The World of a Caralorian Shipper

Chapter Two: Answered Questions

Jsyk- I changed Maria to Marinette because I'm getting obsessed with Miraculous Ladybug and I just like the name better. I also changed Danielle to Serena because why not

.

After several hours of confusion and pondering, Marinette decided to leave her room and see what could be done about the situation.

She went down the hall she had come through, somehow finding herself in a huge hall.

Desks with laptops lined the walls, with a few boys and girls typing stuff here and there. Marinette noticed Serena and- Rachel, was it? sitting next to each other, the sounds of their writing filling the entire room.

Marinette approached them cautiously, then tapped Serena on the shoulder.

"Sorry, not right now," came her trembling voice. "I'm almost do-" She gasped and covered her mouth, eyes still glued to the computer screen. "YOU DID NOT-"

"I most certainly did," chuckled Rachel, though it was clear she'd been crying too.

"YOU DIDN'T!"

"Read it again."

"HOW DO YOU EVEN DARE-"

"Oh I dare."

"I'm gonna kill you, Rach."

"You're gonna have to catch me first," exclaimed Rachel, jumping out of her seat and sprinting away.

Serena scrambled to stand up, but stopped when she saw Marinette. "Oh, you're still here."

"...yes I am," said Marinette.

"You must have a lot of questions." Serena spun around in her chair, looking amused.

"Obviously."

"Okay. Shoot."

"Uh, what is this place? What exactly are we the headquarters of?"

Serena smirked. "That's really just a fancy name for the institute."

"We're an institute! Great! Good to know. Now, what exactly do we do here?"

"Think of it as a college," began Serena. "You're here to learn; writing, editing, socializing with other shippers. As a person who normally hates all living things, I can truthfully say that this place does wonders for your social skills. I think it's because you're all excited about the same thing, you've got something to talk about, and everybody here is so messed up in the head that nobody will judge you if you feel insecure. Anything else?"

Marinette blinked several times. "I think that's it."

"Great! See you later; I've got an appointment with Rach now."

When she was gone, Marinette sat down and took a look at what had made Serena so mad. It was a short paragraph about an alternate outcome where the Mandalorian died and Cara Dune was devastated. Why did this make her so upset? wondered Marinette. Surely, they remember that these characters aren't real.

She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the desk, trying to figure out who she could tell about there being a mistake. Serena? No, she would be too shocked and hurt. Rachel? No, she would tell Serena. Britney? No, she was too intimidating.

That leaves Carrie, Marinette thought. She turned around and scanned the hall for Carrie's ginger hair.

She spotted her in the corner, fast asleep on her desk.

"Hi," said Marinette. No answer. "Hello. Hey. Um, hi. Helloooo. Carrie?"

Carrie's head jerked up and she looked around. She had dark circles under her eyes, just like Serena. "What?"

"I was wondering if I could tell you something," said Marinette, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh. Yeah. Sure, anytime."

"I-" Marinette bit her lip, unsure how to go on. She glanced around the room uncomfortably when her eyes rested on a large painting at the center of one of the walls. It was fanart of Cara and Din hugging. "What's that?"

"Oh, that's basically our symbol," said Carrie sleepily.

"Why are they just hugging? If you guys are so crazy about them as a romantic relationship, shouldn't they be..." Marinette paused.

Carrie laughed. "Yeah, we've got plenty of those kinds of art in the gallery. But this one is special because it was created as one of the first Caralorian artpieces ever. Also reposted by both actors themselved. It's classic, the one and only, the amazing..." her voice trailed off as she closed her eyes, beginning to snore slightly.

"Wow. Okay. I think you should go get therapy or something," whispered Marinette sarcastically.

Silence filled the hall.

Everybody stopped typing or talking.

All eyes turned to Marinette.

"Hahaha," she said lamely. "We all need therapy, don't we?" Everybody laughed and returned to their work. "Jeez," Marinette muttered as she exited the hall.