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#like you maybe get a better understanding of the Guardians backgrounds
folder-stuff · 9 months
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I steamed with these drawings for a long time, but it was worth it.
When I drew the designs of the guardians, all sorts of ideas came to mind about what happened while Cornelia lived in Meridian. I really like what I came up with, and I'll try to explain why I drew it all at all.
In general, as you know, in this alternative, Cornelia went with Caleb to Meridian, leaving her family and friends, as well as the post of a guardian. This event has greatly shaken Will's confidence in herself as a leader who is obliged to unite girls. Especially after the arch with Nerissa, where she almost lost the Heart of Kandrakar. And don't forget about Taranee's doubts, because of which she even left the team in the canon. In general, Will had reasons to give the leader's place to a new member of the team - Orube. "Maybe someone else can handle it better?" she thought.
At first, it seemed to be a good idea to run away from responsibility. However, girls didn't think so. No one recognized Orube as a leader for many reasons, one of which was Will's authority as the previous head. And when the girls were looking for support in her, she couldn't provide it, because she's not as solid as Orube or Cornelia. Will is a sensitive nature, the heart of the team, not its foundation, and she isn't able to return everyone from heaven to earth because of her character.
Hence the main conflict was born: Will couldn't cope with the role of the guardian of the earth, since she wasn't able to take the position of Cornelia in the team. She felt out of place and understood that she used to be more effective. Against the background of the defeat that has already happened after Cornelia's departure and Taranee's doubts, this aggravated the feeling of failure, inferiority complex and hesitation. Confidence is the main quality of the guardian of the earth, and she lost it without even starting to develop in herself.
This is where the main dilemma began: she wanted the leader's place back. But not only because she realized her incompetence as a guardian of the earth. It's also about the Heart of Kandrakar. From the very moment of Orube's appearance and the transfer of the Heart, Will heard its call, at first barely perceptible, but growing stronger every day. With the understanding of where she really belonged, Will missed the feeling of unity with the Heart of Kandrakar, with its warmth and power. And it scared her. Because she began to see Nerissa in herself, to hear her phrases in her head and to dream that she's turning into a recently defeated enemy...
This is exactly what I wanted to convey in my first work: the binding vines that strangle Will and don't allow her to move; the imitation of the Heart of Kandrakar, which no longer belongs to her; fear from the desire to possess what she can no longer possess.
I hope I have enough strength to make a post about Orube, because I did the drawing for a long time and was a little tired =_=
In the second picture, I wanted to show Will's routine and her new powers. She conjures only plants, often flowers, as it's more difficult for her to cope with heavy stones and hard earth. This is due to fading self-confidence and lack of firmness in actions and decisions. She's effective in combat, but things don't always work out the way she intended, which makes her angry at the plants, as if they're a computer hanging at the wrong moment. She had to learn to cope with vines and flowers so that they were useful.
Also, these plants often get in the way and grow when and where it isn't necessary. For example, they can cling to the legs and grow while Will sleeps.
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bayothemayo · 12 days
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ORAAAAAA!!!!!!! ⊂( ´ ▽ ` )⊃ GUESS WHOS BACK FOR ROUND 3 BBYYYY HEHEHE ~ ☆ (hope it's okay, if not then SHHH KEEP THIS REQ STASHED SOMEWHERE) but I'd like to req: Akira Kurusu x Motherly!Reader, where they first met cos Reader was worried about him during his time in Shujin, and stuck around him during his first few days there (kind of like Ryuji/Morgana in a way during the first arc of the game (?)). Fun and simple idea of Reader being the mum friend to the whole PTs group after (or when) she finds out about them and their identities, while also being completely oblivious to her own well being IF she ever became part of the group. I'd also like it if the HC starts off Platonic and slowly turns to Romantic? Where Akira realizes his feelings and tries confessing to Reader BUT Reader still viewed him in a platonic way?? branch whatever ideas you can come up with for this idm AND AGAIN TYTTT AND SLAY AS ALWAYSSSS !!!!!!!!! ☆⌒(≧▽​° )
Guardian of the Phantom Thieves (Akira Kurusu x Motherly! Reader)
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Even before you met Kurusu and the rest Phantom Thieves, you were respected in the school.
Teachers and students respect you for helping them out and tutoring them.
When Kurusu joined the school you got worried about him, due to people being afraid of him due to his background. You offered to help him with whatever he needed and gave him a tour around the school. You stayed by his side for around a week or two due to his situation.
Kurusu always comes to you if he needs help with his work or advice.
When you are not busy, either it being with helping people out or dealing with homework, you two hang out. It is mostly a chill type of hangout.
It took you some time to find out that your friends were the Phantom Thieves. When you found out, you were mostly worried about them. Yeah, they are THE Phantom Thieves...but you were worried about them. Worried that they can get too hurt or overwork themselves. After they send out a Calling Card, you text them after a little bit (you don't want to stress them out before them doing something big) asking if they are doing okay, if they are seriously injured, if they need any help with something, etc.
Something that you do after they finish a big job is that you make them treats. They have no say in the matter other than what treats they want.
With all these things that you do for Kurusu and the other Phantom Thieves, he appreciates you. A lot. Maybe too much for it to be platonic.
When he realizes that he has developed feelings for you, he starts to think to himself about how this is going to affect you two's relationship. After some hard thinking, and maybe asking for advice from Ann or maybe even Morgana, he decides to confess to you.
If you reject him and want to keep the relationship platonic, he would be heartbroken but he would understand how you feel and is still happy to keep the friendship.
If you accept his confession, he will be over the moon. Once you two become a couple, there is going to be a whole lot of comfort, snuggles, and more tasty treats involved.
~ When You Become A Phantom Thief ~
You most likely be more of a support member of the team like Morgana. Yeah, you have some attacks, but your main skill is the buffs and healing.
You were excited to be in the Phantom Thieves since you get to be more involved and help out more directly.
Since you found out that snacks can heal your teammates, you make some more snacks and find better ingredients for better results.
Sometimes you overwork yourself, you can't help it . Akira notices this and, caringly, scolds you. It took some time but eventually, you got the issue fix. If it didn't it would definitely end up bad in one way or another.
You are a supportive member of the Phantom Thieves and you couldn't be more proud.
But you are more proud of your friends. 😊
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marinaiguess · 1 year
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some thoughts evoked by the poll thingy with blaze being in the finals. It’s not about the polls, I do know these are for funsies and stuff, the thought occured to me though because of it. 
I think blaze is a very mistreated and underrated character. 
Wow, okay, that was loaded. Still stands though. I guess I have none other than SEGA to blame, but either way, I do wanna analyze her journey in the franchise and also share my thoughts along the way. 
Blaze the cat had a great kick-off at the beginning of her career. What better way to introduce her than have her as a playable character alongside the main character in an exclusive game for the massively popular at the time, Nintendo DS. Sonic Rush sold more than a million copies and even though it was a pretty great game, it did more than that: it took care of Blaze. It established her character, her background, her story, it gave her an entire character development arc. What was there not to love about her? Sonic’s rival at first, a girl who could keep up with him in terms of speed and power, a princess from another dimension who could also control fire, having her own set of emeralds of which she was the guardian and even her own super form. So many things to consider. All those things were what made her super likeable back in 2005. Fans were actually obsessed with her. And they needed more. So, SEGA had to do something about it.
Here comes Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), changing quite a few things that we already knew about our favorite blue speedster. Possibly changing the entire franchise irredeemably. You already know where I’m going with this. We’re introduced to a new character, Silver the Hedgehog. Everyone is excited to play through his story and, right off the bat, we meet his company: Blaze. Everyone is cheering beacuse Blaze! She’s here, in a 3D game! Soooo, Silver is a character from Blaze’s dimension? Wrong. They’re from the future. Maybe Blaze’s dimension is from the future? Wrong. Blaze and Sonic don’t even acknowledge each other when they eventually meet, acting like they’ve never met before, like Sonic Rush never happened. Okay, fine, it can’t get worse than that, right? Wrong. 
Blaze, for the entirety of the game is treated like a cosmetic, acting solely as Silver’s sidekick, or even as his mentor if you will, and nothing more. We rarely see through her and her thoughts and we’re given little to no means to understand her character. For some people, Blaze was a newly introduced character, since not everyone knew her existence from a year prior. What they get is not the powerful princess we met in Rush, the one who understood the power of friendship and used it in her favour despite her bad past. No, what they got in 06 was a side character, merely existing to give Silver advice and suggestions for his own journey, which she follows no matter what path he chooses to take, even if she disagrees or is not entirely content with it. 
Her limited screentime used for fan-service purposes ended with a bang. Despite this huge journey of giving Silver a purpose (or helping him fulfill it), Blaze was the one who saved the future by using Chaos Control and sacrificing herself in the process, turning into a sort of Burning Blaze as she ascends to the sky. The only reason I felt bad about it was because I knew who Blaze was supposed to be, Blaze to me was the character introduced in Rush. But, given all the info from this specific game, I wasn’t really attached to this Blaze, I had no reason to. Her story felt too blank in comparison to everyone else’s for me to feel the impact of her death. I can understand Silver’s pain though. 
Which doesn’t matter in the end because the timeline is erased. 
So, does that mean Sonic 06 never happened or that it’s not canon? Nope. Everything happened and everything is back to the way it was. Except that the future is saved. How do we know? Sonic Rivals and Sonic Rush Adventure happened. 
I will stick to the latter for the time being. Sonic Rush received a not so commerrcially successful as its predecessor sequel, picking up from where it left off. Kind of. The game released in 2007, a year after 06, the events of which were never to be brought up again, at least until Generations (2011). So, as you’d assume, Sonic and Blaze act like 06 never happened to them, continuing their story after Rush’s events. This game gave more in-depth character development to Blaze, who strengthens her bonds with old and new friends. It doesn’t really matter though because this game didn’t sell well, meaning not a lot of people bought it. Basically, no one knew that game existed so they were wondering what the hell happened to Blaze. Was she dead? Was she from the future? Was she from a different dimension? Would we ever see her again?
Uncertainty prevailed and after SEGA realized how bad of an idea it was to release 06 at its terrible state, they decided it would be best to pretend like it never happened. Iizuka (if I’m not mistaken) when asked in an interview, said that the reason Sonic and Blaze didn’t recognize each other in 06 was “amnesia”. Which doesn’t answer anything and I believe an official answer right now would differ a lot from that. Blaze went on to be a playable character in a few racing games, she got a few cameos. 2009, she appears in Sonic and the Black Knight as Sir Percival. Once again, it doesn’t change anything because, this is a storybook game and doesn’t take place in the in-game universe (this is the arthurian kingdom/world/universe).
Many fans theorized that 06 happened before Rush, making Blaze die in 06 and being transeferred to a new dimension while she had used Chaos Control, forgetting about the past, hence why she didn’t know Sonic in Rush. This was further supported by the fact that Blaze and Silver didn’t recognize each other in Sonic Colors DS (2010), meaning they had forgotten each other. Blaze forgot about 06 and traveled to a different dimension and Silver was affected by the timeline erasure. Sounds pretty solid, right?
Sonic Generations (2011). Blaze is there because she is still relevant and a beloved character to the franchise. No one knows how she got there and no one explains it but no one cares, she’s there to celebrate Sonic’s birthday, the Sonic she knows through the Rush games. But stuff happens and she gets trapped, alongside many of Sonic’s friends, into this ‘white limbo’. Sonic saves her...from Crisis City. Which is a stage from the future of Sonic 06. You may think “okay, maybe SEGA just wanted to pay tribute to 06 as well.” and that would be fine, if it weren’t for Blaze stating that she “never thought she’d be here again.” She remembers 06. Theory debunked. This is never mentioned again, in any game ever. It is still canon however. 
After that, she appeared in Team Sonic Racing (2019), taking 8 years to appear in a game again...despite it being a spin-off. Nothing happens there really, she’s just there to talk to Silver and Amy who she races against for some reason. 
She does appear in IDW, and we now know that the comics are canon to the game timeline. And, I gotta say, I like her there. She hasn’t appeared many times but the writers made those times count. (I think it was Ian who wrote her all of those times, so yeah). 
To put it simply, Blaze is a lost opportunity. Talk about having a rough transition into 3D (hehe). SEGA could have used her in many ways and I think they were intending to, they were preparing her for something big. But they didn’t handle her as they were supposed to and this leads to where we are, where Blaze only appears in spin-offs and the comics, as if they are afraid to bring her back in mainline games. They could really capitalize on her character, if used correctly. They could use her as a playable character that uses the boost formula, as a character that has a super form. They could use her world to introduce new level designs, avoiding using Green Hill over and over again, right? 
I don’t wanna see her standing on the sidelines, doing nothing. I don’t want her purpose to be mentoring Silver. I don’t want her legacy to be Sonic 06. I don’t her to appear only in dire situations (even though, now that I think about it, she didn’t even appear in Forces despite there being a literal war in Sonic’s world). I don’t want her character development to be forgotten and erased. She was a girl with a unique personality that now feels empty, as if she hides behind the face of being a princess from another dimension and nothing more, barely being Sonic’s or Cream’s friend. Mainly focused on the games right now. 
It is said that Blaze is one of the fan-favourite characters of the franchise. But I don’t know if that’s correct. Because I’m not sure if people are a fan of who she is now, of who she is in their minds, or of who she is supposed to be, best depicted in the Rush games. Personally, I believe Blaze still has a lot of uncovered potential that they could take advantage of, so that they can show to everyone who Blaze is supposed to be. Strong and independant, her own character, her own hero.
Hopefully, we get to see more of that in the future. She definitely deserves it. 
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I find it so funny when stans say that Adrien and other rich kids in the show are "groundbreaking representation" or something because they're not. It's an overused trope that makes all of us appreciate how damn broke we all are because at least "we don't suffer like rich people do". What I mean is, you have Adrien, who's born super mega rich, but is trapped in this golden cage and isn't allowed to be himself. There's a clear link to his suffering and his status as a rich model. He also has an "emotional support poor", Marinette, who is "the only one who understands his pain" and is also "the only one who can ground him". Because unlike rich people, poor people don't have trouble with complicated relationships to their families. And this is very striking in miraculous, every poor person has a good relationship with their family (the biggest family issue was maybe the Luka/Jagged thing but even that got resolved immediately) while the rich kids all suffer abuse. And they do nothing about it not because the writers want to showcase how hard it can be for abuse victims but because they think that's the job of the poor friends they have, mainly Marinette. She is supposed to fix Adrien's family problems for him accordung to the bible, she was Kagami's first friend and had to talk to her mom to let her compete in the friendship game and she even tried to help Chloe's family situation! ... Sorry this got so long, it was just a thought I had and I felt like sharing.
Anon, you're literally so right.
Like, how many characters exist that are just like "privileged child of terrible parent feat. optional heroism or redemption"? I can think of at least 4 in Avatar: tla ALONE. (All of which were done miles and miles better than Adrien.)
Virtually every show, movie or book you point a stick at will have somebody from a privileged background with shitty parents/guardians do something that sets them apart from their background. Virtually every princess archetype is "wah, my parent is so mean by making me get married for the good of the kingdom (my only job). Being rich is terrible."
Like GIRL. "Rich character with sad background" is so overdone!
And Miraculous has got not one, not two, but at least 4 characters who are rich with sad backstories :((( Adrien, Felix, Kagami and Chloe. This isn't even including Lila, Prince Ali, Gabriel or Zoe. And, objectively, none of these characters have any compelling storyline. Kagami I have a soft spot for but objectively, she is also on this list.
None of them are compelling 'richy rich with sob story' characters. Sure, we can pity them, but they're not *compelling*. We're not inspired or moved or awed by them. None of them are original or interesting or unique.
But you're right, anon. They feel like a slap in the face. It's like, its almost like the creators are romanticising the working class. "Oh being rich is so hard, I wish I was like the normal people who work every single day and are so happy because money can't buy happiness."
it's really, really tone deaf, and honestly? Annoying. Like, at least if you're gonna make a rich kid with a sob story at least make them unique or compelling, like Batman or Zuko or Toph.
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kidflashimpulse · 2 months
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You’ve kind of already answered this in AAIT but I’m high off of no sleep and figured it couldn’t hurt to ask anyways <33
Do you think Bart would every tell Ed, Jay, or Jaime (or anyone else) about anything regarding his past? Alternatively, do you think any of his loved ones would infer certain thoughts based on his actions, scars, etc? Super curious as to what you think (dissecting all Bart thoughts on your brain fr)
this is one of those things that varies depending on what type of plots or seasons of YJ i’m thinking about. All in all, i do think Jaime could know the most primarily because of his (or rather Blue Beetles) involvement in Barts time. I just feel like generally, it would start because he’d just want to know exactly what type of atrocities blue beetle is capable of and also out of some type of (albeit unecessary but he’s a little sensitive like that) self sacrificial/hating form of repenting, but of course with the passage of time when he becomes genuine good friends with bart he also just wants to know out of concern for his friend. And because he probably already knows the most to begin with, and is possibly bart’s first closest friend, it just makes it easier for bart to divulge the extra details if he’s either in the right mood or prompted in some way. Because Jaime already has a grasp on the major things, it would be very easy for Bart to just build on what he already knows. Theres a lot of potential for complexities to be considered in this, like mixed feelings of jaimes guilt / bart possibly having some innate sense of hate at the very early stages of talking about it and having no problem making jaime feel bad / bart starting to completely genuinely like jaime (if he didn’t from the get go) and then feeling guilty about his friend needing to share the burden. Just a lot to consider in what it means for Bart to share about his past with him. In terms of to what extent and how much bart shares with him, well that can be up to debate, but i do feel like Jaime can possibly have the best idea of it among bart’s family/friends circle.
With Ed I feel like it would be very unnatural for him to know as many details as Jaime for the first few years, i just don’t see bart divulging such details without making Ed into a “therapist friend” type of character, which i don’t see him being, because it’s not a nice type of friendship to have, and i don’t see Bart jumping into that type of friendship either. Doesn’t mean Ed isn’t incredibly sympathetic nor a good friend to talk to about these things, nor that he doesn’t use his background to prompt these types of talks. It just means that throughout the course of their friendship, whilst he probably has gotten more details than most people, you know as a result of actually getting to know someone especially if ur interested in them, doesn’t mean that Bart is prompted to share as much about the gory details of major things of his past. I imagine that throughout the possible collection of tender moments they might have shared between eachother, he has probably gotten the jist in a summary type of sense. Maybe as they start dating, he’s more motivated to be a bit more upfront on things out of curiosity and attributing certain traits that can be explained by understanding someone better, and bart would also feel more comfortable to just naturally talk about things too.
in terms of family, I feel like because Jay and Joan spent the most time with him due to living together, they might have inferred quite a bit of things, but not early enough that would be expected of them being u know, his guardians. I kind of go into this in the next chapter of AAIT (which takes on a very different pace/setting compared to the previous chapters)
Barry is kind of hopeless, if he knows anything it’s either through others or by some stroke of luck lmfao
Iris probably infers quite a bit herself and probably has some good talks with Bart
Generally i don’t think it’s something Bart is intentionally hiding for the sake of keeping it a secret, he just doesn’t have any crazy incentive to divulge these things in the first place. i think the most natural thing is for him to just drop things here and there and if anyones paying attention or can put the 2 and 2 together, they can infer quite a few things about him. Because like i said he’s not explicitly hiding it, he’s just kind of counter intuitively low-key like that . something that also helps him with this alot is the fact that he’s a time traveler in the first place. alot of things can be handwaved away by ppl with the fact that has “not from here” rather than because “he’s from that specific timeline” of that makes any sense.
sorry for the essay lol, i don’t have the clearest of answers to this because it’s something that can develop with certain plots, but these r my overall thoughts i guess :)
thanks for the question <33 and thank u for reading AAIT <333
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nopoodles · 1 month
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Prompt: Lost
OCs: Merry + Kalik From: Guardian Cadet Series Spoilers: Mild (They’re in a relationship here, which doesn’t happen until the end of the first book, but I’ve told you now so)
Title: A Misunderstood Performance
“Okay,” I hissed into Kalik’s ear. “I’m lost. What’s happening now?”
The way his cheek moved under my mouth told me he was smiling that specific smile that meant he was about to tell me I’d opened his world up… again. He leaned over, pressing his own mouth to my ear. “Haven’t you heard this story before?”
“No.”
“It’s a tragic romance. Their families are feuding but they fall in love anyway.”
“I got that part. It’s where we are now that I’m struggling.”
“I’ll tell you at the interval.”
I didn’t ask him what an interval was. No need to open that particular jar of magic. The idea of going on a date to see a show had been appealing when I had thought it would be more like Lior’s shows at Jhoto's – not specifically that after her decree that I was no longer welcome in the bar but something akin to it. A show that happened for people to dip in and out of, the purpose to put some background to the outing, to fill any silence that might otherwise become uncomfortable.
This, however, was an entirely different beast. Rows of seats lined one behind each other, too close for my personal comfort levels and with an uncomfortable arm rest between me and the only person in the entire building I wouldn’t have minded sharing space with. And we had to be quiet and watch the story play out in front of us, with melodramatic and archaic human language. Maybe it if had been in ancient Elven I might have stood a better chance.
Thankfully it wasn’t too long before the performers disappeared into the wings and the lights came up in the seating area. I lurched to my feet, desperate to move, even if it wasn’t the end yet.
“Let’s get some air,” Kalik suggested, taking my hand and leading me past the other audience members with some difficulty. Seriously, who put these seats so close together? I’d waited tables and it was easier than this.
The night air was pleasantly cool. I leaned against the rough sandstone of the building and let out a soft groan. “Okay, explain it to me.”
“You’re not having fun,” Kalik said instead.
“What?”
“I thought you would like it. I thought it would be an accessible story for you. Like your Tale Of The Moon Prince but… We don’t have to go back in.”
The offer would have been tempting but the way Kalik’s shoulders had dropped told all too well that not subjecting myself to another hour or more of confusing melodrama would seem like a rejection. Would hurt him. And I didn’t want to hurt Kalik. “Just try explaining it to me again,” I insisted.
“It’s an old Human story. These two kids meet and fall in love but their families won’t let them be together.”
I nodded. Again, I understood that part. But now we’d reached a different stage of it where all the different characters with unfamiliar names were running around with apparent purpose that I couldn’t understand.
“They’re both supposed to be engaged to someone else and they want to leave their fiance’s to be together. We just watched them sneak away to get married without telling anyone.”
I frowned. Didn’t seem like legitimate marriage as far as I understood it but this was an old Human story so maybe their rules were different.
“But I brought you because I thought, since reading isn’t your favourite but you like stories, and you used to work at Jhoto's, that a play might… I should have picked a musical.”
“Musical?”
“Music and play all in one. The characters sing when their emotions get too much to bear.”
“That does sound more… But the tiny chairs, Kalik!”
“What?”
“The chairs, they’re tiny. And people keep giving me looks.”
“Because you came in normal day clothes.”
I looked down at my baggy hooded overtop and trousers. “What’s wrong with my clothes?”
“People tend to dress nicely for dates.”
My head jerked to take in his outfit. Now that he mentioned it, he wasn’t in Uniform either. He wasn’t even in one of his might-as-well-be-Uniform outfits of white shirt and black trousers. Instead Kalik had donned a purple buttoned shirt. He’d even plaited his hair off his forehead.
“I didn’t know,” I whispered.
He smiled that soft smile. The one that carried just a little guilt. “I should have said.”
“I should have asked someone. I told Kitty I was going on a date and he didn’t say anything!”
“Merry, do you even own other clothes?”
“I… don’t.” I’d never seen the need to expand my wardrobe past what was appropriate for work at Jhoto's – where the rule had been ‘wear black’ and then my Guardian Uniforms. I rubbed my face. “I feel like I’m making a mess of this already.”
“You’re just unique.”
I levelled a soft glare at him. “That has never proved a positive trait so far.”
“Well, I like you anyway.”
“For now.”
“Hey.” He brushed soft fingers across my cheek, encouraging but not forcing me to look at him. “Not just for now.”
I pressed my lips to his. “Tell me what’s going to happen in the next bit and we can go back in. If I know the story I’ll follow it easier.”
“I’m not a great storyteller.”
“Can’t be worse than me.”
He laughed. “That’s true.”
This has been A Misunderstood Performance by Will Soulsby-McCreath. Feel absolutely free to reblog around Tumblr but don't copy and paste to anywhere else (c) Will Soulsby-McCreath
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ririchanva · 4 months
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Chapter Sixteen: Travelling to New York~! (Part Two)
░❇┊Previous┊❇ ░ ❇┊Next┊❇ ░ ❇┊Masterlist┊❇ ┊AO3 ┊❇░
░❇ Buy Me Some Coffee~? ❇░
Chapter Warning: Violence, mentions of drug use, mentions of torture and abuse, almost character deaths. 
A/n: Key notes about this chapter:
There has been some changes in previous chapters. Please go back and read from Chapter Six and onwards to understand more of the changes made. This includes possibly of Marinette’s family.
Spoilers possibly for just MHA manga and Miraculous s5, since writer has already caught up with EVERYTHING.
Not heavily World Heroes Mission based. Will just have more background on Rody and that’s pretty much it.
Considering at this point that Class 1-A are on Nabu Island, the villains Nine and his group won’t be there. Meaning they’re just gonna have a fun yet boring time with no danger. Meaning that Katsuma and Mahoro Shimano wouldn’t have met with any of them. But maybe in the future?
Humarise are not gonna be present but they shall be mentioned.
Introducing of not just the Ghost Force, but Pixie Girl and The Sorcerer as well.
The Native American Miracle Box will be revealed along with the Guardian.
This chapter is pretty long. Considering this story hasn’t been updated for a LONG good year or two...and the fact it was supposed to be a two-parter...yeah, you’re gonna have a day or so to finish this chapter.
That’s pretty much it. Other than that, grab your snacks and buckle up~ We’re gonna have a wild ride this chapter~
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    Sparrow informed them that their ride arrived and to everyone’s surprise, it was some sort of party bus. The Parisian and Japanese teens were all amazed…well, some were.
   “As much as I’m excited to go to a dinner with famous heroes, I-I feel guilty that we left Chloe behind.” Sabrina said in worry, looking out the window to see the sight of the New York buildings and signs, her eyes sullen.
   “I know. But I’m sure she’ll be up and better tomorrow for the tour of the city. Apparently one of the United Heroez will be showing us around,” Nino piped up, peeking over the red head with a grin, “I really wanna meet Rock Lock!”
    “Isn’t he in Japan now?” A hum came from Kagami, tilting her head.
    “Oh yeah...” Nino scratched his head, before snapping his fingers with a grin, “What about Captain Celebrity?”
  “Ew, why him?” Nathaniel huffed while rolling his eyes, “I’d rather have Dean Gate. He’d actually give us a good tour with interesting, historical facts and fun trivia!”
   With everyone talking about what to expect on this trip, Adrien noticed how Marinette was pretty quiet. It concerned him, so he ended up scooting next to her.
   “Everything okay, Bug?”
   “Just…I’m worried about Rody. He seemed off since coming here. I wonder if it’s because we’ve uprooted him from his home and family.” She looked to her partner, “I feel guilty about it. Kinda makes me think even more how I keep dragging everyone into this mess when they could be living normal lives and without danger on their backs.”
  “They knew what they were signing up for, Marinette. That’s the risk they were willing to take. It’s the same for me,” Adrien assured her, taking her hand with a gentle smile, “I’m your partner. I’ll always have your back. Just as the team who are also our friends have our backs.”
  Marinette smiled, nodding her head while squeezing his hand in return, “Thanks, Adrien. I needed to hear that.”
  “We’ve arrive~” Amelie spoke up from the front of the bus, smiling.
   Everyone peeked out the window, eyes widening at seeing what seemed to be a familiar large building that had the words Atrium of Equity  over it.
  “Are…are we really going in there?” Marc asked with awe, green eyes filled with wonderment.
   “Looks like it. I’m so hyped!” Nino cheered in excitement, “Never tried fancy food before, especially foreign food! I bet it’s gonna be delicious! AND we get to see the inside of the Headquarters of the United Heroez?! DOUBLE BONUS!”
   “Considering we’re meeting other heroes, it’s best that you all should be in your hero attire.” Uncanny Valley spoke up politely, although everyone froze in place at being told this.
   “As in…using our Miraculous?” Adrien asked.
   “It’s gonna be weird that myself, Tsukuyomi and Uncanny are out and about with civilian looking people going into our HQ, you know?” Sparrow explained with a shrug, “Even if it is a private dinner, there are reporters and rabid fans that tend to sneak around, trying to get a glimpse of us and get some intel to sell to the media. Don’t want you exposed in case you do the whole secret identity thing.”
  “Sparrow has a point,” Izuku agreed calmly while adding, “And we don’t want to draw attention since some of us have recognizable faces. Such as Shoto-kun and Kacchan…”
   "Or Adrien, Kagami, Chloe and Felix.” Nino finally understood, looking sort of worried now.
   “Not all of us have a Miraculous in hand.” Felix pointed out, while Marinette sighed.
   “This is a dilemma…”
   “Maybe not.” Aizawa spoke up, holding the Horse Miraculous in sight, “I could go back and ask Fu for the box and you can distribute who gets what. That way, everyone won’t be revealed of their true identities.”
   Izuku leaned over Marinette for a moment, whispering something into her ear as the girl looked at him strangely, as if asking he was sure what he’s asking of her. Smiling, Izuku just nods his head, which made Marinette sigh, looking like she conceded to whatever he requested.
    ….Which made Shinso uneasy.
  “So, I suppose we should figure out who has what Miraculous. Including the upcoming Guardians,” Marinette looked to Kirishima, Momo, Bakugo, Adrien and Izuku with a smile, “We are Guardians, after all.”
    “That’s a quick change of your mind. Any particular reason?” Fei asked, tilting her head before Marinette smiled weakly.
     “Master Fu is right. Me and Adrien aren’t alone in this anymore. And considering we are the New Guardians soon, it’s best if we are prepared for anything.”
    “That…sounds like a good idea,” The Chinese girl nodded, smiling and patting her shoulder, “You’re growing to become a good leader, Sister Marinette.”
   “But just in case, perhaps it would be best just for tonight you go as some other Miraculous Hero,” Izuku piped up with a smile, “We don’t want rumours spreading about Ladybug and Chat Noir being here and not in Paris.”
   “As much as I hate to part with Tikki, if it’s only for tonight…” Marinette hummed, looking at her Miraculous.
    Adrien hummed, nodding, “Agreed. I just got Plagg back too...”
    “But we have to be lowkey right now,” The pigtailed girl looked to Izuku then nodded, “Alright, let’s do that.”
   Aizawa, transforming into Mustang, created his voyage and peeked into the portal. Everyone could hear him talking to Fu on the other side, jumping in while Izuku somehow jumped in afterwards. This confused the teens for a moment…except for Bakugo.
    The blond was even more suspicious about his childhood friend and what he was up to, but didn’t speak up. He’ll have his chance sooner or later.
    Fei quickly raised her hand up all of a sudden, making Marinette and Adrien look at her strangely.
    “E-everything okay?” Adrien asked her, while the girl shook her head.
    “I wish to go back to the hotel and stay with the others that we’re left behind.”
    Izuku popped his head out from the portal for a moment, almost as if he was expecting her to say those words.
    “That’s fine. Here, I’ll help you get back there to join Chloe-san, Shoto-kun and Rody.”
    Offering his hand out, Izuku smiled while ignoring the way Shinso and Marinette were giving him looks. It was fine. It was for him to know and for them to find out eventually.
    Adrien watched as Fei was pulled into the portal, then leaned over to Marinette to whisper to her.
    “What made Fei want to stay back anyways? I thought she would be excited to meet American heroes?” He asked inquisitively, watching his partner’s facial expression.
    “Dunno. But she must have a good reason for it.”
    “Yeah, but…how come Izuku seemed so chill of her going back?”
    “I wish I knew…”
    After a few minutes, Izuku and Aizawa came back through the portal and closed it, showing they had the Miracle Box before handing it over to Marinette.
   “Alright, let’s see…” Marinette hummed, looking through the Miraculous and glanced at her team and friends.
   And so, the distribution of the Miraculous began.
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   “Well, didn’t expect this kind of change from you.”
    “Does it look bad?”
    “…On the contrary, my dear kitty cat, it suits you~”
    “Call me that again, and I’m gonna pull your “tail” off, Dragon Breath.”
    Adrien, who was holding the Dragon Miraculous with the Hero Name: Dragon Knight, laughed softly as he looked at a very annoyed Cat Heroine. Marinette opted to switch Miraculous with Adrien considering she lent the Ladybug Miraculous to someone else for the night, and opted the name Lady Noire as her heroine name. Adrien was told by Izuku that he should have the Dragon for the time being, saying that since he was good at fencing, this would be a good temporary Miraculous.
    The blond dragon hero pursed his lips at seeing people looking at them, and had to glare protectively at some eyes wandering over to Lady Noire while walking to the Atrium of Equity. Especially the male kind.
   “Chill out, my scaly friend~ You’re gonna shoot lasers with those eyes. Or breathe fire, whichever comes first,” Nino, now donning his Peacock counterpart as Feathertop, patted at Dragon Knight’s shoulder while walking side by side each other.
   “I do have to ask…how come you didn’t want to wear a Miraculous yourself?” Dragon Knight turned to Izuku, raising a brow.
    “It’s because I’m already well known of being someone that is mentored under All Might. So it’s not that odd that I come as Deku rather than a Miraculous Hero.” Izuku explained, shrugging his shoulder, “The one’s that need to be hidden are naturally Kacchan, Eijiro-kun, and Momo-chan~”
 “Swapping Miraculous is really fun! It’s kinda like a costume party, don’t you guys think so?” Rose, now dressed as the Bunny Heroine: Bonnie Blanche, chirped sweetly while hugging Shinso’s arm happily.
  Juleka, dressed as the Mouse Heroine: Whisketeer, just gave a small smile in agreement. She was unsure when Rose told her to have the Mullo for now, but she couldn’t argue when Rose gave her that trusting smile.
   “Weird you’re not wearing a Miraculous, Hitoshi.” Feathertop pointed out, while the Brainwashing quirk user shrugged.
    “Aizawa pretty much wanted me to appear as his protege tonight. So I had no choice in the matter. But I’m more concerned that Midoriya doesn’t have use of a Miraculous tonight.”
    “Why?” Cape Crusader asked.
    “I thought he’d want to ask me to borrow Fluff. Surprisingly he didn’t.”
    Izuku smiled innocently as he heard this, while Shinso was glancing down at the blonde girl now adorning the bunny motif of a Miraculous. Honestly, he thought that Izuku would’ve been reckless and give the bunny miraculous to Alix. However, Alix ended up with the Fox Miraculous of all things, donning the hero name: Trickster Tails while Rose had Fluff instead. 
    Shinso had a look of dread at the thought that Rose now held the very Miraculous he came here with. The pit of his stomach grew heavy at the thought of the outcome of their futures now, what was Midoriya thinking—
     The brainwasher snapped out of it when a certain green haired hero nudged him.
   “Loosen up a bit, will you? You’re making face as if I have some ulterior motive of some kind~” Izuku giggled, but yelped when he felt a smack to the back of his head.
   “Idiot. Don’t draw so much attention.” Bakugo, dressed in the Ladybug attire with the hero name: Boom Beetle, said sternly, making his childhood friend pout.
    “Why in the world do you have the Ladybug Miraculous?” Dragon Knight asked curiously, while Boom Beetle shrugged.
    “Beats me. All I know is that the Nerd told me and Spots to swap Miraculous for the night.”
    “Aaaaand the reason that we’re missing the Tiger and Bee Miraculous?”
   “I asked permission from Lady Noire if Chloe could have the Tiger for tonight and provided Shoto-kun the Bee Miraculous,” Izuku said easily, making Hitoshi glare at him which made the green haired hero laugh, “Don’t look at me like that! Trust me, it’s necessary~”
   “Either way, let’s not make any sort of scene tonight, okay?” Lady Noire said quietly to them, giving a look especially to Izuku.
   “Agreed. We are here to meet the heroes and observe. If we act like fools in front of them…” Kagami, now the Rooster Heroine: Onagadori, piped up with a stern stare until she felt the hand onto hers.
   Kirishima, now adorned in the Turtle Miraculous with the hero name: Rockershella, just smiled at her, “Take it easy, this is just the first night. I know we have to make a good impression~”
    Onagadori just gave a look, “I know how excitable you can get.”
   “Give me a little credit, Dori-chan~” Rockershella chuckled, “I’ll behave.”
   “But I won’t~” Trickster Tails cheekily said as she stood by Nathaniel, who managed to get the Ox Miraculous and going with his hero name: Cobalt Bull
   “Al—I-I mean, Trickster Tails, please behave.” Marc, who got the Horse Miraculous from Aizawa and named himself the hero: Star Stallion, said quietly as he felt eyes on him and making him even more nervous.
   “Yeah, we shouldn’t make it so known that we’re sort of new with our Miraculous right now,” Cobalt Bull murmured, his ox like tail swishing a bit.
   Izuku hummed while hopping back for a moment, walking side by side next to a Dog Heroine, giving a cheeky grin.
    “So~? Didn’t I tell ya you’d have a Miraculous in the right moment~?”
   Lupina, the new Dog Heroine, raised a brow, “Sure…but why did my name have to be close to my old Fox persona?”
   “Irony?”
   “…You’re having fun with this, aren’t you?”
    “Maybe~?”
   Lupina huffed, almost trying to stomp her foot onto the male’s, but Izuku chuckled and avoided her hit.
   Ubayagi, a heroine with the Goat Miraculous used by Momo, looked anxious.
   “I-I do not know if I should be wearing such a Miraculous on me,” She would state quietly, eyes darting around in worry.
   “I think it suits you. Although I will have to admit, this is a very rockin’ style for me.” A chuckle came from Luka, who had the Monkey Miraculous and named himself: Howler.
     Bonnie Blanche noticed that the new Pig Heroine looked nervous, and smiled softly, “Sab—er, Glitter Gilt? You doing okay?”
    Glitter Gilt looked up at the Rabbit Heroine and nodded slowly, “I’m fine. Just worried about Chloe again…”
    “Chloe will be fine. She has Shoto, Fei and Rody with her. She should be safe in that hotel with them, especially when the three of them have a Miraculous each.” Felix, having the Snake Miraculous and went with the hero name: Neim, assured the girls while walking side by side with Cobalt Bull, “But if you would like to call them up to check on her?”
  “I can do that later. B-But gosh, we have nothing like this in Paris.” Glitter Gilt murmured, while Feathertop agreed.
   “Totally. Yo, LN, why don’t we ever have our own brand of an HQ sometime huh?” The Peacock Hero grinned, while the Cat Heroine rolled her eyes.
   “Sure. I’ll be sure to ask the Mayor to build us a HQ for the whole world to see and let the bad guys come knocking on our door~” She said sarcastically, making Boom Beetle snort.
   “Yeah, why do the United Heroez basically place their base to the public? Isn’t the point to hide from the enemies?” Cobalt Bull asked out loud, “Why make it easy access for anyone?”
  “It’s in order to create a better public image to the people. If we are easy to locate for people in need to find us and assist them, the better.” Uncanny Valley chirped immediately, “Originally, the Homebase used to be inside a sleeping volcano. But, due to one of our enemies finding it, All Might suggested to just create the Atrium of Equity to show we do not fear evil and make it a Symbol of Hope for all.”
   “All Might did?” Dragon Knight asked curiously, looking at the thinly man, “Isn’t that dangerous?”
    “Not at all. Especially when we’ve got the best of the best protecting this place,”
    All the young heroes looked towards All Might, who approached them with a smile.
     “You might not know this, but my dearest best friend was the very person that started up this place and has had people improve on the Atrium of Equity for years to keep it secure and protected,” He explained, and smiled when he caught eyes with Izuku, “And now his daughter is one of the people that took over that job. She’s actually my unofficial niece and god daughter, who’s also here to join us for dinner.”
   The current One-For-All user paused, almost going rigid at the implication.
   “…She’s here?”
    Everyone else paused, looking at the now nervous Izuku and Lupina staring at him in suspicion.
   “Uncle Might!”
   Boom Beetle started grinning with a chuckle, “Oh, here it comes.”
   Lady Noire raised a brow at the spotted hero. However, she blinked in surprise when a pretty blonde girl with blue eyes behind her glasses walked over towards them excitedly. She jumped to hug the frail looking All Might happily before looking at the teen heroes with a big smile.
   “Oh my goodness! Are these the new heroes you were telling me about? It’s nice to meet you all!” She seemed to be looking around for someone before looking back at All Might, “Uncle Might? I thought Deku would be with you?”
   Lupina’s face contorted into annoyance as she snapped her head to Izuku, who was now hiding behind both Dragon Knight and Lady Noire.
   Toshinori chuckled, “Um, yes? Well actually he’s—”
   Izuku pinched the feline like heroine, who yelped and looked back to him. The green haired boy giving a “please help me!” look, begging for her to step in.
     Coughing for attention on herself, she then spoke loudly to All Might and the new girl before the former Number One Hero could say anymore.
     “HE, er, w-went to the toilet! Yeah, he ate something bad this morning~” The female feline laughed loudly, while Izuku was quick to hide himself now behind Shinso, Bonnie Blanche and Whisketeer.
     All Might raised a brow, looking concerned.
      The bunny dressed heroine looked to Boom Beetle with questioning eyes.
     “So she knows Deku, huh?” She asked, making the spotted hero nodded.
    “Yup~ Somehow Deku managed to charm her without knowing and has been calling for him ever since. It has been, hm, maybe almost a year?” The boy in red and black explained, then chuckled in amusement, “Kinda surprised that the nerd never noticed her gooey eyes on him every time.”
   Lupina, on the other hand, was feeling a burning sensation in her stomach. She was almost tempted to throw her ball at the girl’s head talking with All Might about “the boy that saved her and her Daddy” with giggles and perfect smiles.
     Onagadori had to chuckled under her breath, “This is going to be amusing.”
   The Turtle Hero beside her sighed, knowing this night might be either a huge success…or a huge disaster.
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    Rody blinked slowly as he looked at the spread before him, then looked back at the three sitting on the bed with plates on their laps.
   ‘Damn, rich kids.’
    Fei recognized the look, although kept quiet since she was used to it, thanks to her Baba being pretty wealthy himself.
   “You…don’t hold back on room service, huh?” Rody breathed out, Pino already diving into the bowl of grapes happily while flapping her wings, showing her hungry excitement.
   Somehow this amused both Pollen, Roaar and the hidden Renlings.
   Todoroki tilted his head, “Well, Chloe-san did want to have enough to eat while you tell us your story.”
    “My Queen is always so thoughtful~” Pollen sounded while nuzzled into Todoroki’s red and white hair, watching all of them in fascination.
    Fei chuckled, looking secretly at her zodiac animal friends, sort of pitying that only she can see them.
   “Either way, the story will either be entertaining or majorly boring. But yeah, dinner and a show~” Chloe clapped her hands together before grabbing for some sushi, Roaar resting on her lap, “So start~”
   “Where to begin…” Rody scratched his head, thinking for a moment.
   “You could try some of these?” Todoroki offered a plate of crackers with caviar, cheese, salmon and other assorted things on them.
   Rody stared for a moment, “…That looks fancy expensive.”
   “Shoto-baby, I was talking about Rodykin’s story,” Chloe sighed before Todoroki shrugged and took a cracker.
   ‘Are those gold flecks on the salmon cracker?!’ Rody thought wildly, but then coughed and kept his focus.
    Fei watched him for a moment, then smiled softly, “Take your time. There is no rush.”
     She had to give a pointed look to a pouting Chloe for a moment.
      Rody felt assured at the Chinese girl’s words, and soon found himself starting his story.
     “Okay okay…um, I guess this all started four years ago…I was starting secondary school and my Dad still lived with us. My mom died when my sister, Lala, was born. So it was only us four that lived together in the childhood town my mother grew up in.”
    “Ugh, skip the fru fru nostalgia and get to the good part.” Chloe tutted, waving her chopstick at him before Rody raised a brow.
    “I was getting to it,” He stuck his tongue out, grabbing a pizza slice close by and chuckled when Chloe gagged at the sight of his food, “Anyways, when I was starting on my first day of school, we were told we’d be getting a new student…”
    “Everyone, this is Zoe Lee. Her dad is here for a year for business and she shall be with us until then~ Please give her a warm welcome and be sure to make friends with her, alright?”
    “At the time, I didn’t know about her being a daughter of a superhero. Mr. Plastic was assigned to be a temporary hero to watch Otheon and it’s crime level, considering the government decided to try and open it’s doors to heroes…” Rody murmured, coming out from his memories with a thoughtful gaze, “Which, to be fair, made a lot of the locals worried. The Otheon politics at the time were known to be…very shady. So talks of integrating into Hero Society was scary. Especially when people with quirks started to come out into the open and wished to join the cause.”
    “Do you have a quirk?” Fei asked curiously.
    “Yes, I do now. But at the time, my quirk didn’t manifest yet. I thought I’d be quirkless like my parents. But I’ll get to that part in a minute.”
    Rody took a breath, picking at his pepperoni on his pizza before he continued.
   “Anyways, when I first met Zoe, she was a little shy…”
   Twelve year old Rody raised a brow, looking at the girl fiddling with her hands as she quietly introduced herself in front of the class, eyes down and stuttering in her sentences. It made him feel sorry that she was the new kid and looked as scared as a rabbit.
    “And so, I reached out my hand first.”
    “Hey, I’m Rody. Nice to meet you!”
    “Z-zoe…”
    Rody closed his eyes for a moment, having a faint smile.
    “We became close since that day. She talked about her life in New York, the amazing stories she created…I knew they were made up, but I just brushed them off as trying to make friends with tall tales. I never thought of it malicious or anything.”
   Chloe huffed, “A liar, huh?”
    Rody opened his eyes as the light in them dimmed.
    “Yeah. We were kids. Kids tended to make fantastical stories just to make friends. Over-exaggerate on things, you know? And while some were unbelievable like how she said she and All Might were like family, or that she has pretty much has meet a lot of famous people while also travelling around the world, I believed her. Because she smiled so happily and made friends because of her stories. We were best friends, we did everything together despite her going over the top with her tales.”
   Todoroki, Fei and Chloe saw the way he paused, looking almost…wistful.
    “But there was one truth she told. She confessed about being Mr. Plastic’s daughter.”
     The young Rody’s eyes widened as Zoe told her secret to him, and the blonde looked nervous.
   “Y-You can’t tell anyone, okay?” She said in a quiet whisper, and Rody made a zipping motion with his lips while making another motion as if throwing away the key.
   “I won’t! Pinky swear! In return, I’ll tell you my secret~”
    “I told her about my quirk. I told her about Pino a-and how my quirk worked, even showing her,” Rody murmured as he felt his bird companion land onto his shoulder, softening, “Our trust and bond grew even more.”
   “Alright, so far, Zoe-san sounds like a good person,” Todoroki said with a hum, feeding Pollen some croissants, “You must’ve cared for her very much to share secrets like that.”
    “Yeah…I can embarrassingly admit that I might’ve had a little crush on her. Start of puberty, ya know? Where boys don’t think girls are icky anymore…” Rody laughed and smiled, “You know, I gifted her a one month friendship present…”
    “Rody! The shoes are a bit big for me!” A young Zoe giggled while Rody looked flustered for a moment, spluttering.
   “S-sorry! Gosh I should’ve asked what size you were! B-But I was so excited for my allowance from Dad a-and I knew you wanted to have these shoes for a long time a-and…I decorated them with your favourite colours—”
   Zoe softened when she took the shoes from Rody, a fond smile on her lips.
   “How about this? I can keep them until they fit me? I can display them in my room like a trophy? A token of our friendship!”
    Rody smiled brightly, but then clicked his fingers, “Here! I’ll even sign it!”
   Rody chuckled as he leaned back against the headboard of the bed.
    Fei thought the story was going to continue being a happy one…until Rody’s smile fell.
   “A few months later, however…was when we got another new student…”
   “Lila is amazing, Rody! She’s been to New York too!“ Zoe cooed, dancing around her friend, who was frowning deeply, “She told me how her Mom always took her to Broadway to see a lot of shows, she even said one day she’ll take me to see the cast of famous plays! Isn’t this awesome???”
    “Unlike Zoe telling her tales, Lila Rossi used her lies for darker intentions,” Rody murmured as he almost crushed the pizza crust he now held in his gloved hand, “Lying with every breath, she used her lies to get out of classes or get people to do things for her. Zoe was the number one person that Lila used in the guise of her “BFF”…which I hated.”
   Chloe gulped, as she looked down in shame, reminded of a similar scenario in her head with Sabrina in the past.
    Todoroki noticed this and tapped her hand gentle for comfort, while both Pollen and Roaar cooed at the girl in reassurance.
     Fei pursed her lips, almost feeling sorry for Rody. But she kept quiet still.
    Rody continued on.
    “I tried to warn her…but she didn’t believe me.”
    Zoe looked at Rody with disbelief, before laughing.
   “Oh Rody! You’re so silly! Is it because you’re jealous of her?”
   Rody looked surprised at her, then offended.
   “No! Look, Z, she’s bad news!”
   “She told me that because I’ve been spending so much time with her, you might’ve felt left out. But don’t worry, Ro, you’re still my first best friend! Now I have two~” Zoe reached over and hugged Rody, who pushed her away and stepped back, “R-Rody?”
  “You’re not listening to me! Zoe, she’s a liar.”
   Zoe frowned, “I don’t get it, Rody? She’s so nice to everyone, why are you being so weird and putting her down like that? If you could only just see—”
   “She almost sounds like Cesaire.” Chloe interrupted for a moment, Rody looking confused.
    “Who’s that?”
    “An unpleasant wannabe. No one you need to worry about,” The blonde responded, gestured for the boy to continue his tale.
   “Right. Anyways, I couldn’t convince her or had proof that Lila was lying about everything she said. The sneaky witch is good at her skills in manipulation and charm, and even did research in case anyone tried to denounce her lies. So…I confronted Lila myself…”
   The Italian girl’s face contorted into tears, hands over her cheeks and hiccuping with big innocent eyes.
   “H-How could you be so mean to me, Rody? A-All I wanted was to be friend with you~ Especially since we both care about Zoe ever so much~”
   “I’m willing to be friends with you, if you just stop lying,” Rody spoke with an annoyed tone, “And stop using Zoe to do your bidding! She’s not your servant!”
   Lila sniffled, pouting and her lower lip wobbling.
  “Oh, Rody! That’s so mean to say~ Of course she’s not my servant, she’s my friend.”
  “No, she’s my friend. And I’m trying to save her from your stupid fake promises that I know you can’t give her,” Rody scolded, wagging his finger at her before Lila’s crying face turned stone cold.
   “…Huh, I suppose you’re smarter than everyone here. Surprising, but not too surprising,” She wiped her eyes and flipped her hair, dropping her act and folded her arms coolly, “So~? You’re not gonna quit, huh?”
   “I’ll expose you, Lila! Just you wait, once everyone knows you lied about everything—“
   “And what~?” Lila stepped forward with a smirk, “If you tell, imagine how heartbroken your dear Zoe will be. Especially when she’s told me a lot of things about you~”
   Rody paled, but stood his ground.
   “I’m not afraid of you, Lila! I’m giving you a warning and a chance to come clean. Otherwise I could just go to the Headmaster right now.”
   Lila backed him up against the wall, giving an evil smile.
   “And I’ll give you a chance to back down before I make your life miserable. I can take away everything you love dearly with a snap of my finger. You’re either with me, or against me, it’s your choice~”
   “She gave me a day to think about her offer, trying to get me to step aside and even join with her. ” Rody shook his head as he came back to reality, looking at the three in front of him, “But of course…I wasn’t about to back down. But that was my mistake.”
    Rody was coming into the Secondary School with a pep in his step, excited to tell Zoe some good news when he noticed the stares given to him. Goosebumps formed on his forearms as he heard the whispers, everyone looking at him as if he was some sort of freak of nature.
  Frowning, he walked into his classroom and saw everyone surrounding a crying Lila, including Zoe. Everyone looked up when Rody entered, glares all around while Zoe looked…disappointed. Maybe even hurt.
   “What’s…going on?” Rody started before Lila started sobbing again, almost flinching as if burnt.
   Zoe spoke up instead, “Rody! How could you hurt Lila?”
   Rody balked as he stepped back for a moment in shock, “W-what?”
   “Yeah! Lila told us what you did, Rody!” One of their other classmates said, some other agreeing, “How you assaulted her even when she tried to extend her friendship to you!”
   Rody frowned, narrowing his eyes, “I never hurt her.”
   Zoe stepped back to show Lila was raising her wrists up, showing bruises like hand marks around them.
   “H-he got so jealous because I’m always hanging around Zoe a-and confronted me to stay away from her. I just…I just wanted to be friends with him too…“ She cried softly, like the good little actress she was.
   And everyone believed her.
  They looked at Rody like some sort of villain. Including Zoe.
    “That day was only the beginning,” Rody murmured, folding his arms once wiping the pizza grease off his fingers, “Everyday, Lila found ways of making me out as the bully, and one by one…all my friends abandoned me. Zoe and I argued everyday about Lila, her taking the witch’s side every time.”
   “Ergh, I can’t believe that Rossi!” Chloe yelled, almost smushing her chocolate cake with her fork and stabbing it, “That could’ve happened to Marinette if me and Sabrina didn’t find out—”
   “Then what happened?” Todoroki cut her off, wanting to know what happened next while Fei calmed Chloe down.
   Rody then chuckled darkly, placing a hand over his face, “And then the worst happened…the day my life went straight to hell…”
   Mr. Plastic stood in front of their classroom, everyone whispering in excitement to see a Pro-Hero standing before them. He looked tall and proud, and honestly Rody was a little starstruck despite being suspicious on why a Pro was present here in their school of all places.
   The teacher stood nervously in the room, while some of Mr. Plastic’s sidekicks were also present with him, glaring eyes looking around the room for a moment…
    ….only to land on Rody.
   “I’m sorry to disturb you children during class hours, but I have gotten intel about a potential ally of villains that my agency and I are tracking down,“ Mr. Plastic started, before his eyes found who he was looking for, “Rody Soul? Could you please come with us?”
    Rody looked appalled, reeling back from his seat.
    “W-what? Why me?”
   Mr. Plastic narrowed his eyes.
   “We’ve got some questions to ask you about your father, Edward Soul.“
    The class erupted into small whispers, Rody feeling eyes of suspicion and distrust. Rody had to snap his eyes to Zoe, who was looking down at her desk and avoiding eye contact with him.
   Looking back to Mr. Plastic, Rody frowned deeply, “W-what about my Dad?”
   “I must insist that you come with us. I do not think you want your classmates to know of your father being a…suspicious character in our radar.” The hero continued on in a bored drawl, although there was a hint of a threat in his voice.
    The whispers continued, and Rody felt his stomach drop.
    “I always was suspicious about the Souls being weird. But villains? That makes sense.”
   “His dad is a crackpot scientist. Probably kidnaps kids for his experiments, ya know? Maybe experiments on his own…”
   “Maybe his dad killed his wife? After all, Rody doesn’t have a mom, isn’t that strange?”
   “My Mommy told me to stay away from the Soul Family. Their last name is even ominous…”
   Rody stopped his story for a moment to take a shaky breath, both Todoroki and Chloe looked worriedly at Rody as if he was going to have some panic attack. Fei even was scooting closer to Rody and placed a hand onto his shoulder for comfort. But the boy assured them he was okay, then continued on with a heartbroken look.
   “I went with Mr. Plastic anyways back to my place. Got interrogated like some criminal and even got strapped for a polygraph. Eventually they tried to call my dad…but he didn’t answer.”
   Tears welled into Rody’s eyes, but he wiped them away quickly.
   “My dad disappeared. Ran off, actually, since he left a note….”
   The twelve year old Rody stared at the small note in his hands, shaking as he turned to a stern looking Mr. Plastic behind him. Rody felt so small under the eyes of the hero, even more so when the man towered over him and gave a glare as if Rody was a villain himself.
   “Since that day, Mr. Plastic kept his eye on me and watched me like a hawk. I-I had to pull Roro and Lala out from school and daycare since the adults were now also starting to dislike us. Spreading rumours about us and isolated us away from the community,” Rody took out his locket, opening it and saw the picture of his family, “Since my dad left us…life for us has been hard…Him running away confirmed in Mr. Plastic’s mind that he was guilty thus making him a criminal on the run. I had to talk to Zoe one last time to fix everything…“
   “You told your Dad that mine was some crackpot working for an occult!?’ Rody yelled at Zoe, who coward away from him in fear, “Zoe! How could you?!”
   “But isn’t it the truth?!” Zoe yelled back, her eyes wide with tears, “I always thought it was weird that your dad was usually gone and always had those suspicious things around the house. When Lila told me her theories about it, it had me thinking…a-and I had to tell my Dad since he’s on a mission in finding that cult and your dad was the lead!”
   Rody shook his head in disbelief, “My dad is an engineer! He loves inventing, you know that! You’ve seen him work and it’s not dangerous!”
    Zoe bit her lower lip, before Rody grabbed her hand.
   “Zoe…what did you tell Lila about my family? Did…did you tell her about you being Mr. Plastic’s daughter?!”
   The blond shrugged helplessly, “S-she wanted to know more about you and me so…I told her about your Dad, a-and how he’d always have some weird things being made…and a lot of other things…plus, she’s my bestie, I can’t keep secrets from here—”
   “Zoe…”
    Rody sighed, squeezing her hand.
   “Please, Z. Tell your dad that you made a mistake and jumped into conclusions! If we just fix this together...”
    Zoe looked fearful for a moment, and Rody thought that maybe he had convinced her that she had messed up and would help him clear the misunderstandings. However, she moved her hand away from and glared with suspicion.
     “How do I know you’re not the one lying to me, huh?”
   Rody’s eyes looked betrayed and shocked, “Z-zoe…”
   “You’ve always had it out for Lila! A-and you’ve changed so much in the past few months, it’s crazy. It makes me think maybe you’ll turn again me next!” Zoe narrowed her eyes and started walking away from Rody, “Stay away from me from now on. Our friendship is over!”
   Rody felt his heart sink, especially with the next line spoken.
   “I don’t wanna be seen by a freak son of Humarise.”
   Rody went quiet after that. Chloe seething in rage and Todoroki looking down, not feeling hungry anymore. Fei just kept quiet still, but her eyes were hard.
   “After that, things just went from bad to worse. I eventually was kicked out of school since the Headmaster didn’t want a wacko cult’s son to stain that beloved school of his. Roro cannot be accepted into another school and no one wanted Lala in any daycare center. And…a-and Mr. Plastic’s sidekicks always came around and beat me up. Not just them, some of the people we looked up to as our friendly neighbours in the community would do the same…and the sidekicks would turn a blind eye from it and even join them.”
   “W-what?!” Todoroki’s eyes widened as Chloe gasped.
    Fei felt sick into her stomach at hearing this. She never thought she would actually find someone that had a similar past like her. She can see where this story was going now.
   Rody sighed, looking away, “Yeah…because I’m a bad guy.” 
   Rody pushed his siblings behind him as three of Mr. Plastic’s sidekicks towered over the kids, one holding a pipe in hand, ready to swing down at him.
   After an hour, Rody laid in the garbage with his siblings crying over him in fear and sadness, Rody staring up at the sky with dead eyes.
    He soon brought them home, but his eyes widened seeing their house was destroyed. Spray painted words of slurs and curses were all over the house and windows shattered as if rocks were thrown at them. Rody reading each one of the writings.
    Humarise Scum! Villain! Crazies!
    Rody felt Roro and Lala crying against his legs, the boy feeling his anger rise at remembering the words from the parents of his classmates.
   “I heard the father of that family ran away!”
    “Edward Soul is a wanted criminal? I’ve always had my suspicions—“
   “On top of that, he became a member of Humarise!”
  “They were responsible for the incident the other day too!”
   “The crazy group that thinks quirks are a sickness?”
   “You can’t judge a book by its cover!”
   “He was a famous engineer wasn’t he?”
    “Kids, don’t play with them anymore.”
    Rody looked at the cracked picture of his siblings in his locket around his neck, remembering the tears they shed…and his own.
   “Since that day, we lost our home. The very house my mother grew up in. We lost trust in the people in our town…and I never saw either Lila or Zoe ever again. Eventually, Mr. Plastic and his agency moved on to another country, leaving our town became the number one dirt poor place rising in crime in Europe. We were doomed from the start…”
    Rody breathed out and glanced up to the three, surprised when seeing Chloe already in tears along with Fei looking pale, while Todoroki stared at him in sympathy. Even the kwamis were sobbing for Rody.
   “Ah…S-sorry, I didn’t mean to make you guys sad…must’ve ruined your appetite now.” Rody laughed, trying to lighten the mood but then squeaked when Fei reached out and hugged him.
    “I am so sorry you went through all that.” She ended up saying with a choked sound, finding hard to swallow as she was feeling a wave of familiarity of Rody’s situation.
    She could’ve ended up like Rody. Well, she did…but then Sir Nighteye and Mirio came into her life along with Marinette and Adrien.
     If it wasn’t for them…she didn’t know WHERE she would be today.
     It made her thankful that she was shown a better way of life even when she thought she lost EVERYTHING.
   “My gosh, that is so sad! Honestly, what you went through is such bullshit! How did those idiot people let this go so far! And to kids none the less!” Chloe growled, then pulled back as she was grabbing her phone, “I’m gonna have to complain! Even tell Marinette—“
  “You can’t tell anyone about this!” Rody stopped her with a frightened look, “They won’t get it.”
  “But Mr. Plastic isn’t to be trusted,” Todoroki murmured, eyes narrowed, “That’s what I’ve gathered from your story. We should tell Eraserhead and Sir Nighteye at the very least, they’d want to know.”
   Fei nodded, “This is injustice! We must at least tell someone we trust and help you! What you’ve been through…it is inhumane!”
   Rody laughed weakly, looking at the three of them in disbelief.
   “W-why go through the trouble for me? I didn’t tell you my story to gain sympathy points or anything—”
   “You’re part of the team now, making you our friend.” Fei said confidently, making Rody stare at her in surprise.
   Todoroki agreed with her, “I’ve learnt a lot about friendship and what you went through isn’t it. Maybe this time around, you need better friends. Like us.”
  Chloe nodded in agreement, “Yes. From now on, anyone that messes with you, messes with us!”
  Rody continued to look at them with wide eyes, the shock soon turning into amusement and awe. He started laughing out loud before falling back onto the bed. The three teens looked confused at the thief, Rody rolling to the side while holding his stomach as Pino was chirping in giggles as well with crocodile tears.
   Fei watched Rody and Pino carefully, almost entranced how in sync they were.
   Breathing out once he got his giggles out, Rody sat up and wiped his eyes, smiling.
  “You guys are so weird.” He then softened, shrugging, “I dunno if I should fully trust you yet, but…thanks. For listening to my story and…feeling sorry for me? I guess?”
   “It’s not feeling sorry for you,” Todoroki said as he softened, “But I will say that it was unfortunate you went through all that.”
     Fei wanted to say more, but the look in her eyes said everything. Rody managed to catch that look and was honestly surprised.
     Did…did she understand him?
     Did she go through what he went through to?
     ‘A kindred spirit maybe…?’ Rody thought, before he then heard the rich blonde speak.
   “Makes me wonder how many other people that Rossi managed to hurt,” Chloe murmured, but then looked worried, “If Zoe and Lila know each other and turn out to be besties, how come Zoe didn’t say anything to her?”
  That got Todoroki’s attention quickly, “You’re right…if what Rody’s story told us is true, they should’ve been close, correct?”
   “It did not seem like they were close, though?” Fei caught on, looking thoughtful, “More like they were strangers.”
   “…Unless Zoe knows that Lila was a liar and she—?” Chloe gasped, as she was grabbing her phone now, making the boys and Fei look confused.
   “What’s wrong?” Rody asked, before Chloe raised a finger up to him, her eyes looking worried now.
    Fei had a bad feeling about this.
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   Lady Noire blinked in surprise when she felt her communicator of a baton vibrating against her hip, then looked down to it. She turned her gaze at her teammates, already meeting with some of the United Heroez. There was Majestia, Cow Lady, Knight Owl…and Mr. Plastic.
   While everyone gathered to go to a room where the dinner will be held, the Cat Heroine stepped back for a moment to answer her communicator.
  “…Chloe?”
   Boom Beetle and Dragon Knight paused, then walked back to where Lady Noire was, peeking over her shoulder.
   “Mari—er, what are you wearing?” Chloe’s face was on screen as she spotted Boom Beetle, but then gasped, “Did you swap Miraculous?!”
   “Yeah. Some of us swapped, considering Aizawa suggested we should wear disguises to hide our true identities. Tonight, I’m Lady Noire.” The female feline explained, raising a brow as Chloe looked contemplative.
     “Is Rossi wearing a Miraculous?”
    “Er, yes?”
    “Oh thank god, then it’s okay for now.”
    “What’s going on, Chlo?” Dragon Knight asked, sort of worried that maybe there’s something wrong.
   “Rody told me, Fei and Shoto-baby that Lila and Zoe know each other.”
   Boom Beetle raised a brow, “So? They’re friends then?”
   “More like they both were the cause of ruining Rody’s life.”
   Both the boys froze in shock while Lady Noire placed a hand over her mouth.
   “W-wait, what? What do you mean?” She asked quietly, looking confused.
   “There’s more.” Todoroki came on screen this time with a serious gaze, “We are also to believe that Mr. Plastic is also a man to be wary off, considering he was investigating Rody-kun’s father.”
   “More like framed his Daddy for something he didn’t do without any proof! Ridiculous! UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!” Chloe was screaming now, Todoroki covering his ears for a moment when she continued on, “Rody was a kid! A small young one at that! What could a kid answer when being confronted by someone bigger than him?! Why, I’d totally call my Daddy and complain—”
    Todoroki shook his head, turning to calm her down while Chloe kept on shouting, prompting Fei to continue for them.
   ”Also his “sidekicks” are not very good people. They tend to use their powers for nefarious purpose and prejudice. This was at least four years ago when they were assigned to Otheon.”
    Chloe, Fei and Todoroki had to summarise more of what Rody told them, even having Rody confirm it out of the video’s shot.
   “Some heroes be like that. Corrupt and pretty much having a big ego,” Boom Beetle said gruffly, glancing over to the American Heroes, “Not too surprising. Not everyone can be as good as All Might.”
   “That’s weird. Shouldn’t Lila have said something when seeing Zoe and Mr. Plastic?” Dragon Knight hummed once the explanations were done, tapping at his chin.
    Chloe shrugged.
   “I don’t think Zoe even noticed her, nor did that man even care. Doubt Rossi cared to know of the girl she used years ago, or even remembers her.”
   Chloe turned the call to show Rody, who looked grim.
   “Whatever you do, do not let Lila Rossi and Zoe Lee meet.”
    And the call was cut off.
   All three looked at each other with frowns, Boom Beetle speaking up.
   “Shouldn’t be too hard. Although now I’m a little curious…”
    “We should get going before All Might or Eraserhead wonder why we haven’t joined them yet.” Lady Noire murmured, taking the boys back to the dinner party.
   Feathertop saw them and waved them over, already pulling the Cat Heroine close to him while asking what was wrong.
    “Chloe called. Told us that Lila and Zoe know each other, or at least they did know each other but never noticed one another. It’s not a good kind of knowing each other either, according to Chloe. Also, don’t get close to Mr. Plastic.” She explained, while the Peacock Hero hummed, “Rody even confirmed it.”
   “Noted. I’ll tell the others discreetly.”
   “Thanks.”
   The two sat with each other and blinked when they spotted Lupina talking to Zoe of all people, who happened to be here tonight.
    Lady Noire had to move closer to listen to the conversation they were having, but squeaked when she almost bumped into Shinso.
  “Oh! Hitoshi, sorry!”
  “What’s your rush?”
   “I’m going to see what Lila is talking about with Zoe,” She noticed that Izuku was nowhere in sight, “Where’s Izuku?”
    “He’s in hiding. Dunno why,” Hitoshi hummed, looking around, “Maybe the others might know where he is…”
   A question came into Lady Noire’s mind.
    “Was Zoe Lee in your timeline, Hitoshi?”
   The purple haired male surprisingly shook his head, “This makes her sort of an anomaly. A wild card. As much as Midoriya is.”
  “I see. So you wanted to investigate on what he’s up as well as Zoe, huh?”
   “I am curious why he wanted to be himself tonight instead of having a Miraculous. I think it has something to do with that girl.”
    Lady Noire knew he was right.
   “Alright then, then let’s go together. Er, where’s R—Bonnie Blanche and Whisketeer?”
   She almost slipped into calling them their real names for a second.
   “They went to the girls’ room, don’t worry.”
   And so, the two wandered to where Lupina was chatting up with Zoe, already hearing the blonde chirping in a happy tone.
    “So, wait, you know All Might for how long?” They heard Zoe asking Lupina, who was flicking her hair back with a proud smirk.
   “For a while now~ He has recruited us so we could join under his tutelage and become future heroes~” The Dog Heroine boasted, hand over her heart as she played the role of someone being above everyone while humble.
    Lady Noire had to shake her head, not surprised that Lila was back to her old attitude while Shinso just rolled his eyes.
   “Oh no~ This could go wrong~” Sparrow murmured under their breath, looking at Uncanny Valley and Tsukuyomi, “What do you think, you two? Should we do something?”
   The robotic girl looked confused, “Y-you think we should?”
   “No. I was just kidding.” Sparrow sighed with exasperation, hand over the mask, “This whole situation is just plain boring!”
   The bird headed hero stopped listening to his companion’s lamenting, his dark crimson eyes following a suspicious looking waiter walking up to Ubayagi. Narrowing his eyes, Tokoyami walked over to him and cleared his throat.
   The ginger haired waiter paused for a moment, glancing at the bird boy with a grin.
    “Oh! May I help you, sir?”
   “What are your intentions on approaching that lady?” Tokoyami was always one to get to the point.
    This caused the other male to look amused.
    “Just a big fan of heroes, ya know? But I’m also doing my job~”
    Tokoyami raised a brow for a moment, before he heard Ubayagi’s voice speak.
   “What seems to be the trouble here?”
    Somehow this caused the attention of Lady Noire, Boom Beetle, Dragon Knight, Lupina and Zoe.
    The ginger haired waiter gave a happy look when he turned to her, taking Ubayagi’s hand.
    “Sorry I just…I am amazed seeing a new teen hero up close. It’s nice to meet you Miss…?”
    "Ubayagi.” The Goat Heroine murmured, recognizing him as the boy she met a few hours ago.
     The ginger haired male smiled, seeing how the girl’s eyes sparked up in recognition. Bingo.
     “I’m Andy Baker. Not to sound rude but…don’t you find this fuddy duddy party for you boring?”
      “What’s going on?” Feathertop appeared beside his dragon of a best friend, tilting his head and wondering why they haven’t come back to the party.
     “What do you mean?” Lady Noire asked at the same time with Ubayagi, as Andy chuckled.
     “What I mean is that you are surrounding yourselves with adults that don’t know the meaning of entertaining foreign guests. You’re in New York, the city of dreams~! Don’t you wanna explore the town?” Andy asked as he raised Ubayagi’s hand and kissed the back of it, giving her a charming wink.
     Lady Noire had to roll her eyes. He was too much like Adrien as Chat Noir. But it seems that the Goat Heroine was charmed easily, thanks to that.
     “I’m pretty sure these old timers can’t show ya’ll a good time. So I offer my services as fun tour guide during your stay~”
     This caused Lady Noire to frown, “We already have a tour planned tomorrow—“
     “That’s during the day~! But have you never seen the city at night~?” Andy offered, chuckling at the Cat Heroine’s wary gaze, “Besides, I could give ya’ll a hero’s special.”
     “How can we even trust a civilian like you?” Boom Beetle scoffed, arms folded.
     “A civilian like me~? That’s rich.” Andy soon pulled up something from his pocket, showing them some sort of badge like device with a symbol of a ghost, “I think I can relate to you guys more than you think.”
      “Is that…?” Dragon Knight gasped for a second before Lady Noire covered his mouth.
        Andy coolly smirked before he hid his item with an innocent smiled.
       “So~? How about it? Ditch the coots and have a real party out~?”
       “It…is kinda boring?” Feathertop agreed as he glanced over to the rest of the Miraculous Team, some of them looking half asleep while Mr. Plastic was stoically retelling some story of how he saved a few people.
      “…Maybe we could go out for a bit and then come back before they know it?” Dragon Knight suggested, “We could even use Star Stallion’s abilities~”
     Lady Noire sighed, rubbing at her temple before she realized Zoe was still with them.
     “C-can I come?” Zoe asked meekly, although when Andy looked at her, she shrunk back while waving her hands in front of her, “A-actually, forget it! I-I think it’d be better if I stay behind. D-don’t wanna worry Fa—Ah, M-Mr. Plastic and all.”
     Something in Andy’s eyes sparkled for a second before he chuckled.
    “Well, the more the merrier, right? I don’t mind ya tagging along, Blondie~” The ginger haired male winked, “You can even meet other young heroes our age~”
    Ubayagi’s eyes widened, “Wait, wait, we just can’t leave. And we just met you! We don’t know if we could—“
    “What are you guys doing?”
     Howler approached them along with the rest of the team. One by one, each Miraculous hero curiously came over to see what was taking Lady Noire and them so long. Uncanny Valley and Sparrow even joined, intrigued.
    “Apparently this young man wants to take us out to see New York City at night. He…also seems to be a hero, like us.”  Ubayagi explained, making Bonnie Blanche squeal.
    “Another hero!? Like us!? And going out to see New York at night?!” She clapped her hands in excitement, looking to Whisketeer and Shinso, “That sounds like fun! We should go!”
    “But what about the adults?” Cobalt Bull asked, arms folded and glancing at the heroes still dining and talking, “They’ll be suspicious if we’re all gone. Especially Eraserhead and All Might.”
    “Would you rather listen to the drivel of that weird toilet hero that talks about how Australia’s water cycle spins the other way?” Onagadori murmured with a raised brow, before looking at Rockershella, “Let’s go.”
   “W-would it be manly to just go without telling the heroes?” The Turtle Hero scratched at his cheek nervously, glancing at Boom Beetle, “Are you going?”
   “Honestly, anywhere is better than standing around with some wannabe heroes talking about their success stories and glory days,” The blond Ladybug Hero hummed then nodded, “I’m in.”
   “Ka—I mean, Boom Beetle!” Lady Noire gaped at him, before a voice piped up beside her.
    “I think it’s a great idea!” Izuku appeared between them, looking like he ran a marathon while his eyes were darting around, “Let’s go go go! We can trust him!”
   “Star Stallion, could you give us a hand here?” Dragon Knight asked with a smile, already feeling excited.      
    Lady Noire raised a brow, already seeing that Feathertop agreed with his best friend, the others soon joining in the idea of sneaking out and having some fun. Even Shinso, which surprised the feline girl, considering he was the most paranoid besides her. Although the most eager to get out of here was Izuku. Perhaps it was because he was trying to run away from a certain someone.
   Star Stallion squeaked before he nodded, calling forth his voyage but then paused, “Er, w-where are we going anyways?”
     “Where else? We can start with Madison Square Garden!” Andy suggested, “We’ll be meeting some of my friends there soooo~ I’ll show ya the way~”
    Uncanny Valley tilted her head for a moment with a raised brow, before she glanced at Sparrow with an inquisitive look, “Why aren’t you stopping them? I thought we are supposed to look after them and not get them into trouble?”
   “Well if we’re gonna watch over them, we might as well just follow them and make sure they’re safe. Besides, didn’t you want to make friends with them and do something fun?”
    Uncanny smiled for a moment, but then paused.
    “Sparrow, you cannot reveal your identity…”
    “I’ll stay behind and distract the adults. You and Tsukuyomi can follow them~” Sparrow patted the robot like heroine’s shoulders and chuckled, “Have fun, little sis.”
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   Olivia “Liv” Baker was usually the cool and calm twin.
   But that wasn’t the case currently as she watched a portal appear before her and her friend, Mike Collins, and soon her idiot twin brother’s head popped out.
   “Got some friends~” Andy jumped out from the portal, as one by one, young teenage heroes were following him out while looking around in awe.
    Liv sighed, palming her face with an eye roll before giving a stern look over her brother’s grinning face.
     “Andy, I thought you were just getting one of the heroes. Not all of them.”
    “One, twenty three? What’s the difference?” Andy snickered, before he tilted his head towards the teens, “Er, you know, you can de-transform out of your hero personas. Not like we’re gonna squeal to anyone who you guys are since we’re all on the same boat. Be better if you went incognito without being bombarded by civilians, eh?”
    There were some that were unsure about doing that, although Trickster Tails grinned as she murmured a ‘Trixx, Let’s Rest!’ and transformed back into Alix, the Fox Kwami landing on top of her head.
   “Alix!” Lady Noire squeaked out with wide eyes, but soon she spotted Boom Beetle de-transforming, the same with Cape Crusader and Feathertop.
      With that said, everyone seemed to change back into their civilian forms. Even Uncanny Valley felt her ‘glamour’ shimmer while Tokoyami pressed onto a necklace he was wearing, and the people that knew him turned to him in shock.
    “T-Tokoyami!” Kirishima was the first to speak, staring at the now normal looking boy with black hair and red eyes, “You look…normal.”
     “Even if heroes here are not big on the whole secret identity ordeal, I do not want to be approached by the press as Hawk’s intern.” Tokoyami explained, shrugging his shoulder, “Do I look strange?”
    “Not at all,” Momo shook her head, smiling, “Although it is surreal since we are used to you with how you truly look. But it does suit you, even though I personally like you just the way you are.”
    “Guess I can’t call ya birdhead right now, huh?” Bakugo snorted, making both Kirishima and Momo sigh.
     Lady Noire was the only one that hasn’t transformed back, looking at her friends with a frown.
    “No point putting ourselves in danger with having targets on our backs,” Nino stated reasonably to her, shrugging his shoulders before he smiled, “Besides, New York TOUR! At NIGHT! This is off the chain!”
  “I think we should introduce ourselves first before anything,” Liv glared at Andy before looking back at the others with a smile, “Hi, I’m Liv. I’m also known as Myst in my hero identity, part of Ghost Force,”
   “Ghost Force?” Nino breathed out before gasping in realisation,”I heard about you guys! You’re like the upcoming new teen team not affiliated with United Heroez!”
  “Not like we could ever join them anyways~ They ain’t cooler than we are,” Andy glanced at Aeon specifically on this one, before smiling at the group once more, “As you know, I’m Andy. Liv’s cooler twin and the hero, Fury! Also known as the leader of Ghost Force~”
   “So not the team leader.” Liv grumbled, while the other boy next to her coughed.
    “I’m Mike. Also known as Krush. Pleasure to meet you guys!”
   “Ah, back’atcha dude!” Nino grinned, fist bumping Mike in camaraderie.
   Marinette finally transformed back to her civilian form, before looking to Liv.
   “It seems sort of reckless that you revealed yourself to us. What if we weren’t what we seemed?”
   Liv winked, “Maybe it’s because we’ve known about you since your arrival. But hey, as my idiot brother said, we’re all on the same side here and wish to meet you guys in person without the Heroez United watching.”
   “How come?” Nathaniel asked.
   Mike looked sort of nervous now, but then shrugged.
    “Heroez United don’t believe children should be trying to be heroes themselves. Which, I guess I can get since we’re minors—“
   “Ahhh, those old farts are scared we can do their jobs better! We mostly clean up the city every single day for them along with those two magic duo!” Andy complained, although Marinette perked up at the word magic.
   “Y-You guys said there are more young heroes like us? Are they also coming here?”
    “Yeah, they should be coming along any minute now,” Liv hummed, looking at her phone, “I think you’ll like them a lot, since they are familiar with your kind of heroism and magic. Ya know, with those flying little creatures hiding in your clothes.”
   Almost all the Miraculous holders looked sheepish while their Kwamis peeked out to look at the American trio.
   It was then that Zoe let out a soft gasp when seeing Lila for the first time without her Miraculous active, looking shocked.
   “L-Lila?”
    The brunette looked at her for a moment, raising a brow, “…Do I know you?”
    Marinette paled. Oh no.
    It was then a whooshing sound was heard and she whipped her head around to see Star Stallion opening another portal, with Izuku popping out with Chloe and Todoroki following from behind him.
   “W-wait-wait-wait, what are you doing?!”
    Star Stallion yelped as he looked to Marinette, then looked scared.
     “A-ah, Izuku told me to not transform back yet and let th-the others from the hotel come join us.”
    Marinette wanted to argue and even hit Izuku for that suggestion, but it was too late. She watched Rody hop out, turning back to offer his hand out to Fei, who was stepping forward out of the portal while taking the hand. Everything happened so quickly, with Zoe gasping again and Rody turning to the source of the sound, paling drastically.
   Rody was quick to turn to Izuku.
   “Y-You didn’t tell me she was going to be here!”
   The green haired male shrugged calmly with a small smile.
    “If I did, you wouldn’t have come.”
     Rody growled, bitting his tongue when he heard someone calling his name again. Slowly turning around, Rody faced Zoe, who was looking tearfully happy.
   “R-Rody? Is that…you?”
   Awkward silence filled the air as Rody glared daggers at Zoe, who had a look of nostalgia and relief at seeing him.
     Fei was at Rody’s side immediately, sensing his distress and seeing Pino looking sick to her wings. The poor bird shook with big fat tears behind her masked bandana that matched with Rody’s red one holding up his hair back. The Chinese girl was quick to touch Rody’s gloved hand in comfort, gaining Rody’s attention. He looked down at her own fingerless gloved hand, then back to look Fei in the eyes, his facial expression soon softened. The feral look in his own eyes disappeared, filling Fei with a sense of relief.
     This caught Zoe’s attention, who smile faded slightly.
     She ended up coughing to get Rody to look at her again.
   “R-rody. It’s…it’s been a long time.”
    Chloe and Todoroki noticed this, and the two quickly moved protectively in front of Rody and Fei, Chloe giving the more haughty approach while Todoroki was deadly silent.
    “Excuse me, but who do you think you are? Trying to talk to him after what you put him through?”
    The other blonde blinked in surprise, before looking strangely at Chloe.
    “I’m sorry, dear sister Chloe, but Rody and I have been friends ever since we were kids. We haven’t seen each other in a long time, so of course we—“
    “You did not hear what she said, did you?” Todoroki spoke coldly, narrowing his eyes, “Chloe-san and I know about your past with Rody-san. You cannot fool us and say that you two are close friends anymore.”
    Zoe almost shrank back at the boy’s icy tone, and everyone could feel how Todoroki stared at her with a dark expression while Chloe seemed to be holding back her anger. Marinette thought Zoe would be dead on the spot with the way they were looking at the now scared girl.
    “O-Oh dear…” Mike gulped, almost as if he was scared a fight was going to break out.
     Liv pursed her lips, feeling sort of awkward of the tense atmosphere, and glanced to her twin. Only to be surprised how calm Andy was. Even to the point he looked…amused.
    It was then a new voice spoke up awkwardly in greeting, making everyone turned to the source and saw that there were two teenagers approaching them. The one that spoke was a long haired blonde girl with bright green eyes, Adrien almost believing that she was a younger version of both his mother and Aunt ( he’s still confused on who should be who at this point) but had some dusted freckles over the bridge of her nose like Kagami. Next to the girl, was a boy with hair as red as Nathaniel’s in a darker shade, but tied in a short ponytail and glasses over his blue eyes.
   “Oh~ You guys took your sweet time,” Andy turned to the newcomers, smiling, “Didn’t think you’d show up and continue hiding in the shadows, observing~”
   The red haired male that showed up quirked a brow, “Well, our dear fairy wished to meet the Miraculous Holders of Paris, considering we are one of the same with them.”
   Marinette and Adrien both perked up at this, looking at the new duo for a moment before the pigtailed girl spoke up almost excitedly.
   “Are you…M-Miraculous Holders too?”
   The blonde girl turned to Marinette, equally looking excited as she bobbed her head up and down in confirmation.
   “I am!” Offering her hand out, the girl smiled happily, “I’m Holly Rosewood. I’m also known as Pixie Girl!”
   Suddenly, a small golden creature flew out from the girl’s jean jacket that she was wearing, looking a lot like Tikki but…more Fairy like with a ponytail and little pixie wings.
   “And I’m her Kwami of Nature, Florra~” The creature chirped, her wings buzzing behind her.
    “Florra?” Tikki popped out from Bakugo’s hair, eyes wide, “Is that you, my friend?“
    ”Tikki!” The Kwami chirped as the two rushed towards each other and hugging happily, “It has been too long, dear Tikki! Centuries?”
   “More like millennia, Florra!” Tikki hummed, Marinette and Holly looking amazed at they Kwamis.
   “Oh great.”  Plagg popped out from’s Marinette’s purse, looking like around in dread, “If she’s here, then—”
   “Hello, Plagg~”
   Marinette watched Plagg float out from his hiding place, groaning as a strange owl-like Kwami floated towards him. The creature looked like the night sky, sparkling like the stars.
   “Hecca! You’re here as well.” Tikki chirped, looking at the Kwami who was floating back to their holder.
   “Indeed. I am owned by my Master, Lord Orion, as he is the hero: The Sorcerer.”
    The red haired male coughed, adjusting his round rimmed glasses.
    “Y-Yes. My name is Aster Orion. My Kwami is the Kwami of Stars.”
   “So you’re her Chat Noir in a way!” Nino pointed out to Holly then back to Aster, clicking his fingers before he then scratched his head, “But I’ve never heard of a Pixie Girl and The Sorcerer before?”
   “You wouldn’t have. They like to work covertly in the shadows considering they work with magic, something that humans have a hard time believing,” Liv explained, shrugging her shoulders, “Although that’s kinda bull, considering people see ghosts everyday and everything, so it’s not weird to see magical creatures.”
   “Magical creatures?” Marc, who transformed back, asked and Andy grinned.
    “Like unicorns and vampires? They’re real.”
   “Get out! Seriously?!” Alix balked at him, before Rose started squealing out loud.
   “I KNEW IT! I KNEW UNICORNS ARE REAL!” She screamed out, jumping up and suddenly yelping when she landed back down, cracking the pavement under her feet, “O-Oh! Whoops!”
   “Super strength huh?” Andy hummed nodding while looking impressed, “Guess I shouldn’t get ya on your bad side huh?”
   Rose rubbed the side of her neck sheepishly, while Juleka and Shinso sighed even though they were smiling fondly at her.
   “This is so exciting!” Marinette almost grabbing Holly’s hand, but refrained from doing so as she asked, “Does this mean there are other Miraculous holders in the United States?“
   Both Holly and Aster looked troubled for a moment, looking at each other silently. This caught Adrien’s attention as he frowned.
   “What is it?”
   Aster sighed, touching his temple and rubbed it gentle.
   “W-well, the thing is…there should be more. Actually, from what we know, there are two Miracle boxes. One of the North American side, and one of the South.”
   “I only discovered mine after the previous holder of Florra’s had…um…” Holly averted her eyes down, “That woman found me when I was walking around Central Park a year ago, it looked like she was attacked. Before she...left this world, she entrusted me Florra and said I was to be the new Pixie Girl.”
   “Unlike Lady Holly, my Kwami was passed down my family for generations,” Aster continued on, pushing his glasses up, “My whole family are familiar with magic, to the point it is believed my ancestors were all witches and wizards.”
    Marinette and Adrien listened carefully while the rest of them were intrigued, almost wanting to ask questions.
   “And again, there should be other Miraculous Holders. But they have not shown themselves yet, or…”
   “Or there aren’t any.” Marinette breathed out, “Master Fu did say that while the Temple of the Order did disappear a hundred years ago along with the monks inside, there might be boxes that are hidden in other countries. And Guardians in charge of them.”
   “You said Master…is he the guardian of your box?” Aster inquired, and Marinette nodded in response.
   “Yes. Do you two have a Master?”
   “And a Miracle Box?” Adrien added in question as well.
    Again, the two watched both Holly and Aster giving each other weird glances.
   It was then Holly spoke.
   “No. In fact, despite our Kwamis telling us everything we needed to know about our Miraculous, there was no such thing as a Guardian considering we could not find the box they were originally from.”
   “Even my family, who are in the know of the Miraculous and the magical world, could not figure out where the Miracle Boxes of the North and South are,” Aster added, frowning, “Pixie Girl and I have been researching and looking for any signs of any Miraculous items or holders for the past year, but sadly, none turned up. Nor any Guardians showed up nor are there any sort of Temple that you have spoken off.”
   “That seems odd. I only know my Renlings and my Prodigious are belonging to my country in Shanghai, and originally my previous adopted father was their Guardian. But it has been recently been passed down to both me and my current father, who has the Lion Protector as his his own “Kwami” and is the temporary Guardian.” Fei spoke up finally, and Marinette almost forgot she was there.
    “Shanghai?” Holly hummed, tapping her chin and smiled, “So you’re one of us too?”
    Fei nodded, “I shall be a Guardian of the Prodigious and the Renlings once I have finished my training. Sister Marinette and six others are also being trained to be Guardians in the future as well. To be our own Order of of the Miraculous.”
     Aster and Holly looked at each other for a moment, then smiled.
    “Then, I suppose that makes us allies to your New Order, hm?” Aster said, looking to his partner, “My dear Fairy Princess, this would mean that technically, we are Guardians of our own Miraculous.”
   Holly grinned, nodding in agreement, “For sure!”
   Marinette had to smiled before she came closer to the two, holding both her hands out.
   “Then, it is fate that we’ve met today. We would love to have you both on our side!”
   The two American duo blinked for a moment, but soon smiled as they soon reached their hand to shake Marinette’s.
   “The pleasure is all ours,” Aster said solemnly, his partner giving the same sentiments.
    It was then Felix spoke up, “Your accent…”
     Aster glanced over to the male, tilting his head as he smiled.
     “Ah, you as well? What part of England?”
    “London. Yourself?”
    “New Castle.”
    “What brings you to America rather than staying in the UK?”
    “Family reasons.”
    Adrien had to sweat drop at seeing the two giving polite yet stern looks at each other, almost as if challenging one another with just their stares alone.
    “Hey hey hey! We’re supposed to give a fun tour! Not to be bored to death with serious talk!” Andy came in between Aster and Felix, sighing, “We’re wasting precious time! C’mon, I can start the tour now and get back up the excitement again!”
    Liv chuckled, “For once, I agree with my idiot brother.”
    Aster sighed, seeing the amused smile on the girl’s face before looking away sheepishly.
    “Right, you’re here for a tour! We should be good hosts of our country and show you the amazing things New York has to offer!” Holly clapped her hands together, giving bright smiles to everyone and soon the American teens started to move.
   Zoe pursed her lips as she watched everyone, especially when eying Rody and the girl named Fei walking side by side far away from her. 
    Who was this Fei?
   Shinso appeared by Izuku’s side, tapping his arm, “Did you plan all this?”
   Izuku just smiled, confirming Shinso’s suspicion.
   “Was it wise to let Zoe Lee come along? To see and listen to all that has just happened?”
   “Everything happens for a reason.” Izuku explained and soon chalked up a happy smile when Lila slid to his side.
   She smiled at him, wrapping her arms around his arm and the two now walking ahead, leaving Shinso behind.
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   The tour was amazing.
   The Parisian and Japanese teens were in awe of the sight-seeing, taking in not just the buildings and historical landmarks, but to the people as well. From checking out the Empire State Building light up, to the bright streets that led to Broadway; the group were having a good time and getting to know their new American friends.
   They were on their way to their last stop of the tour, all of them currently on a boat to see the lights of the city.
   “Coney Island?” Nathaniel repeated what Liv suggested, the girl nodding her head.
   “Specifically, we’re going to Luna Park. It’s the best and most fun place to go to at night. There’s a lot of fun rides, games, great food and a lot of things to buy there!” She explained, giving a cheeky wink, “Besides, I heard that Hotdog Dan would be patrolling there. So it would be a good chance to try his magical hotdogs for yourselves~”
   “Hotdog Dan?! The Food Hero?!” Nino almost jumped up in excitement at meeting a famous hero, but then blinked, “Hold on, he’s on patrol? Why wasn’t he in the Atrium tonight?”
   “To be precise, Hotdog Dan does not consider himself to be part of the United Heroez because he “rather be the hero for the underdogs and those that cannot speak for themselves”. Thus he adopted being a Friendly Neighbourhood Hero of Treats and Tasty Food.” Aeon informed them, almost as if reciting it word for word.
   “That’s so cool!” Kirishima said with bright eyes, “I can’t wait to try his food. Why do you say his hotdogs are magical though?”
    The Ghostforce and the duo that are Holly and Aster looked at each other, before giggling quietly under their breaths. This caused the other teens to look confused, but the announcement on their boat saying they arrived on Coney Island distracted them.
   Soon, all the teens stepped off and the ones that weren’t from New York were once again in surprise at seeing the theme park before them.
   “Welcome to Luna Park~” Andy loudly announced, waving his hands up and smiling brightly, “Saving the best place for last~!”
    Adrien was about to step forward along with the rest of their friends, but paused when seeing Marinette hesitating by the entrance. He walked over to her, tilting his head.
   “Bug?”
   “I…is it really a good time to just goof around like this? We’re not on vacation.”
    Adrien rubbed the side of his neck. He knew that Marinette was having a hard time letting her guard down, especially when so much has happened in so little time.
   Taking her hand, he squeezed it gently, giving an assuring smile.
   “What’s one night going to do? Marinette, you’ve worked so hard and went through so much in the past few months. A-and some of them were caused by me at times as Chat Noir…”
     Marinette softened, “Chaton.”
   “Relax for just tonight. You’re not Ladybug. You’re not the future Guardian in training that needs to be alert 24/7. You’re just Marinette. A normal teenager that should loosen up and have fun for once.” Adrien then smiled, even more so when Marinette squeezed her hand back and smiled softly.
   “…You’re right. I mean I’m only a kid once in my life, right?”
   “Right~”
   “…Adrien, I’m sorry I seemed so…lame these past few days.” Marinette looked almost embarrassed, “And maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on Izuku and Hitoshi too…”
   “No one’s blaming ya, Bug. We know how stressed out you are and you take things very seriously. But just for tonight, you can let those worries go and enjoy the amusement park, okay?”
   “Yes!” Marinette nodded, soon rushing forward to talk with Izuku, while Adrien lagged behind.
   Pausing in his steps once more, he watched as Marinette dragged Izuku to one of the rides, Lila following after them angrily and Bakugo following after them calmly.
   Adrien couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement.
   That was until he felt a presence next to him.
   “That was very mature of you, Adrien. It almost seems like you still have feelings for her.”
   The blond glanced over at Kagami for a moment, then shrugged.
   “I would be lying if I said that I’ve moved on. But what’s important is…”
   Adrien glanced over to Marinette’s smiling face once more, softening.
  “I just want her to be happy.”
   Kagami stared at him for a moment, but after a minute, she gave one nod and looked away. This caused Adrien to be curious about something.
   “What about you?”
   “What about me?”
    “Do you still have feelings for me?”
     Kagami didn’t hesitate. “No.”
    Adrien laughed, “Wow~ That’s cold. No wonder Marinette called you Ice Queen before we went ice-skating together.”
   “She did?”
  “Yeah, but, I don’t think she meant it in a bad way.” Adrien paused, but then smiled, “Is it because of Eijiro?”
    This time, Kagami had a confident smile.
    “Yes. I adore him. Much more than I thought I felt with you.”
   “How can you be so sure?”
    The two heard a voice calling Kagami’s name, and they looked towards the source to see Kirishima smiling while waving his hand, holding some sort of stuffed dragon plush under his other arm.
    Kagami closed her eyes, a fond smile gracing her lips.
    “Because I am his first and only choice.”
    Adrien hummed, nodding his head, “I’m happy for you, Kagami.”
   “And I wish for you to find your fated one someday as well.”
    With that, Kagami walked forward to meet with Kirishima, who was sheepishly presenting the gift he won from one of the games. His face bright and cheeks glowing in pink, Kirishima seemed like a happy puppy as he was rubbing the back of his head while he talked to her. Kagami was just smiling calmly as he did, but did lean up to kiss the taller boy’s cheek, keeping the toy close.
   Adrien just watched on, before glancing at the Ferris Wheel close by, Kagami’s words repeating in his mind.
   “My fated one, huh?”
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   “She keeps staring at us. It’s kinda creepy.”
    Rody tilted his head when he heard Chloe murmur to Todoroki, glancing behind them to see Zoe staring at their group while Andy was talking to her, not realising that the blonde wasn’t listening to a word he was saying.
   He was thankful that not only did Fei stay by his side during the whole tour, but both Chloe and Todoroki have been preventing Zoe trying to find chances to approach him anytime she tried. He was even joined by Alix and Marc, who he had gotten to know and has become close friends with.
   He was lucky to have them. How long has it been since he had real friends?
   Rody bit his lower lip, shaking his head from the thoughts.
    He shouldn’t get too close. Believing he could be friends this easily with these people that he barely knew was what brought down his whole life in the first place.
    Zoe was proof of that.
    Fei noticed Rody being silent again, and nudged him.
   “If you frown anymore like that, you shall have a soggy face in the future.”
   Rody blinked, looking at the Chinese girl strangely before snorting.
   “Are you saying I’m going to look like an ugly pug if I keep frowning?”
   “It is a fact! Frown lines can produce the more you do, and it adds so much extra skin that will stretch out then wither as you grow older,” Fei said as-matter-of-factly, making Rody laugh quietly, “I am very serious!”
   “Haha, s-sure…”
   “What she says is true though. That’s why old ladies have make up and do surgeries when they have money,” Alix piped up cheekily, licking her ice cream, “So smile~ We’re supposed to be having fun~ Be kids~”
     “Be kids, huh?” Rody looked to the corndog in his hand, Pino deflating from the top of his head. ‘How can I ever go back to acting like a kid after everything? I feel like I lost my chance at that…’
   “Yes. Enjoy your youth while you can. You never know what may happen tomorrow, or in the future,” Fei said wisely, as she sipped her soda while staring at Rody, “I have learned to cherish the moments in this time like a gift. That is why it is called, the present.”
   “Got that from a fortune cookie?” Rody joked, but his smile fell when she wasn’t laughing.
   “My…my first adopted father, who was also my Shifu, had taught me that.”
    Alix took this time to skate away and drag Chloe, Todoroki and Marc to some game she wanted to try, while Fei continued her words to Rody.
    “When he died, I had lost my way. I was trying to grasp on reality without him in my life. I ended up planning revenge on the ones that took him away from me, calling it justice.”
   “…Why are you telling me this?” Rody asked, before Fei shrugged.
   “I am just saying, I know what it is like to think that I do not deserve to act my age and grow up too quickly. That I…do not deserve any child-like happiness anymore.”
    “…”
   Fei glanced over at Rody, then smiled warmly.
   “It is alright to be immature once in a while. To have thoughts of being a kid and enjoy life without feeling guilty. It will not kill you to just…not be so on guard to everyone you meet and think they are going to stab you in the back. Otherwise, you’ll lose sight on the people that will be good influences on you.”
    Fei immediately thought to Marinette, and had to smile gratefully in thought. The same when her thoughts went to Adrien, Mirio and Sir Nighteye.
   Rody watched her facial expression carefully, then felt embarrassed as he scratched his cheek shyly.
  “I…I guess I never thought that someone else has kinda gone through something similar to me…”
    Fei titled her head, glancing up to Pino, who seemed to be flustered and covering her face with her wings while chirping loudly.
   Rody noticed this and was quick to grab his bird, quietening her down and hiding her in his jacket, “A-anyways, should we ride some rides?”
   The Chinese girl was about to agree, but noticed that Zoe was coming their way. Rody sensed who Fei was looking at and without looking back, he grabbed Fei’s hand and made his way to the Ferris Wheel ride that was close by.
    Zoe slowed her walk as she watched the two disappear into the crowd that was going to line up for the ride, feeling her stomach fall.
   “What are you going to say to him?”
   The blonde jumped for a moment, turning her head to see that Luka was now at her side, looking at her curiously. Not accusatory as some of the people in this group have so far, but more of quiet observation. So it was kinda a relief for her.
    Biting her lower lip, Zoe looked away.
    “I just…I-I wanted to talk to him about everything. About us, how we parted ways so badly and a lot of other things.”
    The guitarist hummed, crossing his arms over his chest and leg over the other in a lackadaisy manner.
    “Your melody is pretty messed up.”
    When he saw the confused look on her face, he elaborated.
    “I kinda have this talent, see? I could feel one’s tune in their very person pretty well. But yours? It is…strange.“
     “I-In what way?” Zoe asked, now curious of the boy.
     Luka thought about it for a moment, before he then looked around as if searching for something. Once his eyes landed on what he needed, he soon walked over to a merchant’s booth, asking the owner something. The owner smiled, nodding their head and then pulling out what seems to be an acoustic guitar.
    Zoe tilted her head when he walked back to her, and saw that the boy was gesturing for her to sit on the bench that was close by. Once seated, Luka strummed his guitar a little, almost tuning it to perfection.
   “See, when I feel a melody of a person, it usually conveys someone’s emotions and what they’re feeling in the moment. An example…”
   He looked up, spotting Katsuki and Marinette lining up for some snacks. It seemed the two were playfully bantering with one another, and Luka had to smile. With this, he started strumming his guitar in a fast beat, bobbing his head up and down and tapping his foot in sync. Zoe’s eyes widened in surprise, then noticed that a crowd was starting to form around them, some couples even swaying with each other in an almost swing like dance.
  “See? The way that Katsuki and Marinette converse with each other is almost very…excitable,” Luka chuckled, seeing how Katsuki was exaggerating on his annoyance while Marinette teased him.
   Zoe looked at the duo, frowning, “They looked like they were arguing though?”
   “Nah, they were teasing each other. It may look like they hate each other, but that’s all in good fun. Like the melody I just played.” Luka shrugged, but then spotted someone else, “Oh, how about this tune?”
   Unlike his first music, he soon started playing a slow jam, almost as if it was made for some sort of waltz. Zoe raised a brow, looking at where Luka was looking at and saw that Shinso was leaning against a game stall while watching Rose trying to win a stuffed unicorn as her prize by throwing a ball at some pins. Juleka was coming their way as well, holding some snacks that she’s bought for them.
   “So, you can feel out people’s feelings and play it in a song?” Zoe concluded, but then frowned, “So why did you say that mine was strange? You can’t read my melody?”
   “It’s not that I couldn’t read your melody. It’s just that you won’t let anyone listen to it.” Luka stopped his music for a moment, then turned to look at Zoe, his eyes now serious, “What is there to hide, Zoe Lee?”
    The girl almost reeled back in surprise at the almost dark tone that Luka held in his voice, and his eyes staring at her is like staring into her very soul. And that caused her to get up and walk away quickly, Luka’s staring not letting up.
   “You’re a dangerous character, Luka Couffaine.”
   The blue haired musician chuckled, glancing over to Felix taking a seat where Zoe previously sat.
    “I could say that same about you, Fe. But what are your thoughts about Zoe?”
    Felix hummed, tapping his chin.
     “I don’t have much opinion on her, considering that I haven’t really engaged conversations with the girl. Actually, no one really has except for that Andy bloke.”
   Luka smiled, “He seems like a very social guy.”
    “A little too friendly of a socialite if I do say.” Felix countered, but the guitarist chuckled.
   “Are you suspicious of him?”
   “I’m surprised you aren’t.”
   Luka shrugged, “He’s harmless. I don’t consider him a danger to us, if that’s what you’re thinking?”
   Felix was quiet after that, but soon changed the subject, “Why are you not with your sister?”
   “Why are you not with Adrien?” Luka countered calmly, making Felix chuckle as well.
    “Adrien is a big boy, he could handle himself. He’s currently being dragged around by Nathaniel and Momo.”
   “The same with Juleka. I can trust her to take care of herself and besides, she’s with Hitoshi and Rose.”
   The British blond nodded his head, but then turned serious, “How are you feeling of having a Miraculous, Luka? Thoughts? Concerns?”
   “If you’re wondering how I’m adapting to becoming a hero, then I can honestly say that I am…a bit overwhelmed,” Luka replied with earnest, placing the guitar away for a moment when he felt Xuppu squirm under his jacket, “I don’t want to disappoint anyone. Especially Marinette.”
    “It seems you have a sort of fondness for her,” Felix observed, feeling Sass peeking out from his own breast pocket.
      Luka smiled, shaking his head.
     “Yes. But I do not want to burden her on my feelings. I know that our symphonies aren’t meant to sync together.”
   “You use a lot of music analogies, huh?”
    A shrug from Luka made Felix frown.
    “Although there is something that is bothering me.”
     Felix raised a brow, “What is it?”
    “Your melody. It is the same as Zoe’s. Lila’s too.”
     “Are you suggesting I’m hiding something?”
      Luka was once again silent, making Felix look at him in understanding.
   The two stayed quiet after that, just mostly watching their friends enjoy their time in the them park. The peace and quiet did not last, especially when there was a sound of something flying over them, and the two boys glanced up to see a large cart with a man riding on it coming their way.
   “I-Is it a bird?” Marinette’s voice sounded from nearby, Luka noticing that she and the rest of the gang were coming over to him and Felix.
    “Is it a plane?” Adrien chimed in as well, squinting his eyes at what was approaching.
    “Nah, that’s Hotdog Dan~” Andy appeared between the two, arms resting over their shoulders.
   They all watched the vendor machine land with a thud, a man dressed in a red shirt covered by his superhero bodysuit, that matched with his orange mask. He also had various cooking tools on his back and a black belt tied to his chest.
   “HEY HEY HEY! Hot-Dog Dan is here, so GET IN THE MOOD~! I'm the hero of picnics and tasty foods~!” The man bellowed in joy, taking out two spatulas and showing off some moves while making the hotdogs.
   In a flash, a crowd started to form around him, waving money and trying to reach out for the man’s hotdogs.
   “Hmm, usually he teams up with Ketchup Boy and Mustard Justice, buuuuut I suppose he really is patrolling solo tonight,” Liv pointed out with a grin, then looked to the Japanese and Parisian kids, “You should hurry if you wanna try one of his magic hot dogs~”
   “Ah, but money…” Marc pointed out, remembering that they never really exchanged their currencies just yet with Aizawa, Nighteye and Amelie, but he blinked when Chloe coughed.
  “Er, we have money~” She pointed towards a relaxed Todoroki, who was already holding out his wallet.
  “They’re not gonna accept cards, ya know.” Alix quirked a brow at the rich kids, but then blinked when suddenly Todorki approached Hotdog Dan, who immediately pulled out what seems to be a card-swiping machine, “Huh…guess you can.”
   “It shall be Endeavor’s treat.” Todoroki said with a small smirk, Hotdog Dan already prepping some hotdogs for them.
   “I-Isn’t your Dad, like, gonna get mad at ya for spending on us?” Nino asked warily, picking up a hotdog already sitting on the waiting line, then passing it on to the rest of them.
   “If he gets mad, I’m just gonna tell on him to Mom,” Todoroki pulled his phone out, “Chloe-san taught me how to place her on speed dial.”
   Marinette gave a look to Chloe, who gave a sharp smile cheekily.
   Once everyone had gotten their hotdogs, all of them took a bite to taste what was so magical about these treats. Nothing happened for a minute, but all of a sudden, Alix hiccuped and a burst of flames, shaping into a rainbow dragon flying around them. Marc’s skin turned fluorescent, almost looking like a glow stick with the shiny teal color, making Nathaniel and Alix laugh. It went on from Kirishima having superstrength like Rose, the two having a competition to who’s the strongest (Kirishima carrying a bench that seated Kagami, Lila and Holly while Rose carried a bench herself with one hand that held Izuku, Andy and Aster), to Sabrina having long hair like Rapunzel, hanging from a lamp post.
   When Rody and Fei took a bite of their food, however, they magically felt themselves being lifted off the ground. The two were floating higher and higher, Rody quickly grabbing Fei’s hand from flying far away from him like a balloon.
  “D-don’t be flying off like Mary Poppins now!” Rody joked, looking down and was amazed at seeing the sight below him, “Woah! I-I can’t believe I’m flying!”
   Pino chirped as she flew in between them, looking happy and so…free.
   Fei was glad that when she uses to Prodigious, she knew the feeling of flight pretty well and wasn’t too scared when they started floating like this.
  Marinette covered her mouth as she watched them, the magic of her having ice power diminished, “O-Oh! We should get them down!”
  “Ooooor, we can set the mood~” Izuku chirped, having wild flaming hair like Endeavor, and soon was pulling out his phone then moved towards Luka, “Hey, you mind playing this song?”
   Adrien peeked over Izuku’s shoulder, and blinked, “I…know this song?”
   Chloe also looked over, and snorted, “That’s the song I played during my birthday party last time!”
   “Romantic~” Rose cooed, then looked to Juleka and Shinso, “Right?”
   The two nodded, smiling at Rose before glancing at each other.
   Luka looked at the song Izuku was showing, smiling and nodding his head before sitting down on a bench, grabbing the guitar and started to strum. Once he got a melody down, he started playing the song, looking up at the sky to where Rody and Fei still were. At least they weren’t flying into the clouds and still seeable.
  Rody heard the music from down below, glancing down to see people pairing up to dance to the song. He raised a brow, spotting various pairs like Lila keeping real close to Izuku (who was looking sheepish but lead the dance anyways) to Marc just being passed around dancing partners from Alix, to Adrien and even to Felix of all people.
  “Seems like everyone’s having fun,” Fei hummed, also watching her friends having a good time, not noticing Rody staring at her.
   “Did you…wanna dance too?”
    Fei looked up for a moment, then blinked when Rody offered his hand to her with a smile.
    “Do you even know how to dance?” Fei asked teasingly, but took the hand as Rody ushered her close, his other hand going above her hip while he felt her hand onto his shoulder, “You don’t seem the type.”
   “Well, looks like you’re gonna see my skills right now then~” The brunet winked cheekily, before he soon let his body sway, leading the dance slowly to match with the tune.
   Fei couldn’t help but look amused, seeing how Rody was trying to be suave even though she saw Pino looking in deep concentration and somewhat nervous. She knew that Pino was Rody’s true feelings, but she didn’t mind.
    And so, she leaned her head onto his shoulder as they danced, missing how Rody almost went rigid while his cheeks turned bright red. Pino was trying to lower her loud chirping down by covering her beak with her wings, just as embarrassed as her owner was feeling. Rody looked at the top of Fei’s head in question, but he soon relaxed, pressing his cheek against her hair while closing his eyes and letting the music take them as they danced in the sky.
    Below them, Zoe watched them with a sad look in her eyes, her heart breaking the longer she stared at Rody dancing with that girl. No one even noticed her slipping away, walking down to where the boats were and went alone back to the city.
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   “On this tour, you shall behave yourselves. Unlike last night, you’re gonna be kept under watch at all time. From now on, you’re gonna stay close and not sneak around without permission. Got me?”
     Aizawa stared at the teens before him with his angry glowing red eyes, arms folded and standing tall as if intimidating them. The teens looked sheepish, and even looked to Amelie for help, but she just shrugged and smiled in sympathy for them.
   Apparently after their night tour, they noticed Zoe was gone and soon were heading back to the city to look for her. Only to find out that the Heroez United had found them first and Zoe was with them. Andy, Liv, Mike, Holly and Aster had left as soon as All Might and them came into the picture, not wanting to be caught by the adults. The rest of the kids were grounded into their hotel rooms for the rest of their night.
    And so, today they were having a museum tour with Dean Gate, also known as the hero; Door Man.
    Jess, who was out of her hero persona for the day, had joined Aeon and Tokoyami together with Andy, Liv, Mike, Holly and Aster; the American teens trailing behind the tour group idly. But Jess also noticed that Zoe was here today as well.
   ‘Didn’t think the girl would go back alone last night and rat them out like that. She really isn’t liked at the moment.’ The Native American girl thought, noticing how the teens were not too happy with Zoe being here after tattling on them.
   Aizawa sighed, his hair soon flowing back down to his shoulders and eyes returned to normal. He turned to Dean Gate, who looked amused.
   “I leave it up to you now.”
   “Thanks Eraserhead~ So good to have some young fresh faces to share some history of New York and the background that made this country~” The glass eyed man chuckled, glancing over the kids and nodding his head, “Follow me~”
  Dean Gate lead them inside of the museum, starting off some fun facts about the founding fathers and even giving some small pop quizzes to those that were interested.
   Rody was about to follow after Fei when he felt a hand grab onto his. He looked over, and his smile turned into an annoyed frown when he saw it was Zoe.
   “Rody, please talk to me.” She begged, keeping her grip when Rody tried to shrug her off, “I’m not going to stop until we talk this out!”
   “Talk about what?! How you hurt me and messed up my whole family life?!” Rody hissed, wishing the others could turn their heads to notice them, “And there’s nothing to talk about. I don’t wanna interact with you as much as possible!”
   “Please.”
   Rody stopped his struggle and sighed, closing his eyes before looking around. He soon spotted an open door that led to another part of the museum, then turned to Zoe.
   “Fine. Let’s talk.”
    He soon led her into the room, not aware that Jess was watching them.
   “Hey,” She nudged Aeon, nodding her head to where Rody and Zoe disappeared off to, “Let’s go after them.”
    The African American girl looked perplexed, before giving a stern yet amused look to Jess.
    “…For someone who told me not to meddle on other people’s private lives, you seem really invested this time around?”
    Jess grinned saucily, “I smell drama~ And I’m gonna watch the drama unfold. LIVE~”
     Tokoyami heard the girls’ conversations, and looked at Jess disapprovingly.
     “We should not eavesdrop on people’s serious conversations to one another. It might be something we should not be listening on.”
   “Take a chill pill, Fumi~! This is why Hawks calls ya a chicken~” Jess teased, making chicken sounds while making her arms flap like chicken wings, which irked the bird headed hero quite a bit.
   Aeon giggled, but then turned serious, “Fumikage is right though, Jess. What if we heard something we are not supposed to hear?”
   “Then we keep the secrets to the grave~ As long as we don’t get caught~”
   Felix and Alix were in front of them, hearing everything before they turned towards the three.
   “Are you guys going to bother them?” The British blond asked, giving an ‘are you serious?’ look to especially Jess, who gave an innocent look that didn’t fool him for one bit.
   “You seriously wanna hear the FASCINATING story of Dean Gate’s love for the doors of the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower?” Jess asked, before she then smirked, “Besides~ don’t you wanna get a bit of vengeance towards that girl that got you all in trouble last night?”
   This perked Alix up as she smiled, “Like a prank?”
   Jess nodded, “Like a prank~”
   Felix sighed, but then shrugged, “…Fine. I mean it beats being bored to death.”
   “Someone say prank~?” Andy suddenly appeared beside Jess, waggling his brows, “Dude I live for pranks! Who are we pranking?”
   “Oh no, we’re lucky enough to be allowed on this tour after last night, you wanna cause more trouble?” Mike asked, while Liv agreed with him.
   “What are you guys up to?” Nino had popped up as well, followed by Kirishima and Kagami, “I heard something about a prank?”
   Tokoyami sighed, “I advise not to—“
   “Thought we’d teach Zoe Lee a lesson about being a snitch on ya guys~ She’s in another room with that Rody guy,” Jess interrupted, giving a cheeky smile, “Ya guys in?”
   Kirishima frowned, “Er, it’s not manly to play jokes on someone—“
   “Beats going around seeing ancient old stuff,” Kagami tugged at Kirishima’s hand, “What are we doing, anyways?”
   Jess smirked, liking Kagami already, “Alright~ Here’s the plan~”
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  “Alright, you have me. Now what?”
    Zoe pursed her lips, almost irritated at the blasé attitude Rody was giving off to her, but decided it was better than blatantly ignoring her.
    She sighed tiredly, rubbing her arm awkwardly.
   “We haven’t seen each other in a long time, why are you being so cold to me?”
    Rody had to grab Pino from his shoulder, the bird squeaking angrily and the brunet hid her inside of his jacket.
   “Are you seriously asking me that question?”
    The blonde sighed, “Are you still angry about us fighting four years ago?”
   “Then you’re not as dumb as I thought.”
    Zoe groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
   “Oh my gosh, Rody! Can’t we just forget the past and start over? What happened years ago…that was so long, I barely remember what we were fighting about.”
   Rody blinked slowly, then let out a huff of air in disbelief, “You…you don’t remember?”
   Zoe frowned, “I don’t…think I did anything to warrant this behaviour?”
   Rody chuckled, placing a hand over his eyes as he gave a snide grin, “Of course you wouldn’t. You still haven’t changed.”
   “What’s that supposed to mean?” The blonde asked, offended.
     Rody paused, now glancing over at his supposed old friend, then snorted.
    “Right…because Zoe Lee could never do no wrong, right? She’s Mr. Plastic’s daughter, a model student that knows heroes and has done many great things~”
      A gasp left the girl, staring at him before she huffed, “Rody—“
    “You can’t just expect me to just act like nothing happened four years ago! And don’t expect me to just erase all the feeling of hurt and trauma you caused, and pretend to be friends again,” Rody argued, his voice growing louder as he faced her properly, “Did you really think that you didn’t betray my trust back then?! That you stabbed me right in the back and calling me a liar?! You set your precious heroic dad on me for crimes my family didn’t commit! And most of all, you let Lila in your head and change you to this ugly person inside! You’ve become so horrible, that I bet after Lila abandoned you, no one wanted to be your friend because of all your lies!”
     As he kept talking, Zoe was moving back away from him, almost being cornered to a wall by the boy who continued on his tirade of everything he kept inside.
   “And let me guess? You don’t want anyone to know what I know. Let “bygones by bygones” because “what happened years ago was just us being kids“ am I right?!”
   “R-rody…you’re scaring me….”
    Rody snapped as he slammed a fist on the wall, almost near her head.
    “That’s exactly what Lila tried on me before she showed her true colours.“
    Zoe paled, staring at him incredulously while Rody stared back with contempt in his eyes, hovering over her.
   “Go on then. Show me your true colours.”
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   Jess frowned when she peaked at the scanner on her sister’s wristwatch, showing the floating holo-screen of the CCTV inside the room they’ve hacked in.
   “What are they doing?” She asked, watching how Rody was yelling out at the blonde, now crying and shaking.
   Aeon, Tokoyami, Alix, Felix, Andy, Liv, Mike, Nino, Kirishima and Kagami were watching as well, confused looks on their faces. It was a shame there was no sound provided in the room.
  “I am not sure,” Aeon answered, her eyes glowing for a moment as she stared into the wall, “But my scanners show me that their stress levels are high enough to engage into the prank’s first stage.“
   “Okay, good. Let’s do this thing!” Jess grinned bringing out what seem to be silver boomerangs in the shape of birds.
 “What are those?” Alix asked, while the Native American girl winked.
  “Toys to help the prank move along~”
   Soon, the girl threw it near the switch that was in the other side of the room Rody and Zoe were in. Once it hit the switch, the lights turned off, and the doors automatically shut. Rody’s eyes widened as he looked around in the darkness, stopping his words and turned to the door. Both he and Zoe rushed towards it, banging and trying to get it open.
   “Er… t-they seemed scared, guys.” Nino murmured worriedly, still watching Aeon’s screen from her watch.
   “I told ya, we need them scared for this plan to work. That’s when we’ll go into phase two and get them squealing in no time~” Jess explained, tapping at Aeon’s shoulder with a nod of her head, “Aeon, your turn.”
   Aeon saluted happily, her forehead glowing as an eye appeared in the middle of it.
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  “What the heck is with this door?!” Rody murmured, trying to kick at it while Pino was slamming her tiny body onto it with Zoe also trying to push at it with her shoulder.
  “I-I don’t know! How should I know?” Zoe grumbled, feeling exasperated and fearful at the same time.
   Rody turned to almost yell at her, but then heard Pino let out a scared, high pitched squeal as she pointed at something behind them. The two teens turned, looking back and eyes widening at seeing a shadowy monster like figure appear, raising it’s hook like hand while staring at them with bright white glowing eyes and mouth.
   “I am Solitude~ I am here to take captive of those loved by no one~”
    Rody stared for a moment, squinting his eyes before his ear drums burst at the sound of Zoe screaming bloody murder, slamming herself onto the door more desperately.
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  “My god, she looks like she actually pee on herself!” Alix snickered for a moment, Jess and Andy joining her while the others looked unamused.
   “Is…this really how friends prank one another?” Kagami asked slowly, arms folded and watching the screen as the “hologram” Aeon programmed going towards them.
    “No. This is just straight up being mean,” Liv said disapprovingly, looking at her brother with a frown.
   “Guys, this isn’t funny anymore. Let’s just let them out now—“
   “What are you guys doing?!”
     Kirishima’s words were interrupted with Marinette standing there with a disappointed Adrien, a curious Izuku, a bored Bakugo and both Holly and Aster following behind them.
   “N-Nette!” Nino stood up immediately along with Mike and Tokoyami looking guilty, while the rest of them were still kneeling on the floor around Aeon, “We can explain—“
   “These guys wanted to prank Zoe Lee,” Felix said bluntly, shrugging his shoulders when everyone looked at him, “What? Was that supposed to be a secret?”
  “A prank?” Adrien repeated, looking appalled, “What for?”
   Holly gasped, looking at Aeon’s screen, “What….?”
   Marinette raised a brow, then looked the screen before her and gasped.
   “You call this a prank!? That poor girl looks like she’s gonna go into cardiac arrest!”
   “Aw lighten up, it’s only for a bit of fun,~ Jess assured the girl, shrugging, “Besides, wasn’t this the same girl that stabbed ya guys in the back yesterday for telling the adults of you all sneaking off?”
   “She has a point. Kinda wanted to get back at her for that,” Alix said honestly, while Izuku shook his head.
   “They don’t look like they’re laughing though?” Aster pointed out, seeing Rody trying to calm Zoe down, who was sobbing hard and yelling that she wanted to go home.
   Alix started to look guilty now,  tilting her head down with her cap, “…Aw geez…”
   Andy scratched the back of his head, “I think we’ve gone too far…”
   “Unlock the door and let them out,” Marinette demanded, tapping her foot like a scolding mother with her hands on her hips.
    Aeon was about to do so, but then the lights turned off above them, the power instantly going out.
    Marinette didn’t look amused, “Another one of your pranks?”
  “This is not my doing.” Aeon said with fright now, all the teens now on high alert.
   This caused her illusion of Solitude to vanish, making Rody and Zoe confused.
   Bakugo and Izuku instantly were on guard, looking around while the rest of them were wondering what was going on. Thumping noises were heard from inside the room where Rody and Zoe were in, catching everyone’s attention.
   “Break down the door!” Marinette shoulder, already touching at her earrings that she’s gotten back from Bakugo, “NOW!”
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   Rody heard the thumping sounds, looking up at the ceiling before he turned to Zoe and pushed her back. The two managed to move out the way when the ceiling suddenly collapsed, debris falling around them.
    At the opening of the ceiling, there was a strange man, jumping into the room and landing with a loud thud. The man had a mohawk of light cerulean hair and matching eyebrows, and his sclera are dark cornflower blue with light cyan irises. His body was a moderate sapphire blue with light cerulean circuit board patterns and accents running across him. He was dressed in an azureish white bodysuit, and from the center of his lower back extend four long mechanical arms with blue accents. At the end of each arm are two sets of four sharp claws. He seemed to be wearing some sort of cuffs with the number 239 on his chest.
    Bellowing a laugh to himself, the monster was reaching his long extended claw arms to some canons on display nearby, and once they touched it, the claws turned into canons as well.
   Rody squinted his eyes, tilting his head, “He…looks familiar.”
   “He looks like Techno Pirate. But different.”
    Rody looked at Zoe strangely, before she sighed.
   “He’s a super villain? Enemy to the United Heroez?”
   “Don’t know him, don’t care.” Rody stood up, grabbing for Zoe, ”But we should get out of here!”
   Suddenly, another explosion happened right beside them, readied teen heroes crashing into the room.
    Sparrow was the first to yelp in surprise, “Techno Pirate?! He escaped?!”
    Uncanny Valley’s eyes started to glow, staring at the villain for a moment before frowning.
   Tokoyami noticed, “What is wrong?”
    “He seems more powerful, but I can’t read him fully as if…” She gasped, looking to the bird headed hero now with wide eyes, “Magic is interfering with my scanning tool!”
    “Then that’s our cue~” Ladybug shouted, already throwing her yo-yo to stop the villain in his tracks, “Dyna-Cat! Use your power!”
   “DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!” The cat user yelled, jumping into the fray to reach his hand out to use his ability, but was grabbed around the waist by the villain’s mechanical arm, and was thrown into the wall.
   “I do not have time to deal with you kids! I, Techlonizer, am here for one thing only!”
   Rody was looking where the man was looking at, and soon realised he was looking at the display that was right next to him. Inside seemed to be a sword of some kind along with a suit and…a necklace?
   “RODY, DUCK!” Deku yelled, already pulling Zoe out of the way and trying to reach out for the brunet.
   The three of them moved out of the way in time as Techlonizer shot his canon at the display case, shattering the glass around it.
    Dragon Knight jumped in front of it along with Feathertop, the two soon charging at the villain with their weapons. Sparrow, Rockershella and Onagadori assisted them, despite being knocked around by the man’s metal arms, making it impossible for them to get close.
   “He’s gotta be Akumatized right?” Trickster Tails asked, watching Neim and Pixie Girl distract the villain while the Ghost Force tried to stop the waving mechanical arms trying to hit them.
   Ladybug pursed her lips, looking at her yo-yo and debating to use her Lucky Charm.
  “Hey! I thought your thing was modern technology?” Sparrow’s voice sounded mocking to Techlonizer, ducking away from the hit from the canons while Uncanny Valley flew over the man.
     “What do you plan to use the Saber for? Maybe an antennae?” The robotic girl tried to say as well, watching how Techlonizer grabbed for the sword from the broken display case with one of his arms.
  Tokoyami was about to use Dark Shadow to ambush the now distracted Techlonizer, but something caught his eye. Raising a brow, he soon picked it up and saw it was a talon pendant. He didn’t know why, but he felt inclined to keep it. Thus, he pocketed it inside his cape.
   “Someone call Doorman and Eraserhead! Tell them to evacuate everyone out of the building and bring the rest of the team here!” Deku yelled, trying to Techlonizer outside of the museum rather than destroy the inside of it more.
   “I’ll go!” Krush yelled, the blue ghost hero soon flying off while his teammates helped the team out.
   Out of nowhere, a yelp was heard and Uncanny was caught by one of Techlonizer’s claws, grabbing her ankle and pulling her towards him. The robotic like heroine struggled against his hold, suddenly wires were coming off of the claws and attaching to her metallic armoury as if—
   “It’s sucking the tech off of her!” Sparrow yelled, trying to get to Uncanny but was easily knocked away by a canon, Sparrow’s body hitting the wall hard.
   “YOUR POWERS WILL BE MINE!” Techlonizer cackled, soon throwing  Uncanny Valley towards the other heroes, knocking them over.
   “LUCKY CHARM!” Ladybug yelled, throwing her yo-yo in the air and letting her magical ladybugs create her object to stop the villain.
   However, color her surprised that a spotted bicycle pump fell into her hands instead.
   “What are you going to do with that?” Dragon Knight asked, the dragon hero raising a brow when he landed next to her.
   Izuku paused, looking over for a moment as his eyes gleamed for a second. Almost as if he was using his own intuition right there like how the other Miraculous users do.
   “Ladybug—“
   Techlonizer cackled once more, suddenly glowing purple eyes appeared around his body.
   “NOBODY ESCAPES MY SIGHTS~”
    Uncanny was helped up by Tokoyami, and the girl was about to use her own lasers while Rockershella used his shield to cover them, but realised she couldn’t.
   “W-what?” She touched her forehead, not feeling her laser eye and gasped.
   “Uncanny-san—“ The bird hero pulled her close, using Dark Shadow to deflect the lasers away from them, “Stay low for now.”
   “Why the hell is one guy too strong for all of us?!” Feathertop yelled, avoiding being swatted away by the metal arms while both Onagadori and Dyna-cat tried to hold him down.
   “It’s over Techno-Pirate! We’ve got you and there’s no where to run!” Sparrow yelled, the other heroes gathering around the villain.
    “Did anyone call the United Heroez?” Neim asked.
    A chuckle came from the villain, shaking his head.
   “Why run~? When I can take my revenge on the United Heroez by destroying their beloved kid heroes~?”
   The metal arms started moving again, everyone trying to avoid the hits and the firing of the canons.
    “Doorman and Eraserhead should be—“
    The Sorcerer was interrupted by a frustrated Dyna-Cat.
   “ARGH! SCREW THIS! CATACLYSM!”
    Deku’s eyes widened, rushing to stop him.
   “DNYA-CAT, NO!”
    Techlonizer smirked, grabbing the wrist of the Cat Hero, throwing him to where Zoe was standing. Zoe’s eyes widened, and so were everyone else’s as they watched in horror of a panicked Dyna-Cat heading towards her.
   “ZOE!”
   Rody suddenly pushed the blonde out of the way, feeling Dyna-Cat’s palm make a connection to his arm, making him yell out in agony. Ladybug felt herself almost faint at the sight of Rody’s arm starting to blacken, slowly turning into ashes as the Cataclysm travelled up to Rody’s shoulder and almost half of his body.
    Deku felt his head spin. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
   Techlonizer grinned, seeing the teen heroes frozen, and knowing this was his chance to escape—
   “NOOOOOOO!”
    A girl’s screaming turned into a dragon’s loud roar, Lady Dragon charging her way in like it was a bloody warpath, grabbing the villain by her teeth and soaring up the ceiling.
   Rody crumbled to the ground, slowly feeling his body collapse in on himself while slowly turning into ashes.
   “R-Rody!”
   Deku slid to his side, Zoe snapping out of her shock and rushing to his side as well.
   The green haired hero looked up at Ladybug and shouted to get her attention.
    “USE THE SPELL!”
    Snapping out of her daze, Ladybug was quick to use Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage, including getting Rody back to normal. But that didn’t stop Rody gasping for air, screaming out and his body went into shock, convulsing and limbs flailing.
  “He’s having a seizure!” Neim yelled, already rushing forward, “We must get an ambulance!”
  “Kids! Over here!” Doorman yelled, rushing in with Eraserhead and Amelie as the man soon slammed the door and opened it again to create a portal, “This will take your back to the hotel! The others are there, hurry!”
   “But—“
   “We’ll get the villain. Right now, you listen to the adults and go. Now.” Eraserhead sternly told Ladybug, his eyes glowing red and adjusting his goggles.
   Ladybug wanted to protest some more, but knew that Rody needed the hospital now. Nodding her head, she soon rushed with her team into the portal, trusting the adults to handle things for now.
   Amelie was activating her wristband, already having her laser set and placed her own goggles over her eyes, “You think that Hawkmoth is back?”
   “Doubt it. Someone else is pulling the reigns here,” Eraserhead murmured as he felt Deku pass him, being the last kid to rush into Doorman’s portal.
   Doorman closed the door once all the kids were gone and stepped with the two, “So let’s get that villain back before that girl kills him.”
   Eraserhead mentally agreed, soon the three racing to catch up with Lady Dragon, not even realising that a shadowy figure with a butterfly on their shoulder was watching them carefully. Although they vanished with an annoyed huff, noticing that the true object they was looking for was gone.
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   Deku skidded to a halt as he looked around the lobby of the hotel, noticing all the Miraculous heroes he was with (including the Ghost Force, Pixie Girl and the Sorcerer), were powered down and now surrounding a choked up Rody.
   Nino was seen at the side talking to the lady at the front desk while Adrien was dialling for an ambulance, probably being told they were on the way.
   “Rody, oh god, you saved me!” Zoe sobbed over the shaking boy, placing her hands over her face, “I-I can’t believe it—“
   “Move it! Give him some space!” Chloe yelled, shoving her sister away while Todoroki assisted Aster from Rody’s spasms.
  Luckily, Hitoshi seemed to be knowledgable into paramedic procedures, and was mostly the one using his quirk to stop Rody’s panicked induced flailing and place him to sleep.
   With that, everyone relaxed. Well, except for Marinette.
    Sabrina and Rose were comforting here as she seemed to be having a silent panic attack herself, tears in her eyes and looking like she wanted to be sick.
   Bakugo wasn’t looking too good as well, considering he was sitting in a corner by himself, hands over his head.
   Deku pursed his lips, approaching his childhood friend.
  “Kacchan…I—”
  “Don’t.”
  “B-But—“
   “I don’t want to talk to anyone at the moment. Especially to you. Leave me the hell alone for one god damn second.”
    The green haired boy backed up with a gulp, nodding his head in understanding and stepping away from his sullen friend.  
    Alix walked over to Izuku, touching his arm, “You okay?”
   Izuku shook his head, “W-we almost got someone killed. I…I should’ve seen this coming but I didn’t…”
   The skater girl didn’t know what to say to that, just opting to keep quiet for now.
   Adrien was glad that the paramedics came on time, already taking Rody away and heading to the hospital. He paused, looking towards a slumped Marinette on the lobby sofas by herself (since it seemed she wanted to be left alone), and went to sit next to her.
   “Bug? You okay?” He asked, Marinette looking up at him with sorrowful eyes, “Oh Marinette…”
  “I…I never thought I…I-I was so scared we might’ve gotten someone killed, Adrien!”
   Adrien pulled her close, hushing her, “W-well I never expected anyone to be Cataclysm’d like that. That’s never happened before. But at least you’ve healed him with your spell.”
   “Actually, there are multiple universes where someone had been Cataclysm’d.”
   The two looked to Deku and Shinso approaching them, the green haired male looking forlorn while Shinso looked miffed.
   “There were a few that Adrien himself got Cataclysm’d. Some others were you, or Hawkmoth or…” Izuku glanced over at Aeon, who was being looked over by Jess and Tokoyami.
   Shinso sighed, “This is why I didn’t want Bakugo to be the Cat Holder. He’s too reckless.”
   “This I can agree on,” Adrien nodded, frowning, “Why do I still have the Dragon Miraculous when I could just be Cat Walker again? Why can’t all of us get back our Miraculous anyway?”
   Izuku sighed, “It is complicated to explain it all right now. But it is necessary.”
   Marinette wasn’t surprised with the boy hiding stuff from them anymore.
   “There’s still one thing though.”
    The boys looked to Marinette for a moment, as Marinette squeaked in between silent sobs again.
   “S-since I did my spell without de-akumatizing that villain…that man is still running around…a-and it’s my fault.”
   “That’s not your fault, Bug.” Adrien shook his head, while Izuku and Shinso were silent.
   An hour later, the doors of the hotel opened, revealing a tired looking Aizawa and Amelie escorting an angry looking Fei. She looked worse for wear, especially when she was covered in dark substance on her clothes, hair and face.
  “W-what happened?” Momo asked, aghast at her friend’s appearance, who seemed to be in her thoughts with how quiet she was.
   “The villain escaped. But not unscathed, might I add.” Aizawa glanced at Fei, raising a brow, “You’re lucky he was made from the magic from the Akuma and that armour of his. Otherwise he’d be dead by your claws and teeth with how many animals you’ve transformed into.”
   “He got away because of you intervening.” Fei grumbled.
    Aizawa closed his eyes.
   “He could’ve been killed. And I’m not about to have a young child be prisoned for manslaughter. What would Nighteye think?”
   “Enough.” Amelie got in between them, then spotted Master Fu coming their way, “Perhaps with everything going on, we should proceed quicker going to Japan. All Might and Victory are already preparing for departure via Doorman.”
   “W-what about Rody?” Marinette breathed out, while Rose, Juleka and Alix were escorting Fei into their room to get her cleaned up.
    “Once the doctor gives us the verdict of Rody’s condition, we shall bring him straight to the U.A. Dorms and let him recover with Recovery Girl,” Aizawa explained, but shook his head, “Meanwhile, I should alert Majestia, Knight Owl and the rest that Techlonizer is still at large.”
   “But we can help—“ Adrien breathed out, but was surprised when Amelie shook her head, “Mom—“
   “Adrien, sweetie. We almost lost one of you today. What if Ladybug’s spell did not work and Rody had disappeared?”
    The blond shut up after that, his eyes troubled at the thought.
    “This is not open for discussion. You kids are going to U.A. immediately while the adults stay behind to fix this mess.”
   “YOU can’t capture an Akuma without me.” Marinette argued, narrowing her eyes up at Aizawa, who glared back.
    Master Fu interrupted this time, “My friend, Marinette is correct. Therefore, why not let only a few heroes stay. The rest can leave.”
    “No.”
    Chloe stepped forward with Todoroki.
    “We’re not leaving.” The fire and ice quirked hero said along with the blonde, the other teens listening in.
    Nino nodded in agreement, also appearing by their side.
   “That’s right! We’re a team! And if one has to fight, we all are fighting!”
    Adrien smiled at them, but then glanced at Amelie, who was looking worried.
   “Mom?”
    Felix slid up next to Amelie as well, touching her hand.
   “I know that it would not be right to leave anyone behind when there is a villain on the loose. And it is our job as heroes to take them down, correct?”
   Amelie looked like she wanted to agree with them, but then shook her head.
   “I’m sorry, children.”
   Master Fu hummed, closing his eyes, “Then, I shall take responsibility. For at least just Ladybug and a Cat hero. They are needed to capture and purify the Akuma.”
   Aizawa and Amelie looked at each other, the erasure quirked hero then sighed.
   “Fine.”
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   Once Fei was cleaned up, Rose, Juleka and Alix sat on their beds while watching the Chinese girl pace up and down the room. They knew that Fei was worried about Rody, and so were they. Especially with what almost happened.
   “I have to see Rody and make sure he is okay. I don’t feel right leaving him alone.” Fei murmured, looking at the Renlings floating above her friends with equally worried looks, “I’m going back for him.”
  “Woah, woah! W-wait, hold on a minute. Are you telling me we’re sneaking out? Again?” Alix breathed out, before grinning, “Because I am in!”
    “W-what? Sneaking out?” Rose looked worried, feeling Fluff nuzzling into her hair, “D-do you think we really should?”
   Juleka looked thoughtful for a moment, Mullo resting on her lap, and the usually quiet girl nodded her head, “We don’t abandon our own.”
   Rose looked at the girl carefully, before smiling brightly, nodding her head.
    “You’re right, Jules! He’s our friend, and we should go to him. O-Or at least see if he’s okay.”
    Fei smiled at her roommates and friends, but then her smile fell.
    “Oh, b-but I do not know which hospital he is in.”
    “Oh, no problem! I got that covered,” Alix brought her phone up, and soon started texting quickly, “I’ll ask Adrien where the ambulance took him and we’ll go from there.”
   Juleka murmured something worriedly, while Rose agreed.
   “Juleka has a point. What should we do if we’re caught sneaking out by Monsieur Aizawa or Madame Amelie?” The blonde asked, tapping her chin.
   “Or worse, if the others find out and want to come with us.” Fei added, while the three girls looked at her.
    “You don’t want the others to know?” Rose asked.
    Fei shook her head, “Better to have small numbers checking up on Rody rather than all of us. Don’t want to get everyone in trouble again.”
   “That’s a good point,” Alix soon felt her phone ping, and smiled, “Adrien gave us the hospital name. Now we just have to Moogle Map it and we’ll head out.”
    “But how will we sneak out?” Rose asked, raising a hand up.
     Fei and Alix looked each other for a moment, then grinned simultaneously.
     “We might have something in mind. Just follow our lead~”
    Juleka and Rose confusingly looked at Alix, then looked to Fei to see if she knew what she was talking about. Only to be even more concerned when Fei just winked.
    A knock on the door sounded, the four girls jumped and suddenly quietened down. Alix got up, peeking in the peep hole to check see who was on the other side. Sighing, she opened the door to reveal Adrien and Shinso.
   “Just wanted to check up on you guys. Everyone else went back into their rooms,” Adrien explained, the blond glancing over at Fei, “I-Is everyone okay?”
   “We’re okay for the most part,” Rose said honestly, smiling softly when Shinso came over and sat next to her, “What about you boys?”
   “Kinda reeling about what happened today. Especially with Rody.” Adrien replied, although he glanced at Alix and Fei, before looking back at Rose, “Alix mentioned she wanted to know where Rody’s hospital is. Is there something we should know about?”
  “Just wanted to make sure where if we’re gonna see him sometime eh? Especially since the adults and Fei are worried about him,” Alix said easily, although Shinso had to narrow his eyes at her.
   “You sure?”
    Alix stared at him, raising a brow, “Ya got something to say?”
    Shinso returned the gaze blankly, and soon glanced at both Rose and Juleka. He quirked a brow at them silently, Rose giving a cute smile while Juleka gave a single nod.
    He sighed, raising his hands up as he leaned back, “Then, I won’t say anything more.”
    Adrien narrowed his eyes at the both of them for a moment, but then blinked when Shinso stood up, kissing Rose’s cheek and then patted Juleka’s head affectionately. The purple haired male then grabbed the back of Adrien’s collar as he walked past him, already heading out the door.
   Once they were gone, both Alix and Fei looked to Rose.
   “Okay, he let that go way too easy.” Alix murmured, while Rose giggled softly.
   “He knows to trust us with what we need to do.”
   Fei tilted her head, “He trusts you a lot, doesn’t he?”
   “He trusts both of us,” Rose gestured to herself and Juleka, who smiled weakly.
   “Great! So we go with the plan! We find Rody!” Alix said quietly, already hearing Aizawa down the hall and knocking on doors, yelling out that it was lights out.
  The four girls soon got into their beds, knowing that the door was going to open and Amelie was going to check on them. And it happened, the blonde woman peeking in after knocking and announcing herself, checking over the beds to see if they were asleep in bed. All four girls pretended to sleep, but soon sat up once Amelie was gone and locked the door.
   “It’s a good thing that we have our Miraculous in hand,” Alix breathed out, already fiddling with her necklace and grinned, feeling Trixx appearing before her, “Alrighty my foxy friend~ Time to get to work.”
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    Silver grey eyes fluttered open slightly, a groan escaping the other as he stretched his body some. Rody blinked his eyes to clear his vision slightly, knowing his head spinning to the point of nausea.
     ‘W-where am I…?’ The brunet thought while he touched the back of his head, blinking as he realised that his hair tie was removed, along with his headband and sunglasses.
    He relaxed when he heard the familiar chirping sounded above his head with the frantic flapping of wings, Rody spotting Pino with a small smile and held his hand out.
   “Hey there, girl. You doing okay?” Rody hummed, feeling Pino landing on his palm and nuzzling into his hand in relief, “I’m okay. Question now is, where is everyone?”
   The boy took this time to look around, wondering exactly where they were and why it seemed so…quiet.
   He didn’t like it at all.
   “Looks like we’re in some sort of hospital. If that’s the case, there should be noises like nurses running up and down the hall and intercom announcements…” Rody murmured to himself, Pino landing on his shoulder while the boy was getting off the bed.
   He hobbled towards a mirror, noticing that he was still in his normal clothes, just that his jacket was missing. If he was in a real hospital, he would’ve been at least in some sort of hospital gown. But no.
    As he was starting to remember what happened to him before he passed out, he had to lift his sleeve up to peek at his arm, horrified at seeing that the skin almost blacken like coal. Almost in the shape of a gloved hand pressed where Dyna-Cat aimed at. This didn’t look good.
   Taking a glance at the door once the shock worn off, he soon walked towards it, opening the door to peek outside. As he suspected, there was no sign of life and the hallways of this so called hospital was dark. Grabbing his jacket and placing his shoes along with everything else back on, Rody stepped into the hallway, noticing how cold it was. It was a good thing that Rody had good sight even in the dark. But he was even more surprised that somehow his sight was more night vision like than normal. Which, to be fair, wasn’t normal at all.
   A meowing sound was heard near his feet, and Rody almost jumped while looking down to see what made that noise, perplexed on seeing a cute black kitten with bright glowing green eyes.
    Wait, glowing?
   “Er, w-where did you come from little one?”
   Rody crouched down to the kitten, who tilted it’s tiny head to the side while looking curiously up at him. The brunet smiled as he was about to reach to touch the creature, but then paused as it started meowing at him again. As he listened to it, his eyes widen in realisation. He was silent for a moment as the cat continued to stare, and the boy finally spoke.
  “I…can understand you? How?” Rody looked to Pino, surprised when the bird was flying to land in front of the kitten, chirping to the creature as the kitten meowed back to her.
   Before Rody could question anything, he heard a thump sounding somewhere down the hall, making him and his companions freeze. Gently picking up the kitten, he soon placed them gently into the inside of his jacket pocket, while Pino hid herself on top of his head. Walking down the hallways quietly, Rody made sure to not let his footsteps be noticeable if there was actually someone on this floor of…well, wherever he was.
    He heard another thump again, and then another one after a few seconds almost as if something was banging itself on a hard surface. Maybe it was someone that was trapped inside a room?
  This caused Rody to check where the sound was coming from, the sound growing louder as he was nearing to the door that was right next to an elevator. Usually, Rody was a cautious kind of person, always someone that thought before acting out on anything. But somehow he just ended up reaching for the doorhandles and jiggle it, noticing it was locked.
   “Huh…wonder why this one is locked…?” Rody hummed, tapping his chin as he heard meowing once more from his pocket.
  The little one was poking it’s tiny head out, trying to claw their way up to Rody’s shoulder. Helping the little thing out, he rested the creature onto his shoulder, glad that it’s claws could hang onto the fabric of his coat.
    “Should I kick the door down?” Rody said out loud, hearing the thumping suddenly stop.
    The kitten purred at him, and Rody snorted.
   “Ya know,” He murmured, as he touched the door in front of him, “This would be so much easier if I did what that Cat Guy did to me…—“
    “Is someone out there?”
    A gruff voice was heard from the other side of the door.
    Rody almost jumped back in surprise at the voice, but then was leaning into the door and called out, “U-Um! Are you okay in there?”
   “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
    The voice sounded like a male and was wary, as if suspicious of Rody. Not that the boy could blame him anyways.
    “D-do you need help? Lemme get this door open…” Rody was reaching into his jacket pocket, thankful to have a hairpin on him.
    He was also glad he had skills to unlock doors during his pick pocketing and thieving days, that he easily unlocked the door and opened it. Inside was an old Native American man with a strong jaw, a big nose, and noticeable wrinkles. He has long gray hair (almost hiding the white big earrings he had) big bushy gray eyebrows, and a mole under his left eye. The attire sort of caught Rody off guard, as the man was wearing dirty-red tunic with black rims and a symbol on the front, a black belt wrapped around his waist, and a pair of dirty-light green shorts. He has black tape wrapped around his lower legs and wears a pair of elf shoes with soles partially broken off.
   Somehow he had the aura of that old guy, Master Fu.
   “Er, a-are you okay, Mister?” Rody asked, noticing the man was tied up somehow with chains, and the man had to glare at Rody.
  “…You are a child?” The man asked in frustrated confusion.
  Rody took offense to that.
   “I’m not a child. I’m practically an adult.” Rody pointed a finger at himself with a grin.
   The man quirked a brow.
   “How old are you then, boy?”
   “Sixteen.”
   “Still a child.”
    The former thief rolled his eyes, “If you don’t want my help? Fine. I’ll get myself out of here since I know clearly this ain’t some hospital and some sort of weird prison—“
   Rody was about to turn around and leave but blinked when something landed on his nose.
    A…ladybug?
   “W-where did ya come from?” Instead of shooing it away from his nose, he raised a finger up, letting the little creature land on the tip of his finger instead, fluttering it’s wings gently before closing up again.
   The cat on his shoulder meowed at the new creature, the ladybug seemed to be buzzing in reply back.
   The man stared at this scene for a moment, then closed his eyes as he relaxed. “You have been touched by the Miraculous of the Ladybug and Cat…from the Chinese box I assume?”
   Rody perked up at the name of Miraculous, and then blinked.
  “You…know about them? Wait—“ Rody recalled Fei talking about possible Guardians of other boxes around the world, then looked to the man again, “Are you…a Guardian? And do you have a Miracle Box?”
   Now this caused the old man to look at him wide eyed, impressed.
   “Are you perhaps a Holder?”
   “Er, w-well I’ve dabbled with two Miraculous once. At the same time,” Rody was still remembering how it was both cool and nerve-racking being Spotted Hood.
   “And you are not now?”
   “Actually I know a few people, and some that are going to be Guardians—wait wait,” Rody paused at his geeking out as he turned serious, “If you’re a Guardian that means…where is your Miracle Box? And why are you tied up?”
   The old man sighed, “It was taken from me. From some villains that wish to make use of it. I am on a mission to find the Eagle Miraculous that was located around here, but I was ambushed by a strange villain that seemed to be under a negative influence. I am assuming a Miraculous was caught into the wrong hands and is being used for evil purposes.”
   Rody pursed his lips, “Y-Yeah, it is. B-but we’ve got good guys trying to stop these bad guys and get back that particular Miraculous! I don’t know much of the details, but if we get ya out of here, I can take ya to them. I know there are two people that are from here looking for someone like you. They’re Miraculous holders locally.”
   The man hummed, closing his eyes and sighing, “Very well. But how will you free me?”
   Rody grinned, already pulling out his Swiss army knife from his coat pocket, “Not a problem~”
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  “I’m sorry. But visiting hours are over and there is no Rody Soul as a patient here. Perhaps you should re-check where your little friend might be. Have a nice night~”
   The four girls walked out of the hospital with frowns on their faces, Alix the first to speak up.
   “This is weird. Adrien was sure this is the hospital Rody was checked in.”
   “Not to mention that nurse seemed highly nervous when we mentioned his name,” Fei agreed, folding her arms with a look of suspicion, “If he’s not kept in a private room of this hospital, he must be somewhere else. But where?”
   “Let’s double check anyways in case he is here and that chick at front desk was lying,” Alix looked to Juleka, “Guess it’s your time to shine, Jules.”
  Juleka nodded her head, smiling softly as she looked to Mullo resting on her shoulder.
  The Mouse Kwami squeaked, “Let’s do it Jul-Jul~”
  Juleka smiled, as she touched the pendant around her neck, “Mullo, Get Squeaky~”
   Mullo giggled as they were sucked into the Miraculous, Juleka transforming into Whisketeer in a flash. The Mouse Heroine soon called out ‘Multitude’ and slowly started shrinking with multiple tiny mice were near the girls’ feet.
  Alix soon called for Trixx as she transformed into Trickster Tails, using her flute to cover them (especially the tiny Whiskteers) and found a lone window close to them. Trickster Tails opened the window, letting the tiny Whisketeers jump in and explore around the building.
   It was then after a few minutes, one of the Whiskerteers popped back out to the other girls, looking frantic.
  “We’ve checked all the floors. But there is one place that we can’t seem to get into,” The tiny Whisketeer said softly, Rose letting the little hero rest in her hands.
    “Where, Jules?” The blonde asked.
    Whisketeer bit her lower lip, before murmuring quietly, “Morgue.”
   Fei’s face paled but Trickster Tails nudged her from thinking darker thoughts.
   “Then that’s where we’ll check. Rose. Fei. Better power up if we’re gonna face anything.”
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   The man raised a brow as he watched Rody skilfully unlock all the padlocks that tied the man down, considering that he was chained rather than roped.
   “You seem to be very good at unlocking things…”
   Rody chuckled, giving a sheepish smile, “Yeah, well, when you’ve lived the life I have…you tend to learn a few tricks in the streets to survive.”
   The man softened, almost looking in pity, “Where are your parents? Do you not have family?”
  Rody looked calm as he was asked this, already unlocking the last one and watching the heavy chains fall off the man.
  “Dad ran off on us. Mum died when my little sister was born. Now, I just take care of her and my little brother. But enough about me, let’s get ya out of here…er, I never got your name?”
   “I am Pala. Guardian of the Southern Miracle Box and Keeper of the Miraculous within.” The man introduced himself, bowing his head.
    “Rody Soul. Er, Guardian of these guys,” He gestured to Pino, and then to the strange Ladybug that was resting on his hair like some sort of accessory and the kitten resting on his shoulder lazily, “The Ladybug and Cat are kinda new since I’ve just met them today.”
   “So you must know the holders of the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous?”
    “Ladybug, yes. Cat…kinda gets thrown around owners…”
    Pala had to frown at this. Although he wanted to say more, he knew that there was no time for that. He was looking around for a moment, now growing a worried expression on his wrinkled face. Rody noticed and asked what was he looking for.
  “My staff. It seems that the villains have taken it as well.”
  “Well, is it important?”
   “Very. Alongside the Miracle Box since it is basically not just a key to it, but in fact, very much a way of tracking other Miraculous in the area.”
    Rody’s eyes widened, turning panicked, “W-well then we gotta find it, c’mon!”
   Soon, the two were racing out of the room but stopped when a group of strange people appeared before them. Rody’s eyes widened, seeing that one of these people were basically a beast like werewolf or something. The rest was some dude that was mummified with red cloth, a woman with long red hair in a domino mask and a silver haired armoured man with glowing golden eyes.
   “Get behind me!” Pala stood in front of Rody, already readying himself to fight.
   “The old man escaped huh? And the brat is awake.” The mummy like man snorted, pulling out his katana and looked at the armoured man, “Nine, what should we do?”
   The one named Nine sighed, glancing at the woman beside him, “Slice?”
  “The higher ups want the man alive…the boy though?” The woman licked her lips, as her eyes glinted with evil intent, “Is ours for the taking. You think he has it?”
   “I can feel it…The Type B inside this one…“
  The werewolf like beast chuckled darkly, already readying his claws up, “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s grab ‘em—”
   “You are not getting this child!” Pala yelled, rushing to attack them head on.
   “As if you haven’t learn from the first time, old man. Chimera, let’s grab him!” The Mummy Man yelled, already racing to take the Native American down.
  Rody was backing away when the man, Nine, was already walking towards him with glowing eyes, almost hungrily staring him down.
   “Don’t worry~ I won’t kill you~”
   Slice giggled darkly, as suddenly her hair extended and grabbed for Rody’s wrist and ankles, keeping him still from escaping. Nine tilted his head as he was close, grabbing for the boy’s face and staring at him intently.
  “But…I will take your quirk…”
   Rody squirmed, feeling something sucking his very being away, almost the same feeling when Dyna-Cat Cataclysm’d him, but it felt slow and torturous. Rody was opening his mouth, wanting to scream but nothing was coming out.
   “BURROW!”
    Nine narrowed his eyes as he and Slice moved out of the way from a dragon made from fire appeared, as Bonnie Blanche appeared along with Trickster Tails, Whisketeer and Lady Dragon. The Rabbit heroine was holding here umbrella with a wink, opening it before floating herself from any attacks.
   “Rody!” Lady Dragon rushed over to him, pulling him away and then transformed into Lady Tiger when Slice came to attack them.
   “Out of the way, brats!” Slice growled, but soon screamed out in horror when multiple mouse like creatures were tackling her to the ground.
   Nine sighed tightly, although his eyes looked bloodthirsty as the young heroes were trying to escape with the boy.
   Rody blinked when Lady Dragon transformed into Lady Horse, letting him ride on her and trying to get to the elevator to escape.
   “W-wait, wait! The old man!” Rody tried to explain, but Lady Horse wasn’t having it.
   “No time. We need to get out of here!”
   Not waiting to chance, she diverted herself to crashing against the nearest window, immediately turning into Lady Eagle and grabbing Rody to fly out the building. Bonnie Blanche hopped after them, using her burrows to makeshift jump portals to land next to them.
   Suddenly, Nighteye appeared beside them, as Eraserhead just whooshed past them.
   “Ba—Er, S-Sir Nighteye,” Lady Horse yelped, turning back to Lady Dragon in her normal form as she stared at the stoic man, “W-where have you been?”
   “Had a mission that needed my attention, and it led me to here,” The glass eyed man said with a stern tone, looking to the teens as Trickster Tails and Whisketeer arrived next to them, “You all may go back to the hotel. Let the United Heroez and other heroes deal with the villains inside.”
  “Who are they?” The Fox Heroine asked, watching some United Heroez already coming in.
  “…People associated with The League.”
   The teens paused, looking at the man in surprise before seeing the same villains now fighting with the heroes.
   “We can help,” Bonnie Blanche started, but Sir Nighteye shook his head.
   “Negative. You must go back. Amelie-san has already gotten some of the children into one of the heroes’ portal to Japan. Ladybug and Chat Noir will join us soon, considering the akumatized villain is here in this building.”
   Rody pursed his lips, looking at the now destroyed and burning building, narrowing his eyes. Shaking Lady Dragon off, he started rushing back into the building.
  “Rody!”
  “I need to get that old man! He needs to meet Marinette!”
   Lady Dragon faltered, biting her lower lip before grabbing her own communicator, and dialling up the very number she needed.
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  “I’m staying.”
   Ladybug softened as she stared at Izuku, one of the only ones that didn’t go through Door Man’s portal. The others were Bakugo, Todoroki and Chloe.
     Chat Noir, now in a new hero costume, sighed while rubbing his temple.
    “I’m sorry, but only me and Bug are needed for this mission to take down the akumatized villain. The rest can be handled by the adults.”
   “Why are you saying that?” Chloe argued, huffing a bit, “Aren’t we a team? We’re supposed to be working together, Adrikins!”
   “This isn’t your fight to deal with,” Ladybug replied coolly, but then sighed tiredly, “I…I just don’t want to lose anymore people like how we almost lost Rody.”
   Bakugo was quiet, but then spoke up with determination.
   “That shouldn’t stop us from doing what’s right.”
    Izuku agreed with his childhood friend.
   “Indeed. We should fight.”
    Ladybug pursed her lips, before looking to Sparrow, Uncanny Valley, Tsukuyomi, Pixie Girl, The Sorcerer and the Ghost Force crew already waiting for them. Sighing, she looked  back to Izuku then Bakugo, and slowly nodded.
   “Fine.”
  Chat Noir tilted his head in confusion, but soon jumped when Ladybug’s communicator sounded, the heroine soon answering it quietly while her partner listened.
    Uncanny looked to the bird headed boy, “Where is Hawks?”
   “He went to join your mothers and the rest of the United Heroez to find that villain that was akumatized,” Tsukuyomi explained, looking concerned, “We should be joining them soon. Considering that they’ve found him and there are people working for him.”
   “Usually as Techno-Pirate, he works alone,” Sparrow noted, but then heard shouting from the entrance of the hotel, seeing All Might looking frantic with Melissa while Mr. Plastic was yelling down at Zoe.
   “You useless girl! What happened today could’ve been prevented if you had informed me! Informed the United Heroez! You had one mission to keep an eye on the young heroes and you FAILED that!”
   “Zion, please.” All Might tried to coax the man to calm down, Melissa also looking worried.
   “Mr. Plastic, we are still in public.” The blonde girl said quietly, narrowing her eyes, “I suggest you stop screaming at your daughter—“
    “She is not my daughter. She’s barely anything to me!”
    Zoe’s lower lip wobbled, and soon was rushing out of there and through the door, disappearing into the streets of New York.
   “Roaar, Stripes On!”
    Chloe yelled, soon she was transforming into Empress Tigresse and chased after Zoe while Todoroki followed suit, using Pollen to transform into the Bee Hero: King Stinger.
   “You guys, wait!” Ladybug yelled, and soon she and Chat Noir chased after them.
   Bakugo breathed out softly, looking awkward while Izuku looked thoughtful.
   Door-Man also looked awkwardly at the kids, but soon excused himself to maybe help All Might calm down Mr. Plastic, who was already losing his temper more than ever.
   “We should go after them!” Sparrow suggested, rushing out to follow the duo, making the Ghost Force, Pixie Girl and Sorcerer follow suit.
   Uncanny saw how Tsukuyomi was staring at something in his hand, which made her curious.
   “What is that?” She asked, before the bird headed teen shook his head, placing it back in his cloak.
   “It is nothing. Let us depart.”
    And soon the two left.
   Izuku pursed his lips, knowing that he has the Dragon pendant in hand considering that Adrien had given it to him when Bakugo surrendered the Cat Miraculous back to the other blond. Bakugo said that he didn’t deserve it and that it should belong to it’s original owner.
    Izuku, however, knew that wasn’t true.
   Turning to the blond, he took his hand, handing him the Miraculous.
    Bakugo went to protest but his nerd of a childhood friend smiled.
   “There’s no time to think. Let’s be heroes together and help Ladybug and the rest of them!” Izuku said confidently, smiling brightly as he closed Bakugo’s hand around the pendant now resting in his palm.
    Longg appeared in between them, looking at Bakugo before bowing their head, “This one is oozing potential. I approve, for now~”
   Izuku agreed, and looked to the red eyed blond with determination.
   “Ready? Plus Ultra?”
   Bakugo was quiet, before sighing while placing the necklace one, “What if I mess up?”
   “This isn’t like you. Didn’t you say you wanted to surpass me? Surpass All Might and become the Number One Hero?” Izuku huffed out with a laugh of surprise, Bakugo glaring at him.
   “You saw me mess up during the practical tests back in U.A. remember? Twice now going against you and working with you. Then there was Kamino, are you forgetting that?”
   Izuku closed his eyes, shaking his head, “Of course not.”
  “And now almost killing someone. Having that borrowed power made me almost lose sight of things important around me. How can I be number one hero if I am this damn weak. I always seem to be steps behind you while you run forward each and every time.”
   “Kacchan…”
   “So no. Don’t give this thing to me.”
    Bakugo was pushing the Dragon Miraculous back to Izuku, his eyes sullen before hardening, fisting his hands.
    “I’ll use my own power.”
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   Empress Tigresse bit her lower lip as she finally found Zoe alone sitting on a rusty fire escape, looking sadly at her shoes.
   King Stinger was right behind the Tiger Heroine, tilting his head, “Is she alright?”
   Sighing, Empress shook her head, “I don’t think so. C’mon,”
    The two heroes soon made their way up to meet the blonde girl, causing the said girl to look up at them with tears.
   “…What do you guys want?”
  “Are you alright?” King Stinger asked softly, tilting his head as his blue eyes stared down at her.
   Zoe shrugged, before toeing at her shoe for a moment with a sigh.
    Empress held her breath, before calmly talking to her so called sister.
   “Look. I don’t know what’s going on with your old man. But you gotta come back with us.”
   “Why? It’s not like I’m needed there.”
    The Tiger Heroine was about to agree, but her Bee partner was shaking his head to not say anything.
   Zoe spoke up again, this time sounding so…broken.
  “I wanted to be an actress. I’m good at acting. But I ended up acting all the time. Playing these different roles, trying to please everyone. Being the so called assistant to Mr. Plastic instead of being treated like family, pretending that I’m okay and having to lie all the time just so I can have friends….and I ended up losing one of my very true best friends that was always there for me…I couldn’t do it anymore.”
  Empress and King looked at each for a moment, before Zoe started sobbing.
   “I-I should’ve listened to Rody back then. I should’ve stood up for myself and be the real me. I just wanted to be accepted for who I am…”
   King Stinger noticed something flying their way, and he couldn’t call out in time when the dark akuma of a butterfly embedded itself into Zoe’s shoes.
   Zoe’s eyes dulled as a glow shaped of a butterfly magically surrounded her top half of her face, showing that she was under whoever was holding the Butterfly Miraculous’ control.
     Empress Tigresse was about to snap her out of it, but King Stinger held her back.
    “Wait—“
    “I SHALL CRUSH ALL THE SOULS THAT HAVE WRONGED ME! STARTING WITH MY SO CALLED FATHER!”
   Darkness of black and purple surrounded Zoe, and the two heroes jumped back away to see the girl transform. She was now all sparkly brilliant amber, with encrusted very light cyan-colored jewels covering her body. Her headdress-like accessory features lightning-shaped horns. Her jacket collar and the backs of her shoes also feature lightning-shaped ornaments.
   “I AM SOLE CRUSHER!” The akumatized Zoe shouted out loud, laughing maniacally, “First Mr. Plastic, AND THEN, LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR!”
   “Not if we can help it!” Empress Tigresse was raising a hand, calling onto her power, “CLOUT!”
    Sole Crusher smirked, lifting her leg up to kick and block. Empress Tigresse’s eyes widened and moved out of the way, but then gaspde when Sole Crusher stomped on a couple of civilians, watching them turn into gold dust and get absorbed into her shoes.
   “That’s not good.” The Tiger heroine murmured as King Stinger landed next to her, watching how Sole Crusher had gotten bigger.
   “I need more power~” Turning to the heroes, Sole Crusher grinned and stomped over to them, “And you both can give it to me~“
   Before they could react, King Stinger felt something around his waist and was lifted into the air while Empress Tigresse was grabbed in the air, thankfully away from the akuma’s foot stomping at him. The two heroes looked up to see that Pixie Girl and Sorcerer saved them.
    “Thought you needed a hand~” The girl winked down at the Bee Hero, her wings buzzing fast as they flew higher and away from the angry golden monster.
    The Sorcerer was flying next to them, riding on what seemed to be a star shaped staff with Empress Tigresse now riding behind him.
   “We must stop this monster, I think I can cleanse the evil out of her, but it shall take me some time!” Sorcerer explained, seeing the akuma was chasing after them, “I am not efficient as Ladybug is with her charm and spell.”
    The four then watched in horror as Sole Crusher started stomping on more civilians that were trying to run away, causing the akuma to grow even bigger.  
   “She’s gonna go after Mr. Plastic!” Empress Tigresse told the three, his eyes narrowed, “Let’s beat her to him first and think of a plan from there! I’ll call Ladybug!”
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  Rody coughed as he was rushing towards where Pala might be, avoiding any confrontations from the heroes and the villains that were fighting. Apparently there were more of them since there were strange monsters popping up left and right. Nomus, Rody’s mind supplied.
   Shaking his head, he soon paused when he saw a figure crawling in pain from the stairwells, and Rody rushed over to see who it was. It was the very man he was looking for…but he looked heavily injured. And seemed to be clutching on something.
   “Old man! I’m here!” Rody coughed once more, knowing that fire has broken out in this building, and knew it was going to collapse and be engulfed in flames pretty soon.
   Pino was chirping frantically, already using her beak and pull at the man’s hair to help Rody get the guy up and get him out of here. The same with the little black kitten, who Rody named Lucky, who was nipping at the man’s hand and coaxing him to stay away. Rody grunted when he helped the guy up, and noticed large claw marks on Pala’s chest.
   And bleeding.
   “Shit shit shit…” Rody was shaking, eyes wide and looking around to stop the blood, “I-I’ll get some help, hold on, just d-don’t—“
   “Rody Soul.”
   Rody looked at the man, who was leaning himself against the wall despite Rody helping him stand to walk, Pala coughing up blood while holding on tightly to what seems to be a staff and something wrapped in cloth. The man looked to Rody, then pushed the wrapped object towards the boy, his eyes full of regret…and acceptance.
   “My time has come. And I apologise for passing down this burden to you, young one.”
  “What…what a-are you talking about?” Rody stuttered out, shaking his head as Pala was closing his eyes.
   “I wanted to find someone that I’ve trained. Someone that I’ve chosen with time and patience. But I suppose destiny had other plans…”
   Rody felt his heart constrict, having a gut wrenching feeling that he wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear.
    “But I rather be you than in the hands of the villains.”
    “What—?”
    “I, Pala of the last Wakan Tanka Tribe, hereby relinquish the Southern Miracle Box, and name Rody Soul as the New Guardian!”
   Rody was about to protest, but a glowing bright light came from the cloth as it unwrapped itself, revealing to be a light brown hexagon shaped box. However, the shape changed itself, so now it was shaped like…
   “A pilot’s briefcase…” Rody murmured, but then noticed that Pala had slowed his breathing, and the boy quickly checked his pulse.
   He waited for a minute, and tried again, but he knew that Pala was gone. Rody bowed his head, holding the briefcase in hand, feeling Pino and Lucky shedding silent tears. The ladybug, who Rody named Lady, just rested against Rody’s head, giving slow beats of it’s wings. Rubbing his eyes, he stood, eyeing the cane like staff next to Pala’s body. Picking it up, the staff shifted into what seems to be a lean bo-staff with a symbol of an airplane on it. Breathing out, Rody clicked at the side of the staff, making it small as he placed it in his pockets.
  “…I’m sorry.” Rody whispered to the unmoving body, giving a small prayer of farewell before holding the Miracle Box and rushing out of there, his spiritual companions following after him.
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A/n:   I lied. This story has been on hiatus for so long (I believe for a year or so now?) that this arc is now gonna take TWO MORE PARTS to finish this arc. So, okay, I’ve written the third part already (kind of, still going to edit), but it seems the next chapter will not commence until next year of February 2024. Reason? I have two:
1. I am currently working on real life stuff (So, yes. I am alive, but will be updating very seldomly until I’ve settled down from my hectic sched).
2. I am currently working on other projects (Which will be announced soon)
    So, yes. So be prepared for next year. There will be more Quirk and Miracles content, including the last two parts of his New York Arc, a new chapter banner and some concept arts on certain characters. For those that still follow this story...thank you so much for your love and support.
    - Riri-Chan
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raylex · 11 months
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For the self ship ask thingy; I am super curious about your S/I's background, if you'd be willing to share! And how they met Ray, in extension.
NIGHTMARES!! hi! of course of course, I always love sharing this stuff and talking about it hehe :) I have a TON of stuff developed in my head... I've been wanting to turn some of it into maybe a comic or a fic or something, but haven't really had the time or motivation... maybe someday.
either way, as I talk alot, I predict this is gonna get long, so I'll put it under the cut! yes, I've talked about this before, but no harm in doing it again... I just really like talking lol
so, my self insert, lex, comes from a divine species called stargazers. stargazers are guardians of the universe; their job is to protect and watch over celestial bodies. to keep them out of harm's way, they've developed incredible powers. they're very powerful creatures that are capable of almost anything.
lex... is none of this. and I'm pretty sure that just one single look at him tells you this immediately 😅
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he's a dorky little limbless being who can barely even throw a punch. powers? he's got none of those, except for maybe the power to be a cowardly wuss. he's, like, the polar opposite of a mary sue (or gary stu?).
of course, every piece of media needs the character that has the stereotypical amnesia backstory, and that's lex. he's got no idea where he came from, how he ended up in the glade, why he's here... and those are questions that drive him insane. he's got an identity crisis cranked up to 100. all he remembers is that one day he woke up in the glade. that's it. he doesn't know he's technically a supernatural demigod or whatever, and maybe that's for the better... he'd probably freak out if he found out.
due to having never had a need to use his abilities, he never really developed any. and so he considers himself a natural pacifist. he doesn't like fighting, but that may just be because he's too scared to do it... he believes that every conflict can be resolved by talking it out.
despite not knowing who he is or where he came from, he's always felt a deep connection to the stars, and spends most of his time stargazing and just staring up at the night sky while feeling bittersweet and somber.
enter admiral razorbeard, the captain of the robot pirates, who goes on to invade the glade and capture everyone in his way. lex barely has any friends at this point, so he doesn't know this guy is evil. how's he supposed to know? he doesn't pay him much mind, until one day, one of his ships blocks the way of lex's stargazing.
lex, naturally, gets a bit miffed. so he goes to have a word with him... and gets captured in the process. so now he's dealing with both an identity crisis and severe trust issues and paranoia about everyone wanting to cause him harm.
naturally, as we know, this leads to rayman saving the glade as he always does and freeing all of razorbeard's prisoners! and this includes lex.
lex is the final prisoner to be freed by rayman, and the two are immediately intrigued by each other - I don't wanna say it's love at first sight, but there's definitely a spark of something there. fascination? curiosity?
lex is very wary of rayman at first. he barely talks, avoids eye contact, and is just generally on high alert. the only people he's tried to interact with had him imprisoned, so he doesn't exactly trust other people just yet. rayman, of course, understands this. because he's a good guy. and he's more than willing to let lex take his time. but he's determined to make sure this fella feels at home.
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have (a transparent version of) this art I did of their first meeting a while back :)
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Since @the-grey-tribe was discussing it and I have also seen the spread of the “Sacrificial Trash” term in media discourse around, I watched the titular Sarah Z video on the topic. Honestly it was better than her average video I would say! It still has some flaws, and her and I have some ideological disagreements that are fundamental; I for example do not think just because others have been criticizing say High Guardian Spice in bad faith that I need to refrain from doing so. In particular she says, at one point, that “watching some criticism when you aren’t sure what those creators are doing to mitigate their harm” is maybe problematic, which I just cannot get on board with. 
I think she buys into the idea of the “sea of hatred” concept out there, of the idea that even 1% of the people who watched like the Ghostbusters remake trailer sent threats to the creators, when its really more like 0.0001%. I think the mindset blinkers her analysis - beyond the culture war merchants who are ‘bigots’ are also large factions of people who just argue about media online, who prefer show type A over B, who are legit tired of ‘politics’ in shows because it reduces their enjoyment, whatever. Understanding that why something becomes a target is multifactional is important - like the Little Mermaid remake being a *Disney* movie in the age of Disney getting a ton of crap for being percieved as a predatory corporate monopoly is also a relevant factor! 
But once I set aside the framings & background premises that we just don’t share, I respect at least her clarity of analysis on how discourse targets are arbitrary, and composed numbers-wise primarily by regulars sharing opinions and just not liking media, and most of them probably aren’t even politically motivated. Additionally it is good to point out how large the ecosystem of hate on these things can get - you should not ever be making 24 video essays on High Guardian Spice, but people have done that as culture war topics create self-fulfilling spirals. She definitely keeps it entirely focused on fandom discourse - its not even marketing or interviews by the companies, her use of the term is all about how culture war dynamics can elevate certain media by channeling a wider-than-normal participant base. 
So yeah, her phrase is absolutely being taken out of context as it has undergone memetic shift to refer to ‘official’ channels throwing out culture war bait, when she intended it to be the opposite.
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dyns33 · 2 years
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I saw Thor: Love and Thunder. I'll try to not spoil anything.
- Good point : no need to have seen anything other than Endgame to understand the plot.
- I preferred this to Doctor Strange and The Multiverse of Madness.
- Gorr... is a good villain. Not the best. A little predictable. But I like his look.
- The rhythm is uneven. I didn't get bored, the battle scenes are okay, but sometimes it was too long.
- Some scenes embarrassing too. The jokes are not always funny.
- Okay, the little ‘fight’ of jealousy between the three weapons is a bit funny. I won’t tell you more. 
- Ragnarok's play is magnificent. Hela is magnificent. (People are finally Loki fans, like in Hawkeye and this awful musical !)
- I still don't like Korg, he annoys me.
- The Guardians are useless.
- Valkyrie is cool.
-Jane. Lady Thor. Why not. I am not convinced. I can't say anything else without spoilers. Just, why do superheroes always have only one great love ? The world is wide, man, and you’re an old God, find someone else.
- The ending isn't great.
- My biggest regret is that I find that Thor does not really evolve. He's been there since phase 1 and he’s still more or less the same. Every time he learns something, he seems to become a little wiser, but in the next film, he does the same bullshit again. Okay, he's less selfish and helping others, but still acting like an idiot. Even Loki changed, way before the series. 
- It had been said, and I'll spare you any disappointment : no Loki. It's a shame, I would have loved to see him passing by in the background when Thor was naked. He would have been shocked, to see his brother like that, and by the tattoo, before leaving through a VAT portal.
- The other Gods resemble those of Moon Knight, but less classy. They are what I picture when I imagine Gods. 
- Moon Knight is better. Watch Moon Knight. This is the best thing about phase 4.
- There is no reference to Moon Knight, except for the name "Ra" spoken in a sentence, I'm sad.
- I don't know yet if I will buy the DVD. Maybe.
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plutobutartsy · 1 year
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no because i've been thinking a lot about how i would rewrite mlb even though i'm NOT a writer lol so here's a list of things i can think of right now:
chloe redemption!! they did her so dirty she deserves so much better and there's so much wasted potential :( i would go more in detail about her family issues and how they affect her. with zoe i think it would make sense for chloe to see her as a sort of rival, as in wanting to be the favourite child and being scared that with zoe being there, her mom will spend even less time with her
we all know that marinette's crush on adrien is very obsessive and that the show portrays her creepy behaviour as normal. so. none of that. i think in the beginning she would put him on a pedestal and act accordingly but she would soon realize that he's. just a dude. and acknowledge that her way of thinking was wrong. this would also lead to her being a bit less nervous and stutter-y around him lol and to them actually being able to build a closer friendship
a similar thing with adrien and ladybug! to me it feels like in the show chat noir is a lot more of a sidekick so maybe in the beginning he also had a pretty glorified view of ladybug which caused him to rely a bit too much on her? if that makes sense?? so when he eventually starts to realize that under the mask she's also just a person he would take a much more active role you know?
alternatively i think it could also tie into underlying self-esteem issues, like "ladybug is so great and amazing, there's no way i could do more than just follow her lead, i'd just get in the way"
less irresponsible adults
they are 14. they need help. su han actually had a point when he said that they were just kids. so he would definitely take on more of a mentor role. maybe him and marinette would compromise that, for now, she would renounce her role as guardian and let him take over. in exchange, he would start training her so she's ready to take on the role when she is an adult and can handle it better.
su han would also train marinette and adrien when it comes to fighting and understanding their powers because it's just so unrealistic that they learned how to fight perfectly on the fly lmaoo so i think while they have come a long way on their own, they still need a lot more guidance
obviously he would know both their identities and you know. be an actually responsible adult. so he would deffo be a support system for them (especially for adrien because jesus that boy has no trusted adult figure in his life </3 he would probably pose as an ordinary tutor or something to by-pass gabriel)
su han would also do a lot more of the background hero work. so researching the miraculous', looking into potential temporary holders that AREN'T all children and from the same social circle as marinette, and especially going after clues to find out who shadowmoth is
moving on
i really hated how lukanette ended up being portrayed on the show
so personally, i find it much better for them to be friends until eventually marinette gets over adrien. she realizes that if she doesn't confess to him, nothing would change. lukanette wouldn't happen until marinette is over her feelings for adrien
design changes. so many of them. i especially hate rose's outfit i'm sorry it's hideous lol i might actually draw some redesigns and post them on my art blog :)
that's all i can think of right now
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k1ll3r-k4rg0 · 8 months
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About (18+ Blog)
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she/he / he/she | unnamed | aromantic bigender transexual | dni if you support communism (or do. i cant stop you.) | dni if minor or no age / mention of 18+ listed.
NO MINORS. ageless or unmarked as 18+ blogs blocked
blogged. this blog is for my character thoughts and my art and my writing. if you want character related reblogs, art reblogs, and complaints go to @k4rg0-f1l3z
i post sexual shit, gore, and other r rated heavy topics. my stories and ocs are r rated. if you don't like heavy topics, dead dove do not eat, whump, gore, violence, suicide, stuff that deals with mental illness problems, don't follow.
if you don't like it, don't follow! i post for myself and my friends! i post what i want! my writing is an escape and a way for me to process my own shit in the world i live in as well as a way to cope. if you don't like it LEAVE
i do a LOT of art and a LOT of writing. however. i forget to post it. so this blog's kinda dead!!! if you want to see more shit from me or of a specific character, don't be afraid to ask and i'll gladly share
ask box always open
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about me? im 23, prepping to apply for a phd program in school psychology with a bachelor's in fine arts in screenwriting. i write prose and draw pictures of my ocs with backgrounds coz i love drawing backgrounds
check out my bestie's blogs @yeenteefies for main and @honsebeasts for his really cool awesome neat ocs who i have many stories / ships with
i also play dnd! every week!!! with my super cool awesome dnd friends from college. i play a conquest paladin aasimar (that's warren). he's too much. the tag for stuff related to the party is just #yeehoes
i have bpd, autism, & adhd. if you don't like that, don't follow. i'm unmedicated, but i'm more under control these days.
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I do not tag others art or the fandoms the art's from. I only tag for gore (#gore, #blood), flashing (#flashing), spiders/insects (#spiders, #insects, #bugs), or unreality (#unreality). If there's any you want me to add, lemme' know and I'll consider it (I'll probably say yes unless its SUPER specific coz i might forget).
OCS + favorite books, music, movie, etc under the cut.
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Trivia: —half Romanian, half Texmex (czech/german + mexican) —fave movie is Fargo —my space sci-fi shit is largely inspired by the tv show The Expanse.
Fave Bands: —Muse (favorite songs are In Your World and Dead Star) —Linkin Park —Amigo the Devil —Nine Inch Nails —Calexico —Brown Bird —Rammstein —MCR occasionally
Fave Books: —American Gods by Neil Gaiman —We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver —Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy —maybe Pet Sematary by Stephen King who is my favorite author
Main OCS:
Vini + Quinn (#vini.png, #quinn.net, #d3m0litionl0v3rs): besties who kill together. vini's quinn's guardian angel. quinn's vini's little death. they've died for each other countless times and their bond is unbreakable. not human anymore
Elliot (#elliot.png): shitfaced. hurt. fucked. broken. pissed off at the world for the shit it's put him through. wishing he could kill them all Derek (#derek.png): strange. alienated. scared. scared of everyone for treating him like another. wishing they'd see how above them he is. Elliot + Derek (#code voltage): besties. too much. freaks. human sometimes. there's an 80s au where they're monsters Derek + Jordan (#prince.png, @/honsebeast's) (#strange&unusual): what you get when a god finds another god when the first god thought he was the last of his kind. They click. They understand each other on a completely different level. Elliot + Kalani (#kalani.png, @/hurrl's) (#chocolatestrawberries): he'll die for her. she'll kill for him. she taught him a lesson and he learned better. now he's as obsessed with her as she is with him. She loves him so much, but it's okay because he needs her love to survive.
Mars (#mars.png): rocky younger years have lead to a chiller middle-aged life. trying to gather the pieces and learn to live again. how you kill the monster? love the monster. human Mars + Danny (@/honsebeast's) (#armada): i love you when no one else will. you love me despite all my flaws. you make me human again.
Warren + Jay (#warren.png, #jay.png, #4m3r1c4nm4n14cs): the fire the flame and the burning smoldering ember. a serial killer and his priest, a god and his follower. two of the same. die for each other to live again. human unless angel.
Cody (#cody.png): broken bruised forgotten sore, too fucked up to care anymore. that's what happens when you back a kid into a corner. he bites to kill.
Other OCs that aren't that important right now that you'll occasionally see tagged but that I won't link are as follows: Ryfraf (whore), Riymah (scary clown goth gf), Derwood (taxidermist), Blue (hacker), Pork/Porkrinds (the happiest merc you've ever seen, @/honsebeast's).

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garfieldsladybird · 9 months
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I lost interest in S.H.I.E.L.D when season six started and when I started watching season 6 I was just so done with it. Not understanding anything that was going on.
But now that I’m older and I’m watching it again, I’m actually paying attention every single episode, as much as I possibly can and I’m also not allowing myself to just play the show as background noise.
notes ;)))) also spoilers if you haven’t watched shield 🤨
season six actually starting pretty good. idk man. pass me was. Like usual.
I’m on s6 e6, I just started episode six. but from what I know right now— idk I kind of just go in rants about things. Enjoy :)
so Daisy and Simmons and two other people (that I actually feel like are best friends, that really don’t want to admit it and i feel like one of them is gay) but that’s beside the point. they all went to space. deep space. they become the guardians of the Galaxy man. now how? Because they had the spaceship from season five, that spaceship was the spaceship at the general took over. Well, I think they took the little thingy that if you just put coordinates in it and flip a switch you get teleported to that spot. but still use the Zephyr so they most likely had to add the space thingys it can do from the spaceship. They went to go find fitz. dont get me started on that.
Wait, so fitz is alive and so is Simmons. and so is their grandchild. That was from the future. Deke yes ? 🤨 but yeah he’s alive as well. But fits died at the end of season five. But didn’t really die. He was in a coma, was supposed to be in a coma for fucking 75 years. Poor dude, he’s had to be in a coma for 75 years twice. But he didn’t really make the full 75 years because some weird sharp ass fidget spinner ran through their ship in space. so yeah.
so does mean that the world of where deke came from is still going to happen? That’s the only thing I’m focused on. I love deke ngl. He’s hot ;)
but while they’re doing that. The team on the mainland is chasing down a duplicate of Colson from a different world that’s been alive for like fucking years. And I mean hundreds of years. They’re chasing him down because Colson’s actually dead. Also, I feel like we should’ve gotten more of Colson and may, I really would’ve loved to see them together and seen them happy. Though I’m getting only some glimpses now (e5) and I’m not fully through the season yet so yeah there might be more. Still, I love Colson and may!
Mack and yo-yo broke up. like what?????? and then yo-yo also got with this other dude which ended up going horribly wrong she killed him well just really put them out of his misery. He swallowed a bat but he didn’t want to. it kind of just flew into him so yeah. but I did kind of like them together, but there was just a weird vibe because she kept calling him noble and then he would act a certain way… idk. He had it coming. (iykyk)
Mack being director is really cool, i want more!!! I like that he has a really close bond with Daisy. tremors <3 like Daisy was calling back into the lighthouse to land, and when they finally fully connected it, you could just kind of see it when he heard her voice. The relief, knowing that she’s back, hearing her voice. They’re very close and connected and I really like that. They got each other’s back, upside down, side to side, left, right, front too man. Maybe he kind of looks at her like a sibling.. idk. I would like to know, but I don’t know. If anything, it’s a best friend for sure. Kind of what he had with Bobby but better fs like wayyyyyyyyy better.
Bobby and Hunter man are so bad for each other. though I do love them together. I just I don’t know. Somethings up with them. I love them in general. Bobby’s hot and so cool. Hunter is hilarious but also a jack ass in a way and fairly attractive, him being funny, kind of helps it.
Deke is so fucking weird for having a girlfriend but then going to ‘work’ which is going into a simulation VR type of thing, it was like the framework but way better, and inside of it when he beats the bad guy, a door slides up and daisy appears but looking way sexier then usual like she does look sexy, but not in the way of having a lot more cleavage out, pressing up all against him, the leg 🦵…. yeah so it was weird. he also has a screen that shows what he’s saying and going through, how did the girlfriend not see this and know bro? She’s like a social media star, and so we get to see all of her story that she made. just uha. she ends up with the best friend that wasn’t actually deke’s best friend well he didn’t really know know him bc he is actually a undercover shield agent.
but mack saw the screen of what was happening in the framework and she’s slowly turned to deke and is was hilarious and horrible at the same time. His face was like in a grimace of ‘what the fuck and I’m about to punch you’ so deke said, I’ll give you 2% of the company if you don’t tell anyone. I feel like that 2% went higher fs but I don’t remember if it was actually 2% or not. Either way it should’ve been like a lot more. but Mack is protective of her, I really like that.
The acting in the show was really good. It’s phenomenal.
okay bye ✌️ love you <3
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covemains · 1 year
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Boy magical names
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This name reportedly means "to strive" or "to excel." Calling all Francophiles: this elegant name could be a way to honor your family's French heritage. It means "whole," "universal," and "complete," making it a worthy name for the son who is sure to be the center of your entire universe. Oh Baby! Names notes that the name Emmett evolved from the female name Emma. The name Eric could be a good choice for the baby boy who sarahwolfephotography // Getty Images Nameberry notes that the name Eric means "eternal ruler" - perfect for the child who's already king of your heart This classic name has grown in popularity over the last few decades, and it's easy to understand why. It's not a name you hear too often in the United States, but it is popular in France and Chile. This strong Spanish name means "garland crown" or "crowned in victory," according to Oh Baby! Names. It has the same meaning as Edward ("rich guard" or "wealthy guardian") but you might find it's a better fit for your baby boy. If the name Edward sounds too posh to your ears and you want a name that's a little more down-to-earth, consider the name Eddie. In Greek, this name means "defender of man," while the Hebrew meaning for Eli is "high," "ascended," or "my God." This compact name has special meanings across Greek and Hebrew culture. Baby Name Wizard notes that this name has German origins and means "brave" and "powerful." Baby Emerson will also have a famous namesake in the American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson. You could consider spelling it "Eliot" for something that reads a bit more snappy. This modern name is derived from the Hebrew name Elijah. This sturdy, classic name has an especially interesting background: According to Nameberry, it's derived from the name Iefan, a Welsh version of the name John, and reportedly means "the Lord is gracious." The name Ethan means "firm" and "strong." Like Elijah, Ethan is also a name with Hebrew origins, according to the website Baby Names. It means "rich guard" and is a popular name in the British Royal family. If you're looking for a classic English name, look no further. In the Old Testament, Elijah was a Hebrew prophet and miracle worker. According to Behind the Name, this biblical baby name means "My God is Yahweh," a reference to the Hebrew God. From traditional baby boy names to unique ideas for boy names, there's sure to be an "E" name here that sparks an idea for what to name your baby boy. If you're looking for something unique, read on - this list has plenty of meaningful names to help you find inspiration. If you're looking for a good first or middle name that starts with "E" for a baby boy, take note that according to recent Social Security Administration data, the most popular names for boys that start with "E" include Elijah, Ethan, and Ezra, while the names Ermias and Eliel are experiencing a sharp rise in popularity. You can also start thinking about baby names in terms of the letters they begin with. For example, maybe you like baby names inspired by cities, or names inspired by biblical figures or literary characters. Along the same lines, you could consider passing along the name of a family member, whether that's your name, the name of your parent, or the name of another close relative.Īnother way to start narrowing down your list of names is to think in terms of categories. Maybe you'll realize that you really want a baby name that reflects your family's history. One way to start honing in on a name could be to think about your heritage or culture. After all, there's an endless list of names to choose from. But one of the most exciting and important tasks on your plate is probably choosing a name for your baby. To get ready for this seismic shift, you might prepare and decorate the nursery, pick a unique baby shower theme, solidify your birthing plan, or simply work on getting used to juggling a million things on your "to do" list at once. is the right place for your name search.Preparing for the arrival of a new baby can be an exciting time in any family's life. If you enjoy fantasy and magic, look no further, you have reached a perfect place. You’re sure to find the right name for your new baby with a little effort and ingenuity! We’ve compiled a list of our best magical names to give you ideas for your cute little one. Magical names may be excellent choices for parents who wish to provide their child with a lifetime of amazement. Do you want a name that is both powerful and mysterious? If you’re looking for a magical baby name it is a good place to start. Choosing a name is a big responsibility for parents.
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revive-the-fandom · 3 years
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Was there ever a popular consensus on Jack's sister's name? Or does she have a name in the book's canon? (i've given up trying to get into the book's storyline, so 😅)
Oh! Yeah I know this!
The short version is: she’s called Mary because William Joyce said so.
The long version is: it literally doesn’t matter because there are so many conflicting theories and pieces of evidence. The movie was made years before the book, Sandman’s book came out in 2013 and Jack’s book came out in 2015. Rotg was released in 2012. Movies take years to conceptualise, plot, cast, act, animate and produce. It’s safe to say that even Joyce wasn’t 100% on what would happen in the book when he worked on the movie, plus it seems there was a massive rewrite for Jack’s book which delayed its release.
But if you’re looking for options:
Mary is the name that Joyce gave her over on Twitter/Instagram. I believe that she’s named after his daughter, who died in 2010 (I believe she was 18 and died of a brain tumour but I haven’t fact checked that so I may be wrong!). Her name was Mary Katherine Joyce and the movie was dedicated to her and the books were inspired by/written for her. Joyce claimed that a version of the script had her named Mary (me thinks we were supposed to see more of her).
It’s possible she was the movie equivalent of Katherine. (Though the books take a more romantic take on Nightlight and Katherine’s relationship.) Katherine’s character may have been split between Jamie and Jack’s sister, with Jamie providing the ‘first believer’ role as well as the apparent easy friendship with Jack and Jack’s sister providing the familial role and Jack’s motivation and/or key to his Guardianship. Either way Katherine was also named after Joyce’s daughter so it’s a strong possibility. (Joyce also has a son named Jack, so having Jack and a variant of Mary Katherine makes sense.)
Jack does have two adoptive siblings in the book. But bear in mind that there is no perfect match, the family he ends up with meets him when he is already an adolescent and I’m like 99% sure they’re Russian and living in Russia or adjacent to Russia. And also the Dad is very much present. Jack has a brother named Jacklovich and a sister named Ana (both younger). They act as his introduction to the nuclear family archetype and along with their parents provide a stable and safe environment for Jack to learn about people and how to live as a human. Because in Jack’s book, before he meets his family, he says that he has become something similar but not exactly human and expresses a desire to be human or normal. Jack does lose them rather quickly as they take up a whopping 30 pages out of 367. That’s less than a chapter (as a single chapter can take up over 100 pages).
Back when Rotg came out a few people noticed that the credits said “Jack’s sister/Pippa” and jumped to the conclusion that her name was Pippa. This was actually referring to two characters voiced by the same actress, Jack’s sister and the Burgess girl with the beanie who hits Cupcake in the snowball fight, tells Jamie that “there’s just no Easter anymore” and is the second to join Jamie in defending the Guardians.
Joyce had also at one point claimed on instagram that Jack’s sister was nicknamed Flee because she ran so fast after Jack fell into the ice. I find this strange and extremely morbid. Very few people use this to my knowledge because he released this knowledge years after the movie was released and the fandom had dwindled considerably. Also it’s... weird and mean.
Joyce also claimed that she was called Vanish on Instagram but then he retconned that and she turned out to be Tooth’s little sister?? Who never appeared in the books??? And also when did Tooth have a sister? We got told her story back in book 3 and there was no mention???? Her parents died and Tooth barely escaped how tf did this sister fit in??
The most popular name was Emma, back in the day. I also used to use this name. There wasn’t much reason to back this name other than it was short and simple to match Jacks name, and it fit the time period. If you’re looking for the most widely accepted name though, this would be it.
I’ve seen several people just pick any name for her because there isn’t really a solid yes or no answer on what her real name is. Jill was rather popular, presumably because Jack and Jill went up the hill. (I don’t like Jill bc my Nana is called Jill but that’s a personal preference.) Margaret or Maggie was the one used in the awesome fic My Stars and Your Valleys.
I think this is also a good opportunity to explain my choice of name. Personally I choose to call her Molly, for no other reason than that my Grandmother is called Mary and it makes me uncomfortable to constantly compare the two in my mind. However, Molly is a nickname for Mary and I find it a cute substitute. Molly and Polly are both nicknames for Mary, and considering that Jack is a nickname for Jackson I think it’s appropriate. So I keep their canonical names as Jackson and Mary but they are called Jack and Molly within the story.
And yes, the books are an absolute mess! The first four are meeehh, kind of okay to follow and kind of samey but the fifth is horrific! I love the concepts it introduced but there was no need to time-skip every other chapter and the plot seemed non existent as most events of relevance happened in the past. I also think that the tone of the book doesn’t match the ending at all. The final battle feels like this grand battle of epic proportions but the rest of the book feels like following a socially awkward highly charismatic kid who sometimes gets into deep shit. A Peter Pan with anxiety if you will. And if I’m being honest the plot is kind of hard to follow throughout the series, I tend to just live in the moment throughout the books because God knows what happened ten pages ago.
Anyway, I hoped this answered your question and wasn’t too confusing! 💛
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skzsauce01 · 3 years
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Angel Sent From Up Above
Anniversary Request Special
Synopsis: Hyunjin, a new guardian angel, has fallen in love with a human. His human’s girlfriend, to be precise. Angel AU, background college AU and skater AU.
Warning: violence
Word Count: 8.3k
Pairing: fem!reader x guardian angel!Hyunjin; fem!reader x human!Jeongin
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“Is she healed now?” Hyunjin asks the moment Jisung flies in. He knows Jisung is probably exhausted from keeping maladies away from you, but he needs the answer now. “Is her flu gone?”
“Yeah.” Jisung’s wings are tinged gray with ruin, but he keeps them on display for all the other guardian angels to see as he walks past them. They are proof that he has been doing his duty. They’ll return to white soon enough anyway. “Your human’s her boyfriend. Why didn’t you try to check through him? He visited a few times even though she told him not to.” Jisung sighs and shakes his head. “What an idiot. He’s going to get sick himself.”
“He hasn't visited recently, so I haven’t been able to check through him. The Archangel’s forbade me going to Earth unless it was something serious. I think he’s worried I'm spending too much time with humans.”
Jisung shakes his head. “I think he’s worried that he’s going to have to Seungmin you.”
“I'm not going to get expelled.”
Jisung shrugs, and ruin falls from his wings like ash. “You better watch out. You checked up on her too much last time she got sick, so he's probably trying to make sure you won't abandon your human. He's banished people for less. Case in point: Seungmin.”
“She's important to Jeongin, so she's important to me."
Jisung sighs. “Sometimes I think you’re more protective of her than I am.”
He says it as a joke, but Hyunjin knows it’s the truth. He cares deeply about you, maybe even more than his own human, but he will never say that last part aloud.
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Hyunjin used to believe that becoming a guardian angel was the best thing that ever happened to him. All of his afterlife, he had wanted to be promoted, to be granted the pure white wings and the crown of sun rays. Regular angels had wings and halos but never white wings and golden halos; silver and silver was the “regular” combination.
Watching over a human was considered the highest honor an angel could receive, and everyone clamored to gain the attention of the Archangel. Hyunjin was not immune. He worked as a messenger for years, delivering even the most inane notes between the higher ups. He endured the attacks, verbal and sometimes physical, and kept his mouth shut. Eventually, the Archangel recognized his efforts, and before dawn broke on Earth, Hyunjin was named the new guardian angel of a baby boy, Yang Jeongin.
“You will protect him. You will guide him,” the Archangel said. “He is your responsibility now and yours alone. Do you understand?”
From Heaven, Hyunjin could only look at the wet, wrinkled face of his human. His human. “I understand.”
Then the Archangel flew off, and Hyunjin flew to Earth for the first time to meet the baby. No one noticed him as he phased through the hospital walls nor as his giant wings folded back. Only Jeongin would be able to see his guardian angel.
“Hello there, little one,” he whispered to the swaddled baby. The boy was fast asleep, and Hyunjin gently stroked his face. “I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Hyunjin, your official guardian angel. I’ll always be nearby now, and I’ll always make sure you’re safe. Sometimes you won’t be able to see me, but I’ll always be watching over you. I promise.”
Jeongin stirred awake and stared back at Hyunjin. Two sets of eyes blinked at each other, one full of curiosity and one full of tenderness.
“Go back to sleep,” Hyunjin said. He drew his hand over the baby’s face, and Jeongin’s eyes fluttered shut. “Sweet dreams, little one.”
Guardian angels talked about their humans like parents, bragging about how gifted they were and sharing complaints about what unbelievable thing they did the other day. Hyunjin mostly did the latter. Jeongin was an adventurous child, which was just a nice way of saying that he liked to play with danger. Hyunjin often had to fly in to save him or to redirect the threat somewhere else. The other angels joked that Hyunjin stayed on Earth more than Heaven sometimes. He didn’t mind though. Even with his human’s shortcomings, Hyunjin adored him. He watched from above as Jeongin said his first words, attended his first day of kindergarten, and got into his first fight.
“He’s a troublemaker,” Minho observed.
Minho was a guardian angel as well, but he tended to lurk on the outer edges of the realm as the other angels avoided him for a reason Hyunjin hadn’t figured out yet. Hyunjin liked him well enough and treated him like a mentor, sometimes a friend.
“Hey, you’re not one to talk. Your human started a black market of candy at school.”
Minho shrugged. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing.”
Jeongin didn’t end up growing up into a troublemaker, to Hyunjin’s relief. The impulsive streak was still there, but he utilized his judgement more now. There were no car crashes or cases of alcohol poisoning, and when Jeongin asked out girls, it was with daisy bouquets and a suggestion to get lunch. Hyunjin slowly stopped making routine trips to Earth and chose to view Jeongin from the comfort of Heaven. It was there that Hyunjin noticed you.
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“I think she’s upset with him,” Jisung abruptly says. “She cried after a video call with him, so if your human starts acting strangely, that’s why.”
The news makes Hyunjin stop mid-step, and he turns to his friend. “She cried? What? What did she cry about?”
“I don’t know. I was too busy trying to lower her temperature. Can you believe that she almost hit—”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“I just got back! There is no ‘earlier!’ Besides, we aren't allowed to interfere in anything that isn't dangerous. Heartbreak, if this is even what this is, is temporary."
“Humans do drastic things for love.” The movies has seen while watching Jeongin have told him that much.
“Which we will attend to when it happens. You’re a new guardian; you’ll understand them better over time. Not everything is life-threatening, fragile as they are.”
Hyunjin turns away from Jisung and glances down at Earth. The clouds part, and all of the brick buildings of the university rush towards his eyes as he focuses on Jeongin. He’s asleep at his desk, his lamp still burning bright above him. How long has it been since the video call? Or perhaps he’s just tired from the events of his day. But he looks so small and vulnerable in his chair. Jeongin isn’t fragile — the amount of situations he has gotten out of covered in bruises and blood is astronomical — but he is mortal.
“But she loves him,” Hyunjin softly says, “and he loves her.”
“Exactly. Humans fight over small things all the time, and this is one of those times.” Jisung places a hand on Hyunjin’s shoulder to placate him. “Trust me.”
“... I trust you.”
“Good. I need to rest, but we can catch up and see what stupid things they do after.”
The moment Jisung flies off to the rest area, Hyunjin goes against the Archangel’s orders and flies to your apartment. When he peers inside your bedroom window, he spots you sitting in bed in the dark, your phone screen illuminating your face. He phases inside and sits at your desk chair, resting his forearms at the top rail. You can’t see him, but he wishes that you could.
You mindlessly scroll through messages, sniffling every few seconds. Whether it’s from your crying or your illness, he doesn’t know. He can’t hand you a tissue or tell you comforting things or hug you like Jeongin can. When you wrap your blanket tighter around your shoulders, he wraps his wings around himself as well.
Suddenly you throw your phone beside you and let out a heavy sigh. “It can’t get any worse than this,” you say to yourself.
Hyunjin waits for you to say more, but you only stare at the ceiling with blank eyes. He can’t compel you to talk; only Jisung can, but he’s not here. So instead, Hyunjin knocks over the glass of water on your bed when you shift into a more comfortable position.
“Of course it can,” you sigh again and blot as much water as you can with your tissues. You pull another one out of the box with more force than necessary and furiously dab your sheets. “First I get sick, then I miss a homework deadline that I can’t make up because my professor lost his heart thirty years ago along with his hair, then my boyfriend breaks up with me for like no reason, apparently I have an exam tomorrow, and now I’ve spilled water all over my bed, so I can’t even sleep. Thank you, universe. I really needed this.”
He immediately regrets his decision.
“Worst freaking week of my life,” you mumble as you throw away the wet tissues. Hyunjin almost reaches out for your arm when you pass by, but he retracts it just in time.
When you climb back into bed, you draw your blanket up to your chin and begin murmuring numbers. They come out calm and even at first, but they become more tense as time passes. Hyunjin half-listens as he scans the contents of your desk. A laptop, a shopping bag, an open notebook with doodles on the margins, an uncapped black pen, and a pack of gum. He presses his forefinger to the point of the pen, drawing a tiny heart by touch. Then he stamps the heart among all your misshapen stars and imaginary flowers. You might just think it’s an ink smear, but he hopes you look at it and smile.  
You hit three hundred and forty-seven before you begin to sound drowsy. Hyunjin stands at the foot of your bed, watching as you finally drift off in the middle of three hundred and ninety-three. Serenity settles across your features.
“I’m sorry for what I did earlier. Good night and sweet dreams,” he whispers. He pats the corner of your bed before flying off into the night.
He needs to see Jeongin.
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It was hard not to notice you when you were on a collision course with Jeongin. You were going too fast, and Hyunjin’s wings couldn’t carry him to Earth in milliseconds. With horror, he watched as you sharply turned the building corner on your skateboard and just barely jumped off in time when you saw Jeongin about to make the same turn.
“You okay?” Jeongin asked as he hurried to stop your runaway board.
“I should be asking you that!” you exclaimed as you followed him. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have veered that close to the wall. You’re not hurt or anything, right?”
“I’m fine, don’t worry.”
“Good. I can’t risk getting sued again.” Unsure of how to respond, Jeongin nudged back your board to you. You neatly stopped it mid-roll with your foot. “Thanks, by the way. See you around.”
“Yeah, see you.”
You kicked off, but before you left the area, you turned around and gave him a wave. Jeongin waved back, albeit more shyly than you. After a moment’s hesitation, he yelled out, “Be careful!”
“I’ll try!”
Jeongin laughed and turned the corner, looking at the brick wall with more wistfulness than most people usually did. Before he entered the building, he peeked around the next corner, as if he expected you to come speeding by again. You didn’t.
After that, he noticed you more often, usually swerving around strangers as you cut through campus. Whenever he had the opportunity to say hello, he did so with a smile, and you returned it with a waggle of your fingers before disappearing into the crowd. Once, you nearly crashed into a railing. You laughed it off and gave him another wave along with a funny face. Hyunjin felt something inside him melt. Jeongin must have too since he headed to his next class with the most lovestruck expression Hyunjin had ever seen on him.
It was then that Jeongin began forming a plan.
Two weeks after the first meeting, Jeongin waited in the quad for you to show up. Just as he hoped, you came walking down the steps fifteen minutes later, skateboard tucked underneath your arm. It was supposed to seem like a coincidence, but Hyunjin had followed Jeongin as he scoured nearby skate spots, asking around about you. Yesterday, he had learned where you liked to practice tricks. He got up from his bench, hands hidden behind his back, and approached you with the same moves and confidence he had rehearsed in the bathroom mirror.
“Hey! How have you been?” he called up from the very bottom.
Meanwhile, Hyunjin groaned. Jisung, who Hyunjin had tracked down two days prior to this, also did so.
“You said he was a charmer,” Jisung complained. “Look at him. He can’t even charm dogs with a treat.”
“For your sake, I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. Just wait though. It’s going to get better.”
Jisung huffed. “It better. She deserves the best.”
Fortunately, you took it all in stride and waved hello at Jeongin. When you were finally beside him, you answered, “I’ve been good, thanks. You’re not here to sue me, right?”
“No! I was actually wondering if you could teach me how to skateboard. If you have time, that is.”
“Really? But I almost killed you that one time. I mean, I’d be happy to, but it’s kind of weird after what happened.”
“I’d rather skateboard than walk, and you seem pretty good at it.”
You shifted your weight to one foot, and Hyunjin chuckled when he saw Jeongin’s eyes wander to your jutted-out hip. Jisung made a noise of disapproval.
“Okay, what is this really about?”
“Skateboarding,” Jeongin said. Then he took a step closer and held out a bundle of daisies towards you. “And lunch, if you want.”
You broke out into a grin. “I am a little hungry right now. L/N Y/N, skateboarding extraordinaire and ramen enthusiast, at your service.”
“Yang Jeongin, also a ramen enthusiast. Nice to officially meet you.”
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Jeongin is still sleeping at his desk when Hyunjin arrives. He shifts and exhales when the wind from Hyunjin’s wings create a small breeze but does not wake.
“How could you break up with her?” Hyunjin says. “She’s amazing and wonderful, and you decide that you don't want to be with her? Sometimes I wonder what’s going on in your head.”
Silence.
“If I were human, I would have never done that, but…”
Jeongin shifts again, burying himself deeper into the crumpled hoodie he’s using as a pillow. The table squeaks, and a mechanical pencil rolls off the desk. Hyunjin quietly places the pencil back to its initial place and shuts off the lamp.
“Take care of yourself, and make good choices, okay? I can’t do that for you.”
Instead of flying back to Heaven, he perches on the roof of the building across from Jeongin’s. Jeongin finally wakes up and notices that his light is off. He glances at it confusedly for a few seconds, wondering if he misremembered leaving it on. In the end, he decides it’s not worth the effort and falls into his bed. He didn’t even spare you a thought, a crime in Hyunjin’s eyes.
Then he realizes he may have a bigger problem on his hands.
Jisung.
Jisung is going to be very upset when he finds out about this.
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Over the weekend, you brought Jeongin to the quad to learn the basics.
“Put both feet on the board now,” you said as you walked alongside a skateboarding Jeongin. He was borrowing yours to practice, so he treated it with more reverence than a well-used board would need. Even though he was pushing with his back foot, he was going at a snail’s pace.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I’m going to lose my balance and fall.”
Perhaps it wasn’t reverence after all.
You shook your head. “No, you won’t. You’re not going that fast anyway. You can just step off if you really feel like you are. Give it a shot.”
To his credit, Jeongin lifted his foot a few centimeters off the ground before planting it back. “I’m going to lose control.”
While you did your best to persuade Jeongin to give it another try, Jisung gave Hyunjin a dissatisfied look. “I remember you telling me he was a daredevil. What is happening?”
He didn’t exactly know either. “He’s in front of his crush; give him a break.”
“These two better not end up dating. She deserves so much better than him.”
Hyunjin gave him a dirty look, Jisung gave him a “What? It’s true” type of a shrug.
You step in front of the board. “How about this?” you said. “You stand on the board with both feet, and I’ll pull you along so you can get used to the feeling and be less of a scaredy cat.”
“Okay.”
You took both of his hands and slowly guided him backwards. At the same time, you instructed him to put more weight on one side to change directions. Jeongin was surprisingly stable, and Hyunjin watched proudly as his human suggested that you increase your speed a little.
“See? It’s not bad?” you said. “Keeping balance isn’t that hard, right?”
“Yeah. Also,” he grinned, his meek demeanor completely gone, “we’re holding hands now.”
Your eyes widened as you glanced down at your joined hands, and you let out a delighted gasp. “You sneaky little—” Much to Jeongin’s alarm, you let go and smirked. “If you go past the bench without constantly pushing, I’ll let you hold my hand when you walk me home.”
“Kind of presumptuous of you to assume that I would offer to walk you home,” he teased, resting one foot on the floor. “Or is that what you want me to do?”
“You asked me to lunch with flowers. You were going to.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Then he kicked off, skating past the bench with ease. Still going, he looked over his shoulder and shouted, “Do you want to grab doughnuts before you head home?”
“Watch the lamp!” you yelled as you ran towards him. “Jeongin, stop looking at me and turn around!”
The collision with the lamppost was unavoidable, so Hyunjin simply watched as Jeongin took a flying leap off your board and took a tumble on the concrete. While you fumbled for band aids — Jeongin’s knee was scraped and bloody — Jeongin patted his pockets to check that his phone had not fallen out.
“So doughnuts?” he sheepishly asked.
“Sure. I’ll buy.” You finally found one hidden in the bottom of your backpack along with an alcohol wipe. “Guess you get to hold my hand after all.”
“How are you so prepared?” he asked, nodding to the contents you had unceremoniously dumped out whilst rummaging. “You have tweezers and gauze?”
“My mom made me carry a first-aid kit with me when she found out that I skate to class. It comes in handy.” You ripped open the package. “This might hurt.”
“You can kiss it to feel better.”
You laughed and pressed the alcohol wipe to his knee. “You’re such a flirt, I love it. Does it hurt?”
“Yeah, hurts a lot.”
You opted to kiss the band aid instead, causing Jeongin to pout and Jisung to sigh in relief. When you stuck it onto his skin, Jeongin made a big production of being relieved from pain, which made you laugh and shove him.
“No! She’s in love with him,” Jisung groaned. His wings drooped, and Hyunjin swore his halo actually dimmed when you kept your hands in Jeongin’s after you pulled him up. “Well, Hyunjin, looks like you and I are going to be best friends.”
Hyunjin personally saw no issue with that. Like Jeongin, he had been charmed by your antics and your easygoing nature. Protecting his human’s friends, family, or lovers wasn’t part of Hyunjin’s duty, but he felt compelled to watch over you too.
Because if he were human, he would have fallen in love with you too.
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In the midst of his lamenting, Jisung flies down and sits beside him on the roof. His wings are still slightly gray, and Hyunjin strangely begins to feel self-conscious of his pure white ones.
“Didn’t the Archangel forbid you from doing frivolous things?” Jisung says in lieu of a greeting. “I saw you at her apartment earlier.”
“I just wanted to check up on her. Not that I thought you lied,” he hastily adds. “I wanted to see for myself. She’s a little… distraught.”
“She got into a fight with her boyfriend. It’s normal.” When Hyunjin doesn’t reply or even make a sound, he grows concerned. “Is it something else? She’s getting sued, isn’t she? I knew it was going to happen someday. When I find that smug richie-rich, I’m going to—”
“Jeongin broke up with her.”
“What.”
Hyunjin repeats his sentence, trying to block the view of Jeongin’s bedroom with his body. Jisung looks like he’s ready to rain judgement onto him, and while Hyunjin is rather good at his job, he’s not sure if he can hold back an enraged guardian angel. Jisung takes several deep breaths before regaining the little composure he can muster.
“I knew I hated him for a reason. I knew he didn’t deserve her,” he spits out, though the venom in his voice wavers. “Why would he even break up with her? She loved him so much.”
Hyunjin shrugs. “That’s what I want to find out.”
“When you find out, let me know. I’m going to see her now.”
Hyunjin stays on the roof until sunrise. Jeongin sleeps without any trouble, and when he wakes up, he looks fresh-faced, no guilt hanging over his head. Hyunjin feels something inside him cracking apart.
You truly don’t deserve this.
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“Do you think they’re going to crash and burn?” Jisung asked as he studied you and Jeongin walking through the park, practically glued to each other’s sides. “I think they’re moving too fast. It’s only been a month.”
Hyunjin really didn’t care about that. As long as you and Jeongin were happy, he was happy. “A month is a pretty long time for them. Mortal lives are short.”
“Exactly. They should be more selective about their life choices.”
Hyunjin only rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to you. You were pointing at the tiny carousel in the middle and tugging at Jeongin’s sleeve. You dragged him over and pushed a coin into the slot for the ride. The lights lit up and a carnival theme played while you struggled to wedge yourself between the saddle of an elephant and the roof of the carousel. Jeongin sat on the edge, beside the tiger, and chuckled at your flailing limbs.
Hyunjin suppressed his own laugh. You were something special. Just last week, the two of you had made it official and started dating. You had done it in the sweetest possible way.
You had taken him to a local skateboarding shop to help him pick out his first board. Once he had chosen one — the ‘one’ being a light blue deck patterned with multicolored doughnuts — the staff at the shop sent him to the back to try it out. Meanwhile, you made the age-old excuse of needing to use the restroom when you were actually getting the flowers you had hidden in the back.
Hyunjin had turned into a pile of fluff when you gave Jeongin the daisy bouquet and asked if he wanted to officially be your boyfriend. You were so earnest. Jeongin playfully pretended to think it over, a feat Hyunjin knew he wouldn’t have been able to do if he were in his position. There were no fireworks or confetti when Jeongin finally said yes, but the staff did clap and cheer. Jisung looked on with contempt. Hyunjin looked on with envy.
“You know,” Jisung abruptly said, snapping Hyunjin back to the present, “when her last boyfriend broke up with her, she had ice cream for dinner for a week.”
“Oh.”
“You see why I’m being wary of him now?”
Hyunjin did, but Jeongin was different. His previous relationships always ended well, and on one occasion, he remained friends with his ex. He sighed and decided that a change of topic was necessary so he wouldn’t have to potentially endure a tirade. “Did you hear about Minho’s human? The bank he worked at got robbed, and he got held at gunpoint.”
That caught the overprotective Jisung’s ear. “What? Is he okay?”
During Hyunjin’s recountment of Minho’s recountment, the carousel ride ended. You squeezed out of your spot, hitting your head on the roof, and Jeongin pulled you in for a forehead kiss. The world grew brighter when you smiled, he realized.
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Hyunjin shadows Jeongin around all day, hoping to learn the reason for the breakup. Unfortunately, Jeongin doesn’t say anything. He does show some regret though, as he scrolls through past messages and old pictures. When he heads to classes, he opts to walk instead of skateboarding like usual and avoids the quad whenever possible.
In the evening, while Jeongin is chewing on his salad like a cow to cud, Hyunjin pays you a visit. He finds in the freezer section of the grocery store with three pints of ice cream in your basket. From the looks of it, you’re about to add another three to your haul. Peanut butter pretzel sounds equal parts delicious and confusing.
Hyunjin studies your expression, frowning at the same time you do. Your eyes are ringed with red, your jaw tight, and your eyebrows seem permanently furrowed. When he follows you back home, he half expects you to start crying on the way, but you hold fast and manage to open a pint of the salted caramel flavor before the tears finally come. There’s no wailing, just sniffling and the sound of you furiously wiping at your face with the sleeve of your hoodie. In the midst of it all, you find the strength to reorganize the freezer to make space for the other pints. Something about that makes Hyunjin’s heart drop.
By the time your roommate discovers you in the kitchen, the entire refrigerator has been reorganized and the ice cream finished. You sit in a dark room, your finger hovering above the ‘SEND’ button of a message to Jeongin. Hyunjin can see it if he flies above you: “Can you please just tell me why? You keep saying you did something wrong, but I don’t even know what it is. Please let me decide if it’s worth breaking up over.”
“Rough day?” she gently asks as she flips on the switch.
“Yeah.”
“Do you wanna talk about it?”
“Maybe tomorrow. I just wanna process it right now,” you hollowly say. You grab your skateboard — the same black, paint-splattered one you had last year — and unlock the front door. “I’m going out for a ride, but I’ll be back in an hour or so.”
“Stay safe.”
After you leave, Jisung phases through the kitchen walls and hisses at Hyunjin, “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with Jeongin?”
He nearly forgot about him. Eating dinner isn’t a dangerous task anyway though. Besides, if Jeongin does get physically harmed somehow, Hyunjin will feel an echo of the pain. Hyunjin glances at the door, and Jisung shakes his head.
“I’ll take care of her. Go back to Jeongin, and make sure he’s okay. You can’t keep leaving him all the time.”
“Fine, I’ll go.”
“Good.”
Hyunjin reluctantly goes back to Jeongin, who is still eating his salad. His resolve from last night is clearly gone as evidenced by his melancholy expression as he scrolls through even more photos. The one of you in mid-air makes him clutch his phone.
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“Let me get one of you when you’re really high up,” Jeongin suggested. He was comfortable gliding around on a skateboard now, but nowhere comfortable enough to try any tricks. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop you from trying to get him to learn. The “pop shove it” was your favorite, solely for the amount of height you could get.
“Okay.”
As you did over and over again for your enthusiastic boyfriend who was unfortunately not that great of a photographer, Hyunjin observed from a rooftop behind Jeongin. Sometimes you looked like you were flying. He could imagine wings protruding from your back, and if the sun hit you just right, there appeared to be a halo as well.
“I got one!” Jeongin exclaimed as he held up his device to you. “Look.”
Hyunjin couldn’t see for himself, but your mouth dropped into an ‘o’ once you took a first glance. A flustered smile made its way onto your face, and everything about you turned soft.
“This looks amazing,” you said. You sidled up to him and rested your cheek against his shoulder, turning your head towards him. “I love you.”
The words hung in the air for a few seconds as both Hyunjin and Jeongin tried to process them. This was the first time you had ever said them, and it came seemingly out of nowhere. Hyunjin recovered first.
“Say ‘I love you’ back, you moron,” Hyunjin whispered, like Jeongin would be able to hear him from this distance. “‘I love you too.’”
“I wanted to say it first,” Jeongin finally said. “Ugh, I had it all planned out too. We were supposed to get doughnuts after this, and I was going to buy you one of those heart-shaped ones.”
You kissed him on the cheek and intertwined your fingers with his. “We can still do that.”
At the doughnut shop, he said the words second, and you kissed him again, leaving a crystal of glaze on the corner of his mouth. Hyunjin licked his lips as if you had left it on him instead.
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“Did you find out?” Jisung asks when Hyunjin leaves Jeongin to check up on you. You’re skating around the city, making sharp swerves and weaving in-between lampposts. Jisung is trailing behind you in the sky, but he slows when he sees Hyunjin approaching.
“No, but—”
“Then go back to him. Hyunjin,” Jisung sighs, “I know you care about her, but she’s not your human. Jeongin’s your responsibility.”
“I know but—”
“Go back. And I’m telling you this not as your friend but as your senior. You’re a guardian angel, and you need to take your responsibilities seriously. I’ll get the Archangel involved if I have to. Do you want to get Seungminned?”
The threat of the Archangel strangely doesn’t scare him anymore, however. In fact, the Archangel being involved may solve many of his current issues.
“I’ll find you again when I find out,” Hyunjin slowly says.
Jisung nods in approval before racing after you again. Hyunjin heads to Heaven, not to keep an eye over his human but to become human.
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Ten months into Jeongin’s relationship with you, Hyunjin asked Minho, “Is it possible to give up your divinity?”
Minho gave Hyunjin a curious look. “Is being a guardian angel that taxing for you? You haven’t even experienced a full lifespan yet. I know, twenty year-olds are annoying, but it’s not nearly as bad as forty year-olds and their mid-life crisis.”
“I’m just curious. Or, as a last resort,” he added, hoping that Minho would stop being suspicious if he joked about it. “My human’s been making some dumb choices.”
A lie, but Minho fell for it.
“I told you he was going to be a troublemaker!” he cackled. He sympathetically patted Hyunjin’s back. “If I’m being honest, I thought about it a few times. I always get assigned to the troublemakers. Probably because the higher-ups hate me for not tolerating their BS. They’re always playing favorites. Anyway, the easiest way is to get expelled by the Archangel. It’s happened a few times before.”
“Can’t you just ask him?”
Minho smirked. “You don’t think other angels have tried that? He only expels the ones who don’t want to be. It’s supposed to be a punishment.”
“What’s the hard way then?”
“Same thing minus the Archangel getting involved: your wings getting cut off,” he matter-of-factly answered. “The halo will break once your wings are detached. It’s only been done once, by the way.”
Hyunjin absentmindedly rubbed the area where the bones of his wings met with his shoulder blades. All he needed were two clean cuts across his practically impenetrable back.
“How do you do that?”
“With the Archangel’s sword. Another angel has to cut it though; you can’t do it yourself.”
The Archangel would likely banish him to Hell for even asking about his weapon. If Hyunjin ever did manage to steal the sword away, Jisung would never agree to it. He couldn’t just ask any angel to help him.
“How do you know about all this?” Hyunjin asked.
Minho hesitated, something he rarely did. He quickly recovered, hiding his sudden apprehension with his usual devil-may-care nonchalance. “I can’t give away all of my secrets.”
“We’re friends, aren’t we?”
Friends. The word hung in the air like the sun, and Hyunjin knew that Minho would tell him because underneath all of his bluster was loneliness. Because no one liked Minho, or if they did, they still avoided him anyway.
“Yeah, we are,” Minho answered, smiling for a second before a strange expression crossed over his face, pride mixed with a touch of sadness. “Do you really think the Archangel would have expelled one of his favorite guardian angels that easily?”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Seungmin. He asked me to cut his wings for him.”  
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“I need you to cut my wings,” are Hyunjin’s first words to Minho after not speaking to him for days.
To his credit, Minho is only speechless for a few seconds. The dove in his hand pecks at him for more headpats before he recovers. “Well, do you have the sword?”
“No, but I think I can get it. When I do though, would you do it? You’re the only one I trust.”
Minho sighs and tosses the bird out of Heaven, grimacing a bit when he hears it squawk. When he faces Hyunjin, he smiles the same smile he did when he talked about Seungmin. “It’s always me, huh? I’ll do you one better. I’ll steal the sword for you. The Archangel’s been pissing me off anyway.”
For once, Hyunjin’s thoughts are not on you but his friend. He imagined that Minho would be willing, but perhaps he’s too willing. “Are you trying to get expelled as well? We can go together.”
“No, I like being immortal. I hate all of the BS I get put through sometimes, but the Archangel can’t kick me out. He swore an oath to me a long time ago before he got promoted, and it’s pretty much unbreakable. Besides, even Heaven needs a scapegoat.”
That explains why virtually no angels interact with Minho, Hyunjin being the exception. He has never heard of the Archangel being oathsworn, though it seems likely that the Archangel wants to keep that a secret.
“How are you going to get it?” Hyunjin asks. “How did Seungmin even get it? The Archangel always has it with him.”
“Seungmin was one of his favorites,” Minho reminds him. “He had easy access to him, and the Archangel trusted him enough to let him borrow it for ‘a study.’ Don’t worry about me though. Just wait for me on Earth. Somewhere where no one goes. I’ll find you, slice off your wings, and the Archangel won’t even know what happened to you.”
“That’s not possible. He always keeps it on him.”
Minho shrugs, a gleam in his eyes. “I’ve done it before. Why do you think I’m the scapegoat?”
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Seungmin. For Minho and now Hyunjin, being Seungminned didn’t mean being expelled for being frivolous anymore; it meant leaving of your own accord.
“What happened to him?” Hyunjin asked. “Why didn’t the Archangel grant his divinity back? Someone should have spotted him on Earth.”
Minho’s wry grin was back. “You think the Archangel wanted everyone to find out the golden boy of Heaven no longer wanted to be an angel? Plenty of angels already saw him roaming Earth. It was easier to let everyone think that Seungmin was banished. So when they saw him on Earth, he was just a fallen angel, nothing important.” He nudged Hyunjin’s arm, and the solemn atmosphere vanished. “A troublemaking human isn’t all that bad. Like I said, the twenties are annoying, but they’re manageable. Is he one of those partying types?”
“He goes out sometimes,” Hyunjin carefully replied. Jeongin liked hanging out with his friends and you — mostly you, now that Hyunjin thought about it — but he wasn’t getting blackout drunk every night. At least, Hyunjin hoped he wasn’t. He usually watched over you if you were ever in the vicinity. “Speaking of which, I should check up on him.”
Minho said his goodbyes, and Hyunjin flew back to Earth once he saw that you weren’t with Jeongin. You were studying at your desk, rolling a pen between your fingers, reading through a document on your laptop. The desk light casted a warm glow on your face. You frowned, and your lower lip swelled outwards.
He wished he were human.
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Just as Minho said, Hyunjin waits for him to arrive in a secluded part of the university campus. The building rooftop is devoid of anyone, and the area surrounding it is empty as well. The evening turns into night, then night into the early morning when the sky begins lightening. Still, Minho has not come.
He distantly wonders how Jeongin is faring and his promise to Jisung. When he’s human, he’ll ask Jeongin directly, maybe in disguise of a survey: “Why did you break up with your last partner?” Even to him, it sounds stupid. However, that’s not the real reason why he’s giving up his divinity, so it hardly matters to him. Jisung is resourceful; he’ll find out eventually.
Finally, when the sun peeks over the horizon, Minho descends from Heaven, a familiar silver sword in his hand. He lands beside Hyunjin, a triumphant smile on his face. But his usual humor has been replaced with solemnity.
“You’re sure about this?” he asks as he rests the blade on the top of Hyunjin’s wings.
He has never felt so sure of anything in his life. “Yes.”
“It’s going to hurt.”
“Then make it quick.”
Searing pain shoots through his body as the sword pierces through the thin skin and into the bone. The process is not as nearly as seamless as Hyunjin hoped it would be, and Minho breathes heavily as he pushes the blade down. Bones snap, feathers drift to the floor, and blood trickles down his back. The pain only grows greater near the end, but Hyunjin grits his teeth and keeps quiet. Dawn breaks when his wings finally fall to the floor, no longer white but splattered with red. Soon they fade into dust, and the remnants scatter into the wind. His golden halo shatters into sunlight. The world dulls as the last of his powers disappear, but everything feels much better than when he was an angel.
“Thank you,” he whispers to Minho, who he cannot even look at anymore. His eyes would be burned.
“You’re fallen, not quite mortal and not quite divine. You won’t be affected by all of an angel’s power.”
When Hyunjin cautiously glances at him, Minho waves the bloody sword at him. “See?”
“Yeah.” He wanted humanity, but this is good enough for him. He just needs you to be able to see him, hear him, touch him.
“I need to go back before Heaven becomes Hell, but find Seungmin if you can. He can help you figure things out. Last I heard, he’s living somewhere in the mountains.”
“Thank you,” he repeats. “Minho, I can’t even put it into words about how much this means to me. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”
Minho pats his shoulder before stripping off his clean shirt. “Clean yourself before you leave. No one wants to witness a walking crime scene this early in the morning.”
When he flies back to Heaven, the last thing Hyunjin sees are his wings, still pure white.
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“Hey,” you said as you laced your fingers with Jeongin’s. He had just finished class, and you had waited for him outside the building. Hyunjin had sat on the other end of the bench, savoring the proximity. That was the closest he would ever get to you. “Are you busy tonight? The skate shop just announced — literally an hour ago, those jerks — that they were doing a midnight drop, and I kind of want a new deck.”
“Ugh, I’ve been meaning to buy new trucks, but I have to meet up with my group tonight. Send me pictures though.”
Disappointment only momentarily flooded through Hyunjin. If it was anything like the last two meetups, it would be at the library, and the library was a safe place. Jeongin would be fine there. Hyunjin would be free to shadow you as you went to the skate shop.
“I can get it for you,” you offered.
He shook his head. “It’s fine. Maybe I’ll just wait for a sale.”
“Don’t be surprised if I do get you new trucks,” you warned. You let go of his hand and held his arm. “I still owe you for last month’s dinner.”
Jeongin shook his head again, a smile making its way onto his face. “You don’t owe me anything but a kiss.”
“Flirt,” you laughed as you pressed your lips to his cheek. “Never change, Yang Jeongin.”
That night at the skate shop, Hyunjin hovered above you as you stood in line, chatting with others. There were no unscrupulous characters around, but he stayed with you, only going back to Jeongin when Jisung insisted. However, by then, Hyunjin had already seen you eyeing the shiny teal trucks through the window. Hyunjin knew nothing about skateboards even after all those months, but you seemed pleased by them.
“You’re only getting trucks for sure?” your brand new acquaintance asked. “This is, like, the biggest drop they’ve ever done.”
You shrugged. “I’m kind of on the fence about the decks I saw on the email. I don’t know. Maybe wheels too?”
Meanwhile, Jisung hissed, “Hyunjin, go before something happens. What if a fight breaks out?”
Hyunjin sincerely doubted that one would happen at the library. He lingered around, taking his time unfolding his wings and stretching them.
“Your boyfriend’s lucky,” your acquaintance sighed.
“Nah, I’m the lucky one.”
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Daisies, that’s what he needs right now. Choosing the rooftop of a building was not a smart decision, but the access door is thankfully unlocked, and Hyunjin races down all of the emergency stairs. However, with no form of currency on him, Hyunjin heads to the quad, hoping that he can pull up some dandelions for you. You need to be supported, and bright yellow flowers are just the thing.
What he doesn’t expect though, is to find you doing pop shove its at your usual spot. It’s so early in the day; did you even go back to your apartment to sleep?
“Good morning,” he calls as he walks closer. He waves at you, and you can see him! You tentatively wave back and give him a halfhearted smile. “How are you today? You look beautiful.”
“Thanks, and I’m fine,” you politely reply as you take a step back away from him. “What about you?”
Hyunjin curses in his head and takes another step towards you. “I’m good. Really good, actually. I was wondering if you could teach me how to skateboard. I’m new here, and skateboarding seems like an efficient way to get around.”
You flinch at his words, and he desperately wants to take them back. How did Jeongin do it? Why do his statements come out so stiff? “You seem pretty good at it.”
“Are you not cold?” you blurt out. Hyunjin curses again as he realizes that he’s shirtless. His old one was stained, and Minho’s was as well as the result of his cleanup. This isn’t how it’s supposed to go. “You know, I have to get going, but it was nice meeting you.”
“Hyunjin. My name’s Hyunjin.”
“Nice meeting you, Hyunjin.”
You grab your board and immediately head off to the direction of your apartment. Hyunjin is tempted to follow, but he stays where he is. A bad first impression isn’t the end of the world. The only thing holding him back is his lack of a shirt.
He wanders through the quad, scanning the grass for some flowers. Most of them are the white, fluffy dandelions, but he needs the bright yellow version. However, he takes the white ones anyway in case he can’t find any. The wind scatters the seeds, and he—  
“Hyunjin, I told you not to come back.”
Jisung.
Hyunjin turns around, dropping his bouquet onto the ground. To his horror, not only is Jisung present but also the Archangel. His sword is strapped to his side like usual, not a blood splatter tainting it. Minho did an excellent job of cleaning up the crime scene.
“Jisung, Archangel,” Hyunjin nervously greets. The Archangel frightens him now. “How can I help you?”
“Jisung, why did you bring me here?” the Archangel asks. “I have other things to attend to.”
“He’s abandoned his human too many times, and I don’t think he’s fit to be a guardian angel anymore.”
The Archangel grasps the hilt of his sword and studies Hyunjin, up and down, back and forth. He circles him, and Hyunjin can almost feel his mortality-divinity shining through his body. Jisung hasn’t noticed yet, but there is no doubt the Archangel hasn’t.
“Normally,” the Archangel begins, “the punishment for not fulfilling your duties as a guardian angel is being expelled from Heaven. But you have already fallen.”
“What?” comes Jisung’s shocked voice.
“It was a mistake,” Hyunjin tries. Minho’s words ring in his ear: He only expels the ones who don’t want to be. “I thought I wanted humanity, but I’ve realized that being a guardian angel is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Please. Grant me my divinity back. I will never abandon my human again. I will swear an oath if I have to.”
The Archangel smiles with no teeth, and a chill runs down Hyunjin’s spine. “I’m in a forgiving mood today, so I will do just as you ask. Your divinity will be granted back, but you will no longer be a guardian angel. I’m stripping you of those powers and those duties. You will be replaced immediately. It was my mistake for tasking you with such a large responsibility when you weren’t ready yet.”
With just a snap of the Archangel’s fingers, Hyunjin’s senses sharpen, and the world comes hurtling at him. Nothing is dull anymore, but everything feels so dark and wrong. You will never be able to see him, hear him, or talk to him again. And he will never be able to either. Power surges inside of him, and new wings burst through his shoulder blades, fanning out once they reappear. A silver halo hangs over his head. There is no physical pain into becoming immortal again, yet he wishes there was something. Everything he and Minho did was erased with ease.
Hyunjin swallows the lump in his throat. “Thank you,” he chokes out.
“You’re very welcome. Come along now. Only guardian angels are allowed to be on Earth.”
Hyunjin follows the Archangel back to Heaven while Jisung goes after you. The Archangel loudly deliberates on who he should be replaced with, and Hyunjin knows that his request was not granted with kindness. The Archangel informs that he will be a messenger again. Hyunjin barely hears him as he takes one last look at Earth. Jeongin is there. Jisung is there. You are there.
Hyunjin avoids Minho’s eyes as he flies inside the realm behind the Archangel and hides among the rest of the regular angels until he is called to send a message. The higher-ups recognize him, make snide remarks about his demotion, and make pitiful faces at him. He barely registers them. There is a hollowness in him, and no matter how many memories he recalls, it isn’t enough to fill the void.
A few weeks later, Jisung approaches him, but even he stays a healthy distance away. “Hyunjin.” The disdain is clear.
“Jisung.”
“You knew about the reason all along, didn’t you? You were there when it happened.”
“When what happened?”
Realization dawns upon Jisung, and he shakes his head in disgust. “I should have known. You weren’t with him that night because you left him like you always did! You could have done something. Make him fall off his chair or something. Make the girl lose her balance. Instead, both of our humans suffered because you weren’t there.”
“What happened?”
“A girl from his group project randomly kissed him, and he thought he had been leading her on and cheating on his own girlfriend, so he broke up with her because he thought that would be the right thing to do instead of just telling her what actually happened. They’re back together now because he finally got the nerve to give her closure. It took nearly a month. They were miserable for a month. All because of you.”
It stings. “They’re okay now, right?”
“They’re fine, no thanks to you.” Just when Hyunjin thinks he’s going to leave, he takes a step forward, lips curled into sneer. “You know, angels and humans aren’t allowed to be with each other. It’s been forbidden for millenia.”
“I know,” he whispers. “But I loved her, and I had to try.”
“She would have never chosen you anyway.”
He never had a chance, did he?
~ ad.gray
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Yes, you did! I remembered it and wondered if you were going to come back! Hope you enjoyed this! <3
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