"A beta tester?"
Marinette has been invited by Max, her classmate in collège, in his club for an ongoing project. They were currently in their Première, and even though they were not together in some subjects anymore, their friendship remained intact.
So when she received a message from her genius friend asking for her 'expertise', she immediately accepted it thinking it would be a replay of their UMS tournament.
"We are developing a simulation game entitled 'Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir'," Max said then led her to a cushion seat in front of a big projector screen. "And as a fellow gamer with reputable records, the team needs your inputs to enhance this project before its market release."
"Wow, I feel so honored, Max." the designer blushed as she sat and grasped the controller. "I will try my best to give you my honest feedback."
"I'm sure you will, Marinette." the bespectacled boy patted her back. "As much as we want to post some teasers online, we don't want to let Ladybug and Chat Noir learn about this project until we're done screening it for glitches."
Fat chance, she bemused silently.
"Too bad you declined my offer on partnering this year's UMS competition. Again." he went on. "We might have been the defending champion."
"I'm also busy with my own set of competition."
"Ah, yes. That design contest I'm sure you'll be winning again."
"Don't be a sourpuss, Max." this time it was Kim who commented. "We all know that our beloved Marinette wants to be acknowledged by her future father-in-law."
"Kim!" Marinette hissed. She was about to add something when the door swung open.
"Oh, meet Kazuya, one of the first year members." Max introduced.
He was a bit taller than her friend, with a midnight dark hair that accented his pale white complexion. He was wearing a monotone shirt with an animated character imprinted on its front and baggy pants that were obviously filled with trinkets. Similarly, he was also wearing glasses.
Kazuya paused for a moment then gave a short bow. Marinette followed the gesture.
"So...you're Marinette?" he looked at her shyly. "Ni - nice meeting you."
She smiled. "Likewise."
"She's your senior like us," Kim interjected while nudging the boy with his elbows. "So feel free to call her Senpai."
"Kim!"
Marinette was busy scolding her schoolmate to notice the blush that crept on the Japanese boy's face.
She remained seated as she observed the members set the console. With a few tweaks, the monitor came to life.
"We are going to switch it as a Single Player," Kazuya explained while pointing the icons on the screen. "Your character will be Ladybug, and your aim is to gather enough butterflies to defeat the Akuma in order to proceed to the next Chapter. Just like any other MMOs, the level of difficulty will be based on how you advance per battle. The more Chapters you close, the difficult the battles will be. Yoyo will be your main weapon, and Lucky Charm will be your main skill. Your MP is full from the Start, and as you utilize the Lucky Charm, it will be reduced significantly. You have five minutes to replenish your MP by gathering corrupted butterflies. Failure to do so will de-transform you as a human named Bridgette."
"And then there's Chat Noir." Max inserted.
"We can't have Ladybug without her partner."
Kazuya nodded to agree. "Chat Noir is only playable on Double, but for this beta test, he's an AI-operated character." the Japanese pointed the screen. "His main weapon is Baton and his main skill is Cataclysm. As you can see, he has similar stats with Ladybug. He also needs to gather corrupted butterflies to replenish his MP or else he will de-transform as a human named Felix."
"I see."
"You have the command on making him use his skill but not his movements. Also, on every excess butterfly that was farmed will be added to the respective partner's MP."
"If Ladybug is busy fighting, Chat Noir can go around farming butterflies." Kim hummed while scratching his chin. "If they de-transformed, does that mean it's Game Over?"
Kazuya shook his head. "If Ladybug de-transforms, Chat Noir must finish the Chapter all by himself - unless she finds a way to transform again. Same treatment also applied to Chat Noir. It will only be considered as Game Over if both Ladybug and Chat Noir de-transformed without finishing the Akuma."
Marinette raised her hand. "I have a question."
Thee heads looked at her.
"Can Bridgette and Felix farm butterflies?" she asked.
"Apparently, yes."
"Oh." she blinked with wonder. "So they're not really useless."
"That's what this game is all about - Mask is not a requirement to become a Superhero." Max supplied, then finished explaining the part where Kazuya left off. "Akuma will drop some items that will replenish your HP. If your HP becomes zero, you will de-transform unless you have these items in your inventory or Chat Noir defeated the Akuma to bring it to you. Same goes for the other."
"So it's going be like a mana."
"Yeah, mana," he snorted indignantly. "In a shape of a croissant."
One of the developers must have a thing on pastries, the designer thought.
"So basically, I need croissants to tank my HP and butterflies on my MP," Marinette muttered. "And that Bridgette can nuke nothing but butterflies."
"Exactly."
"Out of curiosity," she asked. "Who developed this concept?"
"Kazuya and I planned it," Max answered. "The Akuma battles and character developments are taken from Ladyblog, while the behavioral patterns and dialogues came from our understudy."
Understudy, huh? she pondered. So this is why Alya was busy these past few days.
"So, shall we start?"
.
.
.
.
Marinette couldn't help but swoon on the graphics.
"We hired Nathanaël to do it," Max told her proudly. "His 3D renderings are the best."
"I knew it, these are Nath's works!" she beamed as she continued navigating the plot.
The story plot was good.
It started with Bridgette's POV about her school, meeting up with her friends and gushing about her crush, Felix. And based on their interactions, Felix didn't know about her alter-ego and vice versa.
A loud scream was heard from the speakers, prompting her of an Akuma attack.
The designer frowned, unable to tear her gaze from the screen. "Quick question."
"What is it, Marinette?"
"Why are you doing that fanfiction trope about screaming and exploding will always lead you to an Akuma attack?"
"Pray do tell how we can inform our audience about the Akuma attack without popping a television or a media out of nowhere?"
"Hmm. Fair point."
The designer resumed her play. After following the suggested hiding place, she released Bridgette's transformation as Ladybug.
"How come I can't choose the place where Felix transformed?" she asked while toggling the buttons.
"Probably in the future...release?" Kazuya responded. "I mean...Do Ladybug and Chat Noir know each other's identities?
Marinette didn't answer.
The screen prompted a dialogue, revealing her partner's masked face.
[Chat Noir is flirting with you]
And below popped a message
Chat Noir: Hello, My Lady~
She laughed how they made his blond partner so adorable in CGI as he held a rose on the screen.
"He looks so cute!" she cooed while selecting [Flirts Back].
Ladybug: Why, hello there mon Minou~
Chat Noir: You look purr-fect Bugaboo, making this kitten feline good at your purr-esence.
She grimaced. "I take it back. He's not so cute anymore."
Of course, Chat Noir will never be Chat Noir without his puns.
She selected [Chase Akuma] this time.
Ladybug: No more dilly-dallying, Chat. We have an Akuma on a loose.
Chat Noir: Do not fur-ret, my Lady. Claws I'm paw-sitive we cat cat-ch him in a few meow-ment.
She groaned. Who the heck made those horrible game scripts?
When she followed a trail of corrupted butterflies, a red blimp caught her attention on the navigator's map. She wasn't surprised to discover that it was an Akuma.
[Condensateur has been found]
Condensateur: Surrender yourself and give me your Miraculous!
Chat Noir: Or what, you're going to hertz us?
"This is unbelievable," she muttered as she selected [Fight].
Chat Noir: Watt are we going to do, Bug?
"Really?! Electric puns?"
Chat Noir: I know it's a bit...shocking.
Chat Noir: How's your current condition?
"How can I skip his dialogue?"
Chat Noir: Ohm...
Marinette gave Max a deathly glare. "Seriously, you didn't include any dialogue skips?!"
His bespectacled friend shrugged nonchalantly.
Chat Noir: Sparking!
She sighed with relief when she reached the [Bien Joue]. She was happy not only because she cleared the first Chapter in one swoop but because she will be spared by puns.
How wrong she was.
The beginning of the second Chapter marked her dreadful journey.
[Chat Noir is flirting with you]
Chat Noir: You look pur-retty today, My Lady.
Instead of selecting [Flirts Back], she opted [Ignore].
Chat Noir: That's claw-ful!
Then another [Ignore].
Chat Noir: Pur-haps you're fur-getting something?
"That son of a bitch - "
"Last time I've heard," Kim interrupted with a snort. "A cat can't be mothered by a dog."
"Why don't you have a [Kill him] option?!" Marinette groaned as she hit the [Ignore] again.
"Don't be so mean, Marinette. He saved your life before, remember?" the athlete said. "I thought you have a thing for Chat Noir."
This perked Kazuya's interest. "You met him personally?"
The designer sighed. "Yes and no. Yes, he saved me numerous times. No, I don't have a thing with that stupid cat."
"But he's kinda cool, you know. With that leather catsuit and all."
"He saved Kim when he became Dark Cupid, and me when I became Gamer," Max told him. "So he's way beyond cool."
"But of course, Ladybug is way cooler."
Marinette didn't make any comment on that since she was busy collecting some pesky butterflies. Her focus was hastily disrupted when her HP suddenly lowered by almost a half
She immediately hit [Pause] then glanced at the developers.
"What happened?" she gasped with mortification. "What the hell happened?!"
Kazuya pointed the screen. "Uh, I - I think Chat Noir got hit...?"
"Wait, what?!" the designer lashed her head towards the avatar. "Why?"
"We've programmed him to act as your shield whenever an Akuma unknowingly strikes you," he explained. "And since both of you has a shared life stats, well, that explains why your HP went down."
"According to the reports that we've gathered, there's a 98% chance that Chat Noir will jump in the midst of the crisis the moment Ladybug's life will be at risk," Max added.
"That mangy cat...why do you also have to be so stupid even in games?" she grumbled as she jammed the buttons. "Now I'm going to waste some croissants to feed you."
[Oblivion has been found.]
The Akuma battle took her a bit of time. With her HP and MP on the critical level, she tried not to spend a single food on Ladybug and Chat Noir. She was also extending her patience on her AI-operated partner who might jump in front of her again.
An idea struck her that she immediately grabbed Chat Noir's tail and unceremoniously flung him towards Oblivion.
Chat Noir: Noooooo!
[Chat Noir crashed Oblivion]
Oblivion: Noooooo!
[Oblivion has been defeated.]
Ladybug: No more evil-doings for you, little Akuma
"Savage!" Kim slapped her back with amusement. "That's a savage move, Mari!"
She was about to retort back when the [Bien Joue] screen showed up, revealing a disoriented Chat who was beaming his best toothy grin.
A smile began to creep on her face as she proceeds to the next Chapter.
.
.
.
.
Marinette finished all five Chapters in just an hour, and unsurprisingly, she stole the top spot from a player named SunshineBoi.
"Thanks for your hard work," Kazuya said. "We really enjoyed watching you play."
"And your trash talk," Kim interjected, which earned a scolding glare from Max.
"Seeing you in action as Ladybug really helped us in polishing her CGI moves." the Japanese gave a bow. "Hope we could work with you in the future."
"Ah, the pleasure is mine." the designer rubbed her neck, a nervous tick she unknowingly adapted from her partner. "I - I don't mind sharing my honest opinions about your future releases."
"So, what do you think about 'Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir'?"
"I like it. I really, really like it," she confessed. "The graphics are good; the game play is good. Navigations are a bit challenging for me but still amenable. Playing as Ladybug character feels like I'm really the superheroine."
"I see."
"What I love most," she continued with a smirk. "Is how you developed Chat Noir."
Kazuya's brows perked up. "How so?"
"Not that Ladybug is lame, but her partner was kind of...underrated, you know? But what makes me feel like Ladybug was how you spot-on Chat Noir's character. He's flirty, goofy, cute enough to be frustrated by his hasty actions. I mean, like the AI, Ladybug can't control him. That heroine might be independent, but at the same time, she's also relying on his prowess. By that, you're making the players feel what Ladybug felt towards him. You're showing the players that Chat Noir is not a sidekick but a partner"
"However," she went on. "I don't like the puns. I really hate the puns. The puns are so horrible it's not even funny. I know that our resident cat was a punster, but you must lower it by a notch. You don't want to gain frustrated Ladybug players, do you?"
"But the game scripts have been studied and investigated well for it to be loyal to its source." Max looked at his club mates. "Besides, our understudy knows Chat Noir."
"Who? Alya?"
"No." a familiar voice answered.
Marinette looked back and saw a familiar blond man with green eyes glowering at her direction. His crossed arms were dropped to the sides, and his long legs were straightened out as he stood up and walked towards her.
He feigned an annoyance but the amusement was still evident on his face
"A - Adrien?!"
What are you doing here? was supposed to be her question but ended up as "How long have you been watching?"
"Ah, well." he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Almost an hour, I think?"
If he stayed there for that long, then that means...
"I've been here since the time you hit [Start] and finished the entire five Chapters without batting an eyelid."
Marinette gulped audibly.
"You didn't even dare to look back and see that there are more than four people in this room."
Her eyes twitched a little at his inquisitive stares.
"So you've seen..."
"How you cursed, scream and abandoned Chat Noir? Of course." Adrien sneered. "How you let that poor feline almost electrocuted by an Akuma? How you deprived him of his favorite croissant? How you testily whipped his tail and used him instead of your Lucky Charm? You heavily wounded him, Princess."
If they were alone, regardless if they're inside or outside the suit, the designer might've flipped him over to the ground and taped his mouth shut.
So she closed her eyes as she controlled her urges not to punch his beautiful face.
"You even throw him into Oblivion!"
Yep, that stupid mangy alley cat who concealed himself as a Sunshine Boy made her walk right into his trap just to deliver a pun.
.
.
.
.
Marinette, what a beautiful name!
I'm so happy that I have met my soulmate! Finally!
She has no idea how many nights I've formulated in order to complete our circle. That game project? Hmph, that's just one of my ploys to get her know me better. And look what's the end result?
Oh, Marinette, what a goddess sent from Heaven.
She's so cute, sweet and kind. She wears pigtails. She sews and bakes and probably knows some domestic things. She plays games and never denies her passion towards it. She stands for justice. And most of all, she's clumsy.
In that dark room, several photographs of Marinette were pinned on the walls. Most of them were candid shots, but it was obvious that they were professionally captured. There were also images of her from magazines and school papers that were clipped in a scrapbook, while others were framed and hung neatly on the bed.
A dakimakura of Marinette with a photoshopped bikini body was laid on the chaise. On the monitor screen was a collage wallpaper of Marinette, and on its left panel was some sticky notes about upcoming fashion events needed for the next ploy.
A video was being played in the background showing Marinette as she giggles on something.
You will notice me, the person smirked dreamily. Senpai.