#while planning to steal the brooch under his nose

[wolflover2426]

Crack Prompt: Alya and Adrien were assigned to do a project and Adrien suggested that they work in his house.

It also leads to Alya snooping around and Adrien having to reel her in and then they discovered that Adrien’s father is Hawk Moth.

Adrien instantly gets into a spiral and Alya is there to reassure him during this. They came up with a plan to steal the brooch but also to mess with Gabriel for being a shitty father and villain.

Or in layman’s terms, Adrien goes through a teenage rebellion phase with Alya encouraging this while making sure to support Adrien and threatening to expose Gabriel being a terrible father thanks to Alya’s influence as the Ladyblogger and being best friends with the babysitter of Nadja’s daughter.

(Marinette is blissfully unaware of this because she’s too busy having her brain melt into mush at seeing Adrien in leather outfits and looking absolutely fine)

Bonus if it ends with Rena and Chat just telling off Gabriel after he reveals his plans with the wish and Rena giving Gabriel her absolute terrifying speech of how he should allow his son more freedom or else she will make his life a living hell.

(Let’s say, if he doesn’t comply. She’ll make him her big sister’s new punching bag)

Also, it would be funny if Alya figured out Adrien’s identity during this or Plagg simply said “Screw secret identities” when the duo found out who Hawk Moth is and exposed himself to comfort his holder

[jaskiersvalley]

I’ve been sitting on the prompt for a while, and I’ve been wanting to find the right blog for this prompt, not saying that others aren’t good, but I like your writing style a lot!!! I love reading your writing! The prompt is if Jaskier is framed for a crime he didn’t do and is suppose to be, well, punished for it the next or next few days, and geralt saving him just in time??? You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to!! I just thought it would be interesting!

This whole fandom is a massive pool of talent! I would be more than happy to help you find writers who produce incredible content if you would like :D But on the topic of you prompt, that is a very exciting one. Hopefully I can do it justice for you.

For once in his life, Jaskier had done nothing wrong. Well, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time but he hadn’t actually committed the crimes he was accused of which was thievery. The countess of the court had been adamant that her rather lovely brooch had been pilfered by light fingers and she had accused the visiting bard because of course everyone else in her court was too loyal to do something as beastly as lift if from her dress. Oh course the bard in question was Jaskier. The only problem was,he hadn’t actually stolen the brooch. For one, it was a fucking ugly thing. And two, he had better things to use his fingers for than stealing brooches for petty cash. However, no amount of arguing and sweet talk could dissuade anyone.

“I demand punishment!” The countess had cried. “He’s publicly humiliated and hurt me, his fate shall be the same. To the pillory in the town square with him for two days. And ten lashes, one for each floren the brooch was worth.”

Not a good outcome at all. Jaskier tried to get out of it, twisted this way and that but he was surrounded by guards and rather unarmed. If only Geralt could hurry up with his hunting of some beast and step in, he had a habit of making things resolve with or without a bit of blood spilling.

Unfortunately, luck was not on Jaskier’s side. He was thrown in a cell overnight with the promise of beginning his penance in the morning when the town was bustling with the morning market. Sure enough, come morning, he was dragged through the town, forcibly stripped, doublet and chemise thrown into the dust, making him mourn for their until then relatively pristine state. Fighting wasn’t going to gain him any favours and Jaskier let himself be shoved into the pillory and secured. To say it was humiliating was an understatement. Then the idiot in charge of doling out his punishment started up.

“Gather up! Gather round!” He was yelling, trailing the tip of the whip in the dirt behind him. “We have a light fingered bard to teach a lesson to. In our fine town, his fingers should only be light on his lute, not other’s finery.”

A titter went up in the crowd Jaskier could see gathering if he craned his neck.

“Our beloved countess has decided to go easy on him, first offence and all. So only ten lashes and two days. Make sure you get a good look at him in those two days. Commit to memory, what an inept fool looks like.”

Jaskier was not an inept fool, thank you very much. Just rather unlucky. And innocent at that. But yelling about that only caused the crowd to boo him, someone even threw a rotten tomato in his direction. Its splatter caught him across the face.

“Shall we see if he sings as pretty for a whip as he does for food, board, payment and a brooch? Because obviously our hospitality wasn’t enough for him!”

A few people started up a chant that swept through crowd.

“Punish him! Punish him! Punish him!”

The executor strutted out of Jaskier’s sight but he could still track his footsteps. It was all a great show, the bastard probably got off on the power and the attention. Jaskier really hated his kind. The crack of a showy warm-up hit made him jump and the crowd jeered. The whip hadn’t even touched him on that one but he was already flinching. Any hope of somehow, magically, getting out of this beating was rapidly diminishing and Jaskier could only grit his teeth and curse his bad luck.

“What’s going on here?” A familiar voice rumbled from behind and Jaskier wanted to turn around, fling himself at Geralt and hide behind him.

Instead, he could only yell, “Geralt, tell these fuckwits that I didn’t steal any cheap, shitty brooch.”

Familiar legs rounded the pillory and Jaskier craned his neck to look up at Geralt.

“It was a bloody ugly one and not worth much anyway. The gems were fakes.”

Pressing his mouth into a thin line, Geralt glanced behind the pillory at the man in charge.

“Let him go. We will go to the countess and clear things up once and for all.” Once again, the crowd booed and Geralt looked angry. “If you don’t, I will call back the griffin I chased off for you and he’ll bring his brood mate and offspring.”

It didn’t matter that its head was currently tied to Roach and that Jaskier was fairly certain Geralt couldn’t actually do that. Instead, he was grateful when, after a few seconds of silence, there was a click and the pillory’s top was being lifted off him.

“Well I never!” He groused, picking up his clothes and beating dust from them. “Such treatment for a famous bard. No bard, troubadour or musician will ever grace there courts again, you mark my words.”

Still grumbling away, he followed Geralt to the countess, who looked rather displeased to see him.

“What is the meaning of this?” She sneered, looking between Geralt and Jaskier. “These are my lands, my rules are to be carried out, witcher intervening or not.”

““Even if you’re punishing the innocent?” Geralt asked tersely. He was in no mood to argue or prove a point. “Maybe you should do a check under the tables where you sat and feasted while the bard you hired worked tirelessly to keep you and your guests entertained.”

When that got a laugh, Geralt shrugged and, with Jaskier in tow, walked to the banquet hall,pulling tablecloths from tables. Under the third one was a brooch. He turned to the countess.

“I believe you owe my bard an apology and compensation for tarnishing his good name, humiliating him in front of your subjects and keeping him here longer than planned. Perhaps accepting the punishment you saw fit to dole out on him?”

Immediately, the countess was blathering, apologising and trying to make amends. It was how Jaskier walked out with an addiction two pouches stuffed with payment. And even the brooch was offered to him. He took great glee in looking it over and turning his nose up at it, declaring it too cheap to actually look good with any of his outfits.

Shaking his head, Geralt led them back out to the tavern they had been staying at.

“You’re an idiot,” he declared and Jaskier only grinned.

“Yeah, but I’m your idiot.” He nudged Geralt in the side with his elbow. “I heard you call me your bard, there’s no denying it now.”

Stopping abruptly, Geralt turned and licked Jaskier on the cheek.

“You’re right, no denying it now. I licked it, so it is mine.”

[angelofthequeers]

Not a Good Look: Chapter 6

@thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @lady-charinette @elmokingkong tagged as requested :)

Chapter 5 | Chapter 7 | AO3 link

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

I thought I slipped a line in the last chapter but I apparently totally flaked, so to clarify: Alya was in fact recording invisibly.

“Okay, remember the plan,” Ladybug says, pacing her room in front of Alya and Nino. “Alya, you need to get video proof of Hawkmoth. Do that and you’ll have everything you need for the Ladyblog. Nino, you have to get the Peacock – and you can’t let Nathalie get to it first, or we’ll have a sentimonster to deal with! The goal is to get in and out, understood? No drawn-out battles!”

She’s keenly aware that this is the nth time she’s rehashed the plan for Alya and Nino but considering the ladybugs that are jittering around in her stomach and getting clogged in her throat, she’s sure she could be forgiven. Alya and Nino nod, clad in the Tiger’s magenta and the Dragon’s red, black, and gold respectively.

“Understood, Ladybug,” Alya says gravely.

“And you need temporary names,” Ladybug says. “I know that you don’t want to grow attached to your new transformations, but I can’t call you Alya and Nino when we’re in there.”

“Just go with Tigresse and Redfang then, dude,” says Nino – Redfang – after a moment of silent conversation with his girlfriend. “Quick and simple. Trixx and Longg are cool but I can’t wait to be Carapace again. No offence, dude.”

Trixx just shrugs from where he’s perched on Ladybug’s shoulder, next to the fox necklace around Ladybug’s neck. “It’s okay. I miss my kit. Orange suits her way better than magenta.”

“Yeah,” Tigresse says. “Roaar’s cool but she’s no Trixx.”

“Tigresse and Redfang. Right.” Ladybug swipes open her yo-yo and dials the Horse, and she’s greeted with Kagami’s brown-masked face after only two rings. “We’re ready. Are you sure you can open a portal remotely, or do you need to come here?”

“I’m sure,” Kagami says. “I’d rather not leave in case my mother comes to check in on me. But I’ll have my phone with me, so you can call me even when I transform back. Give me a moment.” She places her horseshoe down on her bed, giving Ladybug a fuzzy view of her ceiling, and slides to her feet. After a few seconds, there’s a faint, “Voyage!” and a crackling blue portal opens in front of Ladybug, showing Adrien leaping out of his bed and calling on his Chat Noir transformation as soon as it appears.

“Right.” Ladybug squares her shoulders, ignores her fluttering stomach, and walks straight through the portal, followed by Tigresse and Redfang. Chat Noir envelops her in a quick hug as soon as her spotted feet land on his shiny wooden floor, and she takes a moment to bury her face in the crook of his neck and inhale the scent of sweat and musky earth, just like whenever she’s hugged Adrien; thank god for Miraculous identity magic, because otherwise she’d feel like the world’s biggest dumdum for not figuring out that her crush was her superhero partner, considering how…intense her feelings for him have gotten in the past.

“Thanks for letting me be the one to sting him,” Chat Noir says with a twisted little grin once Ladybug’s stepped back and handed him the Bee comb. Pollen appears in a flash of golden light and bows to Chat Noir as he slides the comb into his messy hair.

“At your service, my king,” Pollen says.

“Still as stuffy as always, honeybun,” Trixx teases. Pollen shoots him a glare that’s somehow regal and dignified despite its venom.

“I’m not your king,” Chat Noir says. “This is a one-off. Actually, I don’t even know who your new holder’ll be. Kagami, maybe, if she’s not too attached to Longg?”

“She would make a good Bee,” Ladybug agrees. “But we don’t have time for that. Where is everyone else in the house?”

“My bodyguard’s in his room,” Chat Noir says immediately. “I took a risk and, um…told him who I am. He agreed he wouldn’t get in our way, so he won’t come running no matter how much sound we make, but that means he also won’t be able to help us. Considering that he’s got, like, ten figurines of me, I’d hope he’d be on our side,” he adds under his breath. Ladybug snorts.

“Yeah, okay, I doubt he’ll betray us,” she says. She wants to be annoyed that Chat Noir had just up and told someone his identity, but he’s her partner and if he says he can trust someone enough to keep the secret, well, she has to trust him enough to let him handle it. “And the others?”

“Nathalie’s in her office and Fa – Hawkmoth’s retired for the night. I hoped Nathalie would go home but, well…she’s been spending more and more time here since Heroes’ Day. Now I know it’s because she’s Mayura and she and Hawkmoth have this weird thing going on.”

“Ugh, gross.” Tigresse wrinkles her nose, which only makes her look adorable considering that it’s underneath the black feline nose of her magenta mask. Chat Noir, meanwhile, looks like he’s trying to fight back a gag. Had he seen something during one of his Aspik cycles? “I don’t even want to know what supervillains get up to. You ready, babe?”

“Of course.” Redfang gives her a quick kiss and then crosses over to Adrien’s light switch and hisses, “Thunder Dragon!” Once he’s turned into a bolt of electricity, he zips into the light switch and the crackling that accompanies his elemental transformation fades with him.

“Let’s do this, kitty cat.” Ladybug clasps her hands. “Tikki, Trixx, unify!”

“Plagg, Pollen, unify!” Chat Noir echoes. His new merged outfit is pretty much identical to his Chat Noir outfit, only with a black-striped yellow belly, gloves, and boots, a yellow and black tail that now looks a lot like a long stinger, black strands in his golden hair, and a trompo around his waist rather than a lyre. Ladyfox’s suit, on the other hand, has turned as orange as the Fox, while a white patch has formed on her belly, her arms and legs are black up to her elbows and knees, she has a wide fox tail around her waist under her yo-yo, and her black spots remain.

“Well, kitty, you look pawsitively bee-autiful,” Ladyfox purrs. Abeille Noir’s cheeks flush red.

“You’re one to talk, foxy bug,” he shoots back. Tigresse clears her throat.

“Can we get on with this before I throw up?” she says. “Because now that I know that you two are my best friends, I don’t know whether to cheer you on or force you to stop.”

“Fine, fine,” Abeille Noir grumbles. “I’ll remember this next time you’re making out with Nino. Let’s go.”

Thankfully, unlike Multimouse and Aspik’s failed adventure, there’s no one out in the halls this time; considering that it’s pretty much midnight, Ladyfox hadn’t really been expecting anyone, but overconfidence has never served anybody well, so it’s better to be wary in cases like this. Tigresse summons her invisibility with a whisper before they set off through the dark maze of hallways, deep into a wing of the mansion where Ladyfox has never gone before. Abeille Noir probably hasn’t been here too often either, if the growing apprehension on his face as they plunge deeper into the depths of the mansion is any indication.

“Hey.” Ladyfox grabs his yellow-gloved hand. “It’ll be okay. You’ve got me and Tigresse right here with you.”

Abeille Noir swallows and shoots her a small grin before pausing in front of a door and closing his eyes. With a deep breath, he opens them and reaches out to grasp the doorknob, then turns it and pushes the door open ever so slowly, pausing frequently to avoid any squeaking. Ladyfox probably has about ten panic attacks in the time it takes for Abeille Noir to get the door fully open, but there’s thankfully no sound of alarm from within the room, so they seem to be undetected…for now.

Also, thankfully, Gabriel Agreste is wearing clothes. He doesn’t seem the type to sleep in the nude or at least shirtless but, well, considering that he’s ninety-nine percent certainly Hawkmoth and he’s definitely been plotting to get her akumatised and sell Adrien off to Lila, there’s a lot that Ladyfox doesn’t know about him. And sure enough, once they’re close enough that they can touch him – not that they would if they could help it – there’s a small oval brooch on his nightshirt, gleaming in the sliver of moonlight streaming through the closed curtains. Abeille Noir sucks in a deep breath that thankfully doesn’t wake Gabriel. Now they just have to get the brooch off and then they’ll be home free; they can only hope that Gabriel doesn’t expect anyone to come into his room at midnight and steal his magic jewellery, especially not a team of superheroes.

But when Gabriel suddenly awakens and clamps his hand around Ladyfox’s wrist right as she’s got a grip on the brooch, she can’t help but let out a small squeal and almost crash backwards into Tigresse and Abeille Noir, who also give twin shrieks. Ladyfox tries to back away, but Gabriel has all the leverage once he’s straightened up and grabbed her by the throat, and he forces her down onto the dishevelled blankets with wild eyes.

“You really thought I wouldn’t order my kwami to wake me at the first sign of danger?” Gabriel growls. “Nooroo, dark wings rise!” Now it’s Hawkmoth who’s got her pinned to the bed, grasping furiously for her earrings…but then he suddenly freezes and turns into nothing but dead weight that Ladyfox quickly kicks off her.

“Are you okay, milady?” Abeille Noir says frantically as a trembling Ladyfox snatches the brooch off Hawkmoth’s shirt. He turns back into Gabriel Agreste in a flash of purple light, accompanied by a purple kwami with butterfly wings who lets out a gasp and shoots for Abeille Noir, burying themselves in his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I should’ve Venomed him sooner instead of panicking –”

“It’s okay, kitty. Really.” Ladyfox lets him tug her in for a tight hug. “We all panicked. I hadn’t even expected that he’d get Nooroo to warn him if someone tried to take the brooch. Tigresse, you can stop filming.”

“Oh, thank you, Master Adrien!” Nooroo cries into Abeille Noir’s suit. Abeille Noir’s hands instinctively rise to cover the tiny butterfly kwami. “I’m so sorry – I never wanted to do any of what I’ve done, and I didn’t want to warn him, but he ordered me to do so, and now I’ve scared Ladybug –”

“Nooroo, it’s fine. Really,” Ladyfox says soothingly. “It was just a fright. And you couldn’t help doing what you were told.”

“Wait, how do you know who I am?” Abeille Noir pulls Nooroo away and cups him gently. “You’ve known all this time?”

“Of course,” Nooroo says. “I was ordered to hide my presence from everyone except for Master Gabriel and Nathalie but Plagg wasn’t under any such instructions. It wasn’t hard for me to detect him, even if I was forbidden from giving him any sign that I was there.”

“And you didn’t tell Hawkmoth?” Abeille Noir says. “I didn’t think you could disobey him.”

“I didn’t disobey him,” Nooroo says with a shaky little shrug. “But he never directly asked if I knew you were Chat Noir. He’s asked for my thoughts and he even said that he suspected you of being Chat Noir but so long as he didn’t give me a direct order, I didn’t have to tell him.”

“Okay, as sweet as this all is,” says Tigresse, “I’m gonna time out soon and that Venom won’t last forever.”

“Right. Right.” Ladyfox tucks the Butterfly Miraculous into her yo-yo and Nooroo vanishes with it. “Let’s just hope that Redfang got the Peacock.”

They fall into the post-adrenaline trap of taking much less care on their way back to Adrien’s room, not bothering to keep the sounds of their footsteps and breathing down, so it’s no wonder that around the corner from Adrien’s room, they’re forced to skid to a halt and hold their breaths to avoid being detected by Nathalie, whose heels clack against the expensive floor as she makes her way down the hall.

“Adrien? I thought I heard something.” She raps on Adrien’s door and frowns when there’s no answer. “Adrien?”

“Do something, milady!” Abeille Noir hisses in Ladyfox’s ear. She immediately unslings her flute and frowns, waiting for Nathalie to knock on the door again so that she can play her flute and summon her Mirage without being heard. A moment later, there’s a massive crash somewhere else in the mansion, and Nathalie takes off running immediately in the opposite direction. Huh. She may be evil but Ladyfox can’t help but envy her ability to run in heels like that.

“Nice thinking, Ladybug!” Tigresse says as they dart for Adrien’s room and shove the door shut behind them. Nino’s on his feet next to the white couch, his eyes wide, with Longg hovering next to him.

“You’re okay!” he says. “I heard the crash and I thought – shit, I thought you guys got caught –”

“It’d take more than an old, crusty white man to take us down, babe,” Tigresse grins and lets her transformation fade before kissing Nino. “You got the Peacock?”

In response, Nino holds out a pin that’s shaped like a peacock tail. “You gotta make her shut up!” he says. “I can’t take any more of it!”

“Any more of what?” Abeille Noir says. “Pollen, divide. Claws in.”

In response, a small blue thing comes whizzing from Adrien’s bathroom and careens around the room, squealing. “Woohoo!” it cries. “A midnight heist! Oh, the drama! The betrayal of father and son!”

“For the last time, Duusu, shut the hell up!” Nino hisses. “You’re gonna get us caught!”

Duusu just giggles and zooms over to bop Plagg on the nose. “Plagg! It’s been so long! You’re it!” she trills and darts away. Plagg facepalms.

“Don’t worry, she’s always been like that,” he says. “Tikki reckons I’m an angel compared to her.”

“Yeah, I can see why,” Adrien says, his eyes glued on Duusu and her mad flight. Ladyfox just sighs.

“Trixx, divide. Spots off. You’ll be okay, Adrien?”

Adrien nods. “I’ll just pretend that I heard a crashing sound that woke me up and my bodyguard told me to stay in my room. He’ll back me up. But you guys should go before we push our luck. And I…” He runs a hand through his messy golden hair. “I need to process the fact that I really am living in the same house as Hawkmoth.”

Marinette grimaces. “I promise we’ll all meet up tomorrow and sort through this together,” she says. “We’ll skip school if we have to. Now that Hawkmoth’s defeated, I think I’ll be okay telling my parents who I am if it means I can be there to have your back.”

“Same here, dude,” Nino says. “No way we’re gonna let you deal with it alone. I just texted Kagami, so she should have the portal ready right –” A crackling blue portal opens right in front of them. “– now.”

Adrien gives Marinette a quick hug and then steps back with a twisted mouth. “See you tomorrow, bugaboo,” he says, sliding the Bee comb out of his hand and handing it to her. “You too, Alya and Nino. And…thanks. For everything. For having my back. For not turning on me because I’m related to Hawkmoth. I’ll text Kagami and thank her too.”

“Of course,” Alya says with a small smile. “You’re our best friend. See you tomorrow, sunshine boy.”

With one last smile and wave, Marinette ducks through the portal and lands back into her room, followed by Alya and Nino. While Alya calls Kagami to fill her in on the mission, Marinette fetches the Miracle Box and opens it up so that she can deposit the Fox, Bee, Peacock and Butterfly where they belong, followed by the Dragon and Tiger when Nino passes them to her. Is the Peacock still broken? It hadn’t malfunctioned at all when they’d touched it, but she’s not sure what knowledge Hawkmoth had wrangled out of Master Fu during that dreadful day, or even if it malfunctions in its disguised form. Maybe he’d fixed it. Maybe it’s still broken. She’ll just have to wait and ask Nooroo and Duusu after a good night’s sleep.

“Well, we’d better get going,” Alya says once she’s hung up, hugging Marinette. “We’ll spin some tale to Lila about losing track of time and making out and stuff. She’ll eat it up, especially after the interview she gave us today. And we’ll tell our parents that we were on some secret mission for Ladybug, so they don’t get mad at us for ditching the kids and being out so late. They don’t need the details, at least till I’ve posted on the Ladyblog.”

“Thanks for everything, Alya,” Marinette says into Alya’s hair. “You too, Nino.”

Nino joins the hug and slaps Marinette on the back. “What are best friends for, dude?” he says. “No one fucks with my bro and gets away with it.”

Once Alya and Nino are gone, Marinette climbs up the ladder to her bed and faceplants onto her pillow, not even bothering to change into her pyjamas. Then she proceeds to scream for the next half hour, reassured with the knowledge that it’s muffled and won’t be heard by her parents, so that she’s not an emotional mess when she transforms and heads to the police station. No way is she leaving her kitty in that house for longer than necessary, nor is she giving Gabriel and Nathalie the chance to weasel out of being caught and punished for everything they’ve done to Paris, even if it means that she has to sacrifice her sleep for that night. But with Hawkmoth and Mayura defeated, hopefully it’s the last time she’ll have to lose sleep.

[queen-ofsunflowers]

The Guardians of the Miracle Box

In my Miraculous Turnabout AU, the thought about the guardians of the miraculous kind of... flip flopped around in my head until I could get a solid thought process going on it. I know I wanted a certain person to end up with the box and the spellbook in the end, but there were specific places the box had to go to on its journey to him.

So, here’s what I got. Warning, though. Spoilers for Spirit of Justice. Are they even spoilers at this point? It’s been like... three years...

The Miraculous in this AU are created in Khura’in by the Holy Mother. That’s where they need to start if everything flows correctly. The Turtle is used by the members of the royal family who don’t inherit the throne, with only two exceptions in the line. But those are stories for a later date.

When Ami Fey went to Japan, she took the box and the book with her. No one is exactly sure why, but there’s a theory that Mia came up with that there was some sort of danger involved. The truth to the reality was what Mia expected. Someone stole a few of the Miraculous -- the Bee, the Turtle and the Butterfly -- and got away with them. They were taken from Khura’in for their own safety.

Over time, the stolen Miraculous were returned to their rightful places. The Bee gave hers back when she retired. The Turtle found and returned his to the royal family, and the brooch returned after some shenanigans... and unfortunately, the Fox Miraculous also goes missing a few decades later.

When the Fey family migrates to the U.S., the box and book go with them to Kurain Village. They get passed down through the family, each Master of Kurain also being the Guardian of the Miraculous. Then we get to Misty Fey. And to the point where she leaves. Since Mia is too young, the guardianship goes to Morgan.

And we all know that isn’t a good thing. And so does Mia when she goes to talk to Morgan because the girl is nervous and this is the only adult figure she trusts right now when she overhears her aunt’s plans to use the jewels in her schemes to take over the main family. More like she hears the part involving Maya. And she ain’t having none of that.

So, Mia basically steals the box. She doesn’t want their power to be used for dark purposes, especially when it concerns her family’s safety. So, the night before she leaves the village, she stows the box and spellbook in her suitcase, sneaking them out right under her aunt’s nose. Morgan doesn’t realize that they’re even gone until Ladybug makes her debut.

From that point, Mia acts as both the Guardian and Ladybug. She’s the one who gives out the Miraculous to both of her closest allies, handpicking her team... and eventually watching it fall apart. She moves the box from her apartment to her office after it is ransacked by someone trying to search for it. The Fey & Co. Law Offices became the resting place for the box, safely hidden away on a shelf in the closet along with the spellbook.

Then comes the night Mia dies. Now, Phoenix and Maya had no idea that Mia even had the box. The fact that Mia was Ladybug had to have been made public due to her having died as Ladybug, and that’s as far as their knowledge goes. The only Miraculous Maya knew about were the Ladybug earrings, since she inherited them from her sister when she took up the Ladybug mantle.

Sometime after her death, about a week or so later, Phoenix discovers the box and book while cleaning out said closet. It’s then that Maya decides to form her own team. She does, although none of the members are by her own choosing. But she loves them nonetheless.

So, after Mia’s death, Phoenix takes over as the guardian of the Miraculous, and sets about trying to figure out what the heck the book is saying in his free time. There’s a drawer in his office dedicated simply to that task.

When he’s disbarred, all of that grows in importance. No one can remember a time where he was as frantic or as furious as when the spellbook went missing after a visit from a certain defense attorney. He had spent the last two years deciphering that book and now it was gone. There’s still the dent in the wall from where Phoenix threw the door open to tear his office apart.

Anyway, his protection on the box gets moved to a drawer inside of his desk. It’s somewhere personal and close.

The box doesn’t get touched again until Apollo and Klavier get the earrings and the ring.

Then Apollo finds the box, snatches the necklace, and gets out of dodge to give it to Trucy. Needless to say, Phoenix is mad at this, even if Apollo did the right thing, he still broke into his personal belongings. He doesn’t stay as mad for long, as Apollo did manage to recover the spellbook. klavier found it, had it on him, tikki swiped it before the trial while apollo was distracting him

It still doesn’t get him out of cleaning the toilet for a month because he took the necklace. There’s gotta be repercussions for that.

The box stays in Phoenix’s desk, and really doesn’t get touched again with the exception of two instances: the AU’s version of Sandboy and when Athena becomes Queen Bee.

SO. We reached the end of the timeline with 2028. As of SOJ, the Miracle Box is locked safely away in Phoenix’s desk, with a bit more security thanks to Apollo breaking into his desk to get to it. Twice. And by that, I mean Phoenix has two locks on the desk drawer: a padlock on the outside and another box with a combination lock on it that he got from Edgeworth.

[vixxscifiwritings]

odd sense

Summary -  Hongbin couldn't care less about the masquerade. His sense are otherwise occupied with the enigmatic scent he has been looking for all night.

Warnings - Implications of murder

A/N - Inspired by Odd Sense and the Scentist x Perfume theory. Don’t ask me how I went from a romance song to an obsessed murderer interpretation

Tag list - @yixingminseokjongdae @tomatoholmes @seraphistols

-

Hongbin caresses the blue flower in his hand, tutting as he takes in its current state. The vase of sweet peas has been long forgotten by the staff, the fellow flowers wilting away. The lone stalk stands upright, petals stubbornly taut. He’s rescuing a destitute flower, he reasons. It’s definitely not stealing if the flower was forgotten in the first place.

A shame since sweet peas are notoriously different to grow and care for.

And poisonous, he grins to himself. It’s not a well known fact but sweet peas are toxic and more often than not humans are fooled by the bright hue. He takes in the aroma and surveys the scene from the balcony he is standing on.

He rather hates balls. The faux laughter and giggling of the crush, the obnoxious music and the bright hundred candle chandelier are rather off putting. He would not be here if not for the insistence of the host, who was hell bent on inviting the town’s favourite perfumer. Hongbin would rather be in his cozy shop surrounded by his equipment than be here at the masquerade.

The passage of time does no wonders for his mood. He absolutely abhors the mixing of the banal scents of the society. Almost every human is bathed in dubious amounts of strongly scented oils and powdered faces. The satin coats and skirts swish as he makes his way across the dance floor. He has been here for a polite amount of time. He figures, professing an illness and an inability to dance will be good enough to excuse him from further forced company.

An odd scent flits by him and he stops, staring in the direction it came from.

It’s unusual. He caught only a faint whiff of the scent but it isn’t a tone he can recognise. The base tone of sandalwood and citrus is the first thing he recognises but he can’t name the oil that produces the fragrance.

He turns and follows the scent. He makes half hearted apologies for the dancing couples he interrupts in his haste. He must find the person who walked by him.

Scents trigger a series of memories in anyone. He is briefly reminded of his mother who worked as a fisherwoman, her hands always smelling of the dead fish and the salty seas. He is reminded of the young boy with large brown eyes who smelt of white roses, who was the first person who Hongbin drowned in a vat of essential oils so that he could trap that lovely fragrance.

But that was a failure. His first true success was the man who smelt like yellow sunflowers. Hongbin first saw him with a yellow honeysuckle held between his lips, his cat like eyes darting to his own. The memory is immortalized in a vial of honeysuckle toned perfume that is stored away on a shelf. Never for sale and out of reach of wandering unwelcome hands.

What is that alluring scent that pulls him in so strongly? To whom does it belong?

The dance changes and the people move around, couples walking off the dance floor and couples walking onto the dance floor. The scent wafts to him, calling him teasingly but never revealing its source.

A low growl escapes Hongbin’s throat. He must find it.

He excuses himself to a corner, grabbing a cup of coffee as he walks by the food table. The roasted powder absorbs fragrances and they are the best substitute he can find for the beans. His senses must be alert if he has to track this mysterious scent down.

As the baroque progresses, Hongbin catches the eye of a gentleman across the floor. He is dressed in a dark green coat with golden filigree along the stitches and lower hem and a flower brooch on his lapel. From his movements and build Hongbin can tell that he is quite young compared to the ton. Most men here are old military veterans or old wealthy merchants. But this man is new. Hongbin hasn’t seen him in town earlier.

The man holds his gaze while engaging his partner in polite conversation. The girl dancing with him is quite besotted but Hongbin knows she is not the object of his attention. As the musicians approach the crescendo, the couple approaches him and Hongbin catches that enigmatic scent again. His eyes narrow, pupils dilating with uninhibited wanting.

The gentleman’s eyebrows raise. He grins slyly, holding his head higher. Hongbin smiles because his night is now more interesting than he initially planned. The couple moves away in the sequence of steps but Hongbin can wait. Patience is important and he has an abundance of it.

The secret to that mysterious scent will be unraveled by the time the ball ends and oh, his night has only just begun.

The set ends and the gentleman bows to his dance partner. He is rather tall and dashing under that mask, if his features are any indication. His nose and jawline feel sculpted from marble and his broad shoulders are exaggerated by the cut of his coat. The gentleman refuses a second offer to dance with a wistful smile that guiles the asker into feeling sorry for asking rather than the rejection. He turns to Hongbin who retreats to the gallery adjacent to the ballroom.

The sounds are muffled here and the lighting dimmer. The footmen are all engaged in the ballroom, leaving the gallery and its occupant paintings unguarded. Hongbin only turns when he reaches the end of the long hallway. His young gentleman has only entered the gallery and he stops to stare at Hongbin. He licks his lips and Hongbin moves before he has the chance to call his name.

Hongbin follows the familiar path to the patio that leads to the gardens in the backyard. Since most of the gathering is inside for the dancing, the gardens will be empty and most private locations. The steps give way to the fountain that is followed by large hedges, cultivated and grown to form a maze.

Hongbin disappears into the hedges and the young man follows. Perhaps the best part of this clandestine affair is the exhilarating chase. Left turns and then right. A solid wall and a secret passage leading to the centre. The hedges give way but there is no one in sight.

The young man smiles, sensing Hongbin behind him before turning to look at him. He takes his mask off. Hongbin is unmasked and it seems only fair.

The moonlit visage pales in comparison to the the odd scent he has been chasing all evening. Hongbin swears under his breath. What gives rise to that overwhelming fragrance that draws him in like the opposite pole of a magnet? The tantalising secret lies just beyond his reach. Edging closer and closer to his finger tips.

The young gentleman holds his breath as Hongbin closes the distance between them in a trance. He traces his jawline and leans in, breathing against the skin just below his ear.

Hongbin moans in delight when he realizes two things. The first is that the scent he has been chasing all night isn’t an exotic unknown perfume from a far away land. A night’s worth of dancing has made the sandalwood and citrus fade away, in need of reapplication as it were.

No. This delightful scent is all his. This young beautiful man’s fragrance. An object of beauty indeed, Hongbin admires now that he can recognize him aromatically. His hand on the other man’s shoulder tightens possessively.

His.

And no one else’s.

-

Bonus - If you can correctly guess the VIXX member who is the young gentleman from the story, I will write you a drabble of your choice!