#maybe i should just become a ladybug stan blog

[syrupyyyart]

Oooo just realized this blog is fanart-less at this point. Anyone have any show/fandom recommendations lol

[august-anon]

Complete Masterpost (as of 12/09/2020)

Here is a complete rebloggable masterpost of all my works sorted by fandom. Beneath the fandoms, they are sorted in order of when I posted them. You can also find these on ao3 under august_anon, or on the Masterpost Page on my blog (which is sorted better tbh). Thanks for reading my works!

Total Works: 126

Avatar: The Last Airbender

(’20) Tickletober Day 3 - Stocks - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Aang, Ler!Sokka, Katara, Toph, Zuko - What else is Aang supposed to do when he finds a set of stocks in an abandoned town? NOT see if he could fit in them? 1151 words

(’20) Tickletober Day 9 - Ganged Up On - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Zuko, Ler!Aang, Toph, Katara, Sokka - They'd been plotting all week, and it was driving Zuko insane. The actual reason turned out a lot more innocent than Zuko was worried about. 713 words

Boku No Hero Acadamia (My Hero Acadamia)

(’20) Tickletober Day 18 - Holding It In - [ao3] - EraserMic - Lee!Aizawa/Ler!Yamada - Hizashi demands Husband Cuddles on their day off, but Shouta is being difficult. Luckily, Hizashi knows how to get his way. 799 words

Detroit: Become Human

(’20) Tickletober Day 16 - Massage - [ao3] - RK1000 - Lee!Connor/Ler!Markus - The new software patch has come through, and androids can now feel sensations a lot more similarly to humans. Markus plans to use this to treat his overworked boyfriend to a massage, but things don't quite go as planned. 1770 words

Gravity Falls

(’20) Tickletober Day 1 - Unusual Spot - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Dipper, Ler!Mabel - Mabel not-so-accidentally reveals one of Dipper's tickle spots. 610 words

(’20) Tickletober Day 13 - Wake Up! - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Dipper, Mable, Ler!Stan - Stan may have difficulty recalling anything now, but at least he knows the kids will be a constant. 1691 words

Miraculous Ladybug

(’20) Tickletober Day 15 - Stuck - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Adrien, Ler!Marinette - Thanks to a little yo-yo malfunction, Ladybug finds out something very interesting about her partner. 989 words

(’20) Tickletober Day 17 - Revenge - [ao3] - Gen - Switch!Marinette, Switch!Adrien - In Marinette's humble opinion, this was one of the most ridiculous scenarios she could imagine them finding out each other's identities. 799 words

Sanders Sides(/Cartoon Therapy)

Still Got It - [ao3] - Prinxiety - Lee!Virgil/Ler!Roman - Roman is frustrated that he's never heard Virgil laugh. Logan presents a solution. Turns out, after all these years, Virgil is still ticklish. 2350 words

You Brought The Laughter Back - [ao3] - Prinxiety - Lee!Roman/Ler!Virgil - Virgil may not have the experience Roman has, but his fingers definitely work magic, if Roman's reactions are anything to go by. 2170 words

I’m Not Ticklish - [ao3] - Logince - Lee!Logan/Ler!Roman -  Logan has had a thing for tickling as long as he could remember, and he’s rather good at hiding it. It only takes one slip-up for Roman to find out and make his fantasies come true. 5588 words

Calorie Counting - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Patton -  Roman is struggling with his new system of trying to lose weight. Luckily, Patton is always there for him. 1496 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 1 - Feather - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Patton, Roman, Virgil -  Someone's been sneak-tickling Logan, and he's determined to find out who. 727 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 2 - Fingers - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Patton -  Logan is ever so rudely awoken from his nap. 278 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 3 - Unusual Spots - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Roman -Roman finds a rather unusual method of warming his hands, leading to the discovery of a rather unusual spot for Patton to be ticklish. 278 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 4 - Stocks - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Logan - Roman agreed to help Logan with some of his "experiments." He would never admit how much he loved it. 864 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 5 - Tools - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Logan -  It's Virgil's turn to help with an experiment, and he's getting a little impatient waiting for what he truly wants. 684 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 6 - Gang Tickling - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Logan, Roman, Patton -  Virgil's been in a certain kind of mood for a number of days, now. It's a shame no one's noticed enough to take advantage of it. 674 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 7 - Light Tickles - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Virgil -Logan isn't sleeping. Again. Luckily, Virgil has a remedy. 461 words 

(’19) Tickletober Day 8 - Hard Tickles - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Logan -  Patton really wants to be wrecked. Logan is happy to oblige. 455 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 9 - “I’m not ticklish” - [ao3] - Prinxiety - Lee!Roman/Ler!Virgil -  Roman insists he's not ticklish. Virgil insists that's impossible. What else is there to do except test it out? 446 word

(’19) Tickletober Day 10 - Arms Up - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Patton - Virgil did ask for this, after all. Now all he needed to do was actually hold out. 218 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 11 - Sneak Attack - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Logan -  Patton is really much more sneaky than anyone gives him credit for. They really should start expecting it by this point. 233 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 12 - Unusual Tool - [ao3] - Royality - Lee!Patton/Ler!Roman - A not-so-peaceful moment together of doing chores leads to the discovery of a new possible tool of torment for Roman and Patton. 269 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 13 - Feet - [ao3] -  Virgil can finally get his revenge on Patton for all the tickling, with the help of a few little piggies. 289 words

(’19) Tickletober 14 - Favorite Spot - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Roman, Patton, Logan -  It was no secret that everyone in the mindpalace had their favorite spots, whether to tickle or be tickled. The rare thing was that, for one specific side, the favorite for everyone was unanimous. 194 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 15 - Cuddles - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Virgil, Patton, Roman - Logan's been overworking himself and refuses to relax, even when everyone forces him to take a break. Luckily, his fellow sides know just what to do. 661 words

Work of Art - [ao3] - Logince - Lee!Logan/Ler!Roman -  Roman just really wants to paint on his super attractive boyfriend. Logan, surprisingly (or not so surprisingly), is very willing. 1357 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 16 - Tickly Kiss - [ao3] - Moxiety - Lee!Patton/Ler!Virgil -  Patton's having one of his "bad for no reason" days. Luckily, Virgil always seems to know what to do. 578 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 17 - Tickle Fight - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Roman, Virgil, Patton -  Virgil wasn't sure how it started, but he was going to try his hardest not to lose. 211 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 18 - Chase - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Patton, Virgil, Logan -  Roman may have wanted it, but he certainly wasn't going to make it easy for them. 194 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 19 - Stuck - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Patton -  Roman probably should've thought this through before he did it... 242 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 20 - Hysterical - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Virgil -  It's Virgil's turn to experiment. He wants to know what it takes to make Logan hysterical. 343 words

The Attack of the Garra Rufa - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Roman -  Roman recently acquired a new spellbook and he is very excited to test out the new spells inside. 712 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 21 - Accidental - [ao3] - Logicality - Lee!Patton/Ler!Logan -  Logan didn't mean to brush against Patton's side, but he definitely didn't expect the reaction it produced. What did Patton expect him to do when he realized the mind palace's tickle monster was ticklish? NOT tickle him? 642 words

(’19) Tickletober Day 22 - Tickly Massage - [ao3] - Logince - Lee!Logan/Ler!Roman - Logan's been overworking again, which was causing his back pain to flare up again. Roman comes by to make sure he has a break. 994 words

We’ll Be Here, Always - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Logan, Virgil, Roman -  Patton can't always be happy, as much as he loathed to admit it. Sometimes he had bad days. Sometimes, those bad days had no rhyme or reason or cause. Luckily, his family's always there to support him. 5039 words

Could Use a Laugh - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Patton -  Patton's got his hands on Roman's new spell book. He can't wait to put it to use! His first target? A grumpy little side who could use a little more laughter in his life. 1063 words

The Prettiest Monster - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Virgil -  All Roman wanted was to teach Patton makeup. He didn't expect to be playfully attacked in response. 1054 words

Feathery Feet - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Roman -  Roman has decided it's his turn to play with his new tickle spells on the mind palace's favorite emo. 664 words

Revenge is a Dish Best Served Bright - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Logan -  Logan knows that Patton is plotting on coming for him next with those silly new spells. He figures the best way to counter that is by getting him first. 892 words

It’s Christmas, Wake Up! - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Roman, Logan, Ler!Patton -  Patton thinks his fellow sides are taking a little too long to wake up, and he's ready to start the day's festivities. Luckily, he has the perfect idea for getting them out of bed. 1224 words

Even Santa’s Elves Need Naps - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Roman -  Patton's been attempting to take on the monumental task of planning and setting up Christmas all on his own. Roman has decided he needs a break, and maybe a good laugh. 751 words

Dancing Around the Issue - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Logan -  They were supposed to be rehearsing. It wasn't Roman's fault he was so ticklish. 1665 words

Prince Feathersword - [ao3] - Logince - Lee!Logan, Patton, Virgil, Ler!Roman -  Roman’s been on a bit of a nostalgia binge, recently, and couldn’t help but remember a special sword a certain tickly pirate had... 3878 words

The Tickle Monster Always Wins - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Patton -  Roman really shouldn't have doubted Patton's skills as a ruthless tickle monster. He was really in for it, now. 3220 words

Broken Logic - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Virgil -  Logan had done enough ticklish "experiments" on the others to know that they would be ruthless in their revenge, but truly? He wasn't complaining. And he certainly wasn't complaining when he heard Virgil's threat to absolutely break him. 2689 words

Content (Valentickle) - [ao3] - Prinxiety - Switch!Virgil/Switch!Roman -  It was meant to be some cuddling after a Valentines Day well-spent. Not that either of them were complaining with the playful turn things had taken. 1605 words

Kitten’s Got Claws - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Virgil -  Virgil’s suspicious of Logan’s motives now that he’s started using Roman’s tickle spellbook as well. He figures he might as well be proactive and get the nerd, first. 895 words

Giddy Kisses - [ao3] - Logince - Lee!Logan/Ler!Roman -  Roman has a quite the sweet gift for Logan. It’s not his fault his boyfriend is so ticklish. 599 words

Scooch - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Roman - The couch may be a comfortable place for a nap, but Virgil is sorely mistaken if he thinks he'll be able to commandeer it for long. 401 words

Joyful Noise - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Logan, Roman, Patton -  Virgil tiredly lets something slip on his Christmas list, but it doesn't turn out as bad as he fears. 1222 words

Cold Fingers, Warm Laughter - [ao3] - LAMP - Switch!Virgil, Logan, Roman, Patton -  Maybe Patton was right and Roman should've worn gloves during their snowball fight, but was that going to stop him from starting something? Absolutely not. 1109 words

Color By Tickles - [ao3] - Gen - Ler!Virgil, Lee!Roman -  Virgil was feeling more confident with these spells, now. Meaning it was the perfect time for revenge on a certain Prince they all knew. 961 words

Connected - [ao3] - Gen - Ler!Logan, Lee!Virgil -  What, did Virgil think that Logan wouldn't get revenge? 596 words

Fluttery Feelings - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Magic(?) -  Roman had planned the perfect prank for movie night. He just really hadn't anticipated it backfiring on him. 2229 words

Professor Feathersword - [ao3] - Logince - Lee!Roman/Ler!Logan -  Roman didn't expect revenge, but he wasn't necessarily complaining. 2107 words

Provoked - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Logan -  Patton should have known to provoke Logan so far, but really, maybe that was exactly what he’d wanted all along. 967 words

TacTickle Advantage - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Patton -  Virgil should know better than to accept a challenge from Patton when he has that devious grin on his face. 716 words

Distraction - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Emile, Ler!Remy -  Emile slips up and gets a bruise. Remy has just the thing to distract him from the pain. 512 words

So Close - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Roman, Virgil, Patton -  Logan was so close to winning the bet, all he had to do was not laugh for another five minutes and he would be in the clear. Of course, it was at that moment Patton had to drop the secret to one of his biggest weaknesses. 945 words

Asking for Attention - [ao3] - Prinxiety - Lee!Roman/Ler!Virgil -  Roman's been pulling pranks all day. Virgil knows what he's really after. 509 words

Patty-Lee - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Roman, Virgil, Logan -  Patton's in a dangerous ler mood, but the others decide it's high time he got a taste of his own medicine. 1137 words

Learn Your Lesson - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Virgil -  Patton should’ve known better than to go after Virgil alone. Now he was really in for it. 1181 words

“Feared” Ler - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Patton, Logan, Ler!Virgil -  When Virgil gave you that grin, you knew to submit yourself to your fate. 1660 words

Get Up - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Patton - Patton just wants to get up and have breakfast! Roman, unfortunately, is being a little stubborn. 1076 words

Changing Channels - [ao3] - Gen - Switch!Logan, Switch!Virgil -  Virgil’s sick of Logan’s documentary, but he’s not exactly keen on changing the channel. Needless to say, a playful little fight breaks out. 846 words

Dance if You Can - [ao3] - Prinxiety - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Roman -  Roman held the unofficial title of “Best Dancer” whenever their friend group played Just Dance. Virgil, the new addition, was about to show him how it’s done, but Roman was nothing if not competitive. 2975 words

Broken Rules - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Patton - Virgil knew the consequences if he broke the rules of the challenge, he really did. And yet, here Patton was, needing to give him his “punishment.” Maybe it wasn’t a punishment at all, based off Virgil’s reactions. 702 words

Helpful - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Virgil -  Logan’s neck has been hurting him. Virgil’s only trying to help. 551 words

Prince Gigglee - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Virgil, Patton, Logan -  Roman’s in a very giggly mood. Logan finally figures out why. 1021 words

Not So Fast - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Logan -  Virgil isn’t quite as sneaky as he thinks he is, asking for something indirectly. 634 words

Let’s Hang Out - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Logan -  If Roman was going to (albeit accidentally) ignore him, then Virgil was going to ignore Roman right back. He just didn't expect the consequences that followed. 2085 words

Shark Attack - [ao3] - Gen - Switch!Virgil, Switch!Logan - Logan and Virgil are together again for summer break, and Virgil decides he'd like to play one of their childhood games to reminisce. 1210 words

Countdown - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Logan, Patton, Ler!Roman - Roman has a favorite game he likes to play with the other Sides. While most of them would never admit it, they like playing it with him, too. 1085 words

Bedtime - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, LerLogan - Patton is refusing to go to bed, but Logan has a few tricks up his sleeves. 685 words

If You Do... - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Virgil - Roman had asked Virgil to do his makeup, but he hadn't anticipated how much the makeup brushes would tickle. 536 words

Bonding Exercises - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Emile - Emile thinks that he and Virgil need to bond, and he has the perfect idea as to how. 699 words

Better Than Coffee - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Virgil -  All Virgil had really been after was a hug. It wasn't his fault Logan was so sensitive. 280 words

Losses and Laughter - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Virgil -  Really, Logan should've known better than to make that bet. But was it really the worst way to lose? 332 words

Tricks and Teases - [ao3] - Analogical - Switch!Virgil/Switch!Logan - Logan had been planning to tickle his boyfriend silly. Not have it go the other way around. 548 words

Instincts - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Roman - It wasn’t Patton’s fault he squirmed so much at even the threat of being tickled! 316 words

Delicious Laughter - [ao3] - Logicality - Lee!Patton/Ler!Logan - Patton had the perfect plan set out to get Logan to tickle him. Logan just happened to go a little off script. 425 words

Fall of the Fortress - [ao3] - Logicality - Switch!Patton/Switch!Logan - Really, all Patton had wanted to do was cuddle. But when a tickle war was started? He was not going to go down without a fight. 733 words

Bully - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Logan - Logan's been teasing Roman all day, and he really hopes there's a laughter-filled payout after all this. 400 words

Begging For Lies - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Roman - Virgil should've known better than to provoke Roman, seeing how ruthless he could be. But maybe that was exactly what Virgil was counting on. 469 words

Cookie Monster - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Virgil - Virgil helps Patton pass the time until his cookies are done. 560 words

Dr. Monster, M.D. - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Roman - Well, if Logan thought his ideas were too fantastical and unrealistic, Roman would just have to use that against him, wouldn't he? 458 words

Please? - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Virgil - Virgil isn't normally so bold, but with Roman looking at him like that, how could he resist? 390 words

Noisy Giggles - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Patton - Patton had no idea that vocal cords could tickle someone so well. 503 words

Learn to Lie - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Virgil - Virgil just wants his makeup back. If only Roman would own up to his thievery. 425 words

It’s Okay to Laugh - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Virgil - During some late-night bonding, Virgil decides to help Logan loosen up a bit. 586 words

Cuddle Time - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Virgil, Ler!Patton - Patton’s in the mood to cuddle. 202 words

Strange Spot - [ao3] - Remile - Lee!Remy/Ler!Emile - Emile makes a fun discovery about Remy. 265 words

Glittery Giggles - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Logan - Logan thinks he deserves some payback after Roman’s latest prank. 522 words

Lazy Day by Law - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Patton, Ler!Roman - Roman's made it his job to make sure Patton obey's the laws of "Lazy Day." 425 words

Problem Solving - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Logan - After a long day of Roman being purposefully irritable, Logan finally finds out the reason. What kind of friend would he be if he didn't help Roman out? 537 words

The Labyrinth - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Roman, Ler!Patton - When Roman finds himself in a certain kind of mood, he knows who to ask. 677 words

Bready or Not - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Logan, Ler!Roman - Logan should've known that Roman noticed his moods. At least he was willing to help out. 795 words

Star Trek: The Next Generation

(’20) Tickletober Day 5 - Drawn On - [ao3] - DaForge - Lee!Geordi/Ler!Data - Data had only wanted to experiment with a new form of art, Geordi couldn't fault Data for his own sensitivity interrupting them. 674 words

Star Trek: The Original Series

(’20) Tickletober Day 14 - Light Tickles - [ao3] - Spirk - Lee!Spock/Ler!Jim - In a quiet moment, Jim discovers something new about Spock. 961 words

Supernatural

(’20) Tickletober Day 12 - Hard Tickles - [ao3] - Destiel - Switch!Dean/Switch!Castiel - Dean should know better than to start a tickle fight with an angel. 349 words

The Adventure Zone: Balance

Touch - [ao3] - Taakitz - Lee!Taako/Ler!Kravitz - Touch and Taako have always had an interesting relationship, but it was time he started figuring it out with this new world, since they seemed to be sticking around. 2349 words

Not-So-Silent Treatment - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Taako, Ler!Magnus - When Taako decides to give Magnus the silent treatment, he decides that that just won’t do. 324 words

Taaco Fight - [ao3] - Gen - Switch!Lup, Switch!Taako -  Tickle fights aren’t exactly an uncommon occurrence between the twins. 346 words

Need Something? - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Taako, Ler!Lucretia - Taako is the type to annoy people until he gets what he wants. Lucretia isn't the type to take that sort of behavior. 484 words

Attention and Affection - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Taako, Ler!Magnus - Magnus knows exactly how to deal with Taako when he's looking for attention. 418 words

Don’t Stop - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Taako, Ler!Magnus - It wasn’t the response Magnus was expecting from Taako, but who was he to deny such a request? 301 words

Sore Loser - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Taako, Ler!Lup - Taako lost the bet, and now he had to deal with the consequences. 460 words

(’20) Tickletober Day 8 - Interrogation - [ao3] - Gen - Lee!Magnus, Ler!Taako - Taako's hat is missing and he's going to find the culprit, no matter what it takes. 707 words

(’20) Tickletober Day 11 - Death Spot - [ao3] - Taakitz - Lee!Kravitz/Ler!Taako - Kravitz had long know Taako's death spot, having found it far too easily. Taako has to work a bit harder to find Kravitz's. 1096 words

Witcher

You Like It - [ao3] - Geraskier - Lee!Jaskier/Ler!Geralt - For a man who claims to know what tickling is "in theory," Geralt certainly has a lot of questions. He might even require a demonstration. 2018 words

Maybe I Like It, Too - [ao3] - Geraskier - Lee!Geralt/Ler!Jaskier -  Jaskier knew that everyone had to be at least a little ticklish somewhere, and he wasn't going to give up until he had Geralt laughing underneath him. 3239 words

Just Let Go - [ao3] - Geraskier - Lee!Geralt/Ler!Jaskier -  Geralt would never admit it out loud, but he quite enjoys the touches that Jaskier blesses him with. And then Jaskier figures out that he's sensitive to a different kind of touch. 1470 words

Fresh Discoveries - [ao3] - Geraskier - Switch!Geralt, Switch!Jaskier  -  Jaskier makes a rather interesting discovery while helping Geralt during one of his baths. 617 words

Get His Attention - [ao3] - Geraskier - Switch!Jaskier/Switch!Geralt -  Jaskier was determined to get Geralt’s attention, no matter what it took. 905 words

Wake-Up Call - [ao3] - Geraskier - Lee!Jaskier/Ler!Geralt -  Geralt is awake and ready to go, now the only issue is getting Jaskier up. 819 words

Beauty in Strength - [ao3] - Geraskier - Lee!Geralt/Ler!Jaskier - Jaskier's found a new game: brushing against scars and asking after them. If only it wasn't so ticklish when he did so. 2271 words

Snickers and Snorts - [ao3] - Geraskier - Lee!Geralt/Ler!Jaskier - It was one of Jaskier's favorite games to play, "How Long Until the Big Bad Witcher Admits He's Ticklish." As of yet, Jaskier hadn't technically won, but that didn't mean he was going to give up. 1119 words

Dissonance - [ao3] - Geraskier - Lee!Geralt/Ler!Jaskier - Geralt thought that Jaskier should know better than to annoy him. Jaskier proved to him that Geralt should know better than to provoke him. 906 words

Does This Tickle? - [ao3] - Geraskier - Lee!Geralt/Ler!Jaskier -  Jaskier insists that he’s not that ticklish. Geralt proves otherwise. 599 words

(’20) Tickletober Day 2 - Feathers - [ao3] - Jaskier seems to have misplaced his quill. He finds himself in a rather ticklish position once Geralt finds it. 1663 words

(’20) Tickletober Day 4 - Spidering - [ao3] - Geraskier - Switch!Geralt/Switch!Jaskier - Geralt is not nearly as amused with Jaskier's Halloween decorations as Jaskier thinks he should be. 1216 words

(’20) Tickletober Day 6 - Kiss - [ao3] - Geraskier - Lee!Geralt/Ler!Jaskier - Geralt's a bit weird about having his neck touched. Turns out, it wasn't for the reasons Jaskier thought. 1863 words

(’20) Tickletober Day 7 - Unusual Tool - [ao3] - Geraskier - Switch!Geralt/Switch!Jaskier - Jaskier's impulse-buy leads to a rather giggly evening, in the Rivia-Pankratz household. 854 words

(’20) Tickletober Day 10 - Feet - [ao3] - Geraskier - Lee!Jaskier/Ler!Geralt - Jaskier's complaining about the roughness of Geralt's feet, so Geralt gives him something else to complain about. 317 words

[adriensaltprompts]

i remember a few months back i saw a post that said to block you cuz you tagged adrien salt as sugar apparently but now that i’ve gone through your main i see that you’re actually one of the few people in this fandom with common sense and i respect you for trying to inform people about the problematic things happening in the show

They’re talking about @adriensugarprompts, which is for adrien redemption prompts. Which are tagged as Adrien sugar, BECAUSE THEY ARE. They’re showing Adrien learning from his mistakes and becoming a better person and becoming a happier, healthier person with good strong relationships with everyone around him (except Gabriel, obviously.) and getting a happy ending. That’s sugar.

Alya realizes she’s hurting Marinette, thinking through her actions, and apologizing? Sugar. Lila realizing she can make friends if she’s honest and coming clean and turning over a new leaf? Sugar. Chloe being determined that she wants to be a better person so Ladybug will be proud of her, and actually putting in the time and effort to be a better person? Sugar.

Adrien stans somehow think that Adrien fixing his mistakes and becoming a better person ISN’T sugar, even though that’s literally the definition that this fandom is working with.

They don’t want Adrien to be redeemed. I’ve seen the “sugar” they write, and it’s literally just Adrien feeling sorry for himself and every character and their mother rushing to assure him he hasn’t done anything wrong.

They don’t want to admit he’s ever done anything wrong at all. They refuse to admit he’s not perfect. I created that blog so that people who like him and want him to grow can send in or find prompts where that happens.

If they refuse to accept that Adrien isn’t perfect? That’s their problem, not mine. It doesn’t mean the prompts on that blog aren’t sugar. It just means those people are incapable of admitting that Adrien has ever done anything wrong.

And yeah, if they don’t like that, they can block me. I don’t care if people block me. This is social media. If you don’t want to see my posts? Block me and block the specific tags I use.

It should be noted that I was the one who ended up blocking all these people, not the other way around. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to see my posts. They want my posts to not exist. They want everyone to go on believing that Adrien is perfect and has never done anything wrong.  Because I guess they don’t realize that there’s nothing wrong with liking characters who are bad people.

Literally here’s the link to the first post I made on that blog, and since that blog has a grand total of 22 posts, it should only take maybe a minute to scroll through all the prompts and see what kind of content these people are declaring as salt. (Most of them aren’t even prompts, they’re updates on the rules for that blog, this one, and @mlwritingprompts, which are all being run by me. Because Adrien stans were declaring that I was “disguising” myself as a sugar blog.....even though it literally says my name in the About. Like I literally say in the introductory post that this blog is being run by Rjalker. What a fantastic disguise, am I right????) 

Anyways if anyone want to submit prompts where Adrien redeems himself, send them to @adriensugarprompts because unlike this blog, and mlwritingprompts, I’m not going to go out of my way to make any.

And thanks. It’s literally not possible for me to be in a fandom and not talk about the harmful things the canon and the fandom are spouting. I would literally LOVE it if Adrien were actually the adorable pure feminist cinnamon roll his stans declare him to be. Like,,,,,,,,,do they think I like watching Marinette get harassed????? 

I would fucking love to be able to sit down and watch a kids show and not have rape culture and misogyny shoved down my throat as the height of romance.

It’s also REALLY FUCKING CREEPY that a lot of the Adrien stans I’ve seen are adults. Like, adults over the age of thirty. Which is just fucked up on so many levels. These people are older than me, so they literally have no excuse to be defending Adrien’s behavior. Especially when they’re, as a specific example, forty five year old men saying that if you critisize the way Adrien treats people, you are demonizing victims of abuse, because according to Adrien stans, if you are abused, you have NO CHOICE but to go on to abuse others.

I was abused. It’s not an excuse. And for grown ass adults to be telling impressionable children that if you’re abused, you’re going to go on to abuse other people????? These fucking people are telling children that people who are abused have NO CHOICE but to abuse other people. Do I even need to explain how fucked up and damaging that is????

Not only to the children who are being abused right fucking now, but because that is literally the excuse domestic violence perpretrators use to trap their victims in relationships with them. “I was abused, I can’t help it, it’s not my fault, you can’t blame me, I had a terrible childhood” is literally how victims get guilt-tripped into staying in relationships with their abusers. 

Spreading that idea is DAMAGING not only to the abused children hearing that they’re destined to be just as bad as the people hurting them, but it’s also fucking priming them to become victims of domestic violence, because the idea is already being drilled into their heads that if the person hurting you was abused, it’s not their fault they’re hurting you, instead of being mad at them for how they hurt you, you should forgive them and try to help them.

I literally refuse to sit by and let people--LITERALLY!!! THEY ARE OLDER THAN ME!!!! I AM TWENTY FIVE!!!!! THERE IS LITERALLY NO EXCUSE!!!!--say this shit without consequences.

The kind of shit Adrien stans say to defend him? They’re either spouting victim-blaming bullshit, actual rape apologism, or fucking telling kids that being abused means you have no choice but to go on to abuse others.

It doesn’t matter if you are abused. It doesn’t matter if you’re mentally ill or neurodivergent. It is literally always your responsiblity to be a good person. It is literally always your responsibility to treat other people with basic human decency. No one on this Earth can control your actions except you. If you treat other people badly, that is on no one but you. Your abusers do not control you. They do not control your destiny. You get to choose whether or not you abuse other people. You get to choose whether or not to be a good person.

Sorry about the rant but I’ve had it up to here with Adrien stans lately. They just keep getting more and more fucking evil with their fucking arguments. They’ve literally told me that it doesn’t matter that she’s said no, she’s still consenting. Dear fucking god. This is why I block them on sight.

[arlakos]

Why Miracle Queen doesn’t make sense. (SPOILERS just in case)

As most of you who have seen my blog know by now, I have found Season 3 to be somewhat of a mess. While having bit of a better writing and episodes overall compared to the rather boring season 2, it also had a lot of disappointing mistakes in terms of character writing and focus, and most episodes which could have been good often had a rather awkward or cringe moment that ruins the episode for me, such as the statue scene in Puppeteer 2. For fans who don't remember, let me remind you:

Now that I’ve mentally traumatized myself looking for this pic, let us continue:

On the topic of episodes, despite any cringey scenes that might be in the episodes, a lot of them are at the very least concise. Sure, the episodes usually have the same generic plot, non-hero moment, angry person, Akuma, hero fight, reset and repeat, but for the most part, they are ok... But even this season, there have been some episodes that have the most stupid plots that don't even make sense. From the horrifying Chameleon episode that had all class characters drop in IQ for the story to work, to the Feast Episode which restored the order of Guardians, but didn’t have them come to Paris to get the box back, there have been some rather stupid episodes...

...But none are more stupid than the Season Finale - Miracle Queen

For an episode that is not only confusing but bad, I could talk about the hundreds of mistakes that are present in episode, but other people can talk about that, or perhaps ill make another post regarding the episodes when I feel like breaking my fingers on my keyboard again, but right now I would like to focus on the 2 main plot holes that absolutely made no sense but ASS-TRUC, the man, the idiot, the infamous twitter legend, decided to do anyway.

So the first plot point I'm gonna talk about is.....

Chloe Bourgeois, aka Miracle Queen

For anyone who hates Chloe bourgeois, this episode would have probably left you jumping for joy, given the fact it pretty much gets her removed from the miraculous team.

For the rest of us, who I assume either like Chloe or find the episodes plot to make no sense, or both, this episode is quite contradictory to the entirety of the season, both because the seasons abnormal focus on Lila and her antics, and because of the fact that previous episodes had Chloe accept the fact that she couldn't become a hero.

In Miraculer, Chloe accepts the fact that she can’t become a hero again. Sure the episode has Chloe be upset at Ladybug, but in the end, she accepted that it was mean to be this way, and definitely shows no trace of wanting to join hawkmoth in any sort of capacity. 

Also, a small bit added in from my friend @twin-books​, who said this gem of a message:

“ Ah, in Miraculer what she displayed was confidence where she knew she would be Queen Bee again, she didn't doubt herself for a second. Chloe used to doubt herself, used to play the damsel, let others take care of her but this time she said, "No. I am Queen Bee and just because you won't give my comb doesn't make me anything less." Or at least, how I interpreted it.  By tearing the photo she was excepting that Ladybug didn't have faith as her as a hero, nor did she ever. That Ladybug ignored her in favor of someone she deemed worthy but Chloe knows she's worthy. She proved her worth and just because Ladybug can't see that doesn't mean she should believe it. It's also interesting how she completely takes it out on Ladybug but is fine with Chat because she knows where she stands with Chat and she may have never liked him but he displayed faith in her. He knew and that might just be what kept her going so she could gain her own confidence. “

So when Chloe is left angry in Miracle Queen because she wasn’t chosen and immediately joins Hawkmoth, it just doesn't make any sense because previous episodes contradict it.

NOW, to be fair, I would have been fine with Chloe joining Hawkmoth if there was a buildup to it. If they Had Hawkmoth come in between the episodes from Miraculer to Miracle Queen to try and persuade Chloe and/or have her doubt Ladybug, then the turn from hero to villain would make sense. Unfortunately, thanks to Ass-truc and his have-every-episode-be-a-single-story-episode-and-have-every-character-reset-fuck-you-continuity episode design, this doesn't happen and having Chloe go from a person who is selfish but at the very least is a hero to a full-on 2-d villain is jarring as shit. It would have made more sense for her to just take the miraculous and go rouge with it, but a full-on villain? C’mon.

Also, there's the fact that for the entire season the show has been pushing Lila to be this over the top manipulator and villain in the day to day lives of the heroes. If they really wanted to have someone be Miracle Queen, why not Lila. It would make sense considering a Miracle is something that happens that it seems so unreal, and given that Lila would probably like her lies to become real it would make sense for her to become Miracle Queen. 

Also where the hell was she all episode, she just disappeared out of existence for the entire episode. At least have her come and take the fox miraculous from Alya and have her be a secondary antagonist.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, now for the second plot hole...

The Miracle Box

It. Just. Doesn't. Make. Sense.

But to understand why, let me break it down.

- So due to Hawkmoth almost breaking through the barrier (and for whatever reason decided not to just jump away) Fu transfers ownership of the box to Marinette

-Because of the idiot logic of the show, there can only ever be on Guardian at a time, and because of the transfer, the previous Guardian loses their memories.

-The box also turns into an egg, for whatever reason.

Now, the only thing I dont mind about the whole scene is that the whole Guardian thing is magical in nature. Since Fu can do stuff like detect other Miraculi, it would make sense that the Guardian is more than just a title and has a magical aura around them that makes them a guardian. That being said, there are still a lot of trouble with this scene that rustle my jimmies to heck.

So lets go through the main problems with this plot hole.

-’There can only ever be one Guardian’

Bollocks. The flashback of the order clearly shows multiple individuals. And with the Sandboy episode showing Fu being haunted by a guardian with a female voice (yet also showing a male Guardian in Feast), it clearly shows that there are more than one Guardian in the order.

-’Upon transfer, the previous Guardian Loses their memories’

Again, this also doesn’t make sense. Even assuming that the Guardianship of box needs to have a magical transfer, making the previous Guardian lose their memories because of it makes no sense in the plot of the Miraculous Universe. Maybe it would make sense if the Guardian was but a single man (like in Fu’s case), but it doesn’t make as much sense when you remember the order it comes from.

See, the Order was located in Tibet, high away from the outside world, and the people who were there probably lived there all their life. So knowing these facts, why would it make sense for the previous owner to lose their memories? I can understand someone being a head guardian and then transferring the ownership when their time is up, but it doesn't make sense for them to just forget the order, they live there their entire lives, and would likely do so until their death. And the show implies that this is the actual way the ownership is transferred, and Marinette’s case wasn't a special case of an emergency transfer. It does make sense that the Guardians can remove memories of the order for people who have gone rogue or are expelled, but it doesn't make sense that the memory forgetting is entwined with the transfer of Guardianship.

-’The box turns into an egg, for whatever reason’

I'm not gonna explain it. Its a freaking box. A box that, while well designed, showed no capability of magic power at all for the entirety of the show. ITS A GODDAMN BOX AND IT MAKES NO SENSE FOR IT TO TURN INTO A POLKADOTTED EGG.

Though to be fair, in hindsight, a lot of this plot hole induced stupidity does have  a logical explanation for this:

Thomas Astruc and Zag

Or rather, Thomas Astruc and Zag quarrel.

See, when it comes to Ass-truc and his ideal show design, it would have been just simple about Marinette and why she is quote on quote  ‘awesome’. thats it. Pretty much every episode would be about Marinette being amazing, everyone loving her and kissing her feet, and nothing goes wrong for her in the same way as every Mary Sue ever written in a fanfic. The only difference being there was no main character to replace.

But Zag was having none of it. While Ass-truc wanted to just show off his OC, Zag wanted an actual show, and so made a lot of changes to it. Chat Noir, who in Astruc original comic idea was a one off character (and possibly a villain) got repurposed by Zag to be the second main character in the show. It also makes sense for every hero to have a mentor, which led to Zag creating Fu. Zag was also responsible for a bunch of other stuff to be added into the shows, such as additional heroes, Chloe becoming a good Guy, etc.

Of course, this made ASS-truc mad because that meant no 100% focus on the ‘goddess’ that is Marinette. So after bullying Zag off twitter via the use of his Stans (rip Zag twitter account- no posts since 2017) and forcing him off the Miraculous team after Season 1 (although this could also just be Zag focusing on other shows), Astruc had free reign to undo all that Zag had done. While Astruc did follow Zag's request due to owning half of the Miraculous license (being the guy that co-produced the show), he often twisted them so that they were skewed or couldn't last. The flashback of the order being destroyed? That was due to Fu being hungry and creating a monster in a plot induced stupidity. Chloe being a good guy? Yeah right, she sabotages a train just to save it and make herself look good, is an asshole regardless and then goes full-on villain. The other new heroes that help Ladybug? Gone, due to the same episode which prompted me to make this post.

Of course, this would impact the ratings of the show, forcing Zag to come back and fix Astruc’s mess in Season 4. Astruc knew that Zag returning would undo all the damage Astruc done to the show. So in a final bid attempt to keep this his way, he rewrote the finale, causing things in the show to actually become permanent and leaving Zag unable to fix anything. Thanks to Ass-truc, Fu is now gone forever, making Marinette the Guardian permanently, all the heroes aside from Ladybug and Chat Noir can’t be heroes anymore (leaving the focus entirely on Marinette), and Chloe now has become an irredeemable villain. All so that Astruc can brag on twitter about how Chloe ‘always was a villain’ and how ‘he was right all along’ despite being the one who wrote the character into existence.

And I’m not lying about this either or making it up. Even in the finale of the season 3 (particularly miracle queen) a lot of the time involves most of the characters standing around listening to dialogue and exposition rather than acting in ways they actually should (such as trying to save Fu or attacking Miracle Queen), no doubt due to the rewrites Astruc did before the finale was released, causing the animation to be very minimal or not making sense as there wasn't time to redo the animation. You can even see it in small amounts in episodes such as Glaciator and Troublemaker.

For me, this will probably go down as one of the worst episodes in the series, even worse than Stormy weather 2, because of its horrible writing, the plot holes it creates, and how much of the episode was designed to cater to Ass-trucs desires rather than designed to actually be a good finale to a season. That's not to say it didn't have good moments (such as dragon Bug and Snake Noir), but the overall episode was just so bad that the bad outweighed the good moments, at least for me. I wonder what Zag will do to fix season 4, but considering the suicide impact on the show Astruc made to make sure the show would remain ‘his way’, i don't have any doubts that it will be a hard challenge ahead of him. Good luck Zag, hope you can fix the mess Ass-truc made.

[oaf-inactive]

you want what i can’t give to you (miraculous!reddie au)

summary: Finally, Eddie looks. Chat Noir has already extended his baton, prepared to make his exit. And Eddie shouldn’t. He knows he shouldn’t. But he reaches out, and he touches Chat Noir’s shoulder, bringing a startled look to the love-struck cat’s face. Eddie, for the first time, feels Chat’s leather suit on bare fingers, and he sees Chat in a different light. With the moon cascading over his frame, shadowing him in a silhouette. And Eddie says, “Ladybug is really lucky to have you.”

author’s note: beautiful art by @imeddie thank you so much its wonderful!! after so long.. my miraculous au is finally here. i hope at least some people like this and read this lol but this au completely owns me! if you do read it, mind sending me an ask with your comments?? or we can just talk about this au.. also there’s every side of the lovesquare in this fic, so enjoy 

Ladybug—Eddie—sighs heavily, glancing over his shoulder as Greta Keene falls to the ground from her akumatized state. In all honesty, Eddie is not at all fazed by the fact Greta has managed to get herself akumatized; she is the reason behind half of the akumatizations in Paris. Akumas flock to her victims. But Eddie puts his personal beliefs and opinions aside, going over to help her up. She grabs onto the hand he offers, pulling herself up and throwing herself into his arms. She says, overdramatically and through fake sobs, “Ladybug! Thank God! I can always count on you to save me.” Eddie rolls his eyes but pats her back before coughing awkwardly and pulling back from the forced embrace.

“Sure,” Eddie says, rushing a hand through his brown hair. “You should probably get back to class.”

“We can escort you there, if you’d like,” Chat Noir says, coming to Eddie’s side in a split second. Chat’s curly black hair brushes Eddie’s shoulder playfully. Eddie grins at his partner, nodding, but before either of them can offer to actually bring Greta back to the school, their miraculous beep simultaneously. Eddie’s hands immediately dart to his earrings, and he shares a sympathetic glance with Chat Noir. “Maybe next time. We gotta go.” Before Eddie or Chat Noir dart off, Chat Noir raises his fist with a smile. Eddie mirrors his content look and bounces their fists together. “Pound it!”

Eddie aims his yo-yo at the rooftop of the next building over, and knowing Chat Noir will follow him anywhere, he swings over, lands on his two feet, and turns around to face his friend. And there Chat is, standing there knowingly, grinning madly. He grabs Eddie’s hand and kisses it softly, winking mischievously. He says, “Great job today, buginette. You’re quite the catch.”

Eddie rolls his eyes, pulls back his hand, and replies, “Same to you, chaton.” And Eddie chuckles. “It’s funny. Greta is usually the one to cause akumas. I guess she finally got what was coming to her. She’s so frustrating sometimes. And stuck up.” He fiddles with his yo-yo because he doesn’t know what else to do, but when he looks back up at Chat, he is staring at Eddie with wide eyes and an excited, toothy smile. “What?” Eddie asks.

“My love, do you know Greta personally?” Chat questions.

“W-What?” Eddie stutters. He flaps his hand in the air, trying to shrug away Chat Noir’s accusation. “No. Of course I don’t, chaton. I was just… saying that… uh, b-because—“

“I know her,” Chat says, taking a step toward Eddie. Eddie holds out both his hands to separate their bodies. Chat Noir has always been one for getting up in Eddie’s personal space. (Not that he would do anything to purposefully make Eddie uncomfortable. He is just a touchy-feely person. He always has been. It is part of his charm.) “You know her, don’t you? I can read it on your face. You’re an awful liar.”

“I’m not lying!” Eddie says, frowning. “I don’t know her. I was just saying that because if she causes so many akumas, she must be a frustrating person.” The nervous laughter that follows Eddie’s explanation does not do him any favors, because Chat is still looking at him with that stupid expression. That expression of ‘I know you’ and Eddie tries not to think about how he practically gave his identity away. “I don’t know her. Stop looking at me. Chat.”

“Sure, buginette.” As Chat crosses his arms, his miraculous beeps once again, a simple warning. “Hey,” he says. And Eddie already knows where this is going. “Why don’t we just transform back in front of each other?”

“You know we can’t do that,” Eddie tells him.

“But if we know each other’s identities, we can finally be together.” Chat Noir’s flirtatious advances have never worked before, and they most definitely are not going to work now.

Eddie says, “You know we can’t do that…” Chat’s smile falters, but surely he must have known that Eddie would not give in so easily. “And as if we would ever end up together… as if I would ever end up with you.” Eddie breaks out into a smile, because him and Chat always joke like this, but Chat seems to take this comment personally; he backs away from Eddie and a crease birthed from annoyance grows between his brows. “You’re a great friend, chaton. You’re my partner.”

“Partner can mean a lot of different things,” Chat mumbles, kicking at the air with his foot childishly. He avoids Eddie’s gaze like the plague. Eddie only reaches out to scratch underneath Chat’s chin. He giggles when Chat purrs, his curly hair bouncing at the gesture. Chat frowns at his own instincts for giving into Eddie’s touch. But suddenly Eddie’s miraculous beeps, and the moment is ruined, the familiar exchange brought to an end.

“See you later, Chat Noir.”

Eddie turns to leave, yo-yo tight in his fist, but Chat grabs his hand, pulls him back and stops him by saying, “Tonight. See me tonight. Here… please?” Eddie swallows nervously, and he can almost feel how close he is to de-transforming in front of Chat Noir. That cannot happen. Especially not like this.

“Maybe!” Eddie sputters, anxious to leave. “Probably not. I’ve got a lot of homework.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Chat says, and he kisses Eddie’s hand again before letting him go. Eddie hates to turn Chat Noir down, but he does it so often that it has almost become second nature. He worries that if they get too close they will reveal their identities, and Chat will ultimately be disappointed with who Ladybug really is. Just… boring Eddie Kaspbrak. Most people must fantasize over Ladybug being some amazing, magnificent, one-of-a-kind human being. But Eddie is just Eddie. He sits in the front of the class, smiles at strangers, works at his family bakery. He is ordinary. Ladybug is as far from ordinary as someone can get. “Tonight.”

Eddie tosses his yo-yo to the building across from the rooftop they are both on, and he swings over without looking back. The trip home is pretty quick, and as soon as Eddie is above his balcony, he retracts his yo-yo and de-transforms. He heaves a sigh of relief that he made it home in time. That was way too close. Tikki seems to think similarly, because she shakes her head at Eddie.

“That wasn’t good,” Tikki tells Eddie. Eddie nods. “Chat Noir must really like you.”

“I know,” Eddie says sheepishly. He sinks into the brick tiling of his balcony. “I already told him there’s somebody else. He knows I don’t like him in that way. I guess that doesn’t stop him from trying.” Chat Noir wants more between himself and Ladybug. Which is understandable. They have been working together as the protectors of Paris for a very long time. They’re friends. Chat wants to be more. And maybe, in an alternate universe where Richie Tozier doesn’t exist, that could be the reality. But Eddie has gone to school with Richie since kindergarten—has had a huge crush on Richie since kindergarten. And Eddie is not just gonna give up on that for some mangy cat whose name he doesn’t even know.

“He’s a persistent kitty!” Tikki giggles.

“Sure is.” Eddie crawls over to the square door on the ground and opens it up, slipping inside and falling into the comfort of his bed. Before Eddie can properly catch his breath, his phone rings. He stuffs his hand into his jean pocket and pulls out his ringing phone. Bill is calling. That brings a smile to Eddie’s face, makes him forget about this messy Chat Noir situation. “Billy! Hey!”

“H-Hey, Ed,” Bill says, and Eddie can hear the smile on his face. “W-Where were y-you earlier? I t-tried calling, b-but you didn’t a-a-answer.”

“I was… in the shower! Yeah. Sorry. I’m always missing your calls.” As Eddie nervously chuckles, he hopes Bill does not pick up on his anxious rambling. Bill has always had an easy time reading Eddie, but usually with Ladybug stuff he is a mile off. Eddie doesn’t even think the thought of him being Ladybug has ever crossed Bill’s mind, even with the Ladybug fanatic Bill is. He runs a blog and everything. It’s a little embarrassing, but it’s also oddly flattering. It makes Eddie happy that Bill is having fun with it, and it isn’t bad for Eddie’s ego either.

“Whatever, Eddie. G-Guess what?”

“What?!”

“S-Stan was talking to R-R-Richie earlier a-about you.” Eddie’s cheeks grow warm as he sinks into his bed. His polka dotted duvet is soft underneath his body, a sweet comfort to the embarrassment he feels. “I-I told him t-to put in g-g-good word.”

“Stop telling Stan to put in good word for me!” Eddie shrieks, blushing madly. He rubs his face with his right hand, pressing his phone closer to his ear with his left. “I can put in good word for myself. I don’t need anyone doing me any favors with Richie… he’s just…” Eddie holds back a dreamy sigh. He shakes his head instead. “But seriously, Bill. I can handle my crush by myself.”

Bill actually laughs. “Y-You can barely g-g-get one sentence o-out to him. And I thought I w-w-was the one with t-the stutter.” Now they both burst into laughter. Eddie is about to say something back, a nice joke he has thought out, but there is shuffling on the other line so he holds his breath. “I-I gotta go. G-Georgie wants me to p-p-play video games w-with him. W-Wanna come over?”

“I can’t.” Eddie frowns. “I’ve got loads of homework I’ve been putting off.” More like homework he’s been too busy to do. The people of Paris get akumatized so often that Eddie is usually fighting crime. Homework is nothing compared to saving mankind.

“You’re the b-b-biggest procrastinator I k-know.”

“Love you, too!” Eddie sings. “Bye!” He hangs up without another word and groans, stuffing a pillow over his face. He feels Tikki brush against his shoulder and removes the pillow, revealing a frown to his kind kwami. She looks at him sympathetically, like she understands what he is going through when she really does not. “I can’t believe Stan talked to Richie about me. There’s no way Richie doesn’t know I’m obsessed with him… I’m so embarrassing.”

“Richie has lots of admirers,” Tikki says softly. “Since he’s a model, he must be used to it. Don’t worry, Eddie. Everything will be okay.” Eddie smiles gently and pats Tikki’s head.

“Thanks, Tikki,” he says to her.

“But you really should do some homework,” she adds. “You kind of are a procrastinator.”

“Yeah. I should.” Eddie climbs down from his loft and goes over to his desk to claim his backpack. As he rummages through it for his history textbook, he goes through his mental checklist of what homework he needs to catch up on. Thankfully, his teacher has let some of the late assignments slide, but Eddie doubts she will be so kind in the future. Usually Eddie is good at balancing his school life with his superhero life, but with the amount of akumatizations that have been occurring lately, he has gotten worse and worse. He wonders how Chat Noir balances his personal life and crime fighting life. He wonders if Chat Noir is good at that, or if he, too, has been falling behind on work.

Ugh. Shaking his head, Eddie wills the thought of his partner away. This is his personal life. He shouldn’t be thinking about Chat right now, about how he is probably still on that rooftop, waiting for Ladybug to show up… about how he will inevitably be heartbroken because he has been stood up. Letting his books fall to the floor, Eddie groans and falls to his knees. He drops his face in his hands and wants to scream. Without looking up, he asks his kwami, “Tikki, am I a total jerk for not seeing Chat tonight?”

“No, Eddie,” Tikki says, and he feels her bump against his shoulder. “Being Ladybug is important, but your homework and chores are important, too.” This brings a small smile to Eddie’s face. Tikki has always been so good at comforting Eddie. She is a great friend. As sweet as the cookies she craves.

“You’re right,” Eddie says, looking up. “Guess I should get to work, then.” He gathers up his notebooks and pencil case and makes his way up the ladder to his loft. Tonight, since the sky is clear and the stars are out, Eddie will do his homework on the balcony. It’s pretty and it’s a good, quiet place to work. Eddie loves to escape his troubles by sitting outside and admiring the shapeless clouds. So he sits down on the chair next to the small table he has set up, and cracks open his history notebook and textbook. The first assignment he missed is a three-page essay. History is one of the only subjects Eddie enjoys and is actually good at, so he isn’t too worried about it. He works quietly and diligently, with Tikki’s soft snoring beside his pencil case and the moon hovering above. He doesn’t know how much time passes, but when he hits the two-page mark he bookmarks the page in his textbook and shuts it. A break is deserved and needed. Eddie knows it is good to clear his head every once in a while. Getting too wrapped up in homework often clouds his thoughts and makes it harder to get work done later.

“Eddie?” Hearing his own name is jarring, and Eddie immediately moves to cover Tikki with his hand as his eyes dart towards the low voice. It is Chat Noir, sitting on the roof of the Kaspbrak house, staring down at Eddie with wide green eyes and black curly hair in a mess of tangles. Tikki swiftly (and blindly) moves underneath the table, leaving Chat Noir and Eddie alone. “Hey. It’s Eddie, right?”

“Um.” Eddie blinks, wildly confused. He smiles regardless, just to be polite. “Yeah. Eddie. Uh… What are you doing here, Chat Noir? Shouldn’t you be out saving Paris, or something?” Chat Noir frowns, and hops down from the roof and onto the fencing that borders the edges of Eddie’s balcony.

“I was waiting for Ladybug, but he didn’t show up,” Chat replies, resting his chin against the palm of his hand. “I don’t know what I was expecting honestly. He told me he probably wouldn’t come.” Eddie’s heart throbs, a painful ache taking its course through every inch of his body. Pursing his lips, Eddie fiddles with his pencil and avoids Chat Noir’s heartbroken eyes.

“I-I’m sure he didn’t mean to. He was probably just,” pausing, Eddie glances over at the scattered papers littered across the table, “Doing homework.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Chat sighs. “Or maybe he’s just tired of me.”

“That’s not true!” Eddie bursts, and Chat looks at him strangely. Eddie realizes he has said too much, and sheepishly rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “I mean—You guys are friends, right? He could never get tired of you. It’s Ladybug and Chat Noir. You guys complete each other. You just do.” It makes Eddie sad that Chat Noir would ever think less of himself because of his counterpart. That’s just not true. While Chat Noir may annoy Eddie to pieces, he still is a good friend.

“Thanks.” Chat grins. “I really appreciate you saying that, Eddie.”

“No problem.” Eddie looks to his history paper. He really should get back to work, but after standing Chat Noir up, is he really about to send him away again? “So, uh. What did you have planned? For you and Ladybug?”

“I set up a bunch of candles,” Chat says nonchalantly, examining his claws. He shrugs. “It was a pretty lame attempt at impressing him. He deserves something big and fancy.”

“I don’t think that’s true.” Eddie shakes his head. “He would appreciate any gesture. It’s the thought that counts, you know?”

“Sure. You’re pretty wise, huh?” And there is Chat Noir’s usual flirty grin. Eddie rolls his eyes at the sight, but it makes him happy to know his friend is feeling better after his failed attempt of romance. “What’re you working on out here?”

“Nothing,” Eddie replies. “Just my history essay. I totally forgot to hand it in. My teacher gave me an extra day to finish it. But it was so embarrassing…”

“I’m sure it wasn’t so bad,” Chat levels. Eddie raises a brow, meeting Chat’s green eyes.

“It was. She asked me for it and I had to tell her I didn’t have it in front of everybody. Even my cru—“ Eddie stops talking and his hands flies to cover his mouth. Even as Eddie, he must not share anything with Chat Noir that could potentially reveal his identity as Ladybug. “Ha. Never mind.”

“Your what?” There is a teasing lilt to Chat Noir’s tone. Eddie knows he’s in for it. “Your crush?”

“No! No! Absolutely not. I do not have a crush. You’re just hearing things.” Eddie fakes a laugh but it ends up bursting out into a cough. Could he be anymore embarrassing?

“Who is it?” Chat Noir chuckles. “You can tell me! Cat’s honor.” This much is true, but Eddie has not lost his mind and is not planning on losing it anytime soon. So he clamps his mouth shut and stands up from his seat. He goes over to the fence opposite Chat Noir and stares out at Paris. Barely a second passes before Chat is beside him, both hands gripping onto the iron fencing as he crouches upon it. His hair is as dark as the sky, and his eyes glow a hard forest green at this time of night. Playfully, he extends his pinky finger out towards Eddie. He explains the gesture, saying, “I’m really good at keeping secrets. Promise.”

Without swearing his promise into secrecy, Eddie’s eyes are drawn to the gigantic billboard placed thoughtfully across the water from his house. It is a billboard advertising some new cologne, and of course, Richie Tozier’s portrait is printed across it elegantly. Richie’s curly hair has been slicked back by some pompous product and his grin is as sweet as ever. In reality, Richie has got a tongue too big for his mouth. Words too filthy for his brand. But Eddie doesn’t care. He thinks that’s why he likes Richie so much; he is not the usual, stuck up, conceded model that is so often portrayed in the media. While Richie is effortlessly beautiful, he acts his age. But he’s never a bully. He views himself on the same ground as everyone around him. At this thought, Eddie’s heart beats roughly against his chest renders him speechless. Thankfully, Chat is too oblivious to notice Eddie’s busied gaze. Eddie says softly to the superhero next to him, “He’s nobody really. You wouldn’t know him.”

“Why? Is he in your class?” There is curiosity laced between Chat Noir’s words. Eddie says nothing, only pulls on a loose thread of his shirtsleeve. “Okay, okay. I get it. You don’t need a stray cat knowing your business.”

“It’s nothing personal,” Eddie says. “I just don’t know you that well. I don’t even know your name.”

“Nobody does, chief,” Chat replies, relaxing his chin against his knuckles. He looks cute, sat up like that. The sight almost makes Eddie smile. “Not even my lovebug.”

“Your lovebug?” Eddie snorts a laugh. “You and Ladybug aren’t a thing.”

Chat Noir only sighs dreamily, fluttering his eyes in a dazed manner. He breathes, “One day I’ll make him fall in love with me. He’s the boy of my dreams.”

“How do you know that, though?” Eddie asks, unsure. He folds his arms insecurely, wanting to dive into himself. The fact that Chat Noir believes Ladybug is some almighty being makes him feel strange. Eddie is just Eddie. Except sometimes, he wears spandex and fights crime. “You don’t even really know him. I mean—I’m assuming you don’t? Because you said Ladybug doesn’t even know your name. So. I guess you guys must not know each other very well, or whatever.” Maybe Eddie has said too much tonight. This is already a messy conversation and at this point he’s just encouraging it. But it is a distraction from his homework.

“Well, of course he is,” Chat says knowingly. He stares at Eddie with a confused expression, as if he cannot believe Eddie’s question. Before Chat continues talking, he swings his legs over the fence and traces his eyes over the glowing, crescent moon that has joined them for their late night chat. “He’s amazing. He’s strong, and passionate, and he’s so kind. Like, way kinder than most of the people I know. And… he’s also the bravest person I know. Fighting alongside him is such an honor.” Eddie’s eyes go wide, and he feels a furious blush sprout across his freckled cheeks. In attempt to shield his flattery, he turns slightly to his side and tilts his head out of Chat Noir’s range of vision. Pursing his lips, Eddie finds himself wishing Chat would stop talking. Stop giving Ladybug all these dramatic compliments and stop speaking with such a look on his face. “He’s just… so selfless, you know? And not because he has to be. Not because he’s Ladybug… He’s selfless because that’s just how he is. And I don’t need to know his name to know he’s the greatest person I’ll ever meet.”

Eddie doesn’t know what to say. His heart is beating too quickly to think of anything coherent. So he doesn’t say a word. He stays silent, looks away from the cat sitting beside him, and he tries to think about anything but how he feels. He shouldn’t feel like this, should he? He likes Richie. He always has. Richie. The boy on the billboard across the river, who stares at Eddie right now with that same beautiful smile and unfamiliar brushed hair—the boy with soft lime green eyes, dark hair, and a big mouth.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to get all weird,” Chat Noir says quietly. Eddie still doesn’t look at him. Won’t. “I should… probably take off now. Sorry for bothering you, Eddie.” Eddie curls his hands into fists. There are so many things he shouldn’t have been told tonight. It is almost as though he has invaded Chat Noir’s privacy, with letting him ramble on and on about his infatuation for Ladybug. “Have a good night.”

And finally, Eddie looks. Chat Noir has already extended his baton, prepared to make his exit. And Eddie shouldn’t. He knows he shouldn’t. But he reaches out, and he touches Chat Noir’s shoulder, bringing a startled look to the love-struck cat’s face. Eddie, for the first time, feels Chat’s leather suit on bare fingers, and he sees Chat in a different light. With the moon cascading over his frame, shadowing him in a silhouette.

Eddie says, “Ladybug is really lucky to have you.”

And Chat Noir’s eyes soften.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Eddie says, face shoved into his locker. “Tikki… this is the worst day of my life. I was up all night writing that paper. All night! And what do I do? I forget it! Me! I can’t do anything right.” Groaning, Eddie considers packing up all his things and heading home for the day, despite the fact that it is only third period. But is he really going to head up to History without his overdue essay? He might as well not even show up. It beats telling his teacher he doesn’t have it for the second time.

“Cheer up, Eddie,” Tikki replies. “It’s not the end of the world.”

Eddie pulls his head out of his locker and quirks his eyebrow at Tikki’s statement. He parts his lips to ask, “Are you sure about that?” Tikki only giggles and nods her head. Eddie sighs before shutting his locker. “Okay. Better hide before I get to class,” he says, opening up his fanny pack for Tikki to claim her hiding spot. She ducks into the thick fabric swiftly and Eddie zips it up. Taking a deep breath, he shrugs his backpack over his shoulder and begins to make his way toward the locker room exit.

(Of course, Eddie can’t just leave the locker room. He has to hit someone with the door on his way out, in true Eddie’s-a-screw-up fashion.)

“Damn. I’m so sorry,” Eddie says, bumping into the stranger’s chest. He looks up. And he wishes he could disintegrate. “Oh! Richie… I didn’t—Uh. I didn’t see you walking here—I mean—I didn’t see you there.”

Richie only laughs, his curly hair bouncing with his joy. Eddie’s heart melts.

“No problemo,” Richie says. Silence quickly falls between them. Eddie would break it, but his mouth runs dry and he can’t do anything but look at Richie’s face. He’s so cute. It should be a crime to be that cute. “Were you leaving, or…?”

“Yeah!” Eddie says, grinning widely for no apparent reason. When Richie is around, Eddie forgets how to act like a real person. Sometimes he doesn’t even say real words. He’ll just spit jumbled letters and smile real pretty. “I was, um… on my way to History.”

“Nice,” Richie says, and he puts his hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “See you there. I need to get my textbook from my locker.” Richie pushes the door open wider, slips past Eddie and walks into the locker room.

“Oh! Yeah! See you there. In class! See you in class, Richie,” Eddie says. As Richie is putting in his locker combination, he looks over at Eddie and chuckles, eyes crinkled.

“Sure, Eddie. See you in class,” Richie replies, amused.

When Eddie shuts the door behind him, he lets out one fake, overdramatic sob. He would sink to the floor for good measure, but then he would be late to class for sure. He feels Tikki shuffle in his pocket, giggling at his idiocy for sure. “You were right, Tikki,” Eddie whispers as he makes his way to the staircase. “Leaving my essay at home wasn’t the end of the world. That was.”

Eddie gets to class shortly and goes to sit down next to Bill. Bill smiles at Eddie as Eddie puts his backpack down on the floor. “H-Hey, Eddie,” Bill says. “W-W-Why the long face?”

“I’m so humiliating, Bill.”

“W-Well, I know, but w-what happened?” Eddie glares at him.

“Richie happened,” Eddie whispers. “I totally word vomited in front of him. He must think I’m some kind of freak.”

“H-He thinks you’re n-nice. T-That’s what B-B-Beverly said.”

“Nice?” Eddie sinks into his chair. “That’s a synonym for boring. I’m boring and embarrassing. I have absolutely no redeeming qualities. I’m gonna end up alone.”

“Y-You’re so d-dramatic.” Bill chuckles. “Oh. Did you f-f-finish your essay?”

“I forgot it at home.” Eddie shoves his elbow onto his desk and rests his chin against his hand. “At this point I’m used to my life being a mess.” Bill looks as though he needs to say something else, but both boys are struck with alert at the sudden sound of the alarm. Furrowing his brows, Eddie watches as everybody in the class abandons their bags and heads for the door. “Fire?” Eddie asks Bill as he grabs his bag. They both rush to the door to keep up with the other students. However, a loud shout from the roof answers Eddie’s question.

“Akuma,” Bill and Eddie say in unison.

“We better get outside quick,” Bill says, worried.

“Yeah! But I forgot my—my book in the classroom. I need to go back and get it. I won’t be able to finish my homework without it. I’ll be super quick and I’ll meet you outside!” Bill doesn’t look convinced, but deems the excuse believable when he keeps walking even at Eddie’s stop. Eddie immediately rushes back to the classroom. He takes a quick look around before slamming the door shut and unzipping his fanny pack. Tikki is hovering in front of Eddie instantly. “Tikki, spots on!”

Eddie is dressed head to toe in polka dots in a matter of seconds.

He darts over to the classroom window and opens it as wide as it’ll go. Stretching out of the window, Eddie hooks his yo-yo string on top of the roof. It is incredibly easy, with Eddie’s practiced skill, to get onto the roof. Though when he stables his feet on the roof and retracts his yo-yo, he is met with absolutely nothing. He could’ve sworn the shout had come from the roof, so the akumatized citizen must have moved locations. Eddie frowns, and hooks his yo-yo to the chimney before darting off the building. He swings down below, feet tucked beneath him delicately, and he flies straight through the locker room window. Once he’s back on his feet, he hardens his gaze and slowly walks through the different aisles of lockers, on high alert. Better safe than sorry.

Then there is a noise.

Eddie immediately darts to the source—a locker that is slightly ajar. He approaches it quietly, cautiously, spinning his yo-yo at an incredibly high speed, busying his hand but also preparing for the fight he may have to partake in. There is whispering from the locker, and the sound of somebody knocking into the metal, followed by a small wince. The locker pushes open and Eddie is met with the porcelain face of Richie Tozier.

Eddie’s yo-yo plummets to the floor.

“Ladybug,” Richie says, eyes wide. “I was hiding from the akuma in my locker, but I think I’m too tall for that to work.” He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. Eddie swallows nervously, and retracts his yo-yo, tucking it to the side of his suit for convenience.

“Richie. I mean—It’s Richie, right?” Eddie says. Richie nods. “You should probably join the rest of your class.”

“I was going to but I… I heard a noise? Yeah. There was a noise outside the door.” Richie points to the double doors of the locker room. He looks a little nervous, but Eddie doesn’t pay that any mind.

“Okay. Stay here.” Eddie is thankful he’s Ladybug right now; if he had to speak to Richie as himself he would be a goner for sure. Being Ladybug gives Eddie strength and confidence. He only wishes those qualities would transfer to his civilian persona. “I’ll go check,” Eddie says, placing a hand to his yo-yo. Richie says nothing.

There is nobody outside the door; when Eddie pushes it open there is only silence. It’s too quiet. Hot worry grows in the pit of Eddie’s stomach as he turns back to Richie, “Let’s get you out of here. I have a bad feeling about this.” Richie lets Eddie lead him by the hand out of the locker room, and Eddie has no time to think about how he’s holding the Richie Tozier’s hand, because he’s Ladybug right now. Ladybug does not get flustered around pretty boys. Together, they head to the school entrance in a rush. Eddie scrunches his nose, confused by the akuma that he knows is around here somewhere.

All of a sudden Richie’s hand is ripped from Eddie’s grasp, and Eddie’s attention darts behind him, where Richie is bizarrely being tugged in the opposite direction. Without a moment of hesitation, Eddie tosses his yo-yo and it catches Richie’s wrist. Digging the soles of his feet into the school floor, Eddie pulls back with all his might, trying to get Richie to come back to him, but the boy just won’t budge. There is an equally powerful force tugging Richie away from Eddie. Eddie, furrowing his brows, mutters, “What the hell is going on?”

Eddie’s eyes go wide. Richie yelps. And then they are a mess of limbs on school grounds, tangled in each other’s bodies because whatever was holding onto Richie decided to play devil and let Richie go while Eddie was still tugging on him with all his strength. There is no time for embarrassment, however, and Eddie is on his feet instantly, listening to the taunting snicker that encompasses the ground floor. “It must be the akuma,” he thinks out loud, reaching behind him to offer Richie a hand up. Richie accepts Eddie’s hand, and stands closely next to him, perhaps at a loss of what else to do. “You need to get out of here.”

“Right,” Richie says. They both turn around to eye the exit, but they hear the familiar noise of a door being locked. “Or not.”

“This is a disaster…” Eddie reaches for his yo-yo and clicks it open. He dials Chat Noir, his eyes still attentive to the situation around him as he listens to the phone ring and ring and ring. The call inevitably fails, and Eddie’s lips turn down in a frown. “Chat Noir, where are you?”

“Maybe he’s busy?” Richie suggests.

“That mangy cat.” Eddie bites his tongue as he begins to spin his yo-yo effortlessly. He thinks of what to do, of where to put Richie for the time being. “We’ll have to make due without him.” Grabbing Richie’s hand, Eddie makes a beeline for the staircase leading downstairs. For now, he’ll have to hide Richie to deal with the akuma. It’s no use trying to fight when he has to babysit someone, and the last thing Eddie would want to do is purposefully put Richie in danger. Thankfully, they make it downstairs fast and without any harm, because Eddie leaves no time for the akuma to make any unforeseen movement. The basement is gross, and dark, but Eddie shoves Richie into the first closet he sees and says, “Wait here, okay? Lock the door and don’t make any noise. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Okay,” Richie says, and Eddie moves to shut the door. But Richie stops him with a gentle hand, and with a smile sweet as honey. “I trust you, Ladybug.”

Eddie blinks feverishly, flustered, and he shuts the door.

“Chat Noir, you stupid cat. You better show up soon,” Eddie says, heading back upstairs on antsy feet. The ground floor is quiet once again. “Come out! I know you’re in here.” And there is a snicker. “I can hear you.”

“You can hear me,” the akuma taunts in a high, girlish voice. There is evidence, both in her raspy tone and choked up words, that the girl has been crying. Yet Eddie cannot recognize her voice, so perhaps it is nobody he knows personally. “But you can’t see me. I am Transparencee.”

“Show yourself, Transparencee,” Eddie says, playing with his yo-yo. He hates all this playful talk. It is much more Chat Noir’s thing. Eddie wishes they could cut to the chase and get moving.

“No!” Transparencee snarls. “Nobody wanted to see me at all before, so nobody gets to see me now.” Eddie has no clue what she’s going on about, but he searches the room anyway as if looking for an invisible being will actually do him any good.

“My love,” a voice says to Eddie’s right, and Eddie looks. There is Chat Noir, his baton extended and enclosed underneath both of his palms as he rests his body weight against it. He flutters his eyelashes flirtaciously. “You called?”

“No time for talk.” Eddie smiles, thankful for Chat Noir’s company. But he would be lying if he said his heart didn’t quicken at the thought of all Chat Noir confessed the night before. “The akuma is invisible. Listen closely.”

“No need to purr-suade me, LB. My ears are wide open and ready for some listenin’.” Chat Noir salutes Eddie as he retracts his baton and clasps it tightly in his clawed hand. Ladybug follows suit, nodding, yo-yo steady and ready for action. And the two remain silent as they peruse floor. Chat Noir’s obedient silence strikes Eddie as unusual, but even he seems to recognize the seriousness of the situation. Not being able to see an akuma at all is a new one, for sure.

“This is a tough one,” Eddie says softly. “Guess this is as good a time as ever… Lucky charm!”

There is a beam of light as a paint bucket appears before him. A paint bucket is what the miraculous has given him.

“Red paint?” Chat questions. He winks as he breathes his next words, “You gonna draw me like one of your French girls, buginette?”

Eddie says nothing. This is no time for bickering. Instead, Eddie searches the room for some way to use this lucky charm. And then he realizes. He gets an idea, and his mouth perks up in a clever grin, and he tells Chat, “Listen for me.” In the meantime, Eddie runs toward the left side of the room and hoists himself up over the second story balcony that frames the school. He places the paint bucket on the balcony fencing with delicate hands.

“There,” Chat suddenly says. “Did you hear that?” Eddie glances over at his partner and furrows his eyebrows. And he listens. Solely listens.

Ever so slightly, there is a quiet murmur.

“There!” Eddie echoes as he throws his yo-yo toward the noise. The string circles around the target successfully, bringing some sort of shape to Transparencee, and Eddie pulls back immediately, aiming her toward the paint bucket. When Transparencee slams against the paint bucket, the paint bursts out and her shape becomes visible. During her fall, a small notebook seemed to have been ripped from her hands. It is also covered in red paint, lying at the girl’s side. Eddie grins, tightening his grip on his yo-yo so he can keep Transparencee trapped in place. “Chat Noir?” Eddie says, glancing down over the balcony at his partner. Chat mirrors Eddie’s look of content and hops up to where Eddie is standing.

“You’re the cat’s meow,” Chat says. Eddie routinely rolls his eyes. “The akuma must be in that notebook.”

“Do the honors, kitty,” Eddie replies, and Chat Noir summons his cataclysm to strip the notebook into nothing. The akuma emerges from the broken notebook and begins to flutter away. At the black butterfly’s release, Transparencee transforms back into her civilian persona after being engulfed by a dark bubbly mass. Eddie swings his yo-yo toward the akuma and captures it. He watches as the butterfly spins and spins, until finally the yo-yo opens up and reveals a beautiful, white butterfly. “No more evil doing for you, little akuma.”

At the demand of Ladybug’s power, everything in Paris that had been affected during the akuma attack has been reverted back to normal.

“Pound it,” Chat Noir says, his fist raised. It is tradition. Eddie fist bumps his partner and they exchange celebratory smiles, but it wouldn’t be the end of an akuma fight if their miraculous didn’t beep. Now, they only have a few minutes before they transform back to normal.

“What happened?” The girl asks, sitting on the ground where Eddie had left her chaotic persona. It is a girl Eddie vaguely recognizes. He thinks he had an art class with her once. Eddie goes over to her and helps her up. “Was I akumatized?”

“Yeah, but everything’s okay now,” Eddie tells her. Chat Noir holds out the girl’s notebook.

“I believe this is yours,” Chat says, and the girl nods, taking it from him shyly.

“Thanks,” she replies. “Sorry for the trouble I caused.”

“No problem,” Chat says. “But I’m afraid me and my lovebug have got to get this show on the road.”

Eddie glares at him. “I’m not your lovebug.”

“Not yet, you aren’t.” Chat winks.

Ignoring Chat Noir’s typical behavior, Eddie asks the girl, “Will you get back home all right?” She nods. “Good. Be safe.” Chat Noir looks at Eddie, and together they rush out the school entrance and run to the nearest rooftop.

“Great job, my love. Seems we got ourselves out of that sticky situation pretty quickly,” Chat Noir comments.

“Guess we did,” Eddie shoots back.

“Well.” There is a beat of silence as Chat cradles his tail. “Until next time, buginette.” He takes Eddie’s gloved hand and kisses it softly. Eddie watches, utterly dumbfounded. He recalls the night before, and how Chat Noir had practically confessed his love for Ladybug to Eddie Kaspbrak. Chat was hurt that Ladybug hadn’t showed up for the especially planned evening. That has got to be one of the worst ways to be shot down. The memory of Chat’s hurt expression on Eddie’s balcony brings a sour feeling.

“Chat,” Eddie says, voice like warm sugar. Chat Noir quirks a brow, lips still pressed to Eddie’s hand tenderly. “I’m sorry I didn’t meet you last night.”

“Ladybug,” Chat Noir says, and he releases Eddie’s hand slowly and rubs one of his ears, perhaps feeling a little flustered. It makes Eddie want to giggle, watching Chat unfold before him like this. “That’s okay. At least I got to see you today.” Eddie smiles softly. That is an awfully sweet thing for Chat Noir to say. “And besides, I wasn’t in bad company last night, so I forgive you.” Eddie blinks.

“Who were you with?” Eddie asks, wanting to act natural even though he knows full well whom Chat Noir was with last night. “Replacing me so easily, kitty?” He throws in for good measure. And it makes Chat Noir laugh.

“Just a friend,” he says. “Jealous, my love?”

“You wish.” Eddie giggles, and Chat Noir’s ring beeps. “Your ring! We should probably get going before we transform back.”

“Good idea.” Chat Noir nods. “Wouldn’t want you to see who I really am. You would be blinded by my good looks. Until next time, LB.” Eddie watches, content, as Chat Noir runs to the edge of the rooftop and jumps to the next building, making his way away from his partner so he can transform back privately. Eddie wonders what Chat Noir meant about being in good company the night before. They are not friends—Eddie Kaspbrak and Chat Noir. But perhaps, because they both share the discomfort of a yearning heart, one day they could be.

Eddie is sitting at his desk highlighting facts in his Science textbook when Tikki says, “Chat Noir was in a better mood today. I guess you really cheered him up!”

“I didn’t do anything special,” Eddie answers without looking up from his work. His tongue peers out from between his lips in concentration. He really needs to get his work done tonight. No distractions. Nothing. He even declined both of Bill’s FaceTime calls. “I just lent him an ear. Anyone would’ve done it.” Though maybe Eddie’s acceptance of listening to Chat Noir’s woes came from the guilt Eddie feels for being the cause of them.

“You told him Ladybug was lucky to have him,” Tikki replies, settling on Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie considers her words, and caps his highlighter to think properly. He doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know what Tikki is expecting of him.

“Well,” Eddie says, hesitant. He glances over at Tikki before checking the time on his phone. It is almost nine o’clock and Eddie is nearly halfway done with his homework. He really shouldn’t be wasting time talking about Chat Noir right now, and Tikki knows that, but maybe she finds value in this conversation that Eddie cannot. She is like that. Wiser, and sweeter than Eddie. “It’s true, isn’t it?”

Tikki only giggles, and flies over to Eddie’s bed. Eddie watches her tuck herself next to one of his stuffed animals, and then turns his attention back to his homework. Yet before he can even pick up his highlighter again, there is a knock at the trapdoor above his bed—the one that leads to his balcony. Eddie’s eyes dart over to Tikki, who shrugs her little arms up and makes a face at Eddie. She says, “You have company.” Eddie frowns, and stands up out of his desk chair to go up the ladder to his loft. He opens the trapdoor and peeks his head outside, confused. (Maybe it was just the wind?)

“Hey,” Eddie hears a voice say, and he looks over his shoulder to the roof of his house. “Funny running into you here.”

“Chat Noir,” Eddie says, huffing a laugh. “Are these visits going to be a nightly occurrence? I’ve got homework to do.”

“Me-ouch,” Chat says, hopping down from the roof and taking a seat at Eddie’s outdoor table. “Do I really bother you that much?” Eddie cracks a smile, keeps his mouth shut, and climbs completely out of the doorway. He shuts it behind him, so that the cold doesn’t drift into his bedroom and he isn’t totally freezing when he tucks himself into bed. “I didn’t think so.”

“Okay… So you don’t annoy me,” Eddie says, crossing his arms. He should’ve brought a sweater. “But seriously, what’re you doing here?”

“I just wanted to thank you,” Chat Noir explains, shocking Eddie. “For listening to me ramble last night. I realized it was a lot to put on someone, but you seem like a nice guy and I couldn’t help myself.”

“That’s okay,” Eddie says. “You don’t have to say thanks. Anyone would’ve done it.” He echoes his conversation with Tikki, because it is true, and he doesn’t want Chat Noir to think he is anything special. That would be misleading and disappointing.

“Maybe.” Humming, Chat Noir stands up from the chair and comes over to where Eddie is standing, back to the balcony fence. “But you knew exactly what to say. So thank you.” And Chat reaches for Eddie’s hand. He presses his cold lips to Eddie’s skin, and Eddie freezes right there and then. This is a gesture he is so familiar with; Chat Noir always kisses Ladybug’s hand. It is his thing. But then… why is he kissing Eddie’s hand? “You sure know how to com-fur-t a cat.” And in complete Ladybug fashion, Eddie finds himself rolling his eyes.

He takes his hand from Chat’s grasp and tugs on his loose shirt. He feels Chat’s gaze, heavy and concentrative. It is quiet for a short while. Both of them seem a little lost. God knows Eddie feels it.

“Do you really have homework to do?” he hears Chat Noir ask, in an unusually gentle voice.

Eddie glances up at him, and because of the soft, honey sweet look Chat Noir is giving him, he finds himself lying. He parts his lips, and he answers, “No. I don’t.”

It makes Chat smile, and it makes Eddie think. Think that maybe there is an alternate universe where Chat Noir knows Eddie Kaspbrak is Ladybug.

And maybe, just maybe, he is okay with it.