#master fu is a disaster

[kari-go]

Some of the adults :]

From left to right: Master Fu, Sabine Cheng, Marianne Lenoir, Sofia Petrov, Giada Rossi, Caline Bustier, Emilie Agreste, Arthur Duval, Blanche Duval, Nathalie Sancoeur, Demeter Mendeleiv, Gabriel Agreste, Tom Dupain, Viktor Petrov.

Emilie and Viktor are depicted how they would look like they were alive and in the story, not how they looked when they died.

Individuals under cut

[mc-lukanette]

It was the day after the class seats had been swapped around, Marinette having since resigned herself to being moved to the back. She wasn't happy about being alone, but everyone else was with their own seats and the last thing she wanted to do was stir up a fuss again just to have it turned against her.

Making a case would've been less of an issue had she told everyone that she was actually no longer into Adrien and had an entire boyfriend to show for it, but Alya was too unpredictable in how she might react to that and the others hadn't seen her and Luka together long enough to understand. She loathed the fact that an infatuation of less than a year was what people were basing her character on - nowadays, she looked back on it like an artist who grimaced at their week-old work - but her private life was no one's business but her own. If she had to reveal it to convince people that she wasn't an evil person going after a "perfectly innocent" girl over a crush, then—

Well, normally she would say that it was her fault, but Luka had been firm about her not blaming herself for everything under the sun and she was really trying to stick to that.

Maybe being in the back won't be so bad, she thought, attempting to calm her mind. I feel, um... taller? That's something.

It wasn't helping.

"Alright, class," Miss Bustier called out, clapping her hands to earn everyone's attention, "before we start today, we have a new student who just transferred to our school and I'd like you all to give them a warm welcome."

A new student? Marinette shut her eyes and held back a groan, thinking that the current "new student" was already more than enough. If it was another Lila or Chloe, she might have to seriously consider bribing Master Fu for the fox miraculous so she could Mirage herself into class to avoid them altogether.

Also, as she was quickly realizing, the only available seat was next to her. This was a disaster, an absolute disas—

"Luka?" Juleka blurted out, uncharacteristically loud in her shock.

At the name of her boyfriend, Marinette's head jerked towards the classroom door, seeing him standing next to Miss Bustier like he belonged there. She blinked, glancing out at the hall as if the real new student would come in, but nothing happened. Even when she looked back at Luka, he met her gaze as if to wordlessly tell her that yes, he was there.

Just to make absolutely sure, she dropped her arms to her lap and pinched her forearm until it hurt.

After giving a general introduction that Marinette processed none of, Miss Bustier turned to Luka to ask, "Would you be alright sitting in the back next to Marinette?"

He nodded, not waiting to start heading up the stairs. Eyes, either curious or puzzled, followed him as he went, but he had his own eyes on his decided-upon seat.

Marinette could only continue gaping at him, even as he sat down and made himself comfortable. He eyed her, smiling softly, then reached out and slowly closed her mouth. The cheek caress that followed was so subtle and quick that no one could've caught it even if they were looking, but it finally brought her back to life.

Leaning towards him, she whispered in a panic, "Luka! What are you doing here?! How are you here?!"

He took a single glance at Miss Bustier, who was turned towards the chalkboard, then leaned in and whispered back, "I didn't want you to have to do this alone."

"But—!" Her face scrunched, mind racing in an attempt to understand. She'd told Luka about what happened with Lila, but that was only yesterday. For him to have found a way to transfer between then and now was—was— "That's crazy!"

He shrugged, unphased.

She gripped the table, as if it would give her the mental support needed to juggle the thoughts in her head. "You didn't have to go through all this for me! It's too much!"

That finally got a reaction out of him, but not in the way she suspected. He frowned disapprovingly, leaning in further and raising a hand between them to further muffle his words to others' ears. She felt his breath against her ear as he explained, "You're my girlfriend, Marinette; my girlfriend and my best friend. It's not 'too much' if it's what I wanted to do."

He left it at that, straightening up again and putting his focus towards the front of the class. She could only pout at him, hoping no one saw the blush on her cheeks.

It felt wrong, somehow. It was Ladybug who was supposed to swoop in to save people, not the other way around. She was the one who had to make choices on the fly to help others.

She could already hear Luka's voice in her head, shooting that idea down: "Ladybug can't be the savior all the time. Someone has to look out for Marinette too."

It was almost frustrating, losing a battle of words in her own head, but she'd be lying if she said that it didn't make her feel relieved to have someone who would back her up no matter what. Whether she chose to go after Lila or not, he'd be behind her the entire way.

She couldn't help herself. Checking to confirm that there still weren't eyes on them, she leaned up towards Luka and imitated his gesture, raising her hand between their faces. He'd seen the gesture out of the corner of his eye and tipped his head to listen better, but she kissed his cheek instead.

Pulling back quickly to look normal just in case the pecking sound had been caught, she dared only a single peek at Luka to catch his reaction. He was trying and failing not to grin, probably looking as if he was just very interested in the lesson to any outside eyes. It occurred to her then that, had they been in the front or middle rows, it would've been impossible to not be seen by anyone behind them.

Letting an imaginary Marinette in her mind cheer and jump around for her due to being unable to do anything even close to that in class, her thoughts screamed, Being in the back is the best!

[gaykarstaagforever]

FREE ON YOUTUBE

...YouTube, I feel like your free animated movie recommendations have declined in quality a bit since the halcyon days of Osmosis Jones.

Yes, it is a blatant Kung Fu Panda knockoff, with an American voice cast that is clearly whoever was home at 11 am the week they called.

This is bad. Like, unfinished, I think I'm missing like half the movie, they forgot to resolve the main plot and it just stops, bad. There is a scene where the only character on screen suffers an animation error, and no one fixed it. The framerate of the movie drops every time the action picks up or the camera swings around too fast. Like...you made a computer-animated movie, and you don't have the hardware or time to do...you know...computer animation? The stones on the Chinese producers of this mess.

Not everything has to be Pixar or DreamWorks. CG is hard. I get it. But you gotta work to your strengths. In this case, the computers you are using can't even render the movie properly. Like...I don't know how you get around that. That's kind of a major issue.

Technical incompetence aside, this suffers from the usual bad CG animation problems of every character looking like they come from a different artistic universe, and most of the action is generic mocaping that doesn't take into account how any real bodies shaped like these bodies would move. And there are just things they didn't bother capturing. Like none of these dough monsters ever stands up on screen.

Shot composition is a disaster. Most scenes are a mob of creatures standing in a pack in an empty space, doing exaggerated facial reactions to someone else talking. It's like bad machinima made in the Skylanders games engine, except all of the character designs are way worse.

The plot, such as they attempted it, is supposed to be about a small, incompetent warrior who looks like Jackie Chan who gets transported to the mystical realm of Merryland by a magical jade necklace his grandfather gave him. There, he transforms into an anthropomorphic panda, for reasons that are never explained. There is a prophecy that a Panda Warrior is destined to save the realm, and our guy is apparently it, except there is a flashback to like a couple of years ago when the ultimate evil took over, and...there is ANOTHER Panda Warrior who was just there and sort of stopped it? But then didn't? Who the hell was that guy?!

Also the ultimate evil is one of the two sky-whales who guard the Dragon Ball (yes, literally) just turning evil because it absorbed too much power. Why did this happen? How are you going to stop it from happening again? Then that whale turns into a nine-headed snake after an evil mouse from the real world just...is there, and merges with the Whale. After the snake is defeated the mouse just crawls out of it and runs away, and no one says a damn thing.

Our panda warrior and his 7 legendary warrior friends kung fu fight the snake at least 3 different times, and never get close to stopping it. And the panda doesn't do anything special or lead them, he is just there, and then at the very end his necklace glows and that...helps? Somehow? The true hero here is, and I'm not joking, Jimmy Ginseng, a tiny ginseng man with an erhu who shows up whenever the warriors are losing, plays the erhu, the enemy gets soothed by the song, and then Jimmy gets tired and leaves. EVERY BATTLE ends like this, including the final one.

So...?

The panda has that cool green sword in the picture. And he does have it. It is just...a sword, thst someone randomly gives him. I think he ends up dropping it and it never comes up again.

Also all the warriors are animals, except for the one who is a talking tree stump...filled with lava. And he dies at the end by setting himself and the snake on fire. Because his master, a purple fox, told him to do that to save everyone. ...Except the SNAKE SURVIVED IT, and they had to fight it again, lose, and wait for Jimmy to show up.

The bull character also sacrifices himself, TWICE, to save everyone else, and both times that doesn't work, either.

The movie ends with Merryland being restored from the devastation of the snake...BEFORE the snake is defeated. It just...gets better, after they resuce an elf girl princess who does...something...? And then the regrown flowers shoot the snake with missiles of some kind. Which ALSO fails to defeat it.

The panda doesn't go home and become human again and nothing is explained. But during the credits there is a fight scene between the little human warrior and his general, in which they get drunk and wrestle and tons of fight animations repeat in a loop for 3 minutes. Is this part of the movie? Are these outtakes? What does this have to do with anything? If this is what happens after he got home, I don't know why or what it means.

...My guess is that the first panda warrior we see was supposed to be his grandfather, as a panda? That was probably the idea? But no one ever says that. The movie doesn't remember to explain that.

This was translated from Chinese. Perhaps the translation is terrible. Or they did a massive reedit of this for the US release. That could explain some of this. ...But then why didn't they cut out the glitch scene, or some of the shots with the bad framerate? There are literal 10 second sequences in this movie where there is no dialogue or music, just a camera sleeping over a scenery to ambient nature sounds. Who reedits a movie for the foreign market and cuts out vital plot scenes, but leaves in shit like that?

...Unless all those vital plot scenes had even worse technical problems. Jesus. That's a terrifying thought.

One positive here. While nearly all of the voice work is as boring and bored as you'd expect, the immortal Tom Kenny is good, with what very little he is given to do, here. The man is a professional.

And here is the weirdest thing: Rob Schneider is really good here as the panda man and Jimmy Ginseng. Like, shockingly good. Like, this is without exaggeration the best performances of this man's miserable life. He is funny, charming, nuanced, he feels like he is reacting properly during what were probably one-sided conversations recorded on different days in different places. It is shocking how good he is in this awful, stupid movie. My only guess is that he was somehow involved in bringing this over and it was going to serve as an audition piece to get him more voice work. In which case, like, fair enough, dude. You nailed it. He is genuinely very good in this very bad movie.

What an odd artifact from 2012. What a waste of time. Why did YouTube recommend this? What do any of us gain from being shown this? I am just flabbergasted.

You're on time out with these movie suggestions, Google.

Also there is a pig who flies who looks like this:

Those aren't ears, they are just gross misshapen tendrils that bob around as she moves. It's like someone was playing with a stretch tool and then...stopped.

I was gonna end with "Now let's have Jimmy Ginseng play us out," but I can only find this one bad picture of him, and it doesn't show his erhu:

Here is some nice erhu music from someone else. Something redeeming in this godforsaken post:

[pillowdrawz]

MASTERLIST OF ANYTHING 🎨🖌DRAWING

Commission Sheet

(Idk how a master list work)

Btw I did all of this for fun FOR FUN.

♤Turtles forever Au [just a bunch of Turtle gen. Interacting] (On hold)

° Meeting 1. (Old art)

• Meeting 2 (old art)

○ busted meeting 3 (old art)

● Cloaking broach? 1 (old art)

□ Cloaking Broach! 2 (old art)

■ Don's training (old art)

♤ Training

◇ Mutated Soldiers

♡ Mutated Soldiers Leo

◇ Mutated soldiers Donnie

♧ Raph meeting 2012 meme

☆ Meme a Ten is speaking. (Old art

▪︎ Into the leo verse. (Old art)

¤ Turtles and Their Krang

《 Leo's traumas

{ Think leon think

》Leo's and Rise raph

¡ 12 MIKEY CHEATZ. (Old art)

? Spider verse Meme leos

} Hopeful (old art)

[ Don't talk to me or Otherme (Oldart

☆ Playing (old art)

R adorable Rise raph. (NOT SHIPPING)

\ Pranks and Destruction.

◇ watching Leo get L.

♧ watching Donnies get guns

$ Bamf Leo in 2012 world.

1 Future Leo's,MiseryxCprxreesespuffs

% Energy and Stab-

$ Accidentally Mutated Vs Purposely Mutated

2 Raphs Slay

÷ Raphs Height (Not canon I just had fun)

E He likes to be tall

V Is For Valentine's L is for 2003 Mikey/j

Y- Yoshi!!??

A, B.E.A.S.T ACTOR AU

, :3

4 Mutant Mayhem ???

5 Tmnt Animatic Leo's "You'll play your part"

B B.e.a.s.t Leo Joins?

🃏 Joking about trauma be like

💥 Mutant Mayhem Donnie meets??

🐇⚔ Leosagi both 2003 and rise

🤚 DANGEROUS

🙂 ask someone else

-⏭⏸❗----------

◇ Hamatos Umarekawari Au.(On going)

* first post Explannation

+ Raph's death explained

× first meeting part 1

÷ Second meeting part 2

= Meeting (thanos meme)

€ Ryu took the wheel literally

£ Memes

^ more Memes twins

¥ Posture

₩ Bandana

# Rise Boys Looks

$ Random Art of the Au.

% Twins powers

& Float

- Another meeting but different

= Baby?

$ COUSINS??

# Origin???

8 The Kids cloaking brooch/Human form

9 Shelly take care of grandpa...NO DONT KILL HIM-

---⏸⏭---

Random things/ Headcanon)

Rottmnt recoil fanart

TAIL

Cloaking Broach Raph

Cloaking Broach leo Part 1 (bad art)

Cloaking Broach Leo part 2

Cloaking Broach Donnie

MY FAV HC ABOUT THE TWINS

MY FAV HC ABOUT HAMATO NINPO

Rise Leo new Hc???

RISE LEOS TWO POKEMON

He attacked the floor

Rise raph to Rise splinter

Rottmnt memes

Leo wants his sanity back

Disaster twins and Wildberry

Artist is on their Ao3 Author arc /j

=====⏭⏸❗📶===

💀♠️RISESAGA A ROTTMNT X UNDERTALE AU! <<<And for more content click the blog there is now a master list there!!!♠️💀(Rewritting)

---📶⏸💥------

✍Ninjago.✍

+Ninjago Kung fu panda part 1

# Ninjago Kung fu panda part 2

= Lloyd,Brad and Gene fanart

$$ Sensei Garmadon SCREENSHOT REDRAW

B What if Uno reverse card Harumi

--Zzzzzz⏸📶zzzzzzZ--

Rise piece Rottmnt X one piece

- Join His crew

Alabasta arc. Super what??

⚠️spoiler Marineford arc⚠️ Older brother

-------$⏯Monster Promx Monster High crossover comic⏸(On.hold)$----- A SPOOKY CROSSOVER

❌ Oz] Their mission

🧟‍♂️ Brian's And Zombies Part 1

---🗨HAMATOS EXORCISM AU 🗨---

✍ FIRST POST/PROLOGUE?

🖤 EXPLANATION? AND PIEBALD???(joke art only the pokemon one)

👌 Memes

🙌 real lore and Tmnt 2007

✨️Funfacts Mikeys Flaming heads yokais friends

👞clothes..

----- Loading-----

--🐢⛑Ninjago x Rottmnt "Turtles Aid Au"🐢⛑--(Ongoing)

⛑ Prologue/first

[buggachat]

anyway since the timeline of this game seems to be late season 3 (Master Fu is still around and the tutorial level is Mr Pigeon 68), and it's about Adrien's birthday party (and they reference bubbler multiple times like "this will hopefully not be as much of a disaster as LAST year"), I guess we COULD say that Adrien is 15 in season 4-5 :)

[i-like-anything-water]

here, have sum crack:

The next time she'll see Rose and Juleka, she'll gift then a basket of treats. Some of said treats will also have some beef cubes rather than bean paste as a form of payback. Because, good God, she shouldn't have listened to them the moment they said:

"It's a story about a reincarnated girl and her bully but it's really nice!"

Marinette blinked at the duo, who were holding up a set of novels. They've decided to have a spontaneous anime marathon after school and because of different reasons, Alya, Mylene and Ivan couldn't join them.

She read the title of the novels, 'I favor the Villainess' in pink lettering.

The two girlfriends insisted on watching the anime which was apparently complete and there hadn't been an akuma attack yet so she let herself get dragged into it. The story was interesting, very very interesting.

And Claire seemed very very familiar.

Perhaps she should have stopped Juleka and Rose when it was already past 10 pm and it was a school night. Maybe she could have gotten some bit of sleep before an akuma decided to annoy everyone in Paris by rampaging across the city at bloody 2 AM. Ladybug was irritated, moreso when Chat almost slammed into a building out of sleepiness. Thankfully, the Akuma wasn't much of a nuisance.

The lack of sleep, however, made up for it.

Maybe she should ask Master Fu if there's any way to recruit more Miraculous holders incase of Akumas in ungodly hours. They were still students after all, plus she doubts Hawkmoth doesn't work as well. Maybe she could ask Hawkmoth instead to create a schedule for all the Akumas. Negotiate and stuff.

Anyways, going to school sleep deprived, irritated and having an anime marathon the night before was brewing for disaster. Maybe her Ladybug luck can spare her for today.

"Well if it isn't my favorite person, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Nope. Tough luck.

Marinette groaned, her irritation rising as Chloé's haughty voice reached her ears. Truthfully, the blonde wasn't that annoying anymore ever since she decided to get the help she needed. She's actually been doing pretty well, if her small progress at being a better version of herself was to go by.

However, Marinette was sleep deprived, hangry, and also very much a bisexual disaster.

Chloé Bourgeois, former bully turned hesitant all- wait, bully? Bully, bully, bull- oh. Aha, bingo. Didn't Rae almost made Claire back off because she kept flirting with her?

"What's with that creepy smile on your face, Dupain-Cheng?!"

Marinette smiled, her remaining braincells evaporating as she looked up at the startled blonde, "You're so pretty."

"W-what?!"

Marinette shrugged, completely unaware of everything happening around her, "I mean, if you're going to call me by my full name you can have it. Chloé Dupain-Cheng, it suits you."

Everything was dead silent. Dead ass? A voice eerily similar to Rae Taylor in her head, asked.

Dead ass, Marinette replied.

She doesn't remember much after what happened but she does remember Chloé going red in the face, sputtering something that was too fast that could give Hawkmoth's receding hairline a run for its money and Alya asking her after Chloé practically ran from the conversation if she's finally lost it.

Okay, Alya, rude.

After some explanation from Alya, a two hour breakdown and panic attack, and a three hour talk with Tikki, she was already down in their bakery on a school night to prepare Chloé's favorite treats.

Was she purposely making herself sleep deprived again to actually give the treats? Maybe. Would they talk about it? Hopefully.

Is she excited? Well.

Raise Y/our hands was playing in the background and Rae Taylor seemed to be lifting her spirits. And maybe her chances of being a masochist as well.

[geffenrecords]

update on my physical media collection (not including books / records ). list of everything shown in the pictures below the cut ⬇️

DVDS:

IT (1990)

it / it chapter two

ready or not

beetlejuice

glee season 1 (sorry)

glee season 2 (SORRY)

jaws

the secret of nimh

jurassic park, the lost world, jurassic park 3

the breakfast club / sixteen candles / weird science (John Hughes collection)

bill & Ted's excellent adventure / bogus journey

flatliners

the lost boys

diary of a wimpy kid

Grey's anatomy season 1 (SORRRYYY)

aliens

alien resurrection

TMNT (honestly idk why I still have this)

the outsiders

trainspotting

over the edge (matt dillon first movie)

Donnie darko

venom

Jennifer's body

jackass number 2

twilight

the karate kid

the princess diaries

fight club

star wars phantom menace, attack of the clones, and revenge of the sith

Narnia the lion the witch and the wardobe

the osbournes season 1

little miss sunshine

spiderman 1, 2, and 3

the amazing spiderman

elephant

Kung fu panda

the passion of the christ

pay it forward

original star wars trilogy

the polar express

a clockwork orange

heathers

life as a house

surfs up

scream

bowling for columbine

hackers

natural born killers

terminator 2

mysterious skin

moonrise kingdom

American idiot Greenday documentary

that was then, this is now

jackass the movie

suicide kings

the matrix

the Goldfinch

the day after tomorrow

speak

stand by me

kids

rumble fish

CDS;

the black parade (mcr)

danger days (mcr)

American idiot (green day)

21st century breakdown (green day)

in love and death (the used)

may death never stop you (mcr)

baby one more time (britney spears)

life on the murder scene dvd / cds

nevermind (nirvana)

dookie (green day)

nimrod (green day)

uno, dos, tre (green day)

nirvana greatest hits

blue weezer

selfish machines (pierce the veil)

collide with the sky (pierce the veil)

three cheers for sweet revenge (mcr)

from under the cork tree (fall out boy)

teens of denial (car seat headrest)

in utero (nirvana)

licensed to ill (beastie boys)

lost and found (mudvayne)

what it is to burn (finch)

slipknot

no strings attached (nsync)

infinity on high (fall out boy)

fallen (evanescence)

green weezer

mellon collie and the infinite sadness (smashing pumpkins)

Tallahassee (the mountian goats)

bleach (nirvana)

in the areoplane over the sea (neutral milk hotel)

the downward spiral (nin)

facelift (alice in chains)

placebo

smash (offspring)

dirt (alice in chains)

peace sells but whos buying ? (megadeth)

garage days (metallica)

folie a deux (fall out boy)

devil put dinosaurs here (alice in chains)

spit (kittie)

alice in chains

incesticide (nirvana)

hot fuss (the killers)

load (metallica)

american beauty / american psycho (fall out boy)

among the living (anthrax)

oops i did it agian (britney spears)

viva la cobra (cobra starship)

almost here (the academy is...)

kill em all (metallica)

and justice for all (metallica)

lets knife (shonen knife)

lithium single (nirvana)

ride the lightning (metallica)

homemade bullets cd my dad made for me for christmas using scans he found online :)

nirvana unplugged

killings my business (megadeth)

enema of the state (blink182)

take off your pants and jacket (blink182)

pretty hate machine (nin)

screaming for vengeance (judas priest)

fabulous disaster (exodus)

let go (avril lavigne)

hidden treasures (megadeth)

dude ranch (blink182)

there be squabbles ahead (stolen babies)

master of puppets (metallica)

the black album (metallica)

twilight soundtrack

neighborhoods (blink182)

south of heaven (slayer)

blink-182

angst (kmfdm)

adios (kmfdm)

nevermind the bollocks, heres the sex pistols (sex pistols)

hybrid theory (linkin park)

the lion and the cobra (sinead o connor)

seasons in the abyss (slayer)

reign in blood (slayer)

meteroa (linkin park)

anything is (my bloody valentine)

CASSETTE TAPES:

pearl harbor attack story

music from hungary

so far so good so what (megadeth)

the four seasons (vivaldi)

concerti (vivaldi)

hangin' tough (new kids on the block)

tchaikovsky / liszt paino concertos

bach flute sonata

mozart symphonies

cats musical

days of future passed (the moody blues)

60s surf hits

doomsday for the deciever (flotsam and jetsam)

st elmos fire soundtrack

phantom of the opera highlights

defenders of the faith (judas priest)

VHS:

a year and a half in the life of metallica (original 80s tape from my dad!)

cliff em all (also original 80s tape from my dad )

walking with dinosaurs bbc

dead poets society

the lost boys

flatliners

family values 1998 tour (korn, limp bizkit, ice cube, rammstien, orgy)

attack of the clones

aliens

the terminator

hackers

not pictured are my books (way too many and way too unorganized to actually take pictures of), and my records. im not big into record collecting but i do have;

life on the murder scene soundtrack

three cheers for sweet revenge

the black parade is dead!

kill em all

master of puppets

[mister-e-muss]

Parenting: A TiPo microfic

(No I have not seen Kung Fu Panda 4 yet)

You know, looking back on it, maybe letting Lei Lei invite friends over to the Jade Palace was a mistake. Not that Po would ever say so out loud, mind you. But a veritable litter of kids rallying around one very capable, very mischievous leader was always a recipe for disaster.

The birthday celebration hadn’t been this out of hand at the start. There were no less than seven Kung Fu Masters just in their immediate surroundings, how hard could watching the neighborhood kids be?

As it turns out, very hard. As soon as the celebratory noodles had been eaten, they all scampered, scarpered, and scuttled away in every direction. Crane had to be dispatched to provide an aerial view, Mantis was busy checking small spaces, and Monkey was furiously taping down every breakable item the Hall of Warriors had. (The Urn of Whispering Warriors was the sole exception; it had already been broken before the party started.)

Where Tigress and Viper were, Po couldn’t say. Neither did he know where Master Shifu was, but he was sure they were doing their best.

———————————————

“Inner peace,” Shifu breathed to himself, trying desperately to ignore the sole pig child gnawing on his shoe.

———————————————

Really, Po reflected as he turned the corner, his real mistake had been teaching Lei Lei how to do Kung Fu. A smart kid was dangerous. A dangerous kid who’d been taught to be dangerous was dangerous-er. But most danger-est of all was a kid who was smart, strong, and adorable.

A fact reflected by the sight before him.

Lei Lei waved at him innocently from across the hallway. “Daddy!” She called.

Po felt a moment of relief. Whatever chaos was ensuing the rest of the Jade Palace, at least his daughter was safe. “There you are. Ah, I was starting to get worried. Didn’t hear a thing.”

Lei Lei smiled with satisfaction. Po’s heart was warmed for a moment, before he noted the shadows slowly opening the doors on the hallway.

“What’s going on?” Po asked, not very sure if he wanted to know the answer. At the very least, he knew now where the kids went.

Lei Lei still smiled, but it was the smile of victory. “Destwoy him my awmy!”

————————————————

Viper savored the smooth warm comfort of her tea. “You think it’s all right letting the guys watch the kids?”

Tigress waited to answer, finishing her own cup. “If Po is good at only three things, it’s cooking, Kung fu, and kids. I’m sure he has-“

They were cut off as a familiar cry of distress rang across the Jade Palace. Tigress heaved a deep, long suffering sigh before finishing her thought. “-. . . Absolutely nothing in hand.”

Viper have a sympathetic smile. “Want me to check on them?”

Tigress stood. “It’s fine. I’ll save him.”

————————————————

A few minutes later, Tigress found Po. Or more accurately, she found the mass of hyperactive children currently smothering him.

“Am I interrupting anything?” She asked rhetorically.

“Tigrehf?” A muffled voice called from beneath the squirming playful mass. “I don’f mean to scare you, but I fhink our daufter is drying to take ofer the world. And I don’f know if I can ftop her.”

Tigress smirked. “I guess then I’ll just have to catch her!” Her announcement came with exaggerated menace and showy growls near the end. The mass of fur and feathers fled in delighted terror.

Tigress spared a moment to look at the Dragon Warrior in all his overwhelmed, completely unprepared glory. “Want to tag out for a bit?”

Po waved away the suggestion, still panting for breath. “Nah, nah, it’s fine. I’ll be chasing them in a second.”

Tigress huffed in amusement. “I’ll be herding them for a bit. You join me when you’ve caught your breath.”

Po’s head collapsed “I love you so much.”

Tigress smirked as she squatted down to look Po in the eye. “Oh don’t say that just yet. You’ll be making it up to me later. After she’s gone to bed.”

“Eh,” Po said in lieu of a question.

“I’ve been thinking,” Tigress continued. “It could be nice to give Lei Lei a little sister. Don’t you think?”

Po’s face turned red. “Eh-Heh. Like we don’t have enough to do, right?”

Tigress theatrically pulled herself up to full height. “Of course, if you don’t feel like you can handle another. . .” She started to walk after Lei Lei and company.

Po pulled himself to his elbow’s “No no, I can totally handle it. It’ll be fun!”

Tigress smiled as she started to run. “Then come on; we can’t let our daughter take over the world just yet!”

Po was laughing in full as he sprinted after her.

[ohmeadows]

I was reading all the lore books of the Xianzhou for fic research and one volume in particular, Glimpses into the beyond, has my brain running circles, so why not share my notes

It's a manuscript written by Fu Xuan, touching on divination and Aeons

I loved this quote: "Humans walk the Paths, while stars cross the sky: Observing these situations can produce future predictions. All of this is based on the diviner's ascertainment of the present situation (or the past, because the present is constantly becoming the past)."

Implied that diviners must stay constantly in tune with the present lest they loose their footings

Mentions the founder of the Divination Commission, a master Xuan Yao, who said "Only the universe and the Aeons cannot be foretold."

Fu Xuan writes that the universe birthed the Aeons, not vice versa.

She further writes that omniscience is unattainable

While writing about the Yaoshi, she brings up the fact that any attempt to divine the Abundance's future is an unforgiveable felony onboard the Xianzhou. Any attempt to do so can be lethal for the diviner, and if they survive, they will face the full wrath of the Ten Lords Commission. (The other Aeons are kind of forbidden to divine, but the punishment is less severe and may even be suspended.)

She mentions that hubris often strikes diviners during their first 100 years on the job; likely implication being that she has been doing it for at the barest of minimums that time, and more probable way longer?

The rest of Fu Xuan's observations are musings on the nature of Aeons and relate a lot to the future of the Xianzhou:

Sorting of the Aeons into three categories, which the Xianzhou still uses:

"Arbiters: Determining mortal births and deaths, which are highly connected to the rise and fall of civilizations." Lan, Qlipoth.

"The Sacrosancts: Difficult to predict as good or evil; often unable to even know where they head for." Nous, Akivili, Aha, Idrila.

"The Authors of Calamity: The main culprit behind all disasters. Avoid, or be annihilated." Yaoshi, Nanook, Tayzzyronth.

Lan appeared in Year 3400 Star Calendar, and ever since the Divination Commission monitors and interprets what Lan's arrows mean.

Fu Xuan muses that while Qlipoth themselves strives for isolation between worlds with no contact, IPC, their foremost faction, facilitates contact and trade between worlds seemingly without drawing the ire of Qlipoth at all.

When the Xianzhou fleet set sail they witnessed Qlipoth's Echidna Skywall that seperates the worlds from the void.

Fu Xuan herself has seen Nous, the machine-like Aeon. "Contrary to standard thinking, Nous is not a god that provides solutions. On the contrary, all they offer is an infinite number of questions." Overall she speaks very highly of Nous and encourages diviners to take after them.

Akivili is shrouded in legends, but Fu Xuan mentions that both the IPC and Xianzhou fleet navigate space by the star rail ("chromatic echelons").

Deems Aha to be the Aeon closest to mortals, mentioning how Aha's followers instigated a riot that ended with a troll virus being spread in the local robot army.

While Idrila is fallen, it's implied that through gathering and using the relics left behind, they might come back.

This quote is just fascinating in the implications of Idrila: "According to ancient myth, Idrila once attributed the beauty of all the starzones to themselves, showing heroes, villains, and mortals the meaning and aesthetics contained within the cosmic landscape, and driving them to complete astonishing (but often devastating) achievements for Idrila's own pleasure. This myth may reveal the true meaning behind the Path of Beauty: The integration of consciousness, insight, and values."

There is some strange and remote connection between the Yaoshi and the Xianzhou people, apparently, one that physics cannot yet explain.

Nanook is the most recently ascended Aeon. Fu Xuan muses that the followers of Nanook are becoming an increasing problem, the fleet has lost contact with many worlds ravaged by the Antimatter Legion, and that in the near future it's likely they will have to face Nanook's forces.

Tayzzyronth, while dead, still has seeded worlds which in turn become hellscapes if not destroyed. Also their scions are still alive, and there are scholar theories that they can come back at any time.

Fu Xuan once inspected a piece of amber that was a piece from the "Imperator Insectorum's Prison Cell." The omniscia implanted in my forehead could not see the future of this item, which only serves to corroborate the scholar's claims. All I can do is pray in silence to the Reignbow that such a day will not come soon.

[thebisexualdogdad]

Shang Chi x male reader fluffy smut? Idk exactly but this prompt:

[ GAZE ] : sender watches receiver from across a crowded room.

So Shang Chi watching us across a crowded bar. Maybe we’re an old friend and Katy is like “you’ve been staring at him for almost an hour go talk to him you disaster bisexual!”

Then maybe leads to smut?

Shang-Chi x Male!reader

When Shang-Chi and Katy returned to San Francisco the first thing they did was hit up their favorite bar.

The two of them are ordering drinks when Shang-Chi sees a familiar face enter the establishment.

"Oh shit Katy you are never going to believe who just walked in," Shang-Chi mutters.

Katy eagerly looks over his shoulder to find out who he's talking about.

"Wait, is that Y/N Y/L/N? The guy you had a huge crush on in high school?" Katy snickers.

"Okay well it wasn't a huge crush," Shang-Chi says trying to defend himself.

"Dude you joined the soccer team just to hang out with him," Katy retorts, "despite being a master of kung fu you suck at sports, one time you kicked the ball into your own team's goal."

"Do I need to remind you I literally saved the world a week ago?" He scoffs.

"Which you couldn't have done without my help," Katy teases, "and if I remember correctly Y/N was the only person who wasn't pissed off at you for the semi finals incident which means he totally liked you too so you should go talk to him."

"No I can't," he says shaking his head.

"Why not? You're like a total badass now."

"Because other people can't know that I'm a total badass now," Shang-Chi replies.

"Doesn't mean you can't go finally hook up with your high school crush."

Shang-Chi sighs and watches you join a group of your friends at the pool tables, one of them handing you a beer.

Unfortunately Shang-Chi was not as confident as Katy, how embarrassing would it be if he went up to you and you didn't even remember him?

An hour passes by and Katy has happily found someone to flirt with while Shang-Chi's attention is purely on you across the crowded bar.

But eventually Katy is done watching Shang-Chi giving you heart eyes and needed him to make a move.

"Seriously dude you've been staring at him for an hour just go talk to him already you disaster bisexual," Katy says pushing her best friend in your direction.

A couple people stare at Shang-Chi and the commotion and that's when he finally catches your eye.

"Too late now bud," Katy whispers to Shang-Chi, "he saw you so now you have no choice but to talk to him."

Shang-Chi gulps and recollects himself, approaching you nervously.

"Shaun?" You ask cheerfully.

"Y/N, hey," he smiles awkwardly.

"What's it been? 10 years?" You ask, "and is that Katy with you? Nice to see you guys are still friends. What have you been up to?"

"Well Katy and I actually just got back from a trip to China," he says.

"Wow that's so cool, why don't we play a game of pool and you can tell me all about it," you say handing him a pool stick.

Shang-Chi makes up a story about him and Katy going abroad to backpack around the country for a few weeks since obviously he couldn't tell you the truth about the city of Ta Lo and the soul eaters or the giant dragon he fought.

You spend another hour talking and catching up over a couple games of pool which Shang-Chi loses every time because he's too distracted by the same smile that gave him butterflies as a teenager.

"Did you somehow get hotter since high school?" You grin, taking the final shot of the fourth game hitting the 8 ball into a corner pocket.

"You thought I was hot in high school?" Shang-Chi asks suddenly with a lump in his throat.

"Why do you think I always sat next to you on the bus to away games despite half the seats being empty?" You chuckle.

"I uh… gotta confess I sort of had a crush on you," he admits, "you were the first guy I ever had a crush on actually."

"Yeah I know," you smile.

"If you knew why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Because you weren't out yet and if we were going to happen I wanted it to be on your terms," you tell him.

"I really wish I had asked you out back then," Shang-Chi states.

"Well I live just a couple blocks from here… we can go back to my place and… keep catching up?" You suggest.

Shang's mouth goes dry and all he can do is nod dumbfoundedly.

You say goodbye to your friends while he returns to Katy.

"Katy, holy crap I think Y/N and I are going to hook up tonight," Shang-Chi stammers.

"Hell yeah dude!" Katy says high fiving him.

"Are you okay to get home by yourself?"

"Oh no I'm not going home either I'm definitely getting some myself with that hottie over there," Katy says pointing to the person she had been flirting with all night, "now go make your teenage dreams come true."

"Okay okay I'm going, how do I look?"

Katy laughs and unbuttons the top two buttons of his shirt, "there now you're good."

Even though it's only a couple blocks it takes much longer than needed due to you and Shang-Chi stopping multiple times to makeout.

By the time you finally make it back to your apartment your lips are on his neck, unbuttoning his shirt the rest of the way.

"Shit Shaun you really did get hotter," you say running your hands over his defined abs, you remembered him being a lot skinnier a decade ago.

He laughs and gets rid of your own shirt as you guide him to your bedroom, articles of clothing being thrown around the hallway.

He couldn't believe this was actually happening, he had dreamt of this moment countless times when he was younger.

By the time you reach your bed all of your clothes are gone and you push a now totally naked Shang-chi onto the mattress.

You're both staring at each other, taking in the sight of one another.

"Are you just going to stand there or what?" He taunts as he comfortably positions himself against the pillows.

You grin and climb on top of him, kissing him and gripping his hardening cock in your hand.

He moans as you stroke him and juts his hips up into your touch.

"Do you want me to fuck you Shaun?" You say nipping along his jaw and up under his ear.

"Please," he groans desperately.

He already misses your touch when you remove your hand but he lets out a guttural moan when he feels you guiding your cock inside him.

"Fuck yes," Shang-Chi grunts as you push in inch by inch to let him adjust.

His eyes screw shut and his legs hook around your waist to give you a better angle as you find a steady pace.

You have one hand holding his hips in the air and the other roaming across his chest while you pick up the speed of your thrusts.

"Do you know how many times I used to jerk off thinking about this?" You grin watching Shang-Chi's abs flexing, sweat beading down his torso.

"You weren't the only one," he chuckles, grabbing his own cock and stroking himself, "I'm so close to cumming."

Hearing that you firmly hold onto his hips with both hands, pounding into him as roughly as you could, Shang-Chi's hand quickly moving until he's cumming all over his stomach.

He screams your name when he cums and hearing your name said like that takes you over the edge as well.

He cries out as you fill him to the brim, your thrusts now frantic and shaky as you two ride out your highs together.

Your orgasms subside and you ease out of him, cum dripping out of his hole.

"That was amazing," he says, a huge smile on his face.

"Was it worth the ten year wait?" You chuckle.

"So worth it," he says still trying to catch his breath.

[kari-go]

Are there salt-written characters in your AU? Like, either characters that you dislike in the original and clearly shows it in the AU by the way you make them act/talk, or either scenes that mocks stuff that happens in the OG show with specific characters, even if you don't follow them in the AU?

(Btw this is not necessarily something bad, I'm just curious about your decisions)

A little of Fu and Bustier. And also Lila but that one is a problem definitely stemming from the amount of salt fics I've read so I hope to get rid of it.

With Fu and Bustier, it's not necessarily how they act and talk but how the others react to them. Marianne thinks Fu is a coward and the kwamis don't like him, Stompp mocks him constantly and Luxx hates him (he hates anyone who's associated with the Order but still). Bustier gets a few raised eyebrows but that's mostly it.

AND ALSO ANDRe. he's a loser and I will take a jab at him and his stupid ice cream when I can because he's stupid

But I don't think that there are any other scenes deliberately mocking the show because Prime Queen doesn't happen lol

[garnettfox]

Miracubots: Miraculous Holders (Humans)

Since this has gotten a little attention and seems to have gotten people curious I'll continue inflicting this AU on you XD

For a while Beetletron and Felidae Fatale are the only heros running around Griffin Rock doing what they can to obfuscate their identities. It helps that due to Cody in his hero form looking like a miniature Rescuebot, has people believing he's a smaller more advanced model of bot with an AI controlling him and Felidae acting as his handler.

And has the Bot's thinking he's a Minicon running around with a human friend. Cody is absolutely having a blast dropping hints that he and the bots are related and Plagg is pouting that Tikki got the holder who's causing the most Chaos.

As the fights start escalating Master Fu starts trying to teach Cody about the Miraculous and being a guardian....Only for Cody to insist either Frankie be there in the lessons to, or he'd just teach her behind Fu's back. Yup, no one person being Guardian over the other, Cody and Frankie are equals.

As part of the training Fu allows them to take the Turtle Miraculous to find someone that would be a good temporary hero. Unfortunately, during an Akuma attack the Turtle ends up being lost...And Priscilla Pync is the one to find it.

Priscilla at first mostly uses the Turtle as somewhat an escape from her life under her mothers thumb and while Terraprincess isn't much of a fighter and rarely turns up for Akuma attacks, she's been finding her footing acting to evacuate people from fights and acting to help with the more natural disasters of the island.

(We very much want Priscilla to be somewhat of a fusion of Adrien with the villain as their parent, and the redemption Chole deserved learning how to be a hero through Wayzz)

Fu is not happy with the pair for losing one of the Miraculous, even if it found it's way to a heroic individual and intended on preventing them from using any of the others for a while to teach them a lesson.

This is till an Akuma fight where as Cody's rushing to the scene...He's stopped by Plagg holding the ring, explaining that...The Akuma's Frankie, and she ordered him to take the ring and run when she realized what was happening.

Ya, being a Miraculous holder isn't a get out of jail free card in regards to Akumas. Though we've gone with the interpretation that 'A Holder if they have the mental fortitude CAN keep secrets from Swallowtail' to explain why they get given their Miraculous again.

And Cody, finding out his best friend, his platonic other half and his partner in crime fighting is the one Akumatized...Has a bit of a panic attack, freaking out at the thought of not only fighting his best friend, but having to fight her alone. It's to the point, Plagg has to get him to transform back so Tikki can help calm him. And she has a plan.

Give someone else a Miraculous to help.

And she even knows the perfect person to give it to.

Thus Chief Charlie Burns, becomes the first offical Miraculous Hero after Beetletron and Felidae Fatale, using the Horse Miraculous to become the cowboy inspired hero Ranger. With Rangers Help their able to beat Haywire and Deakumatize her back into Frankie, she feels guilty about the whole thing and resolves to work even harder as a Hero to make up for it.

The second Burns family member to be entrusted with a Miraculous is surprisingly Graham. as when this universes version of Evilistrator is created, Cody and Frankie considering their options realize, if the Akuma can create ink creatures out of nothing, why not fight fire with fire?

Thus Graham is picked to become Capricorn the holder of the Goat Miraculous and is able to create objects to counter each creature Evilistrator creates till the Akuma runs out of pages in his sketch book and can be then taken out.

Hot on his heels Dani is tapped to become the Bee Hero Hornet to help deal with a super fast Akuma wreaking havoc all across the island. Dani absolutely loves her Hornet get up, it even comes with bee wings that she can use to actually fly!

Kade is the last of the Burns family chosen to be a hero but that doesn't make him any more or less valued then the other. Just that the Ox needed a real challenge that called for it's power. And when an Akuma is able to cause a time dilation effect around it. well. Bullocks ability to utterly no sell any magic that tries to effect him is really your only sane choice now isn't it?

Keep an eye out for a part 2 of this post where talk about the Rescuebot's much more dramatic reveal (Spoiler, The BOTS can be Akumatized to) and the Miraculous they are eventually entrusted with.

[its-your-girl-geekerella]

THE MOVIE TRAILER IS OUT.

OH GOSH.

OMIGOSH.

The animation is so cool; Chat's facial expressions are to die for.

We see Master fu in the poster so will he be more than a statue?

Poor Max at the water fountain😂 also, can we talk about the detail in this dude's hair?

Okay, so Marinette is even more of a disaster? I actually don't mind that they exaggerated this; it'll give her even more reason to want to become LB, and I live for this.

Chloe is a bigger bully, and you can see that with just her actions; yes, in the show, she's a big bully, but her bark was always worse than her bite, and when she did do something, it was by using her status and authority. Now we see her actively seeking out Marinette.

Sabrina is freaking BEAUTIFUL. WHY can't we have this in the show???

This transformation sequence is also freaking beautiful.

"Oh, so you do care about me." Okay...? (I was getting major Jack Frost vibes from this) So, from what I see, Chat/Adrien's personality is going to be way different from canon.

The movie seems to be animated in English, which is cool.

I know that we will be getting plenty of Adrienette in the movie, as we've seen in leaks and teasers, but the LADYNOIR IN THIS TRAILER=🥰 DID YOU SEE THAT BALANCING SHOT?!

Ladynoir teamwork; smooth animation, the pound it, they look like the best of partners already and I'm here for it!

Aaaaand the thumbs up 🤣

That's all I have to say about this trailer, as I have nothing for Gabriel. However, this movie looks amazing, and I'm sad they keep pushing back the date!

One more thing: IF THEY TRANSLATE THE WALL BETWEEN US INTO ENGLISH I AM GOING TO BE SO MAD.

Okay, byeeeeee

[the-monkey-ruler]

Monkey King and Fruit of Immortality (1981) 人蔘果

Director: Yan Dingxian Screenwriter: Li Keruo / Yan Dingxian Starring: Shang Hua / Yang Wenyuan / Chen Yanhua Genre: Animation / Fantasy / Adventure Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Date: 1981 Duration: 45 minutes Also known as: Sun Wukong secretly eats ginseng fruit / 孙悟空偷吃人参果 / Ginseng Fruit IMDb: tt2572226 Type: Retelling

Summary:

It is said that the four masters and disciples of Tang Monk came to Wuzhuang Temple in Wanshou Mountain. At that time, Zhen Yuanzi, the master of the temple, went to Yuanshi Tianzun to listen to the sermon and listen to the Dharma. He had already asked his disciples Qingfeng and Mingyue to entertain the eminent monks from the East with ginseng fruits. This ginseng fruit is a rare delicacy in the world. One bite can prolong your life and make you immortal. However, Tang Monk saw that the ginseng fruit was in the shape of a baby and refused to eat it, which made Qingfeng Mingyue laugh. Zhu Bajie coveted the delicious taste of ginseng fruit, so he encouraged his senior brother Sun Wukong to enter the garden and steal it. This move caused a dispute between Qingfeng, Mingyue, and the Tang Monk's apprentices. Sun Wukong became so angry that he even broke the ginseng fruit tree, which caused a series of disasters.

This film is adapted from a story in Journey to the West, one of the four classic Chinese classics, and won the Special Award at the Second Manila International Film Festival in the Philippines in 1983.

Source: https://letterboxd.com/film/ginseng-fruit/

Link: https://youtu.be/dJK93N6d-FU

[princess-of-the-corner]

Fnal Aware submission for now, sorry for so many again XD

I loved that Nino breakdown you were sent and agree it works well, two thoughts occur:

1: Kagami sort of being in Adrien & Chloe's Trauma Teens Trio but also Marinette's friend would give Nino some insight.

But its largely filtered through Marinette's perspective (She assumes Kagami only hangs with them out of obligation) As well as Kagami's repression. Thus it wouldn't be a beacon like Chloe having a meltdown was, but it'd be another note on the "Might need to revaluate some things" list.

2: Seating drama!

I figure Chloe waits outside for Adrien.

She either helps with Fu, or gets him away from Nathalie so they do make it to class on day one.

(If Adrien didn't there's a high chance of Akuma Chloe, though Gabriel would kind of wonder if she'd just try to kill him & avoid it)

Thing is, while not late its near class time, Chloe is trying to arrange the seats so she and Adrien can be close. She's not outright demanding/bullying, but giving a firm request to move seats.

Issue is, given history, her not mastering tone and a combo of the party pastry dispute on mind & Alya being there. Marinette doesn't budge and counters in her own firm tone, & things start to escalate.

Adrien doesn't see anything off with Chloe's tone cos he's used to harsh at level 11, Chloe's was like, 5 and a half, not even registering. He does try to stifle things when it becomes an argument but in a both sides way. To him it both are overreacting & he lacks context.

Issue is its too late, he's Chloe's friend, he's late, he's the one 'expecting' the seats to conform to his 'desires' in Marinette & Alya's perspective. (Alya's also low key like, "Oh my life is like a TV show, this is the popular queen bee/mean girl!" - Meanwhile Chloe has like 2 friends & near zero casual social skills.)

Madam Bustier intervenes and sorts out a temporary arrangement along with noting seats will shuffle over the year. Sort of giving everyone a concession if it means the fight stops before it goes from just loud to hurtful.

Nino, having seen Adrien try to play peacemaker figures he's at least more chill than Chloe and decides to bite the bullet and sit next to him; he knows Bustier wants him at the front anyway.

Hell yeah! It's just disaster of no one being able to talk lmao

[milarqui]

Scarlet Lady: Zombizou

Directory | Prime Queen

“As requested, I looked into whether or not the Bee or Cat has ‘extra’ powers,” Master Fu said, passing the pages on the Grimoire as Adrien looked on, his mind still on the events of the previous day.

“Hm,” he noncommittally said, distracted.

“There is something here, but…” Fu continued, fingering the characters in a page underneath a picture of Marigold's top. “It's unclear, as usual. Something about powers manifesting in times of great need. But my training didn't include decoding ancient vague posts.”

Fu shook his head.

“From what I gather, it's dependent on the holder to unlock any new–”

That was when he noticed Adrien was not paying his full attention.

“Is something on your mind, Adrien?” he asked, shaking him off his mental elucubrations.

“Huh? Ah, no, nothing! Thank you for updating me, Master!” he quickly replied, standing up to get ready to leave. After a few words of goodbye, Adrien left the shop and closed the door behind him.

“You didn't tell him you think Goldilocks might be Pigtails,” Plagg pointed out, and Adrien looked away, uncomfortable.

“Uhh…” he said, trying to find an answer that would actually work, only for Plagg to nod at him.

“Good choice. If you find out her identity, you'll have to give up your Miraculous.”

“Well, that's dumb. And shouldn't it be the other way around?” Adrien pointed out. “Giving the Black Cat to a noob at this point would be a disaster. Either way, it's not like I have proof. No need to involve Master Fu.”

“Right…” Plagg awkwardly replied.

—

Meanwhile, at another house near Françoise Dupont, Marinette was talking with Pollen on a similar matter.

“Pollen, should I try to find out Chat Noir's identity?” she asked her Kwami partner, who nodded with a grin.

“Whatever you think is best!” she replied.

Pollen was not up to date with current protocols, needless to say.

—

The next day, all of Marinette's classmates were ready to celebrate the day they had been preparing for the past weeks.

“I drew Mme. Bustier as a superhero for her birthday,” Nathaniel explained, “cuz she's always solving problems!”

Their teacher's birthday.

“I wish her solutions included less hugging,” Nino replied with a deadpan look.

“My gift is to thank her for the meditation minute,” Mylène said as she got her present on the table. “It keeps me calm.”

“Yeah, free nap time is awesome!” Kim added, causing Ivan to roll his eyes.

“Kim, that's not the point of meditation,” the gentle giant pointed out.

“I, for one, am a big fan of our morning compliment time,” Lila said, sparkling as she twirled around with a smile. “Isn't it great to start the day exchanging compliments?”

We all know why you enjoy it, Alix, Max, and Nathaniel thought as they thought of the latest such event.

—

Three days before

It was morning compliment time, and Mme. Bustier had picked two girls she could tell were having some difficulties with each other (or, as her students would put it, hated each other's guts) so they would say nice things about each other. Maybe this would help them become friends!

Or so she thought. because, as it turned out, people had the ability of making insults sound like praise, and neither Chloé nor Lila were shy about it.

“Oh, Chloé, I love how confident you are in your makeup skills,” Lila said, grinning at the Mayor's daughter, “despite being a total amateur!”

“Hmph! Well, I love how entertaining it is when you lie about having an amazing life even though you're a total nobody!” Chloé fired back.

“O-ho! You know, it's really brave of you to wear so much white when your fake tan is so runny.”

Chloé glared at the smirking Italian girl… while Mme. Bustier kept smiling, oblivious to what was really going on.

—

“What about you, Marinette?” Adrien asked. “I'm sure you came up with something awesome, as usual.”

“Heheh˜” she giggled, pulling out the box she had prepared. “I got her favorite shade of lip balm, and I made a makeup back with the first thing Mme. Bustier taught us: ‘If we want to change the world, we must all learn to love each other’.”

“AWW!” several of her classmates said.

“Isn't that lesson kinda… juvenile?” Alya asked with a grimace, which Marinette answered to with a side-eye.

“Well, she's been teaching some of us since we were six,” she replied as she put things back in place.

“Hey Chloé, what did you get Mme Bustier?” Sabrina asked with a smug look on her face.

“Ugh! Uh…” Chloé groaned as she tried to find an answer, but Marinette interrupted.

“C'mon, Sabrina, you know Chloé didn't get anything just like every year since Cours Preparatoire.”

“Whatever,” Chloé said, looking away and crossing her arms. “All that nonsense about compliments and love? Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!”

“What a shocker,” Marinette sarcastically replied as she opened her locker and put her present inside. “Caring about someone other than herself would require Chloé to have a heart.”

“Um, of course I have a heart? I could even buy yours,” Chloé replied, causing Marinette to roll her eyes at Chloé’s stupidity as she closed the locker.

—

The door to Marinette's locker opened again, but this time it was Chloé at the other side, marker in hand, as she grabbed the box.

“I can't believe I have to take my own cap off my own marker,” she complained. “What I go through to make sure Dupain-Cheng knows her place.”

—

“BON ANNIVERSAIRE, MME. BUSTIER!” the class cheered as their teacher entered the classroom, looking at the small pile of presents on the table.

“You're all so sweet, thank you!” the teacher said, smiling and blushing at her students’ generosity.

“Oh, Marinette made that one!” Alya said, pointing at the present that was closest to Mme. Bustier, who gently opened it… to find a box with an ugly scribble made with marker and covering what looked like a beautiful sewing of a sentence she could barely make out.

“Huh?! What's this?” the teacher asked, showing her students the contents.

“WHAT?!” Marinette shouted, turning to glare at Chloé. “I know you did this, CHLOÉ BOURGEOIS!”

Mme. Bustier raised her hands, trying to calm her student down.

“Now, we don't know that it was Chloé–”

“Of course it was Chloé!” Marinette interrupted, pointing at the blonde's face, who wasn't even bothering to hide how pleased she was. “Just look at her smug face!”

“Seriously, Chloé?!” Alix shouted.

“Why do you have to make everyone around you miserable?!” Nino yelled.

“Students, calm down. We don't want to be upset on my birthday, do we?” she asked, before checking the box over. “Well, I think it's a wonderful present. And I'll be able to think of both of you when I use it!”

Something inside of Marinette… snapped.

“Ex-CUSE ME?!” she shouted, unable to comprehend what was going on. Mme. Bustier looked at her student and walked up to the door.

“Marinette, would you come with me, please?” she gently asked, opening the door to the corridor, as Marinette slouched in shock.

“What is happening right now?” she mumbled.

“Alya, don't let things get out of hand while we're gone,” the teacher commanded, and Alya nodded.

“Oh, I'll keep us right on track,” she replied, as everyone else in the room aimed their death glares at Chloé… who suddenly realized she might have made a miscalculation as thirteen people made their best to drill holes into her with their eyes.

—

Hawkmoth had noticed it. How could he not? Such anger was usually the type that produced the best Akumas.

Yet… he also noticed who was this angry, and he knew all too well what had happened every other time an Akuma aimed at Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

But… it might be his best chance.

He sent the butterfly.

“Please let this be worth going after the girl for,” he said as he saw the black Lepidoptera vanish through one of the windows in his lair. “No risk no reward, I guess.”

—

As soon as they were outside, Mme. Bustier put a hand on Marinette's shoulder… who wasn't feeling placated at all.

“Chloé vandalized my work and I'm getting punished?” she asked, morose.

“Don't be silly, Marinette. You’re not in trouble.”

“But you are punishing me,” she fired, making Mme. Bustier lift her hand. “You're giving Chloé credit for my gift. My time and energy and hard work. That's punishing me.”

Mme. Bustier remained silent for a moment, and for that moment Marinette thought she might have got through her…

“... as class representative, I want you to be a good example for the class.”

Nope, she hadn't. Marinette felt her eye twitch.

“Chloé is capable of great things, but she only thinks of herself because she doesn't know how to love.”

The twitching became more intense.

“But you can show her how! You just have to forgive Chloé!”

Something snapped. Again.

This time, it was any kind of self-control.

And Marinette glared at her teacher.

“ARE YOU ACTUALLY KIDDING ME?!” she yelled, for once in her life completely furious.

“Marinette–” Mme. Bustier tried to interrupt, but Marinette didn't care.

Chloé had stepped on her berserk button, and Mme. Bustier had not only done the same, but acted as if it were perfectly good.

“NO! Chloé did this maliciously! And she's not even SORRY!” Marinette continued yelling, her frustration pouring through. Almost ten years of her teacher mollycoddling Chloé, ignoring everyone else's requests in favor of favoring the mayor's daughter, had accumulated. And with the dam burst open, she just released it all. “All ‘forgiving’ her does is tell her that no matter how awful she is, she'll get away with it! Or even be praised for it!”

“That's–” Mme. Bustier attempted to stop her, but Marinette was on a roll, and no teacher was going to stop her.

“And what about me?! Why should I ever do nice things when I'm told to suck it up when my efforts are spat on?! Why do Chloé's feelings matter more than mine, the wronged party?!”

“Now, listen here–” Mme. Bustier said. Marinette could recognize the teacher was getting angry. But Marinette recognized something else.

She did not care.

“Well, I'm done! If you don't want to punish Chloé, fine, I can't make you! Just like you can't make me pretend Chloé isn't the meanest, rudest, most despicable person I've ever met!”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”

Oh, resorting to full names? Marinette's subconscious noted. Time for the coup de grace.

“All that's necessary for evil to succeed, is for good people to do nothing,” she said, giving the teacher a look as she walked away. “And you did nothing, Mme. Bustier.”

With such Parthian shot she left, not wasting the time to look back at her teacher. 

Mme. Bustier had sowed the wind, and now the harvest had included hurricanes.

And, as she walked off, Marinette gave a sigh of relaxation. That had felt amazing.

—

Hawkmoth realized that his original target had somehow managed to get rid of her negative feelings - or, at least, enough of them that she would be hard to Akumatize. But right next to her was another potential target… one that was angry with his original target.

“Well, switching from the girl to someone upset with the girl is marginally better, I guess,” he said, ordering the butterfly to move for the new target. “In for a penny, in for a pound. I mean, I already sent out the butterfly…”

—

“Chloé, you're worse than Hawkmoth!” Alya yelled.

“You've caused half the Akumas in Paris!” Alyx shouted.

Not that Chloé cared.

“Is it my fault that I'm better than all of you?”

“Just because your mom forgets your birthday doesn't mean you get to take it out on Marinette or Mme. Bustier,” Sabrina venomously fired, causing Chloé to turn to her former friend, furious.

“How dare you?! I don't have to sit here while you spill my life story! Keep your big mouth shut, Raincomprix!” Chloé yelled back, putting all her stuff back into her bag and then moving to leave the classroom, just as the door opened to let Marinette in. “Out of my way!”

“Hey!” Marinette shouted as Chloé shoved her aside.

“Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” she grumbled as she left the classroom. “Where does she get the gall–huh?!”

“Zombizou, I'm Hawkmoth.”

“Oh, great,” she complained. First her moron classmates and now she'd have to deal with her moron sidekicks and her moron teacher.

“Your student spoke so hatefully towards you. I'll give you the power to spread love and compassion in exchange for the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous,” Hawkmoth said, and Chloé decided to carefully get herself out of the way to avoid getting caught in today's nonsense.

“I won't stop until everyone on Earth feels the love!” the teacher declared as Chloé reached the stairs. “Starting with Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”

Chloé stopped.

Now… maybe she didn't need to leave so fast…

—

“GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE!” Mme. Bustier said as she reentered the classroom - but this was clearly not their teacher.

“Wha–?!”

“Mme. Bustier?!”

Because… to be honest, what her teacher was wearing now was making Marinette's eyes water. The teacher's usually loose brown hair was now tied in a green-gray bun held together with two massive needles, her face had a pink domino mask over her face, and her outfit was now black with a large pink heart on the torso and more hearts spread over it.

Marinette liked pink as much as the next girl, but this was an abomination.

“From now on, everyone is going to hug and kiss and feel the love!” the Akumatized teacher declared, causing Alyx to grimace.

“But not, like, literally, right…?” she asked.

“Starting with my role model student, Marinette! MWAH!”

“AH!” Marinette shouted as she jumped aside, while a small black heart slammed just behind where she'd just moved away from. “What the heck is that?!”

“Tch. Missed.”

“Mme. Bustier!” Rose shouted. “Snap out of it!”

“I'm not Caline Bustier anymore! I am Zombizou!”

Quickly, the students grabbed their backpacks and tossed them at the Akuma.

“Sorry for this, Mme. B!” Nino shouted while jumping off his seat.

“Ah! OW!” Zombizou yelled as she got slammed by multiple heavy backpacks.

“Get out, quick!” Marinette ordered, and everyone followed, knowing that putting distance between themselves and the villain was their best option to survive.

“You won't escape my love!” Zombizou declared. “MWAH!”

And the heart flew… straight into Sabrina's neck.

“AH!”

“Hahaha, smoochies my poochies!”

—

As the class ran, Sabrina almost tripped down the stairs and held onto the rail, her face flushing.

“I… is it suddenly very hot in here?” she asked, trying to stay on her feet as her mind clouded.

“Huh?” Adrien asked, wondering what had happened to their friend.

“‘Brina?” Lila asked in a worried tone.

“Can you keep going?” Adrien asked.

“Try to make it to the nurse's office at least!” Lila encouraged, even as Sabrina sat on the but stairs.

“Lila…” Sabrina mumbled… before she tackled Lila, her pupils somehow replaced with pink hearts, and pushing her to the ground. “Kissou~!”

“Wah!” Lila yelled in shock, and stunned as she was, she was unable to keep Sabrina from… kissing her in the cheeks.

“Sabrina! Stop smearing your lip gloss all over me!” Lila begged, embarrassed. “Now's not the time to realize how amazing I am!”

But then, when Sabrina stopped kissing her, Lila had the same pupils, and she tackled the closest person - Mylène.

“Kissou~!”

“Ah!”

“Mylène!” Ivan shouted, worried about what was going on, but one thing was clear: this was starting to get out of hand – particularly as Mylène started to turn around.

“It's contagious! Don't let yourself get kissed!” Alya warned him... but Ivan chose to stand at the bottom of the stairs, as the three girls tried to rush him, shouting 'Kissou~!'.

“Go! I'll hold them off!” Ivan shouted.

“Ivan!”

---

Nathaniel ran to the Art Club room: he knew that splitting from the rest of his class was tempting fate, per every horror movie he had seen, but he had to do something! His friends there were unaware of the newest threat!

“Quick, you have to hide!” he shouted as he opened the door. “There's an Akuma, and–!”

“Go on, Nathaniel,” his teacher's Akumatized form's voice sounded right behind him. “Tell us all about the Akuma.”

He wasn't the type to throw ugly words around, but he felt that this time, he totally deserved to be able to do so.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU–

Unfortunately, he got hit by Zombizou's kiss before he could utter that aloud.

---

As his classmates ran upstairs to avoid all the kiss zombies that had suddenly sprung out, caused by Zombizou's power, Adrien realized he had the perfect excuse to get away and transform.

He faked slowing down and looked away, so Nino would be unable to see his face as he lied like a rug.

“Oh, noo, I–I feel faint. I think I– ugh, ki–kissou–”

“Dude, I love you but not enough to makeout with your zombie, stay away!” Nino warned as he followed Juleka to the top floor.

…

He wasn't going to go into how that sounded like. He had enough trouble already.

---

“I'll find you sooner or later, Marinette!”

“Kissou~!”

“You'll have to accept my love!”

“Kissou~!”

“Whether you like it or not!”

If she weren't an Akuma, she'd have probably been piled on by a zillion police officers already.

---

“I don't want to make out with strangers!” Max moaned in distress from his perch on Kim's back, as the survivors of the group holed themselves up in the locker room.

“What do we do?!” Alya asked, still shaking from the shock of everything that happened in the past few minutes.

“We're gonna hide until the heroes fix this!” Marinette ordered, while internally aware that that meant only Chat Noir would be there to do anything.

“Hey.”

“FUCK!” Marinette yelled after the 'heroine' suddenly showed up from within a locker. “Scarlet Lady, what the HECK?!”

Then she realized something was very much out of place.

“Why are you hiding in a locker?”

Scarlet Lady looked on, silently, before turning around and waving her hand.

“Anyways~”

“She ignored me?!”

Though, Marinette wasn't sure why she was that surprised – it wasn't as if Scarlet Lady ever paid attention to anything that wasn't her ego.

“Kissou!”

“Kissou!”

Everyone turned to look at the room's inner window, horrified to realize it was swarming with... well, the kiss zombies created by Zombizou.

“Oh no, they found us!” Kim yelled.

Scarlet Lady ran to the outer window and opened it, pointing upwards.

“Quick, we need to get on the roof!”

The students looked at her, suspicious.

“Why's she suddenly so helpful?” Alya asked, a sentiment shared by everyone else. Scarlet Lady never did anything that didn't benefit her.

Of course, they were completely right in being suspicious.

If I want a front row to the Akuma getting Dupain-Cheng, I'll have to stay with the group for now, the 'heroine' thought, hiding her evil grin from her classmates.

---

Fortunately (and no thanks to Scarlet Lady), the entire group managed to reach the roof, and much more fortunately, Chat Noir landed just next to them as they took a breather, and Marinette pulled out her phone to check the situation.

“Hey everyone! Let's hold off on the usual greetings, yeah?” Chat Noir suggested as Marinette opened her TVi app.

“Hordes of kissing zombies are spreading through Paris – ah!” Mme. Chamack reported, only to get interrupted by Zombizou, who turned to look at the camera.

“I'm coming for you, Marinette! And Chat Noir, Scarlet Lady, and Marigold!” the Akuma declared, and Marinette quickly turned it off, in shock.

“S–She's after me?!” she said, stunned.

“Maybe we should give them what they want,” Scarlet Lady added, and everyone else turned to glare at her.

“Don't even think about it!” Max shouted, clearly angry.

“You'd have to get through us!” Kim added, just as angry as his best friend.

“Come near her and I'll throw you to the zombies myself!” Chat Noir threatened.

“Aw! Guys!” Marinette replied, although she wasn't as happy as she should be. Though ditching me would make it easier to transform.

“Kissouuuu!”

“Kissou!”

“They're getting on the roof!” Nino alerted.

“What do we do now?” Rose asked.

“Over there! A bus!” Marinette suggested, pointing at the large vehicle. “Think you can drive, Chaton?”

“About as well as anyone else, ma belle,” Chat Noir answered, as he tried to think on how to reach it from their current position. “One of us has to throw my belt back to the roof and the other has to catch it–”

“I'll catch the belt!” Scarlet Lady offered, and Marinette and Chat Noir looked at each other.

“Super sus,” they both agreed.

Chat Noir jumped down to distract the zombies after giving his belt to Alix, and they all quickly used it to slide down a cable that led near the bus.

Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough, and...

“Please hit Zombizou extra hard.”

“Kissou!”

“MAX!”

“For being top tier uncomfortable!” their genius classmate said, having moved away to keep the zombies distracted from Marinette just long enough for her to escape.

“Ho–kay!” Kim exclaimed, grabbing Marinette and putting her on the improvised zip line. “Gotta go fast, 'Nette!”

“Wait, what–” and Kim shoved her down. “AHHHHHHHH!”

Scarlet Lady pouted.

There goes my chance to throw her to the zombies.

Then Kim turned, realizing she was still there, and pushed her off the roof.

“Hurry up and save everyone already!” he shouted.

“Wah –!”

“Kissou!”

As he got grabbed by the zombies, Kim noted that he was glad Max wouldn't remember what happened.

---

Thankfully, Marinette's sudden travel down the line was brief, and Rose was there to help her down, while Chat Noir jumped between vehicles to keep the zombies' attention away from the bus.

“Hey-yo! Don't you want to kiss me?!” he taunted, as he happily noticed Marinette was safe(r).

“Kissou!”

“I've got you, Marinette!” the blonde girl said.

“Just be careful behind you, Rose!” Marinette warned, and the two of them ran towards the bus –

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Rose yelled as one of the zombies grabbed her wrist.

“Rose!”

“LET HER GO!”

Juleka's shout was accompanied with a mighty punch that forced the zombie away from her girlfriend.

“Juleka!” Marinette added, as the goth girl pulled them into the bus, and Rose hugged Juleka.

“My hero!” she exclaimed, unaware of the mark left in her right arm.

“That was an awesome right hook!” Alix complimented, and Juleka looked bashful

“I've been, uh, practicing.”

That was when Chat Noir jumped in, and after a few false starts he managed to make the engine run.

“If we get to the Eiffel Tower, we can lure the Akuma out,” Marinette suggested, and Chat Noir nodded.

“Hopefully, Marigold had the same idea–”

“AHHHHHH!”

“Rose, Juleka!”

“G–Get back!” Scarlet Lady shouted, backing off, as Rose turned around.

“Kissouuuu~”

None of them had realized Rose had been hit with a kiss, and she had just given another to Juleka. They had a zombie in the bus!

Which was when Alix jumped ahead and grabbed Rose by the shoulders, keeping her at arm's length.

“Hngh!” she grumbled, struggling to hold her off.

“Alix!” She was doing a lot of yelling her friends' names, wasn't she?

“Kissou! Mwah!” the zombified Rose mumbled as she tried to kiss Alix.

“Everyone! I'm trusting you to protect Marinette! And to get back at Hawkmoth and Zombizou for this nightmare!”

“Mmwah!” Rose kissed Alix, sealing her fate, as Marinette was pulled out of the bus by Alya and Nino, followed by Chat Noir and Scarlet Lady, as they finally reached their destination, still followed by zombified Parisians who were eager to try and kiss them.

“Kissou!”

“Kissou?”

“C'mon, c'mon, faster!” Alya shouted as she pressed the button to open the elevator's doors. They did, and–

“No–!”

“Kissouuu!”

“Mwah!”

“Alya!”

“Get off of her!”

The zombies had lied in wait, and too fast for Alya to avoid before they kissed her. While Chat Noir and Nino were able to force them away, it was too late.

“Alya–!” Marinette cried out, kneeling next to her best friend, and Alya gave her a wan smile.

“Hey, it's okay,” she replied. “Chat Noir and Marigold will save us. So keep yourself safe.”

“For both of us, 'Nette,” Nino added, holding Alya's hand.

“Nino?!” Marinette asked in shock, and Alya gently shoved her towards the elevator.

“You two...” Alya started, then she thought it better. “You better take care of my best girl, Kit-Kat.”

“Of course,” Chat Noir replied, and Scarlet Lady pouted.

“Uh, I'm still here too, you know.”

Nobody cared.

Not when the situation was so dire.

Chat Noir pulled her into the elevator and closed the door, pressing the top floor button.

---

“Don't forget our deal, Zombizou!” Hawkmoth said, glad that he was safely ensconced in his secret lair.

“They won't escape my kiss by hiding out at the Eiffel Tower!” his latest Akuma promised.

He knew it was close! Those Miraculouses were already his!

---

Nino could notice when his girlfriend's resistance to the Akuma's effect collapsed, as her face blushed and her eyes turned into those creepy heart-like pupils.

He sighed.

“It's not the first time we've been in trouble together,” he said, as Alya tackled him.

“Kissouuuuu!”

“Yeah, yeah, 'kissou' or whatever.”

---

As the door closed behind her, Marinette felt her eyes tear up, and looked down to hide them from Chat Noir.

The pain... it felt like her heart was tearing itself apart.

“Why?! Why didn't they protect themselves?!” she cried out, sobbing as the tears cascaded off her eyes and hit the elevator floor. “How could they sacrifice themselves for me?! I HATE THIS!”

“Hey!” Chat Noir gently said, lifting her head and cleaning her tears with his thumb. “Marinette, no one saw it as a 'sacrifice'. They protected you because they love you.”

And when he smiled, so softly and beautifully, her heart forgot for a moment its pain.

“And that's why I'm going to protect you too.”

“Chat Noir...” she replied, stunned. Had he... did he just...

“But also don't get sloppy because I have zero faith in this 'helpful' Scar,” he whispered, making her feel a bit of whiplash from the change of matter, but she had to agree with him.

---

After the long climb up, the elevator's door finally opened, and they were at the tower's highest terrace. They should be safe there, but...

“Damn, they're here too!” Chat Noir complained as they realized there were a few zombies there as well.

“It's not too many, stay sharp!” Marinette told the others.

Here's where you get what's coming to you, Dupain-Cheng! Scarlet Lady thought... and she tossed her yo-yo at Marinette.

Chat Noir, however, had been ready for this, and blocked it with his staff.

“What do you think you're doing, Scar?!” he shouted.

“Chat Noir, look out!” Marinette warned.

In his haste to protect Marinette from Scarlet Lady, he had forgot about the other dangers in the tower.

And the zombies promptly swarmed him.

“AH!”

“CHAT NOIR, NO!”

Chat Noir was able to force them away from Marinette and block their advance with his own body and staff... but his face was now covered in kisses.

“Chat, don't leave me!” she begged, tearing up again.

“Hey, Princess, don't cry. Everything is going to be okay,” he replied, still smiling.

“You don't know that!”

“Marigold will defeat Zombizou, and Scar will fix everything.”

“You haven't even heard from Marigold!” she exclaimed, feeling guilty. “How do you have such faith in her?!”

“She's the best partner in the world, Marinette,” he replied, and the glint in his eyes told her he knew much more than he ought to. “Believe in her like I do.”

“Chaton...”

“If you're done with your spappy moment,” Scar interrupted, tensing the yo-yo rope, and Marinette turned to face her. “Now that all the roadblocks are out of the way, you'll finally get what you deserve for making fun of Chloé!”

She tossed the yo-yo again, but Marinette dodged it (silently thanking her work as Marigold for it).

“Hold still!” Scar shouted.

“Where are your priorities, you menace?!” Marinette angrily yelled, furious that she had just caused her to lose Chat Noir to the zombies.

Not that Scar cared.

“I'm gonna hand you over to the grossest zombie I can find–”

“Kissou!”

And Chat Noir kissed Scar in the cheek.

“Huh?”

Marinette took advantage of the distraction to slip back into the elevator room.

“Ew ew ew, cat lips!” she heard Scar yell, but Marinette had something else in mind.

“B–Buzz On,” she mumbled, and felt the transformation take her.

But it was too late. She collapsed, sat with her hands over her head, as she realized what just happened.

“Scarlet Lady... Scarlet Lady's infected... she can't reverse the Akuma...” she mumbled. She was all alone now... and she had no way to fix what the Akuma had just caused. She... had she lost? “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god–”

“HAHAHA!”

And, of course, just to make things worse, Zombizou showed up.

“Marinette, Marigold, come out come out wherever you are! Witness the final triumph of love before I claim the Miraculouses!”

She couldn't do anything.

She might be wearing a Miraculous... but, right now... she needed an outright miracle.

“What can I do, what can I do?!” she mumbled, and in her despair, her shock, she imagined as if bees were buzzing around her. “I have to... I have to...”

And, like a dam that had overfilled... something burst from within her.

“AHHHHHHHH!” she screamed.

She didn't know if it was pain, or shock, or just plain need to yell out her feelings for everyone to know.

But what sprung from her was an explosion of light.

And suddenly... she knew she could do it.

She had found her miracle.

---

The explosion of light blinded all the zombies surrounding the elevator cabin, and forced Zombizou to cover her eyes.

“WHAT IS THIS LIGHT?!” the Akuma yelled, surprised at the sudden turn of events. She had finally cornered Marinette, and then this had happened. Her sweet hearts were now rubbing their eyes and collapsed on the floor, and so they were out of place when the door opened again. “Marigold, YOU–”

But there, she stopped.

Because Marigold's costume was now, somehow, shining. Black and gold had moved around the surface, with her leggings going from gold to black while her sleeves did the opposite. And she was twirling her top around, looking at her with an impassive face.

“Why–?! What's with that suit?!” Zombizou yelled, but Marigold didn't answer.

She threw her spinning top.

“BEE BALM!”

And suddenly everything was swarming with bees.

But when Zombizou realized the bees were not attacking her, she laughed.

“Ha. Hahaha! All that flashy light and it did nothing, Marigold–”

“Where am I?”

Zombizou turned to look at her sweet hearts... which were no longer under her control!

“Wasn't I at work?”

“What are these glowing bees?”

“WHAT?! My SWEET HEARTS!”

“Marigold freed them from your influence?!” she heard Hawkmoth shout.

Before she could react, try to bring them back under her love –

“Venom.”

“Wai–!”

Too late.

Zombizou became paralyzed.

And the nightmare was finally over.

---

“No fair, why does she get a new look?!” Scar complained.

Nobody cared.

“Wow, you unlocked a new power!” Chat Noir exclaimed, his eyes sparkling in joy as he took in her partner and her new uniform. “I knew you could do it! You really saved the day! How'd you pull it off?!”

Marigold... didn't answer.

She just bonked her head on his chest.

And...

“M–Marigold?!”

… she sniffed.

What happened?

---

As Scar finally deigned to do her work and use the Cure, Mme. Bustier was brought back to normality, and the woman collapsed on her knees as she realized what had just happened.

“Oh no, I... I let my negative emotions take over, how terrible!” she moaned in distress. “I'm terrible.”

“Hm,” Marigold joined in, turning to look at her. “Then I guess that means nearly all your students are 'terrible'.”

“What?! No, that's not–” the teacher protested, but she was interrupted by Chat Noir.

“Exactly. Feeling things like anger or sadness or jealousy is normal, and nothing to be ashamed of,” the hero stated. “How we react, how we use these emotions, is what matters.”

“And the only one to blame for taking things too far is Hawkmoth,” Marigold finished, before the two of them jumped off as her timer began to beep.

And the teacher was left alone with the last of the group.

“Scarlet Lady, you're friends with Chloé, right?”

“Huh?” the 'heroine' said, before realizing what was going on. “Oh, uh, of course! Best friends!”

The teacher approached her, and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I'm so glad she has you as a good influence,” she said, and Scarlet Lady looked nervous as she did so.

“Uh, thanks?”

“Chloé's friends aren't being very nice right now, so I was worried.”

“Oh, that's no big deal,” she declared, smug. “Chloé only surrounds herself with the best after all! They're just being dramatic.”

“Thank goodness!”

And the teacher hugged the 'heroine'.

“Thank you for not leaving Chloé alone.”

“Heheh, yeah, sure.”

---

Marinette mentally sighed in relief as she saw all of her friends and schoolmates milling about, as if they hadn't been struck by the latest Akuma.

Save for the fact that they were actually talking about said Akuma, it was all good.

“Did you wake up before the cure went out?” Mylène asked Alix.

“I saw bees and then ladybugs!” Nino told Adrien, who was nodding with a smile.

“G–Good morning, everyone,” she timidly interrupted.

“Marinette!” her friends exclaimed as they realized she had just arrived.

“Thank you all for protecting me yesterday and...” she sighed again. “I'm really sorry. When Mme. Bustier pulled me out of class, I went off on her. So it's my fault she was Akuma–”

“You really did that?” Ivan asked.

“That's amazing!” Alix and Nathaniel exclaimed together.

“Awesome,” Juleka added.

All of them were actually sparkling.

“H-Huh?!”

Marinette was so shocked she could barely show her shock at how... well her classmates had just taken the news.

“Mme. B didn't hold back pictures even though she knew I was in the bathroom,” Juleka explained, retreating back into her shell.

“And she let me do Chloé's work for years and never stepped in to stop it!” Sabrina added, angry at the reminder of what she had done in the name of her 'friendship'.

“If you mess up a little, she sends you to the Principal,” Ivan joined in, “but I knew I'd look like the bad guy if I said anything negative about the 'nice' teacher.”

Marinette was surprised to see everyone nod to Ivan's words. It was as if everyone had been in the same boat as Ivan regarding their teacher...

“No one blames you for losing it on Bustier,” Adrien said.

“Not when she was letting Chloé get away with bullying you again,” Nino added.

“We'd dive in front of a hundred Akumas to protect you!” Alya offered, smiling.

“Thanks, but PLEASE DON'T!”

She had already been traumatized enough. She didn't care to repeat the experience.

---

When Mme. Bustier arrived to her off, she found a small box with a card where Chloé thanked her for putting her ahead of the others.

Unfortunately, Mme. Bustier didn't realize the real meaning of it, and accepted it as proof that she was right about her student.

---

The Mime

Welp, the Akuma memetic molester just passed through. Glad to see her leave, not so glad she never learned the lesson.

Apologies for the lateness, I have too many things in hand and too little time to work on them. Still doing this, though, just as the SL comic enters its finish line.

So, that's 514 pages, 205324 words, 1108074 characters.

I'll do my best to get the next chapter ASAP!