didn't have the strength to follow him.

[zoe-oneesama]

What do think lila would look like as a heroine with the other miraculous?

I've only sketched a few (which I'm saving for my patrons) but here's the Ladybug Lila(s) that I've done!

The thing with Lila is that her "alignment" effects how I draw her outfits. I've dropped sketching Lila's "Evil Pretending to be Good" hero forms just to give myself a little breather lol. Bella Stella's name comes from @imthepunchlord's Dodged a Beetle AU where Lila initially starts in this EPTBG position, but becomes less so over time.

Ko-fi | Patreon

[greekstar]

Warrior cat name Ideas Prefixes - A-Z A Acorn Adder Amber Ant Apple Arch Arrow Aspen Ash Asher Alder Amber B Badger Bark Beech Bellow Birch Berry Bird Black Blizzard Brave Breeze Bright Brown Bell Bug Beetle Bluebell Blue Bounce Brindle Brush Bush Buzzard Buzz Bee Bumble Bass Basil Bubble Brine Beaver Bison (I feel like this only goes good with ‘horn’ or Bisonpelt/fur.) Bat Bone Butterfly Burdock Broken Bramble Bracken Bay Brisk Blossom Briar Boil Branch Bud C Cloud Cloudy Crystal Cold Cricket Cliff Cardinal Crying Cougar Coyote Cobweb Chick Cow Cave Cheetah Carrot Coral Cactus Claw Cedar Cherry Cinder Clover Copper Creek Crooked Crouch Crow D Dew Dewy Duck Dusty Dust Dune Down Dagger Dodge Dolphin Daisy Doe Dapple Dappled Dark Dawn Dead Dove Drift Dusk E Eagle Ebony Echo Egg Eel Ember F Fallen Fallow Fawn Feather Fennel Fern Ferret Finch Fire Flame Fleet Flint Flower Flow Fly Fox Freckle Frog Frost Furze Fuzzy Foal Falling Fall G Gale Gust Golden Gold Goose Gorse Gorge Grass Gray Green Grass Goldfish Guppy Ghost H Hail Half Hare Hawk Hay Hoot Hazel Heather Heavy Hollow Holly Honey Honeycomb Hummingbird Horse Happy Hornet Hound Heron I Ice Ivy J Jagged Jay Joy Jaguar Jackdaw Jump Juniper K Kestrel Kink Koi L Lake Larch Leaf Lark Leopard Lichen Lightning Lily Lion Little Lizard Log Long Lost Loud Low Lynx M Maggot Mallow Maple Marsh Meadow Milk Minnow Mint Mist Misty Mole Moon Morning Moss Mossy Moth Mottle Mouse Mouth Mud Mumble Mink Muddy Moonlight Mountain Mushroom Monkey N Nettle Needle Nut Newt Night Nimble O Oak Oat Odd Olive One Otter Owl Orange Ocean Orca Opal P Pale Perch Pool Pike Peak Prickle Pounce Pine Petal Petal Pebble Pear Patch Pirate(kittypet or loner) Polar Peach Panda Pond Pigeon Plum Q Quail Quick R Rabbit Rain Ragged Rat Rattle Root Raspberry Reed Red Robin Rock Rose Rowan Rubble Running Rushing Rush Russet Rust Rye Raven Raccoon Rustle Rattlesnake Ravine Rapid S Sage Short Sheep Sedge Shrew Slate Slow Snail Sneeze Sorrel Soot Spider Spruce Sun Sunny Swallow Shallow Shade Sharp Scorch Sand Sandy Sky Silver Smoke Snake Soft Snow Sparrow Speckle Splash Spotted Squirrel Stalking Stalk Stalker Starling Stone Storm Stumpy Stump Sweet Swift Shred Sloe Shell Seed Shimmer Shimmering Skunk Spirit Squid Shy Sound Summer Sapphire Spiraling Spiral Shark Saturn T Tall Talon Tooth Timber Tiger Twig Tumble Thorn Thistle Thrush Tawny Tangle Ting Trout Torn Toad Tiny V Vine Vixen Void Vole W Wasp Weasel Web Weed Wet Whisker White Whale Wild Willow Wind Wolf Winter Wisteria Whisper Whispering Water Wave Waver Whisper Watermelon Whistle Wood Y Yellow

Yew

Yarrow- suggested

You guys DONT WANNA KNOW how LONG this took. I’m crying. And I might’ve missed some so feel free to send me messages in chat to request me editing it and putting it in some (not like messaging but the. Chat in this post lol.)

@cryptidclaw I also did this for our Au to help us with renaming.

I will get to suffixes soon I promise.

[ryqoshay]

Unstable World: Attack on Prism

Flagship: EmmaKanaKarin Also Starring: Setsuna, Ai, Rina Rating: T Words: 584 AU: A war-torn dimension other than our own Time Frame: Sometime before the main story Event: Promptober 2022 Event Source: Idol Fanfic Heaven channel on Discord Prompt: Carapace

---------

Author’s Note: Bonus 2nd entry for Oct 28th

Summary: General Emma heads to Prism to defend the city from invasion

---------

“General Verde!” A corporal burst onto the bridge. “Reports coming in of rifts appearing near Prism City.”

Karin sneered. Had the Paragon discovered Rina’s new lab? She glanced over to see concern on Emma’s face, as she was liking thinking something similar.

“All hands!” Emma called. “Prepare for maglev transit to Prism City!” She then turned to Lieutenant General near her and asked in a softer voice, “Karin-chan, would you mind waking Kanata-chan?”

“Of course.” Karin nodded.

A tense half hour later, the Montagna and its battalion of smaller tanks arrived to find a city under siege. Prism’s defenses, with aid from Setsuna's Firestorm Chasers, appeared to be holding against the usual Paragon ground forces. However…

“What are those?” Kanata asked, popping her head out of the hatch of the Dream Buster.

“Bug… tanks?” Karin replied from the Vivid Striker.

Amid the rear ranks of the Paragon forces, behemoth creatures scuttled about, not on treads or wheels, but on giant legs. Tank-like turrets were mounted into the backs of some that could pass as ants, while the horns of… what were they called again? rhinoceros beetles? had been reconstructed as giant artillery cannons. And, skittering through toward the forward ranks were what appeared to be huge centipedes.

As if giant airborne sea creatures cursed into servitude as airships weren't enough. Karin thought to herself. Now they've found some giant bug world to raid?

“The cavalry has arrived!” Setsuna cheered, swooping low to hover between Kanata and Karin's tanks. “Ai-san and I have been having trouble with these big bugs. They seem to have ablative carapaces that are resistant to our plasma.”

“And despite their size, they seem pretty good at dodging Rinari's artillery.” Ai added over the comm, still engaging the enemy.

“Then we will have to see how they like Vesuvius.” Emma responded from the bridge of the Montagna. “Evergreen Battalion! Advance!”

The tanks tread forward. Kanata and Karin broke off with their squadrons to deal with the ant tank and centipede things while Emma directed the rest toward the beetle artillery units.

“Kanata-chan’s gonna squish you!” The brigade’s other Lieutenant General drawled as the Dream Buster rammed through the middle of a centipede.

Ablative armor or no, the creature crumpled with the force of the blow, earning cheers from nearby Prism troops. More cheers responded to the Vivid Striker firing point blank into the head of an ant, blasting straight through to its thorax and causing an explosion within.

Now it’s Emma’s turn. Karin swiveled her position to watch.

Sure enough, the Vesuvius canon was already glowing. Then, with a titanic rumble, molten lava sprayed the nearest beetle.

Well, it wasn’t actually lava, rather a lava-like substance invented by Rina that could be superheated beyond the normal range of the real volcanic stuff. Or something like that, Karin didn’t understand the specifics. But it also stuck to surfaces better than napalm, allowing it to melt through darn near anything. Even Paragon enhanced ablative giant insect carapaces.

The tides of battle had turned. More troops poured out of Prism, leaving their defensive positions to go on the offensive. In less time than it took to traverse the distance to the city, the Evergreen Battalion eliminated the invading Paragon.

“Thank you, Emma-san, Kanata-san, Karin-san.” Rina’s voice came over the comm as the battle came to its victorious conclusion. “Please come in to refuel and restock.”

The Prism City gates opened and the brigade made their way in to relax after a battle well won.

---------

Author’s Note Continued: Definitely need to expand this chapter.

[harveybwabbit92]

Invader Zim: Elite Guardians AU Pt. 2

The following is a non-profit fan-based story, Invader ZiM  is owned by Jhonen Vasquez and Nickelodeon please support the official release, I gain no profit nor do I own anything other than OCs and whatever spouts from my imagination!

------------------------------

A another month passed Zim started looking less like wrinkled worm and more like an Irken, Red and Purple were running low on money, Repairing the cruiser was getting more difficult, whenever they fixed something, another thing would break or scavengers would sneak in and take whatever wasn't bolted down, that's when the Elites came to the conclusion that maybe they should look for work. So they started bounty hunting for the local constabulary.

What choice did they have? if they were ever gonna get off this rock and find Cradle 2-117. Bounty hunting was the way to go, The Cruiser was a lost beyond repair, but there were a lot of ships for sale in Meeko; the problem was finding who was willing to sell a ship to them, The citizens were still cold towards them, Again. Neither Red and Purple could understand why? They soon got answer in the most unconventional way, they'd come back from a job, Some nut job thought it was good splice a giant spider with a squid and than super sizing it!

Red was shooting the thing with his Plasma gun while Purple striking it with his photon axe, meanwhile Zim was happily skipping around the battlefield, narrowly missing being crushed or shot at, Red noticed the smeet hopping around. "Zim! get out of the way!" Red dodges a tentacle swinging for him. "You're gonna get hurt!" He barked the smeet just stared at him blankly before smiling "Rwed!" he cheered waving at him, Red facepalmed. "Hi!" he waved back before going back to fighting, Zim went back to his little skipping game dodging death at every corner, only stopping when he saw a large beetle crawling around on the sand, the smeet crouched down just as Purple was thrown off the Squider and sent crashing into the wall behind Zim.

The purple eyed elite sat up with a groan; rubbing his head looked at Zim and did a double take when he saw the smeet eating a beetle, Purple jumped to his feet rushed over to the smeet trying to pry his mouth open. "Naw, no, no. Spit it out, spit out! c'mon!" he lightly slapped Zim's back and the smeet spat up bug guts Purple grimaced. "Disgusting!" he huffed giving the smeet some ration wafers and went back to helping Red fight, Zim calmly sat out of the way to eat and watch his 'Brothers' fight the monster, by the end of the battle Red and Purple were covered in ink and teal colored guts, and their wallets were a good chunk heavier, when they woke up this morning...

Later when they got back to the cruiser both Red felt something was off, there was scent in the air he didn't recognize at first he thought it was the Squider guts, but as they got closer to their wreck... it became more apparent that someone or something was in there, Purple noticed it too he and Red exchanged a look; the red clad elite set Zim down and shush him, the smeet copied him and nodded, Purple dispatched his PAK legs and went in from above while Red followed and hid in the doorway of the engine room, his first thought was it was just another scavenger looking for scrap, but by now everyone nearby knew this ship was occupied and stayed clear of it, Red peeked into the engine room and saw a hooded figure fidgeting around with the power core. 

Red's eyes narrowed as he tried to get a better look and saw this person reading off what looked like an engineering manual, he saw Purple getting into position, they could hear this person mumbling to themselves. "Okay... now shut down switch Y and detach port Q?...wait no, um..." the guards looked at each other and nodded, Purple jumped from the ceiling; landing in front of the intruder catching them completely off guard. "What the fu-" they saw the purple eyed Irken reach for a his stunned baton and panicked. "Shite!" they yelped and went to run only to get pistol whipped from behind by Red knocking them out. 

Red and Purple were perplexed when they tied them up removed the intruders hood and made sure they didn't have weapons, they've never seen an alien like them before...  they had this weird long stringy stuff on their head that was soft to the touch, but stood out out most of all was how tall they were... Both Irkens just barely came up to the intruder's chin. "Whoa! They're almost the same height as Tallest Miyuki!" Purple said stunned while Red shook his head. "No... Miyuki is definitely taller..." he insisted but then again they haven't seen Tallest Miyuki in months! So they couldn't exactly make a comparison.

While the two were prattled about Miyuki and the intruder's heights, neither noticed Zim wander in the smeet looked between the bickering Elites before noticing the stranger sitting against the wall. His pink eyes lit up as he curiously approached the unconscious alien, He saw the long fuzzy stuff on their head and immediately grabbed it and started tugging which roused the trespasser awake.

Red and Purple tenses at the unknown voice cut into their conversation they looked and saw Zim swinging off the alien's... mane? "Ow..ow! quit it! They try to jerked their head away from Zim's grasp. "Oww, Seriously kid stop it!" They growled Red snapped out of his stupor and quickly picked up Zim. "Don't talk to him like that!" He spat glaring at the intruder, who glared back their e/c eyes looked odd too, but Red was more focused on whether or not they were a threat or not.

"Who are you? What are you?" he huffed along with Purple butting in. "And why do you want our power core?" the alien winced a the purple one's shrill voice. " if I tell you will you untie me?" they asked hopeful, the Irkens were silent, and the intruder took their silence as a hard "maybe."

"My name is Y/n, I’m a human female, My ship crashed few clicks north from here, the power core was always little spotty, and it finally gave up the ghost. So I went out looking for a replacement, looked around Meeko and other crash sites, before finding a power signal that lead me to... I thought it was it was a derelict ship!"

"Does this ship derelict look to you?!"

"Well... yeah? I mean look around, your ship is in pieces! it'll obviously never fly again, I'm surprised your core was even intact!"

"How did you even get in? we have security measures!"

Y/n looked bemused before something clicked in her head, she cocked her head towards the front of the ship. "Oh! the giant hole in your hull, with the lasers and forcefield? yeah, I think your motion sensors and hard light generator is offline, I walked right through it" Purple looked like he was going to cry seeing as he was the one who rigged that forcefield up. " that and your front door was wi... was.." Your voice suddenly trailed off, Red and Purple watched your demeanor change as something caught your eye, it took a moment for Red to notice you were staring at the Irken symbol on their armor.

"Shite... You slaver scum!" both Irkens jumped back startled by your sudden outburst. "What are you planning to do with that kid?! huh? did you kidnap him too?" You growled Red and Purple looked at each other stunned. "What are you talking about?" Red asked you just glared him in disgust. "Don't play fucking coy with me! I’ve seen your damn ship going around ransacking outposts around the system and kidnapping people!" Red and Purple were at loss here, 2-117 was overtaken by Slavers? well, at least now they knew why almost everyone on Greedo was so hostile towards them!

There was a tense stare down between the trio, You watched as the two "slavers" got into a huddle, you heard the numbers "2-117..." being mumbled then Red one was saying something the Purple one disagreed with. "No, oh no no no! We're not taking in another stray!" the purple hissed vehemently. "She's the our ticket off this rock, we're doing it!" They turned to look at you.

"What?" you hissed as the Red clad alien silently handed the kid over to his Purple counterpart who glared at him, you tensed up as he walked up to you. "Calm down and just listen alright?" Red guy explained they’re not slavers, but Elite guards from Irk sent to investigate and retrieve a missing Nursery ship called Cradle 2-117 that had been skyjacked a few months ago, the only lead they have is Zim, who Red found malnourished and wandering around in a trash dump.... Now you.

You of course were bit skeptical about this whole situation, what with being tied up and all! but, then Purple told you to take a good look at Zim, the kid was same species as them: Irken. "How many other Irkens have you seen wandering the Tarn system?" You realized never, you have never seen an Irken in Tarn before, so maybe they were telling the truth? then Purple got you attention again "Where was the last place you saw that ship?" You paused thing back to were you saw the Irken ship, it wasn’t hard to forget considering how unique it looked. 

"I think it was headed to Planet Nyree? that’s a two week journey from here." Both Irken elites looked each other hopeful, finally a real lead! "However I'd suggest getting a new ship, I don’t think this one will taking off anytime soon." They hear the ship groan as a panel falls out of the ceiling, landing a little too close to you then you'd like, Red looks at Purple whose shoulders slumped, knowing what was coming, You were confused as Red reach around behind you and untied you. "Okay! New plan, we need a ship and you need a power core, let’s make a deal..." and that's how you gained three new crew members aboard the Cardinal.

[gukyi]

do you want me (dead?) | jjk

summary: jeon jungkook, quidditch extraordinaire and overall pain in your ass, is the one problem you can’t seem to solve, even with years of being the school’s advice columnist under your belt. that is, until you begin to receive letters from someone under the alias of bambi, requesting help with confessing to a crush, and suddenly, your relationship with jeon jungkook takes a turn for... the worst?

{hogwarts!au, enemies to lovers!au}

pairing: jeon jungkook x female reader word count: 11k genre: fluff! just fluff !!! warnings: this may or may not be absolute self-indulgent trash. a/n: ha! you thought it would be like 20k, you were wrong. and honestly, i’m kind of glad it’s the same length as the rest of the sorted series. you know, for uniformity. anyway, enjoy this flaming garbage dumpster pile of a jungkook e2l fic. have i ever written anything more self indulgent? no? also, happy 2 years to gukyi dot tumblr dot com!!!!

Dear Y/N,

I need your help! I’ve liked this boy for a couple months now, and he’s friends with some of my friends, but any time he comes up to me I run away because I don’t know what to do. Whenever I’m around him I clam up and can’t say more than a couple of words before chickening out and running away. He probably thinks I hate him. Do you have any advice on how to tell him that I like him?

Yours truly, An awkward third-year

Dear An Awkward Third-Year,

Don’t be afraid! I’m sure we’ve all been there with the person we’re crushing on. The nervousness is totally natural. But the only way that he’s going to know how you feel is if you take initiative and tell him! I obviously can’t advise you too personally, but if you dance around the topic, you might confuse him! The worst thing that he can do is tell you no, but the only way to know if he feels the same way is if you tell him. And if you’re scared to just blurt it out, figure out some common interests and just worm it into the conversation. Don’t get too hung up over a boy, but do let him know how you feel! You may get some really great results. Good luck!

Yours truly, Y/N

The letters are dropped off at the front of the Slytherin table in the Great Hall every Thursday at exactly seven in the evening, right after you finish eating dinner but before you resign yourself to your dormitory for the night. They’re always neatly packaged, pushed into a nice little stack and wrapped together with a long string of tweed. It’s just enough time for you to read them all, select the three or four that will make it into the next issue of the school’s weekly newspaper, which prints on Sundays.

“I hate your owl,” Yuju says one Thursday night, feeding it bits of corn she’s plucking off of the cob on her plate. “He acts too much like my uncle’s nineteen-year-old golden retriever and not enough like an actual owl.” Her fingers drift away from its mouth and towards the side of its head, scratching it as it coos happily, curling into her touch.

“Why do you think I named him Dog?” You deadpan, unwrapping the stack of letters in front of you. “Stop feeding him corn. You know that the butter makes him throw up.”

“All the more reason to,” Yuju says, plucking off a couple more bits for Dog to wolf down before you actually begin to berate him. Half the reason he even lingers after dropping off the weekly papers, instead of flying off like the rest of the owls, is because both you and Yuju seem to have developed quite the soft spot for him. She moves on from the corn and to the tortilla on her plate, which she says is part of a deconstructed taco. It, in total honesty, looks like a very small, very measly, very insignificant Mexican buffet.

“I hate you,” she mumbles under her breath. It’s unclear if the words are directed at you, her best friend, or Dog, the owl with what she deems is the ‘most ridiculous name for an owl in the history of wizardry as the homo sapiens species knows it’, which is a bit of an overstatement if you do say so yourself. “I hate you and your dumbass name.”

“Stop, he can understand you,” you say, reaching over to cover Dog’s ears. Dog hoots unsuspectingly, looking as pleased as ever as he pecks at the tortilla in Yuju’s hands. “And stop feeding him. Pretty soon he’s going to stop eating the wholesale beetles I buy him because he’s been too exposed to the high quality deliciousness of the Great Hall’s cafeteria meals. It’s like dessert for him.”

“Fine,” Yuju says with a sigh, letting Dog nip the last piece of tortilla in her hand before shooing him off. He flies away with ease, but not before he sends a glare your way for limiting his Great Hall dinner intake. Great. Now not only will your owl begin refusing the healthy, hearty, cheap-for-the-quantity wholesale beetles, but he will also hate the hand that feeds it. Ungrateful feathered sausage.

Turning back to the reason that Dog was even being hand-fed the equivalent of McDonald’s milkshakes in the first place, you begin to shuffle through the stack of letters for the week. It’s not a very sizable stack, but that’s because it’s still the beginning of the year, and no one’s really figured out how the whole advice column thing works yet. Unlike you, a seasoned expert. It’s most of the same stuff, first and second years fretting over the workload and not knowing how to make friends or how to handle the professors. Typical beginning-of-the-year worries. You’ll know how to answer these with ease.

Yuju peers over to read some of the ones you’ve discarded, lying scattered on the deep mahogany of the table. She says it’s because sometimes she can offer valuable and indispensable advice, but you know it’s just because she’s nosy as hell and can’t help but look into other people’s business, even if they are anonymous.

“Wish I had this sort of thing when I was a baby first year,” she comments to herself. “Instead I just turned to you for all of my daily inconveniences.”

“Yeah, which is exactly why I started this column,” you remind her, memories of her flopping onto her bed in the dorm and groaning about all of her problems flickering through your mind. You’d never tell Yuju this, but your late night chats became the reason you approached the head of the school newspaper in your third year with a suggestion for an advice column.

You fish through the pockets of your robe, hunting for a spare pen so you can begin to formulate some responses when you hear loud stomping and obnoxious laughter coming from the entrance of the Great Hall. Glancing over from where you’re seated at the Slytherin table with Yuju by your side, you spot four boys clambering into the Great Hall, one with a particularly familiar tuft of bouncy, brown hair.

“Speaking of daily inconveniences,” you say sarcastically, eyes rolling like the magical night sky above your heads is mocking you. You don’t think you’ve done anything mean recently, so you can’t possibly imagine why karma has it out for you.

Except maybe it doesn’t matter, because Jeon Jungkook defies all laws of the universe and its natural system of rewards for good deeds and punishments for bad ones. All so he can exist in this very timeline, in this very location, in this very lifetime. Which so happens to perfectly coincide with your own.

Jeon Jungkook saunters into the Great Hall, footsteps heavy and jarring, just so he can remind everyone that he’s made an appearance. He laughs like a roar of thunder, forceful and purposefully. Exists obnoxiously, without regrets or second guesses.

“Maybe if you keep your head down and put your robe over yourself he won’t notice you—no, he’s coming over here.” Yuju says, making you nearly slam your head on the table in exasperation. “I tried,” she tells you helpfully, not sounding like she tried very much at all.

“Working on next week’s Witches’ & Wizard’s Counsel?” Jungkook asks instead of a hello, like any normal, non-annoying person who’s just trying to make casual conversation and not pointed and directed disturbances would do.

He snatches up one of the pieces of paper spread out on the table before you to inspect it. You reach out to wrestle him for it back, but not only is Jungkook across the table, he is also standing and taller than you anyway. “Hey, this person needs some advice for trying out for their house’s Quidditch team,” he says with a smug grin lacing his features, like he thinks he’s onto something. “Maybe I should give them a few pointers.”

“Give that back, Jeon Jungkook,” you say, reaching over the table with grabby hands to wrestle him for it back. He dodges your nimble yet crab claw-like fingers with ease. “You know that’s private.”

“It’s anonymous!” Jungkook cries defensively, even if he does cave and hand it back. “Besides, you’ll end up publishing it in the newspaper anyway. What’s another person taking a look at it, huh, Pumpkin?”

“Ugh,” you say, tilting your head back in exasperation. You swear, Jeon Jungkook takes off five years of your life just by existing within close proximity of you. “You’re never gonna let that go, are you?”

Jungkook chuckles. “You got to go to Hogsmeade for the very first time independently, nearly bought out Honeydukes’s Pumpkin Pasties stash, and then proceeded to vomit it up on the sidewalk two hours later after how many of them? Nine? Ten?” He asks, goading you on, and like a fool, you engage in it.

“That was four years ago!” You hiss.

“Doesn’t make it any less funny,” Jungkook admits. Next to you, Yuju’s on the verge of breaking out into giggles. “I’ll drop the nickname if you really want me to, Pumpkin, but I think it’s cute. It makes you different.”

“You’re the only person who calls me that,” you groan.

“It could be worse,” Yuju pipes up unhelpfully. “You could have vomited up a bunch of Cockroach Clusters, instead.”

Jungkook chuckles.

“You are not helping!” You glare at Yuju, who merely laughs. Seven years together and she’s never truly grasped the sensation of pure aggravation that you feel whenever a certain brown-haired Ravenclaw is nearby. “Why are you here, Jeon? Besides to give me a headache.”

“Want me to kiss it better?” Jungkook teases. You are on the verge of shoving Yuju’s half-eaten corn on the cob right up his nose. “What, am I not allowed to say hello to some of my favorite Slytherins out of the goodness of my heart?” He places a hand over his chest, mock offended you’d ever take a jab at his not-so-innocent intentions.

You frown. You don’t think Jungkook’s ever done anything out of the pure, unadulterated, so-called goodness of his heart. You should know. You write for the newspaper. There’s always fine print, always provisos and loopholes.

“I just came to check in on you,” he says innocently. You narrow your eyes. “Fine, and to remind you of my undying love.”

“My God,” you say, closing your eyes out of sheer annoyance. “If it doesn’t die soon, I think I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.”

“Harsh, pumpkin,” Jungkook says with a pout. “Never met someone so resistant to someone willing to devote their whole life to yours. Thought you were supposed to be all encouraging about love and nostalgia. Seems like your kind of thing.”

“You don’t know what kinds of things are my things,” you tell him defensively. It’s as if he can read you like a fucking board book. Have you always been so transparent? Or is it just him?

“But I want to know.” He winks for good measure. Your brain makes a mental note to steal a few beans from the stash of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans that Yuju keeps hidden in her trunk, so you can vomit later. “Sure you don’t want my help with that Quidditch letter?”

“I’m positive,” you deadpan. “I wouldn’t ask you for help even if Lord Voldemort returned.”

“Good thing he won’t, right?” Jungkook grins, all teeth and crinkled eyes. Someone from the Gryffindor table calls his name. What a goddamn shame your conversation’s been cut short. “I’ll catch you around, Pumpkin,” he says as he begins to bound off, always a fully-charged battery of a human being. “Don’t forget about me, won’t you?”

You couldn’t even if you tried.

Jungkook leaps off to interact with people that don’t see red whenever they speak to him as Yuju mutters something about how much she wants to destroy the Ravenclaw quidditch team this season.

You look down at the letter Jungkook had mindlessly picked up.

Dear Y/N,

I really want to try out for my House’s Quidditch team, but I’m too scared! I know that they’re in need of a Seeker, but I’m Muggleborn and I’ve only ever been on a broom during Flying Class. My friends say that I have a good eye for small things and that I should go for it, but I’m afraid that everyone will laugh at me because I don’t have any experience. I’ve tried reading books and watching other people play, but I don’t think it’s helping. And every time I try to get a broom to practice on the field, I see people who are really good at it, like Jeon Jungkook, and I chicken out. Do you think I’ll ever be as good at it as he is?

Yours Truly, A Seeker Hopeful

You groan. The bewitched ceiling of the Great Hall laughs at you.

Here’s the thing about Jeon Jungkook: he wasn’t always such a nuisance.

Or at least, giving him the benefit of the doubt, you assume he wasn’t always such a nuisance. Whether or not he’s always been this sleazy and unbearable will forever remain a mystery to you, but you can say with certain confidence that ever since you met him in the third year, he’s been nothing but a complete and total bother.

You love your best friend dearly, but Yuju joining the Quidditch team in your third year was the worst thing that’s ever happened to you. Because Quidditch equates to Quidditch friends, and Quidditch friends equates to a certain insufferable Ravenclaw seeker.

The whole point of the formation of the universe is that everything that has ever happened since the very fabric of time began has led up to this moment. Which, in theory, seems pretty goddamn astounding. The universe has twisted, turned, morphed, metamorphosized over the past fourteen billion years just so you could be right here, right now.

Except theory is always more idealized in reality, and there aren’t enough words in the English language to express how overwhelmingly bothered you are by the fact that it took the universe fourteen billion years, fourteen billion goddamn years, for you to end up next to Jeon Jungkook.   

But hey, maybe Jeon Jungkook wasn’t always such a nuisance.

“Have you guys noticed something different about Hufflepuff this year?” Yeeun asks one Thursday night as you’re gathered in the Slytherin common room. She’s letting Yuju give her a haircut, sitting patiently on a wooden stool as Yuju flitters and flutters about her, the pair of scissors in her hand leaving little paths of blonde hair in their wake. “They’re getting more aggressive.”

“Aggressive how?” Yuju asks. Her eyes widen when the scissors move a bit too quickly, chopping off more hair than they can chew. Yuju glares at you—keep your mouth shut. Hair grows back.

“Not like, violent aggressive. But Quidditch season started like, a week ago and yesterday I was eating my lunch in the Great Hall when a herd of Puffs wearing full Puff memorabilia—scarves and everything—stormed in and screamed, ‘WE’LL HUFF, AND WE’LL PUFF, AND WE’LL BLOW YOU OFF YOUR BROOMS!’ And quite frankly, it was so much Puff Pride that I was actually scared,” Yeeun recalls.

Yuju chuckles to herself, shaking her head. “I guess we’ll just have to prove them wrong, eh? Next time we play Puff, I’ll make sure that they don’t get a single Quaffle through the hoops.”

“You better,” Yeeun huffs.

“You gonna watch?” Yuju asks. “It’s your duty as a rising seventh-year. Can’t believe you’re gonna be seventeen next year, huh?”

“Can’t believe you guys are graduating this year,” Yeeun says in response, frown lacing her features. You have to agree with her—though you only know Yeeun from house activities, she’s definitely become one of your favorite people. Alongside Yuju, of course.

The chatter continues as Yuju dutifully snips away at Yeeun’s hair, making sure it’s just above shoulder-length like Yeeun likes it. You filter through the letters you received for the weekly column, still stacked neatly wrapped up in tweed—the Great Hall was serving tomato soup for dinner, otherwise you would have read through them all during supper, beginning to narrow down the small pile to the three or four you’ll keep for the newspaper.

“Hey! Bambi’s sent another one,” you exclaim happily, recognizing the scrawl of Dear Y/N instantly, always so distinct. Or maybe that’s because Bambi’s been sending you letters since the beginning of your sixth year, so you’d be a fool not to recognize his handwriting, or at least the way he writes Dear Y/N, by now.

Yuju grunts in acknowledgement of your exclamation at the same time that Yeeun, baby, sixth-year, pureblood Yeeun says, “What’s a Bambi?”

“Oh, the name of a character from an old Muggle film,” you explain, knowing that any more technicalities will confuse her. “He’s one of the regulars I get for my column. He’s been sending me nice letters ever since the beginning of last year.”

“Aw, maybe he’s got a crush on you!” Yeeun immediately exclaims, making Yuju jerk away from her hair sharply, on the verge of bursting into laughter.

You shake your head. “I doubt it, since anonymity isn’t the best way to confess feelings. But he’s sweet and sometimes won’t even ask me for advice—just sends me a note telling me that I’m working hard for the column and doing a good job. Little pick-me-ups, things like that. It’s really nice of him, actually. I don’t normally get thanked for my advice column.”

“That’s bullshit,” Yeeun grumbles. “You deserve every newspaper award in the world for all the work you put into that thing.”

“Everyone else who contributes to the newspaper works just as hard as I do,” you remind her. You glance down at Bambi’s note, neat cursive handwriting resting gently on the paper, like it’ll fly away like dandelion wisps if you blow at it. “But it is nice to get stuff from him, sometimes.”

“Y/N likes this anonymous Bambi more than she likes us,” Yuju jokes to Yeeun, finishing up the final touches. Yeeun’s hair, as always, looks wonderful. Yuju has a talent for this kind of thing. She motions to the paper in your hand. “What’s it say?”

Dear Y/N,

Over the past couple of weeks I have come to a life-ruining, world-ending, universe-collapsing conclusion: I have a crush. I mean, I suppose I’ve had this crush for a while now, but I only just recently realized it. Anyway, to put it into less melodramatic terms, there’s this girl that I really like. Like, stupid like. It’s kind of ridiculous. All of my friends tease me about it. But I just think that she’s funny and beautiful and creative and witty and a long list of other positive adjectives. Only problem is (here’s the earth-shattering part): I have no idea how to tell her. And I’m afraid that it might just slip out accidentally and then my chance for a grand romantic gesture will be ruined. Any suggestions?

Yours truly, Bambi

“Aw, he’s got a crush!” You exclaim happily, fawning over his words.

“Lemme see,” Yuju demands, making grabby hands for the paper. You hand it over to her, and she inspects it like a textbook passage she doesn’t understand and has to reread. “Um, if you ask me, personally, this is less like a crush and more like complete infatuation. Just saying.”

“And?” You ask defensively.

“You have never been in a relationship before,” Yuju says, looking you dead in the eyes with her big brown ones. She punctuates each word with a head jerk for emphasis.

“So what? He’s asking me for advice on a school crush. This is Hogwarts—relationships built here aren’t meant to last. We’re teenagers. We don’t know what real love is.”

Yuju rolls her eyes as she hands Yeeun a mirror for her to see her new haircut. “But from the looks of it, it sounds like he does. Maybe it is just a schoolboy crush, but Bambi, whoever the hell he is, seems pretty dedicated to it. You ever thought about that?”

You pout. This conversation is going nowhere, and by going nowhere, you mean quickly morphing into reasonable yet angry comments directed at you.

Yuju sighs, voice getting softer. She can never stay mad at you for long. “You should stop being so jaded all of the time. You’re an advice columnist, for God’s sake, Y/N. Look on the bright side.” Yeeun beams a thank you at Yuju for her haircut. “Sometimes, love lasts.”

Quidditch has never been your thing. Activities that involve flying have never been your thing. The idea of whizzing around a field fifty feet in the air as bugs fly into your face while sitting on a broomstick makes all parts of you uncomfortable, from your brain to your… lower regions.

Long story short, athletic sports that don’t involve two feet almost always on the ground aren’t really your thing. But you’ll be damned if you don’t support your best friend and your house until the day you perish.

Which is exactly why you’re sitting in the bleachers of the Quidditch field in the middle of a very strangely warm November afternoon, the sun beating down on your black robes, absorbing as much heat as physically possible. Despite it being near winter, the effects of Muggle-made (and wizard-made, but wizards don’t like taking blame for the slow heat death of the only inhabitable planet within the known parameters of space) climate change reign, and you shrug off your heavy robes to leave only your undershirt and tie on within five minutes of being outside.

Yuju’s dragged you out to one of her informal, house-inclusive Quidditch get-togethers (not serious enough to be a practice, but not light enough to be deigned hanging out) under the guise of moral support, leaving you sat pathetically on the bleachers as your best friend and her Quidditch buddies zip around above you. They’re tossing around the Quaffle like a strange, very mobile game of Hot Potato.

It’s the perfect time for you to get your homework done, the ambient sounds of “Hey, Clark, think fast!” and “You almost hit my goddamn nose!” the optimal background noise for peak productivity. And you’d never admit it to Yuju (because it would mean that you actually enjoy sitting out in the sun being boring), but the empty bleachers make pretty decent tables.

You’re switching back and forth from your completely and utterly incomprehensible arithmancy homework and edits for the newspaper—other sections, of course—when you hear the familiar sound of a broom coming to a halt in front of (or more above) you, the sound cutting right through the air and wind. You have half of a mind to not even look up, suspecting it’s just Yuju to complain about the fifth-year Gryffindor Beaters she hates, when—

“Pumpkin, come to watch me?”

You should have known better. It’s no surprise that Jeon Jungkook’s here today—he’d never pass up the opportunity to flaunt his Quidditch skills. Your presence is just a bonus.

“Yes, Jungkook,” you deadpan. A frown etches itself across your lips, partially because of the person you’re talking to, and partially because said person is blocking your view of the sun, which you would otherwise stare into so as to never have to lay eyes on Jeon Jungkook again. “Out of the dozen or so people on that field, one of whom being my best friend, you are the person I’m here to watch.”

Jungkook grins, and though his face is shadowed, the rays of the sun cast some sort of deceivingly angelic glow around his figure. “Always knew you had a soft spot for me.”

“Yeah, no one I’d rather knock off their broom than you,” you mutter to yourself, just loud enough for Jungkook to hear. You���re not sure if he’s still paying attention, but if he is, he doesn’t say anything.

“Jeon! Stop schmoozing and get over here!”

Both you and Jungkook turn to the source of the voice, another one of the Ravenclaws out at practice who’s waiting atop their broom for Jungkook to get off his ass and do what he came here to do.

Jungkook grins guiltily. “Looks like they need me, pumpkin. Watch this next trick, it’s for you!”

Before you have the chance to remind Jungkook of how little you care for him and his tricks, he flies off, leaving an empty pathway of air in his wake. You don’t know what he’s got up his sleep, but if it’s anything like the other tricks he’s pulled over the five years that you’ve known him, you know better than to wait and find out.

Someone else comes to a halt beside you. It’s Yuju. “What was Jeon Jungkook doing talking to you?”

You frown. “What do you think?”

Yuju chuckles. “Right. I forgot he was going to be here. You didn’t have to stay if you knew he was here, you know.”

“You kidding? Of course I’m gonna come and cheer on my best friend,” you say, shrugging it off. Yuju’s worth the suffering that Quidditch brings. “Go Yuju!”

“You’re the best,” Yuju says with a grin. You shrug. You know you are.

“Hey, pumpkin! Check this out!”

Jeon Jungkook calls your name at the perfect time—just enough time for you to actually follow his directions and look towards him. Someone on the far side of the field tosses a small, non-active Snitch in your general direction, and Jungkook tears after it, reaching the puny thing in just under a couple of seconds, a quick flip of his broom as he catches it in his right hand. You don’t have enough time—or willpower, for that matter—to look away before he’s turning his head to you, blowing you an obnoxious kiss just for good measure.

“Christ,” Yuju snorts from next to you. “He’ll never give up, will he?”

You sigh. Maybe in your dreams, he might.

Dear Y/N,

Okay, maybe I should give you a bit more context to the aforementioned life-shattering crush I seem to have developed. We do actually know each other—I’m not just sadly pining after her from a distance—but we’re not exactly friends. Maybe acquaintances at best, but even that term might be pushing it. I’m just not sure how to tell her how I feel without coming off too strong, or scaring her. Even if she doesn’t feel the same, that’s the last thing I’d want. What should I do?

Yours truly, Bambi

Dear Bambi,

Hey, at least you both know each other! That’s a step in the right direction. I don’t know if this is universal, or if I’m the only one who thinks it’s decent advice, but maybe you should try getting to know her as a friend before you dive into the romantic stuff. That way, she’ll feel more comfortable around you and the air will be less awkward in general. If she’s not interested in just getting to know you better, then you’ll probably have a pretty good measure of whether or not she might feel the same romantically. Good luck!

Yours truly, Y/N

“Was Arithmancy homework always this difficult?” Yeeun asks, madly flipping through the textbook in front of her. It’s a small, old thing, notes scribbled in the margins from the three older brothers she has that took the course before her, passed down their sage wisdom and little doodles to her in the form of all of their beat-up textbooks. “I have no idea what’s happening in class right now.”

“Don’t worry,” you say, dipping your quill into the small blue jar of ink at the edge of the library table you’re seated at, charmed to refill automatically. “It gets worse.”

Yeeun groans. She takes one more look at the work in front of her and begins to pack up her belongings.

“Hey, where you going?” You ask. “You said you had the afternoon free to study.”

“I do. But I’m on the verge of breaking down because I don’t understand anything so I’m going to go talk to the Professor to see if he can help me and if he can’t, then I will be hiding in the Potions closet crying. So you’ll know where I am,” Yeeun says as calmly as she can muster. She looks perfectly fine on the outside, always so put-together and polished, but after knowing her for so long, you know that if you just tapped on her shoulder her entire façade would fall to the floor and shatter into a million pieces. So you don’t push it.

“Okay,” you tell her. “Be safe. Don’t drink anything in the Potions closet because that might make you worse at Arithmancy.”

“Got it,” Yeeun says, shooting you a finger gun before heading out of the library.

You’re left in silence, struggling to draft an essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts which is due at the end of the week, when someone else plops down in Yeeun’s place.

Much to your surprise, it’s Jungkook. And it doesn’t look like he’s here to bother you—or at least, that’s what you hope, considering he’s got his own schoolwork with him, spreading out comfortably as he begins to work, practically ignorant of your presence.

Now that you think about it, this is how it should have always been. The two of you, coexisting comfortably and without disturbances, keeping to yourselves and only talking if necessary. But now that Jungkook’s here, right in front of you, and he’s not saying a word, it leaves you with a prickle on your skin. A sense of peculiarity, because in the five years you’ve known him Jungkook has never been one to sit down and stay quiet.

“Can I help you with something?” You blurt, unable to keep your mouth shut when Jungkook’s sitting right there.

He looks up at you, a knowing glint in his eye, and smiles. “No. Just doing my work, pumpkin.”

It’s aggravating how calm he is. He knows he’s being just annoying enough to get under your skin, but you can’t really shout at him without seeming like the villain.

He’s always one step ahead of you.

“Well,” you stammer, watching as his lips curve upwards into a smirk, “can you do your work somewhere else? Please?”

“Why?” Jungkook pushes. “I’m being quiet. I’m keeping to myself. What’s the harm?”

You sneer, narrowing your eyes suspiciously. “Are you sure that I can’t help you with anything?”

Jungkook chuckles. “Well, if you must ask, I was wondering if you were up for studying together sometime. Since you haven’t magicked me out of my seat, I’m assuming you don’t mind me actually being here.”

You sputter, trying to defend yourself. Of course you mind him being here. You mind him being within a twenty-feet radius of you. You were only asking because it’s very unlikely that Jeon Jungkook would just plop down in the seat across from you in the library, pull out his books, and begin to study without a single word. Especially if he was across from you. “W—Well, why on earth would I study with you anyway? What am I getting out of it?”

Jungkook tsks. “You know, Pumpkin, sometimes people do things out of the good of their hearts. Do you really need a reason to study with me, a poor Ravenclaw who’s just trying to graduate?”

You glare at him.

“Alright, alright,” Jungkook caves. “I need help in Transfiguration and I hear that you’re pretty good at it. There.”

“What am I getting out of it?”

“What, you won’t just do this for me? I’m wounded, Pumpkin.”

Another glare.

“Fine,” Jungkook says with a roll of his eyes. “A little bird told me that you need a bit of help in Defense, so I figured we could help tutor each other. You know, like one of those symbiotic relationships.”

“That snake,” you mutter under your breath. How could Yuju tell Jeon Jungkook, of all people, that you’re struggling in Defense Against the Dark Arts? How could she betray you like that?

“So, whaddaya say?” Jungkook asks, stretching a hand out across the table. “You in?”

You sigh. Spending more time than absolutely necessary with Jeon Jungkook sounds like your own personal hell, but you suppose it can’t all be bad. After all, he’ll be at your mercy just as much as you’ll be at his, seeing as you both need help in your respective classes. So maybe there is a silver lining, after all.

You meet his eyes directly, dark and stormy and certain. “I’m in.”

Against all odds and several vows you had made yourself over the years, studying with Jungkook becomes somewhat of a normal thing. You work out a schedule—Wednesdays at four, the only day he doesn’t have Quidditch practice and one of the few days of the week you’re not fretting over the newspaper issue—and follow it dutifully, weeks passing with the two of you meeting up at the same table in the library, going over the lessons of the week and working out anything you missed.

It’s strange, having a faithful and consistent arrangement with someone you, at one point, wouldn’t be caught dead spending time with. And the strangest part of it all is that slowly, some part of you, some crevice deep within your bones and your soul and your being, actually begins to look forward to Wednesdays at four, where Jungkook will be arriving at your usual table, unpacking his belongings with a soft smile on his face, unaware he’s being watched.

That’s the thing you’ve come to realize. You’ve only ever known Jungkook when he’s knows he’s center stage, when he knows that there are eyes on him. Every time you’ve been around him prior to this, he’s been in the spotlight, got someone who’s paying attention to him. And suddenly, you’re catching him whistling to himself as he takes notes from his Transfiguration textbook and sneezing when the feathers of his quill brush against his nose accidentally and doing little dances when he gets a question right. Suddenly, he’s existing in the background, by himself, without the hard gazes of the people around him. And it’s different.

Or maybe it’s always been like this. You’ve just never had the luxury of witnessing it.

“Hey, Pumpkin,” Jungkook says, tapping your parchment with his quill to get your attention. “Does this make sense to you? I don’t get it.”

He flips around his textbook and points to a passage, brows furrowed as he tries to read it again, hoping maybe the words will stick this time. You squint slightly—out of habit—as you go over the text, the words slowly processing.

“Oh, yeah,” you say, nodding. Jungkook looks up at you like you just saved his life. “It’s just explaining the technicalities of the difference between conjuring charms and traditional conjuring transfigurations. See, charms will enhance an already-existing object, but conjuring transfigurations create something new entirely. But it’s kind of confusing, I have to admit, since both exist in their own realm of magical spells.”

“So conjuring charms create something in addition to something else, but conjuring transfigurations just make something new, then?” Jungkook asks for clarification.

“Exactly.”

“Oh, alright,” Jungkook says with a dutiful nod, quickly scribbling it down in his notes. “You make it so much easier than this damn textbook.” He grins honestly, earnestly, as he goes back to reading the rest of the chapter, leaving you to your own devices once more. These days, it’s not so much direct tutoring as it is studying together.

Against all odds, Jeon Jungkook has become someone you actually don’t dread being around. In moments like these, he is soft-spoken, gentle, and sincere.

It’s strange. Has it always been like this?

Dear Y/N,

Good news: I think we’re friends. Or at least, I think we’re friends. I’m not sure about her, but I’d like to think she feels the same way. Except now, the problem is that because we’re friends, I’m getting more and more nervous! I swear, every time I’m around her my hands get all clammy and sweaty and disgusting because I’m scared that if I do end up confessing and she doesn’t feel that way, we’ll lose what we already have. But do we even have anything in the first place? I’m not even sure if she thinks we’re friends! What now?

Yours truly, A Slightly-Panicked Bambi

Dear A Slightly-Panicked Bambi,

Don’t worry! Chances are that if you think you’re friends, she probably thinks that you’re friends as well, which is a great step in the right direction. I’d say that now you’ve established yourselves as friends, your next move is to slowly reveal your romantic intentions. Don’t pile them on her all at once because it might be too overwhelming. Try subtly incorporating romantic gestures into your relationship as it is now, like compliments and really, really lowkey flirts, to see if she picks up on the message. See where that takes you!

Yours truly, Y/N

It’s snowing.

It’s been snowing, really, for the past week now. It was a couple centimeters on one day and a few more on another day but this weekend has been the full force of it, a steady blanket of white covering the grounds.

But that doesn’t mean the seventh year Hogsmeade trip is cancelled. As Yuju likes to put it, Hogwarts doesn’t believe in rainchecks. Besides, Hogsmeade always looks prettier in the snow, when the flakes leave a soft pillow on the sloped rooftops of the buildings and Honeydukes brings out its seasonal treats, sugared snowflakes and peppermint toffee lining the windowsill. The peppermint toffee is a favorite of both yours and Yuju’s, but you know where your true loyalties lie (Pumpkin Pasties, of course).

“Thank God it’s the beginning of the semester otherwise I would be so stressed right now,” Yuju says happily as you walk along the pavement, feeling the wet cold of snowflakes falling onto your nose, your ears, and your fingertips. “Oh! Hey!”

Your best friend starts waving wildly at a small group of students standing outside of The Three Broomsticks. Through the snow, you recognize them as some of Yuju’s Quidditch buddies.

“Mind if we hang out with them?” Yuju asks, knowing that sometimes you like to keep your Hogsmeade trips an exclusive between the two of you.

“The more the merrier, right?” You say in response, letting yourself be dragged over to where they’re waiting. It’s two Gryffindors, one Hufflepuff, and two Ravenclaws, one of whom is barely recognizable under the thick blue scarf he’s got wrapped around the lower half of his head and the beanie covering his brunette hair.

“Hey, Pumpkin,” he says, voice muffled through the knit of his scarf. “Didn’t know you’d be joining us.”

“Well, here I am,” you say. “You know I’m only here for Yuju, right?”

Jungkook chuckles, and you watch as the air he breathes out through his nose materializes into fog from the cold. “Sure, you keep telling yourself that.”

You gasp, smacking his arm. “What’s that supposed to mean!”

Jungkook laughs, no time to respond before your group is trotting off, everyone shouting out random sights to see, like the Shrieking Shack or Zonko’s, the snow making everyone’s hearts a little colder, a little softer, and a little lighter.

You bounce around, making stops at all of your favorite locations around the area, including The Three Broomsticks for a round of celebratory Butterbeer, marking your final year at Hogwarts and praying that you’ll all graduate.

“Okay, sue me, but hot apple cider is way better than Butterbeer,” Jungkook says loudly, a moustache of Butterbeer foam decorating his mouth. His words spark an eruption of indignant exclamations, Muggleborns and purebloods alike insisting that Jungkook’s tastebuds are incorrect and have to be clinically checked. Because he is wrong.

Except he isn’t, and hot apple cider on a cold day by a lit fireplace is better than lukewarm Butterbeer, or even hot Butterbeer, any day.

“This might be the only thing we ever agree on, but you’re right,” you mutter to him, leaning over to whisper it in his ear.

Jungkook grins proudly.

Later that day finds you in Honeydukes, which is objectively the best location in all of Hogsmeade, no arguments. What more could you want out of a place other than constant, never-ending sweets? Nothing. Every time you visit Hogsmeade you make sure to drop by Honeydukes, say hello to the kind old lady behind the counter (who knows you by name), and buy a couple of your favorite items.

“I’m so tempted to get like, five slices of the lemon merengue pie,” Yuju says with a sigh, eyeing the display case longingly.

“Aren’t you lactose intolerant?” You say, more of a reminder than a question.

“And what about it?” Yuju says, almost like a challenge, before marching up to the register, already fishing through her pockets for her purse.

Your eyes wander back to the glass case, thinking that maybe, after five years of coming to Hogsmeade, you should branch out and not get the exact same thing that you get every time you come to Honeydukes (the aforementioned Pumpkin Pasties). The peppermint toffee looks delicious, and even though you’ve never tried them before, Yeeun always fawns over the Fizzing Whizbees—says it’s a better way to levitate than trying to cast Wingardium Leviosa on yourself. Chocolate Frogs are a classic you very rarely indulge yourself in, and you could never go wrong with Cauldron Cakes—

“Pumpkin,” Jungkook says, giving you a small shove as he arrives next to you with a bag from Honeydukes, taped shut. His scarf has been pulled down below his chin, revealing his bright red nose from the sudden change in temperature from the chilly outside to the heated store. “Here.”

You narrow your eyes. “If this is a cockroach cluster I’m going to sock you in the face.”

“Just open it,” Jungkook says with a roll of his eyes.

You do as you’re instructed, albeit hesitantly, only to find three neatly-wrapped Pumpkin Pasties sitting at the bottom of the Honeydukes branded paper bag, waiting to be devoured.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” you say softly, unable to stop the smile that spreads across your face. No one’s ever bought you sweets before. “Here, let me pay you back—”

“No need, Pumpkin,” Jungkook says, placing a cold hand on top of yours to stop you from getting your wallet out. “Consider it a thank you for all the time you spent helping me with Transfiguration.” You nearly shiver at the sensation of his skin meeting yours.

“Really?” You ask. “Well, thank you for thinking of me. I don’t know why you’re being so… nice to me, but it’s a pleasant change.”

Jungkook pouts. “Don’t you remember how I’m madly in love with you?” Of course, the moment you compliment him he turns back into his regular self. You shouldn’t have put it past him. “Had to honor your nickname, didn’t I?”

“Hey, do you want one?” You ask, figuring that it’s only right he gets to eat one of the treats he paid for.

“Sure,” Jungkook says happily, letting you pull one of the neatly packaged desserts out of the bag and place it in his hand. “Promise me you won’t throw up this one this time?”

For once, the memory of you vomiting up the contents of your stomach into a trashcan outside of Honeydukes doesn’t make you want to cringe. Instead, you laugh, recalling it with fondness as you and Jungkook clink together your Pumpkin Pasties like goblets filled with wine.

You giggle. “Don’t hold me to that.”

Thursday night finds you right where you always are, but with a new face across from you. Jungkook’s taken it upon himself to add onto your Wednesday evening study sessions, insisting he accompany you to dinner when you’re finished, and even on the next day as well, sometimes. You keep telling yourself that it’s because you’re best friends with Yuju, who knew Jungkook first through Quidditch. Because it’s highly improbable that Jungkook would want to join in on your Great Hall dinners just for you. Right?

“When’s the mail getting here?” Yuju huffs, poking at her half-eaten bowl of peas. “Dog’s the only one I know who’d actually want to finish my lukewarm buttered peas.”

“You know that the butter makes him throw up, Yuju,” you berate her. “Feed him something else. Preferably the food that I buy him that is meant for owls to consume.”

“But what else am I supposed to do with my peas? I don’t want to just leave them. That’s a waste,” Yuju exclaims.

“I’ll have ‘em,” Jungkook offers up. That’s one bonus of his sudden appearance at your dinner table—he’ll eat anything you won’t, like a food vacuum cleaner. “I love vegetables.”

Yuju looks hesitant. “I think I’ll just let Dog throw up.”

“Hey!” You shout at her.

Speaking of Dog, the mail begins to filter in, dozens of owls entering the Great Hall with packages hanging from their talons on their beaks, to be dropped off at their owners’ tables, right in front of their eyes. In the middle of the year, not many students are getting mail, but just like every other week, Dog appears faithfully to deliver your letters for the week.

“Is this the stuff for the Witches’ and Wizards’ Counsel?” Jungkook asks over a mouthful of chicken.

“Yeah,” you tell him, rubbing the side of Dog’s head as a thank you. “Oh, it’s a pretty small stack this week.”

“Guess no one’s having troubles this time of year,” Yuju comments, already beginning to spoon-feed Dog her peas. At this point, you don’t even care if Dog throws up. As long as he does it in the owlery, it won’t greatly inconvenience you.

You unwrap the tweed, letting it fall to the floor for one of the cats that roam the hallways of Hogwarts to play with, and begin to shuffle through the few letters that people sent you. It’s just enough for a full issue for the newspaper, thank God. “Hey, look. Bambi’s sent another one.”

Jungkook drops his fork onto his plate, the metal making a loud, disruptive clanking sound as it hits the glass. You, Yuju, and Dog, all turn to him, watching as he smiles guiltily, slowly picking up his fork and pretending that his clumsiness never happened.

“What’s this one about?” Yuju asks, hissing at Dog when he accidentally bites her finger.

“Lemme see,” you say, making to open the envelope.

“Who’s—Who’s Bambi?” Jungkook asks, mouth full. Dog seems to have notice the plethora of food still left on Jungkook’s plate, and is slowly making his way over to peck at Jungkook’s dinner rather than Yuju’s.

“Oh, just this guy who’s been sending me letters since the beginning of sixth year,” you muse happily. Jungkook nods, mumbling something unintelligible over his mouthful of food. “Sometimes he asks for advice but sometimes he just sends me kind words, which is honestly so thoughtful of him.”

“That’s nice,” Jungkook seems to say, though his words are quiet and muffled.

“And recently he’s been coming to me with questions about a girl that he likes and I just wish that I could give him better advice, you know?” You say, watching as Dog marches over to Jungkook, happily chewing on a piece of chicken he’s stolen from Jungkook’s plate, cooing contentedly. “Like, I feel like the advice I’m giving him on how to confess to this girl is the just what I would want if I was the girl, but obviously that’s not universal. Or at least, I don’t think it is. I don’t know. He’s always been so nice to me and I wish that I could give him better advice than what I’m giving him now.”

Jungkook nods again as acknowledgement that he’s still listening, though his eyes are trained on his plate as his hand instinctively comes up to rub at Dog.

Which strikes you as odd, because Dog doesn’t really cozy up to strangers, even if he will pick food off of their plates. He’s a relatively amicable owl—which is why he’s good for the your advice column, because he won’t bite at anybody’s fingers when they drop off their letters—but he won’t let just anyone pet him like Jungkook does. Like Jungkook is.

“Um,” you say, getting Jungkook’s attention. “Do you and Dog… know each other?” You ask, watching in some sort of trance as Jungkook scratches at Dog’s neck, making him coo happily.

“Me?” Jungkook asks, nearly sputtering. “No,” he says immediately. “I didn’t even know he was named Dog until today. Which, clever name, by the way. Why? Is he not normally, uh, like this?”

“No,” you say, suspiciously but of no one in particular. More just of the situation in general. “He doesn’t normally accept pets from strangers.”

Jungkook smiles down at Dog, who looks plenty happy to be receiving a good petting, regardless of the hand that’s giving it to him. “Guess I’m just different, then.”

“Yeah,” you say, nodding. You reach your fingers out to see if Dog will return to you, his rightful owner, but he’s firm in his will to stay right where Jungkook can rub him. “I guess so.”

Not even animals are immune to the bewitching charms of a certain Jeon Jungkook.

Dear Y/N,

Okay, maybe it’s just because I’m clueless but I’m not really sure if she’s picking up what I’m putting down, if you know what I mean. Maybe she is and I just haven’t noticed, but as far as I’m aware, we’re still just friends. Which is fine, and I’ll totally accept that without complaining, but I haven’t even told her how I feel. Do you think I should just go for it? I mean, I don’t know what else to do at this point. Honestly, I feel like I just need to come clean and deal with the consequences in an appropriate and relaxed manner. She probably doesn’t even feel the same, but that’s okay. As long as I try, right?

Yours truly, A Very Fretful Bambi

Dear A Very Fretful Bambi,

At this point, I think that you can take matters into your own hands. If you want to confess to her, I’d say go for it! You’ve made your intentions fairly clear at this point. And it’s okay if she doesn’t feel the same—you guys are still friends, after all! I don’t know you personally, but you seem like a confident, strong-willed person and if you feel ready, then there’s no reason not to tell her. The worst she can do is say no, right? But, if you’re as kind as you’ve made yourself out to be since you first began to message me, then I don’t think she will. Good luck!

Yours truly, Y/N

The halls of the castle are eerily quiet at this hour. The moon shines through the big glass windows that line the corridors, casting its pale white light along the frescos that decorate the walls. You’ve been down this path plenty of times before, plenty of sleepless nights and tired eyes behind you, behind your seven years here. By now, you could walk this road in your sleep. You bet you have.

The astronomy tower is the most beautiful place in all of Hogwarts. Sure, students may insist that the ceiling of the Great Hall is the most picturesque, or their common rooms are the most homey, but the grounds are the most breathtaking, but all of those pale in comparison to the glass ceiling of the astronomy tower, showered in stars and planets above on a clear night, like your very own planetarium. Pale in comparison to the telescope you look through during class, catching glimpses of faraway galaxies that light up their own little corners of the universe.

It’s a wondrous place to be, the astronomy tower on a clear night, where you can empty your thoughts into the world and let the stars see inside your mind, watch as they twinkle their responses. And so, it’s no wonder that you most often find yourself here when the comfort of your dormitory isn’t enough, when sleep just won’t overtake you like it does most other nights.

Only, this time, when you open the door, the shadow of someone sitting on the steps that look out onto the glass balcony is waiting for you.

“Hello?” You ask into the silence, hearing your voice echo along the walls.

The shadow turns, and suddenly the side of Jungkook’s face is bathed in the light from the moon and the stars, half of his profile hidden from view and the other basking in a white, nightly glow. It’s stunning.

“Pumpkin?” He asks in response.

“What are you doing up here?” You ask, walking over to him. He’s curled up on the steps, leaning against one of the pillars with his knees pulled up to his chest, like a baby.

“’M just thinking, Pumpkin,” Jungkook muses. “Care to join me?”

Your legs move before your brain does, making to sit down next to him, when you falter, thinking that if Jungkook’s going to blab to you at two in the morning on a spring night, you’d rather just go back to your common room and do your thinking there. That’s the beauty of thinking—it’s in silence.

“I mean, I don’t really want to disturb you, you know,” you say tentatively, backing up.

“Aw, please?” Jungkook asks, pushing his lip out into a pout as he blinks up at you. In the moonlight, in the starlight, in the light of the faraway galaxies and planets and supernovas, Jungkook’s eyes look like they’re swimming in stars. “It’s lonely up here.”

And maybe it’s your love for the astronomy tower that keeps you there, or maybe it’s the way he looks at you or the way he’s curled up like a pillbug as he watches the stars slowly shift across the sky, but you take your seat next to him, a good bit of distance between the two of you as you slowly make yourself comfortable, watching out onto the glass balcony at the quiet of the world beneath you.

There aren’t enough words in the English language to describe what this feels like. To describe how, after years of toil and trouble, years of back-and-forth teasing and insults, you and Jungkook have found yourself sitting together in the dim light of the astronomy tower late one weekday night at the end of your final year of school, watching the stars together. It’s almost surreal, in a way. That every moment in the universe has led up to this. Up to you being here.

Never have you spent so much time together in silence.

Jungkook seems to shimmer in the moonlight. Perhaps it’s just because the moonlight bathes everyone in a heavenly glimmer, but Jungkook looks particularly dazzling, like the very fabric of his bones were made of stardust. Strange. You’d never felt particularly attracted to him, not when his big mouth and obnoxious personality overshadowed his looks, but you’ve never been one to deny his timelessness. He’s always been handsome—his looks will never go out of style. So maybe that’s why, when he sits beneath the moon and the stars, he glows. Because the moon knows that Jungkook can only get prettier.

“Pumpkin,” Jungkook says, breaking the silence with nothing more than a whisper. “I’ve got a question.”

“What?”

“Do you ever think that maybe, with certain things, you should just give up? Because you don’t know if you’ll ever get what you really want?”

“What?” You ask again, eyes wide open as you look at him. “You? Giving up? What alternate universe is this?”

Jungkook laughs, but it’s soft and half-hearted. “I don’t know. I’m just—I’m not sure if this thing that I’m trying to do is going to work out, you know?”

In the five years you have known Jungkook, as a student, as a Quidditch player, and even, dare you say, a friend, never have you imagined him being one to give up.

“Okay,” you say, “I know that maybe right now, the outlook isn’t looking promising. But you should never give up, especially if you haven’t gotten an outright no. If you don’t know for certain the future of your situation, then why should you stop working for the future that you want? You’re Jeon Jungkook, you don’t give up on anything. You work super hard for your grades and when you don’t understand something in Transfiguration you work at it until you do, and you spend hours on the Quidditch field trying to perfect ur eyesight to catch the Snitch even though there’s no magical spell for 20/20 vision, and you work your hardest and do your best and thats why you’re good at school and amazing at Quidditch and—”

“You think I’m amazing at Quidditch?”

You look over at Jungkook to see that he’s closed the gap between the two of you, his shoulder coming to rest right next to yours, and he’s looking at you with a misty haze in his eyes, the stars above you clouded and foggy in his dark irises. But he’s grinning, and grinning wide, because you just gave this totally unwarranted pep talk to him and told him he was amazing at Quidditch and a great student and everything else that you said, and Oh, God.

“Yeah…” You say hesitantly, “but don’t get a big head, asshole.”

“Believe me,” Jungkook says with a scoff, “the only big parts about me are my love for you.” You narrow your eyes. “That, and one other thing.”

You gasp in shock, totally unsurprised yet caught off guard nonetheless by his words, giving him a small shove against the staircase. But you’re not scowling, or frowning, or glaring at him. You’re laughing, because suddenly Jeon Jungkook is not just amazing at Quidditch, and a great student. He’s wonderful. In every way he is, and it might just be the way the moon illuminates him ever so perfectly that’s making you feel this way, but maybe this has been a long time coming.

Here’s the thing about Jeon Jungkook: he wasn’t always such a nuisance.

Because when you weren’t watching him, when he was sitting in his dorm room studying, or hiding in the astronomy tower, or wandering through the bookshelves in the library, he was quiet, and beautiful, and looked at the world like it had so much to offer him. When Jeon Jungkook let the world around him exist without him being in the spotlight, he was everything but a nuisance.

And even when he was acting loud, and being big, and teasing you, he wasn’t doing it to hurt. He was doing it because all he could tease you about was how much he loved you, whatever that meant, and how his heart was yours and how if you just opened your eyes you’d see him, and suddenly your vision’s never been clearer and he’s right there, in front of you. And it’s crazy, how these things work. How suddenly, everything’s been flipped on its side because, as it turns out, your heart is his.

How this moment, right here, sitting on the steps in the astronomy tower as the stars twinkle like Christmas lights above you, was fourteen billion years in the making. And the best part? It was worth the wait.

“Come on, hurry up!” Yeeun shouts at you as you’re quickly filing through the letters you received last night. You were too rushed to check them at dinner, what with Yuju on your arm stress-eating because of the Quidditch match she had to compete in the next day, the final one of the season. “I want good seats so we can see Yuju!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” you say, quickly tearing open the first envelope so you can give it a quick glance over, planning on writing your responses over the weekend, after the Quidditch Cup. Yeeun’s standing in front of the mirror, trying to fix her Slytherin beanie, alongside the rest of the green and silver memorabilia she’s decked herself out in.

You open the first one and recognize the handwriting instantly, the familiar calligraphy of Dear Y/N, this one looking particularly nice. Like the person writing it had taken their time, done it with purpose.

Dear Y/N,

This may or may not be my last letter, depending on how this goes. But I just wanted you to know that on Friday, I’ll be in the air with the rest of my house, playing our very best game of the season. And I’ll be searching for the Snitch, as I’m supposed to, but above even that, I’ll be looking out for you. Because I love you, and more than anything else, I just wanted you to know that.

P.S.: Feel free not to respond to this one publicly.

Yours truly, Bambi

And the piece of paper drops to the floor, the hard edges of it hitting the hardwood with a soft thud.

Because that letter, and all of the ones coming before it, ever since the beginning of sixth year, could have only been written by one person. Someone who’s in your year, and a seeker for their house’s Quidditch team. And it’s certainly not your team’s seeker, because she’s a girl and also a fifth year. Someone who’s playing in this year’s Quidditch Cup. A Ravenclaw.

Holy shit.

“Come on, slowpoke! We have to go!” Yeeun says excitedly, running over to you and grabbing onto your arm. She pulls you out the door before your brain has a chance to process the information you just learned, the letter you just read. And you spend the entire journey to the bleachers of the Quidditch field in a daze, barely cognizant of the world around you, even as Madam Hooch blows her whistle and begins the game, even as the players whiz around on their brooms above you. Next to you, Yeeun’s screeching, or maybe she isn’t—you can’t really be sure, with the noise in your brain. You think that you wave to Yuju when she passes by your section of the bleachers, winking down at your group, but you’re not sure.

The only thing you remember is seeing Jungkook, in all of his Ravenclaw glory, sitting proudly atop his Firebolt as he darts around the field like a bullet, eyes keenly looking out for the Snitch. You only ever see him play when it’s against Slytherin, but you can say with certainty that in his entire Quidditch career, this is the best he’s ever played. The most he’s dedicated himself to his sport, the hardest he’s ever worked. He flies above the crowd and it’s as if the very fabric of the air is at his beck and call, bends to his will. You don’t need to know much about Quidditch to know that Jungkook is a good player, but this game is better than good. It’s inspiring.

And it pays off, too, because suddenly the commentator is screaming into the microphone that “Jeon Jungkook has caught the Snitch! Ravenclaw wins!” and the entire quarter of Ravenclaws have burst into cheers while the Slytherin quarter begins to sulk, beaten at their chance to win the Quidditch Cup. And Jungkook is coming to a halt in the middle of the field, the golden Snitch, sparkling in the sun, clenched tightly in between his fingers as the rest of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team crowds around him, chanting “Jeon Jungkook! Jeon Jungkook! Jeon Jungkook!”

Your very last Quidditch Cup as a Hogwarts student and you couldn’t remember more than ten seconds of it if you tried. It passed you by in a blur, a haze of movement and shouts and cheers, and suddenly the bleachers around you are half as filled as they were before, and then a quarter as filled, and then only stragglers are left, gathering their belongings and heading back to the Slytherin common room, where your house is bound to party despite losing, as a celebration of a team that worked as hard as they possibly could.

“Hey, Y/N,” Yeeun says, a hand on your arm. She looks awfully sad, but she’s still got one more year to see Slytherin win the Quidditch Cup. She’ll be alright. “You coming?”

You look out onto the field to see the Ravenclaw Quidditch team pulling each other into a giant hug, everyone patting each other on the backs and cheering after a successful season. And somewhere, in the center of that pile, is a certain brown-haired boy with the stars lacing his eyes.

“In a second, I just have to do something first,” you tell Yeeun, who shrugs in response and flutters off by herself.

You move before your brain can tell you to stop, for fear that if your mind catches up to your legs, you’ll chicken out. Slowly, but certainly, you make your way out of the bleachers and onto the field, feeling so much smaller now that your feet are firmly on the ground, the seats meters above you. You’ve never been onto the actual Quidditch field. Well, until now, at least.

Blinking, you take a deep breath and march right up to the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, who have given Jungkook hug after hug for bringing their team and house to victory, and you shout, “JEON JUNGKOOK!”

And Jungkook whips his head around, sweaty and gross and exhausted and beautiful, and he says, “Yes, Pumpkin?”

And you fist your hand into his damp Ravenclaw Quidditch uniform and pull him into a bruising kiss, his lips crashing against yours, still warm from all the blood rushing through his veins. He makes a pleasantly surprised non-sound into your mouth, eyes crinkling up into half moons as he pulls you in, letting his gloved hand wrap around your waist. Behind him, the entire Ravenclaw Quidditch team has burst into hoots and hollers, but you barely hear them. All you can see, feel, and imagine, is him.

When you part, he looks dazed, kiss drunk, grinning his lopsided grin. He’s never looked prettier. “What’s all this about, Pumpkin?” He asks, even though he already knows the answer. “I thought you hated me.”

“Wrong again, Jeon,” you tell him instantly, shaking your head. “I don’t hate you. I love you.”

Jungkook can’t help but smile, wide as the goddamn ocean, wrapping his hand around you once more and pulling you back into another kiss, this one even more intense than the last. Your hands come up to rest against his cheeks, blushing red from the adrenaline pumping through him, letting your body melt against the heat of his own. He keeps you close, pulls you in impossibly closer, lets his entire body wrap around yours, lets his lips dance along your own, plush and warm and searing. And Jungkook is beautiful, and wonderful, and perfect, and suddenly, he’s yours.

Dear Y/N,

Okay, this is definitely my final letter. Because I can just talk to you if I actually have a problem. I just wanted to remind you, Thursday-night Y/N, as you read through all of the letters for this week, that I love you. In case you forgot. So, I love you.

Yours truly, Bambi

hard to believe this series is over already!! thank you so much to everyone, from my silent followers to the ones that message me daily, you guys are the reason i did this. the reason i wrote 70k of pure hogwarts aus. for you guys!!! i’m extremely proud of where i’ve come with this series, and it’s crazy that it’s over !

as i previously mentioned, it’s my blog’s 2 year anniversary today, and i suppose it’s only fitting i post a self-indulgent jungkook fic to commemorate it, seeing as that very genre was the first fic i ever posted on this blog. thank you again, to everyone, for these past two years. despite the trash pile that is tumblr, you make this website a wonderful place to be. here’s to many more!

[imthepunchlord]

Sorry for the question, but which ML fanfics are you working on? Any chance of a "Off to..." or "Chasing a Butterfly" coming soon?

At this time, it's the Miraculous Rewrite, Copycat, and Manynette Sodium Rich Edition.

I have also thought of Dodged a Beetle, Off to (Italy), the idea of the what if Alya and Nino were chosen as the lead heroes, Get Your Stripe On!, and Zodiac heroes.

And with the gradual Miraculous rewatch, there are other ideas that have come up/back to me, like the Parent Swap au, which is a technically semi life swap au, exploring what if this parent wound up with a different partner instead (like the primary two are Marinette being the daughter of Gabriel and Sabine while Adrien was Tom and Emilie, or what if Gabriel and Audrey did marry while Andre and Emilie married).

With Paris Special was intrigued to explore my own idea on what the universe of Alya and Zoe as the lead heroes could be like.

So there's quite a few Miraculous ideas hanging around, though at this time, I will say I am more focused on original writing. So I can't say for sure if an update for anything Miraculous will come soon.

[graaythekwami]

Crimson and Noire - Ch 1

Kwami swap & reverse crush AU

Summary: When Marinette found a magical ring and a cat god of chaos in her room, she knew her life was going to be turned upside down. Protecting Paris seems like something she should love, especially with her handsome partner Crimson by her side, but with the city fearful and untrusting of Lady Noire’s destructive powers the stress slowly begins tearing her up from the inside out.

Adrien thought going to school would be the big change of his life, but a kwami called Tikki and the villain Monarch swiftly proves to be the adventure he never even dreamed of having. Being Crimson Beetle gives him the freedom he’s always wanted, and while he’s used to being in the spotlight being hailed the leader and savior is something entirely new. It’s nearly as overwhelming as his crush on Marinette– but at least that’s a normal teenage thing.

***

Also read on ao3 (x) and FFN (x)!

---------------------------------------

"Woah, are you like the genie in the lamp?"

Tikki loved getting new holders. It was always a thrilling experience, getting to meet the one she'd be with for the next who-knows-how long. A decade seemed to be the average, but she would be happy to spend a lifetime with each one. She stretched as she was fully released from the earrings, giggling as a finger came towards her curiously.

"I'm a kwami," she said with a smile, grabbing the finger with both of her paws, giving it a small shake. "My name is Tikki, and it's really nice to meet you, Adrien."

Adrien stared at her, looking almost starstruck. His eyes were a brilliant green, reminding her of a certain fellow kwami. He slowly withdrew his finger, looking between her and the small box that contained her earrings, before moving a step closer.

"What's a kwami?" he asked. "And how do you know my name?"

"Hmm, I guess I'm what you might call a sprite," Tikki replied after a moment of thought. "Kwamis are magical creatures that embody a certain concept. For example, I represent Creation. As for how I know your name, you can say you were chosen."

"Chosen?" Adrien echoed. "Me? For what?"

Tikki zipped over towards the large television screen, where a live report of Stoneheart was playing. She stared at it for a few moments, still awed even after so many centuries of what humans could do with technology, before waving a paw at the moving image.

"Stoneheart is an innocent person that's been infected with negative energy by a Miraculous," Tikki explained. "Under that magic is a human that needs our help. What you're holding in your hands is my Miraculous, and together we can transform to save both Stoneheart and Paris."

His eyes widened. "You mean like a superhero?"

"Exactly!" Tikki beamed. "One of my powers would grant you the ability to rid him of the energy corrupting him–"

"How do we transform?" Adrien asked, cutting her off as he seized the earrings in his hands, which turned silver to his touch. He was already slipping them on, eyes locked on her in excitement. "Let's–"

"Adrien!" Tikki said firmly, flying towards him. "We can't rush into this!"

"But he's attacking the city!" He protested. "And I can get out of here, and help him, and–"

"Sit down," Tikki said, pointing to the couch. "Or else I won't tell you how to transform." Never mind that he could just order her to tell him, but he didn't seem like the type. "If we don't do this right we can end up making this worse. As soon as we transform I won't be able to speak to you, so you need to pay attention now!"

He sat down instantly, and Tikki was startled to find his happy expression was gone. She hadn't been too harsh– had she? Just a bit firm to counter his excitement, which was of course a natural reaction to receiving one's Miraculous.

"Sorry," he whispered as he sank onto the couch. "I just– I just want to help. And get out of here. And– and I'll just be quiet now."

He was determined and had a good heart– he was going to be a wonderful Ladybug, Tikki could already see it now. She zipped up to him, rubbing up against his cheek, and she was grateful to hear him let out a small laugh.

"Nothing to apologize for, Adrien, that attitude will make you a good hero," she said, pulling back. "Okay, so listen closely. You're going to be using three of my abilities in battle, and you'll want to use them right."

--------------------

"AAAAGGGGHHHH!"

Plagg hated getting new holders. It was always a strenuous experience, getting to meet the one he'd be stuck with for the next who-knows-how long. A decade if he was lucky, but considering he was misfortune incarnate he would probably be with this one for a lifetime. He let out a loud yawn as he was released from his ring, ignoring the screams of his next chosen.

"Why is everything pink?" He asked with a groan as he looked about the room, everything splattered with the offending color. He crinkled his nose, already not liking his new surroundings. "And do you have anything to eat? I'm starving."

It had been a whole three hours since he had last eaten– what a crime.

"Eep!" The girl yelped, jumping back, dropping the box that contained his Miraculous. "The cat-mouse thing talks!"

"Yep," he said, and a gleam of light caught his eyes. "Ooo, shiny," he muttered, diving towards the object, which was cool to the touch. "Can I eat this?"

A bite into the metal scissors revealed that he in fact could not, and with a sneer he pushed it away. He then zipped off to another part of the room, the girl letting out a nervous whimper, but there were few objects he recognized compared to the last era he had a holder in. The girl was saying something, which he ignored, at least until something came flying in his direction.

"Hey!" He snapped, dodging the textbook, only for a pin cushion to be thrown at his face. He skillfully avoided that flying object as well, but his new holder (Marinette or something? He didn't remember what Master had said) seemed to have an endless supply of things. She seemed to be getting more panicked by the moment, and with a grin he zipped towards her, easily avoiding each airborne item.

"Gah!" She cried, grabbing a glass from her vanity, bringing it down over him. She was panting, craning her head closer to get a better look at him. "What... what are you? You're talking, and flying, and... appeared from nowhere!"

"Oh no," Plagg cried dramatically, paw draped over his forehead. "I'm trapped, whatever shall I do?" A smirk spread across his face. "No wait– I'm not!"

He phased right through the cup, charging right at her face. The shriek she let out was hilarious, and he let out a cackle as she scrambled back. He hovered there in the air for a moment, wondering just what kind of Black Cat she would be. She seemed to be on the nervous side, but of course most humans were when first exposed to magic, and the shock tended to wear off quickly. He wondered if he could scare her again, when he heard footsteps coming from below them.

"Marinette, are you okay?" A worried voice called.

Plagg's gaze hardened, and he turned towards her. "Tell her you're okay," he demanded– he was not dealing with the secret being leaked this early. "And don't let her come in here, got it?"

Fortunately, Marinette listened. "I'm– I'm fine, Mom. I just saw a spider? But I got it? So I'm okay now?"

Her mother let out a chuckle. "Well maybe this wouldn't happen if you'd keep your room clean."

Plagg glanced around her room, which was currently littered with even more objects from her throwing-frenzy, and he snickered. He zipped over to his fallen Miraculous as he heard her mother's footsteps retreating, scooping up the ring before flying back over towards her. She was watching him with wide eyes, though she seemed much more calm than when she had first seen him.

"What are you?" She asked again, slowly pushing herself to her feet.

"I'm a kwami," he said dryly. "We grant powers. Yours is Destruction. We need to go fight. Got it?"

"Huh?" She said, blinking.

"Meh, please, don't make this harder than it has to be," he waved a paw towards her computer screen, which was showing a live report of Stoneheart. "See that guy? It's our job to stop him. Now do you have anything to eat?"

"Woah, woah, slow down–" she said, and her eyes once again went wide. "You have the wrong person, I can tell you that– you'd have to be crazy to want to go after that thing."

Plagg grinned, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, you'd pretty much have to be. But when it comes to Miraculouses, crazy is what you're going to get," he tossed the ring up into the air, catching it with his tail. "But hey, you get powers out of it, and that seems to be a good enough deal for most people."

"Powers?" She said, before shaking her head. "No, I can't have powers, the only power I'd have is super-clumsiness or something."

"The transformation will take care of that and stuff," he flipped upside down. "Oh yeah, 'claws out', that's how you transform. That and the ring."

She stared at him, and he chucked the Miraculous at her. She fumbled to catch it, black turning to a rosegold in her hand. Marinette clearly didn't seem to know what to make of this, and it seemed logical that he should use this time to explain everything. He'd rather go find some cheese... but a Miraculous in the hands of someone without knowledge was never a good idea.

"But..."

"Look kid, the name's Plagg. Let's just start at the beginning, okay?"

-----------------

Marinette had never exactly had high hopes for the first day of school– but she hadn't expected it to be this bad.

She could make a list of what had gone wrong, and it wasn't even lunch time yet. Everything from spilling her breakfast to nearly being hit by a speeding car to having to deal with Chloe for another year. Oh yeah– and there was the fact that her classmate had somehow been turned into a giant stone monster and was attacking the city.

And she was the one in the cat costume going to fight him.

"You got this," she told herself as she stood on the edge of her balcony, a silver baton in hand. "You're magic now, you saw it for yourself, magic is real."

That still wasn't enough to convince herself to jump off of the side of her balcony though. This was all happening too quickly– and there was nothing she could do to slow it down. She swallowed, hands tightening around her baton as she looked at the distance between here and the ground. Her fingers were tipped with what appeared to be metal claws, but they didn't hurt as they dug into her palms, which was covered with the same black material of her suit. It looked a bit like leather, but was too thin and too flexible to be that. Her costume went from her neck down to the tips of her feet, highlighted with green tubing that gave an illusion of gloves, boots, and a belt.

She didn't even know what to make of the cat ears and mask on her head– which had no way of staying on, yet weren't falling off either. Her pigtails had been replaced with a single dark braid, which fell down to past her ankles, swaying behind her despite the lack of a breeze, but she wasn't even going to think about that right now.

She looked over her baton again, which was silver just like her claws, and featured a neon green paw print on the front. It was the same symbol on the so-called 'Miraculous' she had found, which Plagg had been sucked into as soon as she called on a transformation. The cat-kwami-creature hadn't been all that convincing with his words and what he wanted her to do, in the end it had been the image of Alya biking after Stoneheart that had pressed her into at least attempting to do something.

With that thought in mind she took in a deep breath, and tapped one of the pads of the paw print. The button soundlessly clicked under her finger, and she yelped as the baton expanded in her grasp. She blinked, before pressing it again, watching as the weapon continued expanding in length as her finger held down the button. She had pressed it without thought, and yet it had felt so natural.

Even though her mind was screaming 'no', she decided to follow these instincts, and carefully climbed up onto her railing. She let out a small giggle at how easy it felt, balancing on the metal bar with ease when she should have been stumbling and flailing, and she aimed the baton towards the ground, expanding it once more. She watched as it grew, a faint clink that she shouldn't have heard reaching her ears as it hit the ground. She then closed her eyes, bracing herself– and jumped.

The wind tore at her as she vaulted from her balcony, eyes remaining firmly closed. Panic was building up in her, yet it all felt so liberating at the same time. Her feet landed on a rooftop, and she opened her eyes to find that she had survived. A spark of confidence settled into her heart, finger sliding over to the second paw pad to shrink the baton back into a more manageable size as she made her way across the roofs.

And so she repeated these actions, carefully vaulting between buildings and streets while carefully making her way on top of roofs, not quite sure of where she was heading, but at least she was making progress. Her hesitation didn't surface again until she found herself approaching a more busy road, a much larger gap now standing in her way. She hesitated on the ledge for a moment, ignoring the few people pointing up at her, wondering if this was something she could clear with her baton.

"You just have to go for it, Marinette," she told herself as she backed up, deciding that a running start would be her best bet. She had made it this far, after all, so why should a larger jump be the thing to stop her? Her finger hovered over the expand button, charging towards the edge and closing her eyes as she tapped it, hoping the momentum would be all she needed to clear the street.

She failed to see the blur of red swinging right towards her as she vaulted, slamming right into him as their paths crossed.

"Gah!" She cried, eyes flying open as she slammed into the red figure, her baton becoming entangled in the wire he had been swinging from. Her stomach twisted as they fell together, and her finger slammed down onto the expand button once more in hopes that would somehow save them from crashing into the cement below.

And it did, sort of. The pole sprung out, catching between two buildings, but it slipped out of her hand. Luckily the string was what caught them, though it had wrapped around both hers and the stranger's entire bodies, pulling them into a tangled mess as it snagged on her baton, leaving them dangling just feet from the ground. She found her face mere inches from another, bright green eyes regarding her in surprise.

"I guess that's one way to come crashing in," the boy said, wincing slightly in pain, but still managing to smile. "Um, here, Tikki said this can retract at will–? Ah, here we go–!"

She heard a zip, and felt the wire untangling from around her– and she and the boy went tumbling to the ground. She let out a groan, shakily pushing herself to her knees, looking up to find a yoyo retracting to his hand. She stared at it for a moment, before realizing he had been using it as a grappling hook. He gave her an apologetic smile, swiftly holding out a hand to her.

"I'm so sorry," he said hastily, pulling her to her feet. "I didn't mean to do that! Here, let me get your stick-thing–"

"It's okay," she muttered, slightly dazed. "I'm pretty sure I'm the one that crashed into you."

He swung his yoyo up at her baton, giving it a sharp tug, and it came crashing down. She jumped as it hit the road, before hurrying over and trying to find the button to shrink it down. She let out a shaky sigh of relief as it was once again a normal size, and hooked it on her hip. It seemed to be magnetic, just sticking to her side– or maybe it was just more magic. She then turned towards the boy, finally getting a proper look at him.

Plagg had told her there would be one other hero to help her out, which was a good thing because there was no way she could do this by herself. He was in a bright red suit, which was covered in scattered black dots. More patches of black highlighted his costume– on his hands, going down his sides to his legs, and on his collar. His shoulders were padded, and a mask similar to hers sat across his face. His eyes were a brilliant green, watching her curiously, and his hair a light blond– wild and unkept. Two strands of hair stuck up from the top of his head, dyed red.

"A ladybug?" She said, easily recognizing what animal he was supposed to be.

"Huh?" He asked, blinking.

"Your costume," she said. "You're a ladybug. I guess I didn't expect that for an animal themed hero?"

Maybe a wolf or a hawk or something, but a bug just hadn't been what she expected.

"I'm no ladybug," he said, a smile flickering on his face, and to her surprise he gave her a bow. "You're the lady," he glanced up. "Can I call you that? Lady? Or does that sound rude?"

"Lady works," she said. "And if you're not ladybug then what should I call you?"

"Hmm," he sat up, considering this. "Lordbug, maybe? Misterbug? Nah, 'bug' doesn't work for me. How about beetle? Red Beetle, or maybe–"

He was interrupted but the sound of a large crash, and they both looked up to see a building collapsing in the distance. The friendly atmosphere melted away instantly, reminding them why they had been sent out here. Beetle-boy spun his yoyo a few times, before sending it flying up towards the rooftops. It wrapped around a chimney, and with a tug it pulled him up into the air.

"Wait–!" She called, taking a step towards him, and he glanced back at her.

"We don't have time to wait!" He said. "We're supposed to go save Paris, right?"

And with that he let his yoyo fly again, swinging off towards the threat. She wasn't anywhere near ready for the responsibility that had been shoved onto her shoulders, but still she backed up with baton in hand– taking a running start before leaping after him. It was easy to follow Beetle, the red of his suit standing out against the cityscape, but even then she could just follow the trail of destruction if she lost track of him.

Stoneheart had made his way to a football stadium, and it seemed he had been seeking out Kim– who had taken shelter near the bleachers. Everyone else seemed to have evacuated the stands and the field, though she could make out Alya's figure near Kim's, having faithfully followed after Stoneheart, her phone recording the whole thing. She was bouncing on her heels, eagerly filming as Beetle leapt after the stone monster, yoyo flying.

Marinette found herself parazyled on top of the stands, watching as her apparent partner fearlessly took on Stoneheart, but she couldn't move. Magic was one thing. Jumping from buildings was another. But purposely going after something so large with the intentions to hurt her... that was another thing entirely. Her braid lashed out behind her as if responding to the terror pouring through her, and in her mind a little voice chanted to wake up– because this had to be a dream.

Yet she didn't wake up, the whole arena shaking as Beetle danced out of the way of Stoneheart's fists as they came crashing down. She flinched as one came dangerously close, the edge of his knuckles grazing Beetle's chest, knocking him to the ground. Stoneheart sneered, picking up a football net and chucking it at him. Beetle rolled out of the way, and the net continued on, right towards Alya and a fleeing Kim.

"No!" Beetle shouted, flinging his yoyo, wrapping it around the edge of the net, pulling it away moments before it crashed into Alya, but those few moments were all Stoneheart needed to grab Beetle. He struggled in the giant's grasp, but it proved to be secure. A glowing purple mask surrounded Stoneheart's face, who brought Beetle closer.

She couldn't just stand here. She had to do something. She looked down at her ring, reminding herself she had powers that Plagg had given to her. He had promised her a partner– and she assumed the same had been true for Beetle. She couldn't let him do this alone, not when the same would be too much for her.

So with her baton in hand she charged, vaulting down into the stadium, ringed hand raised. Plagg had said the words had to be activated with meaning behind them, so she mustered every ounce of will she could gather, focusing on the Miraculous on her hand as she slammed it down into the ground, crying:

"Cataclysm!"

Black energy bubbled out from her claw-tips, sinking into the earth with ease. She watched as the grass turned black at her touch, the energy webbing out from where she had struck. Cracks formed in the ground as Destruction surged out from her Miraculous, the ground beginning to crumble under Stoneheart's feet. He let out a grunt as he found he was no longer on stable turf, falling into the sinkhole, dropping Beetle as he fell.

That had been her intention, yet it seemed the Cataclysm had its own goal in mind. The darkness rushed out, instantly killing the grass as it surged out towards the stands. Marinette watched in awe and horror as the Cataclysm engulfed the seats and stadium, it all turning to ash as it crumbled. Hunks of metal fell, leaving her ears ringing, the area looking like a wasteland.

"I..." Marinette whispered, shocked. "I didn't mean..."

Beetle pushed himself to his feet, grinning. "That was awesome."

"Awesome?!" She cried. "I– I just leveled the whole place! I just meant for him to drop you, I didn't mean–"

"Don't worry, Lady," he said, drawing his yoyo once more as Stoneheart began to climb out of the hole she created. "One of my powers apparently fixes everything up. Let's just worry about catching that butterfly, okay?"

Right. The corrupted object they needed to find and break. Stoneheart would remain empowered as long as it remained intact. She gave a small nod, trying to make herself focus, though her head spun at what her power had just done. A small chirping reached her ears, and she looked down to see one of the paw pads on her ring had vanished.

"Taking your sweet time, huh?" Beetle called to Stoneheart as he dragged himself out of the sinkhole. "Can't handle the earth– I thought that's what you're made of!"

Beetle did have a point, while catching him off guard, the fissure she had created wasn't unreasonably deep compared to Stoneheart. She watched as he finally pulled himself out of the hole, pushing himself to his knees, and her eyes narrowed.

"His hand," she said, pointing. "It's been closed the entire time, he didn't even use it to climb out."

Beetle blinked. "Huh?"

"The object," Marinette said, both of them darting across the field as Stoneheart came charging at them. "That must be where it's hiding, where else on his body could it be? We need to get him to open his hands!"

"Do you have a plan?"

"Er–" She glanced around, trying to see if there was anything they could use. Just dust and debris littered the land around them, and Alya recorded the fight with wide eyes. A fountain of water sprouted up, the waterline broken from when she had brought the stadium down.

He grinned. "Guess it's my turn then– Lucky Charm!"

He tossed his yoyo up, pink light surrounding the weapon. Marinette watched as it solidified into a bright red sphere, covered with black spots. It came crashing down, Beetle grunting as he caught the bowling ball. It was a decent size, larger than what you'd find at an alley. He stared at it for a moment, blinking.

"Miraculouses!" Stoneheart bellowed as he came charging at them.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Beetle cried as they took off running once more, and thankfully their enhanced strength allowed him to keep pace despite the bowling ball in his arms.

Marinette glanced back at Stoneheart, mind racing. They couldn't throw it at his legs to trip him, she had basically done the same thing with her Cataclysm and it had only slowed him down for a moment. It was fairly large, but according to the news report hitting him with something had only made him bigger. It couldn't be used to defeat Stoneheart himself, they needed to use it to get the object...

"Throw it at him!" Lady cried.

"What good will that do?" Beetle asked as they jumped over the hole she had created earlier.

"Just trust me!" She called back, as she didn't have time to fully explain her plan– especially not without Stoneheart overhearing it. Beetle hesitated for one second, before chucking the bowling ball up and at him as hard as he could. Stoneheart grunted, opening up his free hand and catching it like a baseball. Beetle threw her a look as if to say 'now what?', and she smiled at him apologetically. "Sorry!"

She then placed the tip of her baton against his chest, hitting the expand button– launching him straight towards an incoming Stoneheart. Green eyes widened in confusion as he found himself flying at their enemy, its other rocky hand opening up to catch the hero. Beetle let out a grunt as he found himself trapped once more, and Marinette smirked as she saw something purple fall out of Stoneheart's hand.

She charged over towards it, finding it to be what looked like a crumpled up piece of paper, though it was as hard as rock in her hands. She turned it over once, before Stoneheart looked over at her with wide eyes, that glowing mask appearing over his face once more as he charged towards her.

"I got it!" She cried to Beetle, hoping he wasn't too upset for using him as bait, before dropping the object to the ground. She brought her baton down on it, shattering it into pieces, and a small black butterfly came fluttering out from the remains.

Black energy bubbled around Stoneheart, and with a flash of light the rocky creature began to crumble. Beetle and the bowling ball were freed from his grasp, and a very confused Ivan was left in the wake of things. The large teenager rubbed his head, looking about at his surroundings, eyes wide. Beetle had landed on his feet, staring at Lady with an unreadable expression.

"What... what's happening?" Ivan asked weakly, and Beetle pulled out his yoyo. "Who are you...? How did I get here?"

"Where do you think you're going?" Beetle asked in a playful tone, eyes looking up as he flicked his finger across his yoyo, which opened up like a pair of elytra. Glowing white light poured out from inside the magical weapon, which he lashed out at the fleeing butterfly, trapping it inside. He brought the yoyo back towards him, and Marinette could feel something shift deep inside her– and she somehow knew it was the energy that had been in the butterfly– dark energy turning to light.

Beetle tapped the yoyo, and sure enough a little white butterfly came fluttering out instead. There was a huge grin on his face as he watched it fly up into the sky, unaware of the chaos it had caused. Beetle then turned towards Ivan, offering a hand out to him.

"Long story short, you were basically mind controlled," Beetle said, helping him to his feet as Marinette made her way over towards him. "But you don't need to worry, we freed you from it– do you know what happened?"

"I..." He rubbed his head. "I... I was sent to the principal's office for something I didn't do. Then... then suddenly I was angry, really angry, and I think I heard a voice in my head...? I don't remember what she said though."

"It's over now," Marinette said as she joined them, and Beetle threw her a grin.

"Awesome plan, Lady," he said. "I had no idea what you were doing in the moment... but it turned out awesomely!" He scratched the back of his neck, before offering her an extended fist. "Pound it?"

"Pound it," she said with a smile, bumping her own fist up against his. She felt... so alive– barely able to believe what she had just done. She had fought a giant, and had won! "Sorry for throwing you like that, I didn't really have time to explain."

"No sweat, Lady," Beetle said, and his eyes turned towards the bowling ball. "What do you say we clean up the mess we made, huh?" He picked up the sphere, shifting to get a good grip on it, before throwing it up into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The Lucky Charm turned into a burst of pink light, which rushed out in a wave of energy. Marinette held out her hands as the light danced about her, and she found the soreness from the battle vanish as it touched her. It was a stunning sight, the lights flowing about them and the stadium. Withered grass surged to a bright green, and the fissure she had created sealed itself as if it had never been there.

She turned, watching as the ashes and rubble from the stadium began to rebuild itself as the light of the Miraculous Ladybug touched it, not even leaving a crack behind as it was restored.

"Beautiful," Marinette breathed out, watching as the rest of the energy swirled above the stadium, before flowing out across the city, hopefully to repair the rest of the damage Stoneheart had inflicted.

Ivan seemed to have no recollection of his time as Stoneheart, which probably explained the raw awe on his face, this probably being the first of the magic he had seen today. He rubbed at his eyes, slowly turning to look at the area he had watched reform in front of his very own eyes.

Marinette's gaze was drawn to the object she had broken, the paper once again whole. She picked it up, unfolding it as she read over it. It seemed to be a message from Kim, and she felt her heart twisting. No wonder Ivan had been upset after class, Kim had probably meant no harm, he exchanged friendly insults with Alix all the time, but for sensitive Ivan it was just not the same. She carefully folded it up, offering it to Ivan as she approached him.

"Don't let him get to you, Ivan," she said, opening her mouth to say more– before remembering she probably shouldn't reveal that she knew him or who had written the note.

"How do you know my name...?" He asked, and panic surged through her.

"I– um– it was in the note," she nodded towards the paper. "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have read it without your permission–"

"It's fine," Ivan muttered, turning away glumly as he took it. "It's no secret, I'm just a wuss like Kim said. I can barely say a word to Mylene, let alone tell her that I..."

"There are other ways to tell her besides words," she said, bumping up against him. "Songs, flowers, a gift– just show her how much she means to you."

Ivan smiled, though it looked forced. "Thank you."

"That. Was. Amazing!" An excited voice squealed, and they turned to see Alya charging up to Beetle, her phone basically being shoved into his face. "A real life superhero! Are you going to be defending Paris from now on? How did you get your powers? Gah– I have so many questions, um, er–"

Beetle grinned. "Don't worry, me and my partner plan on keeping Paris safe," he reached out, throwing an arm around Lady's shoulder as he pulled her close. She let out a small yelp as the sudden action, and Alya pulled back. "As for who I am... how about Crimson Beetle? Yeah– I like that. And the little Lady here is...?"

He turned towards her, and her mind blanked on what she should be called. Lady... Lady Black Cat? Lady Feline? Well, if he was crimson, then...

"Lady Noire," she decided after a moment. "You can call me Lady Noire."

A chirping filled the air– she was down to only two paw pads on her ring, while Crimson Beetle had three spots on his earrings. They shared a glance, knowing they needed to go now if they didn't want to detransform in front of everyone. Crimson pulled away from her, drawing his yoyo, while she extended her baton.

"Let's do this again soon, okay?" Crimson said to her, still grinning that grin, and he gave her a bow– before throwing his yoyo and swinging away.

She watched him go, before glancing at Ivan and Alya. He still seemed to be in shock, while Alya looked uneasy– which was quite different from her eagerness moments ago, but it made sense that all of this would be overwhelming. She gave both of them a nod, before vaulting away.

Maybe she actually could do this hero-thing.

-----------------------

"Mmmm!" Tikki chirped happily, taking a bite of the pudding Adrien had offered her. "This is amazing!"

"I'm glad you like it," he said with a smile, watching the news report about Crimson Beetle and Lady Noire. "My personal chef made it."

"And there you have it," the reporter said. "The amateur footage shows that the monster Stoneheart was stopped by what appears to be two superheroes– Crimson Beetle and Lady Noire."

He paused the TV, looking at the image of him and Lady Noire, his arm around her. He usually didn't think much of his public appearances, he just did them to make his father happy, but this was different. He looked much more relaxed than Lady did, her bright blue eyes edged with uneasiness, as if not knowing what to do with the spotlight. He hoped she was doing alright, she had seemed hesitant, but had really stepped up to the plate when it mattered. She had come up with a plan in just seconds too, and even though they had only known each other for a short time he was sure they were going to be good friends.

Friends. The thought sent chills through him, and he sat up. A friend– he may have not been able to make it to school today, but he had still made a friend! A smile flickered over his face, and his determination to make it to school returned at once. Chloe had helped him register, and he wasn't going to let their hard work go to waste. Tomorrow he would go to school, and he would make even more friends.

"Well," Tikki said, hovering next to him. "What do you think? You like being a Miraculous holder?"

"It's amazing," he said, smiling at the little kwami. "Thank you so much."

"No, thank you, Adrien," she said. "You're the one that went out there and fought, and that was really brave of you."

He leaned back against the couch, watching as Tikki selected another piece of food from the tray his chef had prepared for him, humming happily. He touched the earrings in his ears, wondering how he would explain where they came from. He had them pierced for photoshoots in the past, but he rarely wore any earrings on his own. He could worry about that later though.

Because for the first time in a long time he wasn't alone.

-----------------

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"It's gross!" Plagg said, crossing his arms.

"It's macarons!" Marinette cried. "How could you not like macarons? My dad made these, and he makes the best pastries in Paris!"

"Bleh!" Plagg said, the kwami sticking his tongue out in disgust. "No way, I don't want to eat any of that!"

Marinette closed her eyes. "Okay then, what do you want to eat?"

Plagg grinned. "Cheese."

"Cheese?"

"Yes, the finest quality of camembert– I'll accept no less!"

"You just want a hunk of plain cheese?" Marinette said, crinkling her nose. "You'd think you'd want a meal or something after that fight."

"Cheese is a perfectly balanced meal," Plagg said, crossing his paws.

"Who hurt you?" Marinette said in a whisper.

"Huh?"

"Surely you want more than just cheese!"

"Cheese is the only thing I want."

Marinette sighed, but hopefully her parents wouldn't question why a chunk of their cheddar was about to go missing.

--------------------------

"Nooroo, wings fall."

Nooroo was trembling as he came flying out of the brooch, the kwami struggling to find his balance in the dark room. This had been the first time he had sent out a champion in so long, and he looked at his holder fearfully. She stared out the window, her face as stern as always, the silence in the air palpable.

"Master?" Nooroo said uncertainly. "How do you feel?"

A smirk tugged at her lips, and Nooroo found himself letting out a small sigh of relief. Still his eyes darted to the brooch carefully pinned to her chest, before letting them flick back up to her face. He had firm orders not to touch his own Miraculous, so he remained there hovering in the air, white butterflies dancing around them.

"Citrine is a fool," she said, her smile growing. "He sends out the Ladybug and the Black Cat? The very jewels we desire? Tell me Nooroo, why would that old fool do that?"

Nooroo tapped his paws together, wondering how he should answer. He regarded his newest holder closely, who took on the name of 'Monarch' when transformed. He thought it was a fitting name, as she carried herself like a queen. She was smart, calculating, and her calm demeanor made for a good Butterfly. Still his worry was there, especially since she tended to keep herself removed– and as part of the Empathy duo that wasn't the best trait for her to possess.

"You are sending champions out under a negative influence," he finally said. "The Ladybug represents purity, and can easily cleanse the energy you've infused into your champions. I am sure its restoration powers also played a role in that decision."

"And the Black Cat?"

"The Ladybug and Black Cat are an Alpha Pair. You cannot activate one without activating the other," Nooroo replied.

Monarch let out a small chuckle. "This is even more simple than I expected. The very Miraculouses we need are the ones we'll be fighting. Granted this champion wasn't able to lay claim to them, but I'm just learning the ropes after all."

Nooroo hesitated. "You're going to send out another champion?"

"Of course," Monarch said, her cool gaze shifting over to the kwami. "Though I think we should talk to the city's new heroes first, don't you think? Give them a chance to make the right choice before we continue on fighting."

"I don't think that's safe, Master."

"Of course it isn't, which is why we'll send a champion to deliver our message," she turned, her heels echoing through the room, before she paused. "'Champion' doesn't really sound fitting for our purpose though, does it?"

"No, Master," Nooroo replied, drifting after her. "What you created was no champion– it was a devil if anything."

This wasn't what his powers were meant for, but at this point he was used to his Miraculous being used for selfish means. For nearly the last two centuries he had been passed from hand to hand, and never was he found in the presence of an honest and true holder. Just those who wanted to twist magic for their own gain.

"A devil, huh?" Monarch said. "Perhaps so. A devil, a little demon of our own creation– an akuma."

[gusu-emilu]

Cantatio: Chapter Three

Ship: Lan Zhan / Wei Ying (POV Lan Zhan)

Summary: Once Lan Wangji breaks curfew, there’s no going back >:)

“Lan Zhan, I think you owe us an explanation,” Wei Wuxian said.

“Mn?”

A mischievous fire blazed in his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, slippery, supple.

“What were you doing in Lady Wen’s room after curfew?”

Cloud Recesses Academy AU, Rated T, TW: creepy-crawlies - read on AO3

< Ch. 2 | Ch. 4 > |  chapter list

Lan Wangji stared at the closet door. He clutched Bichen, ready to strike at the slightest movement. The tree rings in the wooden door seemed to blink back at him questioningly.

The closet had refused to open before, but if someone had really screamed inside, he needed to try again.

Lan Wangji yanked at the door with all his strength. To his surprise, it flew open and smacked the wall. The door was so light that Lan Wangji could have moved it with a finger. Why was it so easy to open now? Had someone forced it open and hidden inside?

Despite the glow from lanterns in the room and moonlight from the windows that should have illuminated the closet, its interior was pitch black.

“Show yourself,” Lan Wangji said.

Silence.

There was only one thing left to do. Lan Wangji drew in a breath, braced his muscles, and attuned every one of his senses in preparation. Bichen gave a steady quiver of approval in his grip.

He entered the closet. Its darkness swallowed him greedily.

After a few steps, Lan Wangji found himself not in front of the dusty back wall of an old closet, but beside a bed.

He was in Wen Qing’s room.

The fierce young doctor who had spoken so boldly to Clan Leader Nie was now standing on top of her bed, clutching a blanket in front of her chest and shivering. Her moonlike eyes were wide with terror, her pointed chin drawn upward, her lips in a grimace.

He was in Wen Qing’s room.

A girls’ dormitory.

Rule #7: Disturbing female cultivators is prohibited.

Lan Wangji, head disciple, had broken one of the gravest rules on his first day at the Cloud Recesses Academy, and he didn’t even know how it had happened!

Wen Qing flinched at Lan Wangji’s sudden materialization.

“What are you doing here?” she snapped.

He gaped at her with an expression that said, I have no idea.

A pulsing headache crept into his skull. He felt dizzy. He glanced around the room, which was empty except for them.

“Did someone scream?” he asked.

Wen Qing sighed and stiffened her shoulders. “Yes, that was me. It’s nothing to worry about, though. I don’t know how you got here, but you may leave.”

Lan Wangji blinked. “Why are you atop the bed?”

“Well, I was about to go to sleep, and then I found a…um…a bug in my sheets. I have entomophobia. I’m afraid of bugs.” She shook her head as she spoke, as if she refused to believe the words out of her own mouth.

A miniscule black beetle crawled on the floor next to Wen Qing’s bedframe, wriggling its scratchy legs in mild irritation.

This scene was becoming more and more absurd. Lan Wangji magically appeared in a girls' dorm room, and the cool, composed Wen Qing cowered in fear of a harmless little beetle?

Lan Wangji did the only thing that made sense in this lunacy: help the person in need. He did his best to quiet the hundreds of questions that besieged his mind as he circled around to the other side of Wen Qing’s bed. He bent down to pick up the bug.

“What are you doing?!”

“Transferring it outside.”

“Okay…” Wen Qing exhaled a long, shaky breath.

As Lan Wangji was about to guide the black and green-striped beetle into his palm, a strange bump appeared on its shelled backside. Lan Wangji paused and furrowed his brow.

“Why aren’t you picking it up? Second Young Master Lan?”

The beetle was growing. Rapidly.

“Stand back!” he bellowed.

A terrible crackling sound filled the room as the beetle’s exoskeleton swelled and crunched. Within seconds, the beetle had grown seven feet tall and four feet wide. Its stiff, crooked legs scraped across the wooden floor and reached toward the two young cultivators like the hooked weapons of a demon. Its antenna brushed the ceiling, causing sawdust to fall, and its pincers clicked menacingly.

The beetle had been possessed by a monster!

Lan Wangji unsheathed Bichen and lunged. With a strike and a mighty snap, he sliced off one of its legs. As it flailed in pain, another of the beetle’s legs hurled Lan Wangji to the other side of the room.

Having thrown off its attacker, the beetle now turned to Wen Qing.

Wen Qing had jumped off her bed and into a corner of the room. She dug her fingernails into the wall behind her, her face deathly white and her mouth wide open, too petrified to scream.

Lan Wangji struck the floor with the hilt of Bichen to draw the monster’s attention from Wen Qing. The beetle recoiled at the vibrations in the wooden panels beneath it, then pounced toward Lan Wangji, knocking over a table. Jade china shattered on the floor.

With a powerful leap, Lan Wangji flew into the air and swung his feet in front of him until his body was horizontal. He arched his back as he slipped through the space between the top of the beetle’s head and the ceiling, zipping past one thick antenna on each side of him. He landed on the beetle’s thorax.

He flipped onto his stomach and raised Bichen as energy surged into his biceps, ready to plunge the sword into the monstrous head, but the beetle reared in panic. It jerked its head upward and smacked Lan Wangji into the ceiling. His knuckles cracked against the wooden boards, and his sword was battered off course. The blade pierced the beetle’s right eye instead. Cloudy discharge spurted out of the wound. Lan Wangji tugged at Bichen, but it was stuck in the beetle’s eye socket.

The beetle gnashed its pincer and wildly shook its head. Lan Wangji slid off the beetle’s back and crashed face-first into the floor. He groaned with pain.

The fall had knocked the wind out of him. He gasped and clutched his stomach as he rolled to the side, dodging one of the beetle’s legs that nearly punctured through his torso.

Shing!

An angular white blade flashed through the air. A second blade whirred next to it.

With a thin cry and a thunderous crunch, the beetle’s body was severed in half. It toppled to the floor with a thud.

Lan Wangji looked up, still gulping air that refused to move down his throat.

Between the two chunks of beetle that oozed gunk onto the floor stood Wei Wuxian and Luo Qingyang, back-to-back in a martial stance with swords braced above their heads. A crowd of wide-eyed disciples had formed in the doorway of the dormitory. Some of them were still in their colorful clan robes, which now looked more like various shades of grey in the dark night, while others wore white undershirts, apparently having been roused out of bed by the commotion.

Wei Wuxian grinned and lowered his sword. He let his arm fall slack at his side.

“Nice one, Mianmian! I’ve never seen such a clean strike!”

“What are you talking about, I only got halfway through its body! That was you who killed it.”

“Was it really? Hey, Lan Zhan, did you have a good view of that? Did you see which one of us slayed the monster?”

Lan Wangji was still on the floor, barely comprehending the words that bounced off his dazed mind, but he was finally able to breathe again. He propped himself up with his hands, his knuckles bloody. He looked at Wei Wuxian with dizzy eyes.

“Lan Zhan, are you okay?”

“WHAT IS GOING ON?! HOW THE HELL DID A GIANT BEETLE GET IN HERE?!” Nie Mingjue yelled as he shoved disciples aside and barreled into the room.

Lan Xichen sprung in right behind him. “We came as soon as we heard! Is everyone alright?”

“Yes, everyone is safe,” said a voice above Lan Wangji. It was cool and steady as ice.

Wen Qing had appeared next to him. She stood motionless with her hands folded at her chest and her lips gently pursed. All evidence of her previous hysteria had disappeared from her face. Even her hair had been smoothed down to a silky sheen.

“Second Young Master Lan needs injuries treated, but the rest of us are well. I owe much thanks to Young Master Wei and Lady Luo. They arrived in the nick of time. I give my gratitude to Second Young Master Lan as well for a valiant fight,” she continued.

Jiang Yanli rushed into the room and embraced Wei Wuxian. “A-Xian!” she cried.

Wei Wuxian laughed and patted her back. “I’m okay, Shijie.”

“I’m so sorry we did not arrive sooner," Lan Xichen said. "We have failed you as senior disciples. All of you, you have done a spectacular job in slaying this beast. The clan leaders will be very impressed."

Luo Qingyang bowed. “Thank you, Young Master Lan.” She frowned and turned to Wen Qing. “Lady Wen, why did you tell us everything was fine after we heard you scream a few minutes ago?" It was a sparse show of concern for the enemy Wen disciple, but concern nonetheless.

“Everything was fine, until that vermin transformed into some spawn of Hell,” she said bitterly.

Lan Wangji raised his eyebrows. When he appeared in Wen Qing’s room, everything had, in fact, been far from fine. Wen Qing had been crying on top of her bed like a child, held captive as a beetle the size of a fingernail took free reign of her dormitory.

But Lan Wangji thought it would be prudent for him to omit that information.

“That’s great, but how did it get here?” said Nie Mingjue.

“I do not know,” Wen Qing answered.

Nie Mingjue glared suspiciously at Wen Qing but did not press further. Lan Xichen bent down and helped Lan Wangji to his feet.

“Can you stand?”

He nodded and stepped out of his brother’s hold.

Wei Wuxian was swinging his sword casually at his side and beaming at everyone as they spoke.

“Lan Zhan, I think you owe us an explanation,” he said.

“Mn?”

A mischievous fire blazed in Wei Wuxian’s eyes. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, slippery, supple.

“What were you doing in Lady Wen’s room after curfew?”

Lan Wangji blinked.

Lan Wangji had never been one to care if others stared at him, or judged him, or whispered about him as he walked past. He was a righteous young man. If people wanted to slander him, their words would fall upon deaf ears, incapable of bruising his ego or damaging his reputation.

But now, standing in the middle of a girls’ dormitory with his breath short and his chest throbbing, he was aware of every pair of inquiring, juvenile eyes that bore into his soul. His face was hot as a furnace.

He felt insecure.

And for some reason, the fact that it was Wei Wuxian who raised this question against him made him feel twice as insecure.

Lan Wangji fumbled for words. What explanation could he give? He didn't even know how he got there. There was nothing more to do than shoulder the blame and move on, but his voice would not function.

Eventually, it was Wen Qing who spoke. “Wei Wuxian, I think you could ask yourself a similar question. Why were you out after curfew with Lady Luo?”

“Oh, ahaha, yes.” Wei Wuxian fiddled with his earlobe. “Ummm, first I’d like to say that Lan Zhan should really be answering before me, but anyway—”

“I was giving him a present,” Luo Qingyang interrupted.

“Yes, she was!” Wei Wuxian stuck his index finger in the air, then reached into his robes and pulled out a satchel of fragrant herbs. “See, she was just thanking me for a favor I did! We didn’t have the chance to meet until late at night. A lot of the other disciples were out too—so many that we didn’t even realize it was past curfew.”

Nie Mingjue frowned and glanced over his shoulder. The fully-robed disciples in the doorway shifted uncomfortably.

“Okay, that's my story. Lan Zhan? Are you going to answer now?” Wei Wuxian said.

Lan Wangji straightened his spine. “Wangji has violated Gusu Lan Clan rules and accepts due punishment.”

“No, hold on,” Luo Qingyang said. “Clan Leader Nie, Young Master Lan, it was my fault. I invited Second Young Master Lan to give him a present, too. I wrongly insisted on having him wait in my dorm while I talked to Young Master Wei, and he was too polite to refuse. Luo Qingyang is sorry.”

Lan Wangji opened his mouth to protest this blatant lie, but before he could, Wei Wuxian made a low ‘bzzt’ sound and shot him a look of warning.

"Oh, you know what, now that I think about it? I remember that. That's exactly right," Wei Wuxian chimed.

Nie Mingjue shook his head. “You’re all halfwits. Classes haven’t even started yet, and you’re breaking rules left and right.” He whipped around to face the doorway. “What’re you all staring at? Shouldn’t you be sleeping in your dorms?!”

Like a dropped piece of jewelry that burst apart into its fragile beads, the disciples scampered away in all directions. In the frenzy, Nie Huaisang tripped on his robes and fell. He looked up guiltily at his older brother, then fled with a yelp.

“Well, Mingjue, you’re right that classes haven’t started yet,” Lan Xichen said. “Since it’s so early, let’s give everyone a pass for what happened tonight. After all, these four did slay a monster. We're lucky they're still with us.”

Nie Mingjue snorted. “It’s not like I was going to go through the trouble of telling Lan Qiren, anyway. Scaring them into behaving is good enough for now. After all, Baxia is always ready," he said as he hovered his saber in the air and glowered at the four disciples below him. But a playful levity flickered through his voice.

“…Yes.” The corners of Lan Xichen’s eyes crinkled with loving disapproval.

As the thrill of the night’s battle died down, Lan Wangji felt calmness return to his mind. However, the calmness was soon shattered by the memory of the closet door that apparently teleported him into Wen Qing’s room.

There were two things he needed to address.

“Brother. I have broken clan rules. I must—”

“Wangji, no,” Lan Xichen said.

“Tell—”

“Wangji, return to your dorm.”

“Brother—”

“Please, it’s alright. You have been pardoned. Go tend to your injuries.” He turned away. "Mingjue, let's begin cleaning the remains of this monster so these young women can go to sleep."

Lan Xichen assumed that Lan Wangji would only insist on disciplining himself. Lan Wangji did not need his brother’s permission to atone for his crimes—he would do that anyway. He wanted to talk about the closet door.

Lan Wangji started toward Wen Qing instead, but he was pulled back by Wei Wuxian.

“You heard the man! Back to the dorm it is! I’m a rule-follower now, did you know that, Lan Zhan? It’s my duty to keep you in line! Otherwise, who knows what scandalous things you might do?"

After a round of tugging and bickering, Lan Wangji found himself accompanied by Wei Wuxian to the infirmary to gather medical supplies, then drawing his mouth into a thin line of forfeit when Wei Wuxian insisted on carrying them all. And last he was trudging along next to his spirited roommate down the moonlit stone path and dewy grass trail to their duplex.

"...Thank you," Lan Wangji said.

Wei Wuxian cocked an eyebrow. "For what?"

For protecting Wen Ning from bullies. For saving me from the monster. For caring about my injuries.

All these words danced on his tongue. But in the end, Lan Wangji let the night breeze answer for him.

When they arrived at the dorm, Lan Wangji immediately marched over to his closet. He hesitated, then pulled the door.

It was locked again.

This was very, very strange. Lan Wangji glared at the door, feeling offended. It had gotten him into a lot of trouble.

Could it be that somehow this closet held a portal to the girls' dormitory?

He needed to set this straight. First thing tomorrow, Lan Wangji resolved to speak to Wen Qing.

Unfortunately, he soon learned that it would be very hard to keep Wei Wuxian out of his business.

* * *

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this chapter, you can be a supportive sibling like Jiang Yanli by liking, reblogging, and visiting me on AO3! New chapters posted every Monday on AO3 and Tuesday on Tumblr.

Ch. 4 > |  chapter list

[pl-panda]

Of Heaven and Hell

Credits: Miraculous Ladybug team for the elements I take from MLB show. DC for their characters, @ozmav for the AU, @maribat-archive for giving me access to so many different stories to have take inspirations from, @ethelphantom for the cover I use at Wattpad and FF.Net and Me for the plot.

------------------------------

Of Heaven and Hell: Part 1

--------------------------

Of Heaven and Hell

From Encyclopedia Demonica

[...] and while many people consider angels epitomes of good, they are mistaken. Indeed, this regal beings are more closely connected to order than to goodness. They perceive divine law as imperative and hold little regard to human lives, as long as they serve their goals. And yet, most of the times they chose to not involve themselves in mortal affairs.

Typical angel have two forms. First look very similar to human, but they retain most of their powers. Such form is also much more durable and their physical capabilities exceed everything you could expect from a mortal. Second is close to the first one in appearance, but differs in terms of power and abilities. In this form Angel spreads his wings and feature specific to his sub-species appear. 

Angel’s powers differ on subspecies, but universally include flight, enhanced senses, enhanced agility, strength and durability, large magical potential, access to magic unique to their species and high resistant to other types of magic. Specific subspecies have different additional powers. Each Angel also possess an ability that is unique to him. Usually, it reflects his personality and present itself when it reaches maturity. [...]

--------------------------------

Six years ago

Damian cursed under his breath. The temple was under attack. His mother told him to get inside. And he did. He ran to his room to grab his sword. A beautifully ornate weapon with guard in shape of two intertwined pairs of angel wings pointing toward the blade. Great for complicated maneuvers. The pommel held a teal pearl also protected by a pair of angel wings. It was a gift from his grandfather for his eighth birthday. The weapon was perfectly balanced and suited Damian’s style perfectly. 

With the sword in hand, Damian unfolded his wings. His tunic had a special holed cut in the back to accomodate for them and he didn’t destroy every shirt he wore. A pair of large white feathered wings appeared and he dashed forward to battle. He couldn’t let his mother die. A small orb of white energy appeared in his hand before he launched it at the wall in front of him. The explosion created enough of a hole for him to pass. 

In front of him opened a large yard. Usually, a new acolytes trained here under careful watch of angelic masters. Now it was simply a blood bath. Bodies were lying everywhere. But what shocked him the most was that angels were fighting one another. Some wore League’s armors, but overwhelming force was dressed in black-and-orange suits. He wanted to dash forward and into the battle, but someone grabbed him and pulled him into the shadows. A slender figure of his mother looked at him sternly.

“I told you to go inside.”

“Mother! I came to fight with you. I must fight with you. By your side. Together. It’s my destiny!”

“Your destiny is to live Damian.” She scolded him. “Now quickly. Let’s move. Some battles can’t be won.”

“But… what about the mission?” He asked confused.

“Mission will live in you and me. Now let’s go join your grandfather in the tunnels.” She started leading him away.

--------------------

Damian woke up from the dream. He instantly grabbed his sword and swung it around. Only then he realized that is was just a memory. He looked around his room, assessing any dangers. Once he was sure that nothing lurked in the darkness he got up. It was still night and quick glance at the electronic clock told him that it was 3:30 AM. Long time before others wake up. But Damian did not want to go to sleep anymore. He never did after this kind of nightmares. 

He got down to the holo-training room and activated the highest setting. A series of ninja shimmered into existence. Without as much as a second of hesitation, Damian dashed forward. His silver sword cut through them as he zoomed through the arena. With each move, he took two of the enemies. A slight golden aura around him intensified as he burned through his anger. Finally, he collapsed, panting heavily from exhaustion. The “kill counter” showed that he was halfway to a thousand vanquished enemies. He was weak. He was useless. He ran away. He was no warrior but a mere coward.

But it was not true. He did the right thing. Because he ran away he met his father. He actually started to protect people instead to only try to control them. He was a nephilim, half angel, half human. He had all the powers of his angelic brethren and yet freedom to choose. He didn’t need to follow orders of higher beings. He could make his own decisions. And he chose to be a hero, not a warrior. Now, each day he reinforced this decision. First as Robin, fighting side by side with his father, now as… still Robin, but as a part of Teen Titans. 

“You okay Demon Spawn?” A voice of Dick Grayson, better known as Nightwing, came from behind. Damian instantly spun around and stopped his blade less than an inch from his neck. 

“Don’t do that if you want your head to remain where it is.” he scowled at the sight of his adopted brother’s patronizing gaze. “And don’t look like that.”

“Like what?” Dick asked confused. 

“Like I am a baby in need of your care. I am sixteen-years-old Nephilim. I am more than capable of taking care of myself.”

“So that’s why you are awake at five in the morning? Taking care of yourself?”

“Get lost.” Damian barked and started to practice katas with his sword. He had his back turned to dick when suddenly he spun around just in time to block a projectile that was tossed at him. 

“Come on bro. You and me. One on one. First to score three hits.” Dick taunted. 

“I am stronger, faster and more agile. You stand no chance.” Damian said in emotionless expression. He looked at Dick for a moment before taking off his tank-top. “And I can fly.” He grinned at the surprised Nightwing. A pair of white-feathered wings appeared on his back. 

“And yet I kick your rear every time we fight.” Dick smirked and drew his staff. Both ends started to crackle with electricity. 

Damian boosted himself forward with a single flap of his wings. His silver sword met with the staff, but before he could cut it, Nightwing sidestepped and allowed blade to slide down. He used the Angel’s momentum to his disadvantage. Damian’s blade stumbled upon crackling electricity, sending a powerful shock through his arm. Normal humans would be paralyzed by this, but Damian only growled. It hurt, but he could fight. Damian tried several more times, but Dick always reflected or sidestepped before the blade could do any real damage. Finally, the Angel changed tactic. Flapping his wings, Damian rose into air. His off-hand glowed with golden light which next formed a runic circle around his fist before several projectiles flew at various arcs toward Nightwing. The hero had to dodge it quickly, but got caught by the last one and got sent into the wall. Damian didn’t bother to check on him. Instead, he dashed forward. Before Dick managed to get rid of flying stars around his head a silver blade was less than an inch from his neck. 

“I win.” Damian proclaimed, looking smug.

“Nope.” Dick said, popping the ‘p’. He then used his staff to jab Damian’s stomach, then jump on his fit and separate his weapon into two escrima sticks. He then started to barrage the teenager with series of swift hits. While they would not usually hurt given angelic durability, the crackling electricity made it a bit painful. Damian shielded himself with his wings, but Dick found an opening and landed third and final hit that ended the fight.

“That is cheating! I had you!” The teen argued.

“So? You lost me. But good fight D. Maybe next time.”

“tt. That’s unfair! I want rematch!” 

“Boys!” Kori joined the discussion. “As much as watching you fight is… entertaining, I made breakfast.” She said cheerfully while walking to nightwing. “And something special for you later.” She said seductively.

“Bleh.” Damian faked vomiting. “I will never understand humans.”

“You are part-human.” Dick pointed out

“And so is neandertales. Yet he doesn’t understand humans.” The teen deadpanned. 

“I heard someone say breakfast!” Beast Boy barged into training room.

“I made pancakes.” Kori cheered.

“With maple syrup?” Gar asked 

“And ‘love’.” Damian gave a sarcastic remark.

“So the best ones.” Beast Boy said with dreamy face. “I reserve the first batch!” He said while already dashing to the kitchen. 

“Scarab said he detected pancakes!” Beetle said while zooming past the room in his full armor. Damian, Dick and Kori walked in normal pace, only to find Gar and Jaime staring wide-eyed at Rachel sitting there and calmly eating her breakfast. 

“Took you long enough.” She said with a small smile. The red gem on her forehead pulsed weakly, but it was ignored in favor of consuming inhuman amounts of pancakes. Damian himself didn’t even realize that he finished three plates before Dick pointed it out to him. He turned pink for a moment before jumping away and claiming the remote for the day. 

After the morning of cartoons Titans spent rest of the day on the beach near the island. Half-way through Dick and Kori disappeared and when the sun started to set Rachel and Garfield also went somewhere. Jami, Damian and their newest addition to the team: Cyborg, were completely obvious to this as their discussion came to sport. 

“I’m just saying. Futball is the best game. Soccer is cool, but it’s for kids.” Victor argued.

“You say that, but last I checked Soccer was much more popular around the world.” Jami pointed out proudly. “Besides it requires much more skill and finesse. Futball is about pure muscle mass.”

“As if! Have you got any idea how important tactics, positioning, territorial awareness and condition are in Futball?”

“tt. The best sport is sword-fighting anyway.” Damian grinned at them. Inwardly, he loved this family. Sure, living with his father was great, but here he finally had one thing he missed so much: friends. They weren’t patronizing like Todd. They weren’t constantly trying to prove something to him like Drake and Grayson was even bearable here. That is if he didn’t act all sugar-eyes for Starfire. Is he even aware she is an alien princess and he is a peasant acrobat? 

As the sun was finally down, the titans made a giant bonfire on the beach and roasted marshmallows. As Damian was about to eat his, suddenly a large yellow balloon sailed toward him. He tried to catch it, but his enhanced strength made him accidentally squash it instead. A wave of water assaulted him and made him wet to the very bones. 

“Beast Boy!” He roared in anger. One thing he hated in the Titans were the constant prank wars that lasted for weeks. 

*gulp* “Will it help when I say that I aimed at Jaime?” Garfield asked weakly. 

“No hermano. It will only make it worse.” Blue Beetle looked practically offended, but he had a small smirk on his face. 

Damian took off his t-shirt and tossed it at Beast Boy. His hand then glowed and a runic circle materialized around it. Garfield tried to run, but a golden beam hit him in his rear and suddenly his fur turned completely gold. He looked like some some hardcore sports fan supporting his favorite team.

“That’s not fair! I only tossed a small water balloon. You could cool off a bit bro!” Garfield tried to argue weakly while massaging his rear.

“Suck it up like a man and stop whining like little girl…” Damian said, but then looked at Rachel who sent him a death glare. “Not that I have anything against little girls?” He added quickly.

After that the atmosphere were great. Garfield was still a bit sore on the subject of his new color and decided that he will appreciate his green from now on. Finally, Damian excused himself and went to the tower to go to sleep earlier. As he entered his room, he felt a breeze of air going on. He distinctly remembered that his window was closed and nobody would enter without his permission. A glyph on the doors made sure of that. His sword appeared in his and and a glowing runic circle formed above his head. A less known fact about Angels was that their Halo was in fact a spell that allowed them to sense other Angels in close proximity. It also gave enough light to serve as convenient source of light. Not that they needed it as they saw in anything but perfect darkness. Damian would never admit out loud that he used it when he wanted to draw something in the middle of the night. 

“Hello… Mother.” He said with disdain in his voice. 

“It’s good to see you too Damian.” She responded with sarcasm. 

“Why do you grace me with your presence?” If Talia’s voice was dipped in sarcasm, Damian drowned in it. 

“I need your help.” She said, ignoring the obvious disrespect. “There are several demons in Paris.”

“So?”

“The city is warded against all things celestial. And magic hides it from your precious Justice League. Had any Angel tired to go there, he would not be able to enter the city. Should anyone else hear about the situation, they would forget it as soon as the discussion ended.”

“So? From what you are saying is true, Mother, then I am twice as locked out as anyone else. I will forget about it the moment you leave.”

“That’s why I need you.” She said with almost pleading voice. “You aren’t a full angel, but your mind is protected from the spell. You should be able to enter the city and remember everything.”

Damian pondered it for a moment. It did seem like something serious. If what she said was true, the whole city was at the mercy of those vile monsters and couldn’t even hope for any external help. “Fine. I will go there.”

“Good. I already enrolled you at Collège Françoise Dupont” She said with a wicked grin. With a flap of her two pairs of wings she was gone, leaving only a thin folder on his desk. Damian cursed under his breath. 

“Looks like I’m going to school. tt. I hate teenagers.”

--------------------

Taglist: Open