#time to tag their akuma names now

[turtletaubwrites]

Misty Eyes ~ Part 2

Thank you so much @pinejayyfor this delicious request!!

Pairings: Trafalgar Law x Fem!Reader, Doflamingo x Fem!Reader (Past)

Word Count: 3377

Misty Eyes Masterlist

Ao3 Link

Summary: Law can't trust you yet, so you do everything you can to prove yourself. Will your memories help or hurt you?

Author's Note: I'm really enjoying writing Law in multiple fics, so I can slap different vibes on him like he's trying on different shades of eyeliner 😅

THIS FIC CONTAINS DARK CONTENT.

Rating/Warnings: Explicit Sexual Content, 18+ ONLY, MDNI, AFAB!Reader, She/Her Pronouns for Reader, Reader-Insert, Devil Fruit User Reader, Swearing, Eventual Smut, Angst, Pet Names, Degradation, Punishment, Emotional Abuse, DARK CONTENT, DUBCON, Grooming, Trauma, Past Sexual Abuse, Manipulation, Power Imbalance, Dubious Consent, Donquixote Doflamingo is His Own Warning, Bondage, Other Additional Tags to be Added, Dissociation, Inappropriate Use of Akuma no Mi | Devil Fruit Powers

!!! SPOILERS !!! This story begins during the 2 year timeskip before the Punk Hazard Arc, and there will also be spoilers for the Dressrosa Arc for backstory lore

| masterlist | about me | rules | ao3 |

~🦩🦩🦩~

“Do you love me?”

“Of course I do, young master! You–”

“Now, now, Y/N. What did I tell you? You’re my pretty little thing now, so you get to call me Doffy, alright?”

His large hand cupped your face, warming your cheek that was already warm from his attention. 

He’s smiling at me now. I’m special to him. I mean something to him, finally. 

“Well? Are you going to answer my question properly?”

Doffy’s hand traveled down to your neck, long fingers circling your vulnerable flesh as he waited for you to obey him.

“Yes. I love you, Doffy.”

~🦩🦩🦩~

“Y/N?”

Law repeated your name softly until you returned, finding yourself in that metal room, a shrine dedicated to his hatred and rage. 

“I’m sorry to have to ask you this,” Law rasped, dipping his face to meet your eyes. “I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through all these years…”

His brows pinched together when he caught your grimace, and his shoulders slumped. 

Guilt pulled at his features, while you tried to understand which of the emotions inside you were worth focusing on. 

“I shouldn’t have asked you that–”

“I don’t know,” you confessed. Your voice was empty, as if a machine were spilling truths instead of your own lips. 

“I did love him. I know I did,” you continued, staring a hole through Law’s wooden desk. “I’ve been… feeling guilty for a while. Why am I not feeling that anymore?”

Your misty eyes looked up, almost pleading with him for an answer. 

“Loving Doffy is the only thing I’m good at. The only reason he needs me. What use am I–”

“You are worth more than what he takes from you,” he growled, your eyes widening until the mist turned to tears.

Law relaxed his shoulders again, releasing a breath. Those tattooed hands cupped your cheeks, and you sighed as his thumbs wiped away your show of weakness. 

“Y/N,” he soothed, his lips quirking before he continued. He dropped his hands away, and you missed their warmth, especially as those golden eyes hardened again. 

“I don’t want to keep you prisoner, but as much as I'd like to, I can’t trust you yet.”

Nodding, you tried not to shake as fear rolled back over you. 

“I can’t risk this mission. It’s not safe for me to leave you somewhere on your own. But if I let you roam the Polar Tang, interact with my crew… Especially when you can sneak into any room you like–”

“I would never,” you choked out, reaching for one of his hands on the desk. “Please, Law. I won’t betray you, I swear.”

He squeezed your hand in return, but shook his head. 

“I want to believe you, Y/N. But we both know the power he has over people. You might not think you’d betray me now, but he’s been in your head your whole life.”

The weight of loneliness pressed your body down, your hand going limp in his. He squeezed it a few more times until you looked up again. 

“If you're willing to trust me,” he started, his eyes a bit wide, “I have a way to make sure that I can trust you. It won’t hurt–”

“Hurt,” you whispered, wetting your dry lips as you waited for whatever he wanted to do to you.

“I can remove your heart,” he explained, pulling a key from his pocket to unlock the large bottom drawer of his desk. 

With all of the gruesome things you’d seen in your life, you were surprised at the gasp you let out. Law had pulled something from the drawer, holding it up so that you could take a look. 

It was a strange cube, almost glowing with blueish pink light. It looked squishy, and you reached out to touch it before you noticed the steady pulse. It was a beating heart. 

“So that story is true,” you breathed as you watched it in fascination, “you really did steal all of those pirate’s hearts.”

“I did,” he nodded grimly, tucking that heart back into the drawer. “I’ve done a lot of things to prepare for this goal.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? You–”

“Take my heart. It’s not helping me out anyway, it might be good to have a break,” you laughed, trying to cover the hollow sound in your words. 

Law stood, and you followed suit, his powerful voice vibrating through you. 

“Room.”

You watched in awe as he created a blue sphere of light to fill the space before coming toward you with his sword. 

“This is just a precaution,” he explained, his breath going heavy. “I won’t hurt you, Y/N. I'll protect you.”

“I trust you,” you admitted before you held your breath. 

You couldn’t follow all of the emotions that crossed his face, until he drained them all away. He looked at you as if you were just a problem to be solved. A loose end to tie up to make sure his plan would succeed.

His sunny eyes were as cold and distant as the vacuum of space when he held the tip of his blade to your chest.

“Scalpel.”

You couldn’t remember the last time a weapon had hurt you. There was no need to worry about being injured in battle when you hadn’t left the castle in so long. 

Doffy was the only one that could hurt you, besides the sea and its stone.

Nothing could cut through mist. 

Law was so confident in his ability that you hadn’t questioned him. Instead, you tried to cooperate, somehow willing your body to stay solid so he could rip you open. 

But the blade at your chest seemed as weak as your own abilities. 

Until it pierced your flesh.

“You’re okay,” Law assured you as he pressed further, your gasping breaths slowing as you realized there was no pain. 

“Would you like to hold it?”

Such a strange feeling, gazing at your own beating heart. The very core of your being, the thing that keeps you alive. 

Sitting in the palm of your hand like a piece of fruit.

“What happens if I squeeze it?”

“It would hurt very– Y/N, stop!”

Law pulled your heart from your grasp as you fell to your knees. The pain was indescribable, radiating from your chest through your whole body, as if your veins were on fire. Nausea came as the pain burned through you, and you leaned your forehead against his desk as he knelt beside you. 

“Why would you do that,” he questioned, almost scolding you like he would when you were kids. 

“Most things can’t hurt me,” you choked out, tilting your head up to see his grumpy face. “I was just curious.”

He frowned before sitting on the floor beside you, pushing the chair out of his way as he looked you over. 

“How are you feeling, Y/N? Have you been having thoughts of harming yourself?”

“What? No,” you exclaimed, sitting straight as the pain started to fade. “I promise, I just… I don’t know. I’ve never been handed my own fucking heart before. It was like an impulse.”

“You’ll tell me if you start having thoughts like that,” he requested after a pause, making you squirm with embarrassment. 

“I promise, I’m sorry. I was stupid.”

Law helped you to your feet, then gripped your shoulder until you were caught in his serious glare. 

“That was a stupid thing to do, but you are not stupid.”

You scrunched your face up, and sat down, itching to forget everything that happened in the last hour.

“This is just a precaution,” he repeated, locking your heart in that bottom drawer. You tried not to stare as he tucked the key into his pocket, but a sick taste of guilt hit your tongue.

I wouldn't need a key to steal my heart back. I could just mist into the drawer, and absorb it. 

You gulped down the pressure to confess, to tell him to hide it somewhere else. 

I’m not gonna steal it back, but I don’t know him anymore. I should be careful. 

“Now,” Law cleared his throat, picking up his notepad again, “do you know anything about Doflamingo’s dealings with Kaidou?”

Your mouth opened, but nothing came out. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to tell him. Everything just felt blank.

“I don’t… I’m not important enough to know anything,” you explained, the words burning your throat on the way out. “I’m sorry, I probably won’t be able to help much.”

Law sat back in his chair, tapping his pen against his lips while he assessed you.

I’m still fucking useless. 

‘Can’t do anything on your own, huh? Just listen to Doffy, you’ll be the perfect little doll for me, alright?’

“Were you with him a lot?”

“What,” you coughed, your skin flushing to the tips of your ears. 

“No, I– that’s not what I…” Law sighed, shaking his head to clear his own words away. “Did he have you with him throughout the day? During meals, maybe while he took calls or meetings?”

“Oh,” you said softly, noticing yourself going fuzzy again, staring into nothing as you tried to recall.

~🦩🦩🦩~

“I mean no offense, Joker, but shouldn’t we be discussing this in private?”

“Oh, don’t mind her, Caesar,” Doffy laughed, rubbing his hand over your back as you lounged in his lap. “She can’t do any harm.”

The scientist frowned at you for a moment. You couldn’t tell if he was wearing makeup, or if his skin really was that pale, his lips almost purple. He met your eyes before shifting his own away from you, and away from Doffy’s fingers that trailed over your thighs, your neck. 

Doffy always touched you so gently when visitors were around, and you melted into him. 

If not for Caesar’s grating laugh, you might have drifted off. Instead, you jolted now and then, Doffy’s hands clutching a little tighter. 

~🦩🦩🦩~

“Are you al–”

“I remember something. Doffy sent Monet with a scientist, this weird guy with–”

“Caesar Clown,” he prompted, his brow arching a bit.

“Yeah. And I guess you wouldn’t know Monet, she joined after you…”

Law pointed to a picture on the wall, your gaze slow in following the gesture. 

“I know of her.”

Your eyes were drawn to a shot of Monet, her wings curled around her as she read a book with those odd, hypnotizing glasses of hers. Memories of her disapproval hit you, a sigh escaping your lips as you tried to rid yourself of her judgments. 

“She’s even more loyal to Doffy than the rest of– than everyone else. She’s almost obsessive. That’s probably why he sent her.”

Law’s body had gone taut, like electricity was running through him as he set his pen to the paper. 

“Please, Y/N, tell me everything you can remember. Even if it doesn’t seem important.”

~

Your brain felt like a wet rag, with Law wringing out every detail of every call or meeting you could think of. 

It seemed strange how much you could recall from your quiet perch on his lap. You were always so bored, but had to fight yourself not to space out or yawn.

Doffy’s possessive fingers along your skin were wonderful, your revealing clothing giving him so much access. As bored as you could get, those teasing touches in front of visitors prepared your body for what came later. 

It was a relief to wet his thigh with slick before he dismissed the guests. He rarely had the patience to prep you any other way. 

You’d spaced out on those memories, Law’s face pinching in concern as he watched your nails digging into your arms.

“Are you hungry? We can continue tomorrow.”

Groaning at the thought, you followed Law back to the galley. He didn’t have much luck in calming his crew this time. They surrounded the two of you until Law begrudgingly introduced you, and your hand was shaken by many greasy, steamy hands pulled out of gloves, and one bear’s paw that you were very hesitant to touch. 

“I’m sorry about what I said before,” Bepo drawled, true sadness seeming to drip from his voice. “I just really love our cap–” 

“Bepo,” Law scolded, and you turned to scold him back as the bear scurried off.

“How could you be so mean, did you see his–”

“Don’t fall for his sad bear eyes,” Law bristled, and you held in your smile at his discomfort. 

“Is that something you’ve learned from experience,” you teased, earning you a scowl.

Law tucked into his meal, not meeting your eyes as he replied. 

“I know my crew.”

“Oh yeah? They all seem to think you’re the most wonderful man in the world. Could the Surgeon of Death be a big softie?”

If looks could kill.

“Okay, sorry,” you teased between bites, “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“You do realize that I could take away your tongue if I wanted to,” he threatened, with what looked like the barest touch of pink gracing his cheeks. 

“Oh, I’m sure you’d enjoy some alone time with it.”

Law raised his brows as you clamped your hand over your mouth, your face going hot. He looked too smug, his lips curling as if trying not to laugh. 

“Shut up,” you choked out, putting your misty hands in your lap. 

“I’m not the one whose tongue keeps wagging,” he taunted, somehow keeping that stoic air about him, just a hint of playfulness showing through. 

You stuck that tongue out at him before focusing on your meal, and the low chuckle he let escape was hardly noticeable over the nearby conversations of his crew.

But you noticed it. 

Warmth tingled through your body, and your face was still burning by the time he led you to your room.

~

“Will you be alright in here,” he checked in, standing outside the door to the small room he’d set up for you in the barracks. “The crew are on rotating shifts, so there will always be someone sleeping or getting ready nearby if you need anything.”

“Okay,” you said in a small voice. The realization that you were about to be alone in a cramped, metal room made your skin crawl.

“Are you o—“

“I’ll be fine. Thank you,” you lied with a smile. You were good at lying with smiles. 

“Okay,” he nodded, clearing his throat. “I’ll, uh… I’ll come wake you in the morning, alright? We can have breakfast before we continue going over what you remember.”

“Sounds good,” you chirped. Your cheeks started to hurt as you waved him out, letting your muscles relax after he’d closed that heavy door. 

Quiet.

Not completely. Clanging sounds of the sub interrupted the stillness. Soft voices floated in the hallway beyond that door. 

But now that you were alone…

Thoughts. Memories. Fear. Shame. Guilt. 

Falling back on the single bed, you choked out silent sobs, the flood of emotions slamming into you. You had left your world, dove off the edge of a waterfall, but now you were caught beneath the crashing water, drowning while your body was ripped apart. 

What have I done? How could I leave the family? How could I betray Doffy? 

I’m nothing but scum. Useless my whole life, and now I’m a traitor.

Your mind went in endless loops. Gratitude for Law taking you away. Guilt for betraying the family. Relief that you weren’t stuck in that mindless existence anymore. Terror that Doffy would find and kill you both slowly. 

It hurt. Your whole body hurt, your head pounding like the clanging metal of the submarine.

And you couldn’t understand how you could feel your heart breaking and burning in your chest when it was locked up in Law’s office. 

“Y/N, can I come in?”

His knock had sent you to the ceiling, your body spread into cowardly mist while you tried to calm down. 

“Y/N,” he checked again, concern staining his voice. 

“Just a second,” you stalled, going solid in front of the door. You shook yourself, wiped your tears, and took a few quiet breaths before opening the door with another beaming smile. 

“What’s up?”

Law didn’t look at you like an old friend, an enemy, or a captain on a mission. 

He looked at you like a doctor, and you tried not to squirm.

“What’s that,” you pointed to the lump of shiny fabric he held under one arm.

He coughed, looking down at his shoes before returning your gaze, seeming to rebuild that doctor persona.

“You’ve been through an intense amount of trauma, and the shock of… If you would feel comfortable, I’d like to sleep on the floor in here tonight, just to make sure you’re okay. I could sleep outside the door if you prefer, I just—“

He glanced down at your clenched fists, and you tried to relax them as he continued. 

“I want you to feel safe.”

I’ll never be safe. I’m a traitor. I’m weak. I’ll be tortured before they kill me. 

Doffy will…

The lump in your throat burned, and you filled the room with thick mist so he wouldn’t see you shatter, sinking to the floor as you clawed at your empty chest.

Law closed the door, calling your name as he moved blindly toward you. You could feel him in your mist, and you could have avoided him. You could have let yourself expand into tiny droplets of water, keeping yourself away from any care or comfort he could try to provide. 

But you couldn’t think. Just heave silent sobs, and struggle through breaths that took in more mist than oxygen.

“Y/N– fuck,” he cursed, stubbing his toe on the bed as he waved his arms around slowly. 

The mist told you that he’d gone to his knees, crawling close to you in the small space, but you couldn’t do anything with that knowledge. 

Warm fingers found your arm, pressing lightly along to figure out what he was feeling. 

“I’m sorry I’m touching you, I just need to make sure you’re alright,” he breathed, tracing along your shaking body until he found your neck. His fingers almost burned your clammy skin as he took your pulse before gripping your shoulder gently. 

The way that you could see through your eyes was different than how you could see as mist, or through the mist you create, but you had no way to describe the difference. Through the mist, you saw him lean close, his head above yours as if he could see through the mist too. 

“I’m here. I’m right here with you, Y/N.”

Time was impossible to track as you alternated between crying and dissociating, Law’s calm presence never wavering. Eventually, your mist cleared up, from exhaustion instead of choice. 

He lifted your limp body, tucking you into the small bed before rolling out his sleeping bag.

“You don’t have to sta–”

Law interrupted your slurred words with a harsh glare, but sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed. 

“I’m not going anywhere, Y/N.”

His eyes seemed brighter in this dim room, his voice too soft, yet firm.

Staring into nothing, you felt numbness trying to take you again, but words jumped out of you before you drifted away. 

“Why does it still hurt,” you accused, tapping against your chest with angry fingers, desperate to rip these feelings out. “You took my heart, Law. Why does it still hurt so bad?”

Somehow, more hot tears fell, your body too weak to keep tearing at the hole inside. 

Law’s eyes trailed away, gone to some other time, some other place. When he came back to you, he took your hand in his, running his thumb over your knuckles. 

“If I could cure a broken heart, I wouldn’t be able to complete my mission.”

His words felt as hollow as your chest. You managed to squeeze his hand, pulling in his distant eyes. 

“So we can be broken together then,” you asked, your voice still hoarse as your lips lifted into a weak smile.

Law huffed a laugh, lifting your fingers to his lips before kissing his promise onto your skin.

“Broken together.”

Likes, comments, and reblogs bring me much ✨dopamine✨ thank you so much!

a/n: I knew I was going to go crazy when I started writing for Law, and I was correct. I'm obsessed with this emotionally wrecked man 🖤

Tag List: @shewrites02 | @jadeddangel | @nothing-but-brass

Part 3

Operation Olive Branch has compiled a working spreadsheet of ways to help families fleeing from the genocide in Palestine. If you enjoyed this fic, and are able, please click the link to find a list of GoFundMe's, as well as other ways to help.

| masterlist | about me | rules | ao3 |

#fic requests #trafalgar d law x reader #doflamingo x reader #eventual smut #one piece smut #reader insert #fem!reader #smut #x reader #turtletaub fics #one piece x reader #use of y/n #trafalgar law fanfiction #trafalgar law smut #one piece angst #cw dark content #cw grooming #cw dubcon #cw toxic relationship #cw emotional abuse #angst

[brisquad-unit-4402]

Hello it’s me again! It’s been a while, I hope you’ve been doing okay. I recently have been reading through a lot of angst to comfort and I have an idea for a request!

May I request an Ike fic where reader is a liver in NIJISANJI and has a crush on Ike but knows they have no chance with him. Then one day reader accidentally spills their feelings to Ike and Ike comforts them after hearing about readers feelings?

I hope you’re not tired of me requesting Ike fics (ily him to much) and I hope you have a good day/night! <3

-🖋️

stars above your skin

oh 🖋 we're really in it now

how long have i had this request in my inbox? early march? and now exactly one day after blue light dropped, i give you a ~19.5k word ike fic. much love and effort has gone into this one, only seconded by the massive amounts of brainrot.

so yeah, i'm not tired of ike requests. i'm literally a quilldren that writes fanfic. this is the opposite of a problem

in fact this might be one of my favorite things i've written... the second half is such a good bedtime story for me...!

this is going to get NASTY to read on tumblr—as in my site is lagging so hard just typing these a/n notes. so i'm going to remind you all that not only is liking/reblogging recommended to keep track of this fic, but also that i have an ao3 account (same name as url but without dashsince it's much more accessible than tumblr for long fic. i recommend reading on tumblr if you can because of some formatting but to each their own!

here’s a funny story about this fic. i was working on it while a bunch of people sat behind me, you see, and one of my greatest irrational fears is that people sitting behind me will be able to see my laptop screen and laugh at what i’m writing…! and with these requests i usually title them the fandom name and my name, and a short phrase about the request, and this one was “workplace romance”, and i just got so afraid right then and there i changed it to the first thing i could think of, based off a clip i saw of pomu, selen, aia and doppio…!! and that’s why the wip doc is titled “nijisanji 4402 - pliskin”, and why i will always refer to this fic as "pliskin" much more than the actual title

by the way here’s a cover of iris that was pretty fitting for this fic. you’ll know when to play it. enjoy

tags: hurt/comfort, reader is a niji vtuber, gender neutral reader, off-collab, mutual pining, misunderstandings, fluff, angst with a happy ending, friends to lovers, cuddling, everyone in niji is your wingman, implied uki/ren if you squint but it’s mostly because uki will flirt with 80% of the men in this company

cameos: aia amare, alban knox, mika melatika, nina kosaka, ren zotto, uki violeta, vox akuma, fulgur ovid (mentioned)

⚠️ drinking/alcohol (unspecified if reader drinks alcohol)

⚠️ horror/gore mentions (non-detailed), out of context outlast spoilers i guess?

author's commentary here (spoilers) ↣

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

There are dozens of these videos on YouTube, and never have you come across the same one twice. You would know. You have a bad habit of clicking on them. 

After all, they’re labeled with your name on them, and right next to it, Ike Eveland. You are smart enough to recognize it’s not worth your time and just another compilation of the same moments and fans trying to make a mountain out of a molehill, but your heart says otherwise. To be fair, the compilations were a much more recent development than the one you hid under lock and key. 

When you first joined Nijisanji, some of your senpais sent you messages full of greetings and offers to help you get on your feet as a streamer. Ike was one of those senpais, and whenever you popped into voice calls just to hang out, he was easy to talk to, like an old friend. Naturally, a fast friendship formed, and when you debuted, he was one of the first people you collabed with- and the one with the best reception. Your new fans (‘Bookworms,’ they called themselves, after your name Reader) loved how well your humor bounced off each other, and when weeks passed and you announced another collab on your schedule with Ike, your Bookworms rejoiced. 

Even when you weren’t working, you would still talk to him. He told you about his homeland in the past and his novels, both released and unpublished. He was a storyteller even when he was talking about something as minute as making a sandwich, and whenever you brought up your past and interests, he was an excellent listener. You had your differences, but he always knew what questions to ask so he could understand you better, and you loved the opportunity to ramble. 

It had been nearly three months since you debuted, and four if you count the day you were officially hired and began to build yourself as a streamer. Whenever you look at the endlessly long text history between you and Ike, you have to wonder: is it normal to feel so connected to someone you’ve only known for three-maybe-four months? 

You’re not an idiot. You aren’t about to say Ike is the most important thing in the world to you, but he gets pretty damn close. That terrifies you. You shouldn’t be so attached to someone you barely know. 

But then again, you trust Ike. He’s opened up to you about things he would never say to others, and he keeps your secrets buried in the grave. You’ve lost count of how much advice he’s given you, but you’ve never forgotten a single one, and whenever you feel lost about something you know you can count on him to help you out. 

You grimace, sip out of your drinking glass, and press ‘play’ on the next compilation. 

A cute intro plays with the clipper’s name. Above it are the words Pen and Paper, surrounded by puffy pink hearts. 

That was the duo name between you and Ike, but "ship name" was more accurate among fanwork.

You weren’t exactly unaware about it. Weeks ago, you were surfing Twitter and the site’s algorithm granted you your introduction into Pen and Paper. This was shortly after your first collab with Ike, and after you established your shipping rules with your audience (“I’m fine with anything, as long as the other liver is okay with it!”, you proclaimed, totally oblivious to how soon that would blow up in your face). The fanartist posted a messy black-and-white sketch, but you could make out the pattern of Ike’s scarf wrapped around you and him at the same time, forcing your bodies into close proximity with averted eyes and dusty blushes. 

You appreciated the fanartist’s passion and skill, but the thought of you and Ike as an item sunk in your chest like you swallowed a rock. You swiped past. You went back to your scrolling, found some good thumbnails, and retweeted some cute solo fanart, but before the week ended, you made a private account with a fake name and staked out the tags for Pen and Paper to follow that fanartist.

Damn fanartist. You tried to deny it, and told yourself that you followed their art because you liked the style. But their account was full of ship art, and when Twitter gave you similar users that all worked under the hashtag, you had to face facts. If you wanted to look at it optimistically, at least you figured it out early on before anything had the chance to sour while you were still blissfully ignorant of yourself; even then, that doesn’t make it any harder than it already is.

Besides all the texts, the meetings, the schedules and events, and then including the streams and collabs and the art and the fandom… 

“Why?” You ask out loud in the silence of your room. “Why did I have to fall for my coworker?”

And with audiences of over hundreds of people watching you fall for him, nonetheless!

It’s irritating. You have a job that keeps you motivated to work hard. It’s given you a dedicated fanbase, rare opportunities, and coworkers you all recognize as your friends. Really, finding someone to care for because of it should be a blessing, but it’s such a headache. What if your fanbases get jealous, or even worse, outright hate it? Would you be able to keep up a relationship when you and Ike are dedicated to your careers and streams? Why are you even thinking like this? You scold yourself. There’s no way this would ever work out. It’s all fantasy and smoke and mirrors, because fandoms love love. Shipping is never a reflection of the streamers, just the characters you play. You’re delusional if you think your stupid crush could actually go anywhere.

But fandoms love love. The only comfort you have is being able to pretend something could happen. The ship art is a lie, and so are the fanfics, and the clippers that tag their videos as Pen and Paper are just here for a possibility that never could happen.

The compilation is full of little hints and teases, and if you were being honest with yourself, most of it was more like two friends getting along than actual flirting. But you didn’t trust yourself to see your clumsiness for what it is when Ike’s little laughs are like music to your ears. 

Damage control, you tell yourself. It’s like studying how you play your favorite games. You can pinpoint where you stumble and leave yourself open for attack in Apex, Smash, even Crab Game, and then amend those mistakes the next time you pick up the game. Real life should be no different. Just stop acting so dorky all the time by finding moments of dork in your VODs and avoid them next time you talk to Ike.

This clip was from your second collab with Ike. Captions floated along the bottom of the screen. Ike's captions were in his signature blue.

IKE: You know, there’s a lot of content about us two as a duo.

READER: They call us Pen and Paper, right?

IKE: Yeah, my art tag is flooded with art of the both of us. 

READER: Oh my God, look at the chat. Mine’s full of people saying they love us together. 

IKE: Aww, thanks, Quilldren! I’m happy I can play with Reader too. 

READER: Thank you, Bookworms; thank you, Quilldren. Hey, there’s a lot more overlap than I expected.

IKE: They’re like Bookdren.

READER: Or Quillworms.

IKE: Quillworms, that sounds way better. They’re like our children.

READER: www

IKE: www

Never fucking mind about acting so dorky all the time. You kick yourself for bringing up Pen and Paper, and your giggly laugh. You hate it. A neon sign above your head that says “SIMP” would be less obvious than that stupid schoolkid laugh.

But Ike’s laughter is music, back in the moment and now as you revisit it, and his model’s eyes squint with a wide smile.

He really is an amazing man. If you didn’t know him as well as you do, you’d think he’s perfect. But you’ve seen him in moments of vulnerability, the parts of himself that never shows through on stream and even rarer among his friends. Through it all he manages to keep going, and you admire him so much for sticking to his guns even when he’s expressed all his doubts about himself. The fact that he trusts you enough to let his guard down only adds to how honored you are to know him, and at the same time, the fact that there’s so much trust between you two just makes you feel worse for having a crush on him. You hate keeping secrets like this when you let Ike read you like an open book for everything else, and even just wishing you were something more to him feels like a betrayal of all that trust. You wish you could just be satisfied to know him.

The compilation continues. The next clip is a totsu Fall Guys collab hosted by Fulgur Ovid that you and Ike joined in on. Fuuchan got eliminated early in the match, and spectated on you while the other livers ran around Roll On with players tugging them this way and that. 

You moved around the rotating levels at the perfect sweet spot between two rings, and balanced at the top of the roll as the slime level slowly rose.

A longer wall approached, so you shuffled from one level to another, but another player grabbed your bean avatar and dragged you along to the wall even as you yelled out in panic on Discord. You smashed your keys to struggle, but they had an advantage, and it was clear the wall would push you down to the slime for an impending elimination.

That is, until a familiar Miku bean grabbed the other side of your avatar, and pulled the other way towards the ring that would save your life. Resigned, your attacker backed off and barely dodged out of the way while Ike’s Miku bean brought you back to safety.

The other two livers in the game were too noisy to notice you. Fuuchan was commentating every move you made, and when Ike saved you, he said, “Ike coming in clutch, let’s fucking go.”

Your recorded self didn’t hear him at all, though. You swooned, “Ike, my hero!”

Meanwhile in the present, you wanted to puke. You meant for that to sound like an over-the-top joke, but you crush is getting so serious that it sounds less like a bit and more like how you gush about him in private. 

At least Fuuchan’s audio was louder than everyone else, since he was the host, and the other two livers were preoccupied with their own game to notice your lovey-dovey tone and how Ike laughed music at you. It was bad enough clippers transcribed your words in captions, but you weren’t sure how you would handle it if those three picked up on you and your dumb crush. The less that know about your workplace romance, the better.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

“Reader,” Aia coos. Even with audio only, you could tell her eyes were sparkling. “You didn’t tell me you had a workplace romance!”

Well, so much for that plan. You froze over. “Who told you that?”

Mika answers way too quickly. “It’s Alban’s fault.”

“Fuck off, Mika, you brought it up first!”

“You said it though!”

Man, you were already starting to regret joining VC today. You finished your offline work a lot faster than expected, so when you realized that three of your close friends in the company were all online in VC together while Alban privately streamed a rhythm game, you figured you would join the call while you prepared dinner. 

But if that was your greeting, you needed to mentally prepare for the wild interrogation you were about to experience. At least Aia, despite her love for drama, knew how to navigate these sorts of things delicately. And you don’t mean to call Mika and Alban bad friends—they were the exact opposite, in fact—but they were much nosier than Aia ever came across.

“Okay, but Reader just asked who leaked it, and didn’t deny it,” Aia says. “So that means it must be true!”

Scratch that. Aia is the worst out of all of them.

“I hate you guys. No hello or anything, just gossip about my love life,” you lament.

She gasps, and if her eyes were sparkling before, then roses bloomed around her as she spoke. “It’s love?”

Mika shrieks like a banshee. “Oh hell no, you’re in love and you didn’t tell us?!”

“It’s not love. It’s nothing!”

“Nah-uh, Reader, no running away from it, we know,” Alban says. “Better to just get it all out in the open than pretend like nothing’s up.”

“You’re just saying that because you want to snoop.”

“I’m being serious. Keeping stuff bottled up deteriorates you, especially when love’s involved.” He missed a note. “Shit. And yeah, okay, I want some gossip, but I have a point and you know it.”

“Fuck you.”

“Fuck you, I blew a full combo just to say that!”

“Can I add? In case you forgot, Reader, we’re all in the same company,” Mika says. “Sure, I might be in a different branch, but who knows? Maybe we can help.”

“And fuck you too.” You sigh in defeat. As vitriolic as your shared humor was, these three were still some of your best friends, and you know they don’t mean any harm. “Ugh, I hate this. This is confidential information. Like, CIA levels of confidential. If I tell you guys, you can’t tell a single soul about it. Understand?”

The three all chime in agreement. And unfortunately, you trust them. You take advantage of your coworkers swearing themselves to secrecy to hype yourself up and just rip off the band-aid. “It’s Ike.”

“We know.”

“What the hell do you mean, you know?!”

“It’s obvious,” Aia says. Your heart hammers in your chest. Then she sputters for a moment, like she realized she might’ve hit a soft spot. “Well, you have to focus on it to see it, but once you see it, it’s hard to ignore. You two go well together.”

Alban pitches in. “Agreed. I’m not even gonna be subtle about it, you and Ike have great chemistry. I’m happy for you two.”

“Okay, I guess.” Your eyes drift away from your prepared ingredients to the corner of your kitchen. “But I don’t know. Are you sure? Because I feel like I always act like an idiot whenever I’m around him. And I doubt he’d ever feel the same way.”

“Wait.” Aia pauses. “You’re… not dating?”

“No. Just a crush. Not love, not dating, nothing. And it’s never going to be anything more than that because it’s just a big stupid crush on my coworker, who doesn’t even live close enough to visit, and this is all a recipe for disaster.”

She doesn’t say anything about that. Actually, none of them do. Even Alban pressed pause on his game, and the Discord stream went motionless as your words sunk in. 

Mika is the one to break the silence. “You’re shitting me.”

“That’s the truth. Happy?”

“No, like, you’re shitting me, there’s no way.”

“Mikaaa.” Alban drags out her name as he scolds her. 

“Hey, I’m just saying, that’s crazy, especially since—“

“Don’t tell Reader that!”

“Tell me what?” 

“We thought you were already a thing. You know, dating, in a relationship, whatever,” Mika clarifies. It hits you like a punch to the gut. “Or at least that you had something going on, and kept it secret so it wouldn’t be awkward for everyone else to work with you two. Which, by the way, we’re all chill with, so if, hypothetically, you decided to hypothetically go for it, we would hypothetically cheer you on and set off hypothetical fireworks. I’d rent a food truck.”

Alban resumes his game. “Yeah, what she said. Go get that hypothetical novelist bussy.”

“Don’t hypothetically talk about my brother like that.”

“You’re sure this is okay?” You ask. “Mika, I know you and Ike are close. This isn’t going to make anything weird, is it?”

“You’re fine, Reader. If I had problems, I would’ve cornered you and threatened you over text ages ago when I figured it out.”

“That’s another thing. How did you guys know?”

Aia pipes up first. “I know I said it was obvious, but I think that’s just because we know each other since we’re good friends. You two just go together, you know? It’s hard to explain, but whenever Reader and Ike-senpai are in the same room you think, ‘those two would be cute,’ and then you realize they are cute, right there in the moment. And you talk a lot faster on stream whenever you’re both on the same page. Almost as fast as me.”

 “Plus, it’s really common to see both of you on VC at the same time, and you’re always happy whenever he shows up,” Mika affirms. “Alban says whenever one of you enters the call the other is soon to follow.” 

“It’s true. You talk fast whenever you talk to him on VC too, not just stream. And your laugh kind of changes?”

“Dammit, I knew my laugh was my tell. This sucks. This seriously sucks.”

“It might not be all that bad,” Mika says. “Who knows, maybe things might end up better than you expect. You should tell him.”

“No way,” you fire back. “There no way he’d actually reciprocate. And I know you guys are fine with me asking, but Ike himself is just going to reject me, and it’s going to be awkward, and literally everyone in the company who has ever talked to us will be able to tell something’s up.”

“They won’t be weird,” Aia insists. “We won’t, either, and Ike-senpai is a good guy. Even if it doesn’t work out, he wouldn’t leave you out to dry like that.”

“You don’t know. None of you have ever been in this situation.”

“That’s true, but there’s always a chance.”

“If you ask me, it sounds more like you’re afraid of what you think would happen instead of what rationally would,” Alban says. He’s still laser-focused on his game. “I dunno. If you’re really set on getting over it, then go ahead and ignore it, but that’s just going to eat at you for who knows how long before your crush starts to fade.”

“Well, I didn’t ask.”

“Fine. Forget I said anything.”

You regret the acidic tone in your voice the second you said it, but Alban was off in his own world of music. He’d tell you if he had a problem with how you spoke to him, but you still feel gross about your knee-jerk reaction. 

You’re just… defensive. Yep, that’s the word. Whenever you’re this interested in someone, you put your walls up and protect yourself from letting anyone worm through and hit a weak point. 

Aia hums like an analyst. “Just keep it in mind, Reader. Not everything is out to get you.”

You know your friends just wanted the best for you, but things just aren’t as simple as they’d like to imagine it. It’s none of their business, anyways. It was pure coincidence that they figured out your thoughts on Ike, and that means none of them have any real authority to advise you on your love life.

“I think we’re done talking about this,” you assert.

“Well, you heard ‘em. Pack it up, show’s over.” Mika changed the subject. “Hey, did you guys know if you try to break open a freshly boiled egg, it explodes?”

Alban slams his hands on his keyboard so loudly that you hear the switches over his noise suppression. The stream goes from a string of Awesome! notes to nothing but misses as he abandons the game. “YES. Yes, actually, I DO know.”

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

“MEAT! WANTS MEAT! WANTS MEAT! MEAT!”

“AAAAAAAAHHHH!”

The stream is to the birds. Fuck that noise. Godspeed to the Bookworms, they’ll need it, but not nearly as much as you. 

When you were settling on a schedule, the last undecided spot for the week was Friday’s stream. That simply wouldn’t do. Friday nights kick off the weekend, and the break from school and work is prime time for a wide audience, so pretty much everyone in Nijisanji reserves their juiciest streams for the weekend. You’re no exception.

…Except for the fact that you didn’t have a clue about what to do for Friday’s stream. One Twitter poll and conveniently timed Steam sale later, you published your schedule with a game your fans voted on: Outlast.

You walked in knowing it would be a horror game, and you figured it would be fine. After all, you’ve played games from Chilla’s Art before, and a few quirky indie psychological releases here and there. You wouldn’t call yourself a stone-faced horror lover that can keep a straight face at anything, but aside from a few creepy moments in those game, you’ve kept your cool relatively well. 

Outlast threw all that out the window. You realized almost immediately that you had no idea how to handle the primal fear of the chase. 

Footsteps pound against a metal floor. You plead for help in the emptiness of your home as you smash the controls, as if that would make your character move the cabinet over the door any faster. Screams resonate in tune between you and the chained man in the room with you, and all the while, the howling of your pursuer grows louder and louder as he gets closer.

You finally uncover the door and dash through. Tremors run though all your thoughts while your heart beats overtime. 

You still haven’t gotten used to all the jumpscares, even though you’re at the edge of your seat and ready to start running yourself. A fork in the road approaches, and when you start off one direction, you’re greeted by a bloodied man in the distance. “AAAHH!”

Faster than light, you slam the key to the other hall and book it. You spot a new storage container to shove in front of the door just in time for text to appear on the screen: Look for pushable objects to block doors.

“No shit, why wouldn’t you tell me that before, oh my God, aaaaah!” The screams—from both the voice actors and your own cries—grate against your eardrums while chase music thunders in-between the gasps for air. 

As you grab the container and start to push, you mash the pause button. When the menu appears, you lean back in your chair and run your hands over your face. Your model pouts cutely while the real you whimpers. The mic barely picks it up.

You take a breath before groaning in fear and pain. “Guys. I don’t think I can do this…” Another groan as you trail off. “This game is so much. Give me a second.”

As you raise yourself back from your chair, it’s with a slump forward. Your chat is full of headpat emotes and hearts in your color, along with some quick words of courage. A few are recommending you take a break. “Thanks, Bookworms. I’m so afraid, but I’m committed and I don’t want to just leave it here.”

Your eyes flutter closed as you take a sip of water to clear your head. The cold drink startles you out of the dingy asylum atmosphere, but the screaming still lingers between your ears. “You know what? Who else is online right now? Maybe I need someone in VC to hold me to this.”

The emojis in chat slowly patter out as your viewers go back to text. Looks like most of your Bookworms like the idea of calling someone else while you stream the game. Some of their messages catch your eye. 

gatamiizuus: you can call ike :ReaderHeadpat: 

messXed-up!: ike!!

lunasmortas: what about ike?

A few more chats mention Ike, and while usually you’d be irritated they mentioned another liver out of the blue, your shoulders still relax at the sight of his name. “Wait, Ike? Is Ike here?”

You scroll back in the chat history, and search for any mod messages. Sure enough, barely a minute ago while you were still being chased:

Ike Eveland 【NIJISANJI EN】 ✓ : GANBARE!

You cling onto that message like a lifeline. Ike is familiar. Ike is comforting. And most importantly, Ike would never call you a pussy.

Chat floods over with his name while you check the official Nijisanji Discord server. Almost everyone in Nijisanji sets their status to offline by default, and Ike is one of them, but you still scan through the member list anyways, praying a little green indicator will light up by his icon.

His status doesn’t change, but before you can even click on his profile, your Direct Messages tab gains a notification. He just messaged you.

Ike Eveland: Watching your stream right now

Ike Eveland: Are you okay?

You exhale. Ike is the most dependable guy you know, even when it’s pure coincidence he was watching your stream while you freaked out. 

With your heart still in your throat, you respond.

Me: uuuuuuugh i guess

Me: the game is really scary

Me: i don’t want to cancel the stream but i don’t think i can play it by myself 😭

Ike Eveland: 🫂    | 🫂 1 |

Ike Eveland: Would you feel better if I called you?

Me: i was just about to ask    | 👌 1 |

Me: you don’t have to if you don’t want to tho!! i don’t want to be a nuisance lol

Ike Eveland: Don’t worry I offered to!

Ike Eveland started a voice call.

“Ikeee!” The second the call starts, all your restraint goes forgotten. “Ike, I was so scared!”

You babble on about everything you’ve endured up to this point: the gore, the grime, and the patients in the asylum that hunt you like animals. 

 “I’m here, it’s alright now,” he assures you. “I’m here, okay? Take your time, you’re safe.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m relieved. But it was so scary.” You sink and bury yourself in the collar of your shirt. “You’ve streamed this before, and kept a cool head the entire time, right? How do you do it?”

“Well, it wasn’t my first time playing, for starters. Everyone gets freaked out at first. It’s a horror game, Reader, it’s okay to react to it. I remember the first time I played it, it scared me so bad I had to quit after half an hour.” He giggles a bit at himself. The sound is comforting. “That was a few years ago. I think I had nightmares about it, until I realized I needed to know the rest of the story. ”

Your voice is small. “That was really brave of you.”

“I avoided it for days. I doubt that’s brave.”

“It’s braver than calling someone just to get the guts to play the game.”

“Hey, don’t put my friend Reader down just to bring me up.” He keeps his tone light to let you know you’re allowed to smile. “Being able to face your fears is plenty on its own, and you shouldn’t be devaluing that. How long have you been at it?”

“A little over two hours?” You glance at the stream monitor, and ignore the chat as much as you can. You still register the hearts in your color and his signature blue. “I don’t know. I did a lot of pausing, too, so it’s probably less than that…”

“But you were still able to stream for that long. Remember, I could only play for thirty minutes during my first time! You’re stronger than you think you are.”

You avert your eyes from your stream setup. You feel painfully seen, but the chat is nothing to you. “Doesn’t feel like it.”

“Then I’ll be here to remind you. Is that okay?”

“I’d like that.” You return to the screen, and in the darkness of the blurred labyrinth, you see your reflection stare back. Your hair is disheveled from how you kept thrashing around in reaction to the game and your shoulders are high with tension, but only now did you realize how the corners of your lips rose after the call started. Ike really got to you. “Thank you, Ike, you’re so considerate. I appreciate you a lot. You’re a really good guy.”

He chuckles slowly, soft like a blanket. Your shoulders ease. Ike’s words are just as soft, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d think he’s nervous too. “Haha, um. Yeah. Thank you?” He doesn’t take compliments well, but they’re true, and you hope he knows it as well as you do. He clears his throat. “Ahem. Um, how are you feeling?”

“Not great, but better. I want to try again.”

“You’ve got this, Reader, you can do it.” Ike is still quiet, but enthusiastic. “You can do it!”

You go shaky. “Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.”

But you still press Return To Game.

And when you scream barely five seconds later, Ike is still calm, and you hone in on his voice as you persevere.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Just as you go to bed, you realize that you basically just made a fool of yourself in front of your crush by getting scared at a game he’s already conquered. 

You slam a pillow over your face and groan.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Ike lands an all-out attack just in time to check the chat and the swarm of viewers that just joined. “Oh, Reader! Thank you for the raid, it’s good to see you! Welcome, everybody.”

Reader 【NIJISANJI EN】 ✓ : take care of my bookworms for me? i’m getting milk

“Of course. They’re our Quillworms, after all.” You go fuzzy. He remembered the fan name! “Have a good break, Reader! Rest well.”

Reader 【NIJISANJI EN】 ✓ : 👍

It was the end of the week, and the stream you just finished was the last on your schedule. You announced a few days ago that you would take a break for a little more than two weeks so you could catch up on offline work as well as rest, and the Bookworms sent you off with a lot of love. It’ll be hard for some of your diehard fans, but you’re sure they’ll manage. You have a feeling it’ll be easier than they expect. 

“Speaking of breaks, I haven’t finished my schedule yet. I think I’ll wait a day or two to post it.” The stream cracks in red and black as Ike’s party in Persona 5 Royal clobbers the enemy Shadows. Monsters bleed out behind the protagonist’s cocky smirk. “I’ll be offline for the next two days, so I’ll have some time to think about it.”

Ike mashes through the battle results, and sets back off into exploring the palace. His stream fades into background noise as you get back to the task at hand. 

You sent a few messages to some of your other coworkers regarding your break. Next was finishing some paperwork for management, and reaching out to others that needed access to the files. Sure, your time off was for offline work, but the work you had to get done would only take an afternoon at most. You wanted to meet even the far-off deadlines as soon as possible so you could be properly free for the rest of your vacation.

By the time you finished your paperwork, your coworkers were able to respond to you. A group chat full of other livers had a new response every minute about the next two weeks, and Aia sent you a QR code that would let you save some time and money on your flight. 

Ike ended yet another super-long P5R stream just a few minutes after you grabbed all your luggage, got to the airport, and made it to your terminal. You had some time to kill, but you were sick of the headphones over your ears.

Not to mention, you were waiting for the fans to catch up on the real reason why you were on break.

Curiously, you log into your private Twitter—you don’t plan to interact with anything but you’re always paranoid about your online presence—and start searching for the code words fans think Vtubers have no idea about. Symbols replace letters and names morph into sounds while emojis speak volumes.  

The Stargazers don’t mention it at all. That’s to be expected, after all. Their oshi goes on break often, so nothing seems too out of the ordinary. Besides, you wouldn’t put it past them to have even more intricate subtweets than what you’re looking for.

Only a few of Nina’s Honeybunnies put the pieces together at first, but then you check Quilldren subtweets. As it turns out, when Ike mentioned he’d be taking a few days off, a few of his fans noticed how Nina was going to be offline at the same time, and a smaller fraction of those compared how Mika had yet to release a schedule. 

Underneath your face mask, you smile. With the career being dependent on both anonymity and your voice, you wore a nondescript black mask through the entire airport in case someone recognized you, just as well as to hide the tiny giggle that always bubbles up whenever you watch your fans scramble around theorizing. They don’t have all the pieces, after all. None of the Aiadmirers nor the Renvaders even considered it.

They’ll figure it out in time nonetheless. Uki and Nina are close to landing, and Aia was the first to disembark her plane. The rest of your friends are set to arrive after you, and besides, Vox should be ending his last stream of the week right now. You’re sure the Kindred will start plotting in the next hour, provided their oshi didn’t give them too big of a hint about his plans for the next week as he’s known to do.

You board your plane and settle into your seat, ready to nap the flight away. You’ll need the rest, after all. It’s about time you join an off-collab.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

Nina doesn’t even get the chance to look away from her phone before she gets a rush of replies on her first voice tweet.

She doesn’t bother to read them anyways. She’s too busy howling out the lyrics to “Wannabe.”

It’ll be hard to discern all the voices. Ike’s high range is always easy to pick out, but Vox blends in as a bass, and you can always hear Mika’s grin through her singing. Ren and Aia are the furthest from the phone, and as loud as they sing, they’re still drowned out along with you, Uki, and Nina herself.

Mika chooses the wrong time to look around the karaoke booth. While Aia sings passionately about what she wants (what she really, really wants), her body language crumples and rises like an electrocuted high school theater kid. The ghost has a hiccuping, sweeping laugh that overpowers half of the singers, and then Aia snorts at herself when Mika covers her mouth, which gets Vox to snort even louder, and before you know it, it’s just Uki and Nina doing their damndest not to break. Even then, Nina’s voice wavers along to the Spice Girls as she resists a laugh, and Uki’s eyes are squeezed shut smiling.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

The bar stool slides out from the counter so quietly that you wonder if the Airbnb owner knew just how handy it would be for a house full of streamers on vacation. You lean forward while Mika tells a story about how she, Aia, Ren and you went out for a coffee run, and crossed paths with some teenagers with matching Iluna keychains on their backpacks. 

Speaking of Iluna, their represents sat together on the couch. Aia set her plate and fork on the coffee table, not a single pool of sauce left over from the pasta dinner Vox and Uki prepared together. Somehow Ren made enough room in his luggage to bring along a teal ukulele, and idly strums along. Uki sits between Ren and the armrest, swirling the last of his pasta between his fork.

Across from them, Vox and Nina took ownership of two plush chairs that could only fit one person each. Each chair was next to a corner table, and they stacked their plates on top of one another to make room for a jug of orange juice and two cocktail glasses. Ike took a bottle of rum and poured it into his soda, then slid it back to the corner table before pulling up the bar stool next to you. 

“It was like, one of them had a clear phone case and held it out to show the others a video,” Mika says. She perched on top of the counter itself, next to her travel microphone and the second-nastiest kitchen stream setup you’ve ever seen. She was no Scarle, but so many wires stretched across the island and along the way that it was just easier for her to climb onto the polished granite to keep an eye on the chat. “Smack-dab in the center was a PNG of Vox. And then a bunch of tinier Voxes around it. And here’s how you know it’s bad, you could see the color of the phone itself through the case because it’s clear, right? It was red. Red! That’s commitment!”

“I’m telling you, Mika, there’s no way they got a red phone just because of Vox,” Aia says. “That’s got to be a coincidence.”

Vox hums into his glass. “No, they absolutely did. You mean to tell me your fans don’t spoil you rotten and buy new phones just because they’re your color?”

“My color is white, Vox, like every phone ever is my color!”

“Still, I’ve never seen Aia go so quiet so fast.” Ren’s ukulele twangs as he grins. His fangs were just as prominent in real life. “It was awesome.”

“It was scary, but funny,” you say. “We saw the Vox case and the Iluna keychains, and all of us just went silent. And we all had masks, too, so it was like, one moment you could hear Ren’s fuckboy laugh, and the second we saw the case, we all put up our masks and went quieter than the grave.”

Ren palms the neck of the ukulele and mutes the chord in mock offense. “Hey! I’m not a fuckboy!”

“Didn’t say you were, but if you want to out yourself like that, be my guest. They’d chop off your horns and sell them like Kyo.”

“One of them had an Aster keychain.” Ren bitterly resumes playing. Uki sets his plate on the table and drapes himself over the alien’s shoulder as he opened up his phone to check the off-collab’s live tag. The stream was supposed to be a live Q&A, but was so easy to talk to everyone that the questions often turned into conversation before someone remembered the stream. “If Aia or I said anything, we’d be fucked.”

“Imagine how fucked we would’ve been if Vox woke up in time to go with us,” you say.

Ike snickers. “Is it bad that I would’ve paid money to see that?”

The two Luxiem members get into a playful argument over who would win in a fight: all the effort Nijisanji and its employees put into protecting their privacy, or one silly phone case. Ren’s riffing turns into a simple rendition of “Iris” and Nina hums along from across the living room. The ukulele is slow and unique enough to not be mistaken for the original, but you wonder if those two would be able to avoid copyright entirely.

Nonetheless, the vibe is comfortable. You’re miles away from home, but in a room with some of your closest friends in the world, it’s like you never left. Truthfully, it’s more like you’ve finally found your place. The music just feels right, like it was written for this moment, and Aia leans back into the couch while Nina sways in her seat to the jaunty little ukulele. Ren looks as cheery as his instrument sounds, especially with a peaceful Uki nuzzled up to him. 

While Ike and Vox go at it, Mika props her chin up with both hands and watches them like a reality TV show. There’s a glint in Vox’s eyes as Ike drums up a snide response, the only sane man to the demon’s goofiness. He brings his rum and coke to his lips like punctuation, a silent so, what? hidden in the boozy soda. 

Vox knows how to run his mouth, and he launches into one of his patented anecdotes. While all eyes are on the demon and the chat hones in on his voice, you focus on how Ike tilts his head up to drink. His neck stretches out from the collar of his black band tee, and with each sip, his Adam’s apple bobs. 

You’ve always thought he was good-looking on stream, but he’s gorgeous in person, all long lines and graceful features, and cameras can’t capture the tiny little freckles drizzled down the back of his neck. You didn’t even know he had freckles. It was only after you saw him for the first time that you noticed pale, reddish dots all over his nose and cheeks, fading out by his temples and the arch of his lips. Spending the day walking around in the sun from place to place revealed more whenever the wind flicked his jacket collar out right. They scatter at his nape, right below the blue tips of his hair, and meet one another further down his back, or so you’d presume. Without the jacket, you can catch marks spread out along his arms with distance between one another, and his shirt sleeve starts right where the freckles cluster together. You can only imagine how far down they go.

You avert your eyes. You can’t think about what’s under the shirt when you’re sitting right next to him, and certainly not while on stream, even if chat can’t see you check him out!

Unfortunately, the side opposite of Ike is the one with Ren and Uki. Those two are idyllic. Without a care in the world, it seems. You envy how easily Uki can act on what he wants, even if you know he doesn’t see Ren like how you see Ike. Ren doesn’t mind it at all, either. He literally lives by the rhythm of his own ukulele. 

Ike lowers his drink with his eyes closed, as if it would make the refreshing feeling last longer. His eyelashes are the same ashen color as his hair. Gold gleams between his ears and on the chain of his glasses.

Possessed by the music, and distracted by the rambling, you become one with the background and lean along Ike’s arm.

It’s an indulgent dip into the waters, but shallow compared to all you feel for him. Ever since you met Ike in person it’s been easier to control yourself around him, and if anything, you’re reminded that this is the man you’ve gotten the closest to in both career and friendship. The only barrier between your cheek and his body is his shirt sleeve, but your arm rests against his forearm, right where the freckles taper off. There’s no resistance at all as you make yourself comfortable in the crook of his arm. 

But you hold yourself back. Even though the off-collab made you feel gutsier than before, you think that you’d pass out if you tried anything else. Besides, you feel so at peace against his arm, but too afraid to look up and see his reaction. 

The blend of peace and fear churns in your heart as it dawns on you: you were wrong to call this a crush. It runs far deeper than you could’ve imagined.

Vox says something with finality. His voice snaps you out of your thoughts, but the words go unregistered. As he spoke, his eyes drifted around with his body language, but he snaps to look at Ike expectantly. You swear his smirk gets a little more mischievous as he does. 

The air stills, even though you know eyes aren’t on you, just the man you lean on. It stays frozen as Ike waits to respond. You still don’t have the heart to look up at him and break your selfish, unrequited fantasy.

You just want to stay here, unresisted.

Ike deadpans. “Anyways.”

Just like that, the moment is over, and Mika laughing at Vox striking out clears the air around you. But Vox’s eyes fall to you for just a split second as he moves in his seat. Frost settles down your back at the thought that he knows, but there’s a solid chance he hasn’t connected the dots. You pray he hasn’t.

Then you see Fox Mom herself right behind him, and she shoots you a shit-eating grin with a hand over her heart and a glass in the other. 

No doubt about it. You’re screwed. 

The frost turns to glaciers and burns into hot shame all at once. You love Nina, you really do, and you’d always consider her a good friend before coworker. However, she’s known for fishing around for any crumb of fanservice, and she gets straight to the point whenever she eggs it on, not to mention how she loves to tease her kids on just about anything. You are never going to hear the end of this if she can help it.

You really don’t know what you expected. It feels like everyone’s staring at you, even the chat. You can’t help but feel bitter. How come Uki can flirt with as many guys as he wants, you wonder, but I can’t even touch Ike without getting eyed up? 

You know the answer, but it doesn’t do anything to help the bitterness and the embarrassment, and how much you want to hide. On instinct, you take advantage of the warmth and nestle yourself deeper into Ike to hide your face, just in time as he curls his head above yours.

Nina makes a sound kind of like a fork stuck in the garbage disposal for the briefest of moments before smashing her lips together and bringing her glass to her mouth like a mute button. As if you didn’t feel seen enough. 

“Find any other questions, Uki-senpai?” Aia’s nose is buried in her phone, and God, you could kiss her for changing the subject. As much as she poked fun about you about Ike, she was still a total angel and a ride-or-die all at once. 

“Oh, I have questions,” Uki says. Luckily, he’s graceful enough to leave it at that. “Twitter wants to know first impressions for everyone that hasn’t off-collabed before.”

Ren speaks. “I think the only person I’ve done an off-collab with before is Nina, so is it cool if I go first?”

Aia gestures for him to go on. She’s still stuck on her phone as he continues.

Your phone vibrates in your pocket, but you ignore it. Then again and again and again, and when you finally check it, you understand why. When Aia, Mika and Alban first heard you spill your feelings for Ike, they made a group chat dedicated to wingmanning—or at least, that’s what they pitched it as. They tease you more than anything else, and as irritating as it gets… you have to admit, it’s nice to confide in them, and nice to know they wouldn’t hold it against you.

Anyways, Alban’s going apeshit. 

Group Chat: 💙 PENANDPAPER REAL 2K4EVER 💕 (4 Members)

Aia Amare: image.png    | 📌 2 |

Alban Knox: AKDHSLSJDKSHSA

Alban Knox: AASDFSDF

Alban Knox: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Alban Knox: AAAAAAAAAA

Alban Knox: HAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAA AAAAAAA KYAAAAAAAA

Alban Knox: 💕💕💕💙💕💙💕💙💙💙💕💙💕💕💙

Alban Knox: 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

Alban Knox: HOW ARE YOU GUYSS NOT LOSING YUOR MINDSA BOUT THIS

Aia Amare: I AM

Me: omfg did you seriously get a picture of us 

Alban Knox: WHAT ARE YOU DOINGGGGGGG DONT CHDCK THIS GC    | 👆 1 |

Me: wtf did you expect you’re spamming 

Alban Knox: YOU AR ELITERALLY CUDDLNG GO FOCUS ON THAY JOT US

Me: we are not cuddling

Alban Knox: YOU ARE

Aia Amare: YOU ARE

Mika Melatika pinned a message.     | 🖕 1 |

Me: mika wth you too? 😭 

Mika Melatika: image.png

Me: did you srsly take a selfie with us in the background

Mika Melatika: YES this needs to be immortalized

Me: you people suck    | 🥰 3 |

Alban Knox: GET THAT NOVELIST BUSSY!!!!

Aia Amare: As if you aren’t about to save that picture yourself~

Alban Knox: NOVELUSSY!!!!!!!!!

Fuck, she got you there. You cast a pointed look at the angelic maiden herself, or at least as pointed as you can be with a man you’re scared to love wrapped around you. She looks as satisfied as a cat pushing a glass off a counter. 

You set your phone on ‘do not disturb’ and placed it behind you on the counter with a huff.

“Reader, honey, how about you?” Nina leans forward, half-lidded and as sultry as ever. She swirled her drink around in its glass. “It’s your first off-collab ever, right? I’d love to hear what you have to say.”

“Oh, well, um.” Your brain struggles to catch up. “First impressions, right…”

Aia slips you a thumbs up. You’re going to rip her a new one after this. Her, and Mika, and definitely Nina; this is the most subtle Nina’s ever been but you can tell she’s fishing for an answer here. You can take your friends figuring it out, embarrassing as it is, but you are not about to expose yourself to thousands of live viewers. 

“It’s kind of crazy actually meeting up with everyone,” you start. “I’ve known them for so long, but all online, and being able to match the voice to the face in real life, I don’t think I can actually describe it. It’s kind of surreal, but it feels so nice to just talk to them in person. Aia, Nina and Uki were the first people I met up with, and man, those three are a sight. I know everyone says it, but Uki is absolutely the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. Nina and Aia are really pretty, too. Hey, Aiadmirers, did you know when your oshi laughs, she looks just as cute as she sounds?”

Aia yells. “Reader, shut up!”

“Then stop being so cute all the time, you dork!” 

“I’m not a dork! I’m cool!”

You resume, satisfied with your revenge. “Mika and Vox are both really chill. They’re kind of quiet, so if you’re just walking by, you’d think they’re two normal people just going about their days. But whenever we talk it’s always something insane. Vox sounds like a dignified gentleman and Mika is kind of like that cool girl that you want to be friends with, but if you actually pay attention, Mika’s showing Vox a picture of her insides during surgery while he’s reciting something about the Bite of ‘87. And Ren is probably one of the most straightforward people you’ll ever see. He’s so optimistic, and really expressive, too, even though most of the expressions are all different types of smiles.”

“What’s your impression of Ike?” Nina asks.

What does she expect you to say to that one, that screens can’t capture how the sun glitters through his glassy green eyes? Hearing him say your name in-person sends shockwaves through your body? How you want to kiss every little freckle he’s never mentioned before and keeps hidden under long sleeves, even though it’s the beautiful skin he lives in daily?

“Same old Ike. He’s exactly like how I expected,” you say. A total fib. 

She cocks her head. “Really? Even after all the time you’ve spent together?”

“I’m trying to hang out with everyone.”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

Cornered. Nina takes a long, slow drink from her glass as you scramble for a quick answer that won’t immediately out you. “Whenever I talk to Ike, he’s really emotive. You can tell what he’s thinking before he says anything. He also has a good sense of style, so he’s fun to go shopping with, and honestly, fun to do anything with. He’s someone you can always have a good time with, and always makes you feel so comfortable around him. Ike’s magnetic.”

Mika muffles a coo behind you. You’re going to kill her if you survive this stream.

“That’s very sweet, Reader,” Nina replies. “Hear that, Ike?”

“Yes, I did.” He sounds strained.

“Got any feelings about it?”

“Yes? I mean—er, thanks?” You feel Ike’s head rustle. “I, umm. What am I supposed to say about that?”

“I don’t know. I just think that about you, that’s all…”

“Aww, cute. I love that you love each other,” Nina muses. 

Ike spits out, “It’s not like that!” Just as you admit, “Yeah, I guess so.”

You process his words too late, though, and even as you sputter the ukulele music cuts out just in time with Nina and Mika’s unfiltered fangirl squeals. Ren’s palms mute the chord as his eyes go wide. Aia is already on her phone with her jaw to the floor and Uki throws a look at Nina while he mouths, did that just happen? 

“I-I mean!” Your throat goes dry and Ike lurches away from you when Vox gleefully shakes Nina like a rag doll. “I—wh—Ike, I mean, of course I love you—“ Mika screams again— “As a friend!”

When you turn to face Ike, he’s curled up into a ball on the barstool with his shirt collar over his face. Even as you feel the blood rush to your face, you keep shouting. That’s all you have left. You’re live. “Like, we’re best friends on and off stream and I love you!”

He mutters something, but you can’t tell what. Only his neck and the tips of his ears poke out from his shirt. Were they always that red?

You repeat yourself. “I said, we’re best friends and I love you, so much!”

“And I said, I know, thank you, I love you too, Reader!” Ike jerks out to face you as he cries. He looks like a tomato. 

Then he buries his face into his hands and squeaks like how he always does when something’s too cute to handle, or he’s got too many emotions he needs to let out. “You can’t see me, I’m too embarrassed. I’m hiding forever and I’m never coming out.”

You hope the ground swallows you up and you never have to confront this moment again. 

Uki hisses under his breath and muffles Ren's ukulele. You don't know what he said, but you realize all too late that the alien prince himself was laying down the first few notes of “Fly Me To The Moon.”

While you slump and fold your arms over your face on the counter in pure embarrassment, Aia stands up and commandeers the mic. She slaps a hand over Mika’s mouth to muffle the scream. “Man, bummer that Ike-senpai is gone from us forever, but you know what else might be gone forever if you don’t get it now? The sponsor for this stream, our current limited-edition Nijisanji voice packs!”

And as much as you could kiss her yet again for changing the subject, you can’t get over how everything blew up in the last five minutes, and groan into your arms instead. 

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

The stream passed, luckily, without a hitch after that. No one asked any questions, but it was pretty damn clear everyone in the room had an idea of what just happened, and the impending shitstorm. In fact, it was so clear that when you stalked off to your room to sulk, no one made a fuss, and when you realized ten minutes into your sulking session that you left your phone on the counter, you figured it wasn’t worth it to show your face again until after you finished your pity party. 

The entire time, you laid in your bed with a pillow over your face so you could pretend like you were being absorbed into the sweet embrace of death. Overdramatic, sure, but you figured you were justified. 

Without your phone, you had no way to check exactly how bad the fallout was on Twitter. The poor Pen and Paper tags were sure to be flooded with fans imagining a happy ending to that stint you’d never be able to experience yourself, like salt in the wound. Not to mention, it was a huge seven-person off-collab! It didn’t just end with the Pen and Paper fans. No, it would extend past the Bookworms and the Quilldren, and certainly to the rest of the fandoms with an oshi in this Airbnb. Maybe even the offshoot viewers who don’t regularly watch your content, but made an exception for the off-collab, or, you know, the ones who have no idea who you or Ike are but can’t get enough of the whole accidental-confession-live-on-stream thing. Forget Nina; the entire Vtuber community is never, ever, ever going to live this down. 

Ike sounded so distraught, too. You wanted to kick yourself for it. Not only did you make a fool of yourself, but he got caught in the crossfire just because you didn’t catch yourself slipping. Not like he’d reciprocate anyways. He’s always been bad at taking compliments, but you keep thinking about how embarrassed he was about you loving him. 

All your frustration and humiliation coursed through the darkness under your pillow, and you stew so bitterly that you don’t even dream when you fall asleep. 

You just wake up groggy and exhausted, but too restless to go back to sleep. You look out the window, and the stars have barely come out to play in the early night sky. 

As much as you’d hate to admit it, that impromptu nap made you tired of brooding. Besides, you can’t hide from your friends forever. Hopelessly in love or not, they’re still your friends, and even if you decided to stream during the trip, this off-collab was always about spending time with them instead of worrying over your online presence. 

It takes you half an hour to hype yourself up, but eventually, you open your door and step out into the hall. 

You can already hear voices further away in the Airbnb. You place one of them as Nina, and after her, a baritone that could only belong to Vox. 

“…Fuck Twitter, they’re going to forget about it in two weeks or less anyways.” You overhear as you walk down the hall of rooms and closer to the living room. You’ve heard Vox passionate before, but never this serious as well. “Besides, what exactly did they say?”

A mumble. You can’t place the words, but you bristle when you recognize the voice. That’s unmistakably Ike. 

“See? Again, I’m so sorry. I was out of line, and I forgot my place. I shouldn’t have interrogated them like that,” Nina says. “But you’re overthinking what they said.”

Another mumble. By now, you’re in the kitchen. You lift your phone from where you left it, and hold your fingers over the half of the screen where your notifications appear as you check the time. It’s barely 11 PM. 

The kitchen and living room are connected, with plenty of seating space all around. That was why Mika’s travel laptop was still on the counter and plugged into the wall from the stream earlier, but on the other side of the wall from the kitchen, you noticed an open window and silhouettes from it. Four people sat on the shallow roof overlooking the uneven ground plenty of feet under the building. A pair of fox ears twitch at the night wind as they watched the stars grow brighter in the sky. 

You look through the fridge. You’re peckish, but if you were to be honest with yourself, you’re trying to stay quiet for a reason. 

There’s a huff. “Oh my god, dude. Just tell Reader already.”

You stand up a little straighter. Mika was with them? Were they talking about you?

“There’s nothing to be said, Mika!” Ike huffs back. “I’m screwed anyways. Just drop it, okay? I don’t need this getting in the way of what was supposed to be just a normal trip.”

“You can’t keep running away forever. Just act like an adult and tell them. It’s going to be fine, I swear.”

“And how exactly do you know that?”

“Well…” Mika trails off. “I can’t say. I just know, okay?”

“Uh-huh. And I know I’m screwed.” The wind rustles outside. You stay motionless. “Just two weeks. Can I please just have two weeks where I don’t have to worry about this until the trip is over.”

It’s a question, but he says it with such exasperation that no one can consider any other answers. 

“Fine.” Nina relinquishes. “Have it your way. I’m just worried for you two.”

“It’s going to work out, Ike. But I’m tired.” Vox stifles a yawn. “Tomorrow is going to be better. Let it go for the night and come back to it once you’re in better shape, and just remember. It’s going to work out.”

“Thanks, Vox.”

“Now get in here.”

You hear shuffling fabric before the two men start yelling. Vox cackles while Ike cries through gritted teeth. “Dang it, Vox, I’m going to shove you off this roof!”

“Get ruffled, idiot! That’s your fault for trusting me!”

“I just wanted a hug!”

You snicker under your breath. Vox loves to ruffle Ike’s hair despite the latter’s protests, though he tends to accept it instead of shove him off like anyone else that would dare. Besides, as dreary as Ike sounded during that conversation, he nearly sounded like his old self as Vox and the others laughed.

“I think I’ll go too. Mommy needs her beauty sleep.”

“Mm, I’m still pretty awake. Wanna keep looking at the sky with me, Ike?”

“Sure. Here, Nina, let me move out of the way…”

Shuffling turns to footsteps, and brings you back to reality. You busy yourself looking through the paltry groceries.

The sound of footsteps gets louder and louder, until they become a hollow click on the hardwood floor. Nina crawls through the window, but stops in her tracks with a startled noise.

You turn around and nod as casually as possible. “Oh, hey, Nina.”

Vox is also halfway through the window, and his eyes go comically wide as he forgets how to move. “Oh. Hey. Reader. Fancy seeing you here.”

“Yeah! Um!” Nina coughs long enough to make you uncomfortable. “What are you doing here?”

“Took a nap. Got hungry.” It’s not a lie. You grope around in the fridge and breathe a sigh of relief when you see a stick of string cheese in your hands. “You guys just hanging out?”

Nina nods. “Yeah, we were on the roof. It’s getting late, though. You should get some rest for tomorrow—“

Vox elbows her. “But not after looking at the sky for a little bit. It’s beautiful. Very clear. Romantic, even. The architects did a wonderful job placing this house right at the perfect angle to watch the stars rise. Did I mention it was romantic?”

You act natural and take a big bite out of the string cheese. “Once or twice. Is it the seniors’ bedtime?”

“You got me,” Vox says. 

“I love going to sleep early and giving my kids private time before bed to reflect and hold deep conversations with one another about their feelings,” Nina says. “And also nighttime face masks.”

“Woo, skincare, what she said.” 

“Hey, by the way, Reader, honey, did you hear anything we talked about?”

“No,” you lie.

“Cool,” Vox says. You eat the rest of the string cheese in one bite. “Good for you. And goodnight, Reader.” He dusts himself off before casting his golden gaze down at you. “Be nice, will you?”

Shivers go down your back. You have a feeling he’s referring to something unspoken. “I will.”

“That’s my sweet thing,” he purrs. “Anyways, I’m going the fuck to beddy bye. Honk shoo, Reader, don’t stay up too late.”

Vox struts off with dark hair flowing behind him and the scent of his aftershave in the air. He leaves you to stand awkwardly next to Nina. 

Suddenly, she takes you by your shoulders and forces you in front of her. You blurt out an unflattering startled noise before she gets right up in your face and stares dead into your eyes.  

“Please be good,” she says darkly. Was that a threat? “Please be so, so good to my baby.”

“I will,” you say, more out of fear than anything else.

She blinks once, then she’s back to the doting mother you know and love. She squeezes your shoulders. “Thank you, honey! Sweet dreams!”

And just like the Voice Demon before her, Nina bounds off to her room. 

Huh. That was weird. Nonetheless, you’re alone in the living room, and you can see the outline of Ike and Mika sitting on the roof in silence. 

You lightly knock on the side of the window. They both perk up at the sound. “Cool if I join you?”

Mika responds quickly. “Sure! Watch your step, Reader. The roof isn’t that steep but it would be awkward if you ate shit.”

“Agreed.” You step onto the tiling, and shift your body to match the angle. You feel like a newborn deer learning to walk. Luckily, Nina and Vox leaving meant that there was more than enough space for you right next to the window. 

Ike sits between you and Mika. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah…” 

‘Pretty’ is putting it mildly. The stars are so clear tonight, and scatter across the sky like sequins. The Airbnb was located further away from the heart of the city, so the darkness only amplified how bright the stars shone against the stark night. A breeze drags through the air and fallen leaves rustle between the grass. 

“This is so nice.” Comfort settles into you like the breeze in your hair. “I love it.”

Ike sighs. “Right? It’s so peaceful.”

“And there’s so many more stars out here than there are in the city.”

“It makes you want to just zone out and cool down.”

“Yeah, totally.” Mika coughs. “Huh! Cool! Well, I’m tired now. Just keep staying out here and enjoy the sky, I’m going to bed. Enjoy yourselves.”

Mika inelegantly shuffles around your bodies and slips back inside before either of you can properly tell her goodnight. 

Ike cocks his head as he watches her stumble through the window. “She just said she would stay out…”

“Hm?”

“Ah, nothing. Just thinking to myself.”

With the extra space, Ike leans back and lays along the roof. The stars cast a dreamy glow over his soft smile as he continues. “It really is something that just makes you want to have a deep conversation, or just think, you know?”

You hum in agreement. You get what he means, but there’s only one topic you can imagine having a deep conversation about right now, and it’s the very one you brooded over earlier that day. 

But Ike is Ike. He’s rational and calm and kind, and laughs at your stupid jokes, and texts you first before any of your other mutual friends. The night turns the tips of his hair bluer than usual, and the stars remind you of the freckles hidden along his creamy skin. His glasses reflect the galaxy above.

Even though today’s stream was embarrassing, you know Ike trusts you enough to tell you if you’ve ever crossed a boundary. After all, it’s commonplace to discuss limits on and off stream as soon as possible, and your friendship was so strong that you’ve both opened up to one another. He’d let you know if the whole cuddling thing was too much. Besides, he didn’t resist. He even rested his head on yours. That has to account for something, right?

You snap out of your thoughts when you feel a gentle tug on the sleeve of your hoodie. It’s Ike. He asks, “Lay down with me?”

A wave of fondness washes over you like the tide. He’s cute when he’s earnest like this. You get as comfortable as you can on the tiling, and when you still, you hear something shift before your hand grows warm. Ike scooted closer to you, and placed his pinky finger over yours. 

This is bliss. A beautiful sight with a beautiful boy next to you. Your best friend. 

“I do love you,” you say. 

It just feels right to say. 

Ike is silent. He doesn’t make a single sound as you stare up at the stars and the blackened sky. The breeze rocks a tree, and as the leaves part, you see the moon for the first time: one thin, waning crescent that blends into the darkness. 

Ike’s head is turned away from you. You can’t tell what he’s thinking at all. 

“…I don’t know what you mean,” he admits. “You do? As a friend?”

“We’ve always been friends.”

“Just that?”

“I don’t know what you’re asking me, Ike.”

“N-never mind. I’m sorry, am I making it weird?”

“No, you could never make it weird.” The colors of the view gloss together. You feel like a balloon slowly deflating. “Feels like that’s all I’m doing lately, though.”

Neither of you say anything. 

This was a bad idea. 

You swear the rustling leaves mock you. 

“Wait.” Ike practically snatches your hand up. “Wait, Reader, are you saying you like me?”

“Yeah. I’m saying that I love you.”

Ike stares at you, and if you had to choose just one word to describe his expression, it’s stricken. His mouth is slightly parted, and his shocked eyes drive holes through your skin, leaving you exposed. The brief stutter that escapes him sounds like it was dredged out from frozen, murky waters. “I—”

He drops your hand and turns away. 

“I’m sorry,” he finally says, barely audible. “This is… this is a lot.”

“I’m sorry too, this was a stupid idea. What was I thinking?” You get on your feet, but the slope makes what could’ve been a fluid motion into a stumbling, slow rise, as if your legs weren’t jelly enough already. You inch to the window mortified. “I think I should go. Sorry to bother you.”

You don’t dare to glance at him before you step back inside, not even when he calls your name halfway through the window.

Once you’re back in the living room, you cover your face, then drag your hands through your hair. You can’t even begin to describe how exhausted you feel. This is heartbreak, isn’t it?

You blink furiously, and the outline of a figure by the fridge comes into view. 

“Reader?” Mika asks. She has a stick of string cheese in her hand, but walks to you. “Reader, what happened—”

You take her empty hand and pace to your room. You open the door. “Are you okay?”

The second it shuts, your breath hitches. Mika doesn’t hesitate to take you in her arms. She holds you as the first tear falls, and you begin to cry.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

You wake up the next day sprawled in your bed, even though the blankets are tucked comfortably around you. On the floor is a pillow and another pile of blankets, and when you recognize the dark hair tied into a loose ponytail, the memories of last night come rushing back.

What an awful night. Awful decisions all day, really, and all of them ones you made. You really don’t know what you were thinking. You groan at the memory.

“Reader?” Mika perks up. Her phone is in her hands, but she sits up level to your face on the floor. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”

Another groan.

“Yeah, I figured,” she says. “Nina, Vox and Ike went out to do their own thing, and I think Ren and Uki are cafe-hopping. It’s just you, me and Aia in the house right now.”

You rub the sleepy out of your eyes. “That’s cool, I guess.” You cast a downward glance to Mika’s makeshift bed on the floor. “Sorry for being a nuisance.”

“You’re not a nuisance, Reader, don’t say that.” She nudges you. “We’re friends. It’s what friends do. Speaking of, do you want Aia to come by? And Alban’s online, so I can call him, too. If you want.”

“It’d be nice…”

Less than ten minutes pass before Aia shows up at your door with breakfast sandwiches and orange juice. All three of you sit on the blanketed floor while Mika voice calls Alban on her phone. A pot of coffee brews over speakerphone as you recount last night. 

“...And to make things worse, we just streamed yesterday,” you explain. “God, I should check Twitter. There’s got to be a million people with eyes on our ship tag, and ugh, I hate thinking about how many weirdos are going to push a ship that can’t work out IRL.”

“I can check it for you,” Aia offers. You hand her your phone. “You remember your Twitter password?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool. Sorry in advance.” She deletes the app off your home screen.

You begin to protest, but she turns off the phone and sets it aside, out of your reach. “You’re off the clock, Reader! Work troubles can wait until you’re back online, and that includes doomscrolling. You can redownload it when you’re in a better headspace.”

“I really hate admitting you’re right.”

“Shit, Reader,” Alban finally says. “He seriously dropped the ball. I’m sorry.”

“I know. I really thought he would get it, but it took him so long to piece it together, like he never thought about us like that before. I should’ve known it was just me. I’m so stupid.”

“You’re not stupid, you’re hurt,” Mika says. “It’s understandable, but that still doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

“Is it wrong that I feel like I deserve it? I mean, I knew day one that this wouldn’t work out. We work together online, and we have fans that ship us with each other and the rest of this company, for fuck’s sake. Getting heartbroken was inevitable and I still went for it. Either I’m a glutton for pain or I’m just plain clueless.”

Alban’s voice is distant from the phone as he messes with his coffee maker. You can’t properly hear him under his breath and over the pot, but if you could, you could’ve heard him mumble, Trust me, you’re not the only clueless one here.

But he returns back at the phone, and you’re totally oblivious. “You can’t choose who you fall for,” he says. “It was really that bad?”

“It took him like a minute to realize I was confessing. And then when he realized it, he apologized to me.”

Aia straightens. “Did he say no?”

“Not really, but why would he apologize if he reciprocated?”

Aia exchanges a look with Mika. Alban grumbles. “No fucking way.”

“Tell me exactly how he reacted,” Aia instructs. She plowed through her sandwich during the conversation, but she left the remaining half on her plate forgotten as she laced her fingers together and leaned forward like a calculated boss. 

“It was like he couldn’t comprehend what I was saying at first. He asked if I meant it as friends, until he asked me if I liked him. And when I told him I loved him in response, he was so shocked that he let go of my hand, so I left.”

“No fucking way,” Alban repeats, and groans as he drawls out his words. You can practically hear him drag his hands over his face. “No fucking way. Ikeeeee. He seriously dropped the ball.”

“I know. I can’t believe it.”

Aia takes both of your hands in her own. “Reader, I’m not even saying this to hurt you, but this is the clumsiest confession I’ve ever heard of.”

You squint. “Right, that makes me feel so much better.”

“I’m really not! You know what this sounds like? Miscommunication,” she declares. “You didn’t get a solid yes or no. So now it’s going to be awkward between you two until you get an actual answer to the confession, or at least some kind of resolution. You wanna know what I think? It sounds like he didn’t even believe what he was hearing before you left. Which, by the way, is a common response to not just confessions but other major news, so chances are you didn’t blow up your friendship as hard as you thought.”

“She has a point,” Alban says. “I believe you, Reader, but Ike isn’t the type of person to just crush other people’s feelings like that. You just woke up, right?”

“I haven’t even left my room yet. Mika says everyone else is out of the house. He’s with Vox and Nina, I think.”

“So then he hasn’t had a chance to talk to you since the confession,” he continues. “And those three are really close. I’m willing to bet they’re helping him manage it, ‘cause it sounds like he’s going through it just as confused as you are.”

You stare at the floor. Hope feels foreign, yet you can’t help but wonder. You struggle to remember the exact way Ike reacted last night, but you really can’t tell what facts were clouded over by the rejection. A rejection that possibly didn’t even happen, mind you. The confusion and regret blurs over everything like water on wet ink.

“You really think so?” You quietly ask.

Aia nods, and Alban agrees over the phone.

Mika pipes up, a glass of juice in her hands. “Here’s my take. We can theorize as much as we want, but none of us really know what Ike’s thinking about, least of all you. Especially since you didn’t actually resolve anything, and that tension is going to eat at you until you get an answer or it actually damages your friendship. You ask me, the next best thing you can do is bring it up.”

She takes a sip of her juice and leaves you to absorb her advice. 

You mull it over along with the memory of last night. “He called my name as I left.”

Alban chokes on his coffee. “He called your name?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t respond.”

“Oh my God. READER!” He shouts so loud that Mika turns the volume down. “I’m going to lose it. I’m actually freaking it right now. Reader!”

“What?”

“Fuck what Mika said earlier, you are stupid!”

“Hey!”

“I’m saying this in the nicest way possible, you are so stupid. He was trying to talk to you!”

Your face goes through a handful of emotions as you sputter. “Are you serious, Alban?”

“Yes! Mika, Aia, back me up.”

Aia crinkles her nose. “I did just say it sounded like a total miscommunication.”

Meanwhile, Mika twirls a lock of red-and-black hair between her finger, distracting herself. She hesitates, trying to figure out exactly how she wants to say her piece, before she simply shakes her head and stills. “Just talk to him.”

“Which is easier said than done.” Your shoulders roll back as you stare up at the ceiling, your hands supporting you as you lean. Even with your friends’ encouragement, the memory of how hard you blew it last night still haunts you. It’s even worse than starting at ground zero; you’ve already tasted failure once, and you’re hesitant to embarrass yourself again. 

That stricken look Ike gave you flashes across your sight every time you blink. What was he thinking when he stared at you like that? You can’t tell if the disgust is true or if your anxieties are getting the best of you.

The best solution to anxieties, however, is looking at the facts—or at least, what isn’t tainted by your bias. Your friends mentioned there was nothing wrong with a workplace romance, and as much as the stream made you want to cringe, no one seemed put off by it. Alban and Aia are set on getting you and Ike to talk, and so is Mika. In fact, Mika spoke with Ike as well as Vox and Nina last night before you entered, and even if you had no idea what those four were talking about, you still picked up your name and that apparently Ike had something to tell you.

Pieces start to fall into place when you consider the three around you, staging an intervention over a late breakfast. Aia always gets you in situations where you can be close to Ike and bails you out when it gets awkward, and as much as he won’t get off your back about it, Alban gave you great advice between all his teasing. Mika was nosy at first when she learned about your feelings, but now that you think about it, she’s been incredibly tactful ever since the off-collab began. 

You can’t help but snicker as you connect the dots. “Is this the first time you guys actually started wingmanning for me?”

Aia purses her lips. “Hey, not the first. Remember when we made that group chat? We’ve always been your wingmen.”

“I know. But you guys are seriously helping,” you say. “Thanks. Though I do wonder, Mika…”

She perks up as you say her name. “Be real with me. Do you know more than you’re letting on?”

She flinches. Alban’s fingers snap over the phone. “Busted.”

Mika holds her hands up like a criminal caught in the act, but there’s a loose, sly smile hanging on her face. “I don’t think it’s my place to say.”

“What do you mean, it’s not your place to say?”

“I’m sorry, Reader, but I made a promise not to spill, and I’ve been doing way too much behind the scenes to break the promise like that. Just do me a favor and talk to the guy, will you? That’s the best I can tell you.” Mika rests her head in a hand, and the smirk looks even more knowing. “And if you can’t figure it out after that, then you’re definitely stupid.”

You bluster. “I’m not stupid!” 

“Still remains to be seen.” Aia gently flicks your forehead. “But you do look a lot better. How are you feeling now?”

Aside from the fading pain on your forehead? You’re surprised at how much lighter you feel now that you unloaded all your worries with your friends. The rejection still stings, and you’re not exactly confident, but, well, you’re smiling. The clean, tangy taste of orange juice lingers between your tongue. Aia and Mika sitting on the pile of blankets reminds you that regardless of your love life, they’d stay by your side until the bitter end, and Alban’s voice keeps you connected with your friends no matter where in the world you are.

You snatch Aia’s half-eaten sandwich off her plate and sink your teeth into the bread. She cries out in protest. “Hey!”

“Better now.” You set the sandwich back where you found it. Even though your future with Ike looks cloudy, the smile doesn’t leave. “Don’t flick me.”

“Speaking of.” Mika picks up the phone and scrolls through her messages. “Nina just texted that she, Vox and Ike will come back in an hour or less. Reader, are you up for this?”

“What do you mean, ‘up for this?’”

“Just seeing Ike again. It was a weird night,” she says. “I stand by what I said, but if it’s going to be too much too soon, then Aia and I can cover for you until you feel better.”

“I don’t know.” That’s what gets your expression to sink from light to thoughtful. “I think I want to take your advice. I just don’t know if I’m ready to talk it out yet.”

“Still wanna hang out with us or take a moment to yourself?”

“I think I’d just go back to moping if I was alone,” you joke.

“Cool. Let me go grab some nail polish Nina gave me yesterday.” Mika rises and strides to the door. “You have a steadier hand than me. And Nina said the color suits me more than her.”

Aia’s face lights up. She happily cries ”Girls’ night!” even though it’s barely noon and Alban is decidedly not a girl, but then he croons something in a valley girl accent so strong you can’t even tell what he’s saying. Scratch that; he’s a girl by association.

When he drawls out one long “Yaaaaaas, bestie!” you can’t help but laugh. Your love life is in shambles, but at least your friendships are solid as hell. You’d give the world for these three.

Mika returns a moment later, travel-sized nail supplies in her arms and a totally unrelated topic on the mind. The sharp scent of the lacquer startles you out of your thoughts as you uncap the bottle and Mika splays her hands out, and Alban and Aia air their opinions on something entertainingly dumb. 

Nina was right: this color is stunning on Mika. You paint Aia’s nails too, and halfway through her second hand, you hear the front door open, the end of an intelligible conversation, and telltale footsteps, each diverting across the house. The girls’ eyes flicker to you. You know they’re trying to read your expression, but you concentrate on how the brushstrokes pool together into one smooth coat. Your thoughts are a storm and you can’t even pick out the emotion commanding it. 

So you keep joking along instead and focus on the nail polish, refusing to give the storm an opportunity to strike. Alban quips off of you, and the moment passes as Mika and Aia return to the conversation. 

That is, until half an hour later when you hear a knock on the door. Mika cocks her head, a silent question, and when you nod she stands. Her nails dried when you finished Aia’s, and dot the doorknob as she cracks it open. A tiny margin of light from the hallway shines into your room, and you realize she positioned herself square in front of the threshold, shielding you from the person on the other side. 

She talks evenly. “Hey, welcome back.”

“Thanks. Is Reader here?”

Your mind thunders as you register the voice. You can only see the leg of his jeans behind Mika, but you recognize Ike’s voice on the other side. 

Aia shuffles by as a second shield. “Need them for something?”

“Kind of,” Ike says. “Do you mind if I talk to them?”

“I don’t know, what’s it about—“

“Aia, you can lay off him.” You call from your corner of the room. “You too, Mika.”

“Whatever you say. Just let me just grab my stuff…”

Mika grabs the nail supplies and deafens on Discord, but doesn’t even think to pick up the blankets along the ground. Instead, she glides to you and whispers under her breath. “We’re rooting for you. Send us a text if you need anything, okay?”

You nod. Aia slips past the threshold, but not without shooting you a thumbs up and mouthing ‘good luck.’ Not even a second later, your phone buzzes, and you catch Alban’s contact sending you an encouraging message in all-caps. 

“See you later!” Aia chirps. “Play nice, you two.”

The scent of the lacquer follows them as they leave, and the sound of their footsteps fade in time. 

Still in the doorway, Ike raises a hand to fidget with the chain along his glasses. “Do you mind if I…?”

“Oh! Come in. Sit anywhere, I don’t mind.”

You stay planted on the floor like how you were with your friends, and Ike sits next to you. You face the wall in front while he gets comfortable.

No words are exchanged as Ike maneuvers around the blankets, and eventually settles down with his back on the floor and head resting on a pillow, staring up at the ceiling. The light is off, but the blinds filter in thin beams of sunlight that cross over the room and the edge of his collar like a grid. 

“Lay with me?” He asks. Then it strikes you like ringing metal; you sit next to each other in the same positions as that night on the roof. 

Suddenly Ike raises his hands like static. “Not that you have to! I just figured it would be good to get comfortable and all, you know?” Ike hastily explains, then clears his throat. “I wanted to talk. About last night, I mean.”

Your chest flutters at the mention of it, but you remember all your friends’ encouragement. Here he is, the novelist of your (heartbroken) dreams, already bringing up the topic you dread to mention. You need to take this chance to face it head-on, now or never. 

You glide down like the ceiling is full of stars. “Okay. What do you want to talk about?”

“A lot, honestly. I don’t know how to go about it, but first of all, I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry.”

You cross your arms. “You said that enough last night.”

“Not like that! I mean I’m sorry I acted the way I did. I think I made every wrong choice once you said that you… that.” He shovels a hand through his hair. “I’m making it weird again. I should apologize for that, too, it’s just kind of embarrassing saying out loud that you, um, you loved me. Not that you should be embarrassed. I mean, I get it if you are, but that took a lot of guts. You should be proud of that. I admire you for that.”

“Slow down. What are you even saying?”

“What I wish I said last night. More than anything else, I’m sorry I got caught off-guard. I must’ve been so standoffish, because my idiot brain just didn’t believe what I was hearing until it was too late and the damage was already done.” Hair the color of ash and ocean falls over his face. “Honestly, I can’t believe it now.”

“I get it. Bad idea from me. Can we move on from that yet?”

“I don’t think it was a bad idea at all. I just had no idea that you liked me.”

“Give me some time and I’ll get over it, eventually. I’m not going to let it get in the way of working with you, if that’s what you’re trying to get at.”

“No, that’s not it either! I—“

Ike’s eyes squeeze shut. His voice is so quiet, you can’t discern what he’s saying. “…Actually, I’m…”

“Repeat that?”

“I’m happy. Really happy,” Ike says. His pitch rises like a balloon floating up into space, struggling to stay composed. “I’m not good at saying it, but I meant it when I said… when I said it during the stream.”

You wave a hand in the air. “It was weird timing, and I know you mean it like a friend,” you reply. “I didn’t mean to pressure you into saying it, and just being friends is fine. Even though I’m a loser that messed up just about everything.”

The hand catches in midair. Doll-like fingers weave through your grasp, and turn your touch warm as Ike turns to look at you. “Not with me. Don’t say that about yourself, okay?” 

You stare at how easily he held your hand, and how his fingers cradle your heart between the palms. The corners of Ike’s eyes are narrowed, two beads of peridot stone that can see through every little line of text between your pages, but there’s gentleness under his glasses. Something uncertain and fluffy. Softened like a lamb even though he leaves you defenseless. 

You don’t know what to say. Ike is beautiful and kind and handsome and thoughtful when he’s earnest like this. He’s got you stupid in the head and wrapped around his pinky finger, and doesn’t have a single clue.

Peridot sparkles. “You’re so much more than that. You don’t mess things up, Reader. I’m in love with you.”

Your mouth goes dry and your tongue is still tied. Forget speechlessness; the man took your own damn thoughts away. Your hand remains frozen in air with Ike’s. If it weren’t for the light drag of one of his fingernails along your skin, then you would have figured he took your senses as well.

But the drag ends, and the fingers unlace themselves, and chilled air fills in the gaps Ike once held close. The tips of his fingers rest at the curve of your palm for just one second more before they drift away.

The glint in his eyes dulls. His hand falls to his chest, over his heart, just as slow as he parted. The uncertainty took over, and now it’s like staring at a cloud that doesn’t know if it should rain. Ike’s gaze lowers to his heart. There’s a stretch of silence and motionlessness as he stares at where your touch once was, and you’re paralyzed where you lay.

Ike's hand curls in on itself, too loose to make a fist, and his lashes sink over his eyes. His mouth is set into a flat line, but the cheeks are dusted in pinks and reds and peppered freckles in-between, demure and shy all the while.

He turns his face away soon after that. Another break of silence, and he shuffles again, with your vision on his back as if it were a hiding place.

It startles you out of your stupor. The gridded sunlight lets you analyze what you missed. After months of thinking your feelings would never be reciprocated, Ike thought of you just the same. He’s always been in your corner, and you would go to the ends of the earth for him, and everything is in its perfect position. But his back is still turned, and the memory of last night—your confession, and his inaction—it rushes to your head.

So you reach out instead.

Maybe it’s a little selfish. You’re tired of bumbling around and concealing your true feelings, and now that everything's out in the open, you aren’t about to let go without resolution.

But Ike is your best friend, and the man you fell in love with. There was no way you’d ever let go in the first place.

You wrap your arms around his back and hug Ike.

“I think I get why you were so taken aback last night,” you whisper. Even though you’re alone with Ike, you still say it like a secret. “I can barely believe it myself.”

Your warmth is inviting, and every second that passes is another defense downed. Your head perches right above his neck and along his shoulder. It’s not your first hug with Ike at all, but there’s only been so many since you first met him in person that it still feels special, and with your bodies flush to the floor, it’s intimate. His eyes are averted and one cheek lays down on the blankets, but the tips of his ears glow scarlet under his jewelry. 

“I’m glad you were patient with me. I really didn’t think I had a chance with you. You know, the long distance and the company, and you know, the standard pining fare. I’m really lucky.” A smile slips through your words. “I’ll stay with you, okay? So take all the time you need.”

Ike chuckles. Even his laughter is blushy-bashful. “I’m just so happy you feel the same, too. I don’t even know what to do with myself.”

His body curls as he lays, and your legs brush along his as you cuddle. Holding him makes it feel like he was made to fit in your arms. You sigh. “I love when you can’t contain it. It’s so cute.” 

Ike squeaks at that, and unwittingly proves your point. “It feels so good to say that out loud. I mean, you’re okay with it, right?” A nod. “And you’re okay with… I don’t know. Are we still friends?”

“Of course we are, no matter what. You said you loved me first, so let me say this one?” 

You have a feeling you know what’s coming next. You hug him even tighter.

“Reader, let’s go out. I don’t want this feeling to end,” he confesses, and your world turns into rose and blush. “Can we?”

Though you expected it, he still takes your breath away—until he taps you on the hand. “Come on, say something before my heart explodes!”

“Mine already did! I can’t even think straight, and—I’d love that. I really want this.”

Another squeal breaks out as Ike buries his head into a blanket, and your heart soars as he melts. He resembles a swaddled-up kitten, and the rays of sunlight line his silhouette. The fluffy blanket reminds you of an angel’s downy wings along his kitten features. You can’t even see his face between the blanket and his hair, but his squeal continues, muted through the blanket as he swoons. 

Somehow that only makes you feel even more flustered. “No, don’t hide! I want to see you!”

Maybe it would’ve been better for your heart if he stayed put, because when Ike rises—with disheveled hair and glitter in his eyes the color of seaglass, and jewelry that frames his red face, and that galaxy of freckles you hold so dear and shine like stars between his blush—you feel your heart stop. Again.

“When did you start having this effect on me?” You ask, mesmerized, and before you know it you thumb over one of his rosy cheeks. “Your freckles are so beautiful.”

He sheepishly grins. “They don’t really show up online. They’re pale.”

“Never noticed them until I met you in person. I love them. I love you.”

The grin gets a little wider. One of his fingers grazes along the corner of your ear. Has his hand always been along your jawline?

Ike’s eyes are shining under the grid of sunlight. The lashes flit just a bit lower from your gaze. “Reader, can we…?”

You close your eyes.

And when Ike’s lips graze your own, you smile on instinct before you remember to kiss back. 

Ike brings you near, searching for the taste of you as he continues. His touch lodges past your jawline and into your hair, and when one of the fingers grazes along your ear you’re reminded just how much you love Ike. All the yearning you hid for so long bleeds through as you sink down to his level with his head in your hand, gentle yet impassioned.

Then your face bumps against Ike’s glasses. The kiss breaks as you back away.

There’s a brief pause in the aftermath. Ike wordlessly adjusts his glasses, now knocked off-center. Despite finally getting on the same page on your relationship with Ike, you’re still as clumsy about your feelings as ever.

But the corners of your lips curve up as he inspects the lens you squished, then a barely-stifled giggle, and next thing you know, Ike’s laughing along with you, still underneath your body and with one hand in your hair while the other holds his glasses in place. He sounds as charming as he looks, and the fact that he joined you even when you chuckled out of the blue means that his mind is just as charming as well.

Not that it was breaking news. You know your best friend well, and now that you don’t need to deny your feelings any longer, you know you’ve got good taste if Ike’s under you with crinkled eyes and hearty laughter.

When you speak next, the giggles patter out between your words but the quiet delight hangs in your teeth. “Can we try that again?”

Then his lips are on yours again, and the laughter twists between the second kiss, and the third, and the fourth, all the way until you collapse on the blankets with arms around each other, staring up at the stars on the bland popcorn ceiling as adoration fills the space between you. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

bonus.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Starting soon…

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

The chat flickers alive as a four-pointed flower, a diamond, and a thorned heart give way to the stream and the novelist behind the stinger. 

Kaidororero: welcome back ike!

Min (Ikey’s Book): 💙 IKEY IS BACK 💙

A normal broom: HI IKE

lunasmortas: 💙💙💙

viperip: ike! :_heart: :_heart: :_heart:

Sun shines through a clear day in Ike’s room onscreen, but in reality, blackout curtains block out the day outside. A sweet smile graces both Ike’s face and his model as the Quilldren welcome him home. 

He greets them, and cracks open a can of soda as he quickly scans through the chat. Obviously, the off-collab is on everyone’s minds. 

juuuuuuuuuus: did you have fun?

Kaidororero: offcollab POOOG

lunasmortas: SO CUTE :_heart: :heart:

Johnclone: Hope you had a good time!

zZirasthingZz: PEN AND PAPER REAL

Hm. A mod will eventually bonk that message. But then again, it’s inevitable that the ship would come up in chat. 

Ike takes it in stride and ignores it like any other shipper, but his heart still skips a beat. Nonetheless, he doesn’t call any attention to it. “How about that off-collab, right? I met up with my friends! Where do I even begin?”

Ike recounts his trip from the beginning, and the Quilldren react to his stories with interest. He was one of the last to arrive, so Nina, Uki and Reader picked him up from the airport, and met up with Aia, Ren, and Mika at the Airbnb. Vox was the only one to arrive after him, hot off the heels of a flight delay, but the demon was a welcome party all his own despite his exhaustion. 

“We went to karaoke once Vox got situated,” Ike explains. “Nina put that song in first so we could all let loose, and so she would have a fun voice tweet for everyone. Might as well confirm everyone that showed up, right?

“But after that, we didn’t want to stress ourselves out to perform for voice tweets instead of just having fun, so that was the only song we recorded. I wish you could’ve heard Uki and Vox’s duet, though. And while we were singing, turns out Ren packed a ukulele with him! Sometimes he would learn how to play along by ear, like a jam session. Mika knows how to play ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ too, so everyone joined in singing that while she played it. It was so much fun.”

Johnclone: Everyone sounded great!

sunblast99: uki’s voice >>>>>> everything else 💜💙

haabinae: :_tskr:

Festersk: WHAT I REALLY REALLY WANT 🗣🗣

A normal broom: what did you sing?

Ike leans back in his chair. He blows a lock of hair out of his sight as he tries to think. “I remember Vox sang something by George Strait, so then we all egged him on to sing ‘Country Roads.’ He only did it once I promised to queue up ‘Toxicity’ by System of a Down afterwards.”

lunasmortas: OMG 💙💙💙

gatamiizuus: ayo?

Y A M: YESSSSSSS :_tskr: :_tskr:

haabinae: I LOVE SOAD :_fanboy:

Thornmy: SO COOL 💙

“Thank you.” He says it out of obligation. If he thinks too hard about the compliments, he’ll get embarrassed. “What else was there? I think there was some Motionless in White, and Spiritbox. Oh, and My First Story. Can’t forget My First Story.”

K. K. Soda: ooooo

Alban Knox 【NIJISANJI EN】 ✓ : what about mcr

asper ch.: METAL SCREAM?

deeboorgur: HI ALBAN

Y A M: MCR YEAAAAA  :_glowstick_1: :_glowstick_2:

“I’m getting there, Alban!” 

Ike takes a sip while the Quilldren greet Alban. He’s not too surprised Alban seems to know more than the other viewers. He’s close with almost everyone that went on the trip, and was super active on Discord during the off-collab. The novelist lowers his soda as the chat floods in orange hearts. He wonders how Alban learned so much as an observer. He should ask. 

But that’s a question for after stream. Ike continues. “Thank Nina for that. She queued up ‘I’m Not Okay’ by My Chemical Romance, and then shoved two mics in my hands and Reader’s.”

And the chat explodes. 

Kaidororero: OMGGGGGG 💙💕

Y A M: PEN AND PAPER SO CUTE :_tskr:

zZirasthingZz: PEN AND PAPER DUET

asper ch.: AYOOOO MCR

gatamiizuus: I LOVE READER

ystariya: PEN AND PAPER MY BELOVED

“It’s a really fun song! It’s almost all clean vocals, but there’s this scream in the middle. Up until then, we sang together, but then I screamed, and Reader picked up the slack and sang the parts of the verse I couldn’t. They’re amazing.”

gatamiizuus: READER SIMPS COME GET Y’ALL’S JUICE

Thornmy: THAT SOUNDS SO GOOD

lunasmortas: 💙💕💙💕

ystariya: READER KARAOKE STREAM WHEN

Kaidororero: AWWWWWWW

The model on the screen doesn’t have the same glint in Ike’s eye when he talks about you. That first day of the trip was all about getting comfortable after long travel hours, and the stories went on as the days went by. Sightseeing with Aia and shopping with Uki by day, and spending the night shooting the shit with Ren until it turns into the littlest hours of the morning.

“Vox wanted to try a bunch of different restaurants with me, but you know me, ya boi is not good with most foods. So Nina usually came along in case I couldn’t finish something. She and Vox would share my leftovers.”

Something fond crosses over Ike’s face. His eyes cloud over in fog descending over a clear-sky day. “We would always talk over food about anything. I appreciate it a lot. They really get me.” The fog stills. “And over breakfast one morning, they gave me some excellent advice over something I’ve been meaning to do.”

ver*batim: ❤️💙❤️

K. K. Soda: MILORDDDDD

nroneo: :_heart:

A normal broom: upcoming project? 👀 

Johnclone: I love Nina Kosaka!

“Not a project, no. It was something I was really worried about, even when I was supposed to be taking a break with my friends,” he says. “But those two seriously helped me clear my head about it. Mika, too. Vox and Nina had a lot of nuanced advice, but Mika told it to me straight, and helped handle what I couldn’t. I’m really thankful to have them.”

His set jaw loosens. “Maybe I’ll talk about it one day.”

The model cocks to the side. Motion blurs the foggy sobriety away. With a lightness to his voice and a knowing gaze, Ike looks straight into the camera and smiles, sentimentality forgotten. The air clears. “But for now, it’s a secret~!

“Ah, now where was I? Spending time with my friends, right? Reader and I hung out often. Sometimes with others, but it ended up being the two of us more than not.”

Birds chirp outside Ike’s window in time with the hum of his PC. The backlit keyboard in front of the monitors glows the same color as the computer, a healthy blue light that tints the tips of his fingers. He usually sets it to a rainbow spectrum in his own time, but static blue is reserved for going live. It gets him in the right mindset for streaming, and makes his little apartment feel fantastical like the noble background that accompanies his model, even if it only reaches his fingertips. 

He’s sure the Ike on the screen has fingertips tinged with blue just like him, an extension of the man outside the screen but without the grittier details. Smooth, pristine hands under gloves where his are callused from guitar playing. Nothing under the model’s eyes but lashes and a line of red that brings out the pink in his eyes, very much unlike the heavy bags and sunken face from an awful delay on his flight back home. No freckles, either, but even cameras rarely pick them up on video call. Nina cooed over them the first time they met, as motherly as ever, but behind closed doors Reader was utterly fascinated with them. They mentioned something about watching blush travel around his face with the smattering of freckles in-between once or twice… maybe more? Doesn’t matter when he’s never heard that before and it repeats in his head when he catches himself daydreaming. It’s one of the best things he’s ever heard.

Vtuber Model Ike’s face doesn’t heat up like how Real Ike’s certainly is now. He clears his throat. “The weather was really nice during the entire trip, so we would always get into good conversations while walking back to where we were staying. And sometimes we didn’t want to end the conversation, so we’d just keep walking past our Airbnb until our feet hurt or it got dark, whichever came first. 

“Oh, here’s something funny. Uki really loves cafes, right? Usually he woke up early with Ren to go check out some cafes in the morning, way before the rest of us would even think of waking up. By the time everyone else woke up, they already finished their breakfast, and Uki would tell Reader about the ones to visit or skip. Whenever Uki recommended one, Reader always wanted to go themselves, so I went along to keep them company.” 

Even as his skin returns to its original shade, the sweetness sticks to his throat like the soda he’s barely touched at all. He’s wistful. He didn’t expect to miss Reader this much; after all, his relationship with them has bloomed so much ever since you first started working together, but two weeks together (including mutual close friends) changes things. It’s only been two days since he returned home, but he feels out of rhythm with them. 

He’s gotten too accustomed to them. Over the last few months, he thought he did a good job putting aside his feelings for Reader, even when Nina would tease him after every Pen and Paper collab and Vox and Mika would be right behind her, hyping him up to make a move. The fear of rejection was what motivated him to keep his close friendship with Reader without ever confessing to them.

“Reader…”

The world around him is nothing. Paused to buffer as he thinks. He can’t remember the last time he felt so happy. Just being in the same room as them makes him feel stupid, and surely he’s been acting like it. Everything he says sounds clumsy when he’s with them. After all, on that day when he owned up to the feelings he repressed for so long that he couldn’t properly react to Reader’s confession, he couldn’t say much more than how happy he was. Words fail to describe what Reader means to him, yet he’s a novelist, for crying out loud! How ironic!

“...Reader is so patient with me,” Ike says. “And they’re so considerate and dedicated. I wish I told them that earlier. It’s hard to say things out loud like this, but you only meet people like Reader once in a lifetime if you’re lucky, and even then, there’s no one quite like Reader.”

ystariya: i love reader

Kaidororero: pen and paper awwww

Y A M: PEN AND PAPER

acklmystafoot: ike is so sweet!!!

Reader 【NIJISANJI EN】 ✓ : 💙

“Aaah!”

Ike recoils like his keyboard is flaming lava. The model on the screen leans back and freezes in place while he nearly throws himself out of his chair. “R-Reader! What are you doing here?!”

Reader 【NIJISANJI EN】 ✓ : FKJLJJSLKFJDKS LMAOOOOOOOO

Johnclone: Hello Reader!

Y A M: OMG

Reader 【NIJISANJI EN】 ✓ : just wanted to say hi

Reader 【NIJISANJI EN】 ✓ : hi!

Festersk: LMAO

Ike sputters out nothing but empty air and nervous laughter. “Haha. Um. Hi! Welcome!”

Stupid! He wants to kick himself. He’s made improvement on verbalizing affection, and he’s comfortable with Reader, especially now that there aren’t any secrets left, but he’s still so unfamiliar with affection being returned that his heart is still doing kickflips in his chest. 

haabinae: :_blush: :_blush: :_blush:

juuuuuuuuuus: most normal pen and paper moment

Thornmy: AWWW

Reader 【NIJISANJI EN】 ✓ : check discord

A normal broom: Oh?

“Ah, okay! Give me a second.” Ike keeps his Discord on mute, and usually disables desktop notifications when he’s live, so he’s not surprised to open the window to unread messages and some non-urgent pings. Sure enough, Reader sent him something.

Reader: because you were talking about cafes

Reader: image.png (3)    | 💙 1 |

Me: Oh I recognize these from our first date!

It’s been over a week now, but just saying he went on a date with Reader has him squeezing his legs together so his feet wouldn’t start kicking in the air. 

Reader: ahh you remembered! 

Me: I should’ve figured you took more pictures than the ones you showed me

Reader: dw i have more i wanted to show you

Reader: image.png (8)    | 💙 1 |

Me: Seriously how are you so good at photography I don’t get it-

Me: You’re really pretty in this one!

Me: UGHHHH WHY DO I LOOK SO WEIRD    | ❌ 1 | 💕 1 |

Me: I DIDN’T EVEN NOTICE YOU TAKE THIS ONE

Reader: WTH YOU’RE NOT WEIRD

Reader: YOU’RE LITERALLY SO HANDSOME WHY DO YOU  T H I N K  I TOOK THAT PIC

Well, great, now he’s actually kicking in his seat. Ike is inclined to disagree, but when Reader says it, it’s a super-effective attack on his poor little novelist heart. 

Me: Akaslwdnja

Me: Thank you 😭

Reader: anyways i gotta go i stream in 20 min and i’ve barely eaten my food

Me: Go eat! Do you have enough water?

Reader: just refilled my bottle

Me: Good then don’t let me keep you! Have a good stream!

And before he can overthink it, in the moment—

Me: I love you!

His sights are set on his second monitor.

Reader is typing…

Reader doesn’t have to respond. Sometimes just saying it is enough. 

Reader: fdsjdfkl.

Ike’s been trying to relearn that lesson ever since he realized everything he repressed was reciprocated.

Reader: i love you too, ike

Words heard across the world, one of the people he holds most dear.

His heart beats loud in his ears, but he can feel it slow, somehow. Reader is exhilarating, but there’s security in them, too. The nerves kick in until he remembers they’re just as exposed as the other, and the vulnerability generate a sense of comfort. Reader makes him feel understood like no one else in the world does, and he trusts them more than anything.

He does. He does, he does, he does, even if he only has the strength to say it one at a time. Ike is in love.

Reader: i’ll let you know when i’m done streaming, we can watch a movie together after

Me: It’s a date!    | 💕 1 |

It takes him a moment to tear his gaze away from your messages. 

His streaming monitor reflects his movements. The chat moves along. Blue light spreads through his fingertips, just like how he imagines Vtuber Model Ike’s hands resting on his own keyboard, an extension of the man outside the screen, proof of the fantastical.

“They sent me something.” Ike’s laughter is gentle. “I really do love them.”

The chat zooms past, as expected. Surely that would get clipped alongside the off-collab Q&A, but he can’t seem to care. He doubts the fandom would really understand how deep the connection goes, and if they do? Some things are just meant to be private.

Besides, on the day Ike and Reader get comfortable enough in their relationship to go public, he knows the Quilldren have his back, just like Reader and their Bookworms. 

“Reader, if you’re still there, we need to meet up again,” Ike says. “I don’t know when, but one day.”

A flurry of messages, but only one truly matters.

Reader 【NIJISANJI EN】 ✓ : i wouldn’t miss it for the world

The model onscreen grins. It pales in comparison to Ike himself.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

✧. ┊commentary ↣

✧. ┊ masterpost ✧. ┊ kofi

#ike eveland x reader #ike eveland #ike eveland fluff #ike eveland angst #luxiem #luxiem x reader #nijisanji x reader #nijisanji #4402 writes #🖋 anon #fanfic is unrealistic and i know this because clippers would NEVER use semicolons in their captions #eating string cheese wrong is symbolic. it represents eavesdropping and shitty lies that go unnoticed #i hope i never see a typo in this thing this fic is literally impossible to edit on mobile #update: there were typos. and i had to wait 3 minutes for the editor to load on my laptop before i could fix them. rip #pliskinverse

[ladyofthenoodle]

Opening Line Patterns

thanks for the tag @nemaliwrites!

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 posted fics and see if there's a pattern.

part time soulmate, full time problem

Marinette wasn’t sure exactly why she felt so very small standing in front of the sliding glass door of the Gabriel tower.

skipping past lies of attrition since @wackus-bonkus-maximus wrote the opening lines for that one!

2. you will never sleep alone (i'll love you)

Marinette had saved up for months to be able to afford this vacation.

3. here comes the rush before we touch (come a little closer)

Marinette just happens to be strolling by the park on a dreary, overcast afternoon that may or may not be reserved for a Gabriel™ photoshoot, not that she knows anything about that because she is just very conveniently walking by when the akuma attack happens, which is how Ladybug is on the scene so quickly, not because she heard Adrien would be modeling swimwear and was trying to catch a glimpse, or anything.

4. all's well chat ends well

Alya: girl breathe!! don’t let them get to you, it’s just their fear talking. remember a few days ago when all of paris was cheering for you??? the whole city has your back, miss hero

5. married in a gold rush

It turned out that one’s father being ousted as a supervillain meant a lot of paperwork.

6. we are the foxes

The sharp clacking of heels against the tiles echoed through the cavernous foyer of the estate formerly belonging to Gabriel Agreste.

7. wax lips to wax lips

Adrien has been struggling to make sense of Marinette all day.

8. oh, look now, there you go with hope again

Adrien Agreste was sitting alone in the cafeteria.

9. (that kiss of mine is) a carved notice of destiny

Chat Noir’s heart pounded in his chest as he leapt across rooftops towards the akuma battle, frenetic drumming in time with the voice in his head chanting: late, late, you’re late, you’re late, you’re late…

10. you don't even know me at all (but i was made for loving you)

They didn’t remember each other.

well, i sure like starting with character's names! but otherwise not seeing much of a pattern.

tagging @kasienda @coffeebanana @heartfulselkie @jattendschaton @miabrown007

#tag game

[shuchu]

Hi hi! Saw your event and i wanted to send a request hehe ^^ congrats on 100! ♡♡♡

NSFW, 98, Vox ❤

° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 pretty words from a pretty mouth 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 °

shuchu’s 100 follower event ♡

prompt: “i never thought i’d hear you say that, fuck, that’s hot.”

character: vox akuma

warnings: gn!reader ; NSFW, minors dni ; very suggestive ; explicit words

author notes: thank you so much for the congrats and for participating in the event anon!! ♡ i hope you enjoy this piece that i have written for you! (✿◠‿◠) as usual, feel free to leave some feedback and/or send in requests! decorative divider credit to: @/mykaesu on twt  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

enjoy lovelies! ♡

“sweet thing, you still there?” vox’s voice brings you back to the current moment. you were on facetime with your demon boyfriend while he was away on a trip to meet his colleagues in person. 

you hummed in response, “yeah i’m here. sorry, i was just thinking about how much i miss you.” you pout. 

“aww i know honey, i miss you too. i wish you could’ve come with me, the gang was saying how they thought you would tag along with me and they were excited to meet you.” vox pouts too.

“aww, well, tell them i said hi. i wish i could’ve taken time off work.” you sigh.

after a few seconds of silence, you speak up again, “the bed feels so empty without you, i’m so used to your arms around me and falling asleep beside you.” you snuggle a little further down the covers, partially obscuring your face from vox’s view. 

“me too y/n, me too…just another week okay? just be patient for a little longer sweetheart and i’ll be home before you know it. oh and just so you know, imma kiss the fuck out of you when i get back.” vox chuckles.

his words reminded you of his lips on your neck, leaving open mouthed kisses, his fingers working its magic on you. the memory of vox — pouring all the love that he had for you into that night of love making before he left — had you blushing hard.

“whatcha thinking about sweetheart?” vox asks curiously. 

“n-nothing…you just reminded me of the night before you left…” you mumble, hoping he wouldn’t hear you. 

but alas, he did and he smirked in response, “oh? i can do that again when i get back…show you how much i missed you.” his voice dipped down in pitch, making a shiver run down your spine. 

“something tells me you’re looking forward to it my love.” vox teases, seeing that you were trying to hide your face with the covers. 

you feel a pleasurable sensation building in your nether regions as thoughts of vox dicking you down fills your head, you poke your head out from the covers and whine, “babeeee.”

“what? you’re not saying no.” vox says with a sly grin on his face.

you splutter, trying to say something in response, but nothing comes out. it’s true, you do want it, you want him so bad right now. 

“don’t tell me you’re already getting excited from the thought of it. you miss me that much huh?” vox teases again, with that sly grin still plastered on his face. 

you finally come up with a comeback and say, “vox akuma, don’t get too cocky. you miss me just as much.” 

vox sighs, “you know what honey, i really do.”  he then groans before saying, “god, the things i’d do once i get back, make sure you’re ready for it.”

you almost squeal at what his words imply, squirming a little in bed. feeling a little bold, you challenge him, “oh yeah? what are you gonna do?”

"i'm gonna make out with your gorgeous face, that's all." vox says with a blank expression. "what? were you thinking of something different my dear?" he flashes you a cheeky grin, knowing very well what he's doing to you.

you groan. this fucking demon i swear to god. he's going to be the death of me.

you glare at vox through the phone screen. "you know what you meant, stop pretending like you aren’t thinking of fucking the living daylights out of me. making me moan your name and claw down your back while you pound relentlessly into me, stuffing me full with your cum."

you gasp after you realise what you've just said and you hide under the covers again, your face burning. 

you hear vox let out a guttural groan before saying, "sweet thing, don't hide, let me see you." 

you slowly peek your head out from the covers again, you see vox's lust blown pupils as he gazes into yours through your phone screen. 

"i never thought i'd hear you say that, such filthy words coming out from that pretty mouth of yours, fuck, that's hot." 

"well, since you weren't gonna say, i'll say it for you.” you retort.

vox chuckles and hums lowly, “mhm and that you did my darling, i’ll be sure to reward that pretty little mouth of yours when i get back.” 

you hide your face again, cheeks still burning from embarrassment.

#vox akuma #nijisanji en #luxiem #vox akuma x reader #vox akuma smut #shuchu 100 event ♡ #luxiem x reader

[akunya]

"the doctor will see you now!" pairings: doctor!vox akuma / m!reader

summary: you visit a clinic to help with your memory loss. luckily for you, your doctor has the perfect remedy.

tw: manipulation, gaslighting(?), handjobs. dubcon, MALPRACTICE, groping, dumbification, yandere, etc.

notes: i liked the idea of reader getting out of a coma LOL. also, id rather die than make vox a boring human.

feedback is appreciated considering i haven’t written in a LONG time.

you fidgeted sitting on the cold leather of the examination table, staring at the wall as you waited for the doctor to come in. it was a normal, regular, tuesday afternoon. you didn't know why you were so anxious. after a nurse had checked you in a bit ago, she showed you to his office, saying that the doctor would be with you in just a moment. the modern, yet somewhat classy clock on the wall ticked annoyingly, the sound about to drive you mad. the office itself was sleek, clearly for higher end clients or people that had a lot of money. you had no idea how your insurance was able to cover all of this. your mind started to overflow with questions and worries. the time you spent in anticipation felt longer than ever until the door finally clicked open.

the tall man opened the door just enough for him to slip inside, a dark red button-up shirt underneath his sleek white doctors coat. his skin was pale, but it didn't bother you at all, really. his long black hair fell beautifully along his face, making him seem more befitting of a king rather than a healer. the red highlights made you wonder if they were natural or not, with how seamlessly they matched with his black strands. the slight red eye makeup in the corner of his eye nearly sent you over the edge, ogling at the man in front of you. he was.. a doctor? what kind of clients was he taking care of here? you tried not to stare, but his eyes met yours, making him chuckle a bit.

“do you see something you like?” you shook your head no out of embarrassment, bashfulness setting in as he smiled and sat in his own chair. even the way he sat felt elegant — a leg crossed over the other, clothes cleanly ironed with a small hint of cologne. your eyes caught a glimpse of his name tag: "dr. akuma", somehow also fitting for his aura that he brought into his office. for some reason, even though you were asked to wear something comfortable and loose-fitting for easier access, you felt severely underdressed. how did this man make his doctors uniform look so expensive?

"and you are?" the older man's head tilted, snapping you out of your gaze as you apologized. "y/n. sorry, i've been out of it recently." you laughed awkwardly, trying to make it seem that you weren't practically checking out your doctor as he sat across from you (oh, but you failed miserably). vox didn't seem to mind, introducing himself before flipping through some papers and folders on his desk. he held a clipboard in hands, pen tapping on his chin as he quickly skimmed and read over your information. his eyes darted across the paper, room settling in silence. he hummed whenever he had read a key part of the details concerning your upbringing to his office. you were recovering from a coma you had been in barely a week ago, being sent to vox’s office because of his good reputation around fixing patients who dissociated, or, struggled with memory loss, and what not. the demon honestly preferred this profession, taking on a caretaker role for those that could barely remember what they ate for breakfast that morning. something about being in charge of people so vulnerable, so fragile, gave the man a sick form of motivation to aid those in need. the nurse wrote down that you had moments where you felt lost at moments without a logical reason why. he felt himself frown a bit. vox couldn’t help but feel a slight sliver of pity for you.

even though he was a demon playing the role of a doctor in this day and age, he truly did want to help people. watching you sit on his examination table aimlessly made his heart sting. the sympathy he felt for you started to slowly blossom into something else however, when he glanced again at yourself. you really were cute, huh. “you suffered from a head injury, is that right y/n?” you nodded again, the mans deep voice soothing your shaky soul. your memory lately has been hazy at best. you couldn't remember much from that night besides waking up in the hospital bed. after discussing with your doctor and other nurses, you were referred to stop by the akuma clinic before making your way home, advised that the doctor there could offer more support and treatment than they could. honestly, you’ve never heard of the place, but you weren’t just going to say no to getting some extra help. the spot on your head where you were hit still hurts a bit, instinctively moving to gently rub your hand on the area.

after flipping through the last couple of pages, vox stood up, moving to stand in front of you with a gentle smile. “im going to need to touch you a bit, just to make sure there weren’t any bruises or other things that your primary doctor may have missed. is that alright?” with such a sickeningly sweet smile like his, you’d let him do nearly anything he wanted. mumbling out your consent, vox’s big hands started at your shoulders, gently massaging them.

you felt your body instantly relax, muscles releasing their tension as he rubbed and touched. “the way you react is so cute, y/n.” he muttered lowly, squeezing and touching down your arms. your body was very honest — small hums and sighs of pleasure leaving your lips as the doctor softly massaged every tense spot in your body. it’s as if everywhere he touched you immediately unwinded, the stress and anxiety of today melting away. was this okay for two guys to do? you didn’t bother to connect that he was getting a bit too touchy when his hands glided underneath your shirt. his fingertips grazed your ribs, going up to teasingly give your chest a light squeeze. you flinched just a bit, but not enough to move entirely out of his reach. the doctors eyes narrowed, pleased when he felt your heart beat a bit faster. his hands traveled upwards until he reached your neck.

he gave a light squeeze, your eyes scrunching a bit in confusion as he held his hands there. feeling your pulse in the palms of his hand made him feel alive. vox found human lives so interesting. being alive for thousands of years at this point, he couldn't understand the concept of having such limited time as you did. the thump of your heart beating against his fingertips reminded him of how helpless you were. he could hurt you, maybe squeeze a bit too hard and choke you out - and there was nothing you could do. of course, he wouldn't do any of that, anyways. he looked down at you, your eyes void and blank. you barely tried to fight back, most likely still discombobulated from what happened a week prior, but a part of him knew he didn’t care. he thought you were even cuter when you let him touch you wherever he wanted. “just checking your pulse dear. nothing out of the ordinary.” his fang poked out slightly when he smiled.

you nodded, letting yourself relax a bit as vox touched and explored your body. some areas that he prodded at did in fact hurt a bit, making you wince when he’d touch a bruise or sore area. immediately, as if you would shatter under any more pressure, he would let go and move onto squeezing and touching another section of skin. in his eyes, you were so delicate. handsome. it would be so easy to own you. the demons hand rubbed upwards from your thighs, to your chest, and then held his hands at your neck again. an index finger — was that a claw? — trailed and peaked at your chin, your head tilted upwards towards him. he couldn’t suppress the chuckle he let out, a sly smirk on vox’s face as his finger rested on your chin for a moment before pulling away. your head was titled up to look at him, eyes meeting one another's as he kept you there. you let him touch you so freely. "so.. you really can't remember anything at all, hm?" gentle yet firm hands started to rub dangerously near your crotch again, even sneaking a few glides against your cock. you gulped, throat feeling dry when vox leaned in close again, practically engulfing your personal space with a devilish grin. you felt small.

"no, i-i cant. all i remember was some sort of sharp pain.." your voice embarrassingly cracked, trying to suppress a moan when your doctor purposefully squeezed your hardening cock. he simply nodded, not bothering to stop even when you tried to squirm away. there was no use hiding it now - he could definitely feel your boner, teasing and playing with his prey in his very own office. "hm.. interesting. your body reacts so honestly, even when you're recovering from such a state. how do you feel, y/n?" the man whispered in your ear, his hot breath fanning against the shell of it as you stared at his hands touching all over your crotch. the little gasp you let out when he unzipped your pants and gently took your cock out made his own cock twitch. you were so fucking adorable. "mhm, i feel good - fine!" your voice cracked towards the end when his hand directly touched your hot skin without pants in the way.

vox's hand was jerking you slowly now, squeezing at the tip and using your sticky precum as lube. "shh.." he tried to shush you, not wanting anyone to disturb your appointment with him. the bustling outside of his office fell on dull ears as he studied every expression you made. every twitch of your brow when he kissed your earlobe, every bite of your lip when he twisted his hand, every moan that filled the room when he'd say something provocative - he studied it intensely, wanting to remember this moment for the rest of his long life. "i cant believe you're aroused during an examination like this. do you have any shame, boy?" is this what that was, an examination? what exactly was he testing? your mind felt fuzzy, slowly letting your guard down and focusing on the pleasure from vox's handjob. he cooed, urging you to relax, his pumps getting a bit faster but still gentle. soon enough you were leaning on his shoulder as he sat next to you, watching you drift a little. however, his hand didn't stop, determined to see what cute expression you'd have when you'd come undone. you tried to jut focus on the feeling rather than the pesky little details and circumstances.

"there we go, thats it. good boy. relax. ill do the work." vox's praises felt like poison to your brain, feeling more stupider by the second. the demon thanked his magic once more, his voices effect much more impactful than anyone else's. a few more minutes of his constant muttering and shook, tensing and trying to sit up until vox had shushed and pushed you back down, this time maneuvering your body to lay on his lap. the doctor smiled down at you, his long black hair framing his face. his hand squeezed your balls and you hissed.

you couldn't remember or fathom how your doctors appointment had started with you sitting on the examination table alone, and somehow, ended with your head on his thigh as he continued to milk your cock. vox used his other hand to gently rake his black nails against your scalp, groaning in appreciation when the demon avoided the spot that made your head hurt.

the doctor noticed the way your hips kept bucking, chuckling and picking up the pace. "are you close, y/n? do you want me to stop?" you shook your head no, pleading for him to continue, desperate for your prolonged release. vox hummed, his hand stroking you as fast and hard as he could, making you see stars. your body jolted again, vox's hands keeping you from moving or shying away.

you couldn't even beg him to slow down, one last thrust of your hips had you cumming long, thick spurts of semen all over his hand. he didn't seem to mind either, still pumping and pleasuring you through your orgasm until he deemed you had enough. not that he wanted to, however, he still had an appointment in about 20 minutes and he needed to disinfect his examination table now. the consequences of keeping up a reputation.

you were still laying in vox's lap while he massaged your scalp, the doctor looking down at you with a smile. "all done baby?" he chuckled at your flustered expression, showing off how messy his hand was. thick ropes of cum covered his long fingers, your face growing hot. "you came a lot, look at you." he chuckled, wanting to tease you more and more. he hoped that he would have the opportunity to fluster you again. you whined pitifully, drained of energy to reply as he held you close. you two stood in silence for a bit while he calmed you down. his heart swooned at how pliant and obedient you were, leaning into his hand as he petted you, flaccid dick still in his hand.

"..i think you may need some more appointments with me, y/n. i need to perform some more tests to make sure your memory will be working properly." a lousy excuse, vox knows. but the way you slowly nod and curl up on his lap washes any guilt he had in his heart away. "okay. can i lay here for a few minutes though? my head hurts." you spoke softly, the demon nodding and tenderly rubbing your scalp a bit more now. you keened like a little cat, breath slowing and easy.

vox didn't mind using his profession to justify his urge to see you again. soon enough, you'll learn to trust him outside of his clinic, too.

#my fics.. #vox akuma x m!reader #yandere vox akuma #vox akuma x male reader #vox akuma #vox akuma x reader #male reader blog #male reader #mlm blog #nijisanji x reader #luxiem x reader #nijisanji en x reader #luxiem #luxiem x m!reader

[abyssal-ali]

Hi, my friend is asking why there are so many maribat fics, and especially with DamiMari.

Maybe you know about the history of these crossovers in Batman Fandom?

Hi!

(Fellow Maribat fans, feel free to add your own commentary or correct any of my mistakes.)

So @/ozmav created the Damian x Marinette ship in 2018, I think? It was just a fun little crossover that blew up and became really popular. I was not around either of those fandoms at the time, so I'm not sure about all the details.

Daminette was the first Maribat ship created, so it was around the longest, and thus accumulated the most works.

Eventually, the other Bat Boys got their own ship, and now the Maribat (or now, more technically, DCxMLB) fandom has so many more ships and crossovers -not necessarily between the Bat/MLB main characters.

Some rarepair ships (any DCxMLB ship not between one of the four main Bat Boys and Marinette) include Konette (Conner Kent/Superboy and Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug) and Timdrien (Tim Drake/Red Robin and Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir), to name a couple.

The Maribat fandom also crosses over with multiple fandoms, like DPxDCxMLB or MCUxDCxMLB.

Some pure MLB and DC stans definitely dislike Maribatters, especially during the beginning of the fandom, when the tags for both fandoms were cluttered with DCxMLB content. Now that it's grown so much and has its own tags, I think the hate has calmed down somewhat. (Although, I prefer to keep out of fandom drama, so I may simply have missed the hateful discourse ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.)

Overall, the Maribat fandom has really grown from a crack ship to its own large, well-populated community. There are tags on Ao3 and many discord servers, which runs events such as "Jasonette July" and "Maribat? Get In! [a server] Civil War".

On a personal note:

As to my thoughts on the ships themselves, my favorites are Daminette (Damian Wayne/Robin and Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug) and Jasonette (Jason Todd/Red Hood and Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug). It's always fascinating to rotate a character or ship in your head like a rotisserie chicken, considering their Canon and Fanon traits and then exploring them in whatever medium you choose (my medium of choice is writing fanfiction).

For Daminette, the ship you specifically asked about, I am drawn to it because I find the differences between the couple adorable. I personally have a fondness for the Grumpy x Sunshine trope, a Tsundere male lead, and relationship/character growth. (Of course, sometimes it's nice just to read a cute 500 word drabble with no plot, no specific dynamics, and no development, where the couple is just cute and happy.)

I think that is one of the beauties of Maribat. With so many various ships and characters to choose from, there's something for everyone, and we can all bond over belonging to the same fandom(s). Some of us have joined from the MLB side, some from the DC side, some just got dragged in by a friend and have no knowledge of either fandom, and that's okay! With so much to explore in both fandoms, there is constantly new content* being made with love (and tears. And laughter, both evil and joyful. And hornin-).

I've made some of my best friends through this fandom, and I'm proud to be a part of it.

I hope this helps, and I apologize if my ramblings detracted from my answers!💜

*Yes, I am aware of the popular Tropes such as "Akuma Class Trip to Gotham" and "Long-Lost Wayne".

#Maribat #History of Maribat #DCxMLB #MLBxDC

[kukuandkookie]

wip titles meme

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Tagged by @crimsonrainseekingflower! 💕💕💕

Thank you for the welcome surprise—another one I finally discovered once I looked at my notifications and stuff! Fortunately this time I’m remembering to make my own post haha. 😆

I hope you don’t mind if I also divide by fandom, and these only vaguely include a couple art wips!:

SVSSS:

Grave Matters

Cinderella III: A Twist in Time AU!?

Just a Dream (is this unfortunately a lame-ass title 😔)

Haunting You

Singles’ Day

TLJ/ZZL/LBH/SXY ADDAMS FAMILY AU??????????

Bingqiu White Snake (animated movie) AU

Waiting for the Tree Branches to Bloom Again

Safe from the Storm

I See in Both Your Eyes (Something Indigo)

AU: The Lion King II??

Family Meal Goes “Wrong”

TLJ’s Lament

LBH²

狗哥狗哥，你真了不得 (Gou-ge, Gou-ge…)

Slavic Vampires…

CNY Dumplings Competition

Enchanted (because we’re doing this now, I guess)

Limb Regeneration What If?? 🤔

Of Costumes and Candies (Something Orange)

Something Old, Something New, and… (Something Blue)

SV OTGW AU

I Ship My Rival x Me AU

I Have to be a Great Villain AU

Happiness Just Out of Reach

Lost and Found

Words to Heart

Breathing Smoke Into the Lungs

HORRIBLE NEW IDEA: Maybe title: Just Enough. Just Enough for Me

Love Letters (that’s all I got so far *insert deepfried emote here*)

Daycare AU???

Hmmm. Prince x Princess AU?

Xi Yang Yang AU

Gongzhu

Followers Milestone Celebration

Teacup scene

I Think My Uncle Ships Us Help

Unattainable

I’d Like to Try Staying Awake (for You)

Breaking the System (aka Fuck the System? Literally or—jk jk lmfao)

Bonuses include the latest chapters for I’d Rather Spend My Whole Life Asleep (With You) and To Tame a Beast, except the former doesn’t have a wip title. The latter does in the sense that the chapter title is Pixiu!

Erha:

Putting the Musing in Amusement Park

This Venerable One Will Not Be Outdone

What You Left Behind/Do You Also Miss Me?

[The] Romance of Wolf/Husky and Haitang

Ghost Bride (Corpse Bride but Chinese?? And Reincarnation)

Reconciliation

Fifteen Growing Up Flirty

Out of the Closet (and Into Your Arms)?

The Prince and the Pauper (but based on The Princess and the Pauper because I’m a criminal who hasn’t read the original 😂)

Wo Jia Dashixiong Naozi You Keng but with an Erha Twist

TW WARNING FOR THIS ONE but Passive suicide ideation fic

IDK WHAT TO WRITE FOR CWN’S BDAY… GOD SOMEONE SEND HELP GFGKDFHGKSDFHG (this one has a more polished but still wip version titled CWN Birthday Fic: Past, Present, or Future, I Want to Celebrate With You 😆)

Jiaoren CWN

Priest CWN & demon MR…hehehe (now a Dianran AU?)

More Than Just Puppy Love

Flower Shop…Redemption…Thingy?

From Wanton Wants to Wonton Wonders

A Taste of What Could Have Been

Screwdriver

First Bow to Heaven and Earth

Hidden Love AU

Mo Ran pulls a Bing-ge

Mind(-Reading) Games

Stone Lion

Swallowed Flowers

Confessions (Role-Swap AU)

TXJ Week (help we’re way past that now 😔): De-Aged Fic

A Tear in My Heart aka Read You Like an Open Book aka To Leave a Piece/Page of Me in the Nooks and Crannies of You?

Shi Mei Jiaoren Fic: [I’m] Afraid to Live Without Breathing

I also have a lot of Erha and SVSSS fic ideas that are unfortunately just blurbs in my ideas document right now and not full-on wips so they don’t have any titles I can share. 😔

Misc:

First Times, Second Chances, and Third Time’s the Charm…s (?) (Link Click)

Missing a You of Another Time (Link Click)

Danmei, xianxia-esque story (Link Click)

Suriel/Sariel

Call of the Wolves (specifically chapter 78)

Chuju the Chou

Papillon and Akuma’s Story

Papillon and Akuma Role Reversal AU Story

Circinus and Pyxis

Smoke & Mirrors

Dimension Hoppers

Take Me Back to Hell (All Saints Street)

I’ll Love You Until All the Stars Fall from the Sky (The Legend of Luo Xiaohei?)

Fengxi like Shade in Firewing (The Legend of Luo Xiaohei)

Mafia AU Xuanli x Laojun (The Legend of Luo Xiaohei)

Continuation of Falling for You (White Cat Legend)

How Could I Ever Ask You to Love Me? (White Cat Legend)

My Shadow It Follows Me

The Us of the Present Could Perhaps Be Just as Tender as the Us of the Past (Scissor Seven)

A Conversation With a Dead Man (MDZS)

Magical Girl AU (MDZS)

Xue Yang’s Regrets (MDZS)

Ao Bing and Nezha in a shoujo high school AU… That’s it. That’s the whole idea (Nezha 2019)

Surprising the Un-Surprise-Able (I Have to be a Great Villain)

Xianxia AU (Kiss the Abyss)

Breathing New Life (Kiss the Abyss)

I Will Chase You to the Ends of Time and Space (Kiss the Abyss)

A Family Outing (Beryl and Sapphire)

Just Some Gay Little Dudes (Beryl and Sapphire)

Steven Universe AU (Beryl and Sapphire)

Something as Sweet as You (I Ship My Adversary x Me)

A Present to be Cherished (I Ship My Adversary x Me)

I Ship My Adversary x Me and 严禁造谣 Crossover? AU Swap?

Additional misc wips I haven’t touched in forever are the latest chapters for The World Doesn’t Deserve You (MDZS) and Frostbite (All Saints Street). 😅

And as a bonus, these aren’t at all “official” yet but the more I read for some manhua the more I’m tempted to write fics for them… For example, a fic for Blemishing the Contaminated or My Lovely Troublemaker season 2 would be so cute, even if I don’t exactly have any clear or obvious ideas for them. 🥺

Phew, wow. I had way more wips than I expected AKFJSKFHSJS. Some are honestly just super half-baked documents tucked away in a folder with only a title and outline, but I hope something here was of interest to you guys. 😆💖

As for tagging…

I also don’t think I’m capable of tagging as many people as I have wips otl. So I hope you guys don’t mind if I tag just a few of you!

@ezrathesplit @levia-kun @yumichanhamano @softdekus @rongzhi @azunshi

(Of course, if you would rather not, feel free not to do this!)

#kuku rambles #kuku88 #fanfiction #fanfic #fic #svsss #erha #2ha #scum villain’s self-saving system #人渣反派自救系统 #the dumb husky and his white cat shizun #erha he ta de bai mao shizun #bingqiu #ranwan #and a bunch of other ships 😆 #beryl and sapphire #kiss the abyss #I ship my rival x me #I ship my adversary x me #我磕了对家x我的cp #I have to be a great villain #严禁造谣 #link click #shiguang daili ren #时光代理人

[neptoons1998]

prowlerbyte where they’re both spider-people but try to hide it from one another

Crush

A/N: So I watched the new Ladybug & Cat Noir movie. It was cute so here you go!

Tag gang: @mal-urameshi @somethingcleaverandwhitty @misschivious @s0lam33y

Summary: just two superhero teens dealing with their crushes.

“Margo the Akuma is on your left,” Charlotte, the tiny spider voiced out. Margo grits her teeth as she narrowly misses getting crumbled underneath the fallen rubble. Just a typical Tuesday night, Margo thought as she started spewing some webs to snatch the monster of the week. 

“Gee,” Margo sighed, “It would’ve been nice if you said something like ten minutes ago.”

The spider fairy scoffed, “I am not a mind reader.”

Margo slides between the monster’s legs, “Yeah I guess I‘m asking for too much.”

Before the monster could snatch her up, quick cat claws block the monster’s attack.

“Prowler,” Margo voiced usually she would have a cute nickname for the teen boy who was fighting the same cause as her. 

The Prowler was able to push the monster away from them, “Why can’t we have one normal night?” 

“And where’s the fun in that, kitten?” Margo commented as she got closer to the boy she had a crush on. Prowler shook his head, not wanting to deal with Spiderbyte’s antics right now. He still has to help his uncle out after this. The pair worked quickly to get Akuma out of the person. 

“One of these days we need to figure out who’s actually behind this,” Prowler commented to Spiderbyte. Margo could only nod in agreement, she knew the sooner they figured out who was behind this. The quicker they can put a stop to this, but that would mean one day she would never meet Prowler again. Margo shook her head as if that would get the depressing thought out. 

“Well, same time two days from now?” Margo teased causing Prowler to roll his eyes before sighing, “Something like that. Get home safe, Byte.”

And with that, Prowler left. 

“Ahh,” Margo squealed as she shot out her web to the night sky, “He called me byte!”

“Yes I was there, “ Charlotte moaned why was her user so boy-crazy?

“That has to mean something right?” Margo questioned herself, as she lifted up her window still to climb in her room. “That means he likes me.”

“Who cares?” Charlotte rolled her eyes for the fourteenth time, “He’s just a boy.”

“A cute boy,” Margo sighed as she landed on her bed. She knew one day she would find out the mysterious boy’s name and make him hers, until then she played nice with her kitty.

                                                      X.x.x

Miles knew he was going to be late, but he didn’t take into account how late he was going to be. Miles began his race to Vision Academy, “I think I’m going to make it!”

Too high on his glee, he crashed into another body. He knew he slammed into the person pretty hard to make them get on the ground like that, “Oh my god, I’m sorry.”

“You’re fine,” the voice commented, “If anything that’s what I get for being on my phone.”

When Miles actually looked at the person, it was Margo, his secret-not-so-secret crush. Miles was dumbfounded how could he be so obvious as to crash into his crush like this?  Maybe he could salvage it by creating a meet-cute?

“So you come here often?” Miles relayed back not knowing what to say. He soon realized the words he slipped through his mouth. Margo’s eyebrows furrowed at his question. 

“I sure hope so,” Margo stated, “I know was down looking at my phone but I couldn’t be in there that bad.”

Before Miles said anything else stupid to her the bell rang, Margo gave him a small wave before leaving. 

“That was smooth,” Gnake snorted causing Miles to glare at him.

“Shut up.”

#writing #fanfiction #ao3 #prowlerbyte #prowler!miles #margo kess #spider byte

[snowymuses]

Name: Akemi Homura Alias: Magical Girl Homura, Akuma Homura, Homucifer Species: Magical Girl Height:5'1 Age:14 Birthday: February 22nd Gender: Female Orientation: Homosexual Hometown: Tokyo, Japan Occupation:: Student/Magical Girl

Physical appearance:

Homura is a young girl with waist-length black hair and violet eyes. She is nearly always presenting with a stoic expression. She once wore red rimmed glasses, and depending upon the timeline, will wear them again. In her magical girl form, she wears a white, long-sleeve coat with a silver collar over a black, long-sleeve dress. The skirt is silver with white trim. She also wears black leggings with dark-gray diamonds that cover the sides of the legs, and black heels. The coat appears to have a flower-like pattern with 3 “petals,” and has 2 ribbons attached to it.

Personality:

Homura is often considered to be very intelligent, athletic, distant, and cold. Despite her cold attitude towards others, she still very much cares for people she meets and makes friends with but is driven by her desire to save Madoka more than anything else. She cares deeply for her friends, although she finds it difficult to show them aside from fighting and protecting them, either from themselves or from Kyubey and witches. Although she does not easily show signs of remorse, sadness, or pity, it is only because she had grown used to the suffering around her.

Story:

In the original timeline where her journey began, Homura was meek, shy, timid, and had lack of confidence. Due to being in the hospital, she could not perform simple physical tasks. Overwhelmed by her perceived uselessness, she begins questioning her existence and until she begins her fated friendship with Madoka, her feelings do not change. Madoka, alongside Mami Tomoe, shows her the ropes and dangers of becoming a magical girl and notes that Madoka’s own attitude became much healthier with every witch battle.

In her original timeline Homura never made a contract with Kyubey until Madoka died, fighting Walpurgisnacht, and then she made a wish to relive meeting Madoka.

In her second timeline, Homura begins training to use her power as a magical girl and trying to make some bombs as her weapons.

In the cuurent timeline, Homura, now a magical girl, appears friendly to the class as she is introducing herself. She meets up with Mami and Madoka, and they defeat witches together. They all attempt to defeat Walpurgisnacht, but fail. Madoka And Homura are about to die before the former reveals that she has a Grief Seed left, using it on Homura while telling her to save herself from making a contract.

In the series timeline, Homura is first introduced as a new student. She claims that her head is hurting, and asks to go to the nurse, knowing that Madoka is the helper. She talks with Madoka in the hallway about Madoka’s current life, and if she wants to change. Madoka replies that she is happy with the way things are. She does whatever she can to keep Madoka from becoming a magical girl, which will lead to the girl’s death in one way or another.

Verses:

Current timeline: Madoka hasn’t become a magical girl yet, so there is still time to save her. In this timeline, Homura attends school and has attempted to become ingrained in the circle of friends to try and convince her to not become a magical girl. (No tag)

Any previous timeline: Tailored to the thread, this is one of the many times Homura has turned back time to try and save Madoka. (|V: Past Time|)

#Homura #Homura Bio

[teawinx]

I know that Chat Blanc is an ep with very mixed opinions about it

Some love it, some hate it

I’m just really confused by it

It’s another case of Marinette being punished and told “it’s your fault” when it really wasn’t. Sure her being a creep was painful to sit through, but compared to what Adrien, Gabriel and Bunnix did she’s basically innocent. At least in my opinion

.

I think instead of it being a “Bunnix pointlessly traumatizes Marinette” episode, it should have been used to teach Chat Noir a lesson. Especially considering how little Chat Blanc seems to affect her, with only 2 exceptions.

I’d have used it to knock some sense into Adrien. Since he, y’know, LIED to Marinette once he discovered she’s Ladybug and used that info to immediately date her. I’d have had Bunnix show him the destroyed future, which he caused after taking advantage of knowing LB’s identity. (Well his dad caused it too) Teaching him that he needs to prioritize Paris’s safety over his own feelings, and that Ladybug doesn’t owe him her secret identity. 

Plus Chat Blanc the akuma didn’t even need purifying, since he gets deleted from the timeline. Chat could have gone back in time and prevented himself from learning LB’s identity, erasing the Chat Blanc timeline from existence. And idk just covering his ears when CB tries saying what LB’s real name is.

Plus Chat Noir vs Chat Blanc cat fight plz and thank you.

Which would then transition nicely into my idea for Chat in Season 4, overdoing it with his helpfulness and stepping on everyone’s toes. With him then learning that he needs to find a balance. His feelings should also be important to him, but not at the cost of other’s well being. Balance is key.

Chat Blanc feels like an important episode, but very very little comes of it. Season 3′s finale, as terrible as it is, still impacted the plot more than CB ever did.

(Edit) I’ve been asked to tag this as Adrien salt. But I personally don’t consider this Adrien salt. It’s Adrien criticism, yes, but not written with any hatred towards the character. He’s poorly written and I’m trying to find ways to make him more active. Now I just sound like an overly enthusiastic fitness trainer. But alright I’ll cave and put the tag in. I don’t agree with it but it’s not a hill I’m willing to die on.

#chat blanc #chat blanc rewrite #chat blanc fix-it #chat noir #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug chat noir #miraculous ladybug chat blanc #miraculous ladybug chat blanc rewrite #miraculous ladybug fix it #this isn't adrien salt #but okay #adrien salt #no hate towards adrien I just want him to be written better

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Finale

Here it is.

6-months Later

(I am really sorry about the delay)

There were some hiccups, technical difficulties and other things that delayed this part more than I anticipated.

Shout out to @asongeverlasting for beta reading for having such incredible patience with me. And Give her props, she managed to defy time and space just to beta and fix my work. She is a National treasure.

Check her writing out on AO3 as Ramblingwren

(Master post)

(And here is the full fic on Ao3)

If you do like the story, Comments and Reblogs are greatly appreciated.

But before all that.

Thank you.

This story has been going on for over 2 years now and yet so many of you have been sticking by and reading it. Seeing all of the comments, fan art, and tags has really made making this Fic worth it. Its also the reason that I want to make sure this ending pays off and delivers the joy to all of you that your support and kindness has given me. So be aware that the next update will be the big finale.

Alright enough Camembert,

Enjoy the dish in front of you.

_____________________________________________________________________

Fu heard the sound of walls crumbling and stopped for a moment to focus on where the sound was coming from.

“That must be where the akuma is.”

“That is a relief. I was starting to get lost in this place,” Wayzz confessed. “This building is even more confusing than the studio I was in the other day.”

“Right, you were with the one Marinette had chosen for you. I will admit I don’t know that much about him. Nino was his name, yes?” Fu inquired as they walked.

“He is a good boy, He is very good at going with the flow, and he has a good heart that wants to protect his friends,” Wayzz assured. “Marinette has picked a fine chosen for the role.”

Fu smiled.

“That is good to know, especially that you approve of him. It does make it easier,” Fu said, his words beginning to sound more distant despite being so close.

Wayzz felt his concern for the elderly guardian grow.

“Master, your tone is a bit… foreboding. You speak as if you don’t have long left,” Wayzz remarked.

Fu knew that the turtle kwami was concerned for his well-being. The two of them had been friends for over a century. Wayzz was, in a way, his best friend.

“Apologies, Wayzz, I suppose I am just feeling relieved. While I am still spry, I am no spring chicken. It is good that we know that she will be a good guardian in the future. It makes me feel lighter, like my failure wasn’t the end.”

Wayzz suddenly paused, causing Fu to also stop when he noticed Wayzz wasn’t keeping up.

“Wayzz? What are you doing? We need to make haste.”

“I need to say something to you. You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened, Master.”

Fu sighed.

“I know what you are going to say. I was young and it was an honest mistake. It wasn’t my fault that it ended up the way it did…”

“Yes. You did make a mistake, and you have made up for your mistake 100 times over. You have guarded us alone for over a century. You have gone above and beyond for your duty. You did not fail — if anything, you have succeeded and proven yourself to be a guardian on par with the order, if not more so. Therefore I don’t want you to belittle yourself anymore!”

Fu looked at his kwami confidant, he was emotionally touched by his dear friend’s speech.

“Thank you Wayzz. You truly are an amazing friend.”

“Good, now let's hurry and help the heroes out.”

“Indeed. Let us go, my friend.”

The two continued to where the sound of smashing walls and roars was coming from.

______________________________________________________________________________

The heroes stared up at the Giant Gorilla as it broke down the finely constructed walls of the throne room, leaving a massive hole that let the light of the outside world into the school.

The floor it was standing on was starting to crack, so it quickly jumped out the hole as it grew to its complete size.

The upper body of the Sentimonster now reached the second floor and the situation looked more like a child playing with a doll house.

“So, what was that plan, Ladybug?” Viperion asked, as the Gorilla let out a primal scream.

“Well, the plan is…”

Ryuuko smiled with anticipation.

“Actually Ladybug, let me take this one. I have always wanted to fight a Kaiju.”

“Wait Ryuuko!” Viperion cried out, but it was too late. Ryuuko had already charged at the massive primate and started attacking it with her blade.

The shape-shifting sentimonster was still adjusting to its new size and Ryuuko was able to effortlessly dodge one of its overhand strikes. It's lumbering movements left plenty of space for the swordswoman to hop to the face of the giant.

“Hello” Ryuuko taunted.

“You little…” The sentimonster growled as it tried to hit her with its hand, only to end up smacking itself in the face when she jumped away. The gorilla needed to steady itself as a result of the unintentional blow.

Ryuuko spun at a high speed as she descended, her sword slashing at the Kaiju gorilla.

“Amazing!” Chat Noir complimented.

“Impressive work Ryuuko!” Ladybug praised.

“You are incredible!” Viperion cheered. “Keep it up!”

“That was kind of hot.”

The other three paused and turned to look at Queen Bee.

Chat Noir  smirked slightly.

“What was that, Bee?”

“I said… I could totally do better.” Queen Bee corrected herself, clearly trying to pretend she didn’t say anything.

“Sure Chloé, sure.” Chat Noir quipped, rolling his eyes.

Queen Bee glared daggers at the cat, ignoring the action around her

Viperion noted that despite Ryuuko’s impressive movement and attacks, she wasn’t making much progress against the ape.

“Ryuuko won't be able to keep this up forever. What was that plan, Ladybug?”

“Well, we did need a distraction. Thankfully that’s taken care of,” Ladybug started as she looked around. “Queen Bee, you wanted to show you could do better?”

“What do you need, Ladybug?”

“I think now would be a good time to use your power. Just wait until I give the signal then activate it,” Ladybug instructed.

Queen Bee smiled.

“About time!”

She'd been dying to use her power and now she finally got to shut up that stupid gorilla.

“Ryuuko, keep it busy!”

“No worries, I can do this all…”

Ryuuko’s boast was interrupted by the large gorilla grabbing her.

“Got you! None of you move!”

Ryuuko struggled as Simularé secured its grip on her. She tried to activate her power but the grip was too tight. She couldn't even speak to activate it!

“Nobody move. Now, you are all going to detransform or I am going to make Dragon Soup with my bare hands,” the large sentimonster threatened.

Queen Bee was about to approach anyway but Ladybug raised her hand, silently signaling her to hold off.

Ladybug looked around for some sort of way to help her escape, but to no avail.

“Let's go! Detransform now,” Simularé commanded.

Ryuuko struggled to try and activate her power but Simularé tightened its grip and bone cracking could be heard.

Viperion couldn’t just stand by and watch anymore. He threw his lyre at the giant beast’s snout and it bounced right back to him. The brief moment caused Gorizilla to loosen its grip and Ladybug took advantage of that to fling her yo-yo and pull Ryuuko out and back to Viperion's waiting arms.

“You alright?”

“I’ve been better. Nice catch, Hissy.”

Viperion smiled a bit, briefly forgetting about the gorilla in the room.

Simularé was furious.

“You dare make a monkey out of me?!”

“You did that to yourself,” Queen Bee mocked.

“Chloé, wait, it's…”

But it was too late, as she had already jumped forward. She was going for her big play.

“Get ready for a show stopper! Ve…”

Before Queen Bee could even activate her power, Simularé had reacted. With a quick movement of its fingers, Queen Bee was flicked with incredible force through the wall.

“Queen Bee!” Chat Noir called out in alarm.

“Well, that one’s down for the count.”

Ladybug looked around to see Ryuuko still recovering and Chloé thrown through a wall. This was not going to be as simple as dealing with mindless puppets. She needed to take a risk.

“Lucky Charm!”

She activated her power and the item that would help her succeed was… and umbrella?

“An umbrella? How is that going to…”

“It won't!”

Ladybug jumped to avoid the swipe of the large ape hand, but failed to notice the other hand right above her. It caught her in its grip, and she dropped the umbrella.

“No!” Chat Noir shouted.

Ladybug struggled to escape.

“Seems you have forgotten the situation, Ladybug. You were so sure that I would be as brain-dead as the servant akuma that you let yourself get sloppy.”

“You won't… GHHH,” Ladybug gasped as Simularé tightened its grip on her.

“Oh, I don’t have to. I know how the miraculous works. Since you aren’t an adult, your transformation will wear off in 5 minutes,” Simularé gloated with a malicious grin.

The true peril of the situation suddenly dawned on Ladybug, and she realized she needed to find a way out. But, unlike with Ryuuko, Simularé wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.

Chat Noir took a deep breath. This sentimonster wasn’t like most of the others. This one had its own thoughts and emotions… he needed to make it lose its sense.

Chat Noir charged forward, trying to distract her.

“Oh, does the cat think he can save his master? How cute.”

Simularé was about to make a swipe at him when, as if repeating himself, Viperion threw his lyre. But the ape saw it coming, and used the hand he was holding Ladybug with to block the stringed instrument.

“Predictable!” Simularé mocked, forgetting about something as they focused on gloating.

“Cataclysm!”

Simularé’s smugness changed to horror when they realized their mistake. Taking their eyes off the cat had left them wide open! Chat Noir had used his staff to raise him upwards right to the head of the distracted sentimonster and had placed his cataclysm-infused hand right on its forehead.

Simularé dropped Ladybug and Chat Noir dove to catch her. The swift motion had Ladybug landing on the diving cat.

“OOF.”

Ladybug looked down seeing she had landed on Chat Noir’s back.

“Thanks for the save, kitty.”

Simularé’s form started shifting wildly as the cracks became larger and more apparent.

“What have you done to me?” Simularé roared in rage and confusion.

It smashed its hands on the walls of the upper level while having its tantrum, causing the ceiling parts that were still intact to be very unstable.

Ladybug managed to roll her and Chat Noir out of the way of the thrashing fists. They both quickly spring up into fighting stances.

“I will destr…”

Just then, its massive arms shifted to be much shorter, looking like they belong to Lady Wifi.

“Well that’s new,” Ryuuko commented as she got to her feet.

“Chat Noir’s cataclysm makes Sentimonsters go haywire. Normally not ideal in most situations but with that sentimonster being smarter than the usual ones it needed to be done,” explained Ladybug.

The head that was once Gorizilla shrunk down to appear more like Dark Owl.

“I am … I am ….” Simularé was trying to stabilize but it kept shifting and looking more and more like a mismatch of different akuma forms.

Ladybug could see the anguish and pain on the sentimonster’s face. They'd all  known that Chat Noir's actions would cause the sentimonster to go haywire but this seemed more chaotic than usual.

“Hold still, we can fix this.” Ladybug tried to walk forward.

“I must… I cant…”

The out of control sentimonster sprouted Dark Cupid's wings and flew high into the air and escaped.

Ryuuko looked up and tried to see where the sentimonster had flown off to but it was already out of sight.

“Should we go after it? Ryuuko asked. “It might cause trouble.”

Ladybug pondered for a moment.

“For the time being it's probably better that we let them go. We should focus on finding the akuma. If we can find her, then we can get the akuma and the amok and fix all the damage.” Ladybug rationalized.

“Solid point. So, what’s our next move M… Ladybug?” Chat Noir inquired.

“Well you and I need to recharge.” Ladybug replied before turning to the other two heroes. "Viperion, Ryuuko, have either of you used your power?”

“No, we recharged earlier,” Ryuuko replied. “You two should go find a place to refuel safely.”

Ladybug glanced at her lucky charm again, wondering why she hadn't needed it yet.

Brow furrowed, she looked around and noticed spots appear on the crumbling ground near Chat Noir, as well as the roof above, and chat Noir himself.

“Why would…”

Before she could finish asking, she heard the sound of crumbling coming from the walls

“Something sounds off,” Viperion said. “I think the walls are gonna collapse!”

Ladybug knew how good Viperion’s ears were with sounds, and now her lucky charm made sense. It was never for Simularé, it was for what was coming now.

Dashing to where the group was standing, she shoved Ryuuko and Viperion back and opened the umbrella over her and Chat Noir’s head. Just as she did, the ceiling above them caved in, dropping chunks of rubble  right on top of them just as the floor beneath them gave way. The other heroes just barely made it out of range of the collapse

“Crap!!!” Ladybug and Chat Noir shouted in unison as they fell through the floor and the hole above was covered by debris. A massive cloud of dust obscured them for a moment.

“Ladybug! Chat Noir!” Ryuuko called out. But as the dust settled, all they saw was a pile of rubble where the two heroes had been.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Stupid ape,” Queen Bee grumbled as she got up. The powerful flick that Simularé had given her had sent her halfway through the school. If she didn’t have super powers she was sure that flick would have turned her into a red smear.

She cracked her back and stretched her arms in order to loosen up.

“Alright, now to hurry…”

Thump

She stopped as she heard the sound. It seemed faint.

“Probably just another one of those mindless akuma.”

“Come on!” came a muffled call.

It was clear it was someone that required help.

“Everything will be fine for them once we beat the akuma,” the heroine tried to reason with herself.

She started to walk back the way she was launched.

“I've got to get back to Ladybug and the others to fight the stupid akuma that caused all of this. This person probably isn't in real danger. I really don’t need to check on them.”

“Momma is coming...”

She stopped as she heard that. It was someone’s mother.

“Damn it!”

Queen Bee began making her way to where the voice was coming from.

“There better still be akuma butt to kick when I get back.”

_____________________________________________________________________________

Chat Noir coughed as he tried to get his bearings. The area was covered in rubble and debris, and right now, Ladybug's umbrella was the only thing keeping that from collapsing on them.

“Ladybug?”

“Guess it was lucky after all,” Ladybug joked as she shifted a bit.

Both of them heard their miraculous beep.

“Looks like we need to get out of this debris heap before we change back and suffocate.”

“Probably would be a good idea.”

Chat Noir put his staff against one large gathering of ceiling rubble and made it extend, giving them a little opening.

“On the count of three, I pull you away from the umbrella and we jump out.”

“Sounds good.”

“1.”

“2”

“3!”

Chat Noir pulled Ladybug away and they jumped out of the hole. Ladybug closed the umbrella as she was pulled out, causing the rubble to pile on more and collapse the area they had just vacated.

“Made it!” Chat Noir said as he coughed up some dust. “I really hope this isn’t asbestos.”

“I am sure you're fine, Kitty. Let’s move in case more parts of the ceiling decide to collapse.”

The two quickly moved toward the wall so they would be by the door should any more rubble start collapsing. Chat Noir noticed that Ladybug was holding on tightly to the umbrella.

“So, is there another use for your lucky charm? It probably wouldn’t have been that close if you had let the umbrella stay.”

“Huh… oh. I didn’t realize I was still holding it, sorry Kitty,” Ladybug answered as she took a look at her lucky charm

“It's fine. I was just curious.”

“I guess I held onto it subconsciously… it does remind me of something pleasant.”

“Oh? Fan of singing in the rain?”

“Not exactly what I meant.” She brushed some of the dust from the umbrella. “I guess it’s fitting that this type of umbrella would have saved me.”

Chat Noir came closer and looked at the umbrella. He hadn’t noticed it the first time, but the umbrella did seem really familiar. The ladybug color scheme may have been enough to throw him off at first glance, but really seeing it now, it looked exactly like the umbrella he had given to Marinette.

“How would it be fitting?”

“Oh, it's personal stuff. Just reminds me of a time with my boyfriend in the rain,” Ladybug admitted.

There was a silence in which only the sound of the miraculous beeping could be heard. Ladybug felt a sharp pang of guilt when she realized what she'd said and who she'd said it to, tried to course correct.

“Friend! That is a boy. The umbrella reminds me of my dear friend of male gender, my buddy that happens to be a boy and…”

Chat Noir put his hand on her shoulder.

“It's okay LB, you don’t need to be worried. I'm happy that it worked out with that guy you were in love with.”

Ladybug looked into her partner's eyes and could see his words were genuine and that there wasn’t even a hint of sadness.

“You’re… okay with it?”

“First and foremost, I want you to be happy. Even if I was sad about this, I would still rather you be happy rather than miserable for my sake,” Chat Noir said.

“Now, if I had heard this news a few weeks back, I probably wouldn't be as cool about it as I am now, but I would still have been happy for you.”

Ladybug felt a bit of relief from that news. She'd been dreading giving this news to Chat Noir, knowing his feelings for her. He was someone very dear to her and she didn't want to hurt his feelings, so hearing him say he was happy for her was great.

“And it does help that I also have someone special,” Chat Noir added as he shyly scratched his cheek.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, sounds kind of shocking, I bet. I actually had feelings for her for a while but I wasn’t really sure what they were until I did some soul searching.”

Ladybug had to admit that she was a bit surprised to hear him say he'd found someone. Considering how he acted at her house during the incident with her dad, the girl he had feelings for must have been special.

“Congrats, Kitty! I would love to meet her someday, the luckiest girl in Paris.” She gave a playful nudge to Chat Noir.

“And I can’t wait to meet the boy that you were crushing on, the second luckiest guy in Paris.”

“Second luckiest?”

“Well I am clearly luckier,” he teased.

“You dork.”

Their miraculous beeped again.

“Okay, we should probably go detransform somewhere,” Ladybug said.

“Yea, we need to refuel. We kind of got distracted talking because of that umbrella.”

The duo look around the destroyed classroom and noticed that since the rubble had blocked the doors and windows, their options of escape to detransform in privacy were limited.

“There has to be some place we can go before we detransform? We might actually have to do it here.”

“Maybe your Lucky Charm is a double use. Maybe it has something that could help us again.” Chat Noir commented as his eyes caught on a small detail on the umbrella. In the handle. “E.A”

“E.A?” Ladybug asked as she turned to him.

Chat Noir looked at the umbrella closer. His eyes saw the carving on the umbrella handle. It was one of his mother’s umbrellas. It was unmistakable. This umbrella was an exact copy of the one he gave to Marinette back when he first started school.

“Ladybug, why did the miraculous make a copy of an umbrella I gave to my girlfriend months ago?”

The question seemed out of left field.

“The Ladybug miraculous creates an item either from my imagination or that I have seen before with some alteration to make them useful to the situation. I doubt I made a copy of an umbrella you gave to your girlfriend. If anything, it’s a copy of an umbrella I hold dear, like the one my boyfriend lent me before we were dating.”

It was at that moment that everything clicked. Both of them looked at one another in stunned realization.

As if by design, the miraculous beeped for the last time and their transformations faded.

______________________________________________________________________________

Ms. Rossi smashed her feet against the door with all the force she could muster, but it still had no effect.

After a dozen attempts she refused to lose hope. Even if it took 1000 times to kick the door down, she would do it if it meant it would save her little Stellina.

“Once more!”

Before she could kick the door again, the door opened.

“Huh, so there was someone up here.”

Ms. Rossi looked up to see a blonde teen in a yellow and black colored costume looking at her.

“You are awfully lucky I heard you, there is a lot of crap going down.”

“Wait, I know who you are… you’re…”

“Queen Bee, the one and only. And you have been saved by me. So feel free to brag about that.” Queen Bee started untying her.

“Thank you. I need to hurry and find my daughter.”

“Well you go do that, I need to get back to where the action is. There is a crazy monster that shapeshifted into a giant gorilla and needs a shot of venom to the face.”

“Wait, what?”

Before Ms.Rossi could get any answers, the bee heroine had dashed out of the room.

“I should find Lila.”

It took her a moment to gather her bearings. She realized the room she was in was the principal's and that she had been locked in his closet. She looked inside the closet to find her bag, trying to find her phone so she could call her daughter. She needed to find out what was going on.

______________________________________________________________________________

Viperion looked at the pile solemnly. “Do you think they're okay?”

“Our superhero forms make us very durable, so the impact probably wouldn’t be enough to hurt them too badly...”

“Okay, that’s a relief. But then why are you still concerned?”

“They both used their powers earlier. If they don’t get out of there before the transformation wears off…” Ryuuko trailed off.

Viperion realized why Ryuuko was so concerned. “Oh… yeah, we're gonna need to get them out of there.”

“I don’t think you will be able to do that” a smug voice called out to them.

The two heroes turn to see the masked villain that was responsible for all of this destruction.

She was flying in the air with two black angel wings as she stared down at them.

“I was expecting to find Simularé having dealt with all of you, but for some reason I can’t seem to call them. So, I assume you probably beat them.”

Viperion and Ryuuko shared a concerned look. Masquerade was clearly someone with a lot more power than they'd been anticipating. She didn’t even seem fazed by the fact that the sentimonster that could have any power it wanted was gone.

“I'll try digging them out, you try to handle Masquerade,” Viperion whispered. “The others don’t have that much time left and you’re a much better fighter.”

Ryuuko looked at Masquerade for a second before agreeing that it was the best course of action.

Ryuuko went to go but found herself blocked by two adults clad in red, black and white. Both of them wore the white face masks that all controlled akuma wore.

The first one Ryuuko had recognized from some new segments and some time on the Ladyblog as The Collector.

The other one she had no idea. All she knew was that it was a woman with blue skin. While the white mask covered the front of her head, she could see the dark helmet with a red visor. Her costume was a dark grayish cornflower blue dress suit with pointed shoulders, including a strong red front and swan neck collar that featured a red downward-arrow-shaped section in the center. The sleeves covered her entire arms, with the tips of her fingers fading into red. She also had pocket-like ridges on each side of her hips, and her pant legs came down to her feet, having red high-heels, soles, and tips. Ryuuko thought the figure seemed familiar, but she couldn’t place it.

“Oh, did you think I came alone? Collector, Catalyst, why don’t you handle the uppity dragon girl. I need some entertainment while I wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir to show up.”

“Need MORE minions to do your dirty work?!” Ryuuko shouted with a mix of frustration and annoyance.

Viperion knew things were looking bad. He instinctively had his hand go to his bracelet but Ryuuko raised her hand out, non-verbally telling him to hold off.

She clenched her sword and charged, but the two akuma seemed to have a bit more skill and evaded her charge.

Catalyst even caught the blade of the heroine with her hands. Ryuuko tried to free the blade only to receive a front kick by the Collector, sending her flying back.

From the corner of her eye, Ryuuko noticed Catalyst's blade coming back at her like a throwing knife.Ryuuko managed to control her backward momentum and caught the blade moments after landing on her feet.

“Okay… this is going to be a challenge,” Ryuuko huffed.

Ryuuko dashed past the Collector and delivered a roundhouse kick to Catalyst, who used her arms to cushion the strike.

Viperion started digging only to feel the force of a front kick by the Collector sending him flying back.

“And what has you focused on digging through rubble rather than acting as entertainment for me?”

Viperion tried to get up, but felt a foot step on his chest.

Viperion grabbed the leg that was keeping him pinned and used his strength to roll and twist, the motion causing the akuma servant to move off balance.

Ryuuko noticed Viperion struggling and managed to trip and kick Catalyst hard enough to send her flying right into the akumatized Collector.

Viperion stood up and moved his way towards Ryuuko.

“We can’t get to Ladybug or Chat Noir while these two and Masquerade are here.”

“Then we will need to hope Ladybug and Chat Noir can get themselves out while we buy time.”

Masquerade watched the two heroes in amusement,“It’s cute that you think you stand a chance when you’re outnumbered.”

“If that’s cute, then you being a dumb bitch that thinks she is going to win makes you downright adorable,” commented a familiar voice.

Masquerade’s smug smile disappeared as she looked to see the arrival of a certain bee heroine.

“So, you’re the mask bitch that's been causing all these problems,” observed Queen Bee..

“Wow, Ladybug must really be desperate if she sent for you again.” Masquerade descended from the air and flicked her charm to remove her wings.

“It’s funny how you call me desperate when you’re the one akumatized.”

Masquerade noticed her charm bracelet glowing, and a sinister grin appeared on her face.She snapped her fingers, calling her two servants to her side.

“You know, Chloé,” Masquerade began as she stalked closer, “Out of everyone in Paris, I think you are the most pitiful.”

Queen Bee kept eye contact with Masquerade as the villain stopped  a few feet away.

“Me? Pitiful? I’m not the one who looks like a theater reject,” she retorted.

Masquerade shook her head.

“Your mother is a famous fashion critic, and your father is the mayor of Paris. You can have whatever you want whenever you want by just sending a text or making a call, but you know that having such privilege doesn’t give you any value. It doesn’t matter that your daddy bends over backwards for you, because your dear mother who you aspire to be doesn’t give a crap about you. You are just a spoiled brat, and everyone knows you’re nothing special. At best you’re a rich bully who acts out to get some form of attention. When you got a miraculous by some fluke, you hoped that it would be your ticket to being someone people liked, respected, and found exceptional.”.

Queen Bee’s head lowered with each sentence, her fists tightening.

Ryuuko and Viperion tried to land a strike against Masquerade while she was talking, but the Collector and Catalyst blocked their  attempts and managed to pin both of them to the ground.

“Are you done?” Masquerade looked at the two pinned heroes. “I’m not dumb enough to leave myself open.”

Masquerade cleared her throat, and turned back to Queen Bee.

“Where was I? Oh yes. I remember. No matter how hard you try, no matter what you say or do, you will NEVER be a hero. You will always be Chloé Bourgeois, Audrey’s embarrassment of a daughter,” Masquerade cruelly declared.

Queen Bee refused to look up. Masquerade knew this was her moment.

“Don’t worry Chloé. Now you have a chance to be a part of something exceptional for once.”

Masquerade took a mask from her dress and threw it at Queen Bee, only for the mask to be smacked away by the heroine herself.

This was a surprise to Masquerade.

“What?! How did you do that?”

Queen Bee started to laugh. She looked up at the confused Masquerade.

“That was it?! That was your big take down? That was going to make me so demoralized that I would settle for being one of your puppets? GET REAL!” Queen Bee mocked. “It’s actually funny that you thought that would work.”

“What do you mean!? I just exposed your biggest insecurities, your fears! You should be a sobbing mess!”

Queen Bee shook her head.

“You’re not wrong. What you said about me was, word for word, all of my insecurities. Problem is, I’ve heard it before. I have heard this crap from Hawkmoth, I heard it from my own mother and I hear it from me. I think this about myself every single day. Those thoughts echo in my head, and all those other people that have said it to me said it much worse than that rank amateur trick you just tried,” Queen Bee spelled out.

“Amateur!?”

“Look, I may suck at getting all the things about being a hero right. I may need to work on ‘being a good person’ or whatever, but I do know one thing and that’s how to be mean. You? You’re nasty not because that’s how you are, it’s because you think you are. I know why you always seemed off now, that lame liar that had everyone wrapped around your finger by telling them only things they want to hear. You want to talk about my need to be accepted? Let’s talk about yours. You want nothing more than love and attention. And since your lies bit you in the butt, now you think the only way to get what you want is by going full mean girl and hope that your akumatization makes it so you can at least have some sort of control again. But you suck at that too.”

Masquerade gaped in disbelief at what she was hearing.

“Are you saying I’m not mean enough?”

“Oh, I think you’re pretty cruel, but that’s out of defense. It isn’t your default. You’ve lied to yourself so much that you don’t even know who you are anymore. Me? I’m a petty, self-absorbed bitch with mommy issues, but I know who I am. But tell me ‘Masquerade’, who are you, really? Under all the lies and borderline psychopathic tendencies, what is the real Lila like?”

Ryuuko and Viperion looked at Queen Bee with a mix of shock and awe.

For the first time, Masquerade felt shaken. She backed away, glaring daggers at Queen Bee.

“Oh, wow, look at the mighty mask akuma shaking like a leaf,” Queen bee mocked before turning to Viperion and Ryuuko. “By the way, what happened to the giant gorilla? I thought we were fighting that weird sentimonster.”

Ryuuko kicked Catalyst off her and stood up. “Oh, Chat Noir Cataclysmed it, then it ran off.”

Viperion followed suit with Collector. “Right now, Ladybug and Chat Noir are below us, if they aren’t buried in rubble.”

“Thanks for the recap.” Queen bee turned her attention back to Masquerade before whirling back to the other heroes. “Wait, they’re WHAT?”

“Buried in rubble. But knowing Ladybug, they likely got themselves out and are fine,” Ryuuko assured.

“Oh, yeah probably.” Now calmer, Queen Bee turned back to Masquerade

“Now, where were we?”

Masquerade’s shaken anger shifted to a crazed smile.

“You know what, Chloé? I’ve decided I’m done playing games. Collector! Open the book.”

The akuma servant moved to the open hole they had entered through and opened the book.

It was at this moment the heroes realized that Masquerade had a lot more in store for them.

__________________________________________________________________________

The Lucky Charm vanished as their transformations dropped, leaving Marinette and Adrien standing right in front of each other with stunned expressions. Their two kwamis, Tikki and Plagg, popped out and saw the two looking at one another.

“This is not how I was expecting this to go.”

“Plagg!”

“What? It isn’t! I was expecting something more along the lines of one of them finding out through some gift delivery, and then the other one revealing themselves by saving the first from an akuma attack or some elaborate trick to find out the other’s identity and then intending to reset the time with the snake but not going through with it… actually scratch that, this way was better.”

“Plagg, seriously!”

Adrien and Marinette looked at each other as everything came together. The vanishing of their masks was really just the garnish on what they had both realized. Marinette had realized that her trusted partner was the boy she’d been crushing on and was now dating, while Adrien realized the girl he believed he had moved on from but still cared for is actually the girl he was in love with the whole time.

“I think they're still processing all of this,” Plagg commented as he flew down to Adrien’s jacket pocket.

“You might want to grab your snack while you can, Sugarcube, I think it’s gonna take them a bit to get over the shock.”

Tikki wanted to say something, but Plagg made a fair point. They were going to need food to refuel.

The kwami snagged their foods of choice and floated a short distance away just as both teens looked ready to speak.

“It’s you,” they said almost in unison. Another beat passed.

They rushed towards each other and hugged.

“I’m so glad you're okay!”

“You distracted Simularé back then without your powers so I could get away. Don’t you know how dangerous that was?”

“Yea, but I figured that I could buy you some time to get away, and Ladybug usually arrives right when I need her to.”

“Just because you got lucky and she was me doesn’t mean I'm not mad you almost got yourself hurt!”

Adrien smiled at her sweetly. Marinette looked up and met his gaze. The tension this day had them go through and finding out that the other is not only safe but has been fighting with them gave them both a renewed vigor and a sense of relief.

Marinette cupped his cheeks and kissed him.

“Aww, they are so adorable!” Tikki squeaked.

“Ugh, they're being too cheesy even for my tastes,” Plagg snarked.

Tikki shot him a look.

“I'm joking! Of course I'm happy for them. But you've gotta admit, it is pretty funny seeing how they've been running circles around each other.”

After a long moment, the teens broke away from the kiss and took one look at each other before bursting into laughter.

“I struggled for so long to tell you how I felt and you were already flirting with me that entire time,” Marinette wheezed.

“You kissed me two times that I can't even remember,” Adrien pointed out.

“You asked me about how YOU did when I had you watch over civilian me when we fought Evillustrator.”

“You put me in a sarcophagus!“

“You reset time 25,913 times just to hide the fact that you were Chat Noir!”

“I did that because you came looking for Adrien and I really didn’t want to let you down!”

“That was very sweet and very dumb!”

“I was made aware of that!”

“But I also really wanted to make sure you got a miraculous because I wanted to fight by your side.”

“I actually thought you were Ladybug at one point, but then you were Multimouse which really threw me off.”

“That was because of an elaborate plan involving a lot of miraculous.”

“Well, it was pretty impressive.”

They both smiled wryly and turned to their kwami.

“Okay be honest, how ridiculous was all of this to watch?” Adrien asked.

“You mean that moment, or your whole Lovesquare dynamic since we knew you?” Plagg asked between bites of cheese.

“Well, now that you mention it…”

Marinette was the first one to come back to Earth.

“Oh no! What’s Fu going to say!?”

Tikki nearly dropped her cookie.

“That is going to be a problem,” Adrien mused, mirroring Marinette’s concern.

“Now that we know each other’s identities, we're a danger to each other as superheroes… we might have to give up our miraculous now.”

Tikki and Plagg looked at the two teens with sad eyes. They'd had dozens of different users over the course of centuries, but Marinette and Adrien were special. It would be heartbreaking to have to leave them.

Adrien looked at Plagg. While he was overjoyed to find out his girlfriend was actually Ladybug and that the two people he was torn between were actually one, he didn’t want to say goodbye to his cat confidant.

Marinette looked at Tikki. The ladybug kwami had always been a well of positivity and support for her. Tikki was her biggest cheerleader and had been one of the happiest to see her get together with Adrien. Now, although finding out that Chat Noir and Adrien were one and the same was incredible, it was also bittersweet because she didn’t want to say goodbye to her sugar-fueled friend.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Their revelation was interrupted by the sound of concussive impacts coming from outside of the room. It seemed that something big had arrived and the other heroes were going to need help.

“Look kid, we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there.”

“Plagg is right. There's still trouble to deal with up there.”

Marinette and Adrien looked at each other then at their kwami.

“This might be our last fight together,” Adrien solemnly said.

Marinette took his hand in both of hers.

“Then let’s make it count,” Marinette said, giving him a peck on his nose.

“Tikki, Spots on!”

“Plagg, Claws out!”

______________________________________________________________________________

Masquerade smiled as outside of the school stood multiple akuma were ready to strike. She had shown that she had a back-up army in wait.

The giants Megatitan, Glaciator and Gorizilla towered over the opened room. Queen Bee peered out to see dozens of more akuma, such as her butler and parents all in their akumatized forms.

While the heroes couldn’t identify all of the akuma present, all of them white masks that accommodated their various sizes. They were all under Masquerade’s complete control.

“That is a lot of akuma,” Viperion said.

“Did you really think you stood a chance?” Masquerade taunted. Her anger from earlier twisted into a sadistic glee as she could see all of their bravado fading away. “I think I will take your miraculous as trophies. Hawkmoth is only interested in Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous. He can have those. I'm more interested in what you have.”

“You are getting way too overconfident. We've dealt with your mindless akuma puppets before, and they were never a match for us.” Ryuuko pointed her sword at Masquerade.

“So you think that you can fight them all at once, then?” Masquerade asked.

Ryuuko still looked determined.

Viperion put his hand on her shoulder. “Hold on, rushing in will not help right now. There are dozens of them out there. We need to find a way to Masquerade and deal with her so that they can be dealt with.”

“I finally found it!” A sudden voice from out of view exclaimed.

Masquerade and the heroes turn their attention to the direction of the voice, but the one who said it was obscured from view.

“Forgive the intrusion, but it was quite a task getting up here. This school is quite a labyrinth.”

“Show yourself!” Masquerade called out, getting annoyed by the interruption.

“Allow me to make an entrance.”

There was a brief moment of silence, but they heard the words.

“Wayzz, shell on!”

A figure jumped out from a hidden corner and landed in the center of the room standing between Masquerade and the heroes.

There they saw an old man clad in green armor. He had a dark green chest plate with light green pauldrons and tassets with dark green edges; dark brown, loose pants, elbow pads, and collar; and dark green armor boots with light green toe-caps and dark brown soles. His mask was dark green on the upper half and light green on the lower half.

Masquerade cracked up at the sight of him. “You have to be joking! I bring an army and your response is an old man!? That is something else.”

“I am not just any old man, I am Jade Turtle. And you must be the akuma that has been causing all of this chaos. I think it’s about time I put a stop to it.”

“Is that right? And what are you going?”

Jade Turtle turned to the heroes behind him.

“Allow me to show you kids what one can really do with the full power of a miraculous.”

“No, I don’t think so. Collector! Catalyst! Take him out!”

The two akuma charged at the turtle hero.

Jade Turtle confidently jumped in and took off his hat to use as a shield.

“Shell-ter, projectile mode.”

Jade Turtle shot off two baseball-sized green spheres at the two approaching akuma. Both shots made contact, knocking them over right as he landed.

The Akuma recovered quickly, getting up to attack again, but their movements were too predictable. Jade Turtle ran towards them, and right before they attacked, he slid forward and knocked both their legs from under them. The two akuma fell hard on their masks and the turtle hero popped up behind them.

“Whoa!” The three heroes were stunned at how easily he'd handled those two.

Before Jade Turtle could acknowledge this, Masquerade fired what appeared to be a blast of lightning from her hands. The stormy weather charm on her bracelet glowed.

“Don’t think it will be THAT easy to deal with me.”

“Shell-ter!”

He quickly created a hamster-ball-like shield around himself, allowing him to take the lightning attacks as he ran forward.

Masquerade saw him rolling towards her and jumped out of the way but then realized he was moving straight toward the army.

“STOP HIM!”

The akumas outside all tried attacking the turtle hero as he rolled out of the building and bounced right in the middle of their forces.

He watched as they tried to break his shield.

“Reinforce!”

His shield bubble became thicker than before, allowing it to resist more of the damage that the akuma were doing.

He felt his legs wobble.

Easy Fu, you can’t overexert yourself. You have less than 9 minutes before you transform back. You need to hold them off now. Let Ladybug and Chat Noir know what to do.

Jade Turtle touched his shield to reveal a phone feature. He called Ladybug. Thankfully, she picked up right away.

“Master Fu? What's going on? Are you okay?”

“I am fine, Ladybug. Are you and Chat Noir in the school?”

“Yes, we're on our way back to fight the akuma, we just had to refuel first… Master Fu, we need to talk with you about something.”

“Is it life or death?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Then I think it can wait until later. Right now I am holding off an army of akuma. I will buy you 8 minutes. You need to defeat the masked akuma by then.”

“Wait…You're fighting!? Master what about…”

“Don’t worry Ladybug. I am not as weak as you think. But do hurry.”

“Understood. We won’t let you down.”

The turtle hero hung up the phone. “Time for the big one. Shell-ter!”

His shield opened up a small hole to send out a new large, green barrier. This one overtook all of the akuma surrounding him.

“Condense!”

The larger bubble started shrinking and the larger akuma were forced to get down, pinning them to the ground, while the smaller akuma were getting tightly pushed together. Jade Turtle closed the shield surrounding himself and watched as the akuma that had been attacking were forced to stop due to their inability to move. He was thankful that they were unable to think for themselves or they might have figured some way out of this situation.

The elderly hero felt his breathing grow labored. This was taking a lot more out of him then he'd anticipated. He did his best to still his movements but using the miraculous was still draining. This wouldn’t hold forever. As soon as his transformation dropped, so would the shields. He just needed to focus.

He crossed his legs and sat in the lotus position. He closed his eyes and began to meditate. He needed to minimize his movement and strain to maximize the amount of time he can maintain this transformation.

‘The rest is up to you, Ladybug and Chat Noir.’

Masquerade looked at the condensed shield.

“No way… my army…” Masquerade was in shock. The old man she'd mocked earlier had somehow managed to seal off her army from her. Even her giant akuma were trapped in there. And with his other barrier, they couldn't even finish him off! He had crippled her forces in under a minute.

“Did we know him? Because I feel like we should know him,” Viperion asked.

“No, he's new. The turtle hero we're used to seeing is a lot younger… but this one seems to know a lot more tricks. I wonder if we can tweak our powers like that to make them more effective?” Ryuuko responded as she mulled over possibilities.

“Well so much for your army, they're getting handled by an old guy cosplaying as a Ninja Turtle,” Queen Bee jeered.

Masquerade turned to face her.

“You know what? This is fine. I don’t need an army to turn you into bug juice.”

“Ooo, I'm shaking in my costume.” Queen Bee rolled her eyes.

Masquerade touched several of her charms.

Her eyes glowed bright as she rose into the air with black wings.

“You wanted to know who I am, Chloé? Well then, let me tell you exactly who I am!”

The winds around them started getting more intense. Ryuuko almost got swept up in the winds, but Viperion quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her into the eye of the storm.

“I am not a nice new student. I am not the mean, manipulative bully. I am Masquerade, the akuma with infinite powers who is going to take over Paris! I am stronger than Hawkmoth, deadlier than any villain this city has ever faced! And by the end of today, you and all of Paris will be bowing to me!” she roared.

The area around them grew colder as Masquerade started channeling more powers.

Catalyst and Collector stood back up only to get swept up in the winds that Masquerade created.

“Well, you really kicked the hive with that one, Queen Bee” Ryuuko snarked.

“Look, it’s not my fault it’s hard to take her seriously! She looks like a theater kid reject mixed with a Hawkmoth fan. Also… was that a pun?”

“Umm, I really don’t think this is the time for that. We have a super angry, power-mad akuma that is clearly very angry at us, specifically you, Queen Bee,” Viperion interjected.

“Right,” the two teens conceded.

“So, what’s the plan?”

Masquerade looks at the three heroes.

“Plan? Do you three really think you stand a chance?! The only reason you're still standing right now is because I've been toying with you! I wanted some entertainment until Ladybug and Chat Noir finally showed up.”

Viperion slyly activated his power as Masquerade gloated.

“Alright, that’s enough of that,” she said as she summoned what appeared to be a trumpet from thin air.

She shot a small blast from it and hit Ryuuko, making her disappear.

“Ryuuko!”

A sticker appeared on Masquerade’s dress.

“That is from the akuma Desperada. I can release her whenever I want.”

“Second Chance!”

The situation reset.

“Alright, that’s enough of that.” She said as she summoned what appeared to be a trumpet from thin air.

“Get down!”

Viperion managed to push Ryuuko out of the way of the blast.

“Those blasts are instant Game Overs, don't let them hit you.”

“Instant Game Overs? What is this, a video ga…” Queen Bee tried to ask before she was hit with one of the trumpet blasts.

Viperion sighed. “Here we go again.”

“Second Chance!”

_______________________________________________________________________

“This way!” Ladybug called out as they made their way past another piece of falling rubble.

Ladybug and Chat Noir managed to get out of the room they were trapped in and, thanks to Fu, they knew about the situation above.

“Things must be pretty serious if Fu got involved,” Chat Noir commented.

“Well, this is probably the most dangerous fight we've faced since that whole thing during Heroes' Day.”

“It is pretty cool that Fu is jumping in to give a hand, though. Has he used the miraculous around you?”

“Not that I've seen, but I remember him mentioning that using it takes a lot out of him due to his age, so even though he's an adult, he's still on a time limit.”

“Right, but he probably knows a few tricks that would be fun to see.”

“He's been the guardian for over a century, so he likely knows more skills and tricks.”

The two rushed up a staircase and managed to make progress.

“So Ma…. My Lady. You still haven’t said how we're going to deal with Masquerade.”

“That’s because I don’t have a plan yet. But I figure once I see her face I'll probably know when to summon my Lucky Charm and figure a way to defeat her.”

“Reasonable. But do you think the others will be able to hold on until we get there? With how unstable that room got, we couldn’t go straight upward and risk the ceiling caving in on us, and those winds and ice are making things more difficult to traverse. Those three are facing an akuma with the powers of every akuma we ever faced.”

Ladybug thought for a moment. “If Viperion has his power active, they should be okay. He can keep them out of trouble. Even if he doesn’t have his memory, his intuition is still incredibly good.”

“True, he was a better snake than me.”

“You were a good snake, but you're a better kitty. I think you should stick with the cat powers. They suit you better.”

“You’re saying they are purrfect for me?” Chat Noir punned.

“Oh no, what did I start?”

“You set me up for it.”

“I did and I hate myself for it.”

“Don’t hate yourself, you're amazing.”

“Kitty, I'm going to need you to stop being cute or I'm going to have to kiss you, and we don’t have time for that.”

“Now you're just baiting me to do that.”

They heard a massive crash in front of them.

“We should hurry,” Chat Noir said.

______________________________________________________________________

“WHY ARE YOU SO HARD TO HIT?” Masquerade shouted in frustration.

Viperion had managed to help his fellow heroes avoid the attacks of the crazed akuma. She stopped using Desperada’s power and tried a plethora of different powers at her disposal.

She tried Lady Wifi’s pause symbols, Jackady’s command cards, Bubbler’s bubbles,  Rogercop’s handcuffs, and even Horrificator’s slime shots. Masquerade was trying everything in her arsenal, but to no avail

“Perhaps your multitasking is what is making it so difficult for you to focus,” Ryuuko suggested. “Maintaining those winds around us may limit our movement, but it means nothing if you can't hit us. Your focus is split and therefore you can’t dedicate yourself to defeating us.”

Masquerade glared at the dragon heroine skeptically.

“Nice try, but this is clearly a trick to get me to let my guard down. If I reduce the winds, you'll have a chance to escape.”

“You misunderstand. We have no intention of running away. We are heroes and we are going to stop you. Retreat isn’t an option.”

“Then why bother telling me to cut down the winds if not to try and get the advantage?”

“Well either you cut out the winds or we come up there and take you down personally.”

Masquerade pondered for a moment before speaking again.

“I decided I'm just going to end this.”

Masquerade focused her winds to close in on the three heroes, forming a tornado.

“Well that was dumb, now she's gonna rip us apart with this tornado.”

“Not exactly,” Ryuuko smirked. “Viperion, give me a boost.”

Viperion rushed over and linked his fingers together for her to place a foot on.

“Queen Bee, get Ryuuko’s other leg.”

“This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!”

Viperion and Queen Bee quickly get ready as the winds start closing in.

“3… 2…. 1…. LAUNCH!”

The two heroes sent Ryuuko as high as they could.

“Lightning Dragon!”

Ryuuko turned herself into a bolt of lightning and struck the masked akuma.

Masquerade screamed as the winds ceased and her hair stood up.

Her body started dropping and Ryuuko shifted back into her solid form, falling right next to her.

Viperion jumped and caught Ryuuko. Masquerade face planted into the floor.

“Nice work.”

Ryuuko smiled.

“You seem to have gotten very good at catching me.”

“You've been falling a lot today. I’d almost think you planned it this way,” Viperion teased.

Ryuuko punched his arm playfully.

“Guess that takes care of her-” Viperion stopped speaking. It was as if some force had frozen him in place.

“Viperion?” Ryuuko got out of his arms and saw the pause symbol on his back.

A second pause symbol shot her way before Ryuuko could react, and then she too was frozen in place.

Queen Bee stared in shock. She'd thought that this was over, but Masquerade had recovered while the two other heroes were distracted and ensured they were both paused.

Masquerade got up, her mask cracked from the landing, her hair smoking from the lighting attack from Ryuuko. Her eyes glowed red as she began walking towards Queen Bee.

“You know, I thought I would be angrier after everything. The collapse of my reputation, the shame I brought on my mother, the loss of my sentimonster, and just the consistent humiliation I faced ever since I saw you heroes. Maybe I've just become so unbelievably enraged that I've come full circle.”

Queen bee felt herself backing up as Masquerade approached.

“I think I know what I am going to do with you Queen Bee. I am going to use you as a test dummy and try out every single one of my powers on you. And when I am done, THEN I will let you cease existing.”

“If you wanted to prove you were a mean girl, you were right. You are definitely mean...” Queen Bee said as she continued backing away.

Masquerade moved her hand and a wind blew Queen Bee into a wall.

“Now, which power to use first on you? Oh I know! One of the powers that the akuma had was a replica of Chat Noir. I wonder what a cataclysm will do to a person.”

Masquerade's hand began emanating a dark energy reminiscent of Chat Noir’s famous move.

Queen Bee closed her eyes to brace herself for what was coming. She hoped it wouldn’t make her ugly.

But before it made contact, a yo-yo wrapped around Masquerade’s legs. The string was pulled and Masquerade ended up falling to the floor where the cataclysm destroying a piece of debris.

“Sorry we were late, it was difficult getting back up here,” a feminine voice spoke from out of view.

Queen Bee opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the voices.

“What took you both so long?” Queen bee exclaimed

Masquerade looked up.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir.”  She spat as if those were the foulest words in her vocabulary.

Ladybug and Chat Noir walked closer.

“We are going to give you one chance. Just hand over the akumatized object and we can all go back to normal,” Chat Noir tried to reason.

Masquerade glared at the two heroes.

“Normal? There is no normal left for me. I watched it all crash and burn. But who cares, now I am the most powerful person in all of Paris. No one can ignore me now.”

Ladybug shook her head.

“You’ve gone power mad.”

Masquerade touched her charms and summoned vines from her wrists.

“Vines? When did we fight an akuma that used plants?” Ladybug questioned.

“Weredad…” Chat Noir said with a horrified gasp. He remembered that beating all too well, and knowing that Masquerade got to Marinette’s father was not sitting well.

Ladybug’s confusion shifted to determination as she jumped to dodge the vines.

Chat Noir and Ladybug moved gracefully as they approached Masquerade. The akuma realized the two were quickly approaching and needed to push them back. She activated Stormy Weather’s power to use a mighty gust to blow them back.

Ladybug and Chat Noir were sent back to where they started, but landed on their feet.

“Okay, so it's safe to assume she has every akuma power so far."

“Well except Chloé's, Luka’s and Kagami’s,” Chat Noir added.

“Right. That’s a relief. Dealing with Queen Wasp or Riposte would not be good.”

“I was more worried about Silencer. If he made us quiet, I wouldn’t be able to hear you call my name.”

“Focus, Kitty.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“Seems it's lucky charm time.”

Ladybug activated her power.

“Lucky Charm!”

What appeared was another unexpected item with a ladybug color scheme.

“A mop bucket?”

“Heads up!”

Chat Noir jumped in front of her and spun his staff to block several pause symbols heading their way.

“I’ll cover you. Figure out how to use the charm.”

“Oh, hell no!” Masquerade shouted as she pulled her hand back, revealing her arm shifting to stone.

She smashed the ground, causing the already unstable floor to crack and send more rubble falling from the ceiling.

Ladybug grabbed the bucket and jumped away.

She looked around, Her eyes looked at Masquerade, Chat Noir’s staff, the ground, her yo-yo, the bucket, and finally Queen bee.

She had a plan.

__________________________________________________________________________

It was endless, the voices in their head screaming. Their body shifting and changing with each passing second, constantly shifting into something else belonging to someone else.

“STOP IT!!!” They screamed as they shouted in the alleyway they landed in. They were alone.

“Mind… shattered… Thoughts… endless… Focus… split!” they tried to articulate.

Their brain felt like it was on fire! Nothing seemed to make sense, it felt like they were losing all control and that they would be left in the dust.

“Focus…. Focus…. FOCUS!!!”

They continued to try and get themselves back on track. They needed something, anything to put their mind to. They needed order! They needed purpose!!!

“I need a reason! Why am I here?! To suffer!? Is this all there is!?”

They held their head with their ever-changing hands.

“They hurt me! Now I am in pain! I hate them… Hate…. HATE!!”

Their clouded mind seemed to calm. They had realized why they were here. That among all of the emotions that they had been created from, one was their defining prime emotion.

“Hatred… I was made from hatred. I am the embodiment of Her hate,” they said.

Their mind flashed with images. The faces of Ladybug and Chat Noir, Alya Cesaire, Marinette Dupain Cheng, Kagami Tsurugi, Luka Couffaine, and…

The face became like their original form, a cracked smiling white mask.

“Yes. I know what I must do. Simularé must destroy those it hates!”

The Sentimonster focused and began changing its body to now be more in control. It started molding its body. It was no longer changing against its will. Simularé was starting to regain control.

“Yes…”

______________________________________________________________________

Masquerade noticed Ladybug standing back and she used her powers to jump at her. Ladybug quickly jumped out of the way and rolled near Chat Noir. Just then, she realized she had left the bucket behind.

“The Lucky Charm!”

Masquerade looked and saw the bucket.

“Let’s not take any chances.”

She touched her charm, now imbued with the power of Copycat’s cataclysm.

Just before she could touch the power, Chat Noir uses his baton to extend out and move the bucket out of the way, causing her to touch the ground and causing the area she touched to break and make a hole that half of her fell into, only to be saved by her other arm catching the floor.

“Nicely done Chaton.”

Ladybug moved to Queen Bee, who had been motionless and watching the two heroes fight with Masquerade. She went into her yo-yo and revealed a purple Macaroon.

“Queen bee activate your power. It's time.” Ladybug relayed her message and used her yo-yo to snag the lucky charm back to her. “Pop this in your mouth when things get serious.”

“Huh?! Oh right!”

Queen Bee started moving again. She had let herself freeze, almost paused just like the other two heroes she was fighting with. But now it was time to act.

“Venom!”

Masquerade managed to get up and out of the hole. It was there that she saw Queen Bee charging at her.

“Oh that is cute. You finally stopped watching and decided to join in getting your butt kicked.”

Masquerade used Stormy Weather’s wind powers to blow Queen Bee back, but this time, Queen Bee popped the macaroon into her mouth.

Suddenly her costume started to shift. She gained a clear face covering and her suit was glowing a shinier gold color, with thicker black gloves. Her hair was now shining gold, and she had an impressive gold jetpack reminiscent of Bee Wings.

“What the heck is that!”

Queen bee realized that Ladybug had given her not just a weird tasting macaroon, but a power-granting one. She got a power up.

“You heard of Cosmobug and Astrochat. Get ready to meet Stellarbee!” she exclaimed.

Stellarbee pushed her jetpack to push through the powerful winds.

Masquerade realized that at the rate she was going, Stellarbee was going to reach her! She couldn’t let herself get tagged. She pushed more power into the wind, and just as she did, an idea popped into her head.

‘If I tag her first, then there will be no issue.’

Masquerade started easing on her wind powers and moved one hand to prepare a deadly touch from the powers of Timebreaker.

Stellarbee kept approaching.

“You know, Lila, you really are a pathetic person.”

Masquerade rolled her eyes.

“And why is that?”

“Well, for one thing, you are so focused on what other people think of you. I must say it's clear that out of everyone here you have the lowest self esteem.”

“I have self-esteem! I have tons of it. You are the one with Mommy issues!”

“Defensive much? Yea, I have issues. But I never lied about who I am. I am Chloé Bourgeois. And you are a girl with a bucket on her head.”

“I am not… Wait what.”

As if on cue, Ladybug covered Masquerade's vision with the sanitation bucket. The surprise caused Masquerade to lose focus on her powers and Stellarbee zoomed right by her, making sure to contact her with her power. Masquerade froze.

Masquerade was in utter shock, unable to move.

Ladybug walked up to Masquerade and touched the charms, causing all the powers she had active to deactivate, including the pause power she had on Viperion and Ryuuko.”

“It's finally over.”

Ladybug took the bracelet off of Masquerade. She ripped it apart with her hands, causing it to break and an akuma to pop out.

“No more evil-doing for you little akuma.” Ladybug spoke as she snagged the akuma with her yo-yo and purified it.

“Bye bye little butterfly.”

Masquerade's form dissipated, returning to that of Lila Rossi.

Jade Turtle, who had kept the tight barrier around the akuma army to keep them from making any moves noticed that they had all ceased to function. They were all still transformed but they were no longer moving.

“Wayzz, shell off.”

Fu transformed back and the barriers he casted vanished.  He was catching his breath.

“Cutting it very close, Ladybug…” Fu commented with relief. He knew there was a reason he didn’t get involved initially. He needed to retire.

The Power that Stellarbee had used on Masquerade had worn off now that she was back to normal.

Lila took off the bucket.

“No! No no no! This can't be happening.”

“The game is over, Lila.” Ladybug said definitively.

Stellarbee deactivated her space form and pulled herself out of the wall she'd collided with when flying.

Viperion shook his head.

“Whoa, everything feels clear again. What happened.”

Ryuuko hugged the snake hero.

“You’re back!”

Viperion felt his cheeks heat up from the hug.

“I am? What did I miss?”

Ryuuko realized the sudden emotional outburst and quickly let go of the hug.

“It's… I will tell you later. I am just happy you are back to normal.”

Queen Bee slid down from the wall looking at the two reptilian heroes and rolling her eyes. She was not gonna be a third wheel in that conversation, no matter how hot they both were. So she decided to make her way to Ladybug.

Chat Noir jumped to land next to Ladybug.

“That’s the end.”

“It always comes back to you doesn’t it?” Lila hissed.

Ladybug raised her eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“You are the one that ruined my life once again!”

“Ruined your… you were akumatized and tried to enslave Paris!”

“Because of your stupid fan printing that garbage about me working with Hawkmoth!”

“Well there is that footage…” Chat Noir pointed out.

“I was angry! I was frustrated and saw an opportunity… I don’t work for Hawkmoth” Lila defended herself.

“Assuming that is the truth, using the akuma just to have a temper tantrum is still pretty scummy,” Ladybug commented.

“That’s not the point! Ever since you popped up and yelled at me in the park everything went downhill.”

“Is this what it is really all about? Why are you blaming me when all you have done is lie? I shouldn’t have confronted you that way, I admit I went about that wrong, but you shouldn’t be lying about things like that. Why didn’t you just try being honest? Why did you need to spread rumors just to be popular?”

“Are you joking? Have you ever been a new kid at school? Have you ever had to constantly try and make friends only to be ignored or dismissed, and any time you do get a few people that do talk to you only to stop as soon as you are whisked away to a new location?”

Ladybug and Chat Noir watch as Lila continues to unravel, both of them trying to figure out if this was just another elaborate lie.

“No, you haven’t been ignored or dismissed. I can tell you two are just BATHED in love and acceptance. You don’t have to deal with not knowing if you are going to be moved to a new place where you don’t know anyone and the only person you know and love has to work ridiculous long hours just to take care of you! You never had to constantly try and fail to make new friends, constantly getting bullied or ignored just because you were an easy mark. You wouldn’t know what that is like at all! Is it wrong that I wanted to be liked? Is it wrong that I was sick of being pushed around so I pushed back? Is it so bad that I just wanted to be noticed?”

Ladybug put her hand on Lila’s shoulder.

“Assuming that what you’re saying is true, I think I understand you a bit better now. But that still doesn’t make what you did right.”

Chat Noir put his hand on her other shoulder.

“I do understand that loneliness, better than you think. Maybe if things shook out differently, I could have ended up with a similar mindset. But Ladybug is right. Your actions aren’t justified.”

Lila pulled back from their touch.

Lila looked at the two heroes. She could see the looks of annoyance and anger had shifted to something much worse in their eyes, pity.  Honestly it was better when they were angry with her. At least then there was some sort of begrudging mutual animosity. But right now… everything she worked for was gone, her school life was destroyed, and that whole bit about conquering Paris as an akuma now seemed unbelievably dumb in retrospective. But does that really matter? Lila felt her soul sink. She felt as ruined as the school looked.

“So… what happens now? You're gonna lock me away and throw away the key?”

Ladybug and Chat Noir look at the girl puzzled.

“Lock you up?”

“Yea, after all of the crap that Alya posted on the Ladyblog. All of this? And whatever else I didn’t mention. I bet you want to put me in a cell and let me rot.”

Ladybug sighed. Part of her had to admit that if this was before Lila’s meltdown, she would have agreed. The girl had issues. But seeing Lila now, whether her tantrum was real or not… It made the girl seem so small. And even without the temper tantrum, prison probably wouldn't be possible.

“We aren’t going to hold what you did as an akuma against you. If we did, then we would have to lock up a lot of Parisians,” Chat Noir started off.

“However, we do know that you have been causing a lot of trouble, and your actions outside of being an akuma have not been good.”

“We sure we can’t arrest her?” Queen Bee suggested.

“Train incident,” Ladybug and Chat Noir stated in unison.

“Nevermind.” Queen Bee backed off. “Yikes. You both are in unison way too much all of a sudden. You know what? You two handle this. I will … check on the old guy.”

Queen bee jumped away in the direction of the motionless akuma puppets.

Lila turned her attention back to Ladybug.

“What happens next is your call, Lila,” Ladybug spoke sternly. “There are going to be consequences for what happened regardless of your choice. It’s up to you how you deal with things going forward. And if you want my opinion, the honest you right here, I think, has a better chance of earning a second chance than the version you tried out when you first came to this school. You would be amazed how accepting people are if you stay true to yourself. I don’t promise it will be easy, but I can say it is better than the path you are going on.”

Lila still felt a fierce dislike of Ladybug, and she still remembered all of the pain and frustration she endured since her first akumatization… but she knew that Ladybug was being genuine and trying to reach out. She just wasn't sure if she could be willing to accept help from Ladybug of all people.

“Mi Stellina!”

The voice calling out had the heroes and Lila turn.

“Mama?” Lila asked in surprise.

______________________________________________________________________

Queen Bee had dashed out of the building to see, laying in the middle of multiple masked akuma who remained motionless, an old man. One who looked very familiar.

“Hey… you’re that old guy I saved earlier.” Queen bee mentioned. “What happened to the old turtle guy?”

Fu took a second to process what she had just said and decided not to explain.

“And you are the young girl that helped me out. What a coincidence,” Fu said as he tried to get up. “Did you finally prove to yourself that you were always a hero?”

Chloé looked at the old man with a perplexed expression. She didn’t know how this old man knew so much. But she wasn’t going to question it.

“I don’t know for sure. I know it’s easier to be a hero with powers,” Queen Bee answered.

Fu looked at the unsure blonde and smiled.

“I can tell that there is a hero inside of you. It wasn’t visible at first, and many would argue that it isn’t there, but you just have to believe that there is good inside of you. If you can push forward and try to keep being that hero, soon the day will come when you don’t need the powers to be a hero.”

Queen Bee thought about his words for a moment.

“You know, after all of this mask insanity and finding one’s true self crap, I think I've realized what I am. I am not Ladybug and I am not my mother. I am me. I may not be kind, I may be self-interested… but I know who I am and I know I can be a pretty good hero.”

Fu had to admit that it was an interesting way of looking at things. Being a good person was not always easy as one might think. Chloé Bourgeois was definitely a long way off from being a completely selfless person, but she was leaning in the right direction at least. That was a start.

“Hey… Ladybug already de-akumatized Lila. Why is everyone still in masks?”

The old man looked around and noticed what Chloé had pointed out. They all were just lifeless puppets but they were still there.

“That is odd. The powers of the akuma usually wear off when the akuma is freed, unless…”

“Unless?”

“Something else is tethering the masks to these individuals. Tell me, was there a sentimonster that was paired with the akuma?”

“Oh yea, but like Chat Noir handled it with a cataclysm.”

Fu’s eyes went wide.

“A standard Cataclysm doesn’t destroy sentimonsters, it only frees them from the control of its wielder. So, then the reason the masks are still… oh no.”

__________________________________________________________________________

Ms. Rossi ran to her daughter and hugged her.

“Are you okay? Back to yourself again?” she asked as she touched her daughter’s face.

“I'm not akumatized anymore.”

“Oh, thank goodness! Now we can talk with the principal and straighten out this whole mess.”

“Mama…”

“We can clear up this whole misunderstanding and get you back into class. I am sure that your boyfriend…”

“Mom!”

Ms. Rossi stopped talking.

“Those things… I did them. I was telling the truth. I'm not the person you think I am. I… I lied a lot. But I lied to you the most.”

Ladybug and Chat Noir took a small step back to give the two some space to talk.

“Lila… why did…”

“Because we're always moving! Do you know how hard it is to make friends when we hardly stay anywhere longer than a year? I've been to ten schools in five countries over the last four years! I know it’s your job and that you need to do what they say… but I just couldn’t keep being the same person over and over only to feel rejected and lonely! It would drive anyone…” Lila’s eyes were welling up with tears as she spoke. She struggled to keep her composure.

Ms. Rossi saw the sheen of tears in Lila's eyes and realized that everything she said was true. She didn't know what to say.

“And what's this?”

A voice from above caught the their attention.

Lila's ears perked up as she quickly wiped her tears.

“Simularé! You're still here? I thought you were finished.”

Lila looked up at the sentimonster. If the it was still here, then maybe this wasn’t over for her. But her hopes dwindled when she saw the Sentimonster’s new form.

“What… What happened to you?”

The shape-shifting sentimonster had changed quite a bit. The lower half of its torso was large and similar to Ikari Gozen, But each of its legs were different. The front right leg one looked fuzzy, almost like purple static, and had an ice skate like Frozer on its foot. The front left leg was a darker blue, reminiscent of Maledikator, but its foot was a rollerblade like Time Tagger. The back right leg was black and like that of a panther. The back left leg looked oddly as if it was made of bread.

The upper half looked much more humanoid, but it had 6 arms on its torso which was akin to that of Gorizilla. Each arm was different and held a different weapon. The uppermost right arm was rock-like matching Stoneheart’s body, but wielding a sword much like Darkblade. The uppermost left arm was beast-like and furry, with thorny vines on its wrists, much like Weredad. The middle right arm was shorter and metallic, with a mechanical claw that held an umbrella. The middle left arm was pink and had a mirror on its back like Reflekta's, and held a bottle similar to Princess Frangrance's perfume blaster. Its lower right arm was made of gold glitter and held a stylus, while the lower left arm wore a long red and black sleeve with a tablet on the back of its wrist.

The monster was riding on a massive paper airplane much like Reverser had, and had black feather wings spreading from its back which clearly belonged to Dark Cupid. The top of its head had pink dreads similar to that of Guitar Villain, and on its back was a canister of bubble soap. The fox ears of volpina also peered out from the hair. Despite all of this, though, the most striking feature was the cracked white mask it had for a face.

“I have taken the next step in our evolution.”

The Sentimonster leapt off the paper airplane and landed with a thud. Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped in between the monster and Lila.

“That’s enough Simularé! It's over. We are going to cleanse your amok and you will be able to ease your suffering.”

“Suffering? No no no. I am not suffering, I AM LIVING!” Simularé exclaimed.

It used its massive upper arms to knock both Ladybug and Chat Noir back. Thankfully Ryuuko and Viperion noticed the two heroes flying through the air and ran forward to catch them.

“Lila! I finally see everything clearly. I understand. I am unbelievably free now! And we can finish what we started!” Simularé spoke with glee.

The sentimonster stuck out its hand to Lila, beckoning. “Masquerade or not, you still have a role to play.”

“Don’t listen to that monster!” Chat Noir called out.

“You can’t let it sway you! End this now,” urged Ladybug.

Lila looked at the heroes, who were now staring daggers at the monster. This could be her big chance. It wasn’t over yet! Her earring still had the amok. She could still get what she wanted. She could best Ladybug! She could get that win she had been craving so desperately. But then she felt someone touch her shoulder and turned to see her mother, her very terrified mother.

“Mi Stellina… I know you are hurting. I know that thing is part of the evil that you took part in. But you can’t go back to it. I promise you I will be a better mother to you. I won't let you feel alone like you have been ever again.” Ms. Rossi spoke softly as she tried to keep her voice steady.

Her mother was shaking, tears dripping down her face. Lila may have been angry, but she could see that her mother wanted to protect her.

Lila turned to her mother.

“Mama… I…”

“Please… don’t take another step. I can't lose you too.”

That statement hung in the air for a moment.

Lila turned away from her mother.

“Simularé.”

“Yes?”

“It's over.”

The Sentimonster took a step back in surprise.

“You can’t be serious.”

Lila took a deep breath.

“I have done a lot of awful things. I have been selfish, cruel, manipulative and spiteful. Part of me would love nothing more than to just watch the heroes fall to you… but I can’t break my Mama’s heart anymore today.”

Simularé shook its head.

“I knew you were pathetic.”

“Excuse me?”

Simularé grabbed her collar.

“What are you doing!?” Lila gasped as she struggled. “I order you to stop!”

Simularé pauses for a second but then starts laughing.

“Wait… why aren’t you listening to me?!

Chat Noir was the first one to realize it. His cataclysm had done this.

“Oh no…”

Simularé used one of its hands to take the earring. Putting it on one of its fox ears.

“I will say I am disappointed, but I am not surprised. You were always held back by your weaknesses. You were always self-sabotaging, as if you were begging to get in trouble. I am everything that made you strong with none of your weaknesses. I am everything you wished you could have been but never had the guts to be. And this explains why some of the hatred inside of me is directed towards you. You hated yourself as much as everyone else. So, I suppose this was going to happen anyway. Goodbye Lila.”

Simularé tosses Lila, sending her flying out of the classroom, presumably to her death.

“No!” Ms Rossi cried out as her daughter fell out of sight.

But before she hit the ground, Queen Bee jumped up and caught her.

“You are really lucky I'm trying to be better.” Queen Bee commented.

Simularé shrugged its shoulders.

“Well then, since it seems that I am the only one left, shall I finally end this?”

Simularé flies up with its wings. It raises all of its hands in the air.

“Now, how should I do that?” Simularé questioned.

Ladybug looked around. The Lucky Charm mop bucket was right by her, but that charm couldn’t be used for Simularé. And with it present she couldn’t summon another one. Her timer was running low again and things were only getting more intense.

“The power of one’s miraculous is limited only by its user,” a voice emanated from the yo-yo.

Ladybug picked up the yo-yo.

“Master, what do you mean?”

“Right now, I am at my physical limit, but you and Chat Noir are still fresh. The miraculous’s ability is limited only by what you think you can do.”

“But I already used my Lucky Charm…”

“Have you truly done so?”

“But… how?”

“You and Chat Noir need to dig deep and push past your mental limits. It is at the most uncertain of times that one discovers what they can truly do. I must leave. I am far past my limit and I need to ensure the Miraculous are safe.”

The call ended.

Chat Noir pondered what the guardian had said.

“Fu said our power is limited by us. I think I can fire my cataclysm from a distance. I might be able to hit the earring.”

Ladybug realized that it was a long shot, but it might just work.

“Are you sure it’s possible?”

“Not at all, but I know that Simularé probably doesn’t want me hitting her with another cataclysm and if you can create an opening. I might be able to hit the earring.”

“I’ll get you your shot. Don’t use cataclysm until I give the signal,” Ladybug said. “Ryuuko, Viperion. I need you to distract Simularé.”

“On it!” The two heroes exclaimed.

“Queen Bee. Get Ms. Rossi out of here. Then come back.”

“But…”

“You want to be a hero?”

Queen Bee wanted to fight, but Ladybug was right. She was really regretting the whole ‘trying to be a better hero thing’.

“Fine.” Queen Bee begrudgingly accepted. She dashed over and scooped up Ms Rossi before moving into the building.

“If our powers are limited only by us, then maybe…”

Simularé noticed Queen Bee retreating and summoned a trumpet, prepared to blast the hero. Viperion’s thrown lyre smacked the instrument out of her hands.

“Annoying lizard!” Simularé used an arm to shoot icicles at Viperion, still keeping a tight grip on Lila.

Ryuuko jumped upward and went for a slash with her sword, only to be blocked by Simularé’s blade.

“Foolish girl. Think you can best me? I can handle all of you at once! And you're both running out of time!”

Ladybug picked up the lucky charm next to her.

“Fu said we were limited only by ourselves. The lucky charm is always something I need… Maybe…”

Ladybug closed her eyes and focused on the charm. Her body glowed with a red light for a brief moment as she focused on the situation they were in. She needed a lucky charm that would help them defeat Simularé.

“Lucky Charm! Change!” Ladybug called instinctively. She opened her eyes and saw the mop bucket glow.

__________________________________________________________________________

Queen bee had rushed the two Rossis to the front side of the school.

“There, you’re safe. Now go run off and hide while we go handle your mess,” Queen Bee said, exasperated with the situation. She started to get ready to leap back into action.

Lila looked at Queen Bee.

“Don’t act all smug just because you have a miraculous. I know you aren’t that great of a person either, Chloé.” Lila snarked.

Queen bee stopped for a moment. She was about to leave, but she had her fill of this prissy wannabe mean girl.

“You know what? I think that Sentimonster really is a good reflection of you as a person.”

“What the hell are you saying?”

“I'm saying you are a total knock off of everything. Your nice girl shtick is basically pretending to be Marinette, your bullying is an inferior version of mine, even each of your akuma forms were rip offs. Volpina, a lesser version of the Fox miraculous. Rena Rouge wore it better. Your Chameleon form is just you pretending to be anyone but yourself, and your last form Masquerade, you were just a rip off of Hawkmoth. Face it, you are just a knock off of everything because you don’t know what being original means.”

Lila tried to speak but found that her usual quick responses had failed her.

It was Ms. Rossi that spoke up.

“Listen here. My daughter has made mistakes, and that falls on me as her mother. I should be the one that is to blame for today. I didn’t see how she was suffering and didn’t notice how she was treating others. I will be the one to set this all right, and if you want to insult someone, it will be me.”

Queen Bee blinked at the response. Seeing such strong motherly love was an unfamiliar concept to her. She had to admit she was a bit envious.

“Well, be thankful that you have a mom that is still trying to help you despite all the crap you pulled. Not everyone is that lucky. So if you want my advice, try being original.”

Queen Bee turned her back to them and ran back to the fight.

“Mama…”

“It is my fault, dear. I should have seen the pain you were going through...” she said.

Lila hugged her mother closely, tears spilling from her eyes. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything.”

Ms. Rossi held her daughter. “It’s a start, Mi Stellina. It’s a start.”

__________________________________________________________________________

The mop bucket she had summoned turned into a glowing sphere of magic and then transformed into something entirely new.

Ladybug opened her eyes and saw that the lucky charm had changed.

“It’s a scarf.”

Ladybug saw the lucky charm was a scarf similar to the one she gave to Adrien. But right now wasn’t the time to get sentimental.

She scanned the area. She saw Ryuuko, she saw Viperion, and she saw a book, she saw the scarf, and she saw Chat Noir. She had a plan.

“Viperion, grab that book over there,” Ladybug instructed as she began making her move to the right of the akuma.

Viperion nodded. He quickly dodged the icicles sent his way and grabbed the book. Just as he grabbed it he noticed several more icicles heading for his face. He instinctively used the book to block the projectiles and noticed that the book didn’t get pierced. It was an akuma weapon!

“Huh. Neat.”

“Limit its options. Don’t touch it directly with the book. We need to de-amokitize it.”

“Got it!”

“Ryuuko, bring the storm.”

Simularé overheard that part.

“Enough!”

The monstrosity sent a burst of wind that was meant to make Ryuuko go flying.

“Wind Dragon!”

Ryuuko’s body transformed into air and began swirling around Simularé.

“What the heck! I thought Lightning was your power!” Simularé growled.

Ryuuko’s wind form caused the wings of the sentimonster to move and throw off its rhythm.

Viperion used the chance to touch the book to each of the sentimonster’s weapons - its sword, its tablet, its bubble canister, its umbrella, and the perfume blaster.

“Disarmed!”

“Chat Noir, get ready!” Ladybug called out.

“Cataclysm!”

Chat Noir called forth the black energy from his ring into his palm. He pointed his cataclysm hand at the Sentimonster.

“Now… how do I throw you?” he said to himself.

“Simularé was done being messed with. “I said ENOUGH!”

A massive burst of command came out and forced Ryuuko to transform back into her tangible form.

“I am done with you.” Simularé shouted as it grabbed Ryuuko by the face and went to slam her into the floor.

Right before impact, Ryuuko screamed.

“WATER DRAGON!”

SPLASH!

Her body turned into water and splashed back toward the Sentimonster, soaking its wings.

Viperion saw the earring and made a leap for it, only to get caught by the rock arm of Simularé. One of its lower arms knocked the book out of his hands and to the floor.

“Predictable.”

Simularé tried to fly upward but its wings felt way too heavy. The water in the plumage was weighing her down.

“What utter bull…”

Ladybug saw her moment and used the chance to cover the sentimonster’s mask with the scarf.

“What the?”

Ladybug wrapped the scarf tight around its head. Seeing the earring on one fox ear. Ladybug went to grab it, but the Gorizilla arm grabbed Ladybug and pulled her back just before she could reach it.

“No!”

Simularé removed its wings, forcing the water form of Ryuuko out. The girl became tangible once more

Viperion felt his timer beep one final time as his transformation dropped.

“Well, that’s one,” Simularé taunted.

“Let him go, you monster!” Ryuuko jumped to try and slash at him but her timer timed out.

“That makes two.” Simularé counted as she used her two lower arms to snag.

Kagami tried struggling but to no avail.

Ladybug tried to use her yo-yo, but the grip on her tightened.

“Don’t move Ladybug, or I might just lose control of my strength and… well the school is already a mess.”

Ladybug noticed Kagami and Luka helpless in the sentimonsters grasp and she heard her miraculous beep. She had very little time left. She glanced at Chat Noir, looking at the boy she loved. Putting her faith in him.

Simularé’s face was still covered by the scarf. The Sentimonster tried using its spare arms to untie the scarf from its face but it couldn’t reach.

Chat Noir saw the situation. Simularé was distracted, it was 30 meters away. He could hear his heart pounding into his ears.

“I got one shot….” His hands were shaking. If he missed… he could hurt his friends or his lady… and that’s assuming he could even shoot the cataclysm from a distance.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

‘Focus Adrien. This is your one chance. Getting too close may put that thing on alert. I need to fire the blast from here. I need to be accurate. I can't fail.’

He opened his eyes, and he could see Ladybug glancing at him. Her eyes full of trust, full of hope. She believed in him.

He felt his heart pound loudly but his hand was now steady.

He nodded to her, assuring her that he could see her.

His eyes focused on the earring.

He raised his cataclysm hand, he pointed his finger at the amokitized object. His body glowing with a light green aura.

“Cataclysm! FIRE!”

A small bullet shaped cataclysm shot from his finger. Chat Noir nearly fell over from the force, but steadied himself. He hoped he aimed true.

Just as Simularé managed to reach the scarf with one of its hands but stopped.

“Something doesn’t feel right…”

The Volpina ear with the earring dropped to the floor.

The Sentimonster’s monsterous form shifted, turning back into its phantom-like form, releasing its captives. Ladybug caught Luka and Kagami and Landed on the ground. The scarf that once covered its head dropped off its mask.

“What just…” The sentimonster questioned before it saw the earring on the ground. “No…”

Simularé tried to grab the earring but it turned to ash… causing the amok to fly out.

Ladybug put the two teens down and used her yo-yo to snag the feather.

“No more evildoing for you little amok.”

Simularé felt its existence start to fade.

“No! I was free! I don’t want to stop existing! I want to live! I WANT TO LIVE!!!”

The purification process finished and Simularé’s screeches faded to silence as they faded entirely.

Ladybug walked over and grabbed her lucky charm from the ground. She picked up Luka and Kagami, moving to just outside of the classroom and putting them down. Chat Noir moved and landed right next to her.

“Shall we do this together Chatton?”

“I would be honored.”

“WAIT!”

They froze to see Queen bee rush out and jump to be right next to them.

“Okay you can go now.”

“Together?”

“Together.”

“Miraculous Ladybug!” They shouted as she threw the scarf into the air.

They watched as everything got repaired, the decimated parts of the school were now restored. The masked akuma puppets were transported to where ever they were before they were captured.

The five teens stick out their fists and bump them together.

“Pound it!”

Ladybug heard her miraculous beep.

“Okay, so I need to go recharge. I am gonna need the miraculous from the 3 of you.”

“Okay.” Luka and Kagami compiled as they took off their miraculous. The Dragon and Snake Kwami reveal themselves.

“It’sss been a pleasure asss always.” Sass bowed to Luka.

“The feeling is mutual.” Luka sad as he fistbumped the kwami.

Longg looked at his owner.

“Perfect as expected.” Longg congratulated.

“I still have a ways to go.”

“Yes, but not a LONGG way to go.” The dragon kwami spoke.

Kagami and Chat Noir lit up at the pun. Ladybug wanted to facepalm but resisted the urge.

“I will be sure to get you more rice balls next time.”

Kagami and Luka handed over the miraculous to Ladybug.

Queen bee looked a bit sad as she said that.

“Chloé?”

“But I still haven’t detransformed so I …” Before she could finish her transformation dropped revealing her civilian form.

Pollen had popped out of the miraculous.

“Sorry my Queen.”

Chloé sighed, she knew there was no point in arguing now.

“Okay fine. But just remember to include me next time you need extra help. Or I will reveal who the snake boy and Dragon girl are.”

“Chloé…” Chat Noir said with a bit of disappointment.

“Fine, I won’t reveal it. Just keep me posted.”

Ladybug took the miraculous in her hand.

“Until next time.”

The two heroes jumped away, leaving the teens to their own devices outside of the school.

“Well I don’t know about you two, but I am heading back to my class. I need to tell everyone why they need to kiss my butt.” Chloé boasted.

“We have our own way to go. Good luck with that.” Luka responded.

“Whatever… but umm… thanks for the help. You two were pretty good for sidekicks.” Chloé said trying to be thankful yet keep her pride.

“That is the best compliment we will get from you isn’t it?” Kagami rhetorically asked.

“Yes.”

“As one sidekick to another, you could have been worse.” Kagami shot back.

Chloé gave her a fierce glare, but she had to admit that was a solid line.

“I wouldn’t mind fighting with you guys again.”

Chloé walked off as if to show she left with the final word.

“Shall we head off?”

“Lets.”

_____________________________________________________________________

Gabriel’s eyes shot open as he found himself standing at the steps of his front corridor.

“What? How?” Gabriel spoke as he held his head. He quickly touched his chest and felt the butterfly miraculous underneath. He sighed in relief.

He looked down to see Adrien’s driver at the bottom of the steps also looking perplexed.

Gabriel reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. He called Nathalie.

“Nathalie! Are you there.” He asked as he made his way back to his office.

“I am… I am alright. The akuma and sentimonster have been bested.”

Gabriel sighed.

“It was probably for the best. Lila was far too volatile.”

“It was more of the sentimonster. That sentimonster was far too clever for its own good. Utilizing complex sentimonsters in the future should be handled with much more care.”

Gabriel nodded.

“If there is no danger, then return back. Don’t overexert yourself.”

“Yes sir.”

Gabriel hung up the phone.

He tightened his fist. Nathalie was no actor, he could tell that she was getting much weaker. Today’s attempt was far too dangerous. She had risked far too much and gained nothing. He was going to insist she take a break so that she could rest.

Gabriel sat in his chair and looked at his desk. Taking a moment before sighing deeply.

“Today was an absolute failure.”

He  banged his desk in frustration. He needed something, anything that could settle the score. The peacock was too unstable and it wasnt producing results. He would need something new. He would need to investigate.

__________________________________________________________________________

Ladybug and Chat Noir moved a good distance away from the school, landing on a remote Rooftop where they were sure they had privacy before dropping their transformations. Their kwami’s popped out and they handed their kwami their respective snack of choice.

“Great job as always Bugaboo.” Adrien complimented.

Marinette’s expression was a sad smile. It was bittersweet.

“No need to be so down. We did save the day, Lila got exposed for her lies, and I found out that I fell for the same girl twice.” Adrien listed.

Marinette felt her face flush a bit.

“I found out my boyfriend is a furry.”

Adrien looked mock offended, noticing the teasing smile on Marinette’s face.

“Too cruel Marinette. You wound me.” He exaggerated as she put the back of his hand against his forehead and tilted his head back, doing his best to look devastated.

“I found out that I had been turning down the boy I have been in love with for months and struggling to say it out right at the exact same time.”

“We were like a dog chasing its tail.”

“Don’t you mean cat?”

Adrien glanced at her with a mix of pride and affection. He loved her so much. But still continued to talk.

“It is kind of crazy.”

“Crazy? You two have no idea!”

The two teens turn to their kwami who had been watching their little exchange.

“We have known since that time you almost got drowned in cream. If it wasn’t for the whole thing with Fu and the kwami censorship I would have told you right away!”

“He would have.” Tikki confirmed. “I almost smacked him when he was about to say something.”

Adrien’s amusement turned to stern.

“Speaking of Fu… what are we gonna do now that we know?”

Marinette’s expression matched his own.

“We can't exactly hide it from him. He is the guardian, and it was part of the deal.”

Adrien’s thoughts about telling fu clouded his mind.

“Wait, what if we tell him and he does some sort of Guardian memory mind wipe that makes us forget everything?” Adrien feared

“Don’t be ridiculous Chat Noir, that is only for assigned guardians when they renounce ownership of the guardian title.”

“Solid Fu impersonation Mari.”

“I didn’t say that.” Marinette answered.

“I did.”

The two turned to see Fu, who had appeared without a sound.

“How do you do that?” Adrien questioned.

“Ancient secret.” Fu teased. “Also, I just hid behind a wall while you were talking.”

Marinette showed Fu the three miraculous.

“I got them back.” Marinette answered.

“Excellent work you two.” Fu took the miraculous from them.

Marinette went for her earrings.

“I guess you will want ours as well?”

Tikki felt anguish as Marinette reached for her miraculous.

Adrien looked at Marinette and then to his ring.

Plagg’s expression matched Tikki’s. The two Kwami didn’t want to lose their holders.

“If I told you both to hand them over. Would you do so?”

Marinette and Adrien look at one another, then back to Fu.

“Yes.”

The guardian took a second as he studied their resolve.

“Before you say anything. I'm sorry about this. We were trapped in a room and… It was my fault.”

“No Marinette. I was the one that kept looking at the umbrella. It was my fault that we didn’t…”

“Enough!” Fu spoke loudly to stop their apologies. “That is not what is important in this situation.”

The two teens stopped speaking and let the guardian give his verdict.

“You two have risked your lives time and time again to protect this city, protect the miraculous, and protect those you love. For as long as I have been alive, I have never seen a Ladybug and Chat Noir as incredible as you two. You were both fated to be heroes, just as you were fated to be with one another.”

The two blushed at the comment but let the old man continue.

“It is true I set the rule that no one can know your identities. I feared that the moment you learned it that it would distract you from doing your work as heroes, that it would do more harm than good. But I watched as you two have grown closer and trusted one another on each side with and without the mask. I think that if you two believe you can handle working as heroes and knowing eachother’s identities… I will allow it.”

The young couple’s eyes went wide and their mouths fell open. Marinette grabbed Fu and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you, Master Fu!” Marinette exclaimed

“That is amazing! Thank you.” Adrien hugged him and Marinette.

The kwami were equally overjoyed and joined in on the hug.

Fu accepted the embrace, letting everyone enjoy the moment.

After the hug broke he continued.

“Of course, you two knowing each other’s identities means there will be more risks, and it means I will need to prepare you both for the next level.”

“The next level?”

“You had a taste of it today. You saw how your powers were able to be altered with enough will power. That is just the tip of the iceberg.” Fu began. “I will prepare you to be stronger against akumatization, stronger in your powers, and stronger as a team.”

Marinette and Adrien gave the other a knowing look. They could tell the other was excited and ready to hit the next level.

“We’re ready.”

“That will start In due time you two. But for now. I need a break. I could use some tea and a nap. And you two should make your way back to school.”

Marinette and Adrien realized that the old guardian had a point.

“We will continue this conversation another time.” Fu spoke as he started walking away.

“We should probably get going to.”

“Wait a second.” Adrien interrupted.

“What’s wrong?”

Adrien smirked as he took her hand and kissed it.

“To many more battles.”

Marinette felt her face heat up.

“You smug little cat.”

“Your smug little cat” He emphasized. “ Plagg, Claws out.”

“Tikki, Spots on!”

The two transformed and quickly got off the roof to head back to where they needed to be.

_____________________________________________________________________

Luka and Kagami walked away from Francois Dupont.

“That was truly something.” Luka started off.

“That is an understatement.” Kagami retorted.

The two of them walked in silence as they tried to think of something to say.

“I used to play violin.” Kagami bursted out.

The fencer felt her cheeks heat up as she did that. She still was feeling a lot from everything that happened.

“You did?”

“Yea… I hadn’t played in a while and I was thinking about trying again. My mother had me learn a while back but stopped so I could focus on other activities. It is different from Guitar, but it is similar.”

“I play violin.” Luka responded.

“You do?”

“Yea, along with the guitar. I always loved stringed instruments. I even made a few myself.”

Kagami’s eyes went wide?

“That’s incredible, Ive never heard of someone our age doing such intricate work.”

“It's my dream. I love making instruments and sharing music with others.”

Kagami could see the passion in his eyes as he talked about it. It was something she admired, when someone knew what they wanted.

“I would love to try out one of the instruments you’ve made.”

“Maybe we could play the violin together, maybe you could even play in the band.”

“I assumed your band was more into Rock and Roll?”

“Who says a violin cant be rock and roll?”

Kagami didn’t know how to respond to that, but she decided to go with it.

“Sounds like it would be fun.”

Kagami pauses when she sees her mother’s car.

“That’s my ride.”

“Oh, I suppose you do need to head off then.”

“Yes, would you need a ride by any chance.”

“I’m good, I am close enough to where I need to be.”

Kagami shrugged.

“Suit yourself, music man.”

“I will Femme Foil”

Before she headed off.

“Before I go…”

Kagami moved and had her face close to his own, her eyes looking into his. Luka couldn’t help but feel his face heat up, he had no idea what the girl was up to.

Before he could ask, Kagami punches his arm hard.

“Ow! What was that for?” Luka questioned as he grabbed his hurt arm.

“That was for sacrificing yourself to save me from getting mind wiped.” She stated with a fierce glare.

“Is that going to be a regular thing?”

Her fierce expression softened right before she placed a kiss on his cheek.

“And that is… for everything else.”

Kagami quickly ran off before Luka could respond.

Luka felt his ears ringing with her melody and the beating of his heart, and what a sweet serenade it was.

“What a lovely song.”

__________________________________________________________________________

Marinette and Adrien had slipped back into the classroom with no issue. Most of the class was still a bit dazed from the akuma attack, many students having to move around to get back to the classroom they were supposed to be in. Chloé filled most of the class in on her exploits as queen bee. Which the two heroes knew was probably a touch more exaggerated than what happened, but they wouldn’t ruin her moment for once, she earned it.

“And that’s how I helped Ladybug and Chat Noir save everyone.” Chloé finished all too conveniently.

“Sure, Chloé sure.” Alix rolled her eyes.

Alya noticed Marinette sit in her seat and rushed over.

“Thank goodness you are okay.” Alya hugged the girl.

“I'm fine. Adrien protected me.” Marinette replied.

Alya shifted her gaze to Adrien with a smirk. Adrien was blushing at Marinette’s response.

“Oh did he? Well look at him being your handsome knight.”

“No need to stroke his ego more. Gotta keep the cinnamon roll humble.” Nino chimed in.

“Well Marinette also protected me. If anything, she is a real hero.”

“You two are so sweet that you are going to give everyone here cavities.”

“Could you not ruin my big day with your sap?” Chloé said with a bit of annoyance.

“Well I was going to mention what I saw Queen bee did that was pretty cool, but I don’t want to ruin your “Big day”. “Marinette responded.

“Pretty cool? Well I suppose you can be a bit sappy today.” Chloé answered. Trying her best not to glow from the tiny bit of implied praise.

Just as the conversation was to continue, Ms.Bustier walked into the classroom. The class sat in their seats

“Hello everyone. Due to the rather… hectic nature of today. The school has decided to dismiss classes for today. But before I dismiss you. I have some news to share. Lila, will you please come in?”

Everyone watched as Lila walked in. She was clutching her backpack. Everyone was silent as the brunette stood in the center of class.

“…Due to everything that has come to light. I will be leaving Dupont. I will no longer be a part of this class or this school.”

The class remained silent but were stunned by her statement.

“I apologize for the deceit and lies I have told while I was here. I also apologize for any physical and emotional damage I have caused with my actions. I will try to do better in the future.”

The statement felt wooden, Lila’s lies were usually over-the-top and fluid. Here Lila was nervous, strained, and clearly uncomfortable. It was debatable if she was being genuine.

Max was the first to speak up.

“So, are you going to be going to a different school in Paris?”

Lila looked at the teen and sighed.

“No, my mother has talked with Mr.Damocles. She felt that it might be best if our family went back to Italy. I think it’s better that way.”

Lila looked to the door, feeling she had said her apology.

“Miss Rossi, I believe you still have one more thing to say.” Ms. Bustier pointed out.

Lila took a deep breath and walked over to Marinette.

“Marinette. For all the threats, all the mean words, and damage I have done. I…had gone too far. I am sorry.”

Marinette looked deep into Lila’s eyes, trying to get a good of a read. I think part of Lila did believe that was true. But she wasn’t completely sorry, so Marinette wasn’t going to completely forgive her.

“I accept your apology. I hope you do better for your sake.” Marinette offered her hand to shake Lila’s.

Lila looked at the hand for a moment before taking it reluctantly.

“Maybe I will come back one day. Paris is a very unique place after all.” Lila said to Marinette as she finished the handshake. “Now I must be off.”

Lila went to the door and closed it behind her as she walked away.

To Marinette, that was the most honest thing she had said. She watched as Lila left the classroom.

“With that, you are all dismissed.” Ms.Bustier told the class.

Alya had leaned over to Marinette.

“So… I should probably take down the article on the ladyblog then right?”

“Probably, but keep it just in case. This could all be an act.” Adrien whispered as he turned his head to the two of them.

Marinette, Nino and Alya look at Adrien in surprise.

“What? It could be.” Adrien followed up.

“Yea, but you are the one that is always saying, give the benefit of the doubt.” Nino stated. “Its like I am seeing you lose your innocence. Like a kid learning santa isn’t real.”

“Santa isn’t real?” Adrien looked shook.

Nino felt his eyes go wide in horror.

“What? Of course santa is…”

“I'm busting you Nino.”

Nino looked proud and concerned. Adrien really was growing up and he is getting pretty good at deception.

“It's still shocking to hear mr.Brightside say such a negative thought though.” Marinette teased. “I thought you would be the one to suggest giving her a second chance.”

“I normally would be, but I have been burned too many times by that specific fire and I am not risking it again.”

“Fair, but I think I agree. I will keep the article, but take it down from the site.”

“That can wait, How about we get some ice cream?” Nino suggested.

“Sounds like a sweet idea to me.”

Marinette could swear she saw his chat Noir showing.

______________________________________________________________________

After Lila moved, it was relatively quiet in Paris for a bit. Maybe Hawkmoth had needed a vacation after that colossal failure. It was hard to say for certain. Regardless, the peaceful patrols served more as unofficial dates than actual patrols.

Ladybug and Chat Noir had come to an agreement that while in public view, they would keep their romance quiet. Chat Noir would still flirt and Ladybug would still respond cheekily, but it was never distracting. The two knew how to keep it professional. If questioned, Chat Noir would even admit that sadly there had been no developments.

It had been about two weeks since that little hectic event and things had been relatively calm for Marinette and Adrien. Gabriel had told Adrien that he would be giving Nathalie a vacation for a time, and that he will need to manage his schedule for the time being. Adrien still attended all his photoshoots, but he made sure his girlfriend could attend with him. While Adrien wasn’t fond of modeling, having Marinette there made it more fun. Though he did have a few tutoring cancellations which may or may not have been Adrien’s own doing, Gabriel always seemed too busy to notice that Adrien had used that time to hang out with his friends.

Class life without Lila didn’t go back to normal right away. Max apologized to Marinette, saying he should have noticed something was up with Lila. Alix joined in too, but Marinette told them all that it was okay, and she knew how tricky Lila could be. All she asked was for them be more critical in the future. Most of the class tried to do some nice things for Marinette to make up for all of the stuff Lila had tried to pull. Marinette felt flattered but told them she wasn’t going to hold it against them. It wasn’t really their fault they’d been tricked. This didn’t stop the class from trying to make amends and treat Marinette better. Adrien only encouraged the behavior, saying Marinette should be cherished.

Chloé was still Chloé, but it seemed the more grating aspects of her personality were starting to soften. She had even started holding back on her insults. Alya became convinced she was an imposter but that accusation was proven false when Chloé caught her trying to do an expose on her. Chloé just said that she was just trying to live up to her “hero” status. Most of the class rolled their eyes at that, but Adrien and Marinette gave the girl some credit. Queen Bee had been a big help and Chloé was really stepping up. It also seemed that she’d struck up a friendship with the school nurse – Marinette caught her getting the new nurse a gift for her birthday. Chloé tried to threaten Marinette out of telling anyone, but Marinette just assured her that no one would believe her even if she did.

As for Marinette and Adrien, there was a bit of an adjustment period for them now that they knew each other’s identities. Marinette found out about ALL the Ladybug photos and teased Adrien about it much like he did her. Their biggest struggles came from remembering to keep it professional as heroes. It did help that Fu was getting them some training for the ‘next step’ as he called it.

One night, Ladybug and Chat Noir met at their usual spot.

“Evening, My Lady.”

“Evening, Kitty.

“Fu has really been hitting us hard with that training of his.”

“He’s being strict for both of our sakes, remember? And you did say you were excited to learn new moves.”

“I know, but I’m so tired. Anyway, enough of that for now. How about we enjoy our patrol tonight, since we may not know what he has in store for us in the next session?”

“Sounds lovely,” Ladybug mused.

“Oh by the way, remember that app that gave us 100% compatibility?” Chat Noir asked suddenly.

“Soulmate Searcher? The app that got you to start viewing me as more than just a friend?”

“I was dense and I admit it. Yes, that one! Turns out the guy who created it is on the run for tax evasion.”

“Oh, that’s weird. I thought you were going to say that the app was totally bogus or something.”

“Nah, it seems to be holding up. But having too much faith in an algorithm is a bit crazy if you think about it,”

“So here’s a question, what would you have done if I wasn’t on your list at all?”

“I remember Alya was the one that got me to download the app. The only reason I really tried it out is she said you were on it. I told Alya I still would have given it a chance even if you weren’t on it… but I don’t know if I actually would have gone through with it… I was hesitating pretty hard despite her insistence. Then your name popped up.” She paused and looked at him. “What about you? What would you have done?

“I think I probably would have tried to see if that person was Ladybug,” Chat Noir joked.

Ladybug playfully punched his arm.

“Ouch! You wound me,” Chat Noir reacted dramatically. “Okay, if it was someone I didn’t know I probably would have deleted it.”

“Sure, sure. So why did you do some digging on the app?”

“I didn’t. Apparently my father had been doing some research on the app. I found the papers scattered in his office when he asked me to move some stuff off his desk last week. I think he might have wanted to set up a business deal or something. But I remembered it because I got an email from it.”

“Oh! I know what you’re talking about. That one that wanted you to take a few minutes to tell them what you thought of the app.”

“Yea, the survey.”

“It is kind of a weird idea if you think about it.”

“What is?”

“Asking people to do a Soulmate Survey?”

“I guess it does sound a bit out there. But it does sound fun when you say it like that.”

“I’d give them 5 stars.”

“I’d give them 4 stars.”

“Why only 4?”

“Because it didn’t tell me you were my kitty too.”

Chat Noir moved towards Ladybug, pulling her into a loving embrace.

“Well, how would you rate me?”

“5 stars.”

Ladybug cupped his cheeks and the two shared a tender kiss.

_____________________________________________________________________

THE END!

THATS ALL FOLKS

THATS ALL SHE WROTE

68 PAGES!

I have no idea how I managed to get this all on one post

do check out the Ao3 version

Please let me know your thoughts and if this was worth reading.

And do share it, it really does help.

#ML #miraculous ladybug #Soulmate survey #this is the finale #mlb #adrinette #ladynoir #marichat #ladrien #ml fanfic #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #lukagami #its over #its done #Its completed

[wackus-bonkus-maximus]

TRICK OR TREAT

helloo my dear sunny! looks like you are dressed up as THE LIGHT OF MY LIFE! got some as yet the glass seems true felix pov for you from the upcoming chapter 🦚

By all accounts, the prince was flawless—incredibly, obnoxiously, and detrimentally so. Every post and tag and mention of him on social media was nothing but fawning flattery. Every news article and interview painted him as some sort of saint. And even his three hangers-on couldn’t seem to stay away from him. Wherever Adrien went, besides official royal business, there they were too. Félix watched them on the grass, illuminated by a spot of sunlight, laughing at something on the taller girl’s phone. He recognized Alya Césaire from her ever-growing Ladyblog, had seen her face often enough post-Akuma attacks and in paparazzi shots to know she often ran in the same circles as Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Adrien. But she was the most interesting of Adrien’s minimal amount of friends. The boy with his arm around her was Nino Lahiffe—a name Félix had no trouble discerning after scrolling through Alya’s personal account for half a minute, finding too many stills and reels of Nino DJ-ing above a dancing crowd. They had gone to school together, and maybe even been together just as long. Which was probably why Marinette Dupain-Cheng was always there, too.  A fashion student, a part-time baker, and a chronic absentee. She only made it to about half the classes Adrien did, Félix noticed. And Adrien missed quite a bit of classes himself—for no good reason at all, sometimes. But they were quite close. Félix could see it now, from his perch on the terrace. Marinette’s knee touched Adrien’s where they sat, their posture inclined toward each other as they leaned in to watch on Alya’s phone. Every so often, one would steal a look at the other.  At last, Adrien caught her in the act. Marinette turned a deep red and looked away. Adrien grinned.  Félix felt a bit sick. 

hope you like <3

from the ask box trick-or-treat (fic writer edition)

#aytgst #as yet the glass seems true #ml fanfic #prpr #university au #royalty au #princess and the pauper retelling #goose girl retelling #in which adrien is the goose girl and felix is a silly goose #also if you are one of my trick or treaters i appreciate your patience #i only have time for 1 treat a day sorry! #after report cards are done i'll be better 🍬 #ask game #trick or treat ask game

[mlwritingprompts]

miraculous prompt- reverse liar?

so i have this idea where lila comes to school as the new student and is starting to lie. i already posted it onto my own tumblr account. 

her first lie, coincidently enough is about jagged stone. but her new classmates (maybe nino or alya) talk about how marinette is rather close with jagged.

so lila switches up and talks about clara nightingale, only for someone else to mention how marinette is close with clara and got the whole class to be in her music video (lila thought it was just a bunch of random teenagers hired for the video).

SO SHE SWITCHES UP AGAIN, but this time with prince ali and the whole charity thing, only for rose to mention how MARINETTE helped her become friends with prince ali.

(if you want to make it maribat, lila can talk about how she is ‘secretly’ dating the youngest child of bruce wayne, damon wayne, only for someone to mention marinette’s overseas boyfriend from gotham who also happens to have a last name wayne)

then she mentions her final trump card- LADYBUG. only for alya to mention how perfect little marinette is also friends with ladybug and organised an interview for her blog.

now lila, at this point, is becoming really annoyed with this marinette person (who hasn’t arrived yet due to an akuma or sleeping late or whatever) and doesn’t like how she has the seemingly perfect life lila is pretending to have, so she asks for proof.

BUT NO ONE HAS ANY SORT OF PROOF!!

it can be because these celebrities had them all sign ndas saying they wont post anything or spread the rumor too much. or because marinette isn’t ready for publicity decided not to leave any chances.

either way, the class knows marinette has these connections since they were there when it was made, and decide to tell lila since she is new and seems trustworthy (AS IF!!!)

and LILA IS SHOCKED!! someone already lied to these people before her? and the gullible idiots believed her?!?!?

at this point, marinette enters the class and school starts.

what happens now is up to you. you can have lila do the opposite of what she has done- make everyone the truth about marinette. or you can have her try to dismantle marinette with lies and everyone calls her out on it.

how she does it is up to you, all i want to see is lila trying to persuade everyone that marinette is a liar so she can get the attention.

if anyone ends up writing this, let me know and tag me. send me the link so i can read it and enjoy it!!

#submission #Miraculous LAdybug #ML writing prompts #Lila Rossi #this is hilarious #Show!Miraculous #Show!Marinette #Show!Adrien

[nenilein]

Every single unlockable Character Profile in Puyo Puyo Fever 2 (Screenshots and Translations) -PART 4

Go here for Part 3

Lexicon of the Undead

Profiles of the undead of Primp Town. "Undead" are creatures that cannot unambiguously be called "alive". One must first prove themself as worthy to the subjects of this volume to be allowed to browse it.

Popoi Born February 22nd(Pisces)

Blood Type: N/A Special Skill: cat punch Favorite Thing: the Soaring Wand Weakness: mint

Professor Accord's stuffed cat. All students other than Amitie think she is making him talk via ventriloquism.

(Translator's Note: Cats hate mint. It's toxic to them.)

Akuma Born January 11th(Capricorn)

Blood Type: N/A Special Skill: collecting antiques Favorite Thing: old books Weakness: coffee

The demonic curator of Primp's gallery, who has been in this town for a very long time. When he gets agitated he starts yelling "KUMAKUMA".

(Translator's Note: Akuma's name means "demon" and that is also what he is called. HOWEVER, it is a very different word/type of demon than what is used for Sig's ancestor/the crimson soul, which is 魔物/"Mamono", which can also mean "monster".)

Dapper Bones Born December 24th(Capricorn)

Blood Type: Apparently used to be "B" Special Skill: Fashion Checks Favorite Thing: Trendy clothes Weakness: Bittersweet memories

A skeleton who opened up a store to fulfill the dreams of his long lost boyfriend. There he keeps waiting for his love to return.

Possessed Klug Born June 16th(Gemini)

Blood Type: A Special Skill: cleaning Favorite Thing: reading Weakness: the Tome of Sealing

A demon that has been sealed in a book. Because this isn't its true body, it can't quite perform to par right now.

Yu Born June 9th(Gemini)

Blood Type: AB Special Skill: dad jokes Favorite Thing: a great punchline Least Favorite Thing: exorcism tags

A happy ghost girl. Her way of speaking tends to prompt awkward laughter and cringing.

Rei Born June 9th(Gemini)

Blood Type: AB Special Skill: no-selling a joke Favorite Thing: ice Weakness: dogs

A quiet ghost boy. Yu often forgets about him and leaves him behind, giving him time to contemplate his afterlife on his own.

Back to the first post!

#Puyo Puyo #Puyo Pop #Puyo Pop Fever #Puyo Puyo Fever #Puyo Puyo Fever 2 #Puyo #Neni Translates #Translations #Puyo Lore

[glitterpensupremacy]

So what are your powers for the original miraculous and your oc firefly?

Sorry for the late answer! Let’s see if this suffices:

(To save time, I’ll be only go into detail about the changes made to kwami’s powers. Wayzz, Trixx, and Kaalki stay the same, so I won’t be mentioning them. Most of the other kwami have only minor differences, but there are a few major ones.)

Tikki - Loses the ability to purify akumas, retains Lucky Charm, and retains the ability to create protective items (though it takes a bit of time to unlock this power) which will be referred to as amulets. Retains the ability to use Miraculous Ladybug, but due to… a new aspect of the power… it will be used more sparingly past the midpoint of the first season.

Plagg - Gains the ability to purify akumas (destroying the evil in them), but doesn’t unlock the power immediately, retains Cataclysm, and gains a new power called Wildcat, which powers up the user and allows them to be more powerful in combat (think obligatory super forms). However, like Miraculous Ladybug, this power will only be used sparingly from the second half of the first season (for… similar reasons as the Miraculous Ladybugs).

Pollen - Instead of tagging an enemy with their hand (or the top thingy, I forget), the bee holder can create a special trap that, if triggered by their opponent, will contain them until the bee holder detransforms (still working on a title for the power, but it might have something to do with honey/being sticky, as that’s the trap will likely resemble. Maybe Amber (the tree sap that sometimes traps insects)?

Nooroo - I imagine the power is mostly the same, however HM will have a tighter grip on his akumas than in canon, breaking free from an akuma will only be possible in extremely specific circumstances. This level of control over his victims isn’t natural though; instead, it’s a result of his years of knowledge and experience of using the miraculous. Lastly, it will be possible for him to create an akuma while another one is out there, but he can’t make one while controlling an akuma villain, and the multiple Stonehearts or an equivalent with a different akuma won’t be possible (essentially, the consequence of not purifying an akuma is different in MTS).

Duusu - Again, the same-ish power, but with a few new mechanics. Firstly, the peacock holder cannot destroy a sentisapien without being in possession of their item. The peacock will be able to suspend (recall a sentisapien back into the peacock miraculous) and sent them back out again. (I also imagine that a senti’s amok would be far more durable than when it was a normal item. Maybe they can only be destroyed with magic?)

Mullo - Technically the power is the exact same (split into multiples, the size of the multiples depending on how many are there), but it would have a different name like Array, Divisor, or Quotient. Something more division-related.

Stompp - I might keep the name Resistance, but the power is pretty much the opposite of what it is in the original show. The ox is now immune to all physical attacks but not immune to magical ones. (Ex: Style Queen can turn Minotaurox into gold, but if she were to hit him with a crane, he’d be completely unharmed.)

Roarr - The power might still be called Clout, but it has the ability to energize the holder’s entire body instead of making a single large punch. (Theoretically, the tiger holder can choose to concentrate most of the energy in a single body part, like the arm or leg, but that isn’t the default.)

Fluff - Still Burrow, but the rabbit miraculous cannot change/alter other timelines, just the one they’re from. They can change the timeline in a certain way, but they usually restore it to the status quo in the end, as the results of tampering with the timeline tend to be… unpleasant. (The concept is preservation, and the bunny miraculous is usually used to ensure that certain events happen as they’re supposed to.) Maybe there is a miraculous out there that deals with alternate timelines, but it won’t be this one.

Longg - Still the three storm elements (wind, rain/water, lightning), but instead of resembling the holder turned into the element, they’d look more like a dragon. (Purely an aesthetic difference.)

Sass - Pretty sure the power is going to be called Deja Vu, and is more of a seeing the future power than a turning back time one. (Oh, and he can’t use it infinitely like he can in canon.)

Ziggy - The goat’s power will be to turn intangible (and turn tangible again) at will. (I’m thinking the name will be something like Poltergoat or simply Goatst. Or I might just have one of the names without the silly pun.)

Xuppu - Still Uproar, but like with Longg, there’s an aesthetic difference. Less focus on comedy, more on chaos (but still cancels/sabotages an opponent’s power, just not with the goofy gimmick aspect of it).

Orikko - The rooster’s power will be sound oriented (think Black Canary from DC). As for the name, probably something like Screech or Squawk (perhaps with an adjective in front of it).

Barkk - (I ended up giving this one a complete overhaul too.) Primary Care has the ability to heal any living thing, (I’m still in debate with the other person working on this thing on whether it can continuously heal the person until deactivated, or if it immediately heals them to a set amount upon being used.) Either way, a person will be healed more if the dog holder has an especially strong attachment to them, and they need to be in contact with someone in order to heal them.

Daizzi- Quite similar to canon, the pig can incapacitate people by showing them one of their desires. Only now, the power is called Daydream, and will cause those under its influence to fall asleep.

And now… my OC!!!

Flicc: The power will either be called Highlight or Spotlight, and will reveal something important to the holder by lighting up relevant information. (Ex: If she’s trying to find someone and uses her power, magic glowing footprints will appear wherever they’ve walked. I could also see it being used to descramble or translate messages and other stuff.)

Oh boy, this was a long one… Anyway, thank you for your ask and I will clarify anything that came off as confusing or vague (unless I was being mysterious on purpose… MUHAHAHA!!!)

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous reboot #miraculous: the series #ml ladybug #miraculous kwamis

[xhanisai]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

Cheers for the tag @mostmagical !!!

1 - How many works do you have on AO3?

Forty-two

2 - What's your total AO3 word count?

448,371

3 - What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly Miraculous Ladybug at the moment. I do want to write some for Soul Eater and Gintama.

4 - What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

#LetMarinetteDrinkCoffee2K19 (9918 kudos)

Bite off more than you can chew and you'll choke (6355 kudos)

Speak now, regret later (3710 kudos)

Only idiots try to woo those who are already in love with them (2958 kudos)

Without you, what is the point? (1510 kudos)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do try my best to respond. They always make me happy and I love knowing my readers' reactions and thought processes regarding the stories I wrote. If I don't reply, it's mainly because I'm overwhelmed and tired hahah! But every comment always makes my day and I do reread them.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

It's probably got to be "Goodbye" is bitter. It's a SpyXFamily story and I killed off the entire Forger family. My readers' tears were a joy to drink in a mug.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

A lot of my stories surprisingly have happy endings. I think the most tooth-rotting one would be Wo Ai Ni! which is an ML fic. It's literally fluff and fluff and so much fluff and if you love seeing Adrien being a madly in love silly goof with one Marinette Dupain-Cheng and being a hot mess about it, this is for you.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Surprisingly, I haven't gotten any hate on my stories every since I started writing for ML. I did get death threats from this one buffoon over a pairing in my last fandom but I put that menace back in his place and since then he hasn't gone after anyone else in the fandom :)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

My name is MissEcchi for a reason LMAO. There's so much smut I haven't even posted publically yet because they need polishing and editing and I'm a lazy bitch. Here's a few I've written for ML (and they're all and always will be lovesquare~)

Unmasked - Identity reveal, mutual pining and some comedy.

Red - Identity reveal, vampire Chat noir (after getting zapped by an akuma).

Paperthin - Identity reveal, mariblanc!!!!!, angst, happy ending.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I have ideas for many! Just haven't written them out to fruition yet unfortunately. I do have an Ouran High school x Miraculous crossover story that has been chilling in my WIP docs for years lol...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Some dumbass kids thought they were slick when they re-uploaded my stories on wattpad. Got them taken down. I haven't checked around since then so I hope no one else has done that.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think so.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Plenty! Here's a few I did with @seas-of-silver

Negative!!!

Murder On The Dancefloor

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

LOVESQUARE OF COURSE. Especially mariblanc!!!!!!!

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

In my last fandom, I had a multi-chaptered fic that I haven't updated since 2018 I believe? It was my most well written story in that fandom and I did enjoy writing what I did. I don't know if I'll ever finish it because I just no longer have the same love and passion I had for it. I'd rather it's left the way it is rather than trying to give it a half-assed ending.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told I'm really good at writing emotions, especially with angst and comfort. I'm a huge slut in making my favourites go through the most horrendous, traumatising experiences ever and then have them look after each other. I also think I write battle scenes decently, especially when I'm in the mood. I like to enforce how powerful the heroes can be and make the akuma battles more brutal than as showcased in canon.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Currently, I think my weakness is that I write too much. I do waffle a lot in my stories because I'm very peculiar on my pacing and trying to time things. This also makes the writing progress more complicated than it should be and it is why most of the stuff I've written haven't been published yet because the editing takes too long.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I enjoy doing that a lot! But I do try my best to make sure to not do it too much because of language barriers. So the dialogue in the other language is either mundane or something simple. I've got the advantage of having learned a few languages since childhood at home and at school.

I have spotted that some people who like to add dialogue in a different language just used Google translate which is hilarious, especially when the translation is wrong or makes no sense.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Sonic The Hedgehog...

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

It's got to be Connecting Everything (Connecting To Everywhere)! It is the story I've always wanted to write and I just love horror and supernatural. I've always wanted to read an ML horror fic where lovesquare are still miraculous weilders and everything is pretty much the same except they've gotta deal with ghosts and demons too hahaha. It is my least popular ML fic unfortunately and I do hope I can reel in more readers! It is still ongoing and ch2 is a work in progress.

Thanks again for the tag, Magical!

I tag @gale-gentlepenguin , @seas-of-silver , @lalunaoscura , @ladyofthenoodle , @theflashdriver and everyone else who wants to do it! No pressure!

#I don't know what to tag this as