#point ephemere

[chris-artworks]

nice performance

one word : bewitching

[bridiebridiebridiebridie]

Demob Happy in Paris, by me.

[nonesuchrecords]

Hurray for the Riff Raff performs “Rosemary Tears,” from their album LIFE ON EARTH, in a new video filmed live in concert at Point Éphémère in Paris earlier this fall. It comes just as Hurray for the Riff Raff reunites with Bright Eyes on six shows of their North American fall tour in Illinois, Michigan, Toronto, Montreal, Providence, and at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. Hurray for the Riff Raff also joins NPR Music in a celebration of its 15th anniversary at Washington, DC’s 9:30 Club. Details here.

[hannibal-is-my-comfort-show]

[distant-screaming]

Thinking about how Sand fits into the theme of ephemerality that's being discussed - how the entirety of episode 5 is centered around Sand's sentiment of 'everyone has the same 24 hours in a day - Ray is my 25th'. We're given a look into Sand's life - how he's constantly moving, constantly working, how Sand lives very differently compared to the others. The overarching theme with the other characters seems to be living without consequences, while Sand here is living with nothing but consequences. He's working to pay off his mother's debt, to fund his future, to keep himself financially stable - all things rooted in the idea of planning and eventual outcomes. All 24 hours of his day go into working and earning money.

However, the 'extra hour' he assigns to Ray has none of this. Instead, as we see in this episode's not-date, Ray Hour is all about spending money, about living without consequences (going to a performance, getting high and having sex on the balcony) - about living ephemerally. For Sand, Ray seems to function as a way to let go of control. The boundaries he sets are easily broken by Ray and his pout, and Sand gets swept up in whatever it is Ray is considering at the moment - which yet again links back to ephemerality and the permanence of these boundaries.

It's a very interesting role Sand has of being a contrast to the main friend group while also still embodying the big theme of ephemerality - and having that be because of Ray. Something is bound to give out, to crash and burn, because this isn't how Sand has been living.

Also, side note, out of the three main couple sandray is the only one that never brings up or incorporates photos (and there's been discussions of photography and permanence going around too).

[pochapal]

i think answering this question keeps getting more complicated the more this story goes on

[potatoesandsunshine]

mage hawke & vivienne parallels real...

[quil12]

souyo + soulmates?

I may have gone a little overboard with this one lmao. It's a little over 3k words - I honestly could write a whole fic with this concept. I used my favorite Soulmate AU trope for this - the one where anything you write on your skin gets transferred to your soulmate's skin as well (the only thing that tops it for me is when injuries transfer - that works more for the benefit of angst though)

Yosuke excitedly grabbed a pen from his desk, going over to his bed, and sitting cross-legged down on it. He placed the tip of it onto his forearm, writing out one simple word.

Hello

He stared down at it, as if waiting for something to happen. 

It was his tenth birthday - the day he had been waiting for for such a long time. It was the day he finally got to get into contact with his soulmate. Everything that he wrote on his skin would subsequently appear on his soulmate’s skin - that was, everything that he wrote aside from his own name - at least until his soulmate heard him say it. For whatever reason, those words wouldn’t get transferred over. That made it significantly harder to find your soulmate, although it was still possible. For children with next to no resources though, it wasn’t something that typically could happen.

After a few minutes of constant staring, a black dot appeared just beneath where he had written. He watched with bated breath as the character was formed in penmanship that seemed out of place next to his own, messy handwriting.

Hello

Yosuke’s heart was pounding in his chest. They had answered him. This person who he was supposed to be connected with for the rest of his life had just said his first words to him. 

He hesitated briefly, thinking about what he wanted to say, before putting the pen down on his arm again.

I wish I could tell you my name, but we’re soulmates! I’m really excited to talk to you

There was only a small pause before more words started appearing on his skin. It was kind of odd just watching them show up, seemingly without any outside input.

It is odd to not be able to say my name. It doesn’t feel like a proper introduction. I’m excited to talk to you too.

I guess my first question is if you’re a guy or a girl

The handwriting was very neat and precise, and they were talking so formally, he was leaning more toward girl.

Guy. What about you?

He wasn’t entirely expecting that, but he shrugged it off. He would probably be able to relate better to a guy anyway. Soulmates could be either romantic or platonic. He guessed this was just a case of it being platonic then.

I’m a guy too. How old are you? I just turned 10

I’m still nine, but I’ll be ten in about a month.

That settled some amount of uncertainty that had worked its way into his gut. Part of him had been worried that his soulmate was older than him and just hadn’t bothered to get into contact with him. Today was actually the first day that they would have been able to talk.

Yosuke thought for a few seconds. He wanted to get to know him a little bit more.

What are you doing right now?

I was just starting my homework.

What’re you gonna do after?

I’m not sure yet. I just got a new book though, so I might start reading that.

Homework and then reading. That wasn’t something Yosuke could ever visualize himself ever doing. How different were they if that was his plan for the night? 

What’s the book about?

As they kept writing, he was quickly realizing a problem. They were both writing fairly small, but there was only so much room on his arm to keep adding things. 

As he was writing a synopsis of the book, Yosuke stood up, walking to the bathroom. He grabbed a washcloth, getting it wet with warm water and soap. He started rubbing at some of the words on his arm, erasing some of it to make room for the new conversations. He supposed that doing this was just going to be a part of talking with his soulmate.

They spent the rest of the night talking with each other, getting to know each other’s hobbies and interests. 

His soulmate seemed to spend a lot of time reading and studying. Apparently he went to a cram school most nights. He participated in the soccer team at his school, but that was about the only thing he could relate to him on.

Even so, he was really enjoying talking to him. They were different, but it wasn’t a bad different.

As it reached 8 o’clock, his soulmate informed him that he needed to start getting ready for bed. Yosuke was disappointed, but didn’t fight him on it. There was one last thing he wanted to ask though.

Before you go, what exactly should I call you?

What do you mean?

I can’t just go around calling you my soulmate. That’s no good.

Oh. I don’t really care. Whatever you want to.

Yosuke thought about it for a few seconds, one word coming to mind.

Partner.

Partner?

We’re supposed to be linked together our whole lives, so you’re my partner in life.

There was a several second pause.

All right. Partner it is.

Yosuke smiled to himself as he stared down at the words written in someone else’s handwriting on his arm.

Good night, Partner. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

Good night.

Yosuke leaned back against his pillow, staring up at the ceiling, his chest so warm. He had good feelings for the future. 

After a few minutes, he stretched his arms up, blinking in surprise. He hadn’t realized it while they were talking, but he was absolutely covered in ink. Talking to him was going to be a messy process, he supposed. 

- - -

Over the years, the two of them kept up a consistent line of communication. It got to the point where he couldn’t even imagine living his life without him there.

They had come to an agreement that they wouldn’t try and figure out each other’s identities - if they were supposed to meet, then they would. They didn’t have to force it.

Besides, it was kind of nice to have someone who knew what was going on in his life who wasn’t actually involved in it. He always had someone to talk to about what was happening who didn’t necessarily have a personal stake in any of it. It just was good to get all his thoughts and feelings out.

And he often did the same thing in return. He felt like he knew things that no one else knew about him. From how overwhelmed he sometimes got from his parents’ expectations of him, to how he felt like all of his friendships were surface level at best, to how anxious he sometimes got when thinking about the future. 

He really liked those nights when they would talk about things like that. He liked getting to know who he really was.

He liked how he would sometimes look down at his hand to see that he had drawn a little doodle for him - usually it was a cat. He loved drawing cats for some reason.

Through everything though, he oftentimes wondered what he looked like or what his voice sounded like. How tall was he? What color was his hair? Did he have good taste in clothes? What did his smile look like? What did his laugh sound like? 

He wanted to know the answer to those questions so badly. He didn’t know for sure if they would ever meet though, and, even if, by some twist of fate, they met, how would they even know that it was them? Was it possible that they had met already and they just didn’t know it?

Questions like that kept him up at night, but, at the end of the day, there was nothing he could really do about those uncertainties but keep moving forward.

- - -

It was his first day of school as a second year. He was ready for this year to be great. He was ready for these upcoming days to be the best in his life. 

That was, he had been ready for all that until he crashed his bike.

He had barely made it to school on time, laying his head on his desk as he tried to push through the pain. 

When the new transfer student was introduced, he was barely paying attention - that was, he was barely paying attention until he glanced up to see him walking toward him, heading to the empty desk in front of him.

Just seeing his face made his breath catch in his throat. He didn’t think he had even seen a guy as handsome as he was. He was tall and it looked like he had a decent amount of muscle built up on his arms and chest. There was just something about him that made him want to talk to him and get to know him.

What was his name again?

He tried desperately to remember what he had said, but it was all a blur. 

The rest of the day, he spent staring at the back of his head, trying to think of what he should say to him. He could talk to him after class.

- - -

He didn’t get a chance to speak to him after class. 

There had been an announcement made saying that everyone was to stay in their classrooms. He had decided to take that opportunity to give Chie back the DVD she had leant him, only to realize that he had cracked it that morning when he had crashed. 

He didn’t even want to remember the pain that had happened after that.

He then had to rush to get to Junes to work a shift, so speaking to the transfer student was something that would have to wait until the next day. 

After he had gotten home, eaten, and taken a shower, he had climbed into bed, grabbing a pen off of his desk, clicking it open, and beginning to write.

How was your day?

He only had to wait a few minutes before there was a response.

It was fine. It’s a new school this year, but it doesn’t seem bad. What about you?

Huh, that was right. He had mentioned that he was transferring schools. He hoped that everything went well at his new one.

That’s good. I’m sure you’ll settle in in no time. And it was… I crashed my bike on the way to school

Oh no. Are you okay?

I’m fine. Oh, but there is a new transfer student in my class. He sits in front of me, but I just can’t remember his name.

Do you like him?

His face felt hot as he read that question. He had been the only one he had ever told about the confusion he had faced in regards to his sexuality. They had talked for a long time about it and he had eventually admitted that he was attracted to both guys and girls. It wasn’t something he was super comfortable admitting to other people though. 

During that same conversation, he had admitted to him that he was exclusively into guys as well. Hearing that had made him a little more comfortable, but also created even more of a kinship between them.

He’s really hot if that’s what you’re asking

That was what I was asking. You should really find out his name though.

I’m working on it.

They talked for a while longer before both deciding to call it for the night. 

He was definitely going to talk to the transfer student tomorrow.

- - -

He crashed his bike again. 

Straight into a trash can. 

To make matters worse, the transfer student watched him do it. He even helped him out of it.

He had never been so embarrassed in his life.

“Are you okay?” he asked, quiet worry apparent in his voice.

He let out a forced laugh, “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I really owe you one though.”

“It’s no problem. It’s just good that you’re not hurt.”

“Yeah… Oh! I’m Yosuke Hanamura by the way. We’re actually in the same class.”

“Yu Narukami.”

Yu. His name was Yu.

“It’s nice to meet you. We should probably get heading to school soon though or else we’re gonna be late.”

Yu nodded, beginning to walk in the direction of the school. He really didn’t talk much, did he? Then again, he probably talked enough to make up for two people, so it didn’t really bother him that much.

- - -

After school, he wound up hanging out with Yu and Chie, going to Junes for a while and talking about things. Chie made them promise to try out something called “The Midnight Channel” that night. It sounded kind of kiddish to him, but he would still try it out. 

He had gone home after that, heading up to his room and doing his homework, but, before he knew it, it was later at night. 

He had some time to kill before midnight, so he decided that he might as well talk to his Partner and get him caught up on what had happened that day.

He sat down on his bed with a pen, beginning to write on his arm.

I know his name.

There was a response almost immediately.

What is it?

Yu Narukami

There was a long pause. A longer pause than he ever remembered there being in the middle of a conversation. Was he all right? 

He waited a few more seconds, when, to his relief, there was a reply.

What do you think about him?

Well, like I said, he’s really hot. He doesn’t really talk a lot, but that’s fine. The first thing that he did was to help me, so I like that about him. And, I mean, we didn’t really get a long time to talk, but I really want to get to know him more. 

He had written a lot. That had taken up most of the space on his arm. 

He took a while to respond again.

I hope you do get to know him better.

They talked for a while longer, but he was acting a little bit weird. Was it possible that he was jealous about the fact that he wanted to get to know Yu or that he thought he was hot? He wanted to reassure him, but he also didn’t want to make any assumptions.

As it started getting closer to midnight, he cut off the conversation, saying that he had things he still needed to do that night. 

He still thought it was kind of dumb, but he went to go try and watch the Midnight Channel.

- - -

A lot happened the next day.

All three of them had watched the Midnight Channel and they had all seen someone on it. But then, Yu had said that he had unconsciously gone to touch his TV screen and his hand had gone through it.

Neither him or Chie really believed him. He had to have just been half asleep.

They had gone to Junes after school and gone to the electronics department. 

He hadn’t actually been half asleep. When they had gotten there, he had stuck his whole hand and arm into one of the TVs there, eventually sticking his whole head inside. 

Both he and Chie had started panicking, and, in that panic, all three of them had fallen completely inside the TV.

There was a whole nother world inside of there. One filled with fog that made him feel exhausted and nauseous. 

After a while, they had come across this weird bear… thing, who had offered them a way out. 

They were currently standing in the parking lot at Junes, saying their goodbyes. Chie left first, leaving just him and Yu.

He stretched his arms over his head, yawning, “Well, I should probably get going home too.”

Yu looked down at the ground, hesitating before speaking, “Actually, there was something that I wanted to talk to you about if you’d be willing.”

“What about?”

“Well…” He hesitated for a few seconds, “Do you want to come over?”

Come over? To his house? To his bedroom maybe? What did he want to talk to him about in there?

“Uh… why exactly?”

“There’s just something I really need to show you.”

He was looking at him almost pleadingly. Despite his concerns, there was something about him that made him not want to say no.

“All right. Let’s go.”

He gave him a soft, almost relieved looking smile. A smile that made his heart start to pound in his chest. 

He followed him as he led him to his house. His younger cousin was home and he briefly exchanged introductions with her before heading up the stairs to Yu’s room.

It was pretty bare in there - only the essentials that he needed for living. Then again, if he had just transferred, he probably hadn’t had a lot of time to fully settle in yet.

He sat down on the couch against one wall while Yu sat in his desk chair.

“So what did you need to talk to me about?”

Yu took a deep breath before reaching onto his desk and grabbing a pen, opening it, then placing it above his hand, writing something on it. 

He watched as he did it, his confusion only growing deeper. 

After a second, he looked up, meeting his eye. 

“What?”

“Just look at your hand.”

At his hand? Why would he look at his hand?

He decided to humor him, lifting his hand up, his breath catching as he saw what was written there in his soulmate’s neat and precise handwriting.

Yosuke

He looked up to see Yu smiling at him - a smile that made his heart start to pound. 

“You’re…”

“Yeah.”

Yosuke didn’t even quite register what he was doing as he stood, clearing the small distance between them, and wrapping his arms around him, more or less moving to be sitting in his lap.

He grunted, but wrapped his arms around his waist as well, holding him against him.

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. He was so warm and comfortable. Familiar, yet not at the same time. 

How could this be real? This was his soulmate. His Partner. They were actually getting to see each other in the flesh. It was almost too good to be true.

After a while, he pulled back slightly. There were tears in his eyes as he spoke.

“I can’t believe that it’s actually you. I didn’t know if we’d ever actually get to see each other.”

Yu reached up, laying his palm against his cheek. It was oddly intimate, but he found that he really didn’t mind it, leaning into the touch.

“It is a little hard to believe that we’d end up so close together.”

“How long have you known that it was me?”

“Not until you wrote my name.”

Yosuke’s heart seemed to stop as he remembered something. He groaned, burying his face against his collar bone, “That means I told you directly how hot I thought you were.”

“‘Were’? You don’t think so anymore?”

He pulled back, glaring at him, “Of course I still think you’re hot.”

He gave a small laugh. A laugh that made his heart start to flutter.

“You’re pretty hot yourself.”

He made a noise, once again burying his face into his collar bone. He had never been called hot before and it was so embarrassing. 

Yu began to gently run his fingers through his hair. That was such a pleasant sensation - one that he could easily fall asleep to. 

“So, if you’re willing, do you want to maybe hang out like this more often?” Yu asked. 

Yosuke pulled slightly back off of him, looking into his hopeful gray eyes.

“Of course. You’re gonna have a tough time getting rid of me now.”

He laughed. “That sounds perfect.”

[nedjsmlfavs]

We all know that the timeline for Miraculous makes no gosh darn sense, but let’s pretend it does for five seconds so that I can point out a fun fact:

In Felix’s eponymous episode, we learn that it’s been one year since Emilie was lost

In Ephemeral, when Gabe akumatizes Adrien, he says that it’s been “100 weeks” since Emilie disappeared

In Transmission (Kwami’s Choice part 1), Max say that it’s been “Precisely two hundred and eighty-six days since Adrien came to school. That’s nine months and twelve days”

Based on the above, almost a full year passes between Felix and the end of Ephemeral. So, if Felix happened the day after Adrien first went to school, then Transmission takes place about 2 months before the day when Ephemeral originally happened.

Obviously Felix happened well after Adrien’s first day of school, but that's doesn't matter. What matters is that, based on these time markers, Adrien and Marinette managed to date for a couple of months before Gabe found out. Like, at the very least, all summer long and into part of their first year of lycée. So, in the Ephemeral timeline, they’re still together, revealed, and happily dating. Season 5 never caught up to them. Do whatever you want with that fact.

[your-girl-circe]

You have to choose your man based on what he is willing to teach you.There is nothing more attractive than an intelligent successful man.

[ephemeral-antiquities]

I’m so glad that we are having ASL discourse and discussions in the House of Wax (2005) fandom.

Bottom line, you can still write your fanfics and make your comics and headcanons with Vincent signing! I can’t really stop you anyway. But believe me, I love to see it as much as the next person I’m sure. Just make sure that you are putting proper research into sign language, and deaf culture by extension.

[anouri]

okay this isn't specifically about your writing but everytime i see coffee flavoured ice cream i think of reg bc of you<3

awww that’s so cute < 3

i’ll let you in on a little secret: reg’s fav ice cream flavor in l’éphémère is that partially bc it is my favorite ice cream flavor (except i personally need it to be alongside another flavor that has chunks in it). the other reason is because i think he’d take any opportunity possible to fuel his caffeine dependency

[salt-volk]

This is not an attack, or judgement it is just a statement. 3phemeral has 2 non-private customs, and is a site artist. As someone who gives their real life labor and skill to the site, I think it is important to notice that there is a range of price at lowest 11kp and Does Not Exceed 300kp... I am not sure if 3phemeral did actually do any of the art on the customs in their shop but did make Pietre's hair so def understand what goes into an asset/it's worth

.

[ask-artsy-oncie]

I've been fortunate enough to not come across it, myself, but I'll honestly bet you that any given person trying to accuse you of being morally bankrupt for spending money on a tumblr joke is still participating in an unessesary expense of some kind. Fandom is so hypercapitalist at this point that I'm certain some of these people are wailing bricks in glass houses and simultaneously screaming at you for not donating $8 to charity (whether you already do or not) while also bitching out anyone who dares pirate music because it's hurting their precious little meow meow or whatever.

[copiawife]

in my version of canon i really like the idea of copia being more directly involved with the deaths of the previous papas because i think it's more like. narratively interesting...like taking his fate into his own hands and revenge and stepping on the corpses of his brothers to grasp what he feels is truly his after being discounted and pushed aside,,,,proving that he's a force to be reckoned with....yeah yeah yeah yeahh

[science-fantasy-superheroes]

(E)GG AU: “Furious Fu”

Su-Han awakens to old friends and unfamiliar Guardians. Guardians who claim it’s been thousands of years since the temple was destroyed. They’d been tasked with protecting what was left of the temple and containing the sentimonster, but explorers arrived, and though they hid everything else, the explorers managed to find and dig up the Petrified sentimonster. The modern Guardians had tracked the sentimonster’s whereabouts to a museum in “Paris”, and were in the middle of making plans to travel there when the Ladybug’s power swept through. Unfortunately, Paris is a big city and the Ladybug and its box could be anywhere. Fortunately, Su-Han has his magic compass (that specifically tracks the box he was guarding), so he quickly leaves to recover it for them. (Thus he misses out on having anything about the modern world explained to him… At least, upon reaching the first city, he remembered to eat a language candy (Guardians keep a package stashed beneath the compass in their staffs (staffs are a good compass container that can double as a weapon)).)

Su-Han gets side-tracked by all the new things in the world until he finally reaches Paris, realizes it’s been dealing with monsters during all his lollygagging, and quickly (guiltily) forgets his curiosity to speed the rest of the way to the box (Guardian graduates are trained (with the use of a little magic) to be as agile and speedy as Miraculous users, just for instances like this). He soon reaches what appears to be a bedroom, though unexpectedly pink and cozy for a rogue “Guardian”.

[For timing and to not stray too far from the main character, this part would probably get cut from the episode. But this would be the information I’d post online if someone asked about the temple and Su-Han’s journey. (Same goes for the other contextual stuff I say.)

Aside from that, the beginning would play out similarly to the original except: While Daizzi distracts Wayzz, the other kwamis ask Marinette to let Wayzz go with her to meet Fu, and of course she accepts. When she tells him he can come with her, he’s so grateful, he promises not to make a sound (and he doesn’t). While talking to Fu, she glances at her purse a few times, thinking of Wayzz restlessly watching with Tikki. Eventually, Fu is distracted (orchestrated by her or not), and she takes the chance to peek into her purse and suggest to Wayzz that she show Fu “a toy she made.” He catches on to her idea and readily agrees (Tikki gestures for her to let this be just Wayzz’s moment). Once Fu’s attention is back on her, she shows him Wayzz, and Fu adores “the little turtle toy.” After they leave, Wayzz gets teary-eyed, “Thank you, Marinette.” “Aw, you’re welcome,” she pats him as the shot pans out to show she’s near her house. And that Su-Han’s on her roof.]

The kwamis hide as soon as they hear footsteps on the roof, and only hope whatever akuma or sentimonster that’s attacking doesn’t find them before Marinette gets back.

Just as she’s in sight of her home, Marinette witnesses some guy enter her room from her balcony. How did he get up there? Doesn’t matter, he needs to be out.

“Su-Han?” Tikki breaks Marinette’s thoughts.

“Huh?” she, already in an alleyway, looks at her.

“He was our Guardian before Fu,” she explains.

The background turns gray and everything freezes on Marinette’s look of horror as her thoughts are heard by the audience.

“She means the guy who made Fu think he’s a good guy despite taking him from his home and pressuring him into using the Peacock before he was ready?! One of the Guardians who kept the kwami in boxes!?! (Not to mention, I could lose my memories!)”

[I like to imagine (my version of) Marinette is the type of person to be hyper-aware of other people’s (potential) mistreatment, but not her own (bless her heart).]

The scene returns to normal as Marinette angrily transforms into Ladybug (Wayzz, still in her purse– poor guy looking like he’s going to faint– is shown reappearing in the Guardian Ball), and launches herself to her room.

Perched on her bed, she observes him glancing at a staff as he looks around her room. As his attention goes to her yarn box, she realizes it’s a tracking device, snatches it, and runs.

Elsewhere, Adrien witnesses some guy chasing Ladybug and quickly hurries to join the fight as Cat Noir.

Cat Noir’s appearance puts Su-Han on edge. Monsters can be dangerous, but they can also be helpful, especially against a terror like the Cat can be. And if the Ladybug is working with him, that’s a recipe for disaster.

Cat Noir takes Su-Han’s moment of shock as an opportunity, goes in for the attack, and promptly gets his butt kicked, scaring Ladybug even more. Knowing Cat Noir will keep him distracted long enough to safely get away, she keeps running. When she thinks she’s far enough, she flings her yo-yo back at them, grabs Cat Noir, and pulls him to her before dropping into an alley, looping back, and ducking out of sight.

Unfamiliar with the way the streets of Paris work, Su-Han immediately loses track of them, and aimlessly hops around until he’s drawn to an impossibly familiar laugh. He follows the sound to a park, and lo and behold, there is Fu. He nearly runs at him full speed yelling his name, but forces himself to use a less eye-catching method and just walk. A good thing too, because it dawns on him, if Fu doesn’t have the box, he probably doesn’t have his memories.

“Hello…” Su-Han awkwardly begins once he’s close.

Fu doesn’t recognize him at all, and Su-Han is nearly brought to tears, the only thing stopping him is not wanting to disrupt Fu’s nice day.

“Um… Sorry to bother you,” he forces a smile, “but… do you happen to own a compass?”

He thinks for a moment. “As a matter of fact, I do!”

“Would you mind if I see it?” he can’t help being sheepish, knowing how weird he must seem.

But Fu just smiles at him like he’d trust him with the world as he holds out his compass, “Not at all!” and it breaks Su-Han’s heart all the more.

“Th… Thank you,” it comes out quiet.

Being connected to the same box, Fu’s compass can also find Su-Han’s, so he figures out what direction the rogues went and then hands it back (maybe he wouldn’t have minded having to come back if he needed more precise directions). His guilt suddenly overwhelms him, compelling him to apologize to Fu for causing him to lose his memory (without saying how, but the implications prove it wasn’t a boating accident), relieving his guilt, but making Fu upset that Marianne lied. Before either of them can say anything, Fu gets akumatized. Su-Han realizes the true problem (and that it was his own emotions that led the akuma to them), grabs Marianne, and gets out of sight before Fu fully transforms and attacks.

“I’m so sorry, Miss,” he puts her down.

She places a comforting hand on his arm. “You must be his mentor,” she smiles.

He freezes. “… How much did he tell you?”

“Enough that I know the new Guardian too.”

He relaxes a bit. Then shrinks, “So she’s not a rogue?”

“Ladybug? Not at all! She’s the sweetest girl I’ve ever met! So I’m sure she’ll forgive whatever terrible first impression you made after we explain you meant no harm.”

“Well, that’s… good, at least,” his embarrassment is palpable, and it makes her chuckle.

“By the way, I’m Marianne.”

“Oh? Ah. Su-Han,” he introduces himself in turn.

“Nice to meet you, Su-Han,” she smiles. “Now,” she keeps them on track, “did you figure out Ladybug’s location?”

“Oh! Yes, I believe so.”

“Good. I’ll approach first to explain the situation, and then you can come out after I address you.”

“Okay.”

He carries her for faster travel, but she still has enough time to catch him up on the heroes and villains of Paris. Eventually, they find poor Ladybug panicking in an alleyway while poor Cat Noir struggles to calm her down.

Su-Han sets Marianne on the ground around the corner so she can approach the heroes at a more comfortable pace than suddenly appearing near them.

“Ms. Marianne!” Ladybug gasps. “Are you okay? What are you doing here? Where is Fu? His ex-mentor broke into my house and now he’s after me and the Miracle Ball!”

“I’m okay, Ladybug. Now, breathe…” She waits for Ladybug to relax before continuing. “You don’t need to worry about Su-Han. He meant no harm, he just wasn’t aware of the situation in Paris and thought you were rogues. If you don’t mind, he would like to speak with you to explain himself.”

She wiggles, a bit antsy that he’ll be upset with her now, but she trusts Marianne’s judgment. “Okay.”

Su-Han awkwardly steps into view. “Hi, again. I deeply apologize for the breaking and entering. Marianne is right, I was concerned you two were rogues and that you had stolen the Miracle… I’m sorry, did you call it a ‘ball’?”

“It, um, changed shape when it was passed to me,” she feels a bit sheepish.

“Interesting… Well, we can discuss that later. I apologize, but my ignorance has caused Fu to get akumatized. I assure you I will help in any way I can though.”

“Fu’s an akuma?!” the panic returns, but it’s focused into drive. “Where is he? And what happened?” she bites back her “What did you do?”

“I attracted the akuma and accidentally upset him.”

“Seeing Fu all grown up was a lot for him,” Marianne interjects, “and, even though it wasn’t his fault, he apologized to Fu for causing him to lose his memories. He had no way of knowing I told Fu he’d lost his memories to a boating accident, but Fu was understandably upset that I lied.”

All of Ladybug’s bad feelings melt away, fully sympathetic to him now. “I’m sorry I panicked. Oh! Here’s your staff!”

“It’s really my fault for trespassing, but thank you.”

Elsewhere, “Furious Fu” is leaping around in search of Marianne or the heroes. “This is fruitless! I’ll have to get their attention.”

Back with the heroes, crashing thuds bring their attention to the park’s trees unnaturally toppling over, and Ladybug and Cat Noir hurry over. (Su-Han stays behind to discuss with Marianne what to tell Fu after he’s saved.)

Outmatched alone, the two lead Furious Fu to the stadium to keep him away from people until Su-Han arrives.

As Su-Han is a much superior fighter to the heroes, Furious Fu sticks a “statue” paper to his forehead, freezing him in place.

Ladybug tries, but can’t pull it off due to magic holding it in place, so she calls on her Lucky Charm.

Furious Fu grabs her before she can catch it, and also captures Cat Noir. He nearly gets their Miraculous, but then Marianne reveals herself.

They have a bit of back and forth (Hawkmoth wants him to ignore her, but she is his true target) until he sticks an “honesty” paper to her forehead.

She admits the real reason he lost his memories, which does cause a bit of a breakdown, but it’s what allows Marianne to get his paintbrush and free the heroes with the Lucky Charm.

With everything restored, they get Marianne and Fu back to the park, and Ladybug and Cat Noir go home.

“I’m sorry about my akumatization. I’m really not that mad, the akuma just came so fast! But I am really… confused. Why did you lie about a boating accident?”

“Well… the truth involves things as crazy as superheroes. Even if you did believe me, it’d mostly leave you with questions, and I wouldn’t have the answers. I should’ve admitted this before, but I convinced myself I didn’t need to. I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re right. I’m sure I wouldn’t have taken it well, but…” he glances at Su-Han and lowers his voice to ask her, “if he is responsible, why do I feel like I can trust him?”

“Because he’s not responsible, but like all the silly, lovable people in my life, he’s blaming himself. Though… I guess I can tell you Hawkmoth is responsible.”

“… I knew I really hated that guy.”

Fu turns to properly acknowledge Su-Han, “I’m sorry I don’t remember you, but I know you were a good friend of mine, and I’m glad to have seen you again.”

Su-Han thinks his heart might burst. “Likewise. … But I’m afraid this may be the last time we meet. Even without the threat of Hawkmoth, I wouldn’t be able to stay.”

Though disappointed, Fu smiles, “I understand. You take care of yourself.”

“You, too,” Su-Han bows before leaving to find Marinette.

The kwamis are very joyful to see him again, and Marinette is happy for them, but also clearly bothered by something.

“Is there at least a way for me to keep my memories?”

“What?”

“You came to take back the Miracle Ball, didn’t you?”

His eyes widen with realization, then his expression settles into a smile, “There is a way to keep your memories if you need to pass Guardianship on– though I didn’t have the chance to teach it to Fu– but, no, I did not come to take it from you.”

“Huh? Really?”

“I trust Fu’s decision, and you’ve shown excellent skills as both Ladybug and Guardian.”

She frowns, finding it hard to believe, “But I almost lost today.”

“Against someone who’d been trained to take down rogue holders,” he shrugs it off. “I assure you, you’re doing a magnificent job. I can tell the kwamis adore you, and they wouldn’t if you were doing something wrong.”

“He’s right, Marinette! You’re amazing!" Tikki hugs her, and the other kwamis follow suit.

“Aww! Thanks, you guys!”

After the moment passes, Sass addresses Su-Han, “You won’t be staying in Paris though, will you?”

“I have to help the other Guardians at the moment, but I’ll be around if you need me.”

“Oh. Then, you should get back to them right away!” Marinette insists.

Over his years of teaching, he’s picked up on the meanings behind certain behaviors. “Marinette… is there something you want to ask me?”

“Well…” She dismissively shakes her head, “It’s a lot of stuff and you need to go.”

“I can stay for a day or two. Ask away.”

“It’s not going to take two days! But… For starters, how did you find me? Both times!?”

He grinned and opened his staff to show her, “Guardian compass.”

The episode ends with a still frame of Marinette excitedly looking over the compass as Su-Han explains how it works.

[Marinette giving shoes to (my version of) Su-Han is so sweet, but I know she would custom make them, tailored specifically to his needs, and that would take too long. Plus, Su-Han is light on his feet (and my Guardian Order takes care of people), so there’s no reason his shoes would look that bad. He’ll make it home fine, and get a nice foot massage.]

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