#IVAN AND ROSE WERE SO CUTE

[hufflepotato-18]

THIS WAS EVERYTHING

[mc-lukanette]

Luka didn't consider himself particularly stupid, but he probably could've caught on earlier to what was going on. In his (weak) defense, Marinette had always been generous with her gifts.

Their friend group wasn't very large: it was him, Marinette, his sister Juleka, Ivan, and Rose. It was also common for them to give each other gifts even if it wasn't their birthday, just to show they cared.

Ivan, for example, gave him a CD one day. It was from a band he didn't recognize, but he was always open to hearing something new. Ivan had that exact thought, knowing he probably hadn't heard it but figuring he might like it. Luka appreciated it.

Then, only a couple days later, Marinette brought him a set of CDs, all from relatively new bands who'd yet to make a name for themselves. Perhaps that should've been suspicious to him, but they'd initially bonded over music in the first place and she was the designer for his band.

Still, he couldn't help commenting, "You didn't have to spend this much on me, Marinette."

"Oh, this?" She shook her head. "This is nothing! I had extra money from some commissions I did!"

There wasn't any sign of a lie. He smiled, thinking how it would be rude to reject the gift in that case. "Okay. Thanks for thinking about me."

She beamed with pride, and something else he couldn't quite place.

—————

The next gift was from Rose. She'd called his name in a sing-song voice and presented him with a thick, fluffy scarf. It was going to get cold soon and the insulation of the houseboat was only so-so.

She didn't hesitate to point out the absurd length either, which Luka had noticed but thought it polite not to comment on. Pointing at it from end to end when he held it stretched out, she didn't bother hiding the fact that it could be used as a "scarf for two."

Gently, he'd reminded her that he and Marinette were not together, nor was he interested in any sort of scheming to make it so. He was perfectly happy being friends and didn't want to push anything on her that she might not want.

It was that same train of logic making him believe that Marinette giving him a handmade scarf, less than a week later, was probably a coincidence.

Probably.

—————

Juleka made plushies of the five of them during art club: soft, carefully stitched together, and absurdly cute. She handed each friend's matching plush when they were all together and blushed when Rose insisted they trade because she wanted the Juleka plush. Luka, meanwhile, placed his atop the speaker next to his bed, impressed when it sat upright all by itself.

It felt like no time at all before Marinette brought along her own handmade plush to show him: himself in his Kitty Section costume.

"It's merchandise!" she explained excitedly, flipping the mask a few times and wiggling the guitar to show that they weren't stuck on the plush itself. "It's just a prototype, but I wanted you to have the first."

Using him as the prototype made sense. He was the oldest, even if only minutes older than his sister, and there was an unspoken agreement that he was the "leader." Decisions about the band tended to go through him as the final, most important voice, and he often spoke for all of them when in public.

The thing that tipped him off, however, was that Marinette was thorough. He would've expected her to drop a full set in front of him, a plan for how to market them, and a sketch of what the best place to sell them would be whenever they played somewhere, just for good measure.

Of course, he wasn't going to say any of that out loud and he loved it anyway, but something felt strange.

—————

"...Marinette," Luka said patiently.

She was all smiles and innocence, practically hopping in place as she held out the tiny jewelry box to him. "I just thought it'd be nice to have another set of earrings to wear!"

That sounded fine enough on its own. He supposed it'd be boring to play the same song over and over again, but this was her first attempt at making jewelry and she was giving it to him. There was something so obviously special about that, yet she was playing it off casually.

Taking the box and looking at the earrings themselves only made it more apparent. It wasn't just some jewelry she'd done up as a test and barely thought about the design of.

The earrings were simple, but clearly themed: a flower on each, but crotchet rests for leaves and a whole note as the center. There was no reasoning of merchandise or just trying something out this time; these were made with him in mind.

And, going off of the flower design, a little bit of herself too.

"This is a lot," he pointed out, and even that felt like an understatement.

She softened, sympathetic. Raising her hands up, she assured, "You don't have to wear them if you don't want to! I already thought that your earrings might mean something to you, so—"

"No," he cut in immediately, catching the misunderstanding. "I meant that you've been giving me so many gifts. You don't have to."

"Huh? But I do," she began as she straightened her back, glaring with determination and clenching her hands tightly into fists, "if I want to get that best friend spot!"

"What?"

He blinked at her, wide-eyed at the sudden declaration. Marinette herself only realized what she said a second later, her posture turning to a slump as she groaned into her hands.

Part of him thought about letting it go, but he was too invested in how important this was to her. He leaned in, asking softly, "Best friend spot?"

She lowered her hands just enough to look at him, then sighed and dropped them at her sides. "Juleka and Rose are already best friends, and Ivan has Mylene, so..." She flicked her wrist in his direction as if to say, 'well, you know.'

Luka did know now, but it hit him like a truck. He flashed back to times of the group playing video games together and the way Marinette's competitive spirit came out, quite literally, to play.

That expression he couldn't quite place all this time and her giving him so many gifts suddenly made sense: she'd been "competing" to take the role of his best friend. There wasn't even anyone to compete with, and she'd known that, yet something so basic held value to her to the point of seeing it as something to "win."

Luka turned his head away and covered his mouth with a hand. He wanted to laugh, but didn't want to give her the idea that he found her efforts something to laugh at. No, it was simply that it was the cutest thing he'd ever heard and it was taking actual effort not to say that out loud.

"A-ah? Luka!" Marinette called, leaning to try and catch a glimpse of his expression.

He went to speak, but remembered the hand covering his mouth and lowered it. Grinning at her, he replied, "You've already got the part."

"The part?" she repeated, then grew excited when what he meant hit her. "Really?"

Cute. So cute. The absolute cutest. How'd she been friendless for so long before meeting him and the others was beyond his understanding.

"What did it?" she pressed. "The CDs? The scarf? The plush? The earrings? It was the earrings, right?"

He shook his head, unable to stop smiling, and didn't elaborate beyond, "It's you." Then, staring down adoringly at the earrings in their little jewelry box, he added, "But I do want to wear these. Can you put them in for me?"

She was still in shock, but shook herself out of it to answer him. "O-oh, sure..."

She took the jewelry box back and he turned around to take out his earrings. He knew it wasn't like he was getting undressed in front of her or anything, but he was learning quickly that even he had limits for how long he could deal with her pretty face saying pretty things.

He removed both earrings, then heard a tiny pecking noise from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Marinette, turned away from him but not enough that he couldn't see the kiss she gave one of the earrings.

He could hear a pounding in his ears, clutching his earrings tight in his hands to feel them poking into his skin, just to make sure this was real.

—————

Luka honestly - perhaps foolishly - thought things would remain like that: with them being "officially" (whatever that meant) best friends and Marinette not feeling like she had to compete with it. She did take the hints that the gifts weren't necessary, and thus gift giving had returned to their usual back and forth.

He hadn't considered anything further than that.

One day, Juleka and Rose were preparing to go on a long walk together, off to a place they hadn't been before. Luka knew they'd be alright, but gave his sister a cheek kiss in a silent wish for luck and safety.

He felt a pair of eyes on him at that moment, but Rose was busy excitedly putting semi-random objects in her bag for the "trip." Also, what was the sudden sense of foreboding going up his spine?

Juleka and Rose waved goodbye and departed the Liberty, Ivan having already left a while ago to see Mylene. Knowing that left only one possibility, Luka glanced over his shoulder to see Marinette, sitting on an instrument case and looking his way.

Immediately, she dropped her gaze to her lap, pouting.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, walking over to her. "We're best friends. You can tell me anything if you want to."

"I-it's nothing," she insisted when it was clearly not nothing. "It makes sense. She's your sister, so it works differently."

Utterly lost, he merely blinked at her, mind racing to understand what had her sulking like she was. It was only when she brought a hand up, her fingertips idly skimming her cheek, that it registered.

"...You want me to kiss you on the cheek?" He sat down next to her, turning towards her as much as possible without their legs brushing.

She blushed, but answered noncommittally, "If you want?" Her voice lowered as she mumbled more to herself than him. "My skin probably isn't as nice anyway. I bet Juleka uses a lot of moisturizer."

Evasive as it was, her position was clear: he was doing something with Juleka that he wasn't doing with her, and thus she was "losing." She wanted him to do things with her that he'd do with anyone else, and maybe even more than that. In his personal opinion, that wasn't being best friends, but—

Well, point being, he was happy to "prove" that they were best friends if these were the standards to hold to.

He leaned over, pressing a light kiss to her cheek that was slightly longer than the one he'd given Juleka, just to be safe. Marinette still smelled faintly of strawberries and coconut, a scent he'd long grown fond of whenever she'd press herself against him in her eagerness to show him something.

He could also confirm that her skin was actually very nice.

She stiffened, mouth dropping open in surprise that he'd actually done it, then delight. A little giggle-hum came out of her as she rested her hands in her lap, looking absurdly pleased with herself.

Luka wasn't sure how she always did that. She was unpredictable, even when he felt he knew her, and was practically preening from a little kiss on the cheek. It was such an easy thing for him to do, but it meant something to her.

His role in the band as "leader" hadn't been self-designated, as he'd always been fine playing in the background if need be. He had no need for attention, fame, and the like. Marinette was different though, and not at all in a bad way.

She was making him center stage, showing him again how much impact his presence had. He didn't know how he'd gotten so lucky.

"Ah," Marinette began even though that wasn't really a word, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She was trying to be "cool" about all this, but that was hard to do when she swayed from side to side, her prior pouting swallowed up in her bliss. "You don't have to worry about the earrings, by the way."

"Hm?"

She pointed at one of his earrings - the ones she made for him - and clarified, "I'll make you another pair if you ever get bored of them."

He'd done such a good job at not chuckling at how cute she was, but that finally made him snort. She raised a brow at the reaction and he grinned, pointing out, "That won't work."

"Why not?" She leaned in, genuinely curious.

He reached up to the earrings, affectionately stroking the delicate lines of the flower she designed. "I won't get bored of them. If you make me another pair, I'll just get my ears pierced again."

"Wh—" She shook her head in disbelief, having expected a more practical answer like 'you shouldn't be making me more earrings on a whim.' "You can't do that!"

He shrugged unapologetically, because he absolutely could do that, and he would. Maybe he could make an appointment sometime soon just to prove it.

Shoulders tense in her defiance, she challenged, "And if I get you another pair after that?"

As if it were obvious - and it was to him - he replied easily, "I'll get them pierced again."

"You'll run out of room eventually!"

"I have other places I could get pierced."

She was looking deadly, comically serious about all of this. She brought a fist up to her mouth, her eyes darting all over him like there might be a big sign hanging on him, saying that he didn't mean it.

He wasn't sure what she was actually looking for, but when she made eye contact again, there was something familiar; something blazing behind her gaze.

With her other hand, she reached out and snagged his sleeve. Her pull was strong, bringing him close enough to where he could feel her little huff against his skin. Then and there, she kissed his skin back, right next to his lips.

It was like a tiny lightning bolt hitting him, sparks spreading out all along his face and down his neck. He couldn't tell if the warmth was from her or his face heating up.

Her hand left his sleeve and pressed against his chest, putting him at arm's length to her. Her own cheeks were red, but that fire in her eyes was still there: her competitiveness.

Looking away from him, she stood up quickly and shouted, "W-we'll see!"

Then she ran off further into the Liberty, as if to flee from the bold move. It didn't serve the purpose of actually running away - he lived there - nor did it clarify on what they would "see" about, but it at least gave him a moment to think.

He'd thought before that she hadn't had any competition to be his best friend, which was still true. He couldn't have imagined anyone who could've taken that place but her, so the only obstacle after that was saying it out loud as far as he was concerned, and they'd done that.

But now there was a second competition he hadn't been aware of, whether that was being the best best friend or whatever else she was aiming for. Regardless, she did have an opponent - him - and he'd seen how merciless she could be when it came to competitions.

One thing was for sure: he was in so much trouble.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Collusion and Revolution

Well, the final confrontation with Lila was a bust, but maybe Chloe's swan song will be bett----HAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry, I couldn't even finish that sentence without laughing.

Let's get into the twenty-second and twenty-third episodes of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Collusion and Revolution

“Collusion” starts off with... oh, for God's sake... Gabriel monologuing to Emilie's body for the umpteenth time, only now, we see just how bad his Cataclysm wound has gotten, now making his entire hand black.

Marinette and Adrien wake up and we get a pretty cute scene of them talking on the phone while getting ready for their respective days. Afterwards, Gabriel talks with Adrien about being sent to London, and is somehow aware that Adrien hasn't told Marinette yet. Even when Gabriel tries to use his ring to keep Adrien under his control, Adrien still shows signs of resistance.

Later at school, Chloe walks up to insult Marinette and Adrien as usual, but Marinette has a little rebuttal of her own.

Marinette: Be mean while you still can, Chloe. I'm gonna let you in on a secret. Remember your friend Lila who used to hurt everyone with her lies? See her anywhere in this classroom? No, because I put a stop to her nastiness and I'll do the same with you!

Yeah, and you were only able to do so because one of Lila's minions decided they didn't like being evil, and had no plan of your own prior to that.

It's revealed that not only is Lila (I'm not calling her Cerise to make things easier for myself) still in contact with Chloe through their Alliance rings, she also somehow got her own supervillain lair. How did she set up here, much less find the resources to do so? You guessed it, never explained!

And yeah, let's just get this out of the way. I hate what they're doing with Lila here. For reasons I'll get to in a later review, it's clear that there had to be some changes made so Lila remains a key player, even after the events of “Confrontation”, so they decided to make Lila manipulate Chloe as part of her plans. For a pair of episodes that are meant to show Chloe at her absolute worst, it devalues her status as a villain if she's just going to be used as a glorified attack dog for bigger threats like Lila. Remember, we've seen Chloe come up with her own plans before (Mr. Pigeon, Dark Cupid, Darkblade, Kung Food, Antibug, Despair Bear, Zombizou, Frightningale, Queen Wasp, Queen Banana, Gabriel Agreste, Penalteam, Determination, Derision), and we know she's not a complete idiot. She doesn't need Lila to hold her hand and tell her what to do to get what she wants. I get that it's supposed to be ironic that Chloe, for all her bluster, is ultimately a pawn in a larger scheme, but it just doesn't gel with the whole “irredeemable monster” stuff the show has been going with whenever Chloe has been on screen for the past two seasons. You could easily take Lila out of these episodes and not much would really change.

During class, Chloe makes a scene by blasting some music and dancing on her desk, and we get what has to be the most unrealistic thing this entire show has done for the past five seasons: Assuming kids still care about school when the year is almost over.

Rose: Chloe, quit it! We wanna hear the lesson, we care!

When Ms. Bustier tries to send Chloe to the principal's office, Chloe calls Ms. Mendeleiev (who is the new principal after Mr. Damocles resigned), and essentially forces her to change the rules to music is allowed. After Chloe taunts Ivan, just as Marinette tries to stop Ivan from hurting her, she uses the opportunity to frame Marinette for hitting her. Oh, sorry. I mean Lila uses the opportunity to tell Chloe to frame Marinette for hitting her.

In the principal's office, Ms. Bustier tries to reason with Chloe by showing her the present she got her all the way back in Season 2's “Zombizou”.

Ms. Bustier: Chloe, do you remember this gift you gave me on my birthday? To me, that is proof that you're a fragile teenager who doesn't know love and is simply looking for attention. And... we all tried to help you. So, please, whatever it is you want, ask yourself if it's worth all the suffering you're causing.

Chloe: Did you hear that? A homeroom teacher using a student's feelings to blackmail her. This is inappropriate, utterly inappropriate! My father, the mayor, would never tolerate this in a school.

Remember kids, FUCK showing compassion to your enemies! Everyone knows Gandhi was a loser anyway.

The negative emotions attract an Akuma to Ms. Bustier, but she manages to resist Monarch's influence for now. Monarch transforms back into Gabriel, who has a meeting with Tomoe and Andre to discuss the state of Paris' law enforcement.

Tomoe: Your policemen mostly get paid for doing nothing. It seems that Ladybug and Cat Noir are the ones who have been enforcing the law in Paris the last few months, wouldn't you agree?

Because I guess Ladybug and Cat Noir have also been stopping drug rings off-screen or something.

Chloe storms into the office, and even though Lila has no idea what's going on, she tells Chloe to record the conversation. Once again, Lila has to tell Chloe just how to be mean and selfish while she chews out Andre, and that if she was the mayor, she'd ban superheroes, right before Chloe learns Adrien is going to London next year.

After a scene that's only there to remind the audience that Adrien hasn't told Marinette about London yet, we see Gabriel talking with Andre about replacing Paris' police force with robots... even though this should really be more a discussion for the commissioner. I guess the writers didn't have enough money for a commissioner model because they had to allocate resources for Ms. Bustier's baby bump.

Andre: Seriously, Gabriel, what's this whole police robot idea all about?

Gabriel: Have I ever offered a single bad idea to you, Andre? We've always helped each other, haven't we?

Andre: Remember when we were young and penniless? When Emilie, you and I would make the world right from our little attic room? You made me my very first suit so I'd feel confident and Audrey, whom I'd fallen in love with, would finally notice me? Don't you think we were much happier back then? That our lives were more beautiful, more fair?

Gabriel: Come on, you have everything to be happy, Andre. Your wife, your daughter, Paris City Hall...

Andre: A woman who barely respects me, a selfish, heartless daughter, and a City Hall that I never wanted. I only got into politics like dad to impress Audrey, you know that.

Gabriel: I have no idea what you're talking about.

Andre: Look at me, Gabe. All my life I've lied, I've cheated and I've abused my power. I used to be a dreamer, an artist, I wanted to make movies! Now I've become a tyrant in servitude to my family and friends...

Aw, poor baby. Did someone condition their daughter to develop an entitlement complex while refusing to divorce your abusive wife?

I'm sorry, but I don't feel bad for Andre at all here. While I'm happy to see that the show is trying to teach kids that male mental health is important too, it doesn't really earn him a lot of sympathy considering a lot of this is his own fault. Sure, we don't know what Audrey was like when they were younger, and she could have gotten worse as time went on, but considering how rich he is coupled with the fact that Audrey spends most of her time in New York, he doesn't really have much of an excuse to not divorce her. As for Chloe, he has even less of an excuse, since he was responsible for her upbringing. He spoiled her rotten, he refused to properly discipline her, and he failed to teach her the slightest bit of humility. I'm willing to accept that Chloe is a lost cause by the show's standards, but I can't accept the fact that Andre had nothing to do with how she turned out. He's as much of a failure as a parent as Gabriel is.

As Lila somehow finds where the two are talking so she can overhear their conversation, Gabriel secretly records Andre, altering what he says to make him look bad. While I can't exactly describe it through text, this clip from The Simpsons should summarize it.

Ms. Bustier sees the video of Andre, and this time, she fails to resist an Akuma, turning into Wonder Woman—I mean, Miss Sans-Culotte.

Miss Sans-Culotte has a okay design. I like how it's meant to have a more patriotic theme with the color scheme, and the fact that it's based off some of the people in the French Revolution, aptly named the Sans-Culotte, is a nice way to teach kids about history. The problems I have are the golden armor, which goes against the fact that was previously mentioned in this very episode that the Sans-Culotte wore more simple clothing. That, and the guillotine blade for a weapon, which gives off some uncomfortable implications. The Miraculous power this time involves the Pig Miraculous' Gift, which somehow allows her to transform anyone her blade touches into balloons... even though the Pig never had that ability, and we saw what it really did just earlier this season (Jubilation).

Right when it seems like Adrien is about to tell Marinette about London, the two learn about Miss Sans-Culotte, and split up to transform into Cat Noir and Ladybug respectively. Meanwhile, Chloe hears the news about Andre before getting a call from Gabriel, who offers to “give her Andre's power”. Even though Chloe always uses her dad's power to get what she wants, she literally has to be told to accept the offer from Lila because she didn't think of the political ramifications. You see what I mean about Lila adding nothing to this episode? It'd be like if Thanos kept in contact with someone who had to tell him how to get the Infinity Stones at every step. As for Gabriel, I'll talk about his plan next episode.

Ladybug and Cat Noir confront Miss Sans-Culotte, demanding to know what she's doing.

Ladybug: Terror isn't a solution!

Cat Noir: There are elections to make your voice heard.

Miss Sans-Culotte: Or a revolution when everyone is corrupt. Nothing can stop freedom!

Because it's not like the video of Andre confessing to abusing his power, tampered or not, is an open and shut impeachment case, right?

Ladybug summons her Lucky Charm and gets a crown. After focusing on Miss Sans-Culotte and City Hall, she gets an idea.

Ladybug: Mayor Bourgeois is acting like the king of Paris, and maybe he should be removed from office after all.

Cat Noir: Are you saying we should give this villain free reign?

Ladybug: I don't know... I feel like that's what the Lucky Charm means. You're right, it's not up to us to decide who gets to be the mayor and who doesn't. An akumatized villain just needs to be deakumatized.

Yeah, remember how Ladybug said it was too risky to forge a temporary alliance with Matagi Gozen in order to stop the person who stole almost every Miraculous she had last season? Well now, she's saying they should essentially let this Akuma force the sitting Mayor of Paris out of power, which is all kinds of illegal. Now this might just be because I'm not French, and don't understand how politics work over there, but here in America, the last time some people stormed a major government establishment to protest a fair election, they were seen as fucking lunatics.

Zoe tries to reason with Miss Sans-Culotte, but she's still in favor of using that guillotine blade in ways that don't involve balloons. They try to reason with her and convince her to reason with Andre... right as Andre is about to resign himself, so this whole conflict was pointless. Still glad to know Ladybug and Cat Noir are now willing to let Akumas use their powers to get what they want when that was almost always seen as taboo.

Miss Sans-Culotte once again rejects the Akuma with ease, Ladybug uses Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage... only to be cornered by several police robots, and ones that look really stupid at that.

Remember, Gabriel and Tomoe wanted taxpayers to pay for these.

Yeah, somehow, the Lucky Charm was actually meant for Chloe, because, well...

Cat Noir: A crown for the queen of brats, of course!

What, did calling her the literal Antichrist not do well with test audiences?

Yeah, this makes no goddamn sense. Why was the Lucky Charm prioritizing Chloe of all people instead of the Akuma as usual? What was Ladybug even supposed to do here? Yeah, she really should have stopped Miss Sans-Culotte, but was she expected to know about the police robots or something?

Chloe tells the press that Ladybug and Cat Noir helped an Akuma force the current mayor out of office. This is all part of Gabriel and Tomoe's plan, but once again, she's not wrong. The two still helped a dangerous supervillain force a major political shift, and the resulting power vacuum that allowed Chloe to rise to power is really their fault. After Cat Noir uses his Cataclysm to free himself and Ladybug from the nets the robots used to trap them with, we get the start of a running gag where Chloe struggles to say the word “democratic”, because remember, she's blonde, and therefore stupid. This happens several times across both episodes, and none of them are actually funny.

The episode ends with Chloe unlawfully taking control of Paris as the new mayor, which is totally different from Miss Sans-Culotte unlawfully forcing Andre to resign. The last time I saw double standards this blatant, I was watching RWBY.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... CHLOE

If there's one thing I love about my irredeemable villains, it's that they're so stupid, it's impossible to take them seriously. Not only did Chloe need Lila to hold her hand through every major decision she made throughout this episode (and by extension, the next), she failed to understand her dad's political career falling apart and needed to be told to take an opportunity to own an army of advanced robots, and couldn't even say the word “democratic”, which isn't that hard of a word to say even if you're borderline illiterate.

“Revolution” starts off with Chloe essentially declaring martial law in Paris for the time being. Once again, Cat Noir says the sane thing for once and suggests they go and beat up Chloe themselves. Well, I say that, but somehow, Cat Noir contradicts himself in his very next line.

Cat Noir: We can't let Chloe make up the rules.

Ladybug: If she were akumatized, it'd be easy. Find the object, break it, de-evilize her.

Cat Noir: But there is no object, and we can't attack someone who isn't akumatized, or we'd look like the supervillains.

I think you forgot something, guys...

THE ENTIRE FUCKING REASON SHE'S MAKING THE RULES IN THE FIRST PLACE IS BECAUSE YOU HELPED A SUPERVILLAIN IN THE LAST EPISODE! HOW DID YOU FORGET THIS VITAL INFORMATION?!

What the hell is with the sudden change of pace? They were willing to let Miss Sans-Culotte have her way by making Andre resign, so why can't they stop Chloe when she's already taken over Paris by force? I don't think you'd really look like supervillains if you stopped a tyrant instead of a democratically elected mayor. All you need to do is stop Chloe from controlling the robots, and you're golden.

In fact, where the hell is the rest of the Parisian government during all this, much less the French government? Why aren't they doing anything about this? We don't even get a throwaway line that explains it like Chloe bribed some politicians to keep quiet about the whole thing. Instead, despite an obvious violation of democratic rights, nobody outside of Paris is even bothering to stop this.

After a brief scene where some citizens are interviewed about Chloe, we see Adrien once again angsting about going to London. Like what Lila did with Chloe last episode, Plagg has to outright tell Adrien to talk to Marinette about this, because I guess this show has a really low opinion on the intelligence of people with blond hair. Also, good to know that even though Chloe is currently ruling over the city with an iron fist, she's still allowing air traffic to flow normally. Good thing too, as it's almost tourist season. Adrien tries to tell Marinette through a call, but she talks to him about Chloe, and how they can protest her regime.

Meanwhile, at City Hall, Chloe has already gone mad with power, as she orders her new box robots around, while Gabriel calls her to praise her for how she's been doing. Afterwards, Gabriel transforms into Monarch and absorbs the powers from a few Kwamis before Voyaging to City Hall. Chloe orders her robots to arrest Monarch, unaware than Tomoe is the one actually controlling them, only for Monarch to offer a deal... which Lila once again has to tell Chloe to listen to even though Chloe has worked with him in the past. Monarch offers to akumatize Chloe in a way that makes it look like she's not working for him. She accepts, and becomes Queen Mayor.

Queen Mayor's design is pretty simple, but I guess it works for the plan. It's just Chloe in an admittedly nice-looking jacket. Not sure if she can actually take it off like her other clothes or not, though. As for the Miraculous powers, Monarch transfers five of them to her robots, the Turtle Miraculous' Shelter, the Horse Miraculous' Voyage, the Ox Miraculous' Resistance, the Bee Miraculous' Venom, and the Rooster Miraculous' Sublimation, which gives her an unclear power. Given what she subjects her victims to later on, I guess it's the torture chamber she creates? I also don't get how the robots are capable of using the Miraculous powers when earlier episodes established you needed to have multiple Alliance rings to use them (Transmission, Pretension).

But now's as good a time as any to discuss Gabriel and Tomoe's plan, and why is makes absolutely no sense. In case you got confused, here's a quick summary: Tomoe created an army of robots designed to replace the police, and when Andre refused to use them, Gabriel recorded a private conversation so he could edit it, then transform into Monarch to akumatize someone and hope Ladybug and Cat Noir would let her force Andre to resign, then talk to Chloe about taking over as mayor, hope she says yes while Ladybug and Cat Noir do nothing to stop her, then pretend to give her control over Tomoe's robots before akumatizing Chloe so she can actually control the robots, all while praying that Chloe doesn't find out the truth, much the government doesn't get involved with this.

Gabriel and Tomoe did all of this instead of just, you know, akumatizing Chloe like usual. If the plan was to akumatize her all along while making it look like she's not akumatized, why didn't Gabriel just do that from the start as soon as Andre resigned and Miss Sans-Culotte rejected her Akuma? Also, why the hell is Chloe so crucial to the plan anyway? Yeah, they plan to throw her under the bus once they win, but wouldn't it make more sense if Tomoe, the one whose company made the robots, was the one who took over as Mayor?

It feels like the show is trying to recreate the plan from “Miracle Queen” where Chloe teams up with Monarch, but that plan at least made sense, as Chloe was crucial because of her connection to Ladybug. Here, it just feels like the writers needed an excuse to actually make Chloe a threat, but just like when Felix gave Gabriel all of the other Miraculous last season, it's forced. I'm not really seeing Chloe as a threat when she needed Gabriel to hand her the keys to an army of robots, and I don't care if that's the point. If the show wants us to take Chloe seriously as a villain, it needs her actions to speak for themselves instead of turning her into a glorified attack dog for Gabriel, Tomoe, and even Lila to an extent.

But here's my biggest problem with this plan. Consider the fact that Gabriel put Chloe in a major political position, presumably in order to bank on the fact that Ladybug and Cat Noir wouldn't use their powers to beat up a civilian. Gabriel then transformed into Monarch and akumatized Chloe into a form that would make it look like nobody would even tell she was akumatized in the first place. So let me ask this: If Gabriel's plan involves making it look like Chloe isn't akumatized, how is this going to actually attract Ladybug and Cat Noir so you can get their Miraculous?!

Yeah, Ladybug and Cat Noir eventually decide to fight Chloe anyway, but they don't learn she's akumatized until she blurts it out, and that's well into their fight. The plan is to turn the local government against Ladybug and Cat Noir and discredit in a way that prevents them from taking action against an obvious threat, but that just doesn't gel with Monarch's goal of getting their Miraculous. Did Gabriel and Tomoe assume that Ladybug and Cat Noir would just have no qualms with presumably beating up a civilian? If so, why even bother hiding the fact that Chloe was akumatized? This is a problem the plan faces no matter who the mayor is. Hell, if anything, it would be better if Chloe was akumatized from the start, as no matter how long she hides it for, she still has control over an army of robots armed with Miraculous powers, which wouldn't decrease the threat she poses in the slightest. This isn't even the first time an Akuma has hijacked the position of mayor (Rogercop), so it's even less excusable!

The next day, the students stage a protest at their school to get Ms. Bustier her job back, where Chloe (I'm calling her that instead because nobody else calls her Queen Mayor) questions why they're using their right to protest. She also plans to tell Marinette that Adrien is moving to London (something Gabriel told her earlier), but once again, Lila tells her not to. Also, you want to know how stupid the whole “Chloe can't say the word 'democracy' right” gag is? In the same scene where she struggles to say the D-word, Chloe uses the words “Libertarian”, “negative”, and “influence” correctly. It's hard to really buy Chloe as this illiterate moron while you still have her use words like this.

We get what can barely be considered a montage of Chloe abusing her power, but it's only like, three scenes before the plot kicks back in. We get a scene of Chloe screwing around in a private one-on-one class, an admittedly funny bit where she had a golden statue of herself commissioned to rest on the Arc de Triomphe, and then a scene where she shows Andre the ice cream man just how unfair her rule is.

Chloe: Did you pay the permit fee to sell your ice cream?!

Ice Cream Man Andre: I don't need a permit to sell love in Paris!

Chloe: Well, now you do! Otherwise, you'll end up in detention!

I mean, she reasonably calls out Andre for not having a permit to sell ice cream. How... evil of her?

Marinette goes back to her place, only to learn Chloe abducted her parents and placed them in “detention”, before doing the same to her thanks to one of her robots using a combination of Venom and Voyage. We do get an admittedly decent scene of Chloe threatening to tell Marinette about Adrien moving if Adrien doesn't become her deputy mayor, only for Adrien to vow to tell Marinette himself... even though he kept trying to tell her earlier in the episode, so this moment feels a little hollow. But hey, it's not like the finale will make this scene seem even worse in retrospect, right?

Adrien is sent to detention, a torture chamber where footage of Chloe mentally conditions the prisoners into believing that they're ridiculous or that they can always count on her, all while the prisoners are told to find a chair in an endless maze. Again, another decent visual I'll give the episode credit for. After Adrien, Marinette, and Alya escape detention, the former two transform into Cat Noir and Ladybug respectively and get ready to finally do something about Chloe.

Ladybug summons her Lucky Charm, a bikini bottom, and gets ready to stop Chloe alongside Cat Noir. Okay, Chloe has an army of robots on her side alongside the public's favor, so they'll need to come up with a really clever plan in order to—they're just going in guns blazing even though that's a terrible plan in a situation like this. Unsurprisingly, the two heroes immediately get trapped by a combination of Shelter and Resistance, nullifying the Lucky Charm and Cataclysm. Only now do they figure out Monarch is behind this, even though both of them saw the robots use Venom and Voyage to send them to detention, yet when Chloe actually says it, Ladybug is still shocked by this.

As Ladybug and Cat Noir start to detransform, they encourage the public to take action once they lose their Miraculous, even though Monarch will have won by then. As they do this, somehow, they stop detransforming until they manage to recharge their Miraculous by the power of because the plot says so. How did they do this?

Gabriel: I am an adult! Not transforming back is a power belonging to grown-ups!

Nooroo: I guess they must have grown up, Master.

Yes. Seriously. Even though there's been nothing else to signify that Ladybug and Cat Noir have matured this season, they now have the full power of their Miraculous at their disposal because now, they're adults. If you have to tell the audience that your characters have developed, then you've done a poor job at writing character development. Ms. Bustier takes the sash containing Chloe's Akuma while Cat Noir uses multiple Cataclysms to destroy the rest of her robots.

Ladybug de-evilizes the Akuma, oddly enough, doesn't use Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage, doesn't give Chloe a useless Magical Charm because Andre says he's going to “correct his own errors”, and after being convinced by her students, Ms. Bustier decides to run for mayor.

We then cut to a private jet where Audrey is chewing her daughter out for failing, even though she supported her earlier when she was mayor. Yeah, you know how it seemed like Andre was finally going to properly discipline his daughter. Dream on! Instead, he just decided to send her away with Audrey, someone who he knows is a terrible person, and lets her deal with Chloe in a way that heavily implies she's going to put Chloe through hell when she isn't at school.

Audrey: Because of you, we've lost face! You've ruined our name and our reputation! You had all the powers in your hands and you foolishly lost them! Bourgeois do not raise losers. You think you're going to London on vacation? Dream on! I'm going to take control of your life again, starting with your education.

This is seriously meant to be an appropriate punishment for Chloe while Andre gets absolutely no consequences for being responsible for his daughter turning out the way she did. I have only one thing to ask.

WHAT THE FUCK, ASTRUC?!

How the fuck did anyone involved with this show think any of this was okay?! How did Andre think this was okay when in the previous episode, he pointed out how awful Audrey was?! Why the fuckare both Andre and Audrey, the two people who helped make Chloe the person she is, getting away scot-free while Chloe gets condemned for everything?! Why the fuck are we supposed to be happy Audrey is diciplining Chloe when we know she's worse than she is?! WHO THE FUCK THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE OKAY TO GREENLIGHT?!

I can either interpret this scene in two ways.

The first way is that, like he's said for a few years now, Astruc still doesn't see this as child abuse, and that Chloe is being punished like any other misbehaving child is.

THIS IS WHAT THOMAS ASTRUC ACTUALLY BELIEVES.

The second way, and I consider this to be the worse option, is that Astruc's team is fully aware that this now qualifies as child abuse, and that Chloe deserves this treatment. Put aside the fact that a common mentality of abusive parents is that they believe they're helping their children by “toughing them up”, this is still a demented way to punish any character, no matter how bad they are.

“But IOTA! Chloe needs to be punished for what she did!” Yeah, she does, but not like this. Hell, you don't need to do a lot to change the ending and avoid the harmful implications. Just have Andre be the one to move out of Paris with Chloe with the intent to send her to boarding school. Also, rather than say he's “going to take control of Chloe's life again”, have him explain that while he still loves Chloe, he isn't mayor anymore, so she can't use his name to get out of trouble, meaning that like it or not, Chloe will have to grow out of her bratty attitude or else she'll get in even more trouble. That way, we see Andre actually taking responsibility for how bad of a parent he was, Chloe realizes her old tricks won't work anymore while the door is open for a redemption should you choose to bring her back next season, and most importantly, there's no implications of child abuse here.

But believe it or not, things were even worse for these episodes initially. As detailed in the Season 5 scripts, there was originally a scene in “Collusion” where Andre used his powers as mayor to divorce Audrey and steal custody of Zoe while leaving her to deal with Chloe herself, officially joining Jagged Stone in the Rich Deadbeat Dads Club.

And Astruc wasn't even aware it was taken out, not being told this until he found out on Twitter.

Because somehow, he considered Andre walking out on his family and leaving his biological daughter in the hands of an abusive bitch crucial to the story.

And do you want to know the worst part? No matter how you view this scene, either way, it's portrayed as Chloe getting punished, but the next scene plays Gabriel abusing Adrien straight, ordering him to pack his things as he'll be heading to London that night. The show literally can't make up its mind on whether child abuse is bad or not. Why is it okay for Chloe to be mistreated by her parents while we're supposed to sympathize with Adrien? No matter who the victim is, CHILD ABUSE IS STILL CHILD ABUSE.

I don't care how bad Chloe is, child abuse is NEVER justifiable, and it's disgusting that the show seems to take that stance, whether they intended to or not.

Let's just get the last few minutes out of the way so I can end this. Adrien is forced to pack for London, Nathalie does nothing to stop Gabriel from doing this, Lila steals one of Tomoe's computers, Gabriel tells Tomoe about keeping Adrien and Kagami safe in London while they execute “Operation: Perfect Alliance”, Marinette and Adrien have their first kiss for the third time in five seasons, Chloe calls Marinette to tell her about Adrien, but Marinette tells her to piss off, and Chloe ends the episode crying because Astruc thinks she deserves to suffer. THERE. I'M DONE.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... GABRIEL

Gabriel joins Marinette in earning the Biggest Idiot Award for the third time this season. He had no reason to include Chloe in his stupid plan, he was essentially banking on Ladybug and Cat Noir choosing to do nothing, and tried to create a scenario were Ladybug and Cat Noir wouldn't be able to lose their Miraculous. At least you could argue that Ladybug and Cat Noir needed to stay on the down low at first. Gabriel doesn't get that excuse.

These episodes sucked, but I honestly thought they were slightly better than the last two.

Yeah, all joking aside, I thought these episodes had more positives to them than “Revelation” and “Confrontation”. Where those two episodes were insulting and confusing respectively, these two episodes were the kind of bad I've come to expect from the show. There's plotholes, bad morals, and characters acting like idiots, but it's par for the course. I was far from a fan of these two episodes, but other than the ending of “Revolution”, I was nowhere near as angry I was with “Revelation” and “Confrontation”.

Surprisingly, I was more upset rewatching “Collusion” than I did “Revolution”. Yeah, “Revolution” was bad, but at least Chloe was supposed to be a bad example of how lead a city, unlike what Andre and Ms. Bustier were doing. Those characters both taught bad morals, intentional or not, and just like Ladybug and Cat Noir, were never called out for unintentionally leading to Chloe's rise to power. With Andre, we were supposed to just be expected to be okay with all the times he abused his power as mayor while cheering when he quit with no negative repercussions, and with Ms. Bustier, we were supposed to be okay with her attempting to stage a violent coup against Andre, the character the episode is already trying to make us sympathize with.

Between these two characters, along with Sabrina and Felix, the show really loves operating on the “There's Always a Bigger Fish” rule. It doesn't matter how many bad things you do, if someone else is pulling the strings, you won't get in trouble at all... unless you're Chloe, so, in that case, BURN IN HELL. Like I mentioned earlier, you can acknowledge someone only did bad things because they were pressured to while saying they should at least be held accountable for their actions in some way that doesn't involve kicking them out of the country.

The moral of when it's okay to use violence was pretty confusing, and not just because this is a superhero show where almost every problem is solved by fighting it. Ladybug tries to convince Miss Sans-Culotte that political conflicts shouldn't be solved with violence, but even if she didn't convince her to change her mind, Andre was already ready to resign as mayor, and Miss Sans-Culotte still angrily demanded he resign in a way that sounded like a violent threat. There's also the fact that despite saying that violence isn't always the answer, the conflict that was sort of resolved with no violence ended up making things worse as Chloe was able to seize power once Andre resigned.

Also, it's pretty funny how absolutely nobody ever tried to reason with Chloe after she became mayor, not even Ms. Bustier. In that case, violence was obviously the answer, but the show never really tells us what makes Miss Sans-Culotte better than Chloe. You can't teach an anti-violence moral in one episode and then lead into an episode where violence solves the problem instead of diplomacy. And I'm not one of those saints who believes that every conflict should be handled nonviolently. Sometimes, people won't listen to words, but will at least hear you out if you use your fists. I'd personally argue the conflict of “Revolution” would have worked if had this kind of lesson. Just have Ladybug and Cat Noir tried to solve things with Chloe diplomatically during the first act, only to realize that Chloe won't budge, so they have no choice but to take her out of power themselves. It'd make a hell of a lot more sense than having Marinette and Adrien do nothing while Chloe makes everyone's life miserable because the writers need to pad the runtime.

I already mentioned this, but for an episode that tries to show how awful Chloe is, she barely does anything on her own. She needs Lila to tell her to go along with Gabriel's plan, she needs Gabriel and Tomoe to pretend to give her an army of robots, and she needs Monarch to akumatize her to make the robots even more dangerous. If you need another character to do something to make Chloe a threat, why should we only see Chloe as the threat? These two episodes keep going back and forth on whether Chloe is the worst or not. When they're not showing her taking control of Paris on her own like should be doing, the writers take the time to remind the audience that Lila and Gabriel are pulling Chloe around by telling her what to do, all while they each muse about how this is all going according to keikaku. If you want to make Chloe a threat and have her live up to her reputation as a terrible human being, she should actually have agency and should be cunning enough to be a dangerous villain in her own right.

Unlike with “Confrontation”, which gave more focus to side characters for some reason, “Revolution” actually focused on the main characters and their conflict with Chloe, like we should have gotten with Lila. Yeah, Ladybug and Cat Noir wait far too long to stop her, but unlike with Lila last episode, they at least had a semblance of a reason for hesitating to beat up a civilian. Either way, it felt like an obstacle that Ladybug and Cat Noir actually overcame together instead of someone else helping them out at the last second. Yeah, the Miraculous boost was a glorified deus ex machina, but it was at least a thing established in the show since Season 3.

Even the stuff with Chloe actually felt like stuff she would do, unlike in Season 4, which tried to give her an interest in bananas and soccer for the sake of giving her screentime as a villain (Queen Banana, Penalteam). When Chloe had free reign of the city, she actually did stuff on her own that was clever, like the detention setup. We really needed more of this Chloe for the past two seasons if the writers wanted to make her work as a villain, yet they waited until the end of the fifth season to actually do something interesting, and that was after she was told what to do for most of the episode.

And then there's how the conflict was resolved. It's really hard to buy Ladybug and Cat Noir “growing up” and unlocking the full power of their Miraculous, because just like when it was first established in Season 3, it's such a vague term, and only leaves you asking more questions. Neither Marinette or Adrien really had a big moment of personal growth this episode. Yeah, Adrien wanted to tell Marinette about London, but he had been trying to do that since Chloe first took over as mayor. While it's a decent piece of character development after keeping it secret for the past few episodes, it doesn't really do a lot to justify Adrien “growing up”.

Then again, at least Adrien actually got a moment to show his growth compared to Marinette. All she did before she “grew up” was tell the citizens of Paris to keep fighting, but it was such a vague speech and doesn't really scream becoming an adult. If she was going to sacrifice her identity or do something dangerous in order to stop Chloe, that could have worked. Instead, what I can assume was her big moment came after she defeated Chloe, the call at the end, and even then, it was just her telling Chloe how much she sucks, something she's never been afraid to say since the show started. Once again, if you need to tell the audience your show has character development, you're not good at writing character development.

Overall, while these episodes were both really bad, I still think they're at least more tolerable than the previous two.

And with that, I am officially done with the poorly written Chloe episodes. Sure, I still have three more episodes until I finish Season 5, but least this means Astruc will hopefully stop using her in the show, or at least ranting about her on Twitter. Maybe I'll make a character analysis post about her or talk about her during the overview post, but for now...

[imsparky2002]

Coward and Proud of It

(Nathaniel is drawing in his sketchbook after another akuma attack, and notices his classmates looking embarassed, their faces riddled with guilt.)

Nathaniel: Why do you guys look like that?

Alix: Dude, we’re such horrible friends! We forgot about you again!

(He looked confused. She sounded sincere, but why?)

Rose: I can’t believe we left you behind! We’re supposed to look out for each other!

Nathaniel: Uh, what are you talking about?

Nino: We didn’t go back to look for you dude! We were too busy saving our own skins. (He looks ashamed. Nathaniel realizes what’s going on.)

Nathaniel: Are you talking about the last akuma attack? You think you abandoned me?

Kim: Yeah! You were nowhere to be found. Weren’t you looking for us?

Nathaniel: Uh... no? Guys, you didn’t leave me behind. I left you.

(The entire class gasps in shock.)

Chloe: What are you on about, Kurtzberg?!

(He just rolls his eyes at the girl.)

Nathaniel: Whenever I am able to do so, I slip away from you guys. Afterall, Akumas seem to have a magnet for our group. And the best way to avoid getting killed is to lay low, away from the source.

Adrien: You make it sound like we’re a liability to you!

Nathaniel: *Bluntly* You are. You all run around like headless chickens, instead of ducking for cover and keeping your heads down. If this were a zombie apocalypse, you’d fail horribly. Well, except for Adrien and Marinette. Somehow you two always manage to avoid the brunt of the attacks. Not to mention you’ve never been akumatized yourselves. Main character energy if I’ve ever seen it.

Marinette: Yeah... that’s the reason. *Internally sweating*

Max: Nathaniel, you make up one fourteenth of a group. I am pretty sure we’d realize if you had abandoned us.

Nathaniel: Well, Max, for a guy with such a high iq, you clearly weren’t smart enough the other four times I did it.

Alya: Hold on a second, you’ve left us FIVE TIMES?!

(Nathaniel nods. He doesn’t understand why everyone seems so surprised.)

Nathaniel: You make it sound like it’s such a hard thing to do. When you’re all freaking out like that, it’s easy for a quiet guy like me to slip away.

Alix: (Talking about the Art Club Squad) But every time we texted you in the group chat, you acted like you were trying to find us. You even said you understood how panicked we got.

Nathaniel: Yeah, I was lying. You think I’m gonna reveal my escape plans? Then you’ll wanna join me, and I can’t have anyone from this class, even my friends, putting a target on my back via association.

Juleka: *Mumbling* Ouch, dude.

Chloe: Hmph! Well if you’re so elusive, tell us how on earth a nobody like you managed to survive all these attacks.

Nathaniel: Why should I tell you? You’d just try to join me next time.

(Rose uses her puppy dog eyes, and he caves.)

Nathaniel: Alright, fine. But I’m not taking any of you next time, you hear me?

(They grumble and nod.)

Nathaniel: Ok, Stormy Weather was pretty easy. All I had to do was avoid Alec, head home to my house, shut all the windows, lock the doors, hide under the bed, and done. For some reason, Akumas usually attack anyone unlucky enough to be outside. If they don’t have a specific victim in mind that is.

(The classmates all mutter in agreement. He had a point.)

Nathaniel: Next up was Guitar Villain, and once again you all ran off together, not even thinking of splitting up. And it seems none of you got the idea of just pretending to like the music. That’s what I did, just copied what I saw Ivan doing in class the day before, and headbanged like there was no tomorrow. I find the music to be cringe as all hell, not to mention the singer’s a deadbeat dad with an obviously fake English accent, but I had to fake it to make it.

Juleka: *Muttering* He really is a scumbag.

Nathaniel: Then there was Frightingale. I didn’t escape by myself, since I got a helping hand from a certain cute writer who I had been in the music video with. Turns out we had both been crushing on the other for awhile, and finally had the courage to ask eachother out. He took me to a safespot with the other kids in Mendeliev’s class, they took a liking to me, since I actually bothered to ask about their lives. You do realize that the kids besides Marc, Mireille, Jean and Aurore have names right?

Marinette: Of course we did!

Nathaniel: Really, what are they?

(The class is unable to even come up with a guess.)

Sabrina: Uh...

Nathaniel: That’s what I thought. Anyway, Zombizou was my favorite. Me and the Science kids got to kick love-zombie ass, and in order to avoid suspicion, Marc and I kept making out whenever they were near. It was so awesome! (He blushes before getting back on topic.) So yeah. You guys never abandoned me, I abandoned you. And before you say anything, no, I’m not sorry.

Alix: *Looking forlorn* But dude... we’re your friends!

Nathaniel: Well, you are. Most of the Art Squad is, but the rest of you only interact with me if you need something for your ships. You realize I’m an accomplished cartoonist, right? The Ladybug comic I work on with Marc is a huge success. I’m just as important as the rest of you!

Kim: Dude, we aren’t saying you’re not.

Nathaniel: Well I wasn’t important enough for any of you to notice I was being bullied by Chloe?

Chloe: Oh please, Kurtzberg. You got off easy.

Marinette: She made everyone’s life bad, Nathaniel. Not just yours!

Nathaniel: When you get bullied, everyone coddles you. When I get humiliated in front of the class, nobody besides my art friends came to comfort me, to explain to me why I got akumatized, why I was right to feel angry about what happened. Marc’s class also took the time to explain to me how it was creepy to write my self-insert being in love with a real classmate. They’re the reason I apologized to you, Marinette.

Chloe: Well if they’re so cool, then why don’t you join them!

Mylene: Chloe! We wouldn’t want that! Nathaniel’s our friend!

Nathaniel: Actually, that’s what I plan on doing next year. No offense, but I can only tolerate like half of you. I’d rather be with a class that actually recognizes my value, that takes the time to ask how I’m doing. If that makes me a background character in your world, so be it.

(He gets up and sees Marc waiting for him.)

Nathaniel: I’m not some helpless little lamb that gets lost whenever there’s an akuma. I’m a survivor, a coward, and I’m proud of it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna make out with my boyfriend.

(He smirks as he sees each classmate with their jaw on the floor.)

Turns out our Nath wasn’t abandoned after all. He’s just an escape artist. This felt so cathartic to write, and I hope you enjoyed it. As usual, let me know your thoughts in reblogs, replies, posts, and asks. @artzychic27 @msweebyness 

[quickspinner]

YOU KNOW WHAT I CHANGED MY MIND I'd like to see Marinette's reaction to finding Luka's notebook and finding out he's written her name all over its pages (all surrounded by hearts of course) 👀

I was having a tough time with this one until @rierse did a little drawing for me. She was kind enough to let me use it and I've embedded it in the story here but please, please make sure you follow the link to her original post and give her the love she deserves for it!

Doodles and Daydreams

It had been one of those days again. Marinette felt like she’d been running nonstop since she got out of bed. There had been the student council meeting this morning, and then an akuma right after lunch, and then she’d barely managed to sneak past M. d’Argencourt on her way back in. 

Her mind was still going in thirty different directions as she packed up her things, and she almost forgot that she needed to talk to Juleka in her hurry to get out of the door. Marinette stopped and turned as soon as she remembered, but apparently stop-turn-step was too much for her frazzled brain to combine at that moment.

Her toe caught the carpet and she tripped up the stairs. The bag looped over her shoulder went flying, spilling books and papers and colored pencils everywhere. “Oh,” Marinette sighed in exasperation as she got up. Alya and Adrien were already out of their seats, picking up her dropped things. Marinette thanked them distractedly as she picked up the books nearest her, and then she froze as she saw a notebook lying open on the steps, right at Lila’s feet. 

The words “Marinette Couffaine” were plainly visible, along with hearts and flowers and—Marinette’s heart leapt into her throat as Lila grinned slowly, and got up to pick up the notebook, as if she were just helping Marinette out too. 

“Oh, how cute!” Lila crooned, and Marinette’s heart went from her throat to her stomach. “Marinette, you have a crush on Luka? That’s so sweet! Don’t you think so, Adrien?” She waved the open notebook in Adrien’s direction. He stared back blankly for a moment and then smiled. 

“I think it’s great. Luka’s a great guy.” 

“Oh, how sweet,” Mylene said, clasping her hands before turning to grab Ivan’s hand. “Don’t you think so? They’d make such a cute couple!”

“But I thought Marinette liked—” Kim began, before Alya shoved an elbow in his gut. “Ow!”

“Yeah, it’s great,” Ivan agreed cheerfully, oblivious. 

Alix took the notebook from Lila and looked at it, then groaned. “Come on, Marinette, you couldn’t go five minutes without a new crush? Can you please just confess this time and save us all a lot of suffering?”

Marinette’s face burned, and she leapt up the steps to snatch the notebook back from Alix. She darted a glance at Juleka, who was staring silently, her visible eye round and her hand hovering in front of her mouth. Rose had her hands clasped by her cheek, obviously lost in romantic daydreams. 

“Who’s Luka?” Kim asked, scratching his head. “Do we know him?” 

“That’s your brother, right Juleka?” Lila drawled, turning innocent eyes to look at Juleka before she laid a thoughtful finger to her lips. “I hope that doesn’t bother you. I’m sure Marinette wouldn’t make friends with you just to cozy up to your brother.” 

Juleka looked paler than usual and mumbled something incoherent.

“Well, it’s time for me to head home,” Marinette declared, her voice higher pitched than usual as she grabbed her bag and shoved the notebook inside, along with the other belongings Adrien and Alya had gathered up for her. “I’ll see you all tomorrow, hahaha! Bye!” 

She fled the classroom, ignoring Alya’s calls for her to wait. She didn’t want to talk about this with anyone right now, not even Alya. Not until she’d had a moment to herself to think.

She ran all the way to the bakery and straight up to her room. She closed the trap door and sat on it, burying her hands in her hair as she muffled a scream into her knees. 

Tikki popped out of her purse and came to pat her arm. “I’m sure it’ll be okay, Marinette. Nobody told Adrien about your crush for the longest time! I know you’re embarrassed but—”

“No, no, Tikki, you don’t understand,” Marinette moaned. She moved into a cross-legged pose and grabbed her bag, digging through it until she pulled out the dark blue notebook that had caused all the trouble. “This isn’t mine,” she said, flipping open the cover to show the name there to Tikki. “It’s Luka’s .” 

Tikki just floated there, seemingly speechless. Marinette opened the notebook. It fell to the same page in her hands as it had in the classroom.

Artwork by @rierse

Despite her distress, Marinette couldn’t help but smile. She never would have guessed Luka was a doodler. It made sense, though, he was so used to his guitar that she could imagine he needed something to do with his hands when he couldn’t play. 

He’d clearly been working on something at first; the carefully drawn staffs on the page had music notes and various notations, but he must have gotten bored because halfway down the page his music notes turned into little hearts. Then below that was…her name. Marinette blushed, tilting the cover of the book up just a little so that nobody could see over the top of it. She was alone, of course, nobody was there to look but Tikki, who already knew, but—she felt suddenly self-conscious, looking at her name surrounded by hearts and music in Luka’s notebook. She couldn’t even attempt to convince herself that he might mean some other Marinette, since a passable imitation of her signature flowers were doodled next to the name, the centers accented in pink glitter pen. That made her giggle a little bit. 

“You know he likes you, Marinette,” Tikki reminded her, pointing to some familiar words at the bottom of the page. Clear as a music note, sincere as a melody… Tikki sighed at the memory, and Marinette smiled self-consciously. 

There were other little doodles, too. There was a picture of Sass, his Kitty Section mask (the lightning bolt done in that same pink glitter pen), and…a little face with pigtails. More flowers. The ladybug doodle made her pulse jump, but she reasoned he had been thinking about heroes, since Sass was there too. It didn’t mean anything. 

And there in the middle of the page, Marinette Couffaine , written with little hearts around it.

Marinette hid her face in the book and groaned. “What am I going to do?” she whispered. She had found the notebook under her chaise, and had meant to give it to Juleka at school to return to Luka, but of course she couldn’t manage even something that simple without the universe deciding to screw with her. 

Her phone pinged, and Marinette set the notebook aside to pull it out and tell Alya to leave her alone.

The message wasn’t from Alya, though. It was from Luka. 

Hi Marinette. Juleka told me what happened. I’m so sorry. Can we talk? 

Marinette bit her lip, and fidgeted as she thought it over. Finally, she texted back, I think that would be a good idea. Can I come over in a bit?  

***

Luka was pacing the living room, chewing on a thumbnail, when Marinette came down the Liberty’s stairs. Marinette thought she had never seen him so nervous. Juleka was nowhere to be seen, but the door to their cabin was closed. 

“Marinette, I’m so sorry,” he began as soon as he saw her, and whatever embarrassment she still felt over the whole thing was instantly buried under concern for him. He was pale and his hair was mussed. “I never meant—” 

“Luka, it wasn’t your fault,” Marinette interrupted. “You left it in my room and I put it in my bag so Juleka could bring it back to you. It’s not your fault I’m clumsy. It was just bad luck. And then Lila had to go and grab it and wave it around in front of everybody. I’m really sorry.” 

“It is my fault,” Luka insisted. “I shouldn’t have been so careless with it. And I shouldn’t—” He stopped, putting a hand over his face. 

“Shouldn’t be a normal teenager?” Marinette asked teasingly, slipping her arm through his and tugging him over to the couch. “Luka, after all the embarrassing things I’ve done in the name of a crush, I’m the last person to judge you.” 

Luka sighed as he let her coax him to sit with her. “Still, it’s different when it’s about you . I mean, when you see someone writing those things about you. Especially when everybody sees.” He bit his thumbnail again and grimaced. “I started painting my nails so I would quit doing that,” he muttered, rubbing his finger over the chipped polish on the abused thumbnail. 

Marinette took his hand and tried to think of some way to make him feel better. She pulled the notebook out of her bag and set it on the couch between them. “Really, I’m not mad. Except that you never told me you could draw,” she teased. “You did a pretty good job on the flowers.”

She was delighted to see his cheeks tint pink and his eyes come up to meet hers at last. “I’ve had a bit of practice,” he admitted with a shamefaced grin. “And you wear them on practically everything, so…” Luka shrugged, ducking his head a little further. “I’ve seen them a lot,” he finished lamely, and then groaned and buried his face in his hands. Now that he was reassured that she wasn’t angry at him, embarrassment seemed to be taking over. 

“Just kill me,” he muttered, with something so like a whine that Marinette had to giggle. 

“How many times have I said that to you,” she teased, bumping his shoulder with hers. “And you never did. Now you can suffer.” 

Luka laughed and dropped his hands from his face, only to put them both in his hair and ruffle it vigorously, tugging at it a bit before he finally let them drop in his lap. Marinette bit her lip; his cheeks were still pink and his ears were flaming . It was kind of adorable. 

“Any more questions?” he asked, with a sigh.

“The pink?” she asked shyly, and Luka shrugged, looking away though he grinned.

“Rose is always leaving stuff on the boat. I’ve got a few of her pens that got mixed up in my things, and I never remember to give them back. They’ve actually come in handy in class a couple times when I wanted to mark an important note.”  He drew a slow breath in, and let it out, fingertips tapping together between his knees. “I’m really sorry if it made you uncomfortable,” he said in a rush. “I—I mean, you know, how I feel about you. And this,” he gestured with the notebook and then tossed it aside. “It’s just daydreams. I obviously never meant for you to see any of that, and—” 

Marinette put a hand on his arm, cutting him off. “Luka, don’t apologize for your private thoughts. I’m sorry that me seeing them has made you feel bad.” Even if he was kind of adorable, unusually flustered and…vulnerable. She felt a pang of conscience; Luka put so much of himself out there, and it must be absolutely mortifying for the things he chose to keep to himself to be exposed like this. 

“They, um.” She cleared her throat and twined her fingers together in her lap. “They all thought I did it. Wrote that stuff, I mean. My, um. My name like that. With yours. We don’t have to tell anyone it was you.” 

Luka looked at her sharply. “But—” he began, and Marinette didn’t want to hear what she knew he was going to say. 

“No, seriously, it’s fine.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t mind. If everyone knows I like you. And that I’m over Adrien now. I’m okay with that.” 

Luka stared at her. 

Marinette cleared her throat. “I mean,” she began, and her voice trembled a little. Luka grabbed her hand, and she went on quickly, “I would look a lot less stupid if we were dating. Instead of another pointless Marinette crush. Just, um. Putting that out there.” 

“Then I guess,” Luka said slowly, like he still wasn’t sure what was going on, “We better go on a date. Wednesday?” 

Marinette giggled. “Friday would be more traditional.” 

“Couffaine,” he reminded her, squeezing her hand. “Besides, I can’t wait that long. I’ll meet you at the steps?”

Marinette nodded. “You better hold my hand. You know, so people will see.”

“I can do that,” he agreed. “I think letting go might be harder though.” 

“Well, you have until Wednesday to figure out how to explain that to my parents,” Marinette giggled, and Luka laughed, a full, rich laugh that was a little higher pitched than usual. 

“This can’t be happening,” he muttered, running his free hand through his hair. 

Feeling unusually bold, Marinette leaned up and cupped his cheek, and pressed her lips to his. He made a noise that she could only call a squeak and she giggled against his lips. 

“That was not convincing,” he said breathlessly, eyes bright and focused entirely on her in a way that made her shiver. 

Marinette grinned. “You try it then.” 

He pounced on her, both hands curling behind her head, and kissed her until she was dizzy from it, before finally sitting back to look at her in wonder. 

“See?” Marinette teased, turning her face into one of his palms. “You let go after all.”

“Did I?” he asked, grinning from ear to ear. “It doesn’t feel that way.” 

They both turned to look as the door to Luka and Juleka’s bedroom creaked open. Juleka peeked out, and seeing them so close with Luka’s hands on her face, and probably both smiling like idiots, she came all the way out.

“So when’s the wedding, Marinette Couffaine?” she mumbled shyly, but with a teasing grin growing on her face..

Luka threw the notebook at her, and she dodged, cackling. The siblings flipped each other off as Juleka went up the stairs, and Luka turned back to Marinette.

“Just so we’re clear,” he said, fighting a grin. “I’m totally negotiable on the name thing.”

AO3 Works | Fiction Master Post 

[artzychic27]

Now that all four posts are out, let’s see all the kids from the classes just being a chaotic family at Pride!

Nino, Marc, Nathaniel, Ayesha, Reshma, and Eri are just casually adopting pride kids like it is no one's business

When Adrien, Jesse, and Austin B go missing, you'll know because Candace, Soo-Yeon, Nino, Marc, Austin Q, Mireille, and Aurore are screaming so loud, that they sound like sirens

A scene no one will forget is when Evie and Aurore reenacted scenes from Star Wars with their parasols as lightsabers

Adrien, Aggie, Ondine, and Margo are always dressing as Disney princesses. They dressed as the Madrigal girls (Isabela, Mirabel, Dolors, and Luisa) to protest the fact that Mirabel was not included in the Disney Princess lineup yet

Margo, Reshma, and Marc just casually throw scarves they knitted into the crowd

Kendra and DJ are Anais' impulse control. If it doesn't throw a rainbow smoke bomb at protesters, then they will

Ismael, Aggie, and Lotta are just skating by on their skateboards and throwing confetti

Mireille and Roxie got into a friendly boxing match, making everyone get nosebleeds... In a good way

Some say the first glitter bomb fell from the sky... Others say Victoria threw it... Anyway, Austin T and Marc are BEASTS at the Glitter Wars

Victoria and Mona "accidentally" roll over protesters' feet

Brecken and Zoé dressed as Bonnie and Clyde (respectively) and Evie and Cosette couldn't handle how hot they looked

Soo-Yeon, Adrien, and Victoria teach kids how to sink a basket

Anthony, Eri, Missy, Roxie, and Juleka have a contest to see how many protesters they can scare by the end of the day

Candace, Nino, and Luka come up with the best cheers to mess with protesters

Staci and Chloé have a contest to see how many TERFs they can make cry before the day is over

Eloise and Max do the anime glasses thing

Marc and Ayesha are just walking pride flags

Max, Alix, Dot, Austin B, and Ismael casually do the splits while in AroAce colors, because that's the AroAce agenda

Marc, Nathaniel, Ayesha, Adrien, Alya, Luka, Eri, Missy, Jesse, Anais, Margo, Mona, Eloise, Ondine, Jean, Reshma, Myléne, Austin Q, and Beck all cosplayed as characters from Rock and Riot

Dot and Mason are here with their rainbow binders to ensure everyone stays on schedule... And maybe get some cotton candy

Aggie, Kagami, Lacey, and Alya have swords and are not afraid to use them

The tall people are here to LOOM over protesters and kiss their significant others or just any cute person

Mona and Simon make sure to capture their friends all on video. They may or may not have footage of who started the Glitter War

The truth is, no matter what you do, Marinette's gonna find a way to bedazzle everything you own

Nathaniel and Alya are just casually nerding out about Marvel and DC and making jocks simp

Nino and Dot have brought baby leashes for just about everyone

Anthony and Austin T cannot and will not resist their boyfriends' puppy eyes

Austin A, Rose, and Kendra cosplayed as Elle Woods

Chloé ever so casually dips Sabrina and kisses her in front of protesters while Spinelli throws rainbow confetti around them

Petra, Nathaniel, and Spinelli were commissioned to paint a mural for Pride

Reshma, Marc, and Denise have matching tank tops that say 'Glamazons'

Ivan and Brecken casually nod to each other as their girlfriends carry them

Roxie and Mireille are here to kick TERF's ass and kiss girls. And they're all out of girls to kiss! (with consent)

Juleka and Anthony casually nod to each other before kissing their short sunshine significant others

Some say that if Reshma, Aggie, Aurore, Zoé, Margo, and Juleka are together in the same spot, the island of Lesbos will rise to the sky

Rochelle and Nathaniel are just a couple of sugar fiends. If they have too much, they're likely going to start a cult

Beck wards off homophobes with their hockey stick

Jean and Austin T have a fan club

Austin Q drop-kicked some guy who tried to drug Aggie's drink. He was soon knighted by the Queen of Lesbians... Reshma

Parker, Denise, Ivan, Kim, Roxie Luka, Marinette, Austin Q, Ondine, Brecken, and Gia getting into muscle-flexing contests is good for no one's health

Austin T. and Cosette ride on Marinette's shoulders as they pass out cupcakes... And occasionally throw pies at TERFs

Reshma somehow got a kiss from both Margo and Lacey, and she promptly fainted

Denise and Evie yell at protesters in Spanish, and their boyfriends have no idea what they're saying, but they just look so gorgeous when they're angry

Cosette and Austin A both dress their pets in drag

Cosette, Austin A, and Eri have suitcases filled with just makeup in case anyone needs a touch-up

Evie, Mireille, and Mindy made everyone simp by singing an operatic rendition of Poker Face

Kendra, Missy, and Nathaniel spray-painted several protesters' cars. No one's ever caught them

Simon and Mona made sure to get it all on video! The moment when Austin A and Spinelli finally kissed!

The Dykes on Bikes adore Austin B, Marc, and Roxie

Rochelle and Austin B somehow got blackmail on fifty-five protesters, and they just gave them money to leave them alone

Petra and Nathaniel handle all your face-painting needs

Mireille and Parker teach the pride kids a few fighting moves

Austin B, Eloise, and Max all DOMINATE at the Gay-ming stations

Cue Max, Simon, Anais, and Gerard hacking into electronic billboards so they all play animatics made by Ayesha and Nathaniel

After a while, Dot and Mason say it's time for a break, and they all head to a cafe where a comedy drag show happens to be in progress

When the day is over and things wind down to make way for the after-hours party their teachers (and some parents)will be attending, they get rides from Rafael Béaureal, Félice Quinlan, and their respective friends in the backs of their pickup trucks (Because they both for sure have friends with pickup trucks) back home (Spinelli gets a ride from Beck on the back of their motorcycle, though)

@msweebyness @imsparky2002

[msweebyness]

Miraculous-Some Sasha HC’s

Arguably one of my favorite OCs I’ve created-well, technically she’s not an oc because she canonically does exist according to the card game, she just doesn’t have a name, but-ANYWAY, is Sasha, Ivan’s little sister! I fell in love with this child I created, so have some cute HC’s! @artzychic27 @imsparky2002

Is it weird that that I imagine her looking like a slightly older Boo from Monsters Inc?

She actually loves Monsters, Inc for that reason and was Boo for Halloween one year. (Ivan got a Sulley cosplay sweatshirt to match her!💖)

She almost always has her hair in these cute little pigtails

She also carries one of her various stuffies with her at all times, she has eleven in rotation at the moment

Absolutely adores her big brother. Ivan always makes time to play with her, be it an impromptu tea party or just watching a Disney movie, he’s never too busy for his baby sister.

Sasha, like her brother, is not the most verbal child, she only really starts talking with people once she feels comfortable around them

Mylene absolutely loves her, thinks she’s the cutest thing in the world. She lets Sasha play with her hair when she goes over to their house

She has a bit of a crush on Marc’s brother, Kiran. Ivan and Marc both think it’s adorable.

She sings little songs to herself while she’s doing chores. It’s precious.

She’s so ridiculously adorable, oml. Whenever Ivan brings her with him to a school thing or just a meetup between any of the classes, EVERYONE wants to hug her.

That being said, if you piss her off, her angry face can put her big brother’s to shame.

She sometimes has nightmares, but Ivan will play songs with his drumsticks for her to help her calm down

This child moves impossibly silently. She scares the crap out of someone by simply appearing at least once a day.

Ivan brings her to Kitty Section rehearsals sometimes. Anarka would kill for this child, and Juleka nearly died of cuteness when she let her play a few chords on her guitar. (She gets SO many hugs from Rose)

She got akumatized after the new Hawk Moth showed up, when she was upset because some older boys were making fun of her and ripped a special stuffy her brother had given her. None of the other heroes had ever seen Minotaurox that upset.

He’s her favorite hero, and Marinette made her a plushy of him. She also has a little Polymouse hoodie

Stommp also loves her, even if he can’t interact with her. He may or may not have used his enhanced strength as the Kwami of determination to push a display shelf of magazines onto a creepy older guy who was looking at her funny once.

Leave your thoughts in the comments and reblogs!

[chronicallylatetotheparty]

Embracing the Monster

Summary:

Adrien is living the perfect life!

He made sure of it.

And no one will get in his way.

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

Adrien smiled as he kissed Nino on the lips.

His boyfriend made an mmph sound in protest at being cut off but returned the kiss soon enough.

"Jerk," Nino said once they parted.

"Love you too," Adrien beamed.

Nino stammered something incomprehensible at Adrien's casual use of the L-word. They'd been dating a while but it still caught Nino off guard how open Adrien could be.

Adrien laughed good-naturedly and transformed into Chat Noir before jumping onto the rooftops of Paris.

Nino quickly turned into Carapace and did the same.

Adrien whooped as he leapt tall buildings in a single bound. Nino rolling his eyes affectionately. Grin plastered on his face.

Rena Rouge was leaning against a chimney at the usual spot. She grinned as she saw them approaching. "Hey beautiful!" She greeted and pulled Nino in for a kiss.

Adrien found himself purring at the sight. Tail lashing contentedly. They really were adorable together.

Alya never did anything wrong to him so Adrien didn't mind sharing Nino. It's not her fault her best friend was terrible.

The three heroes of Paris split up in a wide trident formation. Little more than blurs against the setting sun. They'd decided on a compromise between proper patrol routes and actually getting to be teenagers with social lives.

Lights from the Liberty illuminated the darkening sky.

Case in point: the costume party at the Couffaine housebout. Adrien may hate Luka's guts but Juleka was cool. She'd helped Adrien with his eyeliner.

Carapace and Rena Rouge joined Chat Noir in a nearby alley and all three dropped their transformation at once. The combined flash lost among the Liberty's light show. Alya was wearing a hot mummy costume while Nino was dressed as a Ninja Turtle. Specifically Donnie.

Twin black horns curled out of Adrien's golden locks. His eyes a piercing red with slitted pupils. All black suit sucking in the light that touched him. Except for two simple black earrings, glinting in the light.

Adrien and Alya took one of Nino's hands each and hurried to the gangplank.

All their classmates were already there. Werewolf Kim making another bet with Doctor Who Alix. (Whose guts Adrien also hated but he thought never becoming a time traveling superhero was punishment enough... Even if he did sometimes get the urge to punch her in the face) Ivan and Mylene were being horrifyingly cute in public. Appropriate for their Addams Family costumes. Star Trek engineers Max and Markov were talking to Ghost Ondine about percentile increases in swim speed.

Even Zombie Nathaniel was there! Ostensibly to show off his new partner Skeleton Marc, pronouns he/they, to Beast Boy Rose and Raven Juleka. Who complimented his outfit. They smiled shyly and took a half step out from behind Nath.

Alya grinned and pulled Nino and Adrien over to say hello. She kissed both of Marc's cheeks and introduced them. "Hi Marc! Lovely to meet you," here she shot a knowing look at Nathaniel. "This is my boyfriend Nino and Nino's boyfriend Adrien."

Adrien couldn't suppres a snort of laughter at that. And neither could Marc for that matter. "How long have you wanted to say that?" Adrien asked with a grin.

"Since we started dating," Alya admitted without a hint of embarrassment.

"I'm surrounded by nerds," Nino bemoaned.

"Ha! You're one to talk!" Alya smirked.

Nino ignored this with all the dignity a halfway decent Ninja Turtle costume could muster.

The party was the most fun Adrien's had since the change. He could hold Nino in public without worrying about what people would think. Eat as much candy as he wanted. Make silly bets with Kim. Talk about their costumes with Juleka.

Of course her brother had to ruin it.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" Luka asked.

Adrien resisted the urge to tell him to go jump in the Seine and plastered on a smile. "Sure! What's up?

Luka motioned for them to head downstairs so they could have more privacy. Closing the door to keep out most of the noise.

"So, there's no easy way to say this. I know you're Chat Noir... and Red Beetle."

Adrien felt his smile freeze in place. The lights coming from the porthole vanishing as his shadow passed over it. "Come again?"

Luka shifted nervously. "I saw you transform between the two."

The crack under Luka's door darkened as the music from outside faded.

"This was a while ago. I didn't want to worry you so I didn't say anything."

Luka's breathing was the only sound in the room.

"But now Hawkmoth is gone! So it's safe now! ... Is it a bit quiet?" Luka asked as his eyes darted to his locked door. Wait. When had he locked it?

Adrien ran a hand over his face with a groan. "Ughhh, stupid cosmic balance! You'd think rewriting reality would let you fix everything but nooooo!"

Luka took a step back in the cramped room. "Adrien?"

"This is what I get for sharing the Miracle Box. Couldn't be as much of a control freak as Ladybug. No, I had to be 'better'. I had to actually include my partners." Adrien's shadow covered the entire floor.

"Who- Who's Ladybug?" Luka asked as his back hit the bulkhead. His brain latching onto anything Adrien said as a delaying tactic.

"Oh well," Adrien continued with a shrug. His shadow rising like so many arms onto the walls of the room. The horns on his head seemingly longer. Sharper. "That's what my new talents are for. It worked wonders for Felix."

Luka grabbed a mic stand next to his desk and swung it against Adrien in one fluid motion.

The weak metal bent around Adrien's head.

"Is that the best you can do?" Adrien smirked.

A dozen hands of shadow sprung out from behind Luka and pinned him to the wall. He tried to cry out but one of the shadows covered his mouth, muffling his voice. He struggled against the shadows holding his arms and legs but it was no use.

The shadow holding his right arm squeezed and Luka let go of the bent mic stand. It disappeared without a sound into the shadows. They weren't in Luka's room anymore. They were in a void of darkness. Only Luka and whatever was wearing Adrien's face.

"Well that's a bit rude," Adrien replied. Smirk morphing into a predatory grin, revealing razor sharp canines. "I'm still Adrien. New and improved."

"There's no secrets from me in here, Luka," Adrien said as Luka's eyes widened. "It helps with the feeding. Don't want to accidentally eat your ability to speak. Though Marinette might like that actually."

Luka tried to say something past his gag.

"Oh, where are my manners!" Adrien sat on nothing, crossing his legs quite comfortably. "You want to know what the hell is going on."

Luka whimpered.

"Well, you see, it all started when a naive little boy found out his soulmate was a Lying Liar who Lies!" Adrien's already unsettling grin took on another edge which made Luka press himself deeper into the invisible wall behind him. Whisps of shadow rising off Adrien's form. "So he decided to remake the world in his own image! It's the least the world owed him really."

"And it's not like Marinette was actually happy in that old world. Seriously, she gets the second most powerful mystic artifact in the world, inducted into an ancient order of superhero mentors and what does she do? Whine, whine, whine! Of course I'm going to take the Ladybug Miraculous if she hates it so much! That's also the least she owes me."

Adrien didn't know Luka's eyes could get any bigger but they did their damnedest as the color drained from Luka's face.

"Oh, don't give me that look! Marinette's much happier now that I've convinced Chloe she doesn't need her mother's approval... and to get therapy. You're welcome. Plus, Marinette has you doesn't she? Better you than me. Though, just between us, you're better off single."

Adrien stood and let out a luxurious stretch. Rising head and shoulders above Luka. "That's enough playing with my food, I think." His forked tongue licked his grinning lips.

Luka renewed his struggling but as Adrien was talking his shadows had covered every inch of Luka's body except his eyes. He couldn't move an inch. Even his jaw was shut right. Only a low, building scream escaped his lips. Luka was a fly in a web and it was dinner time.

"Don't worry," Adrien's form was nothing but sharp darkness and red eyes as he reached out for Luka. "You won't remember a thing."

.

.

.

Adrien sucked on all of the fingers on his right hand. Letting them go with a pop. Reveling in how much Gabriel would hate Adrien licking his fingers in public.

Nino rolled his eyes good naturedly as his boyfriend got two more pizza slices.

"So what did Luka want to talk about?" Alya asked.

"Mhm?" Adrien swalled a mouthful of pepperoni. "Oh, y'know, just guy stuff."

Alya raised an eyebrow and now Nino was looking at him curiously too.

Adrien laughed, "Okay, okay! He wanted advice about Marinette."

Alya blinked.

"And he went to you for that?" Nino asked, incredulously.

"I got you, didn't I?" Adrien retorted with a hand against Nino's cheek. His skin heating up under Adrien's touch.

"He's got us there," Alya grinned.

Adrien smiled warmly as his best friends bantered. One day soon he'd tell them that one of their trio wasn't exactly human. Hmm, once they stopped jumping at Chat Noir's green eyes shining from the shadows should do it.

From the corner of his eye he saw Marinette finally arriving. Late as usual. Her boyfriend greeted her with a hug. There was a slightly vacant expression in his eyes. Like someone had scooped out and swallowed a part of his mind. Adrien licked his lips at how delicious Luka's memories were. Nice and chewy.

When Adrien wished for his freedom Gimmi had exacted a price of "equal" value. Adrien's humanity for free will? Sounded like a bargain to him. What did pretending to be human get him anyway besides being lied to?

He supposed having to eat, say, Felix's memories of Adrien not being human, in order to keep his freedom was a part of the price. But honestly devouring every last weakness Felix could exploit in Adrien was fun. Not to mention tasty.

Can't exactly cause problems for everyone in Paris when you're recovering from rapid onset amnesia, now can you? Adrien thought with a smirk.

Adrien was mentally pulled out of his thoughts by Nino physically pulling him out of his chair. Dragging him and Alya to the dancefloor with an easy grin. Which they returned.

Letting himself lose his train of thought and just flowing with the music. The movement grounding his body in the moment. Adrien caught Nino's eye and his grin widened like a little kid in a toy store... Adrien made a mental note to visit toy stores later.

The music changed to a slow song and Adrien pretended to catch his breath so Alya and Nino could have the first dance.

He smiled fondly at them as the lights of the Liberty reflected off the water. He was sure the universe would find a replacement supervillain now that the Butterfly and Peacock were safely destroyed. But not tonight.

Tomorrow the hero trio of Paris would be there to fight for their home. He grinned, the tips of his canines gleaming. Red eyes glowing.

And Adrien would be there to devour any loose ends.

[moodooivy]

My ship children

I made some headcanons for the Sanses. Now I wanted to list off some of my OCs. More specifically my ship children. I will draw them later. I mean I have, they were the first things I posted. These ship kids are a few years old, I made them maybe 5 years ago. Some of these ships I don't ship anymore, but I've already developed these characters too much to just get rid of them... So... Here.

Midnight 3' 0''. (Technically) Mom is Blue, dad is Error. She has Nightmare's powers because while she was being made or whatever you call it, Nightmare touched her soul before she was fully formed. The oldest even though she's the shortest. She had a birth defect. Loves flowers. Especially lavender and roses. Loves cute animals. Especially bunnies, puppies, and kitties. Her favorite animal is butterflies. Loves squishies and stuffed animals. Loves pancakes and cookies. Likes to write. Writer's brain. Scared of basically everything. Pegasister. I mainly ship with Ivan.

Ivan 4' 4''. Mom is Horror, dad is Dust. Acts like a doggo. Scares his parents. Has a long tailbone that sticks out. Has a good sense of smell. Can probably see in the dark. He is sensitive to smell and particularly dislikes the smell of gunpowder. He never went to school. He can't speak properly and he can't read. He is just by definition slow. He likes to watch cartoons. He'll watch anything on the TV screen. Get very upset when he's hungry. Major separation anxiety. Hates the world. I mainly ship with Midnight.

Chip 3' 5''. Mom is Blue, dad is Error. Nice and plump (Before anyone says "How, she's a skeleton", easy. Ecto body). She likes hugs, but it is just a natural reflex that she glitches out when touched. She hates being stared at and will get angry, even if you just trying to admire her. The stars on her head change shape and color depending on how she feels. I mainly ship with Zany.

Zany 4' 1''. He is made out of pure negativity and magic. He is technically not related to Nightmare. But Night and Cross love and care for him like their child. Zany is the prince of darkness. But he is the complete opposite of Nightmare. Probably the nicest guy you could ever meet. Hates his name. Likes head pats. Loves strawberry milk and the color pink... Good boy. Very strong. Scared of apples. I mainly ship with Chip.

Domino 4' 0''. Mom is Chess, dad is Mafia. Smokes. Good at card tricks. Probably gambles (He cheats and never gets caught). I mainly ship with Honeydew.

Mayonnaise 4' 0''. Mom is Classic, dad is Fell. Very laid back and chill... Except when it comes to Pitaya. Zany's bestie. They do pranks on the Bad Sanses together (Except Nightmare and Dust). Cheeky little prankster. I mainly ship with Pitaya.

Pitaya 3' 8''. Mom is Melon, dad is Sugar. Loves fanfictions and shipping (Like me). Cooks and bakes (Mayo loves her baking and will try to steal it). Can speak Spanish. I mainly ship with Mayonnaise.

Honeydew 3' 6''. Mom is Melon, dad is Sugar. Hates when Domino smokes. Nerdy boy. Can speak Japanese. I mainly ship with Domino.

Constellation 3' 5''. She is made out of pure positivity and magic. She is technically not related to Dream. But Dream loves and cares for her like his child. Spoiled brat. Not a good person. Mini karen. Will start a fight with anyone. I mainly ship with Casper.

Casper 4' 0''. Mom is Dust, dad is Killer. Bipolar disorder. Tiny little prick. Scared of dogs. Hates Ivan and will take advantage of his lack of intellect. The only two people he cares about are his sister and Constellation. I mainly ship with Contellation.

Desire 3' 4'' Mom is Lust, dad is Dance. Trans M2F. Dramaqueen. Loves ballet. Wears makeup. Obsessed with her phone. Very sensitive about her identity. I mainly ship with Abstract.

Dread 3' 3'' Mom is Geno, dad is Reaper. Goth queen. Has a pet jellyfish. Has the death touch. In a book club with Zany and Midnight. Loves voodoo and poetry. I mainly ship with Scarlet.

Scarlet 3' 3'' Mom is Killer, dad is Horror. Loves tea parties. Will eat anything. Has a pet spider. Spoopy bean. She is teaching Ivan how to speak from what she's learning at school. She's not the smartest but she tries her best so she can help Ivan. She don't like clowns. I mainly ship with Dread.

Abstract 6' 0''. Has no parents. They are just a drawing came to life. The youngest but tallest (This is in birth order btw). They have no gender (I will usually refer to them as 'he' as to not be confusing by constantly saying 'they' though). Likes drawing their friends (Hasn't gotten to draw Chip yet because she refuses to stay still). Can't talk because they don't have a mouth. Their pupils shape into words that fit what they're thinking. Doesn't like profanity or technology. Collects random stuff. Likes creepy crawlies. Hate cleaning up. Scared of erasers. I mainly ship with Desire.

I didn't assign sexualities or ages to my characters because I didn't want to restrict myself or anyone who wants to use them. You can change their heights and age order if you want. You can ship them with whoever you want, proship or not. You can do whatever you want with my characters. Just credit me.

Undertale: Toby Fox Blue: Popcornpr1nce Fell: Undertale community Ink: Comyet Dream: Jokublog Nightmare: Jokublog Geno: Crayonqueen Error: Crayonqueen Fresh: Crayonqueen Horror: Sour-Apple-Studios Killer: Rahafwabas Dust: Ask-Dusttale Lust: Nsfwshamecave Reaper: Renrink Cross: Jakei95 Melon: Missladytale Sugar: Sugartale Sans Dance: Teandstars Mafia: Undermafiaz Chess: Mintysammy Children: Me

[isleofair]

Hero Stats from the Museum of Tiger & Bunny 2

The T&B2 museum that's currently open in Japan has physical versions of all the in-universe hero cards (both the Single and Buddy cards). We'd previously seen Keith and Nathan's cards and stats in the show (and most of Kotetsu and Barnaby's), but now we have them all! @kazuko_01 on Twitter took some lovely pictures of them and has very kindly given me permission to use them for this post. どうもありがとうございました! 💙

I'll put all the stats and a some analysis of them under a cut, because the post will get quite long.

Every individual hero card has scores out of 6 for Experience, Speed, Power, Intelligence, and Spirit, plus a special stat that is unique to each hero and is always maxed out. The scores are:

Wild Tiger: Experience 6, Speed 3, Power 5, Intelligence 3, Spirit 5, Passion 6 Barnaby Brooks Jr.: Experience 4, Speed 6, Power 5, Intelligence 6, Spirit 5, Cool 6 Blue Rose: Experience 4, Speed 4, Power 3, Intelligence 4, Spirit 5, Singer 6 Golden Ryan: Experience 5, Speed 4, Power 5, Intelligence 4, Spirit 4, Gravity 6 Fire Emblem: Experience 5, Speed 4, Power 5, Intelligence 5, Spirit 5, Love 6 Sky High: Experience 5, Speed 6, Power 4, Intelligence 4, Spirit 6, Loyalty 6 Origami Cyclone: Experience 4, Speed 5, Power 4, Intelligence 4, Spirit 5, Traditional 6 Rock Bison: Experience 5, Speed 2, Power 6, Intelligence 3, Spirit 5, Pure 6 Dragon Kid: Experience 4, Speed 6, Power 4, Intelligence 4, Spirit 5, Healthy 6 Magical Cat: Experience 2, Speed 4, Power 3, Intelligence 4, Spirit 4, Cute 6 Mr. Black: Experience 2, Speed 3, Power 4, Intelligence 3, Spirit 4, Honest 6 He Is Thomas: Experience 2, Speed 6, Power 5, Intelligence 6, Spirit 5, Smart 6

Kotetsu, the veteran hero, is the only one with max Experience (6); Ryan, Nathan, Keith and Antonio have 5 (Ryan evidently worked a fair bit overseas before coming to Stern Bild). The new kids (on the block) all have 2, which might mean it's the minimum possible score, or that the cards were updated after the start of the season; beating Fugan and Mugan, for example, should certainly count as experience! And Bunny has the same score as Karina, Ivan and Pao-Lin, despite having become a hero at least one season after them and having taken a year off, so this is most likely not strictly how much time they've spent on the job (Bunny was the one who beat Jake, so they might have counted that as extra experience, for example).

Bunny, Keith, Pao-Lin and Thomas all have max Speed, and the lowest stat of any card except for the kids' Experience is here, for Antonio (2). Evidently this counts something other than just the top speed a hero can reach, because Kotetsu only has a 4 even though he also has Hundred Power (although the way he runs might have something to do with it 🤣), and I don't see how Thomas could move as fast as Keith does when he flies, or even as fast as Pao-Lin, Queen of the Quick Flips. Maybe it's just how fast they can run without using their power (or a combination of that and their reflexes)?

The only hero with max Power is... Antonio! This stat honestly seems to just indicate everyone's physical strength, again without accounting for their power, since Kotetsu and Bunny aren't first and the lowest score goes to Karina and Lara. (This might imply that tiny Pao-Lin can deadlift as much as Keith, King of Training, which I adore.)

The heroes with max Intelligence are Bunny and Thomas (who also has Smart as his unique stat, so that's evidently his thing). The only runner-up at 5 is my clever girl Nathan 💖; everyone else is at 4 (yes, Keith too! He's not dumb, he's just... an airhead 😅), except for Kotetsu, Antonio and Subaru, who have a 3. Oh, you disaster boys. 😅

Perhaps predictably, only Keith reaches a perfect score in Spirit, which seems to indicate conviction. Everyone else has a 5... except for Ryan, Lara and Subaru, whom I want to hug while I tell them they can believe in themselves and in being heroes a little bit more. 🥺

As for the unique stats... excuse me while I melt even more at FireSky's being Love and Loyalty! Because yes, we already new, but in the context of the others they're just so... UGH. My heart. They're literally a relationship. 🥺❤️💜

Kotetsu and Bunny's Passion and Cool are very interesting because they illustrate their contrasting approaches and personalities perfectly, but they work so well as Buddies! 💛

And of course, very honorable mention for Antonio's being freaking Pure. Bless him. 🥹 Everyone give the man a hug right now.

(I want to know what poor Ryan did to the person who wrote the cards, though. Like... seriously? Just Gravity? At least I know Thomas's just says Smart because he doesn't really give you anything else you can use, lol.)

If you sum up all the stats you get the following individual rankings:

1st: Barnaby Brooks Jr. (32) 2nd: Sky High (31) 3rd (tied): Fire Emblem and He Is Thomas (30) 5th: Dragon Kid (29) 6th (tied): Wild Tiger, Golden Ryan, Origami Cyclone (28) 9th: Rock Bison (27) 10th: Blue Rose (26) 11th: Magical Cat (23) 12th: Mr. Black (22)

The Buddy cards show the individual stats again, and then a sum of each score for the pair as a whole. The unique stats for each hero are added together here to make a Buddy stat, which is, therefore, also always maxed out... and to be honest I personally have qualms with that (Subaru and Thomas, for example, certainly don't work together as well as the others), but I that's what we get. 😅 I suppose it could represent how well their personal characteristics go together, potentially.

The stats for the Buddy pairs are:

Tiger & Barnaby: Experience 10, Speed 9, Power 10, Intelligence 9, Spirit 10, Buddy 12

BlueGolden: Experience 9, Speed 8, Power 8, Intelligence 8, Spirit 9, Buddy 12

FireSky: Experience 10, Speed 10, Power 9, Intelligence 9, Spirit 11, Buddy 12

OrigamiRock: Experience 9, Speed 7, Power 10, Intelligence 7, Spirit 10, Buddy 12

KidCat: Experience 6, Speed 10, Power 7, Intelligence 8, Spirit 9, Buddy 12

Mr. Black: Experience 4, Speed 9, Power 9, Intelligence 9, Spirit 9, Buddy 12

The highest combined non-Buddy stat is FireSky's Spirit at 11 (🥺🥹💕); the lowest is Mr. Black's Experience at 4 (fair).

Adding everything together gives us these rankings for the Buddy pairs:

1st: FireSky (61) (❤️💜) 2nd: Tiger & Barnaby (60) 3rd: OrigamiRock (55) 4th: BlueGolden (54) 5th (tied): KidCat and Mr. Black (52)

In conclusion: I need a copy of that FireSky card like I need air. 🥺

[minetteskvareninova]

Minette watches Medici, part 18 (The Ten)

-*sigh* Do I have to? You know the drill. The writing is poor, there's too much exposition, Lorenzo is Gary Stu, the show worships the ground Medici family walks on, Riario is a villain with little nuance or charisma... Man. I am so tired of this show, you can't even imagine.

-First I'd like to note that there are a lot of things where I have to just nod along and be like "sounds legit", particularly when it comes to war tactics. I am not a military history person, what can I say. I absolutely do not understand that shit.

-Riario isn't exactly endearing himself to me. Oh, he thinks he's cute with his requests to turn over one's own dagger. Oh, he folds after one well articulated argument from his wife and possibly the sight of her not even that well showcased tits. Oh, he still acts aggressively towards her while admitting her arguments are valid because he's an insecure manbaby. Oh, instead of shanking Lorenzo en route to the country villa, he sends the assassins to said villa to massacre the whole family, because that's totally necessary. I remain unamused.

-On the other hand, I cherish every appearance from Caterina Sforza, not because she's that great of a character, but because the historical person was pretty dope and Rose Williams is insanely hot. I still hope she'll do at least something cool in the remaining episodes.

-The attack on the villa was laaame! Five minutes of cheap tension and action that makes an average Michael Bay flick look coherent. I am still baffled where the dudes that helped out Lorenzo came from and how many there actually were.

-Equally eyeroll-inducing is Bernardi, whose sole purpose seems to be acting as the bad angel on Lorenzo's shoulder. I mean, at least he has an interesting personality and the decency to be subtle in his relative villainy, but still. He steals some of the moral ambiguity from Lorenzo, and I for one think that's an unforgivable crime. I still don't know what to make of his crush on Lucrezia T, let's just wait and see where they are going with this...

-Speaking of Lucrezias - Lucrezia D came back... Only to ineffectually appeal to her husband (who apparently STILL has no idea she's been banging Lorenzo in the past?) and also inadvertently make Clarice jealous by, like, talking to Lorenzo. I am living off of scraps here, people. Doesn't help that Clarice isn't doing anything that interesting either, like yeah, her charitable activities are cool and all, but that's basically it as far as her character goes so far.

-Giulio leaves me kinda cold. I still don't get what this boy's deal is, other than him being sad and feeling like he doesn't belong. What I mean is that he's a character that has the potential to be interesting, but the show so far doesn't bother developing him. I do hope that we get more of him bonding with Carlo, though. That could be fun.

-Obligatory Leonardo da Vinci cameo! Yay! *deep sigh* Well, at least they portray him in a semi-interesting way and try to showcase his unconventional opinions. Still, this kind of cameo makes me greatly appreciate the complex characterization of Sandro Boticelli. Honestly, Sandro in general is slowly growing on me as a character, the whole "raised by the Medici" nonsense notwithstanding.

-Lorenzo's Ivan the Terrible gambit was admittedly pretty clever, even if it did reek of a man who just absolutely cannot stand that he's not getting his way, which again would be a nice character flaw if it was intentional, but it isn't, so again, fuck this godforsaken Gary Stu. I can't even properly enjoy how much he suffers in this episode, because so does the rest of his family, including my baby Clarice. For shame. And oh God not again the shit with "maintaining the republic"... *sigh* Okay, I ranted about that all the damn time in the previous Minette watches Medici instalments, let's move on.

-Bianca cameo! Yay! ...I would say if I gave a shit about Bianca, or if she did something interesting, but I don't and she doesn't, so. Her lame husband isn't anywhere to be seen, presumably because he's running around Middle Earth trying to fuck Morfydd Clarke.

-People, I really want to say something positive about this episode, but every one of my opinions that isn't outright hateful comes off kinda half-hearted. I am so, so sorry.

-The one thing I like so far was Savonarola's story, which is surprisingly nuanced and relatively well-written (even if the whole "keeping an infected man in my own apartments" thing is a bit dumb). Even if I am still a bit butthurt over the absence of Pico della Mirandolla. Again, where the fuck is humanism in this renaissance and humanism show?

[goldenlaurelleaveswrites]

I Should be Asleep

12:30 am

I Should be Asleep (AO3)

@nerdypanda3126 Surprise!!! I’m your secret admirer!!! 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖 PLEASE FORGIVE ME THAT THIS IS SO LATE!!!!! Your prompts were so amazing and they really got the inspiration flowing for me again, it was so hard to decide which one(s) to use. But then I listened to this song and I knew I had to use this prompt!! I've low key become a bit obsessed with it 😂 Again, I'm so so so sorry for the delay, and I hope you enjoy it!! 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

“Uh- hey! My Name’s Mama! Uh Ma-Ma-Marinette! Your mom sent me to down here- the groove- uh, the group’s waiting for you.” 

“Hello Ma-Ma-Marinette.  

Sorry, I tend to make more sense with this.” 

                                                               ***

It was always hard to really see the crowd when he was on stage. When he wasn’t being blinded by the lights, the faces tended to blur together. Especially the more he got into the music.

But even with the lights and the music, he kept catching glimpses of her face.

He had seen her before today. But only in Juleka’s pictures. And sure, he had noticed, in a casual, passing glance kind of way, that she was cute. But her picture hadn’t really prepared him for meeting her. And she was just… 

He glanced up from his guitar to flash a blind grin at the cheering crowd as he riffed. And his eyes immediately found her face in the crowd. The way the lights caught her eyes… they were so bright and vivid and clear.

And so sincere. 

                                                            ***

Truth be told, when she had found out Rose, Juleka, and Ivan were in a band with Juleka’s brother—Luka—she hadn’t expected… well, she hadn’t been entirely sure what she had expected. But given Rose’s… pinkness, she hadn’t expected Rose to sing like that. Just like she hadn’t expected shy and quiet Juleka to transform into a hair flipping, spotlight seeking star. Or for Ivan to be grinning so broadly that his megawatt smile would rival the lights for their brightness. 

And she hadn’t been expecting… she hadn’t been expecting Luka. 

When she had found out Juleka had a brother, she hadn’t been entirely sure what to expect. She had assumed he would maybe dress a bit like her friend, and she hadn’t been entirely wrong on that front. And she had thought that maybe he would be quiet, the way Juleka was. She hadn’t been wrong about that either. Not exactly anyway. 

She furrowed her brows as her gaze drifted to land on him. He was quiet. But he was quiet in an intense kind of way. But he was also so… open too. And he was sweet, the way he had played for her and given him his guitar pick. And so brave the way he had drawn Captain Hardrock’s attention away so she could escape. And-

She shook her head. She was supposed to be enjoying herself. Enjoying the concert. Not thinking about- Especially given Adrien had been able to make it after all.   

                                                        ***

He had only tumbled into bed maybe twenty minutes ago, but usually he was able to fall asleep pretty quick. Especially after a day like today. 

Because it had been a day. 

Thinking about it, it was pretty impressive his ma hadn’t been akumatized before today. She liked to be contrary, and she lived her life to the beat of her own drum, no matter how many warnings and tickets officer Raincomprix gave her. And his ma was… if someone was being polite, they would probably say she was expressive. Officer Raincomprix, on the other hand, would probably call her volatile. What in all fairness, was true. 

And that had meant she had been a tough akuma. It had been impressive, seeing Ladybug up close in action like that. And she had saved his ma, the way she always saved Hawkmoth’s victims. And the concert had been able to go ahead almost exactly as planned, minus a few decibels and plus a keyboard. 

Overall, it had been a good day. 

He shifted in bed as he stretched out his legs to angle them into a more comfortable position and let out a sigh as he sank a little deeper into the mattress. It had actually been a really good day. Because on top of the concert going off, not without a hitch but successfully nonetheless, he had made a new friend. 

Juleka had gushed about Marinette before. Well, as much as Jules gushed about anything. Marinette’s name had been a familiar one on the Liberty, even though she hadn’t set foot on board before today. And he got it. Marinette was sweet. Kind. Funny. And she was brilliant, the way she had gotten them out of the chains, and so brave the way she had gone to alert Ladybug. If Juleka’s words and first impressions were anything to go by, Marinette was the kind of friend he wanted in his corner. And she had offered that friendship almost instantly. 

It had been a great day. 

But he was tired now. And he had to get up early tomorrow to pick up his bike from the repair shop. Except, no matter what he did, no matter how comfortable he made himself, he couldn’t sleep. He felt like he was plugged into an amp. And there was music in his head, begging for him to untangle the melody and make sense of the notes. And the music sounded an awful lot like stumbled words and blue eyes and a heart worn on a sleeve. 

Normally, when he couldn’t sleep he would just grab his guitar and play until he was ready to sleep. But somehow, he had a sinking suspicion that if he started playing now, he wouldn’t be able to stop playing that song.

With a groan, he rolled onto his back to star up at the ceiling. It was  just barely visible in the dim light of the streetlights filtering through the makeshift curtains he and Jules had draped haphazardly over the portholes. In the dim light, he could just make out the cracks in his ceiling, some of which he and Jules had tried to cover with with stickers when they were younger. Maybe he just needed something else to focus on to settle his mind… 

                                                          ***

She snuggled a little closer under the covers. It had been a long day. Juleka’s mom had been a tough akuma, and having her friends so close to the action always put her on edge. But everything had turned out fine in the end. 

And despite the akuma, it had been a really good day. The concert had been able to go ahead, and Adrien had been able to make it in the end. A sigh slipped past her lips at the thought, and she let her eyes flutter shut. It had been a good day, but a long one, and she was ready to slip off into her familiar dreams. 

Or maybe a new one.

She had gotten to see Adrien play with the rest of Kitty Section, and she was sure that would offer plenty of dream fodder. Already, she was hoping piano music and emerald eyes would fill her dreams.

She couldn’t help but smile to herself as the memories of the evening washed over her. Behind her closed lids, her eyes were heavy, and already, she could feel herself slipping toward sleep. The technicolor lights were softer in her mind than they had been during the show, and they were skewed in rosier tones. But that wasn’t unusual; her dreams of Adrien tended to be rose-tinted.

She sank into the dream, surrendering herself to the music, gentler than what Kitty Section had played. More heartfelt. More intimate. 

The softly plucked notes of the guitar swirled around her, almost caressing her as she drifted closer to sleep. A mouth twisted into a shy and embarrassed smile as blue eyes flashed from under a sweep of dark hair. And a calm and quiet voice-

The world lurched around her as she sat bolt upright in bed. From somewhere beside her bed, Tikki yelped as her pillows topple off the bed. 

Guitar music?

Blue eyes?

“Marinette! What’s wrong?” 

Her gaze, as if drawn by a magnet, landed on her desk. Where the guitar pick Luka had given her sat, propped up against her water bottle. She couldn’t make out Jagged’s grinning face in the dark, but she could picture it clear as day with his wide grin and blue eyes. Eyes almost as blue as-

“Marinette?” Tikki was suddenly hovering in front of her, her eyes wide with concern.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

She cast another quick glance at her desk before shaking her head. “Nothing,” she said, trying to smile, “it was just a dream.”

It was just a dream, wasn’t it?”

                                                           ***

He had no idea what time it was now. All he knew that that he should have been asleep right now. And that he wasn’t. 

That, and the only thing that he had accomplished by staring up at the ceiling was memorizing all the cracks in it. And the placement of the stickers. 

And that trying to not think about music, especially when there was music demanding to be thought about, was impossible. At least, for him. 

He rolled over and buried his face in his pillow, partly to muffle his groan so he wouldn’t wake Jules—he did not want to face her full Queen of Darkness fury for waking her up—and partly so to give himself a break from staring at the ceiling. But it was burned into his mind. Which didn’t bode well for how much time he had spent staring at it instead of sleeping. 

And the music was in his mind, captivating his thoughts no matter how hard he tried not to pay attention to it—a first for him for sure—and the more he tried not to pay attention to it, the more it demanded his attention. 

It was all he could think about. 

But she was Juleka’s friend. And he had only just met her. He had known her less than a day. 

But her song was so sincere. 

She was so sincere. 

As sincere as a melody… 

                                                        ***

She bit back a huff as she stared up into the darkness. She had no idea what time it was, but she knew she should have been asleep by now. She should have been asleep ages ago. 

But every time she closed her eyes, her visions of green eyes and gold hair and a perfect smile were replaced by glinting ocean eyes and messy dark hair and a sweet and lopsided grin. 

Sighing, she rolled over, carefully so as to now wake Tikki, and glared at her alarm clock. The numbers glowed dimly in the darkness, mocking her. 

She should definitely be asleep right now. 

Groaning, she rolled back onto her back. Why was Luka suddenly invading her dreams? Was it because of his mom being akumatized? But if that was the case, shouldn’t Juleka have been in her dreams too? He was Juleka’s brother after all. Her thoughts drifted to that moment in his room. When he had played his guitar for her and-

The pick! 

It must have been because he gave her the guitar pick. That had to be it. 

With that settled, she closed her eyes and snuggled back into the embrace of her mattress. She let her breaths deepen as she willed sleep to come to her. She focused her mind on the slow, steady rhythm of her breath. In and out. She repeated the words in her mind with every inhale and exhale, lulling herself toward the brink of sleep. 

‘I think Marinette the compass has found herself a new statue.’ 

Her eyes flew open, and she shot up in bed as Alya’s words from earlier echoed in her head.

[airi-p4]

The weekend Project - Ch 7

Chapter 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 __________________________________________

Summary: At school, Marinette has no friends in her class other than Alya. With the idea of making students interact more and out of their usual groups of friends, Ms. Bustier assigns her students to a school project that requires spending a weekend with another student of her choice. What Marinette didn’t know was how this project with her partner Juleka was going to change her life.

__________________________________

AO3

__________________________________ Chapter 7: Epilogue

"Julekaaa! Lukaaaa! Marineeeette! We're here!!"

"Rose! Ivan!" Juleka welcomed them, less shy than usual due to her best friend's presence. "Come in."

"Hello," Ivan greeted quietly. "Thank you for having me."

"So polite!" Rose laughed.

"Make yourself at home. Juleka's friends are always welcome on the Liberty," Luka informed.

"Thank you, ehm—"

"Ivan, this is Luka, Juleka's older brother. Luka, this is Ivan, our classmate and new friend!" Rose cheerfully introduced them.

"Nice to meet you." Luka offered Ivan a smile and a handshake that he reciprocated. "Likewise."

"And with all introductions done, Kitty Section is officially born now! Yoohoo!" Rose raised her fist and jumped happily.

"Kitty Section…?" Marinette asked, after everyone shared confused looks.

"The name of our band! Isn't it both cute and cool?"

"Band…?" Luka asked Rose.

"Yes! Did you know that Ivan plays the drums!?"

"R-Rose!" Ivan protested, embarrassed.

"Wow, that's cool," Luka immediately added, and Ivan blushed slightly.

"See? We can become a band now! Ivan plays the drums, Luka the guitar, Juleka the bass, I can sing and Marinette—" the blonde girl paused, looking at the girl. "Do you play any musical instruments, Marinette?"

"No… I don't…" Marinette said sadly.

"Oh…" Rose lamented, but recovered soon as the optimistic girl she is. "Well, you can be our manager, or anything you want! Even if you don't play! You're one of us!"

Luka and the others smiled in reassurance and Marinette beamed. "Okay!" She was happy knowing she was still welcomed even if she couldn't play music. Besides, it was another perfect excuse to spend time with her… boyfriend? She blushed happily at the thought.

"Yoohoo! Go, go, Kitty Section!" Rose jumped again.

"Kitty Section, huh? It doesn't sound bad. I like it. What do you guys think?" Everyone agreed with the suggested name and Rose clapped her hands. "We should practice then," Luka continued. "C'mon! Let's get the instruments ready!"

"Yes!"

Every moment of the practice, Marinette couldn't stop looking at Luka, who winked at her playfully, whenever she seemed too lost in his eyes. At the same time, her ears unsuccessfully tried to get used to the strident sound of Kitty Section's instruments, which were definitely playing too loud, as Officer Roger proved when he came to fine them. The surprise was that Sabrina and Alya came with him, and they ended up staying at the boat for the band's practice, Alya happy for Marinette's progress with the boy she liked.

What had started with a tedious school project, ended up expanding Marinette's friend circle, including a new close friend, a boyfriend, and a music band.

She was going to thank Ms. Bustier with a beautiful birthday present as a thank you, she decided.

Fin

[a-chlolix-blog]

Scarabée and Kitty Claws AU

Lady WiFi. The eager & determined Blogger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Marinette's victory in the derby hat competition, Alya invites her, Alix, Mylène, Juleka, and Rose to her place for a sleepover that weekend.

❤️Best Blogger📱: We gotta celebrate, Marinette! You're all coming over to my place Friday night for a slumber party!

👑Princess Rose🌹: YAY!! I'll bring stuff animals for all of you! Alix, do you still have Harry Hare?

💥Alix the Awesome🥇: Of course I do!

💙Mari-Caroon🥐: I got snacks covered!

📽Mylegend♻️ : I'll bring the bracelet materials and hair accessories!

💜Priceless Jule💎: Guess that leaves me with the movies.

The five of them thought the weekend couldn't come fast enough.

But when it did, the five of them had so much fun!

Only the best moments were posted to Alya's Instagram.

- Marinette putting cute outfits on everyone's stuffed animals.

- Alix and Mylène doing each other's hair.

- Rose putting glittery lip gloss on and kissing Juleka's face.

- Alix, Alya, and Juleka watching a horror movie while Mylène, Marinette, and Rose hide their faces with pillows.

- A quick macaroons fight that ended with them cleaning it all up.

- Alix beating Marinette in a pillow fight.

- And the girls posing in their pajamas in many pictures.

And all this was just the first night.

Chloé was in her room that night looking at the Instagram posts while Sabrina was trying to pick a movie for them to watch for their own slumber party.

Chloé, internally: I remember when me and Alix used to have slumber parties like these...

The more Chloé looked through the photos, the sadder she got.

Which Sabrina noticed quickly.

Sabrina, taking her phone: Enough of that! *gives her a box of chocolates* There will be none of that sadness while I'm here!

Chloé, giggles: Thanks Sabrina...

Sabrina: I'm sure Alix misses you just as much as you miss her.

Chloé, muttering: I doubt it...

Sabrina: I'm serious! With how much you've changed, there's no way she hasn't noticed you doing WAY better.

After Sabrina says this, Chloé immediately remembers the talk Alix had with her after she let Marinette have her seat back.

"Well, whatever you're trying to do, keep it up. Sooner or later, you'll probably be more fun to be around again."

Chloé's face erupts into a deep blush when she remembers that Alix winked at her.

Which she quickly covered with a pillow.

Sabrina: Wait... HAVE YOU TWO TALKED ABOUT THIS ALREADY?!

Chloé, slowly removing the pillow from her face: ... you remember the day I let Dupain-Cheng have the seat back?

While Chloé told Sabrina about what happened after school that day, Alya was about to tell the girls her first ScaraBlog theory.

Alya: What if Scarabée knows someone or many others from our school?!

Alix: *chokes on her soda*

Alya: I know! I was shocked when I put the dots together too!

Rose: We gotta hear more!

Alix, internally: Do we though!?

Alya: Scarabée was the first one on the scene when kids from our school were akumatized.

Mylène: Ivan DID tell me that Scarabée knew his name... do you think she goes to our school?!

Alix, internally: Shit! Shit! Shit!

Marinette: If she did, I doubt she'd want us civilians to know this.

Alix: YEAH! I mean... it's also very unlikely that she could know ANYONE from our school anyway.

Juleka: Come to think of it... Chloé hasn't been up to ANY bullying since Scarabée and Kitty Claws showed up.

Rose: *gasps excitedly* Do you think they inspired her to change for the better?!

Alya: Or... she could be who Scarabée knows personally!

Rose: Do you think they're dating?!

Alix, blushing lightly: Now that's abit of a stretch, isn't it? I doubt the first thing on Scarabée's mind is a lover...

Alya: You're right. I can't see Scarabée going for the "Damsel in Distress" type. Kitty Claws maybe...

Marinette: Alix, are you okay? Your face is flushed.

Alix: Yeah... I just need another soda.

Alix, internally: They think it's just a theory. Gotta keep it that way.

Despite Alya's "theory" being in her head, the weekend went by pretty fast for Alix.

It was now Monday morning and Chloé had to try her hardest to hide how excited she was as she walked closer to the school's entrance.

Chloé: I had to wait for Sabrina to go to sleep, but it was worth it. *pulls three photos out of her purse* Scarabée snapshots!

Plagg: As long as there's room for me and my cheese in here, simp all you want.

Chloé: If Adrien saw me with these, he'd NEVER let me live it down.

Adrien, walking up next to her: You're right!

Chloé, jump away from him: SHIT! Were you just WAITING to startle me?!

Adrien: Yep, the Scarabée snapshots were a fun surprise though.

Chloé, blushing furiously: SHUT UP!!

Adrien: Where did you even get snapshots of Scarabée?

Chloé, muttering: I... actually edited action shots of her from the ScaraBlog and printed them onto these.

Adrien: Wow! You're down HORRENDOUS!

Chloé, blushes while shoving the photos into her purse: SHUT IT!!!

Plagg, whispering: Ow!

Sabrina, from a distance: CHLOÉ!!!

Sabrina runs up to both Chloé and Adrien with bottles of water.

Sabrina: We gotta stay hydrated!

Chloé: You went abit too hard during Aikido training with your dad again, didn't you?

Sabrina: He let me take extra bottles of water as a reward.

Adrien: With how thirsty Chloé is, she’s gonna need all the water she can get- *gets elbowed by Chloé* OW!

When Chloé Adrien and Sabrina got to the locker room, there weren't many people in there, which made Chloé let out a relieved sigh.

Chloé, internally: I can't take the photos back home with me and I won't risk them smelling like camembert. My locker's the safest option.

Once Adrien and Sabrina go to their own lockers, Chloé quickly opens her and snatches the snapshots out of her purse, only to hit her hand on the locker door and drop them onto the floor.

Chloé: Ow! *whispers* Shit! *quickly picks up the photos, shoves them into the locker, and closes it*

Chloé thought she heard a clicking sound.

But before she could think about it abit more, Adrien and Sabrina walk up to her.

Sabrina: You okay? It sounded like you hit your hand pretty hard.

Chloé: I'm fine. Let's get to class!

Not far from Chloé's locker, Alya hid behind her own with her phone in hand.

Alya of course then decides to text the other girls and send them the picture she took.

❤️Best Blogger📱: YOU GUYS GOTTA SEE THIS! *view image here*

When they all saw the photo of the snapshots next to Chloé, they were quite surprised.

Specifically Alix.

💙Mari-Caroon🥐: Why does Chloé have snapshots of Scarabée?

👑Princess Rose🌹: ARE THEY DATING?!

📽Mylegend♻️: How are we gonna find out? It's not like Chloé's gonna tell us her business.

❤️Best Blogger📱: I'll get the truth outta her!

💙Mari-Caroon🥐: Sabrina knows aikido. If you make Chloé uncomfortable in any way, she will fight.

❤️Best Blogger📱: Then you guys distract her. This could blow up the ScaraBlog!

💜Priceless Jule💎: Alix, you've been quiet. Are you okay?

💥Alix the Awesome🥇: YEAH I'M FINE! I gotta run errands for my dad after school. So I won't be able to help you guys out with the plan. Sorry!

❤️Best Blogger📱: It's okay! We'll tell you all about it later.

🎥Mylegend♻️: I have a REALLY bad feeling about this.

Alix was in an empty girl's bathroom when she got the message.

Alix, whispering: Me too, Mylène. *puts her phone away*

Tikki, flying out of Alix's bag: How do you think Chloé got those pictures.

Alix: I don't know. Hopefully we'll find out after school.

After school, Alya Marinette Mylène Juleka and Rose watched as Chloé and Sabrina said their goodbyes to Adrien before walking toward the locker room to collect their own things.

Alya, whispering: You four are up!

Marinette, Mylène, Juleka, and Rose walk up to Sabrina, separating her from Chloé as she walked into the locker while Alya walked discreetly behind her.

Marinette: Hey Sabrina, are you still working on your aikido?

Sabrina: Yeah?

Mylène: I'd love if you taught me abit some time!

Sabrina, shocked: Really?

Rose: Yeah! It's so cool!

Juleka: Awesome.

While the four of them distracted Sabrina and led her away from the locker room, Alya walks up to Chloé as she closes her locker.

Alya: Chloé, can I have a word with you?

Chloé: Shouldn't you be hanging out with Kubdel and the others, Césaire?

Alya: I'd much rather talk to the girl who managed to get snapshots of Scarabée! *shows her the image on her phone*

Chloé, shocked: You took a picture of me?!

Alya, starts recording her: I'll be asking the questions here. Where did you get the snapshots? Did Scarabée give you the photos herself? How close are you two?

Chloé was beginning to internally panic.

Chloé, internally: This is bad! Scarabée most likely watches the ScaraBlog videos. If she sees this, she'll think I'm some clingy stalker!

Alya: Come on, Chloé! Give me answers!

Chloé, out loud: The only thing I'm gonna give you is a warning.

Alya: What-

Chloé: You took a photo of me without my consent and now you're also recording me without my consent.

Alya: Wait I-

Chloé: If you post that picture or this video to your ScaraBlog, I WILL have my father have Principle Damocles suspend you from school for the rest of the week or longer!

Alya, stomping off: FINE!

Once Alya is out of sight, Chloé let's out a loud sigh as she falls to her knees.

Plagg: That Blogger girl's quite the Journalist. She was all over you!

Chloé: We gotta be more careful around her and at school... I can't believe she got a photo of the snapshots!

Alya runs passed the five girls, which lead four of them following her and leaving a confused Sabrina behind.

Chloé, walking up next to Sabrina: I'm gonna put our plans on hold.

Sabrina: What happened?

Chloé: I'll tell you tomorrow.

While Chloé had herself and Sabrina driven to their respective homes, Alya was quite silent as she left the school, not even stopping to talk to the others.

While Alya went home, Alix actually went to the store to buy what Alim needed for dinner.

Tikki: So you weren't lying when you said you were running errands for your dad after school.

Alix: Well, they don't need to know that I run errands fast. And.... *quickly texts Alim* my dad now knows I'm getting the ingredients, so he doesn't have to. I'm gonna drop all of this off at home and Scarabée's gonna pay Chloé a visit.

As she said, Alix quickly bought all the ingredients Alim needed for dinner and went home.

Although Alim was grateful, he couldn't help but think something was on Alix's mind.

Alix: I'm gonna go out for abit. I'll make sure to be back before dinner's done!

Alim: Alix, is everything okay?

Alix: Of course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be?

Alim: I can tell when there's something on your mind. Did something happen at school today? Did Chloé-

Alix, quickly cuts him off: Nothing's wrong dad, really! I'm just gonna skate around for abit.

Alim: Okay Sweetheart. Have fun!

Alix: Thanks dad! *quickly leaves*

Alim, internally: I shouldn't have brought up Chloé...

At the Césaire home, Alya locked herself in her room, which concerned Marlena, Otis, and the twins.

Otis: *knocks on her door* Alya, are you okay?

Alya: I'm fine!

Ella: Did something happen at school?

Etta: Do you want us to call Nora?

Alya: I just wanna be left alone!

Marlena: Okay Honey, we'll tell you when dinner's ready. Just take all the time you need.

Alya was trying her absolute hardest to figure out what Chloé's relationship with Scarabée was and why she would want to hide it, considering that news like this would make the rich blonde insanely popular.

"This doesn't make any sense! Why would she wanna hide something like this?!"

"Out of all people, you'd think she'd love to talk about being close with a superhero!"

"Even if I do find out the truth, I can't tell anyone or else she'll get me suspended. DAMNIT!"

In his lair, Hawkmoth senses Alya's anger and sends an akuma her way.

The akuma enters through her opened window and goes into her phone as she pastes back and forth.

Hawkmoth: Lady WiFi. I am Hawkmoth. I am giving you the ability to become a Seeker of Truth. All I want from you in return are Scarabée and Kitty Claws' Miraculous.

Alya: Yes Hawkmoth.

She transforms into Lady WiFi, Alya walks out of her room and towards her shocked family.

Otis: Alya! What's happening to you?!

Lady WiFi: I go by Lady WiFi now.

Etta: Told you we should've called Nora!

Ella: *nods in agreement*

Marlena: I won't forgive that Hawkmoth for putting my sweet girl through this!

Lady WiFi: I knew you'd all react this way.

Lady WiFi then quickly uses her powers to freeze her family.

Lady WiFi: Seeking the truth can be dangerous. I need to be sure that you all won't follow me. Now for my questions...

And thus Lady WiFi begins coming up with the many questions she'd ask Chloé.

After quickly jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Scarabée stops on top of the building across the street from Le Grand Paris.

She then uses her yo-yo to zoom in on the blonde's room.

Scarabée: Knowing Chloé, she probably upset Alya quite abit. This could lead to her getting akumatized. I'll stay here for half an hour. If an akumatized Alya doesn't show up, then I'll ask Chloé about the pictures. If KC is out and about, I should tell her what I'm up to.

Scarabée then turns the yo-yo away from Chloé's window and begins to send messages to Kitty Claws.

After ordering a snack for herself (and camembert cheese for Plagg), Chloé changes into her pajamas and lays down on her bed.

Plagg: Can't believe you were almost caught simping.

Chloé: Don't remind me. As long as Césaire doesn't post about it on her blog or try to interview me again, it'll be fine. I would die of embarrassment if Itty-Bitty found out that I had snapshots of her!

Plagg: It'd probably by WAY easier if you two knew more about each other.

Chloé: Like our identities? It would be amazing if me and Scarabée knew who each other are, but it's probably for the best that she doesn't know that her reliable partner is the most spoiled girl in Paris.

Plagg: I was referring to your tastes in women- *gets hit by Chloé's pillow*

Chloé then picks up her phone and sees that in the short amount of time she was in the bathroom, she got messages from Adrien and Sabrina.

🌟Princely Sunshine☀️: Hey Chloé. Sabrina told me something happened before you left school upset. Are you okay?

👓BrainyBrina📕: I sorry Chloé, I can't wait til tomorrow! Are you okay?! What happened between in the locker room?!

Plagg: *flies through the pillow* You're clearly not THAT bad! You at least got two friends who know you're great.

Chloé: Yeah... *whispers* hopefully it'll be three again soon.

While Chloé looked at the text messages, her phones rings.

When she answers, Lady WiFi uses the phone to teleport into the room.

Before he could be noticed, Plagg quickly hides.

Chloé let's out a loud scream which got Scarabée's attention from outside.

Scarabée, getting ready to go in: Guess I can't wait for KC for too long.

Lady WiFi: I will interview you, Chloé!

Chloé: Césaire?! Of course it's you!

Lady WiFi then pulls a chair out of her phone  and opens a video recording icon to broadcast the would be interview.

Everyone in Paris is surprised as Lady WiFi appears on their TVs and phones.

Lady WiFi: People of Paris! I'm coming to you live with an exclusive interview with the girl who somehow managed to get close to Scarabée. Chloé Bourgeois!

~~~~~At the Raincomprix Home~~~~~

Sabrina, watching on her TV: HOLY SHIT, CHLOÉ!! DAD, WE GOTTA GET TO LE GRAND PARIS NOW!

~~~~~At the Agreste Mansion~~~~~

Adrien, watching on his computer: I'm both worried about her AND shocked that she didn't tell me she was actually close to Scarabée!

When Chloé starts to run, Lady WiFi uses her phone to shoot a pink rewind symbol onto Chloé's back and rewinds her until she's back on her bed.

Lady WiFi: Thanks to Hawkmoth, I am Lady WiFi now and you won't be dodging the interview this time, Chloé!

Before Lady WiFi could get any closer to Chloé, Scarabée swings through the balcony door.

Scarabée: Alya, stop this now!

Lady WiFi: Now she's personally coming to your rescue? I can't wait to find out more about your relationship!

Chloé, blushing furiously: IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!

Scarabée then wraps her yo-yo around Lady WiFi and flings her into the closet.

Scarabée: You get to safety now!

Chloé then quickly runs out of the room with Plagg (making Scarabée doesn't see him).

Lady WiFi: NO! And for that, you're gonna help me test the fast forward feature!

Scarabée manages to dodge the pink fast forward sign and throws the chair at Lady WiFi.

Lady WiFi gets up ready to use her powers again, but Scarabée already left the room.

Scarabée stares at the only contact in her yo-yo as she ran down the hall.

Scarabée, internally: This one's tough! Where are you KC?

Chloé with Plagg flying next to her takes an elevator up by floor and transforms into Kitty Claws.

Kitty Claws: I'm coming, Itty-Bitty!

~~~~~The Floor below her~~~~~

Lady WiFi, still live streaming: People of Paris! This is your lucky night! Not only will I be getting you the scoop on Scarabée and Chloé's relationship, but I will be unmasking THE Scarabée!

Scarabée, whispering while hiding under a service cart: There's only one person who would enjoy watching something that would inconvenience us heroines this much....

Hawkmoth, watching the live stream on a table from his lair: These teens and their live streams are getting better and better.

Before Lady WiFi could walk any closer to the service cart Scarabée was under, Kitty Claws comes out of the hotel room door next to her and hits her with the baton, which causes her to fall onto the floor.

As Lady WiFi gets back up, Scarabée gets up from under the service cart and kicks it into her before Kitty Claws runs up to the shorter heroine.

Scarabée: I take it you got my texts?

Kitty Claws: I could never ignore you, Itty-Bitty~

Lady WiFi, getting up: This night just gets better and better! I will be unmasking BOTH Scarabée and Kitty Claws!

When Lady WiFi tries to freeze them, they escape into the stairwell.

Kitty Claws, running down the stairs with Scarabée: You got a plan, Itty-Bitty?

Scarabée: Given her name and powers, WiFi is obviously her source of power. All we have to do is lure her towards the basement of the building where there's no signal.

The two heroines dodged lots of pink fast forwards, rewinds, and pauses as they went further down.

When Lady WiFi catches onto their plan, she leaves to set a trap.

Scarabée: Prepare yourself, KC...

Kitty Claws, internally: Come on Chloé! It wouldn't hurt to ask... *speaks out loud* So, what do you do on your free time... when you're not Scarabée?

Scarabée: *chuckles* Now's not the time or place, Kitty.

Lady WiFi: *goes back into the hotel*

Scarabée: Damnit, she went back into the hotel! *runs up the stairs with Kitty Claws right behind her*

Kitty Claws: Shit, she locked all the doors! *turns to Scarabée while still running* You know, we could actually know each other in our personal lives. Would you happen to be interested in tall hot blonde girls?

Scarabée: I doubt it and if I can't tell you my identity, why would I give you a hint of my personal tastes in a lover?

Kitty Claws: *pouts* You know the Mayor's daughter?

Scarabée: We are currently trying to save her, yes.

Kitty Claws, blushing: I was just wondering what you think of her?

Scarabée: Given that we're here because Lady WiFi thinks we're close, I gotta get answers from her. Now get ready for an ambush when we get to an unlocked door!

They finally reach an unlocked floor and kick the door open, finding themselves in the hotel's dining area, which was seemingly empty.

Kitty Claws: She's not here. So much for an ambush.

Scarabée: Follow me and don't let your guard down.

All the tables have a phone on them.

Scarabée, looking at all the phones: I got a bad feeling about these phones.

Kitty Claws: I'll say! These were new last year!

They soon learn that Lady WiFi can use them to teleport around the room.

Lady WiFi immediately shows herself and tries to pause the heroines multiple times, only for the two to obviously dodge.

She manages to get the drop on Kitty Claws when she tries to shield herself with a table only to be blasted into the nearest wall before she falls to the floor.

Scarabée tries to trap Lady WiFi with her yo-yo, but she teleports through multiple phones.

Lady WiFi: You can't catch me, Scarabée!

Scarabée: Wanna bet?

Scarabée starts smashing the phones with her yo-yo and Lady WiFi flees into the kitchen with Scarabée behind her, where she locks the door, trapping Scarabée in the kitchen with her.

Kitty, banging on the doors: Nonono!!! I'm coming, Scarabée! Think Kitty think.... the service elevator!

While Kitty Claws uses the service elevator in the dining area to get into the kitchen, Lady WiFi was dodging pots and pans Scarabée threw at her.

Scarabée tries to jump at Lady WiFi, but she dodges, which sends her back front against the wall.

Lady WiFi manages to corner Scarabée against the wall and locks her hands down.

She then re-opens the video recording icon.

Lady WiFi: Who is Scarabée? The heroine Paris needs? A spoiled blonde's secret fling? Or someone just as bad as Chloé? How can we trust her when we have no idea who she is?! We have a right to know!

She then proceeds to try and take off Scarabée's mask. It appears to be glued on and won't come off. 

Lady WiFi: WHY WON'T THIS THING COME OFF!

Scarabée: Did you really think I was just some normal girl in a costume I bought?! It's obviously magic!

Kitty Claws, coming out of the service elevator: You're running out of bars, Lady WiFi. Step away from my Itty-Bitty!

Lady WiFi: First Chloé and now Kitty Claws?! *turns back to Scarabée* You sure do attract the most annoying blondes!

Scarabée, with a slight blush: There is no attracting going on here!

Kitty Claws: You know what they say about blondes. We have the most fun~ *winks*

Lady WiFi then begins to shot her pink pauses at Kitty Claws who manages to dodge most of them, but Lady Wifi traps her in the freezer and locks the door.

The impact knocks the ring off her finger, and he transforms back into Chloé and is unable to find the ring. 

Chloé, shivering: S-shit! My ring! *begins looking around* A little help here?!

Plagg, also shivering: T-toooo cold.

~~~~~Outside The Freezer~~~~~

Scarabée, struggling against the locks: KITTY!!

Lady WiFi: What am I gonna do with you two?

Hawkmoth, communicating with Lady WiFi: Get her to use her lucky charm. It'll force her to watch back and her true identity will be revealed and her Miraculous will be mine!

Lady WiFi, to Scarabée: If you don't get her out soon, your Kitty will be too cold to cuddle. *frees Scarabée while laughing* Have fun with your Clawsicle, I've got other News to cover! *teleports away*

Sabrina was waiting outside for Chloé with André, Roger, and the many other cops.

When her phone rings, she answers, and Lady WiFi teleports from the phone onto the hotel's roof, forcing Paris to watch as Scarabée tries to save Scarabée.

Lady WiFi, continuing to live stream: Listen everyone! I present you with the award winning news story you've all been waiting for!

Scarabée, angrily kicking the locked door: Damnit! Don't worry, KC! I'll get you outta there!

Chloé, shivering while still looking for her ring: T-take your time, Itty-Bitty. I-i'll be fine!

Lady WiFi: Don't blink! Cause Scarabée's about reveal her true identity to all of us!

Trying to kick the door down doesn't work, so she uses Lucky Charm, and a frozen meal appears.

Scarabée: This better be one hell of a snack.

Using her lucky vision, she spots the non-microwaveable icon on the box, the lock icon on the freezer door, and a nearby microwave oven.

Scarabée: Time to do some serious damage!

She puts the non-microwaveable dinner in the microwave and blows it up to diffuse the signal.

The door unlocks just as Chloé, nearly frozen to death, finds her ring and transforms back into Kitty Claws.

When Scarabée opens the door at last, she passes out and falls on top of her, worn from the cold.

Scarabée, holding Kitty Claws close to her: Come on KC, stay with me... please.

Kitty Claws, noticing her beeping earrings: You used your Lucky Charm. You don't have much time left!

Lady WiFi: Exactly!

Kitty Claws: Can you zap open the door again?

Scarabée: No, that was the only microwave in this kitchen. *notices the pink camera icon and starts whispering in Kitty Claws' ear*

Kitty Claws, after Scarabée leans away from her ear: Got it, Itty-Bitty.

Kitty Claws covers the camera icon with a pot, which kept Lady WiFi, Hawkmoth, and all of Paris from seeing them.

Lady WiFi: What are they up to?!

Hawkmoth: I want my Miraculous!

Lady WiFi: Right!

~~~~~Back in the kitchen~~~~~

Kitty Claws, going into the service elevator: I'll go jam the WiFi antenna.

Scarabée: Good Luck, KC.

Kitty Claws: You're all the luck I need, Smoochie-Bug~ *blows her a kiss*

Scarabée, blushing lightly: Bye Kitty! *pushes the elevator button*

Growing suspicious, Lady Wifi returns and chases Kitty Claws onto the roof.

She start up her Cataclysm, but quickly realized that Lady WiFi put a shield around the antenna.

Lady WiFi, teleporting from inside the antenna: This is surprisingly clever of you, Kitty Claws, but I won't let you win! *shots fast forwards at her only to miss*

Scarabée, earrings down to two dots: Come on, KC... you got this!

She distracts her by throwing her staff at her and then uses her Cataclysm to destroy the signal receiver.

Lady WiFi loses her powers, the recording and lock icons in the kitchen downstairs dissolving as Scarabée's earrings beep down to two spots.

Kitty Claws: Give up the phone, Césaire!

Lady WiFi: Never!

Kitty Claws and Lady WiFi immediately start fighting over the phone.

Scarabée escaped the kitchen and shows up on the roof soon after.

Kitty Claws, being pinned down by Lady WiFi: Sorry WiFi, there's only one girl I want to pin me down. Right, Itty-Bitty?

Lady WiFi, pinning her down with one hand while the other holds the phone up: What?! *turns to see Scarabée*

Scarabée then uses her yo-yo to yank the phone out of Lady WiFi's hand, smashing in on the ground.

She captures the akuma and returns everything back to normal with Miraculous Scarabée.

Lady WiFi turns back into Alya, who is thrilled to see Scarabée and Kitty Claws.

Kitty Claw: Selfie time, Itty-Bitty! *pulls Scarabée closes and takes the selfie*

Alya, walking up to the two: Scarabée and Kitty Claws?! No way! Can I get a quick interview? Wait, where's my phone?

Kitty Claws, hearing Scarabée's earrings beeping: Let's go Itty-Bitty. You only got a minute left!

They escape from the roof before Alya can get an interview.

They run into the hotel lobby and Scarabée ducks inside a closet.

Kitty Claws tries to stop her.

Kitty Claws, grabbing Scarabée's wrist: Please stay? I promise I won't tell anyone...

Scarabée, pulling her wrist out of Kitty Claws' hand and caresses the side of her face: No can do, Kitty! This secret is for our protection, as well as our loved ones and everyone else in Paris.

The closet door swings between them just as her transformation wears off and Kitty Claws is tempted to open the door.

Conflicted, she ultimately decides not to betray her trust and leaves, closing the door for her.

Chloé runs outside of the hotel and opens up her jacket. Plagg flies out and questions her.

Plagg: Why did you do that?! Your dream girl was RIGHT THERE!! What were you thinking?

Chloé: It's too dangerous for now Plagg and besides, Itty-Bitty will tell me when she's ready.

Plagg: I will never get you humans and your personal relationships. *flies back in her jacket*

Sabrina, running up to her: CHLOÉ!!! YOU'RE OKAY!!! *tackles her to the ground in a tight hug*

Alix peaks out the closet to see Chloé and Sabrina walking into the hotel and Alya walking pass them to leave the hotel.

Alix: Guess I'll have to ask Chloé about the selfies tomorrow night.

Tikki: Good call. Now let's go home! Your dad should be done with dinner by now!

When Alya got home, she was immediately hugged by her family. Including Nora who made a surprise visit.

Nora: ARE YOU OKAY?! I HEARD ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AND CAME AS FAST AS I COULD!! MA AND POPS CALLED ME AS SOON AS THEY WERE UNFROZEN!

Alya: Nora, I'll be ok-

Marlena, crying: If you're ever feeling upset enough to get akumatized, please talk to us!

Alya: I will Mama, please don't cry-

Otis: That Hawkmoth has got some nerve taking advantage of my girl's feelings!

Alya: Dad-

Ella and Etta, crying: ALYA!!!!

Alya was so busy with her family that night, she could remember what she had to do.

It wasn't until the next day at school when everyone was talking about it is when she remembered.

Marinette: Alya! You're Akuma Fight is ALL OVER the ScaraBlog!

Rose: Everyone in Paris has seen it!

Juleka: Your Lady WiFi costume does look cool though!

Nathaniel: Love the colors for the outfit!

Nino: It's getting so many views too!

Mylène: Are you okay after all that?

Alya: HOLY SHIT! I GOTTA DELETE IT!

Alix: That's gonna have to wait. We got class!

As the five of them walked to class, Alya couldn't help but feel someone glaring daggers at the back of her head.

Chloé was trying her very best to calm down the very angry Sabrina, but barely anything was working.

Chloé: It's okay Bri-

Sabrina: No it's not! Not only does she go after you while akumatized, but thanks to that Live Stream on the ScaraBlog, everyone thinks you're dating Scarabée! Which is incredibly dangerous I might add!

Adrien, walking up to them: Aside from the constant danger, I doubt Chloé would mind such a rumor going around, right Chlo?

Chloé, hiding her blushing face: *mutters* Shut it, Adrien!

Later that night, Chloé was looking at her Scarabée snapshots while laying on her Scarabée doll when the real deal comes swinging through her balcony doors.

Chloé: SCARABÉE?! *sweeps the doll and pictures off of her bed* What are you doing here?

Scarabée: I'm here to talk. I've been hearing about you having some snapshots of me?

Chloé, erupting into a fiery blush: H-how did you-

Scarabée: Don't worry, the ScaraBlogger didn't tell me anything. I'm just here to ask a few questions.

Chloé, internally screaming: THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING! I CAN'T TELL IF THIS IS A DREAM OR A NIGHTMARE! Wait... I CAN'T TELL HER THAT I LOVE HER!!

Scarabée: Chloé?

Chloé: Right! I'm... a huge fan. I edited some photos from the ScaraBlog onto the snapshots. For cosplay purposes!

Scarabée: Impressive. Can I see the snapshots?

Chloé, caught off guard: Sure! *quickl picks the snapshots off the floor and gives them to Scarabée* Here you go!

Scarabée then pulls a pen out of her yo-yo, quickly writes on all the snapshots, and gives them back to Chloé.

When Chloé sees that Scarabée signed all three snapshots, she manages to blush even harder.

Chloé: T-thank you, Scarabée!

Scarabée: Anything for a fan. Make sure you clear all this up with the ScaraBlogger. Wouldn't want her getting the wrong idea, now would we? *winks at her*

Chloé, with a crimson face: N-no Ma'am.

Scarabée: Good! Try to avoid danger and negative emotions, Princess~ *blows her a kiss before leaving*

Plagg, flies out of his doll house and up to Chloé: I didn't expect her to drop by, did you?

Chloé: *faints*

Plagg: I'll take that as a no.

Inspired by: @emdoddles @princess-of-the-corner @muggle-born-princess @dcschart @justanotherpersonsuniverse @symphonic-scream

[imsparky2002]

Halloween Fun: Part 4

The Akuma class were surprised at how thorough the school had been with decorating every room. It was known that Principal Damocles loved Halloween, but this was a whole new level of commitment. As they entered Miss Bustier's classroom, there were gasps of shock at the decor. Cobwebs everywhere, an eerie fog on the floor, ominous messages and fake blood on the walls, and for some reason, an old phone on the teacher’s desk.

“I am loving this spooky vibe!” Alya said, taking a picture to post on her blog. “They really went all out with this place.”

“Y-Yeah...” Mylene shivered, looking at the fake blood. “It’s r-really detailed.” Ivan gave his girlfriend a comforting hug. “It’s alright, Little Mouse. None of it’s real.” he whispered. “Exactly, the staff just wanted to get into the spirit of the holiday.” Nathaniel replied, holding in the urge to chuckle. The guests hadn’t even shown up and they were already getting spooked!

As usual, Chloe took the opportunity to ridicule and tease her classmates. “Once a scaredy-cat, always a scaredy-cat, Haprele.” Chloe sneered. “It’s just a bunch of lame props! Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” Mylene just gave her a frown. “Last time you teased me, I got akumatized. Do you want Horrificator to come back for a visit?” she countered. Chloe shut up immediately.

“Yo, where’s Rose and Juleka?” Kim asked, noticing their absence. As someone who was in on the scare, and providing them with his tech, Max jumped in. “Rose is at the dentist.” he said. “And Juleka told me she was out sailing with Luka and their mom.” Nathaniel added. “Juleka would’ve loved all of this.” Marinette admitted. “Yeah, but I don’t think Rose would’ve.” Adrien replied. “A cute peppy girl like her wouldn’t want anything to do with a scary holiday like Halloween.”

GhostRose hid behind the bookshelf, rolling her eyes as her classmates spoke of her as if she were a frightened little child. “We’ll see about that.” JV muttered from her hiding spot inside the fake desk. All of a sudden, the phone begins to ring. Adrien goes to pick it up. He gives a couple of “Ohs” and “Oks” and then says goodbye. He looks puzzled as he hangs up.

“Who was it, dude?” Nino asked. “That was Miss Bustier. She said she thought it would be fun if for Halloween, her ancestor taught the class.” he replied. The class began to mutter in confusion. “Ancestor?” Sabrina asked. “Yes. Apparently, her ancestor Florence used to teach at DuPont, and now her spirit stays here at the school.” he replied. “So I guess her ghost is going to teach us.”

“Oh shit.” Alix said. “I remember looking up the school’s website, and I stumbled on the list of former teachers. Florence Bustier really exists.”

Kim began to sweat and rock back and forth a little. “Come on guys, this is just Miss B pranking us. There’s no such thing as ghosts!” he said nervously. Some of the kids were about to argue with him, but were interrupted when Marinette got a notification on her phone.

“Huh, Aurore just texted me. Says they have some ‘guests’ in their class.” she stated. Mylene got a notification as well and look surprised. “Reshma says they got a vampire.” Mylene replied. “As well as... oh my god! The Phantom of DuPont?” Everyone except for Lila, Alya and Adrien gasped in shock. “What’s that” Adrien asked. As the expert on the subject, Mylene took some time to explain.

“Well, you know our school is hundreds of years old. There’s this old legend about a ghost that haunts the school, mostly the theater. They say he’s caused terrible accidents, but that he also helps sometimes!”

Kim just groaned and started rocking back and forth in his seat. “Aw come on, man!” he complained. “Every time I hear about that... thing, I feel like I'm gonna have a heart attack.” Nathaniel nodded. “One thing’s for sure. The Phantom loves to give people a fright.” he replied. Lila tried yet another attempt at gaining popularity by using her silver tongue. “Oh, I’ve met the phantom before! He can be SO romantic when he wants to be.” Lila blushed. “Most the stories say the Phantom was gay.” Marinette corrected. “G-gay people existed back then?” Lila gaped. The rest of the class looked at her with a “really?” face. Their conversation stopped as a ghostly voice echoed throughout the room.

“Oooooohwhoooo, greetings my dear stuuuuudents! How are yoooou on this fine spooooky daaaay?” it wailed. Marinette had a pretty good idea who this was supposed to be.

“Guys,” she said. “I think this is the “ancestor” Miss Bustier was talking about.”

There was a flash of lightning, and a white translucent figure rose out of the floor. It looked like one of those old Scooby Doo ghosts, except this one was floating from the ground. What the students who were in on the scare knew that this illusion was provided by a projector, holograms, and a bunch of mirrors.

Another flash, and she disappeared once more, reappearing behind Adrien and Alya, causing them to scream. She glided towards them, arms outstretched.

“Ooooooh, I am Miss Boooostier. It’s a pleasure to meeet yoouuu!” she moaned. Alya tentatively smiled and trembled a little as she responded. “H-hello, Miss Boostier. What are you going to teach us?” she asked. The spectre glided away, going through Kim’s body, causing him to yelp in fear.

“Ooooooh, well, befooore we start our frightful histoooory lessons fooor the day, we have soooome guest stuuudents of our oooown to meet!” Boostier said. “Wh-who are the guests?” Sabrina shivered.

Just at that moment, the old phone rang. Since Boostier was unable to pick it up, Marinette went up to put the phone to her ghostly ears. :Helllloooo, Miss Boooostier speeeakinnng!” Boostier answered.

GhostRose gave an ominous chuckle as she prepared to make her entrance.

“Hello... Miss Boostier.” she replied.

And now we have a teacher involved with the scares! Miss Bustier’s a fan of the holiday and decided to some of the students out with this little prank. Next up is GhostRose, so that’ll be exciting. As usual thanks to Weeby for helping me out with the dialogue. Make sure to reblog, reply, post and ask for thoughts on the content. @artzychic27 @msweebyness

[artzychic27]

Can we see this: https://youtu.be/Nb7sgIAuECQ?si=w3auY1tDtEVJmDzB, but with the DC AU couples? Like Bat!Zoe and Static!Cosette, Bane!Ivan and Scarecrow!Mylene, Cat!Juleka and Ivy!Rose, etc?

Zoé: So… Cosette and I… We never imagined that we’d meet up and then eventually… Couple up.

Cosette: Our dads know each other. Justice League, and stuff, you know? But, we didn’t exactly meet through them. See, I was on a class trip to Gotham.

Zoé: Terrible idea.

Cosette: Aw, it worked out.

Zoé: It did. Anyway, the Hero Class- total accident, by the way- helped dad and me battle the Joker and his guys. And Cosette-

Cosette: Don’t! Please, no!

Zoé: *Giggles* Cosette saw the Joker pointing a gun at me, got in front of me, and yelled, “DON’T HURT HER!” But… It turns out- *Snickers*

Cosette: Don’t even!

Zoé: It was one of his ‘POW!’ guns! With the little flag? You know those ones.

Cosette: It was so embarrassing!

Zoé: It was sweet, and you were very brave.

Cosette: … Thank you.

—

Nathaniel: So, um... No one thought this would last. I’m a size-shifting villain who gets angrier as he grows, he’s an alien hero who’s able to fly when he thinks positive thoughts.

Marc: *Takes Nathaniel’s hand* But, we proved everyone wrong.

Nathaniel: As to how we met, I was robbing the bank, literally holding a few people hostage in my fist. And as I was tearing the vault door open, this one bursts in and ties a lamppost around my wrist like handcuffs

Marc: And after that, I kept stopping more of his crimes… Tell them why.

Nathaniel: *Blushing* Starlight, quit it.

Marc: Come on…

Nathaniel: … I wanted a reason to see and talk to you.

Marc: He even stopped right in the middle of causing some chaos downtown because Denise came instead of me. It was adorable! He eventually worked up the nerve to ask me out. And, baby, you didn’t have to commit all those crimes just to get me to notice you.

Nathaniel: Can you blame me? I couldn’t exactly talk to you during school hours with your friends watching my every move.

Marc: And yet, here we are.

—

Jesse: When I first laid eyes on Anthony, it was during the DC kids’ weekly Villains versus Heroes battle near the Eiffel Tower. All I wanted to do was belt a myriad of love songs to the heavens when I saw my dark angel!

Anthony: I talked him out of it. Though, I was surprised he picked me out of… Literally anyone. I mean, who wants a Demon for a boyfriend, you know?

Jesse: *Takes his hand* I do. And I always will, my love.

Anthony: You weren’t even the least bit terrified when you found out who my grandfather was?

Jesse: You mean Trigon? Enslaver of worlds? Devourer of a million souls? The most feared tyrant in the universe who could easily wipe out all existence as we know it?… Nope. Not at all.

Anthony: Aaw. *Kisses him on the cheek* You're sweet.

Jesse: Yes, and a bit terrified.

—

Alya: So, Nino and I had just been transferred to DuPont after the... Incidents at our last schools.

Nino: I was in the middle of conning a few idiots out of their lunch money when she walked by, her hair just smelling like lavender.

Alya: You got so distracted that you shifted into several forms until you were just this cluster of different people. It was a mess! And, frankly, kind of cute.

Nino: Only because I had Adrien's dimples, Kim's abs, and Chloé's aerobicized ass, right?

Alya: No, I meant it was cute how you got all flustered over me, idiot.

Nino: Well, who wouldn't? Now, here's the kicker. She asked me out by trapping me in an escape room for three days.

Alya: With food and water, of course. In the end, there was a riddle waiting for him, and he got it on the first go.

Nino: 'There is a fruit, so very sweet! From a palm, it's very neat! A yea or nay sometime today. Palm to palm is just the gate for the fruit is a-'

Alya/Nino: Date.

—

Denise: I first met Simon while trying to stop a bus full of passengers. The brakes just snapped, and it was going all over the road at top speed.

Simon: I was chasing after the bus, but, you know, I’m not strong enough to stop like a… What? A ton?

Denise: Twenty to thirty, actually. So, I’m flying by to help, and then this one- *Snickers* He flew into a stop sign the very second he saw me.

Simon: I was face to face with a literal goddex! A gorgeous one at that.

Denise: Aw, come on. After we managed to stop the bus and save everyone, we just started hanging out more, stopping the DC villain kids together, and one thing lead to another. We started dating.

—

Jean: I had just given the performance of a life time. I had gotten the usual red roses, but then someone tosses me a bouquet of green roses. Guess who it was.

Austin T: I think they know, dear.

Jean: *Giggles* Yeah. But, the first time we met officially was when I was helping Zoé stop Marinette and Adrien from releasing laughing gas out into the city.

Austin T: I lent some assistance.

Jean: He trapped them in a cage that his ring made, and I was like, “What sorcery is this?!” And he went, “No sorcery, just space tech. Hi, I’m Emerald Lantern.”

Austin T: If you think I’m about to choose the most predictable name, you have another thing coming. Anyway, he didn’t know I was the one who threw the green bouquet until he saw the cage.

Jean: I was swooning!

Austin T: It was adorable how his eyes lit up.

—

Rose: The first time we met, we were thirteen, and we tried to kill each other.

Juleka: Nah, you didn’t try to kill me; I tried to kill you. I thought she was stepping on my turf, trying to steal the stuff I was going to steal. Turns out, she was just poisoning a few guys down at some club who have been harassing some poor girl.

Rose: She’s okay now, but anyway, Juleka wanted in on the action, and scratched their faces!

Juleka: Respect women, idiots.

Rose: It was amazing! I had them tied up in my vines, and we both took turns beating them with her sack full of cash!

Juleka: I like to consider that our first date.

Rose: *Kisses her on the cheek* And what a date it was.

—

Ivan: I was bashing a corrupt official’s head against the pavement one night, after I found out he’d done unspeakable things to lycée students behind closed doors, when I saw her hollow eyes from across the street. I was then plagued with the grimmest of hallucinations of that prison. And after a dreadful ten minutes, I found the bastard of a man writhing and screaming as if he were in even more pain. I knew I wanted her to cull pathetic whelps like that man with me.

Myléne: He asked, then I gave him another dose of my fear toxin. When he snapped out of it and didn’t run away, that’s when I knew he was the one I wanted to spend my life with.

—

Brecken: Lemme tell ya, it ain’t all easy being a hero-villain couple. I always gotta act polite ‘n stuff when I’m around her hero pals.

Genevieve: And I must endure his friends’ brash behavior from time to time.

Brecken: Aw, you love ‘em!

Genevieve: Not as much as I love you… And, I guess your clones.

Brecken: Hoo, doggies! I love this gal! Anyway, as to how we met, so me and the fellas, as in my clones, were robbing the bank, and after we cleaned it out, we stopped for a bite as this great diner. And if you’re American, they got some great burgers there, makes you feel right at home!

Genevieve: As he was saying, he and his clones barged in as I was ordering. Seeing as we were in a public space, and we both had not eaten yet, the seven of us occupied a table, and just began to talk.

Brecken: I never seen the fellas so engaged. My darlin’s just got that something, you know?

—

Aurore: Uh, a little about us. My bio dad’s Aquaman, allowing me to breathe underwater and communicate with fish.

Mireille: My bio mom is Black Canary, and I inherited her sonic scream. It’s nice, but I gotta be careful not to scream when I get angry.

Aurore: She’s broken a lot of windows. So, as for how we got together. We were both new to DuPont, and got placed in the Hero Class. It was sort of a program made so we, as the second generation of heroes, could keep an eye on the Villain Class.

Mireille: They’re more chaotic neutral than chaotic evil, but we still keep tabs.

Aurore: Anyway, she had no idea who my dad was yet, so when she saw me at the bottom of the pool one day, she, without hesitation, jumped in, and brought me up for air.

Mireille: I was embarrassed.

Aurore: I was flattered, and I wouldn’t mind her saving me again. You know, from something that can actually kill me. The gesture was sweet, though.

Mireille: I got my favorite top wet.

Aurore: All in the name of love.

@msweebyness @imsparky2002