#but at the very least follow the link so my friend gets more views plz

[erotesianangel]

A friend of mine interviewed one of the founders of the nun-themed drag group the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence! It's a fun little read and glimpse into a slice of queer history

[silvia7272]

10 ~ Now It Happens!?

Hayo, how are you all? Hope you’re all ok at these current times. But now it’s the awaited arrival of the little child that was first mentioned in my first fanfic. Also, I have over 200 followers, wow, amazing, I’m so impressed, thank you all, I’ve never had this many people like my work as much as you guys, so thank you all.

Also, I’m very proud of this, since we don’t have a list of the powers of all of the Kwami’s I took the liberty of making them myself. And they all work perfectly with my story. So, I’ve also drawn all the future chosen’s characters as well, they should be different and hopefully better than canon. But I won’t be changing the designs yet unless I think something else fits better. The names may not as be as good but at least I know what they are. Also. Unless you want me to, do you guys actually want me to reveal them, do you want to find out or leave it as a surprise? I’ve kept the tradition of all the powers ending in -tion so yeah. Hope you’ll like them when they’re released.

Word Count: 6313

Tags: @queenmj10​, @fangirl39​, @animegirlweeb​, @northernbluetongue​, @maribat-is-lifeblood​, @raisuke06​, @indecisive-mess-named-me​, @luleck​, @themotherofhogwarts​, @more-or-less-human-i-guess​, @gwennex​, if you wish to be tagged all you have to do is say. Also, if you change your name please tell me, I don’t want to leave you out since you’ve asked to be tagged.

This fanfic and its ideas were all made after season 3 and before season 4/movie came out, so if something doesn’t add up please don’t worry. That information wasn’t available then, and unless it fits into my story or I like it, I won’t include it in my story.

Also, I may need some help with developing Luka’s personality. I may adore Luka, love him, but I can’t disagree with the fact that he is bland. Some help would be nice. All I have is that’s he’s an incredibly chill guy who likes music and Marinette, I firmly believe he’s a pacifist and hates to resolve situations with violence, wanting to either defuse it by walking away, giving in or trying to talk the other into a compromise? Maybe he bottles all of his emotions inside. But really besides that, I can’t think of anything else, what else can I do to give him a personality? Any help, kinda struggling. Might also need help with Noémie but I have more of an idea with her. Plz DM me plz if you have any thoughts, comments are welcomed as well. If I don’t reply I’m asleep so don’t be offended.

.

I think the Revenant idea came from Madoka Magica as it all slowly started making sense why I liked it so much. Any ideas to help me change it so it looks more original? I do have one an idea as you might be able to see but do you guys have any suggestions?

***

“-and then Jean had pie all over his face, it was utterly hilarious when he tried to clean it all off” Chloé laughed as her other two friends were walking with her along the roads of Paris, the redhead laughed along as the bluenette looked unimpressed.

“Really Chloé? I doubt that was good for Jean” Chloé waved her off, stating she just had to be there for it before Marinette just sighed. How long had it been since they all decided to become friends? She lost count, being glad she had people around her that actually believed her, and people she could trust everything with… Well, almost everything. But even then, she couldn’t tell everyone or she’d be stripped of her Miraculous… But a thought always entered her head, if she did reveal herself to the other heroes, would it really be so bad?

Like, revolutionary bad?

Oh well, maybe when she was older, she could divulge that type of information to people she trusted.

After all, trust works both ways.

Before Marinette could even give a retort back to her blonde friend, a body had stopped in the middle of the pathway. Since all of their arms were linked that caused them all to come to an abrupt stop, much to the annoyance of one in particular.

“Rosina what are you doing? Your lucky people aren’t behind us or they would’ve bumped into me- I mean us” The blonde was still getting there, slowly thinking of everyone around her instead of just herself, sure she still had a long ways to go but she was at least trying.

To that, the redhead still hadn’t answered, her head was turned to an alleyway. Nothing was at the utmost significance other than a green bin and a fence blocking the other alley from joining up.

The girls became confused when she let go and ran up to the dumpster…

.

.

Before flinging herself inside.

The two girls widened their eyes before running after the speedster.

“Ok Rosy you are freaking me out now, what the hell are you doing?” Marinette asked, was this normal for her? She’d have to tell her not to randomly jump inside bins anymore, she was sure she could help stop that habit.

Again, before the two could say anything, a suitcase was thrown their way, Chloé screamed as a smudge of dirt landed on her clothes.

“Rosina you better get your butt out of that bin this instance, how dare you ruin my clothes!” Marinette meanwhile looked into the bin to help Rosina out, she wasn’t covered in dirt mind you, but you could see that her clothes were darker.

“Explain yourself at once!” But the redhead ignored her and proceeded to open the suitcase up. Chloé was tempted to gently nudge her with her foot, but then she saw her expression, fear? Uncertainty? Something like that. Did she sense something in the suitcase?

That seemed to be true as the sight of a bright grey light came into the girl's view.

“Mari. It's here. It’s really here. Oh god, it’s the first one, I need to contact Aunty-” She spiralled into her thoughts not being able to hear Chloé’s concerned questions as Marinette looked at what was the cause of the light.

It was a Trinklet, it looked just like Rosina’s but grey. This was it; this was the day she would finally know what the Trinklets would really entail.

“Chloé!” Said girl jumped as the one who called out her name laid her hands on her shoulders.

“You need to go back to the hotel and put the bee signal on” Both girls looked at her as if she had grown two heads.

“But I’m not Queen Bee anymore, and how is that going to help us?” Rosina shook her head, knowing she’d have to explain since no one knew what she was implying.

“If you put the bee signal on people will notice and word may get to Ladybug. Please tell Ladybug that she needs to come and meet me here… And please tell her to get the new hero Sovereign Stinger” Marinette was shocked, would this really require Chloé so soon? Or would this just be early training?

“Err who’s Sovereign Stinger?” Marinette had to ask as to stay in character, geez this was so complicated with her knowing both their identities, Rosina knowing both identities and Chloé only knowing Rosina’s identity. She examined how Chloé’s facial expressions widened but soon calmed down.

“I don’t know either, probably one other meaningless Miraculous user who doesn’t know anything, really Rosina you should rather get Queen Bee to help out-” Chloé saw how their expressions were not interested as she coughed and laughed it off. She had overplayed her part, but it didn’t matter now that she had stopped.

“Alright alright, I’ll help. Now c’mon Marinette, you can stay in the hotel as I handle everything else.” Marinette waved back at Rosina, who would transform into Crisono any minute now.

She had to admit she could be smart when it came to stuff like this. Not blowing her cover of Ladybug and Stinger’s identity when any slip up could’ve blown everything away.

It kinda made her sad that Rosina was so used to all these secrets and fights.

***

“This is the disaster?” Stinger had questioned, after getting over the fact of basically dimensional hopping.

And that was a long time.

They hadn’t been long getting back and were quick to enter the Trinklet, Ladybug couldn’t help but notice the intense look on her friend’s face. She silently rested her arm on the other girl which caused her smile to reappear much to her relief.

When they had finally arrived, their field of vision centred around grey. Grey sky, grey floor, grey everything. If Ladybug didn’t know any better, she’d think she were in a monochrome painting, but by her friend’s face, this wouldn’t be a simple Revenant to defeat.

What was that saying again?

“They are a portal to a strange land; time is unnecessary and cannot expand. Travel you must, succeed and entrust, to destroy the Revenant at hand.” She remembered. Funny, the rhythm helped.

“Yes. It may not look like it, but it just hasn’t started yet. But you need to get ready” With that Crisono held her trusty fencing sword out. The two followed suit, it was starting to scare them, Chloé really wasn’t used to her serious mode, she kinda wanted her to stop it.

“Crisono, do you have any idea what we should expect?” Ladybug questioned.

“Yeah, all the Trinklets are colour coded, so in the future, you’ll have somewhat of an idea what to expect.” The air around them seemed to change, they could all feel it.

“This one was grey, so I think I can safely conclude that grey has something to do with gravity.” The other two eyed each other, it all still seemed unbelievable, but they had been used to Akuma’s so it couldn’t be too far out of their realm of possibility.

Then… The ground lit up.

But it was strange. Only certain bits lit up, almost as if it were just multiple squares along the floor. That was weird. What was weirder was some or those squares flew up into the air. All at random.

There didn’t seem to be any structure, it was all unsystematic. Now Ladybug could see why Crisono was so worried, she would’ve preferred a much simpler Trinklet to start off with.

But she wasn’t a superheroine for nothing.

She proudly swung her Yo-Yo around, looking over to the two new people she could trust.

“So, what's the plan Crissi?” The redhead smiled before extending her sword, making it point to something in the distance.

“We head towards the centre. That’s where it's residing. Then it’ll all be over.” The three all smirked before taking off. There was a rush of adrenaline soaring through them all, this was an oddly exhilarating experience, something new was happening and only they knew about it. It felt like it was only their little secret.

But as soon as they started running, all of the platforms moved as well. Ladybug wondered if the Revenant were somewhat alive and knew that it was under attack. She threw her Yo-Yo and swung from place to place, landing on the platforms and manoeuvring away when they rose up. So far so good, she just had to keep looking where she was going.

Stinger… Not so much. She had only been Queen Bee like four times. She didn’t count the times of being Akumatized since she couldn’t remember them, and she said she had practised, but not to this degree. And besides, she hadn’t even trained with her Miraculous yet.

So, it was only befitting that the newest hero was the first to fall.

Right into the crack.

She didn’t fall for long, something wrapped around her waist to pull her up, it was a real close call considering the platform was about to shut the blondes only escape.

Crisono swung Stinger further away to a safer platform before holding a thumbs up to her. Stinger breathed a sigh of relief before continuing on.

‘I won’t let you down again Crisono, Ladybug. I swear’ They continued before Crisono raised her hand.

“What's wrong?” Ladybug shouted; her eyes searched the area to see if anything was different.

Their Silver eyed heroine looked over to them, and she looked so confused.

“Did you two hear that?” They fell silent, trying to strain their ears for any type of noise.

.

.

It was feint, very feint.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“What was that!?” Ladybug looked over to Crisono, she couldn’t count how many emotions crossed over her face in a matter of seconds. First shock, then realisation, lastly dread.

“I really hoped that hadn’t happened”

“Crisono what's happening?” With a solemn look Crisono answered. Causing devastation to overflow the two.

“Trinklets need a human touch to be activated, and I wasn’t the one to activate this one”

“And that noise! -”

They all immediately rushed ahead. A civilian being held in a Trinklet? That would cause an uproar of trouble, possibly exposing the Trinklets to the media could cause outright panic, and with Akuma’s running amok… Well, you knew.

“We need to get the civilian out of here now, we aren’t sure if the Miraculous cure can work here so we can’t take any chances.” But there was only one problem, they didn’t know where to look.

The noise seemed to echo as they travelled along multiple platforms as well. They couldn’t locate anything.

Until Crisono fell headfirst in one of the gaps.

“Crisono!” The others screamed Ladybug swung her Yo-Yo at her, it just grabbed her foot before she would fall any further, and she didn’t like that endless drop of nothingness.

But as Crisono was suspended in mid-air and upside-down. She saw something.

Something or someone was in the distance, and they were just hanging on… Or so it seemed, she wasn’t sure.

“Ladybug let me go!” She realised there wouldn’t be much time left, she had to go and see who it was before it fell.

“What! Are you crazy! -” Crisono held up her ring, reminding them both she could make that flying skateboard again, to that she was released and fell, before flying off in that direction.

“We have to keep moving forward, hopefully, one of the other platforms will rise, or we’ll just destroy it so she can get back to us” They nodded as they took off.

They dodged and fled from all the platforms that were unstable or suddenly lift into the air, become replaced within a few seconds… Or even explode with near contact.

Yeah, that’s right, explode.

The first one knocked them both off their feet, they couldn’t even rest before they saw that they had activated another one, so they sprinted away.

There was no direction or identified method to understand so they couldn’t make a concrete plan. There was no way to make any type of strategy, or plan ahead.

So maybe that was the reason she hadn’t realised she’d stepped on an explosive tile. The explosion flung her across the arena, and she wasn’t moving. Stinger felt dread flow through her.

This was not like an Akuma. This wasn’t a game.

This was a battle far greater than whatever Hawkmoth could present.

But because of that, if they could just beat this then they could definitely defeat Hawkmoth.

But that didn’t mean she wasn’t scared, seeing Ladybug on the floor like that, and on top of a moving tile no less.

“Ladybug! Wake up!” She leapt to the platform, quickly grabbing Ladybug before falling to another tile.

She was alive thank goodness! But what could she do? She wasn’t smart like Ladybug or brave, or strong like Rosina. She didn’t have any plan to help out. She hadn’t even been able to do anything but fall.

She was just Chloé…

***

When Crisono was released from Ladybug she prayed the other two would be fine, she hadn’t exactly explained everything to them in full detail since she wasn’t used to that yet, she already knew what to do but her Aunt was the one to tell her anything she’d missed, she wasn’t a leader type or a relayer of information. She just knew she had a job to do.

And that job was being a hero to everyone who needed to be saved/helped.

Just like in front of her. Whoever this person was, or thing she couldn’t tell. But she would have to hurry, she could hear and see explosions about to happen, so she knew she had to check whatever this was quick!

So, she sped along, the object becoming bigger and bigger, and she saw black and brown… Wait, that was hair! It was a person; she couldn’t celebrate as she came closer and saw it was a smaller person.

A child.

A really frightened child.

She neared the platform just as the child took notice of her, they were covering their ears because there was a lot of noise around. But they still looked really frightened, and nearly took a step off the platform.

“Hey hey there,” She carefully approached, stopping just on top of the platform, not getting off her board just in case. The kid still looked scared.

“I’m Crisono, what's your name?” She smiled but it didn’t seem to work. She looked up when there was another explosion as the little kid screamed.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry! It’s all my fault I’m sorry,” Crisono stopped her smile as she grew worried, this wasn’t their fault, why did they think that?

She tried to take a gentle step forward, but the kid recoiled. She removed her arms from her sight and tried hiding her head.

Was it in fear?

What had happened while she was there, she thought, was this the reason she had some bruises on her arms?

Whatever Crisono thought it was replaced with the urge- no. Need to help this poor child.

So, she knelt down to be a bit more level getting the kids attention.

“I’m sorry I lied about my name” She raised her arms to take her mask off, Marinette was bound to be mad but she needed to do this, for the kid's sake.

“My real name is Rosina Scoats, see I’m a human just like you” She flashed a smile before moving the mask in the kid's direction.

“I know it’s not your fault, and whoever told you that is wrong so you shouldn’t blame yourself. So why don’t we get out of here ok?” The kid picked up the mask, ever so slightly. They felt it in their hands, it was really smooth and nice.

Maybe the Lady was right, maybe she could help.

Maybe she could’ve been faster.

Boom

The sound surprised the two so much…

The kid misplaced their step.

And they were falling.

“I’M COMMINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!” There was still her job to do.

She was going to be a hero.

The kid was falling and falling. They didn’t know when they would stop, if they even could!

This was all their fault; everything was their fault. That Lady should’ve never come to her, why was she there anyway? She’s going to get hurt because of her, just like everyone else, she should’ve just left-

“Hold Out Your Hands!” It was the Lady. Why was she still trying to help them? They were a curse to everyone around them!

“I’m sorry! Stay away. Leave me alone” But her hand was still outstretched.

Why?

“I won’t. I promise I’ll save you! And I’ll never leave you alone ever!” What?

“Just let me be your hero! Please!”

.

.

The kid's arms reached towards Rosina, because they finally trusted her words.

And she was finally able to grab onto the child.

“I swear” The child apologised more and more, but Rosy just pats her head.

Getting her board to fly towards her was easy.

Escaping with everyone would be a lot harder.

***

‘Why didn’t Rosy stay with us? She just had to go off on her own in this place we know nothing about. She’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous’ Sovereign Stinger was carrying an unconscious Ladybug, she may have wanted to be close with her idol but not like this.

But she didn’t know what to do, if she had known Rosy was used to this sort of thing, she would’ve wanted no part of it.

No way, this was above her pay rate… Wait what did that mean, she wasn’t paid for this.

She wasn’t paid for any of this.

But neither was Ladybug… Or Crisono.

They wouldn’t get anything out of this, no recognition at all.

Chloé had always wondered why Ladybug continued to be a hero, sure she was adored but she never abused her power.

Unlike her.

She had proudly proclaimed she was Queen Bee, only to purposely crash a train. She preferred to have any type of fame without actually doing any work, didn’t Ladybug see that!? She was selfish, not brave or caring.

She wasn’t Ladybug.

She wasn’t even Crisono.

She wasn’t a hero.

She was just Chloé.

She was just a blonde rich girl, able to make other people do what she wanted.

.

She wasn’t Ladybug.

She wasn’t even Crisono.

.

She wasn’t a hero.

.

She was just Chloé.

She was spoilt.

She was a brat.

She was-

“Chloé. I don’t think you need to be Queen Bee to be considered a hero. We can help you. Me, Marinette and Kagami too.” She remembered Rosina cheering her up that day. She had been upset with some events that had happened before she came into the picture. She had wanted to spend some time with her Maman, but she denied, saying she had better things to do, and called her a different name again, Catharine. But Rosina was there for her.

“Chloé, you don’t need powers, or a costume, or money to be a hero.” Why was she remembering this now, it seemed too convenient for her, this type of positivity?

“Just do what your heart wants, morally do what’s best, we can help you with every step.”

Did she really mean that?

“You’ll never be alone Chloé. Just trust us.”

Yes. Yes, she did.

“Let me help you be Chloé Bourgeois”

.

She was Chloé Bourgeois!

And she was going to prove she was a hero to herself and to everyone else who wouldn’t believe in her.

But she was knocked to the ground, Ladybug fell out of her arms just as they both rolled onto another platform.

She hadn’t given up.

.

.

“What…?”

Stinger looked at her side. Her spinning top weapon. It was…

Glowing!

She picked it up, and something told her to say her word Venom.

But only to slam it into the ground.

That would’ve been strange, but Stinger didn’t question it.

She lifted the weapon into the air and slammed it into the ground. She saw that Ladybug had started to gain consciousness, looking around her environment and wondered what was happening.

She was confused when she saw spikes shoot up and strike around her.

“Ch- Stinger what happened?!” Stinger opened her eyes, looking around at what she had done.

She had created this?

“I-I couldn’t just stand by any longer Ladybug. I had to do something. But I don’t know what I did!” Stinger was still kneeling down on the platform; spikes had shot through multiple platforms all around them.

They were all held in place.

It was like her usual power, but it was subjected to others as well.

“Level 2 already?” Mrs Hernandez had taught her about even more power-ups, more than Master Fū ever had but that was beside the point, and told her how if a teen had gotten a hold of a Miraculous they would all start at the base, Level 1, but through time teens were able to unlock more levels, and that would be shown through their suits.

It had seemed Chloé was able to unlock level 2.

But there was still the time limit.

“Stinger, how long do you have?” She was looking around, she hadn’t seen Crisono for a while now, was she trapped?

“I don’t know… Four minutes? You better hurry up Ladybug, this is starting to become harder to control” Another thing the teacher mentioned, it wouldn’t be easy to control either, it had to be worked on or it wouldn’t work.

There was only one thing to do.

“Lucky Charm!” Instead of throwing her Yo-Yo into the air, she was able to reach into her bag after being told it would be a better design choice for her, and she pulled out a flashlight.

She looked around, some of the platforms were suspended in mid-air, and they hadn’t been replaced, so Ladybug could look into the hole and use the flashlight as a means of a signal.

“C’mon Crissi. Where are you?” She flicked the flashlight on and off over and over again. Hoping, just praying she was alright.

“Crisono. We’re over here please find us!”

“Ladybug! … I don’t know how long I can hold it!” Stinger sounded like she was struggling to keep control. They could only pray now.

“H-” She heard something!

There in the distance!

Red.

“Ladybug, I’m here, just hold it for a little longer!” She was flying even faster,

‘C’mon Rosy you can do it.’ She pleaded.

“Ahhh!” Stinger was pushed back and thrown across the room, Ladybug looked back in shock, oh no! That certainly wasn’t good.

But Crissi was so close now, she had to make it!

.

10 meters, a 1/3 of it had closed.

.

5 meters, halfway closed.

.

“Crisono!”

Swoosh

She made it. With just an inch left.

Ladybug hugged her; thankful she had escaped.

“Hey, I did most of the work here!” Sovereign grunted, still on the floor slightly glaring at the two… Three?

“Err who’s that?” She got up and pointed to the bundle in her arms. And why was her mask off?

“I think they were the one who accidentally activated this, but we should try to get out of here now. The Trinklet should be riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight around? -” She took several steps forward.

“Here!” The other two were confused, there was nothing there.

“Err, Crisono?” Stinger was about to ask what she meant but then she was handed the child as Crisono struck her weapon into the ground.

Then they saw it, a light high above them.

“Is that!?” Crisono nodded. Jumping up into the air and grabbing it.

Reality started warping around them, until the familiar sight of Paris made them realise, they were back!

But not in the same place.

It seemed as if the Trinklet had moved from its original location.

An exhausted blonde hero fell down, breathing a sigh of relief. The little kid ran back to Rosina. Hand still clutching the mask as Rosina transformed back. She would just have to make another one, she didn’t want to take it back.

“I’m never doing that again…”

“Typical” A voice spoke out.

!!!

A cane shot out from nowhere, catching the three-off guard, and knocked Stinger’s Miraculous out of her hair. She immediately transformed back into Chloé, dread sweeping over her.

She lost her chance of ever being a hero now.

It was all gone, her greatest fear.

“Aunty!” A shrill voice screamed and ran off to hug the attacker…

Whack

…Only to get whacked in the head.

“I’m highly disappointed with all of you” She glared at all three of them, Chloé became angry. What did she mean by that?

Her question was answered when the woman took a heavy sigh.

“Bourgeois, you didn’t even try being a hero until near the end, disgraceful. Ladybug, getting knocked out amid battle, how irresponsible. And you, Rosina. I thought I taught you better than that. Not explaining to your friends at the beginning? I’m very ashamed right now” Rosina’s face turned sad, dejected that her Aunt had pointed out something she really hated doing.

“Hey, I’ll have you know that was our first fight against, whatever the hell that was! And we won in the end, we even saved someone, isn’t that enough?” Chloé couldn’t stand back any longer, how dare she disrespect Rosina like that, and Ladybug! They didn’t know what this was, but they were able to adapt and solve it.

But the look in Hernandez’ eyes said otherwise.

“You were formerly known as Queen Bee, you held no regard for saving anyone, or being a hero. Only for fame, so how can you say anything?” She smirked as she crossed her arms.

Chloé felt dejected, yeah, she did do that huh.

But then she felt two pairs of hands on her shoulders. Looking around it was Ladybug and Rosina.

“Chloé has become a far better person than what she was, so to hold her past actions against her now as she’s becoming a better person is disgraceful.” Ladybug mocked as Rosina nodded along.

“Yeah Aunty, Chloé is trying her best, and I believe she’s gonna become a great hero in the future” She smiled, they really stuck up for her.

But she could stick up for herself just fine.

“I’m may not be a good hero yet, but I’ll show you that I can change, and next time you try spying on us, you’ll just have to be amazed when we execute another, trinket off” She turned her head up proud, a grin forming across her face.

“Trinklet”

“Don’t ruin the mood”

Hernandez stood there for a while, yet again words she was proud to hear, but she wouldn’t tell them that, they had to work for admiration.

But she could be lenient at times.

“Ladybug, you’re about to transform back. I suggest you use your cure before catching up with us. We need to take care of that little girl now” Ladybug soon had a miniature freak-out, she had completely forgotten about that, with Rosina and Hernandez there, she forgot Chloé couldn’t know.

“Right of course.” She threw her flashlight into the air, shouting those oh so familiar words she was so accustomed to as she watched small ladybugs wrap around Chloé and herself…

None went around Rosina just like she expected, it looked like Chloé hadn’t noticed but that was fair, she didn’t really have any scratches on her.

“I’ll meet you all later bugout” She used her Yo-Yo to take her away, not before taking the Bee Miraculous as well.

It was only then that she had realised something. Or two things.

That child, being carried by Rosina, the one they realised must’ve activated the Trinklet.

What was she doing inside a closed suitcase…?

And why weren’t those bruises healed?

***

“Here, this will help your arms, they should be right as water before you know it”

“Rain Rosy you mean rain”

“Same thing”

They were at Hernandez’s apartment; it was incredibly far from where they resided that was for sure.

Ladybug soon found where they were and stayed with them, after informing Tikki what had happened, the tiny god creature was happy the young holder was able to defeat a Trinklet so soon. They giggled before transforming back.

The child, which they had realised was a girl after they gave her a bath, still looked scared, but she seemed to trust Rosina the most. She stayed very close to her, almost clinging to her poncho.

If Rosina got up, so would she. And follow her around like a little puppy. Ladybug gushed at how cute it was while Chloé secretly smiled. She had never been a fan of kids but this one was cute, her black hair was gorgeous, and black skin was lovely. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of pink, everything about her was adorable.

She was an exception.

Rosina came back with the girl.

But instead of whatever dirt rag she was wearing, she wore a white dress with red, blue and yellow stripes.

“Awwwwww” Ladybug cooed.

“It was one of my old dresses from when I was younger. I’m surprised Aunty still kept it”

“Of course I did, I keep all of your dresses” Chloé smirked at her.

“Looks like you do have a soft spot for your niece huh?” She teased her.

Franchezca turned her head, but she didn’t deny it. Chloé giggled.

Ladybug decided to ask the girl some questions, crouching down to her level to try and make her feel more at ease.

“Hey there,” But immediately the little girl clung to Rosina, scared.

The spotted Lady grew worried, if she kept being scared, she could attract an Akuma. And she really didn’t want to fight a little girl. So, Rosina felt she had to encourage the girl.

“Don’t worry. This is Ladybug. A hero of Paris” A snort was heard but ignored.

“And she protects everyone. Just like me. She’s really nice as well. So, you can trust her.” The little kid looked from Rosy to Ladybug.

Until she came out and stood in front of Rosina.

“O-Ok,” The kid replied, fear vanished as she looked back at Ladybug.

“So, you were in that world with us. Are you alright?” She nodded several times. The bluenette smiled, she was like a mini Rosina, except less bubbly.

“Do you know how you entered that place?” She was worried about asking too many questions at once, it may confuse or alarm the girl.

“I-I erm. I was asleep, and I woke up cold an-and inside something. I-I was alone, and gone and- and-. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m-” Tears started falling down her cheeks as she raised her arms.

“H-Hey its ok, you’re safe now. No one will hurt you now ok” Ladybug was about to reach out to her when she flinched away, and fell back into Rosina.

Now she was nervous.

Rosina picked her up, trying to console her, rocking her back and forth. Whispering positive words to her. Saying how she’s safe now, and no one will hurt her. How it's not her fault at all.

She calmed down and Ladybug was greatly thankful. Even Chloé was relieved.

The little girl looked up at Rosina…

And booped her nose.

At first, she was confused before chuckling was heard as the three looked at Hernandez.

“I believe the kid has shown that she likes you” Rosina gasped excitedly. But Ladybug shared a glance with Chloé about what she had just told them.

Chloé, deciding she wanted in on the action, walked over. But a bit slower so not to scare her.

“So, err kid? What's your name?” The girl cocked her head to the side.

“What’s a name?”

.

.

.

‘Oh my god’

“It's like how I’m called Rosina, and this is Ladybug, and that is Chloé” Rosina pointed to them as it looked like the girl understood.

The girl looked down, fiddling with the mask. Was she nervous?

“C-Can I have a name?” The girls, of course, said yes, they wanted to shout so the heavens could hear but didn’t want to scare her.

“So, what name should we call her?” They all pondered for a while before Chloé offered a name.

“Piper” They all stared at her.

“What? Was it that bad?” She crossed her arms, ready for them to joke and berate the name.

“No, I like it, what about you? Fancy being called Piper, Piper?” The kid tried pronouncing it, with it being an easy name she excitedly chirped a yes as the girls gushed over her.

Franchezca shook her head, those girls needed a lot more training to go through.

“All three of you will be training under me” The gushing stopped as they all looked at the older woman.

“What?” Chloé hoped she was kidding.

“I’m sure you heard me, now you’ll be training under me, I’m a far better instructor than Wáng. And you all better be at your peak. Unless you think you don’t want to be a hero anymore” Ladybug and Chloé glared at the older woman, she was given her answer.

“I will not accept anything but the better, so you best put in all your effort” Chloé and Ladybug looked at each other, was she serious. Nah how hard could it be?

But then they saw Rosy salute towards her. Saying ma’am yes ma’am.

And Piper copied.

They all laughed before Chloé gasped.

“I forgot about Marinette! I’m the worst friend ever…” Ladybug and Rosina slightly glanced at each other.

Well. It was nice she remembered Marinette.

***

It was around 11pm. The sky had turned darker, and pitter-patters of rain droplets against the bedroom window had formed. A pity really, it was such a sunny day as well, there would be plenty of puddles tomorrow.

Rosina had offered to take Chloé home since Ladybug just had to get going.

When they arrived back at the hotel Marinette and Piper officially met and somehow, Piper became comfortable around her a lot quicker, Chloé would be lying if she said she wasn’t jealous.

They spent hours showing Piper the sights of Paris before they headed home. Rosina had told the two that her Aunt would try to get some paperwork to show that Piper was her Sister or something, the redhead was unsure how to explain it but then said something to the effect of like how she had done to me, it was then Chloé had realised what that may have meant and immediately hugged the girl, her being confused but accepted nonetheless.

Later Marinette and Chloé had to come up with a plan on how to bring Piper home, Marinette’s Parents would surely question it and they couldn’t say they found her in another dimensional world.

They came up with the idea that Rosina had an adoptive Sister before coming here, but because she was shy, she was spending more time with her Aunt. But then Piper had wanted to come and stay with Rosina and spend some time with her.

Luckily it worked and Sabine and Tom were just more than happy to look after another child.

Chloé had gone home, complaining about how tired she was, she was picked up in her limo and driven away.

So, it was now night. And the tiny makeshift bed Marinette was able to make fairly quickly. But Piper couldn’t sleep. She didn’t want to stay in the bed, she wants to be near that nice Lady, ro- ros- Rosy. Yeah, that was her name. She looked around and felt her way until she felt something.

There! An arm.

She wanted to tap her awake, but she was afraid if she would be angry, so she started tearing up.

That definitely woke Rosina up.

“Piper? Are you alright? Did you have a bad dream?” Piper stopped her tears and stood straight up, not daring to speak.

But she felt a gentle hand on her head and Rosy’s smile making her feel something.

“Did you want to stay with me? Well of course you can” She outstretched her arms and Piper ran into them, literally. She was clinging to her like life-support. But it looked like Rosina didn’t seem to mind.

Piper’s breathing shortened to an even pace as she fell asleep, Rosina thinking how cute she was. As she pattered her hair, she realised something.

She was a number to this little girl, and maybe more.

.

.

.

~Bonus~

Rosina: Hey guys -uploads a photo- I made a Sister today.

Aurore: What?

Kagami: Marinette! Explain! Now!

Noémie: This is not like how biology works, where did she come from?

Marinette: It’s a long story please just let us go to bed.

Marc: It's too late for this type of thing, I’ll sleep on it.

Aurore: I think Marc is still sleepy and hasn’t realised what Rosy said.

Luka: Would congratulations be ok to say or inappropriate?

Marinette: Luka stop this is serious, and sorry guys we’ll be going offline soon we’ll talk tomorrow. We have to get the little one to sleep… And I’m not talking about Piper.

Luka: Aww, she even has a cute name.

Noémie: Luka stop being a Brother you can’t just do this.

Luka: Watch me.

Marinette: Anyway, night guys.

Noémie: Night smols.

Kagami: You all better explain yourselves tomorrow, in full detail, I swear I will get the whole truth somehow.

Kagami: I see you’ve all read it.

Chloé: Yeah yeah just go to bed.

Aurore: I’ll tell Mireille, knowing her, her phones turned off.

Noémie: Goodnight, and tell Piper she’s like soo adorable, ok smols. Peace out.

.

.

.

Marc: WAIT ROSY’S GOT A KID!?

***

Hope you liked it. Oh, and here's Piper. She’s adorable.

Oh, man, have I been drawing a bunch of stuff. My sketchbook is halfway filled with ML costume redesigns and some original ones as well. It’s been great. I drew 3 in a day and I have all of the future Miraculous holders sketched out and I’m planning to digitalise them in the near future when their chapter comes out, I’ll post the picture in due time. I’m so happy and impressed with myself, although I must admit I drew more than I wrote but oh well, I loved doing the designs as I tried to search for the best to references. Although I must admit I didn’t really like Luka’s much, he may be one of my favourite characters but I hate drawing him, I don’t know why but I think I can never draw him good, he always looks weird but I digress. Anyway, Piper has been introduced and the training has started. I’m not sure about what the next one should be, I had thought this one should’ve included more but it was already getting long, the next maybe a 3 in 1 but I’m not sure, if I can make a whole chapter then the 3 in 1 will be after. Cya later. Have a nice day/night.

I may soon be adding another love square hehe. Feel free to guess who it is, 3 of the characters have been introduced.

[writingfortoomanyfandoms]

Courtney’s 4K/Quarantine Writing Challenge!!

So, not only did I hit 4,000 followers a little while ago (thank you all so much again for that!) but we’re also all stuck inside for the foreseeable future and I know we’re all bored out of our minds (or at least I am) and I don’t read anywhere near enough fics as I should (and as I want to) so I figured since I’m going a Write Fest on my own blog to celebrate 4K (I’ll link it here if you want to check it out) I thought I could extend that to all of you guys as well!

So yeah, writing challenge, premise is pretty simple, I’ve hosted a couple before (lowkey flops but we move), you read the rules, abide by them, pick a prompt and a character and you write!

As always with me, I’m a nerd and so the prompts are split into categories - there are song lyrics, book quotes, comedy quotes and film quotes to choose from!

I hope you guys want to join in with this! I love reading what you guys write and this could be a really fun way to just keep us all moving and inspired over the next few months :)

The Rules

1) You don’t have to be following me but it would be nice because I’m lonely and want friends plz

2) If your piece of writing is over 500 words, please use the ‘read more’ feature

3) Reblog this post to get the word out (and tag anyone who may be interested!)

4) It’s going to be one person per prompt but if needed I can add more prompts

5) Smut is fine but please leave warnings as appropriate (THOUGH NO UNDERAGE CHARACTER SMUT THANKS)

6) On the back of that one, no inappropriate pairings pleaseeeeee

7) Also please make sure you leave appropriate warnings at the beginnings of fics if any sensitive subjects are brought up (e.g. mental health etc)

8) Ships and OC’s are welcome

9) Tag me in your writing!

10) Use the hashtag #Courts4KWritingChallenge

11) If you want to enter send me an ask with the prompt you want and the pairing you’ll be writing it with

12) The deadline for this is 15th July (this can be extended if y’all need it)

Characters/People/Pairings

1) Any of the BoRhap dudes and their characters 

2) (BoRhap!)Queen members (Freddie only platonically)

3) The Hargreeves Children (older!Five only)

4) Richard Madden (+ his characters)

5) Taron Egerton (+ his characters)

6) Rocketman!Bernie Taupin and Ray Williams

7) Smosh Members

8) Jake Gyllenhaal (+ all his various characters)

9) Chris Evans (+ his characters)

10) Sebastian Stan (+ his characters)

11) Any of the 5sos guys (poly!5sos fics also both welcomed and encouraged)

12) Stranger Things peeps (Steve, Billy + Robin/their cast counterparts)

13) One Direction guys (Niall, Harry + Louis)

14) Pevensie children

15) Sex Education (cast + characters)

Prompts

Song Lyrics

“Wake up sunshine, somebody loves you” - Wake Up, Sunshine by All Time Low

“When I take a look at my life and all of my crimes you're the only thing that I think I got right” - Lover of Mine by 5 Seconds of Summer ( @angiefangirlworld-2 w/ Ashton)

“Kiss in the kitchen like it’s a dance floor” - Sunflower Vol.6 by Harry Styles

“There'll never be another, I promise that I'll love you for the rest of my life” - Black and White by Niall Horan ( @unn--known​ w/ someone from 1D)

“Let's keep each other safe from the world” - Lucky People by Waterparks

“Never wanted to be the boy next door, always thought I'd be something more” - Drowse by Queen

“And when I touch you I feel happy inside, it's such a feeling that my love I can't hide” - Hold Your Hand by The Beatles ( @flick-ofthe-wrist​ w/ Roger Taylor)

“It’s hard to think you could ever hate me, but everything's feeling different now” - Too Young by Louis Tomlinson

“All I can do is say that these arms were made for holding you” - 18 by One Direction

“I waited for her call - she always kept me waiting” - The Girl at the Rock Show by Blink-182

Book Quotes

“I am so busy keeping my head above water that I scarcely know who I am, much less who anyone else is” - The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

“Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do you start missing everybody” - The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger 

“Sometimes, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that there’s no room for the present at all.” - Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

“I have measured out my life in coffee spoons” - The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot

“As far as I’m concerned, I came out of the womb spouting cynicism and wishing for rain.” - Solitaire by Alice Oseman

“We cross our bridges as we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and the presumption that once our eyes watered.” - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard

“Sometimes people are beautiful. Not in looks. Not in what they say. Just in what they are.” I Am The Messenger by Marcus Zusak

“I love her, and that’s the beginning and end of everything” - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Flitzgerald

“I just want you to know that you’re very special and the only reason I’m telling you is that I don’t know if anyone else ever has” - The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chebowsky ( @coupscarat w/ Damien Haas)

“Was there some kind of rule against drop kicking arseholes in the face? Probably. They always had rules against things that needed to be done” - Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

Comedy Quotes

“You have to treat everybody’s views, no matter what they believe, with respect” “What, even idiots?” Outnumbered

“Well you shouldn’t be prejudiced against fat people, thin people… men who have turned into women, women who have turned into men, gay people, ginger people… people from Liverpool” Outnumbered 

“Stand back kids, this school’s insurance policy doesn’t cover blown minds” Bad Education

“Do you think you could stop being so cheeky?” “Do you think you could stop asking stupid questions?” Outnumbered

“I spend my entire life around people. As much as I would like to, it’s almost impossible to avoid them” The Inbetweeners ( @queen-bunnyears​ w/ Ben Hardy or Sebastian Stan)

“We’re very hufflepuff here, wouldn’t you be happier in slytherin?” Fresh Meat ( @adrenaline-roulette​ w/ Ben Hardy)

“What’s the best way to make friends?” “Tell a woman you love her, and she says ‘I think we’re just friends’” Jimmy Carr, Jon Richardson

“There’s four things you can be in life: sober, tipsy, drunk and hungover. Tipsy is the only one that you’re not crying” James Acaster

“What’s that on your shorts?” “Oh - it’s called excitement” Smosh

“Full disclosure - I could just be an arsehole” Smosh

Film Quotes

“To me, you are perfect” - Love, Actually

“I wish I knew how to quit you” - Brokeback Mountain

“If you start crying, I’m gonna have to pretend to start crying” - Gifted ( @beysenpai​ w/ Chris Evans)

“I’m with you ‘til the end of the line” - Captain America: The Winter Soldier ( @mamaskillerqueen​ w/ Steve Harrington)

“Most of the time I just want to staple things to her head” - Bridget Jones’ Diary ( @hardforbenhardy​ w/ Ben Hardy)

“We’re family. We believe in each other. That’s everything” - Bohemian Rhapsody

“Look around: this guy basically lives in a clue board” - Knives Out

“Too many guys think I'm a concept, or I complete them, or I'm gonna make them alive. But I'm just a fucked-up girl who's lookin' for my own peace of mind; don't assign me yours.” - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

"What I'm saying is--and this is not a come-on in any way, shape or form--is that men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way." - When Harry Met Sally ( @acdeaky​ w/ Ben Hardy)

“You’re loved and have been loved. You’re one of the lucky ones” - Irreplaceable You

[joachimnapoleon]

How the (Quarantined) Murats broke the Internet (and Lannes). [Part 2/2]

Hello all! Here is the second half of my and @histoireettralala‘s AU on our Trifecta in Quarantine.  (Part 1 can be found here.) ^_^

***

Caroline groggily plops into her desk chair, yawning in between sips of her morning coffee as she waits for her laptop to start up. She smiles at the sound of the sewing machine running from across the hall; Joachim is already hard at work making a new batch of masks for their friends and family. He has become quite determined, he informed her this morning, to make as many as he can, now that he's discovered he has such a talent for it.

She is secretly relieved that he has developed such a liking for this new hobby. Joachim has been delighted to be able to spend so much more time with the kids since the office temporarily closed, but at the same time... she knew her husband well enough by now to sense his restlessness. Joachim has always been bursting with energy and a perpetual need to be doing Something Important--not unlike Napoleon himself. Sitting at home for days on end, feeling useless, was simply unbearable for him.

Now, he has a purpose again, and she can already see the effect it is having on her husband, the added spark in his eye, the renewed spring in his step. And, she thinks, I've gotten an adorable new video out of it to add to my collection.

Caroline takes another sip of coffee as her YouTube page loads.

She nearly chokes on the hot liquid in her surprise.

Since she went to bed last night, her video of Joachim sewing with Letitia has accumulated... 12,184 views. There are hundreds of new comments and subscribers.

Caroline blinks. She figured Paulette and Josephine would be able to give it a nice boost, but... wow.

She refreshes the page.

12,192.

She refreshes it again.

12,203.

She decides to take a look at some of the top-rated comments.

@napoleon, 12:03: Well this was most... unexpected. So, when can I expect my masks?

@j.poniatowski, 1:05: MY DUDE

@ney, 12:17: very sweet, and kudos on not hurting yourself yet joachim

@bakingsoult, 3:27: maybe we can make a deal, fresh cookies of your choice for masks? PM me

@elisa.bacchiochi, 2:08: CAROLINE WE ALL NEED MORE OF THIS PLZ

@augereau, 4:02: My dear Murat, I think we could do a very lucrative business together; give me a call if you're interested.

@jeanlannes, 12:54: O___O

The majority of the comments, though, are from total strangers, many of whom have felt compelled to comment on the physical beauty of Caroline's husband. It would take far too long to go through them all and filter out the ones that go a little too far, especially as new comments are constantly being added to the thread. She sighs. At least most of them seem to be wholesome enough. And, anyway, it isn't like Caroline isn't used to this by now.

After finishing her coffee and refreshing the page one more time--the video is now up to slightly over 14,000 views--Caroline grabs her camera.

She has an audience to please.

***

[Three days later]

Lannes is not happy.

Aside from being bored to death right now as a result of so many days pent up inside, the masks he ordered from Amazon still haven't arrived, and wearing them is now required in order to go anywhere. The family's groceries are running low (except for their toilet paper; Lannes had made sure to buy twelve 24-packs of that once this whole thing had started, a foresight of which he was extremely proud). How is he supposed to go grocery shopping now without the requisite mask?

To make matters worse, Murat had entirely abandoned him for the past couple nights. Lannes is deeply wounded by this. How could his best friend just up and forget about two straight Skype cocktail hours? Especially when he knew perfectly well that they were the only thing keeping Lannes sane at this point? Even a flurry of furious text messages had failed to impress upon Murat the gravity of his neglectfulness.

Ten minutes later, a "sorry lol" was the verbatim response Lannes had received, followed shortly after by a "super busy" and then a "maybe this weekend idk". Murat had not even had the decency to reply to Lannes' ensuing "WTF".

If I don't get out of this house soon, I'm going to lose my mind, Lannes thinks.

He grabs his cellphone and dials the one man capable of helping him in this crisis.

"What in God's name is it today, Lannes?" a weary Larrey asks after the seventh ring.

"Doc!!! Do you have any spare masks?"

"I've already told you three times I don't!"

"How can you still not have any though? YOU'RE A DOCTOR!!!"

"That's correct; I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker. The mask demand has far outpaced the supply right now. Have you tried asking Murat?"

Lannes blinks, uncomprehending. "Ask... Murat...?"

"Yeah, I've gotta give it to him, he's been making some excellent quality masks!" Larrey exclaims. "I'm actually wearing one right now."

Lannes doesn't know how to even begin to process this statement. His arm holding the phone goes slack; the phone drops from a limp hand to the carpeted floor.

Everything Lannes knows is wrong.

Well, except one thing: he needs alcohol.

A lot of alcohol.

Now.

He heads towards the kitchen.

"Lannes?" the voice of Larrey calls through the abandoned phone. "Are you still there?? Lannes???"

***

Ney stares at himself in the mirror, studying his new mask. Murat had delivered it to him personally earlier this morning, along with a set of masks for Aglaé and all their children.

"Letitia picked the fabric for your mask personally," Murat had said with a wink.

"Well, I hope you'll give her my thanks. Tell her she has very good taste."

A giant image of the perpetually scowling Grumpy Cat covers Ney's mask.

Aglaé appears behind him in the mirror. Appraising her mask-clad husband for a moment, she nods approvingly.

"It suits you perfectly, my love."

Her husband's mouth might be covered by the mask, but Aglaé isn't fooled. His smile is betrayed by his eyes.

***

[Three weeks later]

Fifty-thousand subscribers.

And Caroline is only just getting started. A prominent blog had e-mailed her this morning about doing an article on Joachim's mask-making venture. Shortly afterwards, a local news channel had called to inquire about conducting a Skype interview with Joachim (and would it be possible for little Letitia to be present too?). Joachim had been reluctant to leave his work--there were still so many masks he needed to make!!--but Caroline had convinced him it would be for the Greater Good.

At Pauline's suggestion, she had monetized the YouTube channel yesterday morning.

Joachim enters Caroline's office, carrying Louise in his arms. Caroline greets them warmly.

"Did Napoleon like his new mask?" Joachim asks.

The last video Caroline had uploaded had been of Joachim and Letitia making Napoleon's mask, complete with her brother's signature "N" ornately embroidered by Joachim himself. His skills were progressing at a surreal pace. Imagining the look on Madame Campan's face at the sight of Joachim's meticulous sewing and craftsmanship, Caroline makes a mental note to forward the video link to her former mentor. See?! Caroline imagines herself screaming triumphantly at the haughty old woman. I was right about him all along!!!

"Napoleon said, and I quote: 'Tell him it's really not bad at all.'" She gives him a knowing smile.

Joachim beams. He's fluent enough in Napoleonese to know that this is high praise indeed.

***

[One month later]

Two-hundred-fifty-thousand subscribers.

Caroline's latest video--Joachim teaching Lannes to use the sewing machine--is shaping up to be their biggest hit yet. (She'd had to implore the two to keep their language as clean as possible; this is a family-friendly blog and besides that, it simply wouldn't do to put the ad revenue at risk). Her viewers couldn't get enough of Letitia and Louise laughing in the background at the struggles of their grumbling Uncle Jean to figure out "this demonic device" (as he called it). But Joachim was a patient teacher, and eventually Lannes had succeeded at making his very first mask. The video culminated triumphantly with him holding the mask aloft towards the camera like a hard-won battle trophy, as Letitia and Louise cheered and Joachim glowed with pride.

Now, Joachim is beginning to experiment with increasingly ornate embroideries and higher quality materials.

"Just because it's for a pandemic," he insists, "doesn't mean it can't be fashion."

***

[Three months later]

One million subscribers.

"Vogue?" Pauline's tone is one of total disbelief.

"Vogue," Caroline affirms.

"THE Vogue?" Elisa presses.

"Yes."

"And he's going to be... on the cover?"

"Yes."

"On the cover of Vogue."

"Yes."

"THE Vogue."

"Yes."

***

[One year later]

Five million subscribers.

Caroline parks her new cobalt blue Maserati, grabs her Louis Vuitton handbag off the seat, and heads into the house.

Joachim is in his design room, hard at work as always. He greets her with a kiss.

"How's it coming?" she asks.

"Pretty good, I think. Maybe another week or so and everything will be wrapped up."

After months of hitting the runways and photo studios of some of the most famous designers in America and Europe in the aftermath of the pandemic, Joachim has decided to pursue his long-cherished dream of putting out his very own clothing line--for both adults and children. So far, their videos of Achille, Letitia, Lucien, and Louise parading around and posing in their dazzling new haute couture outfits were proving to be immensely popular.

They have been floating the idea of live-streaming a fashion show to launch the new line; the participants would be their friends and family. So far, Lannes, Jerôme, Pauline, Elisa, Eugène, Lasalle, Bessières, and Poniatowski have all volunteered. Lannes' runway walk needs serious, serious work, but there's still plenty of time.

Of course, the children all want to participate in the show too, and how can Joachim possibly say no?

***

[Six months later]

Napoleon hates shopping. Primarily because Josephine always spends obscene amounts of money--really, if anybody ever found out just how many pairs of gloves she has--he lets out a sigh. It isn't just about the money though. Shopping for clothes is always such a hassle. Napoleon is a simple man with simple tastes. No frills, no feathers, no silly ornamentation--unlike some people. He just wants something nice and comfortable. Something breathable. Something that doesn't cut off the circulation in his arms or legs.

So of course, he has to live in the age of... skinny jeans. A crime against God and man. If he was in charge, he'd criminalize the horrid things. Of course, his ludicrous brother-in-law doesn't mind them. Murat is always delighted to have an excuse to show off those perfectly chiseled thighs of his.

"Napoleon! Come over here!!" Josephine calls. "I've found something you might like!"

I highly doubt it. He sighs again, but proceeds in the direction of her voice.

***

[The following afternoon]

Napoleon and Josephine arrive at the Murats' monthly garden party. Caroline has been renovating the place obsessively for the past few months; the spacious property now has a massive heated outdoor pool and vast gardens full of exotic plants and flowers. To the house itself, has been added a large marble terrace.

All this because she didn't want to learn how to sew, Napoleon marvels. He wonders how Madame Campan is processing it all.

Joachim and Caroline see the newly-arrived couple and hurry over to greet them.

Joachim's greeting cuts off in mid-sentence. His eyes are locked onto Napoleon's shirt.

"You're... wearing..."

"Yes. You know, it's really not bad at all, Joachim. You should make more like this." He gives Joachim's ear his signature tweak, before continuing on towards the food table.

Caroline giggles at the sight of her husband stricken speechless--the rarest of rare events.

"Come, my love," she takes his hand. "Let's go celebrate our success."

[THE END]