#her in-game weapon is the Alley Cat Claws

[the-starry-seas]

thinking about two more Transformers OCs somehow

Voltcast: a Dinobot and former Decepticon partially modeled after a Utahraptor. He's five feet tall at the shoulders and twenty feet long including tail, with 9.5" claws on every toe. He has two-foot-long feathers at the end of his tail and along his forearms from wrist to shoulder. Each of these feathers is independently attached, and can be electrified and used as projectile weapons. His tail is flexible with a full range of motion, which allows him to flick it forward over his body to throw feathers in front of him. His wrists have a full 360-degree range of motion, and each claw-tipped finger has three joints like a human finger, so he can catch and hold nearly anything. He is fully capable of speaking, and very well-spoken, but generally prefers to communicate through hissing, biting, and a sharp barking sound.

He was the sole survivor of an Autobot-Decepticon fight. He was alone for two hundred years after that, and with so much alone time to think, he decided that all that faction and fighting shit is stupid. He's avoided interacting with any bots he's seen since then, and has been having a great time doing his own thing and not bothering to take sides any more. If they want to kill themselves off, they can do that just fine without his involvement. He's having a great time on his own in the woods, occasionally scaring the shit out of random hikers. Somehow he's made friends with a few outdoorsmen? It's a mystery to all involved, bu they haven't ratted him out, so that's nice. It would be a huge pain in the ass if he had to go find them and kill them.

Button: with a mint green mechanical keyboard as its alt form, and a small size comparable to a housecat, underestimating it would be easy... except it's hopeless in combat. It has no real skill or knowledge of tactics, and one small gun that can't damage more than a sparrow. It's aligned with the Autobots wholeheartedly, but it's not going to be fighting for them any time soon, when any other bot in existence could kill it by just stepping on it. It's always liked experiencing the human world more than it wants to fight anything, unless it's threatened somehow.

Despite its lax loyalty to the Autobots, it's a wonderful friend to its human! It's offered to give her computer a boost several times, since she's a gamer, but she always turns it down since she wants to be able to say she accomplished everything on her own. When she's streaming, it hangs out in the rest of her apartment so it stays away from her camera. It has a cat tree and treadmill that helps keep it entertained, plus free use of her phone and all the games on it. It loves helping her put away groceries every week and seeing all the different things she gets, and regularly does maintenance on her computer. It's very happy with the life it has and wouldn't change a single thing about it.

Its existence is considered a mistake by both the Decepticons and the Autobots, but neither side pays any attention to it, so it doesn't really mind. Originally it was just a regular keyboard, but in a battle of the bots, a bot's shard was injured. The energon from this shard came into contact with the keyboard, and a new bot was created in an instant. Terrified by the battle of giants raging all around it, it ran off immediately to hide. It was found in a cardboard box in an alley two days later by the human it's lived with since. She's made sure to keep it a complete secret, worried some random government agency might take it away if it's ever discovered.

[sanguine-salvation]

Viktor Zsasz is chosen. Viktor Zsasz has a mission. Viktor Zsasz is a Terror and the reason you don't walk down dark alleys alone. Viktor Zsazs--is not a pushover, which is the sight of them being hefted by a tall, snarling woman bleeding from a dozen flesh wounds causes Gotham itself to freeze.

Yeah, the abstract concept of Gotham. That one.

"All I wanted! Is one night--fuckfuckfuckmyhand--!" The heavy plastic lid of the dumpster blonks against the alleyway bricks as its shoved high, releasing a belch of hot garbage. A hoodie-wrapped Zsasz flails in Tess McKay's arms as they're lifted high, a weedy high school nerd ready for a jock's wedgie. Except in this case, the "nerd" is a zealot of a serial killer, the "jock" is a mutant hopped up on multiple energy drinks who had to abandon her opera tickets to chase after them. Also, the nerd stabbed the jock like, five times--

"Get in there! I-- said-- get-- in!"

Somewhere, the Joker is looking up from his game of toilet Candy Crush. Poison Ivy stops fertilizing her garden with token redshirts. Bruce Wayne looks out the window of Wayne Manor and into the peaceful night and decides, 'nah. I'm going to take the night off.'

There is flailing and kicking and a palpable air of insult as Viktor attempts for the dozenth time to wriggle out of her hands. Because they so know where this is going.

At least now they know she is a very aggressive patron of the arts.

"One night! Ha, we don't— urgh! Don't you dare! You can't keep me from— augh!" They thrash in her arms, swinging their heel back blindly towards her head. Or where they assume her head was, anyway. They'd scored several hits, maybe a bite or two, but range was a problem now.

Their knife had been lost a few yards back, though the evidence of their partial success is painted all over both of them to the point where a man who had been taking a smoke in the end of the alley wisely turned tail and left nature to its course. They claw at their thigh, but it isn't quite close enough. Admittedly it is also very hard to grab another of their many extra weapons when they are wrangled at both ends and hoisted over her head like a not-particularly challenging barbell.

Which is... an interesting sensation to realize. Oh. Stong.

But reality is a swift hunter, and they are wrenched back into it when they find themself getting thunked very unceremoniously into the stinking, slimy, clingy garbage. Filth, dirty, sticking on their skin, crawling, itching! The look on their face at such a barrage of unpleasant stimuli makes them look more like a cat soaked in jello than one of Gotham's Most Wanted.

There is a beat of silence. Honestly more than they have ever afforded the Dark Knight.

Then they throw a fetid, oozy banana peel at her face.

And then they lurch out with a growl, new knife, and indignant fury. Wait, how many knives do they have and where...?

[altairtalisman]

"My brother's the only one I have left, so it's my duty to find him!"

The fourth party member Geo meets, Gladea Xenos is determined to find her missing brother even at the cost of her life. That doesn't mean that her kitty paws aren't sharp enough to leave enemies to bleed for days.

Gladea's bio is under the cut.

Name: Gladea Xenos (pronounced Glay-dee-ah Zen-noss)

Age: 28

Height: 166 cm

Birthday: 17 April (Aries)

Personality (Miitopia): Stubborn

Job (Miitopia): Cat

Pronouns: She/Her

Likes: HP Bananas, MP Sweets, Shui's and Hubert's cooking, Baby Food, Bomble Gum, Goblin Ham, Snake Meunière, Dragon Fruit, Gladen Xenos (in a sibling way), Theodosia Varniet (in a romantic way), getting her way, cats

Dislikes: Not getting her way, dogs, when people make fun of her job, Kind Golems, Bone Biscuit, Golem Steak, Cake with too much cream

Hobbies: Swimming, concocting questionable drinks with Dae-Yang, fishing, tinkering around with machines

Clothes: Dark grey robe-like top with light green accents and a pair of black shorts are worn for comfort. A light green magnetic cloth is tied around the waist to hold the top in place, and a mechanical tail is attached to the back of the cloth via magnetic clips. A device containing a retractable knife is attached to the tail.

Gladea wears a pair of magnetic smart gloves with glow in the dark circuit patterns, and also wears a set of sharp metal finger claw rings on both hands. They are fastened securely by chains attached to a second set of rings and a pair of metallic green bracelets, the latter being part of her smart gloves.

She also wears a pair of smart shoes with glow in the dark circuit patterns that are securely held onto her feet by a pair of metallic green anklets. She wears a set of glow in the dark cat-themed headphones, and pierced in her left ear is a green metal earring that matches her brother's.

Sexuality: Lesbian

Description: Silm and flexible build, resembling an actual cat. Has honey blonde hair that is tied into two high pigtails. Similar to her twin brother, she has aqua forest eyes and rose beige skin. Scars are littered across her body, with majority of the visible scars gained from dangerous encounters with big cats. The scars along her neck and on her forehead are from the incident that left her parents dead.

She wields the complete set of finger claw rings in order to deal serious damage to her enemies. Always smiling, she leaps into battle without a shred of fear. She sports six strokes of glow in the dark face paint on her cheeks, resembling cat whiskers.

In her Feral Cat form, her irises narrow to resemble a cat. For unknown reasons, these strokes change to resemble lightning bolts whenever she enters this form.

Background: Prior to the events of the game, she was studying the habitats of wild cats as part of her university thesis. Gladen used to send her money to provide for her basic needs every month, which meant that she had to work part-time at a cat cafe at the edge of Greenhorne to pay for her university tuition. She grew worried after he stopped sending her letters and money suddenly, and was extremely concerned that it happened around the time the Dark Lord was terrorising other towns.

As she was worried that Gladen was in danger of falling victim to the Dark Lord, she decided to set out to find him. Given that she didn't have much fighting experience, she spent a few weeks researching the similarities between the hunting patterns of humans and felines. Once she had gathered sufficient research, she designed her own weapon and attire by incorporating technology into the framework. She also attended some of the illegal boxing matches held in her town to quickly learn how to throw a decent punch as well as dodging nimbly.

Shortly after setting out, the divine power reached out to her and requested her to aid Geo in his quest to stop the Dark Lord. Gladea didn't have to be convinced in order to help Geo as it was clear to her that they had the same goal.

Upon discovering that the Dark Lord was her brother, albeit possessed by the Dark Curse, she refused to abandon him even as she was thrown into the dungeon and got her face stolen shortly after her escape. Gladen is the only family member she had left, and she would exchange her life for his if it meant guaranteeing his survival, be it at the hands of the Dark Curse or the party members who wished to kill him.

She's seen as stubborn by everyone, including Theodosia and Gladen, but few understand that she's mostly this way as she harbours regret for being unable to save her parents as a result of her childhood cowardice. As she hid instead of attempting to save her parents from the Kind Golem when she was 11, she had to watch her parents die and as such, vowed to abandon safety when it comes to protecting those she care for.

Even in adulthood, Gladea wishes that she could change her parents' fate and carries on her wish by ensuring that she changes the fates of everyone else even if it means dying in the process. This is also why she loves eating HP Bananas and MP Sweets as it helps her to prolong her survival a bit longer in battles, and the last thing she wants is to die without being able to help everyone else to the best of her ability.

Feral Cat Form:

[angsty-prompt-hole]

Prologue: Prophecies

A/N: I decided on a whim that I am going to post my first version of A Hero’s Call and my other wips here as a way to jab myself with some motivation to actually write them. As such, I will take constructive criticism. I will also have a tag list for this, so if you want to be added, just let me know. 

Please enjoy this prologue of A Hero’s Call!

Next

Spain, 1465, Another World

A cloaked figure flitted between two taller buildings, a leather-bound journal kept close to his chest. His soft boots were silent on the cobblestone streets, and his hood hid his face from nosy passersby. In one of his hands he clutched a delicate wooden rosary. The streets of Madrid were deserted at this time of night, but these were dangerous days, even for someone like him. Especially for someone like him.

He could sense the creatures following him, slipping through the cracks in the clay walls, leering from beneath thatched roofs, waiting from him in dark alley corners, watching for his inevitable misstep. His shoulder throbbed with the searing burn of danger; it emanated like a curse from the tattoo painted into his skin.

The man slid off the road and down a muddy shore, then ducked under one of the great stone bridges. He stopped.

“Is this how you want to do this?” he spoke through the shadows, to the figure he knew was commanding them, “A game of cat and mouse?”

Two glowing red eyes flared to life like torches on the other side of the bridge. Their light brought the suggestion of large, curved horns, black and orange almost-fur, and sharp, glimmering fangs. A deep, inhuman voice answered him. “Oh, Henry, you know what we want. You could leave here tonight with your life and your body all in one piece. As opposed to torn into tiny bloody pieces and spread all over Madrid for the crows to pick at.”

“I know what you intend to do with me. You think you can use what I have written here.” Henry tapped the journal and smiled in the darkness. “I have seen what happens when you try.”

A low, bone-rattling growl shook in his pursuer’s chest. Henry heard the hiss of a sword being drawn. “You’re a shitty bluffer, old man. You know what we’re missing, don’t you?”

“I know that you won’t succeed. That his plans are doomed to failure. Such is fate.” He did not reach for a weapon. He just had to stall a little longer.

“We pave our own paths.” The inhuman pursuer shifted, almost imperceptibly. Quiet whispers began to fill the air and the shadows seemed to darken, to stretch, to reach towards Henry.

“Are you sure about that?” Henry’s hands began to glow orange, power building up in his palms. He remained perfectly, almost eerily, calm.

Three things happened next, within less than a second of each other.

First, the shadows solidified, dark amorphous creatures rising from the depths with blazing green pinpricks for eyes, and they surged towards Henry, the whispers growing to an almost deafening volume. They wanted to skewer him.

Then, before they could strike, a loud raucous caw sounded above the bridge, and a dark shape shot down, clawing at the demon’s face and diving at the shadows, flapping just out of reach before the startled enemies could land a hit. Henry’s eyes flickered up and widened slightly, but he quickly schooled his expression.

Finally, Henry burst into motion, clutching his journal and rosary to his chest and throwing bright bursts of orange light that struck down each of the shadows in turn. He was surprisingly quick for such a placid-looking old man, and shockingly deadly. The shadows screeched as they exploded into dark whisps of unsustainable energy and faded away.

A raven-like creature landed next to Henry, and in the blink of an eye a dark-haired woman stood in its place, vivid yellow eyes glaring at him. “What stupidity has possessed you this time? You cannot outrun him. You should not have left me.”

“You didn’t need to come to my rescue. Trust me, my little bird.”

“Henry-” The woman’s eyes widened and she suddenly threw herself at Henry, throwing them both out of the way of an enormous column of fire. They both winced at the heat of the blast.

Henry rolled with the momentum, then twisted, grabbed the woman, and shoved her off of him. He thrust the journal into her hands. “Trust me, Illyria. Now go! I need to right these wrongs.”

She looked hurt at his insistence, but she nodded stiffly and scrambled to her feet. She began to run, and her form shifted, morphing back into that of an enormous raven-like bird. And then she was gone, vanished in the dark of the night.

Henry gave her one last look before his shoulder began to burn furiously. He hissed and dove to one side, narrowly avoiding a strike from a flaming blade. The horned figure snarled at him and drew the rapier back to strike again.

Thinking quickly, Henry threw out his hand, and a bright orange bolt of energy threw the figure off its feet. Then, he was off, weaving his way through the streets of Madrid once more. He kissed the rosary wrapped around his hand once, and prayed to God to save his soul.

The horned figure cursed, growled deeply, then rose to his feet. As he slung the mud from his clothes with one hand, he snapped his fingers of the other. The shadows all around him began to writhe. The figure grinned, baring its teeth.

“Kill the old bastard, then hunt down that journal.”

Tag List: Arbitrarily tagging @nebula-starlight @isa-ghost @basicflavortext @eldritchnebula @bunchofdoodlesinspace because I can and I know y’all will enjoy some canon borb mom content. 

[red-riot-rat]

I’ll leave a light on (CHAPTER TWO)

HI HI BABES! this is chapter two babes!!!

-

Ｇｅｎｒｅ：ANGST

𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: cursing, lots of mentions of death, HAWKS,

𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴: THEY/THEM (GENDER NEUTRAL)

AN: LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINKKKK

{Previous}

CHAPTER TWO

{Next}

-

-

Dabi watched as you skipped down the front stairs, putting your earbuds on and blasting your music. You made your way down to the market where you could get snacks and drinks, what you and him called ‘that good shit’. 

You had memorized what everyone wanted, and for the most part it never changed. Tomura would change his drink often, and Himiko switched between Strawberry Pocky and Cheeto Puffs occasionally. Dabi always got a Monster, every single time. It didn't matter which one he got but he drinks that shit like it's holy water. 

He didn't like any other brand, Tomura didn't even care what he happened to get, and Himiko was just happy to get little snacks from you.

They were just happy you were home safe again. 

They sent you off with some money, pure intention, and the trust you would come back safe.

Safe.

Not bleeding or falling apart in their hands.

Not dying in their arms.

Your music blasted and you could sing every word of the lyrics to beat. The heels of your shoes clicking to the beat, smiling to yourself your mind wandered.

Although you haven't seen him since, you missed walking here with Hawks. You used to explore the alleyways, finding shortcuts, stray cats, and playing around.

It was always peaceful with him, peace filled with laughter and smiles.

You would trust him with your life.

Guess you have too, huh?

You skipped slightly, as you waved to the flower shop employee and they smiled right back smiled at you. It was nice down here, there weren’t any heroes, just people living their life. Although many deemed it as the ‘scary’ part of town you liked it, you knew everyone who worked in the shops around here and they were all local too.

You had nothing to fear here.

Maybe it was the vulnerability, the fact he knew the place so well, he fucking explored it with you for gods sake. 

Maybe he just had an opportunity and took it. An opportunity for chaos.

Or maybe, he wasn’t randomly drawn to you. Maybe, he planned this all along.

He planned your death, the heartache that would surge through the members of the League.

The League that trusted him, even if it was is the slightest.

The League that assured you, you would never get hurt. 

Even in the most chaotic of times.

-

“Tomura!” You shouted, your cracking voice ringing like an alarm in his brain. His head spun to you, seeing you pinned under a hero he didn't care to know,

He didn't care who it was.

They had you in their grip, and he was ready to set the world on fire.

You fought against them, your hands clawing at the arms wrapped around your throat. 

You struggled, grasping for anything as your eyes locked onto your attacker.

“Tomura!” you screamed again, your eyes jumping to his red orbs, he felt a shiver run down his spine.

Your eyes filled with tears, terror, and pain tipped him over the edge.

He moved faster than you’ve ever seen before, a cackle escaping his dry lips as he rested five fingers onto the face of a hero, or you guess..

An ex-hero.

The hero fell to pieces, Tomura’s smile grew wide as he watched himself cause chaos.

“Stick with me, that won't happen again.”

And it didn't. Dabi burned buildings down with no remorse,

And Shigaraki’s head was on a swivel for any sign of distress that came from you.

They never hesitated to protect you, even if it meant their life.

It was never meant to be yours.

-

The blonde hero floated down to you, his feather shedding and falling everywhere possible.

“Hey kid, long time no see eh?” He smiled as he landed, and you glanced over your shoulder, smiling slightly in response.

You didn't mind him here, he was always fun.

He followed you around like a lost puppy making conversations, running around the store with you, cracking jokes.

Even as you left the market, smiles still stayed glued to your faces, as he poked you and ate a few snacks you had bought with him.

You were smiling, laughing, having a good time.

Nothing could ruin this, nothing at all.

Because it's all fun and games.

Maybe lifes a game, and all you are is a pawn.

A pawn the heroes use to one up on the League.

A pawn that fell into Keigo Takami’s hands.

“Listen kid, I need a favor.”

You turned slightly, an alarm blaring in your head. His tone of voice, the way his eyes stared so confidently into yours, gleaming with unknown intents scared you.

You wish it scared you more, and you would’ve ran.

You would've gotten out of there.

You would’ve survived. 

But your feet were planted to the ground like cement.

Even when he glances around the streets, searching. Searching for future enemies, future problems, anything that could’ve stopped him. 

Stop him from taking the breath out of your lungs.

Stop him from leaving you to die on the side walk.

But,

He didn't hesitate, he was quick and unforgiving. 

He acted like you weren't just a kid. A child.

A defenseless child, staring into the eyes of their impending death,

He held a red feather to your throat, backing you into a corner of the alleyway.

He didn't smile, but his eyes gave away his intent.

He’ll kill you no hesitation, no remorse.

Because he's a hero. Hero fucking scum.

“Did you fucking hear me? I need a favor.” His face stayed emotionless, his words echoing down the empty alley.

He lowered his feather to your side, and you had no protection.

You had nothing, no weapon, no urge to move, all you had was terror and fear striking you to your core.

All you had was a family that waited on your arrival back home.

You had lost everything, was it not enough?

Did you have to lose your life to the heroes?

Did you have to spill your own blood for them?

“Listen, no hard feelings yeah?” he finally smiled, his white teeth shining in the subtle light that creeped into the dark back alley.

“Keigo, no. No. You fucking can’t, they’ll kill you.” You stutter out, your sentences barely forming and your brain overwhelmed.

“You know they will!”

The feelings of betrayal and anger suck deep into your skin, finally setting as you realize your situation. 

You stood your ground, planting your feet firmly to the ground as he smirked to you, knowing that his actions would prevail.

The media would over look this if it ever got out, and anyone who ever stood against the Hero Commission would never see the fucking light of day again.

There wasn't any escaping it, no way out, no second chance.

You were at a loss, and you knew it. 

You were going to die and you knew it.

Your eyes began to blur as tears flowed down your cheeks, the ally you had will kill you, right here right now.

And he did.

Within an instant he swiped his feather, creating a nasty gnash across your side. Your screams of agony brought no attention from outside the alley, no one came to your side.

No one would.

The rest is a blur, word on a grave, a faint memory only you and that beloved hero would ever know.

A memory you hoped to give to the people waiting for you back home. The people you called family.

Who would be left shattered without you.

-

Your voice rang through Tomura’s ears as he held your body close to him, standing in the heavy cold rain. He was ready.

Himiko Toga stood to his left, her knife in hand and shining when lighting struck. Her face was red, her eyes puffy, and the sleeves of her cardigan stained themselves with tears, snot and pain. She was ready.

Dabi stood to his right, smoke emitting from where his skin met disheveled scars. He grimaced at the sight of the mansion belonging to the red winged hero.He was ready.

They were ready.

Ready for chaos to ensue, death to prevail, and anger to overcome them.

They were ready to watch the pretty birds' wings, burn to ashes.

The three stared into the glowing eyes of the hero, as he stood on his balcony admiring the sight of a peaceful night.

A successful night.

A night he’ll jeep in the books, a trophy night.

It wouldn't take long for the winged hero to see the three figures. It wouldn't take long to know their intent.

The fact that Shigaraki Tomura held your dead body as close to him as possible gave it away. 

“Takami Keigo.” Himiko’s voice rang out, her glowing eyes meeting the heroes. Her faint smile bleeds with malice, anger and the need to see blood spilled.

It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair it was you.

You were just a kid, you were a child and he took your life away from you.

It wasn't fair your blood was spilled, it should've been anyone. Anyone else.

It should've been him.

“Are you ready?”

Lets play a game, Takami Keigo.

-

TAGLIST:

@gayfanficanonymous @squishytenya @jmeyerss @shigarakis-fifth-hand

@legendsofamy10 @h0rr0r-hal0 @jadenyukis-bodypillow @ceciliajay  @vi-xena

@yourlostairpods @dont-mind-me-imjustpassingby @peakstup1d

@sapphireartwork @tiredandkindaoverworked @justyouraveragefandoms

@sometimesyouhaveto @peanutthegriff  @spicytm @debbiehehe @anxious-sky

@bisexual-confusion​ @the-soft-corner​ @beneaththeiceandsnow​

@kingdoms--night--star​

(let me know if you would like to be added to this in the next chapter!)

[turtle-go-brrrr]

The gang playing Torchlight II

I grew up on the first Torchlight and the 2nd one is my favorite, it's fantastic and I keep playing over and over again, so of course i would make a post about it. Enjoy :3 (also I highly recommend that game)

I didn’t go into too much details because 1) Not a lot of people know this game, and 2) I wanted to talk about the armors and stuff, because their designs are great but i figured it would have been a little too complicated ^^’

Anyway, self indulgence time

_______________________________________

Leonardo

Class: Outlander

“Outlanders are agile ranged weapon users who are experts in magical and martial arts”

His favorite weapons are bows and crossbows

It's a nice changes from his swords

Doesn’t really enchant his weapons, he keeps his gold for armor or better weapons

His favorite place in the Torchlight world is the Salt Barrens - a dried-up inland sea characterized by parched, cracked earth and ancient shipwrecks.

He loves the Ship Graveyard the most

His pet is a Wolf

His favorite skill is Bane Breath - A blast of cursed breath poisons enemies. If they are killed, they are converted into Shadowling Fiends that fight for you for ten seconds.

It’s like he has his own little army

His favorite item quote is from (potion) Sweet-Aide: 243602 Health loss over 13.33 minutes

Donatello

Class: Engineer

“The Engineer is a heavy melee fighter who can use cannons, battle wrenches and deploy mechanical constructs to aid them in battle”

His favorite weapons are polearms and staves

Unlike Leo, he prefers to stay comfortable

Loooooves enchanting his weapons and adding Electric gems to them

Not only does it adds damage, it also looks really nice

His favorite place in the Torchlight world is the Frosted Hills - a snowy outdoor area

He especially likes destroying the Slaver’s camp

His pet is a Hawk

Really hesitated with the Stag

His favorite skill is Healing Bot -The Engineer assembles a small clockwork drone that emits energy pulses, healing both himself and allies.

He names his little robot Buddy and he loves it as much as his pet

He chooses this class solely for that skill

His favorite item quote is from (helmet) the Servo-Helm: It mechanically augments your own brain power!

Raphael

Class: Berserker

“These savage warriors use ferocious melee attacks, fist weapons, and can summon animal spirits in battle”

His favorite weapons are Maces and Fist Weapons

Especially when he has a double set of claws

He feels like Wolverine

His favorite skill is Stempede - A brutal forward dash that damages all foes in its path

It’s hella cool and he loves destroying his ennemy by just running into them

His favorite place in the Torchlight world is the Ossean Wastes - a desert overworld area characterized by sand dunes and the skeletons of giant animals 

Absolutely in love with this aesthetic (and the armor style you can find in this part of the game)

His pet is a Stag

It really surprised everyone, but he thinks it’s cool

His favorite item quote is from (gloves) the Twilight Vambraces:These bracers do not sparkle, as some might expect.

Michelangelo

Class: Embermage

“The spellcasters of the Imperial army, these ranged magic users are masters of the elements, attacking with frost, fire and lightning“

His favorite weapons are Staves and Wands 

He’s not used to range weapons, but wands work for him

Adds Poison gems to everything

Likes to put Fire and Frost gems too

His favorite skill is Fire Bombs - You hurl three gouts of flame that ignite the ground for 3 seconds and sometimes cause foes to stumble in panic as they burn.

Destructive Drama Queen ™

His pet is an Alpaca

He just loves how cuddly it looks

Names it MikeyJr

His favorite place in the Torchlight world is the Path of the Honored Dead -The cemetery / memorial of the Estherian Enclave, this pass is covered in fog and has become infested with the undead.

It’s spooky and pretty and it’s right up his alley

His favorite item quote is from (boots) Killian’s Boots: Killian would be furious if he knew you were wearing these.

April

Class: Engineer

“The Engineer is a heavy melee fighter who can use cannons, battle wrenches and deploy mechanical constructs to aid them in battle”

Her favorite weapons are Maces and Polearms

There is an amazing skill you can only use with two handed heavy weapons (hence why she picked those)

Flame Hammer - Crushes foes with a flaming slam attack. Charges add flaming splinters that radiate out from the impact

She feels so powerful with this skill and it’s really efficient, so she uses mainly this

Her pet is a Panther

She wanted a cat, but why stop so small?

Her favorite place in the Torchlight world is the Sundered Battlefield - It contains the ruins of an ancient dwarven battleground

She loves the ruins, and even more the quests of this particular area

Her favorite item quote is from (necklace) the Pocketwatch of the Tennant: It’s full of wibbly wobbly stuff.

Casey

Class: Berserker

“These savage warriors use ferocious melee attacks, fist weapons, and can summon animal spirits in battle”

His favorite weapons are Fist Weapons and Swords

He likes the unique claw kind, but... Swords, amaright?

He doesn’t have a stategy, he just spams the Attack and Heal buttons

It works so far

His favorite place in the Torchlight world is the Blightbogs - It is a haunted swamp populated by werewolves, witches, and ghosts.

He likes the werewolf area in the Abandoned Sawmill

His favorite skill is Devastate -You rush forward in a flurry of powerful attacks using all equipped melee weapons 

He nicknames it Feral Boy, but everyone else says it’s just Raph But Higher Level

His pet is a Chakawary

Because unlike litterally everyone else, he has a personality

(He’s right, the Chakawary is cool as hell) 

His favorite item quote is from (sword) Joyous: It's good to be alive!

[nelllraiser]

cat burglar | sasha & nell

LOCATION: a warehouse in the bend. PARTIES: @sasha-r-blog​ & @nelllraiser.  SUMMARY: sasha takes it upon herself to stop a break in, and nell is on the wrong end of the matters.  CONTAINS: gun use, gun violence

Another day another dollar was all the witch could think of as Nell lurked outside of an oversized warehouse in The Bend. The human bounties were especially boring to go after seeing as they lacked any upper hand in comparison to magic. At least when she was on the tail of someone supernatural she knew there was an element of surprise- or at least something to keep her on her toes. But money was money, and she still enjoyed bringing in the assholes who skipped out on their bail. Tonight was no different as she peered into one of the windows that paneled the outside of the building, just barely clearing the edge of it so that she might duck down if her quarry glanced her way. Thankfully, he seemed far too busy with counting the pallets that littered the place, scratching his head every now and then while he jotted numbers down in a notebook. All it would take was a simple sleeping spell and he’d be out like a light. But first she needed to get closer, perhaps get a better idea of what exactly it was he was doing in this shitty warehouse. If he were up to no good once again and repeating his criminal past, she wanted to know it about it. Carefully, she pushed her palm against the glass of the window before uttering a quiet spell, and in a moment it had melted away like water, pooling in a puddle on the ground beneath her. While the liquid glass settled, she hooked a leg over the frame of the window as gently as she could, being careful not to make a sound as she made her entrance.

The Bend seemed like the perfect place to look for crime, or at least Sasha assumed it was. In all the movies she’d watched it was usually run down places like where all the criminal stuff happened. So with her makeshift costume on and her change of clothes tucked neatly into her backpack, she made her way there. It didn’t take long to find a good place to perch and keep a lookout. There was a tall, flat roofed brick building at the corner of the block that seemed abandoned. And with a few well placed jumps and some careful footwork she found herself alone at the top, with a good amount of the Bend visible to her. So that was a good start to the night. Unfortunately, it seemed like the promising vantage point wasn’t leading to much. The neighborhood was surprisingly quiet. Sasha did spot a few people, some teenagers meeting up before heading into an alley. But upon closer inspection they were just making out, and Sasha decided to keep her lunch rather than continuing to watch to make sure some murderer didn’t jump out at them. They were probably fine.

It wasn’t until an hour or two later that another bit of movement caught Sasha’s eye. Across the street, next to a large warehouse, was a woman. Sasha moved to the edge of the roof, watching as the woman peaked through the window. Okay, that was suspicious. There were plenty of buildings here that from a quick glance seemed abandoned. But this one, despite seeming run down, at least had intact windows. So probably still in use? Maybe Sasha should have done some research before coming here. But either way, the way the woman was glancing in was clearly suspicious. If it was just some abandoned building to sneak into, why all the weird snooping? Sasha was about to lower herself onto the fire escape for a better view, when she felt a buzzing against her back. Shit. Fumbling with her backpack, Sasha quickly grabbed her phone and turned it to silent. 

Stupid rookie mistake, she should have just left her phone at home. When she turned back toward the woman, the glass in the window was gone, and the suspicious woman was lifting herself into the frame. Cool, good to know that the phone had distracted Sasha so much she completely missed the woman breaking the glass and almost getting inside. That could have been useful info. What if the woman had a crowbar on her to break the glass? Or a gun? Okay, Sasha was pretty sure she would have heard a gun go off even while distracted, but still. She took a deep breath and steadied herself before heading down the fire escape. When she was half way down she took another deep breath, and vaulted over the edge onto the street below, trying her best to land just as she practiced. Classic superhero landing pose, though more Spider Man than Iron Man, she wasn’t about to fist bump the pavement and break her only weapon. 

Despite Sasha’s strangely quiet landing, her clearing throat as she held the pose was likely audible. 

Nell couldn’t help but be paranoid as the hairs of her neck prickled directly before the clearing of a throat sounded behind her. The sound made her jump, though it wasn’t out of fear so much as a gut reaction of defense, head whipping around to look at whatever it was that had disturbed her. In the same movement, she drew a knife from it’s concealed hiding place on her body, brandishing it in front of her and placing it between herself and...what the fuck? Was there some sort of convention in town that she didn’t know about? That was the first thought in the witch’s mind as she took in the rag-tag ensemble before her, eyes not even sure where to land first on the strange mixture of clothing choice. Raking her gaze over the overflow of tiger printed spandex and fake leather, somehow the most confusing thing about the get-up were the razor-sharp teeth that were printed where the person’s mouth should be, stretched over the features that they hid. Where even to begin? “You know if you need some more quality cosplay my dad has an Etsy and worked the professional costume circuit in Vegas for years,” was the only thing she could think to whisper in the direction of this newly appeared enigma. Nevermind that she wasn’t exactly speaking to her father at the moment. 

The rustling of the man moving inside the warehouse was what pulled Nell’s attention away from the knock-off cat-man that had spawned from seemingly nowhere, and she was quickly reminded of why she was here. “Look- can you go play somewhere else?” she hissed under her breath towards the newcomer, not particularly keen on having her bounty disturbed. The words weren’t meant to be demeaning, as Nell truly and simply had no idea what to do with the train wreck that had stuck their nose into her business. What a cosplayer was doing in the middle of the Bend, she hadn’t the faintest idea— but she wasn’t going to let them get in her way. “I’m kinda busy.”

As the woman turned around to look at her Sasha began to rise to her feet and- oh shit, she had a knife! Sasha froze up at the sight of the suddenly brandished weapon. But it was fine, it was cool. Sasha had her own set of knives too. Or rather, The Claw did. 

The woman’s whispering sounded loud and clear in Sasha’s sensitive ears and made her stop right before making her heroic declarations to put down the knife. “I-I’m not a cosplayer and this isn’t some sort of game...”

That sounded cooler in her head, but Sasha continued to stare down the woman. If she was randomly pointing a knife at her that had to mean she was a criminal. Sasha put one of her hands out to the side, fingers curled, ready to summon her claws at any moment. Come on, you can do this.

“I’m The Claw, and I’m here to put a stop to your break in! What’s in there? Money, valuebles, a stockpile of illegal weapons? Whatever it is, you better make your peace with never getting your hands on them.”

Yeah... yeah! I’ve got this! She’s gotta be scared now. 

The somewhat puzzled yet exasperated expression on Nell’s features only grew more scrunched as the mysterious figure spoke. It was a girl. That much she could initially tell from the voice. She’d already parted her lips to ask what exactly the masked interloper was doing here when the knock-off Catwoman spoke again, and the witch’s eyebrows shot skyward in disbelief. “The Claw?” she echoed, a hint of unshared delight entering Nell’s tone. Who the hell ran around in spandex calling them themselves the Claw? She couldn’t stop the quiet chuckle that pressed past her lips as the rest of the girl’s words sank in. “I’m not breaking in. Well- I am breaking in, but I’m not the shitty person here. Make my- make my peace?” Nell sputtered in her continued amusement. “Babe- I hate to be the one to tell you this- actually I don’t really hate it, but-” Her sentence wouldn’t find it’s end as another voice rang out, Nell’s target apparently having overheard enough of their shared noises to finally take notice of the two young woman loitering in his warehouse window.

“Hey!” He called out, already taking angry strides in their direction. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” he demanded, reaching for some unseen weapon that resided in the inner pocket of his jacket.

The woman was...laughing... at The Claw. Sasha's heart sank, but she tried to replace the feeling with annoyance. The Claw wouldn’t get upset, so Sasha wouldn’t either. She would prove this woman wrong. This woman who apparently didn’t know what a superhero was. This woman who also just admitted to breaking in, as matter of fact! So yeah, even if she laughed at her that wasn’t going to stop Sasha from stopping this criminal. 

Sasha opened her mouth to speak, to cut off whatever excuse or taunt the stranger planned to throw at her, only for another voice to cut both of them off. In the window frame appeared a man, mid 30ss, not exactly friendly looking. Okay so that guy didn’t seem super happy but he also probably just didn’t get that Sasha was trying to help.

“Don’t worry!” She said, putting out a hand, her words faltering slightly when she saw him reaching for something in his jacket. “I’m here to stop this robber from breaking in. I’ve got it under control.”

Truly, Nell hadn’t intended to laugh in a malicious manner, but it was simply too bizarre to witness a self-proclaimed ‘hero’ running around White Crest, fighting crime and toting names such as ‘The Claw.’ She supposed in concept it wasn’t too bizarre. After all White Crest was in desperate need of as much help as it could get. But a masked do-gooder was a far cry from those she usually cleaned up the messes around this town. After all it wasn't as if hunters were running around in capes and hoods. Or...herself for that matter. Of course she’d never consider herself a hero in any sense of the word. She was fairly certain the people that Sasha was trying to emulate didn’t go around torturing sacrifices to bring their loved ones back from the dead. 

Nell’s head whipped around as Sasha and the man’s eyes met, and a frown was quick to turn her lips southwards as she saw him reaching for whatever he was concealing beneath his jacket. While Sasha spoke, Nell did her best to stay between the bounty and The Claw, a threatening and far more serious tone coming from her lips. “Don’t,” she commanded, the words meant both for the criminal and the attempted hero. 

“Or you’ll what?” The grungy man replied with a rough tone as he pulled a gun from its hiding place, training it on both the girls- dipping back and forth between them. “What are two little girls gonna do about it?” 

Nell kept her eyes trained on the man before saying, “Or I’ll start with breaking every finger in your hand, and then see if I wanna start on your other one.” As for The Claw… “You’ve got it wrong- he’s the piece of shit. I’m here to collect his bounty.”

Sasha froze at the sight of the gun, and just as quickly as it was pointed at them the woman moved between her and the man. It took too long for her to process, she should be quick on her feet, she knew that. What hero let someone come between them and a bullet?

“Bounty?” Sasha hated the way her voice squeaked up an octave, but to be fair, this was the first time she had seen a gun in real life and they were about two seconds from getting a much closer look if things kept up. “But you-”

Sasha may have misinterpreted things here. Were bounty hunters even legal? She guessed they weren’t any more illegal than a vigilante. She didn’t really have a good concept of them outside of action movies, and things were getting pretty actiony right now. 

She had barely heard the man speak, barely processed what the woman said either. But suddenly the man moved his hand again, a glint of metal catching in Sasha’s eyes. In hindsight, maybe it was just another threatening motion to get them to back off. But in a panic Sasha felt herself rushing past the woman. She wasn’t thinking. Maybe she should have. The next thing she knew one of her clawed hands was digging into the forearm of the man, the jacket sleeve torn and likely the skin under it as well. She didn’t hear the man's reaction, just an ear shattering bang as the gun hit the ground and misfired into the sidewalk. Sasha could only hear high pitched ringing after that, but she could see the man shout in pain and her grip on his arm tightened reflexively, as if he might pick up the gun somehow or draw another. 

“No!” Nell yelled as The Claw darted towards the man, eyes wide as she watched the girl make her attack, certain she was going to hear a gunshot pop off at any moment. And then a matching red would bloom on The Claw’s costume, staining the stripes as they seeped the girl’s life away. But no such thing happened. There was a bang, and Nell flinched as the bullet ricocheted to god knew where, and then it seemed The Claw was firmly latched onto the man’s gunarm. Had the girl brought hidden knives as well? But Nell hadn’t seen her draw them. The speed and high stakes of the situation didn’t allow for a closer look before she too was moving in on the man, fast and controlled in her approach as she kicked the man’s legs out from under him while he was distracted by The Claw. He landed hard on the warehouse floor, a grunt of pain falling from his as Nell planted a firm kick in his side once he was down. “I said, don’t!”

In the next moment, Nell tugged at her magic, using it to bend the man’s fingers into unnatural angles and making good on her promise of breaking them. While his yell filled the concrete walls, she grabbed at his wrists, taking special care to press down on the digits she’d just snapped, drawing a pair of handcuffs from a pocket and clicking them soundly around him. “Alright- okay,” she began, turning towards The Claw with a frown now that the man was no longer a threat. “Do you believe me now?” Gone was any of Nell’s previous amusement. 

Sasha only had her claws dug into the dude’s arm for a moment before the woman kicked his feet out from under him. Sasha didn’t try to keep her grip. She watched him fall and felt the sticky blood coating her hands. Oh god, gross. Her first instinct was to try to wipe the stuff off on her pants, but she really only had one of these costumes. So instead she held her clawed hand away from herself awkwardly as the woman kicked and cuffed the man.

Wait, how had she broken his fingers? Sasha blink, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Maybe like the bang had messed with her ears, the flash of the fallen gun had messed with her vision. It looked like they had just snapped by themselves. But she didn’t have much time to think about it. When the woman turned and spoke it sounded as if her voice was coming through water, but Sasha could still make out the words. 

“I-I didn’t realize there were bounty hunters here. I just saw you trying to break in and I thought...” Sasha's heart was beating hard in her chest, but as the adrenaline faded she started to feel anxiety creeping in, past the normal confidence that she tried to show as The Claw. “I didn’t realize.” 

For a moment Nell simply watched Sasha in vaguely concerned confusion, taking in the way she was holding her hand away from herself, apparently not all that accustomed to the blood she’d drawn. Another look towards the girl, and the witch could see something like shock beginning to grip The Claw’s body. It had been a couple of months since Nell had been reminded that not everyone was as accustomed to spilling blood and facing guns down, but as she looked at the costumed crusader— it was hard to miss the way her voice had changed, and Nell’s frustrated demeanour switched into something more sincere. “Hey- are you...alright? You can sit down or something if you need to. I have some water,” she said before turning to rummage in the bag she’d been carrying on her back, offering a water bottle soon after she located it. “You’re not hurt, right?” She hadn’t seen the man land a mark on the young woman, but what if that stray bullet hadn’t been all that stray, and Nell had missed it? WIth a quick and cursory glance over The Claw, Nell did her best to try and identify if she was bleeding anywhere. 

“Aren’t there bounty hunters everywhere?” Nell wasn’t entirely looking for an actual answer as she glanced once again toward the man they’d downed together. When he tried to open his mouth to speak, she granted him a warning growl before kicking one of his broken hands. Earning another howl of pain from the criminal. “Sorry- hold on,” she sighed at the girl before bending down to tug off the man’s beanie and stick it into his mouth as a makeshift gag. “There- now he won’t bother us, at least.” Taking some pity on the girl, she offered her name, hoping that might help set The Claw a little more at ease. “I’m Nell.” 

“I’m alright. I’m fine.” Sasha was fine. Mostly fine. She wasn’t hurt at least and the real bad guy had been taken down. But staring down a gun was a lot. Sasha took the water bottle, but realized she couldn’t risk taking off her mask to drink. Instead she poured a bit of it over her hand to clean it of blood, retracting her claws once they were no longer covered. 

“I’m not hurt I-” She stopped mid sentence as Nell roughly silenced the man. That was fine, all of this was fine. He was a bad guy after all. “I’m The Claw.” Wait, she had already told her that. “I um, thanks for the help. I’m sorry I thought you were trying the break in. I mean, you were, but you weren’t robbing anyone.”

She glanced down at the dude again. She didn’t exactly feel bad for him, not after threatening her and Nell. But at the same time she worried about how much she may have hurt him. “Do you do this a lot? Bounty hunting? I should probably know so I don’t mistake you for doing something bad when I’m out patrolling.” 

Nell didn’t intend to purse her lips at The Claw’s answer, but couldn’t help it as the other girl maintained that she was fine. The witch had heard that particular phrase more than once when it came to people reacting to the concerning outcomes of questionable experiences. If she were being entirely honest, she herself had used it on numerous occasions when she didn’t want to admit that something may not have been fine. But she wasn’t going to push the girl. “Alright.” At least she wasn’t hurt. Nell couldn’t help the way her eyes lingered on The Claw’s...well...claws as the girl poured water over them and her hand. So that had been how the damage was done? “That’s pretty neat,” she offered in a tone that she hoped was casual, nodding towards the girl’s hand. Was she a werewolf or something? What else had claws, but appeared to be human?

“Yeah, I remember,” Nell said with a tease in her voice, hoping to bring back at least a little levity to the situation. “The Claw. Pretty fitting I guess, isn’t it? Though...if you have more than one claw- shouldn’t you be The Claws?” A shrug later, and Nell was speaking again. “You helped, too. I mean you got the first hit on him.” Even though The Claw had successfully drawn blood and proven herself capable, Nell couldn't help the worry that was pooling in her stomach as she continued to watch the girl and listen to her mention attempted robbery. “You know...it’s pretty dangerous out here in White Crest. Also just in general. So what are you doing out here trying to stop supposed attempted robberies and shit?” Saving people in White Crest was an endless job, and more often than not you got hurt in the process. It was no surprise that Nell wasn’t keen on the thought of a spandexed and starry-eyed crusader making their way through the town’s problems. “But yeah- it’s my main source of income, so I’m generally sneaking around.” The word ‘patrolling’ only made Nell’s frown dip lower, concern continuing to grow in magnitude.

“It’s part of my powers,” Sasha said as she followed Nell’s gaze back towards her hand. “The Claws doesn’t roll off the tongue as much, I think my title is just fine.” Sasha couldn’t tell if Nell was making another jab at her, or just trying to lighten the mood, but at least the woman didn’t seem annoyed anymore. And that fact let Sasha relax slightly. 

“It’s my job. I’m here to protect White Crest.” Had Nell never heard of a superhero before? Even her reaction to seeing Sasha’s claws was weirdly nonchalant. “Not for money, not that there's anything wrong with helping for money. It is just my responsibility. I want to make sure the town is safe and those doing wrong are punished.” 

She tried to stand a bit taller, get back into the headspace of a hero. Like Nell said, she had just helped to take down a criminal. Maybe all the blood and guns was a bit unexpected but she had done it all the same. “I know White Crest is dangerous but I can handle it.” 

“Your powers…” Nell echoed as her gaze lingered on The Claw’s hands once more. It wasn’t exactly the word she would have used as she generally referred to the gifts of the supernatural community as ‘abilities’. Though she supposed it made sense for the girl to think of them as ‘powers’ if she was determined to run around playing superhero. “Are you...a werewolf?” Nell asked point-blank, seeing no other way around the question. She didn’t particularly feel like dancing around the subject, and they were the only humanoid creature she could think of in that moment that might employ their claws in such a way. 

“Your job?” Nell continued to question, not entirely sold on that description. “What do you mean by that? Why’s it your responsibility?” She could sympathize with wanting to make sure people were as safe as possible in White Crest, but she certainly didn’t consider it to be her job. It was just...something she was good at, and something she felt obligated to do. So where was this sense of duty coming from where it concerned The Claw? “Do you know?” Nell challenged, not entirely convinced. She couldn’t help but feel like she was somehow responsible for making sure this girl knew what she was truly getting into— the pain and heartbreak that lay down the line if she decided to take the weight of the world on her shoulders. “I know you wanna help- but it’s not always happy endings or whatever. Things go to shit. A lot.” And then years have passed and you don’t even know how you got here, but it’s too late to stop now. You can’t turn your back on people that need help. If Nell could spare someone the disillusionment she’d experienced over the last few years, and the bone-deep tiredness she felt half the time these days...she’d take that chance.

“I’m...no I’m not a werewolf.” Okay, Nell was clearly making fun of her now. “This isn’t some joke or silly halloween costume. It is my job. My responsibility. I have powers and I have to help people with them.” Sasha felt her face heat up. She wasn’t used to getting angry enough to raise her voice, and already she felt self conscious at it, clearing her throat and glancing back down at the cuffed man to avoid Nell’s questioning gaze.

“I know this town is dangerous. I can handle it. You don’t need to-” Treat me like a child. Act like I don’t know what I’m doing. Sasha clenched her jaw. She wasn’t going to argue. Nell had helped, but Sasha wasn’t going to try to explain this to her. 

“Are you taking him to the police?” Sasha motioned to the man. “Or wherever bounties go. I need to get back to my patrol.” It was a lie. Sasha was pretty sure she was going to head directly back to her dorm the moment she left Nell and sleep until she forgot about her annoyance and the gun going off and the feeling of blood between her fingers.

“I didn’t say it was any of that stuff,” Nell defended with a gut reaction, realizing she’d made a wrong step somewhere along the way. Certainly Nell had thought it to be a game at the beginning of their meeting, mistaking the girl for cosplay, but now she knew better. But if The Claw wasn’t a werewolf...what was she? Unless she simply didn’t know she was a werewolf. Maybe that was also a possibility. If that were the case, it would only fan the flames of Nell’s concern. How could the girl hope to save a world she didn’t have all the pieces of, and not get hurt in the process? “But you don’t,” Nell replied simply. “You don’t have to. Not if it gets to be too much or anything like that.” 

Nell recognized a stubbornness in the girl that was most likely mirrored in herself while The Claw defended her choices, and that only worried Nell more. But she also knew there was no sense fighting it if they were, indeed, alike in that trait. Any opposition would only be met with a stronger fight back. So if Nell couldn’t prevent the girl from taking a path that was rife with hardship, maybe she could at least help. “Fine,” was her short answer. “But if you have any questions— how can people contact you, anyway? Is there like a ‘The Claw’ twitter or something that you work off of?” If The Claw wouldn’t listen to her, then she’d simply have to settle for trying to keep an eye on the girl. 

The dismissal was obvious in the girl’s words, and Nell had no interest in overstaying her welcome at the moment. Besides, she did need to get this man back to the bail bonds agency. “I’m taking him,” Nell answered with her arms folded over her chest, not yet moving an inch. She usually utilized magic to get her bounties back to her employers, and though she’d already technically used magic in front of The Claw, she wasn’t about to do so again so openly when it seemed the other girl hadn’t noticed. “Good luck on your patrol.” She’d have to wait for The Claw to leave in order to finish her business here. 

But you were thinking it. You were thinking that I’m a joke. And you think that I can’t handle things either. But Sasha didn’t voice it. She didn’t want to get angrier at Nell, or vice versa, but it was already getting to that point. So she ignored the bounty hunter’s statement about what she knew she had to do or whatever, biting back a retort. Even the question about contacting her made Sasha irritated in the moment. She knew it was dumb, but it hadn’t been something she figured out yet since saving Connor and him asking her the same thing. Being reminded again that she had no easy way to contact someone without revealing who she was only made her worried that it would now come off as unprofessional to the bounty hunter. 

“I’m setting something up. Why don’t you give me your contact info and I’ll reach out to you if I need it.” A burner phone or some side account on something wouldn’t be hard, she just had to make sure it didn’t trace back to her. And behind the current annoyance and Nell, Sasha knew it would be smart to know how to contact her. Not that Sasha would need the help, but she didn’t want some weird bounty mix up to happen again. 

“Thanks.” Sasha said, unsure if Nell meant what she said about her patrol. At least she hadn’t detected any sarcasm in that, even if she seemed to want Sasha to get out of her hair soon.

Nell didn’t offer any more words as The Claw gave her a short answer, knowing that the peace between them was hanging by a thread. Instead she tucked a hand into her jacket pocket, magically summoning a piece of paper and pen from back home into her hand before bringing them back into sight. On the paper she wrote both her phone number, and the name ‘Penelope Vural’ before handing it over to the girl. “You can text me or find me on the town forum. Whatever works for you.” Friendship wasn’t on Nell’s mind as she offered the contact information, and instead she was hoping that she might be able to keep some sort of eye on the strange crusader. “Let me know if you ever need anything or whatever. Or have questions about who I’m after. Sometimes jobs take more than two hands...or claws, and I’m always down for action.” That was the best she felt she could do in making sure The Claw didn’t get herself killed, and without adding flame to the fire the witch had inadvertently built between them. 

Nell turned away from the self-made heroine, unable to bite her tongue any longer when the rock of dread was solidifying in her gut. She didn’t want to watch another person get hurt by White Crest, but she wasn’t about to stand by and let it happen either. When she turned to look over her shoulder, the other girl was already gone, and Nell hadn’t even gotten to give a well wishing of safety before the night air swallowed up The Claw. All she could think was that hopefully the town wouldn’t swallow the girl whole as well. 

[crimsondustofficial]

Mirror, Mirror

Freezing the picture of a scared Ruby in the mirror, a grayish brown hand placed itself onto the mirror near where she was. An excited, feminine giggle echoed throughout the room.  "Such a little gem she is. . . She'd be so fun to mess with."  Crimson eye shadow covered eyes narrowed in mischief while every detail of Ruby was taken in by them. "What have you been up to this time, Velvet? Last time you had your mirror out, you almost caused a whole city block to blow up from one of your potions." Velvet, the Doll Demon, side glanced over her shoulder to hear a glitchy voice, one you'd mostly hear on TV. Her mix of white, velvet and burgundy hair gently smacked her face as she looked back to the screen of the terrorized little girl, as if she was on pause at the moment. "Nothing in particular, Voxy. But it would seem that Princess Charlie is now adding 'babysitting service' to her hotel." Velvet replied in a bit of a gleeful tone. "What in Grim's name are you talking about?" A crazed little giggle escaped from the Doll Demon's inky black lips as she moved her body aside for the one known as Vox to see what exactly she was talking about. "See for yourself, Voxy." Blood red eyes with light blue irises, one of them in a very crooked fashion, narrowed as they took in the appearance of the child on the mirror's glass. A deep yet curious hum vibrated in the throat of Vox, his sharp, light baby blue teeth stretched out into a wicked grin, the look of what appeared to be crimson blood dripping from the corner of his mouth in the flat TV screen that was his head. "Interesting. . .Princess Charlie must be desperate if she's allowing a child into her hotel." Velvet quietly snickered at Vox's remarks before hearing the door opening and the echo of high heels bouncing off of the walls. "You two better have a good explanation as to why you're not getting your jobs done." Both Velvet and Vox turned their heads to see a shadowed figure, hot pink irises glaring at them both of them while the light from the mirror behind them reflected off of them menacingly, as if the icy cold glare was trying to turn them into a couple of frozen blocks of ice. Velvet here was just showing me a potential new target, Val."  Vox reassured, his eyes following a figure who walked in front of the mirror and adjusted his pink and gold, heart shaped rimmed glasses.  "It would appear as though your little Angel has taken a fancy to this little brat." Those hot pink irises widen for a split second before narrowing a bit. Black as night soft gloves covered four hands while the lighter colored tips disappeared into the palms. Immediately, sharp claws formed as a hot pink sleeved arm reached up to the glass and scratched against Ruby's fear printed face. The sound of nails scraping against the glass made both Vox and Velvet grimace from the horrible screeching. Once finished, the now extremely sharpened nails were blown on before a mouth full of sharp, matching pink teeth began spouting out a sentence. "I want you two to keep a close eye on this new little tag along of Angel's. She may be the key to his undoing." The bustling streets of Hell were filled with people chatting, smoking what lungs they still have after they've died, or full of people trying to pick fights with others. Quietly, light chocolate brown low heel, dress shoes walked down the sidewalk of the city. A soft little hum escaped Ruby's lips as she stopped and saw her reflection in the mirror of a TV store. She still looked the same as she did before. Nothing had really changed about her appearance or her personality. She was still. . . Ruby. Of course, the fresh memory of something in her mirror freaked her out to no end. Biting down on her lower lip and gently rubbing her small arms, Ruby continued walking. But after walking for five minutes, her body then halted completely, ceasing any movement. This section of town. . . She's never been down here before. Plus, no other souls were around to help her. Ruby whirled her body around a few times, trying to pinpoint anything that looked familiar but to no avail. She was lost. "You lost, little girlie?" A voice snickered behind her as Ruby made the mistake of looking behind her. Red flags blared off in her head as she saw a trio of troublemakers. A cream fur colored cat Demon with shiny black glasses that look like a W but if it were a crooked W without the middle. Black leather and chains surrounded the body of the feline Demon while a very big looking Billy club rested on the shoulder. Next to her, was a big, burly looking bull Demon. It's gold nose ring hanging safely from inside it's huge nostrils, a huff of angry smoke blew out through them as the body had a clean, white wife beater hugged to the chest and stomach, ripped up blue jeans and leather brown boots hugged the legs and feet. And finally, a giant, brown bear Demon glared down at the young child. It had the attire of a gang member. A red cloth covered his mouth and snout like a bandit, a comfy football jacket stretched comfortably over his fur covered, strong arms. Baggy, jersey pants hung around his legs and giant sneakers comforted his feet. Immediately, Ruby felt the urge to start running. So, she did. Taking off in a mad dash, she could hear the trio of gang members yelling and running after her. Her heart raced and her lungs cried out for more air but she didn't stop running. She couldn't. Turning down to an alleyway, Ruby paled to see that it was blocked off at the end. "Poor little princess. She ran into a dead end." Whipping her body back around, her sky baby blue eyes contracted in fear as her small body pressed to the giant brick wall, blocking her chance of escape. The shadows of the three Demons covered her body.  "Just take a breath and relax, sweetheart. This won't hurt. . .much." Immediately, Ruby slammed her eyes shut and screamed. Her small body shook in absolute fear of this being it. Her body, beaten and bloodied found the next day or after these bastards were finished whacking her. An audible grunt could be heard, followed by a loud thud. The growling and loud barking of a dog echoed in her covered ears. Ruby opened her tear covered eyes and looked up. The bear Demon had tumbled over, like a mighty oaf. Followed by that but the Cat Demon had been slammed into the wall and slid down, blood spilling from her broken lip. The bull Demon fell on top of the bear Demon, an audible grunt escaping from all three of them. "You fuckers should know better than to go and harm an innocent person." Ruby's body shook as she looked at the Demons who tried to attack her. But then, her heart beat could be heard drumming in her ears when she saw the warm, crimson pool of blood coming from the cat Demon, a clean claw wound cut into her chest. The gentle 'tip-tap' of feet and quietly yet calm panting then took the place of the drumming of Ruby's heart beat. Small droplets of crimson blood dripped onto the ground of the dirty alley way. Her eyes took in the features of her saviors. The first thing that Ruby noted was that there were two shadows. Then, her sky, light baby blue eyes traveled over to see the inky black silhouette of a dog. Standing up gently, Ruby still couldn't see who it was that saved her. "I can't believe these three tried to hurt her." A male voice, soft and gentle, scoffed while one of the shadows loomed over the trio of troublemakers, laying in pain and coughing up blood or twitching in agony. Her attackers talked big game, weapons and everything and now. . . were reduced to nothing but weak trash on the curb. Her vision started to swirl and stretch. The adrenaline in her body was starting to die down. Her body felt light and limp. Not knowing that she was about to hit her face on the dirty ground of the alleyway. A pair of strong arms broke her fall and scooped her up. Ruby could feel warmth radiating off of one of her heroes. But before she felt her eyelids droop shut, she heard a low yet soothing voice lull to her. "Not to worry about a thing, kid. You're gonna be just fine."

[cocoarosalia]

Rocking the cradle Chapter 12: Contemplation

Normally she’d be excited for things like this. Elly was having a sleepover at Alya’s house, she could finally go out on patrol, get some good air in her lungs, she should be looking forward to it.

But Mari could not bring herself to push out what happened yesterday from her mind. She was utterly dumbstruck when she found her daughter weeping into Adrien’s shirt. And when she found out what actually happened? If Elly hadn’t pleaded for her to stay close by she would’ve found the woman and strung her up by her neck with her yoyo.

Hell if she finds her tonight she still might, she’s not above using fear to get her point across.

When she finally met up with chat at the Louvre there was an odd tension surrounding him

“Lovely night for an outing don’t you think chaton?” she said, leaning over his shoulder to look down at the civilians walking by

“Not nearly as lovely as you my lady” He replied leaning back to gaze into her eyes

Something was off, that much she could tell in an instant “Alright chat, what’s got your fur all fluffed”

He was surprised by her sharp eye “What makes you say something is wrong? I’m just my usual completely composed self as is usual.”

He let out what he thought was a convincingly passive laugh but she was no fool. There was clearly something knawing at him and she would love nothing more than to talk it out but she was having too many of her own problems to really judge.

She pulled him to his feet and smiled warmly “I know there’s something eating you but there’s no point in pressing you for details. Instead, how about we take our time tonight, ok?”

He flashed his usual cheshire grin back “sounds like a plan my lady”

So true indeed the plan was to just leisurely take their time around the city but there was apparently a problem with that.

For the 3rd time that night Ladybug found herself perched on the railing across from Alya’s house.

She looked up at chat “Sorry about this Chaton, for whatever reason my body keeps bringing me back here. God only knows why.”

He peered down at her and waved a hand dismissively “No worries bugaboo, I actually know the family here so it’s good to know they’re safe for the night.”

They heard a commotion coming from inside. They readied their weapons, prepared to fight the impossible.

But what they saw looking in neither could win against.

Sophie had won yet another game against her brother and dared him to give Elly a kiss on the cheek. Too prideful for his own good he mustered up the courage to follow through. Eloise was shocked at first, she wasn’t used to this kind of wholehearted affection. Sammy had hoped she’d just shut up and take it so that they could keep playing in peace.

Oh if only he were so fortunate

Elly was now viciously determined to return the favor as she chased her bestest guy friend around the house. He tried hiding everywhere he could think of to escape her annoyingly confusing affection but she was like a pest, always where you don’t want her to be.

A video text popped up on both eavesdroppers’ phones, detailing the whole event.

“Those two seem pretty cute together don’t you think kitty?” Ladybug giggled

The look of disgust on Chat’s face was hysterical “She’s way too good for him. Her father would be furious”

“No question about that” She leapt up to the ledge beside him “Come on Alley cat, we have a lot more of the city to get to”

Chat wasn’t sure why seeing his sunshine chase Sammy around the house worked. Logically it should’ve put him in an even worse mood than before. And yet, his body felt a lot lighter, he felt himself focusing a little more. Somehow, in some way, seeing Elly chase around that little punk worked. He and his lady took a pause by the school to catch their breath and get a snack from one of the convenience stores. He was in such a good mood that he might even work up the nerve to talk about what was bothering him in the first place. 

“G-GET AWAY FROM ME!”

But apparently that would have to wait for now.

Chat raced toward the screaming voice from the rooftops. He would’ve called for ladybug but she was still in the store and there was no time to wait. Whoever was in trouble sounded desperate and out of time.

He stalked up to the alley from above to get a better look, his electric green eyes glowing. He could see three men surrounding something apparently small, couldn’t tell what it was. Sliding silently down some pipes he inched closer to find out what the assholes were terrorizing.

His rage boiled over from his discovery

“Hey don’t be like that little girl we’re only looking for a little bit of fun. It’s not like you were going anywhere important.”

“Please let me go! I have to get back home. My mama and papa are waiting for me.”

This girl didn’t look much older than Eloise. With bruises all over her skin she coward against the brick wall. One of them crouched down and got in close

“Look here squirt, that’s the third time you’ve that piss poor line. Now my buddies and I really aren’t that scary. Haven’t you ever heard that american phrase ‘Don’t judge a book by it’s cover’? Well that applies to you too!” He snaked his hand over her thigh “So why don’t we just curl up with a good book-”

Concrete met face which met Chat’s size 9 steel tipped black leather clad boot

“It’s that fucking Chat Noir freak!!” one of the thugs announced. Another attempted to rush him with a steel pipe that broke off. He ducked, grabbed the criminals arm and flipped him right onto his back. Even with a third one sneaking up to land a blow to his head Chat smoothly leaned left, grabbed his sleeve and hurtled him into a group of trash cans.

His breath was hardly labored as all three lumbered up to take another shot at him

‘Come with it fuckers. I won’t let anyone else go through pain ever again.”

*Back with lil ol Ladybug*

“Chatooon! I got our snacks!” Ladybug called out “I even found these neat catnip ones, figured i’d teach you a few tricks!” all she received was nothing but the sound of running cars.

“Where’d he go? I thought I told him to stay”

The sound of painful grunts and thrown bodies coming from close by suddenly caught her attention. She groaned and ran to check it out.

“That better not be him” She grumbled “See, This is why we need the treats”

The scene was straight out of a horror flick

The young girl was fine but the guys that were harassing her...less so. The shorter, fat one was crumpled into in a heaving bloodied mess, his face quite acquainted with the brick wall. Another, pinned violently to the ground by Chat’s staff going through his shirt.

The last molester only prays that he were in their positions

“Fuck man let me go!” It was surprising that the man could even talk considering chat’s gloved hand was firmly surrounding his throat. By now the hero’s breath was shallow from exertion but it was like he had no off switch. This man had to pay for what he did and chat was so close. He could almost feel his claws touch.

‘Just a little tighter’ The voice in his head cooed ‘Or maybe just use a cataclysm, that would end it so quickly.’

A flash of red and black wrapped around his waist as Chat was yanked backwards by his lady’s yoyo. The man fell to the cold ground, swallowing desperately for air.

“Chat what the hell!?” Ladybug scolded “Did you even try to restrain yourself? These are civilians you maniac.”

He pulled hard against the restraints and clenched his fist “Civilians are human ladybug, these are worthless pests that tried to hurt someone who they thought was weak and defenseless”

A sigh passed through her lips “Be that as it may how do you think it’ll look when she sees you grinding these dudes into the pavement”

He froze in place. That hadn’t occurred to him during the fight. He cautiously looked over at her. There was no trace of fear in her eyes. But what was lurking behind those eyes hit him harder than any akuma.

Pity

As if all at once he was rushed with guilt. Even if these guys were the scum of the earth, bringing them to the brink of death would solve nothing. Why even bother?

“What’s wrong ya pussy?” A wheezing voice taunted “You really need some freak bitch like her to tell you what to do? You must be into some really freaky shit huh?”

Chat lurched forward only to be pulled back again “You keep talking jackass and I’m gonna forget just how much energy it takes to hold him back” Ladybug advised coldly

Adrien’s head was ringing too loud with too many thoughts. He had to escape. If he doesn’t...who knows who else he might harm.

Ladybug stumbled back when she felt the string snap. Without even a single clue on where he was going chat leapt up to the roof and sped off to wherever.

“Shit that’s not good” she sighed. Ladybug looked around the disaster and noticed all that chat left behind “Fuck that’s no better”

She was gonna get him back for all this but for the time being she had to play clean up crew (not that different from home actually)

The wind made his ears tingle as he leaned against the eiffel tower 

Why did he go and beat those guys to a bloody mess? What about those assholes made it so easy for him to consider actual murder? It didn’t make any sense. He could’ve just scared them off and that would be the end of it.

His chest felt so tight. He knew perfectly well why. He just hoped that he wouldn’t have to admit it to himself.

‘She looked just like her’ he buried his head in his knees ‘Alone and afraid. Like she’s been through this pain before.’

Even as he looked over the glittering lights all he only saw the darkness in between them. How ironic. He’d always felt comfort in the shadows. It was somewhere to hide when the light began to overtake him. But now? Now it was like they were creeping in on him. Waiting for that perfect moment where he’d sink just low enough for them to drag him beyond any savior’s reach

Until a voice rang out to him

“I knew I’d find you sulking out here” Ladybug said expectantly.

Chat refused to even face her right now “I ran away to be alone you know”

“I do know but I don’t care. I’m not asking you to pour your heart out to me.” She knew he was feeling alone right now. So, even if he didn’t speak she didn’t mind just being another body beside him, filling the space.

They sat for a while in silence with nothing but 6 inches of space between them. He thought she’d read the air and leave. He truly did not want to have this conversation. He didn’t wanna face those dark thoughts all by himself.

*bzzt*

The buzzing of ladybug’s phone jolted him out of his funk. She quickly apologized and opened the message.

He could see her face contort into different expression. Confusion, laughter and even disgust at one point.

Chat felt so ignored ‘Uh, Hello?’ he fussed silently ‘I’m having a real inner turmoil over here! Questioning my legitimacy as a hero? ANYTHING!?’

Ladybug was straight up enthralled with whatever she was watching

‘I’m having an existential crisis...and she’s chuckling it up over a text...the fuck’

He craned his neck far to get a peek at this apparently quality content. She quickly caught onto his snooping and pressed her phone against her chest. He figured that would be the end of it and sighed in disappointment

‘Well at least maybe now she can-’

“Chat”

His tail straightened fully to attention “Y-yes my lady!”

Ladybug suddenly scooted up real close to him. His hairs stood on end in anticipation

“You wanted to know why you fought those dudes right? What you were doing it for?”

He nodded mechanically

She played the video displayed on her phone “If I had to guess. You did it for kids like her”

It was a video of Elly all dressed up for bed. She wore the cutest ‘I only wake up for breakfast” pajamas and clutched a stuffed black cat that he’d bought her.

“Alright Elly, how was your first sleepover?” Alya said

Eloise took a deep breath

“I had a super duper fun time! I got to listen to Uncle Nino’s music and dance with Sophie. We played lots of really fun games and I even got to talk about my favorite superhero Ladybug!”

“Is Ladybug your only favorite hero?”

Her face looked like it she had committed the greatest crime known to man

“Oh no, not at all!” Elly thrust the stuffed doll into the camera “I also really, really, REALLY love Chat Noir too! I think he’s really funny like my daddy!”

Chat’s face was turning redder than Ladybug’s suit he was so embarrassed by all the sweet compliments.

“Speaking of him, Wanna say goodnight honeybun?”

You could see Elly’s honey-gold pigtails bounce around wildly as she nodded her head

“So, I know that you’re probably out doing really cool adulty stuff but just make sure you go to bed at some point. Especially you mama! You look like an old lady when you wake up in the morning”

He snorted to suppress his laughter but didn’t notice Ladybug’s look of utter disgust that her daughter would oust her like that

“Anyway, I’m excited to see you tomorrow! Nighty night mama and papa, I love you!”

The screen went black as the video ended. She could see in the dim reflection Chat’s face turned up in a bashful smile. He leaned on her shoulder, his tail lazily yet happily swaying back and forth.

She was first to speak “Being a hero is a lot like being a parent. You work late hours because you spend all day enjoying your kid. Sometimes you have to handle massive temper tantrums and often there’s not a word of thanks for any of it.”

She stood up and look over all the peaceful people walking by

“But, If I know that there are kids like her out there who get to be as happy and safe as she is right now. Then I think that’s thanks enough, don’t you think mon minou?”

The tightness in his heart felt unbearable but it wasn’t from shame or guilt anymore. It was from pride.

This is what he was meant to be. A knight serving valiantly by his Lady’s side. Forever protecting the smiles of those who can’t.

He reached out for her hand…

But was immediately repelled by his own staff in his face

“Nice try you stray!  But I still haven’t forgiven you for ditching me when you threw your kitty hissyfit!”

He could barely speak because she was pressing it so hard into his cheek

“B-but bugaboo I was so conflicted in my emotions! I had to leave to protect you and those around me”

“Emotions my ass. Who had to be the one to yank your staff out of guy’s shirt, comfort a group of sniveling assholes that you weren’t going to kill them, and then ON TOP OF THAT, escort that little girl all the way home? Her parents insisted that I take all these sweets”

She took notice that his ears twitched at the sound of sweets ‘God he has a sweet tooth’

“I truly am sorry my lady, I’ll never do it again. What can I do to make it up to you?” He professed “andpotentiallygetoneofthosepastries” He finished much quicker.

“Hmm I wonder” she hummed passively. She took chat’s weapon from his face and crouched down to his face

“You know you’ve been a very bad kitty tonight, don’t you?” Her voice felt like it was drenched in seduction. His mind flashed back to the night he and his had that flirty chat session. He swallowed hard and nodded slowly.

“Very good. Now then, I think it’s time for you to learn a few tricks, don’t you?”

‘I have no idea where she’s going with this…but I’m gonna be the best pet she’s ever had’

She held out his staff, holding his gaze the whole time “Our first trick for the night, mon minou?”

He held his breath in anticipation…

“Fetch” She tossed his staff right down the tower

“…….what?”

“You have three minutes to retrieve the stick and bring it back to me, In your teeth of course. Succeed and you can have a treat. Fail?... I string you up by your tail till morning, secret identity be damned.”

Only unintelligible sounds came from his lips

“Aaaand start!” She exclaimed cheerily

Adrien had to skip morning classes the next day from how bad his body ached

“Mothy! You’re home!” Hawkmoth was starting to grow real annoyed with his newest akuma. He’d never had someone actually want to be akumatized before, so he took the risk and accepted her deal.

Had he known part of the deal would be her laying up on his couch all hours of the day, smoking on her 5th pack of cigarettes and constantly being just a general nuisance, he would’ve left her at that decaying apartment building they met up at.

“Have you captured the miraculous?” he responded coldly

Noemie let out an exasperated sigh. She peeled herself off the chic modern couch and swung her arms around his neck, pressing her mature body onto his “oh mothy, you worry far too much. These things take time, like our solid relationship”

“The only thing solid is that door that you will soon be on the other side of. Get my miraculous or leave my sight. I took you in on the chance that you might be worth my time. I would highly suggest that you don’t make me regret it.”

Noemie got off him and returned his icy stare with her

own “Pop quiz Hawky dear”

He raised his eyebrow in annoyed curiosity “What do all living things crave more than anything in the world?”

She didn’t give him the chance to answer “The answer is light. Take someone’s light and they kneel faster than a dollar store hooker”

The sound of heels striking tile rang loud in the open air “Next question, can I still obtain those miraculous however I see fit?”

“Hand them to me with the slightest imperfection and I snap your neck”

“Ooo talk dirtier to me daddy” she retorted

He turned and strode out the door, slamming it behind him “Hmph, can’t take a joke, can he?”

Getting comfortable again on the couch she switched on her phone to an image of Adrien, Marinette and little Eloise walking happily toward the bakery.

“Won’t be long now Elly. Hope you’ve been a good girl for mommy.

[ascendingexotitan]

The Strikers’ Bold

inspired and proofread by @maunderfiend

“Are you sure this is the place?” Banner-1 muttered, his eyes flicking off to the side as he kept a close quarter with his companion for this ‘mission’. His hands in his jacket’s pocket and the breeze licking at his synthetic fur-lining, it wasn’t often he came to the western sector of the City. Its reputation is known as the more dangerous spot, not because of some wayward gangs fighting at the constant struggling; nor the malfested who survive the blight of fear to the Fallen that occasionally dwelled at the nearby mountain, but because of the shadowy pickets and devious actions done in light of the City’s struggles - despite all that the Guardians do.

A hand grasped the brown-painted Exo’s shoulders with a clawed thumb brushed once on the fur, provoking an instinctive jerk and glance at Typhon-5 who looked down at him - or rather, his visored face aimed in his direction. How did that thing work anyways? The war-torn titan never gave him an answer. While Banner was one of the smaller Exos around, Typhon was a big model. He was refined to look similar to everyone else, but under that paintjob, plating and very fine synth-muscles was a war machine. The civilian clothes fit him well too. The tight black muscle shirt gripping his pectorals, covered by a duster coat and satchel holding their trade. Prompt legs were wrapped in tested pants and iron-toed boots. Funnily, he couldn’t resist the urge of putting ancient Egyptian motif on those boots.

In the observation of the old Exo’s get up and the wait for him to say something, they stood at the start of an alley hissing with steam from the nearby munition factory that helped with the war effort.

Finally a minute in - probably one of his neural glitches again - Typhon spoke with his gentle yet gravelly dark voice, “I wouldn’t be dragging you here otherwise.” He stated, then he casually graced Banner’s shoulders and patted his back. “Just remember what I said.”

Keep the sensors up. Why, the enigmatic robot never said that either!

With that, the two stepped through the steam and darkness. Unlike Humans, Exo had the benefit of upgrades and combat-appropriate systems, including optimal optics to see through the dark when fighting through the warrens of Fallen caverns and the Hive’s wretched tunnels. Banner’s optics were quickly adjusting, pupils widening a little in their twisting emerald irises. Systems immediately checking for any surprises or dwelling dangers.

In this two-man wide passageway, it made a good ambush spot, and…

A limb wraps around his right elbow with a little squeeze.

“Hm?” Banner questioned, looking down at it. It was Typhon. His big arm locked to his, holding the other close. He looked questioningly, but the visored exo didn’t provide an answer. The mech was always uncharacteristically touchy, ever since they met at the Crucible in a game of Clash. The almost pinpoint memory caused a flare of heat in the metallic cheeks, replacing his anxiety with a fluster. Decidedly he held on to Typhon in return, giving him a gentle pat to his big bicep.

The walk seemed to stretch forever, the sound of their boots being the only noise outside of industrial movements. The afternoon was dark today with the sun pushing the ever-resting shadow of the Traveler over their heads now. The lights of flaring forges and running energy was their only actual illumination. In actuality, by their system’s City Standard Time, it was six minutes. Banner didn’t even notice they were going through a near labyrinth till they stepped out into a small courtyard in the back of one of the Monarch factories.

Piles of crates and storage units were placed here and there, but there was certain dreariness that kept the Exo on edge.

“Spooky.” He acknowledged, provoking a little sound of amusement from his companion before the gruff voice replied, “Don’t worry, this won’t last long.” Suddenly, the big mech grabbed his partner by his belt loop and pulled him into a rough kiss. It was unexpected, why’d he drag Banner all the way out here for some mischief while on their mission!?

Despite the complaining, Banner gripped at Typhon’s jacket as he was dipped slightly. There was grumbling but each soft metallic smack and a grunt from a fanged nibble on his bottom lip muffled it, servos shuddering at the aggressive little growl that the older titan tended to make in these affectionate movements. It was like trying to pet a back alley dog, you just didn’t know if they were going to lunge. As quick as it came, the kiss broke by mere inches with that snarking grin from the red Exo. Banner was about to question when his audio receptors caught something.

Quickly, the two looked over to see a guy landing against a crate. A figure stood there, dressed in dirty work-clothes with a bent crowbar in hand, tapping the surface. Their face was obscured under a filter-mask, meant to fight off the constant smog in the factory and actually breath. “Hey now, don’t stop on my account. Not often we see a bot get dirty!” He spoke with a muffled tone, followed by a nonchalant shrug. Despite the welcoming posture and voice, the malice was there.

Seven others appeared from the smog; several humans - three males, two females - and two Awoken males followed suit. Most were like the first, dressed like workers and the other two wore guard uniforms. They were scruffy, ill-prepared guards armed with standard-issue rifles.

Typhon smoothly pulled Banner upright and let him go. With a hand placed on the small of his back, he gave a subtle, single nod.

“Yeah. We get nice and dirty, that’s what we are good at,” he answered, head moving slowly. Calculating with his body, he edged to an angle. “You must be the gang dismantling the Frame units posted here?” The gangster rolled his shoulder again, causing Typhon to tick his claw. “Guilty as charged, Exo. We got a few of your kind too, took enough pieces. Not enough to have you ‘revived’, yeah?”

While Typhon had the majority of attention, Banner had his own look. A slight sneer, hard to see in the dark quarters. These part-stealing scum were the objective. Since the City Guard couldn’t risk upsetting the civilians here into a small revolt of agitated rights and give the gangs more fuel to their upstarting, they sent two of their own to take care of it quietly. So here they were, two Guardians against six. There were probably more somewhere, but immediate problems first.

“They must have been new. Disgusting.” Typhon snarled, the darkness shrouded the quivering outline dancing his body but his partner could feel it. The gathering ions of Arc energy surged through him. “We’ll fix that.”

Immediately taking that in consideration, the two ‘guards’ snapped their weapons up to take the two down while they were open. However, the Exo were much quicker. The puffs of leg pistons sent the pair in their intended directions. Banner crashed his way through one of the women and bashed his armored head against one of the Awoken’s face with a loud crunch. Typhon was on the kill like a prowling cat. Bullets were flying at his direction but the big Exo angled his body in a way that caught the gang’s speaker into a savage rend of claws across the chest from the right side and up to the left shoulder. One iron vice caught the man’s collarbone, heaving him up the moment his boots pushed off the crate and taking the person with him.

Catching the edge of the top crate,his weight lessened for a brief moment with arc energy pushing through him. Typhon bounced and came back down, using the screaming man’s body as an adequate meat shield to streak across the courtyard again before using him as a living javelin. He tossed the man with one swift movement, sending him onto members who made an attempt at rushing him.

Banner wasn’t nearly as acrobatic. Each movement was a precise and fierce blow. Leaving the Awoken reeling with a crushed nose and upper jaw, the small Exo caught an extended electric-baton by its wielder’s wrist and finely snapped it to the side at the small motion of kicking another’s plasma torch in the air with the cost of some broken fingers.  With a sick drop, his heel popped the other arm from its socket and a free fist gave one straight punch to the ribs.

One swift crunch, shattering ribs beneath his fist.

Screams became yawns of struggling pain, but Banner drowned it as he hurled the crumbling human into his dangling-armed friend single-handedly.  Squinting at the count in his head, his body snapped into action with hands lifting in front of the guards. He just barely stopped a full automatic barrage with an output of Arc, the crackling energy popping the heated projectiles into harmless spits of metal by the time they pelted his body.

The show of power had the woman agape in shock, obviously they hadn’t handled Guardians that were ready for them. Her eyes flicked at the other Exo holding one of her fellows by arm, twisting him one way and another with ruthless yanks as he was trying to pull it out before hammering a blurring fist into a knee and right behind the ribs. Immediate crippling.

“Fuck this.” She spat, turning tail and running in the same direction that the last Awoken in the group was heading for. However, Banner wasn’t letting that happen. His eyes burned and veins boiled with the weaponizing of his inner light. Hands opening, feeling the focus reconnecting and suddenly crackle into fists of righteous electricity.

“You’re not going anywhere!” His electronic-jittered voice roared and when one made the mistake of looking back, they saw a Striker pouncing with his Fists of Havoc primed. Stories were well told about that, the videos of the Crucible showed them...and they knew - no one but the most heavily-armored survived a Striker and his Fists of Havoc.

*** Banner stood over the spot where they once were; Where there had been two people - criminals under the law and practical murderers and torturers of his kind - there was now just atomized remains. His hands clenched and relaxed, feeling something akin to phantom tensions. His robotic mind was trying to comprehend, but something told him to ease. They were bad, they had go. Prison and exile wouldn’t have helped...would it?

He was staring, warily. Killing was easy, yeah - after fighting hordes of aliens and robotic menaces for as long as he did - it was as simple as stepping on a bug. Humans were strange; one would think every form of life would unite against their frontiers of enemies, but Humanity had an odd penchant to do dumb things. Perhaps, that is part of their programming too.

This time, Banner was aware of his surroundings and he felt Typhon behind him. That familiar speck of Light wrapped in some form of anomaly. The larger Exo walked next to him and looked at the spot as well. “Targets neutralized. We got ‘em. Ka’s digging into their communications now…” He reported. “The Vanguards asking for us to come back.”

Banner was still quiet for a moment.

“I know it isn’t easy.” Typhon inputted, his voice managing to be gentle and sympathetic despite its deep, gritty tone. “Killing the Humans aren’t the easiest feeling, make you feel like uhm...those ancient warning vids about A.I. rebellions, hm?” The brown Exo quirked his lips at that and couldn’t help but grin at the other. “You are terrible at this.”

“Being sympathetic is hard, don’t know how you youngsters do it.” The older Titan quipped with a huff.

Moving slowly, Banner wrapped his arms around the larger mech, “maybe you should just stick with one of these.”

It took a couple seconds before strong arms wrapped around the smaller Titan with a short squeeze. “Yeah. Also, um...thanks.”

“For what?” Banner spoke, muffled against Typhon’s chest.

“For helping.”

“You are so vague.” He spoke, answered by a teasing chuckle. “Can’t spill all of my beans, as they say.”

“Old mech.”

“Pup.”

[nightangel0402]

A/N I love Japanese mythical creatures, especially kitsunes. I also love the idea of chiaki taking care of a scary izuru dog. For those who don’t know an inugami is a demonic dog that is very dangerous and hard to control. Kitsunes are foxes that can transform and love to trick people. The Bakeneko is a cat with two tails that tends to eat humans and bewitch their masters.

…

Having pets is very difficult, especially when they’re an inugami, Bakeneko, and kitsune.

Chiaki woke up, like everyday, with her blankets ripped off her bed and her calico two tailed cat pawing her face.

“Feed me” junko meowed

Chiaki knew resistance was futile, so she rose from her bed. Junko grew impatient as she watched her owner slowly wake up.

“Hurry up” junko mrowled as her tails swished back and forth .

Chiaki, taking notice of her impatient cat, scooped junko up into her arms. Junko always loved it when chiaki gave her attention.

“Alright let’s get you fed” chiaki said as she petted junko behind the ear.

…

In the kitchen, chiakis breakfast was already prepared and sitting on the table. Chiaki was tempted to eat her breakfast first, but she knew junko would get catty if she wasn’t fed. So chiaki poured some cat food in junkos bowl and put it on the table. Junko happily devoured her cat food allowing chiaki to grab a bite of breakfast. Of course, chiaki still had two pets to take care of.

“Izuru, nagito” chiaki called.

Instantly a fluffy white fox ran up to chiaki with his bushy tail wagging. Following the fox, was a big black dog with long fur and ears. Seeing her two little canines, chiaki smiled and put their collars on.

…

Outside, chiaki was happy to walk her pets. Nagito was super happy to be next to his love, meanwhile izuru was less enthusiastic. For a while the three walked in peace until someone started flirting with chiaki.

“Hey there cutie are these fur balls yours?” The random guy asked.

Izuru could sense, the strangers intentions and decided to give him a warning.

Izuru growled only for nagito to be one step ahead of him.

“So if you want-what?” The guy said as the fox peed on him.

“Oh I’m so sorry” chiaki apologized,“ he’s usually so well behaved”

“The hell he his” the guy shouted making Izuru act.

All it took was one bark from an already scary looking dog to scare the stranger away. Chiaki looked down at Izuru and nagito before smiling.

“Thank you for protecting me” chiaki said after kneeling down and petting her pets on the head.

Izuru held a mostly solemn face though his tail was wagging a bit. Nagito on the other paw was extremely happy to be petted by his master as shown by his frantic wagging.

…

Back at the apartment, chiaki fed Izuru and nagito before eating her own breakfast. Nagito savored every bite while Izuru simply took a few big bites.

“Well I need to go now” chiaki said as she finished the last of her breakfast.

She gave junko a scratch behind the ear before grabbing her backpack. When she put her shoes on, nagito and Izuru came to see her off. Izuru nudged his nose into chiaki. When chiaki turned around she noticed Izuru holding her lunch in his mouth.

“Oh thank you Izuru” chiaki smiled.

She took the lunch and petted the side of Izurus face. After that she petted nagito under the chin.

“I’ll see you three later” chiaki said before leaving.

Once the door was closed, nagito proceeded to transform into his human form, though he still had his fox ears and tail.

“Looks like I’ll have to start cleaning” nagito said with a smile.

Junko watched from the kitchen chair before transforming into her human form, with ears and her two tails.

“You’re such a house wife” junko mocked.

“It’s the least I can do for my savior” nagito smiled

“Hey aren’t you going to transform, izuru?” Junko asked

“No, I prefer to sleep in this form” Izuru said as he walked to chiakis bedroom,“ do not force me to wake up”.

“Trust me, I won’t escape” junko said with her tails crossed.

“I’ll keep an eye on her” nagito said.

Izuru brushed off the two and entered chiakis room. There he leaped into chiakis bed and curled up. He sniffed the bed and was soothed by the overflowing scent of chiaki. When ever Izuru fell asleep like this he was reminded of the day he met chiaki.

…

It was night an Izuru was hunting for human prey. He had already devoured the people who made him an inugami and had no concern for anyone else. That is until he tried to attack chiaki. Chiaki, who had been walking alone that night, froze a bit until she recognized Izuru. Once Izuru came in close contact with chiakis scent he realized he had met chiaki before as memories of his past life flooded back to him;

(Back then Izuru was still a normal dog named Hajime. Hajime was just a normal run of the mill mutt with no home. In all his life, no one showed Hajime a single shred of kindness. Everyone that is except chiaki who found him and showed him so much love. Hajime would’ve stayed with her forever, had he not been dognapped and used to create an inugami)

Now chiaki had reunited with her lost friend in a way. When Izuru tried to attack he realized he couldn’t for some reason. Then chiaki hugged the savage inugami making his heart skip a beat. From that night onward, Izuru vowed to stay with chiaki forever because she was the only one that could make him feel anything.

…

In the kitchen, junko cooked herself some fish. She felt so bored after always staying inside the apartment. Granted if she did go out she would cause a lot of trouble for chiaki. After all part of being a bakeneko is messing with people and eating them. Still, junko would gladly wait here for a thousand years just for a chance to devour her beloved master. Just thinking about chiaki reminded junko of when she met her.

…

(After junko faked her death by using her sisters body, she expected the villagers wouldn’t find her. They never found her but animal control did. Once the animal control officers discovered junkos two tails they were ready to kill her. Fortunately, a certain girl intervened and protected junko. Since that day junko vowed she would kill chiaki with her own claws. Unfortunately this was after chiaki had taken in Izuru, who would never let junko kill chiaki.)

…

Outside on the balcony, nagito was hanging chiakis wet clothes. Out of nowhere, it started raining.

“Ahh I have such rotten luck” nagito said with his fox ears drooped.

As he collected the soaked clothes, nagito recalled his meeting with chiaki:

…

Ever since the moment of his birth, nagito was cursed with the gift of luck. His family rejected him after learning of his luck and forced him to fend for himself. For a while he was alone until a boy took him in. However the boy eventually died due to nagitos luck. Enraged by his sons death, the father of the boy attempted to kill nagito. The father tossed the fox into a box and then into the garbage. For a while, nagito waited in the box. He was filled with so much guilt that he just accepted his death. Of course, nagitos luck had other plans. Through a series of miraculous events, nagitos box ended up in an alley way. While nagito could have left his box, he refused to leave his box. Now he was ready to die for all the calamities he caused.

Days passed until, one rainy day, someone stumbled upon nagitos box. The girl looked inside to find a fox that was nearly starved to death. Without a second of hesitation, the girl picked up nagito and cradled him in her arms. Weakly, nagito tried to raise his head to see the girls face. Instantly he was met with the face of a smiling angel, at least his malnourished mind thought she was an angel. Then nagito succumbed to his hunger and passed out.

When nagito woke up he was lying in an apartment building and had Ivs in his legs. Then nagito saw his savior sleeping beside him. Apparently, she stayed awake with him till she fell asleep. When she woke up and noticed nagito, she delicately petted his skinny belly.

The following days, chiaki helped nagito recover. During this time, nagito grew enamored by chiakis hope filled nature. Nagito decided he would stay with chiaki and become her servant in exchange for her saving his life.

…

Finally, at five o'clock, chiaki returned from school. Nagito happily revealed his belly to her in hopes she would scratch it. Junko would’ve rushed over to greet chiaki but she got tangled in a ball of yarn. Izuru just laid on the couch knowing chiaki would greet him.

“I’m sorry I’m late” chiaki said as she petted nagitos belly,“ oh junko you got tangled in yarn again.

After chiaki freed junko from her woolly restraints, chiaki started her homework on the couch. Junko was never a fan of homework, so she relished in lying on chiakis books. Izuru refused to let Junko distract chiaki, so he used his secret weapon. Junko happily laid across chiakis chemistry book until she noticed a glowing red dot near her paw. Instantly, junkos eyes were fully focused on the red dot. When the red dot moved Junko followed.

“You can’t escape the marvelous Junko” Junko meowed before running face first into a wall.

Once chiaki finished her homework she fed Junko and walked the other two. When she came back from the walk she fed nagito and Izuru.

…

Later chiaki played a bit with Junko. Junko loved swatting her toy and chiaki loved watching. Then when Junko noticed Izuru and nagito weren’t paying attention, she turned into her human form.

“Have I ever told you how PURRfect you are?” Junko said with lust in her eyes.

“Aww Junko that’s so sweet of you” chiaki smiled.

Then Junko gave chiaki a little lick on the cheek. This caused chiaki to blush bright red.

“Why didn’t you do that as a cat?” Chiaki asked still flustered

“It wouldn’t be as fun” Junko snickered.

…

Once dinner was ready chiaki was gaming away on the couch. Nagito noticed so he grabbed a plate of food and chopsticks. As chiaki gamed, nagito fed her through the chopsticks. Every loading screen nagito offered chiaki food that she ate.

…

Once chiaki reached the 100th floor in her game, she saved and shut down the system. Then she tuned into a live video game competition on her laptop. As she watched, Izuru and nagito each laid on one side of chiaki. Izuru rested his head on chiakis lap while nagito watched the program. Junko happily watched the program while laying on top of the couch. Through out the program, chiaki transitioned between petting nagito, Izuru, and Junko.

…

Eventually chiaki fell asleep signaling Izuru to turn into his human form. He turned off the laptop before picking up chiaki and taking her back to her bed. Junko and nagito followed, while still in their beast forms. Once Izuru tucked chiaki into bed, he turned back into his dog form and curled up beside her. Junko and nagito soon followed in entering the bed and each found a spot to curl up. Once everyone was comfy, they all fell asleep.

Sure taking care of her pets was difficult, but in exchange chiakis furry companions took care of her.

[siderealscribblings]

The Ladynoir Diaries (for insanitysbloomings)

Sliding a letter opener under the lip of the bulky yellow envelope, Alya tentatively pried the parcel open as though it was a bomb…which for all she knew, it might have been.

 She didn’t quite know what to make of the parcel labeled Exclusive Ladyblog Content that she found waiting for her in the mailbox when she got home from school. Her cautious side warned her that this could be a trap set by one of the many (lower quality) Ladybug and Chat Noir fan blogs that had cropped up as the Ladyblog got more and more popular. On the other hand, Alya couldn’t exactly keep the blog going herself. The Ladyblog was a one woman production, and if Alya wanted to keep it the leading source of all Ladybug info, she had to take whatever help she could get.

 Still…didn’t hurt to be careful.

 After making reasonably sure the package didn’t contain any shifty wires, oil stains, or anthrax, she tipped the contents onto her desk with a raised eyebrow. A small, black flash drive slid across her workstation, followed by a small slip of paper. In neat, flowy cursive that seemed irritatingly familiar, the note read simply: For Our Biggest Fan~

 Heart pounding, she fumbled as she tried to jam the flash drive into her laptop as quickly as possible. She bounced up and down in her seat as she opened the folder titled January, fingers trembling as she clicked on the first video simply labeled Hello!

 She nearly had a heart attack as Ladybug’s smiling face filled the screen.

 “Hi there!” Ladybug said, scratching the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. “I know this is probably a surprise, but hopefully it’s a good one?”

 Ladybug was standing on a rooftop overlooking a park, pacing as she talked into the camera. “I…well we wanted to put together something to thank you for all the stellar work you’ve done on the Ladyblog. We figured out Chat’s communicator could take videos—probably to record evidence or something—so, naturally, we decided to start shooting a few patrols; one a month for the past year.”

 Alya’s heart was in her throat as Ladybug bit her lip, looking away with a small laugh, before turning back to the lens. “We, uh…we got more than we thought we would and wanted to share some of it with you…so, hope you enjoy?”

 Ladybug did a little finger wave at the camera, before the feed cut off, leaving Alya staring at a series of folders, each dated and organized so she could easily thumb through at her leisure. She had a pile of homework to do, a test to study for, and sisters to mind. But she supposed clicking on one video couldn’t hurt.

 Just one…for now.

 January 13—First Patrol!

 A shaky camera lens panned over the streets of Paris, focusing in and out as the user tried to get a hold of it.

 “Is it on?” Ladybug’s voice asked from offscreen.

 “I don’t know; I just figured out my comm could do this,” Chat Noir’s voice said as the camera flipped around and the frame was occupied by Chat’s enormous, blinking green eyes. “There’s a little light on, does that mean it’s on?”

“You’re asking me how your staff-camera works?” Ladybug snorted as the camera panned around, focusing on her perched on top of a shed on the roof. “Let’s just go.”

 “Wait, let me see if I can turn it around,” Chat’s voice said.

 “You seriously think your camera has selfie-stick mo-” Ladybug trailed off as the camera flipped around, and extended out as Chat angled the camera towards himself.

 “Of course it does; it’s your camera,” Ladybug snorted, scooting over as Chat hopped up onto the roof with her.

 “Why would my communicator have a camera that didn’t let me snap partner selfies?” Chat Noir asked, leaning back so he could capture both of them in the same frame. “I don’t know how many gigs a magical communication device has so you might want to make this quick.”

 “Right,” Ladybug said, leaning back and smiling up at the camera. “Uh…hello Ladybug-”

 “And Chat Noir,” Chat added.

 “-fans,” Ladybug said, barreling on with a small wave. “Guess who’s joining the social media world?”

 “More than we already have,” Chat Noir said with a wink. “Since we can’t exactly share our Facebook pages, we’re doing the next best thing—“

 “The next?”

 “—and sharing our professional lives through our good friend at the Ladyblog,” Chat said, shooting a fingergun at the screen. “Love ya.”

 “There’s been rumors that we’ve given the Ladyblog preferential treatment over blogs like Bug-oise,” Ladybug said, attempting not to wrinkle her nose at the mention of Chloe’s blog’s name.

 “So we’re absolutely, one hundred percent confirming them,” Chat snickered. “Keep it tuned to the Ladyblog for more exclusive Cat and Bug footage!”

 “Bug and…you know what, I’m gonna let you have that one,” Ladybug sighed, flopping back against the roof as Chat fiddled with the communicator.

 “Not bad for a first vid,” Chat said, squinting at his device as he tried to turn it off.

 “Not bad at all,” Ladybug said. “You’re a natural salesman.”

 “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

 “I’ll let you know,” Ladybug laughed as the screen went dark.  

  February 17—Parkour!

 “Is it on?” Ladybug asked, perched on the edge of the roof as the sun set behind the camera.

 “Yeah, yeah,” Chat said, stepping over to the edge to glance down to the street below. From the angle of the camera, it was clear that they were perched atop Le Grand Paris, no doubt a floor above the penthouse apartment Chloe shared with her father.

 “Alright, make sure you catch it this time!” Ladybug said, jabbing an accusatory finger towards the camera. “Don’t ‘forget’ to record me beating you this time.”

 “Hey, I’m still learning how to use this,” Chat said as Ladybug tugged the camera towards her face.

 “Let the record show that I kicked Chat’s thinly clad butt in the last game of Parkour Horse we played last Saturday on patrol,” Ladybug said, sticking her tongue out at the camera. “So, ha.”

 “Let the record show that there is no record of alleged butt-kicking,” Chat’s voice said, flipping the camera around to face himself. “But let the record also show that Ladybug has been thinking about my thinly clad butt, so, ha.”

 “Just call it,” Ladybug said, yo-yo snapping out past Chat’s ear as Chat turned his attention back to the street below.

 “Alright, alright…yeesh,” Chat said, camera bouncing back and forth between a couple of spots on the street before landing on the rooftop opposite Le Grand Paris. “Okay…moving van, lamppost, tree, opposite roof.”  

 “That’s it?” Ladybug scoffed, twirling her yo-yo. “I thought this was supposed to be a challenge.”

 “You want to do it yo-yo-less?”

 “Oh no,” Ladybug said. “We’re not playing the no weapons game again, Mr. I-Can-Leap-Forty-Feet-Vertically.”

 “Forty-four and a half,” Chat said proudly. “Checked the height of that apartment complex last night.”

 “Radical,” Ladybug said flatly, leaning forward off the edge of the building. “Make sure you catch this.”

 Ladybug pitched forward into a tight roll, tumbling through the open air and landing with a loud clang on the roof of the moving van. She kicked off, leaping onto a nearby lamppost and lassoing the tree in the middle of the crosswalk. The tree bent, sending a shower of leaves falling on a crowd of awed spectators, as Ladybug shot herself up like a slingshot, turning a few times in midair and landing on the rooftop. The camera caught her steadying herself with a short stutter step, before turning and holding her arms up in a V.

 “And she sticks the landing,” Chat said, quietly imitating an Olympic gymnastics commentator. “Excellent effort from Miss Bug, but we’ll have to see what the judges say…think fast!”

 The scene blurred as the camera rocketed over the street, coming to a sudden halt as Ladybug reached a hand out and caught it, swinging it around to focus on Chat across the street. With a wave, he dropped into a steep dive, zooming past Chloe as she stuck her head out of a window much to Ladybug’s amusement.

 “Show off,” Ladybug tsked behind the camera as Chat did a handspring off the moving van, pirouetting and landing with a crouch on top of the lamppost. From there, he flipped off, waving to the crowd as he sailed up onto the tree.

 “Oh no, someone call the fire department; my cat is stuck in a tree,” Ladybug said, laughing at her own joke. “…we can probably just…edit that out, right?”

 Chat used his momentum to shoot himself off the tree, twisting in the air as he sailed up, up, up, high over the camera, and-

 “Oops,” Ladybug giggled as Chat Noir sailed over the building and fell straight down into an alley with a loud crash. The camera shook as Ladybug ran over to the edge, peering down into the alley as Chat struggled to extract himself from a pile of empty cardboard boxes. “I believe that’s an H for you, right kitty?”

 “Does flair count for nothing anymore?” Chat Noir called up, clawing his way out of a roll of bubble wrap.

 “Not when you don’t stick it,” Ladybug called back, snickering as a shower of cardboard shreds obscured Chat from view.

 “I don’t suppose I could convince you to delete this one?” Chat asked.

 “Oh no,” Ladybug cackled over the faint sound of roof tile cracking.  “This one is going straight to the Ladyb­l­—aaaaaaaaaaah!”

 The camera fell onto a fire escape, rolling over to catch Ladybug falling onto Chat as he slowly got back on his feet. The pair punched a hole in the cardboard, disappearing in a tangle of black and red limbs.

 “Okay,” Ladybug’s voice came from her cardboard prison. “Let’s scrap this one.”

 March 24—Advice

 The scene started in total darkness, with only the sound of distant traffic and muffled footsteps being picked up by the camera.

 “I still don’t get why you don’t just tell him,” Chat Noir said.

 “Because then he would know,” Ladybug sighed.

 “Isn’t that a good thing?” Chat replied.

 “You would think so,” Ladybug muttered. “It’s…complicated. Besides, it’s 2017; no one goes around confessing things like they’re trying out for some Shakespearean tragedy or something.”

 “I guarantee you that whoever this kid is would love it if Ladybug suddenly appeared on his doorstep with a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates,” Chat laughed

 “Well, I can’t exactly yo-yo over to his house and ask him to the movies,” Ladybug said. “His dad is a tightass and he has about half the girls in our class after him as well. I’d be making an enemy of the biggest stiff in Paris as well as girls I have to do chemistry labs with. Girls with access to hydrochloric acid.”

 “So what?” Chat’s voice said, a little more forcefully than he likely intended. “…you like him?”

 “Yeah?”

 “And you want to be with him?”

 “Yeah…”

 “So…what’s stopping you?”

 There was a long break in sound before Ladybug chuckled.

 “Me, mostly,” Ladybug said, as a small beep rang out. “Thanks, Chat…I’ll think about it.”

 The camera picked up the sound of something rushing past it, followed by a deep, deflating sigh.

 “Great advice, man,” Chat said to himself. “You might want to take it one of these days…”

  April 13—An Interview With A Vampire

 Ladybug’s face filled the screen as soon as the video started, scowling at the camera as the sound of a scuffle came from just offscreen.

 “Okay, Hawkmoth,” Ladybug said, pacing towards the sound of the commotion. “Now we’ve put up with a lot of BS from you—”

 “A lot of BS!” Chat Noir called from offscreen.

 “—but you’ve gone too far this time!” Ladybug said, spinning the camera around to show Chat Noir gripping a vampire in a tight headlock. “What is this supposed to be?!”

 “I told you!” The vampiric akuma huffed, clawing at Chat Noir’s face as he tried to get out of the headlock. “I am Count Hackula; master of necromancy and most modern programming langu-”

 “It’s a vampire!” Ladybug huffed, panning the camera up to the bright Parisian sky above. “In the middle of the freaking day!”

 “Sunlight and everything!” Chat called from the background. “What the heck?!”

 “What the heck, Hawkmoth?!” Ladybug said as Chat Noir clawed his way through the USB cables Count Hackula tried to strangle him with. “You know, we’ve put up with a lot from you but vampires in the daylight?!”

 “It’s unrealistic!” Chat called, jamming a trashcan over the head of Count Hackula.

 “Unless you’re asking us to believe in some kind of Blade daywalker scenario,” Ladybug said as Chat Noir banged on the trash can with his staff in the background. “And if that’s the case, why make him a Dracula rip off?!”

 “Right?” Chat said, snatching a gaudy necklace off the Akuma’s neck as he sunk to the pavement.

 “And before you edgelord Hawkmoth fanboys start in with the ‘hurr-durr it’s an akuma, it can be whatever it wants to be’ posts you’re no doubt typing as I’m saying this, just remember that I know more about akuma than you do!” Ladybug huffed as Chat Noir slid up beside her.

 “Don’t think we don’t see you whining on the Ladybug subreddit after every akuma fight,” Chat said, crushing the pendant with one hand and making the I’m-watching-you gesture with the other. “You guys are jerks.”

 “Jerks,” Ladybug echoed, snapping the akuma up and purifying it without taking her eyes off the camera. The pair shared a fistbump, a sharp look at the camera, and then the screen went black.

  May 14—A Sinister Message From Hawkmoth

 A dark silhouette took up the frame, standing in front of a large glass window. The camera shook as whoever was holding it struggled to stifle their laughter unsuccessfully.

 “Okay, okay, it’s on!” Ladybug whispered from behind the camera.

 “Good eeeeeeeevening Paris,” the figure said in a deep, drawling voice that sent Ladybug into a fit of stifled giggles. “It is I; your terrifying butterfly overlord! Here to spread fear and menace throughout the city.”

 The figure stepped forward, revealing himself to be Chat Noir in a cheaply made purple mask that fit poorly over his ears and drooped over one eye. Despite Ladybug’s barely contained laughter, he wore an expression of condescending sternness as he balanced his hands on his staff in front of him.

 “Some of you on the ‘inter-nets’ have suggested that I am somehow a complete blithering failure because I have been routinely bested by teenagers who aren’t legally old enough to drive yet,” Chat Noir said, examining his claws with a look of disdain. “I suspect I am being ‘the trolled’ or whatever the youths call it these days, but rest assured, I am still the most menacing butterfly themed supervillain in the world!”

 The camera trembled as Ladybug practically wheezed behind the lens, trailing Chat Noir as he paced back and forth across the floor. “Know this, Paris; the last two hundred and fifty-four consecutive failures have all been part of a clever ruse to lure you all into a false sense of security! When Ladybug and Chat Noir least expect it, I shall unleash my full potential and definitely steal their miraculouses…miraculousees…miraculi?”

 “Soon, all of Paris will be under my control,” Chat Noir continued, gesticulating wildly. “Nothing can stand in my way now; nothing can prevent my meteoric rise to…wait a second…”

 A dazed look crept into Chat’s eye as he wandered over to a lamp hanging off a peg on the wall. “So beautiful…” Chat said as Ladybug proceeded to die behind the camera. “I must have it.”

 “Oh my god, stop!” Ladybug wheezed. “Please!”

 The light shifted as Chat lightly bonked his head against the lamp. “Curses! Some kind of sinister force field denies me my prize!”

 “I’m gonna pee, Chat!”

 “Ow,” Chat said, bonking his head against the lamp again. “Ow…ow…ow…ow…”

 The camera fell as Ladybug burst into pained, breathless laughter. It rolled across the floor and into a corner, catching one of Paris’ heroes bonking his head against a lantern and the other doubled over with laughter.

  June 20—Snack Break

 “—I mean he should just quit at this point.”

 The scene opened on a rooftop somewhere with the camera laying on its side, suggesting that Chat had been filming something and forgot to turn it off before setting it down. The duo sat cross legged across from one another, a half-eaten loaf of bread, cheese, and a bottle of sparkling water on a small blanket between them.

 “Why would he?” Ladybug said through a mouthful of bread. “It’s not like he’s let his miserable failure stop him in the past; why would he throw in the towel now?”

 “Maybe because he’s suddenly tired of being routinely humiliated by teenagers,” Chat Noir said, pausing mid bite to squint across his bread at Ladybug. “…right?”

 “Hm?”

 “Sorry…I assumed you were close to my age,” Chat Noir said, wiping some crumbs off his cheeks.

 “Do I look like I’m ten or something?” Ladybug snorted.

 “No, no,” Chat chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “Just…occurred to me you might be older or something.”

 “Well, I’m not a cougar if that’s what you were hoping for,” Ladybug said, taking a swig from the sparkling water and passing it to Chat.

 “Nothing like that,” Chat said, eying the rim of the bottle for a moment before taking a sip. “Just…I don’t know…you’re always making ‘mature’ decisions, so I guess I always assumed you were older than I was.”

 “I don’t know if that’s a compliment or not,” Ladybug said as Chat shrugged.

 “Just being honest,” Chat said, scratching the back of his neck. “Something that’s been bugging me for a bit is all, since we don’t know much about each other…”

 There was quiet as Ladybug chewed her bread thoughtfully, face twitching as she seemed to be grappling with something.

 “I’m sixteen,” Ladybug said after a long moment.

 “Really?” Chat said, a small smile breaking out over his face. “Same.”

  July 14—Bastille Day!

  “I don’t even know if we’re allowed to be up here,” Ladybug said, steadying the camera as Chat dropped the picnic basket and hopped up on the railing. Behind him, the gilded top of the July Column stood out against the stark night sky, illuminated by a few sparse spotlights that flickered as Ladybug cut across them.

 “It’s okay; I have a special permit,” Chat Noir said, uncorking a bottle of what appeared to be cider.

 “You do?” Ladybug asked, hopping onto the railing beside him.

 “Yeah, it’s called the ‘I’m Chat Freaking Noir and I’ve saved the city so many times, they ought to give me a national holiday, so I can basically climb whatever monument I want’ permit,” Chat chuckled, passing a paper cup of cider to Ladybug. “You should really look into getting one of those yourself. I have a plus one on mine, so if the cops ask, you’re with me for now, but you should see if they offer a Ladybug version.”

 “Right,” Ladybug snorted, camera panning down to see the crowds of people gathering on the dark streets below.

 “Besides; what’s more patriotic than two home grown Parisian superheroes sitting on top of a monument of the Revolution waiting for the fireworks to start?” Chat asked.

 “I don’t know, maybe if you were wearing a tri-color hat or some-” The camera panned back to Chat who had, perched on top of his ears, a red, blue, and white party hat. Dangling from his lips was a party horn that clumsily tooted out La Marseillaise as Chat looked directly into the camera.

 “…oh my god,” Ladybug groaned fondly.

 “Get on my level, buginette,” Chat said, poking her with the party horn. “The red and black thing is very Les Miserables but we’re celebrating successful revolutions.”

 “Successful?” Ladybug asked. “That kinda depends on how you define success, doesn’t it?”

 “Shhhh, it’s Bastille Day,” Chat said, pulling another party hat out of the picnic basket and plopping it on Ladybug’s head. “Put the patriotism blinders on and watch the fireworks.”

 “Right,” Ladybug said, turning the camera around to capture her blowing the party horn in the camera’s lens.

 “Say something patriotic,” Chat said, leaning behind her and making a peace sign at the camera. “Or…I dunno, something about sans-culottes.”

 Ladybug opened her mouth, no doubt to say something suitably patriotic, but she was cut off by the sound of a distant firework followed by a series of cheers from the audience below. The camera swung up, catching the sight of fireworks bursting high over the Seine. Ladybug lingered on this shot for a brief moment, before the camera slowly panned down to Chat Noir’s grinning face that illuminated with every booming flash.  

  August 23—Chat Noir’s New Girlfriend

 The camera focused in on a small crowd of tourists grouped around Chat some twenty yards away from where the camera was set up. A girl of about six years old tapped Chat on the back, tugging him down as she shyly presented him with a piece of paper.

 “Oh my god,” Ladybug said in a tone of hushed surprise. “I think Chat Noir has a girlfriend!”

 The camera zoomed in on Chat’s beaming smile as he looked the image over, bending down to give the girl a warm hug as her parents took a picture. Ladybug turned the camera around to capture her stunned expression, turning back as Chat practically skipped over, holding the picture of himself up to the camera.

 “I got fanart!” Chat Noir squealed.

 “And a girlfriend, apparently,” Ladybug giggled.

 “Is that envy I hear?” Chat asked, carefully folding the drawing and tucking it in his belt. “I’m sorry this is how you had to find out, LB.”

 “I’m sure I’ll figure out some way to move on,” Ladybug sighed as the pair made their way up onto a nearby roof. There was a moment of silence as the camera caught them hopping across rooftops, mainly trained on Chat Noir’s back as he forged on ahead. After a few minutes of an aerial view of Paris, Ladybug spoke again. “…do you?”

 “Hm?” Chat asked.

 “Have a girlfriend…or boyfriend?” Ladybug asked after a moment.

 “Yeah, you just met her,” Chat chuckled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

 “Right, right,” Ladybug asked, as another period of comfortable silence lapsed between them. “Other than five year olds?”

 Chat Noir shot the camera a confused smile and Ladybug cleared her throat. “I-I just realized we’ve spent a lot of time talking about, uh…my crush that I never bothered to ask after yours.”

 Chat Noir held the camera’s gaze for a moment, before Ladybug pressed on. “Y-You know what? Forget I asked! None of my business!”

 Chat Noir opened his mouth to reply, but Ladybug closed his communicator and passed it back to him quickly.

 September 12—Hawkmoth’s Ultimate Defeat!

 The camera opened on a closeup of a stone flower planter, with only Chat Noir’s ears and hair visible over the ledge. There was quiet for a moment as he rustled around with something behind the flower planter, before a small, handmade Hawkmoth doll plopped up onto the edge.

 “Hurr hurr hurr,” the Hawkmoth doll laughed as Chat Noir moved it around the planter. “Those foolish fools can eliminate all the akuma they want; it doesn’t matter! I, the evil and not at all ridiculous Hawkmoth, can always make more! For as long as they don’t know where my secret lair is, they are powerless to stop-”

 Chat pantomimed the sound of glass breaking as he brought a Ladybug doll crashing down from above.

 “Not so fast!” Chat cried in an approximation of Ladybug’s voice. “We’ve finally found you, Hawkmoth!”

 “Curses!” The Hawkmoth doll growled. “My cunning hideout is discovered! How did you know I was here?”

 Chat dropped the Hawkmoth doll so he could bring in a tiny Chat Noir doll with a wooshing noise. “We followed the sound of dramatic laughter until we found you!”

 “Double curses!” The Hawkmoth doll growled. “There are no schoolchildren around I can enlist to do my dirty work!”

 “That’s right!” Chat said, shaking the Ladybug doll. “And now we’re gonna kick your bony butt!”

 What followed was, perhaps, the worst play fight in French history. Having only two hands, the Chat Noir doll occasionally was knocked away to facilitate a more one on one battle between Ladybug and Hawkmoth (who mostly flailed around while Ladybug did cool acrobatic flips complete with sound effects). The finale came when the Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls (clenched in one hand while Chat Noir held Hawkmoth in the other) performed a Kamen Rider-esque diving kick in unison, sending the Hawkmoth doll sprawling across the planter with a weak “Nooooooo.”

 “Triple curses!” The defeated Hawkmoth doll growled. “I have been bested by Ladybug and her good-looking partner!”

 “And now to find out who you truly are!” The Hawkmoth doll was kicked off the edge, replaced by an old action figure that made the Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls recoil in shock.

 “Macho Man Randy Savage?!” The Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls cried in surprise.  

 “Ooh yeah!” Macho Man Randy Savage cried. “I was Hawkmoth the whooooole time! And I woulda gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for Ladybug and-”

 “Chat?” Chat immediately cleared the planter off, standing up as Ladybug’s legs wandered onto the scene. “What are you-”

 “N-Nothing!” Chat stammered, hands behind his back. “I-I wasn’t-”

 “Are those the dolls Marinette made us?” Ladybug asked.

 “I…o-oh, yeah!” Chat said. “I was just, uh…sh-showing them off to the Ladyblog, you know?”

 There was a moment of silence before Chat cleared his throat. “A-Anyway, I-I’m gonna get a soda, do you want a soda, I’m g-gonna get you a soda!”

 Before Ladybug could say anything, Chat Noir jumped off the balcony, leaving Ladybug on the roof alone. She sighed, bending down to pick up the dolls and staring at them fondly for a second, before standing the Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls up.

 “Ooh, Ladybug, you’re so cool,” the Chat Noir doll swooned.

 “Yeah, I guess I am,” the Ladybug doll said, posing a little as the Chat Noir doll bent and kissed her hand. “You’re not too bad yourself, kitty.”

 “That stupid butterfly doesn’t stand a chance against us!” The Chat Noir doll said. “Marry me, Ladybug!”

 “Oh Chat,” the Ladybug doll laughed. “We can’t…there’s no one around here to marry us!”

 “Hold on there, little lady!” Macho Man Randy Savage said, climbing the side of the flower planter. “I’m a registered minister, so I can marry you two right n-”

 Ladybug trailed off, bending down to look at the camera and paling when she realized it was on. “Crap!”

  October 31—A Line Too Far

 The camera started suddenly as Chat Noir hit the pavement, suggesting that this video hadn’t been planned. The scene shook terribly as Chat ran towards what appeared to be Ladybug, throwing something with a strangled “Catch!”

 The camera stopped shaking long enough to catch Ladybug crushing the item, releasing an akuma that was swiftly snapped up by Ladybug’s compact. A flash of white light, and one purifying wave later, and Ladybug was standing over a small, crouched over figure, stooping down as Chat ran up on them.

 “I’m sorry,” the figure said in a small, shaking voice as Ladybug knelt beside her. She couldn’t have been any older than ten or eleven, curled up in a small ball and mumbling to herself as Ladybug reached out a shaky hand.

 “It’s okay,” Ladybug said softly, stroking the girl’s shoulder as Chat kept a respectable distance.

 “I didn’t mean to get so mad,” the girl said, shrinking away from Ladybug’s touch. “I-I didn’t mean to.”

 Though every stroke of her hand was soft, Ladybug’s expression was icy as she stared over the girl’s head, jaw clenched and nostrils flared.

 “It’s not your fault,” Ladybug said firmly. “It’s not your…Chat!”

 “What?” Chat asked as Ladybug nodded down towards the lens.

 “Turn it off!” Ladybug hissed. “Turn it-”  

  November 1—Callout

 “-on!” The scene opened to a grim image of Ladybug grabbing for the camera lens. “Turn it on!”

 “Ladybug, I get you’re upset,” Chat Noir said from behind the camera, backing up as Ladybug advanced. “I’m mad too, but he’s not gonna—”

 Ladybug didn’t wait for Chat to respond before plucking his communicator from his hand, turning the camera around until her icy glare filled the screen. The lens shook as Ladybug appeared to be vibrating with incandescent rage while she paced the length of the roof.

 “This is a message for Hawkmoth, or whatever your name is whenever you’re not cowering behind little girls!” Ladybug seethed, steadying her grasp as she burned holes into the screen with her eyes. “I have no words to describe how much of a bully and a coward you are! You skulk around your safe little corner of the city while you brainwash children into fighting battles you’re too weak to fight yourself!”

 The camera shook as Ladybug paced back and forth, lips quivering and jaw tight. “You want our Miraculouses so badly?! Fine! Come and get them!”

 “Ladybug!”

 “Let’s do it tomorrow!” Ladybug rambled on, spit flying from her lower lip. “Midnight; Pont des Arts! No need to drag this out any longer, unless you’re as weak and pathetic as I think you are!”    

In the background, Chat seemed torn between wanting to stop her and wanting to let her go on, hands laced behind his head as he watched Ladybug go off, her face caught somewhere between anger and grief.

 “We’ll be there and, if you’re not, I-I’m going to scour this city top to bottom until I find you and drag you out of whatever hole you’re hiding in!” Ladybug all but screamed. “Because you will not…I’m not going to let you…”

 The camera caught her face crumpling for a split second before she dropped it, letting it roll until it hit the ledge of the roof. From the angle it landed, their faces weren’t visible as Ladybug let out a frustrated sob.  

 “Hey, hey, hey,” Chat Noir said softly, walking over and enveloping her in a hug. “It’s okay.”

 “No it’s not!” Ladybug yelped, sniffling audibly. “I-It’s not fair Chat!”

 “No…no it’s not,” Chat said.

 “I-It’s not fair that that cowardly asshole gets to run around, ruining people’s lives all because…all because we can’t stop him,” Ladybug sighed.

 “Hey…look at me,” Chat Noir said. “You were right, you know? The only thing he has going for him is making other people do his dirty work. Ten to one says if…when it comes down to us vs Hawkmoth, he’s not gonna stand a butterfly’s chance in hell.”

 They were silent for a moment, save for a few lingering sniffles as Chat’s hand rubbed soothing circles on her back.

 “We’re gonna beat him,” Chat said softly. “We’re gonna beat him, you know?”

 “Doesn’t feel that way sometimes,” Ladybug murmured, almost too soft for the camera to pick it up.”

 “I know,” Chat laughed almost bitterly. “I know.”

 “Just feels like we’re spinning in circles sometimes,” Ladybug muttered. “Like…we’re constantly plugging leaks, but the water keeps on rising above our heads…it’s like I’m drowning sometimes…”

 There was another long stretch of silence, punctuated by a small series of murmurs the camera wasn’t sensitive enough to capture. Chat said something that drew a chuckle from Ladybug who stepped back with a sigh, shaking her head and wiping her eyes.

 “Thanks,” Ladybug muttered. “Sorry…kind of lost it there.”

 “You can’t have it together all the time,” Chat said. “And, let’s face it, you have it together more than me.”

 “I don’t know how true that is,” Ladybug laughed.

 “Then you do an amazing job pretending,” Chat chuckled. “And I won’t tell a soul if you won’t.”

 “Yeah, maybe we delete this one,” Ladybug said, wandering over to pick up Chat’s communicator with a wince.

 “He wouldn’t have come anyway,” Chat shrugged as Ladybug passed the camera back to him. “That would require some semblance of a spine…which I don’t think butterflies have.”

 “I don’t think ladybugs have spines either,” Ladybug chuckled, rubbing her arm.

 “Well…I know one that’s got more spine than the rest of Paris put together,” Chat said softly.

 “I…” Ladybug blinked, opened her mouth to say something, then quickly turned her attention to her communicator. “W-Wow is that the time? I-I should probably head home, you know?”

 “It is a little late, isn’t it?” Chat Noir said, sliding up for their usual fistbump. “Same time tomorrow?”

 Ladybug glanced between his hand and his face for a moment before returning the bump. “It’s a date,” Ladybug said, paling as she realized what she said. “I-I mean not a date like a date-date or anything, but…ahem…you know.”

 “I do,” Chat Noir laughed. “Til tomorrow.”

 Ladybug gave a small wave, swinging off the roof and into the night. Chat and the camera watched her go for a second before Chat turned the camera to face himself, green eyes steely.

 “Make Ladybug cry again, and I’ll pull your stupid wings off,” Chat Noir snapped before shutting off the camera.

  December 31—For Auld Lang Syne

 “Come on, come on!” Chat Noir said as the camera snapped into focus on Ladybug in a black and gold party hat. “Even Ladybug has to have a New Year’s resolution, right?”

 “Maybe I just don’t want to tell you,” Ladybug said, sticking her tongue out between her teeth as Chat followed her around the top of the Eiffel Tower.

 “They’re not like birthday wishes,” Chat said, craning his camera around as Ladybug turned away, an amused frown on her face. “You can still fulfill them if you tell them to people.”

 Ladybug chewed her lip, glancing Chat Noir over as she reached into a picnic basket and uncorked a bottle of sparkling cider. “You first.”

 “Fine; I resolve to be less amazing and stop hogging the spotlight,” Chat Noir said proudly.

 “I don’t think you’re capable of that,” Ladybug snorted.

 “Being less amazing or not hogging the spotlight?” Chat chuckled, trailing off as Ladybug refused to answer, shooting him a non-committal shrug as she took a sip of her cider. “Okay, now you.”

 “You really want to know?” Ladybug asked, raising an eyebrow.

 “No, I ask because you’re pretty when you’re mysterious,” Chat said, setting the camera down on the railing as he leaned against one of the steel beams. Below them, the city was awash in light and the sound of celebrations as New Year’s Eve slowly drew to a close.

 “Fine,” Ladybug said, twirling the plastic champagne flute between her fingers. “IIIIIIIIIIII have resolved to…take your advice.”

 “You’re gonna talk to Marinette about designing Ladybug hoodies and selling them on the Ladyblog?” Chat asked.

 “…I’m going to take multiple pieces of your advice,” Ladybug chuckled, looking somewhere over Chat’s head. “It’s…about what you said about the guy I like.”

 “Oh…right,” Chat cleared his throat, straightening up. “Gonna go for it then?”

 “Absolutely,” Ladybug said with a small nod, and smile in Chat’s direction. “In fact, I plan on kissing him as soon as I can next year.”

 “Bold,” Chat laughed, fidgeting a little as Ladybug poured him a glass. “F-Figured you would go for a power-play like that.”

 “Get the new year off on a good note, you know?” Ladybug said, clinking their glasses together and leaning on the railing across from Chat.

 “Hard to start much better than that,” Ladybug said, fingertips running around the rim of her glass. “Here’s hoping I can actually go through with it this time.”

 Chat looked down into his cider, swallowing heavily. “I’ve…never known you to lose your nerve before.”

 “Well you only really know me half the time,” Ladybug said, crossing her legs at the ankle.

 “True…though I have to admit, this little video project of ours has given me more of an excuse to hang around with you.”

 “You don’t need an excuse,” Ladybug said, sitting up a little. “Hanging out can be its own excuse…you know that, right?”

 “…sure,” Chat laughed.

 “Do you?” Ladybug asked. “I mean…patrolling and stuff is fine but…I’d like to get to know you more than half the time, you know?”

 “That’s awfully forward of you, Buginette,” Chat snickered.

 “You haven’t seen anything yet,” Ladybug muttered.

 “Hm?”

 “Nothing,” Ladybug said, glancing at her communicator. “Not long now…any more resolutions?”

 “The usual,” Chat shrugged. “Be nicer, be more productive, be braver…”

 “That’s a good one,” Ladybug said, taking a sip of her cider. “I might steal that from you; give you a break from being the brave one for a while.”

 “I don’t know how much braver you can get,” Chat said.

 “We’re gonna see pretty soon here,” Ladybug said, chewing her lip as a distant church bell began tolling midnight.

 “Ooh, countdown is starting!” Chat Noir said, perking up as Ladybug took a deep breath, placing her drink down. “Here we go…ten…nine…eight…seven…si­-”

 Chat’s countdown was cut off as Ladybug closed the distance between them, arms wrapping around her partner’s waist, as she pulled him into a soft, tentative kiss in full view of the camera. Ladybug’s eyes were closed, but Chat’s snapped open the moment her lips touched his, going stiff as a board as his hands floated uselessly a scant few inches away from her hips. They lingered, even as fireworks exploded in the background, not pulling apart until a few seconds after midnight.

 Ladybug looked up at his stunned expression with a small smile, giggling as his mouth opened and shut uselessly.

 “I…so…uh…wh-when you said…th-that you were gonna kiss the uh…you meant…me,” Chat stammered, raising a finger as his face darkened a few shades. “…huh.”

 “I think that’s enough taping for one night,” Ladybug said, leaning across the railing and snapping the camera closed.

 January 13—Reflection

 The final video in the folder opened on Ladybug’s bemused expression, the focus close on her as she looked out to the side of the camera, trying to find the words to say.

 “Chat and I talked a lot about whether or not we should show you these,” Ladybug said, chewing on her lower lip. “I was concerned, for a long time, that if you saw these videos, they would shake your faith in us. Make us seem like silly teenagers who don’t really know what we’re doing…but that’s kind of the truth, isn’t it?”

 Ladybug laughed sheepishly, turning to face the lens. “We are teenagers and a lot of the time, we don’t know what we’re doing. We like to have fun, and make fun of Hawkmoth, and play dumb playground games while we’re supposed to be patrolling the city for danger. And maybe that’s not who you thought we were, or not how you think superheroes are supposed to act…and that’s okay.”

 “I think Chat made a good point,” Ladybug continued. “He said…all Hawkmoth has are lies to protect him. He’s scared, I think, to show his face and let the world know he’s just a guy in a stupid looking suit who happened to get more power than he deserved. And maybe that’s what we are too but…I’m not afraid to admit it. I’m not afraid to look silly, or act my age when there’s no one but Chat around. And if you think less of us for being like that…well, that’s your problem not ours.”

 “But…we wanted you all to know who we were.” Ladybug looked away again with a light hearted sigh, before focusing her gaze on the camera one last time. “And now you know…”

 “And knowing is half the battle!” Chat’s voice called from off screen. The camera panned left to see Chat Noir reclining on a picnic blanket, rose in his teeth and candles flickering in the breeze. “You coming?”

 Ladybug sighed, but when the camera turned back she was smiling, cheeks flushed as she looked back at the camera. “Now if you don’t mind…I actually have a date I should get to.”

 Ladybug gave one last wave at the camera, before turning it off with a small click.

  As the last image faded from the screen, Alya was left staring at her own reflection, blinking as she was suddenly aware of something other than her monitor for the first time in hours. She took off her glasses, rubbing her eyes with her fingers as she tried to make sense of what she had just seen. So many questions ran through her mind; not the least of which was what to do with the content that had been given to her. Ladybug and Chat Noir had made it clear that they wanted Paris to know who they were…but was Paris ready for that? Was Paris ready to see their heroes let down their guard, goof off, and act like the kids they were? Or would their candor only draw more derision from the vocal minority who thought they weren’t living up to their expectations.

 Alya mulled it over for a moment, before opening the Ladyblog with a few quick strokes of her keyboard.

  At 12:38, Marinette’s phone buzzed, drawing her away from a sketch she was working on to check her Skype.

 Chat: You see the latest Ladyblog, Buggy?

 Chat: I hear that the editor got herself a video of Ladybug KISSING Chat Noir :O

 Chat Noir: Can you imagine????

 Chat Noir: >;3c

Rolling her eyes, Marinette opened the Ladyblog, lips curling into a smile as the headline blinked up at her.  

 The Ladynoir Diaries: An Exclusive Look At Paris’ Heroes.

 As she watched the hit count climb, any lingering doubts that she had made the right call disappeared from her mind. Yes, there would be some people who thought she wasn’t cut out for the job, but there were people who thought that already. She didn’t need to be some inscrutable, shadowy figure, and truth be told, she was getting sick of all the intrigue. Even if she had to keep her identity secret, she could let the people she protected know just a little about their heroes.

 Smiling and humming a little tune to herself, she tried to summon up enough fake surprise as Alya’s ringtone filled her bedroom.

 “Hello?” Marinette said. “I know Alya! She kissed him, right on the lips! That was so crazy!”  

Happy Belated Birthday @insanitysbloomings ! Thanks a ton for bein a good friend this last year; sorry this is late but hopefully it came out good!

Big thanks to @abadmeanman for the initial concept (i’ve been creatively starved lately lol) and @isadorator for the edit! 

[artist-x-j-roman-cain]

Joker’s Wild

My name is super-unknown so I will shoot for the dome Aim through the window pane; leave two frames blown I am not Strange. But I will not change tones Proclaim Roman Reigns in any home Entertain through tomes Enter veins then splinter brains Highest on this sinner plane Center plain or inner sane? No. A soul so cold not even So Co Could help warm; dealt thorns Some have sworn tales, yelling “He’s loco!” “Si y yo soy el lobo feroz” Ferocious flows; ojos rojo Toke and choke on top rank dodo Coca blows? Mi es cabron? Oh no! Blow Coca? Por dinero? Best go hoe! Yo soy Joe Schmoe? Asi-asi? Si puto derecho! Direct foes, “vete a la mierda, conos”! Artista X es el Rey de todos los Reyes Sooth-sayer and smooth player Granuja de platas de lengua Ladies spreading legs, begging me to say yes. Weigh less than many but don’t call me mini Not one to waste pennies Immobile blades, not choppin’ on 20’s Mobile stays paid; minutes got plenty No cash in the bank; gas tank close to empty Yet more retail sells in smells than Scentsy My girl is a fine dime that OG’s envy Eyes green, hairs red plus always wet and sticky Ever leaving; burning and hitting like a heathen But she keeps returning Even after pimping her out for earnings Yearning for touch; by lips or finger tips She’ll learn you quick; bi so no bias when she unzips She flips all day but still chills at night Herb Knight in hempen armor Helping get over bored again Charming prints, used to disarm alarms Prince Charmin to soft; armaments’ armed Minced off the first cut; rinsed off like shit stuck to shoes In truth, I like going overboard and harming Like Carmen, no one knows where to find me Moving timely; double check nobody’s behind me Grinding to shine even when it isn’t Vision remastered after seeing how biz went? To guzzle gents jizz for cents Rather stick a muzzle in my mouth Than ever be asked where my fizz went Dissident miscreant because of medicinal Treants Gorgon like stoning; after all spinach is full of nutrients Beautifully bent; fine line between genius and insanity Underhandedly taking the lead; never mistakenly Make me your nemesis; own worst enemy to y’all I am limitless Illogically break chronological fate with paradoxical Genisys Forget Quicksilver; Wells wished in inventing this Luxury Mercury? Have H.G. mad as a hatter for penning this In lieu of Carrol; songs full of apparel Only autos should be tuned Putting hair pulling bitches on alert Better be careful Have them pissing; scared to twist up fisticuffs Baring tools; afraid to get face to face But I’m very cool; only thing up my sleeve is an Ace Thumping with my trump; then use the same spade to bury fools Joker’s wild; and I’ve been told the same Smoker’s smile plus a laugh cold and insane Broken stiles; never hold a flame to gain change Opening Styles all about showing up the Game At the Helm with a death wish like I’m hunting a hearse DRAC is the realm’s realest; still instilling hurts Curt versus legends or virgins; using perverse verses to abuse With no aversion to cursing this rough draft also the final version Shaft tough? Yes, when driven by me Not black enough to say I’m the bad-dest “shut your mouth…”, you see Keep it juicy; not goosing Lucy Truthfully I’m a prick spelt with a capital D Biggest you’ll meet; and above average in meat No need for lies; I know I satisfy Don’t believe me honey then come and see Relieve your cunny, have you cum a sea Endless returns like it’s my company Charge your Chakra; currently cum for free Currency for free milk? Then you can go ahead and get stepping permanently Ash into your urn Every sentence further sentencing eternity Hurting disconcertingly Adverting attacks; not possible when concerning me Genuine article Smashing particles like the Hadron at CERN discerning Emcees Splitting atoms While batting back at’em; scat’em like a cat. Kill every vermin I see Shivering cowards While stylishly delivering streets sermons for fees River of power That is, a strong flow with undertow current; currently Amped up Have them clammed shut; in bomb shelters like the emergency Is national But it’s natural to run urgently when faced by the beast from the murky deep Heard of me? Or been hurt by me? Try me when unworthy and meet A brief defeat By these feet. So take a seat or be beat down vertically Post mortem surgery Quicker to dig six one by ones; bury you very dirtily Curtly asserting Your curtains but far from my encore that’s a certainty Unmercifully Murdering psyches with words alone. Spurring the weak To purr back meek Lying while trying this Lion; King of Zion. Tired of burping these Babies and toddlers Going crazy searching for grown talent; licking talons and fangs thirstily Unnerving these Kids; knowing their lids will get peeled. Villain killing purposely Have curs cursing me Speaking cursively, curbing cohorts. Quit if your nursing teats Hyperbole Not when measured in pen; sink non-thinkers with ink poisoning Vent venom vehemently; little girls and boys playing with alloys Should quit banging noise My thoughts and voice concise Eyes on the prize; ions spliced off and thrown at my enemy’s head Radically rendering your ending; lending the term walking dead Stocking meds by the O-z From North of the O.C. Only importing the best, from Valleys’ in Cali to Co-towns alley’s G-13 and Maui Wowie The Doctor’s in Get re-T.A.R.D.I.S.; needing starting? Got Diesel too if you need to rally Tally the score Weighed straight, bud and not shake with proper tear drops; plus, I don’t dilly dally True wild card; evolved in being involved in anything called sin My balls’ in court never Alcohol in blood no more; instead soar above but feet still on the floor Claws in the ground This is my town. Come down sounding hard and I will leave you scarred With the loss of your crown Scalpel scalping. And if the laws in the Mudd come around? Still won’t be found. Proper noun; capital Artist using absurdly sharp wit for getting capital Known for ripping sharks to bits Sparks will arc; marked by X then know next your neck Will be stretched regardless Of your guards. I'll march right through your gardens. Embrace mayday Because by melee I have been hardened Leave them marveling at my carvings which cause starving Hungry but not eating beef; these freaking vegans are retarded Believe it’s better to give than receive Seas get wetter from here; forever in gear Achieving whatever I can perceive Seize vets ahead of my years; too clever for peers Deceiving none, yet some sectors still don’t bet on me Sieges settled in letters; vendettas never feared Easing at leisure; proceeding on with no etcetera Seasons become bygone; seasoning legions of chickens so long live Cain, King of Weird Erecting a dynasty Weapon selection is free form daggers called forth from the Nether Injecting arsenic Martial arsenal; impartial to arson. Coolly pulling the lever Irreverent to me Intellectual elephant and elegantly eloquent. Resisting transistors Close circuit Verdict shows consequences for the inoffensive; tethered to weather through endeavors On attack like a shredder Chipper sure as this plot runs redder Splendor found in splinters Cheddar made grating big cheeses Donning black and green Stripping clubs; beating pussies together Surrendering before being engulfed in embers Hand over your tender or be berated by Poetry, mixed with soul of the street Wholly complete when competing against the elite Never miss a beat; a capella teller Fellas that think they can swell up; one hell of whale tail Shelling out pain on the jealous Overzealous never. Well prepared with an umbrella Real life, not a telenovela Jotting rotten embellishments; relishing propellers developing yellows Punks pissing themselves when warships need worshipping Blood, sweat and oil mix Until the ill contents become flammable And all the malcontents Bow out; knowing good and well I’ll damn a fool Or a damsel If you think you can lay hands on me; your delusions are fanciful Panty puller Revealing fraudulent broads; inflict wounds that will require some gauze from the gods At odds with society Believe working a desk is a probity And I’m a writer Some consider a prodigy My odyssey cementing my property Foundation laid in Don't play pretend; make fake men Or women Shed their linens. Hollering no apologies; now follow me Make a joke out of any lesser F-5 force like Lesnar. Why so serious? Uncrowned underground jester Bound to pound the pavement With your cranium; straining some with that statement One truth inevitable Julian sliced in way that was absolutely unforgettable Unintelligible Little bulls should quit being foolish before getting whipped cool and made edible Cannibal but not named Hannibal Mechanically distributing electrically compressed waves To enslave your ladies Into behaving like a cowgirl; riding this bull and craving these testicles Undressing tools Cunning tongue; expelling fantasies for sensational pull Lessons blessing illiterate fools Honeys’ dribbling from touch so much they create literal pools In Sin City I rule Will not pity the drooling class; passionately fashioning Jewels Fastening dull blades To this mental lathe to gain edge; allegedly dredging up the typical Satirical lyrics searing spirits Phantom fandoms abandoning idols idling when I crash tidally Spiritually binding Ritual sacrifice; decisively knifing as if practiced on the habitual Basis. Run races never. Pace to slow. Basics way below. Spacing pros with tasteful prose Also slaying joes Embracing complacency only stagnates; changing notes lead to growth Flaying bros even Must stay on toes or fade; daily dough made by not taking a doze I only dose With Mary. Quite contrary to hoes bickering about which nose I’ll be sniffed through Some into inducing rushes via sphincter Keep your stinker away Couldn’t be helped with a bleaching tincture Suffering puncturing For lunch bringing nothing but punch and knuckle sandwiches Damn bitches. My hands twitching, itching to do ditch digging for snitches with no steel brandished Have no advantages Loose leaf my canvases. Not afraid to get scandalous; know y’all cannot handle this Gargantuan tarantulas Manhandled like tea candles as I dismantle men easier than destroying a mandolin Banding in Only amplifies the likelihood of meeting a random end Ranting and rambling Gambling when I'm done that you won't be able to keep ambling Knock you out in your sandals when my spit hits like an Ambien Watch me trample them; sampled but never sampling Entranced with sin Dancing in and out after romance ends Lancing them then off to the stands again Slanted bantering Can offend but also bend inhibitions; renditions of wishful visions and being the one granting them Dammed if dim Stranded in damages; can't get cantering, this Cancer managing Standards that can spin Rabidly rapid; static shock and awe. Addict not dropping off. Elaborate pens Radically pin backstabbing bastards; infinitely outlasting Simultaneously lashing Latching on with a firm grasp. Grabbing and toe tagging then afterward bagging them Meet my jagged friend Egging on until calm is Gone with the Wind On to win That is, magic tactics Exacting backward grins as in upside-down frowns Should I explain that again Batting bad men with a racquet like it’s badminton The raconteur bracket designed for the rhymer in his prime; letterman jacket Personally fitted Custom colors; clique unaffiliated but true Paid dues for these suede shoes Ensue wrath, crossing paths with me. Be phased through. Displace you Vibrate at a rate that frequently frequencies disintegration Blazing you with phazers set to stun Yep son, better run because here I come to erase you Each and every angle will be tangled with Break both ankles Then add in the mad tendency to strangle Take your Angel and go Jangle out the last bit of blood. Lots of love for being painful. But just be thankful Only got your bank; sank like the Titanic. Hitting like an ice cold tank; you're a lukewarm row boat frozen exposing you're shameful Wordsmith, perfectly working an anvil Not a man to steal; but guarantee I can and will Drop your body in a landfill Stop talking, get to walking; gawking awkwardly At the oddity who stands steel Resolute in Will; if looks could kill Mine would; shooting villain’s long as I am still in Adrenaline pumping; dumping loads of shit. Here’s the damn deal Entrepreneur Grade A manure; never has there been a truer Entrees pure Bade losers farewell; after a push down the stairwell Never been surer Any assurances weren’t accounting for me and my allure Got your cure For being average; lock you in a fridge and drop you off a bridge. Got the top rung secure And I haven’t been on tour Demure nature? No. Bigger ego than Troy McClure Stopping simpletons, pop them like pimples Catching them in the temple; listen as the song of a fat minstrel ends Stenciling by pencil Lengthy dismissal brought about by drizzling In a million missiles These difficult insults leave individuals’ pissed; the gist is: their coined phrases aren’t worth a single nickel Series: X Sin-to-Mint Artist: Artist X (Justin Roman Cain)