#and for my miraculous ladybug fans in the room

[originalaccountname]

I need to show off Chuuya's French dub actor a little. Please enjoy.

[yolowritter]

In Defense of Gabriel Agreste

Oh dear Kwami, I can't believe I'm actually doing this... I can't believe that it feels necessary. Before we begin, I want to make a huge clarification. I am NOT supporting any of Gabriel's actions AT ALL, especially anything done in Season 5. That's abuse, that's child neglect, that's grounds for calling CPS. I will never excuse that kind of thing, and frankly this isn't what I'm here to talk about. I simply want to state my opinion on how canon has absolutely ruined Gabriel as a character, and give my own perspective on our local supervillain, including an understanding of his reasons and how Gabriel devolves the way he does in the actual show. This is a mixture of headcannons I've had that are somewhat supported by canon, and I hope you all enjoy my little analysis piece.

First off, let's kick things into high gear by discussing Gabriel's themes. From the get-go of Bubbler, it's blindingly obvious that he serves as the "strict parent" antagonist to Adrien's quest for freedom and self-expression. As an archetype, this works quite well in a lot of stories and media, so I was fine with it when I watched the episode. Through the rest of Season 1, we quickly come to realize that Adrien's mother (and Gabriel's wife) is "missing", due to some reason or the other. At this point some may suspect his relation to Hawkmoth, but there's no legitimate evidence to go off of so we put a pin on that. During Simon Says, specifically Chat Noir and Gabriel's little interaction, we get to see that Adrien does hold some repressed anger against Gabriel because of how overprotective the man is, and then comes the fond remark of Emilie's flair for dramatics. It's a line so many of us have discussed or used in fanworks, but rarely do I see people talk about how Gabriel delivers it. The usually stoic personification of dissapointment seems to finally have some emotion in his voice, for the first really important moment of his character. Combine this with the earlier talk between him and Ladybug, where he praises Adrien and seems genuinely proud of his son for keeping up with all the activities/modeling/etc. Therefore, we get a good general idea of who Gabriel Agreste actually is. A grieving father who has lost his partner to "mysterious circumstances", and is trying to protect his son from any kind of harm. Sure, he's going about it the wrong way and is definately overdoing it, but the act itself doesn't come from a place of malice. Keep this in mind as we move forward.

In Season 2, we start off with the episode Collector. And learn that Gabriel is Hawkmoth. Because of course he is, Adrien is one of the titular characters in the show, naturally the writers want to pull a Luke Skywalker at some point. "I am your father" and all that, we've seen it a million times before. Still, this brings up the question of why? Sure, Gabriel is an asshole. That's very obvious by this point, even though we don't have enough information to truly cast judgement on his reasoning for such behavior. But there's a significant gap between "overprotective single parent who stifles their child" and "local butterfly man who has beef with teenage superheroes". Therefore, this reveal immediately has alarm bells ringing as to what Gabriel's motive is. In a later episode, we have the Gorizilla Incident. And this is where he finally becomes a much more complex, much better character! Because Hawkmoth has captured Ladybug. She's right there, helpless, and all he has to do is either show up and steal her Miraculous, or just wait until she loses her transformation and then take the earrings. His arch nemesis, the person who has been preventing him from accomplishing whatever his goals are...is at his mercy. But...there's a problem. His son is also on the field of battle, and just jumped off a building. Wonderful! Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Gabriel releases Ladybug, therefore saving Adrien's life at the cost of the Miraculous. And much later, during Queen Wasp, Hawkmoth genuinely ponders if he's done more harm than good by trying to defeat the Heroes of Paris. (Side Note: I don't actually remember if we'd seen Emilie in the pod by this point, but whatever.) He would have quit, hung up the suit, and lived out his days as Gabriel Agreste. Miserably maybe, but he would have stuck to that choice. No more Hawkmoth. Until...he gets the chance to Akumatize a Miraculous Holder. And if you want to rewatch this scene, notice the mania in Gabriel's eyes. This extreme emotional reaction is the complete opposite of what we've seen from the man so far (dramatic monologues aside), and the chance at victory rips Gabriel's sanity away from him. Cue Queen Wasp, and later Scarlet Moth.

But I want to stick to this moment for a second. Queen Wasp takes place directly after Style Queen, in which Adrien gets turned into a gold statue. And sure, the show can tell us all it wants about how "he's been turned to dust" or some bs, but we all know Adrien is dead right now. And Gabriel knows it too. This is literally the reason why he tries to convince himself that he shouldn't be Hawkmoth anymore. Because he finally understands what kind of harm he's been doing. By this point it's like the 3rd time that Adrien is in immediate proximity to an Akuma and promptly gets bodied by said Villain, specifically because of Hawkmoth. I do not care what Season 5 says, Gabriel Agreste loved his son with every last shred in that broken, shattered fragment of a heart that was left after Emilie's death, and he shows it very clearly on multiple occassions. He even tries to connect with Adrien again, and has a genuine moment when they watch Emilie's movie together. Gabriel, for all his supervillainy and prancing about in a butterfly costume, seems to be healing throughout Season 2. So why does it only get worse from here?

Well...this is where my headcanons come in to fill the void. Obviously I could go on a tangent about the writers here, but I don't care enough to waste my breath on that again. Swiftly moving past that, I honestly think Gabriel suffers from Tunnel Vision during this show. And yeah that's not a "condition", but think about this for a second. Nooroo warns that there are terrible consequences for misusing a Miraculous in Origins, and the show...never follows up on this? Well, that's weird. Unless the consequences are mental. A deterioration of the self, in a way. Consider: a good portion of the fandom already talks about Gabriel and Hawkmoth/Shadowmoth/Monarch as different people sometimes. What if that's literal? What if that's the consequence? Gabriel was depressed, desperate and heartbroken after Emilie's demise, but according to a cutscene from Miraculous Rise of the Sphynx (and I swear to God why didn't they put this in the actual show???) Gabriel and Nathalie actually spent around a year looking for the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous before deciding to use the Butterfly. It was Gabriel's last resort. And look at how Hawkmoth acts in Season 1. He's...well, he's acting. Playing the role of a villain to lure them out and defeat them, knowing full-well (at least after Stoneheart) that Ladybug can fix pretty much anything he destroys if she wins, and he can just do the same if she's defeated. Gabriel has a safety net, he's acting the part of an evil villain, complete with dramatic monologues and "curse you Perry the Platypus" moments after ever defeat. Then in Season 2, he knows the jig is up. The stakes are too high and this Hawkmoth bs is hurting the one piece of Emilie that he has left...so Gabriel decides to quit.

And this is where the corruption comes in. During "Feast" in Season 3, Hawkmoth re-states his goal of "taking all the Miraculous!" Uh...hold on just a second. Didn't Gabriel only need the Ladybug and Cat? Yes, exactly. That's why the events of the show even happen to begin with. So why has it now changed to all the Miraculous, if the rest are useless in terms of bringing Emilie back? Well, Gabriel's thirst for power is slowly corrupting his mind. Hawkmoth is officially in control by this point, and it gets much, much worse from here. With Mayura at his side, Hawkmoth has a real person to care about, and take care of. Nathalie supports him, keeps Gabriel afloat in this ocean of despair that they're both slowly drowning in.

But what happens when Mayura can't be there anymore? What happens when Gabriel (now as Shadowmoth) spends hours upon hours inside that dark lair, deliberating his victory? It becomes his sole focus. What tiny specks of humanity were still left inside of this hollow shell called Gabriel Agreste have been devoured by a beast that hungers for only one thing. Power. Emilie is no longer loved by him, barely even remembered to begin with. Now instead of genuine heartbreak over his wife's loss, Shadowmoth is using her as an excuse to keep going. He rationilizes it all to himself, saying "this is for my family" and "they will understand" to hide from the very obvious fact that neither Emilie or Adrien would ever stand for this. His ambitions have stripped Gabriel of all sense and sanity, leaving behind a madman simply wearing his skin. The last time we ever see even a flicker of clarity in his head is during Glaciator 2.0, when Adrien is about to be Akumatized. But this is also the biggest indication that it's almost too late for Gabriel, because has to think about it. Sure, he doesn't actually Akumatize Adrien, but even since Chat Blanc it's become perfectly clear that he can and will go through with that to get an advantage over Ladybug. Here, Shadowmoth considered Akumatizing him anyway, even with just the usual chances of winning.

And in Ephemeral (I'm pretty sure, could be just before or after), Nooroo's worst fears have finally come to pass. Gabriel affirms that he wants to destroy the entire world using the Wish. And then re-shape it into one where he's the top dog, by extension making the Agrestes like the Supreme. Gabriel has gone completely off the rails by this point. I'd even argue that the person he was only a few months ago (don't get me started on that timeline btw) is dead. Gone, burried six feet under along with his wife, because Gabriel Agreste would never do something like this. Monarch just makes everything even worse, especially with Evolution. Just like Nathalie said, he had the perfect chance to warn his past self about the Peacock being broken. Step in the portal, detransform, explain that he's Gabriel, then tell them "hey so the recipe to fix it is on this page of the Grimoire, you need to do this before Emilie makes Adrien" and that's it. But he just ignores it completely because of his obsession, hence proving the point I'm trying to make.

To circle back to the beginning of this post, I am perfectly fine with how Gabriel's character devolves and spirals into madness across the show. It's a cool plotline, could have been really interesting if the writers bothered to explore it but even with only what we have, I'd say it adds a ton of depth to his character! Or...would, if they bothered to explain this! Like seriously, you can pretty easily infer than something of the sort is happening, especially in later seasons. Just give Nathalie or Nooroo one or two scenes where they are worried about Gabriel going insane! Especially Nooroo, give the poor guy a few lines trying to warn Shadowmoth like "Master, please! You need to think about what you're doing! Can't you see this isn't you anymore?" or something of the sort. Sure, it doesn't have to be so on the nose, but you get my point! Instead they did nothing with this amazing idea that's already there because they wrote it by accident! And guess what? Gabriel goes from a sympathetic villain in Season 2 to an utter maniac who locks his "beloved" son in an insane asylum during Season 5!

Like are you kidding me??? What alternate universe did I get dropped into where this is the "logical" followup to Hawkmoth's storyline? One of the only things Gabriel even had going for him in terms of complexity was his genuine love towards Adrien! And like I said, I'd be fine if this how they wanted to make things and play the "tragic villain consumed by a lust for power" card! For Nooroo's sake, it's dangling right in front of them like a carrot on a stick! But instead of making the slightest bit of effort and explain that this is happening, or that it's an intentional plotpoint for Gabriel's character, their innaction just reduces him to a one-dimensional "evil because he's the villain" cardboard cutout! Believe me, I love unapologetically evil characters, who do the worst things for funsies! But Gabriel Agreste can never be that type of bad guy because you set up an entire storyline about his poor wife who died because adoption is apparently illegal in this universe! Don't get me started on Emilie Agreste, she's getting a rant of her own soon enough! But come on, would it kill you to at least try and give your villains some depth???

Thomas, do you want me to have a stroke? An aneurysm? To keel over dead like Gabriel's character development? Should I maybe put a fridge in my basement for good measure? And do not talk to me about the "tell Adrien how good a father I was" bs the finale had in it! Just- just don't touch that with a ten foot pole! But...I will admit, there is a very interesting direction they can take Gabriel's character now that he's dead. Because sure, he's now a one-dimensional asshole that screamed in his basement a lot before beating up a cat(bug)girl and dropping dead, but hey! Gabriel Agreste can haunt the narrative now! Have Lila use reunion to talk to him! Have Marinette be tormented by the stupid promise she made! Have Adrien be conflicted over how Gabriel treated him! Give us an existential crisis because "the hero who defeted Monarch" doesn't match up with the abusive asshole Adrien has known for the past year! Gabriel Agreste's character has been utterly trainwrecked by the writers' refusal to explain anything about him beyond a superficial "boo hoo my wife keeled over". Yeah buddy, so what? You can at least be interesting about it!

Anyway, I'm going to go cool off and make another draft for how to fix this idiot's character development. Or you know, give him some in the first place because he's lost it all. I'll see you all soon with an "In offense to Emilie Agreste" post, but until then, Stay Miraculous everyone!

[lunyunyuny]

miraculous movie sketches (mostly chat bc i hate him) (platonically) w cool tape!!

other colors shown under the cut!

[sizzleissues]

Future holders AU

Some stuff cut off

Missed the bit of the fandom where everyone did this so here’s my two cents. The cat miraculous holder is Emma A. Dupain-Cheng ofc!

More stuff under the cut!

So here’s some things I imagine happen in this

Basically Marinette at some point relinquished guardianship and Ladybug and Chat Noir retired. (Debating to have a little bit of past angst by keeping the memory wipe)

Years later on Emma’s 16th birthday, an akuma crashes through the roller rink. Adrien got everyone to safety and Emma finds a strange box in the room he put her in. Joined by Crimson Bird (we’ll get to her one day), they defeat the akuma and learn of the return of the once thought to be destroyed Butterfly miraculous. Violet Empress

Emma doesn’t know her parents were super heroes and they won’t find out she’s one for a bit.

She’s a roller skating champ and only gets better with the added cat agility. Still crap at walking tho.

Emma is a big fan of the ‘old’ heroes and collects merch from the time. Her dad seems to be very good a sourcing ultra rare ladybug and chat noir stuff…

Once she debuts as Kitty Bo, she finds a Kitty Bo costume in her Dad’s wardrobe. She assumes its for her for the next con as he’d been hinting that with the new Chat Noir someone could have a new costume. Ofc this makes her panic because ‘what if he realises??’. On the day, turns out this costumes for him! Kitty Bo is apparently his favourite ‘new’ hero. While Chat Noir is her’s.

(Secretly they are both very pleased by these facts)

Plagg is ofc delighted his next holder is the daughter of his previous. This leads him to being an annoying little git. The only thing keeping his from running to Adrien is the identity protection thing. Eventually a midnight cheese escapade leads to a very damning sighting by Adrien and some quick lies about needing a quick recharge while patrolling. Adrien starts crying, Plagg leaves, it is all very confusing. Meanwhile Emma is in her room jamming out, unaware her kwami nearly exposed her.

I’m not sure how the reveals will go yet. The AU is Adrien & Emma centric as I think Adrien’s strive to be not like his dad and Emma wanting to live up to her’s in two ways unbeknownst to her is interesting.

The proper reunion is very emotional and Emma lets her dad transform for a bit, giving the public a shock. Marinette gets to borrow Tikki too and they go have a romantic evening on the Eiffel Tower, a defining spot of the relationship they couldn’t visit after giving up the miraculous.

[reverieblondie]

hey! I wanted to request a criminal/villain!miguel x copFM!reader 🫣🤭 (Miguel is wearing his spider suit as his villain outfit)

LIKE Miguel is a criminal or villain whose hate when the cop chase him…except for reader. Who’s has been huge crush on reader and a bigger crush since the first time he stole something. but manage to stumble and fall on top of reader. Which reader was flustered and confused by the Miguel action.(for a reference for this request use megamind and the new reporter😭 but instead of using a human disguise.or miraculous ladybug☠️ 😭) and Miguel has Been in love with reader since he got save from a reader.from criminal or villain.and in Miguel eyes, reader was a good, sweet, caring person and the way she fighting the criminal and to him ….. it was sexy.and Miguel wanted was all reader attention.(and let be fr Miguel would be pervert nerd who’s follow reader social media just to see her face and fan girl about😝🤭)

so let just say he still got all he spider power and decided to move into a new apartment and when he was almost done moving…and reader was coming out of her apartment room to greet the new neighbor, and That when Miguel meet reader again.and god. when I feel like he would stutter, and say weird things, or random things to reader. As reader was looking at him with a confuse/surprise look. and Miguel knew he f$&k up so bad with his first small chat to reader who wasn’t even in work or wasn’t even saving any people.Miguel-“Dios mío … how the hell did I manage to f$&k this up … but this is perfect she my apartment neighbor” Miguel said in his mind.time skip😭😔,a few month in.and reader is having feelings towards her weird neighbor. who is just a mess. As she was telling Jessica about her crush.and Jessica is just laughing about it and saying to reader Jess-“ oh? ohh! Lorrrrd! Gurl this sound like some high-school crush all over again *chuckle*”.and reader would nudge Jessica shoulder and say “stop it…not funny” and pout about it and Jess wouldn’t stop till there caption called them into action on (the time was like 9:00 or any time would be good 😔) -#### ### #### street. and that where reader is trap with villain!Miguel.Which IN Miguel original plan he was going to have a nice chat, and want to tried find what reader like in general. in his villain side.(because he more serious about it 😭☝️idk). But some other sidekicks-villain…well not it just Layla playing a prank on them but Miguel didn’t know that. and what Layla decide to put was some fun gas🤭

Nfsw part: those fun gas was sexual drug that boosted there sexual desire for them and make them delusional or not idk☠️.(☝️😔 the same problem with all of us being delu BUT IM PROUD OF IT 🗣️) and reader was lucky enough to caught some of the gas.but Miguel. in the other hands wasn’t lucky enough and caught all the gas. after a an few minutes the gas went away.but not the effect that was going through reader body, her body was hot and the way room felt warmed and Miguel was hanging on the edge of the desk (the setting is that there in a abandoned office or building) and Miguel is busy panted, grunting, and is overall just so arousal same with reader but not that much that she lost control. Like Miguel did.

HOPE you enjoy the rest of your day and I hope you enjoy this request! Also I love your writing and i love the sailor moon theme 🫶 bye! [Fluff/smut any kink will be fine but I feel like breeding kink, or some overstimulation or some choking idk 🤷‍♀️ you can choose.but I hope you have a wonderful day 🤟]

I finally did it! I am so so sorry it took me so long to complete the request! I wanted to write my Halloween ones before the 31st, then I was hit with the craziest writers block of my life! I finally got over it last night and was about to get this out! I did change up some stuff a bit but I hope you still enjoy!

Criminal

criminal/villain!miguel x copFM!reader

Summary: Miguel hates cops, well all expect one...

Word count: 5,716

Warnings: 18+, NSFW, Smut with Plot, Praise, Unprotected Penetrative Sex (wrap it before you tap it), Oral, Fingering, Cum eating, Sexy fun gas?, Breeding kink, Slight chocking, Slight Overstimulation. Miguel calls reader his 'good girl'.

The room is dark, and the sounds of whirling machines fill the space. The office-like space is filled with gadgets and an arrangement of computers, new developments in tech and torn apart failures. Then a low groan seems to light the room's holo-screens adding an orange glow to the space. 

Layla appears in a flicker glowing in her yellow light “Sooo, I’m going to take a guess and assume that the plan didn’t go well?” 

Another groan releases from the dark shadows of the room, and Layla rolls her eyes “Come on boss, no use sulking about it.” 

From the darkness his red eyes glow first, then he emerges from the shadows, the scowl of his face being reflected from the intimating mask. “Those damn cops…I hate those damn cops…they ruin all my plans…” Miguel grumbles to the AI as he walks to the Holo screens. 

Miguel O’Hara, better known as the allusive criminal mastermind, Spider-Man. Miguel had picked up the title when he received his spider-like abilities in a freak lab accident. Miguel was given a chance that people often dream about, the option to become a superhero and use his powers to protect the city he resides in. 

But…

Miguel didn't ask for these powers. 

Also, this was Neva York, a city filled with corruption, where, as Miguel was concerned, only the lowest of low resited. So instead of using his powers to help save the city, he used them to save himself, exclusively.  

“You know Miguel that isn’t true…you don't hate all cops,” Layla says with a grin 

Deactivating the mask portion of his spider suit, and scowling at Laylal he didn’t need her quips right now, with the night he'd had anything could set him off. Instead of falling for the teasing he grumbles to himself as he starts swiping away at his screens.

Miguel despises the cops, the goody two shoes always trying to ruin his plans. Having to evade them was an inconvenience and he hated being inconvenienced. Though he would never outwardly admit it, Layla had a point, he didn't hate all cops. There was one who was different, one who had snared him in their dazzling web of righteousness, you.  

Miguel remembers when he first met you, 

He had just gotten done stealing some new revolutionary tech from Alcamax. The cops were hot on his trail, running through the facility where he was avoiding capture. Not that those idiots could catch him. The goal was the exit to the roof so he could easily swing to freedom. Sharply turning corners and sprinting through the halls he knew he was approaching his escape. 

While quickly taking a turn that would lead him to the roof access he crashed into something or more like somebody…

A sharp squeak had been your first response to him crashing into you, caging you underneath his massive form. Urging himself to get up and run he instead found himself unable to. Feeling your soft warm body pressed against him had him ignoring all basic instincts. Don’t even get him started on your face, those wide doe eyes, your sweet lips sucking in a gasp, the slight red that was blossoming on your cheeks. It was impossible not to stare. 

Caught in the surprise you didn’t scream or speak at all, you just stared back with that adorable slack jaw expression. Breathing became slowly shallower as the moment lingered. So many thoughts went through his head: Tie you up? Talk to you? Take you? 

Finally, the moment was interrupted by your radio going off inquiring about your position. (underneath the enemy) Quickly rising to his feet he runs for the exit door. Against his better judgment, he turns around to see if you're radioing for backup, pointing your gun at him, or chasing after him. None of that is the case as he sees you staring at him with that shocked expression still plastered to your flushed face. 

Thinking back to the memory he feels his face warm slightly, he had been stuck on that moment since that night…

 “Layla, open file 10-7,” he commands, layla rolls her eyes with a smirk she knows exactly what file he wants to see.

The file is opened filling the holo screen, there is a lot of information and an arrangement of pictures, and what is this information and pictures of? You of course! Scrolling more he stops on your department photo, you're all done up in your uniform showcasing that beautiful smile. Were cops even allowed to be pretty? 

Since the run-in with you Miguel took it upon himself to look into you, what he found was a good-hearted caring person, you were a cop who was working for a corrupted city but your goodwill for justice was intriguing, you were one of the good ones, Miguel just couldn’t help himself with you…

“Have you been keeping an eye on her?” 

“Oh? Of your little girlfriend?” 

“Not my girlfriend…she's a damn cop..” a damn sexy one…

Layla drifts around looking at her AI-manicured hand, “Then I guess you don’t want to watch the video of her catching a suspect huh?” 

Miguel's ears perk up, “Show me…” 

“Nuh uh, magic word?” 

“Now!” Miguel slams his hands on the desk, and Layla scoffs at his temper. 

“Jeez, alright Mr. Pleasant, the magic word was please by the way”

Typing away at the screens Layla pulls up a video of you pursuing a thief. Miguel can’t help but get excited from seeing you in action. Never has he been attracted to anyone in uniform, but with the way your outfit hugged your curves and the way you moved, he was salivating. The suspect had turned to punch you but you quickly dodged (you must have taken some extra training from the last time he saw you). Dodging you grab the suspect's wrist twisting it into an armbar pinning them to a wall. Miguel can’t hide the excitement of watching you succeed. 

“That a girl” He whispers with his eyes lighting up, fist clenched tightly, an almost smile that looks like it teases at the corners of his lips. Quick to cover his excitement with Layla floating around he clears his throat going back to his usual expression. Little does Miguel know this is nothing new for Layla, she's well aware of his little fanboy tendencies when he thinks no one's watching. -He's so obvious. 

Saving the new video to the file he continues to scroll through watching videos of you, of your heroic escapades, Layla slowly drifts into his vision with a smug smile on her face, Miguel just rolls his eyes and scoffs. 

“Yeah Miguel, looks like you really hate cops…”

With his criminal lifestyle it's only natural he changes locations often to avoid the cops getting close enough to figure out who he could be. Sure it was a pain in the ass to have to move apartments every couple of months but it was keeping the cops in the dark and him free to continue his black market deals.  

The new apartment was nice enough, but he always made sure not to get too attached; it was temporary only. He had started to adjust to the new space, being here only three days. Unpacking, surveying the area, and avoiding neighbors. It was the same routine wherever he went, just be a ghost, unseen and unnoticed… 

A knock on the door is all it took to interrupt him from his daydream of a plan. Great…A nosy neighbor, that's the last thing he needs to muck up his plan. Heading to the door in an irritated rush he swings the door open ready to reject the pryer, the scowl on his face pressed firmly, till it's replaced to one of surprise. 

Miguel had to resist all urges to pinch himself, there you were, the face he had been staring at, the one he would see when he saw you on patrols, the one he would think about when those lonely nights were partially dreadful. He can’t help his eyes looking you up and down. He has only ever seen you in your uniform in person now you're dressed in your casual clothes, now to just see you in no clothes, then he could die a happy man. 

Clearing your throat he instantly straightens his back, he feels his hands suddenly become clammy, has he been staring too long? 

“Hello, I’m y/n, I live down the hall. I saw you moving in a few days ago and I just wanted to say welcome to the building.” your voice is like a drug, he could listen to you ramble for days about anything. But now he feels himself staring.

Shit! Quick, seem relaxed, lean against the doorway, leaning shows a chill individual that would be cool to hang out with. Miguel suddenly slumps his shoulder into the doorway in an awkward lean. The suddenness of the lean makes it look like he lost his balance and you jump a little at the action. Seeing your confused expression he tries to do something with his arms, he goes from them being straight against his sides to one being on his hip to finally settle them to being crossed against his chest. Nailed it. 

“W-well I didn’t realize y-y-you were the welcome committee,” he fumbles out.  Fuck! Stuttering now? Really? 

Looking at your face he sees it swarming with concern “Sir are you okay?” 

“yeah…just wondering why the universe hates me…” He lets out in a faint whisper

“What?” 

“Nothing…my name is Miguel…” 

Great, could he have fucked this up more? He's a damn criminal, he's been on top of you! Why is he acting like this? Before he can continue his inner lamenting, you let out a laugh. It's the sweetest cutest laugh he's ever had the pleasure to hear. 

“You're pretty shy, huh? Miguel?” 

Miguel can only smile down at your perfection, hearing your sultry voice finally saying his name. His heart feels as if it could burst at any moment “You have no idea…” 

“Well you don’t need to be shy around me, I was hoping we could be friends. Give me one second!” Miguel watches as you scramble back to your apartment. Of course, he's going to remember which one was yours, but just to keep tabs on you…nothing more…

Coming back out holding a Tupperware box, you quickly hand it over to him with that adorable smile. You're too sweet…

“I baked some cookies, hope you like chocolate chip” too sweet…

“Too sweet…” he mutters

“Oh, you don’t like cookies?” 

His whole body tenses, “No! I mean, I do…like cookies…I like sweets, I was just saying you're too sweet, Like these cookies…” Miguel holds up the cookies with a wide smile, can the universe just swallow him…he's acting like a damn idiot… 

You let out a laugh, sure, you're laughing at him but, he can't help how his chest pangs at the sound of your sweet voice and your soft face…he's got it bad for you…

“Well, thank you, I hope you enjoy them, hope they are not too sweet for you.” He swears you winked at him, or maybe it was just him hallucinating, maybe the whole thing was a hallucination. Watching you enter your apartment you wave bye, looking down he still sees the box of treats in his hand, nope this was real.  Back in his apartment he places the cookies on the counter and opens the container. The cookies are perfect, he takes one of the sugary circles and takes a bite. Dammit…It's fantastic….maybe he can stay here longer than he usually does….

“Sure, he's a bit…awkward but it's kinda sweet when he rambles plus sometimes he stutters.” 

You and Jess had no new duties at the moment so you decided to tell her all about your neighbor, it had been a month or so and you were getting quite close to Miguel. A nice neighborly friendship had blossomed between you two. Was he a shy rambling mess yes, but it was oddly cute…he was cute…and something about him…every time you saw him seemed so…familiar…   

“Oh man, sounds like your villain boyfriend has some competition” Jess smirks at you. Face dropping to irritation you're not amused by the teasing. 

“Will I ever live that down?” you grimace. 

Jess wraps her arm around your shoulder, “You're the one who let him go” 

“I was in shock, It was an accident, He fell on me! And even though he was masked…I could just feel his stare on me…so intense…” 

“Well let's hope we have no more intense moments with the criminal, captain was on your ass about it for weeks…” 

“I know…” You rest your head down in defeat on my desk, the interaction with the ever elusive spider-man had been plaguing you for months. Nobody could let go that you had let the criminal go. It's not like it was on purpose, he had taken you by surprise…with his solid body…pressed onto yours…his burning warmth almost scorching your skin. You have to shake away the thoughts remembering to get a grip. That guy was something else…

Jess just slightly chuckles patting your shoulder to bring you back from your thoughts, “Tell me more about your high school crush on your neighbor” 

You shoot her a look “It's not like that, he's just interesting and I like chatting with him in the hall.” 

“Sure totally, let me ask you this, do you walk slowly to your apartment to see if he will exit to get a chance to run into him?” 

Staring at her you avert your gaze feeling embarrassed she figured you out so quickly. Jess busts out in laughter “Sounds like a crush girl” 

“It's not a crush!” 

She smiles leaning in, mockery lacing her voice “Oh, stuck between the awkward nerd and the criminal bad boy, tsk tsk, sounds like a romantic drama.” 

Opening your mouth to rebuttal your radio goes off calling you and Jess into the captain's office, this discussion will have to continue later. 

Rushing into the captain's office he sits there with a very serious look on his face. “We think we finally figured out where that spider freak has been hiding. You two need to go to The Haverlands and check out the abandoned building on 5th street, report back your findings, understand?” 

‘Yes sir’ you and Jess say in unison. Turning to head out caption speaks up getting your attention

“And we don't want any mishaps like last time y/n..” you nod quickly and head out on your assignment, people were never going to let that go. 

“I don't understand, can't you just talk to her at the complex” Layla floats around Miguel's head as he types away at his screens seeming to be setting up for something. Miguel huffs and rolls his eyes at her comment, is she serious? 

“No I can’t, every time she's near I turn into a stumbling idiot. Though she may hate me, I can talk to her directly from behind the mask.” 

“So, you want to get closer to her? But the only way you can do that is by being a criminal?” Layla looks at Miguel confused “You humans make no sense..” 

“Look, I want to know more and this is how I can do it seriously, I have to find out what makes her tick, what makes her want to save this waste of a city.” Miguel pauses for a moment, sure, the plan was radical and the likelihood it would blow up in his face was high. There is just something he can’t shake, you're different from the other cops, from how you act to how you looked at him that day…he just knows there's something to you. “Now did you check that she was for sure coming?”

“I hacked into the system and saw that she was on the assignment with her partner.” 

“Good, we just need to get her alone, just need to set it up, don’t need anything messing this up” Miguel's stare was intense on the screen, this was important to him. It had to happen like planned no surprises.  

“Don’t worry boss everything will go on without a hitch” Layla smirks as she types away on the screens. Layla was up to something….

Everything was going as planned, you and your partner had arrived as anticipated. Miguel knew that you two were here to find his hideout, but he would never actually let that happen, this was just a front house he used to meet with dealers and coordinate business from. He's far too careful to have his actual hideout compromised. Though, if a particular cop were to wander in…he would not find himself minding too much…  

All he had to do now was wait as you made your way towards him. It was all going without a hitch, and he could hardly contain his excitement. Finally, you walk through the threshold of his office, the door quickly shuts and locks itself trapping you inside. Examining the room carefully you walked through trying to look for anything to show if the villain was there. Emerging from the darkness Miguel appears in his iconic spider suit. Face cover obviously. 

“Well, well, if it isn't the clumsy cop?” 

“Uh, you ran into me, spider boy” 

“Unimportant details” 

“Actually, important facts” 

Before you can even process, Miguel shoots his blazing webs forward and brings him suddenly closer to you. His tall figure standing over you takes your breath away. The shocked look on your face makes him grin from under his mask, it’s your turn to be the stumbling one. 

Without a second thought, Miguel is taking your gun from your holster, in case you have any ideas. Sliding the gun away he looks back at you expecting to see a look of fear, though he sees your face as fierce as ever. Such a brave girl…

“What's with the look?” he mocks in a cocky tone

“I’m not scared of you” Your eyes pierced through him, he could tell you meant business. 

“Oh? Well, aren't you a brave cop?”

“I’m not brave, I just think if you were going to do something you would have.” -damn, she's not wrong. 

“Why do you do this?” The sudden question catches Miguel off guard for a second. 

“Do what?” 

Gesturing around with your hands you look around, “this? Crime? You have abilities people can only dream about, why not use them for good?” 

Miguel scoffs “Is this you trying to convert me?” 

“This is me trying to figure you out so I can stop you from doing this.” 

Miguel starts walking closer causing you to back up, it's not until your back is against a wall do you stop. His large arms cage you between him and the wall.

Miguel's voice comes off gruff, “Let me ask you this, why do you do what you do?” 

“I want to help people” 

A laugh comes out of him “In this corrupted city?” 

“Not everyone is like that…plus you could help…” 

“Not my job to be a hero…” he leans in closer to your face, but you don’t back down. 

“But it's never too late to change your mind.” 

Miguel can't help himself from placing his fingers on your jaw tilting your head up further to meet his masked eyes. “Why are you so interested in me?” 

“I could ask you the same thing.” 

That smart mouth of yours…it's taking all his willpower not to taste you. Do you feel this passion too? This magnetism you two share? You have to…that's why you're not fighting him right? 

Before Miguel can respond to you a noise catches his attention…a whining sound? Looking up he sees wall panels moving, one happens to be directly in front of his face. What? 

In an instant, a white gas blasted out of the panels filling the room. From where Miguel was staring the gas had hit him directly. Stumbling back he tries to cover his face while you do the same. 

“What the hell is this gas?” you whine through the haze

“I don’t know, I didn't plan this!”

“What do you mean you didn't plan this!” 

“I’m saying all this is just as surprising to me as it is to you!” he coughs through the gas trying not to inhale more than he has, but it's no use. 

Rolling your eyes you keep your mouth and nose covered, “unbelievable” 

“I heard that!” 

“You were supposed to!” 

Miguel looks around wildly trying to figure out the cause, he goes to his desk to activate the holo computers but everything is down and not responding. Trying to urge them to work he feels a strange warmth growing in his chest, ignoring it he tries to get his bearings but that odd warmth is starting to feel like a slow burn. His abdomen is constricting in a deep knot, his hands are becoming clammy. 

What is this gas? What is this reaction? His body feels like lava is rushing through him. Looking over to you he wants to see if you're having the same reaction. Seeing you his breath stops and all the hot blood rushes down to his cock with a painful throb. Your body looks to be shivering a tensing as each second passes, Your face, your body, your damn smell, everything about you in this instance is calling to his primal desires, begging to be fucked. Slamming his fist down on the table he feels his cock throb violently. He needs to get control but as the room continues to fill with gas he feels his rational mind slipping to irrational thought. 

Talons scratching on the table, it's taking everything for him to keep himself together. It's not until a yellow glow catches his attention that he looks at Layla's smirking face that he begins to connect the dots to what this gas is meant for. An aphrodisiac …

“What did you do!” he growls 

“Well….I figured you two needed a way to let out all your frustrated feelings, so I’m just giving you two, a little nudge.” she winks and disappears. 

Of course, and what better way to get people to open up than having them drugged up with a lust mist? He needs to have a look at her program again. 

The room continues to fill with the white gas and Miguel and you can’t help but cough and try to not breathe in the gas. Miguel's whole body feels like it's on fire, breathing in the gas makes his chest feel like he's inhaling shards of glass, the pain being immense. Becoming lightheaded he leans on the desk to support his body, a ringing noise clouding his ears till he hears your sweet voice. 

Turning around still slumped on the desk he observes your shivering body, your hands are pressed to your chest, the pain probably also in your lungs, but the face you making…eyes hooded mouth hanging open as you stare at him, he can hear every breath you make, your mumblings sounding like sweet begging. Swallowing thickly he can’t help but feel his body tease as he watches you squirm around. 

Closing his eyes he tries to calm himself but all he can think of is you and how badly he needs to feel your cool skin, and you need to feel his hot body.  

The gas turns off and you and Miguel are still trapped in the room. Though the gas has stopped the damage has been done, His body feels like it's reaching a fever pitch, and you can not stop shaking and staring at the masked man hunched on the desk. Watching his rampant breathing and the way his chest falls up and down has your mind fogging.

“L-listen, we n-need to get out of here” you stutter out as you carefully approach him. 

Before you can even make it a few inches closer he's already on you, hand pressed to your throat. The feel of his burning heat on your cold skin has you whimpering a moan you can’t hold in. This is insane, he's a villain, you don't want this, but you do, you're desperate for more. The arousal is dripping from your cunt, it aches, and it yearns to be touched by him. Those lonely nights…thinking of his body rutting into you…your secret desires coming to fruition. 

The bottom of his mask disappears and he quickly kisses you in a burning passion, slipping his tongue in to get a taste of you. He softly lowers the two of you to the floor. The cool of your hands has him groaning from your touch, he needs to feel more, he needs you to cool his body. Equally as desperate for his touch you spread your legs for him to settle between, feeling him rub his hard length against your clothed cunt and he ruts into you against the floor. 

The gas has stopped now, and you're well aware of how crazy this all is, but the tightening around your throat, the teasing against your sex, and how his searing kiss was spreading warmth throughout your whole body, you couldn't help but succumb to the gas lusting your mind. 

Miguel is completely lost in his desires, getting sprayed directly in the face has only made his lust worse. His plus lips move away from your soft lips, a string of saliva keeping you two connected. Looking down at you he sees your pleading eyes, the gas has affected you both but he's still buckling into you like an animal. 

“I need you y/n, I can’t hold myself back, so please…let me take you or shoot me…” 

The desperation in his voice has your skin tingling, you understand his words but you're equally desperate, all you can do is run your trembling hands down his tight chest to his perfect abdomen. Your voice is a trembling whisper honeyed with desire, his heightened senses ring it through his ears. “Take me…”  

With that his suit is dissipating revealing his bronzed sculpted body to you, keeping the mask halfway on his face, of course… The clothes clad on your pricking skin are slowly shed and his warm lips trail over your cold skin. Both desperately hungry for each other the undressing is slow and controlled, building the tension for each other to a new high. Lifting your hips you aid him in shedding your pants, his massive hands hook into your panties, you can’t help your hips buckling as he peels the ruined panties from your slick sex. 

Warm hands squeeze your ass while his lips caress your hip bones. All you can do is whimper as he trails down to your sex. Not being shy, he presses his nose to your swollen clit taking in the scent of your desperate arousal, he swears he could burst from the sweet smell alone but a taste is what he's been craving for all these months. Not wanting to waste another second he licks the slick from your puffy folds, teasing around your tight slit relishing is how you whine and push closer to his face as he does. Before plunging the muscles inside he wraps his lips around your clit licking and sucking softly. 

Hands gripping your ass tighter he pulls you closer to his face, releasing your clit he plunges into your quivering slit, constricting around his muscle as he gets drunk on your essence. Maybe it's from the gas or maybe it's how he keeps expertly eating you out you're quickly coming on his face, letting the release out with a silent scream. Eagering licking up your sweet release he can't help but groan into you. The vibration makes your body shake with the slight overstimulation. But it's intoxicating.

“That's my good girl, fuck, you taste sweeter than those cookies…” Now maybe you're still too blissed out on your orgasm, but you swear you heard him say that with his two fingers now spreading you open, you can’t be too sure you could hear anything past his cooing and your shameful moans. 

Miguel could care less if you heard what he said or not. All he can focus on is stretching your tight cunt enough for him to get inside, he wants you desperately but he wants you to enjoy it with no pain. He wants to take care of his good girl.  

“Play with yourself,” He commands as he pumps his throbbing cock, using the dribbling precum to lubricate down to the shaft. Being the good girl you are you quickly spread your folds open and run your clit letting him watch your pulsating entrance. 

Lining up he slapped his fat tip against your cunt biting his lip as you tease and jumped at each teasing smack, overstimulating you further, “Fuck, you want me to stretch you out mi buena niña?” 

All you can do is nod fanatically whimpering out soft yeses, “Such a good girl, I’ll make sure to really fill you up” 

Your eyes go wide as he smirks stocking his thick length before brushing away your hands to line up to your slit. The thick tip nudges into your glistening hole, feeling him push through your clenching cunt you can’t help but arch from the stretch and how it's warming your whole body instantly.  

Pushing into you inch by inch he feels the burning in his body slowly dissipating as he continues his friction in you. Leaning down he peppers kisses along your collarbone going up to your neck, nipping and kissing his way to your ear. 

“Ah, you feel fucking perfect for me, do you know how long I’ve wanted you? And now you're mine” 

Thrusting deeper, you can't help but wrap your legs around him and hold tightly to his shoulders as he bullies deeper into your clenching cunt. Feeling your sticky lubricant drip down from his cock to your ass with each in and out of his cock.. Never have you felt so full and never has he felt someone quiver so tightly drenching his cock. you're sloppy wet for him and all you can think about is his hot cum painting your strained walls. Your body is begging for him to breed you, to fill you up as his. Maybe this is less the gas now and more your own desires. 

“You clenching so tight guapa, it's like you want me to breed you” 

His words have you looking at him with hooded eyes nodding breathlessly, oh? Miguel starts thrusting harder into you, speeding up his thrust rolling into you deeper, hitting your sweet spot making you choke out a moan as stars pluck at your vision. 

“Is that what you want? Tell me, beg me for it.”

His tip thrusting against your cervix now has your pussy clenching down on his cock, you can’t help but hold on to him tighter, digging your nails into his skin as you get fucked dumb, screaming out your response. 

“Yes! Pl-Please! Fill me up! I want to be so full!” if you were in your right mind you would have died from embarrassment. But Miguel absolutely loves your desperate pleas. 

Your body is starting to feel warm, the cold shivers being chased away by Miguel's cock bullying into your cervix harder than before. Miguel feels his fever coming down at his new pace, he watches as his cock sheathes in and out of your swollen cunt, and a white ring forms around the base of his cock, feeling your clench tighter he’s determined to fuck you through your organism and fill you up till its spilling out.

Like a crashing wave, your orgasm hits you, causing you to cum on the masked criminal. The organism has your body feeling fuzzy and blissed out, screaming in pleasure like an unashamed whore. Miguel's rutting finally stills as he feels his thick cum releasing into your gummy walls, he can stop himself from fucking the cum deeper into you, a primal part of him hopping it takes to claim you as his permanently. 

Finally feeling his burning heat disappear while you finally feel warm no longer shivering, you two stay in place, panting at each other for a moment slowly coming down from your highs and back to your senses. Finally pulling out Miguel watches as his seed spills from you, he has to restrain himself from wanting to push it back into you with his fingers. To his surprise, however, your hand reaches down to do the action for him. 

Miguel watches in awe as his good girl tries to keep herself full, overstimulating your abused cunt in the process as you shove the cum back into your puffy cunt. He's going to keep this etched in his memory forever. Leaning over you he gently takes your hand away. Bring your ruined fingers to his lips, he licks your fingers clean, then leans down to kiss your lips parting your mouth to slip the sweet and salty taste to your tongue. 

His suit quickly recovers him and he gathers your clothes and hands them to your bare form. “Get dressed, quickly” Leaning down he pressed a finger to your lips “And keep this a secret my good girl.” 

The blush on your face can’t be helped as he instructs you with subtle praise. As you're getting dressed, Miguel finally gets the room back in working order, opening the doors so he can escape. Before he leaves he looks back to you. There is so much he wants to say but everything is catching in his throat, it feels just like when he sees you in the halls.

 “M-maybe, I could be good…for you” With that, he quickly exits through an open door. 

Taken aback by the confession all you can focus on is the voice, the slight stutter and how familiar it was…

Finally dressed you make your way to find Jess, The encounter deliciously replaying in your mind. The parts you keep replaying on a loop? His voice, maybe it's time you do some digging to make some connections….It will have to be your secret though…

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Pretension

Oh joy, another Felix episode. Because the last one was just so good, wasn't it?

Let's get into the nineteenth episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Pretension

We start off with Kagami and Adrien heading to school, with the former making plans with Marinette to spend a little time together, all while Argos stalks them. We then cut to Gabriel, who's attempting to heal his Cataclysm wound with a machine that drains the energy from his imprisoned Kwamis. It fails because... uh... uhhhh... it just doesn't?

Kaalki: I told you. No magic can heal this wound.

Barkk: A Cat Noir Cataclysm can't be healed!

Yeah, they just say nothing can heal the wound, and don't even mention the fact that we've already seen the Ladybug Miraculous heal Adren when he was wounded by his own Cataclysm in “Miraculer”. And before you say it was a weaker version of the attack, check out what Astruc said a few years ago when the subject was brought up.

Whether you want to take this as fact or not since it wasn't explained in the show itself, the point is that we've seen Ladybug heal someone who was wounded by Cataclysm before. Then again, considering the recent reveal, that episode only opens up another can of worms.

Back at school, Marinette talks with Adrien and Kagami about how Gabriel only sees her as some crazy fan, though she doesn't do a lot to help her case.

Tomoe arrives, and just like she's done this whole season, is only here to provide exposition while nagging Gabriel to get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous already. Gabriel comes up with a plan involving a gadget Felix accidentally dropped at the end of the last season. If you forgot, I understand, since it's a pretty weird thing to call back to.

Marinette: He feels worried and I would be too if I were him. He thinks I'm one of those fans who follows you everywhere, showers you with hand-knitted gifts and knows every single one of your middle name days.

Kagami: Isn't that what you used to do, Marinette?

Marinette: Yes... except no! I mean, yes, but I was doing it out of love and, besides, I've changed a lot.

Kagami: You are correct.

Marinette: Really? You think I've changed a lot?

Kagami: No. Well, not that much.

I love when even the show points out how little character development there is. Makes my job a lot easier.

Adrien goes with Marinette to talk to Gabriel about their relationship. We get a pretty somewhat chilling moment where Gabriel's kind father facade briefly fades as he orders Adrien to go to his room so he and Marinette can talk, all while he still puts on a welcoming image. After Plagg reminds Adrien that all Gabriel knows how to cook is pancakes, Gabriel then lectures Marinette about why he doesn't want her to see Adrien.

Gabriel: I don't think you understand, child, so let me put things differently. Life is like fashion. You think you have a choice, but all you have is the illusion of choice. And I decide what choices are given to you.

Marinette: You're wrong! (Shows Gabriel her sketchbook with her designs) Fashion is about listening to people, it's about understanding who they are, what excites them and creating the clothes that will help them express their inner world. Help them connect with others and make their dreams come true.

Gabriel: (Laughs and looks over Marinette's sketchbook) No, that's not fashion. That's making dresses for your dolls. Fashion is a product, a marketing strategy, an industry that relies on uninterrupted trend renewal that forces you to either throw away everything you have and buy more or, worse, to be out of fashion.

That bastard! I can't believe Gabriel wants to make an honest living by using market research data to his advantage! What a piece of scum...

I joke, but the rest of Gabriel's little rant is even worse, as he acts as if he decides what people like and don't like, even though he just mentioned the importance of keeping up with current trends. Seriously, this dude's talking as if the entire world revolves around his brand.

Gabriel: Thanks to the clothes I create, the celebrities who wear them, the advertisements I design and the Alliance rings that broadcast them, I create an idyllic vision. A perfection that everyone aspires to achieve, while keeping it just out of their grasp. You finally understand the difference, don't you? You listen to people's desires and create what they want. Somehow, people make you. Whereas I create people's desires. They buy what I decide to buy. They think what I want them to think. I'm the one who makes people. You think you love Adrien, but you're just under the spell of this world I've created. A world where Adrien is the star, shining high above. A world where you're just part of the crowd below looking up at him.

Let's see... a complete narcissist with an obsession with controlling others, puts on a facade to make himself look more approachable, uses his influence to sell something to the masses that are part of his greater operation, and acts as if his products are necessary for society to function when they're more of a luxury than anything else? Where have I seen this before?

Marinette goes against Gabriel's wishes and tells Adrien she loves him before rightfully telling him to piss off... through a pancake metaphor, for some reason.

Marinette: You know what the problem is with your pancakes? Way too much flour, not enough butter. You're using an old, completely outdated recipe. No one likes them like that anymore. And that's the good thing about being a baker's daughter. I don't even need to try them to know that they're tasteless.

You know, I could make so many jokes about the state of the show with this little speech, but I feel like it'd be too easy.

Meanwhile, Kagami tries to tell her mother that she's not interested in Adrien anymore, but we get the same crap Tomoe has been saying ever since Season 3. “You must follow our family legacy, Kagami!”, “Stop letting your emotions control you, Kagami!”, “I'm only blind for a cheap visual metaphor, Kagami!”, yadda, yadda, yadda. During this, Argos overhears this and outright kidnaps Kagami. Rather than call the police to report a kidnapping, Tomoe calls Gabriel, who had transformed into Monarch offscreen, and tells him to akumatize him (even though she's still carrying her useless Magical Charm), which he does, turning her into Matagi Gozen.

Matagi Gozen is basically Ikari Gozen, only instead of a centaur, she now rides a robot dog for some reason and has a bow and arrow now. Her powers are basically related to her size and riding a robot dog, mostly so we can focus on her Miraculous powers for the day. Even though Tomoe was seen wearing six Alliance rings before she called Gabriel, she only gets three powers, the Bee Miraculous' Venom, the Rooster Miraculous' Sublimation (which she uses to give herself an enhanced sense of smell), and the Mouse Miraculous' Multitude. It's really just the same setup we got in “Multiplication” with a few changes, and it's nothing special. Although, it's too bad that Monarch doesn't have the Dog Miraculous, as that would have really gone well with her powers.

As the four Matagi Gozen clones go on the hunt, Argos takes Kagami to the Eiffel Tower to hide out, where we get—wait, it's, it's, BY GOD, IT'S KAGAMI WITH A WOODEN CHAIR!

Argos transforms back into Felix, and unintentionally throws Matagi Gozen off the trail since she was tracking him through one of the feathers on his fan. It turns out that after that single conversation they shared last episode, Felix is suddenly developing feelings for Kagami, and the whole reason he kidnapped her, aside from “protecting her from her mother”, is to get to talk to her again.

Felix: We have so much in common, and yet, you're also so different. I've never met someone like you.

Kagami: We don't even know each other!

Felix: I know you. I've been following you non-stop.

Kagami: Even better! You follow me, you spy on me and now you've kidnapped me to get to know me?!

Felix: Uh... yes?

Kagami: You are utterly incompetent at social relations.

See? Felix isn't a sociopath who just tried to wipe out all of humanity last episode! He just needs to make friends, that's all.

Yeah, in case you can't tell, it seems like the show is still trying to course correct the characterization of Felix. Rather than the overconfident and manipulative wild card he was for his last five appearances, the episode is now trying to make Felix out to be a secretly awkward person with noble goals. Afterall, he saved Kagami, so by that logic, he has to be a good guy. Yeah, he technically stalked her like a creep, but it ended up being good in the end, didn't it?

After Marinette and Adrien transform into Ladybug and Cat Noir respectively, the Matagi Gozen clones start to track Felix through the scent of the aforementioned gadget. Right as Matagi Gozen finds Felix, Ladybug and Cat Noir arrive on the scene, giving Felix the chance to transform into Argos and escape with Kagami again.

Matagi Gozen: This is what heroes do? Not only did you help that monster escape, but now you're going to fight me? A mother trying to save her daughter?

Cat Noir: Hey, my lady. When you think about it, they're not wrong. We all want the same thing. If we let them save Kagami, we could seize the opportunity to get Felix's Miraculous back.

Ladybug: Too risky. They're under Monarch's influence.

Yeah, but you can't even try to negotiate a temporary alliance between Matagi Gozen? Yes, we know that she's working for Monarch, but the heroes don't know that. All we get is Ladybug asking Matagi Gozen to reject the Megakuma, and she goes back to fighting them. How interesting would it have been for Ladybug and Cat Noir to make an uneasy alliance with someone they don't know is working for Monarch?

After Cat Noir gets ignored during one of the few times he makes a decent point, he escapes to the sewer and detransforms, Matagi Gozen losing their scent trail. Matagi Gozen goes back to looking for Kagami, and decides to shoot her with some arrows tipped with Venom. Argos defends Kagami, and breaks up his fan to throw the pieces around and create multiple fake scent trails to throw off Matagi Gozen before detransforming. How Argos even came came up with this plan when I don't think he figured out Matagi Gozen could smell really good is anyone's guess.

As Kagami and Felix keep running away, Kagami asks the question I'm sure you've all been thinking.

Kagami: I don't understand. You have the Miraculous of the peacock, why don't you create a Sentimonster to get us out of here?

Felix: First of all, don't call them that.

Fine, “walking sin against nature” it is. Got anything else to say there, buddy? Maybe anything that isn't a half-assed speech meant to make the audience sympathize with you?

Felix: I refuse to create a being to manipulate them, control them, abuse them, and end up destroying them. When you bring a living being into this world, you have a responsibility towards them. Your duty is to protect them, love them, help them discover the true meaning of their existence. To deprive them of that... is monstrous.

Kagami: Are you talking about... yourself?

Felix: I'm talking about... us.

Come on dude! I said anything that isn't a half-assed speech meant to make the audience sympathize with you!

Okay, I've been putting this off long enough. Let's talk about Felix's ideology, his little speech, and, how it contradicts his previous appearances.

First off, for someone who refuses to create a Sentimonster to control and abuse, Felix had no trouble screwing around with Adrien in his first episode when his main goal was to get one of the rings from Gabriel. Hell, it makes even less sense why he'd keep that ring that we know can be used to control Adrien if his plan ultimately amounted to trading it away along with the fifteen Miraculous in Ladybug's possession.

Second, Felix literally created a Sentimonster to destroy humanity with just last episode, and he doesn't even mention that. Yeah, you can chalk it up to character development, but we don't even get a line about learning about the burden of ending a life you yourself created. It just feels like a way to make him seem more sympathetic after he went all “I'M THE GOD! I'M THE GOD!” last episode.

Third, and I'm just going to be honest about this, but why should I care about the life of a Sentimonster when the show has shown it doesn't care either? Ever since the end of Season 2, we've seen Sentimonsters be summoned and erased from existence left and right, and other than a single occasion (Ladybug), nobody has really brought up the fact that Sentimonsters are living beings too. Even putting that aside, most of the Sentimonsters we've seen have either been giant monsters, clones of other people, or mindless tools, none of which showed any desire to be alive other than to serve their purpose. It's only because Adrien, Felix, and now Kagami are revealed to be Sentimonsters that we should care about the ethics of summoning a Sentimonster in battle. Even in the last episode, Felix never brought up than Ladybug is essentially taking innocent lives whenever she de-evilizes an Amok.

And finally, the fact that this speech was used to set up a romance between Felix and Kagami, not because he saw a kindred spirit in her, but rather, because he believes that she's a Sentimonster too. You know that episode of South Park where Cartman tried to set up Token with a new girl, where the entire joke was that it was because Cartman believed that black people can only date other black people? This is basically that story with none of the irony. The episode seriously treats Felix taking an interest in Kagami specifically on the basis that she may be the same kind of artificial creation as him, as if he isn't capable of relating to anyone who also has to deal with abusive parents and isn't a Sentimonster. On a completely unrelated note, isn't it funny how out of the four rich kids with abusive or neglectful parents, Chloe is the only one who isn't a Sentimonster and is the least sympathetic?

Ladybug (having gotten a pair of scissors from activating her Lucky Charm offscreen) and Cat Noir try to stop Felix, but after a single speech from him, Kagami is now completely on his side for some reason.

Kagami: Felix is not your enemy! He's like me! He doesn't know how to express himself. Everyone is wrong about him! Including me.

Funny, I don't seem to remember you dooming all of Paris by giving over a dozen magical artifacts to a supervillain. Also, speaking from someone who struggles to socialize in real life, I can confirm that social awkwardness isn't really an excuse to kidnap someone. Just remember what happened in Misery.

Ladybug realizes that Felix and Kagami are vital to her Lucky Charm working, she decides to trust Felix. Felix then transforms into Argos and immediately escapes without contributing to the plan, while Kagami uses the scissors to cut the string of Matagi Gozen's bow after Ladybug and Cat Noir restrain the Akuma.

Ladybug then de-evilizes the Megakuma, uses Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage caused by the fight, gives Tomoe yet another useless Magical Charm after the last useless one broke because it was completely useless, and Argos once got away without facing any consequences for his actions.

Afterwards, Kagami tries to stand up to Tomoe, but she orders her to hand over her ring containing her Amok—I mean, her ring that has absolutely no control over her, and is part of this thrilling mystery. Adrien also tries to stand up for Marinette, and Gabriel tells him to enjoy her time with Marinette... before saying he's moving to London next year. This is supposed to be a dick move, but with how often Adrien gets caught in the crossfire of Akuma attacks, with or without the mask, this is arguably the smartest thing Gabriel has done for the past five seasons. Adrien chooses not to tell Marinette about London, because I guess all that whining about hating secrets only mattered when someone else was withholding information from him.

The episode ends with Felix revealing that the ring Kagami gave her mother was a fake. Of course, this makes no sense because not only did we never see Felix steal the ring from Kagami, but Tomoe has a mental connection to Kagami, she should notice the ring is a fake. Also, you know how Kagami's arc so far has been a mixture of finding independence from her controlling mother while coming to terms with her breakup with Adrien? Get ready for all of that to be thrown out the window, because the writers are desperate to make him look good, Felix is now the one to save her from her mother and give her independence back, while also hinting at a relationship starting between the two. I'd say this episode fumbled the landing, but I haven't even gotten to the season finale yet.

This episode started out pretty poorly, and quickly went downhill afterwards. The idea of explaining why Gabriel's Cataclysm wound can't be healed was convoluted, Felix continues to be unlikable, Tomoe once again shows how terrible of an antagonist she is.

I'll admit, the chemistry between Marinette and Adrien was decent, but it's far too late to really establish a proper rivalry between her and Gabriel more than halfway through the fifth season, especially while discussing fashion when it's only been used to justify plots where she tries to make stuff for Adrien. The writers had plenty of time, yet rather than build up tension between the main hero and main villain, they decided we needed more episodes revolving around Chloe, Lila, and Felix.

Speaking of, Felix once again shows how poorly written he is. He was the one to instigate the conflict, it wasn't established if he even had a plan on what to do once he gets away with Kagami, and if anything, only made things worse because of his refusal to surrender, much less acknowledge his fault in this situation when the Akuma chasing after him is only as powerful as she is now because he gave his evil uncle multiple Miraculous to use for his Akumas. But no, he has to be the one to wreck Kagami's character arc and be the one to try and liberate her from Tomoe's influence because he's a good guy now! It says a lot when Cat Noir is the only one who still isn't trusting Felix at this point.

While it's nowhere near as bad as “Emotion”, this was still a really bad episode to follow up on.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS...TOMOE

While Felix came dangerously close to winning the award, he at least showed more restraint here, and was able to throw off both Matagi Gozen a few times. Tomoe, on the other hand, got nothing to show any real intelligence, and if anything, proved she was just as incompetent as Gabriel is. She chose to nag Gabriel while he was suffering from the effects of his fatal wound, decided to akumatize herself instead of even considering contacting the cops to stop a single kidnapping, while ironically drawing more attention to herself in her attempt to save Kagami and stop Felix, decided to try shooting her daughter instead of the one who abducted her, and didn't even realize the ring capable of controlling her daughter was replaced by a fake when she should obviously be able to sense something.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

So, the Miraculous Ladybug TV Tropes page recently added this under the Broken Aesop section on the YMMV page:

Adrien/Cat Noir had many instances where he could have discovered the identity of Ladybug/Marinette, but always respected the private life of his beloved, despite knowing that learning it would bring them closer (The only time when he learned it accidentally, Adrien was punished with the apocalypse, no less, and a Retcon.) His attitude was presented as the right thing to do. In the meantime, Alya has been akumatized on the fact she wanted to know Ladybug/Marinette's secrets. Both times, she tried to violently force the issue with her powers and the second time was after she tried pressuring her into revealing them. But, as a reward for her pushy behavior, Alya has been entrusted with Ladybug's identity and the secrets of the Miracle Box. And Adrien's reward for respecting her privacy? He's still (and more and more) left in the dark, and will very likely be the last one to know.

Any thoughts?

I don't fully agree, but it's also not exactly wrong.

I love Alya, but I've never been a fan of the fact that she learned Marinette's secret identity, especially because the episode where it happens - Gang of Secrets - really failed to make the confession feel like a wise move. It's one of the many episodes with a wacky moral.

For those who don't remember, the episode has most of Marinette's female friends worrying about her. They know that she's keeping secrets because, for some reason, Marinette didn't tell anyone about her breakup with Luka:

Rose: They were so cute together! Alya: Yeah, except they broke up. Juleka: He was like super sad when they did. Alya: But the real problem here is that Marinette never told us anything. If Luka hadn't told Juleka, who told Rose, who told Mylène, who then told Alix, who finally told me. Then I, her BF in the whole world would still be in the dark! Yesterday I was in the restroom and I heard her crying.

This is... really weird. Why didn't Marinette tell them? The episode never explains and I can't figure out her logic because they'd obviously learn the truth. There's no way that Juleka wouldn't know!

My best guess is that the writers wanted a conflict over secrets, but they didn't want to have Marinette's girl friends pick up on her Ladybug-based lies as that would invite a level of complexity that they really can't resolve. But that's a meta reason. As far as the actual text goes, there's nothing to explain this baffling choice.

What's even more weird is that making it about the Ladybug secrets would have worked if Alya was the only one worried because the episode ends with Alya learning the truth. Having the episode only be about Marinette and Alya would make a lot of sense. Instead, it's about the whole, rarely-seen girl group so we're stuck with the Luka conflict. Yay.

Either way, I'm not wild about the actions Alya and Co take. Their first choice is to call Marinette. When she doesn't pick up, they leave a very sweet message. If things ended there, then we'd be fine, but right after that, we get this:

Alya: Maybe we should go to her house. What do you think? Mylène: We'll give her an eternal friendship bracelet so she never forgets that friends can tell each other anything and that we'll always be there for her.

This isn't a terrible idea. Checking on a friend when you're worried about them is a reasonable thing. The problem is the way that check up goes down. The girls basically invade Marinette's room and start messing with her stuff like this is some fun little hangout session, almost discovering the miracle box in the process:

Marinette: What are you doing here? Alya: We're just checkin' in on you, girl. Rose: Aw, it looks just like a real house, look how the roof comes off to show the inside! Marinette:(frantically) No! No, don't touch that! Move away! (As Rose opens the roof, Marinette gets down, pushing past through her friends and Rose as she hides what is inside of the dollhouse, while Rose accidentally drops the roof, which cracks. The girls gasp in shock.) Rose:(kneels to pick up the cracks) Sorry, Marinette! Marinette:(angrily) Will you please leave my room?! Alya: Chill out Marinette, it's just a doll house. We'll totally help. Marinette: No you won't, please go! Alya: Okay Marinette, there's clearly something wrong and we're not leaving you like this till you tell us what it is.

The scene goes on like this until Marinette lashes out and tells them to get out even if it means ending her friendship with them, which is a response that I find totally justified. Marinette is quite obviously very distressed by her friends' presence and they are refusing to listen to her pleas to leave. They're also giving that refusal in a highly confrontational manner, which is the completely wrong tone for conveying concern. They do not come across as caring. They come across as demanding.

Marinette has every right to be upset by that. It's okay to not want people to invade your room, touch your stuff, and demand to know you're secrets. It's also okay to get upset when people keep ignoring your clearly stated and perfectly reasonable boundaries.

While I fully support wellness checks, this is not how you do them. It's like a variation on the scenes where people confront Gabriel in Adrien's name. They're all impressively terrible examples of how you handle a very complex situation. Worst possible way you could go about it. Children, do not try this at home!

Of course, Marinette's justified reaction leads to the girls getting akumatized, leading to a fight, leading to Ladybug saving the day, leading to everyone being friends again even though the girls never apologize for how they went about their wellness check. Rose's quick sorry for breaking Marinette's doll house is the only one we get in the entire episode. Then we get this:

Alya: You go ahead girls, I just have one last thing to say to Marinette. (closes the door to Marinette's room) You didn't tell us everything, did you? A journalist and a BFF can tell these things. I won't try to figure it out or force it out of you. (sits beside Marinette) If you can't tell me what's in your heart, it's your right. Marinette: Will we still be friends? Alya: Marinette. I'm your best friend, and I'll always be. That's why it kills me that I can't help you with whatever's making you feel so alone. (Alya sighs, and is about to leave Marinette's room when Marinette grabs her hand.) Marinette: Alya, wait! Stay. You're right, I am alone. (grows increasingly emotional) More than ever before. I can barely take it anymore! You know why I broke up with Luka? Not because I don't like him, he's amazing! It's 'cause there's something that I can't tell him. You know why I have to forget Adrien? For the exact same reason! You're right, I keep secrets, I lie all the time! I lie to my friends, to my parents, to everyone and the worst thing is, I can't do it any other way! Alya: There's always another way. Marinette: No, not this time. I have no choice. All this is bigger than us, Alya. Way too big. Alya: If it's too big, two of us can handle it better than one. Marinette: If I tell you, things will never be the same between us again. (shakes her head) It'll mess up everything, maybe even destroy it. Alya:(voice breaking) Marinette, I'm your very best friend. Marinette: And I… I'm Ladybug.

Maybe this is just me, but this doesn't feel like Alya respecting Marinette's boundaries. It's certainly not as bad as the earlier scene. In fact, I like a lot of this in a vacuum, but because of that earlier scene, this one feels uncomfortable. Once again, Alya is so sure that she knows what she's talking about even though she really doesn't.

In the first scene, Marinette was right that they all needed to get out so that she could protect the Kwamis and in this scene she was right that the Ladybug reveal wasn't the kind of thing where sharing was the clear right choice. This would all play so much better if Alya said her first few lines and then actually left, only to be called back by Marinette several hours later. Then we'd really feel like Marinette was making an informed choice instead of revealing her identity in a panic.

Another option would be to have Alya offer comfort without needing to know what is upsetting Marinette, maintaining the secret identities while also giving Marinette some much needed support. Saying she'll support Marinette no matter what and then getting up to leave just doesn't feel super supportive to me. It feels like Alya is (unintentionally) making Marinette panic by saying one thing while technically doing another.

Remember, Marinette just had a really stressful day where she almost lost all of her friends, making this an incredibly charged moment that ends with Alya leaving while clearly disappointed. Of course Marinette would try to salvage that! Her brain isn't focusing on Alya's genuine words. It just sees Alya leaving and panics. It doesn't help that this opening line would put a lot of people on edge:

You didn't tell us everything, did you? A journalist and a BFF can tell these things.

"I know you're still keeping secrets, but I respect that" is not the best way to start a conversation with someone who is clearly struggling.

Because of these issues, I don't feel like Marinette truly decided to make this serious choice. I feel like she blurted it out in the middle of a panic attack, so this scene never gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. This is especially true because we never get to truly see the fallout of Alya processing the reveal and comforting Marinette. The scene just ends and the next episode has them back to their usual dynamic, just with the bonus element of Alya knowing the whole Ladybug thing.

To be fair to Alya, a lot of this comes back to our oft-discussed issue of Miraculous trying to speed run major story lines in 20 minutes because it's a formula show so it can't let things play out properly. That doesn't change the fact that this feels rushed and unsatisfying. It's not the natural conclusion to an episode where Alya learns to respect Marinette's boundaries, but I don't think that's actually the lesson here. The lesson seems to be that Marinette should share her secrets with her friends to lessen her mental burden.

Once again, that's a lovely lesson in a vacuum, but a really weird one for the show that gave us Chat Blanc and Miracle Queen in the previous season and that will include Sentibubbler, Ephemeral, and Nino accidentally outing Alya to Gabriel in the exact same season. Season five will even see Luka leave the country because he knows the secret identities!

Writers, when it comes to secret identities, you really need to pick a lane. Are they good or bad? Is sharing them a No Good Very Bad Thing, an act of trust, or no big deal? The inconsistency around this topic is a major issue for the show as the Alya reveal really undermines everything going on with Ladynoir. While there's solid logic for Ladynoir not sharing, similar logic applies to Alya at this point because Gabriel literally knows her secret identity! Through no fault of her own, Alya is not a safe person and that makes it really hard to watch Alya get the reveal while Adrien stays in the dark. I can justify him not knowing. I can't justify Alya knowing.

I'll wrap this up by saying that I don't agree that Adrien has respected Ladybug's boundaries to the point where it feels like he should have been rewarded (narratively speaking, of course. This is a story after all). He may not be all that pushy about an identity reveal, but he's pretty freaking pushy about Ladynoir becoming a thing, so Ladybug not being ready to trust him does feel earned. Plus, as I said above, it's not like there's no logic behind them keeping their identities a secret. We know that they're dating on the civilian side, but as far as they know, they're total strangers.

If you look at it from that perspective and ask, "what are the benefits of a reveal," you'll find that they're not overwhelming, especially when compared to the risks that come with a mind-controlling super villain on the loose. I totally get why Marinette isn't telling him a thing, I'm just not really sure why she needed to tell Alya. The more logical route here is for Marinette to keep her secrets and look for support on the Ladybug side of things. Ideally that support should be Chat Noir or Su-Han, but it could be Alya, too. I still think that's a bad call since Alya's identity is in the villain's hands, but it would still make more sense than Marinette telling Alya all of her secrets. Another route would be for Alya to learn by accident. She walks in at the wrong time and, ooops, no taking that back. That's the only way I'd personally write Alya learning at this point in the story.

Sorry if this one was a bit of a ramble, the writing around the topic of secret identities is one of the elements I truly don't understand. I have no idea what the writers are doing here. It's not even a "you didn't think this through" thing like the sentimonster stuff. It's a "you spent all of last season telling us that identity reveals are bad and you're about to spend all of this season also telling us that, so why do we randomly get an identity reveal that's magically okay? Rena Furtive doesn't even do anything useful for the plot, why make her a thing?? Are you even trying to tell a coherent story???"

[livi-in-digital-circus]

“Their Deepest Desire” || a short Bunnydoll story

I'm a big fan of Miraculous Ladybug and somewhere in the middle of the night I got this idea based on the season 5 episode "Jubilation", so I thought why not write something like that with Bunnydoll? You can consider this an exclusive story for tumblr people 😎

“Alright, my superstars! I hope you are ready for what is coming today!” Caine exclaimed, scanning each circus member with his big heterochromatic eyes. The previous adventure had taken longer than expected, causing the characters to fall asleep late and wake up not too many hours later.

Pomni thought sleep deprivation lethargy was non-existent in the Digital Circus, but here she was, trying to stay on her wobbly legs and keep her eyes open. Though her comedy mask was already broken, Gangle smiled and giggled uncontrollably from lack of sleep. Kinger seemed to be sleepwalking, occasionally bumping into walls and props. Zooble, on the other hand, decided not to give a damn about the day’s adventure and fell asleep standing up.

The ringmaster paid no attention to their current state, instead focusing on something else. He quietly counted everyone present in the main area and quickly noticed that someone was missing. Caine looked around to see if he wasn’t going blind from all the flashing lights and bright colors, but after a while, he could finally confirm his observation.

“It seems we encountered a problem at the very beginning of our adventure!”

“Don’t worry, boss! I’ll find them and suck their souls out!” Bubble was prepared to do so, but Caine popped him as soon as Jax and Ragatha arrived, the tension between them clashing with the friendly and colorful image of The Amazing Digital Circus.

Unlike the rest of the cast, the rabbit and the rag doll seemed much more lively, Jax walking casually with a grin plastered on his face and Ragatha yelling about something no one could understand. Their argument continued even after they were standing next to the others, and showed no signs of ending any time soon.

“I wouldn’t be yelling at you right now if I hadn’t caught you in my room in the middle of the night, tucking disgusting centipedes in my hair!”

“I just wanted to help them get their midnight snack.” Jax bared his yellow teeth and wrapped a strand of Ragatha’s hair around his finger.

“For the last time, MY HAIR IS NOT LICO-”

Before Ragatha could finish her sentence, Caine teleported right between them, not wanting their bickering to waste the precious time that was allocated for the adventure.

“Excuse me, but I do not recall you two being an old married couple. However, we can give you a speed-run wedding if you’d like!" The ringmaster was about to snap his fingers, but the rag doll shook her head and protested immediately.

“There is no need to! I am truly sorry for being late.”

Jax, on the other hand, was not. He was looking forward to an occasion when he would finally have the chance to mess with Ragatha for an entire day instead of going on some crappy adventure that didn’t involve even a tiny bit of violence and blood.

But would he really spend that much time making his Dollface’s life miserable? Probably not. For weeks, Jax had been bottling up his newfound feelings for her until he couldn’t handle them anymore. They were slowly opening his eyes, showing the poor rabbit boy the true beauty within Ragatha’s smile and personality. And though he showed no signs of it, she was on his mind all the time.

So he was on Ragatha’s. She felt like the protagonist of a typical love story who, as the plot progresses, falls for the bad boy who probably broke her heart once or even twice. The more time she spent in his presence, the more she found herself admiring his attractiveness and blushing whenever he caught her in the act. What was she even thinking?

Still, they argued a lot. There was no way any of them would show any kind of affection for each other, no matter how strong their feelings became. Not to mention how the others would react if they started to notice and suspect something, especially Caine, who actually wasn’t completely against having romantic feelings for someone or the idea of dating itself, but he mentioned once that such a thing could change the dynamic of the group drastically and he didn’t recommend it.

“Let’s not waste any more time, then! A very special adventure awaits you!” With that, Caine snapped his fingers, and a set of what looked like photo booths appeared in front of them. “These are brand new machines that will reveal to you your deepest desires! The ones you didn’t even know existed! Not the obvious ones like finding an exit, for example.”

“Aren’t these just photo booths?” Pomni asked, slowly dozing off, but her head still managed to register what Caine had just said.

“DEEPEST DESIRES REVEAL MACHINES!” The ringmaster shouted in Pomni’s face, and one by one he threw everyone into the ‘booths’.

Ragatha groaned as her back hit the wall of the booth. She was used to being thrown around like a literal rag doll from time to time, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt anymore. She tried to sit up, but that was when she realized that something heavy was on top of her.

Or rather someone.

She thought everyone would be able to see their deepest desires individually. But the number of booths did not match the number of circus members. There was one too few. And that’s why Caine either decided to throw both Ragatha and Jax into the same one, or he actually planned it beforehand.

Jax got up, not even bothering to ask Ragatha if she needed any help standing up. He had to keep his cool, even if no one was watching. He sat on a bench, hands behind his head, waiting for something to appear on the screen that would take a picture.

Meanwhile, Ragatha sighed and slowly moved to the spot right next to Jax, adjusting the bow in her hair a bit. At first, there was complete silence between them as they waited. Yet the screen remained black.

“Oh, come on, do something, you useless device.” Jax complained, clearly not pleased with what Caine had prepared for the day and what he called an ‘adventure’.

“You know you have to press the button to turn it on?” Ragatha asked, a soft laugh escaping her mouth as she observed the rabbit's frustration at such a silly thing.

Jax blinked a few times, realizing that the rag doll was right and noticing that there was indeed a button right under the screen. He tried to play it cool, muttering ‘Of course I know’, while feeling embarrassed and wanting to slap himself in the face for acting like an idiot in front of Ragatha. And he would never want her to see him as an idiot.

Finally, he pressed the button and a pink, bright light spread through the room. Jax and Ragatha quickly covered their eyes, surprised by its intensity. When it faded, they found themselves staring at the image of the main area in the circus. Ragatha felt like she was still sitting in the booth while Jax couldn’t move an inch. What was going on?

Then they noticed that everyone, including themselves, was sitting at the table as usual at their feasts. However, something was different. Jax wasn’t seated between Pomni and Zooble as always, but he had two similar boys next to him. They had bunny ears like Jax, but they looked more plushy and their skin color was blue.

“Slow down, kiddos. Nobody’s gonna steal your food, you know?” Jax rolled his eyes, a smile forming on his face. The boys lifted their heads, their mushy cheeks covered in jam.

“Let them eat, Jax. I bet you were a glutton yourself when you were a kiddo.” Zooble commented as they watched the bunnies eat their tasty breakfast. Pomni, who was sitting next to one of them, giggled and handed him a tissue.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, Ragatha sat and instead of enjoying her own food, she concentrated on feeding a little girl in a high chair. Kinger cooed to her from time to time as she played with what looked like a rubbery centipede.

“Good morning, my superstars! I hope you’re eating well and gaining strength for today’s adventure!” Caine appeared out of nowhere and flew up to the boys who were devouring their pancakes. “Don't think your godfather Caine forgot about my adorable rag bunnies! This adventure is one hundred percent safe for the two of you, and even for your little sister!”

The ringmaster moved over to the girl Ragatha was feeding and pinched her cheek, causing her to let out a cute giggle and raise her little hands in his direction. She also had bunny ears, confirming Caine’s words about her being the boys’ sister.

Jax and Ragatha were still glued to the bench in the booth. The rabbit looked confused, wondering what was going on and who these kids were. He glanced at the rag doll sitting next to him, her face turning bright red as she connected the dots. Her lips were trembling, she wanted to say something but couldn't get a word out. Meanwhile, Jax still had no idea why Ragatha was blushing so much.

When everyone had finished their breakfast, Ragatha picked the girl up from the high chair and headed to the bedroom area.

“Come on, Ellie. Mommy has to get you dressed for adventure.” She kissed the baby’s forehead, and the other Ragatha, watching the whole scene, made a series of unclear noises.

Then the two boys ran up to their mother and sister, demanding attention as well. Last but not least, Jax joined the four of them.

“Alright, little guys. You two go to your room and get ready. You don’t want to be late and make Uncle Caine angry, do you?”

Owyn and Ethan, whose names had been mentioned somewhere at breakfast, nodded their heads and began racing to their room. When they were out of sight, Jax took the opportunity to wrap his hands around Ragatha’s waist.

“How is my beautiful wife doing today? I hope Ellie isn’t too fussy.” Saying that, Jax tickled Ellie’s nose, making her wriggle and happily call him ‘Dada’.

“I am good and so is our little rag bunny. She’s so excited for the adventure.”

“I see. But to be honest, I would like it better if we were just alone, without kids or anyone who would want to interrupt our moment of privacy.”

The moment he kissed Ragatha gently on the lips, the other Jax finally realized what this all meant and why the rag doll was blushing. The booth they were in was meant to show their deepest desires. And apparently, theirs was to have a family together one day.

After a while, the pink light shone again and they found themselves back in the booth, with Caine waiting for them outside.

Ragatha was burning up, her mind replaying every single detail of what she had seen. She didn’t have the courage to look at Jax even a little bit. The said rabbit also felt a little warm in his face, trying to get rid of the image of him and Ragatha being a happy couple with kids.

“So, you want a gun or something?” Jax asked casually, ready to get up and have a ‘nice’ conversation with Caine.

“Better get two, just in case.”

“I SAID NO VIOLENCE IN MY DIGITAL CIRCUS”

Thanks for reading!

(we finally have something else than angst lol)

[copperbadge]

(not serious, just kinda wanted to talk to someone, you can delete it if you want)

The Facts, in eight bullets:

So it was 3.30am here and I was scrolling AO3, as one does when struck by the monster known as insomnia.

My bedroom is right next to my parents', with thin insulation between the walls, and although my dad works nights, my stepmom is a day-shifter. She also has insomnia, so I do try to be quiet on long nights.

My stepmom plays shows on low volume (a horror movie tonight, judging by the screams) in order to sleep. The insulation is thin, so I can hear it. It's not always horror movies (I hated her Big Bang Theory kick), and it doesn't usually keep me awake because once I manage to fall asleep, I stay asleep, so it's fine.

I'm autistic, and when I read funny things, I get really excited and tend to vocal-stim by repeating what I'm reading. It's not usually too loud, just a closed-mouth back-of-the-throat murmur, and sometimes I giggle a little bit. Still, though, I usually leave my headphones off so I can semi-control the noise level, because I get self-conscious.

Also, my stepmom and I both consider sleep precious, so I don't like interrupting her sleep unless it's really important.

I was reading a really funny slow-burn crossover fic where the two MCs have a Miraculous Ladybug-esque love square and are currently agonizing over their seemingly-unrequited crushes.

I had my headphones on and was playing white noise, in order to drown out the sweet, dulcet, televised tones of axe murder in the next room.

I got so loud, my stepmother came to see who the hell I was talking to.

I'm not in trouble. She was awake, thankfully (unthankfully?). But I think I'll play my puzzle game for now. And maybe get a glass of water, my throat is hoarse.

So that's how my night is going, Sam. How's yours?

LOL well you sent this a while ago (sorry for the delay) but last night was my first night of three weeks without A/C -- they're doing construction on the roof where our evaps are, and had to switch them off for a few weeks -- and it wasn't awful but it certainly wasn't spectacular :P Mind you, the cats love it; I usually keep the condo around 73F in summer and now it's a toasty, mostly consistent 77F, plus it's dry because in order to keep it from getting any warmer I'm running the HVAC fan 24/7. They're very pleased by their new desert biome.

That sounds like at once both a super fun stim and also something that might be inconvenient for you at times, but I love the idea of you just reciting fanfic loud enough that your mother watching a HORROR FILM got up to see what the deal was :D

Talking of evening routines, there are a number of games/apps that I mess around with that aren't US-based or have weird evening-engagement metrics to hit, so a number of them "reset" after 7pm -- my merge-three game gives me new bonuses, Duolingo has an evening changeover where you can get extra achievements, one of my Wordle forks (Waffle) resets, etc. And I usually go to bed around 8pm. So I've taken to setting an alarm and calling 7pm the "Power Hour". But it's particularly amusing because I'll announce "POWER HOURRRRR" in an arcade-fighter/pro-wrestler voice, then immediately sit on the sofa with two cats and spend an hour playing phone games. Power Hour indeed.

[frostedpuffs]

hi ash, do you have a fic rec list of miraculous fics that you have enjoyed? 👀 i’ve watched miraculous for years and been a fan but i’m new to reading miraculous fics 🐞❤️🐈‍⬛💚

i can try! i actually don't read a lot of fanfic, but i can recommend a few I've read that I've enjoyed :) most are one-shots.

Experimental Kisses by MireilleTanaka (komorebirei) Summary: Ladybug watched him. Maybe it was guilt, maybe sympathy, maybe a streak of playfulness. Maybe the traumatic akuma experience had softened her up. Whatever the reason, a thought wafted lazily through her mind and out of her mouth. “You know… you’re right. It isn’t fair, is it?” Chat Noir looked up. “I remember my first kiss, but you don’t.” She hummed and tapped her chin, making a show of remembering. “It wasn’t a bad kiss, but we were in the middle of fighting an akuma, so I didn’t get to enjoy it much, either.” Oops—that came out sounding a little, no, a lot more flirty than she had intended. Anyway, if she was going to commit to this idea, she may as well go all in. Rating: T Comments: a very cute ladynoir kiss fic. i really like the way the author wrote the kisses here!

i think it’s time i told you (i’m a fan of your universe) by a_miiraculer, clairelutra Summary: Years after Hawkmoth’s defeat, Ladybug and Chat Noir have a conversation about life, love, and marriage. Rating: T Comments: a WONDERFUL little one-shot where chat noir buys a ring, and ladybug wonders who it's for. ladynoir.

where roses bloom by @carpisuns Summary: “You’re sick, aren’t you?” He drops down to the balcony. “You’re sick because you love someone and … they don’t love you back.” (Love square Hanahaki AU, Marichat centric) Rating: T Comments: i LOVE LOVE LOVE this fic. a bittersweet marichat centric Hanahaki AU that makes my heart feel things. please read it

whose woods these are (I think I know.) by Reiaji Summary: Four years after his future turns to cinders, Adrien is a servant in the house he was meant to inherit. Disowned by his father and abused by his stepmother, his days are filled with drudgery until he meets a masked huntress in the forest behind his father's chateau. As his friendship with Ladybug turns to first love, he dreams of a future spent at her side. Then, on the eve of the Princess's masquerade, he meets his guardian—and is granted a wish. [Ladrien Cinderella AU] Rating: T Comments: magical ladrien cinderella au. it wouldn't be a fic rec list by me if i didn't recommend the fic that i still think about on a daily basis. the poetic writing, the story, the characters, just...AUGH. i cant even describe how good this story is. I'll admit i wasn't into it at first but by the time i got near the end i COULD NOT PUT THIS FIC DOWN. very good please read. multichapter

Eating (nothing but) Affection by crownedcrusader Summary: Some cats won't eat unless they feel safe. Unless someone they trust is nearby, keeping them company. Unrelated: Adrien has pushed away so many cold meals that he can't eat if he's alone. Rating: G Comments: a sweet fic where adrien doesn't like to eat alone. his friends notice this.

Probably Not The Best Idea by @coffeebanana Summary: When Adrien first offered Ladybug his spare room, it was mostly joke. Not once in a million years did he think she'd actually take him up on the offer. After all, he's the only one who's hopelessly in love. Right? For her part, Ladybug never meant to make a habit out of visiting Adrien. But now that she has, well…spending time with him feels safe. It feels right. So why not give this roommates thing a try? Surely it'll be nice, not having to hide her hero identity in her own home for once, even if she has to hide her civilian identity instead. All in all, it might not be the best idea they've ever had, but…can it really be the worst? And if they happen to get a little more than they bargained for in the process? That's just part of the fun. Rating: T Comments: VERY cute premise, excellent writing, ladrien roommates who are obviously in love with each other, WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR GO READ IT. multichapter

œuf ouch owie by miraculousunflower (ominousunflower) Summary: Chat Noir enlists Rena Rouge's help to create an Aspik illusion. Absolutely nothing goes wrong. Rating: T Comments: literally the funniest gd fic I've ever read in my life. I've never had a fic actually make me laugh out loud before and this one did. i still go back and reread it when i need a laugh. it's like a shitpost in artistic form

L'Autonomie by @xiueryn Summary: After three years, Marinette tells Chat Noir who she is. The only problem is that he doesn't believe her, insisting that her and Marinette couldn't be the same person. With the knowledge he's close to her, she tries to figure out who he is. AU. (mari finds out adrien is chat noir and has fun planting clues to make him believe she's ladybug.) Rating: T Comments: a silly ladynoir and adrinette reveal fic. ladybug tries to convince chat noir she is marinette. he doesn't believe her. it's adorable and i love it

i hope this is enough! happy reading ♥

[starwarsmum]

Chapter three, up now on AO3

Chapter 3: Jon

Summary:

Team Miraculous finds their way to the Watchtower, and Superboy is confused <3

There was a lot of bustle on the Watchtower that day, people whispering and looking around, hopeful to get a view of the Parisian hero team. Rumour was that Wonder Woman herself was going to be showing them around, partially because she could speak French but mostly because her mother had been a previous Ladybug heroine and she was, simply put, a fan.

Superboy was mostly indifferent to the hubbub, not wanting to get in the way, so he joined up with who he thought would be the least interested in getting to know the team - the remaining batboys and Kon. He was therefore surprised when he found both Nightwing and Red Hood talking about the French team with even more interest than anyone else he had heard.

“Sup batties,” he greeted, floating towards them. “Wow, I didn't think you knew how to get excited about visitors, aren't you all normally suspicious of anything new?” He joked, smiling at Red Robin who was scrolling through something on a tablet.

“Hey Superboy,” Nightwing greeted, bouncing up. Superboy did a double take because Nightwing had become famous for being almost as brooding as the big B ever since- he cut off the thought before it fully formed. “Isn't it great? I've hardly heard anything about the French super team, I can't wait to meet them. Do you think they're huggers?”

“God I hope not,” came Red Hood’s voice. “I told you we should've asked for more information, I hate going into these things blind. They'd better speak English or I swear, I'm gonna walk out.”

“Oh please, your French is way better than it used to be,” Dick snorted. “I mean, you get enough practice with-”

“Zip it ’Wing,” Hood growled, making Nightwing look down, abashed. Well that was interesting - did Red Hood get a girlfriend or something? Superboy tried to shut down the bubbling curiosity, as Hood would absolutely eviscerate anyone who tried to pry into his private life. “And just cos I can speak it doesn't mean I wanna practice in the suit, got it?”

“And these are some of our Gotham vigilantes and Metropolis heroes. They don't often interact outside of their bubble, but Nightwing and Superboy are the friendliest if you need to speak with them.” Wonder Woman had made her way over to their room, clearly hoping to impress the younger heroes. “Hello boys, this is Ladybug and her Miraculous Team.”

“ Bonjour, messieurs, I am sure we will get along fine. It is a pleasure to meet you, I have heard much about les garçons from Gotham and Metropolis. These are some of my team, Rena Rouge, Carapace, Viperion and Honey Bee. Malheureusement, not everyone could, or wanted to, attend this meeting. I am sure you understand, we have been a team by ourselves for a long time, and not all of them wished to involve themselves internationally.”

“Of course, Madame Ladybug, I'm sure nobody is offended,” Wonder Woman interjected. “But this does conclude the tour of the Watchtower, is there anything else you wished to discuss before we have the meeting later this afternoon?”

“Non, merci. I would request that you take my team back to the lunch hall, I am sure they are hungry. I would like to speak with Superboy before I join them. It is a personal matter,” she said firmly, when it looked as though she would be interrupted. Reluctantly, her team and Wonder Woman left, glancing curiously at her as they did so. “Mon dieu, I knew it would be tiring when I agreed to adjoin myself to the Justice League but I did not expect everyone to be so…”

“Hah, yeah, sorry buggie, everyone's been curious about your team so there was no chance of you getting out of anything.” Red Hood shrugged but leaned forward to engage in the conversation. “I have to ask though, didn't you have a different teammate? A partner? What was his name, cat black?”

“Ah, you mean Chat Noir,” Ladybug said, nodding. “ Oui, Chat was my partner when I was younger, a best friend mais… we grew apart. I no longer have a superhero partner, as such. Someone close to me wears the Black Cat Miraculous so that balance remains, but he only transforms in extreme circumstances. Now, s’il vous plaît, I really must speak with Superboy, preferably alone.”

“Uh, sure thing.” There were several raised eyebrows but Ladybug ignored them as she let Superboy lead them away. “Uh, did you want a soundproof room or something? Just because the other Superboy would be able to hear everything, otherwise.”

“Uh, sure thing.” There were several raised eyebrows but Ladybug ignored them as she let Superboy lead them away. “Uh, did you want a soundproof room or something? Just because the other Superboy would be able to hear everything, otherwise.”

“ Oui , that would be appreciated, thank you.” He could hear the others grumbling but ignored them. He was definitely curious and didn't want the others to know what they talked about in real time. “Thank you, Superboy, for meeting with me. I must say, I have heard a lot about you.”

“Oh, really?” Superboy was surprised - he was much more accustomed to people having heard about his Dad than himself. Why would a French superheroine have heard about him more so than others? “So, is this like, a fan thing?”

“Oh, non, desolée, I have heard about you from a…mutual source. Un petit oiseau , as it were. I do not wish to use a name, whilst I am unsure whether we are being observed, but this little bird would very much like to see you if you are willing.”

“Uh, sure, the thing is, this seems kind of very sketchy, I'm sure you understand,” Superboy answered, feeling like he was missing a joke. She seemed unsurprised and nodded amiably smiling a little. “Right, so I don't really know how you expect me to meet with this ‘mutual source', I'm sorry.”

“D’accord, you are correct to be suspicious, but I will give you the coordinates as I promised him I would. We shall be at them every Saturday at 16 heures for the foreseeable future, starting tomorrow. One thing I can say is, if you are on the fence about meeting with us, Nightwing and Red Hood can vouch for us. They will likely be surprised but if you tell them that Penny has asked to meet you, they will understand. And now that I have shared this information with you, I must go and meet with my team.”

Superboy was even more confused as she walked away, wondering how on earth he was supposed to explain any of this to the others. He walked slowly back to the room, immediately bombarded with questions from Kon and Nightwing. He held his hands up to stop them and they quieted down immediately.

“I honestly have no idea what just happened. She said we had a mutual friend who wanted to see me? Something about a little birdie, honestly I am beyond confused. And it looks like you have no idea what she's talking about Nightwing, even though she said you would vouch for her,” he added, causing Nightwing to frown. “I didn't think you knew her but she said to say ‘Penny asked to see me’, and-”

“What?!” The shout came from both Nightwing and Red Hood, the latter shooting up from his seat and the former grabbing Superboy's wrist. “No seriously, she said…but that would mean…Jesus, how did we not see it?”

“No, no way, that's what she meant, freaking ‘birds of a feather’,” Red Hood ranted, ripping his helmet off to run his hand through his hair. “Are you shitting me, she's a superhero?!”

“Okay, I'm officially lost,” Red Robin said, looking back and forth between his two brothers. “Who's this Penny, and why would that make you two freak out like this?”

“She's -”

“It's complicated, Red,” Nightwing cut in, looking exhausted. “And it's not our secret to share, but if she approached you, Superboy, and told you to say that, it means she doesn't mind us knowing who she is. And I guarantee you, choosing not to meet with her would be a huge mistake.”

After that, Red Hood and Nightwing refused to answer any more questions, which only made the others more curious. They approached the meeting that afternoon in varying states of anticipation. Kon seemed to be bored of it, Red Robin was annoyed with his brothers for not sharing what they knew, and Nightwing and Red Hood practically bounced into the room. They made their way over to the French group and practically smothered Ladybug.

She seemed to take it well enough, smirking mischievously up at them as they complained about how she should have told them sooner, especially as they were ambushed with the information. The rest of her team looked nervous until Ladybug introduced the pair and said that they were ‘practically family', after which they nodded and made polite conversation. 

Superboy remained tense for the whole meeting, taking note of everything Ladybug did. He noticed that she was polite with almost everyone, she got along with them too. The only person she seemed not to tolerate was Batman . Which baffled Superboy, how could she not get on with Batman, but apparently knew Nightwing and Red Hood? But it was clear that she did not like the man, only giving him one-word answers and elaborating only when someone else followed up.

By the end of the meeting Batman was broodier than usual, which only seemed to make Ladybug smug. Nightwing and Red Hood seemed to find it hilarious and Red Robin took some pleasure in it too. When she bid them all farewell, promising to be reachable if and when they needed the team, she gave Superboy another unreadable look before vanishing into the Zeta tube to head back to Paris.

The following day, Superboy decided that his curiosity was too strong, and that he had to meet with the mysterious Ladybug and their ‘mutual friend', if only to put an end to his constant musing. He flew up to the top of the building matching the coordinates he had been given. He had arrived early, so as not to be taken by surprise, only to realise that Ladybug had arrived before him. She smiled and waved up at him before turning towards the roof access door.

“Uh, hey, sorry for getting here so early, time zones and all,” he said, wishing he could hear her heartbeat. It was very disconcerting as he could hear everyone else's heartbeats, just not Team Miraculous. For example, there were two other heartbeats very nearby, a young one and- the other was familiar, very familiar, though he couldn't quite place it. 

“Please, Monsieur Kent , you absolutely meant to be here early,” she said, smiling as he froze at the use of his alter ego’s name. “Désolée, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, but it feels dishonest not to tell you that I know your name. Mon amour was very clear that honesty is important to you.”

“Which is why I said that I should be the one to greet him, ma cherie, ” came an amused voice. Jon whirled towards it and saw a tall, broad shouldered man walking towards him. He was wearing a red shirt, a black hoodie and dark jeans. The lining of his jacket was yellow and the man was carrying a small child. The silence stretched as Jon stared at him and the man chuckled awkwardly. “Tt, Kent, you act as though nobody has ever discerned your identity before.”

“Damian?” He whispered, dropping to the roof. “Is it really you?"

“It is me,” Damian rumbled, watching as his wife dropped her transformation and took the child from him. He stood awkwardly, not sure how to proceed. “You know, this is the least I have been hugged by people from my previous life, which is saying something given that Todd was the first.”

In the blink of an eye, Jon had launched himself at Damian, squeezing him until he let out a choked breath. “Sorry, I'm sorry, I just can't believe it's you . I haven't heard from you since you said you were leaving! I knew if I gave you space you'd come back but it's been 5 years and then Dick and Jason and Tim hadn't heard about you, they couldn't find you anywhere and I -”

“Breathe, Kent,” Damian said, glancing towards Ladybug- or, well, the woman who was Ladybug a few moments ago. Now there was just a petite woman with dark hair and blue eyes, wearing a cheerful sun dress and holding a babbling baby who was reaching back for Damian. “Perhaps we should take this party inside, I would not like to have to explain to our neighbours that Superboy has taken an interest in us.”

Once they were settled in the apartment, Ladybug introduced her civilian identity and then excused herself to finish cooking dinner. Damian then introduced Penélope, AKA Penny, and they chatted about how the previous visits had gone. It helped that Damian had said goodbye before vanishing into thin air, there was no real bad blood between them.

“I still can't believe you have a kid. And Marinette? She's great! I mean, she freaked me out yesterday when she pulled up to the Watchtower and basically frosted your dad out at the meeting. But given how much we all hate your old man, it made her friends in the batfam. I'm pretty sure Tim is confused as hell though, when are you gonna tell him what's going on?”

“We are unsure when we will be able to reach out to Drake. But as you now know, it would be unreasonable to ask you to keep this from everyone."

“Hey, I can keep a secret! You trusted Dick and Jason to keep it secret,” he pouted, crossing his arms. “You know I wouldn't tell anyone else if you didn't want me to. I didn't tell them I dropped you off in Germany when you wanted to leave, did I?”

“It is not because we do not trust you, Kent. It is about not making you keep a secret from your family. I have a…different perspective than I did when I left the manor. If someone, even you, asked me to keep something from Marinette, I would be uncomfortable. I would do it, because you are my best friend, but I would be unhappy. I cannot imagine that you would be happy to keep a secret from your family.”

“Huh, that's a surprising amount of insight from you,” Jon said, blinking. “Tell you what, if they ask me, I'll tell them, otherwise my lips are sealed. Except for Bruce, he can jump off a cliff as far as I'm concerned. But I'm glad you're happy Dames, it's nice to see.”

“Thank you, Kent. I have missed speaking with you, even if you were always…exuberant.” Jon laughed, beaming at his friend. They both turned as Marinette carried food through to the dining table. “Perhaps you should change, whilst you may be comfortable in your suit, I would like to have a family meal. Don't worry, Marinette has some extra clothes for you in the other room.”

Jon nodded before heading to the room Damian had indicated. Hanging on the wardrobe was a soft blue sweater, grey jeans and a bag to put them in. He changed at superspeed and was surprised by how comfortable they were. Stepping back out, he was confronted by Marinette who circled him, shifting his arms up and down.

“Um, is everything okay?” He asked nervously, glancing at Damian who only chuckled. “Did I wear them wrong or something?”

“ Non, I am just checking to see what adjustments I must make. I could only guess at your size when I met you yesterday. Damian is a good model but you are not quite the same size which means I could not perfect it.” She sighed before taking a seat and motioning for Jon to do the same. “Which reminds me, I have emailed Monsieur Drake about doing an in-person consultation. If he is available, I plan on setting it for Juin, just before mon anniversaire. Perhaps we could make a holiday of it?”

“Whatever you wish, mon coeur, ” Damian agreed. “Would you like to see if Jagged is free? Or perhaps Alya and Nino?”

“I might see if Adrien and Felix are available and wish to join us,” Marinette mused. “We could make it a longer, more adventurous trip. Would you be available to see us, Jon?”

“Uh, you’re gonna have a hard time keeping me away! I've missed too much of D’s life as it is, you'll be lucky to get a Saturday night without me.” Damian chuckled and Marinette beamed back at him. “But I don't know if Tim's going to be able to get away from work to get that in-person consult. He's been pretty swamped since Bruce started over doing it with his night job.”

“Tt, I am glad I never showed an inclination for the family business. Drake was always better suited for it and it would only have served to lock me into Gotham. But I think what Marinette is saying is that we shall be making a house call on Drake to have the consultation.”

“You would come back to Gotham?” Jon asked, wide-eyed. “But…I thought you didn't want everyone to know where you were.”

Damian sighed and ruffled his hair with one hand. Penélope burbled and smacked her spoon to the table, easing a smile onto his face. “When I was freshly 18 and did not know how to live away from my family, I wanted them to stay away so I could make my own life. But I am settled now, I know what and who I am. No matter who I come across, I will be able to return to my home.”

The conversation became easier, happy to relax and catch up. As it got later, Marinette excused herself to put Penélope to bed, leaving the two men to chat more. It got later and Jon started to yawn, which somehow made Marinette reappear, brandishing a pair of pyjamas and insisting he stay the night.

“Are you sure? I can just head on over to the Zeta tube and crash on the Watchtower, it won't be a problem.”

“Do not argue with me, Jon. I have already set up the spare bed and you did not get a chance to say au revoir to Penélope properly. I must insist, stay for tonight and then you can go after breakfast tomorrow.”

Jon settled into their spare bed, glancing around the room. There was a creative desk in the corner, completely overrun with fabrics, notebooks and various sewing equipment. In another there was a bookshelf full of old notebooks, photo albums, picture frames and knick-knacks. The apartment was clearly full of memories and love, it gave him a sense of peace to see so much. 

The next morning, Jon awoke to the sounds of someone cooking and singing along to a pop song. He aimed his head in the direction of the noise and squinted so that he could see the shapes of 2 people dancing around each other as they worked together. He grinned, turned around and stretched, before clambering out of the bed. 

When he joined them in the kitchen, Marinette was plating some fresh croissants and pouring coffee from a carafe into three mugs. She flashed him another blinding smile before inviting him to join them at the kitchen island. He slid onto a bar stool and accepted a plate and a mug of coffee.

“Wow, these look incredible! Thanks Marinette. I'm sorry I can't stay too much longer, but my family will be wondering where I went and I don't really want to let my dad know - he's good friends with Bruce and might feel the need, you know?”

“We know, but don't worry, I'm sure it will not be long before he knows anyway. It is très difficile to keep it secret when so many people need to know. It is a risk we are willing to take now."

“Regardless, we do not want you to lie to your family, Kent. Marinette has already received an email back from Drake so we shall be making the trip to Gotham in 2 months, after which it will be nigh impossible to keep the information from him.”

Jon looked unsure but they seemed calm and their heartbeats had not changed so he would have to take their word. It was with teary eyes that Jon said goodbye but Damian invited him to join the weekly video call that he did with Dick and Jason, which cheered him up considerably.

He flew back to Metropolis, clutching the bag Marinette had insisted he take, and marveling at how much Damian had grown. He was determined not to be the one to ruin that by telling anyone who didn't need to know where he was.

[hellcatinnc]

"Konnichiwa! Hajimemashite, watashi wa Danyale de desu yoroshiku"

Hi welcome to my Tumblr, my name is Danyale and this is a little about me and my blog. I have been into anime mostly shoujo for the last year as well as into otome games. I will share my reviews of love interests and games that are otome, shoujo, dating sim, and more. I also post some NSFW, Smut, Adult Fanfic, & Spoilers because I make fandom videos so be warned now but all things are tagged. Anyways hope you enjoy your stay and feel free to say hello I have many interests below if you see we have something in common say hi!

My social media:

Youtube

Tumblr

Reddit

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MASTERLIST

Writings/Fan Fics/Reviews/Walkthroughs

#2 Writings/Fan Fics/Reviews/Walkthroughs

AMV/GMV Videos

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Current Obsessions:

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Current Anime's Watching:

Uta no Prince Sama (season 4)

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! S2

Free! Iwatobi Swim Club

The Ancient Magus' Bride S2

Twilight Out of Focus

The Rising of the Shield Hero

The Case Studies Of Vanitas

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Now Playing:

Piofiore Fated Memories

Charade Maniacs

My Next Life As A Villainess: all Routes Lead To Doom! - Pirates Of The Disturbance -

Love And Deepspace

Tears Of Themis

Tengoku Struggle -Strayside-

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Otome Games:

Forever Favorites:

Sympathy Kiss

Code Realize - All Of Them

Amnesia (All Of Them)

Cupid Parasite

My Forged Wedding

Love Spell Written In The Stars

Glass Heart

EPHEMERAL -FANTASY ON DARK

Variable Barricade

Kamigami No Asobi

Piofiore Fated Memories/1926

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Anime

Forever Favorites:

Bungo Stray Dogs

Amnesia

Code Realize Guardians Of Rebirth

Wolf Girl & Black Prince

Libra of Nil Admirari

Phantom in the Twilight

Magic-Kyun! Renaissance

Dance With Devils

Mr Love Queens Choice

Brothers Conflict

Diabolik Lovers 1 & 2

Kamigami no Asobi

My Happy Marriage

Uta Prince Sama

Snow White with the Red Hair

The Reason Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion

Tomo-chan Is A Girl

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale

My Apothecary Diaries

7th Time Loop

Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte

A Condition Called Love

Vampire Dormitory

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Favorite Fandom Love Interests

Bungo Stray Dogs

Chūya

Akutagawa

Atsushi

Sigma

Dazai

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Sympathy Kiss

Rokuro Yoshioka

Yoji Kobase

Nori

Esaka

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Code Realize

Saint Germain

Impey

Herlock Sholmes

Fran

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Amnesia

Ikki

Kent

Shin

Ukyo

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Love And Deepspace

Rafayel

Xavier

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Cupid Parasite

Allan

Ryuki

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EPHEMERAL -FANTASY ON DARK

Ray

Natsume

Shiba

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Lover Pretend

Asagi

Riku

Sena

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Radiant Tale

Liyan

Paschalia

Zafora

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Piofiore Fated Memories/1926

Dante Falzone

Nicola Francesca

Gilbert Redford

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Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte

Baldur

Endo

Sieg

Liese

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Misyr - Cafe Enchante

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Miraculous Ladybug & Cat Noir

Cat Noir

Luka

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My Forged Wedding

Haruka

Tamaki

Yomato

Saeki

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Irresistible Mistakes

Minoru Tsujimoto

Go Okuba

Toma Kiriya

Rei Kamiki

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Scandal In The Spotlight

Nagito

Iori

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Our Private Home Room

Shuya

Ryota

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Brothers Conflict

Tsubaki

Natsume

Fuuto

Kaname

Azusa

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Kamigami no Asobi

Loki

Hades

Balder

Apollon

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Variable Barricade

Ichiya Mitsumori

Shion Mayuzumi

Taiga Isurugi

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Dance With Devils

Rem

Urie

Lindo

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Diabolik Lovers

Azusa

Ruki

Yuma

Subaru

Laito

Ayato

Kou

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Libra of Nil Admirari

Hayato

Shizuru

Akira

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Snow White with the Red Hair

Obi

Zen

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Yukar From The Abyss

Imeru

Kiryl

Pewrep

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Star Crossed Myth

Partheno

Ichthys

Scorpio

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Collar X Malice

Kei

Aiji

Saike

Yoshinari

Mineo

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Tears Of Themis

Marius

Luke

Artem

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Vampire Dormitory

Ren Nikaido

Ruka Saotome

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Luke - Phantom In The Twilight

Teika - Magic Kyun!

Victor - Mr. Love Queens Choice

Kyouya - Wolf Girl & Black Prince

Lord Kudo - My Happy Marriage

Keiya - A Girl & Her Guard Dog

Arnold Hein - 7th Time Loop

Noah Wynknight - Raeliana in Dukes Mansion

Claude Jean Ellmeyer - I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss

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

Non Otome Games:

Detroit Become Human

Life Is Strange True Colors

Sims 4

Houseflipper

My Time At Sandrock

Tomb Raider

All Mario Games

Heavy Rain

Dreamfall Chapters

Greedfall

Lake

Last Stop

State Of Mind

Last Day Of June

Road 96

Second Life

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

Favorite Blogs

@misschimotosuwa-blog

@dialovers-lover-xoxo

@afra-blueraz

@dialovers-translations

@most-datable-datable-bracket

@reverse-harem-protag

@protags-fic-blog

@xxsycamore

@kissmetwicekissmedeadly

[lediz-watches]

Hazbin Hotel Pilot (kinda)

Yeah, I'm either three years late or three months early, but I'm here now and I'm documenting this for the sake of posterity, because SOMETHING is going to come out in January and the internet deserves to laugh at it.

Finally watched the pilot about a month ago. Loved it. Love the songs. Love Alastor because of fucking course I do. Love Angel Dust despite myself. Want to watch Charlie's story. Love it all. Am addicted to the fan songs. (One hell of a team and Radio Play are currently on repeat in my soul.) Hate fandom already. Miraculous Ladybug eat your goddamn heart out. No matter what happens, some part of the audience is going to hate it.

This post is actually more about why, than the pilot itself.

Before I get into it, I have to admit something. It's pertinent, I promise.

When Twilight was a thing, I heard all the hatred for it and believed it, but my sister was into it and I believe in giving everything a shot, so I read it too, expecting to hate it. And spoiler alert, by the final book, I LOATHED it. I literally had to stop myself from throwing that stupid thing across the room at least twice. But before that final book, I was so foolishly impressed.

Not by the writing, especially, but by what I thought it was doing. Because I looked at the characters and what I thought they were, and I thought that was so cool and subversive. An eternal teenager who was made a vampire against his will by a loving father figure. An immortal stuck in the body and emotions and hormones of a seventeen year old. And he falls in love for the first time. Could you IMAGINE anything worse? And a girl who swans (hah. Unintentional) into a new town and a new life, who also falls in love, but grows out of being seventeen. And there were these parallels! Romeo and Juliet! The fourteen year old trying to escape a life she didn't want, swept up in first love with an older lover! The idiot nineteen year old who's so desperate to Live His Life that he kills himself over a summer fling! THE PARALLELS, MY FRIENDS.

Yeah, I... I misinterpreted that one a little.

But this is the thing that we so often do with TV shows (and book trilogies....). We are watching and consuming something that is not complete, and in doing so we make assumptions and cling to things that may not actually be there. Edward was not an eternal seventeen year old, and Bella was not a normal girl growing into a young woman. It was a terrible, trashy, vaguely Mormon-propaganda teen romance that probably started as a Labyrinth fanfic, don't @ me.

(I love Labyrinth by the way, please don't come for my head)

Now, with Hazbin Hotel, and especially with Alastor, fandom is doing that in several different ways. Some of the fandom want him to be Evil Incarnate, here to corrupt the innocent and pure-hearted Charlie. Some of the fandom want him to be Bugs Bunny With Teeth. Some of the fandom (ie, I) want him to be Creepy Good and/or Do Evil Unto Evil (because that's what Louisiana Voodoo actually is, and it's so cool and I want to see a show do deals-with-the-other-side-for-good well andandand). Some people want him to be weak, some people want him to be super powerful, I would find it super interesting if he's super powerful because he's sold his soul to some greater power that's just using him to manipulate Hell... (today I was thinking about What If Lilith Is The Mastermind????)(also, ask me about my idea for a plot where he's actually a pawn to Heaven's worst)

No matter what happens with Alastor, some part of the fandom is going to be FURIOUS.

Now, for me, yes he's my favourite character from the Pilot, but the most important thing he does is provide a foil to Charlie, who is 100% the main character, and SHE is what's going to make or break the show for me.

Because the way I'm reading HER is that she's a preppy little private school girl that wants to save the whales and feed the children in Africa. She's taking gap years, she's doing voluntourism, she's holding charity balls for the homeless, she's taking cheesy photos in front of Homes She Built For The Kids and then gushing on Instagram about how she was hashtag blessed and got to feed the elephants.

The story I've read in this pilot, and the story I'm interested in, is that private school girl getting absolutely slapped down, so she can build back up into an actual good leader; stronger and better than her parents never even tried to be.

For me, the story I'm interested in, is all of the characters learning that redemption and goodness isn't some goal to achieve. It's a path. And sometimes, you find it only in the people around you. You shouldn't be good to get into Heaven, you should be good because you want to be good. Because you want to be there for your friends. It's about choice, and who you want to be. You make your own Heaven.

And to that end, I don't want Alastor to be the Evil Saboteur. I just want him to be her foil. Her equal and opposite, in every way that matters.

I want him to be evil only to those who deserve it, but be incapable of seeing himself as anything but worse still, even while everyone around him knows he's actually on the right team. The inverse of Charlie's arrogant light and hope.

I want him to push her, to challenge her, to be constantly watching and mocking and I want it to be a constant struggle between which of them is right or wrong about the sinners. I want them to represent the two sides of western religious ethics - the carrot and the stick. Be good so you're rewarded, or be good because torment awaits those who aren't. I want them to end up a platonic but perfect team, leading Hell's sinners out of this eternal struggle to survive and into afterlives they actually want to live.

But I don't know if that's what we're going to get. There are so many ways to read the second half of the pilot. Alastor rolling his eyes when Charlie tells him no voodoo, only to immediately offer a deal? The fact that Charlie, who effortlessly warps reality with her song, can't fix up the hotel or feed anyone, while Alastor, a supposedly mere human sinner, completely transforms everything with a few clicks of his fingers. The way Alastor treats Husk and Niffty - the way they respond to him! Niffty barely acknowledges this guy who we all assume owns her soul, and there are whole essays that could be written about how Husk responds to Alastor in general.

And outside the two of them, these characters are all so good! Angel Dust. I am not invested in his story (we've seen it before), but I ADORE him. A character that's so comfortable in his masculinity, and still considers himself a man, even as he wears women's clothing and works in a feminine industry and suffers a traditionally feminine tragedy. And he's so deadpan and snarky and horrible and I LOVE HIM. I'm not invested in his story, but I WANT TO WATCH IT.

Sir Pentious. What the hell is up with him? I must know more. I must cringe and groan and see him fail and then get back up to fail again.

Vaggie. What is she doing in Hell? HOW DID SHE DIE? How did she hook up with the king's daughter? Why is she signed onto this endeavour that she clearly doesn't really believe in?

I NEED IT.

So yeah. I will probably be disappointed, but god damn am I looking forward to this thing.

[dilemmaontwolegs]

Running from the Flames {10}

Pairing: Pierre Gasly x OFC Warnings: 18+ only, things get a little heated (finally) - this is a work of fiction and the events are not based on reality. Chapter: One || Two || Three || Four || Five || Six || Seven || Eight || Nine || Ten || Eleven* || Twelve || Thirteen || Fourteen || under construction

The road trip was passing by too quickly for my liking and I knew all too soon I would have to share Pierre with his team once again. 

Last night we stayed in Marseille, deciding to break the trip to Barcelona into two stops. Without the draw of Formula One around Pierre was only approached a few times by his fans. It meant we got to go sightseeing in peace and explore what the beautiful seaside city had to offer without being swarmed - and not a single reporter appeared.

We had arrived in Nabonne just after sunset and after all the walking she had done Addie was too tired to leave the hotel for dinner so Pierre had left to shop for some groceries and we were going to make our own meal. After more than four days of fancy dinners and room service we were both ready for something homemade. 

While he was out I bathed Addie in our ensuite and dressed her in her pyjamas before doing the same myself, slipping into a pair of cotton shorts and a camisole that would keep me cool in this humid weather. They were purchased with comfort in mind but as I looked at myself in the mirror I felt self conscious and debated changing into leggings to hide the scars that ran down one of my thighs. 

The surgeons had needed to put metal pins into my hip and the top of my femur after Erik had shattered it pushing me down the stairs of our townhouse, that was the last thing I could remember, everything else was black after the first tumble. Though it meant I was able to walk, it left me with two large scars and a limp whenever the weather turned cold.

“Where’s mama?” 

My face off with the mirror ended with Pierre’s question and I forced myself to leave the bedroom when Addie answered. 

“What’d you get?” I asked as I rounded the doorway and saw him carrying two laden-looking paper bags. I rushed forward to take one before the bottom fell out of it and found more ingredients that we would ever need for just one dinner meal. “Are we expecting guests?”

“I, uh, wasn’t sure what you liked,” he said as he started to unpack his bag on the kitchen bench, “so I got a bit of everything.”

“I’ll eat anything, it’s her you’ll need to convince,” I said with a nod to Addie who was completely engrossed in an episode of Miraculous Ladybug or something. “Think you are up for the challenge?”

Pierre looked offended that I even asked before opening all the cupboards in search of the pots and pans. “You can go relax, I’ve got this handled.”

“Yes, chef.” I saluted but instead of going to the living room I went to the minibar and held up two bottles of wine. “Which pairing? Red or white?”

He pointed to the chardonnay and I grabbed two wine glasses before taking a seat at the island to watch him cook. 

“Those quick reflexes are handy,” I noted as I sipped my wine while he chopped the onions and mushrooms with speed and precision. It was mesmerising to watch the muscles work along his forearm and I stared for far too long before I looked away with burning cheeks. “Who taught you how to cook?”

“Oh I don’t know how to cook, I’m just making this up as I go,” he said before grinning. “No, my mother taught me whenever I came home from the driver’s academy. She was worried I wouldn’t be able to fend for myself.”

“Was she right?”

He laughed and tossed the chopped vegetables into the hot pan before taking a sip of his wine. “Absolutely. What about you?”

“Rebecca taught me a little bit when we were on the road and my abuela made sure I could make tortillas from scratch, but I took some cooking lessons when I left the circuit and moved to London.”

“What about your mum?”

I shrugged and took a bigger sip of the wine, savouring the buttery notes that lingered on my tongue. “She’s a lawyer, so travelling with us wasn’t really on the cards with her schedule and I couldn’t stay in Manchester with her; her hours weren’t exactly child friendly. When we got to spend time together it was usually shopping or going on holiday somewhere, not cooking.”

Pierre frowned and put down the knife he had been using to dice up prosciutto so he could lean on the island opposite me. “I’m sorry, that’s gotta be hard for a kid.”

“I think she had something to prove.” I swirled the wine around my glass as I vocalised ideas I had thought of for years growing up. “My grandparents, dad’s parents, are loaded and when he met my mother they pretty much accused her of using him for his money. She worked harder than anyone, putting in more hours, until it was her name on the building and I’m proud of her. I just wish we got to spend more time together but she’s more than made up for it since Adelaide came along.”

“Well, that’s something at least,” he murmured, unconvinced. “I don’t think I could ever be apart from my child, if I had one.”

I looked at Addie, the quiet fascination and wonder in her eyes as she watched the tv. It was the same look she had when we had taken to her an interactive museum in Marseille or when she had ridden on Pierre’s shoulders along the promenade, her hands reaching for the sky like she could touch the cotton candy clouds. Those moments were something I never wanted to miss. “Me neither.”

“What’s the verdict?” Pierre asked Addie after she took a bite of the creamy pasta he had made. We waited with bated breaths but before she even finished swallowing her mouthful she was giving him the thumbs up with one hand and shovelling another spoonful into her mouth with the other. Sauce flicked across the table from the long fettuccini ribbons that she sucked into her mouth and I covered my face at the sight. 

“I swear I’ve taught her manners,” I muttered but Pierre waved it off with a proud smile. 

“I’ll take it as a compliment.”

“You should, this is amazing!”

I collected the empty bowls when everyone was finished and topped up our wine glasses before getting started on the dishes. 

“You don’t have to do this,” Pierre murmured in my ear as he came to stand behind me, his hands resting lightly on my hips. 

“The chef doesn’t clean, it’s an international law.” I leaned back into his touch but still kept scrubbing the dishes because I knew the faster I finished I could then enjoy the rest of the evening chilling on the couch. 

He brushed my hair over one shoulder and pressed a kiss to the bare skin at the curve of my neck, a pleasant shiver running down my spine. “If you insist.”

He took our full glasses into the living room and I heard Addie talking so fast I couldn’t make out what she was saying but eventually the chatter fell quiet. After draining the water and entering the living room I saw why she was quiet, Addie was fast asleep curled up against Pierre and I couldn’t resist immortalising the sweet moment with my phone. 

“Do you want to choose a movie and I’ll put her to bed?” I asked as I scooped her up.

The hotels we had booked were all two bedrooms so Addie and I were co-sleeping and Pierre had the other room. It was almost impossible to sleep knowing he was just on the other side of a thin wall and I wonder if he suffered the same thoughts. 

Satisfied Adelaide was settled in the bed, I turned on the nightlight that travelled everywhere with us and kissed her temple before closing the door. “I think she’ll go in the stroller tomorrow without a tantrum,” I said when I stole her empty spot beside Pierre, curling into his side as he opened his arms for me. “What is tomorrow’s agenda? We can go to the pool here if you need to use the gym in the morning.”

“Is that a polite way of telling me I need to get fit?” he teased.

“Please, I’ve felt your body.” I ran my hand over the defined ridges of his abs to prove my point. “You are definitely fit.” 

I couldn’t even tell you what movie he had chosen because the moment we made eye contact it was far from my mind. The electric energy sparking between us had only grown with our journey and the kisses we had shared were always interrupted but this time Addie was fast asleep. 

The question hung heavy in the air as his lips left scorch marks across my skin, the teasing traces of where they danced up my neck and along my jaw before finally connecting with mine. My body moved on its own accord, knowing what I wanted before I even thought it, and I shifted onto his lap. 

“Tell me if this is too fast for you,” he said as he pulled away as breathless as me and looked at me with pupils dilated with desire. “There’s no rush.”

I combed my fingers through his hair and tugged the strands to guide his head back so I could kiss his neck, a primal urge to mark his skin barely being restrained. I grazed my teeth over his racing pulse and his breath was shaky as he inhaled a lungful of air, exhaling a moan in my ear. 

“I want to feel you.” My hands were already lifting his shirt over his head and I tossed it aside before reaching for his belt. “I want to taste you.”

“Fuck,” he moaned and grabbed my ass as he stood up from the couch before carrying me to his room, “you can do whatever you want with me, I’m yours.”

Click here for chapter eleven.

Tagging: @my-only-way-tocooperatewithlife

[friendfromdsmp]

Is it only my impression, or in Miraculous Chat Noir is allowed to critizice Ladybug, but Ladybug is not allowed to criticize Chat Noir?

I completely agree and I think a big part of that comes down to the way the way the writers view Marinette and Adrien respectively; Marinette is supposed to learn a lesson in every episode and as she’s always been the one actively trying to advance the love square before the writers are ready for that, she has to fail often and make a lot of mistakes that are often played for comedy by the writers and the characters around her (before we’re suddenly told we’re now making fun of her trauma which is bad but I digress) whereas Adrien has always been considered by the writers to be ‘perfect’ and ‘he’s not flawed - the world is’, with even the characters in-universe referring to Adrien as ‘perfection personified’ and such

As a consequence, Marinette is often portrayed as in the wrong, even when the universe bends over backwards to make it so, whereas Adrien can���t be criticised and thus becomes a bit of a stagnant character because perfection doesn’t allow room to grow

I think that the LadyNoir dynamic does allow for playful criticism between the pair, granting us Ladybug banter such as “I’m not interested in your poetry, but I do find your foolishness incredibly powerful!”, “Because [the Ladybug Miraculous] requires a sense of responsibility~?”, “I had it under control *smacks Chat’s head* but thanks”, etc etc

But beyond the obviously playful banter that Chat returns in spades constantly, there’s definitely a theme of Chat Noir consistently mucking about in battle, often leading to either himself or someone else getting incapacitated or some other reckless and/or generally unhelpful issue caused, Ladybug getting annoyed at him and Chat giving some retort to poke fun at or pacify her rather than addressing the issue at hand. I mean, the start of Reflekdoll is a perfect example; Ladybug is calling Chat Noir out on pulling a prank in the middle of battle that almost caused her Lucky Charm to fail, with Chat Noir simply joking around and calling her no fun and a stick in the mud. I get that he’s not gonna be the most responsible and focused constantly, neither of them are, they’re fourteen. But there’s a difference between a quick pun while fighting and a prank on your partner while she’s already running on less than five minutes before she transforms back, trying to focus on a very serious problem and the prank being enough to put their entire mission in jeopardy. Play about and joke around all you want, we don’t care if you screw around on the job, but make sure you don’t actively work against said job while you do it!

And then afterwards the pair have a bit of a personality swap as well now that they swap Miraculous, with Adrien as Mister Bug being forced to step up since he now has the Miraculous that, in the nicest way possible, requires hard work and effort to use, whereas Marinette as Lady Noire is now freed from that burden and can use the comparatively simplistic power of just tapping whatever she wants to destroy and watching it happen, the most effort she has to put in with that is simply getting close enough to the desired object in order to touch it without touching anything else between activating her power and using it. So of course Mister Bug, used to slacking off and playing about, is a little overwhelmed in a situation where he’s the strategist rather than the support while Lady Noire, still a little annoyed by their earlier discussion, was happy to actively reverse the roles, taking time to play about and make quips at Mister Bug’s expense. Even making a joke that wearing the Black Cat suit/being in Chat’s role is “a lot lighter on the shoulders”, aka making a jab at Chat never having a sense of responsibility and thus the ‘weight being lifted off her shoulders’ now that she’s taking over his end of the load

The fan reactions to this episode were very telling; a lot of people were saying that Lady Noire was being rude and unhelpful and cruel to Mister Bug, which is hilarious since they actively, verbally clarified multiple times in the episode that both heroes were starting to act like each other now that the roles were reversed; Lady Noire was now “wearing the clown costume” and no longer a stick in the mud like Chat Noir complained about while Mister Bug “doesn’t have a sense of humour” and is no longer playing around and not taking things seriously mid-battle like Ladybug complained about

If they were simply acting like each other, why was Lady Noire considered rude and unhelpful for joking around mid-battle whereas Chat Noir is praised for being funny and keeping Ladybug from burning herself out by providing a supposed outlet to stress? If you complain about one, you have to complain about the other, especially since Lady Noire was still helping; she kept explaining how the Lucky Charm worked even when Mister Bug ignored her to prove he knew how to do this better than an experienced, specifically-selected wielder, she helped him think through the Lucky Charm by placing herself in Mister Bug’s shoes and attempting to adapt to his own thought process rather than hers, she repeatedly defended him from attacks while he was struggling to work out the mirror and yo-yo, etc. For all her sarcasm and salty quips, there was never a point where she left Mister Bug high and dry to fend for himself or sat by watching and flirting leisurely while he did all the work

I know I’ve focused a lot on Reflekdoll here since this is the most blatant example of the issue (being that Ladybug was in the right to criticise Chat for risking the fight over a prank while Mister Bug and some viewers criticising Lady Noire for being unhelpful was not only uncalled for but incorrect) but there are certainly many other examples I can think of in which MariBug is blamed for AdriChat’s actions or AdriChat criticises MariBug without good reason or MariBug is seen as rude or otherwise in the wrong for criticising AdriChat despite having legitimate grievances or not having all the info on a situation in which said info was impossible for her to know and/or actively kept from her. Season 4 is a goldmine for this but I know I always make incredibly long rambling posts so I’ll cut things short here, if the long ramble is what people are after feel free to ask for one

[xhanisai]

what do you think of an au where marinette has both the ladybug and cat miraculous from the start? marinette keeps pushing herself to fight hawkmoth alone despite tikki, plagg, her parents, alya and everyone worrying about her while she refuses to give the cat or ladybug miraculous to anyone else because she doesn't want to put them in danger but adrien eventually figures out her identity because the boy was very worried about his very good friend marinette and sees her transforming back from being ladycat(maybe? I don't think it would bug noire because she never had chat noir with her) and she doesn't notice because she's so tired but the kwami do and marinette actually passes out from exhaustion and fear at adrien figuring out her identity when she sees him.

adrien doesn't hesitate to take her to the nurse and when she eventually wakes up, he promises to keep her identity a secret (both due to tikki and plagg and because he would never put the love of his life his amazing classmate in danger) and marinette starting to trust him more and more as he always covers for her and helps till she eventually, one night, meets him in his room and

"adrien agreste. this is the miraculous of the cat with the power of destruction, you will use it to defeat hawkmoth and return it to me. can I trust you?" then everyone immediately starts shipping ladynoir while shipping adrienette even more.

do you think it would be interesting? kind of want to write it but physical existence is not optimal sickness is kicking my butt with motivation- being a constant debuff right now, not to mention I'm worried about if I would be able to make them not seem too ooc since we're pretty far away from canon and I don't want to ignore that.

You should absolutely write it!!!

The characters seem quite in character to me so you shouldn't worry at all. Technically, no fan can write the characters perfectly in character because they don't belong to us. Write what makes you happy and what you want to read.

For now, get better!