#honestly its like he either ignored or forgot that part

[authorafterhours]

Hannibal, buddy, I know you like comparing yourself to Achilles and Will to Patroclus, but uh... you do remember Patroclus died, right?

[suguwife]

Executive Tensions. (one)

tags: exbf!Gojo Satoru x f!reader, CEO x secretary, porn with plot, 18+ explicit sexual content, mdni, masturbating, slow burn, mentions of cheating, forced proximity, mini series

- 9.7k wc

a/n: this is the backstory to reader x gojo - angry heated one shot for this is in part two !!

(part two)

You had just posted a story on your Instagram, a picture of flowers that your new boyfriend gave you. Baby pink peonies, a big bouquet of them in the shape of a heart.

Only a few minutes after posting the photo, your phone vibrated, and your heart skipped a beat seeing your ex boyfriend’s name appear on your screen, Satoru. The message was simple and yet it made your heart beat faster. You shouldn’t be feeling like this, you hate him.

“He doesn't know that you prefer actual luxury gifts?” Was the first message he sent you in months, four months since the breakup. Why is he viewing your story?

You respond after a couple minutes with “I like flowers now.” Its an obvious lie. You knew he’d know. You had always been materialistic, you found gifts and money more efficient over flowers that would die anyway.

“You're lying.” He replied within seconds, obsessed much.

He had to admit, after stalking your socials for a little while, your new boyfriend seemed to make you happy, or at least that's the image you projected.

It was annoying, it made him feel sick to think that someone else could make you smile like that, or even more.

You reply after a couple minutes again, “Well I like flowers now. Stop texting me I already removed you as a follower.”

His jaw clenched and his grip on his phone tightened, seeing your reply, he wasn't expecting you to be so cold with him. But of course you would be, in a way he deserved that. “You didn't remove me, stop lying.”

“I just did.”

“Why? did your new boyfriend tell you to do that?”

He double texts another message, “Is he that insecure? Does he not want you interacting with your ex ‘cause he’s scared?”

You scoff a laugh in disbelief at his accusations, ironic coming from him. He seems to be the insecure one here. “No, I decided to remove you. Stop being so irritating.”

He doesn’t respond to that, he just re-reads over the conversation on his phone a couple times like an obsessive freak before throwing his phone on the bed and running his hand through his hair, “Fuck..”

Laying on his bed, he stared up at the ceiling and clenching his jaw as the image of you with your new boyfriend danced in his head.

The next day, Satoru sat in a black seat behind a long desk, a few of his assistants on either side. In front of him, the candidates for the new position that had just been opened in his company were standing before him, one after the other. The interviews had already been going on for quite some time, he was just beginning to get bored, until you walked in.

Honestly, you had no idea that Satoru would be here, until you saw him sitting on the main seat. The seat for the CEO of the building. You knew he was a CEO, but he had worked in a different building whilst you were dating. Despite the sudden shock running through, you remain calm and composed.

Your parents were bugging you to do something with your life and that you can’t live in their luxury for the rest of your days without working towards anything so, here you are. Applying for a boring office job, just so your parents would see you as a hard working woman. A useless thing, you believe. You’re fine as you are, perfectly financially stable.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw you, you were even more beautiful than the last time. He had only seen you off your socials since the breakup, but in real life your beauty glistened the entire room from boring and dull to bright and refreshing. He blinked a few times to recover from his surprise, before straightening up in his seat and looking at the papers in front of him.

Trying to ignore the hammering in his heart as he focused on the papers, he couldn't deny it now. He hadn't forgotten you, not at all. He never could. No amount of hookups would get his mind off you. In fact, during all those times he’d have sex with other women after the breakup, he’d only see your face despite how bratty and argumentative you became with him.

Little did he know that the only reason you became so hostile towards him was because he had cheated on you with a prostitute. He doesn't know you know. You didn’t bother to explain, wanted him to realise himself. But he clearly didn’t.

He was just about to say something when one of his assistants spoke up. "Excuse me sir, this is the last candidate to be interviewed, y/n l/n.”

Nodding in acknowledgment, he eyed you up and down. He tried to control his emotions and remain stoic, but in reality, it took all his self-control to stay that way.

He gestured for you to sit in the chair in front of him, his expression bored.

You keep your poker face plastered on as you take your seat, questioning yourself. When did he start working here? This building is #1 in Tokyo, he had been working a little lower before. Unless he owned this building too and just never told you?

God, this is so embarrassing, interviewing to be a low class assistant for your ex boyfriend just to please your parents.

You furrow your brows ever so slightly but regain your composure again, you needed this job. You needed to show your parents that you can do anything, you just choose not to. And it’s true, you can do anything, because now everyone beside him is smiling and whispering with amused expressions as they tick all the boxes near your name. Only Satoru had been staring into your eyes, like a staring contest between the two of you.

He cleared his throat before finally speaking up, his tone neutral. “Alright then, you may leave for now.”

After politely saying your goodbyes you make your exit, his pupils stalked you until you left the room and the door closed behind you. Letting out a slow sigh once you were gone, he felt his heart rate calm down to a normal pace once more.

“I think she did pretty well, sir.”

“One of the best from today, sir.”

He nods at his assistants, trying to play it off like he was unfazed by your presence. But deep down, seeing you again after so long in real time was like an electric shock to his heart. A reminder that he never got over you at all. Ugh, what was he thinking? You became a bitch, you broke up, the decision was mutual.

The assistant's voice pierced his thoughts. “So, what do you think sir? Should we hire her?”

He hesitates for a moment, his mind torn between his emotions and his rationality. He wanted to say no, to reject your application, but he couldn't seem to do that either, he knew you were qualified.

After some deliberation, he finally spoke up in a firm tone. “...Hire her for my secretary position. She has the necessary qualifications.”

As he spoke, a few of the people around him looked at him and each other with surprise visible on their face, but they immediately tried to mask it. They all knew that his position as CEO required a secretary, but they had been under the impression that he would never agree to hire someone for that position. Every time a candidate came in for the role, he’d always deny them. Clearly, you always got what you wanted and Satoru was willing to give you that, despite the fact you only interviewed for a low assistant role.

He could sense their surprise and knew that they had expected him to reject the idea of a secretary once again, but he didn't care. This time, he had a very selfish reason. He wanted you to be his secretary, so he could see you every day. Even if it was just for work.

He continued to look at the papers in front of him, pretending not to care about their reactions, his heart still pounding from the idea of you being his secretary.

Would you even accept the job? And if you did, what would happen between you two?

He didn't know and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out either.

“I expect one of you to alert her for her position and the expectations for it too.” He says coldly, standing up from his seat and fixing himself to head back to his main office. “Have her start her shift from tomorrow morning.”

He nodded to his assistants, indicating that he was done for today and didn't want to be disturbed, before leaving the room and walking down the long corridors to his main office. The thought of you working for him now excited him as much as it worried him. He would see you every day, but would he be able to control himself and remain professional...?

He arrived at his main office and closed the door behind him, heading to his desk and sitting down on the big leather chair. He placed his elbows on the desk and let his face rest in his hands, sighing deeply as he stared at the desk in front of him. This wasn't going to be easy at all.

Well, you knew you always got what you wanted, but you didn’t expect to be given the secretary role. You never even applied for that? Were the people around him just overly pleased by you so they convinced him or was he doing it out of the fact you're his ex?

Whatever the reason, you took it. You didn’t want to bother with anymore of those fuckass interviews. But you can’t believe he’s making you start the next morning, what a dick, as always.

Your black heels click as you enter his office dressed in dark tights, a dark grey pencil skirt and a sleeved white button up shirt, hair up in a French twist, just normal business attire. Oh but to him, oh fuck. As he sat on his seat, his dick sprung up to the sight of you, all dressed up like a hard working woman.

He mentally cursed himself, placing his hand casually as possible on his boner trying to hide the evidence even though you weren’t able to see anyway from his desk blocking your view.

He swallowed hard and quickly tried to compose himself, not wanting to let his surprise show.

Clearing his throat, he spoke up in a professional tone, “You're early, good. Have a seat in front of my desk.”

You want to mentally roll your eyes at him, of course you were going to take a seat. Did he just expect you to stand there until he told you what to do?

You keep your expression neutral as you take your seat and stare at him.

He couldn't help but study your features, the way your eyes landed on his, your hands folded on your knees as you crossed them over. Everything about you was exactly like he remembered.

He took a deep breath to recompose himself before speaking “You may be wondering why I hired you as my personal secretary.”

He leaned back, resting his arms on the armrests of his chair as he continued speaking. “I was going to pass on hiring one, but stocks have been rising lately so it’s been getting busy. And after the interview, I felt you were more than qualified for the job.”

His tone was professional, as if he were speaking to any other employee, but his dick was pulsing with its own heartbeat, faster than ever. It was painful, but he managed to remain stoic. He couldn't tear his eyes away from your face despite how hard it was making him. Would it be so bad if he wanked off to your pictures once you left? Maybe he shouldn’t do that. He carries on speaking. “But I'd better warn you, working as my secretary isn't easy. I have high expectations and demands-“

You cut him off, your tone blank and your expression still neutral. “I'm sure.”

God, he was infuriating to look at. You wanted to grit your teeth and roll your eyes or kick him but you remained professional and calm.

He was slightly amused by your response, your short, simple answer somehow satisfying him.

Leaning forward a bit in his chair, his eyes remained on you as he continued. “I have no doubt you can handle it.”

He paused for a moment before adding, “I hope you're up for the challenge.”

Tch, what challenge? The only challenge will have to be serving him for the next couple of months before you choose to quit.

His eyes lingered on your face for a few more moments, his heart still racing and the beat in his dick pulsing despite his calm demeanour. He tried to push the thoughts of your past relationship to the back of his mind, but being so close to you now was making it difficult. He wanted to reach out and touch you, but he knew he wasn't allowed to. He was your boss now, and he had to maintain a professional relationship with you.

“What do I have to do?” You question.

He sat back in his chair and picked up a folder on his desk, opening it and looking through the contents. You can’t deny how handsome he looks in his suit and his professional manner, it made you throb even though you despised him.

“Your primary job is to take and pass on my instructions, organise my schedule, arrange my meetings, prepare and take notes during business meetings, prepare reports, among other things.”

He glances up at you as he continues listing the duties of the position. “You will be in charge of handling my business calls and emails as well. Which means being available to me at all times.”

His eyes roam over your face, pausing for a moment on your lips before quickly looking back at the folder in front of him.

He closed the folder and placed it back on his desk, his eyes still on you. “Do you think you can handle this job? It can be demanding and time-consuming, not everyone is cut out for it...”

You inhale, exhale, and speak. “It's not that hard, just a lot of simple tasks to complete.” Really, it sounds like I’d be doing all his work for his lazy ass.

A small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, seemingly entertained by your confident response. “You seem pretty confident in your abilities...” His arms across his chest, his voice suddenly more firm and serious. “But let me warn you, l have no patience for mistakes or incompetence. I expect everything to be done in a timely, accurate and professional manner. I'm not an easy boss to please, I demand the best of the best.”

“Yeah. I'm aware.” I state, a hint of irritating sarcasm in my tone. During our relationship, he'd always be toxic and impatient. Never understood the true meaning.. or even tried to understand the true meaning as to why you had become such a bitch towards him. Never came to the realisation that you were aware of his cheating.

He cleared his throat and sat up a bit straighter in his chair, trying to push those memories from his mind...

He kept his cool demeanour and spoke in a calm but strict tone.

“Good. As long as we're clear on that.” He paused for a moment, observing you closely as if trying to read your thoughts. He leaned forward a bit in his chair, his hands folded neatly in front of him on his desk.

“You start your first day of work today. I know that I’ve got a few meetings that need preparation and I need you to take on some duties today as well.”

He studied your face closely, taking in your reaction. He was still trying to figure you out, trying to figure out if you were hiding anything behind your neutral expression, but it was too hard. He always found it hard to understand you behind that expression.

“Okay. Do I get a written list or anything on what I need to do for each day?”

“Yeah, I have a list of assignments for you ready. But I'm also expecting you to keep up with daily tasks and schedules.”

He gestures to the laptop on the desk in front of you.

“There's a new file there. It's for all of the assignments and tasks you need to do, it's constantly updated and you'll find everything in it that you need to do for today and the future.”

You slide the laptop in front of you as you speak, breaking eye contact, “Okay.”

“Any questions?”

“Hm.. I’ll ask you when they come.”

“Can I ask a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why are you applying for jobs? You don’t even need to work.”

You sigh, of course he’d ask that. You didn’t want to let him in on too much. “Why do you care?”

“Don’t get that tone with me, I’m just wandering.” He glared at you with a firm and cold expression.

You roll your eyes at him, finally. Your eyes were begging to do that from the moment you entered this room. “My parents wanted me to do something.”

“Ah.. They doing okay?” He questions, a little smile on his face.

You don’t respond, just stare at him with a bored expression because, why the fuck is he asking how your family is?

He nodded with a small smirk playing on his lips, the fuck is he smiling for now? God you just wanted to get up and kick his dick, make sure he’s unable to fuck any other woman.

“Alright then. I have a meeting in about an hour. Get started on those tasks. And do a good job. I'll be watching you.” He cuts off your intrusive thoughts as he speaks.

You grab your laptop and say your goodbyes, you can’t help but be irritated with the way he’s speaking to you. No please, no thank you?

“She's still as cold as ever...” He mumbled to himself, his brain replaying the look on your face, the sound of your voice. He knew you were intentionally hiding your emotions, putting up a professional front, but he couldn't deny that he was enjoying the game of trying to figure you out.

He leaned back in his chair, sighing deeply as he tried to clear his mind. But he couldn't focus on his work, his thoughts still lingering on you.

You make your way to a smaller office designed for the secretary, small yet simple and spacious. You browse through your laptop which had a detailed list of assignments and tasks, some assigned to you that day and some that you would be handling in the days to come. “Jesus. I'm basically doing his work for him. Tch.” You whisper to yourself as you prepare the meetings and documents for today.

Meanwhile, in his office, his dick was still hard. Punching through his pants aching for release, he had to place his sweating forehead on his desk to control his breathing. But it was futile. He contemplated whether it would be harassment to touch himself to you but fuck, he needed to.

He stood up, walked heavily with ragged breathing and locked his office door then made his way back to his seat, immediately unbuckling his belt and pulling his pants and boxers down so he’d have access.

His mind ran back to the times he’d pound into you, the wet, filthy noises that would escape from your entrance and your tongue. His hands glided up and down at the thought. The words you’d say to him as he fucked you raw in his bed.

“Just like that toru.. mh…”

“Yeah? Like this?” And he’d slam into you balls deep, making you scream his name as he panted like a dog in heat “That feel good, princess?”

“So.. so g-goo- oh!” You were so drunk off his dick you were never able to form full words. He loved the way your soaked walls would clench him even though you’d whine, “T-too much.. no more!!” But no amount of your whining would make him stop, your pussy begged for him despite your words.

“Tell me how it feels.” He’d say through panting gasps as his fingers would rub over your clit rapidly whilst his dick hit your G-spot then pulled back out, then back in again, making sure to hit you well. He wanted to know how you felt as his dick would speed into you, wanted to raise his ego.

Then he’d push down on your abdomen, just where he’d bulge through your sweaty skin, “You feel that? You take me so well, baby..”

And the way you’d cry out in pleasure, weakly trying to push his hand away from pushing down but he’d just chuckle, pushing down harder as the sound of squelching wetness filled the room.

He can’t help it, mid-wank he picks up his phone from his desk, scrolls through his hidden images in his gallery and rewatches the clips he’d take of you moaning and whimpering his name as he played with your clit. He never deleted anything of you.

He panted heavily once he reached his climax, his hands filthy. Shit. He headed to the bathroom connected to his office and cleaned himself up. Was it harassment to touch himself to you.. without permission? I mean it’s not like you knew.. Shit, maybe he fucked up. Nobody will know anyway.

Time ticked by as you worked on the tasks for the rest of the week, diligently typing away on the keys of the laptop and sipping on the frappe you had bought. Whilst Satoru attended his meetings and completed his work in his office. Although, every time he’d walk around the building, he’d always steal glances of you in your office working. And god, you always looked as beautiful as ever to him.

His father, the former CEO, strolls into the building, his presence immediately commanding respect from all the employees as he walks by. He was a tall and dignified man, his presence alone enough to make everyone take notice. Every employee, including you bowed to him, paying respects.

Shit, this must have been the building he would talk about to you in the past. He’d always complain to you how his father wanted him to overtake his business, but he never told you the name of the building. Well, to be fair, you never asked. And now here you are, working as a corporate slave for your ex boyfriend of a dick.

“It's nice to see you again, y/n.” He says to you, standing before your desk, probably confused.

“Ah... you too sir.”

“I wasn't expecting to see you working here, it's been a while.” His tone was gentle, but there was an undertone of curiosity and concern in his voice.

You nod and offer an awkward smile, “Yeah... I didn't know Satoru was the CEO of this building.”

“Yes, he took over as CEO two months after you both... ended.” He pauses for a moment before speaking again, his tone slightly wary. “And you're working as his secretary now...?” He questioned, looking around the office.

Oh fuck, embarrassing. It sounds as if you’re desperate to be seen by Satoru. “Yes. I am.”

He nods again, his expression still neutral as he continues to observe you, “I see...”

Awkward as fuck. Not because he’s Satoru’s father, you and his family had a good relationship when you were dating. It’s more awkward that your specifically working for his son now.

“How are things between you and Satoru? You two are on... good terms?”

“...I guess.” You fiddle with your hands slightly, wanting to let out a long, deep sigh.

“You guess...?” He lets out a small sigh and continues, his tone slightly gentler this time. “Are you getting along with Satoru fine? No... issues, or arguments?”

“No, not at all sir. We’re okay now.” True, you aren’t. It’s more boring talk. But maybe it’s because you haven’t lashed out on him yet.

He studies your face as you speak, trying to read your expression. He can tell you're not being completely honest, but your words are spoken in a polite and professional tone. “I see..”

“So are you... enjoying working here? You're not feeling uncomfortable or anything?”

“No not at all, it's good working here. The building is amazing.”

“I'm glad to hear that. The building is quite impressive, isn't it? And I hope Satoru isn't... giving you too much work to do?”

You chuckle in response,”Well, I am working on tasks for next week so..”

“Ah, I see. So he’s already making you work ahead of time..”

As his father leaves your office, he makes his way to Satoru’s office, his eyes narrowing slightly as he sees him lazing around in his chair.

“Satoru...” His voice is a low, almost a disapproving grumble as he enters the room, closing the door behind him.

Satoru, hearing his father's voice, looks up with a slight expression of annoyance on his face. “Ugh... what is it?”

He lazily spins around in his chair, his body language oozing nonchalance and boredom.

His father doesn't look amused as he walks up to his son’s desk, a stern expression on his face. “We need to talk.” He crosses his arms over his chest, his gaze fixed on Satoru as he continues. “I was just in your secretary's office, and you know who I saw?”

He raises an eyebrow at his father's words, a mixture of annoyance in his eyes. “Y/n?” He says in a bored tone, as if he's already expecting some sort of lecture from his father.

“Yes, why?”

“Oh, yeah. I hired her.” He responds casually, as if it’s normal to have your ex girlfriend work for you.

His father lets out a sigh, his expression becoming more agitated. “Anyway, you need to get married soon. You're already 28.”

Satoru groans and rolls his eyes at his father's words. He's heard this lecture from his father numerous times, and it always irritates him. “You're still on about that?”

His father remains stern and insistent, his arms crossed over his chest. “Yes, I am. You're at the age where you should be looking for a suitable partner. You can't just keep playing around forever and hooking up with random whores. It's time for you to settle down.”

Satoru lets out an exasperated sigh, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “Ugh, can we not have this conversation right now? I'm busy.”

His father's expression hardens even more at his dismissive attitude. “No, we're having this conversation now. And you're not going to use the ‘I'm busy' excuse this time. You've been putting this off for far too long, Satoru. It's embarrassing to have a son who has sex with prostitutes. You need a wife to put you in your place. You need to have kids so you remain a good man.”

Satoru's eyes narrow at his father's words. He knew it was pointless to argue at this point, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of irritation at being lectured like a child.

“And who do you expect me to marry? Do you have someone in mind?”

“Well, if you're asking for my opinion, yes I do have someone in mind. But knowing how stubborn you are, you're probably not going to like it.”

He raises an eyebrow again at his father's words, curious. He lets out a sigh, resigned to having this conversation. “Fine, spit it out. Who is it?”

His father takes a deep breath, bracing himself for Satoru's reaction. He knows what he's about to say will probably not go over well with him.

“Even though she’s your ex now.. y/n. She's a good girl and she comes from a respectable background and we liked her. You two were together for a while. Who better knows you? She'd be able to keep you in line. You're still hung up on her anyway, just stop fucking around and treat her well, then she'll be happy with you.”

His face immediately darkens at his father's words, his eyes narrowing in disbelief. “You can't be serious. You actually want me to marry y/n?”

His father lets out a small chuckle at Satoru's protest, not taking his words seriously at all. He's clearly amused by his son's denial. “Oh please, I know you're still into her. And she doesn't hate you, she's just mad at you because you messed up. And her boyfriend? Pfft, I saw him, he's a pathetic waste of space. She deserves someone better, someone like you. Just stop being a coward and admit you still like her.”

He lets out a scoff at his father's words. He can't believe his father is talking about y/n like this, as if he knows better than him. It's pissing him off, even though he’s right.

“You're seriously overstepping your boundaries, old man. I'm not a damn teenager who can't make decisions for themselves. I'm the CEO of this company, and I have a private life. No, I'm not marrying y/n. It's not happening.”

“You're acting like a child, Satoru. And don't give me that CEO bullshit, it won't work on me. You're still my son and I'm still your father, and I'm telling you to marry her. End of story. I'll arrange the marriage even if I have to force it, I'll get y/n to agree.”

Satoru's jaw clenches, his patience reaching its limit. He can feel anger coursing through him, and he has to force himself to stay calm. “You'll what? Arrange a marriage?! Dad, you're out of your damn mind. You know damn well y/n and I didn't end on good terms. We were constantly at each other's throats, it was a disaster. And forcing her to marry me? That's insane.”

His father scoffs, “Who else would you marry?”

“Anyone but y/n. Literally anyone. I’ll marry a stranger, I don't care. Just don’t push y/n onto me.” Satoru's voice is firm and unrelenting, but there's a hint of desperation in his eyes as he stares at his father.

His father lets out a frustrated sigh, seeing that his son is in no mood to listen to reason. He takes a deep breath and tries a different approach. “Alright then. I'll have a few respectable women, or girls your mother and I know come over to the family estate. They'll talk to you and you talk to them. Then come to me and tell me which one you prefer. Deal?”

Satoru’s expression softens slightly, his anger slowly subsiding. He doesn't like the idea of being set up with women he's never met, but it's better than being forced to marry his ex. “... Fine. But I'm not promising anything.”

His father smiles slightly, glad that he's finally getting through to Satoru. If he doesn’t prefer any of them, then he’ll definitely arrange you both. But he won’t mention that yet.

“Good. I'll arrange it then. And I better see you talking properly to these girls, got it? No snide comments or sarcasm. Just behave well. Don't embarrass me son.”

He rolls his eyes but nods reluctantly. “Yeah, yeah I'll be on my best behaviour. Don't worry.” He mutters, still not thrilled about the entire situation of marriage.

“Today, tomorrow, next week? When?”

“Next week. This coming Saturday. I'll have them head to your study room in the estate, not your apartment, so make sure you come over in the morning. Be ready.”

Satoru nods again, resigned to his fate. He knows his father is not backing down. “Alright, I'll be there.. Whatever.”

The next day, Satoru is bored in his office, idly scrolling through his social media feeds when he receives an email from you. He opens it up and reads through his schedule for the day, letting out a small sigh.

It's then that he suddenly remembers the conversation between him and his father, and the arrangement to bring the women over to their estate next week. He groans inwardly, not looking forward to it at all.

He could just do as his father's says and marry you instead. but you're his ex and you hate him because he's apparently toxic. and he doesn't even like you anymore since you became so bratty. At least, that what he tells himself.

As his thoughts swirl through his head, an idea starts to form. He glances at the door to his office, considering it for a moment. then he calls out to you through the phone speaker. “Hey, come in here for a moment.”

You hear his voice over the alert system in your office room and head over, once inside you speak, “Is something the matter?”

He motions for you to close the door behind you and sit down. “No, everything's fine. Just sit down.”

He waits for you to sit down on the chair opposite him, his eyes studying your face as you do so. He's not sure how you're going to react to what he's about to say.

“I need to ask you something. And I want you to be completely honest with me.”

Okay, you can do that.

He leans forward slightly, his hands resting on the desk in front of him as he looks you in the eye. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

You respond immediately, “No.” Did he expect you to be open considering our history? What an idiot.

He chuckles as he looks down, “Damn, you're still as bratty as ever.”

He leans back in his chair and looks at you again. “You still hate me, huh?”

You stare back at him, a bored expression on your face, “Obviously.” You hated his guts and he knows that.

“Yeah, I figured. We did end on bad terms after all, didn't we?” He speaks with a hint of arrogant irritation in his voice.

You sigh before you speak, “What do you want?”

He leans forward again, resting his elbows on the desk and entwining his fingers in front of him. His gaze is steady and intense as he looks at you. “I need you to listen closely to what I'm about to say and try to keep an open mind. Can you do that?”

“What?”

Inhaling deeply, he prepares himself for your reaction. He knows this is going to be a difficult conversation. But he should at least ask before closing off the option.

“I'm going to ask you something... a little... hm. I don't know what's the word but, don't get all mad at me. It's just an offer from my father. it's not that I want to but I'm just letting you know.”

You groan in irritation at him, “Okay, so what is it?” He’s taking too long and you’re becoming impatient.

He almost chuckles at the frustration on your face. But he knows better than to make any dumb comments if he wants to even have a chance to explain himself.

“Alright, alright. I'll get to the point.” He clears his throat, preparing himself for your reaction. “My father wants me to get married. He gave me the first option to marry you but I denied it because, well I thought you'd say no anyway. So instead he arranged some women for me to meet next week at our estate.”

“Okay? What do you want me to do about that?”

He sighs, “You're really making it difficult for me to talk to you." He rubs his temple with his fingers, getting annoyed with your stubbornness. “Alright, I'm just gonna say it then.”

He takes a deep breath and looks at you straight in the eye. “I'm gonna ask you again. Do you still hate me, yes or no?”

“Yes. I hate you.”

“You really are damn stubborn, you know that?” He sits back in his chair, studying your face for any signs of weakness or doubt. But your expression remains icy and impenetrable, just like it always was before you broke up with him..

He leans forward again, his gaze never leaving your face. “Fine, you hate me. But that's not the question I'm asking.”

But that was the question he just asked?

“My father was going to arrange our marriage forcibly, but I told him not to because I thought you'd disagree. If you could, would you agree to the marriage?”

You contemplate for a moment, would you? You hate him, you can’t trust him anymore. Not when he cheated with some random prostitute. “It depends.”

He quirked an eyebrow at your answer, intrigued and slightly amused that you're actually considering the possibility. “Depends on what?”

“Money.” You say blankly. Hypothetically, at least. You weren’t being serious but if it were to happen you’d marry him for money. Because only money could make you get back with a cheating ex like Satoru.

He scoff at your response. It's so typical of you to think of the financial aspect first. But he doesn't seem too surprised. “Oh, you're such a greedy little gold digger. I'd be paying you to be married to me, huh?”

“What's the problem with that? I have money and come from wealth too, it’s only obvious I’d still want more. If I married you I’d want to be paid weekly.”

You watch him shake his head and chuckle, both amused and annoyed at your audacity. He never expected you to actually admit to being a gold digger so shamelessly. “Damn. You really have no shame, do you?”

He looks at you as he considers your proposition for a moment, “Weekly payments, huh? How much are you thinking?”

“Hm. To get married to you and leave my boyfriend... £100k to get married to you, then £2k weekly sent to my bank. I'm only saying that because it's not gonna happen.” You say the last sentence firmly, standing your ground as you glare at him from your seat.

He grins at the ridiculously bold request, “£100k to marry me? And £2k weekly? You're really trying to milk me for everything I've got, huh? You're fuckin’ expensive.”

“Those are reasonable offers if your rich. You have the money to give that.”

He can't deny that you're right. Though he finds your demands amusing and frustrating at the same time. "You really have no shame to ask for that much money, don't you?” He mutters under his breath.

“And why do you want £2k weekly? wouldn't I be providing you with everything as your husband?”

Ugh, he’s asking as if I’d ever accept him as my husband.

“What do you plan to do with the £2k weekly payments?”

“For myself, obviously. You’re questioning me as if it'd actually happen. I'm not marrying you.” You chuckle as you speak. “Was just answering your question from before.”

“I know you're not gonna marry me, it's just a damn hypothetical question.” he mutters, his voice edged with frustration. “But I'm asking why you'd want that much money for yourself?”

“Why wouldn't I? Plus If I had left over money, l'd pass it down to my children for inheritance.”

“Of course you're thinking about inheritance for your children,” he says in a sarcastic tone. “You know, most people get married for love, not just for money.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn't be marrying you for love, it'd be forced if ur father went through with it for real. Anyway, good luck to the women you're meeting next week. I have work to do and this conversation is annoying. I'll be taking my leave.”

He eyes you as you stand up and head toward the door, slightly annoyed and amused at the same time by your bluntness. “Right, right," he mutters, leaning back in his chair again. “Run off to do your work. Maybe you'll find another guy to milk for money while you’re at it.”

You roll your eyes and scoff as you exit the room, shutting the door behind you.

He lets out a long, heavy sigh and runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head at the crazy idea that he even considered discussing the possibility of marriage with you. “Damn it...” he mutters to himself, “What the hell am I thinking... Tch. annoying bitch.”

Saturday finally rolls around, and Satoru finds himself sitting in his family's grand estate, waiting for the women his father had invited. He's sitting in his study room, tapping his fingers on the armrest of the couch with growing irritation. He still dreads the idea of having to meet all these women, especially after the conversation he had with you a few days before.

Hours passed by, but to no surprise, all the women were either bratty, annoying, clingy, boring or ugly. He heads to his fathers study room, his frustration growing with each step.

He had hoped at least one of the women would pique his interest, but they were all lacking in one way or another. Finally, he reaches his father's study room and knocks on the door. He waits a moment before hearing his father call out from inside, “Come in.” A small smirk playing on his father face.

He steps into the room seeing his father sat smoking a cigarette, his expression a mix of irritation and disappointment. As if he knew that you wouldn’t like any the women. He closes the door behind him and stands in front of his father's desk, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“Judging by your face, I'm guessing the meetings didn't go well?”

Satoru lets out a heavy sigh “You could say that. None of the women you picked out were my type. Honestly, they were all damn awful to be honest.”

His father lets out a small chuckle at Satoru's blunt assessment. He leans back in his chair and looks at his son “I see. Well, I guess that's expected, given your picky taste in women. So marry y/n. I'll arrange it.”

His eyes widened at his father's words. He hadn't expected him to bring up your name again so casually.

“What? Wait, hang on I told you we shouldn’t-“

Cutting him off, his father waves his hand dismissively. “I know what you said, but you didn't find anyone suitable so there’s no other option.. You're not that old, but you should start thinking about your future. I'm tired of you always spending your time with prostitutes. Y/n’s a good girl, and she's from a good family that I know well. It's the perfect match.”

“That's bullshit, I don't care if she’s a 'good girl' we don’t like each other anymore, and you know that.”

“You can't just rely on picking women based on your taste. You have to consider the bigger picture, Satoru. Y/n is from a wealthy family, and a good partner for the future. You can't just dismiss her because you don’t like her. You have to think about how this will benefit you and your future. And don't lie to me, you loved her until you both started arguing constantly because of your behaviour. Fix yourself up. I'll speak to her and arrange the marriage, I'm good at persuading.”

Satoru clenches his fists, trying to keep his cool “Damn it...I can't just agree to marry her because it's convenient. What about my own feelings and preferences? I don't care if she's from a wealthy family or a 'good partner for the future.' I'm not some damn chess piece in your grand plan. Why the hell can't you just leave me alone about this? I don't want to be stuck down to one women I like my fucking prostitutes and why does that even bother you?! The public don't even know.”

His father slams his hand on the desk, his patience wearing thin at Satoru’s vulgar and immature words.

“Enough nonsense, Satoru! I'm tired of your selfish attitude. You're not a child anymore, you're 28 years old, it's time you start acting like an adult. Marriage is not just about your feelings, it's about responsibility, legacy and power. Y/n’s family status and background will bring stability benefits that will outweigh your damn personal preferences. I don't care how many damn prostitutes you sleep with, you're marrying y/n.”

“I've already spoken to her, I gave her a hypothetical question, and you want to know what she said?”

His father looks slightly surprised at his words, but he quickly regains his composure “And what did she say?”

“She said, if she did marry me it would be for money.”

His voice is laced with frustration and anger as he crosses his arms, his glare fixed on his father.

“She was only interested in the damn money. Nothing else. Told me if you forced her to marry me, she'd only go ahead with it if she was pre-paid £100k and then paid a further £2k by me weekly. then she said she's only saying that because it'd never happen and she won't marry me.”

His father's expression remains neutral, “What's so bad about that? We have wealth and so does she. it's only normal for her to want more, especially if your her ex. I don’t blame her.”

His anger reaches a boiling point at his father's nonchalant response. He leans forward, his eyes blazing with frustration, “You're goddamn right she's my ex. And that should be enough reason for you not to try to force me to marry her against my will.”

He runs a hand through his hair, trying to calm himself down, but his frustration is evident in his every movement.

His father leans back in his chair, his expression still calm, “Listen, I understand that you have your reasons for not wanting to marry her. But you have to understand that I'm only thinking about what's best for you. She comes from a wealthy family, and she shares similar values to ours. She'd be a valuable addition to our family, and I'm sure you'd be able to find happiness with her if you stopped your toxic behaviour.”

Satoru's jaw clenches as he listens to his father's words. He can't believe that his father is still pushing this idea, despite his objections. “You just don't get it, do you? It's not just about your stupid values and wealth. I have my own life, my own preferences, my own damn desires.”

He shakes his head, feeling a mixture of anger and frustration. “You can't force me to marry someone, my ex, just because it's convenient for you or our family reputation.”

“Satoru, stop being so goddamn egotistical. This isn't just about pleasing me or our ideals. It's about doing what's right for your future. And let's be honest, your current lifestyle isn't exactly sustainable in the long run. You need a partner who understands and respects you, whom you can share your life with. And someone who can keep you in check. Leave my room. I'll arrange you and y/n. That's the end of it.”

“Ugh, fine! but don't expect me to treat her like a goddess wife.” He was tired of these lectures, tired of his futile defensive arguments.

“Trust me, after spending a few days with her as your wife, you'll come to appreciate her, she was always a good daughter figure when she’d visit whilst you dated.”

He leans back in his chair, folding his hands “And I expect you to be on your best behaviour. No more womanising or hookups, got it?”

He rolls his eyes, feeling frustrated but also resigned to the situation “Yeah, yeah, I got it. No more women, no more hookups. You want me to be a damn saint, I'll be a saint.”

A day later, his father calls me, telling me to visit their estate and that he has something important to discuss with me. I head over and enter the family estate, a butler leading me to his fathers study room. Am I going to get fired already? No.. if I were to be getting fired I’d be called to Satoru’s office.

Satoru sits in his father's room, staring out the window as his father sits beside him. His thoughts still swirl with anger and frustration but he knows he has no choice to argue with his father.

Suddenly, his father's butler knocks on the door and enters the room. “Excuse me. Miss l/n is here saying that you called for her?” He steps aside, revealing you standing in the doorway.

“Hello..”

His father stands up and smiles at you warmly

“Ah, y/n, please come in. Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

I enter the room, closing the door behind me and glance at satoru confused, his expression neutral, only with slightly furrowed brows. Then I returned my gaze back onto his father.

His father gestures for you to take a seat across from him and Satoru. “Please, have a seat. There's something important we need to discuss with you.”

After taking your seat, His father leans forward, his tone serious “Y/n, I've called you here because Satoru and I have had a chat recently. And we both agreed that it would be beneficial for all of us if you and Satoru were to get married.”

Oh god, he can’t be serious. “Mr. Go-“

His father continues, ignoring your reaction

“I understand that this might come as a surprise, but hear me out. Satoru needs a partner who can help him grow and mature. And I believe that you are the perfect candidate for that. You come from a good family and have a strong sense of responsibility. You can provide the stability and guidance that Satoru desperately needs.”

“I... thank you for the offer but I-“

His father holds up a hand, stopping you from protesting further “You'll be given the money you want. £100k beforehand and £2k weekly by this idiot here, right?”

You part your lips slightly and your breath catches in your dry throat. You weren’t being serious with that amount, simply stating it because you didn't expect it to happen. You wave your hands in protest as you smile awkwardly “No, No I-“

His father raises an eyebrow, clearly sceptical of your protest, “You were the one who suggested the money. Don't try to back out of it now. I’m offering a significant amount of financial security. Not to mention, being married to Satoru would mean a life of luxury and comfort.”

Satoru, who had been silent until now, finally speaks up. He leans back in his chair, a mix of irritation and resignation in his voice. “Just take the damn deal, y/n.”

“Tch, don't tell me what to do.”

“Why are you being so difficult? we're offering you a once in a lifetime opportunity here. You'd be a fool to reject it.”

You roll your eyes, looking away and sighing. He's right, but it would be hell for you. Get back with the ex who cheated on you with a prostitute..? It’s crazy.

His father clasps his hands together, sensing that you're starting to give in, “If that's not enough, £200k beforehand, £3k weekly.”

“You're serious...? About this?”

“Absolutely. I've already spoken to your parents and they agreed, but do you?”

Satoru watches you intently, waiting for your answer. He's starting to feel a sense of annoyance at your hesitancy, but he tries to hide it.

His father leans forward, “Y/n, you won't have to work another day.”

"You'll have access to the best of everything, a life of luxury, and you'll be a part of a high-profile family. Think about it, you'll never have to worry about money or anything again."

“I mean I already don't... have to worry…” You’re starting to give in. Oh god this can’t be good.

“Yes, but the offer is still there. You'd have more. You know our family is #1 wealthiest in Japan, your family is #50 wealthy. Think about it.”

Satoru can't contain himself anymore, he leans forward, his irritation evident in his voice “Damn it, you're being stubborn for no reason. Just take the deal already.”

You scowl at his words and tone, giving a dirt as you furrow your brows.

Sator glares right back, his irritation at your defiant attitude growing.

“Just take the fucking deal you love money anyway!”

“Fine!” I yell back with a frustrated groan.

His father lets out a satisfied exhale, a small smile on his face.

“Excellent. I'm glad you came to your senses.”

Satoru leans back, a mix of frustration and resignation on his face. “Finally, you gave in.”

His father’s tone became more serious as he speaks, “Now that that's settled, there are a few conditions that we need to discuss.”

He pauses, looking at Satoru, “First, Satoru. You will not contact any of your former lovers or hookups. The public and our family would look down on that. You must maintain a clean image as a couple.”

You scoff a laugh. “Tch. Of course you had prostitutes right after I left you.” He really was a damn sex freak. You can’t believe he didn’t catch on to the fact you knew he cheated on you. What a dickhead.

He rolls his eyes, feeling a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment at being called out on his behavior.

“Yeah, I did. So what? I had em before you and had em after.”

The audacity for him to blatantly admit such a disgusting thing makes you stare at him in both disbelief and disgust. You hid it well, but it did hurt you. It was like as if he poured acid onto your heart.

His father shakes his head, his disapproval evident

“Satoru that's exactly the type of behaviour that needs to change, immediately. You are a part of a powerful family, and your actions reflect on us all. No more of that immature behaviour.”

He rolls his eyes as he leans back on his seat, looking away, “Yeah, I know.”

“Second, y/n, you will be expected to support Sator in every way possible. This means attending family events and public appearances with him, offering him emotional support, and generally acting as a supportive partner.”

“Of course that's basic stuff, I can do that.” You respond softly, and maturely.

“Good, I'm glad you understand.” He clears his throat,“Onto the third condition. This is the most important one.

His voice takes a firm, serious tone “It involves the matter of heirs. You'll be expected to have children within the next 2 years of the marriage. Ideally, a son and a daughter.”

You should have expected that as a condition too.

“This is non-negotiable. We want to ensure the continuing of our family line, and we expect you two to fulfil your duty.”

I smirk slightly as I look down at my lap, “Do I get paid for pregnancy too?” I ask sarcastically.

"Actually, yes. You'll receive an extra £80k for each pregnancy, and £150k for giving birth.”

Your breath hitches once more, he can’t be serious.. “What?” That amount is far too ridiculously huge, even for you.

His father smiles slightly, seeing your surprise. "That's correct. We understand that pregnancy can be a difficult and exhausting experience, both physically and mentally. That's why we're willing to offer additional compensation as a token of our appreciation for your efforts in continuing our bloodline."

“Wait I was just joking-“

His father chuckles slightly, dismissing your protest.“Oh, I know you were joking, but we take this seriously. The compensation is non-negotiable. We want to ensure that you and Satoru have all the support and resources you need to start a family.”

“But that’s not necessary I promis-“

“It is necessary. He’s our only child, it’s only right that we gift his wife and mother of his children. And you’ll be keeping him in check from his…. Behaviours.”

To think you’re actually agreeing to this is mental. If you were to speak to yourself a week ago you’d be laughing hysterically.

“Right.. right. Next two years..”

“Yes, within the next 2 years. We want to ensure that the family line is continued in a timely manner.”

Satoru remains mostly silent in his seat, a hint of irritation in his expression at the conversation's direction.

His father continues, a stern tone in his voice, “It's not solely your responsibility dear, of course. Satoru will also be expected to play an active role in the child-rearing process, but you will be the main caregiver and nurturer.”

I mean, it’s not so bad. But it’s Gojo Satoru who will be your husband and father of your children. What if he just cheated again? How does his father expect you to keep him in line?

He looks back and forth between you and Satoru

"You both will work together to raise your children, providing them with the love, care, and stability that a family should have. It won't be easy, but we believe that you're both capable of it."

Satoru bristles visibly at his father's words. The thought of having children so soon with his bitch of an ex, is far from appealing to him. Yes, he still has a few feelings for you, but not enough to want to be forced with you. Not like this. But he bites back any protest, knowing it's fruitless to argue with his father.

"Also, if you hate each other behind closed doors, expect you both to appear as a loving couple for the public.”

“Yes.. we will.”

"And Satoru, you better stay behaved. We don't want any more scandals that might embarrass the family's name.

You're lucky they haven't seen you with those whores you've met."

He grits his teeth at his father's comment, feeling a mixture of anger and embarrassment at his indiscretions being brought up time and time again. "I already told you, I'll stop those hookups. There's no need to constantly bring it up."

"I'll believe it when I see it. Just remember, your actions reflect on this family.”

His gaze shifts back to you.

"And y/n, I know you’ll keep Satoru in line. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

“I will.”

"Good. I have faith in you to keep Satoru in check."

His expression suddenly turns serious again.

“One more thing, both of you. Absolutely no infidelity after marriage. I expect absolute loyalty from both of you.”

“Say that to him not me” I mutter, rolling my eyes towards Satoru’s direction.

Satoru clicks his tongue at your words.

His father sighs, directing his gaze at Satoru. “Satoru, I expect complete loyalty from now on. No more flings or hookups with anyone else. Your marriage is solely with y/n now.”

Satoru scowls at his father's words but doesn't argue. He knows that resisting is pointless. He turns his gaze to you, his expression a mixture of irritation and resignation. “I understand.”

[illubean]

Lmao crack request: How much/What kind of stupid shit would it take for hxh bois to divorce/kill their spouse or come close to it

Like a spouse that meets all their other requirements, But is just an absolute moron in the most mundane ways (confusing salt with sugar, forgoting their birthday/dates, cannot be trusted around open flame, will eat thing they're not supposed to if left alone, tripping in pulic and embarrassing them.)

Chrollo, Illumi, and Machi(Plus anyone else you want honestly)

What Would Make HXH Characters Kill/Divorce You

Characters: Illumi Zoldyck, Chrollo Lucilfer, Machi Komacine

IM BACK!! or am i (smirk emoji)

Warnings: killing and divorce duh

Illumi Zoldyck

it already takes a lot for Illumi to even consider being with someone so I'd imagine it would take a lot for him to kill you

divorce is not and never will be an option for this man

its either you are married forever or he is killing you

the only way I can see him killing you is if you cheat or pose some sort of threat to the family

and even if you did cheat he's more likely to kill the other person than you...

honestly if you act up he'd probably just lock you in a basement or something

you must have some crazy redeeming qualities for this guy to be with you because why the hell are you so dumb

he probably uses your idiocy against you

as in he manipulates you..

you don't pick up on it obviously but you're generally happy so i guess it doesn't matter

ignorance is bliss i guess

Chrollo Lucilfer

poor Chrollo

he already has a whole troupe to run and has to hide from the cops and whatnot

but now he has a dumb ditzy s/o? lord help him

a part of him lwky likes that you're so stupid but the other part of him...not so much

like aww you depend on him but also Oh my god you can't be left alone.

you stress this man OUT

i don't think he could ever get to the point of considering marrying you stupid or not

his live is too busy to be tied down like that

also since he likes you in the first place I don't think he'd ever have it in him to kill you

unless you were like a serious threat or something

he lightly pokes fun at you for your lack of spatial awareness like when you walk into poles or trip over something that was easily avoidable

but it does get tiring having to yank you out of the way of oncoming traffic or trying to stop you from wandering off

Machi Komacine

Machi is very level headed so I doubt she'd kill you over anything dumb

and she has sharp intuition so I doubt she'd marry you in the first place if she felt there was room for divorce

but she's very loyal to the Troupe and Chrollo so that being said, if you pose a threat to them she might kill you

but if somehow you guys get married and she doesn't realize how stupid you are before she's definitely realizing it now

it takes a long time of little things for her to actually divorce you

like wtf do you mean you ate her wax melts because they looked like chocolate? WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAVE TO CHECK EXPIRATION DATES???

she's surprised you haven't accidentally killed yourself yet

her breaking point is when you tried making instant ramen in the microwave

With no water.

You ended up setting it on fire.

she stares blankly into the flaming appliance and says flatly "I want a divorce"

[mikalara-dracula]

omg !! loved ur ruki turn on n offs ! 😫 idk if ur taking requests rn but may we get one w reiji instead ? if not its k but those hcs were so good thx for the food 😭🫶

💙 Reiji's turn-ons & turn-offs—

Warning: 18+ content below; don't read if you're a minor and aren't comfortable with slight NSFW. This is a fictional work and should not be taken seriously.

Caution: Unfortunately, Tumblr has a history of admins quarreling over completing carbon copy asks due to users sending the same request(s) to multiple admins, thus, resulting in unintentional plagiarism. With this, please DO NOT send the same request to multiple blogs as it can cause unintended plagiarism discord to other blogs across Tumblr. The word “plagiarism” stems from the early 17th-century Latin word, “plagiarius,” meaning “kidnapper.” So please, do not send in the same request to multiple blogs and make admins appear to be “kidnapping” other people’s work when it isn’t their intention. If this is to occur with any of my posts, please contact me so we can work something out.

Hi there, Anons!

Thank you so much for requesting! It looks like you all requested the same thing. I'm very sorry about the wait! I hope you all enjoy reading it. Feel free to request again anytime. :)

Turn-ons:

Intelligence—If there’s one thing we know about our tea-loving vampire, is that he loves intelligence. He’s quite intrigued by this and finds it to a lethal trait on a woman.

Curly hair/Fluffed hair—Reiji has a thing for curly hair, or old-fashioned hair-styles on women. He finds that they exhibit a lot of class and look particularly lovely on women as well. Particular hair styles @liannelara-dracula and I think Reiji would love on a woman are the ones Shalom flaunted in the 90s in some of her most famous catwalks. For example: (1), (2), (3), (4).

Height—There’s something about a tall stature on a woman that Reiji finds attractive. It might be because he’s tall-ass himself and may want a partner that’s around that height, but this isn’t something he’s super set on, please bear that in mind.

Red bottom heels—These absolutely seduce our bae Rei. Wear these, and he’s all yours. ;)

Tight, but also loose dresses—Reiji just loves this look on a woman, where some of her curves are highlighted, but not entirely either. It’s something he really finds attractive. These are some examples: (1), (2).

Defined waistlines—Let’s face it, all of us girls have waistlines. If a girl manages to define her shape a lot in this area, Reiji’s very turned on by it.

Backless dresses—I forgot to mention this earlier haha! But yes, Reiji absolutely loves backless dresses on women, preferably red or black. Like, that amount of nudity is enough to send him over the edge, especially since such a vulnerable part of the body is being shown.

Charming lingo—A girl who has a charming way of speaking, to the point where she can flatter but also spit diplomatically. He’s all for it because sophistication’s a big thing for this classy vampire.

Red lipstick—He finds this to be very attractive on a woman, something that really completes her look altogether. Plus, Reiji has secret desire of having a woman leave her lipstick imprint on his cheek.

Tidiness—This is one thing that Reiji loves and in which, his brothers lack—heavily at that anyways. He just loves the idea of everything being perfect and in place, hence, his lab being a perfect example of this habit.

Cleanliness—Another obvious thing his brothers lack. Reiji finds cleanliness to be a great but also necessary aspect since he likes everything to be spotless, so having an s/o with this trait is something he considers ideal. Poor Yui being victim to his rigorous cleaning methods.

A woman’s walk—It’s actually canon that Reiji is strict when it comes to sitting/standing/walking postures. So the way a woman walks, he considers it to be a way that she displays herself. So, if she has a k!ller walk, he is d-e-a-d. xDD

Turn-offs:

Ignorance—Reiji honestly hates this because he doesn’t find there to be any excuses for it. He’s very on top of things and finds it incredibly stupid if someone doesn’t know better when they can about a certain subject.

Laziness—Ah, it’s no wonder Shu and him don’t get along. Reiji absolutely loathes being lazy. There isn’t one day where Reiji just decides to sit back and do nothing for no apparent reason. He only rests when he feels that his mind and body need a break, other than that, he does not sit and laze around like a certain blonde vampire. Apart from this, he constantly points out how much he hates Shu’s laziness, so he wouldn’t dare engage in it himself.

Curiosity—If there’s one thing Reiji hates, it’s the curiosity of others regarding his life. As a vampire prince, he’s very used to people wanting to meddle in his life, and he absolutely hates it since it’s not genuine at all—it’s just for other’s gain and nothing else.

Uncleanliness—Reiji, in general, hates cleaning up after his brothers since they just trash the place and leave it that way. He absolutely hates when things are out of place, let alone dirty, so uncleanliness is definitely a turn-off to him when it comes to both people and romantic partners.

Loudness/Outbursts—He’s not a fan of yelling. He much prefers to talk things through with people. It may be snappy, but it’s classy and he deems it to be better than raising his voice at someone, unlike some of his brothers tend to do. It’s canon that Reiji has raised his voice before, but he was beyond enraged and it took A LOT to get him there, so it’s quite rare if he does this. In general, he doesn’t prefer to get that far and keeps things pretty calm when he’s debating or arguing. As mentioned before, it’s quite rare to see him behave that way.

Imperfections—They can be of any sort, and if ya’ll have seen the anime adaption, he literally explains to Yui that he hates imperfections and “[w]ill not tolerate them.” Reiji’s kind of a handful at this point, but he’s Reiji.

Accepting things as they are—It’s canon that Reiji cannot accept reality for what it is when things don’t go his way. He seriously has a hard time with this and in one of his game routes, he pointed out that Yui taught him how to look at the brighter side of things when something didn’t go right.

Bad manners—Oh geez, this is probably Reiji’s biggest pet peeve and something he can’t look past. He finds it discordant when people can’t behave politely. He’s not even asking for kindness, but as long as someone conducts themselves with respectful mannerisms, it’s enough for him. After all, we’ve seen him scold his brothers countless times for it. That dining scene tho.

[hamliet]

How does "AFO gave Tenko Decay" theory being confirmed takes away from Tomura's agency? I'm just trying to understand your point of view. Of course, AFO is saying that none of the decisions Tomura made were his own, but that's simply an exaggeration of what we already knew. We already knew that AFO groomed him and that he was the reason Tenko saw the world in a certain way and why killing was a normal thing to him. And we knew that AFO expected Tomura to wish for more power. So what changed? AFO didn't make people on the streets ignore Tenko, didn't manipulate heroes into not seeing villains as people, and he didn't manipulate Tomura into wanting to destroy everything instead of becoming the new king of the underworld. Tomura made the decision to kill all heroes and destroy Japan. AFO being the one who created Tomura, which we already knew for years, doesn't really take away from the fact that it was Tomura who hurt and killed all those people. And if it does somehow take away from his villainy and the fact that he was the one who decided that he wanted to lash out at the world, shouldn't have people complained about this years prior to this? Because AFO being the main reason for Tomura being a villain was made obvious a very long time ago.

Same person as in the ask about Tomura's villainy not being taken away from. Forgot to add, but we have characters that did bad things and did mean them but are still should be treated as people - Dabi and Toga. None of their agency was taken away. Dabi chose to kill people fully aware, no agency being taken away here. Same with Toga. AFO never was their behind their villainy, he's only the reason why Touya survived. AFO is being sympathised with - through Yoichi. Who is the only one who was genuinelly upset seeing his brother die, and who is the only person AFO ever actually loved in his own way. The only person all of this OFA hunt and vessel-raising was done for, from AFO's perspective. Redemption, atonement and salvation are something one has to want, it's a choice someone has to make. He is treated as this Evil because AFO had all the opportunities to change and never took them. He can't trust people because it would mean giving away something from himself. He is someone who got stuck with emotional maturity of a toddler and could never make the right choice - and it's not his fault. The narration from his backstory is very much sympathetic too.

You're welcome to disagree with me, Anon. But the irony is that you're stating exactly my problem with it: that it's

simply an exaggeration of what we already knew.

Although I'd argue it's more like shooting a spider in terms of exaggeration. Like, there's escalation, and then there's "are you okay" levels of exaggeration. And when you have an exaggeration to this level, you better have a good reason for it. That spider had better be hoping to end the world. But here... that's not the case.

My main point is that: if it doesn't add anything to a story, it shouldn't be there. Yeah, that's harsh, and enjoyment is something added, etc. But, at its most stringent, a plot twist must add something to the story--to its meaning, to illuminate the past chapters, etc. This doesn't do that, which you're kind of even pointing out yourself. And it's such a big reveal, given a horror factor, that it doesn't work to just ignore it either.

I think AFO literally orchestrating Tenko's BIRTH is like... so out of the realm of "grooming." It's into the realm of "defies reasonability and is almost laughable." It's not a parallel or commentary on real life society with subtext, which BNHA has tried to maintain for a long time. Instead it's like... it's such an escalation that it shatters immersion.

What does this add to the narrative? Honestly, it adds nothing that we didn't already know and makes what we already knew "oh wait not actually the most important part," and hence it's not a good reveal.

Like, it wasn't foreshadowed. Was anyone thinking that AFO had orchestrated Shigaraki's birth? It wasn't really implied at all. The quirk thing was implied, but this is just... a dramatic escalation.

It adds nothing in a subtext sense either. Predators irl seek out children who are vulnerable. They don't orchestrate literally everything from creating their very existence by urging their parents to have kids.

The funny thing is that I'm not actually opposed in theory. But in execution, it's bad. See, as much as I'm saying "this is ridiculous," it's because the story as set up didn't set this up.

It could work much better as commentary on social realities like the Todoroki quirk marriage. However, as is, it's nonsensical given that we know AFO was looking at other kids as possibilities. So it also has a whiff of retcon. Again, it could have worked if the story had played more into the god complex or hinted that Kotaro was being manipulated or whatnot. But BNHA hasn't done either of those things. So again I ask, why?

Thematically, one of my favorite aspects of BNHA is society's nuanced flaws. Yes, the flaws that hurt Shig all still happened. Tenko was still ignored. So if society is a problem, then why does Horikoshi need to portray one geriatric dude with a weird interest in strangers' sex lives as the entire reason Shigaraki even exists? Does this add to that theme? It does not.

It adds nothing beyond making it a moral necessity to save Shigaraki.

We also don't have any hint that we're not to take it at face value or to think it's a distortion; Deku isn't challenging him on this. It'd be easy to throw something like that in there, but it's not there.

Anyways, this is my opinion. You're welcome to disagree, and like I said, I'm still cheering for Shigaraki.

[k7l4d4]

K Reviews and Rants: Miraculous Ladybug Season 5! Finale!!

Hello all! Sorry for not posting Yesterday, I... forgot. That's really all there is to it, I forgot and lost track of time before I had to go to work, and was too tired to post when I got back. So, to make up for it, I'm posting the ENTIRE Finale review, Parts 1 and 2, today! I hope you all enjoy.

Okay, cards on the table: This finale was crap. I'm pretty sure I tackle most of the issues inherent to it in the main review that I'll be posting below, but at it's core? This 2-Parter is just a crappy attempt to try and recreate the success of Heroes' Day, and it does it BADLY. The Miraculized is an honestly interesting concept, I think, in that it shows that Gabe and Tomoe have essentially jailbroken the power of the Kwami into something capable of mass production... which is presented as a bad thing. But on its own, it is genuinely impressive; if it weren't for the lazy and honestly nonsensical brainwashing plot with the "Perfect Alliance" app, it could've been interesting to see them gather and recruit genuinely willing agents to fight for them, acting on their behalf without dealing with the idiosyncrasies of Akumas in favor of totally loyal professionals.

But, what really kills the first part of this 2-Parter is that they keep hyping up these nightmares as being this super-traumatic thing... but aside from Adrien's, which doesn't make much sense, and Alya's, which her reaction is just stupidly exaggerated in regards to, they all just come off as ridiculous and stupid rather then traumatizing. I just can't take them seriously. The fact that they go out of their way to detail the specifics of their nightmares hurts it more because it exposes just HOW ridiculous they are, rather then keeping it vague but still giving the audience an idea of WHY they are so traumatized by it.

Not to mention that, despite Felix having SPELLED OUT that "Gabriel is Hawkmoth/Shadow Moth/Monarch" it seemed to have never actually clicked to Marinette until now that "oh crap, Gabriel is Hawkmoth!!" Which makes the prior play Felix put on all the more stupid since it ultimately did nothing to give Marinette more information if that's true, and instead focused entirely on making Marinette believe Felix's excuses for his bad deeds. So... what? I just don't get this continuity at all.

But what I think the biggest case of wasted potential in this finale, for all that it's a lazy Heroes' Day clone, is how it squanders the idea of their being more heroes, non-Miraculous connected ones, out in the world to help her... and instantly ignores how the Miraculized are able to TRACK the Ladybug and Black Cat's powers. When Marinette unified them, they should've INSTANTLY started swarming her all over again, like they did the first time she transformed. THAT would've made for an actual good reason for all the heroes around the world to appear; because they are tracking the movements of the army and are stopping them from mobbing Marinette while she's duking it out with Hawkmoth.

And just... Hawkmoth. Gabriel. How can a show just drop the ball so completely on such an awful character? I mean, I get how, they have been priming this for several seasons by having everyone around Gabe insist "he used to be better," but every thing they dredge up as evidence of this ultimately amounts to either scenes without context or detail, or someone claiming he used to be different but has now changed, without any word or detail on HOW he has changed. It expects the audience to just... take their word for it. To see Marinette showing him compassion, despite the fact that she should know damn well by now that Gabe has always put what HE wants for Adrien over what actually makes Adrien happy, every single time. And the way it insists upon itself by calling Gabe's actions "Madness." No, being deluded is not the same thing as being insane; Gabe knew full and well what he was doing, what the consequences would be, and ultimately decided "I don't CARE."

His delusions stopped and ended at his egotistical insistence that he's the one in the right; he didn't become a supervillain because of "Madness." He didn't decide to keep his son isolated from everyone around him for YEARS, long before his wife died, because of "Madness." He didn't cultivate plans specifically meant to isolate and hurt others so as to make them vulnerable to his powers because of "Madness." Everything Gabe has done, he has done because at his core, he is a selfish, egotistical failure of a father who refuses to accept that he's the bad guy. It's like if The Owl House had Belos, after literally driving himself to the brink of death in his obsession with wiping out all Witches, be given sympathy by the heroes because "it's not his fault he's so awful, he was raised to be that way" and had his demise be because he "let" himself be killed after somehow destroying all magic but leaving the inhabitants of the Islands unharmed. It's excusing the actions of a man whose deeds are inexcusable.

And you want to know what makes all this worse? Adrien never once gains closure. For the entire finale, he's stuck hiding in his room, against his will. Despite his father tormenting him and isolating him from all his friends, despite his last fight against Hawkmoth as Nighttormentor involving him verbally ripping his dad a new one for how much of an utterly awful parent and human being he is... after the world is erased and rebuilt, his clone is basically told "oh no, your abusive father was actually a good man, you should want to be like him." It's a slap in the face of anyone and EVERYONE who has had an abusive parental figure, who has dealt with someone they are supposed to be able to look up to but who instead abused their authority to hurt and control them. Never in my life have I been so contemptful of people who try and deflect criticism of this show because "I don't work in the industry;" anyone who thinks THIS is acceptable, who excuses the writers who felt PROUD of putting together this abomination, screw you. It would be one thing, however low of a bar it would be, if the writers really COULDN'T present Gabe as being the bad guy in the end... but that's not the case. They were proud of it. This was "always the plan." I have no further words for how messed up that is.

Onto the main review. As always, warning for any profanity on my part... and there's a bit of a doozy of that today.

Episode 25: Finale Part 1 - Conformation

Alright, opening things up, and we immediately jump to the first day of Summer Break, and apparently the hot topic is the election, and the tourist scene... and for some reason, Nadja feels the need to call attention to Adrien's arrival in London, alongside Kagami.

Also, "arrived yesterday"?!? Just, what the HELL!? Again, how the fuck is all this time zone BS going on!? For fuck's sake, it's showing their arrival like it happened when it was bright and early, but there's no way the flight should've been that long! Paris is not that far from fucking LONDON of all places!! I'm also confused on why Adrien's personal life is important enough to warrant this kind of news; he's a teen model, not some kind of billionaire playboy or whatever. I'm thinking that Gabe might be astroturfing things by paying news groups to give attention to the little "arrangement" he and Tomoe are trying to set-up, to control the narrative. It would fit with his speech to Marinette about controlling what people want and aspire to obtain.

Yup, Gabe's manipulating things. It's not directly stated, but given that the news report mentioned a direct report from the Gabriel brand on this, I'd say it's likely. Also, regarding Kagami, WHAT "SUCCESSFUL MODELING CAREER!?" SHE HAS NEVER BEEN A FUCKING MODEL IN HER ENTIRE LIFE!! HECK, HER BEING ON THE ALLIANCE RING AT ALL WAS BECAUSE HER MOM USED HER IMAGE AND VOICE WITHOUT HER CONSENT!! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!!!

Also, yeah, creepy insistence on "Perfection" again. Seriously, the obsession this show has with the concept of "perfection" is disturbing, and I don't mean it in the sense of villains using it, like Gabe and Tomoe do, but even the HEROES use it way too much. It gets thrown around so much, I can't even begin.

Oh, and I got my answer on where the "successful modeling career" for Kagami came from; from my point of view, Tomoe is allowing Gabe to appropriate Kagami's image to make ads, all designed to sell the idea that she and Adrien are a couple. And Kagami chucks something at the screen playing the ad for "Perfection, the Drink that hydrates to Perfection." Again, they are using "perfection" too much without seeming to get what it means.

And apparently Gabe's spying on Kagami and Adrien trapped in their creepy white rooms. Just, just, WHY!? Why the fucking ROOMS!? These things are just utterly disturbing, why the absolute FUCK do Tomoe and Gabe think they need to use "WHITE TORTURE ROOMS" for their kids!? Are they insane or just fucking stupid!?

And Gabe references this "Perfect Alliance" thing, which I just know I'm gonna fucking hate. Just, just why the HELL does he think they need to be in LONDON to be safe from whatever it is!? Is it a death laser? A bomb? WHAT!? For fuck's sake, GABE HAS LITERALLY ALLOWED CITY DESTROYING AKUMAS LOOSE BEFORE WITHOUT GIVING A FUCK ABOUT THE DANGER THEY POSE TO ADRIEN, AND IF TOMOE HAS ALWAYS BEEN HER PARTNER THEN SHE HASN'T SHOWN ANY MORE REGARD WHEN IT COMES TO KAGAMI, THEY COULD LITERALLY JUST USE BUNKERS IN PARIS AND ACHIEVE THE SAME RESULTS!!!!

Honestly, that's what makes this so stupid to me; they are framing this scene as if Tomoe and Gabe are isolating their kids to "keep them safe," yet Gabe hasn't even TRIED to stop Akumas capable of wiping out Paris while knowing full well Adrien is there, so why is this time different? That same line of reasoning goes for Tomoe regarding Kagami; if she's always been Gabe's secret partner, and Kagami means this much to her, where were her complaints regarding incidents like Syren, when the literal city was FLOODED by the Akuma? What THEN!?

For fuck's sake, they are like overgrown children!!

"One day they'll understand that we did this all for their own good" NO THE FUCK YOU DIDN'T TOMOE!! YOU DID THIS TO SATISFY WHATEVER WEIRD AGENDA BETWEEN YOU AND GABE THAT YOU HAVEN'T ELABORATED ON!! YOU ARE ARBITRARILY TRYING TO DICTATE THEIR LIVES EVEN THOUGH YOU SHOULD FUCKING KNOW THAT YOU ARE MAKING THE MISERABLE!!!

...These two are abusive. Like, no duh, that's obvious, but this is LITERALLY the kind of reasoning you see in abusive parents; it's the coldblooded rationalization that they are in the right for how they treat their children, and that it's everyone else who says differently that is wrong. Now Tomoe mentions something about a "poison" and a "remedy" which I can't begin to make heads or tails of but is probably super fucking stupid.

Yup, it's fucking stupid; I still don't know what the overall "plan" is, but Gabe just reakumatized himself into Nighttormentor (for some fucking reason), is loading up on the powers of the Mouse, Horse, and Rooster Miraculous... okay, it's apparently some fucking stupid plot to give the whole world nightmares, probably in some dumb as hell rehash of the Scarlet Akuma plot.

"The nightmare has finally begun." "And our wish to bring our child together can finally come true." I just... what? What the fuck does ANY OF THIS relate to getting Kagami and Adrien together?? Like, literally NOTHING about this scene or this plot have anything to do with them beyond Gabe spying on them while they sleep! (Which is creepy as fuck, by the way) It's just the writers shoving in relationship BS when it doesn't even relate to what these idiots are doing.

Alright, now we get an utterly stupid as hell scene of Marinette dressed up in a Ladybug-themed suit of armor like a knight while riding a red motorcycle... this is her nightmare, and it's literally doing the entire "flipped fairy tale" BS of swapping the gender stereotypes but otherwise leaving them totally unchanged, isn't it? And it's gonna end in disaster since, well, it's a NIGHTMARE.

...Yup, this is stupid. In addition to this honestly giving the vibes of a pretty sexist "role reversal" of the stereotypical "knight saves the princess," it involves Marinette "slaying the dragon holding the prince(ess) hostage" with said dragon being revealed to be Gabe, and accidentally "killing" Gabe by... lightly brushing him with her sword on the arm? And Adrien asking "why did you do that, Marinette?" I just... I cannot even FOLLOW whatever shit this is trying to BE!! It's like they are trying to say "Marinette/Ladybug would KILL Hawkmoth and break Adrien's heart!!" which already doesn't make any sense since yes, he's dying, because OF HIS OWN FUCKING STUPIDITY!!! Marinette's Lucky Charm isn't even directly harmful; the only way she could kill someone would be if she was actively TRYING to do so, and she's not the type. Why the FUCK are they trying to frame this as an actual concern she could EVER EVEN HAVE ABOUT THIS SITUATION!?

...Given I already know how this finale is gonna play out, my best guess is that this idiocy is them trying to foreshadow Marinette's "big moment" at the end, but it falls apart because it is utterly fucking contrived by implanting a fear that, like the bullshit dream sequence of a nightmare that Chat Noir was subjected to despite lacking any reason to even CONSIDER IT A CONCERN, has no real basis for. It just EXISTS to generate conflict and drama. And I'm not gonna get into how "dreams are irrational" and all that, because yes, they are; but for things like nightmares, they have to be based on things a person would already be afraid of or be having concerns over. Neither Chat nor Marinette have ANY reason to have had those particular nightmares at all!!

"I have to free him from the dragon- I mean, from his father!" Marinette... no. Shut up. Shut the absolute FUCK UP. This? This entire fucking mess is not something you need to "save" Adrien from; yes, he needs to be gotten out from Gabe's thumb, but the primary fucking REASON he still IS under Gabe's thumb is because he's been sitting on his ass and avoiding actually confronting his problems, AND YOU HAVE BEEN ENABLING HIM ALL THIS TIME!!! For fuck's sake, it's the stupidity with you trying to defend to Adrien that Gabe has "Changed" despite him threatening your career and making it clear he's never going to let you be with his son if he has any kind of a say in it, ACTIVELY CONTRIBUTED TO THIS BS. You don't get to freak out about "saving him" when you can't even woman up enough to be genuinely honest with him and let him face tough times on his own instead of constantly trying to spare his fucking feelings!!

And apparently the stupid nightmare power thing causes people physical pain as well as emotional distress, because why the fuck not!? And Marinette ends up seeing one of Gabe's new ads (still doing that stupid as fuck "Perfection" thing) with the images of Adrien and Kagami. Who thinks she'll take this the wrong way? (Raises hand)

"His father won't tell you a thing, will he?" Oh, I dunno Tikki, I think the man who has kept Adrien socially isolated from everyone for nearly his entire life, actively has fought to keep him out of public school and people his own age, is secretly a terrorist (SOMETHING YOU TWO SHOULD KNOW AFTER THAT LITTLE FIASCO WITH FELIX AND KAGAMI YESTERDAY!!!), and has micromanaged every aspect of his life down to the minute would absolutely share information on where his son is with the girlfriend he doesn't approve of! /s

"Maybe he won't, but maybe his assistant Nathalie will!" Why? Why would you have ANY FUCKING REASON TO THINK THAT? This isn't even a matter of Nathalie being trustworthy or not, point to a SINGLE MOMENT where Marinette and Nathalie have interacted positively or Nathalie has indicated any willingness to go against Gabe's BS in front of Marinette that would support her having any fucking reason TO THINK THIS!!!

"Adrien told me that she was always kind to him." Why the fuck would you believe that? Seriously, this is the same guy who spoke up for Chloe (which this season went out of its way to tear apart) and let Lila run wild by "taking the high road," why the FUCK would you think he has any fucking clue what he's talking about? He speaks well of his own father half the time despite the man transparently being a complete and utter piece of shit, Adrien isn't exactly a sparkling judge of character!!

Marinette immediately runs off to find Nathalie (why the hell would she even think Nathalie's in Paris, and where the fuck would she even find her?), but is blocked by her dad. Also, something confusing occurred to me; that stupid as hell play that Felix and Kagami put on happened the same night that Adrien left (SOMEHOW), and Marinette woke up in an abandoned classroom the next morning. How wasn't she locked in? Why weren't her parents worried about where she went and why she didn't come home last night without telling them where she was? It's the BS of the show trying to pretend ANY OF THIS MAKES ANY KIND OF SENSE WHEN IT DOESN'T.

Apparently Tom is worried about his daughter running off without eating breakfast first; to be honest, that's a healthy concern to have as skipping a meal can seriously affect your energy, and it's not like taking a few more minutes is gonna make Nathalie suddenly disappear. Ooh, and then Marinette gets hit with the conveniently awful headache that stupid as fuck Nightmare power causes! Why do I call it stupid as fuck? Because currently, we aren't seeing anyone else exhibit that symptom, despite Gabe having apparently spread his nightmare power across the globe... for SOME FUCKING REASON. Seriously, why the FUCK would he bother spreading his power like that when all his efforts have been focused on PARIS!? All he's doing is making it more likely that the international community is going to come for his fucking head.

"This has nothing to do with Adrien!" No, Marinette, it has everything to do with him (unfortunately) and you saying it doesn't is, if anything, MORE of a red flag for them. Plus, your mom was ON YOUR SIDE, so you trying to shut down her reasoning to get your dad to calm down just makes things worse. Okay, NOW we see someone else get hit with the stupid as hell headache; and again, Marinette, just be HONEST WITH YOUR PARENTS, idiot!!

Apparently Tom's nightmare was about how Marinette ended up starving herself over being upset over Adrien leaving. For fuck's sake, HAVE NONE OF THESE PEOPLE HEARD OF A LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP!?!? Like, him just being worried about Marinette starving is a perfectly valid fear all its own, you don't have to tack on Love Square BS into the mix!! Also, his nightmare was stupid in that he thought Marinette not eating would make her physically shrink until a mouse could eat her, instead of, you know, her just plain DYING from hunger.

Sabine's nightmare was about how TOM ended up Akumatized over his worries for Marinette. Apparently something something "trapped her in a giant brioche with an army of croissants to protect her." Like, this entire stupid scene would be less idiotic if they just left their nightmares at the most surface level explanation; getting the details just makes them sound corny and stupid, not something to actually be worried about, and makes the fact that they are still fretting over them obnoxious and hard to take seriously rather then concerning. It's hard to give a shit about people having had bad dreams when they are unironically being concerned about their kids shrinking from not eating to the point of getting eaten by a mouse, etc.

And Marinette immediately bumps into Alya, who is freaking out and convinced that Monarch is gonna find her and she'll blab the secret. See, THIS is a genuine fear to be worried about, as it actually has something resembling a basis in reality. It's still fucking stupid as Monarch DOES NOT KNOW THAT SHE KNOWS, but it's more reasonable a fear then what Marinette's parents were going through.

"We can't be seen together!" Alya, ONCE AGAIN, no one knows that YOU know Ladybug's secret (you would've had to leave like Luka and Alix did, idiot), so no, no one is going to connect you to Ladybug's secret identity, grow the FUCK up already!!

Seriously, WHY THE HELL ARE PEOPLE STILL DEALING WITH THESE STUPID AS FUCK HEADACHES!? We have NEVER had it indicated that the powers of an Akuma persist after they are de-Akumatized!! And no, Stoneheart's minions don't count because they were the result of the original Akuma multiplying. They are trying to artificially generate drama by making everyone on edge and freaked out, but it just does not work when everything is so utterly stupid about it!!

And after Marinette drives off, we now get a look at Adrien still dealing with that stupid as hell nightmare. What makes this nightmare stupid as fucking hell is the fact that, once again, THERE IS NO BASIS FOR IT!! Heck, the ONE THING that could be used as a basis for it, his hitting Monarch with a Cataclysm and setting up the idea that using his powers on other people utterly terrifies him, is shot to pieces by the fact that he has DELIBERATELY tried to Cataclysm TWO other people, ones who are a lot less fucking irredeemable compared to Monarch, for no good reason. This drama BS is annoying as hell. Seriously, why the hell is Adrien so torn up over a non-existent Akumatization based off of another Akumatization that neither he nor Monarch have any knowledge of!?

Adrien snaps awake with a gasp, and here we are. Adrien panting and gasping just doesn't work because the tone doesn't FEEL like something to be worried about; it's literally just a kid having a nonsensical bad dream. He then tries to demand the door be opened; wow, what a great time to gain a spine to stand up for yourself with!

Okay, and it's revealed that this entire fucking BS with the nightmares is to try and make people dependent on a self-help app designed to give people advice on relaxing activities to "help with their negative emotions." ...Why? WHY!? WHY THE ABSOLUTE FUCK DID THEY JUST NOT INCLUDE THAT STUPID APP AS A NON-OPTIONAL UPDATE TO THEIR STUPID AS HELL RINGS!? FOR FUCK'S SAKE, IT ISN'T THAT BIG OF A FUCKING CONCERN!!! YOU DID NOT NEED TO GO THROUGH THIS ENTIRE SHITHOLE OF A PLAN JUST TO DISTRIBUTE THIS THING!! HECK, IF YOU WANTED ADRIEN TO USE AN ALLIANCE RING SO BAD, YOU COULD'VE JUST FORCED HIM TO DO SO!!

"This is insane! My father is out of control!" NOW you realize that!? What, did the pure white room he's locked you into didn't give it away? Also, I'm more shocked that he's only saying that in relation to the ring being presented to him after having a bad dream. Honestly; it's so contrived that THIS is his breaking point.

And then we get a scene of Plagg FINALLY trying to talk Adrien into running away (by transforming into Chat Noir), and so far, Adrien's limiting his objections to the fact that there are cameras that would see him transform... when Plagg can just phase into the systems and break them. Honestly, Adrien blinding and drowning out the SECOND Camera by using the Alliance Ring's inability to stop asking people to ask for the "Perfect Alliance" is pretty clever... and then they have Adrien intending to give up the Ring and going full damsel.

"I'm too angry. at myself for falling short of Marinette's love, at my father for sending me here in London, at this stupid app and rings that use my image, it makes me sick. This nightmare gives me the horrible feeling that, if I transform, I'll get Akumatized and destroy everything with my Cataclysm! Marinette, Ladybug." And he took off the ring, which somehow didn't cause Plagg to get sucked into it. It's almost funny; if it weren't for the fact that his dream is entirely BS and he's angsting over LITERALLY NOTHING, as well as the fact that HE KNOWS REJECTING AN AKUMA IS POSSIBLE AND YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO NOT BE ANGRY TO DO SO, this would be an honestly heartfelt scene. As it is, the fact that this season has been wall-to-wall "random people reject the Akuma's influence" just makes this scene stupid as fuck; it's BS like THIS that should make it so you don't throw around "rejecting the mind-controlling villain's influence" so willy-nilly. It took what little believable tension this scene had, and shot it in the fucking foot. Good job! (Deliberately ignoring the Love Square shilling and too-little-too-late efforts of showing Adrien having a spine)

What's so obnoxious is that ALL OF THIS is too little, too late. It's trying to act as if this is some kind of tipping point for Adrien, like this is something that he had no reason to see coming, yet all of this? He's known it's been coming FOR WEEKS, more even, or it's just a rehash of abuses Gabe has already put him through. It's genuinely hard to care about what he's going through when he's been doing nothing, his character has been at a fucking STAND STILL, for the entire show.

"If I ask her for help, I'd have to give her information that would jeopardize my secret identity." NO!! YOU WOULDN'T!!! YOU COULD LITERALLY JUST HAVE PLAGG SHARE THAT SOMETHING MESSED UP IS GOING ON AND YOU HAD TO HAVE HIM INFORM LADYBUG THAT SHE NEEDS TO RESCUE YOU IN "CHAT NOIR'S" PLACE!!! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!! They are digging for any and every possible excuse to delay having Adrien do something smarter. Is his secret ID really that big of a fucking deal if it means finally being free!? Heck, NOW, of ALL TIMES, is the best possible moment to have her find out the truth!!

And thus Adrien's journey from "independent spirit chafing at his father's control" to "gender-flipped damsel in distress" is now complete! God this is fucking pathetic. Oh, and rather than maintain his efforts to not give in to his father's control, he puts on the ring, conveniently forgetting that he's not the only person in the world capable of having a bad day.

"Adrien, focus on the thing you like the most; the soothing sound of the foils brushing against one another." ...That's it? The big 'reveal' surrounding the "Perfect Alliance" is "basic advice on how to not think about something upsetting you by thinking about something else"? THAT'S ALL THE FUCK IT IS!? Also, the fact that this response is both A) wrong, Fencing is not the thing he likes the most, and B) rather blatantly tailored to Adrien by his parents, makes it pretty fucking obvious that this is an engineered scenario to push more forced shipping BS on the part of Gabe and Tomoe.

"The stimuli that Adrien is receiving on his ring are relaxing his nervous system; the images he's watching are now associated with the feeling of well-being. He's forgetting all about the nightmares he'd previously been obsessing about. Soon he'll calm down and later, fall sound asleep." ...I cannot for the life of me make heads or tails of whatever this fiasco of a plot is even supposed to be about. For starters, Adrien wasn't watching the images at all, he was just listening to the Ring's advice. And forming those kinds of mental associations take a lot stronger emotions then what amounts to a kid being a little stressed over a nonsensical bad dream, and given that these dreams are apparently targeting (really dumb) TRAUMA, then NO, they are not going to "forget all about the nightmares," it's distracting them from them only. And how in the FUCK would they have any impact over superpowers-derived NIGHTMARES!?

Seriously, you cannot make a set-up be all about how the nightmares are a supernatural phenomenon and then introduce a technological "solution" to them. It doesn't work because just getting BASIC FUCKING ADVICE on how to handle stress is not gonna change the fact that all those people are still under the influence of Monarch's power.

"Perfect Alliance is a success, Tsurugi-san." HOW!? You haven't even made whatever point it's supposed to be about!!

Oh, now Marinette FINALLY arrives at the Agreste Manor in Paris, and is intending to break into it to find Nathalie. Tikki tries to warn her off using her powers to break in, on the basis that using them for personal gain has never turned out well for her, which is a good point! Too bad she's not gonna listen.

She counters that it isn't personal this time, it's for Adrien. ...Marinette, how the absolute FUCK have you forgotten that even if it's for Adrien, you aren't doing it for him, YOU ARE DOING IT FOR YOURSELF!! You literally once broke into his room to sniff his stuff AS LADYBUG. You don't get to claim a moral high ground on this.

Oh, and now we are in Nathalie's nightmare, which is a disjointed weirdness of her being bothered by giant ads for the "Perfect Alliance" and "Monarch making his Wish." What the fuck is even happening, I couldn't say. Oh, she's making a video diary for Adrien "for when she's no longer here" and bringing up Emilie... and she couldn't even finish it, due to another ad for the "Perfect Alliance," and tries to grab her old hunting gear despite being extremely infirm. Hmm, it's almost as if she's been wasting MONTHS AND WEEKS of time that she could've used to get the proper authorities or just flatout TELL THE HEROES WHO MONARCH IS, and is now on death's door when Monarch's "brilliant plan" is right around the corner.

Oh, and apparently, instead of trying to find Nathalie, Ladybug was just snooping in Adrien's room! Of course. She only even NOTICES Nathalie trying to leave because her tech-brace is loud.

Brief look of Plagg flying to Paris with the Ring, I wonder how long that'll take him?

And now we get a look of Tom using the Alliance Ring to relax. Him and Sabine are literally too relaxed in this scene; is the Perfect Alliance some kind of brainwashing device? BECAUSE THIS IS NOT HOW RELAXATION WORKS AND THE NIGHTMARES ARE STILL A SUPERNATURAL PHENOMENON!!!

""Adrien and Kagami really form a Perfect Alliance."" Okay, yeah, I'm pretty sure this is meant to be a brainwashing thing. EXCEPT THIS IS NOT HOW BRAINWASHING WORKS YOU FUCKING IDIOT WRITERS!!!

"If I'd known it'd take so long, I'd have made myself a cheese sandwich!" I feel like the writers having Plagg state this is them trying to justify the time zone fuckery, which really doesn't work since Plagg can both A) avoid having to go by Land Routes, and B) Planes fly much higher and much faster than Plagg does skimming just above the water.

Okay, and it looks like, rather than TALK TO NATHALIE like she said she would, Marinette/Ladybug has instead decided to break into her room and snoop through her stuff! Nope, nothing morally or ethically questionable about that! Oh, and she spots a pic of Nathalie, Emilie, and Gabe in safari gear and "makes the connection" that the third woman in the picture is Nathalie wearing the outfit she's right next to. Marinette, why the fuck are you shocked by this? What is there even to be SHOCKED OVER!?

And Plagg FINALLY makes it to Paris!! And is somehow surprised to find that Marinette doesn't spend all of her time at her house. After snooping in her room a bit, he spots a picture that has Marinette and her female friends on it; I wonder where he's going with this...

Okay, now we get a scene of Tsurugi in front of a monitor screen! ...She's supposed to be blind, right? So why the hell is she always presented as not being visually impaired at all, staring at monitors and screens and other forms of visual input without any way to bridge the sensory gap?

Okay, apparently the "big plan" is them having set up this entire convoluted BS is all to facilitate making people dependent on their stupid as fuck brainwashing app, and then take it away from everyone... okay, I just, WHY THE FUCK DID YOU NEED AN AKUMA FOR THIS!? You literally could've played the long game, revealed the "Perfect Alliance" MONTHS AGO, and just gradually waited for the numbers to build up before yanking it away!! For fuck's sake, this is dumb.

I also don't get what Tomoe means by them going to the "next phase of the plan" not having a great enough shock with only 80% of all Alliance Users having downloaded the app. Like, again, you could've gotten a much bigger shock if you had played the long game, lady.

Now Plagg's at Anarka's ship and all of Marinette's friends are doing nothing but lounge around with the Alliance Ring. STILL NOT HOW BRAINWASHING AND DEPENDENCY WORKS, ASTRUC.

Oh look, here's Mylene, the "no-tech" member of their friend group whose hyper-aversion to all non-recyclable technology was shoved in out of nowhere probably just to set-up this stupid as fuck scene that's coming!

...Wow, her nightmare is honestly the dumbest one yet. Like, no joke, "all the trees uprooted by extraterrestrials." I just... what even is that supposed to mean!? Why the fuck does she think that was a "prophetic dream"? Did they seriously turn her into a full-on "New-Age Hippy" oh who the hell am I kidding, OF COURSE THEY DID.

"Put this on, Mylene. You'll feel better." ...I really, REALLY fucking hope that having Nino, the guy who looks like he's of African descent, say something like you'd expect from a drug dealer is just a mistake, because THAT LOOKS AND SOUNDS FUCKED UP.

"I refuse to touch an object that was made without respect for the Earth's resources!" Then how the fuck do you even make it outside, Mylene? HOW!? Also, yup, new-age hippy.

Yeah, this whole thing feels like it's combining internet addiction with drug addiction, and it falls flat on its face because NONE OF THIS IS HOW DEPENDENCE WORKS, and making MYLENE of all people the one pushing back against this stupidity is kinda the worst way to use her. It's reducing her to just "environmentalism" in the worst possible way. Yeah... they are just gonna keep trucking along with this, aren't they? I'm probably gonna just vibe on through this point, since nothing else of substance is happening.

Oh look, something happened with Emilie's weird as hell coffin thing that we still don't know what it does. And back to the good old "Gabriel monologuing to his wife's corpse" scene! Been awhile. Yadda yadda yadda, "I've given up my ambitions (lies), my morality (true, VERY true), but I've never given up on you," and all it cost you was your son's love and respect, not that you had it before given you haven't changed how much of a toxic control freak you are in the slightest.

"I only have a few hours left now," HMM I WONDER WHY!? SURELY ALL THE TIMES YOU HAVE WASTED ON LOOPING THROUGH TIME HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!!!

And after nearly, FINALLY admitting Emilie is dead while monologuing about bringing her back, Nathalie finally bursts onto the scene with her crossbow... she's not even remotely a threat, she is a fucking moron, and this "act of defiance” is utterly fucking stupid. She had her chance, and she fucking blew it. She's gonna die here, and it's all her own fault.

"If you make the wish to bring her back, someone will have to go in her place." Yeah... you are the last person to say that, given what you've been doing.

"Emilie would never have agreed to this!" Again, last person to be saying this. You could've stopped him at any time, this is entirely your own damn fault.

"Do you think I'd be monstrous enough to sacrifice a human being!?" Oh, I dunno, you haven't given any kind of fucks about enabling others to do just that (Pharaoh), when you aren't also enabling villains capable of rendering the entire city devoid of life (Syren). So... yes, she has every reason to believe you would do just that.

"Do you really think that I'm a monster?" YES!! DUDE, YES YOU ARE A FUCKING MONSTER!!!

And he knocks her out cold. Big surprise there.

Now we're back to Marinette snooping in Nathalie's room! Hmm, it's almost as if she's totally forgotten the reason she broke into this place entirely! Hey, she found Fu's stolen tablet. It's almost as if she hadn't learned that Gabriel Agreste is Monarch a day or two ago!

"It can't be!" Marinette... YOU LEARNED ALL THIS LESS THEN TWO DAYS AGO FROM FELIX AND KAGAMI!! Then again, given that Felix hyper-fixated on his "play" being all about making Marinette feel sorry for him in spite of his crimes, it's possible it just slipped to the back of her mind. But no, you should ALREADY KNOW THIS BY NOW.

Oh, and Monarch entered while carrying Nathalie into the room.

And Gabe begins monologuing about how he knew she would betray him and had been prepared... the FUCK YOU DID!! Seriously, she hasn't done anything to act against you all this time, even when she actively said she was betraying you she did nothing to try and stop you, and even after she DID interfere with your attempts to control Adrien, you STILL let her keep the means of doing so!!! Oh, and Marinette's trying to inform Chat Noir in the background.

"You will be loyal to me until the end, after all." So, either he intends to sacrifice HER to bring back his wife, or something like that, because otherwise, this is all just BS posturing on his part. I'm honestly surprised he isn't planning on, I dunno, sacrificing Marinette or something so that she'll cease to be a diversion to his goals of keeping Adrien and Kagami together.

I would hardly call being locked up in a stark white room, the kind used for White Torture, is "safe."

"Monarch is going to send all of human kind after you and Chat Noir." ...HOW DOES THAT RELATE IN ANY WAY TO THIS BULLSHIT PLAN!? For fuck's sake this is dumb.

Them having this weird filter thing going on with Marinette at the moment is dumb. It just looks out of place, and using it over and over again is just distracting from the tension of the scene.

Oh, now I get it, they are intending to have all their brainwashed minions be conditioned to hate Chat Noir and Ladybug by having them interfere with their images on the ring. Once again, this is not how brainwashing or dependence work, so this is just BS. Seriously, how can people who are using the Ring in the same room fall for this? Why the fuck would ANYONE fall for this!?

...And this is where it all falls apart. They are literally having people think that "Adrien" and "Kagami" were kidnapped by "Chat Noir" and "Ladybug." Instead of, you know, some asshole hacking the Perfect Alliance APP!? How fucking stupid ARE THESE IDIOTS!?

Seriously, how the hell have these idiots forgotten that what's shown on the Alliance IS JUST AN AI IMAGE!! IT IS NOT THE REAL PEOPLE!!! For fuck's sake, some of them were literally having totally different "relaxation programs" running while in the same room, they should KNOW that it's not possible for two people to be doing multiple different activities simultaneously! Oh what am I talking about, this is just stupid.

Oh, apparently Monarch found a way to weaponize his Cataclysm wound. That'd almost be clever if it weren't something he absolutely hadn't planned ahead of time and amounts to a BS asspull to artificially increase the stakes.

Seriously "Miraculize me?" ...Honestly, it isn't the worst phrase ever. I might even like it. If it weren't part of the most bullshit asspullery this season has had to date; how the absolute FUCK does this make any sense!? How were they able to, I dunno, recreate the power of transformation that all Miraculouses possess in those Rings? Probably via however the hell the Transfer system works, admittedly, but COME THE FUCK ON THIS IS LITERALLY JUST A CHEAP RIP OFF OF HEROES DAY!!!

What makes this stupidity even worse is that it's deliberately presenting this as those who have "Miraculized" being fully aware of their actions. Ugghhh...

Seriously, Alya, JUST TAKE THE FUCKING RING!! You getting Akumatized really isn't a risk since, you know, you can just RESIST IT LIKE YOU HAVE ALL THE OTHER TIMES.

Also, how everyone who is "Miraculized" doesn't realize that they are using the stolen Miraculous powers makes no sense to me. This is stupid. Then again, I'm getting the feeling that this is some new spin on Akumatization.

And with that, we get the debut of... sigh... "Bug Noir." Lame name aside, not the worst costume ever. This is just stupid... And with THAT, this episode is DONE!

Episode 26: Finale Part 2 - Re-Creation

Opening with a creepy room with, oh look, Tomoe's missing laptop, so this is obviously Lila's current base. For some stupid reason, we have Alec's new "empowering" show playing in the background, instead of something like, you know, the news so she could stay up to date on what her nemeses are doing!?

And she's apparently smirking over seeing Alec having a meltdown because of that stupid as hell Nightmare power. Seriously, there is NO TENSION here. I'm not even sure what this scene is supposed to convey; is she just being sadistic and getting a kick out of his nightmare? I don't know what this is supposed to mean. Nothing of progress is happening here.

Oh look, a breaking news story in the middle of Alec's breakdown. Apparently Nadja, who was the one to spread the very obvious lie that Adrien and Kagami had been kidnapped by Chat Noir and Adrien, is now reporting on the Miraculized villains. Kinda funny how everyone apparently recognizes that they are villains when, by all accounts, the transformation is AN INTENDED EFFECT OF THE RINGS THAT GABE JUST MADE PUBLIC!!! I wonder if that'll be relevant at all going forward? I doubt it.

And with a quick costume change, Lila hops on her bike and takes off to do... something.

Now back to our regularly scheduled fight between Monarch and Marinette, with Monarch realizing that he should've known Marinette was Ladybug; how? Dude, you fucking KNOW that the Transformations obscure the wielder's identity, you wouldn't have gone to the utterly idiotic amount of trouble of making a step counter in the Alliance Rings that would alert you if someone wearing one performed superhuman feats! There's no reason you should've "known" she was Ladybug, unless you are counting that one time you attempted to Akumatize her in Derision that failed to take hold and didn't result in you somehow realizing who she is like you realized Luka KNEW WHO SHE AND CHAT NOIR ARE!! (Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit~!)

He comments on how many times he's nearly Akumatized her, with Marinette emphasizes the "nearly" aspect of it, which is a fun way to tweak the edgy drama king's nose. He remarks that that's only because of her outrageous luck... which is spot on. Marinette averting Akumatization so often boils down to either dumb luck or deus ex machina on the part of the writers.

"Luck is something you make." Got to admit, a line like that right after her dropping a piano on him is actually a good line. If only it weren't ruined by the fact that this scene involves Marinette completely and utterly stealing any and all of the spotlight from Adrien because "reasons."

Okay, it looks like the show is abandoning the pretense that the Miraculized need to consent to it, given that two random people on the bridge just transformed without any sign they asked for it to happen. Oh, and Rose shows off a surprising degree of athleticism by shoulder-checking Ivan so that their friends can take his ring off; and after smashing it, he turns back to normal. I don't know why they'd need to smash it, but at least it shows that the Miraculized are exactly what I said they are... a lazy ripoff of the Scarlet Akumas during Heroes Day. Heck, they are WORSE than the Scarlet Akumas, since they are apparently weak enough that random civilians can pin them in place, and they have nothing but the same pool of powers to tap. You know, this nonsense could've been slightly interesting if they had made it so that the Miraculized being able to channel all the powers of Monarch's Rings was harming them, since people aren't MEANT to be able to have so many of those things active at once... but we all know the show isn't gonna mention that.

And apparently the Miraculized are still stuck under the bullshit Nightmare Akuma powers, going by Ivan getting a group hug.

Now we get a scene of the Miraculized attacking Marinette's uncle for some dumb as fuck reason. I say "dumb as fuck" because whatever coolness would be had at seeing Wang be badass is completely undermined by the fact that THE MIRACULIZED HAVE NO REASON TO GO AFTER HIM!! Seriously, they can TRACK CHAT NOIR AND LADYBUG!! Why the hell would they have any reason to think the two of them are currently in a Chinese Restaurant?!

Oh look, it's Fei, the living example that Gabe has already caused permanent casualties in his obsession with bringing Emilie back and thus the permanent rebuke of him being "redeemable" since her adoptive father is dead as an explicit result of Gabe's actions! Apparently she's also suffering the bullshit nightmare power for some reason. Apparently she's been staying with... Wang for some reason? Which, I guess it'd make for an interesting plot, Fei being like an adopted cousin for Marinette, if only something like THAT was being given focus instead of the utterly pointlessness of them being harassed by the Miraculized.

...Okay, I call bullshit. When the absolute FUCK was it ever hinted at that Penny and Jagged were getting training by Su-Han? WHEN!? Hint, IT WASN'T EVER HINTED!! And once again, the Miraculized really have no reason to be attacking them in the first fucking place!!! Oh, and Luka too; him, admittedly, I could actually see getting training, if it weren't, I cannot reiterate this enough, NEVER ONCE HAVING BEEN HINTED AT OR ALLUDED TOO!!!

Oh wow, we are getting all the bullshit today. Bunnyx pops in just to let them know that they'd be more useful in Paris. This is in spite of the fact that, despite retransforming and even UNIFYING the Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculouses while fighting Monarch, Marinette hasn't seen a hint of the Miraculized since throwing them off her fucking trail!!

Oh, now we're in New York, and guess who's the first hero we see getting harassed by the Miraculized? Not Aeon, not Liberty, not anyone like that... no, it's a guy themed around Hot Dogs of all things, and who gets his powers from... I am not even kidding... Magic. Hot Dogs. They, they really aren't even TRYING, are they? Okay, now Majestia is on the scene, and... I'll be blunt, she looks kinda weird. I just... do not like her design. And for fuck's sake, why are the Miraculized showing up like this to attack NON-Ladybug heroes? Seriously, THEY CAN TRACK HER!!! Also, wow, Majestia's nightmare is basically "I'm not perfect enough" wangsting.

Now Knight Owl's on the scene and is apparently no longer disguising her gender. I'm genuinely baffled on WHY, since I can't recall her ever alluding to needing to make a change.

Oh look, it's Eagle, the very on-the-nose Superheroine who looks like an incredibly racist Native American stereotype, wondering what the heck is causing all the Miraculized to have shown up. Aeon shows up, I refuse to call her "Uncanny Valley," and remarks that she can detect the Quantum Imprint of Miraculous Powers, which I'm sincerely confused by since her only prior experience with Miraculous Powers are the Butterfly, Eagle, Black Cat, and Ladybug; I guess this is either confirmation that the Miraculization transformation is based on the Butterfly's Akumatization, or the others having the characters say things as a hand-wave to move the plot along.

"Something must have occurred in Paris!" ...Yeah, no fucking DUH. Leaving to the side why Gabe would even HAVE Alliance Rings outside of Paris, given that it's not as if Hawkmoth has a habit of showing up anywhere but there, all the Miraculized ranting about needing to find and demanding to know where Ladybug and Chat Noir are SHOULD HAVE BEEN A VARIOUS OBVIOUS CLUE that something had happened in Paris. Also, the fact that they don't know already REALLY makes the Media in London's focus on Bustier's running for Mayor bizarre.

Now, back to the fight against Monarch! Ladybug cuffed them together, and declares she'll take back all of the Miraculouses. That would be more impactful if she hadn't squandered TWO key opportunities to get them all, or at least a solid majority, back prior to this. Apparently she's gonna just try and yank them off mid-fight... yes, that is something utterly stupid to do, why do you ask? Doubly so because they are HANDCUFFED TOGETHER meaning she's got one less hand to grab with and defend herself with.

Seriously, she'd have much better luck just defeating him THEN grabbing the Rings. It is not that alien of a thought, is it!?

Hawkmoth makes a good point that, between the two of them, she's honestly the more foolish of them in how she came right into his lair wearing the Miraculouses he needs. Ladybug counters that he always loses. Which would be a weak comeback if it weren't true; Hawkmoth has routinely squandered every advantage he has possessed, failed to leverage his powers for maximum effectiveness, and has largely gotten as far as he has off of dumb luck and other people grabbing the idiot ball. Neither of them come off as particularly competent here, so I'm not really engaged with the fight. The fact that Marinette thought it was a good idea to Handcuff herself to the villain currently wielding a paralysis power kinda highlights that.

The fact that she keeps insisting on trying to Cataclysm the Shell-ter he puts up around his fist instead of, you know, hitting him unconscious with her staff, really highlights how her priorities in this fight are both dumb and actively harmful.

"The Kwami are my prisoners, pathetic little beasts in cages! There are people content with following the rules, and people who bend the world to their wishes!" This really evil rant would honestly be pretty badass if he weren't collapsed on the ground, coughing up ashes. Seriously, WHY IS LADYBUG NOT YANKING OFF THE REST OF HIS RINGS WHILE HE CAN'T MOVE!?!? It's the same exact shit the last two time, she's got him right where she wants him, and is doing NOTHING to actually try and fucking stop him!!

"You played Guardian of the Miraculous, I reinvented their magic!" Again, this would be a lot more threatening if he wasn't monologuing while struggling to pick himself off the ground while Ladybug just stands there and listens to him. Also, he's kinda right; horrific abuse of the Kwamis aside, he actually figured out a way to fuse their magic with advanced technology and made their powers into something anyone can access.

And after one last threat at Ladybug, he manages to escape using Voyage, once again showing off why Ladybug not doing all she can to disarm him when she KNOWS he's in no shape to stop her is SUPER FUCKING STUPID!!!

I'd say that his making the portal open up above her to perform a superman landing directly on her head (or attempted to at least) WOULD be cool if he hadn't been struggling just to MOVE right before he did so. She used her Lucky Charm to create some kind of... giant flyswatter I guess? Instead of, you know, attacking using the staff she still has access to. Big brain move right there.

Also, never mind, it's a giant hammer.

After blasting Hawkmoth through a wall, we return to the Miraculized wandering through Paris, with one being followed by boxes shuffling around. Hmm, I wonder who this could be- It's obviously Nino and the rest of Marinette's friends. For fuck's sake, why the HELL haven't the Miraculized realized she's still in the Agreste Manor!? They are tracking her by the signature of her FUCKING SUPERPOWERS, and she has both the Ladybug AND Black Cat active, they should be right on top of her all over again!! This would be the perfect time for a badass moment of all the Miraculized attempting to swarm her again, only for all of Marinette's friends and allies from around the world to be holding them off so she can focus on Monarch, but because they SOMEHOW haven't realized where she is, we get THIS SHIT instead!!

And apparently they went to all the trouble of de-Miraculizing... Principal Damocles. WHY!? Then the superheroes of New York show up and De-Miraculize Nora; which is... kinda dumb that they wasted time not immediately rushing her, taking her down, and then moving on to the POTENTIALLY MILLIONS OF OTHER MIRACULIZED IN THE FUCKING CITY!! Seriously, They have someone with superspeed on their side, AND someone who can undo the Nightmare Power (again, WHY is it still in fucking effect!?), so... I'm not sure why they emphasized taking Nora down so much.

Back to the fight against Hawkmoth, and Ladybug revealing she knows who he is... and all this fucking does is highlight how absolute BULLSHIT IT IS THAT CHAT NOIR ISN'T THERE!! For fuck's sake, we literally got TEASED with how much he's itching on the inside to tear his dad a new one for all the shit he's caused and put his son through just two episodes ago, so this reveal is just such an absolute fucking WASTE!! What makes it even worse is that both A) Monarch himself now knows who Ladybug is yet still is unaware of his son's alter ego and B) that he didn't seem to realize that monologuing about how Ladybug had "walked into the Monarch's Den" would BE A MASSIVE FUCKING SIGN TO WHO THE FUCK HE REALLY IS!!!

And, once again, we get someone capable of using Cataclysm using it on a person. For fuck's sake, we literally had Marinette have a fucking NIGHTMARE over this exact set-up, harming Gabe and Adrien hating her for killing her dad, why the FUCK would she think that using Cataclysm on him is a FUCKING GOOD IDEA!? Not even mentioning that she FUCKING KNOWS HE HAS THE OX, WHY IS THE FACT HE'S ONLY NOW USING IT TO BLOCK CATACLYSM IS SUCH A BRILLIANT IDEA!?!?

Also, why did she call it the Power of the Buffalo...? For once, I'm just gonna go with "that was a genuine mistake" and not the Writers being fucking morons.

Oh, and NOW the fact that she's under that Nightmare Power makes itself known, after the ENTIRE FUCKING FIGHT UP UNTIL NOW hasn't had it negatively effect her at all.

Seriously, we once AGAIN FUCK THIS SHIT TO HELL have a case where Ladybug essentially wasting her time and not taking the initiative in the fight to disarm Hawkmoth biting her in the ass. Since, you know, she literally had the perfect chance to strip him down of his stolen Miraculouses, and did NOTHING with the opportunity!!

And after a brief moment of Ladybug having "Resistance, Voyage, and Venom" highlighted with her "Buggy Vision," she ends up Cataclysming the floor.

After which, we immediately swap over to the "Resistance" getting chased around by the Miraculized... FOR SOME REASON. Like, WHY!? That is my root issue with this, WHY are the Miraculized going after anyone who isn't Ladybug or Chat Noir!? They are explicitly hunting them, and are equipped with tech that lets them TRACK them, so why in the world would they give a crap about random civilians that aren't their targets!?

Seriously, whatever tension could be found here is completely undercut by the fact that THERE IS NO FUCKING REASON FOR THEM TO BE GOING AFTER MARINETTE'S FRIENDS!!!

Now we get Su-Han and his "students" arriving to help fight, with Su-Han shouting "Storm of Justice!" Like... why? Just WHY!? It sounds like something out of a cringy, badly dubbed Chinese film. Even ignoring the vaguely racist-sounding quotes from Su-Han, the fight is... bad. Like, no joke; the moves are stilted, low-energy, and look more like something you'd see at a Martial Arts demonstration, and those typically aren't happening at the speed of an actual fight.

Then we get Juleka and Luka reuniting. Oh look, her "stutter" is completely gone, what a surprise. She's also curious on where Luka learned his moves, something I'm curious about as well. And of FUCKING COURSE it gets brushed aside with "That's a long story." Yeah, almost like it's a more interesting plot then this shoddy knock-off of Heroes' Day. Because more and more, that's what this is; there is no reasonable explanation behind the Miraculized going after random folks who aren't also Miraculized, especially not when they have tech designed to facilitate their ACTUAL GOAL, they are just copying Heroes' Day's "all hands on deck" set-up.

Okay, and now the "United Heroez" (really cringe name, Astruc) have shown up to bail the Guardians out. Which kinda reminds me of Marinette's angry rant to Socqueline during her debut; the show has a strong vibe of "you need superpowers, or tech advanced enough that it makes no difference, to be a hero" vibe to it. Also, I'm genuinely confused on how Su-Han is effected by the Nightmare; for fuck's sake, this is the guy who no-selled being Akumatized BY SLAPPING IT, he should absolutely have some mystic technique thing that lets him resist mental influences that aren't possession-based.

Knight Owl going "I am the nightmare" does not feel impressive, Astruc, it feels dumb. It's just a lame knock-off of Batman's routine, and it doesn't work when said during broad daylight in a costume that uses soft shades of violet to color it; it makes her look dumber more than anything. Oh, and it adds nothing to the scene since it explains NOTHING on how she can actually resist what is a literal magical curse on people.

Oh, now we got Ladydragon on the scene in Dragon Form. I'm sincerely confused on how in the WORLD she could target a literal blast of lightning so that it only damages the Alliance Rings. They... really aren't even pretending to give this fight real stakes, are they? It also highlights the issue with Fei's Dragon Form, in that she's so overwhelmingly powerful while using it that she can no-sell all but the most OP of enemies in the Miraculous-verse.

Hey, one of the Miraculized actually gave a reason why they are being targeted "They are Ladybug and Chat Noir's accomplices!" Which makes sense NOW that they are actually making progress in stopping the Miraculized... but doesn't explain WHY THE HELL THEY WERE TARGETING THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE UP UNTIL NOW!!!

Seriously, this entire fucking FIGHT is utterly stupid since, as I will keep repeating, THESE IDIOT VILLAINS CAN TRACK THE MIRACULOUSES!!! Or rather, they can track the power they generate while in-use. Hmm, didn't Orikko say Hawkmoth couldn't ask for a power that would do exactly that since it would "be a wish"? Not looking like much of a wish right now.

"Ladybug, what are you doing?" Alya, think for a second and consider what in the world could make Ladybug not intervene with a situation like this. Like, I dunno, maybe the fact that whenever a "big scheme" like this is set off, the culprit is always Hawkmoth and he always directly confronts the heroes, so she's probably off fighting Hawkmoth directly. That, or she's getting FUCKING SWARMED BY THE LITERAL ARMY OF SUPER POWERED BRAINWASHED MINIONS!!!

She isn't, but the fact that Alya hasn't thought of this is eye-roll inducing.

And now we are back to the fight between Hawkmoth and Ladybug!! Hawkmoth demands Ladybug hand over the Miraculouses so he can make his wish... instead of, you know, attacking her while she's scrambling for a weapon in the dirt and yanking them off her. Why is he so fixated on the idea of someone GIVING him the Miraculouses rather than sincerely getting his hands dirty in nabbing them?

Oh hey, he finally actually attacks her when she leaves herself open! That happens so rarely these days that it is genuinely noteworthy.

"Are you so sure that no Wish is worth that price, Marinette?!" Dude... YES!! You have crossed so many fucking lines in your obsessive pursuit over obtaining it that it really makes you and you alone the bad guy in this instance. Even if you WON, you have utterly failed as a father, disrespected your wife's wishes, are implied to be planning to KILL your old friend in the pursuit of disrespecting said wishes, and have been tormenting the city for nearly a fucking YEAR with massive risks of lost lives!! You are not the only person in the world who is hurting! You are not the only one whose feelings and opinions FUCKING MATTER!!! You are a monster, and all this BS is just you trying to ensure that you control everything!! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!!

"No, this is impossible!" She says as she sees Emilie's corpse in a glass coffin. HOW is it impossible!? You KNEW Emilie was "gone," and as much as the show dances the hell around the topic of death to the point of stupidity, why the FUCK is the reveal that Hawkmoth is such an obsessed maniac that he's preserved his wife's corpse so fucking impossible you idiot!?

Hawkmoth now going on a ridiculously obnoxious rant on how Emilie being back will allow Kagami and Adrien to become the eternal "perfect icons of this world, and we will be here to witness their absolute triumph!" Note how all of this involves this lunatic utterly ignoring how he is ignoring what LITERALLY EVERYONE ELSE INVOLVED WANTS except for himself; this is not about bringing back his wife for his son or their family, this is all for HIMSELF. He is doing all this FOR HIMSELF. Always has, always will; he STILL refuses to accept that Adrien is unhappy with his controlling and toxic BS, and probably hates him by this point for him being an abusive piece of shit, because doing so means admitting that he doesn't actually CARE about Adrien's happiness, just his own, just how HE gets to make everything fit into neat little boxes.

"How many lives are you going to ruin in the name of your crazy dreams!?" YES!! For the first time in this fucking season, MARINETTE IS TALKING SENSE!? Also, still annoyed that she's not trying to keep fighting him since he is LITERALLY JUST STANDING THERE WITH HIS ARMS SPREAD AND NO LONGER HAS THE TURTLE RING TO SHIELD HIS RINGS FROM BEING STOLEN BY HER!!!

And here we get the part where Hawkmoth spells out that he knows full and well the consequences of the Wish, that it'll mean forcing his suffering of the Cataclysm onto someone else as well as killing someone to bring back Emilie, and basically asks why Marinette isn't willing to suffer for "Adrien's happiness" all while conveniently ignoring that HE has been sabotaging Adrien's happiness for YEARS because it wasn't the "happiness" Gabe decided he should have.

Now we get Marinette calling Gabe out on him putting his own butthurt feelings over Adrien's wellbeing and thus being a total failure as a father, and Gabe, being the projecting asshole that he is, claims that Adrien would CLEARLY do the same thing, despite the fact that Adrien's prior episodes that involve the lost of Emilie have all basically spelled out that he's made peace with it and MOVED THE FUCK ON!!! Something Gabe refuses to do because doing so would mean admitting he can't control this situation.

It's kinda hilarious in a bad way how Marinette says to Gabe "Adrien means nothing to you anymore," implying that he ever meant anything as a son to him at all, despite the fact that Adrien has basically been a prisoner in his own house SINCE LITERAL CHILDHOOD. Gabe stopped giving a damn about what Adrien wanted a long time ago, well before Emilie got hurt or sick. The fact that the show glosses over the fact that Adrien's isolation predates Emilie's death is one of the most sickening aspects of this show, as it shows how committed they are to ignoring the truth they've crafted in favor of their own BS narrative.

Oh, and we get a short clip of Lila using the stolen laptop to open Gabe's security system and entering the manor.

"All I want is for him to be happy" He says after having forced Adrien to leave his entire life behind, forced him into a fake relationship with a girl he isn't in love with, actively tried to sabotage any chance of Adrien getting together with Marinette despite her, on paper, making a far better partner in terms of optics compared to Kagami, who is utterly out of place in the Gabriel brand and the fashion/modeling industry altogether. Dude, pull the other one, YOU DO NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT HIS HAPPINESS.

And after a needlessly complicated rube goldberg device to disarm Hawkmoth (ignoring how she literally has had MULTIPLE CHANCES TO DISARM HIM BY JUST YANKING THE STUPID THINGS OFF OF HIM!!!) that also brings down a support column/elevator down onto the general direction of Emilie's coffin, Marinette has finally bested Hawkmoth, yanking off the Butterfly Miraculous and rendering him powerless! Now all that's left is for her to bring him to the police, expose him to the world, and who the fuck am I kidding there's no chance the writers will let that happen.

Okay, and now the Butterfly Miraculous has fallen into the water!! With Hawkmoth now ordering Nooroo to bring his brooch back; funny how we get scenes like this when the end of S3 had the Kwamis deliberately ignore Chloe even while she actually WAS wearing the Miraculouses.

Now Ladybug is hauling him away from the edge... slowly. And says... this:

"I'm still the Guardian, and the Guardian just took the Miraculous of the Butterfly back from you!" ...No. NO YOU FUCKING DIDN'T. YOU KNOCKED IT OFF HIM AND ALLOWED IT TO FALL INTO THE RANCID WATERS BENEATH THIS WEIRD-ASS SECRET BASE GABE HAS BENEATH HIS FUCKING HOUSE. They are seriously fucking trying to use "the rules" to defang Gabe, instead of, you know, having had her YANK THE FUCKING THING OFF WHEN HE WAS HELPLESS, and citing some unexplained magical BS as the reason this works instead of, again, JUST YANKING THE THING OFF OF HIM.

Seriously, they are just acting as if Marinette knocking the thing into the water is this magic "cure all" that just... prevents Nooroo from being compelled to obey Gabe. What the hell is this even supposed to be based on!? It's not as if any Guardian picked Gabe in the first place!!

"Someone that I'll be choosing!" ...Marinette, literally the ENTIRE FUCKING REASON you were even chosen in the first place was to take the Butterfly Miraculous out and off the playing field, because the Miraculouses are meant to be used SPARINGLY. How the fuck do you even know if you'll even be ALIVE by the time a new wielder would even be NEEDED!?

Then Gabe tries to use Venom, despite the fact he isn't transformed anymore and has already been disarmed of his rings by this point. Really clutching the idiot ball hard.

"I can just say the word, and the rings will be destroyed." ...WHEN THE FUCK WAS THAT EVER ESTABLISHED YOU FUCKING IDIOT!? WHEN!? WHEN WAS THIS STATED!? "You'll be powerless." HE IS ALREADY POWERLESS!! YOU HAVE WON!!! JUST KNOCK HIM OUT AND HAND HIM OVER TO THE FUCKING COPS ALREADY!!! Also, the WAY she is saying this sounds like something a villain would say; just saying.

Seriously, even when she is phrasing her actions as good, you know freeing the Kwamis, undoing the harm Gabe has caused with the Ladybug Miraculous, and getting Plagg back to Chat Noir, the way she is talking right now, that is villain talk. The style of speech is just EERIE. Call me petty, but it just sounds disturbing the way she's monologuing; seriously, why the fuck are you wasting your words on this guy who has already established he is willing to burn down the world for his fucking selfishness.

"Everything will be back to normal." ...Somehow I doubt it.

And again, I must reiterate, WHY IS SHE WASTING HER WORDS ON HIM!?

"Except you will only have a few hours left to live." Yes, yes he will, BECAUSE OF HIS OWN FUCKING STUPIDITY. He WILLINGLY forced Chat Noir to hit him with a fatal attack, despite him having the perfect means of defending himself at the time; there is NO ONE BUT HIMSELF TO BLAME FOR HIS OWN DEATH.

"So does Nathalie, a victim of your madness." NO!! NO SHE IS NOT!!! SHE WAS HIS WILLING ACCOMPLICE FOR HER OWN SELFISHNESS, JUST LIKE HE WAS!!! NO ONE FORCED HER TO USE THE FUCKING BROKEN PEACOCK!! SHE CHOSE TO USE IT DESPITE KNOWING WHAT IT WOULD DO TO HER!!! GABE EVEN WARNED HER AGAINST USING IT!!!

And all while she is trying to "reach out to him" he's just staring at the fact that she's holding his hand with the one that has the Black Cat Miraculous on it. Nothing she is saying is effecting him at all, he is just waiting for her to give him a fucking opening. You can TELL he doesn't give a damn about what she's saying.

"And Adrien will be miserable." I mean, he'll have learned that his father, who has been abusing him emotionally for literal years, is a terrorist. Like, YOU are the fucking one who went out of her way to call out Gabe on clinging to the past while Adrien has moved on with his life; YES he is going to be upset that his dad is gone, NOTHING YOU DO CAN CHANGE THAT YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!! Bad things happen, and Gabe is a terrible father who Adrien probably despises by now. THIS is why Chat having been taken out by those stupid fucking "nightmares" is so obnoxious; Marinette is arbitrarily speaking on his behalf to his father, without any regard for what HE would want!! It's just like when she tried to talk up how much Gabe has "changed" when all that has "changed" was that he swapped one form of exploitation for another and he has even LESS free time now then he did back when he was a model, all by Gabe's design. Gabe is a terrible person; yes, Adrien would be sad at the loss of his father, because he's not a psycho, but NOTHING Gabe could say or do would make Adrien change his feelings about how Gabe has hurt him without any regret or restraint.

And what makes this all such a fucking joke is that they are describing Gabe's actions as "Madness," as if he wasn't fully aware of the consequences of his actions and choices. Because no; Gabe is fully, fucking sane. He is just a spiteful, petty, selfish asshole who doesn't give a shit who he hurts if he can get what he wants, even his own son. You don't need to be crazy to do shit like that, so trying to rationalize his selfishness as him being "insane" is an insult to the mentally ill. Grow the fuck up.

"If you meant what you said earlier, then we both want the same thing." Marinette, shut the fuck up; this is the guy who explicitly threatened your future, your CAREER, because HE can't stand the idea of anyone but HIMSELF choosing who Adrien will spend his life with. Heck, it was apparently something PRE-PLANNED. He NEVER gave a shit if Adrien would actually even LIKE Kagami that way, or if she would reciprocate; all it was was two awful older folks being awful.

Trying to appeal to his wife's memory isn't liable to work given that this entire fiasco was based on him IGNORING her wishes for his own selfish obsession, and he has kept Adrien alone and isolated long before she passed away. Why the hell are you giving this asshole the benefit of the doubt? Why the hell should you when he spelled out that he was fully intending to kill someone just to bring back his wife, and curse another person with THEIR eventual death in exchange for his own life, all while having trampled upon his son's autonomy? WHY DO YOU THINK YOUR WORDS ARE GONNA REACH THE GUY WHO HAS MADE FINDING A NEW LOW TO SINK TO HIS MISSION IN LIFE!?

(Inhales angrily) Put. The fucking. VIDEO. OF EMILIE. AWAY!!! IT WAS LITERALLY ALREADY ESTABLISHED THAT GABE HAS ALREADY SEEN THEM AND CHOSE TO IGNORE THEM!!

Also, her describing creating her own son as a "mistake" is super classy. /s

And once again the video diaries pretending Nathalie wasn't fully complicit in keeping Adrien under his father's thumb and that she was never portrayed as close to Adrien EVER. And them acting like him "having his father" is such a big benefit despite the fact that Gabe has kept Adrien miserable LONG BEFORE EMILIE DIED. STOP TRYING TO PRETEND GABE WASN'T A SHIT FATHER LONG BEFORE HIS WIFE PASSED AWAY!!! FOR FUCK'S SAKE SHE DIED LITERALLY LAST YEAR!!!

STOP CALLING WHAT GABE IS DOING MADNESS!!! MADNESS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU "GIVE UP!!" HE FULLY KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING, HE JUST DOESN'T CARE SO LONG AS HE GETS WHAT HE WANTS!!! It's telling that they are insisting that what Gabe is doing is an anomaly despite so much of the entire series going "no, this is how he's always been" and trying to act like him doing monstrous things is because he "isn't in his right mind," whereas when it's Chloe doing awful things "it's because she's a brat, nothing more." Funny, isn't it? /s

NO HE WOULD NOT!!! HOW COULD HE BE HAPPY BEING LOCKED UP INSIDE A HOUSE WITH NO FRIENDS TO TALK TO OR ANY CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE LIFE ON HIS OWN FUCKING TERMS!? YOU ARE BASICALLY SAYING THAT HE SHOULD BE KEPT IN A GILDED CAGE!!!

"Adrien has learned to live, and build his own happiness." Yeah, because he kept trying to escape the cage Emilie and Gabe BOTH PUT HIM IN. Losing someone is not this absolute, insurmountable obstacle in life; plenty of people lose loved ones every single fucking day, Gabe has long crossed the point where grief could explain his actions, and it does NOTHING to absolve him of literal YEARS of forcibly isolating Adrien from everyone around him. Seriously, him going to your class was HIS FIRST EVER DAY OF PUBLIC SCHOOL, OR ANY KIND OF SCHOOL OUTSIDE HIS OWN HOME. He "learned to live" by getting out from Gabe's thumb and escaping a prison he's been in for years by this point; Gabe's abuse is nothing new. His toxicity is nothing new. Emilie is not an explanation for his behavior; he has always been this monster before you.

"While cherishing the memory of his mother." He never even mentions her.

"I just can't live without her." Cool motive, still an abusive piece of garbage; if you actually cared about your son or your wife's legacy, you'd turn yourself over to the police for however long you have left.

"I loved her so much." Yet you apparently never gave much of a shit about your son, given that he's been kept trapped in your house for basically his entire life without any friends besides a girl he used to know when he was a small child, and forced to be a model, and exploited his image anyway even when he said he didn't want to be one.

The sketch-drawings of Adrien's childhood is kinda contrasted by the fact that you LOCKED HIM IN YOUR HOUSE HIS ENTIRE CHILDHOOD. Seriously, STOP GLOSSING OVER THE FACT THAT YOU BOTH KEPT HIM ALONE AND WITHOUT FRIENDS HIS ENTIRE LIFE.

"Adrien was not alone, he had Nathalie and me." No, he was still extremely alone since the two of you are adults who have jobs to do, yet you never once let him go out and have friends or live his own life.

I CANNOT REITERATE HOW FUCKING OBNOXIOUS THEM GLOSSING OVER ADRIEN'S FORCED ISOLATION IS.

There is a vast difference between not being very outgoing and thus not having a large circle of friends, and being deliberately KEPT from having ANY FRIENDS AT ALL. I am speaking from personal experience on this; seeing how the show is trying to romanticize Gabe's toxic as fuck behavior and ignoring how he has been abusing and neglecting Adrien long before Emilie died is fucking annoying. It is telling in all the worst ways that the only images we get of Adrien this scene are of his very early childhood, yet Emilie only passed away around a year ago.

"I've ruined everything." Yeah, who knew that grabbing the idiot ball in ways that are now costing you your life, alongside your accomplice doing similar, would have consequences?

"Adrien will have no one left!" He has. A fucking. GIRLFRIEND. One that YOU have gone out of your way to try and keep him from to forcibly pair him with someone he isn't into. That's hardly 'no one left.' Not even getting into all his other friends, all of which he made AFTER breaking out of the cage you shoved him in.

"I'm sure we can figure out a solution." THERE IS NO SOLUTION!!! YOU SAID AS MUCH YOURSELF, HE IS DYING!!! For FUCK'S SAKE, if "closure" means so much to you, just use Voyage to go to where Adrien is and have him apologize to his son for being such a bad father so that he can at least do SOMETHING in his final moments that means something!!!

Also, it's "funny" how utterly superfluous to the plot Tomoe is at this point; it's almost as if she was only brought in to give a reason for Gabe to try and shove Adrien in the direction of someone who isn't Marinette!

Marinette, he has barely a few hours left, and you just watched as part of his finger crumbled to dust. There is nothing that can be done in this situation; STOP BABYING THE TERRORIST.

SEE!? THIS IS MY EXACT POINT!! Even after she TRIED trying to talk him down, his first solution is have HER make the Wish!! He refuses to accept that there isn't something that can be done and that Emilie will probably NEVER FORGIVE HIM for what he's done up until now, or that no matter what 'impossible solution' she comes up with, someone ELSE will still have to suffer for it. The idea that HE HAS LOST refuses to click to him. He's beyond help.

I'm just gonna tune out what's being said until the inevitable betrayal occurs, otherwise I'm gonna blow a gasket. This is such bullshit.

Yup, she turned back to normal and, right after Plagg and Tikki warn her not to trust him (LISTEN TO THEM!!) he immediately Venoms her... somehow. Despite not actually being transformed and thus the Rings shouldn't work (how the fuck DO they work anyway!?).

After taking the Miraculouses, he orders Tikki and Plagg to "reveal themselves." Also, them being forced to obey him once again contradicting Marinette's claims THIS EPISODE about how as the Guardian SHE decides if someone can use a given Miraculous (apparently!!) or can just order the Miraculouses to break (APPARENTLY!!), and once again insisting that Kwami HAVE to obey their wielder ("Miracle Queen" says "Am I a joke to you?"). Fucking BULLSHIT!!!

And now... ugghh... the reveal of "Gimmi." Absolutely stupid as fuck name and color scheme aside, I've got nothing to say past my unshackled anger and loathing at this petty as fuck jackass getting away with his evil plans.

Once again the show proves unable to not try and make a bad joke out of what is supposed to be a serious situation. Seriously, we didn't need Gimmi to demonstrate the idea of a Wish requiring Balance by having them describe "garden peas to turn red, Strawberries would turn green."

"Marinette, make sure Adrien never learns about the villain that I was, and that instead, that he remembers the times I tried to be a good father." NO NO NO FUCKING FUCK NO!! FUCK THAT BULLSHIT!!! YOU HAVE NEVER TRIED TO BE A GOOD FATHER!!! YOU HAVE BEEN THE ABSOLUTE WORST FATHER IN THIS FUCKING SHOW TO DATE!! YOU HAVE ISOLATED HIM!! ABUSED HIM!! LIED TO HIM!!! TRIED TO DICTATE EVERY ACTION HE TOOK IN LIFE SO THAT IT WOULD FIT YOUR DISGUSTING NEED TO CONTROL EVERYTHING AROUND YOU!!! GET THE FUCK OVER YOURSELF AND DON'T YOU DARE TRY AND MAKE THE GIRL YOU HAVE THREATENED THE LIFE AND SAFETY AND HAPPINESS OF ACT AS YOUR PERSONAL STOOGE SO THAT YOU CAN ONCE AGAIN ESCAPE THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS YOU FUCKING COWARD!!!

"What do you wish for?" "Read my heart." "What do you sacrifice?" "Read my soul." ...[CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED CENSORED] WITH A FUCKING [CENSORED] WHILE [CENSORED]!!! GET THIS SHIT OUT OF MY SIGHT!!! YOU DO NOT GET TO FUCKING PUSSYFOOT AROUND HIS WISH, NOT AFTER FUCKING YANKING OUR CHAINS ALL THIS FUCKING TIME YOU ROTTEN BASTARDS!!! YOU DO NOT GET TO DO THAT!! YOU ESPECIALLY DO NOT GET TO ACT AS IF THE SACRIFICE IS SOMETHING PEOPLE CAN PICK AND CHOOSE, SINCE NOTHING THE SERIES HAS DONE HAS INDICATED THAT THAT IS POSSIBLE!! Oh yeah, AND WE ALREADY HAVE IT ESTABLISHED THAT MAKING THE WISH ERASES THE UNIVERSE AND MAKES UP A NEW ONE!!!!

DON'T YOU JUST FUCKING LOVE HOW THE FACT THAT THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE BEING REBOOTED IS JUST GLOSSED OVER AND TREATED LIKE IT IS THIS HUNKY DORY GOOD TIME FEELING!? I DON'T!! I HATE IT!!! I HATE ALL OF THIS ENTITLED, SELF-SERVING BULLSHIT WHERE A FUCKING TERRORIST GOT AWAY SCOTT FREE FOR ALL HIS BS!!! I HATE EVERY SECOND OF IT!!!!

Oh, now here we are in the new reality with Marinette's clone kissing Adrien's clone awake! WRITERS THE STUPID AS HELL FAIRY TALE SYMBOLISM IS NOT FUCKING CUTE YOU ASSHOLES!!!

Then we get an infuriating scene of everyone acting like it's all a happy fun time, as if reality wasn't undone and remade at its seams. Then we get the start of a broadcast featuring Alec who looks... really different; and I don't just mean the hair. He's interviewing Miss Bustier, who SOMEHOW won the position to be Mayor. HOW!? She's apparently "completely changed Paris." Oh boy…

She describes her getting her position as a "revolution by the people of Paris that forced the Bourgeois' out of power." THAT IS NOT HOW RUNNING FOR MAYOR FUCKING WORKS!!! NOTHING WAS STOPPING PEOPLE FOR VOTING FOR A DIFFERENT MAYOR!!!

"The Eco Rule; It consists of very simple principles. Don't take more from the Earth then what it can give us, distribute its riches equitably, and don't pollute more than it can recycle." ...HOW THE ABSOLUTE FUCK IS THAT EVEN SUPPOSED TO FUCKING WORK!?!? ON WHAT STANDARDS IS "MORE THAN IT CAN GIVE US" DETERMINED!? HOW ARE THEY BEING DISTRIBUTED AND WHAT DETERMINES THAT DISTRIBUTION!? AND MAYBE JUST DON'T POLLUTE AT ALL AND PROVIDE SERVICES MEANT TO FIGHT POLLUTION INSTEAD!!! FOR FUCK'S SAKE IT IS JUST AUTO-ASSUMING THAT THIS "UTOPIA" IS JUST GOING TO FUCKING WORK WITH NO BUSINESSES FIGHTING IT OR OPPOSING IT ON ANY LEVEL!!!

"We've reorganized everything to remove the need for cars, wrappers, and it's been working great!" HOW!? HOW THE ABSOLUTE FUCK DOES ANY OF THAT WORK!?!? HERE IS A NEWS FLASH, MOST PEOPLE LIKE OWNING CARS AND TREAT IT AS A STATUS SYMBOL, SO EVEN IF YOU INCREASED PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PLENTY OF PEOPLE WOULD DRIVE THEIR OWN CARS ANYWAY BECAUSE RELYING ON A FIXED TRANSIT IS NOT PRACTICAL!! I SHOULD KNOW AS I AM RELIANT ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO GET TO AND FROM WORK, AND I HAVE TO CUSTOM SCHEDULE RIDES BECAUSE IT ISN'T POSSIBLE TO USE THE NORMAL RUNS!!! AND GETTING RID OF WRAPPERS ISN'T PRACTICAL AS DOING SO WOULD MEAN GETTING RID OF NINETY PERCENT OF GOODS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE GO BAD IN THE OPEN AIR, OR GET PEOPLE SICK!!! IT WOULD BE MORE FEASIBLE TO SWITCH OUT WRAPPERS FOR MORE BIODEGRADABLE MATERIALS INSTEAD!!! FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!!

"All the Alliance Rings that were Hijacked by Monarch have been recycled to design the statue in honor of the great Gabriel Agreste." GET THIS FUCKING SHIT OUT OF MY HEAD!!! HE WAS MONARCH ALL ALONG!! WHY DID YOU FUCKING COVER FOR HIM, MARINETTE!? WHY DID YOU LIE TO THE CITY, LETTING THEM BELIEVE THE MAN WHO HAS BEEN TORMENTING THEM FOR OVER A FUCKING YEAR FOR HIS OWN SELFISH STUPIDITY WAS SOME KIND OF FUCKING HERO!?? WHY!?!?

"Beyond a visionary entrepreneur, and a genius creator, it's the hero who we celebrate today." OH LOOK IT'S TOMOE, BITCH MOTHER OF THE YEAR RUNNER-UP AND MONARCH'S ACCOMPLICE!!! I know that Marinette SOMEHOW never found out Tomoe was Gabe's accomplice, but for FUCK'S SAKE WE NEVER EVEN LEARNED WHAT SHE EVEN WANTED FROM THE WISH IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! AND SHE IS ENABLING GABE BEING GLORIFIED AS A HERO!!! FUCK YOU BITCH!!!

"And tomorrow it's his legacy that I will continue on." WELL NOW ISN'T THAT AN OMINOUS AS FUCK STATEMENT FROM SOMEONE WHO FUCKING EMOTIONALLY ABUSES HER DAUGHTER!! Seriously, now would be the PERFECT moment to show Kagami cringing back and being comforted by her friends at the facade of compassion her mother is putting up to the world. TOO FUCKING BAD WE GET THIS SHIT INSTEAD!!!

"Why don't you tell us about this new school you've imagined?" "Oh, it isn't my school, but the result of a collaborative effort; in this new school, there will be no classes, or struggling to get good grades. Children of all ages will be able to intermix and freely access all kinds of activities. They'll be able to try their hands at everything, learn at their own pace, and help each other until they've figured out what they want to do later in life. This school will be their second home. Children are our future. If we want it to be bright, we must help each child to shine."

(Breathes in deep) To keep from screaming and possibly breaking a wall, I'm gonna break down this BS as fast as I can:

"No Classes" is a terrible fucking idea. The entire POINT of classes is that unless LITERALLY THE ENTIRE SCHOOL is self-motivated to learn, NO ONE IS GOING TO LEARN because you NEED to ensure that kids show up and are actually trying to learn.

"No grades" THAT is slightly more reasonable, as that is something that is done in some schools IRL, but I don't know the details, and all it does is compound the idiotic design of this place.

"All Age Groups intermix" THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA!!! Kids of different age groups typically have radically different interests and emotional experiences, having no set boundaries is a time bomb waiting to go off.

"All can freely access all kinds of activities." This is a mildly good idea, as many electives correlate to skills that can be genuinely valuable in life, or just plain a relaxing break... but it's the kind of thing you would still need an overall standard plan on what you are going to teach kids, not just "kids do whatever when they feel like it."

"They'll be able to try their hands at everything" This statement means nothing. It's literally just a platitude.

"They'll learn at their own pace." That is literally how learning works; the issue IRL is that schools follow curriculums that are designed to keep moving forward because stopping and making personal deviations for people who either can't keep up or are going too fast is impractical and doomed to make everything crawl to a stop; it's better just to have free and round the clock tutoring services designed to help kids approach lessons from a variety of different avenues until they find a way to learn that works best for themselves.

"They'll help each other until they figure out what they want to do later in life." I've said it once, I'll say it again THIS IS NOT SOME REVOLUTIONARY CONCEPT. This is LITERALLY how education basically already works and anyone who thinks that what they want to do in life NOW is what they are always going to want to do is an idiot, and that what they want to do may not even be possible due to the constraints surrounding it, it's just throwing meaningless shade at a nonexistent problem of schools 'forcing kids to choose early on in life.'

And the rest is just empty air. Fuck that.

"Ladybug gave it to me, she told me how my father helped her to defeat Monarch, at the cost of his life. I don't know if I'll ever manage to be like him." YOU SHOULD NOT WANT TO BE LIKE HIM!! HE WAS AN ABUSIVE PIECE OF FILTH WHO TREATED YOU LIKE SHIT AND KEPT YOU LOCKED UP IN YOUR OWN HOUSE FOR YEARS, INTERFERED WITH YOUR LOVE LIFE, AND LATER SUBJECTED YOU TO WHITE TORTURE!! MARINETTE, YOU HAVE GASLIT YOUR BOYFRIEND INTO IDOLIZING THE MONSTER WHO MADE HIS LIFE A LIVING HELL!!! FUCK YOU AND FUCK YOUR BULLSHIT PROMISE!!!!

"You don't need to be like him, just be yourself." That would be more touching if you weren't ACTIVELY LYING TO HIM ABOUT HIS FATHER'S IDENTITY AND RETROACTIVELY ENABLING THE ABUSE HE WENT THROUGH!!!

"You're the only one who can decide what to make of your life." Yeah, something his father DID NOT BELIEVE AS HE ACTIVELY TRIED TO CONTROL EVERY ASPECT OF HIS LIFE!!! SERIOUSLY WHY IS ADRIEN NOT MORE CONFLICTED OVER THIS!? HE KNOWS HIS FATHER WAS A FAILURE AS A PARENT AND A PIECE OF HUMAN TRASH, HIM "LEARNING" THAT HIS DAD APPARENTLY HAD A MORAL LINE HE WOULDN'T CROSS DOESN'T INVALIDATE ALL THE ABUSE HE PUT HIM THROUGH!!!

"You always find the right words, Marinette." NO SHE DOESN'T!! OFTEN HER WORDS JUST MAKE SHIT WORSE!!!

"When I'm with you, I feel so... free!" SINCE FUCKING WHEN!? IT IS REALLY IRONIC TO SAY THAT GIVEN THAT SHE IS TRAPPING YOU IN A CAGE OF LIES!!!

The whole "kiss scene" going on is ruined by the fact that Marinette is lying to Adrien and that Adrien never once was allowed proper closure for how much of a failure of a parent and an abusive piece of crap his dad is. This is a toxic shitstorm of gaslighting and mutually enabling toxic behaviors between the two of them.

Oh look, a news report where that scientist lady who created the Pigeon Dinos is on the screen, I wonder why she's the special guest being called up to talk about how crazy things have been, given that she's apparently someone who works with DNA.

Apparently Marinette SOMEHOW remodeled the Rings back into their original forms. I'm genuinely BAFFLED as to HOW, and I honestly think it could've been more interesting if they'd been kept as Rings with the heroes having to work out how to use them in their new configurations while Marinette has to research a way to get them back to normal in the next season... all except 2 1.

"Still no sign of the Miraculous of the Butterfly?" Hmm, given that the last ANYONE saw of it involved it falling into what I can only imagine is water that leads to the sewers after getting knocked off of Gabe's chest, I wonder WHY it's gone missing again!!!

Her saying that now all the heroes are responsible for their own Kwami is something that should've probably happened AROUND SEASON THREE, NOT SEASON FIVE!!! Also, really annoyed seeing all the Temp Heroes with the awed and overjoyed expressions at being reunited with their Kwami, considering they barely even KNOW the Kwami and didn't really have any emotional attachments to them, last I checked. The fact that fucking ARGOS is counted among the heroes is something I will NEVER forgive.

Damocles is sorting Paperwork and just got a voice message from a "mysterious new student" who is clearly Lila as she didn't even BOTHER DISGUISING HER VOICE. For fuck's sake, here we go again. SOMEHOW Lila got the Butterfly; Don't even FUCKING START WITH ANY "but she showed up at the Agreste Manor" BS!! She showed up to find a GIANT GAPING HOLE SEVERAL STORIES DEEP and there was a massive battle raging in Hawkmoth's lair and Marinette took out the Elevator, there IS NO POSSIBLE WAY SHE COULD'VE GOTTEN DOWN THERE AND GOTTEN THE MIRACULOUS AFTER IT FUCKING FELL INTO THE WATER!! IF SHE HAD MADE A DIVE FOR IT, THEY WOULD'VE HEARD HER!!! And it ends with some kind of energy portal opening up behind her. Why do I hate where that stupid cliffhanger is leaving off...?

And with that, I am FINALLY FUCKING DONE WITH THIS SEASON!!!

[thoth-the-thoughtful]

Alright so last time I checked, to make a night creature in Castlevania, you need to be a forgemaster. Forgmasters can only call fourth souls from hell to reanimate the bodies of the living in any form the forgemaster chooses.

The important thing here is that only souls that went to hell after dying can be called into a corpse by a forgemaster. This, then, raises the question as to why the fuck Edouar is a night creature now on Nocturne?

Either the writers forgot/ignored some key lore because they wanted this character arc, or Edouar actually went to hell, and that was an intentional choice on the writers part. This then raises the question, why did Edouar go to hell!?

Did he go to hell for killing vampires? Did he go to hell for killing human slave masters? Did he go to hell for being gay!? I honestly can't think of any good reason Edouar should be in hell other than:

1. God likes slavery,

2. God hates gays,

3. God as we understand him in our world, doesn't exist, and everyone goes to hell when they die.

4. God as we know him is real, but has a different morality system than what we were taught and ppl can get sent to hell for reasons unknown.

In either case, this is my biggest criticism of the show. One of the major plot threads is only possible due to a major narrative inconsistency and the implications for its reasoning are fucked.

[lucius-morningstar]

You're what?!

Lucius finds out he's an uncle, first panic then asking for help. ----- Lucius: Please tell me I didn't hear that. Husk: Kind of feels like you want to tune it out. Lucius: Well how else am I suppose to react. Babies don't belong in hell! Angel: *Snorts* Looks like you're shit outta luck then. Uncle Luc- Lucius: Shut up! Just shut up!, Maybe I was hearing things. Husk: We heard it, so sorry to burst your bubbl- Lucius: Yes but you two are either drunk or high so I can't take your word for anything. Angel: Wow.. Low blow Lucius. Lucius: You like low blows. Angel: Only when I do em. Husk: *Sighs* Look, face facts she's pregnant. Better get over it now. Lucius: Ugh.. Angel: Why are you so bummed about this. Lucius: Its just a lot okay, I don't want Charlie to overwhelmed. She's already dealing with quite a bit right now. Pregnancy on top of all that. Angel: Honestly out of the two of them I think Charlie is the best choice.. Picture Vaggie being pregnant. Lucius: No, Thank you. Husk: We can either make the best of this or you can continue to panic and overthink i-.. And he's gone. Angel: Wonder where he's going. Husk: Two options. Either to Charlie or their dad but both I find extremely unlikely. Angel: Who else would he go too then? ----- Carmilla: Why are you here. Lucius: Well, as surprising as this might sound you're the only mother figure I know whose good to her kids in Hell. Carmilla: Gee thanks. Lucius: That sounds bad but just listen for a minute. The only mothers I know who live in hell either went on a "Hiatus" or outright hate their kids. You not only have a good relationship with your daughters but love them unconditionally. Carmilla: That doesn't tell me why you're here. Lucius: Can you swear on your daughter's lives you won't say anything. Carmilla: ..Don't make me kill you. Lucius: Charming but I'm serious, this cannot get out. Please. I have literally no one else to go too. Carmilla: Fine I won't say anything, now what. Lucius: My sister is pregnant and I have no idea how to handle this. Carmilla: ..Are you the father- Lucius: Fuck no, why would you even ask that. Carmilla: Cause most uncles don't freak out over their sister being pregnant. Lucius: Well in case you forgot this is literal hell. A baby has no place in hell. So I need a motherly perspective from someone who gives a shit about her child. Carmilla: You think Charlie won't, you think Vaggie won't-.. How did they e- Lucius: My guess is magic I didn't ask for details. And it's not that I don't think Charlie won't be a great mom, I think she'll be great at it, I'm more concerned on what to look out for or you know stress mothers go through and how I can help her a bit. Carmilla: You realize it's been quite sometime since I had a baby. Lucius: I can tell. Carmilla: I'm going to ignore that for your sake but if you're actually intending to want to help your sister, maybe take on more of her work load. Less stress the better and maybe try to make an effort to get along with her partner. Lucius: Ugh.. Carmilla: Oh grow up she's not that bad. Lucius: You've only met her once. Carmilla: She's been coming by more often honestly if you'd been around maybe you'd know that. Lucius: If you didn't threaten to shoot or maim me every time I come to see your daughter then maybe I would. Carmilla: The fact you know why I threaten you should tell you more then enough. Lucius: I wouldn't hurt her- Carmilla: You already did but that's neither here nor there, if you want to be of use and be helpful then start by acting nicer to her partner and helping out more around the hotel. See where it goes from there. Lucius: Wait what do you mean I already did. Carmilla: Sorry that's not part of our discussion and I've got a meeting to attend too so either leave or I will make you. Lucius: ..Fine. Thank you for your help Carmilla. Carmilla: You're welcome. Lucius: I never wanted to hurt her, I hope you know that Carmilla: Then prove it. Words mean very little to me. Lucius: *nods* Alright I like a challenge. See ya Mila! Carmilla: Do not!-.. And he's gone.

[timeloop-angel]

I've read Beastars but ended dropping it. I adore the art and worldbuilding but uhh the story kinda feel flat.

Like. At the begging it was set to be this forbidden high school romance yet i feel like the story forgot abt it?lols.

The story *doesn't* has to adhere to its initial premise, but i feel like the author got too caught in the bigger, societal philosophical conflicts that the interpersonal conflict between Lugoshi and Hal wasn't developed that well. One big reason for that is that Hal (and other students too ngl) got sidelined. Her characters development was too rushed and didn't make sense, for me it felt like suddenly at some point she fell for Lugoshi and thats it?

Which also brings to one major reason for my dropping: the story is kinda sexist. And i have no patience for sexist manga anymore.

All the femele characters are either forgotten, sidelined or/and just there to be fanservice. One thing is for a manga to be horny in general (and i respect that. Dunmeshi that has a similar premise of "hunger and lust is pretty similar" did that very well), another thing is to plastered with panty shots of female characters that for some reason all use lingerie.

And the author expect the reader be fine that Hal stopped with all her hookups for the sake of Lugoshi while Lugoshi is in this ever constant dubious situation with female characters but it's fine because they initiated it and he was powerless against them! Yes i dropped it when that bunny called 9 (?) appeared. I fr dont have patience to deal with shounen/seinen bullshit.

Anyways i really like stories with an overarching narratives, that bring philosophical questions related to that world but if that comes at the cost of development of basically every characters except the two main (male) characters then the author is doing it wrong. Interpersonal conflict isn't and shouldn't be completely separated and ignored for the sake of Conflict Against The World, those two things *are* pretty connected and should be valued more if the story has the initial premise of a forbidden romance/love.

Anyways another point of that made me tired of the manga was that whole fight of Lugoshi against the murderer and why? It was pretty stupid. The author tried to justify ysuing Lugoshi as puppet for their words ("I'm doing it to affirm my justice!" Or whatever) but no its still pretty stupid. The reason is because the author didn't do any setup before the reveal of the murderer. The author again forgot abt other characters and their interpersonal conflict, including the initial setting (the story literally starts with that murder) because they got too caught in making Lugoshi have this philosophical questions nonstop and go to other places and meet other new characters that the already pre-existing characters get forgotten.

The conflict between Lugoshi and the murderer felt flat because we didn't even knew the name of the murderer beforehand (despite them being part of the club!) And the revelation was so...sudden. I know there is lots of ways to do mysteries, but the author didn't present the culprit beforehand nor showed us the audience any clue to set up for the reveal. Honestly i feel like the author suddenly remembered abt the murder plotline, pulled something out of their ass and went along it with. And that kinda something when in general beastars present itself as this deep and thoughtful story!

Anyway the end result is that now the author have this conflict between Lugoshi and the murderer. And the author want to write a Big Fight to show us the differences between characters and all of that...! And the audience dont care. Because the author rushingly showed us the backstory of the murder without any set up to be a good reveal, and we dont care. Because the audience don't have any emotional connection with the murderer to begin with.

And because the audience dont care, because the story didn't have a proper setup, the fight is stupid because yeah it doesn't make any sense for Lugoshi not call the police. For me instead of thinking that Lugoshi didn't call the police due to his relationship with the murder and because, narratively, calling the police would ruin the plotline–I only thought that Lugoshi was having a Big Macho Moment and that made my view of him fall a little (which later got worse when he was getting dubious with other women)

Also last reason is that i got too upset that this manga was filled with queer coding that led to nothing. Tbh it kinda feel like queerbait but im not too sure to call it that. It felt frustrating nevertheless, especially considering the sexism in the manga.

[seeingteacupsindragons]

Hey! I’m not sure if Yuumori has confirmed this, but is the “Lord of Crime” persona actually part of who William really is (like a darker side to his personality)? Or, was it all a mask to hide his kind self? After The Final Problem, it seems like William has not shown that darker side of himself and has become much softer and gentle. Was he truly like this all along? Sorry if my question doesn’t make sense, English is not my first language.

This is an odd question to me. YuuMori has never addressed this because this isn't really a question. The Lord of Crime is not its own entity. He doesn't have a personality. It's just...a thing William does.

The Lord of Crime is just a character William made up to serve his purposes in the narrative he's trying to push to save the country. And because of the way it works, he and his brothers occasionally have to take on the role of this character.

But like. That's just LARPing.

And as much as I love Liam, he's not much of a character writer. The Lord of Crime is pretty personality-less.

William is a silly, kind, showboat of a man who plays his cards so close to his chest he can't see them anymore and honestly forgot what the cards were. But that doesn't mean he's using the Lord of Crime as a mask: pretty much the only people he acts as him in front of are people who are about to die (and thus don't matter), and Sherlock, who already knows and whom he's playing a game (see: LARPing) with.

William has the same personality really whatever he's doing: he's kind and loving and dramatic and intentionally annoying and domineering. He scares the shit out of his students even while he protects them and he ignores his friends and brothers even while ensuring they're in the best possible position and he protects his clients even as he murders people. He was kind and gentle from the start (but also awkward and annoying from the start: seriously, go read volume one again; you can see him barge into his student's dorm, but also go out of his way to protect one of them on his own initiative).

And even after the time skip, he's got a lot of that still going on. Sure, he's less domineering, which is good, because he was overbearing to the point of steamrolling over very reasonable objections from people he cares for deeply. But that's character growth, not dropping a mask.

Anyway, his silly little LARP character is dead now, so he has to actually act as himself. So the actions he used to take for the Lord of Crime don't happen. But he himself is still the same person as ever, and the same person he's always shown himself to be.

Functionally, this is not a lot different than asking if the Consulting Detective is a part of Sherlock or a mask. Or Mycroft's role as the intelligence director. Like, IDK, not really either?

[mydisenchantedeulogy]

Red Strings [Chapter Five] Bait [Satoru Gojo]

A/n: I apologize that it has taken me so long to post this chapter. I needed to outline and honestly, I forgot where I was going with it. Hopefully, I'll be able to update soon. Please enjoy.

Warning(s): implied sexism, lies, jujutsu lore, blood, and violence.

As the week goes on, you start to notice a significant difference in how members of the Zen'in clan treat you. While they still turn up their noses at you when you pass, there is an underlying look of disgust in their eyes, as though your existence now bothers them; a fly buzzing around, searching for its next meal. 

It's both a curse and a blessing to be tethered to Satoru Gojo. This entire 'Era of Fate' business feels more like someone's Innate Technique than an unexpected phenomenon. And perhaps it is. Gojo's theory isn't to be ruled out either, that it's a human-born curse. But what purpose does it have? Especially since sorcerers are the only ones who can see the red strings. The aspect of a predetermined relationship sounds foolish. 

Dressing in a clean outfit, you decide to take a walk around the compound. Since returning from your outing with Gojo and informing your father about the Arima members that had stalked you in the city, you haven't much left your room to avoid the disgusted looks from your fellow clan members. It's been hard on you, but you can't remain locked up forever, not if you wish to see Gojo again.

A part of you hates the attention, feeling more and more like a nuisance when you aren't being forced to use your Innate Technique, but the other part of you wants the freedom that comes with being tethered with Gojo.

He's the most gorgeous man I've ever seen. And he's– or rather he seems kind. 

There's a lot about him that you wish you knew. For instance, what his intentions are for you. And what the bond mark means. You stare at it on the back of your hand, watching as the cursed energy fluxes across your skin. It's captivating yet haunting at the same time.

With a deep and uneasy sigh, you leave the room, walking along the wooden engawa with no destination in mind. The autumn sun feels comfortable on your skin, even with the extra layers you put on in case your walk goes well into the evening. 

As you pass around the corner of the first house, you notice two children in the courtyard hand in hand. Immediately, you recognize them. 

 

"Mai, Maki!"

The five-year-olds turn around to the sound of your voice; Maki, the eldest twin with straight-cut bangs, waves. You step down from the engawa and saunter over to them, excited to see them. 

It had been a while since you had talked to the twins. Their mother kept them separated from the other clan members for several unfair and sexist reasons. But you understand; you too are looked down on for such reasons. They have it much worse. 

"It's good to see you both. How have you been?" You ask with a smile. 

Maki raises a brow, ignoring your question. 

"Did you get a tattoo?"

You nod in response. Honestly, it's not something you can explain with ease. No one from the Zen'in Clan has a tattoo like yours as the members select their mates; their red strings can sometimes be seen intertwining and branching out across the compound. 

Mai and Maki are spared this inconvenience, at least until they come of age. Though it's Maki you are most concerned for considering she was born a non-sorcerer. Things are not going to be easy for her growing up. If only you can spare her from the torment, Mai included.

"It's nothing to worry about for now," you utter, avoiding the conversation. 

Averting your eyes to the younger twin, you notice that her eyes are squeezed shut, almost like she is trying to avoid looking at something.

"Why are your eyes closed, Mai?" You ask in concern.

"I don't want to see the curses outside the compound. They frighten me," she answers. 

You frown, reaching up to pat her head. 

"I don't like them much either."

Before you had been reintroduced to the clan, the chances of seeing curses were high. You often saw them from your bedroom window, sitting out on the street, or wandering by. Populated locations were a hotspot for curses due to negative emotions and the city was full of them. 

You can understand Mai's uneasiness toward curses. 

"I told you that I would lead you," Maki responds. "So long as you keep your eyes closed, you don't have to see them."

A sad smile spreads across your face. Despite her inability to see curses, she presses on. 

"That's nice of you, Maki. Siblings should–"

Your name is called abruptly and loudly, interrupting you. Glancing over your shoulder, you notice your father standing on the engawa, staring at you with his eyes narrowed. The five-year-olds scamper off without a word, leaving you alone with him.

"What are you doing wandering the compound?" Your father asks as you approach him. 

"Taking a long walk," you answer. 

Leaving your room is not wrong. He should not treat you like a prisoner. To spite him, you trace your fingers over the tattoo on your hand, an action you are certain he notices. 

"That can wait," he states with a sigh. "I need you to come with me."

You raise a brow. 

"May I ask where we're going?" 

"Naobito-san has ordered me to take you into the city, to show me where you encountered the members of the Arima Clan," he answers. 

Did the clan head hope to track them? Using jujutsu leaves residuals, a footprint that can be used to track the user unless the sorcerer is an expert and knows how to cover their residuals. You aren't certain the Arima Clan even used jujutsu when stalking you, but it's a start.

A part of you wants to ask why now the Zen'in are taking an interest in the Arima Clan, but you opt not to in case your father scolds you for being curious; such is the tragic life of a woman born as a Zen'in. 

Leaving your father for a moment, you rush back to your room to retrieve your shoes, then you meet him by the front gates of the compound. 

"It's an hour to Minato," you mention as you walk beside him. "That's where Gojo took me to have ice cream."

Your father tightens his jaw but doesn't respond with whatever is on his mind. He remains silent and allows you to lead him to the station; not the fastest route but without a car there's not much of a choice. 

The trip wouldn't be so bad if there was something to talk about, but there isn't, and for the duration, your father and you don't speak. At the ice cream shop, after a sixteen-minute walk from Daimon Station, you lead him across the street where you had seen the two mysterious men. But as you had thought there were no spectral footprints to track.

"Either someone covered them, or the two you saw were too cautious to use jujutsu in the open," your father mentions. 

"I was with Gojo, so I doubt they would have given who he is," you state. 

Your father gives you a pointed stare. 

"He's more trouble than he's worth."

Motioning for you to follow him, he leads you back across the street to the ice cream parlor. From the pocket of his outfit, he retrieves some money and offers it to you. 

"Get an ice cream and sit," your father orders. "I'm going to continue checking the area."

Is he serious? Your eyes widened in disbelief. 

"But–"

"Do as I say," he orders. 

You aren't certain about this. He's never been generous before, but perhaps he doesn't want you to interfere with whatever he's doing. It worries you that there is more to this trip, but you don't see him putting his one ticket to remaining in the Zen'in Clan in jeopardy. You hesitantly take the money.

Without a word, your father turns and walks away.

I guess I'll play along.

You sigh and walk into the parlor. 

An hour in, an overwhelming volume of cursed energy suddenly peeks, causing you to shiver. It almost seems familiar.

Father.

Grabbing the plastic spoon left over from your disposable cup, you snap off the oval, creating a point. It's not much of a weapon, especially against a curse or a sorcerer, but it's better than having no weapon. Your Innate Technique is always an option, but you've never used it on a live person before. You aren't sure it will even work against one.

You follow the familiar cursed energy to an alley nearby, but it vanishes once you start to descend it. There's no trace of a curse or a sorcerer; no footprint or body to indicate who or what let off the spike. Sure that it had been your father, you are bewildered.

Where did he–

The sound of footsteps alerts you that someone is nearby. You turn and notice an unfamiliar man with dark hair near the opening of the alley. The crest on his uniform - a six-tang flower - is familiar. You widen your eyes. 

"Arima."

Realizing what this means, you clutch the broken spoon tight. 

"I'm the target."

But why? And where is your father? 

The man with the brown hair grins. 

"That's perceptive of you. I expected as much from a Zen'in kleptoparasite."

If only he knew. 

"I'm the wrong one you should be taking up your concerns with," you remark. 

"I suppose you're right," the man agrees. "But you don't catch flies without a little honey." 

With a whistle, another member of the Arima Clan, a tall and lanky man with long black hair leaps from the roof of the building behind you, landing on his feet. His deadpan smile makes you shiver in disgust. 

"Come to Takuma," he orders in a shrill voice, patting his knees as if you are a dog. 

You want to choke him, but instead, you take a step back. Takuma teasingly walks closer, chattering his teeth, an action that makes you want to puke. Your attention is so focused on him that you don't notice the brown-haired male approach you until he grabs your arm from behind. 

As a reaction, you swing with the broken spoon and stab him in the cheek with it. Some sorcerors enhance their bodies with cursed energy to protect themselves, but this one must not have seen you as a threat. His mistake. 

You make a run for the main street, but an arm suddenly appears in your view and slams you to the ground. The pain is excruciating. It feels almost like you have walked into a glass door; for a moment you can't breathe.

It doesn't help that the man you stabbed is fueled by rage. He storms up to you, hand covering the wound on his face, and kicks you in the stomach. Pain explodes throughout your body and if not for the giant of a man who slammed you deescalating the situation, you are certain you would have been kicked again.

"Shut your damn mouth, Hiroki, and give me the spray before she activates her Innate Technique," he orders in annoyance.

You feel foolish. Perhaps you should have tried to use it. At the moment your head is spinning, so much so that you can barely focus. 

The man with brown hair sits on your chest while another secures your legs. He lifts a bottle and sprays something into your face, a substance that almost smells sweet and despite your attempts at struggling, your body completely shuts down. The world around you fades to black. 

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

OKAY. SO. i'm going to be directly pulling from the wiki + ttrpg text & abridging some of it. here we go. little bowl of seeds for u!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so. the circumstances leading up to the trigger event influence the power granted. half the state of mind, and half the scenario that they're in. taylor was in a situation where she was isolated, blind and powerless and felt like everyone was conspiring against her-- either directly (planning for fucking weeks to get her into the locker) or indirectly (ignoring her inside, not letting her out) etc. she triggered as a master, someone who can see everything and control so many things so exactly and specifically and she has something (her bugs) there for her, in some sort of fucked up companionship, in response to that. the overview is as follows!!

^this is the gist of it!!!!!! the ttrpg also goes into more in depth on many of these-- i won't send u 1 billion screenshots Now (spoilers in the gdocs u r Not allowed in there) but. here r a couple irt the nhw for flavor :}

also holy shit now i can be so so so fucking annoying about Why i gave the nhw the powers i did... i kind of got into it w/ the trigger events. but like. still..!!!!!!!!!!!

OHHHHHHHH MY GOD. HOLY SHIT. YEAH UR RIGHT I WAS THINKING ABOUT IT FROM THE WRONG ANGLE. OH MY GODDDD DUDE . THIS IS SO FUCKING TASTY. MY MIND IS GOING ABT A BILLION MILES AN HOUR RNNNN ohhhh god this got so long i gotta out it under a cut. im having so many thoughts dude

i would LOVE the essay about each of the nhw triggers btw. i can SEE your vision i can FEEL your vision. william feeling so fucking isolated in his hometown leading him to have master powers. his. idk weird relationship with ghosts/monsters/death coupled with his EXTREME near death experience manifesting in his breaker powers. UGHHH thats so good. TRUMP POWERS BEING CAUSED BY DIRECT INVOLVEMENT BY ANOTHER CAPE IN THE TRIGGER EVENT. VIRION WATCHING HIS DAD SLAUGHTER THEIR ENTIRE PARTY/FRIENDS/FAMILY. dakota being lost in the crowd after losing his parents, knowing something bad is happening but not knowing exactly what, catching glimpses of the fight and the blood and the horror but still not fully understanding, not knowing how or if he'll ever find his parents again and that manifesting in his thinker powers. also that zone/quick/farsight thing holy FUCK thats so failsafe. "loss of autonomy, being situationally restricted/overwhelmed" manifesting as sensing people in his immediate environment. "results from tunnel vision in views/character, incorrect perceptions" (can we say dakota damascus hero worship!) manifesting as powers that go beyond the usual senses (fear/pain sense!). i honestly think the Quick part would come more from his second trigger, which is what gives him the Mover powers right? "panic, frantic inability to solve problems, rushed errors" <- not being able to catch katori in time, making the split second decision to fall after her, manifesting as his mover/thinker powers. being able to make those split second decisions midair and Actually Accomplish them, but by the time he triggered they were already too close to the ground and he couldnt save her anyway (<< and theres the tragic irony)

ohhhh i didnt mean to go off so much about failsafe but that just gave me a lot of feelings about his triggers :( ANYWAY THINKING ABOUT ASHE NOW. GOD. OKAY. right now. how are we feeling about Shaker/Breaker. ok ok im having a lot of thoughts here bear with me. idk if u have a more clear trigger for him in mind but the thing ive been thinking about all day since u sent me that first ask is. the call going out to evacuate because simurgh is coming. ashe's mom has to go get him from school and its a mad rush with all of the other parents trying to do the same thing. instead of immediately leaving, they go back to the house for some reason (she forgot something important? maybe her phone so she had no way to contact mark/see if he was okay? idk i havent worked that out yet.) and shes just. running around frantically grabbing things getting ready to leave and ashe is standing in the doorway not knowing what to do or how to help. and its like an earthquake hits. (i just keep thinking about chris's death and how fucking. sudden and brutal it was it has stuck with me for some reason). something big or heavy falls on her and just . immediately crushes either one or both of her legs. totally unable to move. and ashe starts panicking and shes obviously panicking but trying so hard to keep it together not to scare ashe anymore than he already is. and she tells him to go, tells him to follow the other people who are leaving, maybe find one of their neighbors and go with them. (side note here. if she got her phone. i want her to text mark here and tell him to come home. something really short and terrifying and panic inducing that breaks him out of his hesitation. "need help, come home, cant leave" something like that. worlds most miserable man these are the last words he has of his wife aha) ashe doesnt want to leave his mom! hes just a kid he doesnt know what the endbringers are or why theyre so scary or why THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR is so bad!! she keeps telling him not to worry, that dad will meet him there when hes safe, ashe immediately asks something like "but what about you?" and its very. disney movie parent dying level of tragedy. he triggers when she eventually cant hold it together anymore either from the pain or the panic and just starts. screaming at him. ashe you need to go you cant stay here you need to leave me im not coming with you etc etc etc.

ANYWAY. ALL THIS TO SAY. shaker powers come from environmental/ambient danger. i.e. a literal endbringer attack. maybe the house isnt structurally sound anymore but he doesnt want to leave his mom. breaker powers come from . well this is more of me maybe forcing the issue but i want the trickster to be a separate form or something. the abstract stressors here being. he knows something bad is happening but he doesnt know exactly what. he knows his mom cant move but he wants her to be able to so she can leave with him, shes yelling at him telling him to go, he doesnt know where his dad is, he doesnt want to go by himself. etc etc do you feel the vision here. taking this directly from that last paragraph about breakers too but like "knowing a situation is dangerous but not wanting to leave" yknow!!!!! i dont know exactly how this would manifest yet but goddd just. imagining it as something like. his shaker powers are the ones he can actually control and use normally but the trickster/breaker powers is what he turns into in situations similar to his trigger, where someone he loves is in danger. but the irony of it is that he cant really control his actions as the trickster and he just kind of. goes berserk on whatever is around him. absolutely brutal, maybe a little sadistic; its kind of perfect for situations like overlord where they do actually need to kill someone to get out of the situation, but with things like his trigger. well. the only living thing around him was his mom. so . wasnt pretty. is this anything . im in so much pain about this

final FINAL side note. i know we have mark as a cauldron cape but even if we didnt i think both his classifications working so fucking well ESPECIALLY tinker "solutionless problems over long periods, resulting in a crisis moment" what is more of a solutionless problme than knowing you and your son have been marked by the simurgh and deciding that instead of following protocol youre going to say fuck it all and get the two of you out of there by. nuking your entire lives and faking new identities and struggling to bounce back from somehting like that all while knowing the inevitability of. the fact that youve BEEN MARKED BY THE FUCKING SIMURGH. (also striker "results from an immediate threat, usually a single object or individual" hello? coming home to find your son in some demonic berserk state and your wife a bloody mess on the floor all while theres this overbearing scream/singing in your head ??? okayyyyy)

[otakween]

8-Man vs. Cyborg 009 - Volume 2

Love a good 2 volume, short read every now and then. Unlike BGOO Parts, this one didn't outstay its welcome. Nothing ground breaking here, just some crossover fanservice like in the Devilman crossover. Fun times. Interested to see what's next for these franchises.

Ch. 7

8-Man tells Joe and Francoise about his past romantic drama with his secretary Sachiko. Francoise apparently "saw" Sachiko's presence when they were in 8-Man's office and wanted the tea lol.

If they're not gonna let Francoise fight, like ever, can they please introduce another female fighter or something? I'm getting really fed up watching her smile blandly on the sidelines or be a damsel in distress. Like if she's a pacifist, fine! But she's also the only girl cyborg so it feels insulting.

The two page spread of the demon God statue was a good jump scare. Let the final showdown, begin!

Ch. 8

Lol I guess the manga heard my complaints because they finally let Francoise shoot a gun at least. Also, her heightened senses finally did something useful. Alright, fine. You win this time mangaka...

Wait, what the hell!? Pyunma's back to his old racist design! THIS MANGA CAME OUT IN 2020 WTF??? (Good thing I didn't pay for this one lol).

Honestly, it seems ridiculous that Skull would just ignore the other numbers cyborgs. There's no way they wouldn't come after their kidnapped friends...just makes him look really stupid.

The Black Ghost minions were drawn all cutesy in like a chibi form. They look like they could be villains from a Mario game or something lol. Not very intimidating.

Ch. 9

Yaaay 008 pointed out the 8 thing =D lol. Glad he gets to contribute to the battle even though there's no water around lol.

Francoise has a weird bonding moment with Dr. Daemon because he saw her in a ballet once. He's definitely the chiller of the two evils but he's still actively working towards world domination and perpetual wars? I don't think this is really a "there's good in him" moment...

8-man sure loses his arms a lot. Guess they're just trying to emphasize his mechanical body.

I swear they used the EXACT same tactic to topple the demon God statue that they used to topple the Atlas-type robots in BGOO Parts! (006 digs a hole and then 005 pushes the big enemy over). Felt weird to see that used back-to-back in manga published so close to one another. Both times they emphasized it as some kinda ingenious strategy.

Ch. 10

Awe, I really liked this finale. They wrapped everything up in a nice, neat bow and sometimes that's all you want.

So Dr. Daemon was actually playing the long game and never allied with Black Ghost at all! Rather convenient lol. Does they mean the gang wouldn't have been able to defeat both enemies at once?

I completely forgot about Joe's juvenile delinquent backstory. Why do I feel like that doesn't fit his character at all? He's such a bland do-gooder now...Anyway, having 8-Man explain that he was a cop on the scene at the time of Joe's escape attempt was a clever way to tie the two series worlds together in a believable way.

So I guess Dr. Daemon is still not a great guy but not that evil either? I don't know enough 8-Man lore to make a conclusion lol. He seemed pretty okay with the heroes dying earlier, so I guess he's just all for himself.

This chapter got all Ghost in the Shell-y with the reveal that Skull isn't a real person, just a robot with implanted memories. Pretty brutal that he decapitated his own lackeys to prove a point what the heck...what if they weren't robots!?

So Black Ghost is dead "for real" now...riiiight. Until they inevitably get resurrected again for some future manga.

I was kinda shook to find out that Joe's hair is a wig (or maybe it's actually implanted into his scalp? IDK). It doesn't actually make any difference, I just never realized that was the case.

Dr. Gilmore and Dr. Tani being science bros was cute. Also enjoyed seeing Ivan (and his one eye) very briefly.

Nice picturesque ending with Joe and Francoise dropping 8-Man off at Sachiko's house and validating his humanity. Wholesome cyborgs supporting cyborgs.

Omake - Duel

A closer look at some 8-Man/Dr. Tani lore. I kinda wish they didn't include this tbh because it ended this volume on a depressing note.

Damn, if I was Ken I'd probably resent my dad too! Ken was like "you only love 8-Man!" and Dr. Tani was like "that's not true!" but then the second Ken dies Dr. Tani's just like "meh, at least I have 8-Man" lol. Poor Ken!

Speaking of poor Ken...that's one severe widow's peak. On top of having a craptastic life, he's also balding? Oh the humanity!

Dr. Tani acted like Ken being a cyborg with a human brain was a revelation of some sort? Sooo...if Dr. Tani wasn't the one to turn Ken into a cyborg, who did?

Ken's hero suit (or villain suit, I guess) literally just looks like he sharpied some fake pecs on lol. What a weird design choice.

As far as 1960s manga go, I think I prefer Cyborg 009's art style because it's more over-exaggerated and stylized. I think this allows it to hold up more. 8-Man feels more traditionally drawn (more proportional characters).

I'm kinda glad I got a glimpse into the authentic, OG 8-Man for greater context, but I'll also probably just read this again someday if I ever get to that part of MAL haha.

[sakumz]

happy 100 followers! could you write for kuro kiryu? tyy :3

𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒

𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒

₊˚ʚ ᗢ₊˚✧ ﾟ. [ k. kuro x gn reader ]

warning❗: slight ooc

genre 𑁍 : fluff

wc ⚘ :

a/n ꕤ : (❁ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)  ty, hope u enjoy this anon! 𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒𓂃𓈒

" thank you for taking care of my younger sister, " kuro, your boyfriend says as you pat his sister head before bidding both goodbye.

you're hoping she seriously doesn't spoil the gift you're planning to give him tomorrow to celebrate your anniversary as he prays she doesn't say anything about his gift for you either.

with one last sigh before heading to bed for the horrors of tomorrow, hopefully it isn't as horrible as you thought. you slept.

waking up, wasn't the best. first you missed your usual alarm you set and then the bus to work, you were considering taking the day off honestly. second, coming face to face with a happy and giddy kaoru wasn't the best, he's ready to blabber his life away for you to listen but you're rushing late so with one " sorry I'll hear you out later " and a push to kaoru to get in the lift. you didn't expect your boss to call you into the office after, there goes disturbing kuro in the morning.

hearing your boss complain about your work in the morning really was a big turn off, slamming your head softly against the table. you got ready to edit the draft your boss wasn't happy with, can't he just edit it since they were minor errors? ignoring the buzz from your phone wasn't really the best idea since they were coming from your beloved but hey this work is long due and you should focus on it just this once.

kuro can't help but get a little concerned for his lover, you were locked in your own little world for god knows how long. you didn't respond to his good morning message and its already afternoon, you were really busy so as the good bf he is. he comes barging into your office with a slice of cake and your favourite coffee at hand.

" hey, " he greets all cool and smooth as you flush over how you probably look right now, paper splatter all over your desk, laptop glaring at you as you ignore the laptop for papers at hand and your pens all over.

" sorry for the mess, but look! I've come up with a new stage idea for akatsuki, rabbits and undead, there's even one for valkyrie but I doubt boss will allow me to show it to valkyrie but I really think shu will like it or at least mika would... " you were ready to share everything you have for kuro to listen as he hands you the cake and coffee as you thanked him for those and remind you about dinner with him as you nod your head ready to talk more, only for him to apologise and go as he too has a busy schedule.

with a bittersweet goodbye, you both part ways and continue on your day. you falling asleep and forgetting about the time. kuro comes in after work is done, well everyone was supposed to leave and it was only you both and a few security guards left, honestly rei and keito were probably still in the building.

with a sigh, he cleans up your space before waking you up gently to tell you it's time to go home. you stared at him in bewilderment, kuro laughs at your reaction before taking you outside. the cool air hitting you as you shudder at the feeling, you forgot dinner with him but here he is still taking you out. you turn to pull something out of your bag, its the gift you made for him and the gift you hope his sister hasn't told him about as kuro smiles and gratefully takes from you. the cute bear that you crochet as a gift for him will remind him of you everytime that's for sure.

after the sweet dinner planned, you both were walking around the cool street. he walks you to nice area with little people around, with the moon shining nicely and beautifully for background. he gets on one knee, about to propose when he pulls out the small black velvet box revealling a shiny cute diamond ring perfect for your delicate finger as he says the words you longed to hear. without a second after he was done asking the question "will you marry me?" you say "yes, of course."

he slips the ring into your finger, before kissing your lips and you hugging him after for what felt like forever. you both broke from the moment when his phone rings and he picks up right infornt of you, it was his sister telling him to go home before the last train with a simple thank you he takes your hand, ready to bring you home. how you both can't wait for life as a married couple.

---

[thetimelordbatgirl]

(Miraculous Ladybug anon)

I just wanted to add a few things so you can understand even more why the fandom is going nuclear because of the finale:

Adrien didn't just ignore the bad things his father did. Because Gabriel's wish rewrote reality, Adrien doesn't even remember all the abuse he suffered at the hands of living under him.

The only person who does know is Marinette (who was allowed to figure out who Gabriel was instead of Adrien), but she was told by Gabriel to never tell Adrien what a massive scumbag he was in life and instead focus on the times he tried to be a good father. I'm not even being hyperbolic here. Gabriel literally told Marinette to tell Adrien to remember the times he did the bare minimum in trying to be a good father.

Even though Felix screwed over Ladybug by stealing all of the Miraculous except hers and Chat Noir's at the end of the last season, once Ladybug gets all the Miraculous back, he gets to be part of her superhero team, meaning he gets a forced redemption too.

And finally, when someone criticized Chat Noir's absence on Twitter, Thomas Astruc responded by citing the events of Chat Blanc, as if the actions of the characters in an alternate timeline was enough to justify keeping Adrien out of the conflict that was started by his own father (Link for proof: https://twitter.com/Thomas_Astruc/status/1675405463536402432).

Safe to say, absolutely nobody in the fandom is happy with the finale other than Thomas's biggest simps.

I'm...going to believe you on the Thomas Astruc thing after finding screenshots, cause guess which bitch is blocked by Thomas Astruc on twitter?

But also...yep...I am so happy to have dropped this show. Because holy shit.

This show really did have Gabriel abuse Adrien, both emotionally and physically, and literally either akumatize his son twice, showing he'll use his son even to get what he wants, or he'll endanger Adrien with akuma's literally out to hurt/kill him and in this finale alone, literally locks him in a isolation chamber, only to then turn around and have Adrien remember none of Gabriel's shit (the akumazations being the only thing that makes sense he doesn't remember cause both times those timelines were erased), just so Adrien can't have any reactions to the Hawkmoth shit and so that the show can have everyone praising Gabriel at the end.

And I just...again, I'm not going to get mad at Marinette here, she's fourteen for fucks sake and isn't the only one to know who Gabriel was by the end (you can't tell me Nathalie forgot, let alone Plagg and Tikki and Felix), but like, show really had Gabriel die doing what he does best: manipulating a child who has no idea how bad his treatment of Adrien could get (all Marinette knows is that Gabriel's controlling at best) and through the two, basically tried to reinforce Gabriel being a good dad somehow (cue coughing fit from that bullshit) while ignoring all the shit Gabriel has done.

And I am not even surprised at the Felix thing, just rolling my eyes as its honestly not as worse as the show trying to act like Gabriel's a good guy in reality. And funny Thomas Astruc brings up Chat Blanc as wasn't that the same episode that showed Gabriel as soon as he found out his son is the holder of the black cat miraculous, yeeting his child into the Eifel Tower and basically akumatizing said child after going at him emotionally and also tried to akumatize Marinette prior cause of him finding out his son is happily dating someone cause Gabriel never lets a chance to akumatize someone (mainly children) go? Funny episode for Thomas Astruc to bring up as an example of why Adrien can't fight Gabriel in the same episode that acts like he was a good person/dad.

[onlyjaeyun]

The way I’m shaking like a leaf… She cried? Oh my gosh. She really feels not so great about herself right now… Poor baby 🥺 I hope Hoon says something or does something to make it better. An offhand comment. Some amazing aftercare. Something! Oh my gosh I was literally shaking after reading. But knowing Hoon he’ll just go beat the shiz out of somebody over it.

I am very curious to see if he’ll mention it or ignore it or what. Literally I’m just so excited for what happens next.

Like I just know they’re in their head about each other. I saw your beautiful thought about the skating rink and I wondered whether there are moments when they’re together that their bodies and minds remember what it was like to hold each other. They had to trust each other so much to be partners. Know each others unspoken communication and body language and they never forgot. That’s probably why they’re so good together in bed. I just have it in my head that she looks down at him—meeting his gaze when he’s about to taste and her mind flashes back to that same face so much younger and happier. Eyes filled with affection and laughter—all for her—all about her—and it’s so painful and beautiful at the same time that she has to turn away… There’s such a tragic beauty to losing love in childhood. Your heart and innocence is just frozen there in your memories… When I tell you this chapter broke my heart…

Like I know he doesn’t want to care but I would be willing to bet in that moment, when he saw her cry, he had that same kind of flashback, you know? Her tears probably always tore him apart because her smiles were so beautiful. Maybe once upon a time it broke him to see her in pain… and maybe he hates that it still does. Maybe that’s why Jaemin had to suffer. Because he can’t (shouldn’t want to) fix what’s broken in her anymore so he settles for breaking what broke her instead.

It’s all there… you painted this incredible world filled with emotion and it’s all there and I just let myself drift in it sometimes. That’s really the magic of a truly good story with really amazing characterization like yours…

I haven’t had time to write in a long time. I miss it so much, and stories like this make me remember why. I hope you know that you really are that talented.

I really can’t wait for more. I just love this story. It’s a lovely highlight to my day. I look forward to it. When I was writing I would get anons and followers that would write me long paragraphs and daydreams about my characters and my stories and my worlds (especially The Alpha—I used to receive NOVELS about that story) They always made me smile because I knew it meant that they were as invested in the world and characters I created as I was. So I hope me sending you these daydreams doesn’t make you frustrated or uncomfortable. To me, creating a world that is rich enough to daydream in is the highest achievement. And you really have done that. Thank you so much.

STOP you know one thing i LOVE about writers who read? they just send you comments like this so casually like bestie you just wrote the most beautiful and well thought through commentaty on my work and i just wanna say i love and appreciate you so much.

i always see your comments and asks and replies and i cant lie they never fail to make me tear up. maybe its your phenomenal way with words or just the way it feels so kind and genuine but either way i just wanna say that i genuinely and truly appreciate every word you've sent my way 🥺

the fact CH is such a big part of your day is smth i will forever keep close to my heart and honestly i dont even wanna comment on your thoughts bc theyre so beautiful and ive been thinking about them so much yet have not find the right ways to reply. i love and appreciate you so, so so much i hope you know that 🥺💗