#midlife fashion

[thestylesplash]

Animal Prints and Pastel Shades + Style With a Smile Link Up

Finally it’s sandal weather! It feels like it’s been a long time coming. I’ve been eager to test my new sandals from Strive and it was worth the wait! This is my second pair from the brand and they are absolute saviours for my feet. (I’m having surgery on my right foot later in the Summer.) My other pair are snake print, and staying on the animal theme I chose leopard print this time. I consider…

[brunettesparklejumpropequeen]

Why can’t I have my Pinterest wardrobe

[creativesplat]

Inspired by @zephrunsimperium 's Henchmaniac Ford idea! He's got the gold nail guards and black and gold eyeliner!

[puppyfurios]

Guys in Hawaiian shirts either have life figured out or are going through their midlife crisis

[wonderwomandebz]

I'm NOT a personal shopper and these are the 9 things you'll ALWAYS find in my wardrobe

What 9 items will you always find in my wardrobe, as opposed to a fashion writer who wrote a similar article about what 9 things you wouldn't find in her wardrobe. Each to their own!

The fashion police are after me I read an article the other day that got my back up. It doesn’t happen very often! I rarely air grievances on my blog, but today is one of those days. You have been warned and fashion bloggers, please don’t come at me! The article was titled I’m a personal shopper and these are the 9 things you’ll never find in my wardrobe. It was written by a fashion editor…

[buglordsupreme]

Mouthwashing HCs because my old ass is not immune to rotating characters in my head like a microwave.

❤️‍🩹Anya❤️‍🩹

•28 years old.

•Eastern European, most likely Slavic or from Central Europe.

•Can speak more than three languages. Has an accent.

•Has a long term partner back home. They want to get married but both of them are broke.

•Has two pet cats. Originally, she was allowed to bring them on board with her, but then Pony Express changed their policy and stopped allowing animals in ships.

•She is constantly diagnosing everyone both physically and mentally in her imagination.

•Has a very rich inner world but rarely feels safe sharing it.

•She keeps getting rejected from med school not because of her abilities but because she constantly overthinks and gets too nervous during tests.

•INFP and Pisces.

🪓Swansea🪓

•61 years old.

•He is from the East Coast, probably the Boston area and has a heavy accent.

•British and Irish descent.

•Did not go to College but did go to Trade School.

•Despite being originally from a city, lives in the suburbs around a wooded area.

•Has a loyalty card in most hardware stores and strong opinions about screwdriver handles.

•He calls his dog a “stupid fuck” lovingly and talks to him as if he were a human.

•Has struggled a lot with depression throughout his life and has not gone to therapy as he feels like it would not work on him.

•ISTP and Virgo

🐴Jimmy🐴

•37 years old.

•East Coast, Rhode Island area.

•Italian-American. And yes, he does use his hands a lot when he speaks.

•Likely raised Catholic but now believes “it’s all bullshit”.

•Thinks Chicago-style pizza is an abomination but he can’t cook for shit.

•Long history of awful short-lived relationships and at least one ex has tried to kill him during an argument. (And vice versa)

•Has one kid that he claims isn’t really his. Resents having to pay child support.

•Has smoked ever since he was 14.

•Has been charged several times with petty crimes which have made it hard for him to find work.

-Before Curly helped him out with his position at Pony Express, he was fired from his last job due to embezzlement.

•ESTP (A very unhealthy one) and Capricorn.

🎂Curly🎂

•40 years old. (My HC is that he turns 40 during the Tulpar’s last trip, which is why he is having his whole midlife crisis).

•Born and raised in Canada.

•Moved to the US around his teens or young adulthood (Probably met Jimmy around this time as well).

•Has a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering but, since most ships are now operated by machines, had to settle for being a Freighter Pilot.

•The only man in existence that finds shoveling snow relaxing.

•Twice married and twice divorced because works makes it hard to spend time with his spouses. Has one young kid but can rarely see them due to, once again, work.

•One of the reasons he thinks about retiring from being a pilot is so that he can spend more time with his family.

•ESFJ and Libra.

🌺Daisuke🌺

•19 years old.

•Filipino-Japanese.

•Second generation immigrant. His parents worked a lot to get their wealth.

•There is no doubt in my mind that he is Californian.

•Not willing to commit to a relationship yet but is definitely on and off with a couple of girls.

•Has tried to get a fake ID at some point so he could get alcohol. He was caught and arrested and called his mom, crying. He was let go without legal consequences but was severely grounded.

•At school, he was known for drawing amazing caricatures of the teachers. Was suspended at least once for this reason.

•Incredible fashion sense. When he got his Pony Express uniform, he immediately asked if they had other colors. Did not understand at first why they laughed at him.

•ESFP and Leo.

[blorbocedes]

thé gabi/ nico fic. i deeply appreciated thé in detail backstory. i was locked in and visually picturing every word.

so the baldie was supposed to be GP but @karlmarxverstappen and I had a very funny miscommunication where she thought baldie was referring to daniel 😭

so in true anora fashion, daniel is the balding retired f1 driver turned podcaster who has a midlife crisis and flies over the sex worker max he frequented to be the live-in girlfriend. and he doesn't propose but the ring is kind of a financial guarantee (10 carats) that max asks for. at first max is super duper happy, hence offloading his regulars to the new ducklings and staying with daniel in his farm in australia... but daniel is embarrassed of his decade younger stripper turned gf. daniel gets simply lovely tattooed but won't introduce him to his parents. when his olympic medal winning athlete friends married to billionaire heiresses (hello scotty and chloe stroll) come to visit, max has to go hide in the outhouse. DR midlife crisis knocks up some twenty something and realizes it's time to Settle Down and Be A Father. he tries to get max to stay, saying nothing has to change but max is like what the fuck am I doing here.... and is unceremoniously kicked to the curb and has to pawn off his ring :'( and can't even return to the club because he gave all his clients away and bragged about his happily ever after

down on his luck max and GP who is actually bald meet again. GP used to see max at the club when he had a wife and felt guilty about it, but anyways he knows max's past and isn't ashamed of it -- he's all why would i be, that'd make me a hypocrite being the john and all, they fall in love, even though GP is solidly middle class and not the millionaire sugar daddy lifestyle -- he does put an Actual ring on max and then they have 4 dogs and 3 cats and a bird 🥰 the end

[barry-j-blupjeans]

TAZ 2023 Fic Recs

It is that time of year again! Unfortunately, I don't have as many as last year, mainly because work and Life have been a lot this year. But I am very, very glad to share the fics I have loved this year and I'm looking forward to any other recs!

A Candlenights Barold by @sgrumby - or honestly, all three of the Reaper Squad Candlenights fics! Based off that one liveshow where Merle became Santa Clause. Now it is the job of Barry, Lup, and Kravitz to deliver presents to children every Candlenights! This one is based off A Christmas Carol and is not only hilarious but also super in character.

The Best Version Possible by @thedaisiestdaisy - Taako's experience with past romances, his current one with Kravitz, as well as the aftermath of Story and Song. This is a beautiful, meaningful fic that hits me in the feels every time I read it. It's such a deep, refreshing dive into Taako's character.

a monster might begin to worry by @anistarrose - In short, a Barry-kills-Governer-Kalen AU. In long: Such a good fucking fic. Rose's character voices are top notch and she's so incredibly good at playing with emotions and building up scenes. It's a god-tier Magnus fic, with some fun Magnus-Kravitz interactions and some wonderful hurt/comfort.

Also by Rose and very worth reading:

fill up your lungs, feel better - Barry spies on the BOBs corporate excursion and realizes his family still cares, even if they don't truly know him.

to eat from a poisoned plate - Barry leaves notes in Taako's cookbook.

somewhere over the rainbow (bluebirds fly) - Maureen and Lucretia fall in love. Then, Maureen and Lucretia fall out of love.

midlife crises, laboratory niceties - Barry bulldozes his way into being on the Starblaster crew. Davenport is very concerned <3

colors of space and time - Taako and Lup's relationship with their hair.

Rode Hard And Put Away Wet by @holdmecloser-gandydancer - Band AU!! My beloved!! Lup, Johann, and Kravitz are in a band and it gets. Tough. To put it lightly. Whenever Lup discovers Kravitz and Taako are hooking up. This is a WONDERFUL and super funny fic, that also has it's moments of deep reflections and a lil angst! Plus, Blupjeans! We love that!

Astrology for Horse Jugglers by @noodyl-blasstal - Kravitz and Taako meet at a wedding. This goes badly for everyone except them. This fic is pure chaos and I adore it so, so much.

We Got Boned! - Another one by Noodyl! Barry and Lup write a book for payback, kinda. This one is such a fun, weird turn of events. I cannot describe my love for it.

Revenge Plus One by @ceilingfan5 - Kravitz is invited by his ex (Edward) to go on a cruise. A cruise that will host Edward's wedding. And, to add insult to injury, Edward (rightly) assumes that Kravitz will have no one to bring along. So Kravitz does the responsible adult thing: Invite the gorgeous man who sells bagels in the work cafeteria (Taako) on the cruise with him. There is fake dating! There is tension! There is romance! I love this fic so much, I want to eat it.

a lesson in boy math - Also by Larissa! Speed-dating, Taakitz style. Both Taako and Kravitz are the best shade of weird in this <3

fashion statement by @journalofimprobablethings - Taako takes Lup's robe when he finds her and the umbrella. Lucretia deals with that. This fic? Destroyed me. And I loved it. It's pretty full of angst but the good kind, y'know?? I'm in love.

That's all I got this year!! I hope you all enjoy these fics as much as I did! They're all incredible and I love seeing all the different ideas and takes everyone has :O

[ginpotts]

@userdramas event 07: identity → ⌜ nozue ⨳ old fashion cupcake ⌟

there are simply not enough words to express how this older gentleman going through a midlife gay crisis and finding love at thirty-nine has somehow become so near and dear to my soul; but he just speaks to me.

[londonspirit]

Was there ever any doubt that Our Flag Means Death Season 2 wouldn't end in thrilling fashion after taking all of us on a rollercoaster of emotions? Probably not, but show creator David Jenkins and writer John Mahone, who teamed up on the script for the finale episode, seemed distinctly driven to squeeze as many tears out of us watching as possible. With the dynamic between Stede (Rhys Darby) and Ed (Taika Waititi) seemingly fractured as of the season's penultimate installment, it was unclear how — or if — the two men might eventually reconcile, but a new threat to the Republic of Pirates, alongside Ed's realization that maybe he isn't meant to be a fisherman after all, sends the two back into each other's arms, literally.

While some characters are afforded something resembling a happy ending, with Stede and Ed deciding to try their hand at being innkeepers as they watch the Revenge sail off into the sunset under Frenchie's (Joel Fry) command, not every single crew member emerges from the finale battle unscathed, chief among them Ed's first mate and formerly ruthless right-hand Izzy Hands (Con O'Neill), whose parting words to Ed may be the very thing that the former Blackbeard needs to hear in order to fully come to terms with accepting the man inside him all along.

Ahead of the Season 2 finale premiering on Max, Collider had the opportunity to reconnect with Jenkins to discuss some of the episode's biggest moments. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, Jenkins explains why Izzy's speech is both a eulogy for the character and a statement about the show itself, how the Season 2 premiere and finale bookend each other with those beach scenes, and why he wanted to use that Nina Simone needle drop in particular. He also discusses why the season concludes with a wedding at sea, what the finale sets up for Season 3, and more.

COLLIDER: I feel like my first question, in a completely non-serious way, is: how dare you, and my immediate follow-up is: what gives you the right?

DAVID JENKINS: I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Also, I am God to these creatures! But it was hard. It was a hard decision.

The episode kicks off with a somewhat more lighthearted moment, which is Ed realizing he's not cut out for the fishing life after all. On the heels of Stede and Ed’s big fight in the episode prior, why did it feel important to have Ed humorously have the revelation of, “This isn't what I really want after all?”

JENKINS: Well, I like the idea that Season 1 is about Stede’s midlife crisis, and Season 2 is about Ed's midlife crisis. I like that he had a little prima donna moment where he thought he could go and be a simple man, and then it's revealed that he really isn't a simple man; he’s a complicated, fussy, moody guy. No, he's not gonna be able to catch fish for a living. For him to be told that, “At your heart, you're a pirate. You have to go back and do it,” he doesn't want that to be true, but it was true.

Speaking of characters that have a revelation about themselves, Izzy's speech about piracy, about belonging to something and finding family, feels like the thesis statement of this show. Was that the intention behind it?

JENKINS: When I wrote that, I wanted to give Izzy a proper eulogy for himself. He gives a eulogy for himself, but it felt true writing it. Yeah, this is how he sees piracy, and also that's not how he would have viewed piracy in the first season. He would have viewed it as, “I'm here to dominate you, so you work for the boss.” By the end of his journey in the second season, he sees that they built him a unicorn leg, he learned to whittle, and he mentored Stede. He's learned that, actually, a pirate crew works differently than what he thought and that they are all in it together, and they do this for each other. So it felt right for Izzy’s arc, and it is kind of an overall statement about the show.

It's interesting that you call it a eulogy, because, by the time we get to the scene where we know Izzy's not going to make it, it feels like he's using his last moments for Ed more than himself. He has those final words to Ed of, “They love you for who you are. Just be Ed.” Is that the kind of the thing that Ed needs to hear in the moment — even as he's losing, arguably, someone he's known even longer than Stede and is just as close to on an emotional level?

JENKINS: Well, I like that Izzy gives that to him, and then Izzy also apologizes to him because he says that he fed his darkness and that they were both Blackbeard together — that Blackbeard wasn't just Ed, that they did it together. In a way, it's very much for Ed, that speech. The “we were Blackbeard” is claiming that he is also Blackbeard, that Blackbeard is not just Ed’s creation, and I like that for him, too, because he's worked so hard for that — and then just to say, “You can give it up.” There can never be a Blackbeard again as far as Izzy’s concerned because he's dying, and they did that together.

I wanted to ask you about the Stede/Ed reunion. We get Ed finding Stede's love letter that was written all the way at the beginning, and then also the beach fight/reunion. It's definitely a callback to the dream, but was that always the way that you wanted to bookend the season? Here's the dream and the fantasy, and then this is the real moment that we get to have?

JENKINS: It was nice. I knew that I wanted to have the Republic of Pirates at the beginning and end up with the Republic of Pirates. I think the reunion of it was a nice surprise, but it felt right. And finding the letter in a bottle — if you have a letter in a bottle, it's thrown out somewhere, it has to pop up somewhere, you have to see one of them at some point. But yeah, there's a circular nature to it, and that's why I thought it would be good to use Nina Simone at the beginning and at the end as a callback. This dream in this way did come true, and they made it come true.

When I talked to you at the beginning of the season, you mentioned the Nina Simone needle drop, but couldn't say anything about the significance of it at the time. I talked to [music supervisor] Maggie [Phillips], as well, about the needle drops throughout Season 2, and she said you always had a very clear vision for what song you wanted there. A lot of people know the original, but why did you pick Nina's cover? It strikes a different tone; there's a hopefulness to it in a lot of ways.

JENKINS: Yeah, it's wistful. There's a lovely part that sounds like church bells, which is great for the wedding part of it, and then it's just moving. I love her interpretation of it. It’s wistful, positive, and it felt like the end of the show to me. There's a size to it that, up against these images, I just was like, "Yeah, this would be really good. I want this to be in the show."

I did want to ask you about the wedding because on the heels of Izzy's death, it's bittersweet, but also, it's a sign this crew has become a family, and they can still find happy moments and reasons to celebrate. We’ve seen Black Pete and Lucius reconnect, but also reconcile and navigate through Lucius's problems and have their own, almost parallel trajectory journey as a couple alongside Stede and Ed in a way. Was that something that you always wanted to close the season on, the two of them getting hitched?

JENKINS: Yeah. We knew we wanted a matelotage in the season, which is the real term they had for marrying crew members. And yeah, they've always been in relief to Stede and Ed, and they're a little bit ahead of Stede and Ed in how much they can talk about things. So to have a bunch of family things in the season, like a funeral and a wedding, and have the parents kind of watch the kids sail away, felt right, and all of those things seem to work well together and build on each other.

Speaking of Ed and Stede watching everybody sail off, that was an outcome that was somewhat surprising, I think because where they are, you think maybe they're going to end up sailing off with everybody else.” But no, instead, it's just this sweet, lovely note of them getting to play house for a little while. What inspired that turn for them?

JENKINS: I think that they've come to the point in the relationship where they say, “Yeah, we're gonna give this a try,” and that's where the story really gets interesting. That will-they-or-won't-they is interesting to a point, but the real meat of it is always like, “Can they make the relationship, and can they do better than Anne and Mary?” That's the question that we all ask ourselves when we end up in a serious relationship is: can we make this work, and can we get through the hard times? Then they're both very damaged, and it's gonna be a challenge for them, and that's where the story gets interesting.

I'm not sure you can really tease much for a Season 3, but we talked before about how you have your vision for where you want to take this, and based on what we see at the end of Season 2, the implication is that we're going to have Stede and Ed off together, but is the plan to also continue with the other characters as well in their own places?

JENKINS: Yeah. Frenchie’s in charge of the Revenge, and I think Frenchie's Revenge would be an interesting place to work and an interesting ship to be raided by. Then I think that the Revenge means a lot to Stede, and it would be very hard for him to give it up, and he hasn't had a great track record of that. So I think the odds of them all finding each other again are quite high.

All episodes of Our Flag Means Death Season 2 are available to stream on Max.

[blue-grama]

Old Fashion Cupcake: This is an office romance!

... and also a surprisingly concise exploration of midlife, gendered expectations, learning more about yourself in adulthood, and accepting and embracing change. My Personal Weatherman: This is a kinky show about an exceedingly undernegotiated D/s relationship! ... and also a suprisingly concise exploration of individualism versus interdependency in couplehood, normative male alexithymia, domesticity as love, and public versus private selves.

[loulougoingsolo]

"Just yourself be, if weird is you."

I don't often get annoyed by Rhett or Link, and it is probably a strong word to use even now, but...today's Ear biscuits episode kinda made me growl at Rhett a little.

I'm not going to talk about the entire episode, but the guys were answering listener questions, and the last one was about midlife crises, if they have them and how.

Now, as someone who is less than a year younger than Link, I've probably tackled a crisis of my own in the recent times. (You could say my entire adult life has been a crisis, but I won't.) But I loved Link's explanation of his midlife crisis, which was basically finding the limits of how weird he can be without making Christy scratch her head too much. Like, Link basically said he is still exploring what he is and what he wants to be (and I'm not implying he was talking about his sexual identity - I think he meant he is exploring his identity in a broader context of being human). Rhett took this as an opportunity to remind Link that when someone chooses to be "weird", they need to understand that it might impact their relationships. And at that point, I growled.

I'm a weirdo. I spent way too many years of my life trying not to be weird. The funny (not really) thing was, trying to act normal only made me sick, made me behave in a very unnatural, stiff way around other people, and I was miserable. I dare to say, nowadays, after, thanks to a lot of soul-searching, therapy and embracing my true self, I come across much more likable than before. I'm not tense, I don't need to put on a mask, and I am more comfortable with myself, which just makes me more fun to be with. Syre, there are people who think I'm too weird, don't act my age, or make strange stylistic choices. The people I love accept me as I am, and I may have infected them with dashes of self-acceptance, too. So, grrr at you, Rhett.

Seriously though, I love that Link is less tense these days. I know some people are annoyed by him, but I love how he has blossomed from an antsy guy who stuck to wearing t-shirts and jeans to an actual fashion icon. He's less afraid of showing his emotions these days (good and bad), and he's just overall more at ease. I'd hate for his loved ones to try to tame him too much, and I hated the way Rhett managed to make his advice sound like a threat that if Link gets too weird, he'll lose some of his relationships.

Maybe I heard more than was said. Maybe this rubbed me the wrong way, because I see myself in Link more than I do in Rhett, and I recognize the things Link said in myself. I hope to hear other people's thoughts on this episode, and this answer about midlife crisis in particular.

Also, for anyone planning to go hiking with a cat: I love the idea, and if I see you with your cats on the trails I take, I want to be your friend. I have been known to lightly stalk a lady who was in the library with her cat on her shoulders, just so I could coo at the furbaby.

[wonderwomandebz]

Tell Us About...Your Personal Style

This month's Tell Us About linkup is all about our personal style. I don't have a style as such and I'm not much of a fashion plate but I do like certain colours. I hope you'll come over and join us. #tellusabout #personalstyle #fashion

Welcome to Tell Us About… This month our Tell Us About prompt is Sue’s choice: Your Personal Style – what a fun topic! We’re all different in what we like, the colours we wear, our style of dressing and how we present ourselves to the world. There are no right or wrong ways in my opinion. Before I get into my personal style, I offer these two Mother of the Bride (MOB) stories which may give…

[austinslounge]

I know this isn’t a Leo blog but since the topic is in discussion I felt the need to spill something in this:

My mother’s friend was a supermodel in the 90’s and I just want to say she was involved with a lot of men (won’t mention her name but she even had a fling with Bruce Willis back in the day) and she said most of the men were awful. I’m talking musicians to athletes, to music producers to directors. She said the nicest guy she dated was Leonardo DiCaprio, which is wild cause she said he actually called her back and paid for dinner everytime. He even remembered her sister’s birthday and got her a present. Now, this was around the time he was MAJOR like his Titanic, Romeo and Juliet age. Don’t know how much has changed since then.

She also said “Leo is honest from the get go of what he wants, he says he’s not the commitment type but he will always be respectful.” The issue is he used to date older women back then, he probably liked how they made him feel, but now he’s trying to regain his youth by being around younger women which is definitely a midlife crisis thing, but she always tells my mother he was kind even when the relationship fell off.

I think that’s the only reason to this day women don’t have anything awful to say is because he’s not abusive about his behavior he just…likes them younger which is the weirdest part. I asked her if there’s anyone in Hollywood now that reminds her of him and she dead ass said “Timothee Chalamet.” Same vibes. Sweet, chill and let’s be honest a guy who likes older and richer women for now. I asked her about Austin Butler and she said “Now that’s more of a Val Kilmer, Paul Newman type of vibe honey. He seems old fashioned but in a good way. Like fancy vanilla ice cream.”

That being said the idea of Austin taking dating advice makes no sense because he’s dated women for long periods of time, that’s a sign of commitment and a sign of someone who is a romantic, he just puts his career first and to be fair being involved with one younger woman in his life can’t be compared to Leo’s dating history. It’s not the same lifestyle at all.

Hope you enjoyed the tea!

Oooo giiiiirrrrrl you're spilling some tea in here! 👀

You know what? For some reason, I actually believe you. I can see this being true.

I've never thought Leo was a horrible person, I just find his dating habits cringe.

And I do think Austin has old-school classic Hollywood vibes. 😊

[yolowritter]

I actually meant to ask about the one where Lila gets the Ladybug Miraculous, I wanted to save the serial killer for tomorrow... And I added a "future" for some reason, causing confusion.

Well then, I'll ask about the Lilabug & Marinette AU now.

Oh sorry, sorry! I thought you asked abt the serial killer Au! My bad! So, the Lilabug Au! Basically it's what it says on the tin! Lila arrives in Paris early, and Fu comes across her while searching for compatible Miraculous Holders. The reason why he senses her is because Lila would be an excellent Fox, but Fu can't tell specifically which Miraculous she has affinity with. So he pulls his scheme with Truck-Kun, and Lila saves his life. Because you know, there's people recording the damn incident and she wants fame!

Also, Lila is extremely (read: canon levels) cynical in this Au, and generally abhorbs being around other human beings. Sure, she'll play the happy-go-lucky new girl from Italy and smile sweetly at people all day, but she secretly hates every second of it. Anyway, Lila will later find a pair of magic earrings in her bag because she wanted to go viral. Is this Fu Bashing for picking that testing method out of every option? Sure. Will I salt the man? Nah, we have yuri to write!

Anyway, the rest of Origins goes normally, except Lila is also there, sweet-talking her way into sitting at the back of the class and away from all these weirdos. This will be important later. Anyway, Chloe bla blas about Adrien, gum on the seat, etc. Then Stoneheart happens, which also paints a big target on Marinette's back as the local goody-two-shoes! Lila doesn't plan to bully her though, no no. Being her friend is the better option, because she doesn't think Marinette will have the spine to accuse her of lying then. Totally not for the free bakery sweets!

Anyway, Stoneheart! Paris' resident furry is right on cue, and Lila gets an unwanted moral compass in the form of adorable Eldritch Deity! Tikki absolutely hates her btw, since Lila doesn't create anything of her own except lies. Still, they have a city to save and once our beloved Kwami pulls out the "people will love you if you save them" card, Lila's sold! Say less, she's already suiting up!

I'm giving her a more stylish outfit too, think black boots and gloves, as well as actual linings to separate different parts of the suit with some inverted coloring on the sides. Because Lila Rossi is nothing if not fashionable! Anyway, a cat boy falls out of the sky while she's learning how to rip off Spider-Man! One introduction later, Lila sticks with the name Ladybug because why the hell not? She'd have gone with the Italian word, but that's a dead giveaway. Generic means less clues to her identity.

Now, she puts on a great show for the cameras! If Chat hadn't heard her mutter insults about everyone not running for their lives, he'd be impressed! Alya gets saved from that overdramatic car flip, Ladyblog becomes a thing later, and Stoneheart gets absolutely destroyed because Lila is just as smart as Marinette! A bit more straightforward and "I'm going to rip you yo pieces with a spoon if need be"...but very intelligent! Chloe gets saved, Lila feels the urge to psychologically damage her someday soon, and she and Chat find a second to talk after the whole "as long as we're here Hawkmoth can't get you" speech.

Reminder that Adrien has been surrounded by actors and performers his whole life, so he sniffs out Lila's true intentions instantly. Still, she isn't immediately hostile to him. They talk, and decide that since they're the superheroes now, and Paris needs saving from a mentally ill mothman with a midlife crisis, they'll work together. Chat warns her that he won't let her abuse her Miraculous' powers, and Lila promises she isn't going to. Ladybug's reputation as this city's only hope needs to remean clean, after all!

The rest of Origins happens the same, umbrella scene included, and Fu is very proud of himself for making such good choices! Lila also decides to befriend Alya because a blog dedicated to Ladybug is 1) a great publicity stunt she will gladly abuse, and 2) this idiot needs to be kept in check, lest Alya accidentally connects the dots some day. Therefore, we now have the Core 5, consisting of Marinette (reluctant friends with Lila), Adrien (empathetic to the other new kids and thinking her confidence is cool), Nino (music provider), Alya (unhinged conspiracy theorist), and Lila (local lying machine). What a wonderful group of dumbasses! I'm sure everything will be fine!

Most of Season 1 stays the same, with Chat and Ladybug coming to an understanding that the other isn't actually so bad, and Lila secretly liking his stupid puns. No romance for obvious reasons, but Chat is why she slowly starts to open up a bit more in her civilian life. Lila still doesn't care about these people, but Chloe annoys her and Marinette is useful either as a distraction or a help when it comes to getting back at the Queen B. Plus Alya's incresingly ridiculous theories are generating so much popularity for Ladybug that the least Lila can do is listen to the yapping once in a while. She'd still kick them off a cliff just to "save" them for clicks, but her "friends" are at least not on the target list.

Actually, Lila doesn't really try to maliciously manipulate almost anyone here, because she's taken a different approach. The people in her class inexicably seem to have connections with famous artists, chiefs and whatnot, so keeping up the innocent facade is working better for Lila than herding them around like sheep! At this rate, one of these drains on her social battery might prove to be Jagged Stone's secret love child or something! She wants to be in people's good graces!

Due to all of this, her lies are kept relatively minimal and somewhat provable. Besides, most of her deception skills are busy keeping both Ladybug's identity a secret, and the heroic, dauntless persona up for the cameras. Many Akuma are roundhouse-kicked, uppercutted, and defenestrated, but Paris still loves Ladybug (and Chat Noir)! Surprisingly, Lila is actually willing to give him credit where it's due, since she thinks he operates similar to her, with how Adrien poses for the cameras and shoots out witty puns. Just that Chat has a Morality Stick somewhere behind his tail.

Things stay relatively the same until Evillustrator, where Lila's lack of understanding about so-called "normal people" puts her in a Situation. Chloe still exposes Nath's drawings of Marinette, and Lila cannot for the life of her understand the concept of a crush. Physical attraction, she gets. Attraction to someone's status or wealth? Of course! Heck, the free things Adrien usually treats their friend group over are half the reason she's nice to him! Social obligations regarding politeness? Completely comprehendable. But a crush? It just doesn't compute.

An Akuma gets yeeted out of Gabriel's attic, Nathaniel gets butterflied, yada yada. When Ladybug goes to check on Chloe however...the blonde is overjoyed to have her idol visiting her! Lila takes this opportunity to shake some rust off her insults for a bit, and spends the entire time "recipricating" the excitment, with backhanded compliments to boot. Chloe...feels very weird about the experience afterwards, and doesn't understand why. Lila is very proud of herself, and gets yelled at by Tikki later.

Meanwhile, Marinette is actually there when Sabrina shows up and they begin doing the project thing together. Until Evillustrator shows up. Sabrina is terrified, but Marinette's like "Oh, you want to go on a date with me? Yeah sure, let me just change into a better outfit." Nathaniel is overjoyed, and Marinette takes that time to actually wear something nice, and also tell Sabrina to get the heroes ASAP! To her credit, she does so very quickly, and totes not because Chat Noir was looking for Marinette specifically.

Anyway, the boat ride is still the same. Marinette actually notices Hawkmoth hurting Nathaniel, deducing it might be possible to get him to reject the Akumatization somehow, and keeps him busy with a surprisingly enjoyable evening, all things considered. Chat calls in Ladybug, who tells him to stealth after them and wait until she gets there, dumps Chloe, and heads over there. Lila yoyos Nathaniel's sketchbook away, tossing it into he river, trips him and breaks the pen, undoing the damage, etc. It's important to note that since Sabrina was already there with Marinette before, Adrien didn't get to do his "cool introduction" as Chat.

Anyway, Marinette tells them what she noticed about the Akumatizations, and Lila keeps it in mind. After all, if there's one person in Paris who can psychoanalyze people so badly their mental health would improve, it's Lila Rossi! Ladybug dips to go recharge, and Chat starts fawning over how amazing Marinette was. To the girl in question. Adrien is a dork and I love him for it.

He also rants about Marinette to Ladybug, and Lila makes up her mind to pay her a visit as Paris' friendly neighbourhood superheroine. For now, Chat gives her a ride home, and the next day, Adrien has miraculously "heard about" what happened last night. This tips Lila off to his identity, but she decides to figure it out later. Surprisingly, Nathaniel is sitting in the back with her today, and Lila takes that chance to try and understand yesterday's debacle.

They strike up some conversation, and Lila slowly thinks about what Nathaniel is saying. She doesn't feel any of the things he describes to her, but she kind of gets it, if as a abstract concept. Now, Lila still doesn't really care about people, but decides to keep talking to Nathaniel since abruptly going quiet after asking so many pointed questions would be weird. The result? He ends their chat by exclaiming that he's not sure why she's being nice to him, but that's it's nice to have a friend. Lila is so stunned by the idea of friendship, she doesn't manage to correct him in time. She officially has her first friend, and no idea what to do about it. Tikki is laughing at her misery.

A lot more things happen in this Au, like the Collector tipping Lila off regarding Gabriel (which she doesn't share with Chat since he might be Adrien, and while his reaction would be telling, it's too much of a risk), and meeting Fu for the first time since Tikki doesn't get sick in Princess Frangrace here. Needless to say, Lila is very tempted to steal that box full of magical jewels! She behaves, but does slowly begin to loan them out through Season 2. Marinette gets the fox on Sapotis, because Lila would sooner reveal her identity to Hawkmoth than trust Alya of all people to be a responsible superhero.

She and Marinette have been bonding a bit (over their mutual dislike of Gabriel), and Lila is slowly learning how to make friends as herself, while resisting the urge to slingshot stupid civilians off a building with her yoyo. She specifically hates Mr Ramier for getting Akumatized so many times, and repeatedly calls Hawkmoth a tasteless, unoriginal failure of a villain. Gabriel takes extreme offense to this.

Anyway, I'm going to stop here for now because I've been typing for a bit too long. You or anyone else is free to send me questions any time, and thanks a bunch for the ask martiya! Marinette is getting her superhero romance with this one, and ends up being the only person aside from Chat that Lila feels safe to be bitchy and snarky with as Ladybug. Ahh, toxic yuri my beloved! Marinette can totally fix her btw.

[samheughanswife]

Copy cat copy cat dirty rat.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery it’s said, but when does it become creepy and questionable?

The McTavish’s are now that couple who have co-opted Sam and Caitriona’s style, business model and looks without a backward glance.

It’s now fitness, booze and fashion - midlife influencers. They are working hard for the money, the hustle is 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and 🇫🇷 🇺🇸 centric.

The 🥊 are off.

The days of dîner pour trois personnes are gone.