#my computer lost power while making this but it was miraculously saved

[tricodekus]

akiteru's not a regular mom. he's a cool mom.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

A Miraculous TikTok Account

Part 5

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Pretending to be perfect would be so much easier if she was actually perfect.

Now, Ladybug absolutely knew that she didn’t need to pretend anymore. In fact, there was no way in hell that she would be able to keep up the act…

And so she’d told herself that this was fine, that she was okay with the fact that she was going to be incorporating her life as ‘Ladybug’ more into her actual life.

She’d tried. She really had. She’d worn her normal clothes for the first few days while she was unpacking…

And then she’d sat down next to Carapace on that couch to talk to him like normal humans do… only to find herself falling right back into her persona the moment she’d laid eyes on him. She’d pulled her ‘scared civilian smile’ to her face and lied about her progress on her room for seemingly no reason.

That night she went to the store to buy herself red and black dresses to match her usual Ladybug aesthetic.

They’d believe that she was just wearing the casual clothes as temps while she was settling in, probably, it wouldn’t take much to convince them that she actually acted like Ladybug at all times.

Now, she knew that this would only work for a limited amount of time. No one could be perfect forever, and the resident human disaster would have an even harder time keeping up the charade…

But she could keep it up for a while, and ‘a while’ was all she needed.

After all, she suddenly had a proper motivation to find out who Hawkmoth was (she hadn’t really cared before, things were always fixed at the end so she wasn’t all that concerned about it), and Ladybug was never one to do things half-ass.

She had to change everything about herself, though, because she couldn’t concentrate on Hawkmoth if she was constantly worrying about maintaining her facade.

She considered ‘Ladybug’s’ general traits and how to convince everyone of it:

Probably a narc, has her life together, perfect…

Yeah, that would probably be enough for now.

She started by learning the law. She found some cheap copies of law textbooks online.

(And promptly found out by reading them that many of the sites she’d used to buy them were technically illegal. She wrote out an apology in Google to the DGSI agent that might be watching her computer. Did they care? Probably not, but she figured there was no harm in being safe.)

Next was getting her life together…

Difficult, but she figured she’d be able to do it. People did it all the time, right?

… not right.

She stared at the article she found on getting your life together in a few simple steps. She was not at all fond of being called out for all her bad habits and coping mechanisms so bluntly...

Still, it was worth a shot.

She searched through her boxes and pulled out a whiteboard. She pushed a couple pictures of her civilian friends off of it, there were more important things to be doing (also the whole ‘secret identities’ thing…), and started making a schedule for herself.

Ladybug blocked out time for work, working out, and cooking/eating healthy food. It left… very little time to find Hawkmoth…

Unless…

Coffee! The ultimate ‘I have my life together’ drink AND it added a few hours to her day! It was perfect!

Speaking of perfect, she was now going to have to be perfect pretty much all day.

She wouldn’t get a break as a civilian because she worked with models and fashion designers and kwami knows that even perfect isn’t enough for them most of the time.

Even her room wasn’t safe, Chat had proved that by walking in and watching her faceplant (it was a good thing he was stupid or else that might have actually ended up being a problem).

No, the only times she could be herself was when she was 1) texting her civilian friends or 2) walking to and from work.

She was beginning to think this was a lot more trouble than it was worth…

Whatever. She was doing it anyways. Nothing, not even logic, was going to stop her from maintaining her ‘Ladybug’ persona.

~

She nearly dropped her coffee (which was mostly sugar and milk, let’s be honest) when she heard a knock on her trapdoor.

“Come in!” She said, pulling an earbud out of her ear.

Chloe poked her head through. “The akuma can fly.”

Ladybug fought the urge to groan. She looked down at the empty page in her sketchbook. Gabriel Agreste, the bastard, wanted a design by the next day and he didn’t grant extensions for akumas.

But she supposed saving Paris was slightly more important than her work --.

Wait, if she didn’t save Paris then she wouldn’t have to turn in her assignment…

She saw Tikki giving her a disapproving look, no doubt aware of where her thoughts were currently heading, and rolled her eyes.

She took out her other earbud and got up. “Alright. Tikki, spots on. Is it really a two person job?”

“Master Fu says so.”

“And Chloe says…?”

“Chlo -- I say that it’s a man made of sand. Guess how hard it’ll be.”

“Mr. Sandman, man me a sand…” mumbled Ladybug absently.

Chloe frowned a little bit. “Did you say something?”

She blinked a few times and then smiled. “Just that Master Fu needs to relax a bit more. We’re very obviously overcompensating.”

“True.”

Ladybug pushed open the attic window and they both flew out into the night --.

Wait, night? Wow, it was a lot later than she thought it was. She was soooo screwed on this deadline.

But there were bigger problems: there was a guy floating around on a pillow.

“The Sandboy just checked in! Now nightmares can begin!”

She rolled her eyes under her mask and looked at Chloe. “What does he do?”

“Creates nightmares. Obviously.”

They came to a stop a few buildings away and watched as sand slowly sprinkled down from the pillow that Sandboy was currently riding. The houses that he passed over erupted with screams.

Wow, the sand was really pretty, actually. Ladybug took note of the colors and the way it shone in the night. Maybe she could model the dress after it… she could do those colors, a bit of glitter…

Chloe nudged her shoulder.

“Are you alright?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, just thinking about what to do…” … for her assignment, but Chloe didn’t need to know that.

“Got any ideas?”

She forced herself to focus on Sandboy. “His cloud is shaped like a pillow, that’s probably the akuma. It also looks like the glitt -- sand -- the SAND is what causes the nightmares, so we should avoid that.”

Chloe nodded a little bit. “Obviously. What should we do?”

“Knock him off.”

“You’re so smart, I wonder how I’d never thought of that,” she said sarcastically.

“You ASKED me what we should do! I answered --!”

“Hello, ladies!” Said Sandboy as he came around the side of the roof.

Chloe scoffed. “Go back to saying your lame rhyme, will you? We’re in the middle of something!”

Sandboy frowned, his expression a combination of shocked and offended. His voice was much higher when he spoke next: “You think my rhyme is lame?”

“Yes.”

Sandboy looked at Ladybug for confirmation, and Ladybug just shrugged and nodded.

“Ouch,” said Sandboy. He cleared his throat and when he spoke again he’d deepened his voice: “We’ll see how lame you think I am when you’re fighting your worst nightmare!”

Ladybug and Chloe immediately jumped away, because usually people say that when they’re about to attack, and the sand nailed the roof right where they’d just been.

The two women met eyes briefly and an understanding passed between them.

“Still lame!” Taunted Chloe.

Sandboy gasped indignantly and floated after her. Chloe smiled and started flying away.

“I mean, honestly, who thought of that? What’re you ‘checking in’ to? Work?”

Sand barely missed Chloe and she took out her spinning top to get away faster.

A piece of sand hit her spinning top. Ladybug and Chloe gave pause. Would that count? Well, it didn’t matter, at least. The solution would be the same: keep running.

Chloe must have come to the same conclusion, because she shook her head and continued…

Except her strides were much slower now.

Ah. So it did matter.

Chloe whimpered a little bit.

Ladybug winced. Great. So it had taken away her powers, probably, or at least her speed. She needed to wrap this up…

She forced herself to fly faster and she launched herself at Sandboy’s back. He happened to glance back and see her, which wasn’t great as he ascended sharply.

Her hands managed to catch the pillow, and she held tight even when she got a facefull of sand.

She felt flames lap at her ankles and a strangled scream escaped her lips. Ladybug didn’t care how she went out for the most part, but it was not going to be through burning to death. She forced herself to not pay attention to the fact that the fire was travelling up and catching on the hem of her dress and it was creeping along her --!

Nope! Not paying attention!

She swung her legs back and forth a few times to wobble the pillow underneath him until he inevitably lost his balance and fell over the side.

That was the good thing.

The bad thing was that the pillow was apparently Sandboy powered and now Sandboy and Ladybug were both plummeting towards the flames far below. Ladybug flapped her currently burning wings and couldn’t help but mumble a curse when she realized that they definitely didn’t work as well when they were on fire.

As it was, she managed to slow her fall and miss the bulk of the flames by inches.

Still hurt like hell when she hit the ground, though.

She rolled around on the concrete streets to smother the flames and didn’t relax until she knew for sure that they were gone.

That done, she allowed herself to relax with a still smoldering pillow. She probably would have rested her head on it if she wasn’t somewhat worried that some leftover sand would touch her face and she’d have to deal with more fire.

Still, it was over… that was nice…

A foot nudged her side. 

She blinked the pain from her eyes and looked up at Chloe…

Chloe pulled the pillow from her weak grip and tore the case.

The akuma fluttered out of the pillow.

Ladybug forced herself to her feet before she was ready.

“Can you hit the akuma or do you need me?”

Chloe scoffed a little, and then paused. She considered for a minute before saying, “Yeah, it’s not like I just faced one of my worst nightmares...”

“Losing your powers is one of your worst -- know what? Doesn’t matter. You can’t even hit it without your powers,” said Ladybug.

Chloe frowned.

Ladybug ignored this. She pulled her yoyo from her waist and tossed it at the butterfly. The akuma gave a pitiful squeak as it was sniped out of the air.

Instantly, her pain melted away. She breathed a sigh of relief. Much better.

She slowly walked over to Sandboy, who was apparently just a kid.

Annoyance flared in her. Hawkmoth was going after kids? This one looked like a toddler!

She forced herself to relax and brought a smile to her face. “Hey, what happened?”

“I watched a scary movie and had a nightmare…” explained the kid.

She nodded a tiny bit and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Would you like one of us to take you home? We can read you a bedtime story and keep the akumas away…”

PleasesaynoIhaveworktodopleasesaynosaynosay --.

“Yes please!” The kid sniffled and wrapped his arms around her.

Noooooooo...

Chloe spoke up after a second’s hesitation, her expression thoughtful: “You were working on something before we left, right, ‘bug?”

Ladybug blinked behind her mask. “Yeah…?” Was Chloe really going to offer to help?

“Ha! Sucks! See you tomorrow!” Chloe smiled and stuck her tongue out at Ladybug, then took off.

Yeah, she should have expected that.

She rolled her eyes and looked back down at the kid. Whatever. She could go read him a story and get him to bed, it shouldn’t take long…

“Where do you live?”

“I don’t know.”

Fuck.

~~~

Taglist

@nathleigh @mialuvscats @sassakitty @th1s-1s-my-aesthet1c @blueslushgueen

[tiramisiyu]

【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: 【夏彦拜访剧情】 Xia Yan’s Personal Story 2-14 Translation

Translated parts: Xia Yan’s Personal Story Chapter 2: 2-1 / 2-2 / 2-4 / 2-5 / 2-7 / 2-8 / 2-9 / 2-10 / 2-11 / 2-13 / 2-14 Translation Masterlist: here

Video: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1xV411m79T?p=11

A quick explanation of how this feature works is that each boy has their own section that you can “Visit”! Part of it is like MLQC’s GSH feature, where you can talk to the boys (with Live2D!) and raise intimacy by interacting with them. The other part of it is a storyline that centers on the MC running around with the respective boy to deal with a certain case or situation.

Antiques Shop

After sending the girl home, Xia Yan returned to his own antiques shop.

He sat on his sofa, flipping through his copy of “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”.

Yang Xiao: You must have had a lot of fun if you came home this late, right?

Xia Yan: …

Xia Yan: Brother Yang, there are some places in my room that have security mechanisms. It’s not safe for you to come and go as you please.

Yang Xiao: I did want to give you a call before I came in, but I was afraid of interrupting your date.

Yang Xiao: Oh, I’m returning this to you.

Yang Xiao tossed the glinting ring that had fallen on the car before.

Xia Yan: Just like your style of taking action from before… you didn’t even put it straight into the last storage cabinet.

Yang Xiao: I originally did want to do that, but after, I thought that I should give you a chance to turn over a new leaf.

Yang Xiao: After all, something like proposing marriage should be done by the person themselves.

Yang Xiao: But if you still wanted to leave her after today, I would have directly given the ring to her, dragged her to confront you, and watched you deal with it.

Xia Yan: Aren’t you being too ruthless – I’m a sick patient, after all!

Yang Xiao: Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Being brave enough to take risks is my style as a doctor.

Yang Xiao: Plus, a patient like you needs shocking methods. Only by getting stimulated well, will you have a vigorous will to live.

Xia Yan: …

Xia Yan: Alright, I already no longer plan to leave her. Return my box to me.

Yang Xiao: Since you already plan to accompany her, then it shouldn’t be a big deal for them to be returned to you, one by one, by following Sphinx’s riddles.

Xia Yan: Brother Yang…

Xia Yan: I bothered asking you for it because I wanted to act with etiquette. I didn’t want to intrude into people’s homes like you.

Xia Yan: Or do you think that there’s a place on earth that I have no way of coming and going from as I wish?

Yang Xiao: …

Yang Xiao: Xia Yan, I’m actually thinking for you.

Xia Yan shot a glance at Yang Xiao, with “Keep spinning your lies” written all over his face.

Yang Xiao: I’m telling the truth!

Yang Xiao: Think about it. If I return the box to you now, how will you explain to her how you defeated Sphinx?

Yang Xiao: You can’t tell her that the two of us conducted and acted this out, right? Hey, don’t glare at me… alright, consider it as me conducting and acting this out.

Yang Xiao: But with good friends like us, she’ll definitely think that we joined hands to mess with her, right?

Xia Yan: …

Yang Xiao: Today, you lied when you helped me cover things up, right?

Yang Xiao: The taste of lying to the woman that you love the most is definitely hard to bear, right?

Yang Xiao slapped Xia Yan’s shoulder, his face full of sincerity.

Yang Xiao: Take your time. Take your time in weaving this play full circle. Don’t rush.

Yang Xiao: This way, you’re good, I’m good, she’s good – everyone’s good.

Xia Yan did his best to control the twitching in corners of his mouth. With a calm and collected face, he knocked off the hand that Yang Xiao had placed on his shoulder.

Xia Yan: …

Yang Xiao: Plus, with the box at my place, you’ve also got one more reason to set up a date with her – isn’t that pretty decent!

Xia Yan: You’re too much…

Yang Xiao: Alright, I’m leaving the physical examination schedule on your table. Remember to come on time.

Yang Xiao: Your sister-in-law has stewed some dinner for me. I should get home to eat it.

After Yang Xiao finished talking, he stood up. Xia Yan sent him to the door.

Xia Yan: Brother Yang… thank you for today.

Yang Xiao: I’m just contributing all the humble effort within my power.

Yang Xiao: The one who makes the decision is you yourself.

Yang Xiao: That year, I could save you. I can still do so now. Live well for me, young man.

Turning away, Yang Xiao waved at Xia Yan and walked into the night.

Xia Yan returned to the place in front of the computer and sat. He held up that lost-and-found ring, staring at the centrepiece ruby, and fell into deep thought.

That heart-shaped gem, red as fresh pigeon’s blood, was crystal clear. The carefully polished facets sparkled resplendently.

Surrounding the gem, there was a circle of densely-packed little diamonds. The ring of platinum formed the base, stably holding this splendour in place.

It was a most typical look, but it was unique and unmatched in this world – it was a ring that Xia Yan made himself.

--

[Flashback]

Infirmary

When Yang Xiao pushed the door open and came in, Xia Yan was sitting on the hospital bed, holding sandpaper to polish the gem.

Yang Xiao: Yo, still busying yourself?

He glanced curiously at the gem in Xia Yan’s hand, his eyes full of smiles.

Yang Xiao: Working so diligently… looks like this stone really is important to you.

Yang Xiao: You don’t know how tightly you held it when you were undergoing surgery.

Yang Xiao: Me and the other two team doctors – three grown men – couldn’t force open your hand even when we combined our efforts.

Yang Xiao: With much difficulty, we managed to touch the stone, but just when we shifted it a bit, you started shaking and crying out.

Yang Xiao: Scared us so much that we rushed to put it back.

Yang Xiao: Say, are you Jia Baoyu* reincarnated, with this stone as your lifeline?

Xia Yan’s hand movements paused. He didn’t speak for a while.

Yang Xiao: Although, I also need to thank the lucky influence of this stone.

Yang Xiao: When we stuffed it back into your hand, your will to live clearly increased significantly.

Yang Xiao: Otherwise, with the potency of the toxic gas you breathed in, I wouldn’t be able to save you even if I were Hua Tuo** reincarnated.

Yang Xiao wasn’t wrong.

At that time, it wasn’t just him. The moment he was pushed on the surgery bench, even Xia Yan himself had already lost all hope.

Toxic gas in his body – he was vaguely aware of how many of his teammates that came here before him had died in this way.

It was just that he hadn’t completely resigned yet… he wanted to see her. He wanted to see if she was living well right now…

And then, he heard it.

That familiar voice came from far to near, gradually amplifying beside his ear.

“Xia Yan, you must return. I’m waiting for you to return.”

A ray of light penetrated his chaotic field of vision. In the depths of the radiance, the girl’s figure was outlined with light. 

She extended her hand to him. Unconsciously, he started to sprint.

When their fingertips touched, the white figure dissipated in all directions. There was only the girl’s hairclip, which fell into his hand.

Something took root and grew in his heart, and his will to live suddenly went up!

He would continue to live. He would personally tell her of the feelings he had hidden for many years in his heart…

Thus, in the middle of that difficult operation, he miraculously survived.

And the “hairclip” that had fallen into his hand was the source of this gem in his hand. 

Yang Xiao: Although seriously, this stone really is pretty magical, with there actually being a natural heart-shaped ruby inside.

Yang Xiao: If you used that to propose marriage, it would be so romantic… wait!

Yang Xiao suddenly looked towards Xia Yan.

Yang Xiao: Young man, could you be using this for an engagement ring?

Yang Xiao: Explain obediently – when did you get a girlfriend?

Xia Yan: … Do I look like someone who has time to establish romantic relationships?

Yang Xiao: Then it must be someone from before. Who is it? How old? How’s her personality? Is she pretty?

Xia Yan: I…

Patient A: Brother Yang, don’t scare young people.

Xia Yan hadn’t finished refuting this when the male patient on the adjacent bed started talking first.

Patient A: To me, Little Comrade Xia must have encountered a heavenly girl by destiny on his missions and fell into the river of love.

Patient A: Just like those 007 movies that they often make. An exceptional girl living in a foreign country, stimulating and romantic.

Xia Yan: Your imagination is so rich that you might as well become a screenwriter.

Patient A: Hey… don’t be shy.

The male patient took out a bag of something from under his pillow. Supporting himself with the bed’s guardrails, he hopped over and moved it to Xia Yan.

Patient A: Here. Encouragement from a senior’s love.

Patient A: Just a ruby is too drab. Set these diamond pieces on the side – it’ll be prettier.

Patient A: I originally kept this to give to her, but these legs of mine… I’m just afraid that I’ll be a burden on her.

Patient A: Do your best. When you get together, remember to invite me to drink the wedding wine!

[Flashback end]

--

“Reality often doesn’t go as planned.”

“After hearing about those experiences she had, I…”

“But I won’t be confused anymore.”

“I’ve made a promise with her.”

“That when she’s lonely, she has me. When she’s experiencing difficulties, she has me. When she’s being capricious, she has me… for all of time, she has me.

“For this, even if I’m struggling on my deathbed, I’ll work my hardest.”

“I want to always accompany her, by her side.”

“… If I can’t, then let me be her family member, and accompany her to walk just a little bit further…”

--

TL Notes:

*Jia Baoyu is the main character of a Chinese novel called Dream of the Red Chamber, born as an incarnation of a magic piece of jade.

**Hua Tuo is an ancient Chinese physician, known for his skill in surgery, as well as his use of anaesthetics.

I checked my translation over several times when I read “most typical look” (about the ring) because I was like??? Why would they write that after talking about how beautiful it is?? But there simply wasn’t another way to interpret that line…

Xia Yan also voices the end bit. 10/10 would recommend listening

[fsketchart]

A Second Chance - Chapter 3

I'm so sorry for the wait but here's a summary of the sections.

[Advertisement Voice]

WELCOME! Over here to the left we have a heartfelt battle between Evillustrator and a group of rebels. Will Marc's feelings for Nathaniel get in the way, or will he get the job done?

On the right here, we have the latest new Batman vs Superman argument that just came in. It's a limited addition and includes a bonus Wonder Women add on to the set.

Now, we just recently added a new product onto the shelves, including a misunderstanding, panic, and an argument that is an partner set to the previous.

Let's see if first impressions really do stick.

Au Created by @ozmav​

NOTES : 

Thank you so much for the lovely feedback, I truly do appreciate all of the love and support this fic has gotten so far, it absolutely blows my mind that I've gotten so much feedback from this. This chapter in particular is almost 3000 words, sorry if it's a bit long. It was definitely longer than I was intending it to be, but I think it turned out for the best. Also, apologies if there are any errors in here. I'll be going back in later to double check and proofread it. If you catch any errors grammatically, feel free to let me know!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Please...Nathaniel don’t do this.  I know you have to be in there!” Marc cried, hands trembling as his knees felt numb.

“That’s Evillustrator to you.  What we had was nice Marc, but if you truly cared you would want me to be happy.  I finally feel at peace, I can draw to my hearts content and every piece become a reality.  If you truly cared, you wouldn’t be trying to stop me right now,” Evillustrator said.

“I know you, Nathaniel, better than I know myself.  I know that you’ll regret what you’ve done, please come with us and give me your pen.  Then, after ladybug gets here, the damage you’ve caused can be reversed, and we can go back to-”

“Go back to what?  When you and your class gets to be happy while I sit in silence in my class?  While I get harassed and bullied, constantly put in your shadow while you’re basking in attention?  The spotlight will soak you up.  Every creation I make is made with so much passion and time, yet nothing ever competes with yours.  Every word I say means nothing in comparison to people like Marinette!  Lila and Hawkmoth have helped me realize this, and you will pay for what you’ve done,” Evillustrator yelled, grabbing his pen and quickly drawing roughly on his board.

His sketching was rushed and rough, as he quickly drew harsh lines, forming many, many stick figures.  Each stick figure slowly stood up , and soon there was an army, each one immediately charging.

Max quickly slammed his laptop shut and moved it aside on the ground, abandoning his bag.  

Aurore on the other hand, immediately started fighting back, her umbrella dueling as both a shield and a sword.  Marc quickly wore off the shock and started grabbing his keys in his hand and began slashing wildly at the stick figures, but to no avail.  Max, however had a different approach.

“Look, at his tablet.  It’s flashing red, it must be running out of battery so he’s drawing messier and faster,” Max said, pointing to Evillustrator.

“Why is that?  He didn’t have that issue before!” Aurore yelled, as she extended her umbrella to block the overhead stick figures, jumping down upon her.

“Hawkmoth must be running out of energy.  If the tablet is shutting down, then I’m guessing he’s too busy to save the stick figures.  We need to make him use all the rest of the battery without saving the stick figure drawing.  If the tablet shuts down, then hopefully the drawings won’t be saved, and they’ll disappear!” Marc yelled, as he attacked the stick figure jumping behind from Max.

Aurore exchanged a look between the two boys before yelling, “Guys!  It’s okay!  I can handle myself over here!”

Evillustrator immediately began to draw more complicated figures.  Gotcha right where I want you!  If I can just get a few more drawings out, they’ll be right where I want them!  Evillustrator schemed.

Aurore however, quickly dodged all their attacks, and began to run wildly while using her umbrella as a shield in front of her, pushing all the other stick figures in front of her out of the way as she charged on through.

Evillustrator began to get more and more frustrated, as he drew more and more.  Eventually, Marc and Max joined in, causing distractions from all over the place.  As time went on, Evillustrator began to get more and more furious, until one point, he was fed up.  He quickly drew out a sword and soon it formed at the feet of one of his stick figures, as it charged for Aurore.  That’ll teach her, no more Mr.Nice GuyTM.  He thought grimly.

Marc, however, was horrified and immediately ran to Aurore.  Marc began to profusely fight the figure but as time went on, his footing got lazier until eventually Marc was knocked on the ground as Aurore was holding off more stick figures.

The stick figure wasted no time in charging forth, extending their sword and raising it above their head.

Nathaniel’s eyes widened as he tried to scream, yet his voice was silenced.  He began trying to erase the stick figures, but lost track of which stick figure was which and who had the sword.

I’m so sorry I failed you, Nathaniel.  Please forgive me.  Marc said, giving up and welcoming death’s embrace.  He closed his eyes and waited.

Yet it never came.

All at once, all of the stick figures began to glitch out and became distorted, and right before the faceless stick figure’s sword came down, a mere inch away from Marc’s eyes, it too froze.  Soon afterwards, each stick figure disappeared, and so did the sword.

Using Evillustrator’s frozen shock to his advantage, Max leaped up and snatched the pen away from him, and Aurore slammed it into two.  Immediately, Evillustrator’s costume dropped as he de-transformed.  Nathaniel stood there, horrified as he took in the site around him, as saw the smashed pen and dead drawing tablet beside him.  He eyes watered as he began to quietly sob, his nose becoming stuffy and his face becoming red.  His shoulders and hands shook as Marc slowly stepped towards him.

“I-I’m so sorry...I’ve d-done horrible horrible things.  I sw-swear I never meant any of it,” he said, as he hiccuped and sniffled.  He then let out a pained sob as Marc immediately embraced him, resting Nathaniel’s head on his shoulder.  Aurore strangled the butterfly in her hands as Max grabbed his previously empty computer case as they shoved it inside.  Aurore and Max began to laugh and cry out of relief as they collapsed in relief on the ground.

“It’s alright, Nathaniel.  I know that wasn’t you just there, and you’re okay now, you’re safe.  I promise you that,” Marc said, brushing away his tears.

“But I let Hawkmoth take advantage of me!  I let him take control!  The things I’ve done are unforgivable-”

“You were manipulated, taken advantage of, and used.  But dwelling on it won’t fix it.  What will help fix is taking Hawkmoth and Mayura down, along with the other villains that are coming to Paris.  Please, Nathaniel we need you.  I need you,” Marc spoke softly.  For a moment, there was silence until...

“I’ll join you,” Nathaniel spoke at last.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(⌐■_■)~~~~~~~~~~~~

“-we are living in constant fear, and the heroes have been fighting non-stop since the war began.  Please, we are begging you!.......send help.”

Bruce paused before sighing.  “Was that all of them?” he asked, trying to analyze and break down the information.

“Sure is.  As I said, these claims are getting barbaric.  Anyone can hire an animation studio and editor to make these silly edits, but there hasn’t been any documentation of actual property damage, and look at the Eiffel tower!  It’s being destroyed in every one of these and yet it’s ‘magically’ rebuilt in the next video.  Not to mention, some girl on a teenager’s blog is trying to present herself as a Mary Sue, she’s delusional and stuck in a fantasy to claim that she’s best friends with a superheroes and celebrities.  This has got to be some online joke or trend-”

“But where would these teenagers get the budgets from?  What about the news articles written by adults?” Bruce challenged.

“You can’t seriously think these could be real.  Ladybug and Chat Noir?  Really?  No one’s super powers could reverse the broken arms of people, the ill and the sick, and repair city damage in one fell swoop.  Or better yet, destroy the Eiffel tower with one touch.  It’s CGI, probably funded by those adults too,” Clark countered.

“What about super strength, flight, speed, laser vision?” Bruce argued.

“Supposedly all you have to do to beat these villains is break the options, like a photograph.  So threatening, just terrifying right?” Clark challenged.

“Your weakness if a rock.  A rock.  Is it so far fetched that these could maybe be real?  The Miraculous, Ladybug, Chat Noir, they could easily be real or fake.  We need to do more investigation than this,” Bruce concluded.

“Did someone say the miraculous?” Diana said, freezing in her spot by the doorway.

“Oh wow, looks someone uses the door like a normal person...COUGH COUGH BRUCE COUGH COUGH…”

Diana gave him a stern glare.

“We were just going over video feeds of the current condition of Paris.  Villains like the Joker, Harley Quinn, and Ivy have all been spotted in Paris,” Bruce said, tuning out Clark.

“No, before that you said there was a black cat and ladybug Miraculous?” Diana said, with wide eyes.

“Yes, there were supposedly reports of two...young adults I think?  They were dressed up as vigilantes and were supposedly fighting crime, why do you ask?  Have you heard of them?” Bruce asked.

“Heard of them?  Why my mother grew up telling me stories about her days as the super heroine Ladybug!  Her tales were my bedtime stories for years!” she retold, with a fond look in her eyes.

“Your mother?  That girl looked nothing like Hippolyta, are you sure you’re not mixing it up with something else?” Bruce asked.

“I’m quite sure, after all my mother gave up being Ladybug a long time ago.  The Ladybug Miraculous doesn’t just have a sworn duty to one place, but to the rest of the world.  My mother couldn’t travel to the rest of the world while looking after the amazons, and thus entrusted the miraculous to one of the Guardians,” she spoke.

“Who was is this Guardian?  The Black Cat guy?” Clark questioned.

“Oh heavens no, the Guardians were much much older than that boy is.  These superheroes are powered by an object called the Miraculous, granting each user immense power.  The Guardians are meant to protect these Miraculous, but after the incident at one of the temples...only one of them is still left...but anyways, the Ladybug and Chat Noir Miraculous are extremely powerful, the strongest Miraculous actually,” she explained, while walking over to the video files.

“What do these Miraculous do?” asked Bruce.

“And again, how does that explain the damage to the city?” Clark added.

“Each Miraculous has a different ability; time travel, teleportation, complete destruction, and creation, you name it.  Each Miraculous has a unique ability, that they can only use once.  The Ladybug Miraculous represents luck and has the ability to reverse any Miraculous caused damage.  Buildings, broken bones, illness, you name it.  The only thing the Miraculous of creation and luck can’t reverse is death, for death lies in the hands of the counter partner, the Black Cat,” Wonder Woman said, as she sped up the videos and glimpsed through them.

“The Black Cat represents death and misfortune, and with a simple touch of a hand, entire buildings can collapse and fade to nothing within a second.  If you’re unprotected with a Miraculous suit, the Black Cat’s abilities can kill you in less than a second, and Ladybug won’t be able to reverse that damage.  Each Miraculous, when new, can only use their abilities once in a battle, but as they grow more experienced, can get more abilities or quirks for each battle,” Wonder Woman finished.

“So the reason there is undocumented damage is due to the Ladybug woman?” Bruce finally asked, while side glancing at Clark.

“Precisely, meaning these claims may very well be legitimate.  However, there still isn’t much seen with Gotham’s villains, there are barely any sightings,” Diana added.

“Any lead is still good enough for me,” Bruce said, already getting ready to leave for Paris, and booking an appointment on his phone.  However, he stopped when he looked down to see his phone exploding with phone calls and texts from Alfred.  This of course sent Bruce into a panic, Alfred knew he was going to be out in the suit, and to not call unless there were emergencies.

Quickly, Bruce dialed Alfred back while rushing out the window door.  Immediately, Alfred picked up.

“We are going to have a visitor.  I will be preparing the guest bedroom.  Please arrive immediately, it has to do with the condition of Paris.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~(⌐■_■)~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’ll be right, Marinette.  I must go and prepare your room.  Would you like me to prepare you some tea?” Alfred asked, while grabbing her backpack.  He beckoned to the Miracle Box, but Marinette shook her head.  She shook her head, taking the box and placing it in her lap.

“I’ll be alright, you’ve done so much for me already.  I will never be able to repay you for your kindness,” she responded.  Alfred nodded.  As he was about to leave, he got a phone call from Master Bruce.

“Wait right here, I’ll be back soon.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~(⌐■_■)~~~~~~~~~~~~

Each day was worse than the last.  There were no known leads about the Joker’s whereabouts, and Damian was getting impatient and pent up.  With nowhere else to put his energy, he took Titus out for a run.

Damian knew the Joker was planning something, and it was driving him nuts.  As they strolled around the city, Titus could tell his heart just wasn’t in it and abruptly pulled on his shirt, nearly causing him to fall over.

“What is it, Titus?” Damian asked, before taking notice of the sky.  His father would surely be home by now.  He sighed before changing course, and making his way back home.

When he reached the doorstep, he realized the light was on in the spare bedroom. Strange.  He thought.  Father rarely allows guests over, and always gives them a heads up to be more cautious.

He shrugged as he made his way over to the door.  Suddenly, Titus made a run for it inside and bolted inside towards the living room.

Damian stood up alarmed, ready to attack and dashed around the corner towards the living room.

On the couch, sat a small girl clutching a box.  Her hair was a dreadful mess, and her clothes looked tattered and worn out.  She fidgeting on the couch as she looked around and glanced out the window.

Titus ran over and started barking and trying to grab at and bite the strange box.  He could sense something was strange about the girl, something he wasn’t familiar with and it sent him into a frizzy.  It sent the short girl into a frenzy and she instantly grabbed at the box and made a dash for it.  She leaped over the couch and knocked over the lamp next to it.  She looked panicked but was quickly stopped before she reached the door.

She collided with Damian and fell onto the ground with Titus catching up and barking in her ears as she lie on the ground, shaking in fear.  Her eyes were teary and unfocused, almost lost in the moment.  The Miracle Box shook, and the sounds of jewels and valuables sliding around were heard from inside the box. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had attempted to break into the Wayne Manor to steal its valuables, and Damian was sure it wouldn’t be the last.  Titus’s ears were flattened, his tail between his legs, as his eyes were filled with fear and concern.  Damian’s heart clenched at the sight of Titus looking so scared, before his look hardened into a cold glare at the stranger.

“WHO ARE YOU AND HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?” Damian demanded, already posed to attack.  When she didn’t respond, he tried to grab the box while Titus was still barking in her ear, fearful of the stranger.

She froze for only a moment before slamming her elbow into his chin and quickly sidestepping him.  Damian charged, startling her enough to drop the box, hearing her call out :

“TIKKI SP-”

Alfred burst into the room stunning the both of them and separated the two immediately.  Damian was about to lunge before Alfred grabbed him from behind and forcefully pulled him off, and then swiftly grabbed the box and placed it into Marinette’s hands.  He grabbed Damian by the shirt and tugged on Titus’s leash, dragging them both outside of the room.

Tag List :

@kceedraws @resignedcatservant @shamefulllove @emotionalsupportginger @ellerahs @littleredrobinhoodlum @graduatedmelon @mooshoon @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @mystery-5-5 @kuroko26 

@tazanna-blythe @friedchickening @crazylittlemunchkin @princertain @hauntedfreakdeputyhero @thornangelic727

@constancetruggle < I am so sorry but it’s not letting me tag you, if you see this, am I getting your @ wrong?

Let me know if I missed anyone and let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list, and which tag list you wanna be added on.  (If you want ALL Maribat content, or just this fic updates.)

[daisylincs]

@angrylittleintrovert prompted me Staticquake + “you need to relax more” // “you need to stop taking unnecessary risks.” 

I'm not going to lie, when I saw this prompt, I saw the opportunity to write a Staticquake AU for one of my favourite tropes EVER - the how-could-you-be-so-stupid-I-was-so-worried slap-slap-kiss. 

I promise you I meant for this to be only about 500 words long. I promise you. But then I sat down in front of the computer, and, well, my muse completely ran away with me. And before I really knew what had happened, I had developed an entire AU setting, plus some intense feels, for my precious babies. 

Oh, I have no excuse. Just *shoves fic in your face* enjoy this!! 

Daisy paced up and down the landing ramp of the quinjet, her steps sharp and angry. She moved fiercely, purposefully, heedless of the blood and soot covering her cheeks staining the leg of her suit. 

Step. 

She remembered their briefing, how this was supposed to be a standard, low-risk op - "it'll be easy for the likes of you two, nothing to worry about. All you have to do is get in, take out a few guards, steal back the briefcase, and get out."

Ha. 

Step.

She remembered the moment it had all gone wrong - when they had burst through the door and found a ticking bomb strapped to the briefcase. 

Step.

She remembered the look on his face when she had told him to clear the building, she would handle this.

Step.

She remembered how hard it had been to keep the bomb's energy contained in a sphere of her vibrations.

Step.

She remembered the crackle of static in her ear, followed by a terse - "clear."

Step.

She remembered the window shattering as she blasted it with her powers, taking a flying leap out as the building exploded behind her.

Step.

She remembered hitting the ground running and gritting her teeth against the pain in her legs. Asphalt was hard. 

Step.

She remembered the high, terrified scream from the building she had just left, the white face pressed to a window miraculously left unbroken.

Step.

She remembered him muttering a curse and sprinting past her before she could stop him.

Step.

She remembered screaming after him that the building wasn't stable and could collapse at any moment.

Step.

She remembered the fierce look in his blue eyes - "I have to at least try and help" - before he rushed into the flames.

Step.

She remembered the building's frame finally giving in as he dashed through the door, with her a few steps behind and just too late to follow. 

Step.

And she remembered coming back here, to the quinjet, to the rendezvous point, and waiting. 

Because they had promised each other, huddled together under one of the orphanage's frayed, too-small blankets, that they would come back to each other no matter what.

And they had always kept that promise.

Turn.

She wasn't afraid, Daisy told herself firmly. They had always kept that promise. There was no reason to think today would be any different.

Lincoln was going to come back.

And when he did, she was going to kill him.

They had grown up together, survived the foster system together, gone through Terrigenesis together, become SHIELD's first Inhuman strike team together - he wasn't allowed to ruin that by making reckless, stupidly heroic decisions! 

They had gone through far too much together for it to end like this. 

Step.

Didn't he know how much she needed him in her life? He was her best friend, her partner, the one thing that had stayed constant throughout her life no matter how crazy things got. 

Step.

Didn't he know that if she lost him, she would lose herself, too?

Step. 

And then she saw him.

For a moment, Daisy froze completely. Then her brain caught up, and she rushed down the ramp of the quinjet, crashing into Lincoln's chest just as he was beginning to walk onto the plane.

"Daisy!" he said, stumbling back a step and catching her wrists to steady her and himself.

Daisy yanked her wrists out of his grasp and slapped him, her palm connecting with his cheek with a satisfying smack. 

"You absolute IDIOT!" she shouted, taking full advantage of the shock in his blue eyes. "How could you be so STUPID? You could have died!"

Her voice cracked a little towards the end, and Daisy realised that her entire body was shaking, whether from anger or sheer relief she couldn't tell. 

"Do you have any idea how reckless that was?" she asked, her voice raising even louder than before as she ran her hands over his face and chest, frantically checking for injuries. "That building was completely unstable, not to mention on fire! I don't care how good you are, you don't get to take those odds!"

"It's not about being good, Daisy, it's about saving lives," Lincoln said, his voice sharp as he got over his shock and cut into her rant. 

"Oh, because you can save so many lives when you're dead!" Daisy knew she was being unfair, but her emotions were ramped up far too high for her to make any really logical decisions.

Lincoln returned her glare with exactly the same furious anger born from desperate worry and relief. "I was reckless? Daisy, you stayed in a building with a ticking bomb, risking your life on the off-chance that your powers might be able to keep it from blowing. Oh, and then you jumped five stories out of said building, straight onto solid asphalt." 

"That's not the same as literally running into your death!" she argued loudly, the worry that had been singing through her blood all too glad to be released as boiling anger.  

"How is that not the same?" he challenged, his blue eyes blazing. "You took a risk -"

"Which had way more chance of success than yours did, honestly, Lincoln, what the hell were you thinking?" she broke in, barely even noticing they were practically nose-to-nose as she glared at him. 

"That doesn't change the fact that you took a massive risk! You could have died or permanently hurt yourself," he accused, wiping away some of the blood on her cheek with a warm hand while his eyes remained locked with hers.

Daisy released a shuddering breath and closed her eyes, instinctively leaning into his touch as his thumb stroked the curve of her cheekbone.

When she opened her eyes, she realised fully for the first time just how close they had gotten during their little shouting match. Her palms were still pressed against his chest, and his hand cradled her cheek, their noses almost brushing and their lips inches apart.

Daisy's eyes flicked down to his lips, and she realised three fundamental truths at the exact same time:

Number one, even when his eyes were blazing with anger, Lincoln's hand on her cheek as he half-unconsciously checked her injuries was gentle and warm. He cared so much about her, and matter how angry he was with her, he would never, never hurt her.

Number two, in the softening glare in his blue eyes, and in the desperate worry and overpowering relief still zipping through her blood, she saw that they had both reacted far too strongly for two best friends and partners who had been through life-threatening situations before.

And number three, she couldn't bear the thought of a world without him.

Daisy looked up at him, at Lincoln, the three epiphanies racing through her skull -

- and kissed him, fierce and desperate and full of all the powerful relief and raw emotion she couldn't put into words. 

She pulled away after a moment that felt years longer, her breathing harsh and ragged. "Don't ever scare me like that again," she ordered, pressing her forehead against his and trying to ignore the way her lips were still tingling. 

He huffed a small laugh against her lips, opening his eyes slowly and looking up from her mouth to meet her gaze. "You need to relax more." 

She opened her eyes fully to give him an incredulous look. "And you need to stop taking unnecessary risks!" 

His eyebrows shot up. "You're one to talk!" he accused, bumping his nose against hers. 

She rolled her eyes, moving to punch him in the chest, but stopped as she realised she was still clinging to his shoulders. 

She had come far too close to losing him today - she didn't think she'd be letting go anytime soon. 

His eyes softened as her silence stretched on, and she could see in his eyes that he got it. 

Daisy let out a soft breath and closed her eyes, and this time when she stretched up to kiss him, there was none of the anger or raw desperation of last time. It was soft and slow and perfect, both of them taking the time to really feel each other, to share without words how much they meant to each other.

Neither of them needed words to hear it, but the message was there, loud and clear to two people who had been best friends for their entire lives: never leave. 

 And both of them replied silently, promised it into their second kiss and the start of this new relationship: I never will. 

[cornholio4]

Miraculous Fantasy chapter 1

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was with her parents as they were in the limo of Audrey Bourgeois, Marinette had ended up deciding she wanted to take her out on her offer of being taken to New York in order to become her protégée. She did say that she wanted Audrey to keep in touch with her daughter Chloe, so she ended up helping her biggest bully bond some more with her mother.

Go figure.

She had a hard time saying goodbye to her friends but they had all promised to keep in touch through video chat and messages. Her friends from the class and school had all set up a going away party for her which was also attended by Jagged Stone (to everyone’s delight), her grandmother Gina and Nadja Chamack along with Manon.

She definitely was going to miss Alya, her best friend since the start of the school year. If it wasn’t for her advice and encouragement, she didn’t think she would have ever had the confidence she needed to continue being Ladybug or stand up to Chloe.

She was guilty about leaving them all but even guiltier about leaving Paris without Ladybug but Master Fu had the solution. The Horse Miraculous with Kaalki as its Kwami, gifted with the power of teleportation. With it an Akuma alert on her phone it means she can teleport back to Paris to deal with any emergencies as Ladybug.

It would be hard and something to get used to but she wanted to take her duties as Ladybug seriously while taking this enormous opportunity to further her fashion career.

She had arrived with her parents Tom and Sabine to New York in Audrey’s helicopter and had directed them to her limo. She was now taking them to the bakery building that Audrey had bought for them to start up their baker business again.

She could not beleive how supportive her parents were of her taking this apprenticeship deal and willing to re-establish their bakery in a whole different city. They were truly the best parents she could ever hope to ask for.

She and her parents were speechless looking at the tall buildings and busy streets, “Get used to Queens my dear protégée, it is the perfect place for the Queen of Fashion and the new home for the future Queen of Fashion.” Audrey remarked with a smile from her seat which was facing them. She then had a bit of a frown. “Of course when you get there Marinette, I hope you won’t repeat Gabriel’s error and forget to get me my front row seat for the fashion shows you would be hosting.” She remarked to Marinette’s direction.

Marinette gave a nervous nod as Audrey turned her attention to the window; Marinette looked to her handbag where Tikki was hiding. Tikki had been looking at the pamphlet (translated into French) of the school that she would be transferred to. Midtown Academy; a gifted school with different programs for the students and their specialties including science and of course fashion.

“Looks like it will be a good school Marinette, hopefully there will not be another Chloe.” Tikki whispered to Marinette and she smiled in response. Tikki was doing her best to be there for Marinette for this new change of life and circumstances.

The limo driver stopped and told them they were there; they went out and saw the bakery building which looked not a lot different from the one from home if only without color and it looked like it had been closed for some time. Probably from the previous owners. “I know it looks drab but I am sure you can fix it a bit.” Audrey told them shaking her head.

“No worries Audrey, we can make it home in no time!” Tom said pulling Marinette and Gina into his arms but Audrey sighed.

They then heard something on the road and were shocked to see a futuristic car speeding by and at the back holding on and looking like he was trying to stop it was a costumed figure.

The figure was dressed in a red hooded sleeveless jumper with a black spider logo on it, a light blue top underneath it, a red ski mask, black ski goggles, red fingerless gloves, red boots and light blue track bottoms.

They were shocked but Audrey shook her head, “Great, it’s that dumpster diving Spider-Man again. He started appearing a few months ago and brings disaster wherever he goes.” Audrey explained in a displeased tone.

“Well looks like we won’t be far from red clad heroes in New York either.” Gina commented with a smile that Tom and Marinette returned. Audrey shook their heads as she had her driver help them get their bags inside so they could start unpacking.

Marinette shared a quick glance at Tikki inside her handbag as they both thought that this Spider-Man could be someone to keep an eye on.

*pb*

It had been a normal day at Midtown Academy for Peter Parker, paying attention to all his classes and talking to his friends in his class. Afterwards with all his homework done and his Aunt May having let him know beforehand she would be late with her job working at the FEAST homeless shelter, he thought he could spend some time being Spider-Man.

Once he had gotten changed he had gone out and started web slinging, some people were taking pictures or video with their phones as they saw him but he had to be careful to try and not get seen by any police officers.

While some people appreciated what he did, the NYPD were not exactly on friendly terms with him. Most of them did not appreciate a masked vigilante interfering in police work, he got some on his side but for the most part they were not fans of him.

he found a speeding futuristic car speeding by on the road and was quick to try and catch it this time. The car and the driver had been the getaway driver for several robberies. He had tried but hadn’t been able to catch it. The car was too fast before.

He had wanted to marvel at how the car could work and what technology was in it but he had to focus on catching it.

He had web slinged after it and had been trying to stop it for about three quarters of an hour. He had grabbed hold o if it but was forced to let go several times. Call it being determined or being stupidly stubborn but he refused to give up.

He was getting him this time.

It paid off as he managed to slow down the car from the back and rip off the door; he jumped up to the front of the car and managed to force it to slow down. He went and grabbed the driver who was in a black bodysuit and a black race car driving helmet with a blue visor.

He dragged him out and was stunned to see the car as if by magically turn into a normal car. The passerbys were taking pictures and the man told him “pretty cool huh? I have special nanites injected into my blood that allows me to transform any vehicle I am driving and make them super fast! If you have any Superhero friends can you please tell them that I go by Overdrive!”

Peter stood stunned but then saw police cars arrive and out came a familiar blonde haired police captain glaring harshly at Peter. “Hey George, glad to see your eye has healed....” Peter said nervously.

“Captain Stacy to you Wallcrawler, now put your hands......” snapped Captain George Stacy but Peter just jumped up and ran up the nearest building. The police officers arrested Overdrive and Captain Stacy called for police helicopters to look out for Spider-Man.

He got up and then was in a hurry to web sling to his secret base, hopefully before they can pick up his trail.

Captain George Stacy was easily the police officer who was out for Spider-Man’s blood the most. On the 2nd week of being Spider-Man, Peter had gotten word of a sale of weapons in a district by a criminal carter. He had jumped into the middle of the meeting.

Captain Stacy was pretty much his harshest critic besides J. Jonah Jameson, the man who owned and ran the controversial internet news outlet the Daily Bugle.

He had taken out most of the men and had kicked the head of the buyers hard in the eye. It turns out the head buyer was Captain Stacy and the men with him were undercover cops and he had ruined a sting operation.

Peter had apologised in a panic and escaped before Captain Stacy’s backup could arrive. He had definitely not a made a friend with Captain Stacy there.

Making sure no one was looking Peter made it to the warehouse district and opened up a high window of one of the warehouses. This warehouse had belonged to his parents before they had died and Aunt May and Uncle Ben (when he was still with them) had given him the keys. He had been using it as his base which he called the Spider’s Nest.

Of course calling it a base would be generous.

There were tables of various broken down gadgets that he had taking to fixing, there were clothes hangers for the other copies of the suit he had gotten (mostly from charity stores), a fixed up computer and a fixed up sewing machine he was using to mend his suits when he needed to as well as sew the Spider logo into his jumpers.

He sighed as he gotten changed into his normal clothes and thought he could rest for a while before need to go back home to his and Aunt May’s apartment. He looked to the wall where there were various posters he had put up.

There was one that was advertising Ultimate Mecha Strike III (the first one was one of his favourite Video Games, the second one was kind a disappointment in his eyes but the third one was a well worthy of being the true follow up of the first one), there was one with the logo of Horizon Labs the company ran by one of his personal science heroes Max Modell and of the world famous superheroine Majestia.

She was one who probably didn’t need to worry about the police being after her since whenever she saved the Earth it would make the front page. She was amazing and hopes that he could live up to her standard of Superheroing one day.

Of course he was also hoping to live up to the memory of someone close to him that he had lost....

[gotmilk5101520]

Miraculous Ladybug Rewatch Episode 72 Party Crasher

The perfect party to KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!

“One of these days, I'm gonna come over and KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!”

“Is everything going to plan, Nathalie?”

“Yes. On route to the airport, sir. You will officially be spending the entire weekend in Tokyo”

“No one will ever suspect that you stayed home. Until you akumatize someone”

“Merging them will grant me absolute power to reshape reality, and finally reverse our past mistake” My theory is becoming more true everytime Gabriel talks about it.

“My butterflies are ready! Ready to be Akumas!”

“Okay, remember our objective. To penetrate the impenetrable fortress, aka Adrien's pad, aka Area 51“

“If we Naruto run we should avoid the bullets”

Accurate picture of Gabriel.

“Kim, have a swimming lesson”

“Great! I always have my trunks on me” Well if I learned anything from Startrain.

“Nino was asked at the last minute to DJ his grandma's birthday party”

“Ivan suddenly got a toothache and rushed over to the dentist”

“Nathaniel crashed his computer and lost all the pages of the comic book he and Marc are doing“

“Max and Markov are helping them fix it”

“Kim had to go to the pool for a mandatory swim lesson, though I'm not entirely sure why he texted me that” Juleka can see the bullshit.

“Did I miss something, or is it bad excuses world championship today?” Yeah they know.

Who needs money when you can get action figures.

“Is there any game you don’t have?” “I don’t have the Zelda CDI games” “You’re better off without them”

“All the boys are unavailable with really lame excuses, and trust me, I know a lame excuse when I hear them”

“I’ve turned into an expert at them since I became... you-know-who” Marinette is Voldemort confirm.

“I know, I’m gonna call Ivan. He can’t lie to save his life”

“Don’t pick up! You can’t lie to save your life” Ivan exposed.

“Adrien’s dad left town for Tokyo’s fashion week. While the cat’s away, the mice will play” More like while the moth’s away, the cat will play. With his turtle, snake, horse, monkey, maybe ox, maybe rooster, and maybe goat friends.

“But isn’t Marinette... one of my guys?” Adrien considers Marinette to be one of his guys.

“Woah! These can’t be your awesome old records”

“They were my mother’s” *Cries in French*

“Nathaniel and Marc? Going to Adrien’s house? This can only mean one thing” “What Marinette?” “They plan to make out in a closet cause Adrien’s dad is out of town. Or there’s a party at Adrien’s house”

*Load Music in French*

“Emilie!” *Screams in French*

I can’t explain these.

“Wait I never gave the banana costume back, so how did...?”

“Hello It's a-me: Mario!”

“What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be extra careful? You know, keeping the Miraculous hidden so Hawkmoth won't find them?” “Yes that’s true, especially since we are in his house” “Wait what?”

I can’t explain this either.

“I like your style!”

“Look out, sir!”

“Thank you, young man. Your natural reflexes are quite good”

“Helping others should always be a natural reflex, like swimming is for fish”

*Screams in Monkey*

“I don't feel any negative emotion. There's only...”

“Happiness?”

“In my house!”

“Party Crasher, I am Hawkmoth. So you weren't invited? Well I'm giving you the power to crash that party, and KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!“

Keep this in mind when watching the NY Special.

“Marinette?”

“Uh... no, no, no, no! It's a-me: Mario!”

*Screams in Adrienette*

*Screams in French*

“NO!”

“Don't go in there alone! You'll never pull this off by yourself”

“Give me my lady back!”

“Need some back up?”

“Pegasus?”

“Viperion?” When this episode aired before Desperada and Startrain.

There’s an akuma and Kim just swims.

“Awww! A flying monkey plushie!”

“I'm no plushie! My name's Xuppu, you nitwit!”

“My name's not nitwit! My name's Kim!”

You can see the regret in his eyes.

“I'm wondering if this was the smartest move after all” Me questioning my life choices

“Xuppu, I Wanna Be Like You!”

“Now face the most fearsome supervillain ever created!”

Party Crasher must never returned.

Fear the banana.

“The only solution is to be so unpredictable that he can't read our dance steps” “So Fortnite Dance?” “Yes, Fortnite Dance everyone!”

“Always wanted to do that!”

“I'm sorry, Wayhem. I swear I had no idea my friends were gonna surprise me”

“What matters is that you great time, with or without me. And I got to KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM! This is the best day of my life!”

“Wait. Where are Luka and Wayhem?” “They were right behind us” “Wayhem better not be making out with Luka in a closet. I’m suppose to be the one making out with Luka in a closet!”

“I'll be leading you in a dance. A dance of doom” “Well we got lost. Where are we anyway?” “No idea” “How did you two get here?!” “Oh hey a corpse. Wait a minute aren't you supposed to be in Tokyo? Then again, should’ve known since there was an akuma” “This just in we found the Agreste’s Basement Corpse!” “Nathalie, help me!”

New Hero: King Monkey. Identity: Le Chien Kim. Power: Jubilation.

Let’s cringe everyone.

[andydona-chan]

I’ve been kind of wanting to write again, I’ve been moving from Doctor Who, to Sherlock, to Miraculous Ladybug, The Magicians, Danny Phantom, and other fandoms but with barely any time for my self to either start writing or making any fanart related to them.

Today I managed to write something, is not long, is not the best and is not finished, but it is a start to something I guess. This is for MLB fandom, it’s an idea that’s been on my mind for some time already. Keep in mind that it’s been about a year since I really managed to make something good and I’ve been… very sad, so just read and enjoy, I want to continue it but it might not be as constant as any would like… anyways

Marinette woke up to the sound of rain, it was light and some thunder could be heard at the distance, it was not a school day so she was in no rush to turn off her alarm, so she snuggled a bit more into her covers. The sound, however, was distracting now that she was awake so just out of curiosity she reached out for her cell phone and picked at the hour.

12:17 pm …

With a startle Marinette sat up on her bed and looked around, it was far too late for her to just be waking up, also it was weird that not even her parents had taken the time to come wake her, by now even Tikki would have said something…

“Tikki?” she asked out loud, alarmed and trying to locate the red kwami, noticing for the first time that her friend was nowhere to be found, she waited for a little to see if maybe she was down where she kept cookies for her, but nothing.

Alarmed now by this situation, Marinette stood up and felt a slight pain on her head but it was gone in a moment so she paid no mind to it putting her feet on her slippers and starting to climb down the ladder from her bed. She looked around again trying to find her small friend; she was supposed to be with her in that room. Marinette walked towards her window to see the rain falling outside on the street, weird because it also seemed deserted. Paying attention to see if she could hear any other sound she walked towards the hatch on the floor that leads downstairs, she was not able to tell if her parents were in the house.

Thinking that maybe they were at the bakery out of routine, Marinette took a couple of minutes to visit the bathroom and change into different clothes before heading to the living room.

“Maman? She asked while moving to the kitchen to find something for breakfast, also looking around and to all the places Tikki could be hiding. Once again, she received no answer, only the rain that kept falling outside. Feeling slightly more scared than before Marinette started asking loudly for her parents.

“Maman? Papa?” she reached the lower level and entered the bakery “Where are you?” she almost shouted feeling tears dropping from her eyes. When opening the doors that lead to the front of her parent’s business she stopped, suddenly relieved and afraid at the same time.

Two figures were at there, one of them was big, and filled a good space on the room and the other was small, which matched with what she was used to seeing on her parents every day, however, there was a huge difference. The taller figure was covered in hair and was taller than her father, and the second one was floating about a feet from the floor with a pair of wings, her face covered with a white mask.

Marinette was about to scream or run or something when they both turned to look at her, she almost tripped when she had to backtrack from them. “It can’t be!” she mumbled while staring at the calming pose that they were both doing towards her. That’s when she noticed her mother had a blackboard on her hand and there was something written over it.

Her father seemed to make an effort to speak, she remembered it was not something he couldn’t do but maybe he was afraid that it would be too loud. “Marinette” he growled and her mother started scribbling on the board “it is okay, we’re ourselves…” he finished his voice completely different from the one she was used to hear but somehow, his expression filled with fear and sadness managed to calm her down.

Her mother approached her with the board in front of her, she had written a small message.

‘Seems like every person that’s been akumatized or affected by an akuma woke up like this.’

Marinette looked at her parents surprised, this had to be caused by an akuma; she needed to find Tikki to fix this as soon as possible, but first things first.

She gave a step towards her mother and hugged her, and then did the same with her father. “I’m happy your personality remained but I wish I could help you”, they both seemed to relax after this so she told them she would look for any information that could be useful, maybe Ladybug and Chat Noir were already out there…

Her parents nodded and she rushed back to her room, this time looking everywhere she could think of in her room that the small kwami could have used as a hideout. When she didn’t find her she brought her hands to her ears, afraid she might have lost an earring, but no, both where there. She walked towards her mirror and looked closely at them, for some reason they were not the usual color, while wearing them they looked like two crystal drops with no color, but right now they were both showing her secret form, the red and black spotted symbol of Ladybug.

They looked as if Tikki was powering them, but that couldn’t be, she should be transformed, but what if…?

“Spots on?” she said curious of the result, immediately she felt a rush of energy around her and was almost sure she will see her alter ego on the mirror in a second, but when she opened her eyes she was still her… Okay, maybe not, she noticed her usual purse had turned into her signature yoyo and she felt all the strength and confidence her powers usually gave her.

She looked up to her bed again, and without too much thought she jumped and landed just there, so she had the powers if summoning them, but it will certainly give away her identity “Spots off” she said as she climbed down the stairs again and went to her computer, taking a cookie and eating it ‘on behalf of Tikki’.

There were too many things to consider before jumping into action, she actually had to find out more about the situation before she would save the day, so she started doing what she had offered her parents to do and started browsing for information, her first stop: the ladyblog.

[judyhopps934-mt-zd]

Thoughts on Heart Hunter (Loveater)

Warning: Major Spoilers! Read at your own discretion. Also, you may or may not want to scream at the end of this. I wanted to throw a temper tantrum after this. Press “Keep Reading” to continue.

Marinette had a wonderful narration in the beginning. Its heartwrenching, yes, but wonderful. It’s also foreshadowing, so take notes.

Master Fu’s first love died???? WHAT THE HELL??? YOU CAN’T DO THAT TO ME!

Did Chloé forget that she will no longer receive the Bee Miraculous??? Was “Miraculer” thrown out the window in this episode???

Chat saying he has a girlfriend to make Ladybug jealous??? I started to feel uneasy as he was losing patience and heartbroken. WHY MUST THE SHOW MAKE TWO YOUNG TEENS SUFFER???

Marinette hopelessly looking at photos of Adrien and getting excited over Luka’s message. And then there’s Adrien looking at photos of Ladybug only to see a post from Kagami. This is more foreshadowing and left an anxious knot in my stomach.

Luka stops by the bakery to play Marinette her melody. AND ITS BEAUTIFUL! THIS KID HAS TALENT! But that appreciation moment was short-lived as the knot in my stomach is growing. I fear for the Love Square here.

Also, he’s a pizza delivery guy. I would want to order pizza just so he’d deliver it to me just to meet him.

Bicycle ride to Le Grand Paris? And a kiss????? I seriously fear for the future of the Love Square. And the knot in my stomach grows.

I am fine. There’s no actual knot in my stomach.

Gabriel purposely made the “Love Cloak” to activate his plan. Why? He apparently knows that the Bourgeois couple hate each other’s guts. Audrey is awful to Andre. Even with distance, how did they not divorce each other yet. Better question, why did they get together in the first place????????

Adrien and Kagami were withheld from helping Marinette by their guardians until they told them that it would be for awhile. And they are grateful that she fell over so they could help her and escape. That’s genius to be honest. Simple, yet genius.

Adrien and Kagami fencing with kitchen utensils was everything, but also heart wrenching, especially seeing how Marinette feels when she gave it more thought.

Gorilla coming in the kitchen to look for Adrien and Kagami only to find Marinette. That was gold. And they were grateful that she covered for them. It warms my heart that the three are great friends.

And they invite Marinette to escape with them WITH CARDBOARD BOXES! THAT WAS AWESOME!

Why was Nathalie there, disconnecting her Bee light?

Adrien, Kagami, and Marinette jumping into what looks like a ball pit was the best moment in the episode. I appreciated that moment so much that it loosened some of that angst in my stomach (figure of speech).

And that was the moment where we see Marinette’s hair let down. AND SHE LOOKS LIKE AN ANGEL! OUR PRECIOUS CHILD!

Kagami comments that she looks beautiful and so does Adrien. I SUPPORT BI MARI!!! More on this later on.

Due to Marinette and her genius idea to distract Gorilla, they all escape the hotel. YAAAS!

But that was when the Akuma strikes and Heart Hunter (Loveater) emerges.

Chloé is more determined than ever to obtain the Bee Miraculous so she can save her parents. Oh boy…

Back to our trio, they find André, the ice cream guy. They decide to get ice cream, but once again, oh boy…

Oh Kagami. I know you don’t believe in the myth, but if only you knew.

André said bi rights. I repeat, ANDRÉ SAID BI RIGHTS! He is willing to sell the ice cream combo for Adrienette, Adrigami, and Marigami! If there was no Love Square or if it wasn’t drilled into my head, I would definitely ship Marigami (or is it Kagaminette?).

But why is he against a threesome? If he allowed it, then what comes next would not have happened. I’m keeping an eye on you André. I’m silently blaming you for what comes next.

Adrien and Kagami had let Marinette choose. And she chose selflessly. The ice cream was set for Adrien and Kagami. So that’s what that knot in my stomach was for.

Marinette leaves upset and they worry for a second before eating the ice cream. 

Can I note down that André was concerned for Marinette when she chose the ice cream for Adrien and Kagami? He was in a way screaming “Adrienette Rights!” But he allowed it. 

But, if she hadn’t chosen selflessly, then no one would have noticed Loveater (its shorter to spell, so I’m calling them Loveater). But still, she was so sad that I was willing to jump into that scene to hug her.

Hawkmoth and Mayura were observing Ladybug battle Loveater so that she would lead them to the Guardian (Master Fu). Also, where are you Adrien? Ladybug needs Chat Noir! (I know he’s with Kagami, but still. You are needed!)

Ladybug tried to manage to escape Mayura’s view, but because she saw Adrien and Kagami together, she got distracted that she CRASHED INTO A TREE! And Hawkmoth then SPOTTED HER AND FOLLOWED HER. This whole love sacrifice is starting to take a toll on my precious bean.

And that’s not all unfortunately. She showed up to the merry go round (really Master? Really?) as Ladybug! And did not notice Hawkmoth following her. Oh boy…

May I take a moment to put Chloé in her place? You did not earn the Bee Miraculous. You stole it when Ladybug accidentally lost it. What makes you feel entitled to it if it wasn’t meant for you in the first place? Also, I feel like Chloé forgot what happened in “Miraculer”, where she was told that she will no longer get the Bee Miraculous. Or she is just purposely being a brat about it. (Remember, she was NOT happy with Ladybug by the end of that episode).

In distraught, Ladybug chooses to recruit Ryuko because it also creates a diversion for Adrigami. In other words, it separates Adrien and Kagami. Which is still an effect from Marinette’s personal sacrifice. No wonder why this is a “fatal mistake” according to Wikipedia.

I think this is a good time as any to say that in this post, I will not blame Marinette for what happens because she’s going through so much at this point and I don’t blame her. I’ll explain later on what I mean. 

Kagami was very shocked that Ladybug recruited her after her identity was exposed in “Ikari Gozen” (see Chloé, Kagami understands the risk). Also, this is because Ladybug interrupted her moment with Adrien.

Kagami knows that she would be hurting everyone. Although what touched my heart was that she does not want to hurt Marinette. But all that shatters in 2 seconds as she states that she and Adrien are meant for each other and even her friendship with Marinette would not stop her. Excuse me while I die inside even more.

Hawkmoth found Master Fu! And he has the Miracle Box! And he’s fighting Master Fu! WHO’S NOW JADE TURTLE! If only he were not losing, I would enjoy Jade Turtle more.

Gabriel, do you not care about Nathalie? I thought you prohibited her from being Mayura since “Ladybug” (the episode)!

Chat Noir finally shows up and recognizes Ryuko, whom he compliments. And Ladybug takes it as a ploy to make her jealous. Uh-oh

The trio battle Loveater and when Chat thanks Ladybug for saving him, he...doesn’t call her “M’lady”??? What??? I’m going to be the Keke Palmer meme and be like “I don’t know who this man is.” This is so out of character for Chat...and I am once again fearing for the Love Square. The fact that Ladybug points this out has all of us like “is she jealous?” At least in the Ladynoir dynamic, are we going to get the reverse? It seems like it. Please let it be the reverse! My heart cannot take the end of the Love Square on all sides!

Chloé being as petty as always tosses her Bee Light when she sees that she will no longer get the Bee Miraculous. What I want to know once again is what makes you entitled Chloé???

Then, Hawkmoth shows up and asks her to be his queen. Getting “Queen of Mean” vibes here, but seems creepy, no?

Of course, Chloé initially rejects. Note that I said initially.

Hawkmoth uses psychological manipulation to say that Ladybug has never done anything for her. And she takes the bait. Umm...did you forget that Ladybug saved you several times Chloé despite everything???

But she does not take the offer if her parents are not deakumatized. So he deakumatizes them as he’s a man of his word. Huh.

Ladies and gentlemen, people of all ages, you are about to witness history. Get ready to meet Nooroo 2.0: Pollen! Pollen tries to talk some sense into Chloé to no avail. Chloé now treats Pollen as Gabriel treats Nooroo, saying that Pollen can only speak when spoken to. RIP Pollen and her freedom.

While the trio of heroes are coming up with a plan to defeat Loveater, they were deakumatized, leaving everyone in distraught. But everything is fixed...for now. 

The Akuma now heads back to Hawkmoth so he could use it to make Chloé even more powerful, turning her into Miracle Queen: the villain that will construct an army of villains. Oh boy...so this is the deadly plan.

Curse my computer for placing caps on the letters that I don’t want! This is irrelevant, but still.

Marinette seeks Master Fu...only to find that his post was abandoned. This obviously does not sit well with her, even though Tikki assures her that he is wise and will know what to do.

But I ask...is he dead or held captive? I feel like if Hawkmoth kills him, then who’s going to decode the book for him?

Also, I saw that some people in this fandom wanted Master Fu gone so Marinette becomes the guardian so that if a reveal happens, even by accident (like in “Kwamibuster”, of what am I saying, “Kwamibuster” is the reason why the fandom is acting this way), no one has to give up their Miraculous (see “Kwamibuster”). I wonder how you all feel now that he’s gone. I don’t think this is what you all meant by wanting him gone.

Kagami and Adrien reunite and Kagami confesses his love for him...and they are about to kiss. Look, I respect every ship that exists, but it breaks my heart.

Now for all of us who support the Love Square, note that Adrien does not hold Kagami. And how he wants Marinette to be present with them. I don’t know what to tell you all, but don’t lose hope? I am uncertain of how this will go down, but all I’m saying is be cautious with your hope? I don’t know, I don’t want to give false hope to you all, but on the other hand, I don’t want to be like “Its all over” because who knows? This show likes to toy with out emotions.

Also, he walks away without Kagami, although who knows?

And speaking of emotions, I WANNA CRY! (Keep it together 934, you still have to write the concluding statement Okay) This is the most emotional scene in the whole episode, if not the whole season, or even the whole series. 

As Marinette leaves the park, she sees Luka, who asks her if she’s okay. At first, she says she’s fine. But...

The fake smile that she puts on when something goes wrong breaks down completely and she starts crying over how she’s tired. Tired of all the responsibilities. Tired of always having to put on a front. Tired of not being able to be who she truly is. And let me break this down to all. 

Yes, we’ve seen Marinette be sad before, but never to this extent. The mixture of sacrificing her love for Adrien so that he would be happy with Kagami, feeling that she’s responsible for Fu’s disappearance, and all of the stress that comes with being Ladybug has finally consumed her and she is tired. For someone her age, that is all too much. 

I was about to cry at that moment (but I watched Loveater in a family reunion and I was not going to explain to my family that I am crying over a TV show because they wouldn’t understand) because this was all in some sort of way familiar and relatable. Marinette and I are about the same age (she’s either 14, 15, or 16 at this point and I am currently 16) and even though I cannot relate with the whole being a superheroine, I do relate with the whole putting up a front and pretend that everything is fine when really, everything is consuming me inside. This scene hit me really hard as it smacked me in the face with these emotions. Emotions that I am familiar with, but I have to repress them because everyone judges me. For Marinette, she has to repress these feelings for the sake of Paris. This was the strongest characterization that I’ve ever seen in this show. Her being selfless at her own emotional expense (think about how she tried to separate Adrien and Kagami earlier in the season until “Ikari Gozen”) AND how we see one of the most optimistic characters break down in front of Luka, who was willing to drop his guitar to comfort her. It felt so familiar to me and I was just waiting to cry. Cry for the Love Square’s collapse, cry for the future of the show, and most importantly, cry for Marinette and all the hell she has to go through. In this essay I had.

Boy if the ending to this episode broke me and the writers are saying that “Miracle Queen” brought them to tears, I don’t know what I’ll do. I have a hard time crying while watching sad programs. But what I’m trying to say is that this episode broke me and I will definitely bawl in part 2!

Overall, I WANNA CRY! (Keep it together 934-) SCREW KEEPING IT TOGETHER! I am an emotional mess because of this episode! The Love Square collapsed, Marinette is going through so much, and Hawkmoth has an upper hand now! WHY SHOULD I BE CALM??? This episode screwed me over and I was not ready for this!!! I was not ready for the angst, the drama, or what will soon happen. This episode, while having a horrible Akuma design, was a masterpiece. Yes, Adrigami and Lukanette are probably going to be around for awhile and the Love Square collapsed (which might be the ships that will reign for season 4 and explains why Christina Vee ships Lukanette), but this made me feel emotions, which means they did good. The episode gets a 10/10 for writing even though I was anxious and sad throughout. This post took a span of 24 hours to compose, being in idle for 12, and several revisits of the episode no matter how much it pains me. To be continued when Miracle Queen is released, which might be the longest post ever.

[crazyrandomfucker]

Fated twins

Chapter 3: And may the problems begin

Summary:

Even if the bug heroes managed to free Ivan and Ioan from the akumas influence, they forgot to purify it and now they'll have to face the cosequences. Doubts, fear, anger, love and lots of support, our beloved heroes will have to face all that. But ain't life supposed to be like that?

____________________

-At Adrienne's bedroom-

Adrienne is at her room, staring at her computer screen. Someone named Alen and someone named Alya had created each a blog for the superheroes. Alen had made a blog for her and Lordbug, called the Lordblog, while Alya had created the Ladyblog for her brother and Ladybug. If she recalled correctly, those were the reporter twins they had saved at the stadium, so she guessed they made those blogs based on the battle formation they had had during the fight with the Stonehearted brothers, so it was normal that she shared the protagonism with that buggy guy she had worked with. Her opinion of him wasn't that much for now, they had met just once and fought together against evil. Sure, he had proven to have the wits to win the battle and had fought along her quite good for a beginner, even if he had seemed a bit worried before he entered the battle. But that was all, she knew nothing else and she wasn't sure if she was supposed to know more either. Suddenly, the news emergency broadcast pops up at her computer's screen. Apparently, even after they had defeated the monsters, people were transforming into stone monsters that looked exactly as the ones they had defeated earlier.

She rushes stairs down to see her brother and to check if he has already seen the news. And he did. They stare at each other very confused about what was happening, but the kwamis come out of their hiding places demanding for food before they have time to talk about it.

"Okay, we'll feed you. But what do you eat exactly? I mean, I doubt we can just give you anything" says Adrienne.

"Camembert!" shouts Plagg.

"Brie!" shouts Plague.

"So you're telling me that the gods of destruction eat cheese? Or do you eat anything else?" asks Adrien.

"You want to have powers? If you do, just give us lots of cheese and everything will go smoothly" replies Plagg.

"Okay, I'll make sure you both get your favourite cheese. One question why are random people turning into those stone monsters?"

"Did the bugs catch the akumas?" ask the kwamis at the same time.

-At Dupain-Cheng's bakery-

"Did you catch the akumas?" said at unison the ladybug kwamis.

"What does capturing the akuma has to do with the other stone beings?" asks Marin.

"The akumas can multiply, that's why it must be captured" explains Tekke.

"If Ivan and Ioan's emotions become negative, they'll turn to Stonehearts again, but this time they'll have an army to back them" says Tikki.

"So that means... This is all our fault" regrets Marinette. "I knew it. I'm not cut out to be a hero Tikki. I'm only going to keep messing up".

"Be calm, it was your first time. You're going to go back and capture Stoneheart's akuma, and do it successfully" says Tikki, trying to cheer her holder up.

"I can't I told you, I'm clumsy, I create disaster where I go. I will only make thing worse for you, for my partners and for everyone in Paris. Chat, Kitty and my brother will be better without me. I'm quitting"

"Hold a minute. You're quitting? Did I hear that right?" says Marin, beginning to head towards his sister direction. "You sister are not quitting. Not on my watch. Nuh-huh".

"But Ma-" tries to reply Mari.

"No, listen to me sis. Yes, you have messed up" says Marin holding her. "But so did I. It's our fault, we made the mistake, so we'll be the ones clearing that mistake. Got it?"

"Marin I-"

"Got it or not Mari? If you don't get it I'm going to hang you to Eiffel tower till you get it. Okey?"

The heroine sighs. "Yes brother, I'll do it".

-At Adrien's room-

"So we can't do anything without them?" ask Adrien as his sister returns with cheese for the kwamis.

"Only the holders of Ladybug's miraculous can purify the akumas and repair the damaged caused by the powers of other kwamis" explains Plagg.

"What are we there for then?" asks the model girl.

"You think they could handle the fights by themselves? Yeh, they could handle a few of them maybe, but trust me, you both represent destruction as the holders of the black cat ring. They represent creation. If there was only creation, the world would collapse in little time and there would be creations that would be harmful. That's why there must be destruction "says Plague. "You're here to help them by destroying anything is harmful, no matter if it's harmful objects, persons or even feelings. You're more than partners, you're their opposite and that's why you make a good team".

"Wow Plague... That was truly beautiful..." says Adrien.

"Yeah well, don't get used to it, it's just some info you needed so you won't run over Paris destroying everything" replies the kwami.

-At Marinette's room-

"I'm sorry Tikki, my brother may be right, but he's cut out to be Lordbug and I'm not. My brother and the cats may just find another Ladybug" says Mari. "I'm sorry Tikki".

"Wait, no! Don't take the-" tries to say Tikki, but she disappears when Marinette takes the earrings out.

"Tikki?" ask Mari. Hearing no response, she puts the earrings on the black box and puts it on her bag. "I'm sorry Tikki".

-At Dupain-Cheng's bakery-

Mari is eating breakfast with a very long face and while her brother and father are trying to cheer her up a bit, the girl just revolves inside herself because of the guilt she's feeling. She hasn't said it to her brother, but she was going to give her miraculous to Alya, he'll find out later and get mad for sure, but what else could she do? She simply wasn't made for being Ladybug. Or at least, she thought so. She tries to get those thoughts out of her head and finishes her breakfast as quickly as she can, daring her brother to race to school. But she lost. While Marin certainly had bad luck and that caused him to have lots of accidents, she was even clumsier, making it impossible for her to win. They finally arrive to school and they meet the reporter twins at the front gate.

"Hey girl, check this out. This is the Ladyblog, a blog made for our best superheroine and her cat companion" says Alya while showing Mari her new blog.

"Dude, check this better. Here I present you, the Lordblog. You know, a blog made for our awesome hero Lordbug and his incredible partner Kitty Noire" shows off Alen.

"Geez guys, you're truly looking up to them, don't you?" says Marin.

"Dude, they were simply amazing, you should have seen them fight" says Alen.

"But why do you trust them so much? Look at so many people turned into stone beings. What if they simply aren't cut out for being superheroes?" says Mari.

"Girl, I know what this is about" declares Alya. "You're scared, I get it. But they'll take care of the stone beings in no time. I've seen them fight with my own two eyes and let me tell you that they're absolutely great heroes".

"Yeah sis, you should have a little bit more of faith" agrees Marin.

Suddenly, they see lots of people around Ioan and Ivan, asking them questions about the akumatization and some even criticising him. But the Burgeoise twins come in calling them monsters and harassing them. The brothers get angry and leave. Alen and Alya face the blonds twins and Marin and Marinette go to try to comfort the Bruel brothers.

-At the Agreste’s manor-

"You didn't even saw them leave?" says Gabriel with anger and incredulity on his voice.

"No sir, we're sorry about it, we'll try to catch them before they reach that school" apologises Nathalie.

"I'll take your word on that. If something happens to them, you'll be held responsible! Now leave and get them" says angrily Gabriel before he turns his back to the bodyguards and Nathalie and walks away.

-At school's door-

"We made it! We're here Adrien!" says excited Adrienne.

"I know right!" answers her rother excited as well.

"I just don't get it, you have freedom to go anywhere and you go to school?" says Plagg lazily from inside the pocket of Adrien's jacket.

"You don't get it Plagg, we're done with being shut up in home by dad" replies Adrien.

"Yeah, we want to meet people and make friends" agrees Adrienne.

"Adrien and Adrienne! Don't do this, your father will be furious." says Nathalie, coming out of a limousine.

"Tell him you were too late. Please" prays Adrienne before going inside the building with her brother.

-Inside the building-

"Why did you have to do that Chloe and Cleón? You two are the real Stonehearts" says Alya.

"So we're the ones who broke Sebastian and Sabrina's dad arm, are we?" says Chloe.

"Just because your lame footage of those filthy heroes got to TV doesn't mean you have to get so high and mighty" says Cleón.

"You sonsuva-" says Alen.

"Ah! They're both angry! They're going to turn into naked bulked ugly monsters!" says Chloe.

The reporter twins go away before they jump at the blondes and get their shit together by fists and go to seek the designers. Meanwhile, two green-eyed blond models enter the school.

"Hey Chloe, Cleón" says Adrien.

"Hey guys" says his sister.

"Adrikins and Adrienne! You came!" says Chloe while hugging the models more that they were comfortable with.

"So you made it at last! I hope you didn't get caught" says Cleón.

"We did get caught yesterday, but we made it on time today".

-At the boys' lockers-

Mari and her brother smile as they find the brothers sitting down listening to some music. They get close to them and sit next of each other on the floor. They gently tap their arms while smiling and the brothers take off their headphones.

"You know, you both should tell Mylenne and Mylo how you feel" says Mari with a gentle smile.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about" say the brothers at unison and avoid looking to Marinette.

"Come on, we saw the way you look at them" says Marin.

The brothers shake their head and look down "No, no negative emotions please" says Mari, but the twins look at her a bit pissed. "I mean that you must be positive!" claims Mari.

"Yeah, we're sure that they had feelings for you too" says Marin

"Go talk to her" whispers Mari to Ivan.

"Go talk to him" whispers Marin to Ioan.

"Ugh. we're not good with words anyway" confesses Ivan.

"But, who needs words?" says Marin.

"You can always show your feelings painting something or writing a poem" continues Mari.

"Would a song be alright?" asks Ivan.

"Yes! That would be so romantic! Who wouldn't like to listen to a song of love made for them! Go for that guys and be positive!" says Mari excited.

"Thanks guys, you two are angels, you know it?" says Ioan before his brother and he leave to write the songs.

-Adrien side-

He says goodbye to his sister and Cleón and Chloe leads the way to their classroom, signing autographs for his fans while they walk.

"This is your seat Adrikins. I've save it for you Adrikins, right in front of me" says Chloe as she enters the classroom, pointing to the seat next to Nino's.

"Thanks Chloe" says the model as he enters the classroom and sits next to Nino. "Hey, I'm Adrien" says as he offers Nino a handshake.

"You're friends with Chloe then huh?" says Nino without bothering to accept the handshake, pointing with his head behind the model.

Adrien truns and sees Chloe taking the chewing gum and giving it to Sabrina, who puts it on Marinette's seat.

"Hey, what's that all about?" says Adrien perturbed.

"The brat that sits here yesterday needed a little attitude adjustment" says Chloe. "I'm just commanding a bit of respect, that's all".

"You think that's really necessary?" says Adrien, while he gets down to try to pull the gum off the seat.

"You've got a lot to learn about school culture Adrikins. Watch the master" says Chloe going back to her seat.

_Marinette side-

"Alya wouldn't you like to be a superheroes and go out and fight monsters and villains?" asks Mari.

"Totally, I'm not scared of anyone. Why?" answers the reporter.

"Oh, no, no reason" responds quickly Mari and puts the box inside Alya's bag without her noticing.

As they enter at the classroom, they see a blond guy they had never seen before with a gum in Marinette's seat.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" asks Mari pissed.

"Oh- I-" tries to say Adrien searching for an explanation that wouldn't reveal his only friend prank, just as Chloe and Sabrina begin to laugh.

"Okay, I get it. good job you three! Very funny" says Mari.

"No, no. I was just trying to take this off" tries to say Adrien.

"Oh really?" asks Marinette with sarcasm. She tries to pull the gum off but notices it still has saliva. While Chloe and her minion laugh, Mari picks a handkerchief and pulls the gum out. "You're friends with Choe, right?"

"Why you people keep saying that?" whispers the blond model. Mari turns her head and sits down without sparing Adrien a look.

"Now you see what I mean about respect?" ask Chloe in a very petty way.

"I know I've seen him before" whispers Mari as Alya gives Mari her phone. "Of course! He's the son of my favourite fashion designer Gabriel Agreste!"

"Daddy's boy, teen supermodel and Chloe's buddy. Huh, forget it" says Alya.

"Why didn't you tell her it was Chloe's idea?" asks Nino curiously.

"I've known Chloe since I was a little kid, and even if she's not the best person, she and her brother are my only friends. I couldn't simply turn her in" says the model.

Nino smiles and offers the boy a handshake. "I'm Nino Lahiffe and it's time for you to make some new friends dude".

-Adrienne side-

She said goodbye to Chloe and her brother and was shown around by Cleón and his lackey Sebastian, who made sure no one dared to approach Adrienne. As they arrive to their classroom, Cleón enters the classroom and points to one seat next to a girl that has her headphones on.

"From now on, this is going to be your seat! I just reserved for you!" says Cleón.

"Thanks Cle" says the model as she sits down. "Hey, I'm new here, I'm Adrienne" says with a big smile as she offers her a handshake.

The girl doesn't even bother to look at her. "So you're the friend of a guy like him" says pointing towards Cleón, who is putting oil on Marin's seat.

"Hey! What do you two think you're doing?" says Adrienne clearly annoyed.

"The guy here needed a little lesson of respect, that's all. No need to get on your nerves about this" responds the blond jerk.

"A little lesson of respect? What are you talking about? This is no way to treat other people Cleón!" replies the blonde model as she pulls a handkerchief and tries to rub the oil off.

"You really have to learn a lot about school culture Adrienne" says Cleón, shrugging it off.

-Marin side-

"Hey Alen, you think my sis would make a good hero?" asks Marin.

"Dude, you're both sons of bakers and don't even think I haven't seen the muscles you two have. She would totally kick my ass. No doubts" says the reporter.

"I know man, but she doesn't have enough confidence on herself. Not that she's a hero, but I think she could face Chloe at least" says the designer.

"I totally agree with you on that man".

As they enter the room, the boys see a blonde girl they had never seen with a handkerchief rubbing oil from Marin's seat.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" asks Alen

"Oh- I was-" tries to say the girl as the jerks behind Nina begin to laugh.

"Oh I get it, very funny you three. You're just the friend of that jerk, aren't you?" asks Alen.

"Why do you all say that? I- My sandwich fell and the oil dripped, so I was trying to rub it out! I swear" says Adrienne.

"Oh yeah sure" says Alen and Adrienne's eyes begin to leak some tears.

"You understand now what I said about respect Adrienne?" says Cleón, still laughing.

"Stop it! All of you just stop it!" yells Marin. Then he pulls out his handkerchief and gives it to Adrienne. "I get it wasn't your fault and you were trying to fix it up. Don't worry about it. Also take this before your make up gets ruined like your handky".

"I- I-" tries Adrienne.

"Don't sweat it, just take it. You can give it back to me after I clean yours, keep it until then" says Marin.

"But bro, she's-" tries to warn him Alen.

"I don't care who she is Alen, she's new here and she was crying on her first day. Would you like that?" says Marin, as the boys take a seat.

"Dude, you truly have a heart of gold" says Alen.

"Thanks man. Also, thanks for jumping there for me bro, you're the best of bro someone could have" says the designer.

As the boys enter the bro mode, Adrienne takes a seat and Nina looks at her curiously.

"Why didn't you tell him the truth? That it was that jerk fault?" ask inquiringly Nina.

"Look, I know he's a total jerk and an idiot. But I've known him and her sister forever and they're my only friends. Even if he's stupid I just couldn't throw him under the bus, you know?"

Nina smiles and offers a handshake. "The name's Nina Lahiffe and girl, you're so going to get new friends. You have already made a first step with Marin. He's an angel. If he had trusted you enough, that means you have good chances of becoming his friend. And if you do that, most of the class will follow for sure".

"About that... What did you say his name was? He was so gentle and polite with me, even if he didn't know who I was and had enough reasons to be mad at me. I'd love to repay him with anything I can do" says Adrienne gawking.

"Oh girl, I think you just fell for the angel's charms. You've got it rough if so" declares Nina.

"What are you talking about?" replies the blonde while blushing. "And why would I have it rough?"

Nina gives her the look™ "You can't fool me girl. I've seen so many fall for him, but no one has ever stand a chance with him. He rejects as gently as he can all the girls who had confessed to him. I think it's because he's scared to care about someone, because Cl... some people have made sure to break everything he cares about".

"That's so cruel... How could they do that? Why do they even do it?" says Adrienne.

"If I had to bet, it'd be jealousy" says Nina.

"Hey bro, " says Alen showing his phone to Marin "look who is she".

"Adrienne Agreste? The daughter of my favourite designer ever?" says Marin a bit too loud.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for saying nothing" says Adrienne.

"Don't be, it's understandable. I'm sorry if I've offended you in anyway before" says Marin.

"No. Please don't do that. I've had enough with people who treat me like that just for my father. And here I thought you were someone nice" says the blonde holding her face and pouting.

"I'm sorry. I won't give you a special treatment. I swear on my parent's bakery" says Marin desperately.

"Bakery? Will they be good?" thinks Adrienne. "Well, I could forgive you if you showed me the town around when I get time" says the girl.

"It'll be my pleasure, shall I give you my number then? So you can phone me when you're free" says Marin offering her a paper with his phone.

"I'll take it glad" says the girl and winks at him, without noticing how mad Cleón was getting and how smug Nina's grin was turning.

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

First - Previous -Next

[osmw1]

Crowbar Nurse  Chapter 13 — Time’s Up, Game Over

An ominous combination of a whine and a roar boomed in the distance, sending shockwaves throughout the walls of the building.

“Wh-What, what is happening out there…?”

Elizabeth nervously glanced around. This underground safehouse should hold steadfast against the most terrible of attacks… but what was happening was undeniably terrifying. Moments later, the skies boomed again in the same fashion. She scrunched up terrified, so I went over to stroke her back. And while soothing her, I perked up my ears.

… An airstrike?

The city sounded like and shook as if it was being incessantly bombed.

There shouldn’t be any air raids like this in game… No, it can’t be!

My eyes widened as a frightening possibility came across me.

“… Whoa, hey! Sera! Where are you going?!”

I had no time to spare to respond to Kiryū. Instead, I rushed over to the red steel door and pulled the lever downwards with all my might. The door opened with a dull groan, revealing the metallic staircase that connected the bunker to the ground level. Loud clanks accompanied my mad dash up the steps. Upon reaching the top, I was not greeted by the usual horde of zombies, but by the lack of. The rest of the soldiers in our hellish army that were now idling seemed to have been serving violence to the living dead, leaving none to swarm me as I exited the entranceway.

As soon as I peeked above ground, I was filled completely with dread and my body was paralyzed:

—I was overwhelmed by the distinct blast of afterburners.

“… Jet fighters!”

Kiryū, who had given chase, cried out behind me. Splitting the skies were numerous fighters in the midst of showering Confi City with air-to-surface missiles. Black smoke engulfed all directions.

“It’s too dangerous out here!”

Leaving little doubt as to whether that was suggestion, Kiryū grabbed the scruff of my neck and dragged me back into the safehouse.

“… As far as I can tell, the worst-case scenario is happening,”

I looked him dead in the eyes and firmly spoke,

“I hadn’t expected this, but someone… someone other than the three of us triggered the start of the game’s ending.”

His gaze narrowed.

“I see. That’s a possibility I hadn’t even considered…”

After Kiryū clicked his tongue, Elizabeth, who lacked a complete understanding of the situation, asked for clarification.

“Erm, correct me if I’m wrong, but… doesn’t that mean some other player reached the ending for us? I would think that to be beneficial, is it not? It would save us the trouble from having to wonder what would happen after the game ends.” “Unfortunately, Elizabeth, there is a huge problem. Judging by the way Confi City is being bombed… the only thing that comes to mind is that this is the bad ending. Everybody dies.” “Wha—?! Actually?!” “… Don’t tell me that’s the ending with nukes dropping.”

Kiryū roughed up his scalp in irritation.

“I could tell you that you’re wrong, but I would be lying. Strictly speaking, they’re not exactly nuclear bombs either, but still…”

Whatever solace that fact might have brought, it did not show on my face.

“If everything goes according to the game, then this is step one of the government’s ‘Sterilization Operation’.” “Sterilization… That’s quite the name.” “I know. There’s many options for sterilization, such as autoclaving, direct flame, dry heat, ethylene oxide gas, and gamma irradiation. It’ll definitely be direct flame this time… I think.

In any case, if things go as I expect them to, the bombing runs should continue for a bit more. The end comes ‘three hours later’… Confi City will be wiped from the Earth by thermobaric missiles. That’s the ending where the protagonist fails to get help, and not a single soul remains.” “Talk about worst-case scenario…”

He responded with a sigh, but Elizabeth seemed to be taking it far worse. She was pale as a ghost and looked as if she would almost pass out. I don’t blame her; I think I would prefer to pass out too. No matter how you looked at our situation, we were in peril.

“Not just DMC, but other survival horror games also seem to give you a mere week to beat the game and it’s almost never enough time to get the good ending. I really should have anticipated this to happen. It would’ve been nice if we got the chance to take our sweet time…” “What other endings are there?”

Kiryū quizzically asked.

“I used to think that the best one is the ‘truck ending’, where the player and the other survivors nab a deuce and a half and leave Confi City behind as a lost cause.” “Hmm.” “You never really discover the truth behind the story, so it’s not technically a good ending. On the flip side though, because it results in the least casualties, I’d say it’s more positive than not. Well, at the very least, it’s a better ending than getting blanketed by thermobaric missiles…”

The mood in the room felt heavy and tense.

 “… Umm, may I make a suggestion?”

Seemingly having recovered from the shock, Elizabeth hesitantly raises her hand up.

“We should leave this game at once and travel to another, so we can get back on our feet. What do you two think?” “Right. You’ve mentioned that Sera’s phone can do that. Might not be a bad idea.”

Approving of her proposal, Kiryū reached into his pocket and handed me my phone. Again, I have no pockets in my clothes, so he was holding onto it.

“Sera, turn on your phone and launch the app for me.” “… Is it really alright? The app’s not cursed or anything, right?” “It’s fine. Last time it was on a laptop… but it should work the same though.”

I powered on my phone and launched the untitled app as per her instruction.

“You should see an option to switch games in the app.”

Elizabeth peeked over my shoulder as she tapped and swiped my phone with her slender, graceful fingers. Upon opening Untitled, the screen displayed a list of all characters and the games they’re currently in. Now Kiryū too had his curiosity piqued, hovering beside me and looking at my phone.

“… Interesting.

Sera Harvey (Core)...... Dead Man’s Conflict 3 Kiryū Sōichirō...... Dead Man’s Conflict 3 Elizabeth von Oldenburg...... Dead Man’s Conflict 3

… That’s how they do it? Anyway, if you tap on the name of the game, a dropdown list should appear… and from there, you can choose other games. Click ‘OK’ and they’ll be transported over, it seems like. Though whoever made this app probably doesn’t really know much about computers. Shit’s real sloppy.

And aside from us… there’s only one other person here in DMC3. It’s probably them who triggered the bad ending.”

Kiryū pointed at the part of the screen that said: YOU.

“Whose character is this YOU referring to? Is that you, Kiryū? Is this me?” “YOU might even be an unnamed player character in their original game. Who knows?”

There seem to be ten other people who were summoned from the real world. All of them are under their respective character’s name though.

“Seems like none of our real names are shown and instead, we’re all under the name of whichever character’s appearance we’ve taken.” “The same previously too.”

While we were talking, I tried tapping on YOU’s current game. Except, unlike how a dropdown list appeared for Kiryū, it wasn’t allowing me to choose other titles.

“… Hmm? YOU’s current game is grayed out here and I can’t select it, even though it’s working for other characters.” “Perhaps they did they not survive the bad ending?”

Kiryū’s face darkened. A drop of cold sweat rolled down my back.

“Hey, Kiryū… do you think it’s possible that, umm, YOU is actually already dead? Though it wouldn’t really make sense story-wise…” “… Nah, they should still be alive. I think. Before I met you, I watched some guy get eaten in front of me and his name isn’t even on the list. I think they made it so that dead characters don’t show up.” “I see… In that case, we need to hurry and save them…”

I couldn’t help but feel a foreboding feeling about what was to happen. Can we really save them? In this weird, unpredictable world? … I can’t say so for sure. Maybe we should hurry up and jump into a dating sim instead.

 “By the way, Sera, I am wondering if you recognized all these games.”

Elizabeth spoke as she pointed to the dropdown.

“Let’s see… Yes, I do. They’re all my favorite games that I have played to death.” “I had a feeling. The girl who was the core last time said the same…”

As I scanned through the list of games, a fleeting moment of pain was on Elizabeth’s face. … But her expression quickly changed to one of disgust.

“Wait, what is the deal with you? And you have played all of these to death, you said?” “I’m a junkie.” “… Not to mention that they are all zombie survival horrors too… It is almost miraculous that so many of us humans are still alive. The only decent world we could go to is this… dating simulation game.” “I get very excited when I kill walking rotting corpses.”

I shrugged with a sigh.

“… It doesn’t seem like Rainbow Dreams, the game Kiryū Sōichirō is from, is showing up… even though I spent so much of my time on that game.” “That is one of them so-called social network games, isn’t it? I have never seen any of those game worlds show up before. It does not matter whether it is a PC or console game, but it has to be a ‘proper game’.” “Hmmmm, I wonder why.”

Kiryū interjected with a scoff.

“Rainbow Dreams was designed so that most of the code would be located server-side instead of client-side. Assuming we’ve got a monster out there who is reverse engineering all these game worlds, there’s no way they’d easily recreate Rainbow Dreams.” “…” “…” “What?” “Oh, nothing… It’s just that you kinda seem so familiar with Rainbow Dreams, Kiryū.” “You’re wrong. I’m not. I have nothing to do with that game.” “…” “Stop looking at me like that.”

I could go on forever digging at Kiryū, so instead, I switched my attention to Elizabeth.

“We’re in a bit of a pickle, aren’t we? There’s only the one game world that would be safe… the dating sim.” “Is there a problem with that?”

Elizabeth seemed confused.

“There’s a huge problem with that! I only play these games when I hang out with my friends while laughing at everything in it. I mean, sure, I’ve blogged about it a little, but I don’t really remember the details, you know? I don’t know if I could beat it in one go.” “What…? What did you just say…?”

Exasperation and aghast were choice adjectives to describe her right now.

“Dating sims… and making a ruckus with your friends…?” “You don’t do that?” “I absolutely do not. And if you do, you are just a normie who doesn’t take dating simulations seriously enough. Listen carefully, Sera. When you play dating simulations for women, you must have no one who can so much interrupt or influence you. You need an empty, quiet place to play from your heart…”

Elizabeth spoke like that traveling salesman from that one manga series who just loves his meals. I can’t speak for the others, but for me at least, the three of us just shooting the breeze helped me to gradually calm down.

… We’ll be fine. No need to panic.

■Normies Literally meaning a “normal person”, the term “normie” has been in popular usage on the internet since the early 2010’s. Stereotypical normie activities include dressing in revealing Halloween costumes and doing anything to take the most Instagra☆mmable photos. (Though there are normies who participate as mixed-sex groups, Sera was enrolled in a predominantly female nursing program and as a result has not participated in such groups.) Contrary to popular belief, female normies participate in typical “nerdy” activities too, such as reading manga with friends and complaining that “all the boys worth anything are 2D”. They may also play female-oriented dating simulations as a uproarious group. They do not play zombie survival horrors.

contents: /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /ch006/ /ch007/ /ch008/ /ch009/ /ch010/ /ch011/ /ch012/ /ch013/ /next/

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[foxghost]

鎮魂 Guardian [Zhen Hun] extra 2 full translation

Warning(s): single use of a slur, lots of Buddhism, novel ending spoilers / explanation [TN: the other extras are here, you may want to check out #4 for notes on names.] Original Chinese character count: 3068 English Translation word count: 3058 Much thanks to @lady-eden for the final once-over.

A comparatively serious demon-raising incident affecting a certain city in the southern part of the country needed the attention of Chu Shuzhi. He takes Guo Changcheng with him. They spend nearly a whole month there before the incident can be considered perfectly resolved, and the two return to 4 Bright Road.

Guo Changcheng is still as unskilled as he ever was. There are times when everyone feels that Guo Changcheng and their office’s newest member, Xiao Mi, cannot be any more alike.

Oh right, forgot to mention: Xiao Mi is a one year and some old Samoyed dog with an outsized appetite and an undersized intelligence.

It started with a lost dog delivered to the neighbourhood police station, living there for over a month. Though the owner never came back to claim him, it did manage to eat everyone poor. After a few more twists and turns, Zhao Yunlan manages to gain possession of the dog and to keep it at 4 Bright Road in an attempt to divert Daqing’s gloominess on seeing Lao Li.

The whole day through Xiao Mi eats when it should eat, drinks when it should drink, doesn’t ever take anything to heart. Before Chu Shizhi left for the assignment, he spent more than a month with much effort teaching this dog the two tricks of ‘sit’ and ‘shake,’ only to discover it had discarded the only two skills it possessed on Java Island by the time he gets back. Other than to stare blankly with two giant innocent eyes and run around humping legs, its brain seems entirely empty and devoid of dog tricks.

[TN: “Java Island” is a way to say “not even on the map anymore” or “gone”]

In the way that so many skills seem unteachable to the both of them, it does look very much like Guo Changcheng and Xiao Mi belonged to the same family eight hundred years ago.

[TN: There’s a saying that people with the same last names are “五百年前是一家” / belonged to the same family 500 years ago. The number varies.]

But none of it takes away from how he’s in possession of a holy artefact.

The catastrophic rupturing of chaos decimated Difu, and Shen Wei near single-handedly sets up the new order. The sheep skin he wears covers him quite well and he rarely makes an appearance, nor does he meddle in the new administration’s affairs, but the new Difu, given a new lease on life by the wolf that is Shen Wei, dares not treat him with less than the respect he’s due. The Zhanhun-shi that all three realms yielded to now yields more power than ever, so naturally his habit of collecting the remnants of lone souls and wild ghosts passes without the merest notice, all to the advantage of Guo Changcheng’s little stun baton.

If one takes some time and considers that Guo Chancheng tends to turn into a trembling bald chicken whenever he runs into danger, how he always manages to turn fear into sheer power feels rather miraculous.

When Chu Shizhi returns to the office, he ignores all of his paperwork in favour of watching the stock market and studying the candlestick chart while wearing a grave expression, leaving Guo Changcheng to patiently post invoices and fill in expense reports. He goes to find Zhao Yunlan so he can sign the paperwork, but unexpectedly finds the opposite office door locked — Zhao Yunlan isn’t here.

Guo Changcheng scratches his head. He asks innocently, “Zhao Chu isn’t here?”

Zhu Hong doesn’t bother looking up from her computer. “Officially, our new office lease is finalized today and he’s gone to do final inspection and put his signature on things. He thought he may as well move today too — dammit, why is everything so slow? I sincerely hope the net is faster where we’re moving.”

Poor Xiao Mi’s being chased by a little cat all over the room, but Daqing brakes to a stop from his bullying when he hears this. The black cat raises his head to speak, “What about unofficially?”

With an odd tone carrying both longing and a distant ache, Zhu Hong says, “His man fucked him so hard he can’t get out of bed obviously.”

Not about to disappoint, Guo Changcheng is so shocked by these words he ends up sitting down crookedly, and the chair rolls away from beneath him, leaving him to crash solidly onto the floor.

Zhu Hong glances dismissively at Guo Changcheng, telegraphing what a fuss about nothing, and sucks her teeth at him. “Our leader is a faggot, what are you so surprised about — ai, is everyone’s net slow? This is so infuriating."

Chu Shuzhi comments, “It’s pretty slow.”

The one taking up all the bandwidth playing an online game is Lin Jing, and he keeps quiet through all of this pretending to be invisible. He doesn’t stay invisible for long though, and as quickly as he’s discovered, Zhu Hong beats him up.

As punishment, they disconnect Lin Jing’s computer from the network and he’s left to waste his time away by playing an offline game called Plant vs. Zombies.

… and that’s why it’s Chu Shuzhi’s turn to beat him up now.

[TN. a reminder: Chu is a Chinese zombie, which I suppose is like both a zombie and a vampire, by western standards.]

Head in his arms, Lin Jing drapes himself over his desk, tearily saying, “These days are so hard to get through.”

Chu Shuzhi orders, “I see you’re so devoid of work you have dan teng. Xiao Guo, don’t bother writing that report. Give it to someone who has nothing to do.”

[TN. 蛋疼 / dan teng, literally ‘egg pain’ is something like a headache, but it’s closer to the saying, ‘that makes my testicles hurt.’ You can use it in place of the word headache about things/people/situations that gives you a headache, BUT the word differs from a headache in that it is also used for boredom. So bored your testicles hurt. I have no idea where this came from but you don’t need to have testicles to say it. It’s also used in sentences like “that has dan teng to do with me” in which case it’s just a mildly crass way of saying ‘nothing.’]

Guo Ghangcheng looks over at Lin Jing, and finds him tearfully taking a selfie to capture his ‘as rain on pear blossoms’ look, and laughs, not unkindly. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll write it.”

Lin Jing, pooled on his desk, steals a glimpse of Guo Changcheng, and after a while, does it again.

Guo Changcheng is sitting there typing quietly, slow and meticulous the way he does everything, not a hair out of place. Lin Jing, watching him, finally can’t suppress his curiosity any longer, and with lightning speed he stands just to pluck a hair off Guo Changcheng’s head over his desk.

Guo Changcheng cries out in pain, looks bewilderingly up at him.

Lin Jin gives off a mischievous laugh. “It’s nothing. Just some research.”

“It’ll just give off the smell of burnt protein if you set it on fire,” Chu Shuzhi scoffs, not bothering to look up. “Hair is just a part of the mortal shell. Every reincarnation one gets a new shell. How could it have anything special to it? Your research is skin-deep.”

Lin Jing asks after a pregnant pause, “How did you know what it’d smell like if you set it on fire? Did you already try to burn it?”

Chu Shuzhi ignores him.

“What I still don’t understand,” Lin Jing says, playing with that one strand of Guo Changcheng’s hair, the humour vanishing from his face . “How could such a perfectly normal looking young man be … ai, Xiao Guo, do you think there is anything special about you? Something that’s different from other people?”

They’re not sure how, but everyone’s come to a tacit agreement to not mention anything regarding the Zhenhun Lamp in front of Guo Changcheng. Guo Changcheng stares back at Lin Jing blankly and doesn’t get what he’s saying at all. He shakes his head. “Oh, maybe I’m a bit dumber?”

Lin Jing says ,“But …” and pauses, his voice stopping suddenly.

Kunlun Jun has confirmed that Guo Changcheng is the Zhenhun Lamp’s wick. He’s lived a hundred lifetimes and underwent a hundred calamities and none of it altered his first intentions. The merit accumulated on his soul is a match to Nuwa who created humans, and yet heaven’s given him no blessings and no favours. He has no luck nor fortune; he toils in obscurity ignorant of what he is. Lin Jing’s words fade to silence as he realises he doesn’t want to tell Guo Changcheng about this at all, even if this young man, who lit the last Zhenhun Lamp, who can be said to have finally ended the war between chaos and order, is so extraordinary.

[TN. Merit = positive karma. Good, virtuous actions; every time you choose not to do harm, you gain merit.]

Without a third eye, yet he can always see the truth.

Great Merit, heaven-sent, and yet he remains a nobody.

“But what?” Guo Changcheng asks, puzzled.

“Nothing … I was just wondering how come the sceptre handed down by Kunlun Jun is called ‘Zhenhun-Ling,’” Lin Jing mutters, and he doesn’t wait for Guo Changcheng to figure out what he’s said before he asks, “Oh yeah, what do you do after work?”

[TN. 鎮魂令 zhen / subdue, hun / soul, ling / command]

Guo Changcheng lists off, “Oh, I have to make a delivery to Nana Li’s house, and the Southern Tibet Educational Support Group is working on their summer plans so I’m going there afterwards. I work on things like posters and brochures for them in the evenings.”

Lin Jing’s fingers count unconsciously through his prayer beads. “Hinayama the Lesser Vehicle said that the only person who can help you cross the great river is yourself, but after, Mahayana the Greater Vehicle spoke of ferrying all living things across to reach the shores of enlightenment — come to think of it, I’ve wondered this whole time: Xiao Guo, you’re so busy running around everyday. What do you do it all for?”

[TN. 度 / du literally means “to cross (a river)” and in Buddhism it means to “cross the river to the shores of enlightenment.” It carries the meaning of ‘saving’ or ‘salvation,’ and leads to an ‘escape’ from the Wheel of Reincarnation. What Lin Jing paraphrased is from the Lotus Sutra. 佛自住大乘，如其所得法，定慧力莊嚴，以此度眾生。]

Guo Changcheng says, “I don’t … don’t do it for anything. It’s not like I have anything else to do.”

“Then how do you decide for yourself what to do, and what not to do?” Zhu Hong cuts into the conversation.

Guo Changchen swallows, stretching out his neck like a goose freshly plucked out of the water; he has no idea why everyone suddenly seems interested in him. Maybe he’s seen too many dramas: being the centre of attention always makes Guo Changcheng feel as though he’s acquired a terminal illness, giving him the misconception that he’s not long for the world.

Subconsciously he begins to stammer.

“I, I just don’t do bad things, and occasionally, if there’s something I can help with then I help out. I don’t know anything about anything.” Guo Changcheng’s voice gets smaller and smaller as he speaks, until it naturally becomes as high and quiet as a mosquito.

“I’m suddenly reminded of a saying,” Chu Shuzhi, who’s kept quiet all this time, cuts in. “I saw it on a mural of an old tomb. Impossible to say which era it’s from, now. It said, ‘Men’s hearts harbour corruption, often suffer from worry, hold grudges from anger, commit countless crimes they ought not. Only the three words ‘do no harm’ is the greatest virtue under heaven, and of those who can benefit mankind and subdue souls, there is none other.’”

[TN. priest made this part up, it’s not in any sutras, The word here for 濟 / benefit also means “ferry,” which ties into the sutra Lin Jing quoted above.]

“Of those who can benefit mankind and subdue souls, there is none other…” These words seem to float halfway across Dragon City, from the elder Zhao … no, from Shennong-bo’s mouth. “Recently, I have been harbouring doubts.”

Zhao Yunlan sits lazily reclining by the window, crossing an ankle over one knee, looking outside. Dragon City University’s head office is within view; he has no idea if it’s because exams are near, but Shen Wei is surrounded by students asking him questions as soon as he’s finished class. Zhao Yunlan follows him with eyes carrying a hint of a smile, and spares very little attention he has left to ask, “Hmm, like what?”

“The divine wood plaque Shansheng left behind — why is it called the Zhenhun-Ling?”

[TN. Shennong-bo always uses the more polite form of ‘you’ when addressing Kunlun. 您/nin instead of 你/ni. He also refers to Kunlun as 山聖/Shansheng, which in this configuration means ‘sacred mountain,’ btw, this is not a real world title, no god is referred to by it, priest made it up afaik. From Shennong-bo’s mouth, it’s just another way to say ‘you.’ I’ll use the pinyin when it’s a name/title, and a translation when it’s a common noun.]

Zhao Yunlan sweeps over a glance. “What do you think?”

Shennong-bo stops to think, then carefully choosing his words, says, “I have heard that there are only two kinds of people who are unafraid of death. One who is carrying out the true wish of his heart, blames on one, has no regrets. The other, one who knows exactly what is on the other side of death. In these five thousand years, the Zhenhun Lamp continued to burn. All of this happening now: the shattering of the Lesser Wheel of Reincarnation, the creation of the Greater Wheel of Reincarnation using the Ghost King’s soul as a medium and borrowing Great Merit from the Zhenhun Lamp to join them together — is it all just a gambit by the Old Gods?”

The corner of Zhao Yunlan’s mouth rises, revealing a dimple on his cheek. “If we’re so clever, then how come we all died off one by one? Shennong asked you to keep an eye on Zhanhun-shi. Did five thousand years of watching him turn you into a conspiracy theorist?”

Shennong-bo just looks more and more suspicious. “Then why did Shansheng leave behind the Zhenhun Lamp and the Zhenhun-Ling? Why did my founding teacher just happen to let out your memories and powers at that exact, crucial moment?”

“When Shen Wei decided to wipe my memories, he’d already fulfilled everything he agreed to in his contract,” Zhao Yunlan pours himself a cup of tea, “The contract is concluded, and the influence Shennong had on both of us dissipated entirely, and that’s why I was able to ‘wake up.’”

Shennong-bo says, “Then you’re saying … it’s a coincidence?”

“That’s not it, either,” Zhao Yunlan murmurs after a little thinking.

Shennong-Bo is even more confused.

Zhao Yunlan looks at him, but not in the way a son looks up at his father. His gaze passes through their two mortal shells, falling onto the medicine pot itself.

At this moment, he seems to have become an elder.

“Wait some more,” he says. “Maybe give it another thousand, another two thousand years, you’ll get it. Some things must be learned through your own experience; it won’t do you any good for someone else to just tell you. When you want to sacrifice your life for a just cause, you’ll be able to grasp truths that no one else could understand. Whether it’s about the Zhenhun Lamp or Shennong’s contract, when we made those decisions at the time, we were only able to grasp a shadow of the future. It could move in a good direction, or maybe …”

Shennong-bo asks, “And if it didn’t move in a good direction?”

“The world will naturally gain new gods after we die. They’ll learn from our mistakes. It’s not in vain.” Zhao Yunlan hears Shen Wei’s familiar footsteps coming upstairs, and he gets up, takes the windbreaker he’s hung on the back of his chair and throws it over an arm. He turns his head to Shennong-bo, “Aren’t you one of the ‘new’ gods?”

Shen Wei arrives as Shennong-bo is still mulling over that, and with an indifferent air gives him a courteous, perfunctory nod. When his gaze lands on Zhao Yunlan, it softens in an instant. He asks, “Are you leaving now? Have you finished with your conversation?”

Zhao Yunlan makes a sound of agreement, and says to Shennong-bo, “Drive carefully on the way back, don’t let my dad notice anything. Take good care of his body.”

Shennong-bo stands, saying deferentially, “I must thank Shansheng for the guidance. In truth, I came today to beg my leave. It can be said that I have accomplished my task and it would be unseemly to hang onto a mortal’s body any longer.”

Zhao Yunlan seems taken aback, but only for a second. “When are you leaving?”

“Today,” Shennong-bo says, “I’ll return elder Zhao home right away.”

[TN. 趙先生 could be translated to Mr. Zhao, but Shennong-bo is old and formal, so I went with what 先生 would have been translated to according to Mencius. 先生，父兄也。And older man in a family, a father or an older brother.]

“That’s good.” Zhao Yunlan thinks for a second, and without a care, waves his goodbyes. “Take care. Don’t hesitate to come to me if you need anything.”

The couple leaves for downstairs together. Shennong-bo stands silently by the window, and watches the two of them move unhurriedly toward a residential neighbourhood across from campus full of European style houses with gardens, walking at an leisurely speed like they’re taking an afternoon walk. He’s reminded of what Zhao Yunlan said, that he’s been waiting for Shen Wei so they can move house together.

Farther ahead, from the neighbourhood greenbelt to the immense balconies of the buildings, clusters of flowers of every colour blossom soundlessly where they pass. Only now does Shennong-bo realises that spring is already in the air.

[TN. 春意 means both ‘the start of spring’ and ‘thoughts of love.’]

[cheeseeatingtrashmonster]

Who Said That Every Wish Chapter 17: Take Me Home

The last chapter! Surprise! I’m posting it a day early because I think there’s a new episode tomorrow and I hate posting the same day as an episode lol For anyone who wants more of this universe, I'm working on the sequel(s) now, but I don't know when they'll be done. Thank you all for reading and supporting me. This project means so much to me and sharing it was a big step. So thank you, and please enjoy :)

The twins face Gabriel.

<< First | < Previous | Sequel (Work in Progress!) >

Read on AO3 

Nathalie sighed. "Your father. I still don't want you to see him, but he's being childish. He found a loophole with his lawyer to compel you to visit. Childish.”

"Just me?"

"No, Adrien's in the car. I'm sorry, I wasn’t given the time to fight this. I will be with you the whole time, and the meeting will not last more than thirty minutes. Fewer if he upsets either of you. Or me."

"Maybe this is good," Felix said as he slid into the back seat with Adrien. "Maybe confronting Gabriel will be good."

"I just want to know why," Adrien said. He was shrinking in on himself, arms crossed and shoulders hunched as he stared out the window. "There has to be a reason."

"I wouldn't look for one," Plagg said. (It had come out in the past few days that the Gorilla had known all along that the twins were Chat Noir, so Plagg had no reservations about talking in front of him.) "Even if he has a reason, that doesn't make up for what he did just to the two of you, much less the rest of the city. You shouldn't look for something to justify what he did, because you won't find it. You're too good, Adrien, to understand him."

"I don't think I am," he said in a quiet voice.

The rest of the ride was quiet. Felix zoned out for the check in to the prison and before he knew it, he, Adrien, and Nathalie were on one side of a table, and Gabriel Agreste was on the other. He looked a decade older.

“Hello, Adrien. Hello, Felix.”

Felix tried to harden his heart further, put up yet another wall around himself. This was the monster who destroyed things, possessed people, caused chaos and panic for an entire city, all for more power. This was the person responsible for trapping Felix in the role of child soldier, fighting victim-enemies with even less choice in joining the fight than he had. This wasn't his father anymore. This wasn't the man who raised him, the man who had lost so much, the man who used to read to him, record his dance recitals, wipe his tears. This wasn't the father everyone said Felix resembled in manner and disposition. This was Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth who hurt Nino.

Nino.

Nino who had had to help him pull down his walls, brick by brick.

Felix couldn't sit here and build another, only to have to tear it down again.

Nino deserved a break on that front.

"Father," Felix greeted with a nod.

"Say your piece, Gabriel, so the boys can leave," Nathalie said. "You know my conditions."

Gabriel took a deep breath, looked Adrien and then Felix in the eye, and said, "I'm sorry. I won't ask for your forgiveness, because it's clear even to me that I don't deserve it. But you deserve an apology, and it wouldn't mean as much over the phone."

"I wouldn't have let you call them, either," Nathalie muttered.

"Why did you do it?" Adrien asked. He ignored Natalie's small sigh and Felix putting a hand on his arm. "I want to know what justification you could possibly have for what you did."

"I thought I could combine the miraculous to reset time and keep your mother from disappearing. Nothing I did to accomplish my goal would matter because it wouldn't happen."

"I was Chat Noir," Felix said. Mostly to derail Adrien, but if anything could make it obvious to his father that what he did mattered even in the face of time travel, this would be it. His voice shook, his heart beat too quickly, and everything felt too hot, but he said it.

Gabriel's hand rose to cover his mouth, shaking. His eyes closed for a moment before he forced them back open.

"I became Chat Noir before Hawkmoth arrived, you were right about that," Felix said.

“No,” Gabriel said, shaking his head, clenching his fists.

"You should know that Ladybug is a dear friend of mine. And all of the heroes. What you did to us was unforgivable. But I can't stay mad at you because all that will do is eat me alive."

"No, Felix- no." Fear and anger warred on Gabriel's face. Adrien could feel Nathalie shift on one side of him, preparing to end the meeting. He could feel Felix take a breath on the other.

"How many times did you almost lose me? Even if I was a stranger, what would Mom think about this?" Felix rubbed at his temple, trying to ignore the headache growing. Without his walls, his body was trying desperately to protect his heart for him. "I know you've thought of what Mom would want. And I'm sure that your remorse now is mostly because you have no chance of 'fixing' everything with the miraculouses. So don't try to explain anymore, please. Don't justify. You were wrong."

Gabriel tried to speak. He reached across the table to Felix, stopping short of touching him. Felix took his hand for just a moment before pulling away.

"I'll work on forgiving you. Give me some time." He looked at Adrien, then back at his father. "Is there anything else?"

Adrien shook his head. "I don't think I can forgive you," he said. "Don't expect me to be at the trial."

Adrien stood up and left. Nathalie looked torn.

"I'm almost done, then we can go," Felix said. She nodded. “Does he know you're-” Felix pointed to his shirt where he knew Nathalie kept her miraculous hidden on her own.

Nathalie nodded. “I may have informed him of who ensured his power was taken away.”

Felix turned to his father once more. "You should thank Nathalie for taking you down when she did. I know I will never stop thanking her for saving me from that confrontation." Felix paused here, trying to decide just how far he could put his anger aside at the moment. He gave a determined nod and said, "I'm seeing someone. Nino Lahiffe, Adrien's friend."

Gabriel's eyebrows rose. "I didn't know- I always expected you and the Kurtzberg boy. Or Ms. Bourgeois. Thank you. Thank you for telling me. I hope he makes you happy."

Felix gave a nod again and stood. Nathalie rose with him, waiting on his move.

"I'll be busy during school, and traveling for a while after graduation, but I'll try to visit some when I've returned."

They were to the door when Gabriel called, "Felix?"

He turned around, starting to get what Marinette meant by "Agreste Male Drama" with his father’s timing. "Yes?"

"You have more of your mother in you than you realize."

/*****/

"You saw your father?" Nino said the moment Felix stepped through the door to his room. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you text me? You said nothing! Are you okay?"

"I didn't want to text about it," Felix said, setting down a pile of boxes on the rolling table that extended over Nino's bed. "I don't want to talk about it, either. I'm processing it, I'm taking my time. I'm sure you'll get more than your fair share of helping Adrien and me through our family drama. And quite frankly, I'm sick of crying on your shoulder. Now, how does a game of Battleship sound? Or Checkers? Everyone thinks I'm the type to like Chess, but I actually hate it, so I didn't bring it. I also did not bring Twister, because Adrien cataclysm'd the spinner after the last time I won seven games in a row. Plus you have broken bones and casts and generally shouldn’t move that much."

The pair played board games and card games for as long as Nino could keep his eyes open. Felix was surprisingly good at Battleship and surprisingly bad at Checkers. They were both horrible at Go Fish. Adrien showed up for the last couple hands of Go Fish and marveled that two people could be so bad at such a simple game.

"You staying?" Nino asked Felix while burrowing into his blanket.

"Not tonight. I'll be back in the morning."

"Okay. Take care of each other," Nino said with a lazy wave as his eyes stopped fluttering open.

"Think the Dupain-Chengs will take me for the night?" Felix asked, letting Adrien put an arm around his shoulders as they walked.

"Someone needs to temper Marinette's angry-levels," Adrien said. "She's even madder that we saw Father than I am. I ended up having to talk her down, which didn't do much for how mad I still am."

"We'll send her out for a patrol," Felix said. "A quick run around the city, beat up a few muggers or bicycle thieves, she'll calm down and realize she's not helping."

"I don't know how you did it," Adrien said as they walked the now-familiar path back to the bakery. "How did you just... you saw Father through Hawkmoth. I can't do that. I just see Hawkmoth, and the man who betrayed us."

"I don't know. Probably Nino's influence. He shouldn't have to force me to deal with this, so I'll force myself to. Does that make sense?"

"The part where Nino's the reason, sure," Adrien said.

Felix suppressed a smirk and an eye roll. "Let's just kick your girlfriend out of her own house and take advantage of Tom's cooking."

"Nathalie not much of a cook?" Adrien asked as they climbed the stairs behind the bakery.

"She has the phone number and menu of six separate takeout places memorized."

/*****/

"All right, Nino," Karen said at the end of a PT session. "You're heading home tomorrow. I'm signing the paperwork now."

"Good, because the twins already started back at school and I can only do so much to keep up with classes when I'm here."

"I noticed the lack of Felix the past couple days. But you aren't going straight back to school. You'll spend a week or two doing outpatient PT and getting used to getting around on your own before you start up school. Hopefully, you'll have more time for catching up on those lessons you missed though."

"Good enough. I miss my bed. I miss my computer. I miss my shower." He got himself into his wheelchair and pointed towards the door. "We good? I'm free to go? Last in-patient PT session over?"

"Yeah," Karen said with a smile. "I'll leave your outpatient PT schedule with your discharge papers. Tell Felix hi for me."

Nino had to wait until he was back in his room to text the team that he was getting out in the morning because texting and wheelchairing was not the smartest plan.

"You hear that, Wayzz? We're going home."

"That will be nice. I enjoy my aquarium tank. And now I don't have to pretend to be a turtle all the time. Does Chris know?"

"No, but Mel does. I want to wait a little longer with Chris. One major life event at a time, y'know?"

The next morning Felix skipped school to help Mrs. Lahiffe get Nino home. He wasn't strictly needed, but Mrs. Lahiffe had invited him, and as scary as Nino's family was to him still, he wanted to show he was making an effort. He carried the box of Nino's things that had ended up at the hospital with him and trailed behind the nurse wheeling him to the car without a word.

"It'll be a while before I'm allowed back at school, so maybe you should come to tutor me," Nino said. He was very carefully not looking at Felix and fidgeting with the headphones that were around his neck again.

"Of course," Felix said.

"And I'll be bored with only my family for company, so maybe you should visit even when there's no school related things to work on."

"If you like," Felix said, feeling a ghost of a smile on his face.

"And you've started up dance lessons again, so you need to keep your strength up, and I'm betting we make better food than whatever Nathalie manages to order each night, so you should stay for dinner as often as you can."

"I don't think I'd ever complain about a home-cooked meal. I'd love to learn how to cook, too, so maybe I can also help in the kitchen."

"Just ask him on a proper date and put us all out of our misery," Mrs. Lahiffe said. "My own son, dancing around the point. Thought I raised you better than this..."

Nino rolled his eyes. They had arrived at the car. They got Nino into his seat, then Felix climbed in behind him with the box.

"Hey, Felix?"

"Yes, Nino?"

"Wanna get dinner and get lost in a bookstore some time?" Nino worried he would break his headphones from how hard he was gripping them.

Felix reached over and took Nino’s hat, placing it on his own head. "Sounds like a perfect date.”

Mrs. Lahiffe was talking to the nurse outside the car, very obviously giving them a minute before she joined them.

"How are you doing?" Felix asked, reaching out to touch the cast on Nino's arm. "Need anything?"

"I'm good. Just take me home. That's all I need."

/*****/

“Who said that every wish

Would be heard and answered

When wished on the morning star?

Somebody thought of that

And someone believed it

And look what it's done so far.”

- “Rainbow Connection”

[justadreaminghufflepuff]

Guys guys guys guys guys!!!!!!! I had a thought regarding Miraculous Ladybug.

Okay, so we know how diverse the class is--Kim and Marinette of Chinese heritage, Alya being Creole, Nino having Moroccan blood, I could go on--so if, as is popular to predict right now, each person in the class gets a miraculous. Having that many heroes in one city, even one country, would be awesome, but could potentially cause more problems if they a) get hung up on who is in charge/most powerful, b) find out each others’ identities and don’t let go of, say, past bullying (looking at you, Chloe and Kim) or akumitizations, or c) their everyday lives pull them away from Paris and suddenly every villain decides to attack while the team is weaker. Anyway, problems.

So what if...after each is introduced to superhero-ing, the class spreads out across the world (Fu’s idea to get them in touch with their roots and thus their powers idk), so that there isn’t a single continent (besides Antarctica and if Hawkmoth wants to freeze his skinny behind off in that frozen hellhole they are just gonna let him, maybe even pop some popcorn and make cocoa for the occasion). Suddenly, news stations in Africa are reporting sightings of a green man who wields a shell-shield and saves animals from poachers and who is sometimes accompanied by a large man with shaggy brown fur all over him and horns like a buffalo, or a thick golden mane and long teeth (I can’t tell what the all the miraculouses are from my computer screen ok).

Meanwhile in Germany a literal man-bear helps dig out survivors from a rock slides and gets people in the forests to safety when they get lost at night, and in Cairo the news outlets are blowing up with stories of a lithe girl with stripes like a tiger who can jump clear from one end of the city to the other in two bounds and is constantly pulling another hero out of trouble, a girl--they think it’s a girl but it’s kinda hard to tell--with hooded eyes and a suit like patterned scales.

And if a villain or team of villains gets far too rough for the locals to handle, suddenly the place is swarming with brightly colored heroes with powers beyond imagining, saving the city and putting everything back to rights, then disappearing just as quickly as they arrived.

Idk, but having Paris be the center where all the heroes go out to save their favorite corner of the globe sounds so frickin’ cool.

[andybondurant]

New Post has been published on Andy Bondurant

New Post has been published on https://andybondurant.com/2021/06/28/god-he-makes-the-nobody-into-somebody/

God: He makes the nobody into somebody.

Moses was an amazing guy. Okay, that‘s an understatement. Moses was somebody.

Moses was born into slavery, but at a few months old saved by a princess and raised in Egyptian royalty. However, Moses was forced to run from his adopted family after murdering an Egyptian, but forty years later, through a burning bush, God called Moses back to Egypt. God sent Moses back to free His people – the Israelites. Through the miraculous Hand of God, Moses led Israel out of Egypt, across the Red Sea on dry land, and into safety from the Egyptian Pharaoh. Then, for the final 40 years of his life, Moses led the nation of Israel as they wandered the wilderness because of their sin. 

Moses was taken from a nothing slave boy to the leader of a nation of over a million people. Moses was a nobody who God made into somebody.

During that last 40 years, it’s believed Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible (known as the Pentateuch). Moses wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. It charted the beginning of history to the call of Abraham to the salvation of Abraham’s grandson Jacob and family (through Joseph). Moses wrote about the slavery of the Israelites, and finally their freedom and the story of God leading them through the wilderness.

Moses, a former slave, wrote a significant portion of the most read book in the history of the world.

A Wandering Aramean

Deuteronomy, the final portion of what Moses wrote, is a series of sermons to Israel as it sat on the edge of the Promised Land. It was land promised to their forefathers – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, generations before. Moses reminds, warns and encourages the people of all God has done and asked of them. He closes out these sermons with a call to give to God the very first of the harvests they will reap in the coming years. 

As a part of this offering, Moses gives the people a sample speech/prayer to make as they give. It was a look back to all God had done and brought Israel from. It started with their ancestor Jacob, and worked it’s way into the Promised Land they were about to enter. Moses began the prayer with an interesting phrase:

“My father was a wandering Aramean…”

-Deuteronomy 26:5a (NIV)

Photo by Finding Dan | Dan Grinwis on Unsplash

Moses is referring back to Jacob, one of the most revered figures in Jewish history. Jacob was one of three forefathers all Israelites pointed to – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In fact, God renamed Jacob, Israel, who the nation was named after. The people of Israel linked their faith to Jacob’s faith. If you are a follower of Jesus, it is because Jacob put his trust in God thousands of yeas ago. 

Jacob was a massively important person to the Jewish people then. And Jacob is a massively important person to both Jews and Christians today.

Yet, Moses seems to disparage Jacob through the description, “a wandering Aramean.” By describing him as wandering, Moses says Jacob had no roots, no home, no history. By calling Jacob an Aramean, he makes Jacob out to be an outsider. 

Moses is calling Jacob a nobody…who God made into somebody.

The Walk

During the lockdown in the Spring of 2020, I did a lot of walking. Everyone did a lot of walking. What else was there to do? We made Zoom calls and walked our dogs. As you probably know, when you walk everyday from the same location, to stave off boredom you find multiple routes to walk.

Less than a mile from my house, as the crow flies, is a trailer park. To walk to that trailer court, on the road, is about 2 miles. Having nothing to do but walk, one day I made my way to that trailer court via the long route. It was a gloomy, spring day just a little drizzly. It’s not an easy walk to that trailer court – up a long, winding hill, so once I was inside, I slowed down to take my time.

The court is a big loop, and I walked the entire thing. It was quiet until I reached the far end of the loop. At that end, I encountered a group of young kids playing in the road. They were running, riding big wheels and bikes. Everything was hand-me-down – clothes, shoes, bikes, big wheels. 

In that moment, I had a flashback — transported back to my childhood. I grew up in government housing – a neighborhood that felt so much like this trailer court. It was hand-me-down clothes back – just like the backs of those kids. I was excited to get a new pair of off brand, non-hand-me-down shoes. I did have a new bike…which I rode from 2nd grade until I stopped riding a bike.

Nobody to somebody

As I walked through and out of that trailer park, I was full of both goosebumps and tears. That was me. I had been one of those kids, and now I was walking back toward my home where my own four children each have their own bedroom, new clothes, brand name shoes, new bikes, computers and phones. 

I too was a nobody.  God has made me into somebody.

God has taken me from nothing to something.

While this is related to my financial situation, it is so much bigger than finances. My finances are a picture of my spiritual self. God has taken me from rags to riches spiritually. I was a lost teenager, who found Jesus, and I’ve learned to walk with him over the last 30 years. In fact, I’m much richer spiritually than I will ever be financially (unless Jeff Bezos is the lost uncle I never known).

I was no one, who is now known by the Creator of the universe. I was poor in spirit, but I am now rich in God’s mercy. I was the tail, but I am now the head. I was hopeless, but I’m now hopeful. I was lost, but I’m now found. I was broken, but I’m now whole. I was a wandering Aramean who is now grafted into a great and powerful kingdom. I was an orphan who is now adopted by the King of kings. I am a child of God. I am a somebody.

You too can be a somebody

Jacob was a nothing nomad made into the nation of Israel. Moses was a nothing slave made into the leader of millions. I was a nothing kid who now is the adopted son of God. That is my story, and it can be your story too.

You are either a somebody sought by God, or you are a somebody found by God.

It doesn’t matter your background. Jacob was always rich in things but at the same time poor in spirit. His family life was a mess. Yet God took that screwed up nobody and made him into somebody. 

It begins with a step. You simply must take a step toward God. Share with him your failures and ask for His help. God always responds to a humble heart. Are you ready? Take that step toward being the somebody God sees in you.

[coffeeminns]

BTS reaction #4

JIN:

Jin would be very curious about your job, he would constantly ask what you were writing and if you knew something about a certain topic that could interest him too, you were a journalist after all!

<Y/N what are you writing nooow?> Jin asked for the fifth time that day, looking at your frame, partially hidden behind the computer’s screen. You had been writing a particularly difficult article about taking creator’s ideas without consent and claiming them as yours the whole afternoon and Jin craved a bit of attention as it was one of his free days. Being a writer of any kind was difficult, sometimes inspiration could lack or the distractions were too much. This was a very important topic for you but you couldn’t bring yourself to actually write something worth reading. So you decided to take a break and stop ignoring your whiny boyfriend.

<I’ve been writing the same paragraph for the whole afternoon Jin, I just can’t get it right!>. <And why is that? I know the topic is pretty important for you.> <That’s probably why it’s so difficult? I just have so many things to say in my mind that I actually don’t know where to start.> <Well, first of all I suggest you drink some tea and relax, I can tell you about how yesterday at practice Namjoon was randomly dancing and Hoseok decided to add his steps into our new choreography.> <No way!> At this point you were on the floor, laughing like a mad woman. When you managed to get up you noticed Jin bringing you some tea and saying: <Maybe you should actually use this as an idea for your article! I mean, you could explain how different it is, from your point of view, to take inspiration from something that impressed you, like Hoseok did with Namjoon and actually copying it and claiming it as yours!> Your mouth was hanging agape by the time he had finished speaking. <This is such an amazing idea babe! Thank you so much!>

YOONGI:

Yoongi is a writer too so he would be really helpful with finding words and new ideas.

As you arrived home, you plopped yourself on the sofa, sighing. You had just came back from work and you already had something else to write! As you opened your computer to turn it on, you heard someone swear from the other room. Yoongi was apparently home, and he was composing a song, judging by the whereabouts of the noise. You got up and started walking towards Yoongi’s studio. You slowly opened the door, checking if he was okay with being distracted. <Is everything alright? I heard you swear from the living room so I thought you might need help?> <Do you happen to know what’s the English word you use to say when something is so full that the contents spill out violently, but like, as an adjective?> <Wait, you mean overflowing?> <Oh my God, yes. Yes, thank you so much. I’ve been thinking about this word for ages now, I could have actually become old if I waited more.> You laughed, feeling a bit less stressed for your work now that you had him by your side. <Come in the living room now, come one you gotta help me out this time!> You whined, tugging his sleeve. <I need a writer’s help for my article, it’s about the flood that happened yesterday, so many people were killed and you know it’s difficult for me to write about death…>. <Of course babe, I’ll help you immediately> He hugged you from behind and placed a kiss on the top of your head. The both of you sat at the table, coffee in hand and dug into the paper. <I think you should write this in the opposite way.>, <No, wait! What are you making me write you dork!>, <I swear Yoongi, I can’t report this too, it’s so heart breaking and private. What will the victim’s son think of me?> <Then don’t write it.> <I won’t>. After what were probably hours, the dark drape of the night was heavily covering the sky, you decided what you wrote was enough and saved the file onto your computer. Yoongi had fallen asleep an hour ago and was now snoring soundly because of the uncomfortable position so you gently shook him and accompanied him in bed, still half-asleep. As he hit the bed he immediately passed out again and you smiled at his adorable sleeping figure, soon following him.

NAMJOON:

This boy is so smart he could probably be a journalist himself, so it’s obvious you would ask him for help too.

<Hey babe do you remember that time they asked you to write an article about the entertainment industry and we wrote that huge paragraph complaining about how shitty it was? Those were the good days…> <Joonie that was literally five minutes ago and I told you we can’t just write that they don’t feed you enough and that you want to sleep more, I have to write a proper article!> <But…Okay you’re right, what ideas did you have?> <I was planning on writing about the difference between the American/European industry and the Asian one. I’ll point out the similarities first and then the differences. I think it could turn out to be decent but I don’t have original ideas…> <This is actually a good idea to start with, it’s pretty basic but it’s already a pretty important difference we should explain. If you need something more I’d personally add something about the English language and how we use it to connect with every country and most importantly the concept of “soft power” and how important music’s role is in that field…>

The day progressed slowly as you gathered all the information you could find about the worldwide phenomenon called entertainment. You were glad Namjoon worked in the field as the pieces of information you had were so various you could write a list and the article would be long enough to be published. You stretched yourself and got up with a sigh to go to the bathroom. You were so tired from your extremely long work session but you were also joyful because of the day you spent doing the things you loved most: writing and spending time with Namjoon. As you made your way back into the living room you smelled the scent of warm hot chocolate and hurried to the kitchen, only to find Namjoon who had, miraculously managed to prepare the warm beverage without burning himself. <Thank God I learned this from Jin-hyung! I thought we might be at use of some of this> He grinned, his dimpled smile comforting you. You immediately felt more relaxed, sitting down next to Namjoon and kissing his cheek to thank him. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder, <Let’s get this over with Y/N, we’re almost done.>

HOSEOK:

He’d be the incredibly supportive type, like he was hyping you up for some important match but EVERYDAY.

It was a morning like one another, you were ready to exit your apartment when you noticed a little sticky note on your table, attached to a banana. “To my favourite news-person, eat healthy and wait for me tonight!” You smiled as you read Hoseok’s note, it was typical of him to leave you little encouraging notes and gifts the days you were most stressed out. Sometimes, if he had some free time in the evening, he’d come to pick you up from work and take you home. Your shift was ending earlier today because you got assigned an article about cultural appropriation and you had to write it as fast as possible. Saying that you hated deadlines was putting it lightly, you felt the pressure of handing the assignment like you were in school again and that really tested your nerves. As soon as you came out of the building you noticed Hoseok’s car, parked not too far away from the building. You entered the car and greeted him with a kiss, smiling tiredly. <What’s wrong dear?> He immediately noticed your dark mood and put an hand on your thigh. <I got another work with a deadline, you know I hate those!> <Aaah, now it’s clear. You know that type of assignment is part of your job Jagi, sometimes you gotta do them. Think about the bright side of it, you love your job, a deadline isn’t going to change anything and you can’t procrastinate on it!> <Yes I know babe, you’re always so positive how can you do that?> You whined, looking out of the car window, lost in thought. He smiled, stopping the car’s engine in your driveway. <I just feel like I have with me the thing I love the most, so when something bad happens I try to remember the things that compose my happiness. It’s really helpful baby, you should try it with me> He laughed, helping you get out of the car. As you entered you directly went to your studio, only to remain shocked with what was displayed in front of you: instead of your old looking desk with the wooden chair you found yourself looking at a modern looking desk, with white trimmings, accompanied by an office chair, that looked extremely comfortable. <Hoseok! Come here!!>. You heard his footsteps come closer, paired up with an amused laugh. <I leave you home alone for a day and you change our furniture with a CEO’s one?> You exclaimed, half serious half laughing. <You were always complaining about how impractical your chair was so I decided to buy you a professional one! And added a little extra because it was just too awesome to leave it there!> He looked so happy you didn’t have the hearth to argue anymore so you got closer to him and hugged him tight, resting your head on his shoulder. <Thank you so much Hobie, you never fail to make me happy>. He kissed your temple and put his hands on your shoulders: <Now start working on your article, I’ll make you coffee.>

JIMIN:

I imagine Jimin being a very organized person, he’s really focused on his job so I’ll expect him to be very supportive and help you in any way he can.

<Put that post-it on the fridge, I go there often. And that one in the bathroom so I can look at it while I shower> you said as you were putting your last two notes on a shelf and turning around to look at your boyfriend who was smiling at you. <Are you sure this is going to work Jimin?> <Namjoon-hyung and Yoongi-hyung always use it when they can’t find inspiration for a song so I think it’ll be useful for you too!> <I hope so, I trust you Jimin but this time I’m really worried about this. I’ve never had such a block!> <Jagi I’m so sure you’ll be just fine this time too! I’ve seen you defeat much more difficult subjects so easily, you just have to believe more in yourself and your abilities.> You took his hand and kissed him. <You’re seriously so supportive, I couldn’t ask for a better boyfriend> He smiled, leaning in. <Let’s just hope putting notes with key words to your article is gonna help you find the inspiration you need, just don’t wake me up in the middle of the night because you had an idea looking inside our fridge.>

It was 4am as you ran to your shared room to wake him up. <I FOUND A PERFECT IDEA JIMIN! WAKE UP!> It was too late when you noticed that your actions were apparently very predictable, at least for Jimin. As he sat up in the bed you shot him an apologetic smile, trying to contain your embarrassment. He ran an hand through his bed hair and smiled back. <I knew this would happen y/n, I know you too well> He laughed, his smile brightening up the whole room. You pulled out your laptop and started writing a bulled list with all the ideas that popped up in your mind, Jimin peeking curiously over your shoulder and casually commenting what you added. <Oh this one is so clever!> <Yes, this one is definitely my favourite> and so forth.

It wasn’t until an hour later, when you closed your laptop, satisfied with your work, that he decided it was time for the both of you to go back to sleep. He wrapped his arms around your waist and dragged you down to the mattress, spooning you. <Goodnight Jagi, you worked hard, I’m very proud of you.>

TAEHYUNG:

Okay but like, I see Taehyung being a journalist too. He’s such a curious person and he has a lot of artistic talents, so he’ll probably help you a lot in his own way.

You were incredibly excited for the new article you had to write as it was about one of the things you loved most: art. Specifically the museums that were in your town and surroundings, every single one with his own unique style and appearance. You had visited most of them with Taehyung as you both loved art and paintings. You remember taking a numerous amount of photos and filling up your phone gallery, but it was worth it and it turned out to be useful too. You were looking at the list of museums you had to review and comment when Taehyung came back from practice, looking exhausted but satisfied. <What are you up to, honey?> He asked after seeing you look so concentrated while reading. You looked up from your paper and smiled at him. <I got a new article to write, it’s about art museums!> <WOW Jagiya that’s amazing!! You’re gonna do an awesome work then, with all the knowledge you got and my splendid photos… You’re gonna use my photos right?> He then added, grinning at you with his boxy smile. <Of course silly, your photos are the best and I can describe well how I see the world through your eyes, we have such a similar vision of the world.> He looked at you with a fond expression and hugged you close. <I’m so glad I found you, princess. You understand me so well.>

You smiled, breathing in his scent. You were so engrossed in him you almost forgot to announce the little plan you had thought before he arrived home. <Sooo, I looked at the list and there’s a museum I didn’t know existed and we’ve never been there! I suggest we visit it so I can have all the information I need, what do you say?>. <That’s an amazing idea actually! I have a free day tomorrow and I was just wondering what we could have done, but I guess we have a plan now!>

The day after, as he promised, you got up and got ready to go the art museum. You held Taehyung’s hand as he guided you through the crowd and hurriedly entered the museum. Your afternoon consisted of taking photos and notes, Taehyung constantly checking you wrote everything down. At some point late in the afternoon you got home and immediately started writing the article. Taehyung was sprawled on the sofa, finally getting some rest and sometimes looking over at you to check you were doing okay. As the show he was watching ended he made his way towards you on the sofa and started giving you suggestions on where to put the photos to match the paragraph. You also used him as a dictionary for those words you constantly forgot. At the end you both ended up laughing as you were dangerously close to sending the file to your boss with a photo of Taehyung imitating a statue at the end of the paragraph. <I bet he’ll love it and even give you a raise!> He stated, looking more serious than ever as you burst out laughing, close to tears.

JUNGKOOK:

I got this idea in mind that Jungkook is a good motivation-provider, he’ll probably challenge and tease you in order to actually help.

You were lazily laying in your bed, browsing on your phone, the thought of the article you had to write about global warming tingling in the back of your head. The truth was: you had inspiration to write but you were tired after a pretty stressful day and all you wanted to do was lay in bed and do nothing for the rest of the day. But of course you couldn’t do that, you had to finish your work that was due to tomorrow. Your brain didn’t have enough time to process that you actually had to get up before someone literally slammed themselves on your poor body, laying on the bed. <Wake up, babe! It’s not the time to be lazy now!> You recognized your boyfriend’s voice and looked at him, sorrow in your eyes. <You just got back from practice how are you still so energetic?> you desperately told him, sighing. This boy was unstoppable but you loved him for that too, he was your hype man and you couldn’t wish for a better boyfriend. <Of course I’m energetic, I got to see you now and you need someone to make you get up, you lazy> He smiled, helping you get out of bed and hugging you. <Come on now! I know you got an article to write, I’m gonna bring some snacks, okay?>  You smiled, nodding and turned on your laptop, sitting at your desk.

You cracked your fingers, took a deep breath and… hit your head on the desk, demotivated.

<Come on Jagi, I know you can do this. You might not feel motivated now but once you start writing you know writing will come easier!> <I know Kookie but I just can’t bring myself to do it!> <Listen y/n, in cases like this I could tell you to postpone the work and write it later but it’s already evening and you have to hand it tomorrow before lunch so you have to finish now, I’m sorry!> <You’re right, I’ll start writing now!> And so you started, you kept re-reading your work every few sentences, checking your words were coherent. Jungkook looked at you writing down every sentence with an enormous effort and smiled fondly. <I’ve got an idea y/n! Yesterday I bought a new game and I have yet to try it. I’ll start doing the mission and we’ll see if I finish a mission first or if you write a paragraph first and whoever wins gets a snack, I bought your favourites> He stated, smirking at you. <Is this a challenge Jeon Jungkook?> you answered, looking at him straight in the eyes. <Oh yes.> You didn’t even answer and immediately turned around, grinning wildly while writing. You missed his proud smile while he started the game, concentrating on beating you. Of course 30 minutes later he screamed with joy and turned to look at you who were still revising. <I won!> He exclaimed, getting up to sprint towards the snacks. <Uuuugh> you groaned, looking at Jungkook who was currently dancing weirdly, holding a chocolate bar. <Oh, does my little y/n want some??> He gestured towards you, still holding the snack not realizing you were getting up from your chair. In 0.2 seconds you were in front of him, snatching the bar from his hands. <I finished too so I deserve a snack exactly like you.> You stated, stuffing your mouth with the sweet deliciousness. <Oh really? Can I help you choose the pictures?> He said, excitedly, jumping up and down by the computer. He loved to look at the photos you had to add to the article together and select the ones that fitted what you wrote the most. He confessed he was fond of integrate your beautiful words with something he was an expert of.

Remembering his words you smiled at him, gesturing for him to come closer. He sat next to you on the sofa, a hand around your waist, and started looking at the pictures.

hope you all like it, especially who requested it!

-moiky