#( thread ) yoyo 1

[mostmagical]

Chapters 1/1 (1,396 words) Rating: General Audiences Relationships: Emo Adrien Agreste/Emo Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Summary:

Spoilers for ML Paris Special. . . After meeting an alternate version of himself, Adrien decides to take the first steps towards making a new friend.

Takes place immediately after Paris Special!

Read on Ao3 or under the cut!!

.

She was holding his hand.

She was holding his hand.

After so long of being at each others’ throats, of feeling lost and lonely, the warmth of her hand in his felt like a dream. Like being pulled out of the ocean after so long drowning. Even after passing through the portal into their own world, she held on, and Adrien had trouble focussing on anything else around him. Hesperia was saying something, talking about their next moves to take down the Supreme, but the words simply passed through one ear and out the other as all he could do was stare down at where their hands were connected.

Why… Why hadn’t she let go?

His heart pounded in his chest, faster than he could ever remember it beating before. The pretty bakery girl was holding his hand, like she wanted to, as if he was more than just a stranger on the street to her. And, well, he supposed he was, considering they had been working together for months, albeit without liking each other or knowing one another at all. It was all new sensations and feelings, rushing through his body in a way that made his head swirl.

“...but we can reconvene later,” Hesperia said, on the tailend of some conversation that Adrien had missed entirely. “I think we could all use a little rest.”

Toxinelle— No, Ladybug stuck out her other hand, shaking with Hesperia as the fingers in the hand she held with Adrien’s squeezed just ever so slightly. Maybe that had been in his imagination though. “I agree,” she said. “I hope we can continue to work well together to take down the Supreme.”

“The feeling is mutual, Ladybug,” Hesperia replied. “And you, Griffe– uh…”

Adrien smiled. “I’m still working on it.”

Hesperia smiled back. “I wish you good luck figuring that out.” The butterfly hero folded his hands behind his back, regarding the both of them over his glasses. “I’d offer to show you both out, but I think you’ll find it’s the same way you came in the first time,” he supplied, a lilting tune to his voice.

Ladybug smiled wryly. “Yeah, sorry about that,” she said. “We’ll be going now! Good bye!”

She slipped her fingers from his hand, Adrien already feeling colder, to sling her yoyo through the exit.

“See ya!” he bid to Hesperia before following right after her. She headed towards the bakery– now he knew why— and Adrien couldn’t stop himself from following along. So what if his house was in the opposite direction. He wanted to spend just a few more minutes with her, if he could manage it.

She dropped down onto the bakery roof, quietly releasing her transformation and leaving behind Marinette, the bakery girl.

Adrien’s heart skipped a beat again at the sight of her.

He dodged behind the chimney stack on the end of her rooftop, suddenly nervous. He wasn’t sure how she would react to him being there. Everything was so new and their relationship was so… He wasn’t sure what. It was different.

“I saw you following me, fleabag,” she said, startling him. “No use hiding.”

Lithely, he jumped from his spot, landing in a crouch in front of her. He looked up at her through his bangs, watching her expression for that same old disdain he was used to. There was none.

“What is it?” she asked.

Adrien straightened, searching for the right words in his head. To be honest, he wasn’t sure what he wanted at all. All he knew was that he had been drawn to her, like a thread he had to chase. Other Adrien’s words rang through his head, and sudden clarity filled his being.

He wanted to make friends.

He couldn’t miss his chance.

An excited grin twitching on his lips, he let his transformation fall to match her, putting them both on equal footing. Keeping things neutral had always worked for the two of them in the past.

Marinette raised her eyebrow at him, and suddenly he was struck by how big and blue her eyes were. He had never seen them up so close before. She was so pretty.

“Well, I was thinking,” he said nervously, all his earlier bravado draining out of him now that she was looking at him with those eyes, “since I don’t have any friends, and you don’t have any friends—that I know of!” He glanced at her face, worrying he might find a glare, but instead she continued to just look at him with wide eyes. He cleared his throat, pushing through the rest of his request as he scratched at his cheek. “Maybe, if you want, we could be friends? With each other?”

Her mouth twitched into a small smile. Adrien had never seen her smile before. He found that it suited her quite nicely. His heart did a funny little flip in his chest.

“Okay.”

His jaw dropped. “I– uh– Okay?” he sputtered.

Her smile spread wider. “Yeah.”

“Even though I’m a rich jerk?”

“I guess I can let that go,” she teased. “This time.”

Unbridled happiness— is this what that other Adrien felt? All she did was say ‘okay’ and it was as though the heavens had opened. He was warm, starting in his chest and spreading from the inside out, a euphoria he had never felt before.

“Besides,” she continued, giving a small shrug of her shoulders, “I think you’ve grown on me a little in all this time.”

The delight only grew. “You mean, I’ve cat your attention?”

She shook her head, a frown on her face, but the corners twitched again, as if she was trying to hide a smile. “And you’re going to lose it if you keep up with your awful puns.”

“My claw-ful puns?”

���Watch it, whiskers,” she said, but, for once, there was no bite to her tone.

“Aw,” he cooed, loving the way her nose scrunched up at the sound. “You don’t mean that, buggy.”

“‘Buggy’?” she questioned. “What happened to ‘cockroach’?”

“Well, I’m not going to call my friend a cockroach, now am I?” he said. “Why? You don’t like it? I can workshop some more names.”

She laughed, and, wow, what a wonderful sound that was. “Maybe after you figure out your new name.”

“No, no, no.” He wagged a finger. “This is important.” He proceeded to stalk around her, acting as though he was appraising her like an art piece with a hand to his chin. Actually, he supposed, she was an art piece, not that he’d ever told her. Maybe he should. “What about…” he drawled, lengthening his vowels, “Scarab?”

She wrinkled her nose. “No.”

He hummed. “Buginette.”

A scoff.

“Spotify.”

“You’re joking.”

Her deadpan told him all he needed to know. Adrien stopped his stalking, once again standing in front of her. It had to be personal, something to tell her how much she meant to him, how happy he was to finally have someone he could call a friend in his life. Something to connect them. An idea lit up his brain.

“My lady.”

He could be wrong, but he thought she might have stuttered a breath. A dusting of pink settled on her cheeks. Oh! Oh, that was a good reaction, wasn’t it?

“You like that?” he asked. “My lady?”

She swallowed, eyes cast away from his face and down on his shoes. Her arms crossed over her chest. “I suppose that might be acceptable.”

He smiled. “My lady,” he repeated, the words rolling off his tongue as if they were always meant to. He bowed dramatically, smiling when he heard her soft chuckle. “I’m glad we could settle this.”

She snorted. “If you’re supposed to be a prince, we have some work to do.”

“Maybe not a prince, but I’ll happily be your knight.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

His smile was practically bursting at the seams, stretching his cheeks wide enough for a dull ache to settle in. “I’ll let you enjoy your day. Until next time, my lady.” He called his transformation back, readying himself to head home.

“Until next time, Adrien,” she replied, another soft smile gracing her features.

He leapt from her roof, darting away as his heart beat a staccato against his ribcage. Next time he saw her, he would be seeing his new friend.

A friend.

[gwalupupa]

🌸 Flower bud - Free Amigurumi Pattern

This is a free amigurumi crochet pattern inspired by Yoyo The Ricecorpse's Hibud guy.

My crocheted final size is approx. 18 cm

🧺 MATERIALS USED you can always choose different materials and adapt the pattern to your liking

Bulky yarn in white (I used Himalaya Dolphin Big 200g )

Smaller medium/light bulky yarn in peach, yellow and white (I used Himalaya Dolphin Baby 100g)

Thread in black for face

10 mm crochet hook for 200g yarn, 4.5 mm hook for 100g yarn

2 Safety Eyes (I used 14 mm ones)

Stuffing

Yarn Needle (or any large needle)

Stitch marker (I use deformed paperclips 👾)

Scissors

Cosmetic blush and paintbrush for cheeks

🔠 ABBREVIATIONS

Mr - magic ring or make ch 2 and sc into the first ch.

Sc - single crochet

Inc - increase

Dec - invisible decrease

(…) x n - repeat stitches in brackets n times

Sl st - slip stitch

Ch - chain

Hdc - half double crochet

Dc - double crochet

Trc - treble crochet

BLO - back loop only

FLO - front loop only

🧶 Let's crochet! BODY in bulky white yarn and with 10 mm hook 1. 6 sc in MR [6] 2. (Inc) x 6 [12] 3. (Sc, inc) x 6 [18] 4. (Sc 2, inc) x 6 [24] 5. (Sc 3, inc) x 6 [30] 6. (Sc 4, inc) x 6 [36] 7-12. Sc all around [36] 13. (Sc 4, dec) x 6 [30]

Place safety eyes between rnds 9 and 10, and 7 sts apart. Using the black thread, make the mouth between the eyes, 2,5 stitches apart from each eye. You can also make the mouth later. Start stuffing the body. 14: (Sc 3, dec) x 6 [24] 15: (Sc 2, dec) x 6 [18] 16: (Sc, dec) x 6 [12] 17: (Dec) x 6 [6]

Stuff the body completely. Fasten off and sew hole closed, pull tight and hide the yarn end inside the body or weave it in.

LEGS AND ARMS - Make 4 in bulky white yarn and with 10 mm hook The same pattern for all of them. 1. 3 sc in MR [3] 2. (Inc, sc) x 2 [4] Finish off and leave long tail for sewing.

You can make legs a bit longer by adding more rounds if you want.

Sew the arms between rnds 11 and 13, and leaving a gap of 2 sts between them and the eyes.

FLOWER

PETALS - Make 5 in lighter peach yarn and with 4.5 mm hook 1. 6sc in MR [6] 2. (Inc) x 6 [12] 3. (Sc, inc) x 6 [18] 4. (2 sc, inc) x 6 [24] 5-7. sc all around [24] 8. (2 sc, dec) x 6 [18] 9-10. sc all around [18] 11. (sc, dec) x 6 [12] 12. sc all around [12] Stuff the petals and sew them shut along the last round. Sc through each set of two stitches to close each petal. Fasten off, cut yarn, and leave a tail for sewing. You may leave them without closing, I personally just find it easier to sew them on the body later.

FLOWER CENTRE Yellow centre in lighter yellow yarn and with 4.5 mm hook 1. 6sc in MR [6] 2. (Inc) x 6 [12] 3. (Sc, inc) x 6 [18] 4. (2 sc, inc) x 6, sl st [24] Fasten off and leave a tail. White centre in lighter white yarn and with 4.5 mm hook 1. 6sc in MR [6] 2. (Inc) x 6 [12] 3. (Sc, inc) x 6 [18] Fasten off and leave a tail.

🍔ASSEMBLE

Sew the arms between rnds 10 and 12, and leaving a gap of 2 sts between them and the eyes.

Sew the legs between rnds 14 and 15 with the gap of 2-4 stitches.

Sew the flower petals in a circle on top of the body leaving 2-3 rnds in the center. Sew the white flower center on top of the yellow one, then attach them to the head between all the petals on top of the body by sewing the yellow part. You may also sew petals together on the sides so they would better hold their shape.

Sew the mouth with black thread if you skipped that part earlier.

Add some blush on the cheeks under the eyes and near hands.

Finished!

This pattern is for personal use only. Do not copy, sell, alter, or distribute this pattern or parts of it. You may sell your handmade finished items provided you credit me (Gwalupupa) as the designer.

[pegasus-parfait]

//More info about Cure Wing. Take it with a grain of salt though, I found someone on Twitter talking about it and I searched its source and I found this. Huge spoilers below!!

Hirogaru Sky Precure - Episode 08: The Flightless Bird and The Mysterious Boy

Tsubasa is a bird from a tribe living in Sky Land. 

He arrived at Sorashido City 1 year before the start of the series. A storm caused a space-time distortion and he was sent to Earth. He’s been living with Mashiro’s grandmother ever since. 

It seems he already has a human form. Sora will catch him at her room, talking to Elle-chan. She will chase him and, after catching him, he turns into a bird. Yoyo appears and reveals that he’s from Sky Land. 

I found this summary in a thread on a 4chan board. It seems it is a translation of this image here. Like I said, since there is no official information about the episode yet, let’s wait and see what happens. 

[oathkeeperoxas]

Hello Serie!!! I would love to hear about 10, 18, and 20 for the behind the scenes asks. <3<3<3

10. Do you enjoy writing dialogue, exposition, or plot the most?

Exposition-->dialogue---->plot

I CAN write plot but like... its hard lmao. Much more filling and satisfactory to throw characters with their messy emotions at each other until some sort of conclusion happens

18. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.

uhhhh well the thing is I have a Bad memory for things I have posted and so as soon as I post them the content is Gone from my brain... with some rare exceptions. Basically the entirety of invidia sticks out to me as good in like, a composition way, as I feel like I combo'd plot, vibes, metaphor, backstory, crunchy ideas and tension in a really neat way. But you already know that, so instead I'll talk about some of my oneshots from my codywan on tatooine series (I can't just pick one sorry they are my babies)

in what's real and going on below I finalised a few thoughts about how I was going to process trans Obi-Wan in not only that verse, but basically ALL of my writing. Slapping characters with my trans headcanons is all well and good, but over the last year and a half I've put a lot of myself into him 🥺 and I've basically teetered between going full wish fulfilment and then yoyoing back to my reality and everything in between. So much fic with trans characters has pregnancy as a straight up part of the integral plot, as if that is the only time we're allowed to be visible outside of porn - giving myself permission to explicitly push back against that as someone who has 0 desire to ever be pregnant was very cathartic. Writing Obi-Wan saying NO it is not possible for him to be pregnant and even if he could be he would not WANT to be, was just... a lot, and I didn't expect it to be! Not to say that I will never write about a trans pregnant person (I literally have pregnant Obi-Wan fic posted right now) but freeing myself from that expectation even to myself was quite the weight off that I didn't even realise was there. On a less serious note I also enjoy this fic as it was born out me memeing to myself when editing chapter 1 of darkest before the dawn and going 'lmao they rly just fucked raw and Cody didn't give ONE thought to the possible consequences. sex ed on kamino must be shit' so also following up on that was satisfying from a writing/plot perspective

in a state of constant repair there was a lot going on - it was fun to do from a composition view as it is kinda a 5+1 fic with the snippets taken from across the entire timeline of the series it belongs in, and getting to revisit some of the earlier era was fun, especially to look at where the gaps were and what happened offscreen, and what I actually wanted to show onscreen. My favourite part was tying up all the threads that I had dropped in the previous 150k of the series regarding the history that Cody and Obi-Wan were writing of the war and the TRUE story of the clones, which I started in darkest before the dawn and expanded a little on within Evolve | Revolve and which made me go yess hahaha yesssss because I am quite taken with history, have studied it and contributed to it, and throwing my irl interests in with my fandom interests sparks joy! So giving that power, closure, and release to Cody through the ability to write his own history and choose his own story just, slaps very hard okay

in sky's a changin' I think I am quite proud of how I threaded the needle of all the topics I wanted to cover - Luke's questioning of his past, his father, his name, and where he came from, versus his burgeoning understanding of the Force, of Ben and Cody, and of the mysterious past that he's starting to see that binds them all together. He's growing up! Getting all that info together in a way that felt organic and fit into a fic under 5k felt like a real achievement.

What’s your favourite minor character you’ve written?

BERU!! Me starting my codywan on tatooine series like yeah she's there, meanwhile she storms up to me, shakes me and tells me her entire character like WHAT happened there. Then she was ready to blast guys in the Kenobi show too which made me all the more fond of her <3

Thank you for the questions!!!

Behind the scenes writer's ask meme

[ultrakart]

I posted 4,530 times in 2022

496 posts created (11%)

4,034 posts reblogged (89%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sunfoxfic

@crizztelcb

@ultrakart

@xhanisai

@aqua-sapphire

I tagged 4,527 of my posts in 2022

#ml - 3,548 posts

#miraculous ladybug - 3,543 posts

#marinette dupain cheng - 1,191 posts

#love square - 1,187 posts

#chat noir - 944 posts

#adrien agreste - 925 posts

#ladybug - 917 posts

#adrinette - 442 posts

#ladynoir - 441 posts

#fandom friends - 360 posts

Longest Tag: 134 characters

#if i sprinkle enough random references into this thread then one of these days someone will pick up on one of them and say ha i get it

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

How... how long is Alix going away for?

It’s not explicitly stated, but I have a hunch that Alix won’t be able to come back home until she’s an adult.

All those postcards that Alim Kubdel has are from adult!Alix, which makes me suspect that Alix ain’t returning for a good decade or so.

And Alim even takes a good loooooong look at Alix because he doesn’t want to forget what she looked like as a child...

Alix is going on a very long vacation with herself, isn’t she?

798 notes - Posted June 14, 2022

#4

Whenever bakery enemies updates

See the full post

950 notes - Posted August 21, 2022

#3

Imagine an established relationship, pre reveal Ladrien scenario that goes something like this: obviously, their relationship has to be a secret. Individually, Adrien and Ladybug attract paparazzi and the press like flies to honey. If news broke out that they were an official couple, they would never know any peace!

It’s not a problem when Ladybug visits him in the privacy of his room, but attempting to go out together poses a major challenge. At first, she tried dressing him up in different clothes than usual, and she even gave him massive sunglasses and a hat. It worked for a little while, but then someone took a picture of Ladybug carrying a random civilian across a rooftop when there wasn’t an akuma around, and that picture worked up the public into a frenzy of speculation. Gossip of that incident wouldn’t stop spreading for months. Clearly, this method of disguising Adrien wouldn’t cut it.

Then one day, for no reason in particular, Marinette recalled the time that Alya pointed out that Adrien looks sort of like Chat Noir... and she had a eureka moment. Ladybug hanging out with a random civilian looks weird, but Ladybug spending time with Chat Noir? Nobody would bat an eye!

And that train of thought led to Ladybug showing up at Adrien’s window a few months later with a custom made Chat Noir cosplay for him to wear.

Welp.

960 notes - Posted July 13, 2022

#2

Loid, writing up a report for the aquarium mission: The target was located by Anya and incapacitated by Yor.

Loid, writing up a report for the assassination of that foreign minister guy: The target was located by Anya and incapacitated by Yor.

Loid:

Loid: Wait a sec-

3,701 notes - Posted October 3, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Imagine if Ladybug was in the habit of storing random crap in her yoyo. When Gabriel got his hands on it, he would reach in and pull out:

-2 dozen passionfruit macaroons

-A crumpled up sheet of paper containing her speech to “Buttercup”

-A whole load of snacks for all the kwamis

-All those tips she wrote for Alya back when Scarabella was a thing, printed out in a tiny font

-A smartphone (it’s not hers)

-The roses that Chat Noir gives her

-Portable sewing kit

-Homework from 2 years ago

-Pencil with teeth marks in it

-A vial of potion that was nearly about to explode and she didn’t know what to do with it so she shoved it into a magical pocket dimension never to be seen again (oops)

4,016 notes - Posted March 13, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[wyrmoftheweb]

I think i'm gonna combine 1 and 3 bc they're my favorites and because spiderhead doesn't require a specific kind of spider. plus then i can give the lil guy a little hamster ball mech too. i launch him like a ball in a pinball machine, or a yoyo (bc i keep a thread attached to him.) he loves it.

revamping my spidersona because my old one no longer fits with my whole deal.

[ofsupercloned]

@concertedlysuper:

Staring in wide-eyed openly shown excitement, a toothy grin on his lips, Yoyo pretty much leapt closer to the, most likely, older boy. "The S!" Pointing towards the other boy's chest. "Are you my brother? Are you a Superman clone too?" Because he knew the boy wasn't Superman, he'd seen videos and images, plus Superman was dead, or at least that was what they had told him. Almost bouncing of excitement, Yoyo was less than a feet away now. "So?"

The teen looked at the other, smiling slightly. They looked innocent enough that Conner did not want to scare them off. Though, the longer he looked them, Conner could swear they looked similar — if Conner was ever that young.

Once the other spoke, everything became clear. “Superman clone?” He repeated silently. Was this kid another Cadmus experiment? He knew there were others but he thought he was the only one that survived. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

“Listen kid, this 'S' is very important to people. It's not some letter, it's a symbol of hope." Conner harshly said, putting a hand over the 'S' on his chest. "And if you're a clone as well, then in a way we are brothers, yeah." He was much calmer now. If this was Cadmus’ way of trying to get him back, they picked a sick way to do it. He figured they’d send an army or something. “If you’re a Cadmus clone, does that mean you have Lex Luthor DNA in you?”

[sariahsue]

The Gift of Her Name

Chapter Two The Magazine

Ch 1

There were many things Chat Noir loved about patrol: helping the city, the freedom, hanging out with his best friend (to name a few). It was a chance to be free of his cold, sterile house and its cold, sterile occupants and be out in the late afternoon sunshine. But today, it was also an opportunity to think about something other than soulmates and the heartaches they caused. It was just him and Ladybug and the millions of Parisians who needed them.

His friendship with Ladybug was especially precious to him. It had always been easy and comfortable. They fit together perfectly. But he started to suspect something was wrong when she failed to laugh at one of his jokes for the third time in a row. Her eyes seemed far away. She hooked her yoyo on the nearest, safest anchors, instead of wildly throwing it as far as she could and laughing as she was pulled into the distance.

Most suspicious of all: she refused to look him in the eye when she insisted she was fine.

He'd stopped her on a gray roof, hoping for answers. Cars rushed on the street below them while Ladybug fiddled with the string of her yoyo and avoided his questions.

From the corner, someone wolf whistled. Three men looked up at them, waving and laughing. Well, waving at her.

"Hey, Ladybug!" the shortest one yelled. "Haven't you heard? You're my soulmate! Come down here and give me a kiss." The other two hooted their approval of this idea.

On a good day, Ladybug would roll her eyes at comments like these. On bad days, the offenders would find themselves upside down, strung up by their ankles with their fingers brushing the pavement. Today, Ladybug collapsed in on herself, her shoulders hunching and her face crumpling.

A lance of pain shot through him to see her so defeated, and he found himself leaping off the roof toward the idiots below before completely deciding it was the right thing to do.

"You're not the one I want," the short one said. "Tell my soulmate to come down here and give me a friendly hello."

Chat Noir was thankful he was so tall. It made looming over him so much easier. Their laughter trailed off. A flicker of fear passed behind the man's eyes as Chat Noir stepped into his space, channeling his inner Batman. "You're not her soulmate." He pitched his voice lower and softer, hoping it sounded like an intimidating growl. "Because I am."

The man stepped back, spooked, and Chat Noir took off before any of them could collect themselves enough to come up with a "witty" comeback.

By the time he made it back to the roof, Ladybug was only a red spot three streets over, but she turned right, making sure he was following before she ducked out of sight behind a chimney.

He followed her slowly. What he'd said would only fuel the rumors about them, and there were quite a few already. That they were dating. That they were soulmates. That they were secretly married. But given the circumstances, the men might keep what he'd said to themselves and it wouldn't matter.

Ladybug was a beacon of red in an otherwise lackluster city. She'd settled on a small outcropping, barely wide enough for two. In one of the cracks in the cement, tiny flowers grew, with thread-like stems and petals no bigger than his fingernail. He picked the biggest one for her.

As he sat down, she pretended she wasn't wiping her eyes, and he pretended he didn't notice and set the flower on her knee. The breeze almost carried it off immediately, but it only quivered in place and then fell still.

"Thank you for doing that," she said. "I'm not really in the mood to deal with people like that right now."

"I could tell. I got your back."

She shifted, scooting closer to him. The flower did fall off then, but he picked it off the small strip of roof between them and tucked it behind her ear.

Ladybug closed the gap between them, leaning into his warmth, and sighed heavily. The sun warmed their backs as they sat in silence. There was so much they couldn't say to each other, so he didn't know how to ask, but he didn't need to.

"I've hit a wall with my soulmate."

She'd mentioned him before, vaguely and in passing. Identities were so important to her that she hadn't allowed anything more than that.

"I thought you weren't in contact with him at all." That was an understatement. From the hints she'd given in the past, Chat Noir was left with the impression that he lived overseas or something.

"Everyone says he's a jerk and I should give up on him," she said quietly. "But I can't."

"I can't imagine anyone as nice as you would be the other half of someone super horrible." There were lines he knew he shouldn't cross with her. Some things, like their families and names and future plans, they had never talked about for safety reasons. And some things had always felt too personal to share. He weighed his decision carefully. He'd never pried like this before, but the defeat in the curve of her back and her downcast eyes made him think she needed this. "What's going on?"

"His-" she started, then seemed to reconsider her words and started over. "I don't really know what's happening."

"So," Chat Noir said, confused. "What did he say the last time you saw him?"

"That's just it, isn't it? I haven't met him yet."

She hadn't? But she'd hired a Savant months ago. She'd told him all about it.

"I've tried introducing myself a couple times since I found out, and he knows that I have, but…"

That one word hung heavy around her.

"But he doesn't want anything to do with me."

"Oh." It was such a small word, but anything larger wouldn't have covered the magnitude of her feeling either, and he wasn't sure he should try. "How do you know, if you haven't talked to him? Who told you that?"

Ladybug's mouth twitched and she turned away from him, the memory too raw to talk about, so he kept talking to fill in the space.

"You know what I bet?"

Ladybug didn't turn back to him, but she tilted her head to let him know she was listening.

"I think he's just intimidated by your awesomeness. He's been watching you from afar and is totally head over heels for you but is paralyzed by the magnitude of your… presence or something."

She scoffed. "Civilian me isn't very impressive."

"That is a scandalous falsehood, I'm sure. But how about this: You will run into each other, like on the subway or something. Your eyes will meet, he'll be struck by love at first sight, and anything bad he ever thought about you will instantly melt away. He'll take your hand, and bluebirds will sing in the background–"

Ladybug turned back to him, eyebrow arched. "In the subway?"

He shut his mouth so fast his teeth clicked. "Uh. Right. The subway bluebirds." He'd gotten so caught up in the emotions of his own story that he'd forgotten the setting. "You know, sometimes they get lost down there and then make nests because people feed them. Those birds will be singing in celebration just for you."

"How else might we meet?" Her smile was faint.

It was faint, but he chased it. "Maybe he doesn't want to be with any civilian because he's pining after Ladybug. You ever think of that?"

Finally, the smile bubbled into a laugh. "Right. And the next time an akuma attacks, I'll scoop him into my arms and out of harm's way."

"And then he'll declare his undying love for you! Exactly!"

She still smiled, but her eyes turned sad and distant. "And then I'll tell him my secret identity?"

"Oh." They hadn't ever talked about how the rules applied in that scenario before. There had never been a good time to discuss it. Of course identities were secret for a reason, but… "Maybe we should bend the rules for soulmates."

"Maybe," she agreed, stretching the silence out like she wanted to delay that particular decision. "It sounds like you spend a lot of time fantasizing about soulmates and romantic meetings."

"Uh." Chat Noir felt the heat creep into his cheeks and was grateful the mask covered so much.

All traces of her heartbreak finally evaporated in her excitement. "I want to hear them!"

"So, uh." He coughed to buy himself some time, but she didn't offer him any escape route, just sat and waited patiently for him. "I haven't been allowed to find out who my soulmate is…"

She leaned forward, propping her head up in her hands, listening raptly.

Chat Noir finally was forced to admit defeat. "I've got two fantasies that kind of play over and over in my mind." He scratched the back of his neck. Her undivided attention was embarrassing, but he found himself smiling anyway. "So the first one is that as my 18th birthday gift to myself, I go get her name, track her down, and get her to fall in love with me, all in one day. By the end of the night, we're engaged."

"And you have the whole day planned out, I'm assuming?"

"Mmmmmaybe…"

"Mmhmm," Ladybug said, one eyebrow raised. "What activities are on the agenda?"

"The other idea–" He wanted to interrupt that line of thought. There was no reason for her to know exactly how sappy her partner really was. "–is that she comes and finds me before then. A wonderful woman who bursts into my life and never leaves." He shrugged. "She hasn't yet, so I guess she's doing okay without me. I hope she is, anyway."

He didn't tell her that the second fantasy was more real and tantalizing than the first. She was out there right now. She could come and rescue him, at any moment. They might be able to be together without waiting for his 18th birthday or his father's approval.

"Who knew that Chat Noir, pun connoisseur extraordinaire and hero of Paris, was such a sap."

"You're one to talk, M'lady!"

She pulled the flower out of her hair, rolling the stem between her fingers so the petals twirled. He wondered what she was thinking about, and then realized it was obvious: her soulmate. He loved the vulnerable moments with her, where he got to know his best friend better. They were too rare. He hoped there would come a day where they could be friends outside the masks as well.

"How come you haven't been allowed to find out your soulmate's name?" she asked. "Your parents say you're not old enough yet?"

"No," he said, his tone souring as his thoughts turned back to his own problems. That would have been easier to fix. Day by day, he would always get older. Father's stubbornness didn't have such a simple solution.

"He says it's to keep me focused on my work and keep me safe, but I'm pretty sure it's just an image thing. But it's more distracting not knowing, you know?"

"Oh? What do you do for work?"

He bumped her shoulder. "Are you trying to figure out my secret identity?"

"Right. Sorry."

"I've been asking to meet her for years," he continued. "I can't help wondering about her. What's her name? What will it be like to be together? What is she doing right now?"

"Probably hoping her soulmate that she can't wait to meet someday is disgustingly mushy. Lucky her, because you definitely are."

"Lucky you gets to benefit from my presence in the meantime," he said. He ran a hand through his hair to emphasize his fabulousness, but from the way she was smiling, either the message had already gotten across or there was no hope for him. (Probably the first one. Definitely the first one.)

Ladybug gazed down at the flower again. "Thank you for cheering me up."

He wrapped one arm around her. He couldn't have his soulmate now, but it was nice to have a partner while they both waited for their other half.

---

A few weeks later found a fuming Adrien storming into his father's office, a rolled up magazine clenched in one hand.

He pushed open the door without knocking. Father would see it as a breach of etiquette. As an invasion. As an insult.

Good.

"Better for the company image if I were single? What is this?" 

He threw the magazine onto the table. It unfurled to reveal a glossy photo of him. Soft light illuminated his touched-up hair and photoshopped features. The title read "Adrien Agreste's Secret Romance REVEALED."

Gabriel adjusted his glasses. "It appears to be a magazine."

A magazine with an exclusive interview with Gabriel, all about Adrien's new girlfriend who made him "incredibly happy" and was "everything he ever wanted." Adrien wanted to throw up.

"Did you think I wasn't going to hear about this?"

Gabriel was a man of quiet anger.

He adjusted his glasses.

"It would be much better for the company to have you single, but I am trying to take your safety into account. As you said, these "fangirls" will leave us alone if you are no longer available."

"My safety?" Adrien scoffed. "Someone's going to get akumatized over this!"

Gabriel covered his mouth, and his eyes said he was covering a small smile. Adrien didn't get the joke.

"I have already thought of that," Gabriel finally said. "In the short term, that might be the case, but in the long term, it is in your best interest. I have increased the security on the mansion. Your homeschooling will continue as normal, but your extracurriculars will be put on hold for the time being."

His heartbeat pounded in his ears. "If the company image suddenly doesn't matter, why can't I just be with my soulmate? Why do we have to lie about it? Why didn't you at least tell me you were going to do this before you did it?"

Adrien stormed out without hearing the answer. Because he already knew what it was.

His father didn't care what he wanted.

Read chapter three here

---

Author's note: This chapter has fanart! @ladyofthenoodle and I were partnered in the @mlbigbang together, and she created two beautiful pieces of art for this story. One for chapter two and one for chapter three.

And because a lot of people asked about Gabriel's motivation, and because I'm not showing his point of view anywhere in this story, here's a little bonus detail for anyone who's interested. Adrien's accusation in chapter one was partially right. Gabriel's wife/soulmate is "missing" and it hurts, so he's kind of soured against the whole soulmate idea. But he's also the same overbearing, control freak, terrible super villain that he is in the show. A soulmate would give a reason for Adrien to want to leave the house, and encourage him to disagree with his father on things, and just generally be an unknown variable, and Gabriel just wants Adrien to stay home and model and be a good little boy. And so to keep him under control, there needs to be no outside influences. It all adds up to him kind of resenting Marinette's existence.

Tag list: @tbehartoo

[seanettlles]

I Swear I Used To Draw Things: The Post

first three pages are sketches/more unfinished, next two are shaped up a bit more (all the monochrome ones were from a few days doing a terraria-themed inktober one year), last two were scrapped projects

alsooo i uploaded these all as 11x17s, no idea if they stayed that way, but i would highly recommend opening them in new tabs to get a better view 👀💦

info about a few things under the cut!! mostly just me rambling about some of the stuff if you're interested in some background

let's seee pertinent notes...

all of this stuff is like. 1-3+yrs old. o o f.

i can also use traditional paints (acrylic and water oils mostly) and other mediums but i prefer digital bc my hands are very unsteady and a bit jittery all the time :'o (also, cheaper)

first page bottom left were sketch options for a commission

second page upper left is when my stomach was giving me Issues and i was trying to draw through it i think (it's chronic and prolly IBS but Who Knows Really, all i know is it sucks and i wish i could eat more food :') )

also upper left were really rough sketches for a fusion of a Pearl and Tanzanite, they made Chalcedony!! how cute

second page upper right, remember when everyone made spidersonas when Spiderverse first came out?? i'm fucking terrified of heights so mine was gonna dig and use sewers/subway tunnels to get around instead... trapdoor spider vibes (i actually don't like bugs either lol)

first page upper right corner, second page bottom middle, and second page middle right are some OCs!! Ezra (ice power boy), Michael (half demon who is All Legs, he works at a circus), and Samuel (human/aggron mutant, cannot sit on furniture without breaking it since heavy metal all in his body :( poor guy) respectively!!

seccond page middle upper are based loosely on deep sea creatures!! left to right: barreleye fish, ghost shark, vampire squid, tubeworms (they are terrible gossips)

i love Entrapta, i should finish that someday

fifth page upper right is a closeup of the ridiculously large bigger piece bc i still like the figure a lot :'D i somehow pulled that cape out of my ass with no reference. is it correct?? who knows. do i still like it??? yep!!

my poor terraria character is just Tired. i put them through a lot 😞

most of the inktobers are in various states of finished lol, i could never figure out how to do Mothron in the big long one so it kinda stayed more sketchy up in front of the sun.

the Night's Edge is my fav sword!! and not as awful to draw as the Terra Blade (seriously why does a sword have three holes in the blade, who did this) i primarily use yoyos because I Am A Coward and i can just hide behind walls and thread the yoyo out 😎

sixth page from left to right: Commander Cinnamon, Private Pancake, Major Maple, Lieutenant Lox. my siblings got me high one time and they just kinda?? happened??? Pancake came first. maybe i'll revise them someday, but they were fun at the time!! i have a weapons sheet somewhere too but i couldn't find it :'(

last page, her name is Maggie!! she's not a great witch but she tries!!! mostly using her mom's hand-me-down stuff. disney stole Big Green Glasses for Mirabel from me

the other young girls are her classmates!! magic is loosely divided up into elements (left to right fire, plant/earth, water, light. fire girl and flower girl have lil crushes on each other)

idk everything else is just misc. doodles and such

i meant to watermark all these pages, whoops... i'll prolly swap out the images a bit later :'D

[reaction2whatever]

My Agents of shield season 3 mumble jumble

I just finished the season 3 finale and boyyyyy am I emotional right about now. (Possibly because I binged 5 episodes all at once and thoughts are jumbled

Be prepared I'm sensing this is gonna be a long rant

Just like the season 2 rant Imma divide this into two parts and ramble it through each part

(sidenote: this is my first time watching this show so If you want to see my reactions to previous seasons you can find those thoughts here and please no spoilers. I started this account that I don't really use to stop Tumblr spoiling me based on the tags that I used lol)

Plot

Welp. Where do I even start

I think it is a pretty good season. Better than season 1, not as strong as season 2.

I also like the latter half of the season where they fight Hive more than the first half.

The reason behind my criticism of the first half of this season is that it is trying to do TOO many things all at the same time while simultaneously moving too slowly too.

Let's see. The first ten episodes of this season had the following main storylines:

-A massive amount of people are turning into Inhumans and they are creating chaos

-ATCU is targeting Inhumans, especially Lincoln

-A new "monster", later revealed as Andrew/Lush, is hunting Inhumans as well

-Fitz saving Simmons from an alien planet/ that FitzSimmons and Will love triangle

-Hunter and May trying to take down Ward for Bobbi

After having finished this season, I can see the way these stories intertwine with each other. It is pretty great. I think the writers did a very good job with how the mysteries thrown at viewers were all resolved.

But when watching it for the first time, I felt like new questions kept coming up and the main characters were all over the place following different plotlines. It was easy to be confused as to what's the point of everything and how does everything connect together?

Especially when it's trying to tell this many stories all at once, somehow this show slowed down the pace so suddenly to give Simmons a whole episode solely to talk about her time on an alien planet pining for one man and falling in love for another.

Like the pace was really fast and suddenly slowed down then picked up the pace again.

When season 2 was finished I was pretty excited about the potential of a lot of new inhuman capabilities in season 3, because fish is a common enough thing that a potentially huge amount of people could get powers overnight.

But I guess in season 3 we only get Andrew(who wasn't turned into an Inhuman because of fish oil), yoyo, joey, and some minor side characters. After Rosalind died and Hive was introduced, this spread of inhuman incidents' influence seemed to have hit the stop button and never surfaced again.

Wasn't this introduced as a massive global outbreak in the first episode? Why is it that the shield team has stopped showing up to newly turned Inhumans like they did for Joey? Why is it that Hive wasn't capable of finding hundreds of Inhumans to work for him under his sway?

At his peak, Hive had like 4 Inhumans under his sway(Daisy, multiplying woman, telekinesis guy, fire-throwing guy), and...honestly, I had to lol at that pathetic low number(I know Andrew killed some but like, they can do better with that number. There is no way anyone can stop the world from eating fish and this is a thing that can't be stopped. Every day there should be new Inhumans lol.

Would have been so cool to see more characters with inhuman powers/see a massive inhuman outbreak more.

The same could be said for Simmons' adventure on another planet and her reaction to it, soooo much potential for a whole other planet. The ATCU's philosophy and the debate of whether Inhumans should be cured could be expanded a lot more to talk about ethics, so a lot of potential there too.

Each thread of plotting could be expanded and explained more because each thread has a lot of potentials, but I guess they needed for the season to move forward quickly and I think it got a bit messy and rushed with the many characters and plotlines introduced.

The latter half of the season focuses a lot more on a singular threat Hive and I feel like I like the latter half more. I'm very sad that Bobbi and Hunter are gone for the latter half but I have to admit after sending these two away, the reduced number of the main cast also helped with the storytelling.

I know I wrote a lot of criticism above but honestly overall I still think this is a strong season and the plot is pretty awesome and I love this show but I've said that amazement enough in my episode to episode reactions lol so I'll shut up and talk about characters instead.

Characters

Daisy Johnson

oh boy do I love her. (Chloe Bennet is so good at acting like oh wow

First of all, I know (from the very kind @agents-of-fangirling in the comments) that Daisy Johnson is a comic book character and that's probably why they've changed her name.

But still, I think it's pretty symbolic.

Skye was a person trying to find meaning in her life. She was homeless, an orphan, who had never had stability in her life, who had no idea who she was or what's her heritage. Skye was very much struggling to balance between her birth family and her shield famly and why does she have powers. It's an orphan's name and it hints at her chaotic life.

After an entire journey in the span of two seasons, Skye had found her heritage, her power, and her parents. Now she was agent Daisy Johnson, her full name comes from her birth parents but very much an agent of shield and a superhero (Before sway. I'll talk about that later lol)

She had gotten over that rookie phase and she was more mature now.

I'm very glad that Daisy Johnson doesn't need anybody to baby her to go into the field and be GOOD at it. She wasn't stuck as a rookie and she's just grown to the point where I feel a sense of security when she's in the field.

Compare that to when in season 1 she can't fight at all and in season 2 she was training under May and fumbling over her powers, this season she'd really feel all grew up.

She leads the inhuman task force, she advocates for inhuman rights. She has accepted her Inhuman identity and knows who she is. She uses her power well and she fights well and she gets things done. She had really started to feel confident and capable. She's just an overall very enjoyable superhero and agent in this season.

(Maybe she didn't hack as much as she used to but I accept the trade between hacking scenes and super hot power/fighting scenes any day)

ALSO did I mention just how gorgeous she is?

AND THEN she got swayed

See, the writers of this show never let any character gets too comfortable with life.

I feel like part of the reason why Daisy after sway is pretty heartbreaking to watch is that she finally seemed happy and content with her life for a bit. She was a leader of a good team of Inhumans, she had a boyfriend who's a massive upgrade from Miles and Ward.

AND hive just went ahead and took all of that away from her.

I feel like that's like her worst nightmare coming true. She truly sees the team as her family. Not only did she personally hurt Fitz and Mack but she also had that vision. She knew someone is gonna die. She knew that time can't be changed.

I truly believed that if she killed someone on the team it will break her but...things are not much better.

She was in so much pain and so addicted to the feeling of hive that she begged hive to take her back, which at the moment is understandable, but she's gonna beat herself up for it for sure later on. hive having Ward's face definitely doesn't help one bit.

I feel like she was even relieved when she thought her helping hive will only result in her own death and not somebody else's.

It's easier on her conscious in a way

AND then Lincoln dies. Lincoln who is the only one that knew she begged Hive to take her back. Lincoln who only said he loves her when he was about to die.

My girl ended this season being suicidal, going through withdrawal, having to face the fact that she harmed the team, having to face the fact that May's ex-husband and probably the only therapist who can help her deal right now died for her, having to face the fact that her boyfriend exploded in space for her with hive who possess Ward's face and being hunted by shield.

I fear for her sanity because I would be on the floor bawling right now if I were her. Life is not treating her well.

I don't know why shield is after her when we end this season but for the love of God somebody please wrap her up in a soft blanket and give the girl some soup and also give her a ton of good therapy.

Phil Coulson

Coulson feels more like a person this season because he is selfish and I meant it in a good way

He was just good in season 1 and 2. He was that generic good boss character with some trauma with being brought back to life and...yeah that's about it

This season though, Coulson fell in love with Rosalind resulting in Rosalind bleeding out in his arms

He hunted down and killed Ward for personal reasons and I liked it because he's more like a human being with flaws lol.

There was one bit of wasted potential for Coulson and that's being an amputee.

I know he struggled a bit with ties and he mentioned phantom pain. But later on, he had cool gadgets on his hand and he just got some more capability being an amputee

I would love to see an episode where he lost his hand and show some real struggle with it because I feel like in this season his struggle as a disabled person got glossed over easily. His disability was even seen as cool with all the extra gadgets on his hand. idk I feel like there are a lot of potentials to be explored there

Melinda May

Man, I don't know why they keep on wasting May's potential

May's arc was basically hunting Ward with Hunter and then some emotional scenes/plots with Andrew/Lush

Other than that...May is basically used as a generic plot driver/field agent

I want her to have some solid arc. like Daisy's brainwashing arc or Simmons' alien planet arc

Give her something of substance please and don't let Andrew's wife confine her like it did in this season

Also I was kinda sad that Lash didn't get to say goodbye to her

Grant Ward/Hive

I hate his face so much

Like seriously, he better be gone for good. He's a pretty good villain for a solid three seasons now and it's time for him to be gone

I loved him as good guy Ward and I still think he's a pretty handsome guy

But uggh the way seeing his face makes me want to punch things

FitzSimmons

FitzSimmons this season got more mature and they finally got together like TOOK THEM LONG ENOUGH(I'm feeling like a proud mother

I am very proud of Fitz that he had gradually overcome his brain damage and he got more daring/courageous this season

I cannot imagine season 1 Fitz facing and successfully tricking a whole mob by himself but he did in this season for Simmons.

He was very much a heroic character in trying to save Simmons through space when he pulled her from the planet

He didn't hold it against Simmons for falling in love with Will and even though he was in love with Simmons he still tried his very best to save Will. That's heroic behavior and just pretty selfless overall. Not a lot of guys will do that.

I'm very glad that he got the girl in the end lol

I feel like Simmons this season had a good arc with the alien planet thing. I was very glad that she got her own episode.

I understand why she would fall for Will and I applaud the writers that they used creativity to introduce a love triangle to FitzSimmons.

I think the reason why FitzSimmons is appealing (at least for me) is that they seem to have this bubble around them, separating them from the outside world. They live in this scientific world where they are the only two who can understand each other and communicate with each other. When they talk to other people, they need to dial their sentences down, use plain language so that others could understand, chose their words carefully to explain. But they don't need to do that with each other

A perfect example comes to mind:

When Fitz was trapped in the hanger with primitive agents

Simmons: "Fitz, Professor idk's compiler theory?"

Fitz:"yes yes do that you saw me do it and you have a good memory"

After Simmons has saved Fitz, Coulson was like "wtf is that"

see, FitzSimmons has this deep understanding of each other and connection that seems so untouchable for anyone else. They don't need to say things carefully so the other will understand and their communication in science is unmatched

I don't think anybody could follow their train of thoughts outside of them, and that's a connection that's unbreakable

I had always thought a third wheeler in FitzSimmons is kinda impossible. The writers managed to use Will to introduce some logical and possible angst to FitzSimmons and I had to applaud them for effort lol

(SEE, it takes separation to an ALIEN planet to introduce plausible angst to FitzSimmons and that's saying something lol)

I hope FitzSimmons have a good vacation in Seychelles and do more than just snorkeling

Lincoln

Oh man I wish he was not dead I'm still emo thinking about it

Last season I said Lincoln felt like a love interest designed for Daisy and somehow that feeling hasn't really gone away this season

He was saved by Daisy, joined shield for Daisy, almost died trying out a vaccine for her, and eventually really died for her.

When his addiction to alcohol was first introduced I thought briefly that the writers wanted to introduce more depth/background to him. But after that sway of Daisy+Hive sway thing I feel like they purposefully introduced it to make Lincoln be the only one who would understand Daisy's addiction to hive

The rest of the team just thought she went to Hive to fight him. Lincoln was the only one who figured out that she was addicted.

I mean it's good that somebody on the team understands Daisy, but I also feel like this shift was a bit contradicting the image when Lincoln was first introduced. He was calm, collected, in control of his power back then. He accepted his inhuman identity perfectly and he was just overall pretty nice and kind. He was also very supportive of Daisy

This season, because the writers are putting this being hunted/addiction arc onto Lincoln, he has gotten more chaotic and his writing got a bit inconsistent

He didn't visit Daisy when she was at her lowest after Hive's sway, but sacrificed and died for Daisy in the end while saying he loves her. If he loves her I guess he'd done for her what Mack has done for her, right?

But all of these things aside, I just wished Lincoln could act more of an Inhuman medical expert for the team. He could have been very valuable but I guess he stayed as a supporting character

I'm gonna miss him. He was pretty handsome. I hope his death doesn't completely break Daisy even though it seems likely

Lance Hunter/Bobbi Morse

They are two of the best characters on this show and I cannot believe they just left like that

But I guess if they had to go, they went out as a couple and as heroes. So I guess spy's goodbye is a good goodbye.

They are like the definition of likable supporting characters who doesn't hog screen time while still being very enjoyable to the show

We never need to have long and deep scenes of them to know their characteristics and that's hard to achieve. I'm gonna miss both of them dearly for sure

Mack

Yay he definitely got more likable in this season! His shotgun axe was pretty awesome and mmm I hope his romance with yoyo works out well

Andrew/Lash

Andrew shouldn't have died

I don't really care about Lash had to die somehow but I do think Lash shouldn't have been Andrew

His character has so much potential

He's a therapist that shield could trust. Just how valuable is that??

This show has so many characters with trauma that's layered with shield secret and every single one of Andrew's therapy scenes is gold for characterization

If Andrew didn't die, he could have helped everyone on the team and I just feel like his connections to Daisy and Simmons and May were kinda abandoned and ruined

I will miss Andrew for sure

ANYWAYS, this is definitely too long of a thing and I had a blast today watching many episodes and finishing season 3.

Imma stop now lol.

[giuliafc]

Betrayal Chapter 17: Nathalie's Secret

<< 1 -- 2 -- 3 -- 4 -- 5 -- 6 -- 7 -- 8 -- 9 -- 10 -- 11 -- 12 -- 13 -- 14 -- 15 -- 16 -- 17: Ao3 || FFN -- 18 >>

Written by: JuliaFC

Beta: MyImaginationFlows and Agrestebug

Summary: Nathalie provides some important evidence to the police that gives great comfort to Adrien. In the meantime, Volpina is up to no good... (997 words)

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc, TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Written for the "Snippet July" challenge of the Miraculous Fanworks Discord server @miraculousfanworks AND for LadyNoir July @ladynoirjuly Day 28 — Solace/kwami swap. Let me know what you think!

oOoOoOoOoOo

It didn't take long for the officers and the heroes to reach the entrance of the mansion. Raincomprix rang the bell and, almost immediately, the camera showed up. Which was followed by the low grunt of the Gorilla.

"It's the gendarmes. We need to talk to Adrien Agreste," said the Lieutenant, but the grunt that came out from the camera sounded of a negative meaning. So the Lieutenant took a strong hold of Gabriel and moved him in full view. "Will you obey your boss?"

"Open the gate, Gérard," said Gabriel, and the gate opened immediately, allowing them in.

"Now that this incident is resolved, I demand to talk to Adrien Agreste."

The Gorilla shook his head decisively. He then widened his eyes because he noticed that Nathalie was also tied up, so he stepped in between the officer who held her and Gabriel's assistant.

"Are you assaulting a gendarme?" shrieked Raincomprix, as the Gorilla started getting enraged. Adrien's bodyguard stomped his feet towards Gabriel's atelier, emerging after a few seconds with a tablet in his hands, which he then gave to the officer.

Raincomprix blinked. "Why did you give me this?" The Gorilla pointed at the screen, but the officer didn't understand.

"Adrien has a Chinese lesson now, Officer. That's what Gérard was trying to tell you. He'll be busy for a while," said Nathalie eventually. The Gorilla shot her a grateful glance.

"I see… We'll wait then. Let's all take a seat. How long is the lesson going to last?"

Nathalie smirked. "Three hours."

"WHAT?" erupted the officer. "Who gets a child to take a three hour lesson at seven o'clock in the evening?"

"Adrien had other commitments today. This was the only suitable time."

What followed was a long argument between Roger and Nathalie, which left the Lieutenant even more frustrated. "I don't care about his lesson. We can't wait that long. We're going to talk to him, now."

Nathalie sighed. "If you give me my tablet, Monsieur Raincomprix, I can show you something that may satisfy you even without talking to Adrien."

After Raincomprix agreed, Nathalie got her tablet back. She went into her email, opening two hidden threads. Then, she gave a decisive look to Gabriel, and a very quick one to Chat Noir, before locking her gaze with Gabriel's grey eyes.

"I'm sorry sir. I didn't want you to find out like this but… you have already discovered that I've been double agenting. What you don't know is that I've done even worse." Gabriel's gasp covered Chat Noir's own sound of surprise. Nathalie readjusted her glasses. "When I contacted Ladybug and Chat Noir, I also spoke to my attorney about your and Emilie's joint will. I inquired about the fact that Adrien still has a living relative, technically his biological mother, and how and if it could affect it."

A moment of silence passed as Gabriel weighed Nathalie's words. "The part of the will where we made you Adrien's Legal Guardian?"

Chat Noir's heart went into overdrive and had to bite his tongue to muffle another gasp, his eyes as wide as saucers and wet with tears. He couldn't believe it. Would… Nathalie really...

"Yes. I wanted to make sure that it still stood its legal ground even if Mme. Graham De Vanily requested her son back after you will be arrested." She looked Chat Noir in the eye as she continued, "The attorney said that the will would stand, because you and Emilie have legally adopted Adrien. You may be in trouble with the law, but Emilie wasn't. Also..." She looked down. "Adrien is nearly fifteen. The judge would ask him if he wants to go to England with his biological mother or stay in Paris. With me." She showed the emails to Lieutenant Raincomprix, who read the correspondence carefully.

"You wanted to adopt Adrien?" he asked in a whisper.

Nathalie nodded. "Adrien's a good kid. He deserves all the love in the world and a parent who can give it to him." Her voice cracked, as she put the tablet down to remove her glasses and wipe her eyes clean. "It was Emilie's wish. His mother. I promised her that I would look after Adrien and make him happy."

Ladybug wrapped Chat Noir into a hug when she saw the tears flowing freely down his cheeks.

"Can you pinch me? I can't believe this; it's too good to be true…" He whispered into her ear, finally able to voice his fears. "I won't need to leave you."

But as he said that, they heard the sound of an explosion from outside.

"An akuma by the look of it," hissed Ladybug.

Nathalie checked on her tablet and indeed, Volpina was still on the loose and she had what looked like a whole army of illusions. They had to deal with it! So they left the officers with Gabriel and Nathalie at the Manor to wait for them to be back or for Adrien's lesson to end and they all followed Pégase Marron into a voyage portal.

When they were finally out of prying eyes, Ladybug fought her instinct to hug and cuddle the boy in front of her. As much as she wanted to, the situation looked serious and she knew they couldn't afford to wait.

"Okay. We're currently down some members of the team. Vesperia, Ryuuko, and Viperion are out of the country at the moment so... It's time for some kwami-swaps, guys." She looked at Alya. "As much as Pégase Marron was useful up to now, we need more relevant help. While SentiAdrien is still needed, Carapace will detransform and take Duusu and Sass so he can watch the fight from a distance and send the assistance of a sentimonster if needed, or call for 'second chance'. Chat Noir will unify Plagg and Wayzz. You, Alya, will have Pollen and Longg."

She waited for everyone to nod decisively.

"Let's go…" she muttered under her breath before yoyo-ing away.

--------------------------

Author's Note

Whoop whoop! 3 prompts left. I was so happy that 'solace' was the prompt for today: it fit so well with Nathalie's secret. And yes guys, that was the email she had opened when Chat Noir had gotten suspicious at the beginning. The confirmation from her attorney that Amélie couldn't have legal grounds to take Adrien away from her. Hope it makes sense!

Also, I hope you liked the chapter and will leave me a comment. I love your comments! :)

Until (hopefully) tomorrow, bug out!

[alexseanchai]

Fanfic 2020 in Review

I got tagged by @kasienda @noirshitsuji and @marvelousmsmol and I am tagging whoever wants to play!

1) List of fics completed this year in the order they were finished:

*filters own works to complete and updated in 2020*

1 - 20 of 57 Works by AlexSeanchai

nope. *adds filter to include only works of at least 1000 words*

unless otherwise indicated, these are all Miraculous Ladybug:

“don’t bake it lying down”, post-reveal Marichat vs Felix Graham de Vanily

“veracity”, canon divergence from “Ladybug” featuring Mister Bug and Verity Queen (so also Marichat, I guess)

“(no request is too extreme, if) your heart is in your dream”, in which Hawkmoth wins, for the thirty seconds or so before Emilie saves Ladybug and Chat Noir’s lives

“tell me you love me and make me believe it”, in which trans girl Chatonne Noire ropes Ladybug into helping plan her civilian self’s escape slash social transition

“kingmaker, oathbreaker”, in which Hawkmoth wins and Emilie watches her son remove himself from the family

“stay and let me watch you break it down” (Twelve Dancing Princesses), a modern setting

“set a course for winds of fortune”, in which trans girl Chatonne Noire has already escaped and Gabriel and Nathalie are trying to bring Gabriel’s son home

“we ground love in a hopeless place”, in which post-reveal Marinette’s attempt to remain resolutely not in love with her partner dissolves like sugar in coffee when they start a pun war

“ring the bells that still can ring”, in which Alya is deeply confused about why Adrien and Marinette are planning a wedding when last night both were single

“burning wishes at both ends (the cold wind and long loud wail remix)”, in which Gabriel made a monkey’s paw wish and Emilie makes another

“words cannot espresso”, in which Marinette’s OC roommate is justifiably worried for Marinette’s safety, and meanwhile Adrien takes care of Marinette

“the compromise of truth” (the chronologically second-earliest part posted to date of nine lives, snake’s eyes), in which Adrien tells his friends how he won some freedom and respect from his father

“At The Present Time”, the Ladrien/Ladynoir marriage proposal follow-up to @art-deco-shrimp‘s  “Your Presents Required”

“j'ai rêvé (so I don't have to dream alone)”, in which the events of canon must just have been a series of dream sequences, Marinette and Adrien both think, until they both arrive at Chloe’s Halloween masquerade dressed as themselves from the dreams

2) Number of words written:

ahahaha no. I am not counting all my scattered fic drafts and trying to figure out what I did and didn’t write in 2020. I refuse.

AO3 says I posted 162K in 2020. it is counting all of keeps you guessing (like any real love), which (a) I started posting in 2019 (b) is co-written by @galahadwilder​; it is counting all of my meta snippets collection, much of which was written in 2019; it is counting the Vimeo passwords for my vids. but I probably cleared 150K by a safe margin.

3) Your most popular fic:

“veracity” has a four-digit kudos count, wow, when’d that happen? this is also the 2020 work with the most hits and the most bookmarks, but “tell me you love me” has four-thirds as many comments as its nearest competitor.

4) Your personal fav:

“cannot break us, not with a thousand swords”, no question about it. this is the one in which Ladybug proposes marriage to Chat Noir via Princess Bride meme on Tumblr. (if you intend to download the work or otherwise to consume it with creator style off, you want the accessible version instead of the primary version.)

5) Your fav scene:

aaaaaaaaa

—okay so this is cheating and I know it, since Uncertain Humors (the one where Marinette/Adrien is both Orpheus/Eurydice and Theseus/Ariadne) is nowhere near finished, never mind posted (maybe I'll get “Sanguine” done to post on my birthday?)

but it is still my favorite of the year. as you might guess from that description of the story, this scene has content notes for character death:

Hell is a maze. Marinette walks.

This acrid passage has little to see but damp stone, seeming blood-stained in the dim carmine light. At about the height of her heart, the faintly glowing thread cuts through the not-clammy air; it ought to be pulsing at the same rate as the heart it's bound to. She might be able to see her own reflection if she looked down at the open sewage pipe, or at one of the puddles that now and again she splashes through, dampening the canvas of her shoes. She might see reflected what's behind her.

She remembers Mme. Mendeleiev lecturing on human physiology. In healthy humans old enough to have learned how, urination is a voluntary action: one may not know which muscles one tenses and relaxes in order to do so, and probably isn't paying attention to those details when one is doing, but one has conscious control over whether one does. Usually. Stress and anxiety mean some people are unable to relax the relevant sphincter muscle and others are unable to stop themselves. It's voluntary for cats, too: it's one way they mark their territories. Cat-boys have other ways.

There is a moment in every human life when all one's muscles relax at once. Some Parisians have had several such moments.

The thread is braided with itself around her left fourth finger, rows of tiny red half-hitch knots, and falls loosely over the back of her hand to loop twice around her wrist. She holds it wrapped between the fingers of her right hand to keep it at a constant tension, as though knitting with this insubstantial thread, so fragile for something two (two dozen, two million) lives hang from—too thin to sew with, no thicker than one strand of his hair. As she walks, she winds it around and around and around her wrist.

Between her ring finger and her right hand, it loops twice.

Marinette's shoe lands in a puddle she didn't see. The rainwater splashes soundlessly onto her bare ankle and on the stone.

(With cat-like tread, upon our prey we steal— It's a very loud song.)

She walks on.

6) A fic or scene that challenged you:

where the firelight fades, no contest. this is the second story I’ve ever been able to stick with more than a couple hundred words past the 20K mark, but it’s easily the twentieth novel-length I’ve begun. (though also, you know that kedreeva post? well, 90K later, I’m less than 15K from completing this 10K fic! I think.) and I have been learning so much about long-form fiction.

there has also been a lot of weeping and tearing my hair. case in point: I just trashed the chapter 15 draft because I figured out the reason it wasn’t going anywhere! I can probably keep the first few hundred words of that draft without any editing, and another few hundred with some revision...

7) A line of writing you’re proud of:

from “j'ai rêvé (so I don't have to dream alone)”:

Everything about their partnership is fragments of sentences in the dream diary Adrien writes in ultraviolet pen. Disjointed flickers of thought even when examined under the black light he hides in the snack cabinet under packets of Super Yoyo sandwich cookies and bags of cheesy Monster Munch potato chips and boxes of petit écolier butter cookies (chocolat noir)—none of which explains the gym-socks smell. All fleeting incoherent flashes, invisible between the mundane lines of La Modification shelved at his bedside between Leroux and Dumas. None of it is solid. Adrien has more proof his room's haunted.

okay let me break this down for you!

* Adrien started a dream diary to make sense of the memories

* in invisible ink, in a book that (according to Wikipedia) is thematically appropriate and won’t (if Gabriel sees it) look like anything other than Adrien developing an interest in French literature

* shelved between Phantom of the Opera and The Three Musketeers

* look I didn’t come up with the name “black light”

* or “chocolat noir” for what English speakers call “dark chocolate”, or “petit écolier” (that is, “little schoolboy”) for that sort of butter cookie

* also not my fault that “chocolat noir” sounds remarkably like “Chat Noir”, which, attentive readers may have noticed, is not a name that appears in the story after the header and before Miraculous Cure

* I found the website of a store in Boston, Massachusetts that caters to French expats, and the yo-yo cookies and the monster chips were right there in the photos, y’all

* the snack stash and the black light live in the cabinet where, in canon, the Camembert lives; yes, that cheese smells in the real world like gym socks

* this story’s akuma was not able to affect anything but squishy human memory: nobody affected remembers anything about Ladybug or Chat Noir or Hawkmoth, not in any solid way, not even when they read news articles about the subject, and this includes Marinette and Adrien not being able to see or hear or remember their own kwamis—but you know what Adrien’s Insta post about his poltergeist and Adrien’s Insta post with the floating sock don’t show and don’t explicitly refer to?

* I love this paragraph so much (my housemates may have been lovingly mocking me over it)

8) A comment that touched you:

there are people (y’all know who you are) who said y’all are studying my style. I ded of blush.

9) Something that inspired your writing:

by volume of fic drafts that can be blamed on any particular person, the winner is probably @norakwami​

10) Your proudest accomplishment (that one scene; finally finishing that one fic; posting your first fic; etc):

so that longest-story-ever-written record I set in 2007 with the 89.5K story that, till where the firelight fades, was the only story I’d gotten much past 20K?

I broke that fucking record!

and then I deleted the draft of firelight chapter 15 😭

11) Do you have any writing goals for the next year?

I’m starting work on a fantasy novel, a Sleeping Beauty retelling in which I explore (among other things) the economic consequences of the king’s ordering all the spinning wheels burned, and I want to make significant progress on that. and I want to not make my hands any worse; I kind of need those!

(breaking news alert: bodies fucking suck. so does giving yourself repetitive stress injuries in doing one and a half to two people’s worth of work for an organization that was never ever going to pay you more than one person’s worth of pay.)

[clementineesotsm]

THE KING: ETERNAL MONARCH EP 11, My Appreciation and How It Made Me Feel

The Police and Lee Rim found Luna, just when the police about to catch Luna, a truck hit his car. Drastically. I think this scene is overboard, people probably die if he got hit like that 🤣 but okay. So in conclusion Lee Rim got Luna first. I kind of hope the police got her first and wish to see what Gon wants to do with her once he saw her before everything got into mess. But im not KES. So the story goes:

Lee Rim offers Luna a new life - JTE life. Healthy, having loving parents, having a job, all the opposite of Luna. I always love the scene with the bad people, so this one is 💕 I like the dialogue here about Luna being hurted by LR words that she dont have anything and about to die. Damn KGE acting 💯 and i love this words 상처받았어 (my feelings hurted)

The death of Prince Buyeong parallel to what happen in eps 1 when Gon’s father died, we can see the same reindition of Gon breakdown crying after holding it for the sake of the ceremony. I feel bad for him. But i have to admit, Lady Noh’s cry was breaking my heart the most. Damn 😭

JTE and KSJ looking for SJH now, because JTE knew that she is with LR, if they can find her they pretty much can track LR.

Meanwhile Luna accept LR offer, she comes to see the yoyo boy basically to say goodbye. To ask him taking care of her belonging. This scene is short but powerful, starting from YB hand Luna her knife

YB “this was in the pocket”

Luna “i did not come for that. You can keep it. Use it to protect what belongs to you”

YB “going off to steal again?”

Luna “do you believe god exist?”

YB “nod”

Luna “then i think i will be punished”

Luna “by the way that yoyo, why is the string red?”

YB “i hooked it up myself”

This conversation disturbed my mind, so during watching i looked up about the red string and the word 엮다 . I found both were kind of connected. The red thread of fate is a famous believes in east Asia about 2 people connected with this thread who are destined lovers, regardless of place, time or circumstances. While i think in this series its not only linked to the lovers (JTE and Gon) but also with the 2 world overall. This boy kind of play fate or so i assume maybe he is a deity in disguise who watch and control, because he said he is the one who 엮 it, he weave, link and hooked it. AMAZING.

While still pretty much in vain, Gon need to face his annoying cousin who shows 0 simpathy. He thinks he is second in line after Gon, but Gon decide it belongs to his sister. Because Gon trust Prince Buyeong judgement on his son. We can see that the kindom was actually wiretapping Prince Buyeong as well. I assume this is due to the treason that happened 25 years ago, to prevent any royal family betrayal again. Still its kind of rude in my opinion. But this scene was intense i love LMH acting here. Great. I really cannot believe he once plays gu junpyo 🤣

Gon in furious and angry mode is not something i imagine he will be. LR was definitely provoke him with this and he is angry. I love the time stop and Gon throwing the ring in anger here. Amazing. Also the music!

Gon was about to go after LR to Korea but then PM Koo hold him by releasing an article about King always out of palace and cause a fuss. Means Gon tied to the palace. So now we are clear, PM is a bad person, she is becoming -1. Though i still have faith in her before. But damn im wrong. I like Gon’s line here “PM Koo has pulled the gag”

Back to Korea, LR is trying to recruit KSJ! This is probably also the moment i want to see because i think KSJ has a potential to be bad. I love this scene much because the fighting was cool and this traitor doppelgänger character was damn annoying! At first i though he wants to kill KSJ but then he gave him the 2G phone. Wow. I appreciate him coming to the office and telling JTE the truth about what happen. I like what KSJ is saying here :

KSJ “what are we after? And where are we headed?”

JTE “i dont have the exact answer to that yet. So i’ll just keep going. I was told that we’ll arrive somewhere if we keep going. If we walk far enough, that is”

As what in Alice In Wonderland . I love the reference, resemblance and consistency.

Gon in Corea was looking at Prince Buyeong daily log to see anything suspicious because as what the news said Gon wants to investigate the case himself. He found that Prince Buyeong actually went to the Eosu Bookstore in the slums. He is thinking what is this clue, he remembers what Prince Buyeong said to him “the footsteps you take by risking your whole life is whats fate” brb crying first before continue 🥺🥺

Gon asking armed royal guard to follow him. Omg what is going to happen!!

Apparently Gon going to ask about Eosu Bookstore to the prisoners , 1 says dont know, 1 did not want to speak. He thinks Gon is not able to hurt him 🤣 bye bye, Gon finally announce that he is making a special law to beheaded the traitor and he did. Gon becoming darker and definitely can do up to this extent when needed. I cant believe it. Great development, i love seeing people dark side 💯 i also think the zoom out to Gon’s face and the camera position were added the tension of this. The camera technique definitely important to added deep to scene like this 💯

To be continue..

[adventurepunks]

            we came to drink boba                and bully John Constantine                        we just ran out of boba

follower appreciation 1 out of 10 // @thedemonconstantine

to kick off my shitty ass moodboards to thank some of my favorite partners, no one ought to be surprised that K is first. i could have picked any of out threads or pairings but our teen troublemakers had to be it. Yoyo was left out on purpose as he will have a special thing for himself although he is a member and president of the #bullyjohnsquad.

[tired-college-student-writing]

If you're into Black Butler, maybe something with that and Miraculous ladybug? Or Black Butler with Demon Bim? I just think you'd do a good job with the Black Butler characters.

Oh boy! I just finished rewatching Black Butler actually! I had forgotten how much I loved the show. So here’s a bit of Miraculous Ladybug/Black Butler :D

ASK BOX IS OPEN SEND ME PROMPTS

________________________________________________

Marinette was different. 

Her family tried to keep her oddities to themselves when they could as the few that found out had branded their daughter as a freak, making the usually sweet girl’s icy glare freeze their very souls before they would leave and never talk to her again. 

When she was born her parents were shocked to see she not only had a sapphire blue eye, but her right was a transfixing purple as well. The doctors had said they should fade into more usual shades as she aged but they never did. Heterochromia they called it, when the eyes were different colors due to a mutation in how the melanin concentration in the eyes, but it was nothing to worry about and about 1% of the population had heterochromia in one form or another.  It didn’t stop Marinette from showing a clear disdain for anyone looking at her purple eye.

By two she was speaking in full English sentences which would have just been advanced for her age if they ever spoke anything, but French and Mandarin around her. But it wasn’t just English no, she could perfectly speak French, Latin, and German with little effort on her part. Never truly understanding why people would look at her strangely when such a small girl would be able to use five-syllable English words in normal conversation. 

When she was five her parents saw the first major mood shift. Chloe Bourgeois, the little terror, had been placed in the same class as Marinette. The girls were at odds from day one, but three months into the school year Chloe had tripped little Nino and almost landed him right into traffic. The sunny little girl had flipped in an instance, ripping into the other girl with the ferocity of a black mamba, controlled strikes verbally reducing the bully into shocked and fearful tears as she tore into everything from the girls clothes and hairs to her parents failing marriage and her father’s inability to fulfill his the campaign promises. She had then turned to Nino who was watching with wide shocked eyes and melted back to the soft caring girl she normally was, fussing over him and basically ordering him to come to her house so her mom could check over his scraped knee. It was months before Chloe said anything negative in front of Marinette for fear of the same attack, only it didn’t come, just earning a scowl and the usual banter that the blonde had come to expect from the baker’s daughter. It seemed there was a line for how far Marinette was willing to let Chloe go, and the blonde was careful never to toe that line. 

When she turned six her hatred of others seeing her right eye had reached its peak as she continued to make makeshift eyepatches out of anything she could get her hands on. Finally, her mother had taken her to the ophthalmologist to get colored contacts, to hide the purple hue. The ophthalmologist hadn’t wanted to give her contacts until her face had faded from the bright smile into a blank mask and she ran through the care and instructions that she had already known on contacts. The doctor decided to just hand them over after that. A blue contact for one eye and a clear one for the other with the prescription that fixed her lacking depth prediction. A single icy glare that nearly bordered on the one she gave Chloe many moons ago stopped any of the students in her class from commenting on her now same colored eyes.

At eight her parents noticed her new ‘friend’. A raven that seemed to have made a nest on her balcony, well maybe not a raven if the blood-red eyes had anything to do with it, but the lack of white tips on its wings ruled out anything else other than a hybrid.  They decided it better not to ask why this raven had roosted there as Marinette grew oddly attached to it quickly, though it was an odd bond they shared. Marinette could often be heard talking to the raven in English as if conversing with it, but gone was her normally cheerful demeanor, instead she would snark and ridicule the raven as if it was an unruly child. In turn, the raven would caw, peck at her and swat her with its wings. At the same time, however, they undeniably cared for each other. Marinette always made sure that the nest was warm and dry, though she never offered food to it, simply taunting the pastries in front of it with a remark about how they tasted so much better than ash.   

 The raven took great care to bring trinkets back to the girl, expensive items it had no way of getting, jewelry, sets of high-end buttons, the finest threads, rich untouched chocolates, once they even found an entire bolt of new fabric on the balcony. If it wasn’t for the cameras they had installed after that event they would have feared someone was visiting their little girl, but the raven was the only visitor to the balcony. Marinette was smart however, knowing where the holes in the camera's view were before they had been there for two months. She had been offended that they thought she would accept presents from strange humans. They relented that they trusted her and that she was a bright young girl but kept the cameras up. 

They asked her about her comments of ash and she didn’t remember ever saying anything like that. 

They asked her the raven’s name and she got a far off look in her eyes before she came back and said she doesn’t remember. 

Tikki appeared when she was thirteen and the little goddess almost recoiled in horror at the dark twisted magic radiating off of the girl chosen to be her holder. Demonic energy, nauseating to see this close around a soul so pure.  The book being swung at her and high pitched screech was the only thing that convinced Tikki there hadn’t been a mistake. The magic was too intertwined with her soul for it to be a new development, for her to have sold her soul in this lifetime.  No this was a deal that never got sealed, never allowed for the demon to consume her soul. It didn’t take her long to locate the raven on the balcony. They came to an agreement of mutual distance, realizing they were both here for the same reason to be here, to keep Marinette safe. 

During the Akuma battles where the heroes’ win is a close call, and her miraculous cure is stretched to the limits from bringing back countless lives, there was often a flash of red in the corner of her eye, simply waiting off in the distance to see if she could pull off the save once more.  Sometimes it would be replaced by a silent black figure or a golden blur, but they were always there. Simply waiting, watching. The raven always seemed more ruffled on the days the red was around. 

It wasn’t until near her 14th birthday did an Akuma come along with the power of fire, did something change. The Akuma was tall and black as night, swift and dancing like the flames they created, willing to kill and burn all of Paris down with them. Cheated on, backstabbed and burned, the woman wanted all of Paris to feel the pain her ex-girlfriend had made her feel. Each human that burned turned into its own flame beast, with the single-minded 

They had been chasing the victim through the streets when they rounded the corner. The bakery was engulfed in flames, inky black smoke billowing from the windows. She felt her heart leap into her throat. Her head screamed at her to run, they were coming for him, how her parents were dead, he wasn’t safe. Why was he out of the manor on her own anyway? He needed to get back, the servants would keep him safe. He needed to find-

Her mind snapped back into place as she realized the implications of her thoughts. Of his memories. 

“Are you alright?” The voice in front of her made her register the black figure in front of her, Chat Noir. Her knight. It seems as if she has one every lifetime. 

“Yes,” She said firmly, pulling away, “But I think it’s about time we got some assistance.” 

“Need to go get a miraculous?” He asked, knocking some advancing flame beasts back with his staff. 

She shook her head taking a step back as he kept her safe and tossed her yoyo as high as she could, no miraculous would help now. This victim was nothing short of a demon, and to fight a demon…

“Lucky Charm!” She shouted, catching the item and began pulling out her contact before she even looked down at the red and black contact case, filled with contact solution. 

“M’lady?” 

“Chaton,” She said with firm determination, turning her two-toned eyes to him, “I’m going to do something that will seem very strange and might scare you but please trust me.” 

His eyes were wide and tail lashing, but he didn’t hesitate to nod his head, never faltering in keeping the beasts away, “Of course, Bugaboo.” 

“Don’t call me that,” She snapped, voice slipping into English, before turning her eyes to the burning remains of her rooftop, “Sebastian, get down here you bloody mongrel. Don’t make me order you.” 

A large black blur flew from the nest she couldn’t make out anymore due to smoke, swooping high into the air before shifting in and gliding down, the once raven now kneeling in front of her, a cunning smirk pulling on the man’s lips, “Sorry for the wait mistress.” 

He was exactly as he was before, silky black hair falling elegantly around his face, framing the burgundy eyes that burned into her as they did the day they had made the contract. The only thing that changed was his clothes, gone was the tailcoat, polished silver pocket watch and crisp white gloves of a victorian butler, replaced by a sleek black suit and white button-down, black nails on display along with the sealing mark on the back of his hand. 

“Best to keep it, my lady, while I’m transformed. You couldn’t tell me the truth before, because…” She trailed off in question, eyebrow quirked. 

“Memory restoration requires a strong emotional response that plays on memories of your first life, my lady,” the demon gave her an innocent look as he rose, “I didn’t think you would appreciate me burning down the bakery before Miss Tikki could repair it.” 

“Sebastian,” 

They turned to look at the cat who had frozen beside them, noting the thinness of his pupil. 

“Chat,” Ladybug said slowly, “This is Sebastian, an old… friend of mine. He can help us.” 

“I-” Chat suddenly leaped forward, staff striking out between Sebastian and Marinette to knock away the beast that had appeared there, darting between them to continue fighting. 

His footwork had changed, becoming lighter than before as the ferocity grew. 

“Of course,” He spat, accented English spilling out of his lips, “Of course Sebastian was never human! I should have guessed,” 

“What?” 

The green eyes were sharp as they turned to the stunned pair, “Are you going to help me, Sebastian? I’m guessing that’s why my lady called for you. I can’t believe I didn’t put it together before! No human could run the manor as you did, I heard stories of the impossible feats you pulled but never did I think, ugh I’m an idiot!” 

Marinette couldn’t help but gape and she could see her butler’s eyebrows disappear into his hairline from the corner of her eye as she sputtered out, “Lizzie?!?” 

The blond just glared at her as she batted another beast away, “Ceil, I love you dearly but we’re going to have a serious talk about keeping demonic secrets from your fiance. I don’t care if it was a lifetime or three ago, we’re going to talk once the fires are gone and Sabastian if you think for a second you’re getting out of it, you are strongly mistaken. Now let’s finish this.” 

“Right,” Ladybug spoke slowly in French, “Head in the game Chat, yell at me later.”  

He shook his head as if to clear it, before returning to their normal tongue, “Right, sorry Elizabeth’s memories hit me like a brick wall... It is nice to see you, Sebastian!” 

“Likewise,” The demon hummed, tossing a flaming demon away.

The victim was easy to seduce with Sebastian at their side, the purple butterfly mask flared early on into the fight leaving the victim terrified as if Hawkmoth knew what Ladybug’s purple eye meant and what the man at their side was. Ending the battle was short work. 

“Pound it!” The teens cheered only for Marinette to turn a sly eye at Sebastian, “You two, Sebastian.” 

The demon raised a challenging brow, “Really now? How childish.” 

“Exactly why I want you to do it,” The sugary sweet smile held a hint of cruelness in it, “You’ll feel like a fool doing it, now come here.” 

The demon’s eye twitched but he raised his fist either way, “You haven’t changed at all.” 

[yourworshipfulness]

the top 10 songs in my franscisco “catfish” morales playlist

Songs that I think Frankie would listen to & that represent him! Commentary provided. Ordered by how they are in my playlist  -- which is by year (oldest at the top, starting in 1968, newest at the bottom, finishing in 2019).

1 - Gentle on my Mind - Waylon Jennings or Robert Ellis - I imagine Frankie thinking about you during this song & how much he misses you. It describes your relationship with him & how he feels when he’s on the mission. He will always return to you. His memories with you are tender. He’s free to do what he wishes but knows that he can always return to you without judgment. Honestly this song by anyone makes me cry. 

I pretend to hold you to my breast and find That you're waiting from the backroads By the rivers of my memories Ever smilin' ever gentle on my mind

2 - Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd - this is kinda obvious I think. I like to think Frankie likes counter-culture music, just cause he enters the military doesn’t mean he necessarily agrees with the politics behind war. He absolutely has some of the lyrics tattooed somewhere on his body. The words really settle in his soul, leaving his girl behind, but wishing he didn’t have to do so.

But if I stay here with you, girl Things just couldn't be the same 'Cause I'm as free as a bird now And this bird you cannot change

3 - Dream Weaver - Gary Wright - Frankie dancing with you in the kitchen, his hand resting on the small of your back as he tries to sing along. He’s into psychedelic music (I am searching if this is considered psychedelic & cannot find anything).

Fly me high through the starry skies Maybe to an astral plane Cross the highways of fantasy Help me to forget today's pain

4- Storms - Fleetwood Mac - come on, is it really a Pedro character playlist if there isn’t a FM song in it? I think this really captures the internal struggle within Catfish after his departure from the army.

I haven't felt this way I feel Since many a year ago But in those years and the lifetime's past I did not deal with the road

5 - Runnin’ Down a Dream - Tom Petty - I just know that Frankie would love this song. It kinda describes the mission, just delving into the work, taking what comes. Perhaps a bit positive outlook on the mission, but I still think it’s fitting. It’s fun, upbeat, love the guitar in it.

I rolled on, the sky grew dark I put the pedal down to make some time There's something good waitin' down this road I'm pickin' up whatever's mine

6 - Dammit - Blink 182 - Ok, so Blink 182 is major 90s music, so obviously Frankie has listened to them. It was probably the other guys in his platoon who introduced him to them, but he digs their sound & this one really stuck with him. It was difficult to return from what he’s seen and finally “grow up.”

Sticks to the masterplan But everybody's gone And I've been here for too long To face this on my own Well I guess this is growing up

7 - KMAG YOYO - Hayes Carll - just listen to it, it makes sense. Less something that Frankie would listen to, but rather speaks more to his experiences in the army. The lyrics I included I think are what Frankie is thinking after he’s been discharged.

I need some fixin' Now how long has it been Never wanna go and try And shoot a gun again Slippin' out the back door Wanna join the Peace Corps Tell me I'm a hero Now someone else can fight this war

8 - Hallucinogenics (Stripped) - Matt Maeson - yeah. just all of it.

And then I crawled back to the life That I said I wouldn't live in'

Cause I carried on like the wayward son And now through and through, I've come undone And now I am just but the wayward man What with my bloodshot eyes and my shaky hand

9 - Julia - Kiltro - “Creatures of darkness” (title of the album) are ambiguous, but I think of them as the struggles that Frankie has, his addictions, failures, & the results of his time in the military. Just a very eerie & unique song. Julia in it is also ambiguous, referenced in their other songs as well, but is this ethereal being (you) that haunts the singer. There’s also Spanish mixed in! (very obsessed with this band’s sound - lead singer is Chilean-American!)

I’ve been alight with apparitions of death, oh well My mind has left And my life is only threads

10 - Just Want to be Loved - Mipso - maybe I’m projecting, but I think that this is very much Frankie Morales. He seeks out what will bring good to him. He is desperate for someone to be genuine with him & gentle with his shortcomings.

Sunday morning I recall Swearing off alcohol again Lately I've been waking up Shaking off a dream before it ends