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#you can find the otherwise PERFECT dragon. but without the right element it's not the same
thirsty-4-ghouls · 6 months
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so... you know how I said I wasn't going to make the 'grandma's sewing scraps' dragon? I looked in the auction house out of pure curiosity and did not expect to see her. THE perfect dragon for it
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plans:
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maybe even
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(My) Sanctuary;
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A/n: First Ever Fic for Genshin Impact Fandom. A fic no one asked for but the idea was living in my head rent free, so what's a girl to do except play more Genshin Impact and work on this fic. (Listened to Sanctuary & Don't think twice by Hikaru Utada while writing this -- hence my inspired and very unoriginal title for this fic because I am horrible at thinking of titles.) 
Genre: Mostly Fluff really, a pinch or two of Angst.
Warning: Implied underage drinking. Brief description of Violence. Of age drinking. 
Summary: Childhood friends with history. Unspoken feelings. Mutual pining. Circumstances and life have forced you and Diluc on different paths, but you always return to Mondstadt and Diluc always makes time for you.
Word count: 3,128
The busy streets of Mondstadt. How long had it been this time? The absence of your presence from these cobblestone paths; four, five? No. Six months. Commissions to fight greater, fierce foes across Teyvat demanded your blades and lightning. Not that it mattered much how far or long you ventured from your former home. There was only one person who meant a great deal, important even if you could not sort through all the emotions attached to him in your own heart or even dare to give voice to those emotions.
Diluc Ragnvindr. 
And despite the inner twisted, festering turmoil (of your own making) cradled in your heart for Mondstadt, Favonius Knights, The Fatui 'diplomats'. Diluc was always a reason to return. 
In fact you aren't at all surprised when you stop by Good Hunter, offering up a handful of Mora for a meal. Sitting down at a table, closing your eyes. You took in a deep breath, the air here felt different to you. Thanks to the Anemo god, Barbatos. You swear it truly is the sense, embodiment of freedom that fills your lungs and soothes you even if for a few seconds. 
A savory blend of mushrooms, chicken and noodles is your lunch for the day. After thirty minutes have passed since your arrival in Mondstadt. And Diluc is sliding into the chair across from your own, elbows on the table, arms folded. Crimson eyes silently taking in the features of you. 
"Hm. You're slacking. That's ten minutes later than before, what took your little informants so long to whisper in your ear word of me being back?" You don't even spare a look at him, taking another bite, chewing a mouthful as you wait for his reply. 
"I do have a winery to run and the protection of Mondstadt to ensure, I can't not always come rushing away for personal affairs." Diluc holds a evident edge of underlying frustration in his smooth voice. 
Your own gaze trails up and over him, taking in the exasperation and exhaustion that furrows the brow of his otherwise stoic expression-- you want to ask when he last got a full night's rest? If he was still doing his lone warrior, Darknight Hero routine? If he was as stubborn as ever shouldering the burden of his fervor desire to defend and protect. Oh, how you worry, worry and worry the weight of it all on your tongue, tightening your throat-- who takes care of you? Who stands by your side? Who defends you? Who protects you? Who lov-
Once upon a time it had been you but a vortex of mourning, sorrow, rage swallowed up your old life. Until you wanted nothing more than to never see the walls of Mondstadt ever again. One day leaving it all behind. Time was a cruel mistress, one day swiftly grew to years. The first time you returned from what would become regular disappearances--adventures. 
Damage had been done. Diluc was the one who reached out to savage your friendship and you had welcomed the chance to have him back in your life even if it would never be anything more. 
"Should I be honored that the gentleman Ragnvindr can even grace me with his company?" It's a hollow jest as you pick at your half eaten plate of food. 
"No," His dismissal of the notion is soft yet firm. "Just Diluc, a friend, who is glad to see you well again." It's never his straight-forward or blunt nature that catches you off guard, it's when the subtle but clear sincerity creeps to the surface. Open, unwavering in his honesty.  
You huff, looking down feigning disinterest yet the twitch of your lips is undeniable. Warmth, simple, gentle curls in your chest. Happiness. Flickering embers outside of the stone walls of your heart that would make Rex Lapis proud. Diluc had always been able to slip past your defenses, so easily lingering in your thoughts, in your heart. Whether he was aware of it or not. 
"I suppose I am glad to see you too. Saved me a few bottles of my favorite wine?" You ask glancing up to catch his watchful gaze, biting your bottom lip as a wide smile threatened to spread on your face. Dulic's sudden raised eyebrow says it all-- do you really need to ask? 
"Four pristine bottles of aged mixed sunsettia, valberry wine." Prideful is subtle and delicate in his voice as if Diluc would ever forget your favorite wine. Funny enough to think about how even as the unspoken king of the winery industry, he doesn't enjoy alcohol himself. Still keeping a stock of your favorite in his manor. 
"You never let me pay you and we can't really share a few glasses together, so," you hum, slowly wired up with nervous yet excited anticipation as you reach down into the bag hanging off your shoulder. Shifting through the items and materials you carried with you for cooking and crafting you find it! Grabbing a slender jug of a bottle, wrapped in cloth. Swiftly placed on the table in front of Diluc. "I brought something for you." 
It's not like grape juice is such a hard find or something Diluc could not afford himself with his abundance of wealth but you had commissioned a famous brewer to make a special blend of grapes and other berries to create a rich and sweet juice. With your own Mora to spare after a few jobs, and you had a feeling your wandering would lead back to Mondstadt. 
Diluc is steady, slow with peeling back the cloth to stare at the deep, dark purple liquid filling the glass bottle. Uncorking the bottle, Diluc takes a whiff, closing his eyes, the smile that graces his face. It's everything and so much more. "It smells delicious. Thank you, I can't wait to taste it." 
"Then we should begin our walk to the manor? I can hear my wine calling me." You leave a few Mora coins as a tip, standing up, Diluc presses the cork back into the bottle and hands it back to you for safe keeping. 
"Alright," Diluc nods, following, matching your stride with ease. "Adelinde was asking about you the other day, you know she always makes sure your room is tidy, spotless in fact." 
Stupid. How one little phrase has your stomach full of crystal flies like you are a teenager all over again. And the mention of the kind maid who still fusses over Diluc and you on occasion makes you happy. It is a nice reprieve from nights of solitude, you are content to travel alone but loneliness is a creature that waits, and waits until the right moment to sink its claws and fangs into you on the road. 
The walk from Mondstadt isn't far but you aren't expecting a fully pleasant and peaceful walk with Diluc. Outside of the gates of the city and a few minutes down the dirt road, the sight of Hilichurls is predictable. 
Small pack of fighters, five Hilichurls carrying clubs and one hulking Mitachurl with a shield. This should be fun. 
"Make sure to show me how playing the part of the nighttime hero has kept your skills sharp!" You yell with a laugh, grinning as you summon your sword, forged of dragon bone, jagged, fierce blade. Rushing forward you dodge past the throw Pyro slimes. 
You let yourself run a little wild, your Electro vision surge through you, bolts of lightning crash down on the charging Hilichurls. Shocking and stunning the monsters for a moment, that's all you need to unleash a flurry of fast slashes.
A loud, enraged howl, crashing stomps approach from your back. Anyone else would need to worry or doubt--you don't. The familiar roar and rumble of flames fills the air, the scorning heat of it nipping behind you. Diluc doesn't even let that Mitcahurl so much as graze you, his grunts and shouts clash with its growl and howls as his flame imbued blade breaks and burns through the beast's wooden shield. Leaving ashes flying in the air and the heavy smell of smoke and fire. 
You electrify the Hilichurls, slowing, paralyzing the small beasts until they are left vulnerable and weak against you. The perfect targets. You cleave one's head off, stab straight through the mask of another, impale the chest of another. Delivering killing blows with precision and force. Wiping them out, you turn in time to see the beauty of Diluc. 
Rapid, graceful, relentless, ferocity embraced in unyielding flames. The towering giant Hilichurl is left staggering, stumbling under the strikes of Diluc's claymore left all too unprotected without its shield to hide behind. Diluc turns up the heat quite literally, the soaring, blazing phoenix that emerged from his own vision and will, his flames destroy the Mitcahurl, wiping out its pitiful existence effortlessly. 
Diluc shakes a bit of lingering flames and smoke off the steel of his blade with a sweeping slash at the air, standing among darkened, black grass, a gust of wind sways his hair and he looks over his shoulder. It is surely a moment deserving of immortalizing in portrait, his bright red hair blowing in the wind, holding his greatsword in one hand, sunlight giving him an ethereal glow, gazing at you. 
Giving a slow applause, you whistle and laugh. "Flashy as ever, Diluc." 
"The pyro element leaves little room for anything else. Still it's efficient and powerful," Diluc turns to face you, letting go of the hilt of his sword as it vanishes, unneeded outside of battle. "However, it's not something you could critique me on, when anyone for miles could see your lightning." 
"Fair enough." 
Besides a few stray slimes, the rest of your walk is undisturbed, reaching the winery as nightfall, the sun dipping below the horizon. 
"(Name) it is good to see you well." Adelinde smiles upon seeing you as Diluc opens the front door and holds it open for you to walk in first. She hugs you, it's hard not to melt into her tight cradle. 
"Have you been eating well? Sleeping accordingly? Not just naps. Taking breaks in between all your monster hunting?" Her lovingly stern questions always feel comforting in a way that is odd to describe and felt deeply. 
"I am still standing, Adelinde, fully rested and my stomach is full at the moment." 
"You would do well to keep it as such." Adelinde levels you with a motherly look of if you do not take care of yourself, I will which should be hard to make look threatening but the older woman handles it with years of expertise. She has worried over guests, Diluc, Kaeya, you for many, many years in the pact and many to come you are certain. 
"Adelinde, please have the bottles of sunsettia, valberry wine brought up, we-" 
"One step ahead of you, Master Diluc. Hillie and Moco brought them up a short while ago, I hope you two enjoy your time together." Adelinde leaves the manor, you aren't sure what work needs to be done on the grounds, you know for a fact Adeline specifically tries to do outside chores during daylight hours. It's an obvious tell for someone who knows her, she is ensuring you and Diluc remain alone for now. An avid supporter of your friendship you suppose. 
Diluc barely gets to call out a 'thank you!' as she is shutting the door. 
You stroll across the room, not much has changed at all. Your destination is the furniture set by the fireplace, the small, round table paired with two cushioned chairs. Pulling out the bottle of juice to place on the table top next to the bottles of wine, to cups awaiting you both. 
Pouring your first cup, you are eager, excited to taste the almost sickeningly sweet flavor of the wine. It never seems to taste the same from any other winery or brewery or even in the company of others. 
Moments of comfortable quiet drift by as you slowly, steadily sip and savory the wine. 
When Diluc takes the first taste of your gift and his low moan of approval as he swallows. Oh. You could listen to that again and again. All husky, raspy delight that sends shivers down your spine. It feels good to bring any kind of bliss to Diluc, even the simplest kind by providing him a drink he loves. 
You get the mutual feeling of being watched as you drink, sighing and smiling at the taste, the feeling of nostalgia creeps up on you. 
"I remember the first time I tasted this wine. We were barely teenagers sneaking down into the cellar. I badly wanted to try the wine everyone in Mondstadt wouldn't shut up about," you recall it interrupting yourself with short, full breaths of levity. Far too amused by the memory to contain your laughter. "I- I asked. No- begged you to come down with me while your father was gone, saying I'd bring Kaeya instead if you didn't come, bluffing and you got as red as a flaming flower, grabbed my hand and pulled me all the way to the cellar and downstairs." 
Diluc huffs, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning back into the cushions of the sofa. "You knew how to push my buttons too well, half of the stuff I let you talk me into was completely foolish." Staring into the lit fire as he listened to you. 
"Just half?"
"Fine. All of the escapades I let you drag me along on were absurd." 
"Your welcome as I recall you had a lot of fun." 
"At the risk of a lot of trouble, you tested the lengths of even my father's generous patience." Diluc shook his head, the fondness in expression was plain as day. 
"Oh, remember the night after getting my gliding license, I dared you to join me on top of the cathedral to see which of us could get farther across the city, and you landed in a bush!" Several glasses of wine, one empty bottle of the tart and sweet berry alcohol and you felt even more relaxed, comfortable in the company of Diluc. 
"I, at the very least, remained dry. You were the one who crash-landed right into the fountain." Diluc smirked, sharp, sly as he chuckled, lightly tugging and adjusting the fabric of his gloves. Idle gestures as his cup stays on the table after a few sips. 
"I would rate my dive undoubtedly ten out of ten." By the Archons, it had been a miracle you both escaped from the knights of Favonius night patrol with the commotion you made, wet leather boots on stone top made you slip a few times in your dash to escape discovery. Diluc had kept a firm grip on your arm, tugging you back up and refusing to leave you behind. 
Then you remember, hiding away, pressed chest to chest, the chill of your soaked clothes clinging to you, the rise and fall of heavy, labored breaths. How close Diluc had been, that smokey, fiery scent that having pyro vision gifted him along with faint aroma of fruit thanks to the orchard of the dawn winery, he worked with his father on occasion. If you had just tilted your head up, leaned in--
"I know Kaeya was always jealous. I could talk you into anything but you refused his antics left and right." 
"It's different. I actually like you and spending time with you." Diluc's deadpan response pulls a ugly snort-laugh from you. His relationship with Kaeya is an odd one but you know deep down he cares for his brother even if things aren't exactly civil between them. 
"I feel so special." 
"As you should, I don't like people." His sarcasm, that is half-joke, half-truth keeps you laughing. 
The first wave of tiredness hits you, letting out an involuntary yawn. Your travels, the trek and fight from earlier catch up with you. Combined with the consumption of alcohol. 
"I think the wine is getting to me, I feel a little sleepy." You finish off your glass with one gulp, smooth like silk down your throat, the lack of burn makes it far too easy to want to empty all the bottles. Four. You'd certainly regret that in the morning. 
"I noticed." Diluc gets up first, three steps towards you, he is holding out his hand to you. 
"I can walk myself, I am not that drunk." You protest his offer while reaching out and taking his hand, entwining your fingers without a second thought. Diluc gives your hand a squeeze, his slender fingers lightly caressing the back of your hand. He guides you upstairs to your room as if you don't know the way by heart as if your room would ever change. 
"You would never ask for help yourself and you did break a vase the last time, even the smallest bit of intoxication seems to make you clumsier." Diluc gives his clear and absolutely unfair opinion. It happened one time!
It is really not necessary either to open the door for you, letting go of your hand only to press the large, warm palm of his hand against your back. Nor does Diluc need to kneel before you as you sit on the edge of the bed, unfastening your boots, removing your satchel and placing your belongings on the bedside table. 
"It is hilarious to hear you of all people, calling me out of not asking for help. Mister Darknight." 
Dliuc 'tsks' at the mention of his beloved hero name. "I am aware, that can be a little hypocritical." 
"A little?" 
"(Name)," Diluc speaks your name so tenderly, softly, as if the word itself is precious. "I simply want to help you, to car-" He clears his throat cutting off that train of thought. Pausing for seconds of silence pass, crimson eyes staring into your own. "If there was anyone I would accept help from it would be you." 
That is dangerously close to an admission of something else. And all every moment of the past, all the maybe(s), what-ifs, almost(s) flash through your mind. You could take the leap or let this become another memory to turn over and over in your head, wondering, wanting, yearning. 
"Get some rest." Diluc walks over to the door, standing in the open threshold of the room, hand gripping the door knob. 
"Diluc, wait" It's barely a whisper, so hushed and subdued. So low, he doesn't hear it and when Diluc looks over his shoulder, the short-lived courage in you has diminished and you can't bring yourself to voice all the longing, desire, love trapped in your heart. 
"Goodnight, Diluc."
"Goodnight, (Name)." 
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obeysword · 2 years
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this is something i’ve talked about in replies but it never had an actual post for. also, just a really big thank you for @arcanalight and @sakuranosuke for helping put so much understanding into these elements and things i wouldn’t have found otherwise.
yu’s right hand supports burn scars after the incident with namatame.
when nanako is kidnapped, namatame’s shadow takes possession of yu and causes him to attack his friends where he can’t resist his control. the gang combines their efforts together to take yu down after he attacked yosuke at point blank range with his lightning strike. after kanji’s persona pierces yu’s, pain flares up yu’s right arm long enough to break control over namatame. nanako starts slipping in namatame’s grasp and about to fall. if someone doesn’t catch her, she is going to die from that height. yu reaches up and grabs the disk above his head. his hand becomes burned down to his nerves from this. various layers of skin are burned off in this process until yu can throw the disk down, breaking namatame’s control entirely.
yu is a dog. a wolf is part of the dog family. if a wolf is caught in a trap, they’ll chew their own paws off in order to escape death. anything for survival. yu literally maimed himself in order to get to nanako. he didn’t care. he saw someone, one of the ONLY people he actually has genuine attachment toward, the other being yosuke, about to die. yu values control so strongly despite never being the person in it. he’s always been under someone’s command in one way or another: his parents, dojima. they always expected things from him, yu’s friends do too but to a less damaging extent. yosuke and nanako are the only two who accepted yu for yu without being deceived by his mask.
yu doesn’t display many human characteristics. yu’s true-self is someone encased in darkness so thick that he reveals in it. he displays intelligence and talent that far surpasses anyone elses. he’s been the top of his class each grade throughout school, even during his transfer it never changed. he’s really good with manipulating. a dog limping, making himself appear weaker, just to get the upper hand and gut you the first chance he gets. he can use words with a silver tongue and make you fall deeper under his promises of lies.
after the disk controlling him is broken, yu rushes to nanako, the beaded ring she made him falling apart and clattering to the pillar’s ground. when the fighting resumes, yu can’t even lift to his hand in order to summon another persona in order to defend him and nanako from his friends who’ve been captured by namatame. dojima’s will comes to yu and drags his hand for him, having him summon the ultimate persona for the heirophant arcana: the golden dragon, kohryu.
when they get back to reality and the hospital, yu would have been taken to the burnward. his nerves are entirely shot in his right hand, his dominant hand, and will never recover. the injury goes too deep and the damage is too extensive. i really believe if yosuke wasn’t taking care of yu during this time, yu wouldn’t have bothered and the injury could have developed into permanent paralysis. yosuke making sure the bandages were regularly changed, medicated ointment was applied to the wounded area. yu doesn’t want to be alive at this point, by the second week he can’t even find the strength to reach up and wash his hair, there’s no way he was going to mend a serious injury.
when his hand heals, the scaring never goes away. it’s like the palm of his hand was stitched back on to the back of it. the skin is purpled with white blotches here and there and pink in an unnatural way. the surface feels different than it once did. yu ends up wearing gloves more often to hide its appearance. he’s extremely vain, perfect and drop dead gorgeous, this is a flaw to him and he fixates on it to an unhealthy degree. yu’s luck he can use his hand at all. he gets phantom pains, worse around his fingers that he starts to pull or squeeze. he’ll develop early on-set arthritis. he cannot feel sensation on the front of his hand.
yu’s hands are big and rough, with long calloused fingers. he uses his hands frequently due to sports ( i have a hc he did kendo club before transferring to inaba which is why he has a kendo stick for the drag contest and a real katana for the tv world that is licensed. )
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dzamie-oc · 3 years
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03 - Steampunk
I’ll admit, this is a bit reductionist for a punk story, but gimme a break, I wrote this in only a few hours :P
Length: 2200 words Rating: T (mild description of blood and death) Summary: A factory worker makes a dragon. They grow up together and eventually enact a little bit of class warfare and a little bit of revenge.
-----
Finn’s desk was half covered in a pile of assorted junk - gears, pipes,twisted bits of scrap metal, keys for long-dead springs, and so much more, almost all tarnished, covered in coal soot, or both. However, his attention was focused on the other half, a carefully cleared space with only a few mechanical pieces strewn about, all polished to perfection. Most importantly, in the middle, sat a small, mechanical device of his own creation. Its body was unfinished, exposing much of its inner workings to the naked eye - and the elements, if he let it get that far. A head like a mix of a lizard and a dog, a long, flexible neck, a body that one might mistake for a large, metallic rat’s, and a slender tail which ended in a thin, metal cone. The young teen, with a degree of care unusual to someone with such a rat’s nest of hair, delicately positioned his creation to lay on its back, curled its legs in, and gently inserted a brass key into a particular, well-shaped hole in its chest. Once, twice... three times he turned, for luck.
Through the background din of machinery, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps and froze. Reflexively, his free hand flew to the ignored pile of scraps, then slowly dragged one over, taking just long enough for him to listen to the footsteps pass by and once more out of earshot. Finn let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, furtively glanced left and right, just in case, and removed the wound key.
Gears and wheels began to spin with a soft whirr, and a look of wonderment spread across Finn’s face as the mechanical legs twitched, then cycled in the air. Its head lifted, letting him stare into its dark eyes, no longer as lifeless as they’d always seemed to be.
“Hey, little guy,” the boy said, “welcome to the world. I’m Finn. I almost hate to dump this on you, but... look, in case I can’t, keep wound, and keep hidden. I wish I could show everyone how cool you clearly are, but-”
Suddenly, more footsteps. Footsteps he recognized, and recognized well. Finn hissed an apology to the dragon and quickly covered it with the nearby metal bowl he’d kept its parts in, then grabbed a part from the pile and set about rubbing it with a rag nearly as filthy as the part. A valve, he realized after his first pass of rubbing - after so many years, his hands knew how to move without thinking, or even realizing what was in them. The footsteps grew louder, closer, and Finn scrubbed at the metal. With a sigh, he wondered if he’d just gotten it dirtier. He went to pass it ahead into a bucket of valves, when-
“Finnegan Shine!” came the shrill voice of a woman who thought herself far more cultured than she knew she could even aspire to. “Just what are you doing with that thing?”
Finn’s “good afternoon, Ms. Springwarden” was cut off by her question, so he looked at the metal in his hand. “I’m... putting it with the other valves after cleaning it?”
Ms. Springwarden harrumphed. “Cleaning it! Just what HAS that first-shift supervisor been teaching you?” She looked at the valve - and at Finn - with a sneer. Finn always thought that, if disdain was an Olympic sport, Ms. Springwarden would have enough gold to live somewhere nice and stop tormenting him - although, he had to admit, perhaps she would still torment him for the fun of it. “Why, I can barely tell it apart from that filthy pile!”
The boy put on a puzzled expression. “Really? But I’ve been going at it with my cleanest rag for a solid minute,” he lied. Of all the people in Alma Vera, she was the last person he ever wanted to even consider the existence of his hidden project. Still, he held up three more well-used cloths, to show her that at least part of his claim had been true.
Another harrumph. “And not once did you think that, just maybe, you ought to trade them for washed cleaning equipment?”
“But Ms. Springwarden, I thought I wasn’t allowed to leave my chair during my shift?”
“Foolish child,” the woman replied, and brought her hand towards his forehead, finger primed to flick. At the last second, however, Finn saw a look of disgust, and she withdrew so as not to touch his, charitably, under-washed face. “Rise and follow me. But don’t let me catch you out of your seat without my permission!”
“Yes, Ms. Springwarden!” Finn said, and stood. The four dirty rags were exchanged for four clean ones, or at least as clean as would pass at his work. Thus equipped, Finn was returned to his seat - the bowl still overturned, to his relief.
Ms. Springwarden crossed her arms and said, “who knows how many valuable components you’ve ruined with your folly. You do remember our motto, do you not?”
Finn nodded. “Quality and quantity, Ms. Springwarden.”
The woman harrumphed yet again, and picked up two of the buckets he had sorted parts into, and dumped them into the assorted pile. “Well, let us now remedy your mistake. You will have to clean each of these now befouled pieces once again, and be quick about it!” She glared at him. “Your work ends when your pile is gone, and not a second, nor a part, sooner.”
“Yes, Ms. Springwarden.”
Finn returned to his task, and after a few seconds, he heard one last derisive snort, and then footsteps trailing away. The boy dramatically picked up his pace once she was gone, and before long, he had undone the damage to his progress she had inflicted on him. Another look left and right, and he placed his hands on the bowl, praying that the dragon truly was still there.
“Hey, it’s me,” he whispered, so the dragon wouldn’t try to hide. When he revealed the metallic creature, it had its forepaw in its chest, twisting the mechanism inside. Once finished, it looked up at him and swished its tail, accompanied by the soft, metallic whirring of gears. “That was Ms. Springwarden. They say that, somewhere out there, at least three people are unable to make that ‘hmph’ sound, because she’s using all of theirs.” The dragon leaned its head down, opened its jaws, and picked up a twisted bit of scrap metal, then shook it around a bit, which got a chuckle out of Finn. “It’s too bad you’re not as big as the dragons I’ve heard the people who live on airships have. You could just eat her, then. Although, I wouldn’t have been able to hide you while I built you.”
The clockwork creature flicked its head and sent the scrap flying through the air, to land in the discard bucket. “Fast learner,” Finn remarked. “So, you need a name. I think... Eve.” He paused. “It’s not weird to name you after an elementary school crush, is it?”
Eve responded by tossing another bit of scrap into the bucket, then wiping her mouth on his hand.
-----
Finn prowled through the dense pipework of the underground, eyes peeled for the rats he was supposed to exterminate. In one hand, he held a bag full of rodent corpses - his proof for payment. The other hand gripped what might charitably be called a tiny harpoon launcher. It looked similar to a certain toy gun, popular among the children of wealthy families, and that was no accident - although he would have the kid he stole it from think otherwise. With a bit of tinkering, a wire to save on ammunition, and a much better spring, Finn considered himself the second best at this sort of job, something that led people to avoid asking too much about the improvised tool.
A squeak cut short, then rapid metal-on-metal clanking heralded the arrival of the first best at this sort of job. Eve trotted up to him, two dead rats in her mechanical jaws. Over the past five years or so, Finn had found or fashioned bigger replacement parts for his dragon until she stood nearly at his waist. Long since unable to hide her under a bowl, of course, the story now was that she was a defective mechanical dog he had scored for a pittance. Regardless, Eve stood attentively next to him, waiting for him to open the bag for her. When he did, one rat fell into the pile of its brethren, and as for the other...
Eve tossed and flicked her head until the rodent’s body aligned with her jaws. A new whirring noise kicked in as sets of wheels dragged it down her metal throat, and then a sickening grinding sound bounced around the pipes and fixtures. The dragon opened her mouth again and wiped it on his pants leg, to his mild dismay.
“You’re gonna have to drop that habit, or I’ll put you back on winding-only.”
Eve went still for a few seconds, but the gentle whirring of her insides picked up. When she moved again, she brought one upturned forepaw in front of the other, then cycled them around each other, and finally tapped her throat.
“Break a habit for a voice?” Finn asked. “Eve, voices are hard to come by. You know I would’ve gotten you one by now if I could.”
The sound of a much smaller creature skittering along the metal ground caught both of their attentions. Finn spun, aimed, and pulled the trigger, and a barbed, pointed pole flew from the tip of his weapon, with metal wire following shortly after. The rat screamed a squeaky scream, then fell quiet, and Finn reeled in his shot and prize.
Eve pressed her paw against his leg for his attention. She pointed her muzzle at the gun, then curled back at her own chest, and then she once again tapped her paw to her neck with an insistent clank-clank-clank. Finn furrowed his brow. “I’m pretty sure voice boxes are in a league of their own...” he started, then smiled broadly at her. “Then again, so am I. Mind giving up more than half your rats from now on, so we can go shopping for anything we can’t find?”
The dragon’s metal plating rattled against itself as she wiggled in anticipation, then bounded off to massacre more vermin.
-----
It was a glorious ceremony. Everyone sported their most elaborate suits and dresses, all in a modest brown. Some of the more adventurous gentlemen had constantly-turning gears on the hats they politely kept in their laps, but no longer were they nor their headwear the center of attention. Ms. Springwarden, soon to lose that name, stood in a beautiful, ornate, white dress, and stared adoringly at the man standing in front of her, who-
BOOM!
A shout rose up from the crowd as what used to be a wall was replaced by a hole and a dragon. The elaborate mechanical creature’s outer plating was a mismatch of bronze, iron, and steel, as though it had been dressed in a junkyard. And perched on its back was a man with a daring grin, who Ms. Springwarden found strangely familiar...
“Well! Ms. Springwarden, aren’t you moving up! The big boss himself, I wonder if you’ll outlast  his last four wives!” Finn shouted as he dismounted the dragon, landing with a roll and ending up right next to the bride-to-be.
Without opening her mouth, Eve spoke. “I am confident he will be her husband for the rest of his life,” she said. Her voice was unnatural, amateurish, and it sounded like it belonged in some sterile, form-over-function research lab, rather than a well-tuned dragon. Before anyone could react, she opened her jaws and snapped up the stunned man, soon feeding him to the wheels hidden behind her neck plating.
“Aw! Eve! I had planned this whole quip about how his factories have a great quantity of people and I’m about to increase the average quality!”
“So lie in your memoir.”
Many of the guests had fled the scene, with only a few hiding behind the benches, and Ms. Springwarden herself remained frozen to the spot. “Wh- who...?”
Finn swept into a deep bow, mockingly low. “Finnegan Shine, Ms. Springwarden. My friends call me Finn, but of course you never did. You may not remember me, and I sorely wish I could say the same. But now then...” He stepped backwards towards Eve, who lowered her head and opened her jaws. Finn leaned against her neck, feeling the whirr of the wheels making up her throat thrumming through her metal body. “They say marriage is for better or worse, right? What say you join your hubby in the ‘worse?’”
Eve’s distorted voice joined in once more, saying, “I remember you. That he is offering you a refusal is far more than I would have.”
The woman - having found a worse fate than being left at the altar - took a step back, shaking her head. “No... no. Please, no.”
To everyone’s surprise, the dragon snapped her mouth shut with a loud crash of metal, and Finn clambered back up onto her back. “Then it’s a damn lucky thing I’m not you, miss,” the man said, before the pair of them escaped through the dragon-sized hole in the wall.
Finn hugged Eve’s neck tight. One down, an unfortunate number to go. He just hoped his friends were having as much fun as he was.
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love-musicheart · 3 years
Text
NoirBug - Chapter Four - Episode 4
(AO3)
Summary:
Things are NOT perfect. Ladybug has disappeared. The future is disappearing. And... wait, did you just say Cat Noir's identity is-
“Paris is under attack by an akuma! I repeat, Paris is under attack by an akuma!”
Wang Fu cast a glance at his small TV, then, setting down the tablet he was working on, shuffled over to turn up the volume.
“It appears to be some type of plant akuma...”
That much certainly was obvious. Roots curled up from cracks in the pavement wherever the akuma stepped. The view appeared to be taken from a helicopter - safely out of range of the attack.
Fu made his way back over to his desk, picking up his tablet again. Translating the grimoire took time - but as he liked to keep an eye on the superheroes of Paris, he’d gotten pretty good at multitasking.
“How annoying,” Fu mentioned in a conversational tone to his kwami, Wayzz, who was floating closer to the TV. “I thought I would at least have several hours to work without interruption.”
“Hawkmoth doesn’t usually attack this early in the morning,” Wayzz agreed. “Do you think he might have something bigger planned for today?”
Fu chuckled. “I think that, whoever Hawkmoth is, he just likes to sleep in. But who could stay in bed on a day like this?”
Wayzz chuckled as well, zipping back over to the desk to munch on their shared breakfast - a fruit salad.
Fu got back to work, carefully translating the old text into French. He glanced between the text on the tablet, his paper, and the TV. This akuma was no plain gardener; it seemed to have control over nature itself, employing all four elements. Its very presence made plants grow and water start to rise in the Seine.
“I wonder…” Fu mused out loud, trailing off.
“Master?” Wayzz asked, glancing up, cherry stained across his lips.
Wang Fu shrugged. “Just a passing thought.” He paused, then admitted, “But… I cannot help but be curious as to whether Ladybug will come for a miraculous to assist her and Cat Noir in this fight.” He couldn’t help himself, and smiled. “It would quite interesting to see the dragon miraculous pitted against this akuma; the holder of that one in particular seems to be quite dependable.”
“Master,” Wayzz warned, “your rules…”
“Well, I’m the one who made them, am I not?” Fu shrugged, a little defensively. “I can speculate who I believe the ladybug would choose, seeing as I am the one providing her the miraculouses for the fights.”
Wayzz just shook his head, smiling - though the wisdom hidden behind it was ruined a little by the cherry still smeared across his face.
“Cat Noir is here, on the scene at the Seine!”
Master Fu glanced at the TV. “I think both of us can agree, based on what we’ve seen from the dragon holder in action, that they have a steady dependability that would be quite the asset for this fight.”
“Yes,” Wayzz conceded. “We can agree on that point, at least.”
As Cat Noir took on the akuma with cocky fearlessness and puns, Fu went back to his translations. Wayzz casually floated over. “Are you sure that you should be writing those down on paper, Master? Couldn’t someone steal them?”
“Firstly, Wayzz,” Fu said, “could you please take you and your cherry a little further away? You know you’re not allowed to know these recipes.”
Wayzz sighed, but obeyed.
“Secondly,” Fu continued, “while I agree… it is a danger we must risk. The next guardian will need them.”
“You already know who that is going to be?”
“Yes,” Fu said, not hesitating even a moment. “I know exactly who should be the next guardian. And this…” he tapped his paper, “will help them immensely, especially as it means they will not have to translate it on their own.”
The two old friends fell silent, Wayzz enjoying the food and Master Fu slowly working on the grimoire. There was a peacefulness in the small house, and, paired with the wonderful fresh air that the morning had provided, it was altogether perfect.
Besides that akuma attack, of course.
Fu glanced at the TV again. Cat Noir was holding off the akuma, keeping it occupied while saving civilians. But Ladybug herself had yet to show up.
Slowly, Fu found himself drawn more and more to watching the TV and less and less to actually working on translating the grimoire. The peace he’d enjoyed just minutes before was rapidly dissipating, replaced by a feeling he hadn’t had for many years; it was one that gathered in the pit of his stomach, curling in on itself.
One that said that something was very, very wrong.
“Master?” Wayzz floated over to the TV, joining Fu. “Is something wrong?”
“Hopefully nothing other than an old man’s worries,” Fu murmured - though the feeling in his stomach told him otherwise. “Ladybug may have been deterred in some way in her civilian life.”
The akuma made a vicious shoving motion with its arms, stretching to its very fingertips, and vines covered in thorns burst from the ground. They slammed in Cat Noir, rocketing into him so quickly and driving him back with such force that the camera couldn’t even turn fast enough to keep up with where he landed.
Far off in the distance, Fu could hear the slam of the cat hero hitting something - ground or building, he wasn’t sure.
Fu winced, then, with sudden determination flooding through him, stood. “Ladybug would never let her partner go this long getting injured,” he said decisively. “I must enter the fight myself.”
“But Master,” Wayzz protested, “you may get injured! You can’t risk that happening! You’re the guardian!”
“Cat Noir needs help,” Fu insisted.
“Just wait a little longer,” Wayzz begged, floating straight up into Fu’s face, as if invading his personal space would somehow stop him from leaving. “Ladybug will surely arrive any minute now!”
Fu looked back at the TV. Several seconds stretched out, filled only with the sound of Cat Noir beginning to struggle against the akuma.
Finally, Fu sighed. “All right. Just a few more minutes.”
However, by the time a few more minutes had passed - without Ladybug showing up - Fu had to admit within himself that there wasn’t much he’d even be able to do to help. He was just an old man, after all, and couldn’t be completely sure who Ladybug had chosen as the other holders of the miraculouses.
Fu sat down at his desk again, the remnants of the fruit salad now left untouched by both him and Wayzz.
Surely Ladybug will come.
Cat Noir leapt, narrowly avoiding getting slammed into with a thick vine again.
Surely she wouldn’t leave Cat Noir to this fate.
The camera lost sight of Cat Noir for several tense minutes - but at last found him again, gasping in the Seine as a whirlpool developed around him.
I must hold onto hope.
Yet hope slowly faded away like an evening glow into twilight. Cat Noir was holding his own for now - barely - but was obviously becoming more and more battered.
“I’m sure Ladybug will come,” Wayzz said aloud. “Cat Noir won’t have to fight this one on his own.”
Fu said nothing. He just watched the TV.
The feeling in his stomach whispered that it was right.
And, by the time night fell, Master Fu had to agree.
He had been right.
Because something must be very, very wrong if Ladybug wasn’t showing up.
-
3 Weeks Later
“Parisians are currently being evacuated,” the TV blared.
Fu stared into his cup, watching the way the surface of his tea was rippling, set off by the motion of his shaking hands.
He had stopped to take a short break - or, more accurately, had been ordered by Wayzz to stop and take a short rest. But rest wasn’t possible at this time. Calm wasn’t something he could feel anymore.
Parisians were… scared. Scared for their families, for their futures, and for their lives - to the point that some of them had begun to leave.
The departures had begun as a trickle that slowly strengthened into a roar - and now, Mayor Bourgeois had ordered a full-scale evacuation.
For the past three weeks, Master Fu had scoured Paris ceaselessly for Marinette Dupain-Cheng, searching for her among those departing. If her parents left, would Marinette follow? Fu knew she loved her family beyond words; she’d do anything to protect them.
But she also loved Paris; she would do anything to protect it, too.
Fu’s hands shook slightly as he slowly raised the cup to his lips, attempting to take a sip of the tea. The hot liquid burned the roof of his mouth, however, and he hurriedly put it back down.
Attempting to find Marinette was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. As more people began leaving at the same time, it became even more difficult for him to try and find her among the crowds.
“Master.”
Master Fu looked up. Wayzz was floating in front of him.
“Don’t torture yourself like that,” the green kwami said gently.
“But what if I missed her, Wayzz?” Fu asked - and, despite what the kwami had just said, his voice was tortured. “What if she was behind me, or beside me in a crowd, and I didn’t turn? What if she cannot be found because she’s already gone?”
“You chose her to be Ladybug,” Wayzz reminded him. “You know that she wouldn’t have run from this. She would never leave Cat Noir behind.”
Fu fell silent. All logic pointed toward abandonment by the ladybug hero… but Wayzz was right. Fu had chosen her, and it was for a reason. Deep down, he still trusted her, despite all reason.
But he also had to try and think logically.
Either Marinette had left, was hiding, or was somehow in deep, deep trouble. Perhaps Hawkmoth had discovered her identity and taken her prisoner. Or maybe there had been a different akuma attack that none of them had heard of, and it had kidnapped Ladybug when she took it on. Or maybe she’d been injured in some way and was unable to help… or get help.
Fu sighed; there was just no way to know.
“Quake is currently at the Louvre; Parisians, do not approach the area. All those within, if you can hear me, head to the nearest exit and run.”
The news channels had become less and less formal over the past few weeks; the anchors were more concerned with keeping people safe than actually sounding professional.
Things had only gotten worse since the first akuma attack Ladybug hadn’t come to. That akuma had been, on its own, one of the most powerful Fu had ever seen Hawkmoth create.
But then another akuma had joined it.
And then another.
Now, akumatized civilians were running rampant across Paris. Nowhere was safe.
“I am not doing enough, Wayzz,” Fu murmured, staring in exhaustion at his television.
“You are not in this fight alone, Master,” Wayzz said, drifting closer. “There are other heroes fighting these akumas alongside you - magical and everyday.”
“We need the ladybug, Wayzz,” Fu shook his head. “She is the only one who can heal this mess. Paris can rebuild after the dust has settled, but we need her miraculous cure to purify the akumas first.”
“This is, admittedly, a bleak situation,” Wayzz agreed. “However, you must remember that you are not alone in this. People from very different walks of life have stepped up during this time of crisis.”
“That is true,” Fu admitted.
Seeming to be encouraged by this, Wayzz smiled and continued. “Cat Noir is holding out, for one. He has surely realized by now that Ladybug will not be joining him, yet he continues to fight on his own. You chose a good holder for Plagg.”
Fu couldn’t help but give a faint smile at the thought of Cat Noir. “I will admit, he is one of the best Cat Noirs we have ever had.”
“He even defeated one of the akumatized civilians!”
“Yes, but he had to destroy the akuma to do so.” Fu’s face deepened back into a frown. “Adrien Agreste is a boy with a big heart. He loves life. Even though they are just butterflies, I know he doesn’t want to cataclysm them.”
Wayzz sighed. “You’re right. His hand was forced during that fight; it was a desperate situation. But it’s not worth it for him to continue doing so. It would change him if he did. After all, if it’s all right to take life from butterflies, then what next? Where would the destruction end?”
Fu nodded. “You are correct; destruction needs a firm hand on the reins that won’t ever let up, and Adrien Agreste is one of the few people in all of Paris who understands, and therefore respects the power of destruction and the effects it can have.”
“If only the akuma he’d defeated was one of the bigger ones…”
“You just said that it was a desperate situation.”
“Yes! It was! But, in comparison to some other akumas…”
Fu sighed yet again. “That is true; smaller is only relative in this situation.”
There was silence for a beat. Then, as if trying to lighten the mood, Wayzz added, “At least he’s keeping Parisians safe as they evacuate.”
“Yes,” Fu murmured. “Without him, I’m sure all of Paris would be in dire trouble indeed. The akumas are becoming more and more violent.”
“Which is why you need to rest,” Wayzz added. “Save you strength.”
As if on cue, there was a rumble in the distance, shaking the floor. A crash rang out from the kitchen - likely a teacup dropping due to the quakes.
Both Fu and Wayzz winced. “Quake,” they both chorused.
“Obviously, he isn’t keeping his effects to just the Louvre,” Wayzz noted.
“Think of what it must be doing to it,” Fu shook his head sadly. “The building is made of glass.”
“Cat Noir is on the scene. He is - oh, I’ve lost sight of him. Crap. Oh holy crap. Heavens above, where did he go? Alec, get your eyes on him! If Cat Noir is dead, all of Paris is lost- oh, wait. There he is. Cat Noir is battling it out with Quake at the Louvre, and- and he’s gone again.” Nadja’s voice was strained, cracking, and when her face appeared on screen again, there were deep bags under her eyes. “Apparently, he’s playing a game of cat and mouse with this akuma. I’m not sure - oh! The civilians are escaping. He’s using himself as a distraction.”
“That is very dangerous,” Wayzz observed.
“True,” Fu agreed, then couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Imagine how his father would react to knowing it was his son keeping Paris safe.”
“Probably would use it for media purposes,” Wayzz shrugged his tiny shoulders. “His next fashion line would be inspired by Cat Noir and modeled by him.”
“Is Gabriel Agreste even a fan of the heroes?” Fu pointed out. “I don’t think we’ve ever heard him speak on them.”
Both paused, considering this. Then, together they shrugged. “Na-a-ah. Everyone loves heroes.”
“According to the Ladyblogger, Steam is also on the move. Please stay out of the South side of Paris, citizens.”
Fu glanced toward the tablet with the grimoire on it, still at his desk. He had no phone, but could access internet through the tablet - and the Ladyblog had saved him from wandering into akuma territory during his search for Marinette more than once.
The Ladyblogger was keeping a 24/7 update going on her blog, doing her best to report where akumas were at any given moment. People who spotted any sent in footage to her. A certain DJ was apparently helping her with it. The blog was the only reason civilians were able to avoid akumas even somewhat.
“Wait. It appears that the Couffaines have returned to Paris! Parisians in the immediate area, please go to the Seine now!”
Fu looked back at the TV screen. A certain family who lived on a boat had been offering their services to the city these past weeks, ferrying civilians away from Paris. They’d even been involved in helping people being chased by akuams several times. Their boat had taken some hits thanks to this, but it was holding up surprisingly well.
“Cat Noir is no longer in sight at the Louvre, but Quake is staying there searching for him. Either Cat Noir is hiding - and doing a good job at it - or he has left. Parisians are now streaming out of the area.” There was a beat of silence. “This just in: the next group of evacuees are being chosen. Please, civilians, keep your phones on you at all times. You may be called for next.”
“Chloe has been busy as well,” Wayzz noted.
“She makes a much better everyday hero than a super one,” Fu agreed.
Those who had stepped up to help were intensely varied, yet the most surprising of the bunch was Chloe Bourgeois. She, the source of many akumas herself, was one of the few people who was staying level-headed in the situation. With everything going down around her, Chloe had dropped her own drama and risen up. She was now helping her father make decisions in the best interests of all of Paris - and she was actually surprisingly good at knowing which countries to contact at which times for assistance.
“Just yesterday, the government decided to finally reach out to the kingdom of Achu,” Wayzz nodded. “You were busy searching at the time.”
“That has Chloe’s influence written all over it,” Master Fu noted.
“Evacuees are now being welcomed there,” Wayzz explained. “I suppose London is too close for comfort for some of them.”
“Yes, well, Hawkmoth surely won’t just stop with Paris,” Fu said grimly. “Where to but the next city of consequence?”
It was a closed loop of terror. No one was safe any longer in the world, and it was in desperate need of more heroes.
Which was why Fu had been working so tirelessly - or, at least working while suppressing his exhaustion as best he could. Fu was an old man, secretly the guardian of the miraculouses, and if he perished, all might truly be lost. And yet, he had risked that, walking the streets of the city and searching desperately for the one girl who might be able to save them all.
But to no avail.
“Citizens, I repeat, please keep your phones on you at all times. The Paris police force is sending out alerts to sections of the city with instructions when you are to be evacuated - but only at the moment you are to be. There seems to be a new akuma who can hear phone signals, so the city is attempting to time things as closely as possible to the actual action.”
Fu finally reached for his tea again. Despite Wayzz’s attempts to boost his spirits, now that they had both quieted down, he only felt more nervous. What would happen if any of the everyday heroes were told to evacuate? The Ladyblogger, Chloe, himself - or, worst of all, Adrien? What if Cat Noir was told in his civilian form to leave? What would he do? Would he reveal his identity just so he could stay? Would his father truly make a fashion line based on him?
Slam!
“Master Fu!”
Fu whipped his head around, almost dropping his tea cup.
There, standing in his doorway, was Cat Noir himself.
The cat hero was panting, a bag slung over his shoulder as if he were about to go to school. He was dusted with fine particles of glass, which didn’t bode too well for the Louvre.
And then, as if determined to make this already surprising situation even more so, Cat Noir met his eyes and blurted out, “I know who Ladybug is.”
Fu stared. “Pardon me?”
“I know who Ladybug is,” Cat Noir stressed, shutting the door behind him and hurrying over, kneeling down in front of the old man. “I know her civilian identity.”
“Then please, do enlighten me,” Master Fu said drily, setting down his tea cup and attempting to appear composed. If Cat Noir was wrong, then-
“Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She’s the daughter of Tom and Sabine, who run a bakery. They make the best croissants there, and she’s the best person to exist on planet earth - or anywhere, actually. She wants a hamster, loves to design, and-”
“I believe you,” Fu interrupted. The information was too exact to easily dismiss, and after a moment, he sighed. “That is to say… you are correct.” He paused. “How did you find out?”
As if he’d expected this question, Cat Noir pulled his bag forward and, reaching inside, produced a beret. “She gave me this gift. It was signed as being from Marinette, but I walked into my room and saw Ladybug leaving. It was easy to put two and two together after that.” He let out a pent-up breath. “I mean, I’d suspected she might be Ladybug before, like when we fought Kwami-Buster. But Plagg always told me that I was wrong.”
Fu nodded. Cat Noir was no fool; he was much more straightforward than Marinette, making him the perfect candidate to stumble upon their true identities by accident. “I see. However, I must know how you discovered my location.” Fu indicated the room. “It’s supposed to be secret, and we’ve never met here before; how did you know you’d find me here?”
“You run a business,” Cat Noir said bluntly. “It was easy to look you up on the internet, and I knew what I was looking for, seeing as I met you after we defeated Syren.”
“I knew that I shouldn’t have set up that website,” Master Fu grumbled, shooting an accusing look at Wayzz.
“Don’t look at me!” the kwami protested.
“It was your idea to set it up!”
“Master Fu,” Cat Noir cut in. “Please, I don’t have much time. I need to get back out there to help protect the next wave of evacuees from akumas.”
“You’re involved in that?” Fu asked, taken off guard.
“Chloe is helping me plan it. We’ve worked together before, seeing as she was Queen Bee. She knows a lot about government that I don’t.” Cat Noir began twisting his ring about his finger - obviously a nervous habit of his. “She acts like she doesn’t care about anything, but she really is a tough nut to crack. Nothing gets past her. If it weren’t for her, I’m not sure what would’ve happened to Paris by this point.”
“So… if you’re so busy helping Paris, why visit me?” Fu asked, studying the cat hero. “Clearly this is an important matter.”
“I need help,” Cat Noir said miserably. “I’ve tried to find Marinette in her civilian form. The last time I saw her was when she was going out my window. But her parents don’t know where she is, and none of our class knows where she’s gone - not even her best friend, Alya, and she’s the Ladyblogger to boot. I’ve looked everywhere for Marinette! But I can’t cover ground very fast on my own. I need your help to find her. Something must be wrong.”
“The Ladyblogger is Alya?” Fu asked, his attention caught by that detail.
“Yeah, but we need to find Marinette,” Cat Noir said, dismissing the fact.
“Very true,” Fu murmured - but his mind was racing.
He himself, of course, was never told the true identities of the heroes that Ladybug had chosen to give a miraculous - but as soon as he’d heard Cat Noir describe this Alya, he had the sudden feeling that she must have been Rena Rogue.
But he had to be careful with this new information; he might be wrong, for one. For another, if Cat Noir had guessed out Ladybug’s identity even before he was given definite proof, he might be able to figure this one out as well. Fu had to act as if nothing had just happened.
“Can you help me?” Cat Noir asked, misery evident in his voice. “Please?”
Shaking himself, Fu focused on the problem at hand. “I’ve been searching for Ladybug myself. I haven’t found her.”
Cat Noir drooped. “Then there’s nothing we can do?”
“I will continue searching,” Master Fu assured him. “I believe the only thing we can do is continue evacuating citizens and trying to protect them. There are others helping us, such as that family on their ship.”
“The Couffaines?” Cat Noir asked. “Yeah, I know them. Juleka’s in my class. Luka and Marinette are pretty close. Or… were pretty close?” He growled in frustration, digging the heels of his palms in his eyes. “I don’t know anymore.”
“They were close?” Fu repeated. Perhaps this Luka was Viperion or Carapace? Ladybug would only have given a miraculous to those she trusted most.
“Yeah, he’s a musician.”
Perhaps Viperion, then; he’d played the lute very well.
“I should go,” Cat Noir said abruptly, standing. “I need to get to the next evacuation point.”
“One more thing,” Fu said, just as Cat Noir reached the door. “Do you know who it is who is helping the Ladyblogger with her uploads? The DJ.”
“Nino Lahiffe,” Cat Noir replied. “He’s Alya’s boyfriend. They’re taking turns going through footage being sent to Alya while the other rests.”
“Was Marinette close with him as well?”
“They’ve been in class together for years,” Cat Noir recalled, hand hovering over the doorknob. “I think they might have been.”
“He is trustworthy?” Fu checked.
“He’s one of the most trustworthy people you’ll find,” Cat Noir vouched. “He’d do anything to keep others safe; that’s why he’s helping Alya.”
That fit the description of a good turtle hero, then.
“But also maybe because he likes her.”
All these people that loved Marinette, yet no Marinette to be found.
“Master Fu?”
Fu looked up. Cat Noir was still waiting at the door.
“Thank you for coming,” Master Fu inclined his head to him. “I’m not sure if I should say that I’m relieved or not that you knew who our dear Ladybug was.”
Was.
The word hung in the air between them for a few moments, horrible and empty of life.
“She was sitting behind me in class for months,” Cat Noir mumbled, his voice tortured.
Fu tried to think of some reassurance, but all he could come up with was, “We’ll find her.”
Yet the was was still ringing in his ears, and Fu found he couldn’t bring himself to entirely believe it anymore.
Cat Noir studied him for several moments, and as Fu locked eyes with him, he had the feeling that the young hero could see that lack of hope in his eyes.
At last, the black cat simply nodded at him and slipped out the door.
For several minutes, Fu stared at the closed door, sipping his tea. It had grown cold, but the gears in his mind turning too fast for him to pay much heed to that.
“Master?” Wayzz finally asked. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m not quite sure myself,” Master Fu admitted. He glanced over at the green kwami. “I’m starting to doubt that we’ll ever find Ladybug.”
“Don’t give up hope!” Wayzz encouraged.
“I’ll try not to,” Fu sighed, putting his tea down. “I wish that there was at least some guidance that I could be given.”
Whomp!
In the air right in front of Fu, there was a brilliant flash of white light. For a single moment, he thought it was some vehicle passing by outside and reflecting the sun through his window.
Except the light didn’t disappear.
Instead, it became a white circle, hanging suspended midair.
And then, for the second time that day, a hero suddenly burst through a door - except, it was an entirely different kind of door this time.
“Master Fu!” Bunnyx exclaimed.
Master Fu leapt to his feet - no small feat for him at his age - overturning his tea as he did so. “Bunnyx? What are you doing here?”
The bunny hero bowed to him hurriedly. “I need your help.”
“Does this have to do with Ladybug?” Fu said urgently. “She has gone missing.”
“Yes,” Bunnyx said. Her face crumpled. “It… it’s all my fault. I brought her to the future - about three weeks ago from this point in time - to stop a possible future. Cat Noir had found out her civilian identity. They…” She hesitated, as if suddenly remembering how she wasn’t supposed to share the future, even with Master Fu. “How much can I tell you?”
“Everything,” Fu said firmly. “This is an emergency of the highest order. Paris has descended into chaos during the time that Ladybug has been gone. The entire city is being evacuated. Without the cure, there’s no stopping Hawkmoth. There’s even been talk of trying to ask American heroes to come help Paris.” He took a step closer to the blue and white hero. “I think that it’s all or nothing now. We can’t afford to lose.”
“Okay,” Bunnyx said decisively, tapping her umbrella against her hand in a quick rhythm, as if to let out nervous energy. “Okay.” She hesitated for one more second, then blurted out, “They dated as civilians.”
“At last!” Wayzz cried, flipping in the air. “My ship has sailed!”
Fu and Bunnyx stared at him.
Wayzz coughed. “I mean… yes. Very nice. Carry on, Bunnyx.”
“As I was saying,” Bunnyx said, side-eyeing Wayzz, as if daring him to try and interrupt her again, “they were living their best lives until Hawkmoth discovered their identities. Or at least Cat Noir’s. He targeted Cat Noir and akumatized him into a villain called Chat Blanc.”
“So you brought Ladybug to stop him?” Fu’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Why could the Ladybug in the future not save him on her own?”
“It’s a possible future,” Bunnyx explained. “I had to try and fix it from the root of the problem by using the Mini-bug that had caused it.” She paused, then quietly admitted, “Also, the Ladybug from that time is… dead.”
Fear dumped over Fu in an icy stream. “Is our Ladybug still there? Right now? Is she still… alive?”
“I… I can’t answer that.” Bunnyx rapped her umbrella against her hand more forcefully. She obviously had been under a lot of stress, and it was taking its toll on her. “Look, in the future, Hawkmoth tried to force Chat Blanc to destroy Ladybug - their Ladybug, I mean. But, rather than her, he destroyed the world - and still killed her in the process.” Bunnyx began to pace, tapping her closed umbrella aggressively against her leg as she did so. “He shot the moon, Fu. He’s more powerful than any akuma that’s outside right now; I don’t have to see them to tell you that.”
“He destroyed the world?” Fu stared at her. “Surely you are exaggerating.”
“Nothing was left,” Bunnyx shook her head. “Just water, ruins, and corpses.”
Fu winced. “So you brought our Ladybug to save him.”
“The plan was for Mini-bug to purify the akuma and come back to the present,” Bunnyx explained. “She’d change how she accidentally revealed her identity to Cat Noir, and that future would never happen.”
“The plan was?” Fu said, noting the way the word had just come back again. “What happened?”
Bunnyx squeezed her eyes shut, as if in pain. After several tense seconds of silence, she whispered, “He won.”
“Who?” Fu demanded. “Hawkmoth?”
“Chat Blanc. He took her earrings. And… that’s all I could see. I don’t know what happened.”
“What do you mean?” Fu asked.
“Come with me into my burrow,” Bunnyx said urgently. “I’ll show you.”
Fu exchanged an uncertain glance with Wayzz.
As if worried that he were considering not coming, Bunnyx took another step closer to him. “Please. The future of the world depends on this. You’re the only one I can trust to know what to do. With Ladybug having been ripped from time and beaten in the future, there’s no older version of her for me to turn to.”
“All right,” Fu said decisively. “Wayzz, shell on!”
There was a flash of green light, and a moment later, Jade Turtle followed Bunnyx into her burrow.
The first thing Jade Turtle noticed was how white it was. Circles speckled the air, playing footage of some kind.
The second thing Jade Turtle noticed was the small clump of circles that only showed white.
“What is this?” he breathed, approaching the cluster. He had never been in the burrow before, but he already could tell that this was an anomaly.
“That’s where the future is supposed to be,” Bunnyx explained, trailing after him. “It’s where I saw what happened to Cat Noir and Marinette: him figuring out her identity, the dating, and then the akumatization. But, after he got the earrings… it turned white.” She gestured to one in the center of the cluster. “That was the original. But, not long after it turned white, the ones around it started to as well.”
“What can that possibly mean?” Jade Turtle frowned.
“I don’t know!” Bunnyx growled in frustration. “I brought you here to see if you’d know.”
“I can’t tell from the outside,” Jade Turtle said decisively. “I need to go in.”
“What?” Bunnyx stared at him. “Are you crazy?”
“That’s the only way to find out,” Jade Turtle insisted. “It’ll just be a reconnaissance mission. I’ll try to locate Ladybug without getting involved with… you said his name was Chat Blanc?”
“Yes,” Bunnyx nodded, worry apparent on her face. “I’m going to be straight with you, Fu: that’s a horrible plan. If it were good, then I would have gone in already myself.”
“You are the only one with access to the future,” Jade Turtle shook his head. “I, on the other hand, know how to blend in and stay hidden in plain sight. I’m the guardian of the miraculous; I’ve kept myself hidden from anyone who might want to use them for years.”
“For the wish?”
“Exactly,” Jade Turtle nodded. “I’m the best option for this. Actually,” he gave a joyless smile, “I’m likely your only option.”
“How will you get back?” Bunnyx asked.
“With Ladybug’s help,” Jade Turtle said simply.
Bunnyx stared at him before giving a bark of laughter. “You mean you’re going in there blind, will maybe find Mini-bug - wherever she might be in whatever that is, if she’s still even alive - and then trust that she will find a way out?”
“Yes,” Jade Turtle said simply.
Bunnyx shook her head. “Maybe an older version of herself could, but Mini-bug…? She’s still crazy about Adrien Agreste right now!”
“Is there ever a time she isn’t?” Jade Turtle pointed out.
“Well, there was this possible future this one time where she fell in love with Cat Noir instead, but then you managed to contact me and insisted that we change it since you like Adrinette better-”
“Bunnyx,” Jade Turtle interrupted, “I know she can do it.”
Bunnyx went quiet, studying him. Finally, she quietly said, “You really have that much faith in Mini-bug?”
“I chose her, didn’t I?”
“Then why hasn’t she come back herself?” Bunnyx challenged.
“There is no way of knowing for sure,” Jade Turtle glanced at the burrow hole. “But the holder of the ladybug miraculous is naturally drawn towards healing and curing situations. She should be able to sense the right way - or at least discover the path. Besides,” he added, “if we stick to the original plan and purify the akuma, then you might be able to get me out yourself.”
“Fair enough,” Bunnyx reluctantly admitted. “But… be careful, Fu; the white is spreading to the past for some reason. I… I don’t know what it is. But I can’t seem to stop it.”
“It’s affecting only the future for now?” Jade Turtle checked. “Not the time period I was just in?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s within a safe limit.”
“For now,” Bunnyx muttered.
“We’ll find her,” Jade Turtle promised.
He’d said the exact same words not ten minutes ago to Chat Noir, but now… he actually believed them.
However, before stepping forward, he paused. “Bunnyx? Do you know the identities of the heroes that Ladybug chose?”
“Their civilian identities? Yes; why?”
“Just wondering,” Jade Turtle shrugged, then, hope rising, stepped into the center white circle.
He was instantly swallowed up by the white. It was blindingly bright, just like when Bunnyx’s burrow first burst forth into existence in his house. Jade Turtle squinted against it.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, a feeling like static electricity suddenly washed over his whole body.
Traveling through a burrow could be disconcerting, though Jade Turtle obviously didn’t have much to compare this to; just the single trip into the burrow he’d gone through just now with Bunnyx.
Yet, despite that, he knew instinctively that it didn’t feel like this. It was like an entire force of energy gathering its strength, a tidal wave about to crash over him - and right now he was only feeling the winds.
Whatever this energy was, it didn’t want him here.
He had to get to the other side before it could stop him.
Jade Turtle pushed back against the energy, gritting his teeth.
The energy seemed to push back against him, trying to stop him.
But he was old, not weak.
For several moments, he struggled, an invisible battle of wills with this pure whiteness. It seemed to whisper about him, static filling his ears, and bright spots of colour bursting and popping before his eyes. His head went dizzy, filled with the static feeling.
For a moment, nothing happened. He hung, suspended.
Trapped.
The wave was about to crash.
Jade Turtle gave one last, desperate push against the energy, and-
Without any warning, he burst out of the burrow, falling to his knees and almost braining himself on a plant pot.
For several moments, all Jade Turtle could do was pant on his hands and knees. Whatever the white was, it had notwanted him to get through.
But… get through to where?
He looked up, and was greeted by…
His house.
“What?” he murmured, straightening. He’d only just left here. How could he possibly be back?
Jade Turtle went to take a step forward, but his foot bumped against something. He glanced down, then paused.
There was an aquarium on the floor.
Filled with turtles.
And, now that he was looking down, he could see that he was no longer in his superhero form of Jade Turtle. Instead, he was in his normal clothes - except for his shirt, which had a turtle pattern playing across it.
“What is this?” Fu murmured, fear beginning to grow within him. He hurried over to the window, peering outside. His body ached with the movement, as if he’d just undergone a strenuous physical activity, but he ignored the pain, trying to get a good look at the outside world.
He was greeted by… Paris.
Except…
It was black and white.
“What?” Fu breathed, confusion flooding through him. “How can this be?”
His house was coloured, and so was he.
So why did the outside world look like this?
Fu’s hands began to shake, and he sat down on the floor. He needed to think.
Bunnyx had described a world destroyed by Chat Blanc, filled with water and ruins. But there was no water in sight, and all the buildings appeared intact.
Fu rubbed his forehead. He had next to nothing to go off to make a guess of any sort; the only thing he could think of that could explain what made the world turn… well, retro, was that it was somehow an effect of Chat Blanc destroying the world.
Yet, at the same time, that made no sense. If Chat Blanc had destroyed the world, wouldn’t nothing be here?
I must investigate further, Fu decided. He went to walk to the door, but was jerked to a halt, as if he was tied to something. Twisting about, Fu’s gaze instantly fell on the aquarium.
It only took a second before the realization hit him.
Turtles.
His shirt.
His miraculous.
For some reason, he couldn’t leave the aquarium behind. Bringing the turtle miraculous with him seemed to have created these turtle-related items, and he couldn’t go anywhere without them.
Or maybe he wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without them.
If he had to bring the aquarium with him, then, he wouldn’t be able to cover ground very quickly. He was old and slow as it was, much less while carrying around an aquarium of all things.
Fu hurriedly shuffled about the room. Everything was where he always kept it. He quickly located what he was looking for, and within minutes, he’d constructed some new additions to the aquarium: wheels, and a handle for him to push it about with.
“Time to find Ladybug,” he murmured, straightening and nodding at his handiwork.
This time, while pushing the aquarium, Fu made it to the door and outside.
As soon as he closed it behind him, he noticed the difference:
He was no longer in colour.
Feeling a slightly frazzled, Fu began to push the aquarium down the street, starting his search for Ladybug.
-
Bunnyx paced her burrow, eyes locked on the cluster of white circles.
This place, created by her miraculous, was supposed to be beyond the touch of time. Usually, when she sent a hero into the future or the past, she could view what happened to them.
But this time…
She was blind.
Bunnyx swung her umbrella, popping it open and closed, trying to keep her hands busy. She glanced at the circles again, as if in some half-hearted hope that Fu would already be stepping out with Mini-bug at his side.
Bunnyx liked to think of herself as the protector of time. The burrow was the one place where the bunny miraculous couldn’t be in the same place at the same time. Holders of it over the centuries never entered it at the same time. Maybe because of that, it was actually the only place where time really did have any true meaning. She could be in any place more than once, and could end up with multiple copies of herself running around in any time period - except for the burrow.
Bunnyx raked a hand through her hair, sending her already spiky hair shooting out in all directions. Without her ability to see what was going on, she wasn’t sure what to do.
She glanced at the cluster again - and was just in time to see another circle fizzle, as if being overtaken by static, then blip out into pure white.
Another one gone.
Bunnyx approached one of the few circles close to the white group that still showed images. She set her hand upon it, playing it back.
It didn’t help her. All it revealed was Cat Noir and Ladybug in the middle of fighting an akuma. It was after they’d revealed identities to one another, and the knowledge seemed to have further empowered them, letting them work in a tandem that they’d never before enjoyed until they had this absolute trust in one another.
Out of the corner of her eye, Bunnyx noticed movement. That wasn’t unusual in the burrow, seeing as all around her were circles portraying movement of some kind. But this one was out of the ordinary enough that she turned to look.
Across the burrow, a circle was fizzing, going static-ey - and then turned white.
But it was nowhere near the cluster.
“What? No!” Bunnyx shot to it, slamming her palm against the circle, as if trying to turn it back so she could watch what happened, the way she could with any of the normal circles.
But nothing happened.
That one had nothing to do with the future! Bunnyx thought, backing up, fear roaring in her ears. Why did it go out?
The white was obviously spreading - but the fact that the future affected something so out of the way, something that was so far into the past… it was not just disturbing, but downright terrifying.
Bunnyx stood before the circle, her hand hovering just over it it. What if she tried to step in, the way Master Fu had? What if she touched this circle, not just with the intention of playing it back, but of entering? What if she tried to find out what was beyond this white?
But what if it destroyed her entirely? What if it had already done so to Master Fu, to Mini-bug, and all hope was lost?
Bunnyx let her hand drop. She didn’t dare go in; like Master Fu had said, she was the only one who could access the future. If the white cut her off from the time period she’d picked Fu up from…
Bunnyx actually wasn’t sure what would happen if that occurred, but she knew in her gut that it wouldn’t be good.
“I think that it’s all or nothing now. We can’t afford to lose.”
Fu was the wisest person that Bunnyx knew - and she’d traveled through time and spoken to some of the brightest minds in history. If Master Fu had believed that this situation was truly that dire… then this was a very desperate situation indeed.
“All or nothing,” Bunnyx whispered, trying to rein her fear in.
Her gaze fell on the circle that led back to the past, back to the time period she’d first retrieved Mini-bug from and then Master Fu.
It was still holding steady - for now. But the hand of time was slow slipping its fingers about her burrow, and now, it was starting to squeeze, to choke and kill it. She was inside a time bomb, but she couldn’t see the clock ticking down to the explosion.
She didn’t have a choice.
She couldn’t afford to wait.
With sudden determination, Bunnyx rallied herself and marched over to the hole - and
stepped
through.
It was utter chaos. People were running from something, screaming. The sun went dark, as if something huge was blocking it out, and a dull roar filled her ears.
Bunnyx turned, alarmed - but it was no akuma blocking the sun.
A building was falling, creaking and groaning as it descended straight toward her.
Bunnyx didn’t even have time to gasp before someone jumped in front of her, baton twirling, the speed of it cutting straight through the stone as the building crashed down. The hole created was barely big enough for the two of them to stand in.
Dust exploded all around them, and Bunnyx burst into a fit of coughing, trying to wave it out of her face. “Th-thanks for the save.”
“Bunnyx?”
For the first time, Bunnyx looked down at the person who had saved her.
He was a little taller than the last time she’d visited him in the past, but his green eyes were still as keen as ever.
“Cat Noir,” Bunnyx greeted, then gave a few more final coughs, as if for good measure.
“What are you doing here?” Cat Noir asked, waving dust away. “If you’re going to help me evacuate Parisians, I certainly would appreciate it-”
“No,” Bunnyx interrupted. “You need to come with me.” She grabbed him by the bell, opening up an entrance back to her burrow and dragging him through even as he yelped.
“Bunnyx, what are you doing? Paris needs its heroes-”
“-here,” Bunnyx interrupted. “It needs all its heroes here. Look, I asked Master Fu for help, but he’s gone, and I’ll be cut off soon enough from the past - the place you’re from - so I have to bring you and all your fellow heroes here.”
With that, she turned and re-entered the circle again, willing herself to exit in a different location.
Bunnyx had watched Fu open up the miraculous box many times in alternate futures.
It was a simple enough matter when she walked into his room once again to stride over and pop it open.
Bunnyx glanced over the miraculouses. The turtle one was gone, taken by Master Fu. She didn’t dare waste time trying to locate it in another time; she’d have to find a situation where Mini-bug didn’t need the miraculous, and she couldn’t afford to leisurely flip through past akuma attacks as if she were reading a magazine in a waiting room. The past and future were disappearing for some reason. She had to act, now.
Bunnyx snatched up all the miraculouses she needed, then opened up a way back into her burrow.
“First off, rude,” Cat Noir complained as soon as she re-entered - though she knew that it wouldn’t seem to him like any time had passed. “Second off, what are you even talking about?”
“I’m talking about those,” Bunnyx tossed over her shoulder, inclining her head toward the cluster of white circles. Then, she hopped back out of her burrow.
It took her several precious minutes of going in and out of her burrow to reach each hero, give them their miraculous, and drag them back through. She had to make them transform before going back in, which took time. The kwamis were very talkative. But Master Fu didn’t want any of them knowing each other’s identities, so Bunnyx had to abide by his rules.
“This is ridiculous,” Queen Bee was complaining when Bunnyx finished off by bringing Ryuko through. “We’re leaving Paris completely unguarded! And I don’t even know where we are!”
“We’re going to lose Paris if we don’t save the future,” Bunnyx replied shortly. She got straight to the point. “The future is disappearing - and it’s starting to affect the past. I don’t know why.” She pointed at the cluster of white circles. “Master Fu went in there to try and find Mini-bug.”
“Excuse you, but where are we?!” Queen Bee demanded, stamping her high-heeled foot. “I’m busy right now, so I don’t care about Master Wu or whatever his name was.”
Bunnyx didn’t even try to resist the urge to glare at Queen Bee; Chloe was just as annoying as she remembered. “This is my burrow. I have the miraculous of time. These circles allow me to access time - and some of them are going out.”
“Did you say that Ladybug is in there?” Cat Noir asked, his attention still obviously caught on that point. His entire body seemed to practically be vibrating, as if he’d just downed an entire energy drink.
“Hold your horses,” Bunnyx warned. “We can’t just go jumping in there.”
“Why not?” all the heroes demanded at once.
“Your Master Yu did,” Queen Bee added.
“And look where that got him!” Bunnyx yelled. “He’s not here! I need backup, not to babysit! Quiet down so I can explain!”
“Paris is being left completely unguarded right now!” Queen Bee yelled back. “We need to go back! Without us, everyone is doomed!”
Bunnyx forced herself to draw in a long breath - it was through her teeth, making a hissing noise, but she attempted it anyway. “Look. You don’t need to worry about Paris. I have the ability to let you out at the exact moment you left.” She tried to not think too hard about the fact that the past might just get cut off by the white. “Paris isn’t losing any time by you being in my burrow. Here, though, we are on a time limit.”
“That makes no sense,” Viperion frowned.
“Shouldn’t this be the one place outside of the reach of time?” Ryuko agreed. “If you access time here, that would logically make this the only place time stands still.”
“It should be,” Bunnyx replied shortly. She surveyed the heroes in front of her.
During the time leading up to her becoming the holder of the bunny miraculous, she’d seen many other heroes given a miraculous. She would have loved to grab all of them.  But now that the timeline had been changed, Mini-bug had technically never had a chance to give those people their miraculouses.
Instead, all she had were Cat Noir, Rena Rogue, Carapace, Viperion, Pegasus, King Monkey, and Ryuko.
Not exactly the most inspiring group ever. But at least they had her. She at least was somewhat inspiring.
“So…” Rena Rogue broke the silence. “At the risk of sounding totally dumb… who is Master Fu again?”
“Wu,” Queen Bee corrected.
“Fu,” Bunnyx, Cat Noir, and Rena Rogue all said at once.
“Master Fu,” Bunnyx said, casting a glance at Queen Bee before looking back at Rena, “is the guardian of the miraculous.”
“Wait, I thought Ladybug kept the miraculouses,” Rena Rogue frowned.
“No, she didn’t,” Bunnyx replied. She glanced over at the cluster of circles; they were holding steady, for now, but she hated wasting time that could end in them being cut off from more parts of time. “Under normal circumstances, I would not tell any of you anything about the future. But…” She walked over to the cluster. “This is where the future used to be. Master Fu went in it, but I have no idea if there even is another side that he could exit out of. I usually can see the future, but now…”
“Just white?” Pegasus observed, adjusting a bag he had over his shoulder. There had been no time for him to drop it off when Bunnyx grabbed him, and now Bunnyx had to hope that no one would recognize the bag as belonging to Max Kanté.
Bunnyx nodded, turning back toward the group of heroes staring at her. “It’s spreading. I don’t know what it is, but eventually, it’ll hit your current time period as well.”
“So… the world is ending?” Nino asked.
Bunnyx gave a short nod. “Essentially.”
“Wow,” Viperion blinked.
Rena Rogue gave a small fist pump. “Add that to the list of things we get to defeat!”
“Why is he here?” Queen Bee complained, pointing at Nino.
“Now’s not the time to celebrate, Rena,” Bunnyx said, simultaneously shooting her a withering look and ignoring Queen Bee’s question. She’d been hoping none of the other heroes would notice that Nino was there, which would obviously make him a holder - and, based on the fact that only Carapace was missing, it would be easy to conclude that he was Carapace.
The only reason she’d brought him in - even though he was in his civilian form - was because he was a holder. But as long as Master Fu was in the future, Bunnyx wasn’t going to try diving around in the past to find the turtle miraculous when her burrow could potentially lock her out.
“I brought Mini-bug here,” Bunnyx explained, jerking a thumb at the white circles. “I needed her help to try and save the future, but she wasn’t able to.”
“Wait. You mean she went into the white?” Cat Noir bristled, the hair on his head practically standing on end. “By herself? Why didn’t you grab me?! I’m her partner!”
“Because she was saving the future from you.” Bunnyx folded her arms across her chest. “And it wasn’t even white, yet.”
“Is that supposed to make this better?” Cat Noir glared.
“It was a more stable situation at the time,” Bunnyx snapped. Her nerves were frayed. She’d been trying to save the world from a teenager who had enough power to destroy everyone and mess with her own miraculous’s powers, and she was either alone, worrying about someone else who had stepped up to help, or else babysitting. She was too far gone to let some little version of Cat Noir snap at her without retaliation. “You found out her identity, Cat Noir. That action was the source of a chain reaction that resulted in Hawkmoth discovering your identity because you transformed out in the open to save Mini-bug as a civilian, Hawkmoth akumatizing you…” She glared fiercely at him. “…and you destroying the world.”
All the heroes stared at her, and Bunnyx realized a little too late that she may have come across too strongly on the point that it was somehow all Cat Noir’s fault.
Ugh. She’d leapt before she looked. She did that quite a bit.
“Come again?” Viperion finally said.
“I destroy the world?” Cat Noir whispered, twisting his ring.
“Did they date?” Rena Rogue and Nino chorused.
“That is completely irrelevant,” Bunnyx attempted to wave it off.
“So, yes, then?” Rena Rogue noted hopefully.
“Wait, what?” Cat Noir froze. “I-I mean… she would never… we… there’s someone else… I mean, I d-destroy the world?” He froze, panic, confusion, and a strange balking mixing in his expression. “What?”
“Priorities, Cat Noir,” Bunnyx chided - forcing herself to make her voice a little more gentle this time. She needed to keep this conversation on track, and these teenagers were making that very difficult. “Yes, you destroyed the world. That’s what I was trying to fix when I brought Mini-bug here. It was her fault that you found out her identity.” She shot Cat Noir an apologetic look. “It wasn’t all your fault. But because she was the source of that action, I needed her to fix it. If you stepped in, you might end up remembering it, anyway, and I had to change that.”
“Why is it so important that they do not know one another’s identities?”
Everyone looked up.
Ryuko was standing at one of the still-clear circles, watching the footage play out.
“Hey, that’s the future!” Bunnyx yelped. “You’re not allowed to see that!”
“We’re trying to change this,” Ryuko replied, not even glancing away. “It won’t be here when we’re done.”
“Well… I guess,” Bunnyx grumbled grumpily.
“There is an incredible level of teamwork displayed between Cat Noir and Ladybug here,” Ryuko observed. “Knowing her identity seems to only have made them stronger. If only one having been revealed does that…”
“Well, I mean, he transformed out in the open to save her,” Bunny reminded Ryuko. “She knew his after that.”
“They have skill,” Ryuko insisted. “Knowing their identities only made them stronger - maybe strong enough to defeat HawkMoth. I don’t see how this is a negative thing.”
“It’s Master Fu’s rules,” Cat Noir said quietly. “If anyone knew our identities, that could put them at risk.”
“Aren’t you both already at risk by being heroes?” Viperion pointed out. “Heck, aren’t all of us?”
“Now is not the time for an existential crisis,” Bunnyx shook her head.
“I’m not sure that means what you think it means,” Queen Bee began, but Bunnyx shot her a look.
“Not now, Queenie.”
“Only Cat Noir gets to call me that.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s the only one who doesn’t say it like it’s an insult.”
Bunnyx paused, then let out a huff. “Fair enough. But Cat Noir and Ladybug aren’t allowed to know each other’s identities because, simply put, once they did, the world was destroyed. Which was HawkMoth’s fault, by the way. Not Cat Noir’s.”
“He really destroyed the whole world?” King Monkey shot a look of admiration at Cat Noir, which Bunnyx felt may have been the wrong response to the situation.
“Yeah, he did, and Mini-bug was supposed to purify his akuma,” Bunnyx said. Trying to keep the conversation on track, take two. “You were called Chat Blanc, Cat Noir. But you were incredibly strong - stronger than any of the akumas currently in your time of Paris. She lost to you.”
“Why couldn’t Ladybug have brought one of us with her?” Queen Bee asked, studying her nails. “I mean, obviously we aren’t Cat Noir, so obviously we could have been involved.”
“Yeah, if he wasn’t literally yelling her civilian name during their fight,” Bunnyx rolled her eyes. “Stay focused! Mini-bug tried to fight him, lost, and then…” She rapped the center white circle with her knuckles. It gave where she touched it, but sprung back easily, as if it were a truly physical mass. “The future disappeared.”
“You can’t access it at all?” Pegasus checked.
“I haven’t gone through,” Bunnyx shook her head, “but Master Fu managed to step through earlier. You can at least enter it, if not exit.”
“What do you mean, if not exit?” Cat Noir stared. “Did you send the guardian in to that when we might never get him back?”
“I don’t know!” Bunnyx rubbed her eyes roughly with the heel of her palm. “It was his idea! I don’t know if there’s anything left.  Maybe something. Maybe nothing. Maybe Mini-bug. But I can’t see anything, which is the whole problem!”
“So… we need to find a way through?” Nino surmised.
Bunnyx strode to the other side of her burrow to the white circle that had cropped up earlier. “The fact that the future is no longer accessible is starting to affect the past. It’s disappearing as well, for some reason. Once these go white, I can’t access them. I can’t see through them, and I don’t know if anything is even past them. So, yes, we need to find a way through.” She met the eyes of the heroes. “To save all time.”
“To… save the world?” Rena Rogue casually checked, sounding a little too hopeful on that point.
Bunnyx sighed. “Yes, Rena, to save the world.”
Rena Rogue gave a small celebratory fist pump.
Pegasus raised a hand. “I have an idea.”
“All ideas are welcome,” Bunnyx nodded.
“I have one,” Queen Bee said.
“Except your’s,” Bunnyx amended. “You were saying, Pegasus?”
“I have a robot with me,” Pegasus explained. “I built him myself. If I sent him in, we might be able to see what’s in there through him.”
“That… might work,” Bunnyx said slowly, hope fluttering in her chest. She wouldn’t trust just anyone with a mission of this importance - especially a robot built by a teenager - but Pegasus was Max; that meant he was probably referring to Markov. For a robot, Markov was pretty sentient, proven by the fact that he’d once been akumatized.
Not to mention, Max himself was pretty smart. Not as smart as Bunnyx, of course, but smart.
Bunnyx gave a determined nod. “Pegasus, send him in.”
Pegasus joined her at the circles. “It is the center one, correct? I assume that the white is spreading out in a ripple effect from it, but I want to make sure I’m not sending my friend into the wrong one.”
“Friend?” Queen Bee snorted. “It’s a robot. You sound exactly like one of the idiots I know.”
“How many idiots do you know?” Viperion glanced at her.
“Too many,” Queen Bee sniffed.
“Yes, it’s the center one,” Bunnyx confirmed.
“Why are you carrying a robot around with you, dude?” Nino asked curiously. “Paris has been going crazy; not exactly the best time to be dragging a robot around.”
“I was heading to the next evacuation,” Pegasus said distractedly as he dug into his bag. “I was bringing him with me.”
Queen Bee frowned - and Bunnyx realized a beat too late that Chloe probably had decided who to send out next herself; she might be able to figure out who Pegasus was.
And then Pegasus pulled Markov out of his bag, and Bunnyx realized a beat that was very much too late that the majority of the heroes here were very familiar with Markov.
Everyone stared at the robot as Pegasus whispered instructions to him. Ryuko and Viperion were the only ones who still seemed somewhat calm - they didn’t know Markov, and therefore couldn’t make the connection to Max. Cat Noir also seemed unaffected, seeing as he’d been there when Ladybug gave Max the horse miraculous.
But, as for everyone else…
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Queen Bee muttered.
Ah, yes, Chloe was just as annoying as Bunnyx remembered.
Unaware of how he’d just exposed his secret identity to almost every hero present, Pegasus turned on his phone and began tapping on it quickly, fingers flying across the screen.
“What are you doing?” Cat Noir asked. His voice was weary. Bunnyx felt a small stab of guilt at pegging the problem on his future self so hard; the poor guy had been singlehandedly attempting to take on all the akumas in Paris by himself.
“When I made Ma- erm, my robot, that is, I also created an app where I can link up to him. If I turn it on and send him through, we should be able to see what is going on inside, hypothetically speaking.” Pegasus punched a few commands into his phone, quietly gave several more instructions to Markov, then stepped back.
The little robot flew straight into the white circle, disappearing.
Pegasus sucked in a sharp breath.
“What is it?” Bunnyx demanded, by his side in an instant, peering at his phone. “Where’s the feed? It’s just white.”
“I’ve… I’ve lost all connection with him,” Pegasus said, his voice faltering.
The heroes fell silent.
Bunnyx began tapping her umbrella against her thigh again. Pegasus - Max - wouldn’t take this loss lightly, but she couldn’t help but be more worried about Master Fu than Markov.
What did it all mean? Was the white just interfering with the connection? Or was there no other side for Markov to even get through?
If the was the case…
That meant Bunnyx really had sent the guardian of the miraculous to his doom.
That meant they’d never get Mini-bug back.
And that meant they’d never be able to fix this.
“That’s not good,” Bunnyx finally rasped, the silence too oppressing.
“What can we do if we can’t retrieve any intel?” Rena Rogue asked, rolling her flute between her hands nervously. “We need to know the facts before we can draw any conclusions.”
“There has to be some way we can check on this dude - uh, Master Fu, I mean,” Nino said.
“For goodness sake, why is he here?” Queen Bee demanded to know yet again.
“It’s not important-” Bunnyx tried to glaze over Nino’s presence once again, but Pegasus was already talking.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Pegasus said distractedly, fingers flying across his phone as he attempted to re-establish a connection with Markov. “He’s the hero Carapace. Master Fu must have taken the turtle miraculous with him, or else Bunnyx would have given it to Nino.”
“Pegasus!” Bunnyx hissed, resisting the sudden and strong urge to smack him upside the head with her umbrella. “Identities are supposed to remain a secret!”
Pegasus paused only long enough to glance up, a look only slightly guilty playing across his face. “Oh. Sorry. I thought that it was so obvious that everyone else knew as well.”
“No need to insult their intelligence,” Bunnyx reprimanded, though she couldn’t bring herself to be too mad about the jab. These mini versions of the heroes were pretty slow on the uptake, sometimes. And she couldn’t really blame Max for it; she herself had already done more than her fair share of jabs. Nerves were frayed, and everyone was on edge.
“Should we send someone in?” King Monkey asked, scratching his head. “I mean, that Food guy-“
“Fu,” Bunnyx corrected.
“Fu,” King Monkey continued, “is in there. But we can’t see him. If one of us could reach him, then we’d be able to help him find Ladybug faster so we can fix this whole mess.”
“We don’t even know if he got through,” Viperion shook his head, folding his arms across his chest. “For all we know he might be…” He paused, glancing somewhat guiltily over at Bunnyx.
Bunnyx’s chest tightened. She knew exactly where Viperion had been going with that.
For a moment, they were all silent.
Then, from behind Bunnyx, someone said, “I’ll go.”
-
Everything about this was ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.
Chloe had only just begun initiating another group of evacuations when this bunny hero had burst out of a glowing white hole in the middle of the air, shoved the bee miraculous at her, and ordered her to follow.
Chloe had done so. She was Queen Bee, after all, a hero. She’d done her best for the past 3 weeks, despite not having a miraculous, settling for trying to help her utterly helpless father. He wasn’t good at dealing with a crisis.
They’d been in the middle of a particularly tense evacuation - a building had literally just fallen over, and no one had eyes on Cat Noir - but Chloe had followed the bunny hero into the glowing hole anyway. She’d been hoping they would be getting Ladybug from wherever she was, and that she’d be able to fix everything.
But here, no one seemed to have a plan! It was chaos, utter chaos. Even Chloe had been able to develop one in an unprecedented crisis, okay? It wasn’t that hard. Unless you were an idiot. In which case, it might be somewhat challenging.
“Should we send someone in?” the monkey hero was asking.
Queen Bee pursed her lips. She’d already tried to give them a plan to work with, but Bunnyx had rejected her idea before she’d even heard it.
Rude.
But…
These fools need a lot of help, Queen Bee observed, and a queen must step up.
It had become her mantra during the past couple of weeks. Because of it, she’d found that she made a great leader under pressure, and that she was clearly the only one in Paris that had any sense whatsoever. Besides Cat Noir, of course. He was the reason anything had even gone through; he’d backed her up when she’d tried to help at first, and apparently the word of a superhero carried a lot of weight.
But, besides him, no one else in this… whatever it was called… burrow? Tunnel? Yeah, whatever. Close enough. Everyone else in this tunnel was stupid. First off, that Pegasus guy was obviously Max, and he’d been dumb enough to reveal very incriminating evidence about his identity to all of them. She’d recognize that robot anywhere; it was so annoying. And Nino? He’d always been such a pain; she couldn’t imagine him as a hero. The only person Ladybug had chosen that showed she had any good taste was Chloe herself - and Chloe hadn’t been exactly chosen.
“We don’t even know if he got through,” the hot green guy shook his head, folding his arms across his chest. “For all we know he might be…” He paused, glancing somewhat guiltily over at Bunnyx.
Dead, Queen Bee mentally filled in.
For a moment, they were all silent.
Now was a good a time as any to propose her plan without any interruptions; hopefully Cat Noir would be willing to back her up again.
Queen Bee straightened. “I’ll go.”
Everyone turned to stare at her.
“What?” Queen Bee demanded. “I tried to tell you it like, five minutes ago! Someone has to go in, and I’m obviously the best choice.”
“What makes you say that?” Rena Rogue retorted.
“I trust her,” Cat Noir interrupted. “I’ve been working with Chloe for the past couple weeks to help Paris; she’s really good at planning things and acting like she belongs when she doesn’t.”
Queen Bee glared at him; it was exactly the backup she’d been hoping for. “That was both compliment and insult, and I don’t appreciate that.”
“I’d prefer if we could just send you, Cat Noir,” Bunnyx sighed, “seeing as you already know Ladybug’s identity.”
“He WHAT now?” Queen Bee demanded. “Ladybug and I are besties! I should have been the first to know!”
Cat Noir seemed to draw in on himself. “I… only found out on accident,” he mumbled. “She didn’t know that I knew - and then she disappeared.” He glanced up. “Or, I guess she was brought here by Bunnyx, and then got trapped in the future.”
Oh, so he playing the blame-game now, was he? Queen Bee didn’t blame him, though; Bunnyx had been extremely rude earlier to him about it when Bunnyx had been the one to bring Ladybug through.
“If the future still exists through that white,” Bunnyx was saying to Cat Noir, “then your future self will likely still be there. You’re my first choice for who I’d send in, but we can’t risk that; if you ever met your future self, it would be too obvious that you don’t belong there.”
“I’m sure I could blend in,” Queen Bee declared, trying to get the conversation back to the topic of her plan. “Let me go. Besides,” she added, “I’m probably the most expendable, seeing as Hawkmoth already knows my identity.”
Everyone stared at her. “Wow, Chloe,” Rena Rogue finally said. “That was almost selfless.”
“You’re not expendable,” Cat Noir said gently, laying a hand on her shoulder. “And we’re not even up against Hawkmoth, here.”
“If Queen Bee goes, she needs to know what Ladybug’s identity is,” Bunnyx warned.
“I can keep a secret,” Chloe reassured Bunnyx. “You have no idea how many government ones I already know.”
“Before we tell you,” Cat Noir interjected, “you have to promise me that knowing her identity as a civilian won’t compromise your loyalty to her. We have to be 100% committed if we’re going to beat… whatever this is. You can’t do anything to undermine her.”
Queen Bee shot him a quizzical look. “Why would I do that to Lady-bae?”
Bunnyx began tapping her umbrella against her leg - something she seemed to do a lot of. “Because you already know her.”
“Should all of us know it?” Ryuko asked. “We might need that information, but if it’s best to keep her identity a secret…”
“I’ll tell Chloe,” Cat Noir offered quietly. “I’ll just… I don’t know. Tell her on the other side of the burrow.”
“It’s not that wide,” Bunnyx pointed out, seeming agitated.
“Then plug your ears,” Cat Noir said drily, taking Queen Bee by the elbow and leading her away to the other side.
“Okay,” Queen Bee said, turning to face Cat Noir head on as soon as they were as far as they could go, “who is she?”
Cat Noir lowered his voice, saying quietly, “She’s… Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
Queen Bee blinked. Then blinked again. “All right.”
“All right?” Cat Noir repeated. “Don’t you two have like, a feud or something?”
“Please,” Queen Bee rolled her eyes, “I may be rude sometimes, but the only reason I targeted Dupain-Cheng was because I had to assert dominance. She’s always been my biggest rival because she posed the biggest threat.” She began to count off on her fingers. “She’s class rep, has designed things that have impressed Gabriel Agreste, and every boy in the school probably has had a crush on her at some point. I suppose it only makes sense that she’s Ladybug.”
A small flicker of amusement went through Cat Noir’s eyes. “Does that still mean that you’ll refer to her as Lady-bae-“
“Don’t push it, kitty cat,” Queen Bee interrupted.
Cat Noir just shrugged. “It’s a valid question.”
“I think you and I have very different ideas of what a valid question is.”
“Are you sure you want to go through?” Cat Noir asked, his smile fading. “We need to find her, but we don’t know what’s beyond that circle.”
The unspoken words of if there’s even anything beyond it hung in the air.
“Enough dramatics,” Queen Bee grumbled, trying to put up her uncaring facade again after having just opened up. She hated feelings. They were so icky and… feely. “Just let me go already.”
Together, they walked over to the others again.
“Ready?” Bunnyx asked, eyeing Queen Bee.
“I always was ready, “ Queen Bee sniffed. “If you had let me talk-”
“Try to find anything you can on Fu,” Bunnyx interrupted. “If he’s in there, we want to know where.”
Queen Bee rolled her eyes, sarcastically saying, “Copy that.”
Without waiting for a reply, Queen Bee strode over to the circles and stepping through the one she’d seen Markov go through.
Everything went white. For a moment, nothing happened.
And then suddenly tingles fizzed all over Queen Bee’s body, as if the white was attempting to push her back.
What was this stuff?
Despite how strange it was, though, Queen Bee wasn’t deterred in the least. She knew that there were only three things that could match her in stubbornness: her mother, Adrikins, and Marinette. This white stuff stood no chance.
Queen Bee pushed back - though pushed back was a strange way to describe it. She couldn’t really see anything. It was like a battle of wills, and they were fencing it out the way Adrikins liked to in competitions.
And, just like her Adrikins, she was going to win.
But for several moments, nothing happened.
An inkling of doubt trickled into Queen Bee’s mind. What if she was wrong? What if it wasn’t a battle of wills? What if she was going to be stuck here forever?
With the sudden strength of desperation behind her, Queen Bee threw her will against the white, grappling with it, and-
Without warning, she stumbled into daylight.
At least, she was pretty sure it was daylight.
Chloe stood there, blinking, trying to get her eyes to adjust. But the sight before her would not go away.
It was… Paris. Sort of. People were walking up and down the sidewalks, paying no attention to her whatsoever. That alone was odd, seeing as she was Chloe Bourgeois, daughter of the mayor.
However, unlike the Paris she had left just minutes before, this one was completely intact. There was no sign of destruction anywhere.
But there was something much, much more wrong with it.
Everything was black and white. And there was an odd net pattern across all of it.
Had the white stuff taken away her ability to see colour?
Buzzzzzzz.
Chloe took a fighting stance instantly, ready to venom her way out of whatever threat there might be.
Yet no threat came into sight.
After a beat, a bee flew in front of her, still buzzing.
But it was yellow.
Colour.
Chloe relaxed her stance only slightly, twisting her head to look about. There were bees, all of them yellow, floating about her head. They were all humming slightly.
What were they doing here?
Chloe made to shoo them off - but upon lifting up her arm, she froze.
“What am I wearing?!” she whisper-shrieked.
Her sleeve alone was hideous. Upon looking down, though, things got even worse: it was a full-body costume! At least, she assumed it was a costume; there was no other explanation for it.
Chloe reached quickly up to her head, trying to check on her hair - and her hands instantly bumped into something.
Was she wearing a helmet?
“Stay calm,” Chloe whispered, trying to not hyperventilate. This trip into the white was already much more panic-inducing than she’d expected. “A queen must step up.”
Right. She was a queen. She wouldn’t let a temporary costume stop her. At least, she hoped it was temporary.
Look on the bright side, she tried to assure herself. At least that explains the net pattern I’m seeing.
Looking on the bright side didn’t come very naturally do her.
But where had this monstrosity even come from? And, more importantly, where had her epic superhero suit gone?
“This is so wrong,” Chloe muttered, crossing her arms. She wanted to pout, to yell and scream at the black and white sky about how ridiculous, utterly ridiculous this was - but she had to find Ladybug. And the You guy.
But where did she even start?
What would Ladybug do? Chloe wondered. Ladybug - ugh, Marinette, too - always seemed to know exactly what to do in every situation. If Chloe had to choose one person to emulate… it might as well be her.
She would take stock of the situation, Chloe decided, then develop a plan of attack.
Chloe was halfway hoping that her plan of attack would somehow have a very necessary step in it of removing her ugly suit, but she started by taking stock of the surrounding area.
Okay. She had made it through the white. Or forced her way past it. Whatever.
She hadn’t seen the Wu guy inside of the white - not that she could even see much in there, it had been so bright - so she could probably assume he’d also made it through. That would mean that both of them were now here to search for Ladybug - Marinette - at the same time.
Right. Searching. She had to search.
So… Chloe would try and find Lady- Marinette. She would try and find Marinette.
Knowing Ladybug’s identity was going to take a little getting used to.
But Paris needed Ladybug back. Chloe was prepared to set aside any bad blood between her and Dupain-Cheng, as well as her intense loathing for her new… outfit in order to find her and set things right.
First things first: where did she even begin? Paris was huge.
Maybe someone has seen her? Chloe wondering, glancing around. Surely they’d remember seeing Ladybug - but that only works if Dupain-Cheng has transformed during her time here to fight akumas.
Ugh. She doubted that Marinette could bring herself to be that helpful.
But if she was also Ladybug, the smartest person Chloe knew, then maybe she could-
Quiet! Chloe ordered herself; she didn’t have time for internal debates. If this is the future, then I could try and find someone that Marinette might be with. Like me; I’m famous. Or Cat Noir. Chat Blanc. Whatever.
But did she dare ask for help to find someone who had destroyed the whole future?
More importantly… did she really want to deign to ask for help?
Ugh. The thought alone was horrid and slimy. Chloe didn’t ask for help; if she needed someone to do something for her, she just ordered them to do it. That’s how friendship worked! And being the daughter of the mayor!
Chloe let out a peeved sigh, then began taking a closer look at passers by; she might as well peg down someone who looked weak.
But the more she looked at them, the more uncomfortable Chloe became. It wasn’t just the fact that she wasn’t sure whether she even wanted to ask someone for help, or that all these people were black-and-white; it was the expressions people were wearing. Everyone looked… happy. Or at least not sad. But also not truly happy. Like they were glad to be there but were dead inside.
It was disconcerting.
Chloe gave up on the idea of asking someone for help; she’d just rely on herself for this job.
It might be a little tricky, though; there weren’t any signs anywhere that could help lead her to where Ladybug might be. There was no destruction, no akumas, and no Chat Blanc. Everything appeared to be, well… perfect.
But there was something very off about this place. No one was noticing her, or freaking out that everything was black and white.
Or over her. She was standing in the middle of the road, surrounded by bees, but no one had given her a second look.
Chloe waved a wayward bee out of her face that was obstructing her view. She cast an annoyed look at them; where had they even come from? And why were they still hanging out around her? She was Queen Bee, but still-
Wait.
Bees.
This place must be affecting my miraculous, she realized, staring at the bees. I hope that’s not Pollen. Changing outfits was bad enough; she couldn’t imagine being split up into multiple tiny hers. Though the rest of the world would probably love having more than one Chloe.
So… essentially, she couldn’t trust anyone because they all seemed to be stupid, she had no idea where Fu was, meaning she was alone, and she didn’t even know where she currently was or where Dupain-Cheng lived in just normal-Paris, much less this one.
Really, she was alone in the big city with no way to know where to go.
Letting out an annoyed sigh, Chloe began walking along the streets at a brisk pace. Maybe she’d get lucky and just bump into Dupain-Cheng.
And then she couldn’t help but snort at the thought of considering bumping into Marinette lucky.
Chloe quickly began noticing more differences as she made her way down the streets, choosing her path at random. For one, not only was she dressed differently, but so was everyone else. They were wearing a totally different style entirely, as if they had walked straight out of a 1960s movie. Dupain-Cheng wasn’t the only one who knew fashion; Chloe had grown up around fashion moguls. Her mother had practically invented fashion itself. If Chloe couldn’t tell what time period a piece was from, then someone would have been seriously wrong with her. More than she already was by wearing this horrible outfit, of course.
Chloe went up and down sidewalks, peering into stores and houses, unable to recognize anything she was passing by. At first, it was somewhat interesting.
But after a while, it became stiflingly hot in her suit, and her feet began to ache.
Where was a limousine when you needed one?
The sun reached its peak, hovering in a black and white haze above Chloe. She was sweltering in her suit, but didn’t dare try to take it off; there was something very right about it in a very wrong way, as if she couldn’t remove it even if she tried.
She hated how everything here was right and wrong; it wasn’t… right. Or wrong, either. But certainly not right!
UGH.
Several hours in, Chloe was more lost than ever, her feet were blistering, and the sun was starting to go down. At one point, she thought she heard cheering - something about children? - but ignored it. Marinette wasn’t a child - well, not technically speaking. Emotionally, Chloe had always considered her as vulnerable as a toddler, and even easier to read and manipulate.
Unlike these street signs. Chloe’s eyes hurt from seeing just black and white all day, and with the light lessening, it was becoming even more difficult to read anything.
Grumbling, Chloe took to just walking in the middle of the road so she could check out both sides of the street more easily. It turned out to be a bad idea, however; before long, in the dark, her foot caught on something and sent her crashing to the ground.
“Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” Chloe hissed, twisting to see what she’d tripped on. It was just a pot hole covering. She kicked it back into place before standing, brushing herself off.
The sound of a door opening rang out across the street - but Chloe would have ignored it completely and moved on had it not been for a very familiar voice saying, “Be careful.”
Chloe’s pulse instantly kicked up a notch. Was that who she thought it was?
As if feeling her quickening pulse for her, the bees around Chloe began to buzz in earnest, fluttering around her head. “Hush!” Chloe ordered, trying to peer into the darkness toward where the words had come from. She twisted her head from left to right, not wanting to miss anything.
“What’s that?” the same voice gasped - yes, that was definitely Marinette. But… at the same time, Chloe could now also hear how she also was definitely Ladybug. How had she not noticed that before?
Where is she? Chloe thought in frustration, peering into the darkness.
But then, as she twisted her head again, she came to a stop.
There.
Marinette was staring at her, eyes wide. Her hand was clutching the shoulder of the person standing beside her.
And then Chloe noticed who the other person was.
His hair was the same blond that it had been when they were kids, and his physique was unmistakable; even the way he stood at attention. Yet… it seemed almost looser than normal, as if he were more relaxed around Marinette.
Adrien Agreste. Chloe’s childhood best friend.
But what arrested her attention the most were his eyes.
They weren’t green.
Instead, they were a bright, icy blue that showed up like a shock of lightning in the dark.
And he was looking straight. at. her.
“No,” he whispered. The word practically rumbled in the air; there was an innate feeling of power behind it. Chloe had grown up around politicians; she could have recognized it from a mile away, but in this case, it actually was like a physical presence backing it up - as if his word were the wind in front of a tsunami that rose up only a few moments behind it, towering above everything, ready to destroy everything in its path.
Adrien closed his fist, fingers curling in on themselves. There was a distinct clink and then-
-
“Pegasus, status update?” Rena Rogue asked, glancing over at the superhero that was obviously Max Kanté. Bunnyx had asked him to start looking at the holes in her burrow; Bunnyx might be the holder of the miraculous, but Max was still a genius.
“Nothing yet,” Pegasus reported. “If I had Ma- I mean, my robot here, then he might be able to help me…”
Rena winced; Max was not taking the loss of Markov lightly, yet was stoically attempting to not mention the robot too much. He had no idea that she already had figured out his identity.
“Actually…”
Rena looked up along with everyone else.
Pegasus was staring at the white circles, rubbing his chin, deep in thought. “It pushes back when I try to place my hand against it. This circle is unlike the one that I entered by. It’s as if it’s a solid mass.” He reached up, adjusting his sunglasses, the same way Max usually would adjust his glasses while thinking. “Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. But… what if we could somehow bypass the wall that we are acting on?”
“Excuse me?” Bunnyx stared.
But Rena was catching on. “Like… through one of your portals?”
“Precisely,” Pegasus nodded. “However, it would need some way to link up to the circle itself; I doubt I could create a portal through time. My miraculous is not intended to work in such a fashion.”
“Whoah, everyone hold up,” Viperion held up his hands. “I only caught about half of that, but we can’t go in there!”
“Why not?” Pegasus and Rena asked in unison.
“First off, Fu and Chloe both already went in,” Viperion counted off the reasons on his fingers. “They haven’t come back. We have no idea if they even made it through in the first place. And, if they did, they’re undercover. Even if we could find an easier way to get through, by going in, we’d be blowing their cover.”
“By that logic, Chloe going in blew Fu’s,” Rena pointed out, crossing her arms.
“If we could just see what’s going on, that would help everything!” Bunnyx growled in frustration. “We need to know if they made it through or not!”
“And where they are now if they did,” Ryuko murmured in agreement.
Rena looked down at her flute and suddenly smirked. “I have an idea.”
-
“Are you sure about this?” Bunnyx checked one final time. “Giving me your miraculouses will reveal your identity to everyone present. That could endanger those you love if Hawkmoth-”
“Yeah, well, I don’t see Hawkmoth present,” Rena Rogue waved her hand dismissively. “Besides, who cares about him right now? We’re up against Cat Noir - or Chat Blanc - and, honestly, I’d be way more scared of getting in a fight with him than Hawkmoth. Besides,” she added, “all cards on the table, right? We’re your hand, and you’re playing us to your best tactical advantage.”
Bunnyx chewed her lip. Rena was right - she always had been logical that way. “Okay,” she finally relented - though she couldn’t deny a part of her was relieved. Rena’s idea was a good one, and Bunnyx was desperate to try and get eyes on the future. “You may remove your miraculouses.”
There was silence as Pegasus and Rena Rogue faced one another. It felt like a solemn moment; a last second of anonymity before being thrown into the spotlight.
They both took in a deep breath. There was a bright flash of light as both of them detransformed.
And then Alya Cesaire and Max Kanté were standing there instead.
“Wait, Alya?” Cat Noir gaped.
“Do you two know one another?” Max asked, glancing between them.
“Well, I mean,” Cat Noir stumbled over his words, “she’s the Ladyblogger. And I’ve saved her several times.”
Bunnyx could have facepalmed herself at the clumsy save.
“Here you go, Bunnyx,” Alya said as she and Max handed over their miraculouses to her.
Bunnyx slipped the sunglasses and the necklace on. The horse and fox kwamis instantly appeared in front of her. Bunnyx pulled out carrots, quickly feeding the tired kwamis. “You guys up for round two?”
Kaalki looked at her curiously. “Are you glorious and famous?”
Bunnyx gave her a look.
“Glorious,” Kaalki decided, popping the rest of the carrot in her mouth. “I’m ready!”
“Fluff, Kaalki, Trixx, unify!” Bunnyx declared.
It was a risky idea to act on. The more miraculouses a holder wore, the more dangerous it was for them - much less one being the miraculous of time.
But she was strong; Bunnyx didn’t doubt that she could handle it. After all, if Mini-bug could wear all of them, then this should be a cinch.
There was a burst of light, and a moment later, she stood in her new form. A wave of dizziness crashed over her, and for a breathless moment, Bunnyx thought she was about to faint. She stumbled, leaning heavily on Alya and Max for support.
“You good?” Alya grunted.
“Just peachy,” Bunnyx mumbled, the dizziness slowly fading. She took in a deep breath, steadying herself, then pushed up. “All right. Let’s do this.”
“What should we call you now?” Alya asked, trotting beside her as Bunnyx strode over to the white circles, the rest of the heroes tailing them. “If I ever get to talk about this on my blog, I need a name.”
“There’s no time to decide,” Bunnyx replied. “Just continue calling me Bunnyx.” She stopped before the white circles. “I hope your idea works.”
Everyone leaned closer, watching intently.
Bunnyx took her umbrella, sliding the flute along up it and lodging it in place with the horseshoe. Then, slowly, she began sliding it into the white circle.
For several tense seconds, she felt the whiteness push back, as if it were a truly physical force.
Gritting her teeth and sending up a prayer that this would work, Bunnyx said, “Burrow, Voyage, Mirage!”
It was probably the longest shot of shots that she’d ever attempted. Reaching through time, bypassing a force keeping them locked out, and…
The white circle flickered.
Bunnyx caught her breath. Had the mirage really reached through?
The other heroes gathered around, peering at the white, crackling… whatever it was. It honestly reminded Bunnyx a little of an old TV.
And then, the static cleared up, leaving them with a black and white image instead.
{Audience laughs}
Bunnyx jumped at the sound, almost losing her grip on her umbrella. “Holy hopping dust bunnies! What is that?”
“So… because we’re doing this dinner for us… you thought we should make the whole thing?”
“That can’t be right,” Alya squinted, leaning in a little closer. “That’s Adrien Agreste. Chat Blanc is nowhere in sight.”
“Basically.”
“And that’s Marinette,” Max pointed. “What is she doing here?”
“Hands off, dude; I can’t see!” Nino complained.
“Quiet!” Bunnyx ordered, her voice strained. They were finally able to see through, and these teenagers were yelling over it!
“Have you at all considered the fact that you usually bake, and I don��t really cook?”
{Audience laughs}
At the sound of the canned laughter, Bunnyx flinched again. What was this, a movie from the 50’s?
“That’s why we have a recipe, Adrien. It’s the kind of thing people use when they’re cooking.”
{Audience laughs}
“What do you need help with?”
“Could you grab out the knives?”
“Planning a murder, my dear?”
{Audience laughs}
“What…?” Bunnyx breathed.
“What are we looking at?” Viperion asked. “What is this? Where’s it coming from?”
“Out there,” Bunnyx murmured, hoping that the answer would make these kids be quiet already. Her eyes were locked on the… well, for lack of a better word, she had to admit that it now looked almost like a screen.
“Now, we’re going to need some spices…”
“Is it authentic?” Alya frowned. “Is it happening in real time? Is it recorded, fabricated?”
Would these kids just be quiet already?
“I don’t know,” Bunnyx cast a glance at Alya, her voice tense. “We’re reaching through space and time. It could have reached some kind of alternate reality for all we know.”
“So you’re saying that the universe created a sitcom staring… a model and a fashion designer,” Viperion said drily.
“I’m not saying that! I’m just theorizing!” Bunnyx waved him off, trying to pay attention to the feed. Possible alternate reality or not, this was the first time she’d seen something through the circle since she’d sent Mini-bug in there.
The scene played out, Marinette panicking over how much they had left to do - and then suggested they use their miraculouses.
“Their… miraculouses?” King Monkey blinked.
Bunnyx thought fast. “Oh, Marinette once used the mouse miraculous against Kwami Buster, and Ladybug originally gave the snake miraculous to Adrien Agreste; they must be referring to those.”
“She gave it to Adrien first?” Viperion stared.
Cat Noir shifted a couple steps away from Viperion.
“Green is not a good colour on you, Viperion,” Bunnyx said. “I mean… jealousy. You’re already in green.” She let out a tense sigh. “Would you all please be quiet now? I’m trying to hear what’s going on.”
She was desperate to hear what was going on; Minibug would never suggest that they use their miraculouses for personal gain; never.
But, almost more concerning was the fact that she was acting as if Adrien had her miraculous. If Adrien was Cat Noir, and in this world had been akumatized into Chat Blanc, that could only spell trouble.
“What the heck?” Nino yelped in the back of the group as… well, as he walked in through the door. “That’s me!”
“Nino!” Marinette exclaimed, confirming the fact that it really was Nino Lahiffe there for them.
“What’s up?” Nino asked, smiling widely, showing all his teeth. “Do I smell chicken?”
“I don’t actually smile like that, right?” Nino whispered from behind Bunnyx to Alya.
Bunnyx shushed him.
The three did the dishes, and then Nino left - only to be quickly replaced by the Dupain-Chengs, and…
“That’s Emilie Agreste!” Alya gasped.
Cat Noir made a strangled sound in the back of his throat.
Adrien on the screen didn’t appear phased by her appearance, however. Instead, they all ate dinner today, and then Adrien and Emilie left.
And then… credits began rolling.
“Is this a TV show?” Ryuko frowned. “Did you access a channel by accident, Bunnyx?”
“No way,” Bunnyx shook her head desperately. “I… I couldn’t have.” Of course, she’d never tried doing what she’d done before, so she didn’t know that for a fact.
“What would a channel featuring us be named?” King Monkey pondered. “The Family Channel? Gloob? Zag?”
“Stop making stuff up, King Monkey,” Max chided. “Now is not the time.”
Now certainly wasn’t the time for anything these kids were talking about. Bunnyx needed to be able to think. Mini-bug appeared to be fine; it was as if she didn’t know anything was even wrong.
“Marinette seemed a little… off, don’t you think?” Nino frowned. “I’ve never seen her greet me like that before.”
“But she’s dating Adrien,” Alya pointed out. “That’s a pretty good thing, right?”
“Why would she want to date Adrien Agreste?” Cat Noir mumbled. He was standing in the back of the group, his arms folded tightly across his chest, as if distancing himself from the mess that his future self had caused.
“She’s had the biggest crush on him since the first day they met,” Alya shrugged. “After she gave him heck when she thought he’d stuck gum on her seat, of course. But that was just Chloe.”
Cat Noir jerked his head up and stared at her. “She liked… Adrien?”
“Yep,” Alya confirmed.
Cat Noir’s eyes practically dilated, and Bunnyx could just see him connecting the dots in his head. If Marinette is Ladybug… and Ladybug always told me that there was another boy… that other boy was Adrien Agreste… and if Adrien Agreste was me the whole time…
“Enough!” Bunnyx exclaimed. These teens got sidetracked way too easily. Though she was willing to forgive Cat Noir at least a little; this was all probably starting to get a little too overwhelming for him. Just not in entirely all the ways that the others thought.
The credits finished rolling, and Bunnyx stared at the screen for a few moments. That episode hadn’t revealed anything helpful; only more questions… and no sign of Fu.
That couldn’t be it… could it?
“Now what?” Nino finally asked.
As if in response, the screen flickered back to life.
For a moment, Bunnyx thought it was about to replay the same thing they’d just watched, the way her burrows would replay when she touched them.
But then a theme song began blaring.
And it was different.
“Is this a new… episode?” Alya stared.
Bunnyx squinted at it. The theme song was still in black and white, but looked less like it was from the 50’s and more like it was from the 60’s.
The new… well, like Alya had said, episode began to play. It appeared to be the middle of the night, and Emilie was telling Adrien that something was outside.
Bunnyx’s heart leapt; could it possibly be Master Fu?
“Chloe?” Viperion blinked. “That was fast.”
Obviously Bunnyx and Viperion had very different ideas as to who the more capable searcher was in there.
They watched Adrien head towards of the door of the apartment, moving to go check on something. He was doing something with his hands, but the camera angle only showed him from the back.
And then… he switched direction, heading for the window instead.
Bunnyx realized what he was about to do a second too late. “Wait-!”
Before she could order the other heroes to turn around, Adrien whispered, “Plagg, claws out.”
There was a flash of white, and a moment later, Chat Blanc opened up the window began climbing the outside wall.
Everybody froze, staring.
And then slowly turned to look at Cat Noir, who was still standing in the back of the group.
“Adrien?” Ryuko stared, looking the most shocked she had during this whole situation.
“Bro?” Nino gaped.
“You’re Chat Blanc?” Viperion asked.
Cat Noir winced. “Uh… hi?”
“Wait…” Nino clutched at his head. “So all those times you disappeared during attacks…? And wait, during the past 3 weeks, you’ve been fighting akumas on your own?!”
“Maybe?” Cat Noir said it like it was a question, as if there was still some way for him to plausibly deny it.
“Wait!” Alya exclaimed, her fingers twitching, as if she was resisting the strong urge to grab out her phone. “If you, Cat Noir, are Adrien, and that makes you Chat Blanc, and Ladybug is stuck in the future with future you, and this show is featuring Adrien and Marinette…”
The blood slowly drained from Bunnyx’s face as everyone fell silent, the obvious conclusion lying in plain sight. Bunnyx might not agree with Fu’s rules, but if there were two identities she had wanted to keep secret above all others, they were Mini-bug’s and Cat Noir’s.
“Marinette is Ladybug?” Alya choked when nobody contradicted her. “Like… for real?”
“You all weren’t supposed to know,” Bunnyx groaned. “I thought we could keep it secret…”
Tap. Tap. Tap tap tap.
Bunnyx gave the screen a cursory glance, unsure as to where her attention should even be focused any longer. Chat Blanc was still on the wall, and it was now revealed that it had only been a tree branch that had scared Emilie.
Still no sign of Fu, then.
“My best friend has been fighting akumas all school year?!” Alya looked like she was either about to have a panic attack or faint.
Bunnyx rallied herself; she needed to get control of this situation. “Everyone, calm down!”
The heroes instantly quieted down, looking at her with varying degrees of shock and panic displayed on their faces. It wasn’t exactly calm, but at least it was slightly more quiet.
Bunnyx decided to just grab the bull by the horns. “Yes, Cat Noir is Adrien Agreste, and Marinette is Mini-bug. I’m sorry, Cat Noir, I didn’t mean for them all to find out your identity.”
“It’s not your fault,” Cat Noir shook his head wearily.
“So in the future, Marinette is Ladybug… and she’s dating you… who is…” Alya’s brow was scrunched up, trying to put the pieces together in her mind.
“Chat Blanc,” Bunnyx finished, glancing at the screen as Chat Blanc made his way back along the wall to the window. “And Mini-bug seems to know that he is, yet isn’t concerned in the least. Which is extremely puzzling.”
“Is this a love triangle or square?” Alya asked.
“Square,” Nino supplied.
“Marinette would never willingly assist a villain,” Viperion shook his head, then cast an uncomfortable glance at Cat Noir. “No offence.”
“Do you know her?” Alya asked, casting a curious glance at the snake hero.
“And then end with a backflip going into the splits.”
They all turned back to the screen at the sound of Marinette’s voice. Bunnyx drew in a sharp breath, just as Chat Blanc did a backflip going into the splits.
Because Mini-bug was there on screen with him in her own superhero outfit.
“They seem a little tired,” Marinette was saying when Bunnyx finally got her brain to pay attention to what they were actually saying again. “Are you sure we should be using these for our routine?”
“Routine?” Max repeated, confusion obvious in his voce.
“It’s fine,” Adrien replied on screen. “Everyone will just think we’re wearing costumes of their favourite superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Blanc!”
And with that, the pieces finally began to click into place in Bunnyx’s head.
“Superheroes,” she whispered. “Mini-bug thinks that they’re both superheroes, the way she and Cat Noir are! But now…”
“It’s with Chat Blanc,” Cat Noir finished quietly from the back.
“She doesn’t realize that anything’s wrong,” Bunnyx nodded.
Marinette headed on out of the apartment, joining Emilie Agreste. They began heading down the street chatting about some committee meeting and Lila Rossi.
But as the pair of them went around a corner, the camera panned out and around them to get a better view of them from the other side - and that’s when Bunnyx saw him.
She gasped. “Master Fu!”
There he was: he was barely even in the shot, narrowly making it in at this new angle, shuffling along down the sidewalk behind Marinette and Emilie, as if heading in the same direction as them.
But it was him.
“Does he seem okay to you?” Cat Noir, leaning around King Monkey’s shoulder to see better. The monkey superhero leaned a little further to give him a better look; everyone seemed to understand that, while knowing Cat Noir’s identity was huge, they had to wait to truly process it until later.
“He doesn’t appear to be harmed in any way,” Bunny said, relieved, “but that’s definitely not the outfit that he went in there with. And those turtles! What’s up with that?”
“So, what, deep cover?” Alya suggested, her reporter gears clearly already turning. “Fu has to play along?”
“With whom?” Viperion shook his head. “Or else, what?” He frowned, studying the screen even as Marinette and Emilie continued talking. “What are we looking at here? Because things have obviously changed; is it an alternate reality? Just time travel?”
“For all we know, it could be a cockamamie social experiment,” Max pointed out.
“It’s a sitcom,” Bunnyx said. “A 1950s sitcom - or, at least, the first episode was. This one might be in the 60’s.”
“But why?” Viperion insisted.
“Hey, man, we’re working with the same scarcity of intel,” Bunnyx held up her free hand as if to shield herself. She glanced back at the screen. “But I think I’m starting to get an idea for something we can try.”
She finally had seen Fu. Just knowing that he was all right, that he had made it through, made Bunnyx feel as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. New courage flooded through her.
If it was possible to get through the white that was overtaking her burrow, that meant…
They might actually be able to beat it.
The screen changed back to Adrien, who was heading out of the apartment.
“An idea? What is it?” Alya asked excitedly. “A way to break my best friend out from… whatever this is?”
“Not entirely,” Bunnyx shook her head. “More of… a way of possibly contacting Mini-bug and Adrien.”
“Both of them?” Viperion noted.
“Cut it out,” Bunnyx said cuttingly. “She liked Adrien who’s Cat Noir and is now with an akumatized version of him in the future. Get over it. And, yes, both of them. We don’t know exactly what happened, but it was centered on Mini-bug and Chat Blanc. They’re both good options to try and contact.”
“Markov!” Max suddenly yelled, surging forward.
Everybody whipped their heads about to look back again.
On screen, Adrien was holding… something. It was an odd ball of sorts, a bright blue oval decorating the front of it and a cone attached to the bottom sticking out form it. It was the first sign of colour they’d seen so far.
“That looks like a retro version of my robot,” Max said, practically blocking the entire screen with how closely he was leaning in.
“But how did it change, and why?” Ryuko said as Bunnyx pulled Max back.
“Uh… to go with production design?” Nino suggested. He’d directed stuff before, so he would probably knew about those sort of things.
But Bunnyx found she didn’t entirely agree with that theory.
“Or render it useless,” she murmured, watching Adrien study it.
“Why’d you colourize it?” Alya asked. “How did you even do that?”
“I didn’t.” Bunnyx shook her head.
Adrien turned, marching back to the apartment and closing the door behind him. When he emerged again, only moments later, Markov was gone.
“Where did he go?!” Max exclaimed, his voice panicked, and rushed at the screen.
“Don’t touch it!” Bunnyx yelled, letting go of her umbrella to tackle Max. She landed hard, and grunted. “If we interfere with the feed we have coming through, we might never be able to get it again!”
“But Markov…!” Max struggled weakly beneath her strong grip.
“Calm down, Max,” Bunnyx ordered. She began to raise herself off of him, still using her hands to keep him pinned down in case he tried anything again. “Adrien may have just hidden him somewhere; he was colourized, after all. That would have made him stand out.”
“I wouldn’t destroy Markov, if that makes you feel any better,” Cat Noir volunteered.
Max stopped struggling, panting. “Yeah… yeah, that helps.”
Bunnyx let go of Max, glancing over to make sure her umbrella was still good. It was leaning, but its tip was still inside the circle, the handle resting on the base of her burrow. “What did we miss?”
“Marinette is talking with Fu,” Ryuko recounted, the only who had thought to continue watching, “and her kwami fell into his aquarium.”
“Tikki what?” Bunnyx yelped. “That’s bad. If she gets a cold…”
“Master Fu has an aquarium?” Cat Noir asked. “I didn’t see that when I visited him.”
“Well, he certainly didn’t have that shirt when I last saw him either,” Bunnyx grunted, brushing herself off as she stood.
“You’ve visited him before?” King Monkey asked.
“Can Master Fu help if her kwami gets a cold?” Max asked.
“Wait, is he part of the committee now?” Alya stared.
“It appears so,” Ryuko shrugged, even as the screen switched on them again.
“He found her,” Bunnyx realized, barely paying attention to the new environment being panned around on the screen, or anything the heroes were saying, “and now he’s tailing her. Master Fu had nothing but utter faith in Mini-bug; he’s probably waiting to try and help in some way, or maybe is trying to gain her trust!”
“They’re talking!” Nino told her. “Or… that is,  we are.”
Bunnyx looked at the screen, paying attention to the new scene for the first time - and blinked.
It was back to Adrien.
But he was sitting at a table… with most of her old classmates.
“I could help you with some melodies to go along with it, if you want,” Luka Couffaine offered onscreen.
Viperion drew in a breath.
“What?” Alya asked, glancing at him.
But, just then, Bunnyx’s eyes fell on something. “Radio!” she exclaimed.
“What?” Alya yelped the word this time, almost falling over from the force of Bunnyx’s exclamation.
“There was a radio in the kitchen in the first episode,” Bunnyx said, scrambling forward to grip her umbrella, “and now there’s one on that table. We can try and reach you, Adrien!”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Cat Noir asked uncertainly.
Bunnyx paused, glancing over her shoulder at him. Clearly, they were the only two to have developed a new theory about Chat Blanc - one that was likely right.
But when all they did was silently observed each other, Bunnyx knew that Cat Noir was just as interested as she was in sharing it with the others - as in, not at all.
“We have to try,” Bunnyx said instead, finally breaking eye contact and looking back at her umbrella. “If Mini-bug doesn’t know what’s going on, he might. He could help us.” She doubted that, actually, but was still interested in testing out her theory.
Bunnyx twisted her umbrella about, as if tuning it to the perfect signal. She focused, the powers of space and time colliding within her and honing in on their target: the radio.
On screen, the boys were still talking about Ivan’s song for Mylene. Now was as good a time as any to do this - not to mention, Bunnyx didn’t know when the scene might change; for all she knew, she only had a couple of seconds to try this.
“Adrien,” Bunnyx said into the handle of her umbrella, not entirely sure where else to speak.
She stared hard at the Adrien on screen. There didn’t seem to be any reaction from him, so she tried again. “Adrien, can you read me, over?”
“I knew it was bad!” Ivan exclaimed on screen.
Bunnyx tried to focus despite the yelling. “Adrien?”
There was a blip on screen, and beat later, it had cut to Marinette, who was nervously clutching Tikki in her hands.
Everyone stared.
“Well that didn’t work,” Cat Noir finally said.
“Just wait,” Bunnyx said, her voice brittle. “Once it switches back to you, I’ll try again.”
She couldn’t afford for it to not work.
“I might have left the radio behind by then,” Cat Noir pointed out.
“Or maybe not,” Bunnyx countered.
A beat later, it switched back.
Still Adrien. Still at the table.
Still close to the radio.
Instantly, Bunnyx was trying to tune in to the radio again. This time, however, the camera kept switching angles, making it difficult to focus on the radio. She gritted her teeth, sweat dripping down her forehead.
“I need to go,” Adrien said.
Bunnyx focused harder.
Adrien stopped.
Bunnyx’s breath caught; was she getting through?
Just as she went to speak into her umbrella again, however, a jolt went through her body.
“Ack!” she exclaimed, dropping her umbrella.
“What is it?” Cat Noir was by her side in an instant.
Bunnyx shook out her hands, frazzled. “I… I’m not sure. It was like a shock or something.”
“Sit down for a minute,” Ryuko suggested - although it sounded a little bit like an order, coming from her.
Bunnyx sat down obediently. Past or future, one did not simply ignore Ryuko unless they were interested in getting their butt kicked. And her head was kind of dizzy, anyway. Bunnyx focused on breathing, and tried to pay at least some attention to the screen.
The episode played out, Marinette and Adrien doing their act without their miraculouses due to Tikki’s illness. Bunnyx watched with increasing worry over the little pink kwami - until, at last, Fu approached and offered to heal her ‘cat’.
“Is the episode ending?” Viperion asked as Marinette and Adrien headed back to Adrien’s apartment.
“It looks like it,” Bunnyx frowned.
Marinette and Adrien entered the apartment, Marinette talking about a surprise - and food.
There was a sudden blip, and then-
Zwoosh!
Everybody involuntarily screamed, scattering as a body burst out of the burrow hole and slammed into the ground right where they’d been.
The person groaned.
“Chloe!” Cat Noir exclaimed, dropping to his knees beside her.
Chloe - Queen Bee - let out a shallow gasp, as if her lungs were unable to get any air. Her eyes fluttered open - but as soon as they landed upon Cat Noir, they widened, fear obvious in them as she lurched away from him. “N-no…!”
“It’s okay!” Viperion was in front of her in an instant, placing calming hands on her shoulders. “Just breathe, Queen Bee. You’re okay.” He paused. “I mean, I think you are? What happened?”
“Adrien,” Queen Bee gasped out, one of her desperate hands clawing at Viperion’s, her other one wrapping around herself.
“Wait, you saw him?” Bunnyx jumped in, not waiting for Queen Bee to pull herself together. “We didn’t even see you through the feed!”
“See…?” Queen Bee twisted, her other hand still clutching her stomach, only to freeze when she saw the screen. “There- there! Adrien!” Here voice rose to a shriek at the end, and everyone winced.
“What happened, Queenie?” Cat Noir asked, staying several paces back.
Queen Bee stood there, panting, for several moments. Slowly, her shoulders relaxed slightly, and she blinked, as if her mind was just returning to reality. “S… sorry,” Queen Bee muttered, stepping away from Viperion, wrapping both her arms around herself. “You sounded so much like Adrikins for a moment that I panicked. He just… I don’t know, ejected me or something.”
“What are you talking about?” Cat Noir said at the same time that Alya said, “He is Adrien.”
“He’s what?” Queen Bee stared. Then, she stormed over to Cat Noir. “Adrien Agreste, are you telling me you’ve been risking your life these past 3 weeks by yourself?”
“That’s what I said!” Nino exclaimed.
“Everybody, shut up!” Bunnyx yelled. The heroes fell silent, and Bunnyx roughly shoved hair out of her eyes, letting out a pent up breath. “Queen Bee, tell us what happened.”
Queen Bee shot another venomous glare at Cat Noir, as if promising their conversation would continue later. “It was… wrong. Yet right. It was Paris, but in black and white. And I was in a disgusting outfit with bees flying around.” She shuddered.
“Queen Bee, please,” Bunnyx said, desperate for information.
“Fine, okay!” Queen Bee shook her head, as if trying to clear it. She wrapped her arms around herself again. “I saw Adrien - well, Chat Blanc, I suppose.” She shot a glance at Cat Noir. “But… he had blue eyes.”
“Blue?” Bunnyx repeated, simultaneously confused and wondering how this was important.
Queen Bee shuddered. “It was horrible. They were ice. Marinette was there with him. I’d wandered around all day, trying to find her. But then… Adrikins clenched his hand, and…. then I was here.”
“A suit with bees?” Bunnyx repeated, her mind unable to let go of that piece of information. “Wait. Fu has turtles.” She blinked, the pieces clicking together. “This future doesn’t seem to want us to reach it. It has been fighting us since we first began trying to get in. Maybe it’s revealing who we really are!” She began to pace. “And Markov - it must’ve turned him into something to match the time period the show was set in at the time.”
“Show?” Queen Bee repeated weakly, sitting down.
As if on cue, the credits began to roll.
“Wait, was that in colour?” Viperion asked. “I wasn’t even watching.”
“Yes,” Ryuko confirmed simply.
Everyone sat down at once, as if all this was too much to process. Bunnyx stopped her pacing to stare at the screen, hard, as the third episode began.
It was in colour.
Cat Noir drew in a sharp breath at the sight of Adrien on screen - and Bunnyx had to resist doing the same thing herself. Chloe had been right; his eyes were piercing blue.
They silently watched it play out. Marinette was planning a surprise, going around doing errands for it. Adrien disappeared for a short time, heading outside before the screen switched back to Marinette. When it finally showed him again, he was heading back to the apartment.
After the excitement of the last episode, it seemed almost like… a let down. Overall, the whole episode appeared to be harmless enough. There was no new information; Fu was still there, still helping Marinette and gaining her trust. Kim also made an appearance, as did Bunnyx’s old teacher, Ms. Bustier, but nothing truly serious happened.
As the episode wound down, however, Adrien was left alone with Fu in the apartment.
There was a sudden blip on the TV, and-
Adrien was alone.
Bunnyx leapt forward, alarmed. “Fu’s gone!”
As if summoned by her words, a body rocketed out of the burrow, white light flashing brilliantly as they exploded from the burrow. Queen Bee screamed as it narrowly missed slamming into Bunnyx, shooting out past her and flying into their midst.
As soon as it had crashed down, however, they all instantly recognized who it was.
“Master Fu!” Alya exclaimed.
“Are you okay?” Nino’s jaw dropped.
“What happened?” Queen Bee demanded, already seeming to have recovered from her shock, struggling to push herself up.
“Where’s Ladybug?” Cat Noir asked, desperation clear in his tone.
Master Fu slowly opened his eyes, letting out a groan and closing them again.
“Fu,” Bunnyx knelt down beside him, relief at seeing him back and yet fear for the same reason colliding within her. “What happened?”
Slowly, Fu opened his eyes again.
“Fu?” Bunnyx hated to rush him, but her nerves were grating incessantly that the show was still running right now.
Master Fu’s gaze locked on her. With obvious effort, he whispered, “I…”
“Fu?” Bunnyx frowned, worried. There was a pale pallor to the old man that wasn’t normal.
Master Fu closed his eyes, as if pained. “Bunnyx… I don’t know if we can rescue her.”
-
Feet pounded on the stairs, someone obviously taking them two at a time.
Someone burst into the apartment behind Adrien. “Wang Fu!” Marrinette’s voice called. “Your turtles… I’m sorry but they’re…”
She stopped short. Adrien could hear the way her breath was coming in short gasps.
After several tense moments, she finally asked, “Adrien? Where… where’s Wang Fu?”
For a moment, Adrien tried to figure out how to answer that. At last, though, he settled on simply saying, “Oh, he left, Marinette. He had to rush home.”
He turned around-
And gasped.
“What?” Marinette asked, concerned. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
Except… she wasn’t Marinette.
Not really.
Not anymore.
Her body was grey, as if she were a statue. Despite not wearing the earrings, she appeared to be in her superhero suit, staring at Adrien with dull, lifeless eyes.
Adrien turned his face away. “I…”
He could hear the way Marinette was taking a few hesitant steps forward. “You’ve always worked so hard for others; maybe we should take a trip out of the city or something.” She was beside him now, slipping her arm through his. “We’re superheroes, kitty. We can go wherever we want, once we put the suits on.”
She was suggesting using the miraculouses for their own gain - out of her own free will.
For him.
Adrien steadied himself with a breath, then looked at her.
Marinette was back to normal.
“No, we can’t,” he finally whispered. “This is our home. Paris is the reason that we donned these suits, so… in Paris we shall remain.”
Marinette’s brow crinkled in concern. “Are you sure?”
Adrien’s face relaxed into a smile at her. It was amazing having her back - but even better to feel her love. He’d missed her so much. “Don’t worry, buginette. I have everything under control.”
-
“Master Fu…” Bunnyx hesitated. “Are you all right?”
What she hoped he was about to say was that he wasn’t, he’d hit his head on the way out, and what he’d just said wasn’t true.
But she knew just from the way he looked at her that her hope was in vain.
Rallying himself once more, Fu locked eyes with her and gasped out, “It’s Adrien. It’s all Adrien.”
-
“I’m back!” Emilie announced.
Marinette twisted about, looking at her. “Oh, so soon?”
“I realized I didn’t need to go out after all,” Emilie replied cheerfully. She came around the couch to them, laying a quick kiss on Adrien’s forehead.
Adrien smiled at them both. “Well, what should we watch tonight?”
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akimmito · 4 years
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Heroes are made by the path they choose
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Master List
Chapter 13
Being married to Lila Rossi, now Agreste, for six years has been... an experience. The woman goes through life following her own path and coaxing people left and right, while he cannot say or do anything without the sole control over his mother's life being lost. Why would a man like Gabriel Agreste who claims to love his wife so much do such a vile thing? The worst thing is that he managed to sustain him legally and catch him with the last woman in the world he would have thought of marrying.
He must remain married to Lila as long as his mother remains in a coma or the hospital will be forced to kill her. Adrien has no other words for what would happen if he divorces her, but it's so sad to be married to a woman he doesn't love and he's the only one who must fulfill the damn contract, because if they discover an infidelity is the same as divorcing.
His mother deserved more, if she had followed that childhood love instead of his father, she woulded be happy...
Chloe and Marinette have been looking for ways to free him from torture, even Felix decided to help in order to free him from his sad fate. At least, it stopped being Chat Noir or that could have played against him, with how easy Lila manipulates people. He get migraines just from imagining making a mistake.
"Adrien, I'm going out to eat with Alya." Lila appears in his field of vision in her usual expensive way, always looking like he's attending a fashion event (which means expense and that translates directly to him working as a slave in different contracts. She makes her money, sure, but her expenses exceed those gains.) She barely looks at him as she checks her phone, probably talking to Alya or one of her lovers, not that he really cares.
"Sure, say hi on my behalf." She turns to leave, but Adrien stops her. "Remember that today we will have dinner with Michel Laforet for next month's charity event. "
"I wouldn't forget it."
They say goodbye barely looking at each other. Adrien is busy reviewing the job proposals, Marinette sent him a couple of locations to investigate a few weeks ago, due to a group of drug traffickers who settled in Paris and need to know their links, he of course must follow their leads and possible connections to find a way to disrupt it. He's now free to continue his work, especially since the MT is busy dealing with Akuma.
He was very surprised when he saw his first Akuma in seven years, he is also quite fearful of what this new villain intends. The way he has attacked, his champions are very different and, consistent with his cousin, he seems to be trying to measure the heroes. For that reason, he approves of Marinette's approach of keeping Luka in a safe place so that no one notices the use of the second chance, that way the villain will never know if his plans could have been altered in any way.
Wait this time it doesn't last for several years.
Now if he could understand why they want him to model in a banana suit for a soup ad, maybe he could consider it.
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The Anibiotic: How are bananas and soup related?
Wild goat: If it's another one of your jokes, I swear by Satan that I'll burn your house down
Silent Hill: I approve the plan
Plasticine: Your jokes are really bad, bro
Dragon Tamer: I think this is a serious question
The Antibiotic: It's a modeling proposal
Needle: They offer you the weirdest roles
Plasticine: Like the sardines!
Three balls: that was good
Not in hell: Maybe it's a way to get attention by putting two discordant elements together
Not in hell: You guys are that strange
Almost pretty: Pleasant
Wild goat: We are great, you know, there is no other creation as stylish as us
Not in hell: I would keep my comments, but I completely disagree
Dragon Tamer: If you start a discussion about this, I'm going to ban you from the chat
Wild goat: Tyranny! I will arm a revolution
Plasticine: Maybe it's banana soup. You don't understand art!
Three balls: Neither do you
Perfect Crime: You’re a disappointment
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John Constantine was not planning to spend his morning avoiding being stabbed by a ten-year-old boy, nor avoiding being eaten by two German shepherds. But there he's, avoiding the edge of a Swiss knife as he tries to shake off two huge dogs without hurting them, because he's sure the boy's murderous intentions would triple if he hears a single screech from one of his pets.
He may not have met Damian in person, but he know enough about him from the chats and from what Marinette shared with him.
"Look, kid, stop, okay? Damn, I haven't drink enough for this... "
"Why?"
"I don't read minds, kido, you'll have to explain yourself." Damian frowns and presses the knife against the blonde's neck, if it wasn't for the dogs he couldn't have him subdued. The Kwami hesitate about what to do, they are talking... only in a very violent way.
"Why are you do with my mother?"
"Did they give you the talk yet? Because it would be very uncomfortable for you to receive it from me. ”John looks at the boy, who doesn't flinch at anything and seems ready to stab him. It would be better to collaborate, he doesn't want to harm the child, he can only imagine the adorable woman's anger if her son is hurt in some interaction between them. "Sure... Sexual attraction, simple like that. I don't pretend to be your father or to be a stable romantic couple, she deserves something much better than me. I'm just content to enjoy our time together, happy?
"Don't you want to be my father?"
"No, I'm the worst candidate for that position. What made you think that, kid? "Now it's his turn to frown. Much love can be had (he will not deny it), but both are aware that they would be the ruin of the other, he doesn't want to condemn her to a life as dark as his and expose her to all the demons that follow him, she truly deserves something better than misery fllow him.
He also knows that, despite all his complaints, Plagg has told him that he's its true owner and that his soul is balanced with that of Marinette, that's why they gravitate around each other and could trust as if they were born together. That doesn't mean they are romantically good to each other. Sexually? Magical, but the romance in their lives has been tragic and putting that together, well, it could be a problem for everyone.
"You've been with her for four years."
"We are mainly friends, confidants. Do we have sex? Yes, do we want to get married and have more children? No... We would just be miserable. Those stories that soulmates are happy together? Son, these are lies, romantic shit from movies and junk books.
Damian recoils, shocked by the information, all of it. Her mother had hinted at a casual relationship, but the look in her eyes told him otherwise. Soulmates? That doesn't exist, but the Kwami didn't exist for him either until his mother introduced them to him. Wretched? He need to analyze what he have learned.
"Why do you say that?"
"Experience, son. Do you want to sit down or go for a walk? The second seems to excite your friends more."
Damian snaps his fingers and the hounds stand beside him, freeing Constantine. Her kind gaze is very dark, long-suffering and ironic.
Just when he's about to answer, the alarm on his phone goes off and he knows what it means.
Akuma attack.
"Go away, I won't say anything."
Damian nods and Kaalki opens the portal, just look at the man's tired posture for a moment before breaking through the portal back to the MT. Agatha and Edgar just behind, have a job to do.
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Chloe B. @BourgeoisQueen
What a wonderful day for an Akuma attack. Somebody take the stick out of the villain's ass because the beast is horrible, nor Hawkmoth dared so much
Dick Grayson @TheFlyingGrayson
WHAT HAPPENS WITH PARIS? IS IT A VIOLET DOLPHIN WITH BAT WINGS?
The Last Hours @Toogoodtodie
@TheFlyingGrayson Paris would appreciate if you blocked any information on the city from external sources in the country, if you do not know how, you can contact the @MaxKan_Tech offices to receive information
Dick Grayson @TheFlyingGrayson
@Toogoodtodie ok?
Max K. @MaxKan_Tech
@TheFlyingGrayson @Toogoodtodie Subtle, Anthony. Please, Mr. Grayson, contact my office and we'll make your stay in Paris much more pleasant. You can also contact the prosecution to find out the legal procedures for staying in Paris and the security regarding the Akuma
Marc @MarcAC_twt
Does our villain use drugs?
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35 Q’s for Fanfic Writers
From this post
I’m having a shitty, rude alter-y, crap night so I’m just going to answer all of these to distract myself and focus and to not bother anybody just making my own post and putting it under the cut btw, notice to anyone not aware: since I’m moving I won’t likely be updating anything until I’m done doing so.
1. From one to five stars, how would you rate your writing?  (No downplaying yourself!) 3/5? Could use more editing and description and can be weirdly paced.
2. Why do you write fanfiction? Because it’s better than focusing on pain 24/7. 
3. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works? I don’t seem to have a specific narrative voice that people recognize but I’m pretty proud of mostly organic dialogue. 
4. Are there any writers that inspire you? as a rule i never look up to anybody for inspiration but there’s some stuff in my ao3 bookmarks I fawn over.
5. What’s the fic you’re most proud of? Right now, none of them. It changes normally, anyway. If get too proud then I’d get my ass kicked by RSD if someone didn’t like it so it’s safer this way
6. What element of writing do you find comes easily? Dialogue. 
7. What element of writing do you struggle with most? Organic description, poetic language kind of stuff. I can paint a scene but I’m not so great with bring out out a feeling with description alone.
8. Which character(s) do you find easiest to write? Janus and Virgil are probably tied. They both have things I struggle with but I don’t have to go back and do much adjusting of language and tone with them. Though admittedly my Virgil is signifigantly more foul-mouthed than canon and I tend to prefer pre-AA feral asshole Virgil.
9. Which character(s) do you find most difficult to write? Patton. I write him the least, so people can probably tell. I love Patton, I really do, but it’s so hard to keep away from fanon Patton. 
10. What’s your favorite genre to write for? Angst w/ H/C obviously. Or if you’re talking about regular book genres, Fantasy. I fucking love fantasy world building.
11. Who or what do you find yourself writing about most? Trauma. I blame Daeram. As if Ayri isn’t a giant Angst Demon.
12. Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about. Slopes. I’m really into it. I’ve got three one shots running right now. Patrons can read the first part of the unnamed cat remus one, there’s also a coffeeshop au tropey nonsense one like eglantine & lycoris, but Slopes is addiction angst. Mmmmm. Virgil is addicted to coke and alcohol and will listening to his friends even be in time? Who knows, especially not me, but there’s already over 30k. 
13. First fandom you ever wrote for? InuYasha. Or was it Harry Potter? Or shit, The Blue Sword? Fuck, I’ve been writing for a long time, I really have no idea.
14. What’s your favorite fandom to write for? Sanders Sides. The characters are the perfect dynamic for writing since they exist in balance of each other and the popular, easy to project on archetypes featured are incredibly fun to do basically any scenario with.
15. What’s the weirdest fandom you’ve ever written for? Weird storywise? Kingdom Hearts? I can’t even follow the plot anymore. Weird Fandomwise? Sanders Sides. Its simultainiously the fluffiest and angstiest nonsense at the same time.
16. Any guilty pleasure trope(s)? Vampires. Gay ones. Gay Vampires. I also love calm tol and angy smol.
17. A trope you’ll never, ever write for. Any tropes that normalize incredibly toxic behaviour or tropes that are inherantly ableist, but I can’t think of any.
18. Wildest fic you’ve ever written? Incorrigible continues to be complete nonsense.
19. Do you prefer canon-compliant, AUs, or something in-between? AUs. I mean closest I even have is canon-divergence other than a single short.
20. Gen fic or shippy stuff? I like it when there is gay nonsense along with a plot that is treated as more important than the relationship the most. But I like both. There’s more shippy stuff in tss so i read more shipping action by default.
21. Favorite pairing to write for? (platonic or romantic!) Anxceit/Sleepxiety, but in general, give me darksides or give me death/j
22. Do you listen to anything while you write? Almost everything I write has a special playlist I listen to to help me write it, but otherwise I listen to my Nyan playlist, an alter is picking the tunes, or a voidfam playlist. I never have music off. When my internet is down I just listen to the songs I own or Anxiety’s theme on loop.
23. Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas? I’m fine with all of them. I love working with prompts but I tend to deviate. And I’ve never done a challenge since I can’t do deadlines and bad things happen bingo never sent me a card and I applied three times.
24. One-shots or multi-chaptered works? I am generally multi-chaptered stuff, but I’ve been working on a few one-shots lately that are much longer than most one shots.
25. Have you ever daydreamed about side adventures/spin-offs from your fic? Tell us about them! I was originally thinking of doing some little 13-year-old Dreaming!Roman (y’know, the one with a job) shorts but it turns out I just had an alter of that little bastard and that’s why I inexplicably know more about him then I ever even considered. I still might do them after Dreaming is done. But that’s paced so slowly who knows when that might happen. Otherwise I put stuff in my notes and just do shorts of it if I’m like “oh you know what’s cool???” but since I can’t daydream maybe this question doesn’t apply to me.
26. Is there anything you’ve wanted to write, but you’ve been too scared to try? I want to do more autism stuff, and I’ve had it demanded a few times, but I’m scared of being that explict about it for some reason. Possibly because I might be, possibly because I’m scared of doing it wrong even though I’ve accidentally coded multiple characters autistic. I’m scared of explictly tagging them as such, too. 
27. What’s the nicest comment you’ve ever received? That I can remember off the top of my head? I’m going with one from @a-genz-with-trauma-and-kins. It really helped me out and was just so kind and literally the best christmas gift I got in 2020. 
28. How well do you handle criticism when it comes to your writing? I can handle it alright but Daeram is a little fucking pissbaby about it. Constructive criticism helps people get better, so I appreciate it. I can’t handle critism that is incomplete, though. “i just don’t get it” or “I don’t know I don’t like it” kind of things. If I can’t understand the why to fix it then things get out of control. And then I spiral and RSD for like four days minimum. If it came from an anon or a troll, too, It might not bother me for as long. Things that are just like “this is shit and you should feel bad” just make me laugh. Couldn’t even bother to read it long enough to insult me proper? I don’t care.
29. Have you ever gone outside of your comfort zone for a fic? How did it turn out? I have a few times. Mostly in shorts and prompts, I think. I think they turned out okay. They’re not particularly inspired or anything.
30. Tooth-rotting fluff or merciless angst? Depends on my mood. Am I triggered? give me the fluff. Am I vibin? Angst. 
31. Do you have any OCs? Tell us about them! Fuck, fam, no, I can’t, I have so many. I have multiple original stories and some of them have very large casts and like holy fuck. Or do you mean in Sanders Sides fandom? Um, Morgan and Thorn in PD. The lesbian and her himbo dynamic. I love them. They’re dorks. Morgan is strong person with sharp tongue and soft romantic heart and Thorn is just so kind and so dumb and so exciteable he’s like a puppy. They were just filler characters and I got attached to them. Felton even gets redemption for being an ass later in PD, like oof i never intended to include so much OC content, especially for names I just picked randomly. 
32. Summarize a random fic of yours in 10 words or less. nope I’m doing all of them because these are fun plea for my new self: 2 gay vampires, 4 humans, 1 braincell dreaming while I wake: trauma child needs therapy and so do you break: big oof, oh dragons, oh why, go virgil go rebuild: virgil is so not okay there’s more virgil to deal painful death: gay teens drink themselves into a new religion stargazing: whoops we didn’t realize people actually cared whole castle: everyone will throw down for kid!patton, even you incorrigible: found family with a shot of psychological horror and crack dangerous instincts: wholesome crime syndacite action  slopes: addict gets mugged and thinks that’s just fine with him conflagration: logan avoids everything ever like a champ cat!remus: bored fae shifts gay pining from one person to another  caffeine cyptids: caffinated gay panic goes faster than regular gay panic eglantine & lycoris: more tropes than you can toss a shoe at storytime: overpowered virgil also overreacts literally always
33. Is there anything you wish your audience knew about your writing or writing process? an alter and I write together and I have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen, what I’m writing about, or even what year it is. I often don’t even remember what I wrote. There’s no outline. I have an idea and I pick things at random for it. There’s just notes and an evil gleam in a demon’s eye. The only reason I know more than readers is because I take a long time to edit and some of these stories have fucking alters up in my head who can tell me things. Daeram tells me nothing. The writing demon supposedly has all this knowledge but I have absolutely no clue because he does not talk to me, he just fronts and slams out 9k in a few hours or we cofront to write and I’m like “oh no she didn’t” while typing 
34. Copy and paste an excerpt you’re particularly fond of. i’m fond of the entire painful death series and I tried to find something I really liked without spoilers in stargazing and I couldn’t so here’s a random thing from incorrigble: “So, what do you do with your friends?” Patton continued on with a megawatt smile. “Grand larceny,” Virgil deadpanned and glared at Patton, who was taken aback. Remy and Andy just broke out laughing while Virgil tentatively sipped his still-too-hot-cocoa. 
35. Ramble about any fic-related thing you want!  slopes my dudes slopes i have learned so much about cocaine! like wow! I thought for a minute it was going to end with MCD around 30k but it swtiched from whump to hurt/comfort and I still don’t know if it’s going to be MCD but look at that funky little coke/alcohol addict go, it’s a medical wonder he’s alive! It’s not like there’s what seems to be a little talked about interaction between alcohol and cocaine that causes a toxic chemical to build up in the liver which can result in liver failure and sudden death at basically any moment! Which is part of why it may result in MCD but this time no ghosts! maybe it’ll be h/c with whump elements or maybe it’ll be whump with h/c elements we can’t know for sure
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tinycartridge · 5 years
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Code Shifter is a weird crossover that works in a weird way ⊟
I like a lot of the franchises Arc System Works has collected over the years, like the Kunio-kun crew, Double Dragon, and my dude Jake Hunter, but I’ve blazed very few blues, and my gears’ reputation is unassailable. Many of the characters in the crossover platformer Code Shifter: Developed by A.R.C. don’t resonate with me at all, their names weirdly punctuated gibberish. On top of that, they’re rendered in a Kunio/River City-esque pixel style that makes them extra unrecognizable to my eyes.
Even without deep connections to all the people with equal signs in their names, I was surprised to find it easy to stick with Code Shifter to the end. Whether I knew the references or not, I liked the retro artwork and the weird way it meshed into its 3D Kim-Possible-Tron backdrop, I liked discovering new characters and trying out their abilities. I also liked the way customization and depth slowly showed itself in an otherwise simple platformer.
I even liked the other entire game in there!
Code Shifter brings together characters from various franchises including Arc’s big names and… a lot of characters I can’t even recognize, and who the game doesn’t give me enough information about. But look! I found this in the digital manual! Now I know to be excited about the guy from Inferno Climber!
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The characters are all supposed to be data from a game, Colorful Fighters, designed by a company named A.R.C. You play a programmer named Stella, who uses a virtual environment of her design to debug the code -- and that’s Code Shifter. It’s a 2D platforming UI for debugging. I’m no software engineer, but this seems both reasonable and efficient. Between levels, you can stroll the A.R.C. office and meet the rest of the Colorful Fighters team. Then you go into Code Shifter and debug their issues.
Inside Code Shifter, you default to Stella’s avatar, Sera, who can double jump, do some neat sword combos, and who is the only person who can destroy “virus” icons. Other characters are located in “hero” icon stations around the level. They all have different abilities: some are fast, some can jump higher or fly, some have elemental properties, and Jake Hunter smokes constantly. (That’s not beneficial in any way, but I thought I’d mention it.) These attributes and abilities are used for… I don’t want to say puzzles, since they’re obvious and the right character is usually right next to the obstacle. But it’s a good motivator to encourage use of different characters.
That knowledge of the different characters can then be used in Colorful Fighters, a multiplayer fighter I can only describe as “Smash Bros. but River City Ransom.” It’s uneven, unbalanced, shallow… everyone only has a few moves, and the visual chaos makes it hard to distinguish what’s going on. But despite all of the good reasons Colorful Fighters shouldn’t work, I’m into it. Also, I just realized this video game is who you’re trying to rescue in Code Shifter. I’m into that too, as a weird take on the treasure at the end of the quest.
You unlock new characters for Colorful Fighters by completing levels in Code Shifter. You can also earn equippable skills for Code Shifter both by performing well in levels and by finding them around the A.R.C. office. These skills increase speed, strength, jump distance, and, most excitingly, the number of heroes you can switch between.
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Code Shifter isn’t a Smash Bros. level crossover success, nor is it a perfect platformer. It is basically, in all respects, fine, with big empty levels that are easy enough to navigate and combat that’s challenging enough to be interesting. It’s a straight-down-the-line, mid-tier last-generation XBLA/PSN download game, to nail down the vibe. But the Kunio-inspired fighting, the game dev storyline, and the wacky Colorful Fighters mode made Code Shifter a good time for me. Even if I’m not a big Wizard’s Symphony guy yet.
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mamamittens · 4 years
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In honor of the New Year and as of right now, three people who have voted (3 for Yuki, and 1 for Emi and Joan), I’m letting you guys see character designs more in style for their respective shows with some more information! Remember, questions are encouraged and you can vote multiple people if your interest isn’t cleanly split!
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Yuki is actually half Russian on her mother’s side! She’s also completely fluent Japanese, English, and Russian!
Her quirk is called Winter’s Aria, which has a base form of mutation but can branch out into an emitter and transformation type. In short, her internal body is nearly completely frozen, maintaining a temperature range between 27-29 Fahrenheit or -2.7 to -1.6, which is the mutation part. She has a health usage license to maintain her body temperature so long as she does not damage or injure people or property using the emitter properties of her quirk. The emitter part allows her to control the atmosphere and ice in various forms, in action this allows her to create ice and control these elements so long as they maintain a cold temperature. She cannot control water unless it approaches freezing or below. Her control can be strengthened when she sings, which she rarely does with an audience due to social anxiety, but can accomplish great feats. Such as creating a polar vortex, but it would require a great amount of vocal and emotional power to do so. Transformation turns her whole body to ice and lowers the ambient temperature as a matter of course.
Her quirk is a combination of her parents and their grandparents.
Mother: Frozen Heart (nearly identical to Yuki but somewhat weaker and without the musical part). 
Her father: Winter’s Heart (his internal organs are frozen and he exudes a cold temperature uncontrollably but can control and create ice directly from his body) 
Her mother: Seasonal Change (she can control the atmosphere around her in a limited function, usually generating winds or altering the clouds, which allows her to instinctively know the exact atmospheric weathers)
Father: Musicality (The ability to create a musical in his environment through song, often with unintended consequences)
His Mother: Perfect pitch (Exactly as it sounds, she can sing perfectly any note within reasonable human range)
His Father: Musical Theatre (He can compel his environment to become a musically inclined environment, though not always guaranteeing that people sing)
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Emi!
This is her first wanted poster for the crime of stealing an emerald from a jeweler’s workshop that was owned by a Celestial Dragon to be set into a new necklace, hence the high price. But she absolutely insists that it wasn’t theft since the emerald wasn’t the Celestial Dragon’s in the first place. And yes, I am avoiding drawing their full bodies for the time being in the One Piece art style until later!
As a fun fact, she doesn’t actually know her name, so she simply shortened her name from “Emerald”. And as a bonus, she can create either two fans or an umbrella for combat and defense. The fans can create blades of energy and the umbrella can fire either a beam or shots of energy. I repeat, this isn’t a crossover with Steven Universe, but it is inspired by the ideas in that story. An astute reader will know why Emi is firm in her belief that she didn’t steal the emerald, but is very insistent on not showing her features unless absolutely necessary. No one knew she was sentient before this point and it’s not due to a devil fruit, either. She’s curious and enjoys fixing things, usually after taking them apart.
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Joan!
This is her first bounty poster as well! You’ll notice that this poster has her name wrong! That’s because the marines mistakenly thought her name was ‘John’ and took her height and pre-teen frame as an indication she was male. The ‘Spade’ was added since ‘John’ is a very common name in the hopes of setting her apart from other wanted pirates who happened to be named John. The Spades did not take this well, though Joan thought it was humorous, so they took to loudly calling her ‘Little Queen’ to fit the card theme of the ship and crew. This exact picture was taken when she was pushing a barrel onto the ship. The bounty is exceptionally low for the Grand Line and the Spade crew at the time, because her position on the crew was unknown and she hadn’t been seen fighting in any capacity. Her position in fact being assistant cook where she helped prep and cooked herself from time to time, a necessity for a crew with a prolific eater like Ace on board. She also stuck close to Ace to prevent him from falling overboard or into his food when he has a narcolepsy attack, being one of the few who can manage not to be stabbed when reaching near his food. She does not willingly fight, but she does know some self defense from both her father and official classes at the private school she used to go to.
Her talents lie in the field of cooking and knifework with a soft spot for food sculptures and desserts. She is also quite intelligent and skipped grades in part because of her prolific height (as she otherwise would have stuck out in her classes to the detriment of her social life, which suffered anyway because of her height and appearance). She doesn’t have a devil fruit, but her curse personifies emotion into objects or physical transformations, of which her current one is a combination of hunger and fear.
As a New Years bonus, here’s the pictures I mentioned previously in the style of their respective shows! Mostly, I haven’t gotten one for Calypso yet since she’s not a wanted criminal, if ever. But I will have a fun fact for her at the end!
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Originally, Halia was going to be called Joan too! But I decided two characters with the same name was a bit confusing and went with a Hawaiian name meaning “in remembrance of a loved one” after her late father, who died before she was born. Her step-father does not like her mixed heritage and her mother agreed to refer to her as “Hailey” on most cases so she wouldn’t stick out too much as a child in Galar, which only mostly worked.
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Isabella looking appropriately classy and, as a fun fact, I didn’t realize how simple Ouran’s style was when I started this picture. Everything looks like it’s cotton and there’s hardly any jewelry to be seen, which is probably as a limitation of the mangaka and also because it’s from the POV of Haruhi, who doesn’t care about such things. So I literally didn’t have any easy to find references for silk, gold, or gemstones. 
And Isabella is actually childhood friends with Haruhi, as her godfather was a work friend with Haruhi’s mother before she passed who kept in contact with Ranka because of Haruhi and Isabella’s friendship. Isabella acts like an annoying older sister to Haruhi who is ready to spoil her, if only Haruhi didn’t object literally every time she tries. This includes wiping away her debt to the host club, which Haruhi feels honor-bound to fulfill despite the dubious circumstances, so yes, the plot will still happen.
And for Calpyso! She actually does have a devil fruit! The Lonely-Lonely devil fruit, which in essence, can make her unnoticeable. It’s considered cursed since most fail to control the fruit and die from natural circumstances, usually starvation or illness from going completely unnoticed by anyone. Like, one got stranded on an island with no food sources and another was accidentally shot and only had their body discovered after the fact. It renders the user a ghost of their world, earning her the name “Ghost of Paradise Lost” on her file in the Marines, and when utilized to the full effect, lets her walk through objects. With careful control and physical contact, she can bring others with her into this state, but they must not draw attention to themselves (talking loudly or touching other people) as the effect is lessened to a sort of mild ‘notice-me-not’ type of deal. But they can’t be taken with her to pass through physical objects or disappear completely like she can herself. She enjoys scaring people with her fruit powers and wears sea stone earrings when needed to ensure she remains mostly noticed in conversations or meetings, particularly if those involved have trigger fingers. She also carries a truly prolific amount of knives. Just in case.
Vote here! 
 https://strawpoll.com/uzvpd982z
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wackygoofball · 5 years
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Gwenspiration: The Wacky Version Vol. 3 - The Moodboards
So, here I go again parading myself and tooting like there is no tomorrow.
As people still brave enough to follow me on Tumblr will know, I do a lot of moodboards, or at least I call them such. Others call them collages or storyboards or pictures with random text. Either way, for me, moodboards became a neat tool to somehow capture story ideas not yet anywhere near a level that I could write fic about them - or serve as inspirations for fics I am actually writing.
And it gives me opportunity to hoard unhealthy amounts of Gwen and Nik pics, in the name of moodboards. And science. And stuff. Whoozah!
So yeah, in this post, I want to share some of my personal favorites. A lot of them actually, because I can’t decide, really.
I will start off with a group of moodboards which took inspiration from the Marvel universe, since the Marvel universe was my gateway into the more active parts of fandom.
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An all-time fave is the Iron Man AU... I mean, what not to love about a JB AU with Jaime as sassy Tony Stark and Brienne as the not-taking any shit from you army doctor, am I right? But yeah, seriously, Jaime *is* the Tony Stark of the GOT universe, and I can’t be convinced otherwise. And neither should be you.
Also, the Iron Man suits just totally fit the color scheme for both, which made creating the moodboards all the better for me. Jaime and Brienne were made for armor, now in medieval or modern times, let’s not kid ourselves.
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Another Marvel fave has got to be Captain Westeros. Because if there is a female GOT Version of Steve Rogers, it’s gotta be Brienne of fuckin’ Tarth. This one is really close to my heart because it gave me a lot of feels coming up with plot bunnies for it, and the tragedy of those two people missing each other in time over and over again, always trying to protect one another, only to end up on opposite sides because of the machinations of others... *sigh*
And I mean, one guy loses an arm. The other is blond and strong... I don’t make the rules but this delivers me enough material to re-imagine this as a JB AU... so yeah, I do kinda make the rules after all. Anyway.
Since I realized that this post’s gonna get even looooonger, I decided to make a cut here and put the rest below, so not to have you scrolling for five hours.
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Although it’s not the most popular moodboard amongst my followers (you brave people, I can’t parade you enough for staying through the madness lol), I really, really love that Fantastic Four moodboard and the concept behind it. And I just know a lot of effort went into making Valyrian Steel Brienne, which took all of my three computer editing skillz brain cells. But yeah, here again, I liked to play with the idea of them not admitting to their love until shit hits the fan and then they hide behind that because... drama, angst, feels, pining, yadda.
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And we go from Marvel to DC little quick. Because Brienne is, most certainly, a Wonder Woman. Nuf said.
Now, let’s move on to other big movie franchises that give me all the JB feels:
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Jurassic Park (aka Valyrian Park) evidently holds a special place in my heart because JB fighting dinosaur-dragon hybrids and kicking ass while being disbelieving about what was bred out in Valyria thanks to some certain someones to rescue Brienne’s adoptive daughter Arya is just... a thing? For me anyway.
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More down memory lane, I don’t know how often I watched the LOTR movies, suffice to say it was a lot a lot. We had the extended versions DVDs of the first two and basically it was the one thing to watch when nothing was on (which was the case a lot). Either way. JB in MIddle Earth long after the days of Frodo et al. - why? Because I just loved the idea (and aesthetic) of Jaime as a ranger and Brienne as a knight of Gondor working in disguise. And Hobbipod. I mean, Pod as a Hobbit. Come the fuck on. And Tyrion as an asshole wizard. What could possibly go wrong? This moodboard was very time-consuming as I had to do a lot of edits (pointy ears, tiny up people, smudge Brienne’s face on a lot of Boromir and Faramir images, smudge Jaime’s face on a lot of Aragorn images, you name it). So yeah. No matter its popularity... I dig it. Despite not having read the books yet (I know, shocking), I continue to ogle at the idea and go like: Must. Write. But. Must. Resist. Either way. Mood.
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So yeah, I grew up watching these movies a lot, too (I grew up watching a lot of TV, period). And when Gwen was cast as Captain Phasma, I got a lot of JB juices flowing as a result. Mehe. I found it was a fun idea to play with, to basically *kill* Phasma so *Brienne* can come into play and assume her identity. And a rundown Jedi!Jaime who’s lost faith in himself and everything else safe for his partner in crime/resistance is just... I needz. So you gotta cope with it. I still adore this concept a lot even if others may not. :)
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This one’s just... gah. Feels. And I really liked the color scheme lol. And I watched Horse Whisperer A LOT. Because of feels. And horses. And Honor is a horse and he deserved better than be barbecued at Highgarden, dammit.
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The No Reservations AU definitely has to be in this post because I live for this dynamic. Brienne taking care of the girls, not knowing how, though, constantly doubting herself while always trying to be perfect and composed, not just in life but on the job as well. And Jaime being the laid-back guy who’s just a darn good chef but may carry his own baggage of problems that keep him from his happy ending story is just... mah jam.
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This one was a lot of fun to do because you don’t really think about Erin Brockovich when you say Brienne of Tarth in terms of character. But when you scratch away the boob jokes and the differences in where they come from, what you find are two hard-working women who fight for justice, so I found that close enough. And it was excuse enough for me to go down the lane of biker!Jaime because... dayum.
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Music and Lyrics is an all-time guilty pleasure romcom of mine. It’s so light and easy and I kind of love how everyone is basically a bunch of awkward losers. All the more perfect for Jaime as a singer (we need that in our lives after the infamous video Nik was in to sing to us about global warming...) and Brienne as the unexpectedly gifted songwriter. What I like about the moodboard per se is how the color scheme turned out because it’s all warm and bright and... makes me happy.
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Very much in contrast to the former stands this one. I still love the overall mood of it and I dig the story idea because I dug both The Prestige and The Illustionist because they presented something dark yet very different, which made it all the more appealing to put into a moodboard for me. While not the most well-known moodboard of mine, I keep going back to it time and time again to basically lust at all the illusions and magic and drama. And blue butterflies.
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What is there not to love about a Pacific Rim AU for JB, am I right? Right?! JB ain’t just compatible when it comes to the Drift, yo, that’s all I’m gonna say. Reasons why I like the moodboard a lot is that it’s very different, flashy colors, gigantic robots, and I was mostly alright with how the edits turned out. It is tough to get images that fit the angles, yo.
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Jumping back in time once more, I really adore this one even though it’s not one of my popular moodboards. I dug the fusion of elements from Cinderella Man while granting Brienne as the female lead more space to develop as a character and make her a badass sniper nurse who is about to get her doctor’s degree. And Jaime doing anything to make it work because he owes her a debt (and his love) by boxing his way to their shared life is just... nice.
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Another supposedly lesser known moodboard is this one, though I really adore it for its premise and the amount of work I put into it (all the giffing and moodboarding). I also found use for that image of Gwen with what looks like the veil of a nun, which was probably what had me inspired in the first place lol. The plot bunnies revolve less around Se7en and more the novel El ùltimo Catón (2001) because it has a nun solving a mystery revolving around Dante’s works. But Se7en gives us the Seven, which is a delicious parallel too hard to ignore. For me at least. If only I knew how to write crime, dammit.
Now, to  move more into the serial (smooth transition from serial killer to serial TV shows, I know, I know) way of life, here is some moodboards inspired by TV shows (although some have since gotten movies which I also took inspiration from... yadda):
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Childhood memory galore. I spent many weekends watching The A-Team with the whole family. When the movie came out, I was happy about the feels it gave me (and the “you spin my head right round” scene still cracks me up more often than it should). Either way. I found it absolutely necessary for Jaime to be Face, for Tyrion to be Hannibal, for Bronn to be B.A. and cuss at everyone and everything and Brienne giving us the strangest genderbend of a Howling Mad Murdock. It added some angst, which I always need because I am a thirsty hoe for it. In case no one noticed yet. Ha.
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This one is very remotely inspired by The Bletchley Circle and the Imitation Game (because both feature encryption and one features Charles Dance already, yo.) I just really dug the idea of Brienne being so good at this because she is such a straight thinker but being underestimated because “she a woman.” And of course her not being done just encoding messages but getting into action, very much to the dismay of the stupid soldier wanting to defend the bae from harm. What could possibly go wrong? Right. A lot.
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Then. Elementary. Let me count the ways in which I love that show... ALL THE WAYS. And I really dig it as a JB AU. I have so many thoughts and feelings, I can’t even begin to tell you. I especially had my fun basically making Jaime Sherlock without making him really Sherlock because that guy was the one who taught him how to be an investigator before disappearing and fucking up his life for bad. And Brienne as the army doctor turned sober companion turned private investigator turned love interest is just too delicious to ignore.
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Pants down I mean hands down, this may be the actual favorite (currently) amongst them all for the plain reason that I also grew up watching that series and still watch it and keep obsessing about it. Ever since Discovery launched and has since given me both joy and grief, I found myself intrigued by the premise of a JB Star Trek AU where Brienne would be standing *with* the Klingons during the war around the time Discovery takes place, and Captain Jaime Lannister having lost far too much to this war already to truly trust anyone, even less so a woman who ran to the Klingons, for what it seems.
You would not believe how many ideas I have for a fic based on it. You wouldn’t believe that I basically have a sequel to that fic already in mind. And you would definitely believe, knowing me, that I am nowhere near writing that fic. But a fangirl can dream and moodboard, right? The moodboard was such a fun way of going about it, not only for the edits but because I could sneak some secret Klingon messages in there. :)
Now, on to the last part, which are the moodboards not inspired by movies or TV shows primarily but really just spewed out of my wacky, wacky brain:
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This has a special place in my heart because it combines military and the traumas it comes with for JB and.... the aesthetic of farming. And both finding a kind of peace they didn’t know they were looking for as they struggle to adjust and find their way back “to normal” after the horrors they have both seen in war. And did I mention the aesthetic? And Jaime in plaid? All dirty and sweaty? Do I have to say more?
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Why this one? Because it combines angst and romance and falling in love twice because DESTINY. And paintings. I love me my artist AUs. So that was my go at it, combining it with the “mystery” to be uncovered about what history Jaime and Brienne actually share as he tries to put his memories back together.  Also. This moodboard gave me opportunity to try out new filters and create JB paintings. :)
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This one’s gotta be on the list since I also added the Horse Whisperer. Now it’s Dog Whisperer Jaime and Brienne who won’t give up on her dog who’s seen some shit in the warzone (as did she, but Brienne will put it all aside for her doggish best buddy, of course). While it’s not a very popular moodboard of mine, I really enjoy the premise of it and how the dynamics can so easily change between the two of them if you see it in comparison to the Horse Whisperer AU. Also. I just really think Jaime is a total pet person.
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Another lesser known moodboard, I’d assume, but I really dug the premise of it (still do), and it was intriguing to do some edits to make Jaime’s hand *truly* golden lol. With people having developed strange mutations which aren’t nearly as much fun as they are in Fantastic Four AUs. What I liked about it was the idea that Brienne would have a kind of mutation/ability that links to the mind, since she is such a physically strong fighter that she may rather rely on that than on her own mind, fearing that she cannot control that with discipline the same way she can train her body with it. What unites the two is their strong wish to protect the people in their care, in a world on the verge of collapse forcing two unexpected allies together (okay, I totally expected it, but they didn’t). Either way. Much love for this one. :)
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Aaaand the last one (not of all the ones I made but the ones I picked for Gwenspiration). I really, really, really adore this one because I was so happy with how the aesthetic turned out and how the colors all match. And I dig the premise. Like holy moly do I dig it deep. Jaime and Brienne both serving in military, but on different fronts, and almost accidentally ending up writing each other letters? I mean... the PINING. And Brienne having to decipher Jaime’s chickenscratch. Yeah no, but for real. I just love the idea so much. That they are both committed to the cause while also yearning for a home, for peaceful times, for sweet, sweet love. And them meeting up and acting like stupid teenagers, only for drama to keep hitting because. It’s eh me angsty Wacky.
Either way. I dig the premises of a lot of my moodboards (in fact... basically all of them or else I wouldn’t be making them, I guess). I spared you listing all of them, though I listed a whole damn lot already. Moodboards are an awesome means for me personally to visualize and (re-)imagine. And since quite a few people seem to continue to be onboard with them, I am all the happier to keep making them.
That’s all for today.
Much love! ♥♥♥
*flies away*
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firstpuffin · 4 years
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Dragon Ball Xenoverse’s problem with power-scaling:
It’s always a shame complaining about a favourite thing: books, TV, or most relevant, games. Dragon Ball Xenoverse shot up to the top almost before I even played it; and that’s not hyperbole, I watched some on YouTube first. The second game had me even more, but that’s not the topic here. Not because they improved the formula, but because I’ve forgotten.
 Just briefly, Dragon Ball Xenoverse is a four-dimensional fighting game, with flight adding a whole ‘nother element to the gameplay. There are laser blasts, explosions and really, really hard punches. And just to add another personalised cherry atop this fruit bowl, there’s character customisation.
  I’ve only been writing this blog for one, maybe two years, and I’ve repeatedly spoken about my love of customisation in games. This game allowed you to make female Super-Saiyans before the series author did. You travel through time and laser the ever-loving-shed out of the heroes and villains throughout the story. And there happens to be the problem.
 Power is a big thing in Dragon Ball Z, moving into the realm of literal gods. Seriously, the hero Son Goku literally achieves divine powers, shooting god lasers at gods. And over the course of what appears to be- I dunno, a day?, we somehow keep up with him.
  Ah, but that’s not what I’m whining about tonight; I want to discuss the gameplay which is actually important (let’s pretend the undefined time period is years, there’s little reason not to). With the scale of conflicts ramping way up, how did the developers let us experience this?
  They kinda didn’t.
  Admittedly, the first time I faced Full-Power Freeza alongside Super-Saiyan Goku, I was overwhelmed. They felt so fast that I couldn’t keep up! That didn’t happen again, and even later playthroughs didn’t have me feel the same rush.
  Instead it became tedious.
 Sure, it was always a little bit tedious. Any group more than one will use the weak “ki blasts”, that is basically harmless laser shuriken, to disrupt everything you do! In a combo? Interrupted. Using a special move like the famous Kamehameha? Interrupted. And because it stuns you a little, it’s only too easy to get stun-locked by Freeza, Buu and Cell and be unable to move. You probably won’t die, but that makes it worse! You’re just sitting there, raging about being unable to do anything.
  This is there from the beginning, but as things get more “difficult”, naturally you get attacked by more enemies so this keeps happening. And then there are the “super-shields”, which is something given to stronger enemies like Super-Perfect Cell that stop them from being stunned. This means many abilities don’t work and you feel like you aren’t doing anything to them while they constantly break your combos. Again. And again.
  That isn’t difficult, it’s tedious.
 But that’s all they really do. Outnumber you, tank hits, and fucking run in circles. I literally have a video saved where a Cell Jr flies in a blinding, pointless circle around me like a glowing green fidget-spinner. Which is another annoying factor where they hop about for ages, neither attacking nor defending, just dancing because the A.I. kinda sucks too.
  This is a huuge problem for a franchise like Dragon Ball, and the problem shouldn’t be how to hit with the Kamehameha, but instead how to out-skill Goku with his own attack. Enemies should have their own style, even if it’s just a few different types, so that Vegeta doesn’t fight like a Saibaman. So Freeza doesn’t dance like Captain Ginyu (nobody wants to see that!).
  And to make things worse, they had the means to do it well. With strike and ki attacks they could have included physical and ki defense, so without creating a jack-of-all-stats you will struggle with enemies, but find a way to deal with them. I can imagine Freeza having a resistance to ki, Humans being weak to ki, while any Saiyan would have a general but weaker invulnerability to both.
  And then there are the transformations and other power-ups.
 Freeza transforms, Goku transforms, Buu transforms- heck, even Launch transforms. There are the various levels of Kaioken, there’s Potential Unleashed (aka. Gohan’s Mystic form), there are even poses that grant buffs. It should even be possible to create new enhancements based on what’s in the source material for those who aren’t fortunate enough to be a member of a transforming species.
  These transformations could really be more than the minor buffers that they are right now; they could be what makes the game truly challenging. And I’ll say it now, nerf them for online PvP, that’s fair. But having a means to transform and turn Freeza from a nearly impossible challenge to a reasonable one is fantastic for both making things easier, consistent, but also providing an optional challenge.
  And at the end of the day, Dragon Ball Xenoverse is fan service, so service the fans.
  Include these transformations with weaknesses and tactics and then you could not only increase playtime but do so in a fun way that fits nicely with the source material. Plus it has that always amazing power fantasy that games are the perfect medium for.
 I am aware that Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 attempted this, but it was poor. Giantification? A fucking cloud?! Turning into a child with none of your chosen skills? No.
  No.
  Having Potential Unleashed only be accessible at max level is a cruel joke that actively hurts the game.
 I’ll mention that I don’t typically play video games on Hard or Insane difficulties because they so often (but not always), turn enemies into ducks from which bullets run off like water. Punches do nothing, lasers do nothing. It’s tedious and only second to those that heal but never attack in a turn based game (looking at you, Pokemon).
  It’s not fun. It’s not good design. It’s the easy way to make things difficult. As someone who gets excited and inappropriately breathless from a close match, this is very upsetting, especially given all the good in the game. It’s otherwise fun, flashy, you make your own character and the world of the source material allows for you to learn your favourite and new favourite skills without breaking the rules.
  And yeah, my new favourite move is Milky Cannon.
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purplerose244 · 5 years
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Of Koi and Kindness
Hello everyone, here’s a fic for the Ninjago Secret Santa hosted by @coco-jaguar! Thank you so much for you work and dedication, I had a lot of fun like every year, it’s one of my favorite events 😍
This is my present for @ookamihanta, one of my favorite artists in this fandom! An absolute pleasure writing about your OCs, I hope I gave them justice! I love your art and I hope you spent the best Christmas! 😊😊
Here we go, enjoy! ^ ^
(These characters do not belong to me, they belong to ookamihanta for Sunny and Chiru, and the Ninjago crew for Ronin)
“Chi, I don’t wanna be that person… but it’s been one full hour since you started trying, so I’ll be that person.” Sunny sighed, shaking her head at her friend’s apparently unbreakable concentration over the target. “You’ve tried enough. It’s time to go. Come on.” There were many other ways she could had spent that snowy night. Stuck in front of a shooting gallery with a very mediocre thrower didn’t really come first on her list.
Chiru pouted, holding the ball in his hand for dear life.
“But this is the one! I can feel it!” That guy could have a future as a writer. ‘But this is the one I can feel it’, a biography by sore loser Chiru. He squeezed his eyes, eyeing the cans that were his targets. “I just… have to… aim…”
Sunny shook her head.
“Cupcake, there’s a Cafe with a special menu for smoothies just waiting for my order, please? I’m dying for a strawberry and banana right now.” And for a warm place to stay in in general, her coat was warm enough but her cheeks were starting to hurt. Winter festivals were fun, especially in the center of Ninjago City. But only there someone could find a shop for antiquity – apparently in possession of a very flawed heater –, that for some reason decided to set up a very attractive looking shooting gallery with koi fishes as prices. Just what she needed with Chiru and his newborn burning desire to have a koi fish.
When the fist sneeze came out Selene gulped nearby, her big blue concerned eyes all over her. Her cat grabbed her pants, almost climbing the girl by herself. Sunny picked her up, leaving her snuggling around her neck like a black fur collar. She was fluffy and warm, the perfect scarf. Sunny scratched her head to thank her, earning a satisfied purr.
Chiru grunted, throwing the ball again. It got the cans, but not enough to make them fall over. The man at the stand, sitting on a chair with his feet on the counter, snickered. He had a big hat slightly inclined over his face, partially hiding his eyepatch.
“Not like I wanna interrupt the stream of money… I really don’t, keep going.”
“I’m gonna get the fish, you just wait old man!”
“Feel free to try as much as you want kid, you don’t hear me complaining.” The man looked at the teens, smirking. “And it’s Ronin. Wanna know an old man, spend like two minutes with one of the ninja. That geezer master can come from everywhere.”
Sunny’s eyebrows went up.
“That Ronin? Aren’t you supposed to be in jail? Or with the heroes?… or both?” That name sparked too many controversial big newspapers titles.
“Not today, today I got these koi fishes from an old client and discovered that for Christmas kids don’t want fishes… but dragons. ” He shrugged, bring his hands behind his neck. “It’s a sad time of the year for pet marketing. Alas this is the only productive method I came with to earn some money and try to get rid of these little things at the same time. They call me many, many, many unhappy names, but lazy isn’t one of them.” Looking at the robot arm and the variety of mechanical components of his body, it seemed a sincere statement.
Aaand another ball thrown pointlessly got stuck into one of the items hung on the wall – some kind of trophy with a blade on top of it, how bizarre. Chiru growled, dropping his head on the counter, the red and blue locks of his white hair falling flat on the surface.
“This game is rigged!”
Sunny smiled sympathetically at him. She turned to Ronin.
“Can’t I just buy one? You said you just want money and for the koi fishes to be gone.”
“I mean yeah. Although, first, that defeats the economy purpose. Statistically I gain more by his tries than his victories. Then second… of course, I wouldn’t have half the fun I’m having right now.” The ball slipped from the trophy and fell down, Chiru growled louder in response. “Aha, see? I haven’t had this profitable entertainment since fire boy tried to negotiate with me for an aeroblade!” Ronin shook his head, getting more comfortable into his position. “Wanna try too, kid? To avenge his fall or some hero baloney?”
Sunny frowned, looking at her friend still dulling over the counter. After all, it was a Christmas present like another, and he really wanted a koi fish. But she had another plan in mind for the execution. She took Selene off her neck – shivering – and placed her down, then scooted closer to the guy, a hand on her hip.
“How about a deal instead?”
Ronin arched an eyebrow.
“I’m listening.” She leaned her elbow on the counter, offering a hand. “Arm-wrestling? Please sweetheart, I’ve been in Ninjago long enough to recognize an elemental master when I see one. Not gonna fall for the old ‘I’m totally not magical’ trick.”
Sunny smiled brightly at him.
“Elemental master of Moonlight to be precise, nice to meet you. With my good friend master of Blood right here.” Chiru waved without getting his head off the counter. “And I wasn’t going to use my powers, don’t worry.”
“How can I trust you?”
“Well… I’m not you?”
The man snorted, pondering for a moment with the face of someone who just really wanted to forget for a moment about working in a freezer-like shop as a living – or maybe it was just her. Ronin looked at the guy dulling all over his counter and shrugged, getting up and grasping her hand. It was the rough hold of someone who’s been through a lot.
“Why not. Bring it on, kid.”
“Gladly.”
They looked at each other for a moment, her calm expression and his sly smile. Then, on an imaginary bell somehow replaced by Selene’s determinate meow, they both started to push through their hold, trying to make the other fall back. Ronin grunted, holding on as Sunny’s hand trembled for the effort, putting more strength. They stayed in the middle long enough for the both of them to silently pant – and for the defeated with white hair to take a little peak. Then finally Sunny’s blue-polished snails clenched strongly around her rival’s hand, slowly and with an unbearable pace pushing him against the counter.
As soon as he lost the man exhaled the longest breath, looking at her in disbelief.
“You gotta leave half of a dignity, girl. Please tell me you used your powers.”
“It was a power, yes… it’s called workout.” Ronin widened his eyes then started laughing. Sunny giggled too, while Selene jumped skillfully over the counter happily watching her. “But it was a nice challenge, I thought all the strength you had was in the robot arm, not this one. And I’m pretty sure I would had noticed a hero slash public enemy walking around a gym.”
“Pff, I would never do something this fancy, I just need to compensate for what I do for money.” Ronin shrugged, pointing at his treasures for sale. “If you run away as much as I did you end up putting some muscles without really trying. Well, Moony, a deal is a deal I guess.” He looked a little grumpy, the kind you pretend to be just to playfully make things a little less too easy. He opened the fishbowl with all the koi fishes, pointing at it. “Alright kid, which one?”
Chiru finally got up from his gloomy position, wearing a very annoyed look. He slowly put his black mask over the mouth, then pointed at Sunny, who blinked in confusion.
“Didn’t need help. Could’ve done on my own.” His muttering against the cloth sounded extremely sheepish. And his pouty voice and freckled cheeks reddening said otherwise.
Sunny snickered.
“You’re welcome, cupcake.” The colorful koi fishes were swimming rapidly in the little container, scooting a little further when the master of moon peaked at them closely. White, red and black, so color so bright over the scales. “They are so beautiful… Selene don’t you dare!” The black cat stopped the paw in midair and looked annoyed at her master, even while obediently complying. “Well, which one do you like the most?”
Chiru took the mask down. He hummed and looked over as well, still squinting his eyes.
“I don’t know…”
“Is anyone looking at you?”
“Of course they are, I look like a beacon of light!” He grinned, blowing a lock of hair with superiority. Then his eyes widened and he suddenly squished his nose against the glass. “Wait a second, why is that spot so slow?”
Ronin frowned. Sunny shrugged.
“He has bad eyesight, he means the fish.”
“Oh, well, I think the little guy or gal has a lame fin, don’t know if it happened during the fishing or the transport. It can’t help it I guess.” Those big eyes were definitely ahead of him, since Ronin immediately frowned. “You want this one?” The guy nodded convinced. “Well alright, it’s your choice.” Ronin took a plastic bag and a little net, making sure to properly seal the bag with the little koi fish inside. “Here you go kid.” Chiru looked in awe at the fish being extended towards him. He slowly took it with his left hand, never taking his eyes off. The coat he was wearing barely hid his missing right arm, the stump was leaving half sleeve empty. Moving it right now, it kinda looked like a fin. The same fin that was still making it swim. No matter what happened.
Slowly a sweet smile appeared over his face.
Sunny’s eyes softened. Selene immediately rushed to get to the same spot around the girl’s neck, purring softly. The elemental master of Moonlight then turned to the man, leaving on the counter a handful of coins in front of a very confused expression.
“Why…?”
“I kinda played at your shooting gallery, so I’ll pay it as a shot.” She smiled at him. “Thank you, you didn’t have to just agree with my little game.”
“… ah, you kids are so corny.” The man rolled his eyes and took the money, a big smirk on his face. “Get out of here and get yourselves a nice Christmas I guess. At least until this city will be under attack again.” He went to get busy over his merchandise as the teens got out, muttering something about strong female elemental masters always getting the best over him.
The streets were covered in white wonder, it had been since a few days already. The roads and the buildings all together looked created a winter wonderland, with different areas set up for ice-skating and random stands selling hot cocoa. The decorations were bright and colorful, from the big neon signs of the different shops to the Christmas lights climbing every single corner. Walking along the main street many citizens were just wandering around, cute families getting closer to each other with big smiles, nice couples holding hands running towards the closest warm place. It was a rare sight in such a chaotic place.
Sunny sniffed the air, the coffee scent already present. Just one of her favorite Cafe, with a big selection of smoothies in the menu. Just when she eyed the wolf shaped sign of the place, with the irreplaceable O&H signature, Chiru cut her off, suddenly entering some kind of bakery nearby. Sunny froze, a little startled, looking through the shopping window. The guy looked very impatient as he ordered, struggling to hold that new package and the fish with one hand.
When Chiru finally got out he looked at Sunny, still pouting a little. Then he slowly gave her the little pink box of what seemed to be a strawberry shortcake.
“I could’ve got them without help, really! But… thank you.” He blushed, more for the embarrassment than the cold – so there was no backup excuse for that. And even though it was one extremely cute reaction, the master of Moonlight decided that seeing him frowning for an hour over a game was teasingly enough. So she smiled thankfully, taking the present, slowly starting to walk again with the master of Blood by her side.
“So, how are you going to call it?”
“… I don’t know if it’s male of female, I would like to know first. Until then… Nemo I think.” Chiru shrugged. “Too obvious?”
Sunny giggled, scratching her cat’s chin.
“You’re telling me? She’s Selene because of the moon goddess, I can’t exactly judge.” A big bang made them both tremble, but the shiver turned into excitement as a bright green firework exploded into the night sky. “Would you look at that…” Selene meowed, a little concerned, snuggling closer to her neck. After a few more bangs she was already getting used to it, her tail twirling just a little harshly after every single boom.
Chiru held Nemo as close as he could, looking at the show just like all the people that had decided to just stop and watch. Like there was time for beautiful things. Like there was no rush when there was enjoyment. He looked at his friend, smiling.
“Merry Christmas, Sunny.”
Sunny turned to him beaming. Another explosion of light reflected sparkles of purple into her soft cyan irises, adding just another shade of beauty.
“Merry Christmas, Chiru.”
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Solitude. It was something that brought him peace of mind and so much of it that it seemed an almost foolish decision for a criminal such as Opalesk to open his arms so wide to someone like Mikael. Yet when something like the emotionless expression of the quiet, icy Tundra melted through into passionate words of books and desktop adventures, it showed Opalesk a world he never knew could exist. One where the company of another was sweeter than the addiction of loneliness.
Even then, there were days between them where the right decision totalled the desirable outcome, as with all relationships. Today was going to prove just that.
The bulky Snapper lifted his satchel of sparkling sins onto the table. Another haul, another payday, he found himself grinning. The Starfall Isles were a haven for the likes of him with their rich, crystalline mountains and gullible scholars who didn’t think twice of keeping their vaults secured. He carefully picked up each gemstone and raw mineral to inspect them. Opalesk may come off to strangers as a brute, but that didn’t mean he could gentle when he had to. Such as now, or when a certain Tundra boyfriend came to visit from across the Sea of a Thousand Currents.
Which was a good thing, seeing as Mikael was currently in town and lost in the countless worlds of Tasg-Lanna Hall’s vast library of books. Opalesk himself was in a storeroom behind the Rusty Pickaxe Inn where Juniper turned a blind eye to his industry in return for his carpentry skills whenever the building began falling into disrepair (which was frequently, unfortunately, he also had to convince her right enough since Jun was no pushover when it came to her Inn and it wasn’t like Bonnie was going to let him do such business in her own home of Tasg-Lanna Hall, let alone the biggest landmark of Menireach Town!)
Speaking of the hardy Ridgeback, she knocked three times on the storage room door to signal that Mikael had arrived to see him. A game of knocks that the two otherwise asocial dragons had come up with to communicate without spending energy on words. It was also a good practice to keep suspicions low since the wooden structure was less than soundproof as expected.
Opalesk separated and boxed most of the gemstones he had pilfered and stored them in the cupboard clearly marked “opals tools”. He had in his hands one of the most extraordinary finds of his career that he couldn’t help feeling smug about. An old tome sprinkled with priceless jewels and knowledge fit for an archmage of The Observatory. If the pulsing pink crystals weren’t enough to hike up the value of this old book then at least the spells could cough up the interest of some black market wannabe-magic-powerhouse. Otherwise, Opalesk knew he was in for a large sum when this thing went to market. And he couldn’t wait to feel the coins in his hands.
Until he heard another single knock at the door, and the appearance of a pastel Tundra’s face from in between the gap as they cracked it open ever so softly. Mikael beamed as brightly as his boyfriends pale yellow eyes as their gazes met. Before Opalesk could exchange a hello, however, the pastel Tundra had spotted the tome in his hands and stood there halfway in the doorway, mesmerised and frozen as his Icy eyes wandered the beautiful book.
Opalesk coughed to break the silence. “Erm…” He mustered. “So, we going through for lunch then?” He quickly smiled and placed the tome into a lined case before closing the lid entirely. He hadn’t even noticed Mikael edging up towards him with an unusual, yet familiar and passionate grin on his face. Opalesk knew that look. It was the appearance of a shy soul overcome with desire. The book-keeper who’s endless hunger for knowledge and numbers forged the scenery of his daydreams. His lover noticing the grand find and recognising it for something beyond its monetary value.
“Where did you find that?!” Mikael gasped. His cold eyes widened with awe. “It’s...incredible! Marvelous!”
“Yeah it’s pretty.” Opalesk nervously chuckled back. “Valuable too, I bet.” He smirked.
“Oh absolutely! From what I see it appears to possibly be a volume from the “Mind and Matter” series of perfecting the art of transferring elemental energy into crystals! The Arcane volume is a particularly difficult set to get your hands on…” Opalesk could already see through his partner’s intimate interest in the book. Mikael wanted it. To pore over it and extract every sliver of information inside it. He would’ve happily given it to him if it was just some old mass-produced spell book, but the value of this one…
“Oh well. I’m sure there’s copies of it all over the place if it’s as popular as it is.” Opalesk tried to be sympathetic and not as openly suave as he was trying to be to keep this gold mine in his hands to sell. Except Mikael didn’t seem to be falling for it. 
The Tundra pouted and shuffled cutely. “Well, that’s the truth I suppose. Not exactly the same experience and you can never really trust copies compared to the originals...” Mikael let out a small, sad sigh. He made sure that Opalesk saw the glimmer in his eyes, and the Snapper sure did.
Was he really going to fall for this? ‘Opalesk, you had potentially thousands of treasure at stake for this old book’ he thought. He looked again at his partner who let out a small sniff and turned his gaze to the side of the room away from Opalesk. Oh dear. Now he was really at the crossroads and had to decide whether money really was worth the gloominess of his quiet lover.
Who was he to be that arsehole? He huffed and then beamed brightly at his boyfriend. He opened up the case and pushed it towards Mikael who confusingly snapped back to face the Snapper. “Here, treasure. It’s valuable all right, and I’m sure it’ll fit fine in your library back at the Pyramid. Your clan sure knows how to deal with all this weird magic-kinda stuf-” 
Before he could finish speaking Mikael had thrown his arms around him and kissed him softly on the cheek. Opalesk could feel himself blushing hard. “Thank you thank you thank you~” Mikael purred, his fur and silk veil tickling Opalesk’s cheek. Opalesk smiled warmly in his lovers embrace. He might not be as expertise as he thought with calculating the value of his illegal goods, as he discovered today. It turned out what Opalesk must really expertise in was loving his sweetheart Mikael above anything else. The treasure all along was his soft lover being happy with a new book.
Opalesk found himself giggling at the soppy thoughts in his mind as he and Mikael walked hand-in-hand out of the door to the food bar for their date.
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dragonleesupporter · 5 years
Text
Unloved Siblings (Part 1)
Author’s note: H-OOOOLY crap, this took a lot. I’m pretty sure I went over this at least ten times, so enjoy this peek into the land where Lucaja was born!
Summary: Lucaja breaks in two.
Here’s the fics leading up to this one;  Tear Down the Wall,  Of Confrontation and Comfort.
Without further ado, let’s go!
...
             “The Eternity Crystal’s calling…” Cush murmured, barely loud enough to hear.
           The ball of spikes sat up and listened, trying to decipher what kind of signal the crystal was sending out. Though he had been the first born into his land, he was the slowest learner out of the rest. Cush was the Pain Monster. Specifically, physical pain. He was a porcupine-like creature with thick, black spikes sprouting along the spine of his deep red body. In contrary to his threatening body, his face was one of a tender mouse; large, fluffy ears, black eyes glistening and pointy nose constantly twitching. His long tail had the equivalent of a mace on the end of it which he liked to swing around whenever he was feeling playful.
 His tiny limbs stretched and the spikes along his spine bumped into each other as he arched his back, spiky tail lashing with excitement.
             “M-Mentora! Wake up! There’s a new manifestation monster!” Cush’s squeaky voice called into the cave behind him which housed his two friends alongside himself.
             “What are you yakking about? We hardly ever get rest, Cush!” Mentora slithered out of the cave, her three eyes droopy and her tail sagging as her head was barely kept upright on her snake-like body.  
             Mentora was the Mental Instability Monster. Though she was the last born thus far of the three, she had more brain capacity, and therefore knew substantially more than the other two. She took the form of a large snake with a lioness head, complete with a strangely feminine-looking mane along with two horns that sprouted peacefully from her head. She had three eyes that glowed white like the rest of her body, and had little swirly patterns in her retinas that constantly rotated. She threw her head back and yawned as Pascal crawled out of the cave alongside her.
             Pascal was the Emotional Turmoil Monster. The single eye on his otherwise blank face changed color with how he was feeling like a mood ring. The fuzzy rainbow fur along his long neck came to an abrupt end when it met his shoulders with feathers sprouting from the rest of the base of his body instead. The feathers had their own mood-ring fix, but would only turn the color of his eye if Pascal felt that emotion very strongly. Four, glass-like wings sprouted along his lengthy spine, and sat peacefully on his back. His six, grey, dragon-like legs moved in sync like clockwork machinery as his short, stumped tail twitched with curiosity.
             “A new… manifestation?” He asked shyly, his eye turning an orangish-yellow.
             “Yeah… actually you’re right Cush, that is the call for a new creature… but how could that be? I was only born a few millennia ago… what element could we be missing?” Mentora raised her eyebrows as she cocked her head to the side.
             “Let’s go find out!” Cush started to run despite the difficulty with his short legs, so happy that he had identified the call correctly with the other two in tow.
             The Eternity Crystal glowed a brilliant combination of colors- some not even known to humans- as its vibrations were sent through the ground and air, the soft voom of its call echoing along mountain where it stood. The three approached it carefully, and like all the other times a creature had been born, the crystal momentarily cracked open, booting a small form out into the light.
             “Is it a… puppy?” Cush guessed, his round ears twitching.
             “Not entirely… It looks like it has two faces…” Pascal murmured worriedly as his eye turned a light shade of purple.
             Mentora stayed silent, watching and analyzing as the tiny figure tried to get to its feet, its two pairs of eyes blinking open to show one pair pink and the other purple, much like the creature’s fur…
             “Why is it having such a hard time standing up?” The Pain Monster questioned as the three observed the small figure trying to get up and failing multiple times.
             “Because it has too many limbs! Look!” Pascal exclaimed, using one of his clear, glass-like wings to point at the small creature as his eye flashed a bright, blinding red and yellow design.
             It was true; the new manifestation had two sets of four legs on either side of its body, as well as two sets of wings and two tails.
             “It probably doesn’t even know what’s right-side-up right now…” Mentora commented thoughtfully, sniffing the small form as it tried to decide which set of eyes would be gazing upside-down.
             “Hey! Pink side! Try to stand up!” Cush called enthusiastically, trying to give the monster an easier solution.
             Hearing this, the pink side finally took initiative and stood “right-side-up” while the purple was stuck on the bottom.
             And that is how it stayed for most of Lucaja’s life. Debaja barley got any affection, just because she wasn’t very well-liked, unlike her sister, Lucia. Debaja was seen by most as too rough for a comfort monster. The other three had been surprised that Lucaja wasn’t actually a manifestation monster like the rest of them. She was, instead, a comfort monster to help balance out the damage caused by the others; whenever creatures couldn’t deal with them on their own. However, she could only be summoned at night, and only if either an individual was alone, or was with a group that was equally as tired as they were. This gave her the name of Sleep Deprivation Monster; the soft spot in the group.
 It had been a thousand millennia, and, after giving it some though, Debaja finally decided to confront her sister. She was sick of being the unfavored one- she was literally dying from it! She had to talk to Lucia.
             …
             “Look, it’s not my fault!” Cush heard a high-pitched voice cry from inside his head. His eyes widened at the harshness in the tone as he looked around to see if he could find the two-faced monster.  
             Lucaja, since her jaw was interlocked between two different heads, could only speak in telepathy. She usually tried to keep her sentences as minimal as possible, since Mentora had told her that if she tried to have a full-blown conversation with a real being, it would make their head literally explode. But in the Land of the Infinite, Lucaja didn’t have to limit her diction.
             “No, it’s not, but you could at least help! I’ve been starving forever now! Don’t you think you could give me a little attention?” Debaja’s voice hissed back and the weak crack in her voice echoed as Cush whined.
             “But I can’t waste my energy, Debaja. I have to be there for those who need me-”
             “I NEED YOU!” Cush covered his head and whimpered at the screeching cry… it had been so loud his ears were ringing from the inside. The Pain Monster was about to call the others for help when a familiar form slithered past.
             “Mentora?”
             “Cush, come.”
             “What about Pascal?”
             “I SAID COME! NOW!” The urgency in the Mental Instability Monster’s tone threw the porcupine-like creature off his bum and onto his legs, desperately trying to keep up with the smooth, swift form as his ears rang louder.
             The scene both of them were met with when they reached the top of the hill was appalling, to say the least.
             Lucaja had slit into her two relative parts. Lucia and Debaja now had their own separate bodies. Lucia had a pink, full-grown, healthy-looking body, smooth skin shining in the sunlight as the fur on certain parts of her body grew thick and luscious, her bright pink feathers filed neatly. Her form was an eye-spitting comparison to Debaja’s who’s bones were showing through her skin as her pink eyes were sunk into her skull. Her skin and fur were patchy and uneven, and her feathers were bent all the wrong ways; some were even falling off, making her look more dead than alive.
             “Why can’t you be there for me?! Even just a little?!” Debaja spat and wheezed as Lucia recoiled.
             Strangely, with their forms separated, they could now use their own jaws, and didn’t need telepathy.
             “Why can’t you just drop it? Thousand millennia go by, and SUDDENLY you say you’ve needed me this whole time??” The pink side stood her ground and grinded her teeth, tail lashing. “If this is really a big deal, why is it popping up JUST now?? That’s not how you handle big problems, Debaja!”
             “Then you must understand how hard this is for me!” The purple side sobbed out and clutched her chest, her heartbeat terrifyingly visible through her skin. “You get all the attention and love! Sure, you share, but I need some directly! With how much you love giving to our patients, can’t you give some directly to me??”
             “Quit being so selfish! Come on, let’s just get back together and go back to the way things were! You feed off of my achievements. If we fuse back together, you’ll feel better! Please, you look so frail… let’s just stop this!” Lucia took a step forward, purple gaze softening as she tried to calm her sister down. Everything had been going so perfect, why did Debaja have to throw a big fit now?
             “NO!” Debaja screeched and turned around, whole body shaking as she refused to look at her twin. “If I really mean so little to you… then I’m going somewhere else! You can deal with the imbalance on your own! Like I have!”
             Lucia stood in shock as she watched her sister stagger and disappear into another realm. Her eyes narrowed to slits and her breathing became uneven. She suddenly realized two of her friends staring from the hill behind her.
             “W-what are you looking at?!” She shouted defensively as Cush took a few fearful steps back. “What are you even doing here?!”
             “Lucia, your thoughts aren’t flowing correctly, your head is in a whirlpool of insecurity and destabilization. Why else do you think I’m here?” Mentora hissed, her aura glowing brighter with Lucia’s growing panic.
             “N-no! I’m fine! Sh-she’s fine!” The pink half trembled as the Mental Instability Monster slithered closer, her three, swirly eyes narrowed in anger as her lip twitched into a snarl.
             “L-Lucia… what did you do?” Cush tentatively called from the top of the hill, too scared to get any closer.
             A stake went through the pink side’s heart. Cush had never talked to her like that.
             “I-I’m not the bad guy here!” She shouted angrily, causing the cute porcupine creature to hide behind the edge of the hill, gentle whining being heard from the other side. “I’m not the bad guy! I’m not!”
             “Oh, and who is? Debaja?” Mentora spat as her snake tail lashed back and forth.
             It was no secret that Mentora cared for Debaja more than Lucia. Lucia was the easy option most people chose, whenever Lucaja had to comfort someone. A shoulder to cry on, a smile on her lips, Lucia was the positive reinforcement that everyone preferred. Yet Mentora knew more than anyone else that Debaja was the more efficient choice. Yes, she also comforted her patients, but she also gave them a good slap of reality. Lucia makes her subjects dependent on her and others, hardly giving them anything real to stabilize their soul; while Debaja teaches the person to rely on themselves, and deal with reality on their own; only then would they be strong enough to find true happiness. But you see- most people don’t like to hear that. That’s why the purple side was almost never chosen. Making her suffer while her sister got all the spoils of laughter or comfort that rose from the patient.
             “Wh-where’s Pascal?” Lucia finally broke the silence, not daring to look into Mentora’s three enraged eyes.
             “Probably with Debaja.” The Mental Instability Monster replied coldly before slithering away to comfort Cush, leaving the pink half to think over what she had done…
@cefsticklestoo @bexxbeauty
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mjwiththefangs · 5 years
Text
Beautifully Deadly (NaLu) #6
Chapter 6
Vampire/Supernatural AU
Rating: M
Summary:  "Supposedly an entire kingdom disappeared when their queen went beyond the borders, remember?" When Natsu Dragneel leaves the kingdom to investigate mysterious disappearances, he finds a much bigger adventure than he was bargaining for, including a beautiful vampire hidden away in an ancient castle. She has little to say about her past, or why she's locked away. Who did this to her? What has she been feeding on? One thing Natsu knows for sure that she is dangerous... Could she have something to do with the disappearances? "I'm sorry, Natsu, but I'm just so thirsty."
Chapters: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7
Read it on: AO3 & FF.net
AN: Hello! so this chapter ended up being cut a bit short- just because there was too much I wanted to cram in and ended up deciding (to avoid waffling in this chapter!) that all the other things can wait until later. Thanks to that, this chapter is a little bit shorter than the last one! I hope you all still enjoy, and let me know what you think!
As always, shout out to my Betas @mannyegb and @bmarvels !
Review shoutouts! to: KatanaNoNeko, NaluGrey, KJacket, YunaYue, takeagamble27, MadisonMikazuki, Delightfulxxx, ChaosreigN 
Thank you!!
There are certain beings within this universe that choose to remain anonymous. Some have existed as long as time and fallen to obscurity.
One individual prefers to be this way, it makes his work much easier. It helps him avoid awkward situations. Before, when his existence had been caught wind of, he found himself approached with requests about fate. Some asked when their time would be, others asked what the cost would be to avoid ever meeting him again.
They called him Death. He was the very first Reaper. He had a name, reserved only for the few that truly piqued his interest. One such in particular was a blonde woman, tainted by a cursed existence which should not have been hers to bear. She had not sensed what he was, or maybe she just did not care.
He had been perplexed by her. His dark onyx eyes had observed her with curiosity. She had been in a rush, he had dryly joked 'in a rush to meet your death’. The woman had held his gaze with honey gold eyes, and for an instant, he felt that desire in her. That desire to escape.
So, he gave her aid. He pointed her in the direction of shelter. Offered her… provisions of a certain kind. She reluctantly accepted, though never asked where he had gotten them.
Now, he wondered how she was, his mind absently wandering. He had not felt the tug of her soul, beckoning him to take her to the other side. Perhaps she would still be in her shelter.
How long would she survive without feeding, he wondered. Would she ever truly understand what this fate was that had fallen upon her?
He recalled their last meeting, unbidden. She had stood before him, her fists trembling at her sides. Her eyes bleeding crimson, drowning in darkened shadows. She was desperate.
'Please.’
He understood what she was asking. He reached into his dark robes, presenting a pail to her. She took it with greedy hands.
'You should follow your heart’ his advice slipped out. She reminded him of another blonde he had known, so very long ago. The deep recesses of his heart ached at the sorrow and pain on her features. He could at least offer her some salvation. He decided then, as she met his gaze unafraid, to gift her his name.
'You can call me Zeref.’
.
Lucy began to descend the stairwell, intending to get a basin of clean water for the blue feline. The cat himself purred happily in her arms and rubbing his wet fur against her. She wrinkled her nose.
‘Just what kind of trouble did you get yourself into before finding me?’ She asked. He meowed at her again and raised his paw to lick it clean. He smelled bad. The odour from his cerulean fur was like putrid fish and pond-weed.
Lucy hoped that she still had some of her good soap leaves left over to cleanse his stench. She really did have to ponder what he had done to find himself so damp and smelly.
The small blue cat, however, was already plotting his next escapade with the strange fish lady.
.
Juvia, meanwhile, was not having such a good evening.
She had only returned to her waters the day prior, and the weather had been most unpleasant, though for once that was not by her doing. The dusklight earlier had been irresistible as it shone on the lake’s surface. She had indulged herself, lazily paddling and creating ripples across the surface, flicking her tail languidly to create waves. She had sighed, closing her eyes and floating through the water.
What she had not expected, however, was the almighty chomp of teeth on her teal-scaled tail. She had squawked her displeasure, her leisurely swim disrupted. Her eyes snapped open as her torso dropped below the surface, her perfect balance ruined. Her tail flailed ungracefully above water, the biter temporarily dislodged. She glared, bursting above the surface once more to give the cretin a piece of her mind!
She whipped her head around, azure locks flicking over her shoulder. She had heard what she swore was giggling above her. Her head snapped up. A blue-furred cat floated on fluffy white wings, he held paws over his mouth, his eyes were wide and watching her like she was his next meal.
‘I am not dinner!’ She exclaimed, her face burning red with anger. She yelped when the cat flew at her again with his mouth wide. The mermaid had ducked, and eyes flashing blue, heaved her tail, and hurled an enormous portion of water towards the cat instead.
That had been that. Her assailant had yowled his displeasure and shook out his wings before hissing and fleeing.
Now, Juvia remained sour-faced, floating on her back. There was a large crescent shape left behind on her otherwise pristine scales.
She sighed, still frustrated about having her pleasant night disrupted. Gazing at the darkening sky, she could see the waning crescent moon. Although not a full moon, it still entranced her. She felt eased into calmness and opened her mouth to sing.
Singing was always her solace when she felt upset. Tonight was no different.
Further away, unbeknown to Juvia, a man had caught a glimpse of blue descending the sky and grinned to himself. He had to be on the right track. He continued his course in the direction of the lake, frost crackling underfoot.
.
The Fire Dragon King was observing the Titania at work. He couldn't decide if he was watching meticulous planning or organised chaos unfold before him. But the distress on the Valkyries’ face was clear.
Gray had flown the coop. A day or two ago in fact. All of her plans had been thrown into disarray and she needed to reconvene. As such, her troops were stuck in limbo.
Erza had needed him here. Sure, part of it was to stop his magic destabilising further. But his command over ice would have been essential to protect the kingdom. She had to change her plans.
As such, before her stood Lyon Vastia and Ultear Milkovich. They were both close with Gray; Lyon had been apprenticed to Ur alongside him and Ultear was Ur's daughter. As such, the 3 of them were like family. They had certainly mourned for Ur together.
Erza studied the two of them carefully. Like Gray, they were gifted with the Ice Element. Lyon was a Yeti, his mop of snowy white hair and piercing eyes giving him away, despite using his magic to appear human-shaped. His ice magic worked with nature itself, allowing him to form ice that looked like other creatures and behaved as though alive. He had sought Ur out to train him to be stronger when he was just a small boy.
Her violet orbs drifted over to Ultear, who stood with a shoulder towards the Red-head. Her skin was pale, white enough to camouflage her with snow, if not for her ebony dark hair.
She was a rare creature known as a Yuki-Onna, a Snow Girl. She was usually a recluse, often omitting her presence at the castle in favour of the written word. She had always had a strong affinity with the Ice Element, her mother had been a Khione, daughter to the North Wind, and Deity of Snow.
Ultear's state of being was partially her inheritance of the ice element but she ultimately had her awakening as a Yuki-Onna after almost losing her life to the cold. As a young child, she had been foolish, venturing out into a snowstorm and had fallen dreadfully ill. Ur had used her powers, smiling as she accepted this fate, and taken the cold threatening her daughters’ life into her own body.
Ultear would always remember the dark-haired man, how he smiled gently at her, his presence ethereal, time stopping all around them both. The way his onyx eyes met her sadly, she was so young.
Then suddenly he was fading from view, time sluggishly restarting around her. He smiled at her again, this time with warmth. He turned away from her, leaving her arc of time as a parting gift.
She regained consciousness soon after to Ur’s loving smile, brushing the hair from her face. She understood years later her mother's sacrifice. By taking that cold into her body, it had slowly begun to freeze her from the inside. It seemed ironic, Ultear thought, that her mother was killed by the same element that she had mastered.
Her piercing crimson eyes opened, and she turned to face the armour-clad Valkyrie regarding her. She held the woman in high mutual respect and currently shared her irritation with a certain ice demon.
Ultear, temporarily foregoing her irritation, decided to get to the point, ‘What do you need me to do, Titania?’
Erza nodded, silently agreeing they could get mad at Gray later. ‘I normally wouldn’t ask this of you, Ultear. I know how you prefer your solitude, and your charms have always proved invaluable. But right now, I need you as close to the perimeter as possible. You have mastery over ice that we have not known since Ur was still with us. I need you to build ice walls if you see any hostiles approaching, and if you have to, freeze them with your ice, or Arc of Time. Just keep them out.’ Erza instructed and Ultear thought for a moment, before nodding once.
Erza turned to the sullen Yeti beside the Yuki-Onna. ‘Lyon.’ He made a noise, signalling she had his attention.
‘Your frozen beasts are perfect for patrolling. Keep them divided if you can manage, but position some at the weak points of the border, and reserve some for the palace.’
‘Yes, Captain.’ He said in a low voice and she dismissed them both with a smile of thanks.
Igneel still remained atop the stairs overlooking the exchange, his hands clasped behind his back. Deep lines of worry were drawn across his face. His ears twitched when he heard heavy footfalls approaching.
His features relaxed into a smirk, ‘Metallicana, It's not very often you join me up here.’ He turned towards his companion, holding out a hand in greeting.
Metallicana boomed a short laugh, clasping his hand warmly and slapping his shoulder. The man was decked out in studded leather, with several piercings adoring his features. He had salt-and-pepper coloured hair, which pointed wildly in several directions. He was a Dragon, similar to Igneel, but unlike him, Metallicana was not a pureblood nor a Drake.
‘Igneel! I wanted to make sure you were keeping busy!’ His voice was gravelly as he spoke, ‘I did wonder if you had any updates about my Son.’ he finished in a quieter voice.
Gajeel was still considered part of the nest, even though he had taken his Mother’s wolf heritage. The draconic blood in him was still prevalent in his unusual diet of raw iron.
Metallicana missed him dreadfully. He had also come to speak to Igneel to offer words of empathy. After all, Natsu had gone now too.
The Fire Dragon King sighed heavily. ‘I’m afraid not, old friend. I suppose Natsu wanted to go after him.’
The iron-studded man closed his eyes and sighed softly, musing. He squeezed Igneel’s shoulder in his hand and opened his eyes again to meet his gaze.
‘I am sure they’ll return when they’re ready. Though, that may take longer than either of us hope.’
Igneel nodded. They had to believe that.
His attention was stolen by insistent, frustrated mewling. He titled his head, searching for the cause of the noise. Metallicana raised a studded eyebrow, his features perplexed and leaned sideways to peer around the King.
A small white cat was hissing furiously, spitting and screeching as she leapt around one of the wagons. She batted and slashed her claws on the tarpaulin covering the cart.
Igneel watched the cat with knowing eyes, a feeling of conflict bubbling in his chest. He didn’t have long to ponder though, as Metallicana asked ‘Isn’t that Carla?’ rubbing his chin, ‘She’s always with Grandeeny’s daughter, Wendy, right?’
Igneel rumbled a ‘Yes’, under his breath, already moving to step towards the irritated cat. Carla was still hissing vehemently when Igneel reached her. The snowy cat startled, fluffy wings bursting from her back and she leapt upwards, turning to face him as she did.
Carla meowed loudly in his face and fluttered down, rubbing herself along his leg. He crouched to scratch her gently behind her ear, he flicked his gaze upwards to the cart.
‘You can come out now, Wendy.’
A small whine came from the back of the wagon and the tarpaulin shifted slightly. Shocking blue hair framed her face, large chocolate coloured eyes looking owlishly out at him. Carla yowled indignantly, Wendy raising a hand apologetically, silently begging her to be quiet.
Igneel kept his voice low, hoping to soothe the girl, ‘Your mother would be worried if she knew you were out here. She's making medical drafts with your Aunt Porlyusica. Why don’t you go find her? I'm sure they could use your help.’
She gnawed on her lower lip, briefly averting her gaze and glancing back at him, nodding shyly. He offered her his hand, helping her out the wagon.
The iron dragon watched with bemusement, catching the young girl’s eye when she was back on solid ground, chuckling as she flushed with embarrassment and jogged towards the castle, Carla hot on her heels.
‘She’s certainly free-spirited.’ Metallicana chuckled, his eyes following her retreating form. 'But then, Wyverns always are.’
Igneel cocked his head at the other man, and with a half-shrug responded with
‘They’re both still Draconic, and as such valuable to the nest’ he smiled and gestured towards Erza. 'I need to speak with her, but I shall meet you in the study after.’
Metallicana returned his smile, and with a nod and wave, he returned to the castle.
Igneel breathed deep, his attention turning towards the Valkyrie. He wanted to know her plan of action, and gift to her the lacrima he'd been holding onto.
It was a simplified communication lacrima, part of a pair, and could not be detected by other lacrimas of the same variety. The pair specialised in exchanging data on the others’ environments and the respective holder's thoughts and feelings, including magic energy transfers. Essentially, Igneel could scout and aid them from the castle.
He approached her and cleared his throat.
.
Elsewhere, Jellal was becoming anxious. He was sealed in a guest room at Avatar, and whilst he'd been told he could move freely, he knew that wasn't the case. His magic was pulsating within him, fluctuating with his temperament, and purposefully reminding those nearby of his power.
It was also acting as a sonar, alerting him who was in close proximity. He needed to concentrate. Jellal Perched himself on the bed, elbows on his knees, resting his chin behind interlaced fingers. He sought out the bond between him and Erza, the one created when he first began to watch over her as a guide; the same magical bond that altered dramatically when the two of them became lovers. It was like feeling along an invisible thread, and gazing through a keyhole at the other side. He could sense her alertness. Igneel had gifted her something, he noted, feeling the orb shape in her hands. She was tilting her head now, feeling him tugging on that thread. He could see her in his mind’s eye, fuzzy, but becoming clearer the more he focused on her.
Her beautiful scarlet hair whipped around her face, her sharp eyes scanning her immediate vicinity. He could have gazed into those pools of violet until the end of his days if she’d have only let him. Those eyes settled, seemingly meeting his own.
The Angel smiled softly at her, his fingers unconsciously moved to stroke her cheek, as if he were truly with her. Her own usually stern expression softened, his name falling from her lips.
‘I don’t have much time. You can find our location here.’
He had always found this method of communication unusual. It wasn’t quite telepathy. It was something akin to a data transfer, he supposed. He made sure she knew his location, how he’d found it and even the coordinates he’d memorised earlier.
Suddenly, his magic spiked violently. His image of her face rippled. She nodded in understanding. He wanted to reach for her. She knew. Instead, he simply whispered ‘I love you’ and abruptly severed their connection.
Mentally realigning himself always felt like awakening from a dream. It was disorienting to say the least. But Jellal was used to the strange sensation. His magic demanded attention for more urgent matters.
His cyan coloured eyes snapped open and swept to the door. His magic was reacting furiously. Someone was approaching. He tilted his head back, sitting up and straightening his shoulders. His eyes narrowed. He urged his magic into a calmer state. He allowed it to still spill from his person, as though it was lurking just beneath the surface.
Jellal could sense the approaching hostility. It seemed he’d failed to avoid raising suspicion. There was a knock on the door.0
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metalandmagi · 5 years
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April Media Madness!
Hello, and welcome to what is most likely the last list of all the media I consumed this month! Because it’s been a whole year since I started doing this, and I’m starting to repeat myself a lot. But it’s been interesting, and I hope maybe someone found something to watch or read or whatever along the way.
And this doesn’t include all the new seasonal anime I started watching...because otherwise this would be 10 pages long.
March Media
Movies!
Avengers Endgame: *No Spoilers* The final act in this stage of the Avengers as we know it is finally here. And man they stuck the landing. I have so many emotions. Of course there are things I have issues with, but I really don’t care that much. I’m just trying not to cry like a baby just thinking about it. 100000/10
Aquaman: It’s Aquaman guys. It’s a bunch of fish, people, and fish people going to war in a brightly colored mess of explosions and underwater politics. This movie is ridiculous, but I like it a lot. Sometimes you just need a movie where people ride giant seahorses and an octopus plays the drums. Who cares about plot holes? Jason Mamoa just lifted up a submarine! 8/10
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The Princess Bride: You all know The Princess Bride. I just couldn’t stop thinking about it after season 2 of The Tick so...8/10
Loving Vincent: An animated feature telling the story of a man trying to deliver a letter written by Vincent Van Gogh right before his death.  Oh yeah, and every frame is hand painted! It has the basic feel of an old timey detective story because the plot is literally a guy going around talking to people who knew Vincent who all have different accounts of his personality and the events leading up to his suicide. It starts out a little slow, but I ended up getting into it. The overall moral is that you never really know anyone; we are survived by what others think about us. Even if you have no interest in the story, if you love animation or any visually creative movies, this is a must watch. Every frame of this movie is a literal work of art, and it doesn’t get nearly the recognition it deserves. 8/10
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Books!
Reign the Earth by A.C. Gaughen: The teenage daughter of a desert clan becomes a queen when she is forced to marry the king of a rival country to bring peace to the land. News flash, the king is an asshole, and no one brings peace to the land. Also there are elemental powers like in Avatar the Last Airbender. This is a good book, with a solid main character, strong world building, and an intriguing plot. It can be heavy handed in its messages, but they’re messages that need to exist. I’d also give it some major trigger warnings for abuse, torture, and gas-lighting. Our main villain is a very well written abuser because his actions are so accurate to real life, but the last one hundred pages were pretty much just suffer porn. Also the most interesting character in this book gets majorly sidelined, and I need her to have her own book. But if you like culture rich world building, interesting characters, Avatar-like bending powers, and a plot with lots of twists and turns, this is the book for you. 8/10
Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat: Prince Damen, local disaster bisexual and the rightful heir to the throne of his country, is captured in a coup by his brother and is sent to live as a slave to the prince of an enemy country...whose brother Damen just happens to have murdered. It’s basically a 250 page discount version of Game of Thrones where a precious cinnamon roll must navigate a dangerous political landscape without anyone finding out his real identity. This an amazing series, but the first book is so intentionally horrifying that it scares some people off. It is meant to make the reader as uncomfortable as possible in the beginning so we can spend the other two books trying to fix the problems in both countries and watching the main characters have adventures and fall in love. The writing is fine but not quite up to par with the other two books. But hey, it’s a hard R, high stakes political drama with one of the best couples I’ve ever seen, and my number one most hated villain of all time. If you’re into Game of Thrones, you’ll probably love this series too...even if there are no dragons. 9/10
Prince’s Gambit by C.S. Pacat: The second book in the Captive Prince trilogy in which our princes basically perform Mulan’s I’ll Man Out of You while training a bunch of terrible soldiers and riding across the country in the slowest slow burn romance to ever burn slowly. The whole book is our main characters trying to figure out what they are to each other, going on adventures, and playing mind games with their enemies. Personally, I think it has the best plot, the best side adventures, the most tension, and the best representation of going from enemies to reluctant allies to confused friends to lovers ever. This is the book where people who weren’t into the first one go “oh I get the hype” because we’re finally out of the castle and don’t have to be creeped out every five minutes. 10/10
King’s Rising by C.S. Pacat: The final book in the Captive Prince trilogy, where Damen and Laurent must sneak across enemy territory make their final stand and gain back both of their kingdoms. There are a lot of great things about this finale, but pretty much everyone agrees that the big climactic take down moment of the entire series is based around some extremely convenient coincidences and should have had more...build up. Oh well, it gives us a happy ending one way or another so I can’t be too mad. 9/10
The Promised Neverland: Another manga, and technically I didn’t start from the beginning, but I’m counting it anyway. A horror/thriller story focusing on the children of Grace Field House, an orphanage where everyone is a happy family and there are definitely no deep dark secrets about what happens to the children who leave the house...right? It was made into an anime that premiered in January, and it was so good that I picked up the manga where the anime finished because I just couldn’t wait for the next season. And yes, the manga is also awesome. Please read it, or watch the anime. It is my contender for anime of the year, and it’s the most consistently well written mysterious manga I have read in a long time. 10000/10
TV Shows!
The Tick (2016 season 2): The Amazon Prime original series based on the comic wherein an awkward accountant becomes a superhero with the help of a big blue suited man going only by the name “The Tick.” AND I’M SO HAPPY THIS GOT A SECOND SEASON! This season is a lot more about The Tick and Arthur being recognized as actual superheroes and goes through a very...One Punch Man style plot of hero bureaucracy. This is a prime example of how a superhero comic adaption should feel. It takes itself just seriously enough to get by, but it laughs at itself a lot too. I’ve seen the 2001 live action series and a few episodes of the cartoon, but every adaptation is special in its own way, with different side characters and overarching plots. If nothing else, watch it for Dangerboat, the sentient gay AI played by Alan Tudyk who is in love with the main character. It has all the background absurdity of Umbrella Academy with its own quiet commentary on mental illness and government corruption…There is so much material to work with and no one else knows about this show! Now, if only we’d get a live action version of Chairface... 10/10
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Kim’s Convenience (season 3): I talked about this show in my November media. It’s the sitcom about a Korean-Canadian family who runs a convenience store, and I love it so much. It’s a bit predictable in its plots, but it has fun, diverse characters, accurate family dynamics, and my favorite thing about it is the fact that it promotes strong male-female friendships with no romantic intentions at all. If you want something light and fluffy, please give it a chance! 9/10
Honorable Mentions
I finally started reading Always and Forever, Lara Jean, the final book in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy, and it’s adorable. 
Crazy Ex Girlfriend has ended with a perfect finale, and I’m sad. This was hands down the best show on the CW, and it doesn’t get nearly the love it deserves.
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Shadowhunters only has one episode left, and now I’m VERY SAD. This show was a mess, but it was our mess. It may be far from perfect, but it included so many important topics that deserve a spot on television. It has evolved so much from season one into the point where each episode is actually emotionally impactful, and I’m going to miss it so much.
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