#reboot fanfic

[jurijurijurious]

I'm so happy with this commission of my ReBoot OC Codec that KoVee has drawn for me. 💚 Totally nailed him. Such "Hex's lil protégé" vibes. I don't make many OCs but I'm massively invested in Codec and I feel like, after many years, he's just about fully evolved in my head and reaching his final form. I just need to write his story. 🙃

[totallyhextra]

FINALLY finished my second Old Man Pearson chapt! There's so much Codemaster lore I made up that I had to cut out because it didn't fit right. Will have to wedge in somewhere else.

Bonus:

[miaqc1]

A cute Robin Hood style ReBoot fanfic. I didn't write this.

Bob Hood - Mecha9Viceroy74 - ReBoot (Cartoon 1994) [Archive of Our Own]

[reunitedinterlude]

manifesting vampire wolves in the buffy reboot

[kawaiialeisha]

I’m in Love with my Best Friend ✨

FANFIC FANART!!!

GAAAHAHAHAHHH HE’S SO STUPID AND SILLY AND STUPID. LOVER BOY

PLEAAAASE THIS MAN HAS ME ON A CHOKEHOLD.

HE IS SO ADORABLE!! LOOK AT HIM!!

✨ Reboot Wally belongs to @bloodrediscream

ALSO, THESE WORDS AND IDEAS ARE OBVIOUSLY NOT MINE

THIS FANFIC WAS MADE BY @youracebuddy!!

PLEASE GO READ THE FULL THING HERE!!! v

[starlightvld]

Bait & Switch, pt. 1

Part 2 >>

Or read the edited, expanded version on AO3

Based on "I wasn't in that tunnel."

Call of Duty, soapghost, ghostsoap, angst with a happy ending Part 1 cw: mentions of torture, blood, violence, MWIII spoilers

---

Soap turns hazy, unfocused eyes toward the screen and watches the man with his face run down the tunnels under the English Channel. The man shoots at Konni soldiers, ferocity and desperation painted over every twitch of his brows and silent shout from his lips. 

It all seems so real.

But it can't be. It's not.

He watches Price and the man with his face cut through the enemy. Watches them attempt to disarm the bomb.

Watches Marakov approach.

Their bodies jerk in succession as Makarov's bullets rip through them both. They hit the ground, and sympathetic pain throbs through Soap's shoulder. 

He shakes his head and squeezes his eyes shut. Not his wound. Not him. Just a man with his face bleeding onto dirty concrete on the other side of a black and white screen.

Makarov goes after Price. The man with Soap's face rises up to stab Makarov and–

Makarov blows a hole through the man's head.

It's surreal to watch his own face go blank. To watch the life drain from wide eyes within seconds. To see the others barely pause. Only standing beside the body for a few moments before continuing on because they have a fucking job to do. No time to pause and mourn the perpetual FNG.

Except for Ghost.

Soap's vision darkens on his right side, and he blinks away the sweat or blood – could be either or both but he's too numb to care – as Ghost falls to his knees beside the body of the man with Soap's face. The CCTV cameras are too shitty to see his eyes as he gazes down at the body leaking blood across the floor, but Soap hopes.

Hopes there's real emotion there. Hopes even more that Ghost finally sees it – finally sees that the dead man whose chest he's so tenderly pressing with his hand isn't his *Johnny.*

This time the watery blur appears in both eyes, and he doesn't bother to blink it away. Because he's seen all this before, and it never changes.

The door behind him opens, but he keeps his focus on the screen. He watches his former teammates leave the body behind in their desperation to follow Makarov.

But they won't find him. Soap knows because he recognizes the footsteps behind him as easily as he once recognized Ghost's.

Ghost, who made his gait purposefully distinct to alert Soap to his presence before slipping into Soap's bed late at night and who murmured soft words in his ear, words no one would ever believe the hardened man would say out loud. But he did. He said them to Soap as he took him apart piece by piece like he would a favorite gun, slow and deliberate, before putting him back together with love and care.

A hand slides into his long, filthy hair. Soap braces for the pain, and Makarov doesn't disappoint as he yanks Soap's head back.

"Enjoying the show?"

Soap doesn't respond. He never does, though it enrages Makarov.

On the screen, soldiers fill the tunnel, taking up the space won back by the 141. They set up a perimeter around the bomb.

The dead man remains sprawled on the ground, lifeless and forgotten.

"Look how they just left you behind. Left you to be picked up and brought here to wallow in misery."

A surge of anger burns through him—

But.

No. That's not right. Soap was never in that tunnel.

He's been in this cold, dark room since the mission in Siberia, taken down by a bullet and dragged away before he could radio for help. He has no idea how long he's been here, but he's endured every kind of torture: electrocution, waterboarding, frostbite, knives, pliers, hot pokers, and more. His body is a canvas of scars and burns

Through it all, he held on to his faith with ragged, broken fingers, with bloody teeth sunk into the promise of hope, that his team would find him. That *Ghost* would find him, rescue him from this hell, and wreak havoc on their enemies.

Until Makarov showed him why no one had come for him. Why no one will ever come for him.

A knife flashes in front of his eyes, fluorescent light reflecting off silver. Soap's voice grates through the air like steel against steel.

"Who was he?"

Makarov lets go of his hair, leaving behind a dull throb of residual pain, and rounds the chair Soap is tied to, hands on his hips and a sadistic glint in his eye.

"Him? Oh, just someone who got confused about his role in this lovely little play. Perhaps the serum was a bit too effective at turning him into you, disgusting loyalty and all, hmmm?"

Serum.

Memories resurface slowly. He's had this conversation with Makarov before. A sliver of panic bleeds into his numbness.

Christ have mercy. He's fucking losing it. How long before he stops remembering? How long before he becomes a shell of himself?

Maybe it doesn't matter. After all, no one is coming for him.

When Soap doesn't say anything more, Makarov's glee sours into a frown. The blade flashes in front of his blurred vision once more before pressing against his neck.

"I admit I thought you would be easier to break. You seemed so obedient in Verdansk. You could've ended me, but instead you followed orders like a good little soldier. And here you are."

The knife digs in, but pain is a familiar friend he's learned to ignore. When Soap doesn't react, Makarov sighs.

"I suppose if you won't break on your own, it's time to get experimental."

He brings out a syringe and holds it up as if considering his next action. The liquid inside glows a sickly yellow green, and Soap's stomach churns at the thought of what new pain this torture it might bring. Because he knows Makarov's pause is just for show. There is no escape.

The gleeful grin returns as he jabs the needle into Soap's neck in the same spot he'd just cut him open. The liquid is brutally cold as it enters his blood stream, his muscles seizing from the rapid temperature change.

WIthin seconds, Soap's world tilts sideways. His eyes blur yet again. He blinks and blinks, but the room goes softer with every passing second. His muscles relax, and he slumps forward in his chair, the bonds securing his wrists behind him cutting into his skin, though he can't feel it anymore.

Makarov sounds like he's underwater when he speaks. "Good. Let us begin."

Blackness takes him.

---

When Soap wakes, he's no longer in a dark, cold room. Through the broken out window of his full helmet, he sees strange buildings rising up into a swath of blue sky. Giddiness that borders on panic wells up in his chest.

He's outside. He made it outside. Did he escape? He doesn't remember.

His gaze falls, and the world stops.

He's surrounded by rivers of blood, knife in hand. His heart pounds like he's dying.

And on the ground lies a Ghost, splayed out like a sacrifice, bloodied and beaten and looking up at Soap like he's seen God.

"Johnny?"

Part 2 >>

Or read the edited, expanded version on AO3

[sapchat]

IDK if this has been done but I went through the 3 reboots and did a timeline of events so you wouldn't have to!

Side notes: sometimes I use the first initial for who it is! also some of MW3 has timestamps. I also apologize for spelling. Also, lots of this shit happens over like 7-12 days April 6, 2019 Makarov bombs Verdansk Price, Ghost and Soap know each other at this point, have NOT met Gaz

Start of MW1 Oct 24 2019 'Al Qatal' moves gas Oct. 25 2019 Piccadilly Square Oct. 25 2019 Price meets Gaz Oct 26 19 Alex & Farah blow Barkov's bombs Same day destroy one of B's bases Oct. 27 19 Price and Gaz go to Picc Safe house Oct 28 19A&F go to Urzstan hospital for "The Wolf" Oct 28 19 P&G meet up w/ A&F for the Wolf Oct 29 19 Plan ambush for Butcher & Wolf - Hadir uses the gas, learn Hadir stole the gas Oct 29 19 PGAF Go to kill W, & get H Oct 29 19 PGAF kill the wolf, H is 2 Russia Oct 31 19 PGN go 2 Russia, Capture Kill Butcher (and traumatize a family) Nov 1 19 Hadir is handed over to Russia Nov 3 19 Take down Barkov's gas production plant & K Price meets Kate @ Tea shop makes TF 141 w/ Ghost, Soap, & Gaz END of MW1 - May 22, 2022 Soap goes side questing, turns green (idk I didn't watch the trailer (I did but I just know there's like green gas)) Start of MW2 July 15 22 Ghost Blows AlMazrah base (Honestly didn't get the point of us seeing this) Oct 28 22 GS Kill/Cap Mission for Hassan -> Find American Missiles not Hassan Oct 28 22 PG in Amsterdam for Missile info (Think they used it as an excuse to swim) Oct 29 22 Capture a cartel mem 4 info Oct 29 22 Alej. Go for cartel jumping border Oct 30 22 GSAlej go 4 Hassan safehouse They capture Hassan (picnic in the desert omg!) Oct 31 22 PG in Spain for Hassan info Kate gets caught Shepherd tries to abandon her Nov 1 22 PG meet with F to get Kate (they get her and get juicy gos on Shep) Nov 1 22 Soap goes into Casa de Sin Nombre Nov 2 22 Gulf oil rig, blows up by G&S (philip was here too) Nov 3 22 Soap & Ghost are fighting Shadow co Nov 3 22 SG go for Alej w/ Rodolfo. PG meet up Nov 3 22 141 goes for Graves Nov 4 22 Go 2 Chicago 4 Hassan & missile kill both END of MW2 - Kate (& tech. Gaz) learn about Makarov

Start of MW3 Nov 10 23 Makarov is broken out of jail 2am Nov 10 23 Farah is ambushed Konni got missiles around 6am Nov 10 23 141 go for Nuc Power Plant, P get gased 9am Makarov has been out for 6 hours Nov 11 23 They go for Missiles in Urzikistan Nov 11 23 Kate is going 4 intel on Makarov meets Yuri @ 3pm Nov 11 23 Makarov crashes plane, blames Farah and Alex go there 7:30-9:30pm meet with Kate and Nikolai in hanger Nov 12 8am Nov 12 23 they go for Milena 7pm Nov 13 23 they get Makarovs right hand man Nolan 11am Nov 14 23 They find Shepherd swimming at some point 9:30 Nov 16 23 SG stop Verdansk dam bombing Same time PG are at airsti Nov 21 23 141 go after Makarov Hacker Nov 21 23 They stop Makarov bomb, Soap gets killed. Price kills Shepherd after spreading Soap's ashes.

[ol-fl3a-bag]

I couldn’t get this out of my head

[oaksgrove]

Perfectly Imperfect

Pairing: Alex Keller x Insecure!Reader

Synopsis: When Alex Keller takes an interest in you, your insecurities make it hard to believe his intentions are genuine. As the walls you’ve built around your heart start to crumble, you realize love might be easier to accept than you thought.

Warning: Mentions of self-doubt and insecurity, fluff, supportive themes, slow-burn romance, mild emotional tension.

The whir of espresso machines and the faint clinking of mugs created a cocoon of warmth on the otherwise chilly day. You sat in the far corner by the window, your hands wrapped around a mug of coffee that had long gone lukewarm.

Your eyes darted to the door every few seconds, your heart doing an anxious somersault every time the bell chimed. Meeting Alex for coffee seemed innocent enough. He wasn’t intimidating in the traditional sense—his easy smile, laid-back attitude, and relentless sense of humor had a way of putting people at ease. But for you, Alex’s charm was the problem.

It had been weeks of him casually dropping by your office, finding excuses to talk to you after briefings, and—most shockingly—asking you out for coffee. You’d agreed, though the moment the words left your mouth, you questioned what on earth someone like Alex Keller could see in you.

Lost in thought, you almost missed the sound of the café door opening, but when the cold breeze hit your face, you glanced up. There he was, scanning the room until his eyes landed on you.

"Hey," he greeted as he approached, his voice warm and familiar. He was dressed casually in a leather jacket over a sweater, his sandy hair slightly tousled as though he’d just walked through a wind tunnel. He looked effortlessly handsome, of course.

"Hi," you managed to say, your voice quieter than you’d intended.

"Sorry I’m late," he said, sliding into the seat across from you. "Traffic was a nightmare."

You waved it off, giving him a small smile. "It’s fine. I wasn’t waiting long."

Alex tilted his head, studying you. His brows furrowed slightly, and his smile dimmed, just a bit. "You okay? You seem... quieter than usual."

"I’m fine, just... tired." you replied quickly, your voice softer than intended.

It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. The real issue was the nagging voice in the back of your mind that kept telling you you weren’t enough.

Alex didn’t press, but his perceptive eyes lingered on you, and you could tell he wasn’t convinced. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in a way that somehow still felt relaxed. “Good. I’d hate to think you weren’t happy to see me.”

Despite your nerves, you let out a soft laugh. “I’m not unhappy to see you.”

“Good,” he said again, flashing you a grin. “Because I’ve been looking forward to this.”

To your surprise, Alex made it easy to settle into the conversation. He was warm and engaging, filling the space with stories that ranged from funny to downright ridiculous.

“So there I was,” he said, gesturing animatedly, “dangling from a helicopter, trying to hold onto this ‘perfect coffee maker’ my buddy swore by. He’d convinced the whole team it was worth the hassle. And do you know what happened when we landed?”

You shook your head, already smiling at the absurdity. “What?”

“The damn thing broke,” Alex said, throwing his hands up. “Completely useless. I risked my neck for nothing.”

You laughed, a genuine sound that caught even you by surprise. For a moment, your nerves melted away under the warmth of his presence.

“You think I’m making it up, don’t you?” Alex teased, leaning forward slightly.

“I think you’re exaggerating,” You laughed, covering your mouth with your hand. 

“Cross my heart,” he said with a grin. “You can ask anyone who was there.”

The corners of your mouth twitched, but your laugh faded quickly as you caught him looking at you—really looking at you.

“What?” you asked, your voice small.

“Nothing,” he said, his tone soft. “Just... it’s good to see you laugh.”

You felt a blush creep up your neck and quickly looked down, playing with your mug.

As the minutes turned into an hour, the tension in your chest began to ease. Alex had a way of drawing you out, his easy humor and genuine interest making it impossible to stay closed off.

When the date ended, Alex insisted on walking you home. You’d protested, saying it wasn’t necessary, but he waved you off.

“Humor me,” he said with a lopsided grin.

The evening air was cool, the city’s lights casting a soft glow over the streets as the two of you strolled. Alex talked easily, filling the quiet with lighthearted banter, but you couldn’t shake the nagging voice in your head, as you neared your apartment, the doubts you’d managed to push aside began to creep back in.

“Thanks for walking me back,” you said, your voice barely above a whisper.

When you reached your building, you stopped at the entrance, turning to face him. “Why are you doing this?”

Alex blinked, caught off guard. “Doing what?”

“This,” you said, gesturing vaguely between the two of you. “The coffee, the walk, everything. Why me?”

His expression softened, and he took a small step closer. “Why not you?”

Your throat tightened, and you felt a lump form as you struggled to find the words. “I just... I don’t know. You’re... you’re you. And I’m... me.”

Alex blinked, clearly thrown by your response. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re charming, funny, smart, and so confident,” you said in a rush, your words tumbling out before you could stop them. “I’m none of those things. I don’t even know why you’re here.”

For a moment, Alex said nothing, his brows furrowing as he processed your words. Then, with deliberate care, he reached out and gently took your hands in his.

“Hey,” he said softly, his thumb brushing against your knuckles. “you’re wrong. You’re smart—smarter than you give yourself credit for. You’re kind, you’re funny, and you’ve got this quiet strength that blows me away every time I’m around you.”

Your eyes began to sting, and you bit your lip to keep it from trembling.

“And as for why I’m here,” Alex said, his voice softening further, “it’s because I want to be. Because you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met, and I’d be an idiot not to want to spend time with you.”

Tears slipped down your cheeks despite your best efforts to hold them back, and Alex reached up to gently wipe them away.

“You don’t have to be perfect,” he said. “Nobody is. But you’re perfect to me, and that’s what matters.”

You let out a shaky laugh, a mix of relief and disbelief washing over you. “How are you so good at this?”

He grinned, his boyish charm returning in full force. “CIA training, obviously.”

The laugh that bubbled up this time was genuine, and Alex’s smile widened at the sound.

“Can I come in?” he asked after a moment, his tone turning playful.

You nodded, stepping aside to let him in.

Later, as the two of you sat on the couch with cups of tea in hand, Alex reached over and laced his fingers through yours.

“You’re incredible,” he continued, his voice soft but firm. “And if I have to spend the rest of my life convincing you of that, I will.”

“Thanks for tonight,” you said quietly, glancing at Alex.

He turned to you, his smile warm. “Anytime.”

As Alex leaned back, still holding your hand, he grinned. “Hope you know you’re stuck with me now.” 

The warmth in his voice and the steady way he held your gaze made your chest ache with a strange mix of fear and hope.

You rolled your eyes, but the smile tugging at your lips was undeniable. “I guess I can live with that.”

He chuckled, his thumb brushing over your knuckles.“Good. Because I’m not letting you get rid of me.”

taglist:

@honestlymassivetrash

[mothwithpronouns]

Redesigned fun ghouls tattoos!

[mitskis-lost-son]

the paladins of voltron are off on a mission, invading a galra mothership. the blade of marmora is also infiltrated. for whatever reason, keith isn't present. no one pays too much mind to it: they think he's back at the castle, with coran and allura.

lance is kidnapped/kept hostage by a galra sentry... and rescued by a member of the blade of marmora, who he grows too fond of.

the mission is over. they're back at the castle. keith is slightly late in catching up to them, a bit sweaty and rushed.

lance won't stop whining about his new galra boyfriend, a member of the blade of marmora.

pidge asks for the guy's name. lance buffs up, full of affection and pride: his name is yorak.

shiro bluescreens on the spot. keith starts to really look like he'd rather be anywhere that isn't the bridge. pidge is seeing a lot of equations all of a sudden. (somewhere along the multiverse, slav is laughing his ass off.)

in which keith has full control of his galra form and can shift between the perfectly human, paladin of the red lion, keith kogane... and the prodigy soldier of the blade of marmora, yorak, son of krolia. who just so happens to be lance's new alien crush/boyfriend.

[jurijurijurious]

What's this, what's this? I can't believe my eyes, I must be dreaming... A fic update??

ReBoot: Dodge and Burn - Chapter 16

Megabyte x Dot. Rating mature. Foe yay, baby.

[totallyhextra]

Before Pride month is over, I'd like to share this chapter of my ReBoot fic, told through the eye of the rollerblading binome (who Ive named Jerry). I feel like he deserved a backstory.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39411504/chapters/132308233

[miaqc1]

AndrAIa Win (108 words) by MiaQc Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: ReBoot (Cartoon 1994), Mortal Kombat - All Media Types, Mortal Kombat (Video Games) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Characters: AndrAIa (ReBoot) Additional Tags: No Plot/Plotless, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Blood and Violence, Starfish - Freeform, POV Third Person, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Female Protagonist, Wordcount: 100-500, One Shot, Game 12: Mortal Kombat 1 (2023), Not Beta Read, author is autistic, Minor Character Death, Blood, Rare Fandoms, Reused Plot, Recycled Plot Summary: AndrAIa in Mortal Kombat, the very short fanfic.

[ash5monster01]

Hiii, it's my first time making a request for a MacGyver x fem reader ff. I hope you'll see it. Well, the plot is about the reader, and she's a new agent and also a newbie to Mac's team, who had a huge crush on Mac since the day she saw him. She's afraid to confess, esp whenever she saw him around Riley/ Desi that makes her jealous and got aloof from the team. You can create the ending on your way, hehe, thank you!!!!!

Left Out

Pairing: Angus Macgyver x FemReader

Warnings: fluff, confrontation, minor language, misunderstanding, super cheesy, reader has nickname

Summary: New to the Phoenix team you can’t help but feel left out when it comes to their close relationships. It doesn’t help with your newfound attraction to Mac. Luckily he notices you more than you think.

word count: 1.3k

Masterlist

You had been over the moon when you had got the call to join the Phoenix. It had been your dream to be apart of such an undercover special ops team. You’re unusual skill set going to waste at your awful CIA desk job. It was the happiest you had ever been to pack up and leave a job. Things only got better when you were introduced to the team. Not only were they one of the most interesting groups you had ever seen, but one of them had caught your eye. You were against work crushes, truly you felt it did no good, but Angus Macgyver was one of the most attractive men you had ever met.

Yet naturally he was closer to the other females on the team. It shouldn’t have discouraged you, this was a job, but it was truly hard to see how intimate he was with Desi or even Riley on most days. A part of you craved that from him and a whole other part of you craved that kind of affection at all. You hadn’t seen a team so close before and now you felt like an intruder. An outcast in the one place you truly hoped to belong. So you distanced yourself, treated it as only work, before you got hurt or worse fired for being unprofessional.

Mac had noticed how you pulled back, unlike anyone else. They continued to go about their days in stride but Mac could see it. How your eyes didn’t fully light up anymore when you entered the room. He had wanted to get to know you, was desperate to know you. You were one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen, something pulling in his chest that he hadn’t felt since, well Nikki. Maybe he shouldn’t have trusted his instincts on this but you were different. You were like him. He had never had someone he could so easily bounce ideas off of or speak his language in the field.

“Hey Ace, can we talk?” Mac uses your field name, stopping you on your way out of the War room. Everyone sending you suspicious eyes as they filter out themselves. Even Matty steps out the frosted doors leaving you alone with the handsome blonde boy.

“What’s up Mac?” you try to act nonchalant, not like a nervous school girl. This was what you had wanted right, attention directed your way?

“I just wanted to ask how things have been going, do you feel comfortable here?” it’s unnatural the way it comes out of his mouth, something Matty herself should’ve been asking you. Yet he sits in one of the chairs anyway, hand digging into the bowl of paperclips as he frees one to fiddle with.

“It’s been fine, it’s just work” you tell him, sitting along the arm of the chair that opposes his. Mac notices how you’re not even comfortable enough to sit comfortably across from him.

“You and I both know this team isn’t just work, it’s a family” and you stiffen at his words. You did know that, and you had felt thrust upon them when they didn’t need another member.

“I don’t know what you want from me Mac. I’m doing my job, we work well together” you counter and he squeezes his eyes shut, wishing you could see it meant so much more to him how well you did work together. He had once thought himself to be the smartest in the room, that is until he met you. You could get them out of any situation you’ve ever been in, more than he ever could.

“I don’t want to just work with you Ace” he says after opening his eyes, baby blues looking desperately into your own. His genuine words making your freeze, heart thrumming in your chest.

“I don’t get what you mean?” you say with the shake of your head, trying hard to not be hopeful or nervous. You fit in well here work wise, you had completed more missions successfully then you ever had in your life. If your distance from the team or discouragement towards their bond were to screw you in the end you were sure you’d never recover.

“I like you Ace. Not only are you attractive and kind but you’re wicked smart. Like smarter than me. I’ve never met anyone who could give me a run for my money and it kills me that you don’t want to get closer to me” he says desperately, eyes ablaze and chest rising and falling with his confession. Your throat dries, not ever expecting your attraction to be returned.

“I don’t get close because you guys have a good thing going here. It feels forced trying to thrust myself into the dynamic you have with everyone. They’re your best friends and I’m just some girl who you got stuck with” you finally admit and the realization hits Mac all at once. The reasoning for your distance and why you denied everything they invited you too.

“You’re not just some girl we got stuck with. Everytime we hang out Bozer goes on and on about how you’re way cooler than me, that they should just trade us out. Riley hints at me twice a week to ask you on a date, she thinks I’m a fool that I haven’t yet. Desi and Matty praise everything you do, how proud they are and how good our team has become. All we want is for you to start coming around” he’s standing now, words coming out quicker as he defends himself and his friends. Wanting you to understand how true all of this was.

“I-I hadn’t realized. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to drift away” your lip quivers, realizing your own self destruction had pulled you away from a good thing you had going. You wanted to curse yourself and everyone else for not making you realize sooner.

“It’s okay Ace, we just want you” he says as he steps closer, but his words and the look in his eyes convey how much he wants you. If Mac had it his way he wouldn’t share you with anyone else.

“What if I screwed it all up?” you ask and he gives a pressed smile, hand holding out for you to grab. You reluctantly place your hand in his own, allowing him to lift you to your feet and face him.

“If you had screwed it up I wouldn’t be standing here asking you to go on a date with me” he says, voice a low hum due to your close proximity. Your heart races in your chest, face turning red and hand sweaty in his own.

“I thought you liked Desi, or maybe even Riley?” you say, eyes wide as you wait for an answer that could crush you. Mac chuckles, shaking his head lightly.

“No, they’re just my friends. Some of my best friends” he tells you and the ease washes over you like a wave. The hope returning to your heart.

“I’d love to go out with you Mac. I’ve been wanting to since I first got here” and your admission to reciprocated feelings illicit’s a tight hug from his end. His strong arms wrapped tightly around you and shocking you to your core.

“Would it be too much to ask if you’d come over tonight? Everyone will be there and we’d love to have you” he asks, pulling away just enough to look into your eyes but not let you go.

“Yeah, I would like that a lot” you say and his grin turns into a swift kiss to your cheek. Arms squeezing you into his form.

“I’ll text you the details, I can’t wait to see you tonight” he says as he finally lets you go, his grin wider then you had ever seen it. Slowly he loosens his hand from your own, and you feel the metal in your palm.

“I’ll be there” You tell him as he leaves just before glancing at the paperclip bent into a flower in your hands.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

The fandom can't make up its mind on what's supposed to be a joke and what's supposed to be serious because the show can't either half the time. It's a tonally disjointed mess that wants to have absurd over-the-top humor as well as a plot and moments of drama, romance, and angst that demand you see the characters as people and feel for what they're going through. Except you can't do that without also treating the dumb bullshit in a somewhat grounded way. Like, you're still dealing with the same characters. You can't just go "Oh, that? Let's ignore that!" the moment it's no longer convenient to you. You've opened this can of worms and now you have to sleep in it. So, every character flip-flops between two different versions of themselves depending on what the writers need in any particular scene.

This is not to say surreal humor can't be used right alongside characters you're supposed to empathize with, Teen Titans (not Go) did that and it worked. It's just that the absurdity can only come from the setting (Mad Mod, Mother Mae-Eye, pretty much anything Control Freak is in) or from designated joke characters (Date With Destiny). Teen Titans never had the main characters acting in clearly absurd ways as the butt of a joke unless those characters were brainwashed somehow, because the writers knew that would ruin any of the more grounded moments they wanted to write. The writers of Miraculous missed the memo on that one.

I don't disagree. A perfect example is Derision where the show takes all of the bad jokes about Marinette's crush and decides to take them seriously as if you can possible take them seriously without making Marinette come across as unhinged and dangerous. You can't, which brings us to the topic at hand: how do you even begin to understand these characters when the show is constantly making character-breaking choices?

My approach - and the approach I recommend others take if they're going to keep watching the show - is to focus on the characters' cores and reject anything canon does to violate those cores. I don't argue for this stance because I love the characters so much that I only want the good things to count. I take this stance because, if you don't, then the characters fall apart. There is no way to make them work as fully realized characters while embracing every choice canon has made. Miraculous has massive characterization issues that go well beyond the humor.

For example, Adrien has multiple moments of terrible behavior that are played in a serious manner such as the moment in the episode Frozer where he tries to start a fight with Ladybug in the middle of an akuma attack because she wouldn't accept a rose from him earlier:

Setup

Ladybug: I can't accept this rose from you. I told you already. I'm in love with someone else. Cat Noir: I know, M'lady. But if he weren't here, would things be different between us? Ladybug: Well, you know, I can't even begin to imagine him not being here. I'm sorry, Cat Noir. I really gotta get going, and you better do the same. (Swings her yo-yo to head back home; Cat Noir is sad, looking downwards, with one petal of the rose falling.)

Payoff

Ladyice: Cat Noir. We need to set up a trap for whoever turned the city into a giant ice rink. (throws yo-yo) Icecat: (bitterly) My feline instincts prefer to track and observe before I attack. You go your way, I'll go mine. Ladyice: Please don't tell me you're mad at me about the rose. Icecat: There may be a certain chill now between us. Ladyice: I get it, but we should really focus on saving Paris right now. Icecat: We don't always have to do everything together, after all. It's not like we're a couple. (skates away)

There's no way to argue this off as a bad joke. While Adrien has every right to feel hurt, those feelings don't excuse him acting like a pouting child in the middle of an akuma fight. It doesn't excuse him acting like this at any point! Ladybug is not a villain for telling him no. She wasn't even mean about it!

I clearly fully agree that Adrien looks awful and selfish here, but I'd still argue that it's not something that should be used to define Adrien's character if your goal is to tell the "ideal" version of Miraculous. "Ideal" being the version that canon seems to be going for based on the overall picture we can sort of make out if we back way, way, way up and look at the extremely abstract picture canon is clumsily painting.

Unless canon is going to do something monumentally stupid, Adrien is Marinette's endgame romantic interest. It's also clear that there is no plan to cut him from the team. He's going to be Chat Noir for the rest of his life or at least well into his adulthood. This means that he is supposed to be a good hero who deserves his miraculous just like he's supposed to be a charming and cute romantic lead. These are the two things I keep in mind when trying to shift through canon to figure out what writing choices I should fully embrace and what writing choices I have to either ignore or treat as true flaws that get an actual character arc. In my book, either approach is fine because most of the characters are deeply flawed at this point and you can't give them all arcs without bloating the story to nonsense levels.

My goal with this approach is never to say, "oh, that moment shouldn't count in terms of how people feel about the character." It's more, "that moment goes so hard against who this character is very clearly supposed to be that I can't take it into account if I want to tell the kind of story that Miraculous is trying (and clearly failing) to tell."

As an example, let's list off Adrien's worst behaviors. The things that make him look terrible:

He sucks at communicating his needs and feelings, leading to multiple moments where he gets mad at Ladybug for things she's totally unaware of

He has quit or considered quitting without warning multiple times and only one of those was because of something he did "wrong" (NYC Special)

He puts his feelings before the safety of Paris on multiple occasions, even going so far to purposely miss akuma fights to see what happens

He is incredibly pushy about his crush, often ignoring Ladybug's feelings on the topic by continuing to bring it up even after she asked him to stop

There have been multiple instances where he almost cataclysmed multiple people in a fit of anger

His love for Ladynette isn't strong enough to let him break free of things like akumas and nightmare dust even when he's looking her in the eyes making him a pretty crappy romantic lead

People will argue that some of this behavior makes sense for his character because of the abuse that canon has technically introduced, but that the writers seem blissfully unaware of. I don't disagree with that argument, but that doesn't change the fact that none of this is acceptable behavior for a hero and Adrien is a hero who keeps doing these things. A sad backstory doesn't give you the right to behave poorly without consequences.

At the same time, if I fully embrace these elements of canon, what I get is an Adrien salt fic where he loses his miraculous for good while Marinette finds her real true love or even just a non-salty fic where Adrien leaves for his own meatal health and gets replaced by someone who can handle being a hero right now. Canon's not writing either of those, so the only way to engage with these flaws while enjoying canon or aiming for the same end goals as canon is to say, "I guess this doesn't count" or "I guess I need to tone this way down and work through it via a character arc" or even "I guess that was just a bad joke maybe?"

That is the essence of what I mean when I call myself a writing salt, character sugar blog. It comes from looking at canon and seeing that there's simply no way to embrace the worst moments and the best at the same time. We're not dealing with a coherent plot and/or complex characters. We're dealing with a nonsense plot that will warp the characters to bizarre shapes to make random ideas work even if those idea go wildly against canon's end goals.

As an example, Glaciator and Frozer should not exist in the same universe or, at the very least, something should explain why Chat Noir randomly changed his stance on Ladybug's crush from acceptance to pushiness. As is, the pieces don't fit together. The behavior is too contradictory. Remember, this is how Glaciator ends:

Perhaps Ladybug will love me someday. I mean, like, I love her. I have to believe. In the meantime, her friendship is the best gift of all.

Where did this version of Adrien go? Why did he regress in Frozer? There's no in-universe reason. It happened because the writers weren't ready to let the love square date or grow close, but they also wanted the love square to cause drama, so Adrien ends up looking terrible just like Marinette ends up looking terrible when it's her turn to cause love square drama. Her terribleness takes a different flavor so it can be hard to realize that this is a systemic issue, but that's what it is. It's deeply frustrating, but it also clearly stems from cheap writing and not quality characterization.

This is also why my stance is that canon as a whole only supports my Doyalistic core-character analysis style of approach. The writing is too poor quality to do Watsonian analysis where you embrace the full picture and try to put it all together. The closest I'll get to Watsonian analysis is pointing out how much the writing botches a Watsonian take by showing you all the way the writing contradicts itself, twisting into a nonsense pretzel of frustration where the payoffs never satisfy! (See the season four rant for an example or anything where I talked about Chloe's supposed damnation arc.)

There are even characters where canon is such a total mess that you can Doyalistically argue for two separate takes! Gabriel is a perfect example. He is all over the place and his ending was so poorly handled that you can make strong arguments for writing him as a cold-hearted villain or a sympathetic villain without the end result feeling like it spits in the face of canon because both takes maintain his one core element: villain.

That's the big thing I keep in mind when I look at the characters and the lore and the plots and try to come up with versions that the average fan would like. I don't think that there's one true version of any of these things, but I do feel comfortable saying that there are versions that will very clearly only appeal to people who are salty about a specific thing that canon did poorly. That's not who I want to appeal to in my adaptions, so while I'm not going to argue that those takes have no backing in canon, I will argue that those takes are not supported by canon as a whole. Embracing them requires you to take the worst parts of canon at face value while ignoring what canon is clearly trying to do with the overall story.

I get the appeal of that, but it's not fun for me because that approach feels like rolling around in the mud with the pigs. I don't want to sink to canon's level! I want to have fun! That's why I talk about how to make canon into its best self, not its worst self. If you want its worst self, just go watch the actual show. I will be shocked it if disappoints you.