#yes its based on that scene from miraculous ladybug

[sofibeth-arts]

Umbrella

[miraculous-multiverse]

Miraculous Multiverse: Premise

Hi and welcome to Miraculous Multiverse!

In this AU heroes from all over the multiverse will have to team up in order to stop a mysterious user of the Butterfly miraculous that’s threatening multiple universes with his army of Akumas.

Except that things aren’t as simple as they might seem and there might be a stronger force acting behind the scene that wants to achieve their own goals…

Anyway, these are the universes involved in this AU. I might add more of them in the future, but these are the starting ones. I will also post more infos about them in the future, both of the characters and the universe, and possibly some short fics.

Universes

Mothworld: aka the base of operation of the main villain. A pocket universe inhabited by the main villain and their two henchmen, the Dolls.

Movieverse: aka the one from the movie. Yes, not the tv show one (don’t worry they still exist but won’t be involved in this AU). The events of this AU happens after the event of the movie, so they defeated Hawk Moth, recovered his miraculous and discovered each other’s identity. They’ve been assisting the police in fighting crime but other than things have been mostly peaceful.

Switched Movieverse: aka the one where Adrien and Marinette swap Miraculous. Nothing else changes.

Butterflyverse: aka the one where Marinette has the Butterfly Miraculous. In this universe Marinette saved Chloe from being ran over by a car and now she’s on a wheelchair. She later got the Butterfly Miraculous and used its powers to become Lady Mariposa and fight the evil Arlecchino, recover the miraculous she stole and find out what happen to the heroes that used to defend Paris years ago. To help her in her fight she can count on the help of her friends Nino, Alya, Chloe, Nathaniel and Kagami and that of the mysterious Zodiac Master, the teenage guardian of the Chinese Zodiac Miraculous set.

Akumaverse: (from a prompt by @natedogx15) aka the one where Paris is an Akuma infested hellhole. Basically Nooroo, in an attempt to escape from Gabriel before the start of the series, used his powers and accidentally akumatized half of Paris. Master Fu was one of the akumatized victims and, fearing what his Akuma would do with the Miraculous, told the Kwamis to run away and hide. By accident Chloe found the Cat Miraculous, Luka the Ladybug Miraculous and now the two of them reluctantly began to work together to stop the Akumas led by Princess Justice and her knight Ephimeral and Hawk Moth. Fortunately for them, they managed to find some allies to help them… who unfortunately are Chloe’s yes man, a pathological liar, an emotionless killer and her happy-go-lucky emotional support dog boy (who have a very mysterious past and may or may not scheming against them).

Vigilanteverse: (from another prompt by @natedogx15) aka the one with vigilantes. In this universe Ladybug and Chat Noir’s presence inspired others to try to become heroes and fight against crime. Eventually a group of vigilantes known as the Heroes of Paris composed by the Owl, the Empress, Detective Noire, Anansi and the High Priest of Ra managed to prove their worth by successfully fighting and winning against Akumas. This inspired others to become vigilantes, but also led to the rise of an increasing number of supervillains, most notably the Cult of Hawk Moth, a cult that worships the eponymous supervillain and assists him and his Akumas. This, amongst other reasons, is what caused numerous tensions amongst Team Miraculous and the Heroes of Paris, tensions that are increasingly close to a breaking point…

Phantomverse: aka the (apparently) normal one. In this universe there are (apparently) no Miraculous and everyone is (apparently) a normal person. Some of the differences include Felix and Adrien being twins, Lila came to Paris one year earlier and became Marinette’s best friend and Zoe is named Melody. Strangely enough, this universe was isolated from the others, almost like it was quarantined…

If you want to know more about this AU, feel free to send an ask!

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: Miraculous: Ladybug & Chat Noir. The Movie

Welp I finally got the miraculous Movie so now I get to review it.

So For this review, I plan viewing this SOLELY on the movie. I will not be judging it completely based on the show. This is Zag's take. (The view on who did it better will be for another Post)

(Thanks @knightsweeties for the picture)

How I will be reviewing it.

Plot

Characters

Lesson

Animation

Music (Because yes, this is a Musical and should be judged)

Final Thoughts.

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Plot

So its pretty simple. A villain named Hawkmoth appears that wants to use the power of the butterfly miraculous to get the two miraculous he needs to attain his goal. But two heroes will rise in order to fight him, Ladybug and Chat noir. We will see another take on the show that inspired the movie. A new world for Ladybug and Chat noir.

Overall, this movie's plot is pretty generic, its not going to be winning anything for originality. BUT it sticks to the script and does everything it needs to do to set up Ladybug and Chat noir's respective character arcs and setting up one heck of a final confrontation with hawkmoth. The emotional drama is there and mostly hits the points it needs to. And while not everything got a laugh out of me, some things did.

It also ties up a good amount of loose ends while leaving Sequel bait.

For the most part. 7/10 for non-fans

9/10 for fans.

Its engaging enough and does what it needs to do.

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Characters:

Marinette: She is likable and you do enjoy seeing her on screen when she starts getting confident. I do think the pacing of the movie does impact her a bit, but its never to the point where its unbelievable. Also as Ladybug, her banter with Chat noir is top notch. There is some really good chemistry there. That being said, I find it harder to believe that she fell in love with Adrien over chat noir. But its a nit pick.

Adrien: I admit it took a bit for me to actually like this adrien, but I think thats intentional. Chat noir starts out arrogant and annoying, while Adrien starts shut off and quiet. He is a boy mourning the loss of his mother and his father is so distant that he seems gone to. But then he meets Ladybug, he sees this girl and how incredible she is. He finds someone he can relate to and his heart opens. Its beautiful seeing him fall in love with her and pull out all the stops opening up to her. He even gets to confront his father. Its quite a biting scene. I must say this maybe my favorite iteration of Adrien. (Careless whisper is the only song he listens to.) I do wish he was in it a bit more as adrien, but its not that bad.

Gabriel: I dont know how they did it, but they managed to make Gabriel sympathetic. Showing the lengths he is going, how lost he is, the survivor's guilt he has. He blames himself and wants to bring his family back together again. And Hawkmoth they made wacky and yet TERRIFYING. And we see this especially in the finale and the moment we think he wins, he sees his son. He sees it was Adrien, the one thing left in his life that he wants to protect him. This is a gabriel that deserves some sympathy but doesnt shy away from the fact he committed crimes.

Alya and Nino: Now they are both not in this as much as the actual show, but they are great supports and some of the changes done to both of them are wonderful. Alya being supportive of Marinette, Nino being such a bro to adrien while also simping for Alya (Chef's kiss). I do wish Nino and Adrien's meeting but their friendship is good.

Chloé: This chloé is exactly what she needs to be. A bully character but never so excessive that it detracts from the plot. She is spoiled and she is probably the funniest character. (For those that know the show, think Season 1 chloé with a dash of season 2) I think they got a different english VA for her, and honestly it works.

Plagg and Tikki: I found Plagg a bit annoying with the fart jokes, but outside of that he is pretty similar to his canon counterpart. Tikki on the other hand SHINES in this movie. This is what I wanted from Tikki, motivational, curious, fun loving. this is what I picture with the kwami of Creativity.

Fu: He is the mysterious old man character. He plays it well, though he is hardly in the movie. But at least he actually shows up for Ladybug and Chat noir almost right away, instead of just hiding.

The other characters play their roles and there are some funny bits, the akumatized villains are fun and play their role. Lady Magician and the Mime are both phenomenal.

Also the Gargoyle, I feel so bad for him. He wins the award for most Tragic akumatization.

Overall Solid 8.5/10

I do wish we got more Alya and Nino, and less fart jokes from Plagg

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Lesson

There are 3 lessons to take away from this movie.

The first one "Stronger together"

Having help and working with those around us can help us grow, we have to be willing to let others in and help us be our best selves.

The second is "Believe in yourself"

Marinette's main character arc is coming to terms with what she can do and finding the inner strength that she always had, even without powers. (Done better than a chunk of films these days)

The Third lesson, "Power of Love"

It was love that helped stop Hawkmoth, it was love that helped chat noir and ladybug overcome their weaknesses and fix paris. It was even love that helped them at the very end.

That being said... the execution on all of the lessons was not perfect, the first one sort of fell off by the end, but the second one and third lesson still applied. There could be some work but I still enjoyed it.

6/10

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Animation:

The Animation looks great, the character designs look great, and while I was originally iffy on them, after seeing it I must say the designs work.

The Lighting in itself if Heavenly to say the least. Whoever was in charge of the lighting needs to be given a deep tissue massage and a raise.

It does feel a bit Disney for my personal taste but I cant complain with how crisp the fights look. Great Choreography and it really sells the intensity of the scenes. The details and call backs, the foreshadowing.

Its solid animation, I would say that it is missing a few bits to really make it stand out, some sort of Stylization. But outside of that. Its good.

The scenes that they want to focus on look great, the imagination bits are grandiose. There was care put into this and not just a cheap cash grab.

9/10

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The Music

This movie is a musical, very disney-sque.

And as a courteous, I listened to the songs in French and english. I know the english VA's arent the one's singing. And I have to say, it feels SO WEIRD for Marinette in the english dub. But Its not that bad. I think the French one is just more consistent sounding. But english and french both sound fine. Also Chat noir's VA isnt singing, but I think the singing voice for him fits him a bit closer but the french is still the best. "My Lady" is a great song for Chat noir.

The songs are fine, nothing that really blew me away, but they were fun. "I believed in me" fits Marinette well as an opening song.

Tikki's rapping in english is surprisingly decent. But SO WEIRD.

But Gabriel's singing voice, THAT through me off.

Villain song 101. Love it in the english dub. "Chaos Reigns"

But the song "Stronger together." That hit me. The duet in both iterations are great.

The Background music always seems to fit the mood... Except Careless whisper (But that was always used in amusing ways). The BG should be praised

7.5/10

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Final Thoughts

Overall, if I had to rate it objectively, without knowing the show or series. 7/10. Nothing ground breaking but its a good film in itself, its entertaining and fun, and it has some good moments. Pacing is a bit all over but it’s under 2 hours so it’s more of a pick your battles thing

If I had to rate this as the Show fan that I am and my personal enjoyment.

8/10

It does nearly everything I wanted it to do, and added to flair and changes.

Now not everything is perfect, since limited time to tell a story. But its coherent and cuts some of the bloat that was a problem in the OG series. Now some things I enjoyed were also cut though.

I like how it isnt a 1 for 1, it changes some things and gives a fresh tale.

Now which one is better I will address in another post

[graaythekwami]

What is your opinion about the ending of Miraculous?

(I'm using this ask as my chance to talk about both episodes as a whole, not just the ending-- spoilers ahead!)

My thoughts on these two episodes are mixed, but positive overall. :)

Over all, I enjoyed the episodes. It was fun, the action and animation were great, and there are parts that I really really loved that are being adopted into all my kwami headcanons right now and no one can stop me. I was worried with how the season would end based off of some things I heard, and was prepared for the worst-- but these were enjoyable episodes to watch.

However I will not lie that I am not happy with how some characters were handled. I'm sorry but I will never be happy with Gabriel being seen as a hero, and the fact that Adrien wasn't there or even told what happened?? Gabriel getting a statue?? Gabriel acting like he cared about Adrien when he clearly didn't?? No... just no, its not right or fair. I could go on about this all day, but I won't as there's a lot to say about these episodes.

Adrien not getting a role in this finale I am mad at. Him being left in the dark about what happened I'm also not happy with, HOWEVER... seeing Marinette's age, mindset, and everything she's been through... I don't feel that her actions were out of character. I can see a young teenager under pressure wanting to protect the one she loves from a horrible reality. I'm not saying her keeping the truth from him is right, but I can see how it fits into the narrative. As long as the fact that this lie was told is addressed in the future (and the weight it will no doubt put on Adrien) and not just brushed aside, then I won't get up in arms about this scene yet, and I will wait to see how its handled in the future.

Last small little tiny thing is Felix. Like... it feels out of character for him to just be like "yeah hero team!" and for the hero team to be like "yeah Felix!" Feel like more should have been addressed on Felix's character as a whole.

Okay-- enough about the negative-- onto all the awesome parts about these episodes! :D

First of all-- hero team!! Full time holders!! Saved kwamis (I'm so sorry Nooroo that you're still out there you deserve so much better!!) I love it, this is what we needed, and I hope the identity rules ease up among the heroes after this.

Next Nathalie. Oh Nathalie, the queen, amazing-- 11/10 this episode. She full on goes in dying and is ready to shoot Gabriel with a crossbow?? Like girl, you're amazing!! I'm glad to see that she is better now, she deserves it. Anyways I love her.

Adrien getting his amok-- yes, finally.

Marinette's Ladybug and Black Cat unification was a lot of fun. Its too bad the name Lady Noire was already taken, but I loved this whole fight. A piano being dropped on Gabriel's head, Gabriel's reaction to Marinette being Ladybug. Marinette beating Gabriel and just summoning all the Luck Charms... she was a boss. I loved the checkmate scene. I love how she did try to reach out to Gabriel (not that he deserves a second chance but Marinette is just a sweetheart). I loved Gabriel's betrayal to her with a Vemon because it was his last in character moment, I loved that we got to see all the other characters in action. The classmates, Fei and the New York heroes. All great scenes.

Now finally onto the gold of these episodes: THE KWAMIS. Hehehehe they were amazing, they were beautiful. Yes give me all their true forms, give me Gimmi (hehe) they look SO cool and epic. I originally thought I wouldn't like a true-form kwami or a fusion form of them but never mind they're glorious they are my children we need true forms for all the kwamis look at how powerful they are!!

And how the Wish works... I never really liked the whole "destroy the universe and create a new one" idea they had going on in other episodes, and I'm so glad they went with an equal price. And maybe destroy and remake the universe still has a role in it all but give me the green strawberries as a price. The whole Wish scene with how it works and the true form of the kwamis was fantastic and I love it so much.

[bloomskullberry]

Ok you know what i just gotta write out my feelings on the new Miraculous movie. I have both good and bad things to say. I will be rewatching it cause i was pretty biased (we'll get to that) and maybe reposting this with my new thoughts afterwards cause this is a lot.

THUS: READ MORE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION and understand that most of this is based on personal perception, preferences, and an element of nostalgia/frustration (ive been watching this show since season one, would not have made it this far if I didnt have FEELINGS about Miraculous). but take everything with a sprinkle of salt.

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS ABOUT THE NEW MIRACULOUS MOVIE UNDER THE CUT

1. Pacing felt like the biggest issue. A lot of stuff was happening, and a lot of big moments were happening, but there was nothing inbetween that made them feel like they flowed into eachother, and a lot of the character/relationship "development" relied on the viewers previous knowledge of the show, even tho its pretty clear the movie was doing stuff very differently in terms of characters and relationships. Do i understand this is a 1hr 40min movie trying to encapsulate the slowburn romance and 5 seasons worth of content in a way that caters to the fans of said 5 seasons? Yes, its a huge ask for what is essentially 5 episodes (average 20 mins long). Especially with the amount of exposition the concept of Miraculous requires. Is it still disappointing, considering the movie left out information because of its audience and still rushed through important stuff to just get to the "juicy" moments? Yeah

2. Visuals were lovely, as was the music and specific moments. Honestly if the pacing wasnt such an issue and everything was developed more, the Ladybug and Ladynoir songs (maybe even the Hawkmoth one too) would be really enjoyable as a way to progress stuff and show development. Im also a sucker for dramatic visuals during musical numbers to help emphasize the feelings/emotions of the characters, and it really showcases the potential benefits the animation could add to the show as a medium

3. I actually really liked movie!Marinette (partly cause she wasnt a stalker and creep about her crush on Adrien) qnd because she had a much more sarcastic and bantering attitude, even outside of the costume, which made Ladybug an alter ego more than a complete other person (which is a slight issue ive had with the show). The scene of her growing into her civilian persona and becomign more confident actually made me really happy, especially her standing up to Chloe

4. Movie!Chat Noir kinda pissed me off ngl, and felt very disconnected from movie!Adrien (or at least how he was shown). People have said movie!Adrien is much more depressed/isolated and acts appropriately as to his home life (and dont get me wrong, i loved his scene where he stood up to Gabriel), but i think thats why his relationship with Ladybug and complete 180 as Chat Noir feels so off to me? Like his almost "meanness" with Ladybug at first from being super cocky and then doesnt even apologize for his treatment of her even after he falls for her just throws me off (tbf ive always been biased against the "cocky assholes falling for people who put them in their place" trope, so this might just be a me thing). Idk, it just doesnt sit right with me

4b. Anyone else notice Adrien didnt even get chosen for being kind? Plagg just appeared in his bedroom? Like Marinette almost got ran over from saving Master Fu and then Adrien is just like Yo A Cool Ring. Idk, its funny but that felt weird to me

5. The stupid freaking montage. Yall cannot even imagine how much I hate the montage. If they had replaced the montage with one scene and maybe cut down the magician and mime fight to add another scene in to focus on marinette + adrien friendship and then adrien personal life development or chat noir + ladybug bonding/respect for EACH OTHER i think it would have elevated the movie to new heights. The montage essentially was the movie pressing fast forward x3 on any development of characters. Its because of montages like these that make me appreciate filler or fun episodes in any show, because when you just stick a montage in then you feel like youre watching coworkers kiss when the movie is trying to convince you theyre starcrossed ride or die lovers. Made me feel like i watched the origins episode and then the season 5 finale with just the stormy weather 2 episode inbetween. Hate it.

6. Movie!Tikki has personality and movie!Plagg is a fart machine. I think its clear theres a favorite. Feels like it reflects the focus on Marinette and lack thereof on Adrien as a character present in both the show and the movie. Hardly a new observation, just food for thought.

7. ¿¿¿¿¿¿movie!Hawkmoth/Gabriel???? That basically sums up how I feel about him but to explain theres just very little done with him i feel. Plus it seems like all his Hawkmothing around actually takes a toll on his wellbeing, which is really cool and interesting, but it just comes out of nowhere afTER THE STUPID MONTAGE. Like id love to see the kind of degradation of his health, mental physical and emotional, as he works to revive Emilie, cause you cant tell me thay wouldnt make stuff a lot more interesting (i know he got catacylsmed but the show just treated it as an outfit change and checking his arm like a clock until the season finale, so it doesnt really count for me), but mans just shows up looking like a wreck and fights with Adrien

7b. Also i was pretty confused about how him breaking/rejecting his akuma at the end of the movie worked, and him just having all the powers ever while akumatized?? But that's just me being picky at a superhero show where magic animal jewelry exists

8. Movie!Chloe and movie!Sabrina felt more real in a way? Like Chloe was just stuck up and self centered, not actively making everyones life hell, and Sabrina didnt just blindly follow her along (i ADORED when she let Marinette escape and when she shrugged at her during the ball, you go girl you have that personality and self-consciousness the show never allowed you to have until the last moment), it was more a reluctant follower ignoring a friend's red flags ya know? Movie!Chloe wasnt the mayors daughter who had control over every adult in Paris and would literally become a dictator if elected. She was just freaking out at Marinette for "ruining" her sweater. Shes still a bully/mean kid, but shes dialed back, which i think makes her much better.

9. Alya and Nino were just kind of chilling, i dont have any feelings about their characters except how terrible Nino is at advice, and Alya was set up as a good friend throughout the movie, so i appreciate her supportiveness of Marinette. Tom and Sabine were set up to do more/be more important in the movie (I was so sure Tom was gonna be akumatized at the fair, but nope), but were kind of dropped halfway? Like Tom was set up as the overprotective and loving kinda helicopter father who would go all the way to the fair in disguise to watch over Marinette, and then he was just never mentioned again after Marinette felt embarrassed by him at said fair. Wasted opportunity and time for a movie with so much issue in pacing

10. I saw buggachat say this movie felt like an animated fanfiction of MLB and I have to say i completely agree. I dont mean that in a bad way, i love fanfiction with all my heart and you can clearly see that the movie and a lot of fanfiction fixes the issues many fans have with the show. But the thing is, this is a full movie, not a collection of one-shot specific scene rewrites. Thus, for it to be successful in "rewriting" or creating an alternate version of MLB, it has to include those in-between moments, not just the juicy identity reveal, or the "my heart belongs to another " moment, or even the "Gabriel actually cares about his son" moment. Is the movie good at those moments? Goodness yes. It definitely has its humor, its enjoyment that you can tell is a gift to the fans. But as a movie, a whole animated film, it disappoints.

10b. I mean for goodness sake they didnt even mention that Catacylsm was a thing until it was used, and Lucky Charm wasnt utilzed at all, just the fixing power (that might just be a genuine change they made so Ladybug wasnt too unbalanced with Chat Noir tho)

OK IM DONE, phew. Those are my major thoughts from the day after watching the movie, and im going to watch it again more carefully later. Ill not to be so personally biased and to just enjoy it. Who knows, maybe ill think differently afterwards.

Definitely gonna listen to the songs again, and definitely gonna burst out laughing at Careless Whisper tho

[grimalkinsquill]

For the fanfic ask game: 🍬📗💘

Do you write for multiple fandoms? If yes, what is your favourite fic of yours for each fandom?

Yes! I write for multiple fandoms for enrichment purposes (what I learn in one fandom space can be translated to another and I am literally a hunter-gatherer for tropes and prompts for my friends of one fandom).

Uh, this answer will be long, but favourite fic for every fandom I've written for (as recorded by Ao3, as my Quizilla fics and FF.net fics are no longer accessible):

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Cliché Spy Tactics. Rivals-to-friends-to-mutual-idiotic-crush meet-cute! I still find it actively hilarious.

Red vs. Blue: Storytelling. An unreliable narrator fic told entirely by the world's most eccentric best friends.

Overwatch: Sostener. A start of redemption, built out of the Year 1 Overwatch Lore of Scraps. One of the things that endears me to this story is that I got to play with my SoCal heritage with it.

Warframe: Midnight Mother, Cinnabar Children wins by default, being my only Warframe fic 😂 I do think there's good about it though, simply from the two lines

Simaris snorted. “I’m so glad you’re not like them. You’re sensible.”

“False,” she teased, “I have you to be sensible for me. Like a father of ancient myth.”

Dungeons & Dragons: Dangerous Woman wins by default, but also because it spawned me to write a 72-page homebrewed worldbuilding document that's gained a life of its own.

DC Comics: Guardian. My beloved "Drag Black Adam from Lawful Evil to Lawful Good" fic. What stands of it now is largely me pulling together different instances of his backstory together into something remotely coherent. Runner up is A Study in Cyan, largely because it has a cat-based hero who compares the experience of her boyfriend slowly coaxing her down from her various traumas to "getting a cat out of a tree" and that's a metaphor I'll stand by.

Young Justice: It has 3 fics in it, but the Low-Key series overall is my baby. I think it gets extra shoutouts for having 80k words of platonic slow-burn (it takes Captain Cold a LONG time to figure out that Theo is His Kid. Like, not biologically his kid, but oh my gods is She His Kid. Like, emotionally. He has been dadding her for 75k words and he writes it off as being a team leader and a mentor for a baby hero. Understanding he's Being a Dad takes him an embarrassingly long time. His teammates knew before he did, the bastards [derogatory]. Like. Way before him. Right when she first stole his signature cold gun from him, the little shit [affectionate], which is at like. Chapter fucking One of the first fic in this series)

Guild Wars 2: EASY WINNER the four times that pact commander magna and shining blade asset canach gave the rumor mills false ammo and the one time they didn't. It's SO FUNNY. Fake dating during a dragon-slaying saga between two non-humans with different cultural spheres. All because a nosy 6-year-old thought they should have (gasp) friends.

Fallen Hero: Rebirth: Does it say? is still. So fucking good. I took a scene from the game and slipped in personal traits in between, lovingly-crafted flashback sequences pondering the nature of what it means to be human. Fall In Line is a very close second, as it unpacks a LOT of gender trauma for me (in a way that's subtly mirrored by Felicette's Everything. Fall In Line is more blatant about it than Felicette's arc will ever be).

Pokemon: Do Something Crazy! It's a story of healing and growth for everybody involved! And also includes speculative biology, because y'all know I Am Like This.

FFXIV: Ganzhyllsyn's 4 Steps to a Heist, hands down.

Critical Role: I was broken; now We're golden. I saw Essek and went "what if big brother?" and ran with it.

Fairy Tail: the heart is hard to translate / it has a language of its own. My sole attempt at a NaNoWriMo-esque challenge. I still like this weird translation of the manga's events as MMORP events and inter-guild drama.

Miraculous Ladybug: of Sages and Warriors. Duh. You knew this. Close seconds are O' Neighbour Mine and A Tricky Treat.

Na Daoine Maithe: I only have Lighting the Wick thus far, but there'll be more. This visual novel has lit brainworms and they are persistent.

And uh, if you're still here after all that, here are the OTHER TWO questions you asked (I'm sorry, I like a lot of things and thus write a lot of things)

Do you want to write something outside of fanfiction? If so, what about?

So like. I have three original project ideas, two of which are interactive fiction games. The first idea is that I take Dangerous Woman, strip it of all the DND stuff, and make that a novel in its own right (because that'd be extraordinarily easy for me to do, I'd just have to, y'know, finish it. I know how it ends, it's just a matter of landing the execution).

My two interactive fiction game ideas:

You play as an orphan in the setting of Dangerous Woman, ending up as one of King Oberon's adopted kids. You investigate a weird anomaly in Oberon's territory and meet a cast of odd characters (some of whom are romanceable, all of whom are friendable).

You play as someone who just got reincarnated as one of those flat villainess characters in a fantasy novel...that you, the player character, have never personally read. Frantically remembering the info-dumping of your best friend, you try to survive: will you give in to how easy it is to be what people think you are or will you fight it?

Is it easier to write angst or fluff?

Fluff. Any day of the week. I find a lot of what people consider to be angst to be boring melodrama and a lot of what people think of what I think of as angst to be "tame". Like a lot of things with me, both terms have an asterisk and a lot of variables, but fluff has fewer variables, so fluff wins.

[fluid-chainsaw]

I posted this on my Reddit earlier but I wanna tell more people so enjoy my rant

I think Evillustrator 2 is going to happen because of Lila

Lila hates Ladybug, right? Well, she sits next to the kid who idolizes her, imagines scenarios where he can work with her, is constantly drawing her for comic books, etc. I’m assuming there’s some pent-up anger inside her head. My plan for how the episode’s going to go is as follows:

It starts with a scene showing the miracuclass, with Nathaniel drawing a cover of one of the comic books. Lila’s looking over his shoulder with a disdainful look on her face. When he notices, she pretends she just wants Volpina to get an issue, and playfully says she's fine with an interview for the comic. Nate agrees and promises to talk to Marc about it. He continues with his drawing; Lila couldn’t make him stop. She tries a couple more times to get him to change gears, but to no avail. This one needs to be done soon, as he and Marc need to meet with the editor tomorrow. Lila gets an idea for him to stop and to get Shadow Moth a new victim.

During this entire time, Marinette’s listening to them in annoyance because she knows Lila’s exhausting her manipulative tactics again.

Lila finishes the conversation with, “I’m so excited to read the next issue! Maybe I could even get the famous manga publisher I told you about to give you lessons to improve those little doodles!” She then giggles to make it looks like a joke, while Alya holds Marinette back from putting the liar in a sleeper hold. Caline walks into the room and starts class.

When class ends, Lila takes note of where Nate put his sketchbook. Mari vents to Alya about how she believes Lila is up to no good. Mari mentions that Lila subtly insulted Nate's work, she gave herself an interview that no one asked for, and that she was staring at Nate and/or his sketchbook with obvious animosity. Alya tries to convince her that she's just being paranoid but fails. Mari continues with her rant, intending to keep an eye on Lila for a few days.

During lunchtime, Lila steals the sketchbook from Nate's bag and ruins it. Wetting all the pages, ripping off the cover, and ripping out some of the next comic's concepts for good measure. she hides the book in her bag and sneaks over to the art room, where she also destroys the only current copy of the comic, to the same extent of the sketchbook. After returning the comic to its original position, she prepares her fake tears.

Nathaniel and Lila's first meeting since that morning was when Lila ran down the hall, yelling and crying about how some unknown students ruined Nathaniel's work. The both of them alone, Lila briefs Nate on the horrors of the culprits. She sobs out, "I-I saw some people take your book out of your bag, so I followed them to see what they were doing and t-they ran it under the sink before ripping out a bunch of pages! I'm such a horrible friend, I should have stopped them somehow! Oh, you all don't deserve to be friends with a terrible coward like me!" Nate has no choice but to comfort Lila as she fills him in on what these imaginary offenders did to his poor book, but more importantly, her.

"After they noticed me, they threw the book at my face! I blocked it with my hand, but that hurt it so much! How does that book pack so much of a punch?"

Now, the entire bit about being a bad companion is manipulation. Lila pretends to have strong feelings so Nate has no choice but to push aside his own and support her, even though he's the one who needs support.

Lila continues on, "Oh, no... If they ruined your sketchbook, do you think they went to the art room while I explained and ruined the comic too?" Nathaniel, understandably afraid of more work being lost, ran to the art room with Lila on his heels. Finding the dilapidated comic, Lila finishes her script.

"Oh, no... What's Marc going to think about this? The entire story about those people somehow destroying your sketchbook AND the comic in such a small window of time is so... odd. I'll go find him now and you can explain."

Nate cried out to Lila, wondering why she couldn't help explain to Marc.

"You saw them destroy the book! Aren't you a better source to tell him what happened?" He also wonders how the vandals did all this so fast.

"Nope, sorry. I need to go try and find the troublemakers! You'll be able to explain, just tell him what I told you! Good luck."

When Lila leaves, all the feelings from the past couple minutes starting flooding into Nathaniel's head. Sensing all the fear, frustration, and anger, Shadow Moth sends an akuma. By the time Marc gets there, Evillustrator had already popped back into action. After trying to convince him otherwise, Marc runs to find Lila and hide her from Evie in hopes of safeguarding the bullies, as much as it annoys him to do so.

I'll be honest that I don't have an idea for how the fight's going to go. My main idea is that Evie goes through the school, trying to find Lila or the bullies to take revenge fir all his lost work. I also think that Caprikid will come in to help the cat and bug team.

After the deakumatization, I think Nate will realize that this little situation doesn't make any sense. The timing doesn't add up, Lila somehow doesn't know who any of the bullies are or what they look like, they seemingly had no motive, etc. Either that or he already knew she was a liar (Based off that look he gives at the beginning of the episode "Ladybug") and the shock of losing both the sketchbook and comic just didn't let him realize that she was full of it soon enough. After that, we can have some NathMarc moments when Marc and Nate start working on a special issue of the comic featuring Reverser and Caprikid working together or something like that.

Did I just spend a bunch of time typing out my prediction of Evillustrator 2 that no one is going to read? Yes I did!

TLDR: Lila ruins a bunch of Nathaniel's work, he gets akumatized because of it, and Marc gets a miraculous to save him.

[sturchling]

Gilded Poppy VS Hawkmoth

This is another part to the idea that I saw and talked about with @anastasian-dreamer and @musicfeedsmysoul12 . I just had to write it out! Find the first story here! The Gilded Poppy helping take down Hawkmoth. There will be some spoilers for the final episode of the first season of Jett’s route, so keep that in mind if you still haven’t read it. I hope you all like it!

The Gilded Poppy had never really paid Hawkmoth any mind. Sure he was a pain when his akumas interrupted their heists. But sometimes the chaos worked to their advantage as well. So they never really saw a point in worrying about it. Sure, they always made sure that Tom, Sabine, Marinette, and the bakery were fine after each attack, but that was about as involved as they got with the situation. That was until Hawkmoth came after one of their own. 

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Jett couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He felt almost numb. One of his best mates, Jock was laid out on the floor in front of him. Dead. He wasn’t aware of his surroundings at all. So it was a good thing that the rest of the Poppy was heard the ticking sound, and pulled him out of the building before the bomb went off. Now, as he stood on the street, watching the building before him burn and a crowd gathered around, Jett didn’t know what to think. Then he saw him at the edge of the crowd. Hugo Vansittart standing there, staring at Jett. Jett instantly saw red. He knew that Hugo did this and he was going to make him pay dearly for it. From the corner of his eye, he saw a dark butterfly fly towards his poppy pin. Then suddenly a strange feeling came over Jett, like his rage was increased ten fold. And a soothing voice spoke in his head. That is the last thing he remembered.

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Jett had been turned into Judgement, a justice based akuma that used an attack he called truth bomb. Anyone hit with his bombs confessed to any crimes they may have committed. For most people hit during this akuma attack, it was small stuff like jay walking, or littering. But Jett made sure to hit Hugo who confessed, during the live TV coverage of this akuma, to killing Jock and making the building explode. The other members of the Poppy made sure to avoid Jett. They wanted to help their friend, but if they got hit they would reveal they were members of the Poppy and that couldn’t happen. Ladybug soon had Jett deakumatized and Hugo was arrested immediately, along with some other citizens who had admitted to more serious crimes. Now Jett and the rest of the Poppy were angry for a whole new reason. How dare Hawkmoth come after one of them. They were fine leaving him to Ladybug, until now. An attack on one of them was an attack on them all, and no one messed with the Gilded Poppy and got away with it.

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

That said, the Poppy knew they would need help. They knew they needed to contact Ladybug. So, they left a burner phone at the top of the Eiffel Tower, where she and Chat Noir often met during patrol. They also set up a camera pointed at the platform, so they would know when the two heroes arrived. As soon as the two heroes arrived on scene, the phone lit up with a new text message. The two heroes were confused, but looked at the phone thinking someone had lost it and maybe they could return it to its owner. But when they read the message they knew it was for them. Hi Ladybug and Chat Noir. We are the Gilded Poppy. We wish to help eliminate Hawkmoth as a threat. He has become quite a pest to us. Our only condition is that if we meet, you do not tell anyone who we are. If this is agreeable to you, meet us here same time tomorrow. -Thief Lord

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Marinette was freaking out. She had been able to keep her composure while she talked with Chat Noir and they had agreed to at least hear the group out. But now that she is alone, she was panicking. That manner of speech from the text reminded her of someone. It reminded her of the way Nikolai spoke. And now that she thought about it, she remembered Nikolai, Remy, Vivienne, Jett, Leon, and Zoe all wearing the same pin. A golden poppy pin. Oh my god. They are the Gilded Poppy. I am friends with the Gilded Poppy. It didn’t bother Marinette, but it was certainly shocking. But she couldn’t be sure, maybe she was overthinking again. She wouldn’t be sure until she met with them tomorrow. 

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

Marinette was freaking out internally again. She and Chat Noir had just arrived at the Eiffel Tower when she heard Nikolai’s voice from behind her. “I assume since you are here, you agree to our terms and won’t turn us into the police?” Marinette did her best to curb her panic, and slip into her Ladybug personality. “Yes, we won’t turn you in. Come out here.” And then, standing before her, were all her friends. She had been right. They were the Gilded Poppy. For their part, the Gilded Poppy was also surprised. Sure they knew the two heroes were young, but they didn’t realize how young until now. They couldn’t be older than Marinette. But they pushed that aside, they had work to do.

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

Marinette quickly took charge of the meeting and brought the thieves up to speed on everything. That the source of Hawkmoth’s power was his miraculous and how once they took that from him, he wouldn’t be a threat anymore. The Poppy felt comfortable. This was right up their alley. Stealing some fancy jewelry was nothing new to them. It would be weird to return the jewels to Ladybug and not sell them, but the Poppy understood that it was too dangerous for that to happen. For the next few weeks, the Poppy put all their resources to trying to get any clues towards who Hawkmoth could be. They also continued to meet with either Ladybug or Chat Noir every other day or so to go over any information they may have found. It was one night, during one of these meetings, that Marinette made a mistake.

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

They had just finished up going over all their information. They were getting close to a suspect and the Poppy was sure they would have a name for Ladybug in the next week. As she turned to leave, Ladybug called over her shoulder “Thanks guys! See you at the bakery tomorrow.” Marinette froze as she realized what she just said. She hoped maybe they would just brush it off, but of course, the Poppy caught exactly what she had said. And it only took them about two seconds to realize what that meant. They had always thought Ladybug looked like Marinette, but convinced themselves that it was just a coincidence. But how else could they explain that comment. Remy stepped closer to Marinette, who still stood frozen on the edge of the platform in a panic. “Marinette? Is that you?” All of the Poppy was just staring at her and Marinette didn’t see a way out. So she just detransformed.

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

Needless to say, there was a lot of explaining to do that night. Marinette told them everything that had happened since she received her miraculous and all her adventures as Ladybug. The Poppy was horrified to learn that this girl that they viewed as a little sister had been fighting Hawkmoth without much help. And their rage toward Hawkmoth was renewed all over again. Now this monster had gone after another one of them. He had been making Marinette’s life hard for years now. And it was going to end soon. 

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

By the end of the week, The Poppy had used all their Underbelly resources and found a name as a suspect for Hawkmoth. Gabriel Agreste. He was the only person in Paris that had the resources and time to be Hawkmoth. They immediately told Marinette through the burner phone they had been using and the group of thieves met with Paris’ heroes. Chat Noir seemed hesitant to consider Gabriel as a suspect, but did eventually agree that it couldn’t hurt to check into the lead. Since the heroes couldn’t exactly be breaking into a random civilian’s home, it was decided that the Poppy would break into the manor that night and search for the two missing miraculous. With a description of the two jewels from Ladybug, Nikolai, Remy, Vivienne, and Jett quietly broke into the mansion and searched the place top to bottom for the jewels or any proof that Gabriel was Hawkmoth. Zoe remained at the hotel, monitoring all the security systems for the mansion as well as the camera feeds from the cameras being worn by Nikolai and Vivienne. Ladybug and Chat Noir were with her, watching the camera feeds. Leon was outside, ready to speed everyone away from the mansion at a moments notice. 

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

When the group went into Gabriel’s office, they found the hidden safe in the wall, and inside that was the Peacock miraculous. Vivienne grabbed it and put the jewel in her pocket, before continuing to feel along the wall for any other secrets. Meanwhile, Chat Noir watched in horror as Vivienne pulled the miraculous out of the safe. This at the least confirms his father is involved somehow. Then the group accidently hit the right buttons to open the secret elevator up to Hawkmoth’s lair. When the cameras being worn by Nikolai and Vivienne showed the room with all the akuma butterflies flying around, it was clear that Gabriel Agreste must be Hawkmoth. Finally, Nikolai silently entered Gabriel’s bedroom. And there, resting on his nightstand was the butterfly miraculous. Nikolai snatched it and quickly left the room, as quietly as he came. 

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The Poppy returned to the hotel and gave the two miraculous to Ladybug. Ladybug called the police as soon as she had the miraculous. She told them that some concerned citizens had told her that they thought Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth. She also told them that after some investigation it was proven to be true and she had recovered the missing miraculous, making it safe for them to go arrest Gabriel. When the police arrived, they found Gabriel tearing the mansion apart, looking for his miraculous. He was arrested just in time for the morning news. Soon rumors started that the other members of the Agreste household were involved as well. Adrien, feeling he had no other choice at the time, had already revealed himself to Ladybug and accidently in front of the Poppy as well the night they recovered the miraculous. Marinette also revealed herself to him. So, knowing that Adrien wasn’t involved, Ladybug publicly announced that she had cleared Adrien of any wrong doing and that he had no idea what his father had been doing. Adrien ended up living with the Dupain-Chengs, being unofficially adopted until a more permanent situation was decided on.

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

Once everything had calmed down, Remy and Jett started joking that Marinette and Adrien should join them on a heist. Or at least, it had started as joking. Soon, the rest of the Poppy had joined in and they were completely serious. Jett would often wrap his arms around their shoulders, saying “Come on you two! You could do some amazing things for a heist. Think of the possibilities!” Of course they both immediately denied it. After all, Paris’ heroes couldn’t be involved in crime. But then Nikolai said that they could just steal back a stolen painting from another thief and return it to its rightful owners. The Poppy didn’t care about keeping whatever they stole, they just wanted to go on a heisting adventure with the two kids they viewed as their siblings. When he heard the suggestion, Adrien was excited and begged Marinette to agree. Eventually Marinette relented. The combined force of the Poppy begging and Adrien’s puppy dog eyes was too much.

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

They worked a small heist with the Poppy to steal back a painting that had been stolen from the Louvre many years ago. It didn’t take long to retrieve the painting and Ladybug and Chat Noir made sure it was returned, anonymously so as not to raise any questions about how they recovered the painting. Soon after the heist was completed, it was time for the Poppy to leave Paris for their next heist. The thieves came by the bakery to say goodbye to Tom, Sabine, Marinette, and Adrien. They never thought these four people would become so important to them, but now they couldn’t imagine their lives without them. After saying goodbye to the group and seeing them off, Marinette and Adrien went back up to Marinette’s room. When they opened the door, they saw something shining on Marinette’s desk. Sitting on her desk were two golden pins. Two golden poppy pins. The two teens smiled wide as they picked up the pins and fixed them to their shirts, happily waiting for the day they would see their friends, the Poppy, again.

[judyhopps934-mt-zd]

Thoughts on Gang of Secrets

Warning: Spoilers and intense emotions. Have fun!

Chat Noit sensed that something is wrong with Ladybug. Love how he can sense that based on what she doesn't say.

She almost didn't pound it and was distracted to do so. Oh boy.

BOIIII WHY DID YOU TAKE HER TO THE MOVIES???? THIS IS NOT THE TIME!!! AND LADYBUG KNOWS THIS AS SHOWN BY HER FACIAL EXPRESSION!!! I am SCREAMING because he took her to a movie ABOUT ROMANCE!!!

The civilians do not mind that superheroes are going to the movies. That is until...

Ladybug goes into this rant about romcoms and I agree with every word she says. There is no such thing as a happy ever after and things do not go perfectly. Go off Ladybug!!! There's a reason why I hate rom coms.

The civilians being shocked/annoyed from her rant just adds to it. I am guessing because this is literally freaking Paris and considering the couples there. Has the same vibes as Grunkle Stan from Gravity Falls when he approached a couple to say marriage is terrible in the second episode.

Hurts that the rant was the reflection of Marinette's dilemma.

Chat finds out that it was about heartbreak. He finally picks up about social cues! Good work Chat! Too bad that you learned that after your breakup with Kagami.

Ah, the swimming pool. A great place to go to forget your heartbreak go for a swim.

Realized that akumas cannot attack people if they are submerged under water, which is why she goes to the pool and a theory roaming online that she goes to the pool to cry makes a lot of sense.

I know this is a kids show and that logic gets thrown out the window, but does no one in Paris find it fishy that Ladybug in her swim suit enters the Dupain-Cheng household???? I feel like no one cares.

Ladybug might say that the board of pictures with Adrien and Luka and some of her friends might not bother her, but it seems to bother her somewhat as it is a reminder of the relationships that she can't have as long as she's Ladybug. It hurts badly though.

Unpopular opinion: The Kwamis can be good at providing comfort and probably make them laugh, but they are not the best therapists. Do not blame them though.

Marinette only detransforms for Tikki's wellbeing. She is at that point where the only reason she does something is because someone else is suffering, not for herself. It hurts seeing her suffer like this.

Tikki is fine despite being in the earrings for a long time. She is more concerned about Marinette though.

Meanwhile, the girls have their suspicions about Marinette as they did not know about her breakup with Luka until he told Juleka, which started a chain that I cannot remember, but do remember that it ended with Alya.

They call Marinette, but she does not answer because what will she tell them? The not answering part is a mood, but the reason hurts.

Alix being like "why not get orange juice with her and talk about her feelings" and everyone else staring at her as if she was the one with a crazy idea. I can't! Especially when she was like "*sigh* fine"

Also, Luka is not taking the breakup well either if Juleka's photo is anything to go by.

The bracelet idea is cute. I did something similar to that Junior year.

The scene from the ad that made us mad: Marinette transforming angrily after saying how her life as Marinette is complicated and prefers to be Ladybug all the time. It hurts to see this scene actually be in the 3rd episode as the guardianship and the breakup had consumed her so quickly.

Baby girl, we love you and we know as the audience how hard your life is now. This is why we are very concerned about you challenging ShadowMoth. Concerning.

But she breathes and goes back inside. Glad that you blew off some steam, but is everyone in Paris not aware that this just happened?!?!? Hello!?!?!?! Like Plagg said: People are blind. And a good thing too.

Just as this was happening, the girls come barging in. Good that they are great friends for being concerned, but have they ever heard of knocking?

Rose finds the dollhouse. Its a nice dollhouse, but isn't that too obvious that it will attract other people's attention? Not judging though, its a nice dollhouse and shows the expansion of Marinette's craft.

Originally, I thought they were coming after Marinette because of what happened in the episode "Ladybug", but glad to know her other friends cared about her too!

Alya comes up to find Marinette in the balcony just as she detransformed. That was WAYY too close.

Obviously, this made Marinette angry. Like who wouldn't be? They did barge into her room without asking and she was already stressed out as it is. And they were also snooping through her stuff.

In the heat of anger, Marinette said that she didn't want their friendship, which shocked everyone. So they left. But they weren't mad, they were just upset.

At least no friends means reduced amount to lying??? Yeah, but we need friends in life, so it is a lose-lose case.

Sabine asks of they are okay and no one says anything. I wonder if she will ask Marinette later on.

They go to the park and as they recall their pain, ShadowMoth akumatizes them in a link because of their emotional connection to the bracelet. They didn't even have to hold hands in a circle!

Finally, a safeguard for the Miracle Box that isn't obvious and is protected by a passcode. The record sonogram (or whatever is called) that Master Fu had!

Bruh, they couldn't come up with something different for the Gang of Secrets other than their former akumatized selves???

And then the girls (now the Gang of Secrets) barge into Marinette's room (again) to get her to spill her secrets.

Trixx using their power of illusion to lead the Gang of Secrets somewhere else. And Marinette was hidden.

Lady WiFi wondering how Marinette jumped 3 stories without superpowers was just that wholesome moment like girl you don't even know.

Every kwami using their powers without a holder has their own adverse affect. For Trixx, it was making the Eifel Tower dance (or at least I think it's dancing)

Plagg is like "this isn't a me thing, this is an everyone thing, but more importantly a Trixx thing." Adrien is like "M'Lady needs me!"

Ladybug and Marinette merge into one (figuratively speaking) when she tells Chat why the Gang of Secrets was there in the first place. Poor girl, we need to give her a hug.

Ladybug confronts Lady WiFi and tries to tell her that she is trusted and about Rena Rouge. Then...

SHE BREAKS OUT OF HER SIDE OF THE AKUMATIZATION!!!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! ALYA HAS BECOME THE FIRST PERSON TO BE AKUMATIZED AND BREAK OUT OF IT! AND SHE HURT SHADOWMOTH WHILE DOING SO! I'M HAPPY FOR MY GIRL.

Ladybug trusts Alya and gives her the Fox Miraculous again. Not complaining, but what about ShadowMoth knowing her secret identity??? Miracle Queen anyone??? You know, a chunk of the reason WHY MARINETTE IS SUFFERING IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!?!?

Also, teleportation of the Miraculous from the Miracle Box to Ladybug's yoyo! (Well more like a direct connection!) Cool and smart!

Rena Rouge, THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING US MARICHAT STANS AND OUT #justice for Marichat CAMPAIGN STARTED BY SOME OF MY FOLLOWERS ASKING FOR MORE MARICHAT EVEN IF IT WAS FOR 3 SECONDS!!!! (Yes I notice your comments peoples, I am generally a tired and busy person to respond, but I eventually acknowledge everything)

Can we take a moment and point out how amazing it was that Chat was fighting three (four???) akumas ON HIS OWN WHILE ON THE CAT PHONE!!! ICONIC!

IT WAS ALL SO CLOSE! SHADOWMOTH ALMOST HAD THE MIRACULOUS IF IT WEREN'T FOR PERFECT TIMING!

The moment with Alya in the alley! Friendship goals.

Marinette comes to terms that the breakup upsetted her so much and finds that love is complicated and chose friendship at the very least. Their reunion was what they all needed after what happened.

Alya stays behind to say that she knows that there is more, but will not press further. Can we get an applause for character growth?

Marinette asks her to stay longer as she wanted to tell her something.

It really was hard for her to keep lying to everyone and how she had to break up with Luka for this reason while also fearing that it would be the same with Adrien (she does not know, so she has a right to fear, also Chat Blanc!) She really needs a hug and such.

The whole concern about things changing between them is relatable to be but on a different context. It hit hard for me.

My fellow peoples: the moment that we were (sort of) waiting for ages is here:

JE SUIS LADYBUG! MARI TOLD ALYA THAT SHE'S LADYBUG!!!!

And Alya GIVES HER A HUG AS IN SHE UNDERSTOOD WHAT THIS MEANT AND THE REALIZATION OF WHAT MARINETTE WENT THROUGH!

As sad as I am that it was not Chat that she said this to first, I am glad that it was Alya. As her best friend literally hours prior to becoming Ladybug, having stuck by her side unconditionally, and having the willpower to break out of her akumatization, Alya is a perfect choice. Now I look forward to see how Alya helps Marinette deal with this burden.

Overall, this is a top tier episode, aka the best episode in the entire series in my opinion! I love how we explore Marinette's feelings regarding everything that is going on in her life and the ramifications of her being a guardian. It hurts and at the same time, it is beautifully executed! It shows the evolution of the writing and of the characters!

My arm hurt from the vaccine yesterday and these posts are usually long, so that's why it's released today rather than yesterday. Anyways, I recommend watching this episode!

[hauntedbythefanficsofmypast]

Universe Jump

Marinette, Adrien, and Chloe travel to the DC universe and create lives for themselves as a family. A little side info Marinette is a certified genius with an IQ of 187, Adrien has eidetic memory, and Chloe has Hyperthymesia.

Eidetic memory is when you can remember an image with high precision after seeing it once.

Hyperthymesia is where you remember a vast majority of your life with no problems.

A little background first. At 16 and 15, Adrien and Marinette have their final battle with Hawkmoth and Mayura, after they are defeated Chat and Ladybug hurry away from the scene both about to de-transform. When they find a hiding place Chat Noir breaks down finally de-transforming into Adrien. Marinette drops her transformation pulling Adrien into a tight hug. Neither letting go for over half an hour. They slowly make their way back to Marinette's house, Adrien crying on Mari's shoulder the whole way both unaware of the glares being sent at Adrien.

Since it was confirmed that it was Gabriel Agreste, many were speculating that Adrien was in on it. Some just wanted to take their anger out on Gabriel for torturing them by going after his son. Neither noticed the hatefully eyes following them as they entered the bakery. Tom and Sabine automatically hugged Adrien who was crying so hard he couldn't see or speak. After their hugs Marinette led him upstairs and they simply sat on the couch cuddling, not wanting to leave each other's side.

It wasn't until an hour later that the police arrived to question and inform Adrien on what they found in his house. Adrien tells them he had no idea that his father always talked about the heros with high regards whenever he saw them. When the police tell him about Emilie in the underground Garden, Adrien breaks down sobbing into Marinette's shoulder mumbling about how she'd been underneath him dead the entire time.

The police come to the conclusion that Adrien was not a part of it at all. And is grieving the loss of both his parents now, they agree to come back in the morning to talk with Tom and Sabine about where Adrien will be staying. However the morning never comes for Tom and Sabine, a group of people break into the bakery and set it on fire determined to get back at Gabriel by taking his son's life.

Marinette and Adrien only escape with the Miraculous box, Tom and Sabine had already been caught and it was too late for them. That night all four were pronounced dead. Adrien takes Marinette to Le Grand Paris, knowing Chloe would hide them for as long as they needed. They hide at Chloe's for a week while she pulls strings getting Gabriel's, The Dupain-Cheng's and Fu's bank accounts completely emptied and into her own without anyone knowing. During this time the three talk with the Kwamis on what they should do. It's Orikko that suggests the Kwami's move the money into their own dimension and take the three to a different universe. At first they are reluctant but Xuppu points out that they have no real reason to stay and their Kwamis agree. Pollen points out that Chloe's parents still aren't around. While Tikki and Plagg point out that their chosen are considered dead.

It gets Marinette thinking and she quickly goes over the ups and downs.

"Alright so here's what to know about us leaving this universe. It's a completely new start, no one knows who we are and according to Tikki the last time the Miraculous Box was there was when Hippolyta was Ladybug. So only the Amazonians will know of them. We'll be safer than we are here, not having to worry about people coming after us thanks to Gabriel. We'll have plenty of money and I know enough to be able to fake us having a 'parent' and buy a place for us as well as use it to our advantage. However based on where we end up it may be harder for me to get us IDs, and definitely hard to get us faked birth certificates. Not to mention, I'd have to teach myself an insane amount of hacking to successfully make it look like we've had previous education in that universe."

Together they decide that leaving is the best option even if they are slightly afraid. Plagg and Trixx snag all the money from Chloe's account and transfer it to their home dimension. Then together all the Kwami surround their three holders and transport them to an abandoned warehouse in Gotham with all their bags including the extravagant dollhouse Chloe had made for them. Once there the Kwami quickly swarm the house laying down in their respective beds as Adrien gives each one their favorites to eat before sleeping. Marinette explores the warehouse plotting out everything that must be done in construction while also making sure that no one else was there.

Once it's clear she returns to Chole and Adrien and they begin planning their first moves. Tomorrow Adrien and Chloe will go to a cafe that has free wifi with Tikki and Pollen. And using Marinette's USB they'll insert the 'parent' into the world from there they will create a bank account online, have Pollen transfer some money in, and then buy the warehouse. Meanwhile Marinette will be walking the town during the day with Plagg. As he points out places that give off the most sketchy energy, although they all can feel the destruction energy surrounding the city. He'll be able to find where the worse off people are staying. When meeting back up at the warehouse Marinette will confirm that their transaction went through. Then go from place to place with Plagg radiating as much dangerous energy around her as he can until she finds a bar where the bartender has what she needs.

Marinette meets with the bartender and a contractor the next day when the bar is closed. She tells the contractor she wants everything under the table and is willing to pay in cash half up front and half when the work is done.

"I want it done within a timely manner, bring in those you can trust not to squeal and are good workers, ten of them. I don't want any cut corners. If it'll cost more to do something safer, I'll pay it. And if none of you squeal within five months of it being done I'll give each other you an extra seven thousand and five hundred. These are the plans I have drawn up and this is the location. You'll start in two days. Do we have a deal?" 

The Contractor nods promising Marinette the best he has to offer and everything under the table with workers that are capable and wont speak of it. She simply smiles politely nodding and picks up the briefcase sliding it across the table to him. She then tosses a thousand to the bartender telling him to remember her because she'd definitely come back for more and will pay him.

Once back at the warehouse Marinette drops the tough girl persona exhausted from the day. She collapses on one of the three beds Tikki created for them and grins softly. Telling them that construction starts in two days.

When two days pass Marinette is a little surprised at how respectful the workers are and when she questions the contractor, lets call him Doug. Doug tells her that these aren't actually his workers, their friends of his that were contractors as well before they lost their jobs. Told her that he knew they needed the money, and that they wouldn't say anything once they realized they were working for a young girl and not a mob boss.

When Marinette here's that she is much nicer to the men and begins to bond with them Adrien and Chloe join in. Chloe sells a story of their parents being killed in Paris when they were still young and how they were basically sold to slavery. Claiming that they recently escaped after their 'owner' was killed. When asked on how they got the money Chloe immediately turns on Marinette.

"That easy! Mari here is really smart I mean seriously if we hadn't been-well you know- she'd already be in college! She was able to transfer his money into another account and then use one of his fake IDs to get us away!"

Construction lasts for four months and in that time the workers and the teens become closer. The workers even begin helping them with getting furniture, a few of them offering their trucks free of charge and willing to go pick up anything they can't have delivered. Doug even brings in a friend to install a top of the line security system for them. Once construction is over they have a solid bond between them and Marinette promises to call them anytime they need construction done.

At this point the warehouse has been turned into a home for them. With all the necessities and furniture. And in the basement of the warehouse Marinette has a parkour funland put in. They have also had time to research their new city and its heroes. Marinette deems it best that they do not transform or go parkoring in Gotham.

"Something about Batman tells me that if he sees us he won't stop until he knows everything about us. If you feel the need to run transformed or not, go to the basement."

Soon almost every night is spent in the basement for at least an hour and a half. The same time patrol lasted in Paris.

Marinette begins making all of their clothes, bored and missing designing. Soon they have donated all their old clothes and only wear Marinette's designs. It's Chloe that gets the clientele rolling in when a few women ask where she got her shirt. She gives them Marinette's information and soon Marinette is making clothes for others back in her element. She is slowly making a name for herself in Gotham taking up the name MDC.

Marinette also returns to the Bartender asking for help once again. Let's call the Bartender Chasen. She has him get in contact with someone that could fake documents for schooling. She explains to him that while she already has her profession, Adrien loves science and Chloe lives for business. Chasen calls her the next day informing her that he'd found the perfect person.

Chasen-For the right price all of you will be considered legal immigrants in America. He will get you all the paperwork you need within a week's time.

Marinette- And you trust him?

Chasen- Yes, with my life.

Marinette- Very well, what is his price?

Chasen- He wants to know why two 17 year olds and a 16 year old are in need of this paperwork.

Marinette- What is his name?

Chasen- John Constantine.

Marinette-Very well give him my address.

Marinette gives him two thousand dollars before leaving the bar.

A few hours later the trio is relaxing together in the living room. Adrien is excitedly talking about what they could do once they get the paperwork. When a portal opens up in their kitchen, and a blonde man steps out introducing himself.

John- Hello there, I'm John Constantine. Now please tell me why multiple gods have returned to this universe with three teenagers?

The trio is shocked into silence that this man knows they're from another universe. John sighs muttering out a few curses before turning around and opening their fridge pulling out a drink. He sits down at their breakfast table taking a long sip before leveling eye contact with Marinette.

John- Alright pigtails sit down and talk, you're the one Chasen told me to talk to.

Marinette huffs at the name glaring at him before sitting down and telling him their story. Plagg sits on her shoulder facing away from Constantine. Pretending to eat cheese while he is ready to jump to Marinette's defense if needed.

By the end of the night the trio has a foul mouth yet compassionate new friend. John agrees to get them all the documentation that makes it seem like they've lived in the universe since birth.

John- The only people that will be able to tell something is unusual is superheros. My friend is going to tie you all together as siblings with the same father, me. Though you'll all be emancipated and the only time I'll come into play is if one of you gets hurt. Chloe and Adrien will pass as fraternal twins with the same mother, Marinette due to your differing appearance will have a different mother. The only thing that will give you away to heros is my name, they know I do not have kids. Unusually I have enough time to find others to pose as you parents but you're stuck with me.

The trio agrees to the conditions and John smiles gently surprising them. He ruffles Marinette's hair telling them he'll be back periodically before he gets the paperwork. He tells Marinette his phone number and before he leaves Marinette grips his hand tightly.

Marinette- That is really all you wanted? Just our story?

John turns to her squeezing her hand gently before nodding.

John- I'm not one of the best people in the universe, that much your little Gods and Goddesses can tell you. But I would never not help a child or children when I can, and while your eyes are older than they should be you're still children. Now enough of the soft bull, I have a reputation to keep! If you need me, call me!

John leaves the same way he came, not seeing Marinette smiling gently at his back. Chloe and Adrien share a grin behind her teasing each other on who the cuter twin is. Marinette rolls her eyes as Plagg and Pollen start arguing for their chosen. 

A week later they are now the Constantine siblings.

A few weeks later both Chloe and Adrien have taken their SATs and their ACT, skying some of the highest scores in Gotham. Marinette decided not to take the test knowing that it would be suspicious if they discover she is a genius. People will be asking why it wasn't documented in Paris, instead she uses their week of studying to teach herself hacking, much to John's amusement when he visits.

His amusement fled when he made a snarky comment and Marinette turned to him smirking.

Marinette- At least I didn't sleep with a humanoid shark.

John-....ya f*ckin got me there pigtails!

He then turned and disappeared through a portal unable to look any of his self proclaimed kids in the eyes. Once gone Marinette and Plagg start laughing hysterically together causing Tikki to roll her eyes and start complaining about Plagg trying to steal her Chosen. Plagg sticks his tongue out at her before floating over and resting himself in Adrien's hair.

A few weeks later Marinette is dragging John to a car dealership ignoring his whining. She simply signs and tells him that she needs her parental figures help with buying a car.

John sighs before agreeing to help her get a car, in the end he is glad he is there when the dealer attempts to push Marinette into buying a terrible car.

He immediately gets in between them glaring the man down before telling him that he is shopping for a car for his daughter. The man nodded before stuttering out that he'll get the keys for their safest cars, before rushing back inside.

John huffs not looking Marinette in the eye as she smirks at him.

Marinette- Watch out Dad, keep this up and people might think you care about us!

John-Shut it Pigtails, or I'll leave right now.

Marinette- No you won't. 

John doesn't respond because he knows she is right, he got attached to these sassy brats. His only hope is that his enemies don't find out about them. That night he stays for dinner and when the kids fall asleep he places magical sigils on each of their souls. Protecting them from attacks from both Heaven and hell. When confronted by the Kawami he just huffs telling them the brats wormed their way into his heart. Tikki simply smiles patting his cheek before telling him to use the guest room.

The next day John is grumbling sitting at the breakfast bar dressed in only his boxers as Marinette makes breakfast. Adrien sits next to him laughing at the dark look on his face, while Chloe rolls her eyes at both of them sipping her coffee.

He sighs softly thinking about how Bats would kill him for being in his city this long. However when he hears the three burst into laughter together. He can't find it in himself to actually care.

Two months later Chloe and Adrien are attending college classes and Marinette is getting ready to open her own boutique with John's help. They bought a shop in the nice parts of Gotham and with Doug's help they were practically ready to open. They had a large floor room. The right floor of the store was designated for specially designed clothing, a doortalong the wall opened to a fitting room. The left side was for her clothing manufactured in bulk, and the changing areas were located on that side. She also had the walls set for clothing designed by the designers she hired. Above each rack was a whiteboard that each designer was allowed to specially decorate and have their name displayed. Their clothes were being sold under her name in return for only 25 percent while they got the other 75 percent. The back room housed a designing area for Marinette and her designers with extra sewing machines along with racks and shelves for finished clothing. John was helping her set up signs for the day unknown to the both of them they were being spied on.

Bruce Wayne had spotted John Constantine in Gotham over three weeks ago. He didn't confront him because at the time he'd been walking out of Gotham University with two blonds, before getting in a car that a black haired girl with sunglasses was driving. He proceeded to investigate even deeper, finding two new students with the last name Constantine and an upcoming designer sharing the name as well. His first thought was that John had relocated some of his allies into Gotham, which pissed the Bat off greatly. 

However it had been Dick that pointed out to him that the kids we're Tim's age and they didn't have any history beyond what John had created for them. Instead of confronting the man and kicking them out he had the entire family taking turns watching the three.

They saw a family that found itself the three obviously weren't actually siblings but that didn't matter to them. They also saw John get closer and closer to the kids slowly starting to spend more time with them. When Marinette began setting up her shop Bruce and Dick watched John smile gently at the girl when she began to ramble on and on. It was that moment that made Dick turn on Bruce telling him that if he even threatened to kick them out Dick would be upset.

Meanwhile Jason was continuously joking and making comments that Bruce was only mad because John managed to adopt a black hair blue eyed child before he could. Bruce got out of his car walking into the unfinished boutique, his eyes zeroing in on the recently named Marinette Constantine. She greeted him politely telling him the store wasn't open yet and only tenseed slightly when John froze at the sight of him. She played it off and quickly turned to John.

Marinette- Hey Dad can you take those extra racks to the back for me, while I give this nice man our opening dates.

John looked like he wanted to argue but instead he nodded picking up a couple racks and taking them to the back. Marinette's eyes were immediately back on him calculating him in seconds. Which surprised him greatly, the only people able to pick him apart like this were his kids.

Marinette-Bruce Wayne and by Dad's reaction you're either a hero or a villain. It's easy to tell you're not a villain though so that only leaves the hero. In Gotham very few heroes are allowed. Based on your age and when heros first appeared I'm assuming you Batman. This means Richard Grayson was the first Robin, going through assumptions once again. This would place your family as the heroes of Gotham. You're Batman, and I know that you know damn well that John isn't our actual father. Probably suspicious of why he has three kids relocated into your city as well. You have a no meta policy in Gotham and I understand why. However John is not a meta, he is a mage and he is our guardian. I fear that the foul mouthed a**hat got attached to us though so he stays. You want answers, that's why you decided to confront us in public, everyone is wondering what Bruce Wayne is doing here, so we wouldn't dare make a move to run. What you didn't account for was going up against someone who could pick you apart in seconds and learn your weaknesses. For instance you've had your back broken, you've healed incredibly however to the right trained eye you can see that you wear back supports. Not only that you still get pains from the injury, pains that you're experiencing right now as shown by the tension in your back. Pain medication not kicked in yet Brucie?

She finished the polite smile never leaving her face even when both heard John laughing hysterically in the back room.

Bruce- You're good.

Marinette-I would hope so in my universe I was one of the best heros and a certified genius.

Bruce- Your universe?

Marinette- Yes my universe. I think we both know talking about this in public is stupid Brucie. Find the warehouse that belongs to Margie Willkins, and you will find us.

Bruce-Margie Willkins, very well. Will she be there as well.

Marinette- Not likely considering she only exists on the internet. You won't find her anywhere else. Now Brucie it is time for you to go.

Bruce- Don't call me that.

He finally growled out, Marinette's smile didn't waver but he could see the glee light up in her eyes at his annoyance. Reminding him of the gleam his kids would get for the same task.

Marinette-Oh but Brucie, I think it's just the perfect nickname! Show me you deserve my respect Brucie, you maybe Batman but you came in here to intimidate one of my family members. I believe you can understand I am very protective of my family. After all I've already had two murdered and I won't lose anymore. Now turn and leave my store with a smile on your face Bruce, or I'll start crying.

John- She will  the girl had me running around to get her favorite snacks until Chloe pointed out she was faking.

Marinette pouted looking at John behind her stating that Chloe had to ruin her fun. She turned to Bruce staring him down once more. Bruce nodded confirming that he'd be there.

That night the three were relaxing when Batman jumped down into their living room in front of them. Neither teen flinched Chloe scoffed going back to her nails while Adrien threw popcorn at him complaining that he was blocking the tv. Much to his kids amusement over the coms. Marinette simply sighed before flipping herself over the back of the couch. Gesturing him to follow her, she stopped however and looked him dead in the eye.

Marinette- Oh, and you're seven backups are doing a terrible job of hiding. Might as well tell them to just join us.

This left the entire family stunned as Marinette simply turned back walking into the kitchen and sitting down. Soon she was joined by eight members of the Batfamily. She took in their appearance quickly determining who was who with ease. She smirked when she felt Plagg settle into her jacket pocket. Him being there instead of Tikki meant Marinette wasn't representing Ladybug. She could be as sassy or rude as she wanted.

Marinette- So I get to talk to Batman now and not Brucie. Interesting, nice to see you finally drop your mask around me. Now I can see the real person, oops I wasn't supposed to say that was I?

Batman's glare hardened especially as Red Hood and Nightwing began to silently laugh.

Batman-Get to the point of why we're here.

Marinette-So serious maybe you should try getting a spa treatment, it does wonders. But I digress. Do you want the short version or the long version?

Batman simply stared at her causing Marinette to roll her eyes, before telling the trio's story. Shortly after explaining everything Chloe and Adrien joined them with all the Kwami flying in around, Plagg leaving Marinette's pocket heading back to Adrien.

Nightwing immediately gushes about the Kwami being cute cause Marinette to giggle softly. Each sibling begins to check the Kwami out as well as talk to the three fromer heroes. While Bruce was studying Marinette watching her switch from a mischievous and sassy persona to her actual personality. He watched the kids all talking and getting to know each other. At some point the Batfamily save Bruce had taken their masks off.

That's when both he and Tim noticed Marinette pull out a laptop and start typing. Tim decided to approach asking her what she was doing, Marinette rolled her eyes telling him that she is deleting all of tonight's security footage. Stating that he needs to leave her alone because she only recently started learning how to hack and getting into a company known for their security. Tim makes a noise before pulling her computer away and hacking into the company within five minutes. Marinette stared at her computer for a minute before grabbing his hands and getting closer to his face causing everyone to stare.

Marinette-Teach me, and I will make you my famous caffeine death coffee everyday for a month.

Tim blushed at her closeness until the words coffee hit his ears. He raised his eyebrow before questioning how good it was. Marinette simply released his hand and stood up walking over to the coffee machine and making the coffee in under five minutes. Everyone noticed Adrien and Chloe eyeing the coffee like it was poison when Marinette placed it in front of him. Tim stared at it for a while Marinette sighed picking it back up taking a big gulp swallowing it for them all before placing it in front of him again. Tim finally picked it up and took a sip only to freeze then down it in down gulp. He placed the cup down before grabbing both of Marinette's hands while looking her in the eye dead serious.

Tim- Marry me.

Everyone stared at him in shock especially when he didn't laugh saying he was joking.

Marinette blushed brightly, sputtering out a few unrecognizable sentences before taking a deep breath looking away from him.

Marinette- Honestly, I'm not a girl that marries before the first date. We barely even know each other.

Tim- Your right, what are you doing tomorrow night at six?

Marinette- Uh well I was going to be at my shop until five thirty, after that nothing really.

Tim- Perfect, I'll pick you up from your boutique at five thirty. We'll go on our first date and as many dates as it'll take me to convince you to marry me.

Marinette just sputters out a confirmation unable to look Tim in the eye.

Tim is the last of the family to leave before going he grabs Marinette's hand again. Letting a gentle smile cover his face.

Tim-I am not asking you out just because of your coffee skills Marinette. I had the task of researching you and your siblings. I found you rather fascinating, and we also have quite a bit in common. Your amazing coffee was just a plus. I will see you tomorrow at five thirty?

Marinette- Five thirty. I'll be waiting.

Tim-I won't be late.

He kisses her hand before releasing it and grappling away. He was not ready to deal with his family's teasing. Marinette refused to meet Adrien or Chloe's gaze as she walked to her room, her face bright red.

@abrx2002

@chocolateherringtacofan

@blackmagicforever

@mythogaychic

[2manyfandoms2count]

Alix's rom-com night

The June event of the @mlwritersguild was to create bonus content for one of our fics - I decided to seize the opportunity to finally sit down and write one of the bonus scenes of You can count on me (I will be there for you), and to do draw a bit of fanart to go with it (4 panels, including a Marichat piece)! Let me tell you that the Burrow is a pain to draw, but I'm actually quite proud of the result :)

About YCCOM: It's an aged-up, one-sided reveal with "fake" wedding fic, based on Sallteas' art. The fic is 9 chapters and 20k words long. It was written before season 4, so it's no longer canon compliant in terms of who knows who's identities at the beginning.

Synopsis: Ladybug's identity is compromised, and somebody is after her. After a lot of pondering, she and Chat Noir come to the conclusion that her best bet is for her to marry Adrien Agreste. It breaks her heart that she is not marrying Chat Noir, but she knows that she's buying them time to figure out who is behind the anonymous letters she's been receiving, and hopefully to find Hawkmoth. Whatever the situation might be, her wedding day should provide a moment of respite. And maybe it would have, had Chat Noir refrained from coming to visit her just before the ceremony...

About Alix's rom-com night: it's a one shot that's chronologically set before the main fic, but I recommend reading it after reading the latter since it contains spoilers for it. It follows Alix (obviously), and includes Ladybug revealing her identity to Chat Noir and the set up of their "fake wedding" plan.

Hope you enjoy!

---

Alix opened her door and dropped her keys in the bowl as she kicked off her shoes with a satisfied sigh. Home, sweet home.

Her studio apartment wasn’t very big, but then again, she didn’t need a huge surface when she had a whole extension waiting for her just a transformation phrase away. She’d mentally thanked Marinette more than once for choosing her to wield the Rabbit Miraculous, rather than somebody else, just for the savings she made in rent.

She whistled happily as she made her way to her kitchen area, grabbing a bag of popcorn out of a cupboard and shoving it in her microwave.

She deserved the treat. She’d been running around all week, trying to slide letters to her targets without being spotted, spending hours on end to find the perfect stationary, and then staying up at night to get the wording exactly right, a delicate mix of subtlety and threat to elicit some sort of response from them. It had taken a lot of trial and error, especially for Ladybug. Her friend had always been surprisingly oblivious on many fronts, and it seemed that her honeymoon phase with Chat Noir reinforced her optimistic ability to brush ominous details aside. It had taken three letters for her to start freaking out and to promise Tikki she would talk to her partner about them, whereas Hawkmoth had started the analysis phase upon the first one he’d received.

Alix had only been mildly surprised by the identity of their nemesis when she’d decided it was high time she knew who they were facing; it was all too fitting that the man who leached off Paris’ most intense negative emotions should be the most embittered person she knew, and the one who, in retrospect, had been the cause of many an Akuma (she still shuddered at the what-could-have-been of Chat Noir’s akumatisation).

The microwave dinged, bringing her thoughts back to her timeline. She took the bowl out and called for her Kwami.

“Fluff, clockwise! Burrow!”

A white portal appeared in the middle of her living space and she walked through it, emerging in the ovoid room covered in screens. She made her way to the furthest point, hung her umbrella up on the coathanger she kept in there, and grabbed a folding chair. It was a director’s seat which supposedly had belonged to a rising name in the cinema world before their career had been shot down for obscure reasons, but she didn’t really care about its story; she’d bought it for a very low price at a yard sale, and that was all that mattered to her.

“Right, where are you…” She muttered, scrutinising her surroundings, until she found the screen she was looking for.

She unfolded the chair, zoomed in on the empty (for now) rooftop, propped down in her seat and threw a fistful of popcorn into her mouth, waiting for the show to start.

Unsurprisingly, Ladybug was the first to arrive on the scene. She paced around, mumbling to herself as she wrung her hands together. Alix felt a pang of guilt as she watched her rehearse how she would break the news to her partner, but reassured herself that the ordeal would soon be over.

Finally, Chat Noir landed beside Ladybug, and she flung herself at him, holding him so tight he had to untangle himself from her arms to breathe.

“Well, well, well, my Lady, I know I couldn’t make it to patrol last night, but I didn’t think you’d miss me this much,” he chuckled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Alix rolled her eyes at just how lovestruck he looked as he did so. How could her friends be so sappy, and yet still be at square one in terms of knowing who the other was?

Some might have said that it was romantic, that they loved each other regardless of who they were; but those people did not have to deal with the constant end of the world threat.

“What was so important that you couldn’t just text me?”

Ladybug took a deep breath. Her fingers slid along his arms as she relaxed her embrace, taking his hands in hers at the end of the line. “Somebody knows my identity,” she said quietly, looking down. “And I don’t know who they are.”

“What?!” Chat’s voice detonated in the previously peaceful quiet of the evening, making a couple of pigeons take off in a loud flutter of wings.

“I’m so sorry, I must have been careless when I got home one night, they must have seen me, I bet it was last week when I was tired and I-”

“My Lady, no offence, but I don’t care about the when and why, just... are you okay?” He tilted her chin up, gently turning her head to each side, checking for any signs of injury.

She placed her hand on his, making him stop, and gave him a soft, sad smile. “Yes, Chaton. Just a little rattled; you know you were the first person I wanted to reveal my identity to. Not including Bunnyx, although technically I never told her who I am.”

“And technically, I’m still the only person who knows who you are,” Bunnyx smugly commented between two handfuls of popcorn. “Now come on, I want to see how you react when you reveal your identities to each other.”

“How do you know somebody knows, though? And do you have any idea what their intentions are?”

Ladybug’s expression darkened. “I received some letters. They’re not signed, but they’ve got enough butterflies on them to make me think that even if they’re not from the biggest pest in Paris, then they’re probably from somebody who’s up to no good.”

Chat Noir swore under his breath, then regained his countenance. “So, what do we do now? Do you think we can hunt down the bugger?”

“We definitely will, but…” Ladybug bit her lip, and Alix leaned forward in her seat. This had to be it. “Chaton, I think the time has come for me to tell you who I am.”

“YES! Finally!” Alix cheered, almost spilling her popcorn bowl.

“Are you sure, my Lady?” Alix didn’t have to be on site to tell that Chat Noir’s heart was beating faster than usual; the corners of his mouth twitched as he repressed a smile, as though his excitement could make her change her mind.

“Yes.” She nodded. “I really want you to know.” In case something happens to me, Alix was pretty sure her friend had left unsaid.

“Okay, okay.” Chat Noir took a deep breath, buzzing with anticipation, so much so that he apparently missed the whole subtext of her previous words. “Do you want to do this now? And how do you want to do it? Do you want me to close my eyes? Are you going to write it on a piece of paper for me to read? Are you going to detransform? Should-”

“I was thinking the latter, and yes, now,” Ladybug said timidly. “Up to you if you want to look or not.”

“For some reason, I feel like I shouldn’t.” He took her hands in his and kissed her knuckles without breaking their eye contact, then took another deep breath and closed his eyes, a blissful smile on his lips. “Ready when you are, my Lady.”

“Ok, here goes.” She let out a shaky breath and called off her transformation. The soft pink glow engulfed her and receded, her suit melting away to reveal her true appearance.

“Wow, Marinette, you actually broke out your favourite dress for this? Glad to see all of this isn’t affecting your ability to think straight.” Alix smirked. If her friend had gone home after a long, stressful work day, and found it in her to change and doll herself up to make a good impression on Chat Noir, things couldn’t be that bad. She had to agree that her dress, simple, white, with little red hearts embroidered on it, was perfect for the occasion, though.

“You can open your eyes now, Chaton.” Marinette gave his hands a squeeze.

Chat Noir obliged, blinking slowly as he took in her appearance, her identity, her. Marinette squirmed under his gaze, his expression not giving away any of his thoughts.

“H-Hi,” she stammered when she couldn’t take it anymore. “I, erm, I guess I should introduce myself? We’ve run into each other before, when we were younger, and even if you actually had lunch with my family that one time, I guess it’s been a while… My name is-”

“Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Chat’s smile finally broke free, spread from ear to ear, almost literally illuminating his face. Alix wondered if anything could ever wipe it off. Love and admiration twinkled in his eyes as he picked her up and started spinning her. Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck, giggling giddily, before Chat Noir closed the gap between their lips.

Bunnyx modestly looked away, allowing them to have their moment. Her eyes landed on a rerun of Plagg putting an end to the dinosaurs’ reign.

“I should have known that it was you, Princess.” Chat panted slightly as he carefully set Marinette back on the roof. “Everything makes so much more sense now, I-”

“Before you finish that thought, I can’t know your identity.” She placed her index finger on his lips. “Yet, of course.”

“What?” Chat froze, and so did Bunnyx, her hand pausing midway between the popcorn bowl and her mouth. “But why?”

“I don’t know what might happen to me, but I don’t want to put you in any danger.” Marinette cupped his cheek. “And I don’t want to lose my memories of you. Of us.”

“Oh for Kwami’s sake.” Alix rolled her eyes. “Boo!” She threw a fistful of popcorn at the screen as her friend continued to list all the reasons Chat couldn’t reveal his identity.

“My Lady, Marinette, if you’re worried about your safety, maybe we should do something about it. I could move in with you, or in a flat nearby, maybe, stay transformed or wear a mask at all times so you don’t know who I am, we can figure it out… Of course I know you can protect yourself, but I could stand guard while you sleep, or...” Chat raked his hand through his hair as he thought.

“You know I love you, Chaton, and that’s why I can’t let you do that! You can’t live like that, I can’t ask that of you. Not to mention how difficult it would be for me, do you really think I could resist having you so close, and not trying to get a glimpse of who you are?” She joked, trying to diffuse the sudden tension.

“Then we need to get you a bodyguard,” he insisted.

“I thought about it, but… Well, I can’t really afford it, and how could I justify suddenly needing personal security? I’m just a designer, and nothing I’ve ever done has been avant-garde enough that I should be worried about my safety.” She shook her head.

“Damn, I knew I should have targeted Chat Noir,” Alix swore under her breath. “He would’ve had to reveal his identity, and she definitely wouldn’t have been a pushover on her kitty’s protection matter. Come on Adrien, do something.”

She could tell that he was up to something just by looking at him. He’d been silent for a little too long for it to be natural. Cogs turned in his head, making him squint. He let go of her completely and paced around the roof, almost pulling his hair out as he did so. Alix sensed that whatever was on his mind was going to be big. She leaned forwards in anticipation.

Finally, Chat Noir came to a halt in front of Marinette, the fever in his eyes and his dishevelled hair making him look slightly unhinged.

“Buguinette, I think I’ve got a solution,” he whispered.

“You do?” Marinette’s voice was full of hope, although she looked slightly concerned about him.

“You’re probably not going to like it,” he warned her, lifting a finger.

“Beggars can’t be choosers.” She shrugged, taking a step forward.

“Right.” He gave her one last look, an opportunity to stop him before the words tumbled out. She nodded encouragingly. “Okay, here’s the thing. I have it on very good authority that Adrien Agreste is being pressured into getting married by his father.”

“I see Gabriel’s just as delightful as always,” Marinette shook her head.

“Unlike good cheese, he definitely doesn’t get better with time.” Chat smiled bitterly, eyes losing focus a little.

“What’s it got to do with us, though?” Marinette prompted, placing a hand on his arm.

“Oh, Agreste, you absolute genius, I think I know where this is going.” Alix took another handful of popcorn.

“Oh, yes, right.” He cleared his throat. “See, Adrien’s not dating anyone at the moment…” Right, Alix snorted. “And he’s not really planning on starting a relationship with his father breathing down his neck, but, well, he happens to owe me a favour, and I’m sure that he’d be more than happy to put his security detail to good use…”

“So you’re suggesting that I marry Adrien.” Marinette deadpanned.

“Well, er, I actually thought you could just date, but thinking about it… It would be less strange for you to request a bodyguard if your relationship was more serious…” He trailed off.

Alix was impressed by how well he concealed his emotions. His poker face was truly exceptional.

“And you think Adrien would be ready to marry me because of a favour he owes you?” Marinette crossed her arms over her chest, pursing her lips and squinting at him as she tried to pick at his lie.

Alix winced for Chat. Maybe he should have waited a bit before blurting out the (as it turned out) probably only sane option in that situation so he could work out all of the details for himself. Marinette was very good at trying to shake plans to see how solid their foundations were.

“Please. Adrien had a crush on you when you were younger, if anything I could probably smuggle it as another favour, given how perfect the fake scenario would be. Although I guess that since you also liked him… It might just cancel out.” He tapped his lip pensively.

“Adrien had a crush on me?” Marinette frowned. “Oh, you must mean Ladybug. I think Nino mentioned it once.”

“Well, yes, but he also had one on you, Marinette.” Chat stepped forward, mischief twinkling in his eyes as he poked her on the nose.

“Really, now,” she muttered to herself.

“The main reason he didn’t act on it was that he thought you loved somebody else.” Chat smiled ironically.

“Wow, what a pair of idiots.” Marinette chuckled.

“You don’t know the half of it.” He kissed her forehead.

“But you know what?” Marinette didn’t pick up on her partner’s comment. “I’m actually glad we didn’t get together. It probably would have delayed us getting together.” She pressed a peck to his lips. “If we’d gotten together at all in that timeline.” She smirked.

Alix snorted. Out of all the timelines she’d watched unfold in an attempt to keep things in check, there wasn’t a single one where Marinette and Adrien, Ladybug and Chat Noir, didn’t end up together, and not just because of her interventions to help them, and the rest of the planet, stay alive.

Marinette’s face fell at Chat Noir’s lack of response. Alix knew her friend didn’t particularly believe in soulmates, but she understood that she would have liked a sappy Chat Noir special comment on how he’d told her he’d grow onto her anyway, and that she would have soon discovered that the Agreste boy had nothing on him. She assumed that he was too busy restraining himself from saying the wrong thing.

“Actually… What about us, then?” Marinette cleared her throat and looked up at him, eyes glistening slightly in the half light.

“My Lady… If you really think that you being a divorcée will spur me away…” Chat Noir looked down at their entwined hands, locks of blond hair falling in front of his eyes, concealing his giddy smile from her. You sneaky cat, Alix thought.

Marinette followed his gaze, letting out a long sigh as she watched their hands sway lightly. Alix knew her brain was probably trying to find all the flaws in the plan. She crossed her fingers, hoping that it would be enough for her friend to accept. It was perfect, whether they got their act together and figured everything out before the event, or not.

“Fine,” Marinette finally said with resolve, making Alix mentally thank whoever was out there. “I’ll do it on two conditions.”

“Anything, my love.” Chat let out a sigh of relief.

“Firstly, we’re honest with Adrien from the get go. No lying about anything.” Chat nodded along. “Secondly, we get cracking on finding Hawkmoth, and after we do and the divorce is settled, if we even get that far with Adrien because obviously if everything is settled before the wedding we won’t be going through the whole plan…” Chat smiled fondly as she took a deep breath. “After all that, we are getting married.” She gestured between the both of them.

“My Lady, are you proposing to me right meow?” Chat Noir all but purred.

“I guess so.” Marinette shrugged, a smile and a blush spreading on her cheeks.

“Wow, then, I’m definitely putting Adrien in charge of the proposal planning,” he replied with a smirk.

“Chaton!” She stomped her foot, her mildly amused smile cancelling out her frown.

“What?” He teased her.

“Will you? Marry me?” She held his gaze.

“Do you even have to ask?” He chuckled. “You know, my Lady, I’m pretty sure that, in my head, we’ve been married since that speech you gave on the Eiffel Tower during our very first fight. Well, I’ve been married to you; you do whatever you please.”

“You’re such a dork,” Marinette laughed, brushing her nose against his and throwing her arms around his neck.

“And yet you still love me.” He pulled her closer.

“Unfortunately, I do,” she sighed dramatically before pressing a kiss to his lips.

Alix dismissed the screen. She’d seen what she wanted, and it seemed like a good place to stop; a happy, sappy ending. Also, she’d finished all of her popcorn.

Everything was on track, her friends would start their Hawkmoth hunt, and soon everybody in Paris would be able to live without fear of their own negative emotions.

(Of course, that was the theory; she’d soon find out that she’d underestimated Adrien’s will to organise the perfect wedding for Marinette, and that, my friends, was no small oversight.)

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML au What if

(What if the peacock miraculous wasnt broken?)

-This brings up a lot of questions because this is the staple of the whole show. Emilie overusing the peacock miraculous resulted in her illness and her eventual coma which caused Gabriel to then go and find the butterfly miraculous with Nathalie.

-So this brings up the question, What WOULD have happened?

_____________________________________________________________

-Would Adrien have still tried to go to public school? I imagine yes, but I also imagine that it didnt work out. His mother probably denied the request, and without Gabriel being an obsessive hermit, he likely wouldnt have given the okay on the request either.

-Emilie would still be alive and likely she would be the main muse of Gabriel. Adrien likely wouldnt model as much thanks to his mom.

-As for school life, Marinette would have become friends with Alya just like in origins. I imagine Alya would likely be the one more front and center against Chloé instead of Marinette. Alya would clash with Chloé.

-Ivan doesnt get akumatized so he Marinette (never being ladybug) doesnt notice Ivan's crush on Mylene and doesnt encourage him to try (at the very least, not right away)

-As for Fu. Without a new miraculous activating, Wayzz doesnt alert Fu. So Fu likely is left unaware of the Agreste family possessing the peacock miraculous. (so for the time being, there is no issue)

-Adrien's relationship with Felix doesnt deteriorate. Because with Emilie there, Adrien and the family would have gone to Felix's dad's funeral. So Felix has no animosity towards Adrien (in that regard). And With Emilie alive, Amelie doesnt feel the need to get the rings back.

-Now would Nino and Nathaniel still probably have crushes on Marinette? That is a very good question.

-In Nino's case, we know he thought she was cute and thats why he wanted to ask her out. But without Adrien's encouragement it is doubtful he would have tried anything (at the very least early on)

-In Nathaniel's case, He clearly thought the same and his interest based on the sketches. But without that confidence boost from akumatization, its doubtful he would have tried.

-Marinette probably would meet adrien during the hat design contest. While nervous, Alya encouraged her to enter. Sure she wasnt ladybug confident, but Alya does have a LOT of sway on Marinette. So its pretty obvious she would listen to her.

-I imagine Adrien would be disappointed in Chloé over cheating and would tell her that it wasnt right and that she should apologize to Marinette. Which Chloé scoffs and walks off.

-Adrien would apologize on Chloé's behalf and congratulate MARINETTE.

-Now this is no umbrella scene so I dont think Marinette would be Smitten. But she would at the very least think Adrien was cute. (Maybe even become a bit of a fan) but thats probably as far as it goes.

-As for Adrien, he would see Marinette as someone with potential. Adrien but I doubt he would be crushing on her from just that.

-A lot of events likely dont happen mainly because of the fact there were no akuma. So I am going to give a quick rundown.

-No Hawkmoth, ladybug or Chat noir because Origins never happens. Fu is blissfully unaware of the peacock miraculous nearby

-Adrien doesnt celebrate his Birthday and Bubbler never happens

-Copycat, antibug, and Lady Wife dont happen because there are no heroes.

-Mireille is the sole Weather girl after the contest.

-Nathaniel never asks out Marinette, Marinette is part of Nino and Alya's group so Sabrina doesnt have Marinette stand up for her

-Princess Fragrance would only have Chloé being a jerk to Rosé. Rosé would be bummed out. Ali would also probably not like chloé and thats it.

-Marinette not blinded by love would actually ask Kim who he was going to ask out. When he says its chloé. Marinette doesnt encourage him, and Alya agrees. Kim is stubborn still tries and it goes poorly. Kim does get over his crush on Chloé tho. The girls and Max comfort him on that. And Ondine hears of the heart break

-Pixelator, Marinette does get Jagged the glasses he wanted the first time. Since she is in no rush to get back to the hotel. She makes her own pair which the rockstar loves. Also the camera man gets a restraining order put against him and thats it.

-Rogercop doesnt happen because Plagg didnt screw things up

-Marinette and Max win the gaming tournament. Without adrien there, there isnt any trouble and since Marinette liked the game anyway Max wasnt bummed about losing since they BOTH are still in the tournament. Max and Marinette bond over gaming.

-Animan doesnt happen, or at the very least not the way one expects.

-Darkblade, Marinette convinces Alya to run against Chloé. Without Alya having to run the ladyblog she decides to do it to piss off Chloé. Alya becomes the class rep with Marinette as her deputy. Which after all the ideas Marinette had, it made sense for her to be the actual class rep, but Marinette simply says next time. Also Sabrina does try to find something to blackmail alya with but it fails

-Pharaoh doesnt happen. Alya never was interested in going to the egyptian exhibit because Ladybug wasnt really a thing.

-Alix's watch doesnt break

-Horrificator doesnt happen because without Adrien being the lead the class thought of a different movie to write. Chloé didnt care much since Adrien wasnt involved.

-Puppeteer doesnt happen because no hero dolls

-Fred (the mime) Got screwed over by his partner.

-Guitar villain doesnt really happen. Jagged got pissed by XY and channels it into an album instead of akumatization. Marinette still designed the new cover.

-Adrien bought the new album and saw that Marinette (the girl from the hat contest) designed it. He thought that was really cool.

-Reflekta: Juleka gets the photo taken with the class Afterward because Chloé is still a jerk.

-Kungfood. Marinette still goes and has trouble talking with her uncle. Chloé was at the hotel and invited Adrien. The Agreste's allowed it because rich people. Emilie also went because she heard this chef was good. She becomes the guest judge instead of Chloé.

-Adrien sees Marinette again and greets her. The two seem to get along well which annoys Chloé, who sabotages the soup.

-The two find out what Chloé did and tell the judges.

-Emilie being instrumental in convincing the judges for a redo.

-Emilie also speaks fluent mandarin. (And she is better than adrien). She comments to Adrien that he and Marinette seem to get along.

-"Being in the family with a talented designer and a chef wouldnt be bad."

-"MOM!"

(I can do more if anyone is interested)

[giuliafc]

Ladybug's Catalyst - Ladynoir July/July Snippet day 1 (Catalyst/Older)

Read it on Ao3 || Read it on FFN

As much as Ladybug had always tried to deny it, in the 4 years they had fought Hawkmoth and his akumas, the only time that Ladybug could focus so sharply and defeat an akuma in just seconds like today, were always when he had died for her. He was her rock, her support, and most importantly, he was her catalyst.

Wordcount: 999 words

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

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc, TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Written for the "Snippet July" challenge of the Miraculous Fanworks @miraculousfanworks Discord server. Day 1 — Catalyst. Also, tried to age it up and make it older, so it would fit prompt 1 for the Ladynoir July @ladynoirjuly but… I don't know if I achieved that one. Let me know what you think!

Ladybug screamed. Again. Once again, he had taken the hit for her. Once again, he had died in front of her very eyes. Once again, she could only watch helplessly as he fell into the river of boiling lava.

"You will get me back, M'lady," he had said, his lips still curled into a smile as his body was wrapped by the fire and disappeared. Ladybug just screamed. The akuma in the distance laughing without a sound of regret.

How dare it laugh? How. Fucking. Dare. It. Laugh? LAUGH? As her chaton was burned away by lava?

Ladybug closed her eyes, clenching her fists as she pursed her trembling lips. Her small frame shook with the biggest adrenaline rush she had ever experienced.

The akuma laughed again. Ladybug's eyes opened wide, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her fists shook at her sides, and a growing sense of oppression built into her chest. Without waiting another second, she turned on her heel, killer bluebell eyes glaring at Hawkmoth's latest victim.

"Your stupid partner has perished, Ladybug," said the villain with a smirk. "But don't you worry. No need to cry. You will join him very soon!"

A deep growl erupted from her lungs. "You won't insult Chat Noir, or it will be the last thing you do!" She didn't care any more whether the akuma was a victim or not. She had lost her ethicality and her feelings for the 'poor unfortunate souls that got abused by Hawkmoth' the second his partner had been burned alive. She lost all restraints, all self induced obstacles... and plunged forward.

***

Rena Rouge stared at the scene unfolding in front of her. A devilish looking Ladybug attacked the akuma like a single-handed storm of fighters. In less than three minutes, she was holding it by its neck, breaking the akumatised object and freeing the butterfly.

"I hope someone took a video of this and has sent it to the Ladyblog," she whispered to Carapace. "I can't believe that the one time Ladybug goes berserk, I can't film it."

"Remind me to never make Ladybug angry, dude," whispered Carapace back.

As the polka dotted heroine released her Miraculous Cure and the flock of little ladybugs flew around, Ladybug's eyes were trained to the spot her partner had fallen from. The second he reappeared, she ran. She ran to him as if nothing else mattered in the whole world. Pouncing on him, they fell to the ground in a blur of red and black while she hugged him with big tears streaming from her eyes.

"NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!" she roared and Rena smiled. Carapace smiled. Chat Noir beamed under the orange rays of the setting sun. From their position, they couldn't hear what he said, but it mustn't have been the answer she was looking for, because she started hitting his chest like a drum. "I SAID NEVER! NEVER EVER DO IT AGAIN CHATON! I CAN'T KEEP LOSING YOU! I CAN'T!"

Rena smiled as she glanced quickly at her communicator, connected to the Internet. She could see a video being posted of the fight to the Ladyblog just now, and immediately the comments started to flow. She sighed, hoping that one day her best friend would realise just how much she loved the black clad superhero. He wasn't just her partner as Marinette thought, and fights like this demonstrated it clearly. He was her rock, her support, and most importantly, he was her catalyst.

Four years had gone by, both Ladybug and Chat Noir had faced thousands of akumas and had risked death on hundreds of occasions. The only time that Ladybug could focus so sharply and defeat an akuma in just seconds like today, were always when he had died for her. No friendship, no simple partnership could create a bond so strong. Rena couldn't really put a finger on when it had happened, she had seen Ladybug's reactions to her partner's death becoming stronger and stronger as time went by. But as of now, Ladybug was the only person, in the universe, thought Rena, who would still be in denial and fail to admit that she loved Chat Noir.

He was only her partner—my foot, thought Rena. Marinette loved him, and one day. One day Rena would prove it to her. One day, her ship would sail.

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

Author's Note:

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

Hi! *waves* Yes, I'm back. Still alive. Still attempting to write. I don't know if I will be able to find inspiration for all the July prompts, but this one tickled my imagination so I decided to give it a go, so here it is. Hope you'll like it.

I'll be back soon, hopefully tomorrow if inspiration will strike again! Do you think this could count for the prompt "older" for LadyNoir July? What did you think of it? Please let me know, as you're aware, your comments are what pushes me to continue writing. I haven't forgotten my other stories, and I also haven't forgotten the promise I made to you all back in February so… keep following! ;)

[noirewrites]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Summary:

“Wait, when was the last time you slept, Marinette?” “A few days. Haven’t slept... for a few days... Work to do… Black coffee… Monster drinks... Caffeine in blood…” “I am totally sure the last thing was other way round."

@miraculousfanworks​  Fulfilled for a prompt in @mlwritersguild​!

Read the story under the cut!

“Marinette, it’s 4.30 A.M. in the morning! You need to sleep!” 

“Just one more stitch, Tikki,” the girl mumbled to her kwami as she focused on the dress she was trying, trying to get the golden embroidery completed. Kagami’s birthday was in two days and Marinette wanted to give something to her new friend. Hence, she had decided to make the fencer a nice red jacket with black accents, and with a beautiful golden dragon embroidered on it. And she really wasn’t in a mood to mess her hard work up.

  “But Marine--”

“Just a second, Tikki…” the girl gritted out before letting out a whoop of joy. “There! It’s done! How does it look like?”

  The designer turned the mannequin to show her little friend the final result. The red jacket with its black trims and buttons looked pretty simple. However, it was the majestic dragon that gave the jacket its signature look. It started from the left breast pocket, occupied most of the jacket’s behind and ended with its tail curling near the right hip. 

“Wow Marinette, it looks just as if the dragon is embracing and protecting the wearer of the jacket!” Tikki commented, running her hand along the jacket’s embroidery. The golden thread glimmered under the kwami of creation’s touch.

  “Thanks Tikki, and now,” the girl let out a long yawn as her eyes drooped. “I guess it’s finally time for a good nap.”

“Yes Marinette!” The kwami chirped, flitting around her chosen’s head in concern. “You haven’t had a proper sleep for a few days. That’s not good for you!”

  “I know, I know Tikki, but…” the girl paused as she tried to get her bearings, her hand on the railing to hold herself steady. “There have been just so many commissions for Jagged and Kitty Section, and then the class presidential duties, and let’s not forget Hawk Moth--”

“Along with which you also took it upon yourself to make Kagami a birthday present and babysat Manon for a day, I know!” Tikki completed her statement for her. “That’s why I’m saying, you need to sleep.”

  “Yeah yeah, I’m just going to do that,” Marinette sleepily chuckled “Gonna climb the stairs and just flop down on my bed and--”

The moment she lay her head on her pillow, she immediately shot up, eyes bugged out in horror.

  “What happened, Marinette?”

  The frantic girl yanked at her pigtails as a crazed look appeared in her eyes. “Tikki, I forgot to complete the Literature homework due today!”

 *************************************

“Cesaire, Alya?”

“Present!”

  “Dupain-Cheng, Marinette?”

There was a silence in the room.

  “Dupain-Cheng, Marinette?” Ms. Bustier called the name out again, looking up from her register.

Alya raised her hand. “Um, Ms. Bustier, Marinette’s still not here and--”

  “Present!”

  Immediately the classroom door slammed open as someone dropped on the classroom floor with a yelp. Papers went flying by and the students in the classroom got up to find Marinette sprawled out on the ground, grumbling something incoherent.

She quickly sat up and started to assemble her papers. Adrien and Nino got down to help her as the others went back to what they were doing. Thanking the two guys quietly, Marinette marched up to Ms.Bustier’s desk and slammed the papers down on her table.

  “The homework that was due for today, Ms. Bustier. Complete with detailed analysis of the scene that we studied yesterday.”

The teacher took in Marinette’s appearance and tentatively nodded in response, immediately to cringe a bit at the maniac smile that the girl gave her. With a skip in her step, Marinette walked over to her desk and plopped down in her seat beside Alya.

  As Ms. Bustier continued taking the attendance in the background, Alya leant into Marinette’s space, holding her hand up in a whispering notion. “M, what the heck? Your hair’s a bird’s nest, your eyes bloodshot and the dark circles make you look like a ghost. What the hell have you been doing?”

Marinette hummed distractedly as she dug into her backpack, before pulling out a big can of Monster energy drink, causing her best friend’s eyes to bug out. “Oh nothing much, just homework,” she nonchalantly spoke, waving her hand as she took in a big gulp of the drink.

  “Just…. Homework, you say?” Alya eyed her friend as she continued to drink. Clearly Marinette needed some help, for no normal teenager should be drinking that .

“Yeah, and a bit of designing. Woke up a bit late but thankfully managed to get a croissant and two cups of black coffee.” Marinette put the drink down and wiped at her lips. Alya peered into the can. It was half-finished.

  “Girl, are you sure you don’t want to have a heart attack?”

“Mhmm,” Marinette grinned at her manically and Alya decided then and there that her best friend did not need just some help. 

  She needed some serious help.

 ***********************************************

“Okay class,” Ms. Bustier clapped her hands, gaining the students’ attention. “Since today’s lecture was based on stress management and relaxation, I want you all to write something about your life. It doesn’t have to be long: a short paragraph or poem also works!”

The children scrambled to get their supplies out and started working on the task assigned to them. Satisfied with having kept the students busy, Ms.Bustier sat down at her desk and started going through her paperwork.

  Five minutes later, a paper was put on her desk. 

The teacher looked up to find a weary Marinette looking at her expectantly. Smiling at the student, Ms. Bustier took the paper and turned it, letting out a gasp.

  “Marinette, what is the meaning of this?” She asked the girl, pointing at the random squiggles and scribblings that filled the paper.

Marinette shrugged as she swayed a bit. “You asked us to write something about our life. Well, that’s me, a total sleep-deprived mess.”

  “You haven’t been having proper sleep, dear?” The girl responded with a small shake of her head.

“Okay.” The teacher immediately signed a note and handed it to Marinette. “Take this to the nurse and she will give you the permission to rest for the day. Grab a proper sleep, it is important for your health.”

  Marinette gave her teacher a small smile of gratitude and a thumbs up before grabbing the note and moving out of the room. Sighing in relief at having helped a student, Ms. Bustier started to get back to grading the homework.

  The thudding sound of someone falling down the stairs made her run outside the class, to find Marinette staggering quickly (and wearily) in the direction of the nurse’s office.

****************************************

Being in bed was a wonderful feeling, Marinette decided that day.

  After having completed the homework, she had gotten to sleep at 6.00 A.M., only to be rudely woken up by her alarm at 7. The dark coffee and the Monster drink had got her through the first half of the day, but by the time Ms. Bustier had suggested them all to write something about their life, Marinette had been done with.

Her brain had come to an abrupt stop and she couldn’t think of anything except squiggled and wiggled and incomprehensible stuff. So when Ms.Bustier had granted her the permission to actually gain some rest for the day, Marinette had been very excited.

  A bit too excited to not look where she had been going and end up tripping down the last set of stairs.

But having a bruised ankle only solidified the reasons for her rest, so she wasn’t sorry.

  She closed her eyes and curled into herself, waiting for sleep to kick in. Given her state, sleep could ambush her any time. And she was very much willing to invest this time in her favorite pastime.

  Dreaming of emerald eyes that twinkle in mirth. Cologne that made adrenaline rush through her bld. And blond hair that shone like the sun.

Right now she hated the sun. 

  Sadly, she ditched the dream in a dark corner of her mind and started to focus on her breathing, waiting for sleep to grab her in her embrace.

  Just in a moment. 

  Just a moment more. 

  ...

  Maybe one more moment?

  Marinette tossed in her bed with a groan. Why was she not sleepy?

  The can of Monster energy drink winked at her from her backpack.

  Stupid energy drinks, kicking in at the wrong time.

  Marinette wanted to sob and cry and wail at her fate. Why did the universe hate her?

  As if answering her pleas, the nurse turned on some soft music in the room. Music that was soft and sweet and serene and calming and relaxing. 

  Relaxing and soothing like the music that accompanied the smell of the ocean. Ocean… that reminded her of deep blue eyes. Framed by a mop of dark hair.

  Darkness was welcomed, for it made her totally drowsy .

  Marinette sighed in relief. Yeah, she could dream about soft music and ocean and deep eyes and mysterious smiles and--

  The alarm on her phone blared suddenly, causing her to shoot up in bed as she spoke in a language so colourful, it would have made a real sailor blush.

  The akuma news feed flashed on her phone in a deep red.

  Marinette vowed to herself to not rest till she kicked some moth butt that day.

 ********************************************

“Watch out Ladybug!”

  The warning came a bit too late. The pink beam hit the red and black spotted heroine square in the chest, and immediately she felt a wave of drowsiness crash over her.

  The akuma, Sleeping Beauty, stole people’s sleep or made them drowsy, depending on the rested state of their mind.

  Ladybug was totally done. 

  Done with the stupid akuma, done with the old looney toon of a butterfly supervillain, done with the ever-conspiring universe.

  She just wanted a wink of a peaceful sleep. One that was not akuma-induced. Could she not even get that?

  She simply wanted to get over with this quickly.

  “Lucky Charm!”

  A big carton of Monster Energy Drinks dropped into her hands.

Sadly, the cans were sealed tight and not meant for drinking purposes, as the notice on the top of it said.

  She looked at the carton and at the rampaging akuma. The carton shone first, then the akuma’s head.

  Such a nice plan.

  Simple.

Easy.

Executable.

  She hauled the carton over her head. 

  “Take that, you mangy akuma!”

  And summoning all her strength, she yeeted the heavy box at its target.

  The carton flew. Chat followed its line of motion with his eyes.

  A resounding thud.

  The akuma dropped. Ladybug fell to her knees.

  “You okay, Ladybug?” Chat was by her side immediately as she panted in exhaustion.

“I am f-fine,” she managed to grit out.

  A Cataclysm later, Ladybug tossed the carton once again, this time weakly, into the air with a cry of “Miraculous Ladybug!”. 

  The magical ladybugs fixed everything. Everything except Ladybug’s exhaustion.

  She really wanted to drop dead from exhaustion right now.

  “Milady, are you really sure you are okay?” Chat asked once more, looking at his ring worriedly as it beeped.

“As okay as a sleepwalking zombie,” she said with a thumbs up.

  Chat stayed a little longer by her side, before vaulting away.

  Ladybug gathered all of her strength and pushed herself up on her feet. She trudged forward and finally broke into a sprint. 

  She had to scale that gap in the buildings in front of her. She crouched. She leaped.

  Her Miraculous beeped the final time before the magical suit faded away.

  Oh darn.

 **********************************************

Luka came up from behind the dumpster, brushing dust off his jacket. He made a way for his bike, when a yelp from above caught his attention.

  The next thing he knew, Marinette was in his arms. And he was breathing as heavily as her.

  “Marinette? What were you -- wait, how did you end up THERE?!”

  “I-I-” she looked around with wide eyes, before letting out a breathless chuckle. “I was parkouring!”

  “In the midst of an akuma attack? From that height? What were you thinking?!” He asked worriedly, his tone going an octave higher.

  Marinette gripped his denim jacket and looked up at him with teary eyes. “I just...I--I am sorry!”

“Hey hey, don’t cry, oof calm down Melody,” Luka awkwardly shifted her a bit in his arms, patting her back slowly. He started walking towards where he had parked his cycle.

  She curled into him, gripping his jacket as she snuggled.in deep. ‘I wanna sleep,” came her muffled voice.

  That was when he took in her bedraggled state, her messed up hair and the dark circles that had been visible in her eyes. “Wait, when was the last time you slept, Marinette?”

“This morning?” Her answer was immediately followed by a yawn.

  He got his cycle of the stand with one hand, balancing the vehicle and the girl in his arms awkwardly. “I meant a proper, nice sleep, Mari.”

There was silence from her side and Luka looked down to find her eyes screwed shut. 

  Oh well, she had fallen asleep.

  Carefully, he mounted himself on the cycle, all the while trying his best not to disturb the girl in his arms. He adjusted his grip, and after making sure everything was secure, pedalled off in the direction of his home.

  A few moments in the ride, and he felt Marinette fist his jacket as she mumbled something.

  “What was that, Mari? I didn’t catch you,” he asked softly.

“A few days. Haven’t slept... for a few days.”

  Luka was totally concerned. “But why? And how did you even function?” 

“Work to do… Black coffee… Monster drinks... Caffeine in blood…”

  “I am totally sure the last thing was other way round,” Luka grumbled as he continued to cycle.

  Marinette didn’t speak anymore, just drifted off to sleep.

  Once he reached home, he gingerly picked the girl in his arms and got aboard the boat. He walked quickly towards his cabin, all the while praying his mom would not see him (for heaven knows her boisterous congratulations would freak the sleeping Marinette out).

  Luka gingerly put Marinette down on his bed and pulled the sheets over her. He picked up his guitar and moved to go to the deck, but found himself stuck in place.

For Marinette had fisted his shirt tight in her little hands.

  Sighing partly in realisation and partly at the sight of her cute, sleeping face, Luka bent down to get his shirt free of her hold.

However, as soon as he made a move to loosen her hold, Marinette’s face scrunched up. 

  “Stay?” came her soft mumble, and Luka’s heart melted.

  With no other alternative visible, the boy sighed before pulling his phone out of his pocket. Shooting a quick text to Juleka about Marinette resting at the Liberty, he gingerly sat down on his bed, leaning on the wall.

Marinette immediately shifted herself a bit, giving him room to adjust as she put her head in his lap and dozed off again. 

  Smiling down at the girl in his lap, Luka gently threaded his fingers through her hair, before pulling the hair ties out. He didn’t want her to get up with heavily knotted hair, after all. Plus, it just provided him more of an excuse to play with her soft locks.

  Marinette snuggled herself to him, and Luka shifted his legs a bit to make her more comfortable. He hummed a lullaby, letting himself relax as the love of his life slept near him in pure bliss.

  Sleep came to him discreetly, and he found happiness in dreams of pink cherry blossoms, the scent of chocolate and bread and the beautiful smile of the music of his heart.

 ************************************ 

Anarka entered the small cabin, looking for her son to get some groceries. However, the sight that met her caught her off guard.

  Luka was leaning by the wall, his head tilted to the side as he dozed off, a content smile spread on his face. On his lap lay the sleeping form of the girl who designed for Kitty Section. Luka’s one hand was in the girl’s hair while the other was draped over her back protectively. The girl herself had a peaceful smile on her face as she used the boy’s legs for her pillow, while her one arm fisted his jacket and the other was near her waist, interlocked with Luka’s.

  Smiling, the Captain of the Liberty simply pulled out her phone and discreetly clicked a picture of the two sleeping kids, before smiling and walking out of the room. 

[love-musicheart]

NoirBug - Chapter Four - Episode 4

(AO3)

Summary:

Things are NOT perfect. Ladybug has disappeared. The future is disappearing. And... wait, did you just say Cat Noir's identity is-

“Paris is under attack by an akuma! I repeat, Paris is under attack by an akuma!”

Wang Fu cast a glance at his small TV, then, setting down the tablet he was working on, shuffled over to turn up the volume.

“It appears to be some type of plant akuma...”

That much certainly was obvious. Roots curled up from cracks in the pavement wherever the akuma stepped. The view appeared to be taken from a helicopter - safely out of range of the attack.

Fu made his way back over to his desk, picking up his tablet again. Translating the grimoire took time - but as he liked to keep an eye on the superheroes of Paris, he’d gotten pretty good at multitasking.

“How annoying,” Fu mentioned in a conversational tone to his kwami, Wayzz, who was floating closer to the TV. “I thought I would at least have several hours to work without interruption.”

“Hawkmoth doesn’t usually attack this early in the morning,” Wayzz agreed. “Do you think he might have something bigger planned for today?”

Fu chuckled. “I think that, whoever Hawkmoth is, he just likes to sleep in. But who could stay in bed on a day like this?”

Wayzz chuckled as well, zipping back over to the desk to munch on their shared breakfast - a fruit salad.

Fu got back to work, carefully translating the old text into French. He glanced between the text on the tablet, his paper, and the TV. This akuma was no plain gardener; it seemed to have control over nature itself, employing all four elements. Its very presence made plants grow and water start to rise in the Seine.

“I wonder…” Fu mused out loud, trailing off.

“Master?” Wayzz asked, glancing up, cherry stained across his lips.

Wang Fu shrugged. “Just a passing thought.” He paused, then admitted, “But… I cannot help but be curious as to whether Ladybug will come for a miraculous to assist her and Cat Noir in this fight.” He couldn’t help himself, and smiled. “It would quite interesting to see the dragon miraculous pitted against this akuma; the holder of that one in particular seems to be quite dependable.”

“Master,” Wayzz warned, “your rules…”

“Well, I’m the one who made them, am I not?” Fu shrugged, a little defensively. “I can speculate who I believe the ladybug would choose, seeing as I am the one providing her the miraculouses for the fights.”

Wayzz just shook his head, smiling - though the wisdom hidden behind it was ruined a little by the cherry still smeared across his face.

“Cat Noir is here, on the scene at the Seine!”

Master Fu glanced at the TV. “I think both of us can agree, based on what we’ve seen from the dragon holder in action, that they have a steady dependability that would be quite the asset for this fight.”

“Yes,” Wayzz conceded. “We can agree on that point, at least.”

As Cat Noir took on the akuma with cocky fearlessness and puns, Fu went back to his translations. Wayzz casually floated over. “Are you sure that you should be writing those down on paper, Master? Couldn’t someone steal them?”

“Firstly, Wayzz,” Fu said, “could you please take you and your cherry a little further away? You know you’re not allowed to know these recipes.”

Wayzz sighed, but obeyed.

“Secondly,” Fu continued, “while I agree… it is a danger we must risk. The next guardian will need them.”

“You already know who that is going to be?”

“Yes,” Fu said, not hesitating even a moment. “I know exactly who should be the next guardian. And this…” he tapped his paper, “will help them immensely, especially as it means they will not have to translate it on their own.”

The two old friends fell silent, Wayzz enjoying the food and Master Fu slowly working on the grimoire. There was a peacefulness in the small house, and, paired with the wonderful fresh air that the morning had provided, it was altogether perfect.

Besides that akuma attack, of course.

Fu glanced at the TV again. Cat Noir was holding off the akuma, keeping it occupied while saving civilians. But Ladybug herself had yet to show up.

Slowly, Fu found himself drawn more and more to watching the TV and less and less to actually working on translating the grimoire. The peace he’d enjoyed just minutes before was rapidly dissipating, replaced by a feeling he hadn’t had for many years; it was one that gathered in the pit of his stomach, curling in on itself.

One that said that something was very, very wrong.

“Master?” Wayzz floated over to the TV, joining Fu. “Is something wrong?”

“Hopefully nothing other than an old man’s worries,” Fu murmured - though the feeling in his stomach told him otherwise. “Ladybug may have been deterred in some way in her civilian life.”

The akuma made a vicious shoving motion with its arms, stretching to its very fingertips, and vines covered in thorns burst from the ground. They slammed in Cat Noir, rocketing into him so quickly and driving him back with such force that the camera couldn’t even turn fast enough to keep up with where he landed.

Far off in the distance, Fu could hear the slam of the cat hero hitting something - ground or building, he wasn’t sure.

Fu winced, then, with sudden determination flooding through him, stood. “Ladybug would never let her partner go this long getting injured,” he said decisively. “I must enter the fight myself.”

“But Master,” Wayzz protested, “you may get injured! You can’t risk that happening! You’re the guardian!”

“Cat Noir needs help,” Fu insisted.

“Just wait a little longer,” Wayzz begged, floating straight up into Fu’s face, as if invading his personal space would somehow stop him from leaving. “Ladybug will surely arrive any minute now!”

Fu looked back at the TV. Several seconds stretched out, filled only with the sound of Cat Noir beginning to struggle against the akuma.

Finally, Fu sighed. “All right. Just a few more minutes.”

However, by the time a few more minutes had passed - without Ladybug showing up - Fu had to admit within himself that there wasn’t much he’d even be able to do to help. He was just an old man, after all, and couldn’t be completely sure who Ladybug had chosen as the other holders of the miraculouses.

Fu sat down at his desk again, the remnants of the fruit salad now left untouched by both him and Wayzz.

Surely Ladybug will come.

Cat Noir leapt, narrowly avoiding getting slammed into with a thick vine again.

Surely she wouldn’t leave Cat Noir to this fate.

The camera lost sight of Cat Noir for several tense minutes - but at last found him again, gasping in the Seine as a whirlpool developed around him.

I must hold onto hope.

Yet hope slowly faded away like an evening glow into twilight. Cat Noir was holding his own for now - barely - but was obviously becoming more and more battered.

“I’m sure Ladybug will come,” Wayzz said aloud. “Cat Noir won’t have to fight this one on his own.”

Fu said nothing. He just watched the TV.

The feeling in his stomach whispered that it was right.

And, by the time night fell, Master Fu had to agree.

He had been right.

Because something must be very, very wrong if Ladybug wasn’t showing up.

-

3 Weeks Later

“Parisians are currently being evacuated,” the TV blared.

Fu stared into his cup, watching the way the surface of his tea was rippling, set off by the motion of his shaking hands.

He had stopped to take a short break - or, more accurately, had been ordered by Wayzz to stop and take a short rest. But rest wasn’t possible at this time. Calm wasn’t something he could feel anymore.

Parisians were… scared. Scared for their families, for their futures, and for their lives - to the point that some of them had begun to leave.

The departures had begun as a trickle that slowly strengthened into a roar - and now, Mayor Bourgeois had ordered a full-scale evacuation.

For the past three weeks, Master Fu had scoured Paris ceaselessly for Marinette Dupain-Cheng, searching for her among those departing. If her parents left, would Marinette follow? Fu knew she loved her family beyond words; she’d do anything to protect them.

But she also loved Paris; she would do anything to protect it, too.

Fu’s hands shook slightly as he slowly raised the cup to his lips, attempting to take a sip of the tea. The hot liquid burned the roof of his mouth, however, and he hurriedly put it back down.

Attempting to find Marinette was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. As more people began leaving at the same time, it became even more difficult for him to try and find her among the crowds.

“Master.”

Master Fu looked up. Wayzz was floating in front of him.

“Don’t torture yourself like that,” the green kwami said gently.

“But what if I missed her, Wayzz?” Fu asked - and, despite what the kwami had just said, his voice was tortured. “What if she was behind me, or beside me in a crowd, and I didn’t turn? What if she cannot be found because she’s already gone?”

“You chose her to be Ladybug,” Wayzz reminded him. “You know that she wouldn’t have run from this. She would never leave Cat Noir behind.”

Fu fell silent. All logic pointed toward abandonment by the ladybug hero… but Wayzz was right. Fu had chosen her, and it was for a reason. Deep down, he still trusted her, despite all reason.

But he also had to try and think logically.

Either Marinette had left, was hiding, or was somehow in deep, deep trouble. Perhaps Hawkmoth had discovered her identity and taken her prisoner. Or maybe there had been a different akuma attack that none of them had heard of, and it had kidnapped Ladybug when she took it on. Or maybe she’d been injured in some way and was unable to help… or get help.

Fu sighed; there was just no way to know.

“Quake is currently at the Louvre; Parisians, do not approach the area. All those within, if you can hear me, head to the nearest exit and run.”

The news channels had become less and less formal over the past few weeks; the anchors were more concerned with keeping people safe than actually sounding professional.

Things had only gotten worse since the first akuma attack Ladybug hadn’t come to. That akuma had been, on its own, one of the most powerful Fu had ever seen Hawkmoth create.

But then another akuma had joined it.

And then another.

Now, akumatized civilians were running rampant across Paris. Nowhere was safe.

“I am not doing enough, Wayzz,” Fu murmured, staring in exhaustion at his television.

“You are not in this fight alone, Master,” Wayzz said, drifting closer. “There are other heroes fighting these akumas alongside you - magical and everyday.”

“We need the ladybug, Wayzz,” Fu shook his head. “She is the only one who can heal this mess. Paris can rebuild after the dust has settled, but we need her miraculous cure to purify the akumas first.”

“This is, admittedly, a bleak situation,” Wayzz agreed. “However, you must remember that you are not alone in this. People from very different walks of life have stepped up during this time of crisis.”

“That is true,” Fu admitted.

Seeming to be encouraged by this, Wayzz smiled and continued. “Cat Noir is holding out, for one. He has surely realized by now that Ladybug will not be joining him, yet he continues to fight on his own. You chose a good holder for Plagg.”

Fu couldn’t help but give a faint smile at the thought of Cat Noir. “I will admit, he is one of the best Cat Noirs we have ever had.”

“He even defeated one of the akumatized civilians!”

“Yes, but he had to destroy the akuma to do so.” Fu’s face deepened back into a frown. “Adrien Agreste is a boy with a big heart. He loves life. Even though they are just butterflies, I know he doesn’t want to cataclysm them.”

Wayzz sighed. “You’re right. His hand was forced during that fight; it was a desperate situation. But it’s not worth it for him to continue doing so. It would change him if he did. After all, if it’s all right to take life from butterflies, then what next? Where would the destruction end?”

Fu nodded. “You are correct; destruction needs a firm hand on the reins that won’t ever let up, and Adrien Agreste is one of the few people in all of Paris who understands, and therefore respects the power of destruction and the effects it can have.”

“If only the akuma he’d defeated was one of the bigger ones…”

“You just said that it was a desperate situation.”

“Yes! It was! But, in comparison to some other akumas…”

Fu sighed yet again. “That is true; smaller is only relative in this situation.”

There was silence for a beat. Then, as if trying to lighten the mood, Wayzz added, “At least he’s keeping Parisians safe as they evacuate.”

“Yes,” Fu murmured. “Without him, I’m sure all of Paris would be in dire trouble indeed. The akumas are becoming more and more violent.”

“Which is why you need to rest,” Wayzz added. “Save you strength.”

As if on cue, there was a rumble in the distance, shaking the floor. A crash rang out from the kitchen - likely a teacup dropping due to the quakes.

Both Fu and Wayzz winced. “Quake,” they both chorused.

“Obviously, he isn’t keeping his effects to just the Louvre,” Wayzz noted.

“Think of what it must be doing to it,” Fu shook his head sadly. “The building is made of glass.”

“Cat Noir is on the scene. He is - oh, I’ve lost sight of him. Crap. Oh holy crap. Heavens above, where did he go? Alec, get your eyes on him! If Cat Noir is dead, all of Paris is lost- oh, wait. There he is. Cat Noir is battling it out with Quake at the Louvre, and- and he’s gone again.” Nadja’s voice was strained, cracking, and when her face appeared on screen again, there were deep bags under her eyes. “Apparently, he’s playing a game of cat and mouse with this akuma. I’m not sure - oh! The civilians are escaping. He’s using himself as a distraction.”

“That is very dangerous,” Wayzz observed.

“True,” Fu agreed, then couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Imagine how his father would react to knowing it was his son keeping Paris safe.”

“Probably would use it for media purposes,” Wayzz shrugged his tiny shoulders. “His next fashion line would be inspired by Cat Noir and modeled by him.”

“Is Gabriel Agreste even a fan of the heroes?” Fu pointed out. “I don’t think we’ve ever heard him speak on them.”

Both paused, considering this. Then, together they shrugged. “Na-a-ah. Everyone loves heroes.”

“According to the Ladyblogger, Steam is also on the move. Please stay out of the South side of Paris, citizens.”

Fu glanced toward the tablet with the grimoire on it, still at his desk. He had no phone, but could access internet through the tablet - and the Ladyblog had saved him from wandering into akuma territory during his search for Marinette more than once.

The Ladyblogger was keeping a 24/7 update going on her blog, doing her best to report where akumas were at any given moment. People who spotted any sent in footage to her. A certain DJ was apparently helping her with it. The blog was the only reason civilians were able to avoid akumas even somewhat.

“Wait. It appears that the Couffaines have returned to Paris! Parisians in the immediate area, please go to the Seine now!”

Fu looked back at the TV screen. A certain family who lived on a boat had been offering their services to the city these past weeks, ferrying civilians away from Paris. They’d even been involved in helping people being chased by akuams several times. Their boat had taken some hits thanks to this, but it was holding up surprisingly well.

“Cat Noir is no longer in sight at the Louvre, but Quake is staying there searching for him. Either Cat Noir is hiding - and doing a good job at it - or he has left. Parisians are now streaming out of the area.” There was a beat of silence. “This just in: the next group of evacuees are being chosen. Please, civilians, keep your phones on you at all times. You may be called for next.”

“Chloe has been busy as well,” Wayzz noted.

“She makes a much better everyday hero than a super one,” Fu agreed.

Those who had stepped up to help were intensely varied, yet the most surprising of the bunch was Chloe Bourgeois. She, the source of many akumas herself, was one of the few people who was staying level-headed in the situation. With everything going down around her, Chloe had dropped her own drama and risen up. She was now helping her father make decisions in the best interests of all of Paris - and she was actually surprisingly good at knowing which countries to contact at which times for assistance.

“Just yesterday, the government decided to finally reach out to the kingdom of Achu,” Wayzz nodded. “You were busy searching at the time.”

“That has Chloe’s influence written all over it,” Master Fu noted.

“Evacuees are now being welcomed there,” Wayzz explained. “I suppose London is too close for comfort for some of them.”

“Yes, well, Hawkmoth surely won’t just stop with Paris,” Fu said grimly. “Where to but the next city of consequence?”

It was a closed loop of terror. No one was safe any longer in the world, and it was in desperate need of more heroes.

Which was why Fu had been working so tirelessly - or, at least working while suppressing his exhaustion as best he could. Fu was an old man, secretly the guardian of the miraculouses, and if he perished, all might truly be lost. And yet, he had risked that, walking the streets of the city and searching desperately for the one girl who might be able to save them all.

But to no avail.

“Citizens, I repeat, please keep your phones on you at all times. The Paris police force is sending out alerts to sections of the city with instructions when you are to be evacuated - but only at the moment you are to be. There seems to be a new akuma who can hear phone signals, so the city is attempting to time things as closely as possible to the actual action.”

Fu finally reached for his tea again. Despite Wayzz’s attempts to boost his spirits, now that they had both quieted down, he only felt more nervous. What would happen if any of the everyday heroes were told to evacuate? The Ladyblogger, Chloe, himself - or, worst of all, Adrien? What if Cat Noir was told in his civilian form to leave? What would he do? Would he reveal his identity just so he could stay? Would his father truly make a fashion line based on him?

Slam!

“Master Fu!”

Fu whipped his head around, almost dropping his tea cup.

There, standing in his doorway, was Cat Noir himself.

The cat hero was panting, a bag slung over his shoulder as if he were about to go to school. He was dusted with fine particles of glass, which didn’t bode too well for the Louvre.

And then, as if determined to make this already surprising situation even more so, Cat Noir met his eyes and blurted out, “I know who Ladybug is.”

Fu stared. “Pardon me?”

“I know who Ladybug is,” Cat Noir stressed, shutting the door behind him and hurrying over, kneeling down in front of the old man. “I know her civilian identity.”

“Then please, do enlighten me,” Master Fu said drily, setting down his tea cup and attempting to appear composed. If Cat Noir was wrong, then-

“Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She’s the daughter of Tom and Sabine, who run a bakery. They make the best croissants there, and she’s the best person to exist on planet earth - or anywhere, actually. She wants a hamster, loves to design, and-”

“I believe you,” Fu interrupted. The information was too exact to easily dismiss, and after a moment, he sighed. “That is to say… you are correct.” He paused. “How did you find out?”

As if he’d expected this question, Cat Noir pulled his bag forward and, reaching inside, produced a beret. “She gave me this gift. It was signed as being from Marinette, but I walked into my room and saw Ladybug leaving. It was easy to put two and two together after that.” He let out a pent-up breath. “I mean, I’d suspected she might be Ladybug before, like when we fought Kwami-Buster. But Plagg always told me that I was wrong.”

Fu nodded. Cat Noir was no fool; he was much more straightforward than Marinette, making him the perfect candidate to stumble upon their true identities by accident. “I see. However, I must know how you discovered my location.” Fu indicated the room. “It’s supposed to be secret, and we’ve never met here before; how did you know you’d find me here?”

“You run a business,” Cat Noir said bluntly. “It was easy to look you up on the internet, and I knew what I was looking for, seeing as I met you after we defeated Syren.”

“I knew that I shouldn’t have set up that website,” Master Fu grumbled, shooting an accusing look at Wayzz.

“Don’t look at me!” the kwami protested.

“It was your idea to set it up!”

“Master Fu,” Cat Noir cut in. “Please, I don’t have much time. I need to get back out there to help protect the next wave of evacuees from akumas.”

“You’re involved in that?” Fu asked, taken off guard.

“Chloe is helping me plan it. We’ve worked together before, seeing as she was Queen Bee. She knows a lot about government that I don’t.” Cat Noir began twisting his ring about his finger - obviously a nervous habit of his. “She acts like she doesn’t care about anything, but she really is a tough nut to crack. Nothing gets past her. If it weren’t for her, I’m not sure what would’ve happened to Paris by this point.”

“So… if you’re so busy helping Paris, why visit me?” Fu asked, studying the cat hero. “Clearly this is an important matter.”

“I need help,” Cat Noir said miserably. “I’ve tried to find Marinette in her civilian form. The last time I saw her was when she was going out my window. But her parents don’t know where she is, and none of our class knows where she’s gone - not even her best friend, Alya, and she’s the Ladyblogger to boot. I’ve looked everywhere for Marinette! But I can’t cover ground very fast on my own. I need your help to find her. Something must be wrong.”

“The Ladyblogger is Alya?” Fu asked, his attention caught by that detail.

“Yeah, but we need to find Marinette,” Cat Noir said, dismissing the fact.

“Very true,” Fu murmured - but his mind was racing.

He himself, of course, was never told the true identities of the heroes that Ladybug had chosen to give a miraculous - but as soon as he’d heard Cat Noir describe this Alya, he had the sudden feeling that she must have been Rena Rogue.

But he had to be careful with this new information; he might be wrong, for one. For another, if Cat Noir had guessed out Ladybug’s identity even before he was given definite proof, he might be able to figure this one out as well. Fu had to act as if nothing had just happened.

“Can you help me?” Cat Noir asked, misery evident in his voice. “Please?”

Shaking himself, Fu focused on the problem at hand. “I’ve been searching for Ladybug myself. I haven’t found her.”

Cat Noir drooped. “Then there’s nothing we can do?”

“I will continue searching,” Master Fu assured him. “I believe the only thing we can do is continue evacuating citizens and trying to protect them. There are others helping us, such as that family on their ship.”

“The Couffaines?” Cat Noir asked. “Yeah, I know them. Juleka’s in my class. Luka and Marinette are pretty close. Or… were pretty close?” He growled in frustration, digging the heels of his palms in his eyes. “I don’t know anymore.”

“They were close?” Fu repeated. Perhaps this Luka was Viperion or Carapace? Ladybug would only have given a miraculous to those she trusted most.

“Yeah, he’s a musician.”

Perhaps Viperion, then; he’d played the lute very well.

“I should go,” Cat Noir said abruptly, standing. “I need to get to the next evacuation point.”

“One more thing,” Fu said, just as Cat Noir reached the door. “Do you know who it is who is helping the Ladyblogger with her uploads? The DJ.”

“Nino Lahiffe,” Cat Noir replied. “He’s Alya’s boyfriend. They’re taking turns going through footage being sent to Alya while the other rests.”

“Was Marinette close with him as well?”

“They’ve been in class together for years,” Cat Noir recalled, hand hovering over the doorknob. “I think they might have been.”

“He is trustworthy?” Fu checked.

“He’s one of the most trustworthy people you’ll find,” Cat Noir vouched. “He’d do anything to keep others safe; that’s why he’s helping Alya.”

That fit the description of a good turtle hero, then.

“But also maybe because he likes her.”

All these people that loved Marinette, yet no Marinette to be found.

“Master Fu?”

Fu looked up. Cat Noir was still waiting at the door.

“Thank you for coming,” Master Fu inclined his head to him. “I’m not sure if I should say that I’m relieved or not that you knew who our dear Ladybug was.”

Was.

The word hung in the air between them for a few moments, horrible and empty of life.

“She was sitting behind me in class for months,” Cat Noir mumbled, his voice tortured.

Fu tried to think of some reassurance, but all he could come up with was, “We’ll find her.”

Yet the was was still ringing in his ears, and Fu found he couldn’t bring himself to entirely believe it anymore.

Cat Noir studied him for several moments, and as Fu locked eyes with him, he had the feeling that the young hero could see that lack of hope in his eyes.

At last, the black cat simply nodded at him and slipped out the door.

For several minutes, Fu stared at the closed door, sipping his tea. It had grown cold, but the gears in his mind turning too fast for him to pay much heed to that.

“Master?” Wayzz finally asked. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m not quite sure myself,” Master Fu admitted. He glanced over at the green kwami. “I’m starting to doubt that we’ll ever find Ladybug.”

“Don’t give up hope!” Wayzz encouraged.

“I’ll try not to,” Fu sighed, putting his tea down. “I wish that there was at least some guidance that I could be given.”

Whomp!

In the air right in front of Fu, there was a brilliant flash of white light. For a single moment, he thought it was some vehicle passing by outside and reflecting the sun through his window.

Except the light didn’t disappear.

Instead, it became a white circle, hanging suspended midair.

And then, for the second time that day, a hero suddenly burst through a door - except, it was an entirely different kind of door this time.

“Master Fu!” Bunnyx exclaimed.

Master Fu leapt to his feet - no small feat for him at his age - overturning his tea as he did so. “Bunnyx? What are you doing here?”

The bunny hero bowed to him hurriedly. “I need your help.”

“Does this have to do with Ladybug?” Fu said urgently. “She has gone missing.”

“Yes,” Bunnyx said. Her face crumpled. “It… it’s all my fault. I brought her to the future - about three weeks ago from this point in time - to stop a possible future. Cat Noir had found out her civilian identity. They…” She hesitated, as if suddenly remembering how she wasn’t supposed to share the future, even with Master Fu. “How much can I tell you?”

“Everything,” Fu said firmly. “This is an emergency of the highest order. Paris has descended into chaos during the time that Ladybug has been gone. The entire city is being evacuated. Without the cure, there’s no stopping Hawkmoth. There’s even been talk of trying to ask American heroes to come help Paris.” He took a step closer to the blue and white hero. “I think that it’s all or nothing now. We can’t afford to lose.”

“Okay,” Bunnyx said decisively, tapping her umbrella against her hand in a quick rhythm, as if to let out nervous energy. “Okay.” She hesitated for one more second, then blurted out, “They dated as civilians.”

“At last!” Wayzz cried, flipping in the air. “My ship has sailed!”

Fu and Bunnyx stared at him.

Wayzz coughed. “I mean… yes. Very nice. Carry on, Bunnyx.”

“As I was saying,” Bunnyx said, side-eyeing Wayzz, as if daring him to try and interrupt her again, “they were living their best lives until Hawkmoth discovered their identities. Or at least Cat Noir’s. He targeted Cat Noir and akumatized him into a villain called Chat Blanc.”

“So you brought Ladybug to stop him?” Fu’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Why could the Ladybug in the future not save him on her own?”

“It’s a possible future,” Bunnyx explained. “I had to try and fix it from the root of the problem by using the Mini-bug that had caused it.” She paused, then quietly admitted, “Also, the Ladybug from that time is… dead.”

Fear dumped over Fu in an icy stream. “Is our Ladybug still there? Right now? Is she still… alive?”

“I… I can’t answer that.” Bunnyx rapped her umbrella against her hand more forcefully. She obviously had been under a lot of stress, and it was taking its toll on her. “Look, in the future, Hawkmoth tried to force Chat Blanc to destroy Ladybug - their Ladybug, I mean. But, rather than her, he destroyed the world - and still killed her in the process.” Bunnyx began to pace, tapping her closed umbrella aggressively against her leg as she did so. “He shot the moon, Fu. He’s more powerful than any akuma that’s outside right now; I don’t have to see them to tell you that.”

“He destroyed the world?” Fu stared at her. “Surely you are exaggerating.”

“Nothing was left,” Bunnyx shook her head. “Just water, ruins, and corpses.”

Fu winced. “So you brought our Ladybug to save him.”

“The plan was for Mini-bug to purify the akuma and come back to the present,” Bunnyx explained. “She’d change how she accidentally revealed her identity to Cat Noir, and that future would never happen.”

“The plan was?” Fu said, noting the way the word had just come back again. “What happened?”

Bunnyx squeezed her eyes shut, as if in pain. After several tense seconds of silence, she whispered, “He won.”

“Who?” Fu demanded. “Hawkmoth?”

“Chat Blanc. He took her earrings. And… that’s all I could see. I don’t know what happened.”

“What do you mean?” Fu asked.

“Come with me into my burrow,” Bunnyx said urgently. “I’ll show you.”

Fu exchanged an uncertain glance with Wayzz.

As if worried that he were considering not coming, Bunnyx took another step closer to him. “Please. The future of the world depends on this. You’re the only one I can trust to know what to do. With Ladybug having been ripped from time and beaten in the future, there’s no older version of her for me to turn to.”

“All right,” Fu said decisively. “Wayzz, shell on!”

There was a flash of green light, and a moment later, Jade Turtle followed Bunnyx into her burrow.

The first thing Jade Turtle noticed was how white it was. Circles speckled the air, playing footage of some kind.

The second thing Jade Turtle noticed was the small clump of circles that only showed white.

“What is this?” he breathed, approaching the cluster. He had never been in the burrow before, but he already could tell that this was an anomaly.

“That’s where the future is supposed to be,” Bunnyx explained, trailing after him. “It’s where I saw what happened to Cat Noir and Marinette: him figuring out her identity, the dating, and then the akumatization. But, after he got the earrings… it turned white.” She gestured to one in the center of the cluster. “That was the original. But, not long after it turned white, the ones around it started to as well.”

“What can that possibly mean?” Jade Turtle frowned.

“I don’t know!” Bunnyx growled in frustration. “I brought you here to see if you’d know.”

“I can’t tell from the outside,” Jade Turtle said decisively. “I need to go in.”

“What?” Bunnyx stared at him. “Are you crazy?”

“That’s the only way to find out,” Jade Turtle insisted. “It’ll just be a reconnaissance mission. I’ll try to locate Ladybug without getting involved with… you said his name was Chat Blanc?”

“Yes,” Bunnyx nodded, worry apparent on her face. “I’m going to be straight with you, Fu: that’s a horrible plan. If it were good, then I would have gone in already myself.”

“You are the only one with access to the future,” Jade Turtle shook his head. “I, on the other hand, know how to blend in and stay hidden in plain sight. I’m the guardian of the miraculous; I’ve kept myself hidden from anyone who might want to use them for years.”

“For the wish?”

“Exactly,” Jade Turtle nodded. “I’m the best option for this. Actually,” he gave a joyless smile, “I’m likely your only option.”

“How will you get back?” Bunnyx asked.

“With Ladybug’s help,” Jade Turtle said simply.

Bunnyx stared at him before giving a bark of laughter. “You mean you’re going in there blind, will maybe find Mini-bug - wherever she might be in whatever that is, if she’s still even alive - and then trust that she will find a way out?”

“Yes,” Jade Turtle said simply.

Bunnyx shook her head. “Maybe an older version of herself could, but Mini-bug…? She’s still crazy about Adrien Agreste right now!”

“Is there ever a time she isn’t?” Jade Turtle pointed out.

“Well, there was this possible future this one time where she fell in love with Cat Noir instead, but then you managed to contact me and insisted that we change it since you like Adrinette better-”

“Bunnyx,” Jade Turtle interrupted, “I know she can do it.”

Bunnyx went quiet, studying him. Finally, she quietly said, “You really have that much faith in Mini-bug?”

“I chose her, didn’t I?”

“Then why hasn’t she come back herself?” Bunnyx challenged.

“There is no way of knowing for sure,” Jade Turtle glanced at the burrow hole. “But the holder of the ladybug miraculous is naturally drawn towards healing and curing situations. She should be able to sense the right way - or at least discover the path. Besides,” he added, “if we stick to the original plan and purify the akuma, then you might be able to get me out yourself.”

“Fair enough,” Bunnyx reluctantly admitted. “But… be careful, Fu; the white is spreading to the past for some reason. I… I don’t know what it is. But I can’t seem to stop it.”

“It’s affecting only the future for now?” Jade Turtle checked. “Not the time period I was just in?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s within a safe limit.”

“For now,” Bunnyx muttered.

“We’ll find her,” Jade Turtle promised.

He’d said the exact same words not ten minutes ago to Chat Noir, but now… he actually believed them.

However, before stepping forward, he paused. “Bunnyx? Do you know the identities of the heroes that Ladybug chose?”

“Their civilian identities? Yes; why?”

“Just wondering,” Jade Turtle shrugged, then, hope rising, stepped into the center white circle.

He was instantly swallowed up by the white. It was blindingly bright, just like when Bunnyx’s burrow first burst forth into existence in his house. Jade Turtle squinted against it.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, a feeling like static electricity suddenly washed over his whole body.

Traveling through a burrow could be disconcerting, though Jade Turtle obviously didn’t have much to compare this to; just the single trip into the burrow he’d gone through just now with Bunnyx.

Yet, despite that, he knew instinctively that it didn’t feel like this. It was like an entire force of energy gathering its strength, a tidal wave about to crash over him - and right now he was only feeling the winds.

Whatever this energy was, it didn’t want him here.

He had to get to the other side before it could stop him.

Jade Turtle pushed back against the energy, gritting his teeth.

The energy seemed to push back against him, trying to stop him.

But he was old, not weak.

For several moments, he struggled, an invisible battle of wills with this pure whiteness. It seemed to whisper about him, static filling his ears, and bright spots of colour bursting and popping before his eyes. His head went dizzy, filled with the static feeling.

For a moment, nothing happened. He hung, suspended.

Trapped.

The wave was about to crash.

Jade Turtle gave one last, desperate push against the energy, and-

Without any warning, he burst out of the burrow, falling to his knees and almost braining himself on a plant pot.

For several moments, all Jade Turtle could do was pant on his hands and knees. Whatever the white was, it had notwanted him to get through.

But… get through to where?

He looked up, and was greeted by…

His house.

“What?” he murmured, straightening. He’d only just left here. How could he possibly be back?

Jade Turtle went to take a step forward, but his foot bumped against something. He glanced down, then paused.

There was an aquarium on the floor.

Filled with turtles.

And, now that he was looking down, he could see that he was no longer in his superhero form of Jade Turtle. Instead, he was in his normal clothes - except for his shirt, which had a turtle pattern playing across it.

“What is this?” Fu murmured, fear beginning to grow within him. He hurried over to the window, peering outside. His body ached with the movement, as if he’d just undergone a strenuous physical activity, but he ignored the pain, trying to get a good look at the outside world.

He was greeted by… Paris.

Except…

It was black and white.

“What?” Fu breathed, confusion flooding through him. “How can this be?”

His house was coloured, and so was he.

So why did the outside world look like this?

Fu’s hands began to shake, and he sat down on the floor. He needed to think.

Bunnyx had described a world destroyed by Chat Blanc, filled with water and ruins. But there was no water in sight, and all the buildings appeared intact.

Fu rubbed his forehead. He had next to nothing to go off to make a guess of any sort; the only thing he could think of that could explain what made the world turn… well, retro, was that it was somehow an effect of Chat Blanc destroying the world.

Yet, at the same time, that made no sense. If Chat Blanc had destroyed the world, wouldn’t nothing be here?

I must investigate further, Fu decided. He went to walk to the door, but was jerked to a halt, as if he was tied to something. Twisting about, Fu’s gaze instantly fell on the aquarium.

It only took a second before the realization hit him.

Turtles.

His shirt.

His miraculous.

For some reason, he couldn’t leave the aquarium behind. Bringing the turtle miraculous with him seemed to have created these turtle-related items, and he couldn’t go anywhere without them.

Or maybe he wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without them.

If he had to bring the aquarium with him, then, he wouldn’t be able to cover ground very quickly. He was old and slow as it was, much less while carrying around an aquarium of all things.

Fu hurriedly shuffled about the room. Everything was where he always kept it. He quickly located what he was looking for, and within minutes, he’d constructed some new additions to the aquarium: wheels, and a handle for him to push it about with.

“Time to find Ladybug,” he murmured, straightening and nodding at his handiwork.

This time, while pushing the aquarium, Fu made it to the door and outside.

As soon as he closed it behind him, he noticed the difference:

He was no longer in colour.

Feeling a slightly frazzled, Fu began to push the aquarium down the street, starting his search for Ladybug.

-

Bunnyx paced her burrow, eyes locked on the cluster of white circles.

This place, created by her miraculous, was supposed to be beyond the touch of time. Usually, when she sent a hero into the future or the past, she could view what happened to them.

But this time…

She was blind.

Bunnyx swung her umbrella, popping it open and closed, trying to keep her hands busy. She glanced at the circles again, as if in some half-hearted hope that Fu would already be stepping out with Mini-bug at his side.

Bunnyx liked to think of herself as the protector of time. The burrow was the one place where the bunny miraculous couldn’t be in the same place at the same time. Holders of it over the centuries never entered it at the same time. Maybe because of that, it was actually the only place where time really did have any true meaning. She could be in any place more than once, and could end up with multiple copies of herself running around in any time period - except for the burrow.

Bunnyx raked a hand through her hair, sending her already spiky hair shooting out in all directions. Without her ability to see what was going on, she wasn’t sure what to do.

She glanced at the cluster again - and was just in time to see another circle fizzle, as if being overtaken by static, then blip out into pure white.

Another one gone.

Bunnyx approached one of the few circles close to the white group that still showed images. She set her hand upon it, playing it back.

It didn’t help her. All it revealed was Cat Noir and Ladybug in the middle of fighting an akuma. It was after they’d revealed identities to one another, and the knowledge seemed to have further empowered them, letting them work in a tandem that they’d never before enjoyed until they had this absolute trust in one another.

Out of the corner of her eye, Bunnyx noticed movement. That wasn’t unusual in the burrow, seeing as all around her were circles portraying movement of some kind. But this one was out of the ordinary enough that she turned to look.

Across the burrow, a circle was fizzing, going static-ey - and then turned white.

But it was nowhere near the cluster.

“What? No!” Bunnyx shot to it, slamming her palm against the circle, as if trying to turn it back so she could watch what happened, the way she could with any of the normal circles.

But nothing happened.

That one had nothing to do with the future! Bunnyx thought, backing up, fear roaring in her ears. Why did it go out?

The white was obviously spreading - but the fact that the future affected something so out of the way, something that was so far into the past… it was not just disturbing, but downright terrifying.

Bunnyx stood before the circle, her hand hovering just over it it. What if she tried to step in, the way Master Fu had? What if she touched this circle, not just with the intention of playing it back, but of entering? What if she tried to find out what was beyond this white?

But what if it destroyed her entirely? What if it had already done so to Master Fu, to Mini-bug, and all hope was lost?

Bunnyx let her hand drop. She didn’t dare go in; like Master Fu had said, she was the only one who could access the future. If the white cut her off from the time period she’d picked Fu up from…

Bunnyx actually wasn’t sure what would happen if that occurred, but she knew in her gut that it wouldn’t be good.

“I think that it’s all or nothing now. We can’t afford to lose.”

Fu was the wisest person that Bunnyx knew - and she’d traveled through time and spoken to some of the brightest minds in history. If Master Fu had believed that this situation was truly that dire… then this was a very desperate situation indeed.

“All or nothing,” Bunnyx whispered, trying to rein her fear in.

Her gaze fell on the circle that led back to the past, back to the time period she’d first retrieved Mini-bug from and then Master Fu.

It was still holding steady - for now. But the hand of time was slow slipping its fingers about her burrow, and now, it was starting to squeeze, to choke and kill it. She was inside a time bomb, but she couldn’t see the clock ticking down to the explosion.

She didn’t have a choice.

She couldn’t afford to wait.

With sudden determination, Bunnyx rallied herself and marched over to the hole - and

stepped

through.

It was utter chaos. People were running from something, screaming. The sun went dark, as if something huge was blocking it out, and a dull roar filled her ears.

Bunnyx turned, alarmed - but it was no akuma blocking the sun.

A building was falling, creaking and groaning as it descended straight toward her.

Bunnyx didn’t even have time to gasp before someone jumped in front of her, baton twirling, the speed of it cutting straight through the stone as the building crashed down. The hole created was barely big enough for the two of them to stand in.

Dust exploded all around them, and Bunnyx burst into a fit of coughing, trying to wave it out of her face. “Th-thanks for the save.”

“Bunnyx?”

For the first time, Bunnyx looked down at the person who had saved her.

He was a little taller than the last time she’d visited him in the past, but his green eyes were still as keen as ever.

“Cat Noir,” Bunnyx greeted, then gave a few more final coughs, as if for good measure.

“What are you doing here?” Cat Noir asked, waving dust away. “If you’re going to help me evacuate Parisians, I certainly would appreciate it-”

“No,” Bunnyx interrupted. “You need to come with me.” She grabbed him by the bell, opening up an entrance back to her burrow and dragging him through even as he yelped.

“Bunnyx, what are you doing? Paris needs its heroes-”

“-here,” Bunnyx interrupted. “It needs all its heroes here. Look, I asked Master Fu for help, but he’s gone, and I’ll be cut off soon enough from the past - the place you’re from - so I have to bring you and all your fellow heroes here.”

With that, she turned and re-entered the circle again, willing herself to exit in a different location.

Bunnyx had watched Fu open up the miraculous box many times in alternate futures.

It was a simple enough matter when she walked into his room once again to stride over and pop it open.

Bunnyx glanced over the miraculouses. The turtle one was gone, taken by Master Fu. She didn’t dare waste time trying to locate it in another time; she’d have to find a situation where Mini-bug didn’t need the miraculous, and she couldn’t afford to leisurely flip through past akuma attacks as if she were reading a magazine in a waiting room. The past and future were disappearing for some reason. She had to act, now.

Bunnyx snatched up all the miraculouses she needed, then opened up a way back into her burrow.

“First off, rude,” Cat Noir complained as soon as she re-entered - though she knew that it wouldn’t seem to him like any time had passed. “Second off, what are you even talking about?”

“I’m talking about those,” Bunnyx tossed over her shoulder, inclining her head toward the cluster of white circles. Then, she hopped back out of her burrow.

It took her several precious minutes of going in and out of her burrow to reach each hero, give them their miraculous, and drag them back through. She had to make them transform before going back in, which took time. The kwamis were very talkative. But Master Fu didn’t want any of them knowing each other’s identities, so Bunnyx had to abide by his rules.

“This is ridiculous,” Queen Bee was complaining when Bunnyx finished off by bringing Ryuko through. “We’re leaving Paris completely unguarded! And I don’t even know where we are!”

“We’re going to lose Paris if we don’t save the future,” Bunnyx replied shortly. She got straight to the point. “The future is disappearing - and it’s starting to affect the past. I don’t know why.” She pointed at the cluster of white circles. “Master Fu went in there to try and find Mini-bug.”

“Excuse you, but where are we?!” Queen Bee demanded, stamping her high-heeled foot. “I’m busy right now, so I don’t care about Master Wu or whatever his name was.”

Bunnyx didn’t even try to resist the urge to glare at Queen Bee; Chloe was just as annoying as she remembered. “This is my burrow. I have the miraculous of time. These circles allow me to access time - and some of them are going out.”

“Did you say that Ladybug is in there?” Cat Noir asked, his attention still obviously caught on that point. His entire body seemed to practically be vibrating, as if he’d just downed an entire energy drink.

“Hold your horses,” Bunnyx warned. “We can’t just go jumping in there.”

“Why not?” all the heroes demanded at once.

“Your Master Yu did,” Queen Bee added.

“And look where that got him!” Bunnyx yelled. “He’s not here! I need backup, not to babysit! Quiet down so I can explain!”

“Paris is being left completely unguarded right now!” Queen Bee yelled back. “We need to go back! Without us, everyone is doomed!”

Bunnyx forced herself to draw in a long breath - it was through her teeth, making a hissing noise, but she attempted it anyway. “Look. You don’t need to worry about Paris. I have the ability to let you out at the exact moment you left.” She tried to not think too hard about the fact that the past might just get cut off by the white. “Paris isn’t losing any time by you being in my burrow. Here, though, we are on a time limit.”

“That makes no sense,” Viperion frowned.

“Shouldn’t this be the one place outside of the reach of time?” Ryuko agreed. “If you access time here, that would logically make this the only place time stands still.”

“It should be,” Bunnyx replied shortly. She surveyed the heroes in front of her.

During the time leading up to her becoming the holder of the bunny miraculous, she’d seen many other heroes given a miraculous. She would have loved to grab all of them.  But now that the timeline had been changed, Mini-bug had technically never had a chance to give those people their miraculouses.

Instead, all she had were Cat Noir, Rena Rogue, Carapace, Viperion, Pegasus, King Monkey, and Ryuko.

Not exactly the most inspiring group ever. But at least they had her. She at least was somewhat inspiring.

“So…” Rena Rogue broke the silence. “At the risk of sounding totally dumb… who is Master Fu again?”

“Wu,” Queen Bee corrected.

“Fu,” Bunnyx, Cat Noir, and Rena Rogue all said at once.

“Master Fu,” Bunnyx said, casting a glance at Queen Bee before looking back at Rena, “is the guardian of the miraculous.”

“Wait, I thought Ladybug kept the miraculouses,” Rena Rogue frowned.

“No, she didn’t,” Bunnyx replied. She glanced over at the cluster of circles; they were holding steady, for now, but she hated wasting time that could end in them being cut off from more parts of time. “Under normal circumstances, I would not tell any of you anything about the future. But…” She walked over to the cluster. “This is where the future used to be. Master Fu went in it, but I have no idea if there even is another side that he could exit out of. I usually can see the future, but now…”

“Just white?” Pegasus observed, adjusting a bag he had over his shoulder. There had been no time for him to drop it off when Bunnyx grabbed him, and now Bunnyx had to hope that no one would recognize the bag as belonging to Max Kanté.

Bunnyx nodded, turning back toward the group of heroes staring at her. “It’s spreading. I don’t know what it is, but eventually, it’ll hit your current time period as well.”

“So… the world is ending?” Nino asked.

Bunnyx gave a short nod. “Essentially.”

“Wow,” Viperion blinked.

Rena Rogue gave a small fist pump. “Add that to the list of things we get to defeat!”

“Why is he here?” Queen Bee complained, pointing at Nino.

“Now’s not the time to celebrate, Rena,” Bunnyx said, simultaneously shooting her a withering look and ignoring Queen Bee’s question. She’d been hoping none of the other heroes would notice that Nino was there, which would obviously make him a holder - and, based on the fact that only Carapace was missing, it would be easy to conclude that he was Carapace.

The only reason she’d brought him in - even though he was in his civilian form - was because he was a holder. But as long as Master Fu was in the future, Bunnyx wasn’t going to try diving around in the past to find the turtle miraculous when her burrow could potentially lock her out.

“I brought Mini-bug here,” Bunnyx explained, jerking a thumb at the white circles. “I needed her help to try and save the future, but she wasn’t able to.”

“Wait. You mean she went into the white?” Cat Noir bristled, the hair on his head practically standing on end. “By herself? Why didn’t you grab me?! I’m her partner!”

“Because she was saving the future from you.” Bunnyx folded her arms across her chest. “And it wasn’t even white, yet.”

“Is that supposed to make this better?” Cat Noir glared.

“It was a more stable situation at the time,” Bunnyx snapped. Her nerves were frayed. She’d been trying to save the world from a teenager who had enough power to destroy everyone and mess with her own miraculous’s powers, and she was either alone, worrying about someone else who had stepped up to help, or else babysitting. She was too far gone to let some little version of Cat Noir snap at her without retaliation. “You found out her identity, Cat Noir. That action was the source of a chain reaction that resulted in Hawkmoth discovering your identity because you transformed out in the open to save Mini-bug as a civilian, Hawkmoth akumatizing you…” She glared fiercely at him. “…and you destroying the world.”

All the heroes stared at her, and Bunnyx realized a little too late that she may have come across too strongly on the point that it was somehow all Cat Noir’s fault.

Ugh. She’d leapt before she looked. She did that quite a bit.

“Come again?” Viperion finally said.

“I destroy the world?” Cat Noir whispered, twisting his ring.

“Did they date?” Rena Rogue and Nino chorused.

“That is completely irrelevant,” Bunnyx attempted to wave it off.

“So, yes, then?” Rena Rogue noted hopefully.

“Wait, what?” Cat Noir froze. “I-I mean… she would never… we… there’s someone else… I mean, I d-destroy the world?” He froze, panic, confusion, and a strange balking mixing in his expression. “What?”

“Priorities, Cat Noir,” Bunnyx chided - forcing herself to make her voice a little more gentle this time. She needed to keep this conversation on track, and these teenagers were making that very difficult. “Yes, you destroyed the world. That’s what I was trying to fix when I brought Mini-bug here. It was her fault that you found out her identity.” She shot Cat Noir an apologetic look. “It wasn’t all your fault. But because she was the source of that action, I needed her to fix it. If you stepped in, you might end up remembering it, anyway, and I had to change that.”

“Why is it so important that they do not know one another’s identities?”

Everyone looked up.

Ryuko was standing at one of the still-clear circles, watching the footage play out.

“Hey, that’s the future!” Bunnyx yelped. “You’re not allowed to see that!”

“We’re trying to change this,” Ryuko replied, not even glancing away. “It won’t be here when we’re done.”

“Well… I guess,” Bunnyx grumbled grumpily.

“There is an incredible level of teamwork displayed between Cat Noir and Ladybug here,” Ryuko observed. “Knowing her identity seems to only have made them stronger. If only one having been revealed does that…”

“Well, I mean, he transformed out in the open to save her,” Bunny reminded Ryuko. “She knew his after that.”

“They have skill,” Ryuko insisted. “Knowing their identities only made them stronger - maybe strong enough to defeat HawkMoth. I don’t see how this is a negative thing.”

“It’s Master Fu’s rules,” Cat Noir said quietly. “If anyone knew our identities, that could put them at risk.”

“Aren’t you both already at risk by being heroes?” Viperion pointed out. “Heck, aren’t all of us?”

“Now is not the time for an existential crisis,” Bunnyx shook her head.

“I’m not sure that means what you think it means,” Queen Bee began, but Bunnyx shot her a look.

“Not now, Queenie.”

“Only Cat Noir gets to call me that.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s the only one who doesn’t say it like it’s an insult.”

Bunnyx paused, then let out a huff. “Fair enough. But Cat Noir and Ladybug aren’t allowed to know each other’s identities because, simply put, once they did, the world was destroyed. Which was HawkMoth’s fault, by the way. Not Cat Noir’s.”

“He really destroyed the whole world?” King Monkey shot a look of admiration at Cat Noir, which Bunnyx felt may have been the wrong response to the situation.

“Yeah, he did, and Mini-bug was supposed to purify his akuma,” Bunnyx said. Trying to keep the conversation on track, take two. “You were called Chat Blanc, Cat Noir. But you were incredibly strong - stronger than any of the akumas currently in your time of Paris. She lost to you.”

“Why couldn’t Ladybug have brought one of us with her?” Queen Bee asked, studying her nails. “I mean, obviously we aren’t Cat Noir, so obviously we could have been involved.”

“Yeah, if he wasn’t literally yelling her civilian name during their fight,” Bunnyx rolled her eyes. “Stay focused! Mini-bug tried to fight him, lost, and then…” She rapped the center white circle with her knuckles. It gave where she touched it, but sprung back easily, as if it were a truly physical mass. “The future disappeared.”

“You can’t access it at all?” Pegasus checked.

“I haven’t gone through,” Bunnyx shook her head, “but Master Fu managed to step through earlier. You can at least enter it, if not exit.”

“What do you mean, if not exit?” Cat Noir stared. “Did you send the guardian in to that when we might never get him back?”

“I don’t know!” Bunnyx rubbed her eyes roughly with the heel of her palm. “It was his idea! I don’t know if there’s anything left.  Maybe something. Maybe nothing. Maybe Mini-bug. But I can’t see anything, which is the whole problem!”

“So… we need to find a way through?” Nino surmised.

Bunnyx strode to the other side of her burrow to the white circle that had cropped up earlier. “The fact that the future is no longer accessible is starting to affect the past. It’s disappearing as well, for some reason. Once these go white, I can’t access them. I can’t see through them, and I don’t know if anything is even past them. So, yes, we need to find a way through.” She met the eyes of the heroes. “To save all time.”

“To… save the world?” Rena Rogue casually checked, sounding a little too hopeful on that point.

Bunnyx sighed. “Yes, Rena, to save the world.”

Rena Rogue gave a small celebratory fist pump.

Pegasus raised a hand. “I have an idea.”

“All ideas are welcome,” Bunnyx nodded.

“I have one,” Queen Bee said.

“Except your’s,” Bunnyx amended. “You were saying, Pegasus?”

“I have a robot with me,” Pegasus explained. “I built him myself. If I sent him in, we might be able to see what’s in there through him.”

“That… might work,” Bunnyx said slowly, hope fluttering in her chest. She wouldn’t trust just anyone with a mission of this importance - especially a robot built by a teenager - but Pegasus was Max; that meant he was probably referring to Markov. For a robot, Markov was pretty sentient, proven by the fact that he’d once been akumatized.

Not to mention, Max himself was pretty smart. Not as smart as Bunnyx, of course, but smart.

Bunnyx gave a determined nod. “Pegasus, send him in.”

Pegasus joined her at the circles. “It is the center one, correct? I assume that the white is spreading out in a ripple effect from it, but I want to make sure I’m not sending my friend into the wrong one.”

“Friend?” Queen Bee snorted. “It’s a robot. You sound exactly like one of the idiots I know.”

“How many idiots do you know?” Viperion glanced at her.

“Too many,” Queen Bee sniffed.

“Yes, it’s the center one,” Bunnyx confirmed.

“Why are you carrying a robot around with you, dude?” Nino asked curiously. “Paris has been going crazy; not exactly the best time to be dragging a robot around.”

“I was heading to the next evacuation,” Pegasus said distractedly as he dug into his bag. “I was bringing him with me.”

Queen Bee frowned - and Bunnyx realized a beat too late that Chloe probably had decided who to send out next herself; she might be able to figure out who Pegasus was.

And then Pegasus pulled Markov out of his bag, and Bunnyx realized a beat that was very much too late that the majority of the heroes here were very familiar with Markov.

Everyone stared at the robot as Pegasus whispered instructions to him. Ryuko and Viperion were the only ones who still seemed somewhat calm - they didn’t know Markov, and therefore couldn’t make the connection to Max. Cat Noir also seemed unaffected, seeing as he’d been there when Ladybug gave Max the horse miraculous.

But, as for everyone else…

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Queen Bee muttered.

Ah, yes, Chloe was just as annoying as Bunnyx remembered.

Unaware of how he’d just exposed his secret identity to almost every hero present, Pegasus turned on his phone and began tapping on it quickly, fingers flying across the screen.

“What are you doing?” Cat Noir asked. His voice was weary. Bunnyx felt a small stab of guilt at pegging the problem on his future self so hard; the poor guy had been singlehandedly attempting to take on all the akumas in Paris by himself.

“When I made Ma- erm, my robot, that is, I also created an app where I can link up to him. If I turn it on and send him through, we should be able to see what is going on inside, hypothetically speaking.” Pegasus punched a few commands into his phone, quietly gave several more instructions to Markov, then stepped back.

The little robot flew straight into the white circle, disappearing.

Pegasus sucked in a sharp breath.

“What is it?” Bunnyx demanded, by his side in an instant, peering at his phone. “Where’s the feed? It’s just white.”

“I’ve… I’ve lost all connection with him,” Pegasus said, his voice faltering.

The heroes fell silent.

Bunnyx began tapping her umbrella against her thigh again. Pegasus - Max - wouldn’t take this loss lightly, but she couldn’t help but be more worried about Master Fu than Markov.

What did it all mean? Was the white just interfering with the connection? Or was there no other side for Markov to even get through?

If the was the case…

That meant Bunnyx really had sent the guardian of the miraculous to his doom.

That meant they’d never get Mini-bug back.

And that meant they’d never be able to fix this.

“That’s not good,” Bunnyx finally rasped, the silence too oppressing.

“What can we do if we can’t retrieve any intel?” Rena Rogue asked, rolling her flute between her hands nervously. “We need to know the facts before we can draw any conclusions.”

“There has to be some way we can check on this dude - uh, Master Fu, I mean,” Nino said.

“For goodness sake, why is he here?” Queen Bee demanded to know yet again.

“It’s not important-” Bunnyx tried to glaze over Nino’s presence once again, but Pegasus was already talking.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Pegasus said distractedly, fingers flying across his phone as he attempted to re-establish a connection with Markov. “He’s the hero Carapace. Master Fu must have taken the turtle miraculous with him, or else Bunnyx would have given it to Nino.”

“Pegasus!” Bunnyx hissed, resisting the sudden and strong urge to smack him upside the head with her umbrella. “Identities are supposed to remain a secret!”

Pegasus paused only long enough to glance up, a look only slightly guilty playing across his face. “Oh. Sorry. I thought that it was so obvious that everyone else knew as well.”

“No need to insult their intelligence,” Bunnyx reprimanded, though she couldn’t bring herself to be too mad about the jab. These mini versions of the heroes were pretty slow on the uptake, sometimes. And she couldn’t really blame Max for it; she herself had already done more than her fair share of jabs. Nerves were frayed, and everyone was on edge.

“Should we send someone in?” King Monkey asked, scratching his head. “I mean, that Food guy-“

“Fu,” Bunnyx corrected.

“Fu,” King Monkey continued, “is in there. But we can’t see him. If one of us could reach him, then we’d be able to help him find Ladybug faster so we can fix this whole mess.”

“We don’t even know if he got through,” Viperion shook his head, folding his arms across his chest. “For all we know he might be…” He paused, glancing somewhat guiltily over at Bunnyx.

Bunnyx’s chest tightened. She knew exactly where Viperion had been going with that.

For a moment, they were all silent.

Then, from behind Bunnyx, someone said, “I’ll go.”

-

Everything about this was ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.

Chloe had only just begun initiating another group of evacuations when this bunny hero had burst out of a glowing white hole in the middle of the air, shoved the bee miraculous at her, and ordered her to follow.

Chloe had done so. She was Queen Bee, after all, a hero. She’d done her best for the past 3 weeks, despite not having a miraculous, settling for trying to help her utterly helpless father. He wasn’t good at dealing with a crisis.

They’d been in the middle of a particularly tense evacuation - a building had literally just fallen over, and no one had eyes on Cat Noir - but Chloe had followed the bunny hero into the glowing hole anyway. She’d been hoping they would be getting Ladybug from wherever she was, and that she’d be able to fix everything.

But here, no one seemed to have a plan! It was chaos, utter chaos. Even Chloe had been able to develop one in an unprecedented crisis, okay? It wasn’t that hard. Unless you were an idiot. In which case, it might be somewhat challenging.

“Should we send someone in?” the monkey hero was asking.

Queen Bee pursed her lips. She’d already tried to give them a plan to work with, but Bunnyx had rejected her idea before she’d even heard it.

Rude.

But…

These fools need a lot of help, Queen Bee observed, and a queen must step up.

It had become her mantra during the past couple of weeks. Because of it, she’d found that she made a great leader under pressure, and that she was clearly the only one in Paris that had any sense whatsoever. Besides Cat Noir, of course. He was the reason anything had even gone through; he’d backed her up when she’d tried to help at first, and apparently the word of a superhero carried a lot of weight.

But, besides him, no one else in this… whatever it was called… burrow? Tunnel? Yeah, whatever. Close enough. Everyone else in this tunnel was stupid. First off, that Pegasus guy was obviously Max, and he’d been dumb enough to reveal very incriminating evidence about his identity to all of them. She’d recognize that robot anywhere; it was so annoying. And Nino? He’d always been such a pain; she couldn’t imagine him as a hero. The only person Ladybug had chosen that showed she had any good taste was Chloe herself - and Chloe hadn’t been exactly chosen.

“We don’t even know if he got through,” the hot green guy shook his head, folding his arms across his chest. “For all we know he might be…” He paused, glancing somewhat guiltily over at Bunnyx.

Dead, Queen Bee mentally filled in.

For a moment, they were all silent.

Now was a good a time as any to propose her plan without any interruptions; hopefully Cat Noir would be willing to back her up again.

Queen Bee straightened. “I’ll go.”

Everyone turned to stare at her.

“What?” Queen Bee demanded. “I tried to tell you it like, five minutes ago! Someone has to go in, and I’m obviously the best choice.”

“What makes you say that?” Rena Rogue retorted.

“I trust her,” Cat Noir interrupted. “I’ve been working with Chloe for the past couple weeks to help Paris; she’s really good at planning things and acting like she belongs when she doesn’t.”

Queen Bee glared at him; it was exactly the backup she’d been hoping for. “That was both compliment and insult, and I don’t appreciate that.”

“I’d prefer if we could just send you, Cat Noir,” Bunnyx sighed, “seeing as you already know Ladybug’s identity.”

“He WHAT now?” Queen Bee demanded. “Ladybug and I are besties! I should have been the first to know!”

Cat Noir seemed to draw in on himself. “I… only found out on accident,” he mumbled. “She didn’t know that I knew - and then she disappeared.” He glanced up. “Or, I guess she was brought here by Bunnyx, and then got trapped in the future.”

Oh, so he playing the blame-game now, was he? Queen Bee didn’t blame him, though; Bunnyx had been extremely rude earlier to him about it when Bunnyx had been the one to bring Ladybug through.

“If the future still exists through that white,” Bunnyx was saying to Cat Noir, “then your future self will likely still be there. You’re my first choice for who I’d send in, but we can’t risk that; if you ever met your future self, it would be too obvious that you don’t belong there.”

“I’m sure I could blend in,” Queen Bee declared, trying to get the conversation back to the topic of her plan. “Let me go. Besides,” she added, “I’m probably the most expendable, seeing as Hawkmoth already knows my identity.”

Everyone stared at her. “Wow, Chloe,” Rena Rogue finally said. “That was almost selfless.”

“You’re not expendable,” Cat Noir said gently, laying a hand on her shoulder. “And we’re not even up against Hawkmoth, here.”

“If Queen Bee goes, she needs to know what Ladybug’s identity is,” Bunnyx warned.

“I can keep a secret,” Chloe reassured Bunnyx. “You have no idea how many government ones I already know.”

“Before we tell you,” Cat Noir interjected, “you have to promise me that knowing her identity as a civilian won’t compromise your loyalty to her. We have to be 100% committed if we’re going to beat… whatever this is. You can’t do anything to undermine her.”

Queen Bee shot him a quizzical look. “Why would I do that to Lady-bae?”

Bunnyx began tapping her umbrella against her leg - something she seemed to do a lot of. “Because you already know her.”

“Should all of us know it?” Ryuko asked. “We might need that information, but if it’s best to keep her identity a secret…”

“I’ll tell Chloe,” Cat Noir offered quietly. “I’ll just… I don’t know. Tell her on the other side of the burrow.”

“It’s not that wide,” Bunnyx pointed out, seeming agitated.

“Then plug your ears,” Cat Noir said drily, taking Queen Bee by the elbow and leading her away to the other side.

“Okay,” Queen Bee said, turning to face Cat Noir head on as soon as they were as far as they could go, “who is she?”

Cat Noir lowered his voice, saying quietly, “She’s… Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Queen Bee blinked. Then blinked again. “All right.”

“All right?” Cat Noir repeated. “Don’t you two have like, a feud or something?”

“Please,” Queen Bee rolled her eyes, “I may be rude sometimes, but the only reason I targeted Dupain-Cheng was because I had to assert dominance. She’s always been my biggest rival because she posed the biggest threat.” She began to count off on her fingers. “She’s class rep, has designed things that have impressed Gabriel Agreste, and every boy in the school probably has had a crush on her at some point. I suppose it only makes sense that she’s Ladybug.”

A small flicker of amusement went through Cat Noir’s eyes. “Does that still mean that you’ll refer to her as Lady-bae-“

“Don’t push it, kitty cat,” Queen Bee interrupted.

Cat Noir just shrugged. “It’s a valid question.”

“I think you and I have very different ideas of what a valid question is.”

“Are you sure you want to go through?” Cat Noir asked, his smile fading. “We need to find her, but we don’t know what’s beyond that circle.”

The unspoken words of if there’s even anything beyond it hung in the air.

“Enough dramatics,” Queen Bee grumbled, trying to put up her uncaring facade again after having just opened up. She hated feelings. They were so icky and… feely. “Just let me go already.”

Together, they walked over to the others again.

“Ready?” Bunnyx asked, eyeing Queen Bee.

“I always was ready, “ Queen Bee sniffed. “If you had let me talk-”

“Try to find anything you can on Fu,” Bunnyx interrupted. “If he’s in there, we want to know where.”

Queen Bee rolled her eyes, sarcastically saying, “Copy that.”

Without waiting for a reply, Queen Bee strode over to the circles and stepping through the one she’d seen Markov go through.

Everything went white. For a moment, nothing happened.

And then suddenly tingles fizzed all over Queen Bee’s body, as if the white was attempting to push her back.

What was this stuff?

Despite how strange it was, though, Queen Bee wasn’t deterred in the least. She knew that there were only three things that could match her in stubbornness: her mother, Adrikins, and Marinette. This white stuff stood no chance.

Queen Bee pushed back - though pushed back was a strange way to describe it. She couldn’t really see anything. It was like a battle of wills, and they were fencing it out the way Adrikins liked to in competitions.

And, just like her Adrikins, she was going to win.

But for several moments, nothing happened.

An inkling of doubt trickled into Queen Bee’s mind. What if she was wrong? What if it wasn’t a battle of wills? What if she was going to be stuck here forever?

With the sudden strength of desperation behind her, Queen Bee threw her will against the white, grappling with it, and-

Without warning, she stumbled into daylight.

At least, she was pretty sure it was daylight.

Chloe stood there, blinking, trying to get her eyes to adjust. But the sight before her would not go away.

It was… Paris. Sort of. People were walking up and down the sidewalks, paying no attention to her whatsoever. That alone was odd, seeing as she was Chloe Bourgeois, daughter of the mayor.

However, unlike the Paris she had left just minutes before, this one was completely intact. There was no sign of destruction anywhere.

But there was something much, much more wrong with it.

Everything was black and white. And there was an odd net pattern across all of it.

Had the white stuff taken away her ability to see colour?

Buzzzzzzz.

Chloe took a fighting stance instantly, ready to venom her way out of whatever threat there might be.

Yet no threat came into sight.

After a beat, a bee flew in front of her, still buzzing.

But it was yellow.

Colour.

Chloe relaxed her stance only slightly, twisting her head to look about. There were bees, all of them yellow, floating about her head. They were all humming slightly.

What were they doing here?

Chloe made to shoo them off - but upon lifting up her arm, she froze.

“What am I wearing?!” she whisper-shrieked.

Her sleeve alone was hideous. Upon looking down, though, things got even worse: it was a full-body costume! At least, she assumed it was a costume; there was no other explanation for it.

Chloe reached quickly up to her head, trying to check on her hair - and her hands instantly bumped into something.

Was she wearing a helmet?

“Stay calm,” Chloe whispered, trying to not hyperventilate. This trip into the white was already much more panic-inducing than she’d expected. “A queen must step up.”

Right. She was a queen. She wouldn’t let a temporary costume stop her. At least, she hoped it was temporary.

Look on the bright side, she tried to assure herself. At least that explains the net pattern I’m seeing.

Looking on the bright side didn’t come very naturally do her.

But where had this monstrosity even come from? And, more importantly, where had her epic superhero suit gone?

“This is so wrong,” Chloe muttered, crossing her arms. She wanted to pout, to yell and scream at the black and white sky about how ridiculous, utterly ridiculous this was - but she had to find Ladybug. And the You guy.

But where did she even start?

What would Ladybug do? Chloe wondered. Ladybug - ugh, Marinette, too - always seemed to know exactly what to do in every situation. If Chloe had to choose one person to emulate… it might as well be her.

She would take stock of the situation, Chloe decided, then develop a plan of attack.

Chloe was halfway hoping that her plan of attack would somehow have a very necessary step in it of removing her ugly suit, but she started by taking stock of the surrounding area.

Okay. She had made it through the white. Or forced her way past it. Whatever.

She hadn’t seen the Wu guy inside of the white - not that she could even see much in there, it had been so bright - so she could probably assume he’d also made it through. That would mean that both of them were now here to search for Ladybug - Marinette - at the same time.

Right. Searching. She had to search.

So… Chloe would try and find Lady- Marinette. She would try and find Marinette.

Knowing Ladybug’s identity was going to take a little getting used to.

But Paris needed Ladybug back. Chloe was prepared to set aside any bad blood between her and Dupain-Cheng, as well as her intense loathing for her new… outfit in order to find her and set things right.

First things first: where did she even begin? Paris was huge.

Maybe someone has seen her? Chloe wondering, glancing around. Surely they’d remember seeing Ladybug - but that only works if Dupain-Cheng has transformed during her time here to fight akumas.

Ugh. She doubted that Marinette could bring herself to be that helpful.

But if she was also Ladybug, the smartest person Chloe knew, then maybe she could-

Quiet! Chloe ordered herself; she didn’t have time for internal debates. If this is the future, then I could try and find someone that Marinette might be with. Like me; I’m famous. Or Cat Noir. Chat Blanc. Whatever.

But did she dare ask for help to find someone who had destroyed the whole future?

More importantly… did she really want to deign to ask for help?

Ugh. The thought alone was horrid and slimy. Chloe didn’t ask for help; if she needed someone to do something for her, she just ordered them to do it. That’s how friendship worked! And being the daughter of the mayor!

Chloe let out a peeved sigh, then began taking a closer look at passers by; she might as well peg down someone who looked weak.

But the more she looked at them, the more uncomfortable Chloe became. It wasn’t just the fact that she wasn’t sure whether she even wanted to ask someone for help, or that all these people were black-and-white; it was the expressions people were wearing. Everyone looked… happy. Or at least not sad. But also not truly happy. Like they were glad to be there but were dead inside.

It was disconcerting.

Chloe gave up on the idea of asking someone for help; she’d just rely on herself for this job.

It might be a little tricky, though; there weren’t any signs anywhere that could help lead her to where Ladybug might be. There was no destruction, no akumas, and no Chat Blanc. Everything appeared to be, well… perfect.

But there was something very off about this place. No one was noticing her, or freaking out that everything was black and white.

Or over her. She was standing in the middle of the road, surrounded by bees, but no one had given her a second look.

Chloe waved a wayward bee out of her face that was obstructing her view. She cast an annoyed look at them; where had they even come from? And why were they still hanging out around her? She was Queen Bee, but still-

Wait.

Bees.

This place must be affecting my miraculous, she realized, staring at the bees. I hope that’s not Pollen. Changing outfits was bad enough; she couldn’t imagine being split up into multiple tiny hers. Though the rest of the world would probably love having more than one Chloe.

So… essentially, she couldn’t trust anyone because they all seemed to be stupid, she had no idea where Fu was, meaning she was alone, and she didn’t even know where she currently was or where Dupain-Cheng lived in just normal-Paris, much less this one.

Really, she was alone in the big city with no way to know where to go.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Chloe began walking along the streets at a brisk pace. Maybe she’d get lucky and just bump into Dupain-Cheng.

And then she couldn’t help but snort at the thought of considering bumping into Marinette lucky.

Chloe quickly began noticing more differences as she made her way down the streets, choosing her path at random. For one, not only was she dressed differently, but so was everyone else. They were wearing a totally different style entirely, as if they had walked straight out of a 1960s movie. Dupain-Cheng wasn’t the only one who knew fashion; Chloe had grown up around fashion moguls. Her mother had practically invented fashion itself. If Chloe couldn’t tell what time period a piece was from, then someone would have been seriously wrong with her. More than she already was by wearing this horrible outfit, of course.

Chloe went up and down sidewalks, peering into stores and houses, unable to recognize anything she was passing by. At first, it was somewhat interesting.

But after a while, it became stiflingly hot in her suit, and her feet began to ache.

Where was a limousine when you needed one?

The sun reached its peak, hovering in a black and white haze above Chloe. She was sweltering in her suit, but didn’t dare try to take it off; there was something very right about it in a very wrong way, as if she couldn’t remove it even if she tried.

She hated how everything here was right and wrong; it wasn’t… right. Or wrong, either. But certainly not right!

UGH.

Several hours in, Chloe was more lost than ever, her feet were blistering, and the sun was starting to go down. At one point, she thought she heard cheering - something about children? - but ignored it. Marinette wasn’t a child - well, not technically speaking. Emotionally, Chloe had always considered her as vulnerable as a toddler, and even easier to read and manipulate.

Unlike these street signs. Chloe’s eyes hurt from seeing just black and white all day, and with the light lessening, it was becoming even more difficult to read anything.

Grumbling, Chloe took to just walking in the middle of the road so she could check out both sides of the street more easily. It turned out to be a bad idea, however; before long, in the dark, her foot caught on something and sent her crashing to the ground.

“Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” Chloe hissed, twisting to see what she’d tripped on. It was just a pot hole covering. She kicked it back into place before standing, brushing herself off.

The sound of a door opening rang out across the street - but Chloe would have ignored it completely and moved on had it not been for a very familiar voice saying, “Be careful.”

Chloe’s pulse instantly kicked up a notch. Was that who she thought it was?

As if feeling her quickening pulse for her, the bees around Chloe began to buzz in earnest, fluttering around her head. “Hush!” Chloe ordered, trying to peer into the darkness toward where the words had come from. She twisted her head from left to right, not wanting to miss anything.

“What’s that?” the same voice gasped - yes, that was definitely Marinette. But… at the same time, Chloe could now also hear how she also was definitely Ladybug. How had she not noticed that before?

Where is she? Chloe thought in frustration, peering into the darkness.

But then, as she twisted her head again, she came to a stop.

There.

Marinette was staring at her, eyes wide. Her hand was clutching the shoulder of the person standing beside her.

And then Chloe noticed who the other person was.

His hair was the same blond that it had been when they were kids, and his physique was unmistakable; even the way he stood at attention. Yet… it seemed almost looser than normal, as if he were more relaxed around Marinette.

Adrien Agreste. Chloe’s childhood best friend.

But what arrested her attention the most were his eyes.

They weren’t green.

Instead, they were a bright, icy blue that showed up like a shock of lightning in the dark.

And he was looking straight. at. her.

“No,” he whispered. The word practically rumbled in the air; there was an innate feeling of power behind it. Chloe had grown up around politicians; she could have recognized it from a mile away, but in this case, it actually was like a physical presence backing it up - as if his word were the wind in front of a tsunami that rose up only a few moments behind it, towering above everything, ready to destroy everything in its path.

Adrien closed his fist, fingers curling in on themselves. There was a distinct clink and then-

-

“Pegasus, status update?” Rena Rogue asked, glancing over at the superhero that was obviously Max Kanté. Bunnyx had asked him to start looking at the holes in her burrow; Bunnyx might be the holder of the miraculous, but Max was still a genius.

“Nothing yet,” Pegasus reported. “If I had Ma- I mean, my robot here, then he might be able to help me…”

Rena winced; Max was not taking the loss of Markov lightly, yet was stoically attempting to not mention the robot too much. He had no idea that she already had figured out his identity.

“Actually…”

Rena looked up along with everyone else.

Pegasus was staring at the white circles, rubbing his chin, deep in thought. “It pushes back when I try to place my hand against it. This circle is unlike the one that I entered by. It’s as if it’s a solid mass.” He reached up, adjusting his sunglasses, the same way Max usually would adjust his glasses while thinking. “Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. But… what if we could somehow bypass the wall that we are acting on?”

“Excuse me?” Bunnyx stared.

But Rena was catching on. “Like… through one of your portals?”

“Precisely,” Pegasus nodded. “However, it would need some way to link up to the circle itself; I doubt I could create a portal through time. My miraculous is not intended to work in such a fashion.”

“Whoah, everyone hold up,” Viperion held up his hands. “I only caught about half of that, but we can’t go in there!”

“Why not?” Pegasus and Rena asked in unison.

“First off, Fu and Chloe both already went in,” Viperion counted off the reasons on his fingers. “They haven’t come back. We have no idea if they even made it through in the first place. And, if they did, they’re undercover. Even if we could find an easier way to get through, by going in, we’d be blowing their cover.”

“By that logic, Chloe going in blew Fu’s,” Rena pointed out, crossing her arms.

“If we could just see what’s going on, that would help everything!” Bunnyx growled in frustration. “We need to know if they made it through or not!”

“And where they are now if they did,” Ryuko murmured in agreement.

Rena looked down at her flute and suddenly smirked. “I have an idea.”

-

“Are you sure about this?” Bunnyx checked one final time. “Giving me your miraculouses will reveal your identity to everyone present. That could endanger those you love if Hawkmoth-”

“Yeah, well, I don’t see Hawkmoth present,” Rena Rogue waved her hand dismissively. “Besides, who cares about him right now? We’re up against Cat Noir - or Chat Blanc - and, honestly, I’d be way more scared of getting in a fight with him than Hawkmoth. Besides,” she added, “all cards on the table, right? We’re your hand, and you’re playing us to your best tactical advantage.”

Bunnyx chewed her lip. Rena was right - she always had been logical that way. “Okay,” she finally relented - though she couldn’t deny a part of her was relieved. Rena’s idea was a good one, and Bunnyx was desperate to try and get eyes on the future. “You may remove your miraculouses.”

There was silence as Pegasus and Rena Rogue faced one another. It felt like a solemn moment; a last second of anonymity before being thrown into the spotlight.

They both took in a deep breath. There was a bright flash of light as both of them detransformed.

And then Alya Cesaire and Max Kanté were standing there instead.

“Wait, Alya?” Cat Noir gaped.

“Do you two know one another?” Max asked, glancing between them.

“Well, I mean,” Cat Noir stumbled over his words, “she’s the Ladyblogger. And I’ve saved her several times.”

Bunnyx could have facepalmed herself at the clumsy save.

“Here you go, Bunnyx,” Alya said as she and Max handed over their miraculouses to her.

Bunnyx slipped the sunglasses and the necklace on. The horse and fox kwamis instantly appeared in front of her. Bunnyx pulled out carrots, quickly feeding the tired kwamis. “You guys up for round two?”

Kaalki looked at her curiously. “Are you glorious and famous?”

Bunnyx gave her a look.

“Glorious,” Kaalki decided, popping the rest of the carrot in her mouth. “I’m ready!”

“Fluff, Kaalki, Trixx, unify!” Bunnyx declared.

It was a risky idea to act on. The more miraculouses a holder wore, the more dangerous it was for them - much less one being the miraculous of time.

But she was strong; Bunnyx didn’t doubt that she could handle it. After all, if Mini-bug could wear all of them, then this should be a cinch.

There was a burst of light, and a moment later, she stood in her new form. A wave of dizziness crashed over her, and for a breathless moment, Bunnyx thought she was about to faint. She stumbled, leaning heavily on Alya and Max for support.

“You good?” Alya grunted.

“Just peachy,” Bunnyx mumbled, the dizziness slowly fading. She took in a deep breath, steadying herself, then pushed up. “All right. Let’s do this.”

“What should we call you now?” Alya asked, trotting beside her as Bunnyx strode over to the white circles, the rest of the heroes tailing them. “If I ever get to talk about this on my blog, I need a name.”

“There’s no time to decide,” Bunnyx replied. “Just continue calling me Bunnyx.” She stopped before the white circles. “I hope your idea works.”

Everyone leaned closer, watching intently.

Bunnyx took her umbrella, sliding the flute along up it and lodging it in place with the horseshoe. Then, slowly, she began sliding it into the white circle.

For several tense seconds, she felt the whiteness push back, as if it were a truly physical force.

Gritting her teeth and sending up a prayer that this would work, Bunnyx said, “Burrow, Voyage, Mirage!”

It was probably the longest shot of shots that she’d ever attempted. Reaching through time, bypassing a force keeping them locked out, and…

The white circle flickered.

Bunnyx caught her breath. Had the mirage really reached through?

The other heroes gathered around, peering at the white, crackling… whatever it was. It honestly reminded Bunnyx a little of an old TV.

And then, the static cleared up, leaving them with a black and white image instead.

{Audience laughs}

Bunnyx jumped at the sound, almost losing her grip on her umbrella. “Holy hopping dust bunnies! What is that?”

“So… because we’re doing this dinner for us… you thought we should make the whole thing?”

“That can’t be right,” Alya squinted, leaning in a little closer. “That’s Adrien Agreste. Chat Blanc is nowhere in sight.”

“Basically.”

“And that’s Marinette,” Max pointed. “What is she doing here?”

“Hands off, dude; I can’t see!” Nino complained.

“Quiet!” Bunnyx ordered, her voice strained. They were finally able to see through, and these teenagers were yelling over it!

“Have you at all considered the fact that you usually bake, and I don’t really cook?”

{Audience laughs}

At the sound of the canned laughter, Bunnyx flinched again. What was this, a movie from the 50’s?

“That’s why we have a recipe, Adrien. It’s the kind of thing people use when they’re cooking.”

{Audience laughs}

“What do you need help with?”

“Could you grab out the knives?”

“Planning a murder, my dear?”

{Audience laughs}

“What…?” Bunnyx breathed.

“What are we looking at?” Viperion asked. “What is this? Where’s it coming from?”

“Out there,” Bunnyx murmured, hoping that the answer would make these kids be quiet already. Her eyes were locked on the… well, for lack of a better word, she had to admit that it now looked almost like a screen.

“Now, we’re going to need some spices…”

“Is it authentic?” Alya frowned. “Is it happening in real time? Is it recorded, fabricated?”

Would these kids just be quiet already?

“I don’t know,” Bunnyx cast a glance at Alya, her voice tense. “We’re reaching through space and time. It could have reached some kind of alternate reality for all we know.”

“So you’re saying that the universe created a sitcom staring… a model and a fashion designer,” Viperion said drily.

“I’m not saying that! I’m just theorizing!” Bunnyx waved him off, trying to pay attention to the feed. Possible alternate reality or not, this was the first time she’d seen something through the circle since she’d sent Mini-bug in there.

The scene played out, Marinette panicking over how much they had left to do - and then suggested they use their miraculouses.

“Their… miraculouses?” King Monkey blinked.

Bunnyx thought fast. “Oh, Marinette once used the mouse miraculous against Kwami Buster, and Ladybug originally gave the snake miraculous to Adrien Agreste; they must be referring to those.”

“She gave it to Adrien first?” Viperion stared.

Cat Noir shifted a couple steps away from Viperion.

“Green is not a good colour on you, Viperion,” Bunnyx said. “I mean… jealousy. You’re already in green.” She let out a tense sigh. “Would you all please be quiet now? I’m trying to hear what’s going on.”

She was desperate to hear what was going on; Minibug would never suggest that they use their miraculouses for personal gain; never.

But, almost more concerning was the fact that she was acting as if Adrien had her miraculous. If Adrien was Cat Noir, and in this world had been akumatized into Chat Blanc, that could only spell trouble.

“What the heck?” Nino yelped in the back of the group as… well, as he walked in through the door. “That’s me!”

“Nino!” Marinette exclaimed, confirming the fact that it really was Nino Lahiffe there for them.

“What’s up?” Nino asked, smiling widely, showing all his teeth. “Do I smell chicken?”

“I don’t actually smile like that, right?” Nino whispered from behind Bunnyx to Alya.

Bunnyx shushed him.

The three did the dishes, and then Nino left - only to be quickly replaced by the Dupain-Chengs, and…

“That’s Emilie Agreste!” Alya gasped.

Cat Noir made a strangled sound in the back of his throat.

Adrien on the screen didn’t appear phased by her appearance, however. Instead, they all ate dinner today, and then Adrien and Emilie left.

And then… credits began rolling.

“Is this a TV show?” Ryuko frowned. “Did you access a channel by accident, Bunnyx?”

“No way,” Bunnyx shook her head desperately. “I… I couldn’t have.” Of course, she’d never tried doing what she’d done before, so she didn’t know that for a fact.

“What would a channel featuring us be named?” King Monkey pondered. “The Family Channel? Gloob? Zag?”

“Stop making stuff up, King Monkey,” Max chided. “Now is not the time.”

Now certainly wasn’t the time for anything these kids were talking about. Bunnyx needed to be able to think. Mini-bug appeared to be fine; it was as if she didn’t know anything was even wrong.

“Marinette seemed a little… off, don’t you think?” Nino frowned. “I’ve never seen her greet me like that before.”

“But she’s dating Adrien,” Alya pointed out. “That’s a pretty good thing, right?”

“Why would she want to date Adrien Agreste?” Cat Noir mumbled. He was standing in the back of the group, his arms folded tightly across his chest, as if distancing himself from the mess that his future self had caused.

“She’s had the biggest crush on him since the first day they met,” Alya shrugged. “After she gave him heck when she thought he’d stuck gum on her seat, of course. But that was just Chloe.”

Cat Noir jerked his head up and stared at her. “She liked… Adrien?”

“Yep,” Alya confirmed.

Cat Noir’s eyes practically dilated, and Bunnyx could just see him connecting the dots in his head. If Marinette is Ladybug… and Ladybug always told me that there was another boy… that other boy was Adrien Agreste… and if Adrien Agreste was me the whole time…

“Enough!” Bunnyx exclaimed. These teens got sidetracked way too easily. Though she was willing to forgive Cat Noir at least a little; this was all probably starting to get a little too overwhelming for him. Just not in entirely all the ways that the others thought.

The credits finished rolling, and Bunnyx stared at the screen for a few moments. That episode hadn’t revealed anything helpful; only more questions… and no sign of Fu.

That couldn’t be it… could it?

“Now what?” Nino finally asked.

As if in response, the screen flickered back to life.

For a moment, Bunnyx thought it was about to replay the same thing they’d just watched, the way her burrows would replay when she touched them.

But then a theme song began blaring.

And it was different.

“Is this a new… episode?” Alya stared.

Bunnyx squinted at it. The theme song was still in black and white, but looked less like it was from the 50’s and more like it was from the 60’s.

The new… well, like Alya had said, episode began to play. It appeared to be the middle of the night, and Emilie was telling Adrien that something was outside.

Bunnyx’s heart leapt; could it possibly be Master Fu?

“Chloe?” Viperion blinked. “That was fast.”

Obviously Bunnyx and Viperion had very different ideas as to who the more capable searcher was in there.

They watched Adrien head towards of the door of the apartment, moving to go check on something. He was doing something with his hands, but the camera angle only showed him from the back.

And then… he switched direction, heading for the window instead.

Bunnyx realized what he was about to do a second too late. “Wait-!”

Before she could order the other heroes to turn around, Adrien whispered, “Plagg, claws out.”

There was a flash of white, and a moment later, Chat Blanc opened up the window began climbing the outside wall.

Everybody froze, staring.

And then slowly turned to look at Cat Noir, who was still standing in the back of the group.

“Adrien?” Ryuko stared, looking the most shocked she had during this whole situation.

“Bro?” Nino gaped.

“You’re Chat Blanc?” Viperion asked.

Cat Noir winced. “Uh… hi?”

“Wait…” Nino clutched at his head. “So all those times you disappeared during attacks…? And wait, during the past 3 weeks, you’ve been fighting akumas on your own?!”

“Maybe?” Cat Noir said it like it was a question, as if there was still some way for him to plausibly deny it.

“Wait!” Alya exclaimed, her fingers twitching, as if she was resisting the strong urge to grab out her phone. “If you, Cat Noir, are Adrien, and that makes you Chat Blanc, and Ladybug is stuck in the future with future you, and this show is featuring Adrien and Marinette…”

The blood slowly drained from Bunnyx’s face as everyone fell silent, the obvious conclusion lying in plain sight. Bunnyx might not agree with Fu’s rules, but if there were two identities she had wanted to keep secret above all others, they were Mini-bug’s and Cat Noir’s.

“Marinette is Ladybug?” Alya choked when nobody contradicted her. “Like… for real?”

“You all weren’t supposed to know,” Bunnyx groaned. “I thought we could keep it secret…”

Tap. Tap. Tap tap tap.

Bunnyx gave the screen a cursory glance, unsure as to where her attention should even be focused any longer. Chat Blanc was still on the wall, and it was now revealed that it had only been a tree branch that had scared Emilie.

Still no sign of Fu, then.

“My best friend has been fighting akumas all school year?!” Alya looked like she was either about to have a panic attack or faint.

Bunnyx rallied herself; she needed to get control of this situation. “Everyone, calm down!”

The heroes instantly quieted down, looking at her with varying degrees of shock and panic displayed on their faces. It wasn’t exactly calm, but at least it was slightly more quiet.

Bunnyx decided to just grab the bull by the horns. “Yes, Cat Noir is Adrien Agreste, and Marinette is Mini-bug. I’m sorry, Cat Noir, I didn’t mean for them all to find out your identity.”

“It’s not your fault,” Cat Noir shook his head wearily.

“So in the future, Marinette is Ladybug… and she’s dating you… who is…” Alya’s brow was scrunched up, trying to put the pieces together in her mind.

“Chat Blanc,” Bunnyx finished, glancing at the screen as Chat Blanc made his way back along the wall to the window. “And Mini-bug seems to know that he is, yet isn’t concerned in the least. Which is extremely puzzling.”

“Is this a love triangle or square?” Alya asked.

“Square,” Nino supplied.

“Marinette would never willingly assist a villain,” Viperion shook his head, then cast an uncomfortable glance at Cat Noir. “No offence.”

“Do you know her?” Alya asked, casting a curious glance at the snake hero.

“And then end with a backflip going into the splits.”

They all turned back to the screen at the sound of Marinette’s voice. Bunnyx drew in a sharp breath, just as Chat Blanc did a backflip going into the splits.

Because Mini-bug was there on screen with him in her own superhero outfit.

“They seem a little tired,” Marinette was saying when Bunnyx finally got her brain to pay attention to what they were actually saying again. “Are you sure we should be using these for our routine?”

“Routine?” Max repeated, confusion obvious in his voce.

“It’s fine,” Adrien replied on screen. “Everyone will just think we’re wearing costumes of their favourite superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Blanc!”

And with that, the pieces finally began to click into place in Bunnyx’s head.

“Superheroes,” she whispered. “Mini-bug thinks that they’re both superheroes, the way she and Cat Noir are! But now…”

“It’s with Chat Blanc,” Cat Noir finished quietly from the back.

“She doesn’t realize that anything’s wrong,” Bunnyx nodded.

Marinette headed on out of the apartment, joining Emilie Agreste. They began heading down the street chatting about some committee meeting and Lila Rossi.

But as the pair of them went around a corner, the camera panned out and around them to get a better view of them from the other side - and that’s when Bunnyx saw him.

She gasped. “Master Fu!”

There he was: he was barely even in the shot, narrowly making it in at this new angle, shuffling along down the sidewalk behind Marinette and Emilie, as if heading in the same direction as them.

But it was him.

“Does he seem okay to you?” Cat Noir, leaning around King Monkey’s shoulder to see better. The monkey superhero leaned a little further to give him a better look; everyone seemed to understand that, while knowing Cat Noir’s identity was huge, they had to wait to truly process it until later.

“He doesn’t appear to be harmed in any way,” Bunny said, relieved, “but that’s definitely not the outfit that he went in there with. And those turtles! What’s up with that?”

“So, what, deep cover?” Alya suggested, her reporter gears clearly already turning. “Fu has to play along?”

“With whom?” Viperion shook his head. “Or else, what?” He frowned, studying the screen even as Marinette and Emilie continued talking. “What are we looking at here? Because things have obviously changed; is it an alternate reality? Just time travel?”

“For all we know, it could be a cockamamie social experiment,” Max pointed out.

“It’s a sitcom,” Bunnyx said. “A 1950s sitcom - or, at least, the first episode was. This one might be in the 60’s.”

“But why?” Viperion insisted.

“Hey, man, we’re working with the same scarcity of intel,” Bunnyx held up her free hand as if to shield herself. She glanced back at the screen. “But I think I’m starting to get an idea for something we can try.”

She finally had seen Fu. Just knowing that he was all right, that he had made it through, made Bunnyx feel as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. New courage flooded through her.

If it was possible to get through the white that was overtaking her burrow, that meant…

They might actually be able to beat it.

The screen changed back to Adrien, who was heading out of the apartment.

“An idea? What is it?” Alya asked excitedly. “A way to break my best friend out from… whatever this is?”

“Not entirely,” Bunnyx shook her head. “More of… a way of possibly contacting Mini-bug and Adrien.”

“Both of them?” Viperion noted.

“Cut it out,” Bunnyx said cuttingly. “She liked Adrien who’s Cat Noir and is now with an akumatized version of him in the future. Get over it. And, yes, both of them. We don’t know exactly what happened, but it was centered on Mini-bug and Chat Blanc. They’re both good options to try and contact.”

“Markov!” Max suddenly yelled, surging forward.

Everybody whipped their heads about to look back again.

On screen, Adrien was holding… something. It was an odd ball of sorts, a bright blue oval decorating the front of it and a cone attached to the bottom sticking out form it. It was the first sign of colour they’d seen so far.

“That looks like a retro version of my robot,” Max said, practically blocking the entire screen with how closely he was leaning in.

“But how did it change, and why?” Ryuko said as Bunnyx pulled Max back.

“Uh… to go with production design?” Nino suggested. He’d directed stuff before, so he would probably knew about those sort of things.

But Bunnyx found she didn’t entirely agree with that theory.

“Or render it useless,” she murmured, watching Adrien study it.

“Why’d you colourize it?” Alya asked. “How did you even do that?”

“I didn’t.” Bunnyx shook her head.

Adrien turned, marching back to the apartment and closing the door behind him. When he emerged again, only moments later, Markov was gone.

“Where did he go?!” Max exclaimed, his voice panicked, and rushed at the screen.

“Don’t touch it!” Bunnyx yelled, letting go of her umbrella to tackle Max. She landed hard, and grunted. “If we interfere with the feed we have coming through, we might never be able to get it again!”

“But Markov…!” Max struggled weakly beneath her strong grip.

“Calm down, Max,” Bunnyx ordered. She began to raise herself off of him, still using her hands to keep him pinned down in case he tried anything again. “Adrien may have just hidden him somewhere; he was colourized, after all. That would have made him stand out.”

“I wouldn’t destroy Markov, if that makes you feel any better,” Cat Noir volunteered.

Max stopped struggling, panting. “Yeah… yeah, that helps.”

Bunnyx let go of Max, glancing over to make sure her umbrella was still good. It was leaning, but its tip was still inside the circle, the handle resting on the base of her burrow. “What did we miss?”

“Marinette is talking with Fu,” Ryuko recounted, the only who had thought to continue watching, “and her kwami fell into his aquarium.”

“Tikki what?” Bunnyx yelped. “That’s bad. If she gets a cold…”

“Master Fu has an aquarium?” Cat Noir asked. “I didn’t see that when I visited him.”

“Well, he certainly didn’t have that shirt when I last saw him either,” Bunnyx grunted, brushing herself off as she stood.

“You’ve visited him before?” King Monkey asked.

“Can Master Fu help if her kwami gets a cold?” Max asked.

“Wait, is he part of the committee now?” Alya stared.

“It appears so,” Ryuko shrugged, even as the screen switched on them again.

“He found her,” Bunnyx realized, barely paying attention to the new environment being panned around on the screen, or anything the heroes were saying, “and now he’s tailing her. Master Fu had nothing but utter faith in Mini-bug; he’s probably waiting to try and help in some way, or maybe is trying to gain her trust!”

“They’re talking!” Nino told her. “Or… that is,  we are.”

Bunnyx looked at the screen, paying attention to the new scene for the first time - and blinked.

It was back to Adrien.

But he was sitting at a table… with most of her old classmates.

“I could help you with some melodies to go along with it, if you want,” Luka Couffaine offered onscreen.

Viperion drew in a breath.

“What?” Alya asked, glancing at him.

But, just then, Bunnyx’s eyes fell on something. “Radio!” she exclaimed.

“What?” Alya yelped the word this time, almost falling over from the force of Bunnyx’s exclamation.

“There was a radio in the kitchen in the first episode,” Bunnyx said, scrambling forward to grip her umbrella, “and now there’s one on that table. We can try and reach you, Adrien!”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Cat Noir asked uncertainly.

Bunnyx paused, glancing over her shoulder at him. Clearly, they were the only two to have developed a new theory about Chat Blanc - one that was likely right.

But when all they did was silently observed each other, Bunnyx knew that Cat Noir was just as interested as she was in sharing it with the others - as in, not at all.

“We have to try,” Bunnyx said instead, finally breaking eye contact and looking back at her umbrella. “If Mini-bug doesn’t know what’s going on, he might. He could help us.” She doubted that, actually, but was still interested in testing out her theory.

Bunnyx twisted her umbrella about, as if tuning it to the perfect signal. She focused, the powers of space and time colliding within her and honing in on their target: the radio.

On screen, the boys were still talking about Ivan’s song for Mylene. Now was as good a time as any to do this - not to mention, Bunnyx didn’t know when the scene might change; for all she knew, she only had a couple of seconds to try this.

“Adrien,” Bunnyx said into the handle of her umbrella, not entirely sure where else to speak.

She stared hard at the Adrien on screen. There didn’t seem to be any reaction from him, so she tried again. “Adrien, can you read me, over?”

“I knew it was bad!” Ivan exclaimed on screen.

Bunnyx tried to focus despite the yelling. “Adrien?”

There was a blip on screen, and beat later, it had cut to Marinette, who was nervously clutching Tikki in her hands.

Everyone stared.

“Well that didn’t work,” Cat Noir finally said.

“Just wait,” Bunnyx said, her voice brittle. “Once it switches back to you, I’ll try again.”

She couldn’t afford for it to not work.

“I might have left the radio behind by then,” Cat Noir pointed out.

“Or maybe not,” Bunnyx countered.

A beat later, it switched back.

Still Adrien. Still at the table.

Still close to the radio.

Instantly, Bunnyx was trying to tune in to the radio again. This time, however, the camera kept switching angles, making it difficult to focus on the radio. She gritted her teeth, sweat dripping down her forehead.

“I need to go,” Adrien said.

Bunnyx focused harder.

Adrien stopped.

Bunnyx’s breath caught; was she getting through?

Just as she went to speak into her umbrella again, however, a jolt went through her body.

“Ack!” she exclaimed, dropping her umbrella.

“What is it?” Cat Noir was by her side in an instant.

Bunnyx shook out her hands, frazzled. “I… I’m not sure. It was like a shock or something.”

“Sit down for a minute,” Ryuko suggested - although it sounded a little bit like an order, coming from her.

Bunnyx sat down obediently. Past or future, one did not simply ignore Ryuko unless they were interested in getting their butt kicked. And her head was kind of dizzy, anyway. Bunnyx focused on breathing, and tried to pay at least some attention to the screen.

The episode played out, Marinette and Adrien doing their act without their miraculouses due to Tikki’s illness. Bunnyx watched with increasing worry over the little pink kwami - until, at last, Fu approached and offered to heal her ‘cat’.

“Is the episode ending?” Viperion asked as Marinette and Adrien headed back to Adrien’s apartment.

“It looks like it,” Bunnyx frowned.

Marinette and Adrien entered the apartment, Marinette talking about a surprise - and food.

There was a sudden blip, and then-

Zwoosh!

Everybody involuntarily screamed, scattering as a body burst out of the burrow hole and slammed into the ground right where they’d been.

The person groaned.

“Chloe!” Cat Noir exclaimed, dropping to his knees beside her.

Chloe - Queen Bee - let out a shallow gasp, as if her lungs were unable to get any air. Her eyes fluttered open - but as soon as they landed upon Cat Noir, they widened, fear obvious in them as she lurched away from him. “N-no…!”

“It’s okay!” Viperion was in front of her in an instant, placing calming hands on her shoulders. “Just breathe, Queen Bee. You’re okay.” He paused. “I mean, I think you are? What happened?”

“Adrien,” Queen Bee gasped out, one of her desperate hands clawing at Viperion’s, her other one wrapping around herself.

“Wait, you saw him?” Bunnyx jumped in, not waiting for Queen Bee to pull herself together. “We didn’t even see you through the feed!”

“See…?” Queen Bee twisted, her other hand still clutching her stomach, only to freeze when she saw the screen. “There- there! Adrien!” Here voice rose to a shriek at the end, and everyone winced.

“What happened, Queenie?” Cat Noir asked, staying several paces back.

Queen Bee stood there, panting, for several moments. Slowly, her shoulders relaxed slightly, and she blinked, as if her mind was just returning to reality. “S… sorry,” Queen Bee muttered, stepping away from Viperion, wrapping both her arms around herself. “You sounded so much like Adrikins for a moment that I panicked. He just… I don’t know, ejected me or something.”

“What are you talking about?” Cat Noir said at the same time that Alya said, “He is Adrien.”

“He’s what?” Queen Bee stared. Then, she stormed over to Cat Noir. “Adrien Agreste, are you telling me you’ve been risking your life these past 3 weeks by yourself?”

“That’s what I said!” Nino exclaimed.

“Everybody, shut up!” Bunnyx yelled. The heroes fell silent, and Bunnyx roughly shoved hair out of her eyes, letting out a pent up breath. “Queen Bee, tell us what happened.”

Queen Bee shot another venomous glare at Cat Noir, as if promising their conversation would continue later. “It was… wrong. Yet right. It was Paris, but in black and white. And I was in a disgusting outfit with bees flying around.” She shuddered.

“Queen Bee, please,” Bunnyx said, desperate for information.

“Fine, okay!” Queen Bee shook her head, as if trying to clear it. She wrapped her arms around herself again. “I saw Adrien - well, Chat Blanc, I suppose.” She shot a glance at Cat Noir. “But… he had blue eyes.”

“Blue?” Bunnyx repeated, simultaneously confused and wondering how this was important.

Queen Bee shuddered. “It was horrible. They were ice. Marinette was there with him. I’d wandered around all day, trying to find her. But then… Adrikins clenched his hand, and…. then I was here.”

“A suit with bees?” Bunnyx repeated, her mind unable to let go of that piece of information. “Wait. Fu has turtles.” She blinked, the pieces clicking together. “This future doesn’t seem to want us to reach it. It has been fighting us since we first began trying to get in. Maybe it’s revealing who we really are!” She began to pace. “And Markov - it must’ve turned him into something to match the time period the show was set in at the time.”

“Show?” Queen Bee repeated weakly, sitting down.

As if on cue, the credits began to roll.

“Wait, was that in colour?” Viperion asked. “I wasn’t even watching.”

“Yes,” Ryuko confirmed simply.

Everyone sat down at once, as if all this was too much to process. Bunnyx stopped her pacing to stare at the screen, hard, as the third episode began.

It was in colour.

Cat Noir drew in a sharp breath at the sight of Adrien on screen - and Bunnyx had to resist doing the same thing herself. Chloe had been right; his eyes were piercing blue.

They silently watched it play out. Marinette was planning a surprise, going around doing errands for it. Adrien disappeared for a short time, heading outside before the screen switched back to Marinette. When it finally showed him again, he was heading back to the apartment.

After the excitement of the last episode, it seemed almost like… a let down. Overall, the whole episode appeared to be harmless enough. There was no new information; Fu was still there, still helping Marinette and gaining her trust. Kim also made an appearance, as did Bunnyx’s old teacher, Ms. Bustier, but nothing truly serious happened.

As the episode wound down, however, Adrien was left alone with Fu in the apartment.

There was a sudden blip on the TV, and-

Adrien was alone.

Bunnyx leapt forward, alarmed. “Fu’s gone!”

As if summoned by her words, a body rocketed out of the burrow, white light flashing brilliantly as they exploded from the burrow. Queen Bee screamed as it narrowly missed slamming into Bunnyx, shooting out past her and flying into their midst.

As soon as it had crashed down, however, they all instantly recognized who it was.

“Master Fu!” Alya exclaimed.

“Are you okay?” Nino’s jaw dropped.

“What happened?” Queen Bee demanded, already seeming to have recovered from her shock, struggling to push herself up.

“Where’s Ladybug?” Cat Noir asked, desperation clear in his tone.

Master Fu slowly opened his eyes, letting out a groan and closing them again.

“Fu,” Bunnyx knelt down beside him, relief at seeing him back and yet fear for the same reason colliding within her. “What happened?”

Slowly, Fu opened his eyes again.

“Fu?” Bunnyx hated to rush him, but her nerves were grating incessantly that the show was still running right now.

Master Fu’s gaze locked on her. With obvious effort, he whispered, “I…”

“Fu?” Bunnyx frowned, worried. There was a pale pallor to the old man that wasn’t normal.

Master Fu closed his eyes, as if pained. “Bunnyx… I don’t know if we can rescue her.”

-

Feet pounded on the stairs, someone obviously taking them two at a time.

Someone burst into the apartment behind Adrien. “Wang Fu!” Marrinette’s voice called. “Your turtles… I’m sorry but they’re…”

She stopped short. Adrien could hear the way her breath was coming in short gasps.

After several tense moments, she finally asked, “Adrien? Where… where’s Wang Fu?”

For a moment, Adrien tried to figure out how to answer that. At last, though, he settled on simply saying, “Oh, he left, Marinette. He had to rush home.”

He turned around-

And gasped.

“What?” Marinette asked, concerned. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Except… she wasn’t Marinette.

Not really.

Not anymore.

Her body was grey, as if she were a statue. Despite not wearing the earrings, she appeared to be in her superhero suit, staring at Adrien with dull, lifeless eyes.

Adrien turned his face away. “I…”

He could hear the way Marinette was taking a few hesitant steps forward. “You’ve always worked so hard for others; maybe we should take a trip out of the city or something.” She was beside him now, slipping her arm through his. “We’re superheroes, kitty. We can go wherever we want, once we put the suits on.”

She was suggesting using the miraculouses for their own gain - out of her own free will.

For him.

Adrien steadied himself with a breath, then looked at her.

Marinette was back to normal.

“No, we can’t,” he finally whispered. “This is our home. Paris is the reason that we donned these suits, so… in Paris we shall remain.”

Marinette’s brow crinkled in concern. “Are you sure?”

Adrien’s face relaxed into a smile at her. It was amazing having her back - but even better to feel her love. He’d missed her so much. “Don’t worry, buginette. I have everything under control.”

-

“Master Fu…” Bunnyx hesitated. “Are you all right?”

What she hoped he was about to say was that he wasn’t, he’d hit his head on the way out, and what he’d just said wasn’t true.

But she knew just from the way he looked at her that her hope was in vain.

Rallying himself once more, Fu locked eyes with her and gasped out, “It’s Adrien. It’s all Adrien.”

-

“I’m back!” Emilie announced.

Marinette twisted about, looking at her. “Oh, so soon?”

“I realized I didn’t need to go out after all,” Emilie replied cheerfully. She came around the couch to them, laying a quick kiss on Adrien’s forehead.

Adrien smiled at them both. “Well, what should we watch tonight?”

First / Previous / Next {Coming Soon!}

[shortprince-cos]

Virgil's Guide To Being A Matchmaker

Summary: Virgil is tired of his friends' mutual pining, so he decides to take matters into his own hands.

Warnings: Death threats (though its not an actual threat), attack (also playful), one innuendo(from Roman, surprisingly), and love confession i guess! Tell me if i need to add anything else!!!

Ships: Logince, platonic Analogical

{Masterlist}

Author Note: This is loosely based off of this scene from Miraculous Ladybug! This is also going to be the first part of a three-part oneshot series! So stay tuned and ask to be tagged if you'd like!

~~~~~

"You're going to have to ask him eventually!" Virgil groaned as he flopped onto Logan's bed. "This is just the easiest way to do that!"

"Over the phone?" Logan asks sarcastically. "This is so impersonal! I should just ask him in person!"

"Oh yeah? Like last time?"

'Last time' was when Logan told Roman that he was stupid in Spanish. Told him that he was vapid and slow-witted. Literally the opposite of what he actually wanted to say.

Logan just made a vague grunting noise as he picked up his phone and dialed Roman's number, pacing around his bedroom.

"It's ringing." He said to Virgil, who gave him a tired thumbs up.

"This is Roman King! I am unavailable at the moment, so if you would like to hear more of my dazzling voice, than call later!"

Logan sighed at Roman's charming theatrics. "Its on voicemail." He alerted Virgil.

Virgil made hand gestures that basically said 'keep going!'

Logan took a deep breath. "Hello Roman, I just wanted to- um- askifyouneedanyhelpwithyourhomeworkorsomethingandmaybewecouldhangoutokaytalktoyoulatergoodbye!"

Logan threw his phone onto the bed next to Virgil in a panic. Virgil just picked up the phone and glared at him.

Logan started pacing angrily before getting frustrated with Virgil's silence. "What?! What did you expect me to say?! 'Hey hot stuff, this is Logan, I'd ask you on a study-date, but I've got such a hopeless crush on you that the only way I can talk to you without panicking and freaking out, is over this stupid phone! Pretty ridiculous, right?'"

"The only ridiculous thing is how long you've kept this a secret! You should've said so a lot sooner, make things easy for me. I think a study-date would be fun." Roman flirted.

Wait, Roman?!

Logan turned back to the bed to see that not only had Virgil picked up his phone, but had also called Roman again and let him listen to Logan's rambling.

Oh no.

"I'm free Friday at six." Roman continued while Logan malfunctioned. "Should I pick you up then? Or are you going to leave 'hot stuff' in the microwave?"

"I..." Logan could only stare in horror.

"Yeah, the robot like that. Talk to you later, Roman?"

"See ya, emo! And Logan?" Roman began. "I look forward to 'studying' with you." *Click*

"So, that worked out, huh Logan?"

Logan only stood shocked

"...Logan?"

Logan's face finally had an emotion other than shock. Anger.

"Virgil, I will kiLL YOU-"

"AH SH-"

Logan tackled Virgil onto the bed, wrestling him till he had Virgil pinned.

"B**ch." Logan said as he squeezed Virgil's sides, making him shriek.

Virgil eventually wriggled enough and managed to push Logan off of him. "What are you, six? You said you wouldn't tickle me anymore!"

"And you said you wouldn't tell Roman. So, we both lied." Logan said, still lying on the bed.

"Hey, I didn't tell Roman! Technically you did." Logan whacked him with a pillow.

"Hey! I just got you a date! You should be thanking me!" Virgil defended while grabbing another pillow to fight back.

"Ah yes. Thank you, Virgil, for letting my crush know that I like him, truly excellent planning on your part."

Virgil squinted at him. "You've been spending too much time with Janus. Listen, you got the date, so why are you so upset at me?"

"You embarrassed me!"

"So? Roman thinks its cute when you're red."

Logan only got more red at that. "I hate you."

Virgil got back on his phone and leaned back against the headrest, shooting Logan finger guns. "Right back at 'cha."

~~~~~

{Next}

Happy December and end of No Content November! It was a long month, but we made it! And I actually finished something! Yay!

Anyway, im back and exactly the same! But at least im back!

Please tell me if this is good or not, and stay cool my friends! I will be working to get more stuff out soon!

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