seas-of-silver

[seas-of-silver]

Unfortunately this scam is rife on the FanFiction.Net site, but now they've decided to broaden their horizons to AO3. Also, while this above example is blatantly generic, I've also come across some that include your fic title and some basic-level relevant character/canon details to seem more genuine.

The bit I hate most about this scam is how they lure in the writers - by complimenting their work and wanting to collaborate.

As a writer myself, I would honestly love if an artist was so inspired by my work to want to create something for it! I remember when a friend drew something inspired by what I wrote and it filled me with so much joy that I wanted to show it off to anyone and everyone and be like "look at this awesome art my friend made for my writing!!!"

So the fact there are scammers out there wanting to steal that joy as well as money from writers who are writing fics purely for the love of storytelling and our fandoms, writers who never see a cent for their time, effort and creativity... it sickens me.

To every single one of our beloved fandom content creators, across all fandoms - we love you and be safe out there. ♥️

To the vile scammers committing this heinous deed - fuck you. Grow up, stop this shit, and be better humans. Karma will surely find you and deliver justice for your attempts to swindle the selfless, and as you writhe and whimper at what you call misfortune, my fandom friends, fellow creators and I will all stand there watching, sharing popcorn and proclaiming "good riddance."

Heads up everyone, there's a new scam in town!

(Or perhaps an old one and I am late to the party)

Reasons it is a scam:

1) long, but doesn't reference the fic or characters at all

2) wants money - and will only communicate through dms, they don't have a public profile with proof of their work

And finally!

3) I googled this copy paste text and... suprise! It is a copy paste text. Loads of other people have the same ask

Stay safe and don't fall for this all!

[seas-of-silver]

ML Fanfic Recs for Completed Fics 20K - 40K Words

Got 14 fics for y'all here. I actually originally had this split into 20k - 30k and 30k - 40k categories, but figured out that the categories would be too small if I did that, so I combined them.

All of these fics will be in my Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2024 Collection, and if you like that, please consider checking out my other collections, Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2023, Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2022, and Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics - Misc. Years.

Discarded Claws, Vacant Spots by Tanzle

After Chat Noir leaves his miraculous behind during Kuro Neko, Ladybug is devastated that she pushed her partner away enough for him to quit. Feeling unworthy of being a hero without him, Marinette gives the earrings permanently to Alya. The 'new' hero, Cat Walker, has no knowledge of this exchange taking place. While Marinette and Adrien struggle with the loss of their partnership due to their lack of communication, Alya is stuck in the middle, growing more and more frustrated with everything.

So this is an interesting alternate possible way Kuro Neko could have gone! There's some nice exploration of Adrien's, Alya's, and Marinette's perspectives on the situation. Poor Alya, having to deal with this mess, but at least she gets some nice focus and we get to see more of her and Cat Walker talking things out, which is a nice treat.

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Season Of Giving by The_Rabbit42

As Christmas draws near, Adrien and Marinette want to find special presents to give their partner and... other partner. Combined with Adrien rediscovering what Christmas is without his parents, Marinette getting sick, and Alya and Adrien becoming closer friends, it's sure to be a memorable holiday.

I love this, it's a nice festive story, and I especially enjoyed Adrien and Alya getting to talk and bond and just... be friends with each other, rather than simply existing together in the same friend group! Oh, also, this takes place post-season 5, so Adrien's dealing with being an orphan now and all the complicated feelings that stirs up.

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Feather Fall by @a-flaming-idiot

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a sentimonster. Adrien knows this. Alya knows this. They just wish they could tell Marinette. Maybe if they could she would have stayed safe when the Primordial attacked. When a monster mauled her with the intention of devouring the magic that made up her very being. Instead, Adrien is forced to use the Miraculous his father had used to hurt so many, to save his closest friend. And only Alya can keep him going as he threatens to crumble under the weight of his parents' sins.

I love the friendship between Adrien, Alya, and Marinette on display here, there's some great interactions between them, Adrien and Alya are great friends and both of them care about Marinette a lot, I hope to see more of this AU!

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Tides of Time by JayJoy3000

Chloe, to her disdain, attends a prestigious university in London where she happens to run into her traitorous, ex-best friend who left Paris years ago without an explanation. But Sabrina is not the shy pushover she once was... Or, the one where Chloe Bourgeois absolutely does NOT spend months pining after Sabrina Raincomprix. No, that would be ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

I love how this fic handles Chloe, this is a Chloe who's realized her parents are crap and decided to try to be better, and made some real friends with Juleka and Luka (and seems to be on decently friendly terms with the rest of the class, but they don't come up much), but still has a ways to go, with not really understanding why Sabrina ghosted her, that Sabrina wasn't as happy as she thought.

Also at the beginning of the story Chloe still believes she's straight. Chloe is the ONLY one who believes Chloe is straight XD.

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My Body Is A Cage by @trishacollins

Five Years Ago, Hawkmoth made a wish and disappeared. It should have been the end of the story, but for Adrien, it was anything but. Bound by his Amok at the side of a wife he hates, Adrien struggles to survive in a world that wants to eat him alive.

This fic is DARK, definitely check the tags on this one.

Lila has Adrien bound to her side, forced to obey her every whim, for years on end. The only light in his life is his daughter, the one person he can try to protect. The abuse Lila puts Adrien through... it's a lot. This IS Angst With A Happy Ending, so things gets better for Adrien, but it's torture for him until then.

This fic is M-rated, and it FULLY deserves that M rating.

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Celebrity Status by @kasienda

"Uhh... Do you mind if I lay low here for a bit? I was trying to lose a reporter who was following me. I'm confident they lost track of me by the time I ducked into your room, but I'm worried they'll keep combing the neighborhood for a while." "My room is your room!" Adrien gestured grandly for her to take in the whole area. She giggled. "I don’t know if this actually counts as a room," she commented, taking in everything from the grand piano to the foosball table to the rock climbing wall to the arcade. "It's more like an amusement park." Adrien shrugged, some of the brightness in his eyes fading a bit. "My father tries to make sure I never have to want for anything." "Do you not like it?" He shrugged again. "It's pretty cool, but what’s the point if there's no one to share any of it with?" She took another look around. With that context the room felt positively cavernous. “Sounds lonely.” He ducked into her line of sight, a smile stretched across his face. “I don’t have to be lonely today. You’re here.” She blushed, and offered him a shy smile.

If you want some Ladrien bonding, then this is the fic for you! I loved seeing the two of them talk out their issues with being celebrities and dealing with the public, and of course, getting to hang out and play video games and have a good time together!

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Mr Sandman, Bring Me A Dream by @seas-of-silver

He tossed and he turned, but he was all too awake. He tried everything he could think of: exercising to exhaustion; taking a long, hot shower; playing soothing music to lull him to sleep… but nothing worked. Every time he closed his eyes, the images from his nightmare would flash in his mind and he’d be wide awake again.

So this is a cute Adrienette fic. Adrien has a horrible nightmare of Marinette dying in an akuma attack, and has to constantly see her the next day to assure himself that she's alive. Then Volpina, the akuma who killed Marinette in his dream, shows up and makes an illusion of her killing Marinette... well, you can imagine how Chat reacts to that.

While there's that angst in the beginning, there's a lot of cuteness too, especially with Tom and Sabine being very accommodating to Adrien XD.

There's some Lila trickery in here, but it all stays firmly within canon bounds, with her insinuating that Adrien was ruder than he was in order to get the class to push him to apologize to her because her feelings were hurt and well, this is a very nice class that doesn't want any of their classmates to feel bad, and later Lila latching onto some of Adrien's and Marinette's suspicious behavior to insinuate some bad stuff, etc. But the class is never bashed, they act pretty reasonably, if naively, and when they push past boundaries Nino lectures them about it and they apologize. It's all very reasonable.

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No Mistakes, No Pressure by ChaoticAce2005

Mlss gift for @nagisa_Chan Perfect. That’s what Adrien Agreste is supposed to be. The perfect model. The perfect son. The perfect student. But there’s one major flaw in all of this: Adrien himself isn’t. How can you constantly play roles demanding perfection without fault? The answer is you can’t. Eventually something has to give. And everyone is starting to get worried that the thing that will give is Adrien himself. Or: Basically Adrien starts to crumble because of all the expectations people put on him, and it’s starting to affect every aspect of his life. This is his journey of acknowledging the fact that perfection isn’t possible and that it’s okay to lean on others.

I really love the emphasis on how Adrien thinks of himself as a product here, that he has different "modes" or "editions" that he becomes, like a doll having different versions, and then slowly beginning to get better with the help of his friends. It really captures how he's been objectified, and how, thankfully, his friends are able to help him with that.

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Not Part of the Plan by @kasienda

“What’s wrong, Marinette?” Marinette wiped her tears with her sleeve, and pulled away just enough to reach into her pocket. She gripped the pregnancy test and held it out to her mother. Sabine’s eyes widened as she took in the results of the test in her hand. Her gaze flashed back up to Marinette’s. “You’re pregnant.” And it wasn’t a question, but it was enough to send Marinette into devastated tears once again. Her mother pulled her back into the hug and just held her. “It’s going to be okay.”

So this is a nuanced, sometimes heartwrenching take on Marinette getting pregnant before she's ready - even though she and Adrien have been using protection, and the conversations and decisions around navigating the situation. Definitely check the tags.

I think this is a very NEEDED fic, especially since many elements that Marinette and Adrien struggle with here ARE real life issues (not including the supervillain angle, obviously). It's a great little read!

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Centuries Overdue by @rosie-b

Long ago, an evil Darkness spread across Europe, claiming the lives of many in the magic community. Trained by Plagg himself, Adrien made it his mission to stop the Darkness before it snuffed out the lives of more Mages and Talents, as it did to his own parents. Though he seemed to succeed in his mission, the pages of his old journals tell a different tale. In the modern world, Marinette is a fashion student, working at a small library for the summer to earn extra credit. She’s never believed in magic before, but when she finds the old Agreste journals in her library, her beliefs about reality begin to crumble. Determined to find the truth, both about magic and the unsolved death of one Adrien Agreste, Marinette begins on a journey that will eventually lead her deep into the city’s catacombs, where an ancient force sleeps, but is ready to awaken once more…

If you want a nice Magic AU, this is your jam! I slowly became more invested with Adrien's fate as Marinette did, and I loved seeing bits of this magic society. And of course, Adrien and Marinette always find their way to each other, even if Marinette happens to be a few centuries overdue.

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A Child's Love by jaron5

This takes place post-Hack-San. Ladybug hands Chat Noir a potion she brewed which accidentally turns him into a kid without any of his memories. How is she going to keep an eye on a miniature Chat Noir while trying to keep their secret identities intact? Or the more pressing concern- how will she preserve her sanity when faced with the overwhelming cuteness and innocence that is her now de-aged partner?

I loved this fic, it's adorable and heart-wrenching. Adrien doesn't understand what's going on, but he still enjoys being around Marinette and the rest of his friends, and they just keep on hearing more and more little things that make them increasingly worried about Chat Noir's childhood.

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Flightless Birds by @myladynoire

The story of the Graham de Vanily family, as told by Félix and Kagami in Representation.

If you wanted a more detailed look at what's shown, what's implied about the Graham De Vanily family in Representation, I highly recommend checking out this fic. I love how we follow Amelie and Emilie as children, see what their parents are like, the kinds of philosophies they grew up around - and also how the girls differed, with Emilie refusing to follow the path their parents laid out, taking risks, and walking her own path, leaving Amelie as the one their parents dumped all their expectations and hopes into - and the pressure she's put under to conform, to do things she doesn't want to, or else lose everything she's ever known.

And then we get to Colt. This fic is rated M, and it's because of him. If you've watched Representation, then you probably already know to expect child abuse, domestic abuse, and marital rape - the child abuse is outright shown in the episode, and the other two subjects aren't much of a leap. We get to see Felix growing up, how his life is around Colt, and what his mother does to try to protect him, as little power as she has.

I really enjoyed this fic, and highly recommend it to anyone who wanted to see Emilie's, Amelie's, and Felix's story in more depth.

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A Supreme Punishment by Polaristar

Alya was ready for a peaceful, and well deserved sleep after spending all night helping Ladybug defeat Shadybug and Claw Noir, villains from another universe, until she found herself trapped in an unknown world by the ‘Supreme’. Her only ticket home is to befriend the elusive Chat Blanc who roams around Paris causing terror among the people. Will she be able to escape back home or will she find reasons to stay, for friendships, and most importantly, love?

This is the rarest of rare sights, an Alyachat fic! Specifically with Chat Blanc.

It's interesting watching Alya navigate this new world, reminiscing on how much of a difference not having a magical emotional terrorist plaguing Paris makes on others, particularly Marinette.

This fic doesn't actually have that much to do with the Paris Special, it mostly centers around Alya reaching out the mysterious Chat Blanc, getting to know the guy that so many others are so terrified of, and falling in love. While there are a few places where the fic could have benefited from a beta to help with clunky sentences or grammatical issues, overall I really enjoyed it! Especially with it being from Alya's perspective, I think everyone knows how much I love that XD.

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The Joke's On Me by @kasienda

Adrien: I had to tell my father we’ve been dating. That we’re going to the gala together this Saturday. I’m sorry. I know you wanted to surprise everyone the day of. Please forgive me. Call me when you’re awake. Nino blinked at the text message and read it again. And then a third time, but the words didn't change. The implications were concerning in more than one way.

So this is a classic scenario. Adrien decides to fake-date Nino in order to get Lila off his back, but along the way, he and Nino develop genuine feelings for each other. Unfortunately, Gabriel refuses to just let the two lovebirds be.

[seas-of-silver]

Here's our most requested item: Bob Katter's same-sex marriage speech, in all its unhinged glory

Follow for more Batshit Moments in Australian politics!

[seas-of-silver]

I've been asked if I post these works on AO3 - yes I do!

I have them in my series First sentence, then scene - go check it out!

Also, the game is still going, so send me a sentence! 😊

I saw an old post of @heartfulselkie's where she had an ask game, and I liked the sound of it, so I'd like to play, too!

Ask game: Give me the first sentence and I'll write a short piece for it

I look forward to what you guys send me!

[seas-of-silver]

For the ask game: "Stop with these ridiculous lies Dupain-Cheng, I saw you detransform!"

‘Stop with these ridiculous lies, Dupain-Cheng, I saw you detransform!’

Chloé smirked when the girl finally stopped avoiding her.

‘I saw your kwami and I know you’re Ladybug, and there’s nothing-’

Her heart jumped to her throat when Dupain-Cheng whirled around and pinned her to the wall with a hand covering her mouth, no doubt smudging her designer lipstick. She would’ve complained about the outrageous offence if it wasn’t for the intense glare that struck her like lightning.

‘Can you just stop yelling that for one second?’ Dupain-Cheng hissed quietly, her voice filled with a ferocity Chloé couldn’t help but comply with. The baker girl scanned the space around her before saying, ‘Come with me.’

Chloé scoffed. ‘As if. You-’

‘Now.’

The order sent a zing up Chloé’s spine. The person in front of her wasn’t some inferior unimportant insect of a school girl, but a general, a fearless leader born by trials of fire and hardened by fighting on the frontline of countless battlefields. Chloé followed silently.

They walked out of the school and into a secluded alley where Dupain-Cheng became Ladybug before her very eyes, wrapped an arm around her and zipped her way across the city. They landed somewhere entirely unfamiliar to Chloé, some weird disgusting abandoned warehouse or something, and Chloé only had enough time to register Ladybug sending some sort of message on her Bug Phone before her back slammed into something metal.

‘Ow! What the hell, Dupain-Cheng?’ Chloe cried out, feeling the magical yo-yo wrapping around her, securing her to a metal post.

‘Do not call me that when I’m suited up, you know the rules, Chloé,’ Ladybug commanded, catching the end of her yo-yo in her free hand. Her glare hardened. ‘Though, you don’t really care for the rules, do you?’

Chloé seethed at the slight.

‘How dare you! I did care!’ Chloé bit back, pulling at the unrelenting restraints. ‘When I found Pollen, I kept her safe and tried to learn from her so I could help you! And when Hawk Moth came after me, I fought back!’

‘You sold out our entire team to Hawk Moth!’ Ladybug retorted.

‘YOU ABANDONED ME!’ Chloé screamed, hot tears streaming down her face. ‘You knew Hawk Moth was targeting me relentlessly! Day and night for weeks on end! I couldn’t let my guard down for even one second, otherwise I would be under his spell! It was like he knew me, Ladybug - like actually knew me! He targeted every weak spot he could find; it was only a matter of time before I would break! I’m only human, Ladybug!’

‘Oh? And what about after Miracle Queen?’ Ladybug asked evenly, not much more than a red blob through her tears. ‘You weren’t being attacked then.’

‘I was hurt. I was angry. How could I not be?’ Her voice warbled as she sobbed. ‘I followed you, believed in you, and you left me high and dry. I had akumas tracking my every move and attempting to possess me - I even had one latch onto me, but instead of submitting, I threw it off!’

Chloé could’ve sworn Ladybug looked shocked at that. She hoped she was.

‘I thought that after everything I did for you, that I would have proved myself worthy to you, that you could believe in me too,’ she continued, ‘but no. You dismissed me at every turn and kept telling me I would never be Queen Bee again. The least you could do was tell me why! But you didn’t! My own parents were akumatised, and you wouldn’t even let me save them! How could I be loyal to you any longer when you couldn’t even let me do that much?’

‘M’lady! I got your emergency message- uh… why is Chloé tied up and why are you both crying?’

Chloé tried to blink her tears away, to see if the newly-arrived Chat Noir was telling the truth.

‘I’m fine,’ Ladybug obviously lied, her face suspiciously wet, ‘but we have a problem. Chloé knows who I am now.’

‘What?’ Chat Noir asked, shocked. ‘How?’

‘Remember when I had to go recharge mid-fight earlier today?’ Ladybug asked and Chat Noir nodded. ‘Chloé, for some godforsaken reason-’

‘Oi!’

‘-had decided to hide in the very alley I was recharging in,’ Ladybug continued, as if she hadn’t heard Chloé. ‘I thought the alley was clear, but apparently not. Once the battle was over, Chloé hounded me about knowing my identity, and when I denied it or ignored her, she got louder to try and draw my attention, and I was concerned she was going to grab other people’s attention too, so I brought her here.’

‘Okay, but why the yo-yo?’ Chat Noir asked, and Ladybug scoffed.

‘Have you forgotten that she betrayed us and our team to Hawk Moth?’ she asked hotly. ‘Or that she’s been behind many of the recent akumatisations and attacks recently?’

‘No, I just thought it was a bit of overkill,’ that stupid cat said placatingly, which only riled Ladybug up further.

‘Overkill?’ she echoed venomously. ‘Our biggest betrayer now knows my identity! I’m compromised and she’s a massive liability! She’s been my own personal tormentor for years, and now she holds the key to our demise if she hands that information over to the magical terrorist she’s now buddy-buddies with!’

‘She bullied you too?’ Chat Noir asked, surprised, before shaking his head at Chloé with disapproval. ‘Oh, Chloé.’

Chloé hated how Chat Noir said that, especially because of how his disappointment hit her. Somehow, it felt almost as effective as Adrien talking to her like that.

‘As I said, I would never have joined Hawk Moth if you had just trusted me,’ Chloé retorted angrily.

‘Trusted you? Trusted you?’ Ladybug’s eyes were flaming with fury, her voice and posture ablaze with rage - Chloé would’ve taken cover if she could’ve. ‘Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to trust you? You, who had tormented me for years. You, who has orchestrated the traumas that have and will haunt me for the rest of my life. You, who has blatantly, unashamedly and relentlessly targeted me, my friends and my family just for your own personal satisfaction. Hell! I can’t even ask out the guy I like because of what you did to me with the last guy I liked! And you wanted me to trust you more than I already did?’

Well, when she worded it like that, Chloé found it hard to find a rebuttal.

‘You should be grateful that I even gave you the chance to be Queen Bee,’ Ladybug spat, ‘let alone trusted you enough for you to hold that title more than once. Did you know your biggest champions were Chat Noir and Adrien?’

Chat Noir looked a little abashed at the sudden mention of him, and confused by the mention of Adrien.

‘Whenever my belief that you were changing for the better was starting to wane, those two held strong in their belief in you, and helped me believe in you, too,’ Ladybug continued. ‘I even convinced the Guardian before me that you deserved another chance. It was near impossible for me to trust you, but I was getting there, slowly but surely. I’ll admit I made mistakes, some cost me and the team dearly, but even when I fail, I will continue to fight because it’s the right thing to do, and I would rather die than let Shadow Moth win.’

Chat Noir nodded solemnly in agreement, which made Chloé wonder if she was missing some understanding about the gravity of this magical war, or if these two were just wayyyy too intense about being superheroes.

‘Surely it’s not that dire, seriou-‘

‘Chlo, Shadow Moth winning means he could wipe out our current reality and rewrite it entirely,’ Chat Noir said, no trace of his trademark humour to be found (effectively cutting off her objection to him using Adrien’s nickname for her). ‘Life as we know it could cease to exist - we could cease to exist…permanently.’

Chloé gulped nervously. Were the stakes always that high?

‘This is not a game, it never has been,’ Ladybug said darkly. ‘So the question is: now that you know who I am, what do we do with you?’

[seas-of-silver]

"Alya, we've talked about this hundreds of times - in all our lives we and our friends have never met someone called Marinette Dupain - Cheng - she is just a figment of your twisted imagination!"

‘Alya, we've talked about this hundreds of times - in all our lives we and our friends have never met someone called Marinette Dupain-Cheng - she is just a figment of your twisted imagination!’

Alya barely suppressed a growl as she glared at Nathaniel. ‘“Twisted imagination?” Seriously?’

Chloé scoffed. ‘Yeah, twisted. I mean, honestly - super-powered villains? Magical terrorists and superheroes? Who, by the way, are all animal themed and get their powers from tiny gods in jewellery? Alternate universes and time travel? Ugh! And the bit you’re flipping out about is some chick that supposedly meant to be in this class? Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.’

‘Alya, we’re worried about you,’ Rose said, her wide blue eyes swimming in genuine concern. ‘You’ve been so different this past week; you look and sound and behave like our Alya, but what you’ve been saying is just so unlike yourself!’

‘It’s kinda like you’re living a nightmare in real time, or something,’ Juleka muttered, and the whole class nodded in agreement.

The whole class bar Adrien and Marinette.

Alya was smart. She had figured out something was seriously wrong when she woke up last week and found herself in her room instead of Marinette’s, where she had been sleeping over. It became even more concerning when she arrived at school and Marinette was nowhere in sight. Then she had started to panic when the seating arrangement was different, Adrien wasn’t at school either, and worst of all - Nino barely knew her.

She spent the first class trying to casually enquire about Adrien and Marinette, which led to confused responses and almost getting reprimanded by Ms Bustier, who was still their teacher and had apparently never had a child, and Chloé’s father was still Mayor of Paris.

One reassuring discovery Alya had made before lunchtime was that Adrien Agreste still existed in this weird world, but had apparently never been to their school. She also discovered that Lila Rossi had also never been to their school, but that good news was quickly soured when she found out that Lila now has strong ties to the Agreste family, and was frequently seen with them. But that didn’t stop Alya from trying to contact Adrien, though she had no success.

Alya had then started to research, and kept researching throughout the week. This weird world had no mention of recent Miraculous use; no Hawk Moth, Mayura, Ladybug or Chat Noir, and nothing of note in Shanghai or New York. Her Ladyblog was also non-existent, which was discomforting in and of itself. And there was no Marinette.

That was the part Alya was struggling to grasp. No Marinette? A world without Miraculouses was something Alya could wrap her head around, as was a reality where Adrien never went to their school, but no Marinette? So she had researched that too. Everything Alya had expected to exist were also missing - the sunglasses and album cover (and subsequent magazine article) Marinette made for Jagged Stone; Marinette’s winning submission in the derby hat competition held by Gabriel Agreste and the runway show it was displayed in; her fashion photoshoot she did with Adrien and Juleka… none of it could be found.

Alya knew this was no dream that she had found herself in - this felt more like some sort of akuma attack-related displacement… but Alya couldn’t remember there being an akuma attack while she was in Marinette’s room. The last thing Alya had remembered before waking up in this weird world was setting up for a girl’s night in while Marinette went on patrol with Chat Noir, as the new Butterfly villain, Malachite, had been annoyingly active as of recent. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

And now all her friends and classmates were looking at her like she was the weird one. Perhaps she was, at least to them.

‘You’re right, Juleka,’ Alya said sombrely, ‘this is a nightmare. Either I’ve somehow ended up in an alternate universe, or something god-awful must’ve happened for the whole world to forget about the Miraculouses in Paris, for Adrien to never have come to school here, for my own boyfriend to barely know me apart from just being one of his classmates, and for my best friend - a girl who meant so much to nearly everyone in this room - to completely vanish off the face of the earth!’

Everyone flinched at her raised voice, but she didn’t care. She was too angry, too confused, and too hurt to care about something as minor as that.

‘I- ugh! I feel like I’m going insane!’ Alya cried out, her eyes starting to sting. ‘I know what has happened here - I’ve lived it! I was a part of it! You all were part of it! But why don’t you remember? Why does no one remember? Ugh, it’s like, I don’t know, like someone’s messed with reality and gotten rid of any trace of Marinette and the Mira…cu…lou…ses…’

Alya felt violently ill. How could she have not thought of that? It all made perfect sense. But if that was really true, then Malachite must have…

‘Oh, God,’ Alya whimpered, sinking to the ground unsteadily.

The class bin suddenly appeared in front of her, just in the nick of time, and a kind, familiar hand held her hair back.

‘Can someone get the nurse or Ms Bustier?’ Nino’s voice came from right beside her. ‘She’s not doing good.’

People moved around her, but Alya could barely take it in. Her mind was overloaded with fear and horror. She needed to prove this horrific theory wrong.

‘Shh,’ came Nino’s voice again, his other hand starting to rub soothing circles on her back. ‘You’re not well, dude, and you’re shaking.’

She couldn’t dwell on that for long, as a loud commotion was happening outside and getting closer. Fear spiking within her, Alya forced herself to stand and get into a fighting position, ignoring Nino’s protests. She wasn’t going to lose anyone else, not without a fight.

The door slammed open, and Alya hesitated.

‘Alya? Thank goodness!’ Adrien cried, looking disheveled and winded. ‘I got your letters - you remember too?’

Her hands wavered. ‘Yeah. What do you remember?’

‘Oh, finally!’ Adrien exclaimed, relieved. ‘I thought I was going insane when I woke up to find Mother and Father alive and Lila-‘ he growled out, as if saying the name was like ash on his tongue, ‘-of all people was now a long-time family friend, which is revolting. But no one knows about the Miraculouses or Ladybug and Chat Noir or Hawk Moth or Malachite or akumas or anything!’ 

Alya wanted to cry - out of relief or grief, she wasn’t sure.

‘And you!’ Adrien said, pointing at Nino. ‘You hung up on me!’

Nino blinked. ‘So… that wasn’t a prank call?’

Adrien looked mortified. ‘You’ve… you’ve forgotten me? For real?’

Nino opened and closed his mouth, looking entirely uncertain about anything that was going on.

‘I was sure that you would remember me,’ Adrien continued, shaken, before looking back at Alya. ‘I tried to call everyone that I could remember the numbers of, but even Marinette isn’t picking up!’

Alya felt sick again at the mention of her name.

‘Surely you were able to get in contact with her,’ Adrien pleaded, putting his hands on her shoulders. ‘I’ve been stuck under Father’s and Lila’s thumbs for this past week, and I was only able to escape just now.’

With Adrien so close, she could see the anxiety, desperation and fear that was threatening to consume him.

‘Please, Alya,’ he begged, ‘please tell me you found her and she’s okay. She’s in danger, and I need to ensure she’s safe.’

All Alya could do was shake her head. She felt Adrien’s hands tremble and saw his eyes fill with tears as he began to hyperventilate, before he crumbled to the floor and let out a soul-crushing cry that shattered her heart.

[seas-of-silver]

Hi guys! I know it's been a while since I've done one of these, but last year was a bit insane, so I'm back, and so is this ask game!

This is a request from Ardvarkeating101, who doesn't have Tumblr but wanted to still play in the "first sentence then scene" ask game, so here's my response to their submission!

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

In retrospect, Adrien probably should have figured out that his father was Hawkmoth before a SWAT team burst through the doors of the mansion. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t put it all together before now.

Well, there was the laughing, for one. Father’s laughter had always sounded a little evil for as long as Adrien could remember, but it had been taking on a more maniacal quality in recent months. He had picked up on the change because initially he thought that maybe Nathalie had developed a funny bone and Father might have been finally warming up to her, especially since the more cackle-like laugh had become increasingly frequent. Also, the whole mansion is covered in pristine marble, meaning that his father’s cackles from the atelier carried and echoed throughout the mansion, and those random maniacal cackles would startle Adrien out of his focus when studying… as did the akuma that almost always soon followed.

And then there was Father’s recent designs. Adrien would be the first to admit he’s far more creative than artistic (seriously - his drawings were more of stick figure quality), but that didn’t stop him from being able to tell the quality of a design when he saw it - perks of growing up in the fashion industry, he supposed. After all, it was that exposure to fashion that enabled him to spot the quality of Marinette’s designs, and how they rivalled junior designers ten years her senior.

But Father’s designs had been on a steady and rather concerning decline. It had started with what Adrien could only guess was attempts at making fashion faux pas fashionable, such as the “sandals with socks” designs that didn’t quite capture the imagination, but with every visit he made to his father’s atelier, he witnessed the quality of the work and ideas continually deteriorate. Just last week Adrien saw a most ludicrous design that incorporated the currently in-trend of brightly coloured pants in combination with steampunk and fairy design elements that made for a painfully eye watering monstrosity. If it wasn’t for his father’s distinctive art style in the drawing, Adrien wouldn’t have believed his father was capable of something so repulsive.

Adrien had attributed it to grief, and thought his Father would eventually be inspired enough to break out of this slump, but it seemed that his artistic decline was far worse than Adrien had ever realised. His akumas proved that it was possible for his father to have no artistic integrity.

Then there was Ladybug herself suspecting his father, but he didn’t want to entertain that suggestion. And he had become an akuma, so that had settled that debate, but in retrospect the timing was unbelievably convenient.

And then there was the most damning piece of evidence of all - Father had an increased interest in Adrien. Father had always been a distant man; Adrien always knew that Mother was the only person he would actually show love for, and while Adrien yearned for his father to be more expressive in his affection to him as his son, he understood that this was just the way his father was. Though, that didn’t stop Adrien from wanting to get closer with his father and to know him better.

But then Father started to visit him, talk to him - and not just about his performance at the most recent photoshoot or runway show. He was asking about how Adrien felt. He was asking about school. He was talking about Mother. And he was asking about his ring, his Miraculous, not that his father knew about the true nature of the ring.

…or perhaps that’s why he asked? Did Father suspect he was Chat Noir? He had asked about it in multiple occasions, after all. It was unnervingly intense to experience at the time, so it was likely he suspected him, and Adrien wondered now how he had managed to convince his father that he wasn’t the Black Cat hero of Paris.

What made his father’s behaviour all the more bizarre (and all the more damning) was the constant hopscotch between being hot and cold. Father had berated Adrien for talking about Mother, but then offered to watch his mother’s movie with him and told Adrien that he “didn’t have to hide anything from him”.  Father had refused to let him go to New York, changed his mind and let him go, and then ordered him back home over the course of three days. Father had repeatedly given him permission to hang out with friends, and had rescinded his permission at the last minute just as frequently. It was baffling, confusing, and had made Adrien wonder whether Father was doing this on purpose, or whether the man was slowly losing his short-term memory.

…could abusing the Miraculous lead to damaged short-term memory? He’d have to ask Plagg. But that would have to wait until after the SWAT raid was over.

Adrien wished he could talk to Nino or Alya or Marinette, but with him being under the protection of four SWAT guards (or was he a prisoner? He wasn’t sure), he doubted he’d have the permission to call them. And transforming into Chat Noir and escaping to Ladybug was completely out of the question. So Adrien sat in overwhelmed silence as troops swarmed the mansion, investigating every nook and cranny of every room.

…or at least he was silent until he saw his very disheveled father, who looked like he fought a leaf blower and lost.

‘Why, Father?’ he asked, ignoring the stinging in his eyes as his father was being escorted in handcuffs with SWAT soldiers on either side of him. ‘Why would you do it?’

‘You would never understand,’ Father snarled, fighting against his restraints. ‘You don’t love her like I do.’

‘Who?’ Adrien asked desperately. ‘Mother?’

Just then, Nathalie emerged, restrained and disheveled just like his father was.

‘Nathalie?!’ Adrien yelped, disbelieving. ‘What- why? How? You knew?’

Nathalie looked away, silent.

Father and Nathalie were read their Miranda rights and informed of their charges being the magical terrorists Hawk Moth and Mayura respectively, shoved unceremoniously into the back of a SWAT vehicle, and were driven away with an armoured entourage. The remaining SWAT soldiers continued to scour the mansion, while two intimidating men approached Adrien and his guards.

‘Adrien Agreste, I am Corporal Jean Briand, the leader of this SWAT Unit. How are you coping with all this?’

‘I- I…’ Adrien stammered, trying to form a sentence as his mind screamed incoherently. ‘I don’t know.’

‘That’s understandable,’ Corporal Briand said sympathetically. ‘I can only imagine it’s a lot to take in.’

Adrien thought that was a bit of an understatement.

‘Am… am I under arrest, sir?’ Adrien asked.

‘No, no you’re not,’ the Corporal reassured with a small smile. ‘Chat Noir may be a vigilante hero, but that’s hardly a reason to charge you, especially since you protected millions of civilians with your selfless bravery against a magical threat.’

Adrien’s eyes popped out of his head.

‘You… you know?’

Corporal Briand and the other SWAT soldiers chuckled.

‘You really need to find better hiding places to transform than behind a bush, tree or park bench,’ the Corporal chided gently. ‘But so does that friend of yours.’

‘My friend? You mean Ladybug?’ Adrien asked. 

‘Yes, a young Miss-‘

‘WAIT!’ Adrien exclaimed. ‘Don’t tell me!’

‘Hang on, so you seriously don’t know who she is?’ SWAT Guard 1 asked, amused. ‘I thought that was just a gimmick.’

‘Of course they didn’t know! Were you even paying attention during surveillance?’ SWAT Guard 3 asked.

‘Of course I was!’ Guard 1 protested. ‘But with how close they were, it was hard to believe they didn’t know!’

‘Didn’t stop you from betting on their reveal though,’ SWAT Guard 4 muttered with a smirk, and Guard 1 glared at them.

‘Huh?’ uttered Adrien.

‘Come one, man,’ said SWAT Guard 2, ‘did you really think they were going that far to hide their identities from the world if they really had revealed to each other? They don’t have that kind of intricate level of forward planning.’

‘Oh really?’ Guard 1 retorted. ‘What about Ladybug’s battle plans?’

‘What about the transformation hiding spots Adrien and Ma-’

‘No, it’s true!’ Adrien piped up, cutting off Guard 2 from revealing his lady’s name. ‘We really don’t know, and I’m not going to betray her trust by learning who she is from you guys, no offence.’

‘None taken,’ said Guard 1. ‘But now I’m looking forward to that reveal for more than just the bet.’

Adrien was reeling, his head spinning like a tornado from emotional whiplash, the million and one questions he had about the events and information revealed over the past hour and a bit, and wanting to know what kind of bet these SWAT soldiers had made about him and Ladybug. He suddenly felt very sympathetic with Dorothy and Toto.

‘So how did you find out about Father and Nathalie? And about me and Ladybug?’ Adrien asked.

‘We started investigating into Hawk Moth as soon as he made his dramatic debut in September,’ Corporal Briand began, ‘and kept a keen eye on events as they occurred. We don’t take kindly to terrorists of any kind, and that includes magical ones. We reached out to a few specialist groups as we tried to narrow down the nature of this magic, as UNIT confirmed it wasn’t alien of origin, but it wasn’t easy. All we had to off was your friend’s Ladyblog, and our own observations, including the fact that you were interacting with a creature that didn’t register on any electronic devices.’

‘Creature?’ he echoed.

‘The black cat-like wingless flying one that has an affinity for Camembert,’ the Corporal replied. ‘Our snipers had spotted you taking to what seemed like thin air, until they switched their digital scopes for analog ones.’

‘Right, smart,’ Adrien conceded dumbly.

‘But what really helped us find Hawk Moth and Mayura was, rather simply, CCTV,’ the Corporal admitted. ‘Just because we couldn’t see the floating creatures on video didn’t mean we couldn’t see things like transformations or where people travelled to and from. All it took was unlimited access to Paris’s CCTV network, using social media posts of people’s sightings, and good old fashioned investigation to solve the puzzle. Well, that, and Shanghai and New York.’

‘What about those?’ Adrien asked.

‘Because Hawk Moth and Mayura made very few in-person appearances in battles, it slowed our investigation considerably, but we still had a selection of possible suspects,’ the Corporal explained. ‘But after Hawk Moth’s attacks in both China and the US, the only one from our suspect pool who was present in both countries during both attacks was your father. We already had all our main suspects under 24 hour surveillance from before New York, but we had to make sure we had enough indisputable evidence to take to court before we could make the arrest.’

‘Oh,’ he uttered. ‘So were Ladybug and I under investigation?’

‘Initially,’ Corporal Briand admitted, ‘but once we discovered you two were just teenagers who had taken on the mammoth responsibility of using magic to protect the city and fight the terrorists, you two got downgraded in priority, but still kept under surveillance, just in case.’

‘Right,’ muttered Adrien, just as another SWAT soldier emerged from some sort of van and approached them.

‘Sir,’ the soldier said, ‘the magical items are clean, yet the Peacock one shows signs of damage. We’ve completed our assessments on the items to submit as evidence.’

‘Excellent,’ Corporal Briand said, and the soldier handed him two plastic evidence bags. ‘Now we just need to ensure they’re the real deal. Adrien, can you do the honours?’

Corporal Briand held out the plastic bags to him, and Adrien tentatively accepted them, and sucked in a sharp breath when he saw two broaches within them.

Adrien’s throat suddenly felt like it had swollen, and it was harder to breathe or swallow.

‘Um, before I do,’ Adrien said hesitantly, ‘what will happen to these Miraculouses? Recovering these Miraculouses and other lost or stolen Miraculous-related items was a major part of Ladybug’s and my job. Will we be able to take them back to their rightful place, or will you be taking them for evidence? And will we be able to retrieve them if you do take them for evidence?’

‘Don’t worry, Adrien,’ Corporal Briand told him with a smile. ‘You can take the Miraculouses with you. We just need proof that those are the real deal, so that we can confirm we got the right people and that the threat is well and truly over… and maybe, where possible, answer a few of our questions just in case we find ourselves facing a similar threat in the future. And don’t worry about yours and Ladybug’s identities - we’ll keep them secret.’

Adrien nodded warily, wishing he had the comfort of Ladybug’s presence beside him, and put on the Miraculouses. Immediately, two kwami emerged.

‘Yes, Mas- wait - Adrien?’ the purple butterfly kwami asked disbelievingly.

‘Adrien! It’s Adrien!’ cried the blue peacock one. ‘It’s soooo nice to finally meet you! Em- bleugh! I hate those bubbles! Ugh, your mum used to talk about you all the time!’

‘Duusu!’ scolded the purple one while Adrien spluttered.

‘Mum? My mum? What- how did you know her?’ Adrien asked, the words practically falling out of his mouth in frazzled sudden desperation.

‘Well-’

‘Before that,’ interrupted the purple one, looking warily at the soldiers, ‘who are these people?’

‘Oh!’ Adrien exclaimed. ‘Right, sorry - this is Corporal Braind and his team. They’re the ones who rescued you two from, um, Father and Nathalie.’

‘Woohoo!’ cried Duusu, waving their stubby arms in the air as the purple one relaxed somewhat. ‘Rescuers! Nooroo, we’re saved!’

‘Yes, apparently,’ Nooroo commented.

‘Oh!’ Duusu gasped. ‘If you’re rescuers, you can get Em- bleugh! I hate those bubbles! You can rescue his mum, then, right?’

This time, it wasn’t just Adrien’s eyes that popped out in shock.

‘Wait, what?’

[seas-of-silver]

Your Friendly Neighbourhood Snekmouse

Summary:

It's post-Monarch defeat, and Ladybug is training Chat Noir up on the Miraculouses and the role of the Guardian! As part of her plan (which has been more successful than she had hoped), the two of them would explore different Miraculouses and their power sets over the course of a week, and this week Ladybug has chosen the Miraculouses of the Snake and of the Mouse. Little did they know what this would lead to.

Merry Christmas @peakwonderfulness!!!

Continue reading at:

AO3 | FF.Net

[seas-of-silver]

Reblog if you are a fic writer who welcomes moodboards, playlists, remixes, art and any other type of gift based on your stories.

[seas-of-silver]

Meow! This ended in a catastrophe!

[seas-of-silver]

FF.Net fic update!

Sooooooo I realised the other day that I hadn't put a whole bunch of fics onto my Fanfiction.Net account, so if that's your preferred pace to read fanfics, my account should be all up to date now!

This includes:

Heart on my sleeve and the world on your back

Rock-a-bye Baby

My chest holds my love for you

Forecasts and Fashion Advice

The Wrong Blond

I burn (bread) for you

Some Things Never Change

Sunshine, Moonlight, Good Times--- Mosquitoes (don't ask me why, but apparently FF.Net can't have ellipsis in a title 😢)

Chat on a Cold Stone Balcony

Help! (I Need Somebody - Not Just Anybody)

Playing innocent

When romance and reality collide

Knowing Me, Knowing You

Triplets!

Catch me if you can

New Beginnings and Old Memories

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Patrolling with a friend for Christmas

The Unexpected Christmas Gift

Do you need me like I need you?

Happy Birthday Dear Adrien---

Mr Sandman, Bring Me A Dream

and also the second chapter of Hey Baby (yeah, FF.Net doesn't do the tilde "~" symbol either)

Sorry for the massive delay (and jeez, that's a lot of fics!) and I'll do my best to keep all platforms up to date!

[seas-of-silver]

@xhanisai yo I got an idea for our sequel

[seas-of-silver]

Mr Sandman, Bring Me A Dream

Summary:

He tossed and he turned, but he was all too awake. He tried everything he could think of: exercising to exhaustion; taking a long, hot shower; playing soothing music to lull him to sleep… but nothing worked. Every time he closed his eyes, the images from his nightmare would flash in his mind and he’d be wide awake again.

Continue reading at:

AO3

[seas-of-silver]

lol well I’m in the middle of writing a hurt/comfort, so expect a new one to read sometime soon ❤️

there will never ever ever ever ever ever ever EVER be enough hurt/comfort fics. just so you know

[seas-of-silver]

okay, but what if it wasn't Ladybug on the pillow but instead, like, an actual ladybug, y'know, the bug 🐞 and Chat's looking at his Lady who's holding out this pillow of a bug (and she's doing her best to hold herself together with a straight face and not laugh at the absurdity of the situation and is just waiting for him to crack up at her gift), and he's just like I can't refuse this, I just can't - my Lady made this for me, she gifted me this and accepts it (but when Chat accepts it, Ladybug starts overanalysing what that means and rants to Tikki when she gets home as she questions everything she's ever known about Chat Noir and his love for her - or does he actually have an obsession with ladybugs the bugs????)

contrary to popular belief i think a ladybug dakimakura would he where chat draws the line. yes he can have a shrine for her in his bedroom but a daki feels inappropriate.

so obviously ladybug responds to this discomfort by personally designing and gifting him the most outrageous ladybug dakimakura. and like. what is he meant to do. it's a gift from his lady. he accepts it but he refuses to make eye contact with it ever.

[seas-of-silver]

REVERSE TROPE WRITING PROMPTS

Too many beds

Accidentally kidnapping a mafia boss

Really nice guy who hates only you

Academic rivals except it’s two teachers who compete to have the best class

Divorce of convenience

Too much communication

True hate’s kiss (only kissing your enemy can break a curse)

Dating your enemy’s sibling

Lovers to enemies

Hate at first sight

Love triangle where the two love interests get together instead

Fake amnesia

Soulmates who are fated to kill each other

Strangers to enemies

Instead of fake dating, everyone is convinced that you aren’t actually dating

Too hot to cuddle

Love interest CEO is a himbo/bimbo who runs their company into the ground

Nursing home au

[seas-of-silver]

Happy Birthday Dear Adrien...

Summary:

Today’s Adrien’s birthday! Everything was going to be absolutely wonderful… right?

From my birthday to yours - happy (belated) birthday @izanogi!!!

Continue reading at:

AO3