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Chapter 15 - Preview:

Amelie sniffed hard, then let out a loud breath. When she spoke again, her voice was clearer. Stronger. ‘I don’t even know why I’m crying. I’ve wasted so much of my energy on that man as it is. God knows he doesn’t need it from me in death. I just – I need to put him to rest, then move on. The funeral is the day after tomorrow. Will you be there?’

Adrien’s brow shot up at the word funeral, obviously able to hear.

‘I’ll…have to speak to Gabriel,’ Nathalie said.

Amelie made a noise of disgust. ‘You shouldn’t need his permission to go to a funeral.’

‘I know,’ Nathalie said, maybe too quickly. ‘But you know I’m responsible for Adrien. And his father might not….’

She trailed off there, unable to finish her sentence. Every word sounded weak to her own ears – like an excuse.

Amelie was quiet down the line. The kind of quiet that carried judgment and pity and resignation all at once.

After a long time, she said, ‘Maybe I’m not the only one who needs to move forward.’

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Chapter 19 - Preview:

When Adrien slept that night, he dreamt that he was in the mansion, in the bedroom where the first Gabriel had made the first Adrien and Felix. Everything was just as he’d seen it in the time burrow so many years ago. Or yesterday. Or tomorrow.

He stood in the corner of the room. Somehow oblivious to his presence, Gabriel stared at the boys he’d just created – the fruits of the peacock miraculous.

‘Two,’ he intoned, his voice young and foreign. ‘There are – two of you!’

He sounded shocked, amazed, and repulsed, all at once. There was awe – gratitude wrapped in the last vestiges of grief – at seeing his child’s living image again. And there was terror – the chilling understanding that these children who stood before him were not his precious Julien.

The twins stared back at him, almost glowing with innocence. They had zero awareness of why or even how they could inspire such emotions.

Time seemed to freeze, locking the three of them in place. Adrien crossed the room, the only moveable piece in this morbid game, and examined his once-upon-a-time father. In this moment, Gabriel was younger than Adrien, his blue eyes soft and his hair sweeping around his face in gentle, brown waves. There were no sharp angles in his face, no indications of the madness that would one day spring forth like water from a rock.

Because this wasn’t Adrien’s father. He wasn’t the man who’d raised him. He was only the beginning, the seed, the first step of a path that could never be untravelled.

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[uptoolateart]

Written for the @mlbigbang2024

Chapter 12 Preview:

Adrien landed on the first platform of the Tower, his chest tightening as more and more people were turned into pigeons. The air filled with the sound of cooing, peppered with Mr Pigeon’s maniacal laughter. This wasn’t some kind of political revolt, like the akumas of Adrien’s time. This – this was insane.

And all thanks to the modern era’s butterfly miraculous holder. Hawk Moth, Fu had called him.

Adrien frowned, distantly aware of the sound of people on the Tower crying out as they tried to leave, their shoes beating down the stairs. Fleeing like that, from such a tall structure, wasn’t safe. And racing for the ground wouldn’t help. The only thing that could was….

Me.

He swallowed hard. He’d never had to come up with a plan before. That was always Pascha’s department. He just did what he was told, and then he went home. But no chance of that now. Everyone in Paris depended on him – just like they all depended on Marinette, when she wore the Ladybug costume. Somehow, she’d been shouldering the responsibility for her city all on her own. She – she was incredible.

And he couldn’t let her down.

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Episode 7 - 'Double Trouble' - Part 4:

When Marinette arrived at the station security office, she could see Odo through the glass, sitting at his desk and reading something on a PADD. The doors slid open, and she went inside, standing before him.

‘Captain.’ He got to his feet, giving a gentle bow in greeting. ‘I trust everything has gone…as expected, with the ambassador?’

Her mouth twitched at his wording. ‘That it has. She’s with the commander now. Where is Lieutenant-Commander Tsurugi?’

‘She’s in the brig, speaking with the prisoner. It’s just through there.’ He gestured towards a doorway.

‘Thank you.’ With a parting smile, she went through, walking down a brief corridor that led to the brig.

Just as Odo had said, Kagami was standing in front of one of the cells, apparently in conversation with its occupant. When she noticed Marinette’s arrival, she turned abruptly around. ‘Captain.’

‘Tsurugi. You said you –’ She halted there, her breath catching as she observed the prisoner.

Adrien.

No. No, it couldn’t be Adrien. He was still on the Miraculous. Which meant….

‘You see why I asked you to come here,’ Kagami said.

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I don't know who needs to hear this, but

YOU DO NOT NEED TO START A NEW HOBBY!

STEP AWAY FROM THE TEXTILES!

YOU DON'T NEED MORE YARN!

THAT FABRIC IS NOT CALLING TO YOU! LEAVE IT ALONE!

[uptoolateart]

cats can(t) swim??

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birds of a feather

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Episode 7 - 'Double Trouble' - Part 3:

The prisoner opened his mouth, perhaps to give another empty answer. Then he closed it and released a heavy sigh. ‘I wanted to get away.’

‘From the law?’

‘No, from…something worse.’ The statement was cold and bleak, paired with a haunted look in his eyes.

Odo’s arms loosened a little. ‘I’m afraid we’re going to need more detail than that.’

‘And I’d love to provide it,’ the prisoner said, ‘but the truth is, I don’t really know what I was running from. I just had – have – a strong sense that I need to get away.’

‘What do you mean? How can you not know what you’re running from?’

‘Easy. Someone wiped my memories, or put blocks in there, or…something. I don’t even remember my name – if I ever had one. I’ve just been going by a name I read in a ship manifest one day and liked the sound of.’

‘Which is…?’

‘Felix.’ For some reason, he directed this at Kagami.

She stared back at him, the wheels in her mind spinning like satellites. If someone had blocked his memories….

Just how many Adriens and Felixes were there?

Read at Ao3

[uptoolateart]

I love this comic.

You know in Representation, when Cat has that battle with his akumatised father and lets rip? They're both battling with staffs (like light sabers), and at one point they're facing off while standing on a long beam, and I've always thought the whole scene / that particularly image was intended to mimic that moment between Luke and Vader.

Weird if your father was the bad guy

May the fourth be with you!!  

While watching the Empire strikes back with Adrien at his home, marinette makes a comment too close to home... and the two involved seem to feel a tremor in the force over it...

[uptoolateart]

Episode 7 - 'Double Trouble' - Part 2:

After docking at Deep Space Nine, Kagami stood aside, allowing the captain and the ambassador to exit the Miraculous ahead of her. Then she made her own way out, following them through the station airlock and into a low-lit corridor of Cardassian design – dark grey, militant, claustrophobic.

A man waited for them there, hands behind his back, with two other officers standing a few metres behind. The man was trim and tall, with slicked-back golden-brown hair that matched his Bajoran uniform – a long-sleeved tunic over loose trousers. His skin was rosy, and too smooth. Like someone had moulded a human face out of clay and not quite finished the job. 

‘Hello,’ he said, his voice gruff. ‘Welcome to Deep Space Nine. I’m Odo, the station Security Chief.’

‘Captain Dupain-Cheng,’ the captain said. ‘Of the USS Miraculous. This is my Chief of Security, Lieutenant-Commander Tsurugi. And this is the Cardassian ambassador, Lila Rossi.’

Odo offered a simple bow of his head in greeting. In return, Lila gave him a long look, her lips curved into a slight sneer as she ran her gaze over him.

‘So,’ she said. ‘You’re the famous Odo appointed to maintain order when this station was under Cardassian rule.’

Read at Ao3

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Before the wish, you can't say no to a last kiss, right?

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🔎

[uptoolateart]

Chapter 27 has been posted!

And @curlyheartart's artwork has KILLED ME! Look at Adrien's face!!

Trying to keep his hands steady, Adrien poured Marinette a glass. ‘I’ve barely seen you this week. How have you been?’ ‘Um, good. Busy.’ She took the glass, and then a sip. A large sip. ‘How have you been?’ Miserable, pining for you, remembering our acting practice on a loop. ‘Yeah. I’ve been busy, too.’ ‘So …’ Marinette peered into her wine glass. ‘Is Lila coming tonight?’

Written for @mlbigbang2024

Read at AO3

[uptoolateart]

Chapter 18 - Preview:

Felix's heart leapt when he read the name on his phone screen. Beside him, Kagami looked down at him in question. He nodded, his relief mirrored in her eyes. Then he took the call.

‘Adrien – it’s about time. Giant koalas. What is going on?’ He tried for a laugh.

But Adrien didn’t laugh with him.

In fact, Adrien didn’t do… anything.

This call was meant to ease his worries. It was meant to make him feel better. Yet, that knot was tightening again, cold dread pooling in his gut. Every instinct said that whatever his brother had rung about, it wasn’t good.

‘Adrien? What’s wrong?’ Three words he’d been forced to ask too many times over the years.

Across the table, the others were watching him with large, questioning eyes. Kagami dropped a hand on his shoulder, as if anticipating that he’d need her.

There was a heavy intake of breath down the line. When Adrien spoke, his voice was shaky and low. ‘Felix, I – I talked to Gabriel.’

Felix dropped the puzzle piece he’d been holding. ‘What?’

Read at Ao3

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Episode 7 - 'Double Trouble' - Part 1

PREVIEW:

Captain’s Log – Stardate 47419.4

It’s been two days since the Cardassian ambassador Lila came aboard. Her Ferengi escort Roth has now taken leave of us, having brokered an agreement for compensation for his troubles, not to speak of repairs to his ship. We are now en route to Deep Space Nine, as planned.

Honestly, the sooner we get the ambassador off this ship, the better. Lila’s arrival has brought back painful memories, not just for me but for every member of my crew. Memories of the war, and of the stories we’ve all heard about Luka and Juleka Couffaine’s past. No matter how tolerant we all strive to be, it’s impossible not to wonder if Lila played some part in the enslavement and torture of the Bajoran people during the occupation.

I don’t think Lila has helped win the crew over by making accusations against Adrien, either. Although our initial investigation has uncovered no foul play, the ambassador insists Adrien is somehow responsible for our ship firing on the Ferengi vessel – not to speak of the damage done to the Cardassian vessel we were meant to rendezvous with.

We will, of course, continue to investigate the matter until we have exhausted all possibilities, no matter how far-fetched. However, for the record, my personal instinct is that Lila is allowing political friction to colour her judgment.

[A pause]

And I will acknowledge that maybe…maybe…my own biases are colouring mine….

Read at Ao3

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I'm so in love with these designs! Thank you so, so much!!

Outfit designs for the work @uptoolateart wrote for the @mlbigbang2024 💙 It was a delight making these concepts for them, go read their amazing fanfic, Catlantis!

Ao3 Link

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Thanks for tagging me! Mine was:

But first – if she was remembering his schedule correctly – she had to survive a Sanskrit lesson.

I'm not going to count mine either. I'm tagging @mysticraven20 @trinketsinthesun @raspberrycatapult @cardiac-agreste @kuromori4 @aidanchaser @jigglypuff1994

Last Line Tag Game

Rules: post the last sentence you wrote and then tag as many people as there are words in it.

Thanks for the tag @schokoleibniz

My last line was: "That's what I'd call a good catch."

Tagging: @indelen @arielleshaina @hailqiqi @womaninwinter @ariadnekurosaki @hollcwboy @neevedafoe

If anyone has already been tagged, I'm sorry, just ignore me.