#the moth was added in right near the end because I was like ''hmm what else can I put here... oh wait a moth doing a little drinky drink''

[thethingything]

the other thing about honey is that it's both fun and easy to doodle

[ecofinisher]

Stuff I noticed at Snow Queen Fire & Ice and Miraculous Ladybug 😀

I just had to. Even if it is a waste of time. 😅I've done one a long while ago between Miraculous and Monster Buster Club. This one had to be done as well, all just because of those small, little spirits 🥺😥

To be clear, I’m not comparing it to what is better and whatnot. I’m comparing the similarities between the two. The spirits there made me think of the kwamis? Funny I didn't pay attention to it at first xD But then the fun part came......Three times I have watched the movie and I suddenly began to think......Hmm Gerda has the creation powers like Ladybug and Rollan destruction......Holy brick! They could be the lovesquare as well if they had added more romance into it 😂 How did I not see? (It's because you saw Kristanna mixed with Hansanna you nut)

So where do I start? Well just to summarize the shows for those who don’t know one/both of them:

Short info about both, if unfamiliar:

Miraculous Ladybug is a French animated TV show, that debuted in 2015 and is set in the modern metropole Paris and is focused on the lives of the clumsy Marinette Dupain-Cheng and the famous teeny-model Adrien Agreste. Both wield special magical jewelry, which is called a “Miraculous” which they use to transform into the superheroes “Ladybug and Cat Noir”  The two don’t know each other’s identity, but funnily Adrien has a huge crush on Ladybug and in the civilian life he sees her as just a friend, while Marinette is obsessed with Adrien and sees Cat Noir only as his trustful crime-fight partner. Both students are around 14 years old in the show.

As superheroes they fight villains, that were akumatized by Hawk Moth. (He owns the butterfly miraculous, with which he can create supervillains by sending an akuma (Butterfly jinxed by Hawk Moth’s magic) and Hawk Moth’s miraculous sends people’s negative feelings such as anger, sadness and disappointment and uses his akumas to follow them and akumatize them and they’re transformed by Hawk Moth into a specific-themed supervillain.

Snow Queen 3: Fire and Ice (Release year: 2016)

Snow Queen 3: Fire and Ice is the third installment of the Russian franchise "The Snow Queen" It consisted currently out of 4 movies, an upcoming 5th installment, and a pre-school TV show. The first movie came out in 2012 and was also the studio's very first movie.

Resume from the first two movies is the young girl Gerda, which lost her parents to the Snow Queen makes her way through the entire snow lands to find her younger brother Kai, which was kidnapped y the north wind. With help of Orm, Snow Queen's servant she makes her way up to the Palast and defeats her, saving her brother and waking up Orm's eyes to a "better world" The sequel is focused on Orm's continuation, which makes a promise to never lie again and this promise made a reflection of himself come to life and appear near him, when he had no idea, what to do with life issues. The more he began to create white lies and bigger lies, the more life his reflection gained until he was able to get out to the real world. The reflection, which calls itself "The Snow King" tricks Orm and leads a fight against Troll warriors by sending his ice-made minions. Gerda was the last warrior to enter and make it to the main hall of the palace to miss Orm, which was fading away due to Snow King's existence and he pretends to be an injured Orm, which is warmly embraced by the girl, but then gets frozen by him, not realizing she had fallen into a trap. When things were over for everyone and the bad guys had won, Orm figured out how he would make everything okay by confessing his mistakes, which erased Snow King from existence and unfroze all warriors and friends again, which were angered at the naive troll.

This is lowkey spoiler-free. I didn't want to go into much detail here, but I would suggest you watch these movies, mostly no. 2 and 3, which are really worth seeing. As well you can see the first and see how much the studio had improved since the first up to the 2 and 3 one.

The Fire and Ice one, I'm supposed to be talking about happens a few years later, Gerda and Kai left the orphanage to go live on their own and make money to be able to at least be able to eat. Their last visit didn't make any profit and they took a ride with an old friend of theirs Alfida (The Robber girl) to pass the night by Orm, their troll friend, which had matured and was responsible to babysit the triplets of his cousin. On said night, a Spanish boy named Rollan shows up by his doorstep and is introduced to the visitors as a friend he met shortly. After the dinner ended in a disaster Kai and Gerda split and Rollan followed Gerda to give her rights, then bonded with her from being looking for his mother as well and introduces her to a map with an artifact called "The Wishing Stone" which grants any wish. Gerda agrees in tagging along and together they make it to survive the dangerous tomb encountering the wishing stone. Fact is the wishing stone was something else and this is where the powers of the Snow Queen and the Fire Demon were kept and due to Gerda and Rollan's touch on the stone, it had awakened the spirits, getting the two infected with the powers of said villains. Soon as they find out with Orm what happened, they need to get back to the tomb to retrieve the powers before the north star rises and makes their transformation complete, which means both would lose their soul/bodies to the villain. .

Random info:

1. The most popular franchise of the studio aka knowns for:

Miraculous is mostly know to be addressed as a ZAG animation product, but other known studios have worked on it as well such as SAMG Animation, TOEI and Method Animation.

Currently, the most popular series produced in France.

The Snow Queen 3 is the overall fifth movie released by Wizart Animation and was on its release the studio's best-grossing movie so far. Currently, the studio's filmography contains about 8 released movies (Counting with Secret Magic Control Agency in 2021), Two televisions shows and at the moment three movies are announced to be released.

Currently, the franchise is the most popular one in Russia, which is also where it was produced.

The similarities I noticed:

The spirits

Coal (Up) and Snowflake (Down) (Left Side)

Plagg (Up) and Tikki (Down)(Right Side)

Tikki and Snowflake have female pronouns. Both are shown to be "feminine", kind, lovable, and correct. They're a spirit of creation.

Plagg and Coal have male pronouns. Both are shown to be "male". cunning and curious. They're a spirit of destruction.

All four are able to use their powers on their own. They don't need to be with their holder to be capable of.

Differences:

- Plagg and Tikki are able to communicate verbally with each other and with humans.

-Coal and Snowflake can't speak, they usually use body language and mimic. Also, they do noises like laughing, groaning, speaking, and such.

- According to Tikki, her species (Kwami) don't fall in love/can't fall in love.

- Snowflake and Coal are shown to be romantically interested in each other. They're shown flirting and having little date-like moments, as they're away from their "owners"

- Coal is able to multiplicate. It's unknown if he's able to do it in command or only if he falls or is hit.

The "Alter egos"

Marinette is the face behind Ladybug and Adrien wears the mask of Cat Noir.

Gerda is possessed with the ice-powers of the Snow Queen and Rollan wields the fire-power of the Fire Demon.

Gerda and Marinette share the creation ability, while Adrien and Rollan are responsible for the destruction. They're each other's opposites.

Differences: Gerda and Rollan are aware of each other's identity and recognize each other's faces, despite small differences. Adrien and Marinette don't know each other's hero identity and weirdly have minor differences in their looks.

Marinette and Adrien's personality as heroes is quite different from their civilian ones, while Gerda and Rollan's don't seem any different.

It's unknown if, during the time Rollan and Gerda are under possession, their personalities are slightly altered by the villains or not. Rollan is shown to get quickly tempered with Gerda's friend, when it comes to their mishap, which usually turns into arguments.

The Yin-Yang effect

Power of creation and destruction

Marinette = Ladybug miraculous, the red earrings / Power of Luck (Creation)

Adrien = Black Cat Miraculous, the black ring / Power of Misfortune (Destruction)

Gerda = Ice (Creation) (The ice-blue shape on the crystal)

Rollan = Fire (Destruction) (The red shape on the crystal)

Character A bickers often with character B.

Ladybug with Cat Noir. Most of the moments Ladybug feels annoyed at Cat Noir's puns and flirt attempts during their missions. She had her rude moments, but deep inside her, she adores him. With Adrien's she's currently befriended, but has a huge crush, nearly an obsession with the blonde, which sometimes makes her double life harder and under pressure, she has taken choices, which led to ungood consequences.

Gerda with Rollan. Rollan's seems more relaxed with pressuring into retrieving the powers back, unlike Gerda. Rollan's easy tempter with Orm, when he's blamed for his issues annoys her as well. Gerda has shown interest in Rollan since the night she has met him and they bonded over the night when heading to the forbidden Tomb. Rollan has shown interest in her as well, but not as much as her.

"Buttmonkey Sidekick"

Cat Noir and Rollan.

Cat Noir - Thrown around by villains at billboards, yeeted by his own dad at the fricking Eiffel tower, sometimes risked his life to protect Ladybug and get wrapped up into odd situations.

Rollan suffered a few nutshots (One by himself as well), survived a very dangerous tomb, had his head frozen by Gerda accidentally, managed to step-dance in the middle of a shoot-out without getting hit by a bullet, accidentally (Or not) uses firepower with help of his butt. (Sounds ridiculous? There' the picture 😂) Press R for respect.

Naturally handsome boys.

Cat Noir and Rollan.

With and without "masks".

Don't think before acting

Cat Noir and Rollan.

Characters look the same

Gerda and Ladybug

Gerda has additional makeup on her face.

Characters look differently with their alter egos

Cat Noir and Rollan

Cat Noir has a wilder hairstyle and has cat-like eyes.

Rollan has a different skin tone, a fire-like shaped hairstyle, which he can put on fire and his eyes are slightly red-brownish.

The brains

Ladybug and Gerda.

The muscle

Cat Noir and Rollan.

Falling into the darkness

Cat Noir and Rollan

Cat Noir lets an akuma take over him and turn him into Chat Blanc, which destroys the entire world in an alternate universe.

Rollan lets the Fire Demon take over his body at the retrieval of the power and nearly commits genocide of entire kingdom.

Tall boy, smoll girl

Cat Noir to Ladybug

Rollan to Gerda

"Lovesquare"

Cat Noir has a crush on Ladybug. Ladybug doesn't. She has a crush on Adrien, which is Cat Noir's alter ego, which she's not aware of. Adrien sees Marinette as a friend only and has no idea, she and Ladybug are the same person although they look the same.

Gerda is attracted to Rollan since the first time she saw him. Rollan begins to feel attracted to Gerda with the time she's around him.

Rollan and Gerda are aware of each other because they were given the powers in the same place.

Marinette and Adrien were confirmed to be canon and should end up in the 5th season, eventually.

Rollan and Gerda should be considered canon at the end of the 4th part, due to the ending credits showing them share a kiss.

Power font:

Ladybug & Cat Noir: "Magic jewelry" (Miraculouses)

Rollan & Gerda: The wishing stone

Difference:

The wishing stone takes away after 24 hours of control over the power wielders and turns them into the slave of Snow Queen and the Fire Demon. The characters' real person is gone for good.

[xazz]

Moth Wings 4

Pairing: AltMal, Altair+Desmond Rating: Explicit Tags: vampires, romance, servant AU, music AU, fluff, angst, flangst Status: WIP

It’s a very spooky scary time in the US right now. So it seems the best thing to do is to post some extra chapters of Moth Wings. Because vampires are less scary then the current political climate :,)

----

In the morning after breakfast Altair brought the violin case into Desmond’s room. Desmond was playing with some blocks. Altair took the bow out first and tightened and waxed it properly. Then he put the violin up under his chin and started to tighten the pegs. He drew the bow acros the strings and they gave a jumbled dissonance of out of key notes, making him wince.

Over the next hour or so Altair tuned the violin, testing each string one at a time then all together and then playing something, hearing the dissonance, and retuning it. It was slow going really. His ear wasn’t as trained as it used to be. Before all this he’d had nearly perfect pitch and could tell what was out of tune and how much to turn the peg effortlessly. This was taking a great effort now.

Finally he had the instrument tuned and he stood up. “Alright Desmond, I want you to sing along,” he said and drew the bow across the strings with an open neck. The chord was harmonic and beautiful. 

He was out of practice playing too and his first attempts were clumsy. He screwed up notes and played things out of tune as he tried to remember some songs he’d once memorized.

The first day was full of failures and his fingers hurt after every attempt. He wasn’t used to playing anymore. After he put Desmond asleep for the night he laid in his bed and cried over his cramped hands, the strings had dug in so deeply they’d nearly drawn blood. It wasn’t even the pain though. It was that he couldn’t play like he used to. He’d grown up playing. He’d spent his entire life playing. And these three and a half years he’d been forced to stay here in the castle had robbed him of calluses and memory of how to do what he loved.

But he tried again the next day, pacing himself instead. He played a bit until his fingers hurt and then stopped and played with Desmond. When his hands felt better he tried again, stumbled his way through a song, and rested his hands again. The next day his hands didn’t hurt as bad.

He spent the next week or so doing that. Playing little ditties on the violin for Desmond’s amusement and building up his muscle memory and hand strength again. It wasn’t all gone really. It had just been buried. By the end of the week he remembered most of it but he still didn’t have the hand dexterity anymore for quick songs.

He needed a rest after a week. He didn’t bring the violin out and instead read Desmond story books. His hands had hurt so much that night and he needed to rest. Desmond liked the story books and picked out all the ones he liked he wanted Altair to read. As he did he tried to encourage Desmond to say some of the words with him. He never did.

As he was putting Desmond to sleep the boy was fussy and whiny. “What is it, Des? Hmm? What’s the matter? Why are you so fussy huh? You’re usually so good about going to bed.” Desmond, of course, didn’t say anything. But he sat up, stopping his fussing for a moment, and crudely mimed playing a violin like Altair had. That surprised him. “You want me to play you a song?” Desmond nodded. “Okay,” he got up from the bed and went to get the violin.

He made sure the instrument was tuned and sat on Desmond’s bed again. He played a simple lullaby instead of a ditty. His father used to play it to him when he was little to help him go to sleep so he only knew it by ear. Umar claimed Altair’s mother had written the piece and Altair liked to think Umar playing it for him was his way of having his mother sing to him at night. It wasn’t a sad lullaby like a lot were but it was down beat.

It was the first time he felt he played with any confidence since he’d brought the instrument here. He closed his eyes as he played, going by feel alone. The lullaby itself wasn’t very long. A dozen or so bars and he repeated them a few times. Eventually he opened his eyes and saw Desmond was sound asleep. He smiled and leaned over, kissing the boy’s cheek. “Goodnight, Desmond,” he said softly.

He started when he heard soft clapping and spun. Standing in the open doorway was the foreign vampire, Malik. Altair’s eyes got very wide and he swallowed. Shit. Had he seen Altair kiss Desmond goodnight? He was pretty sure the Matron would have a fit if she knew. “That was beautiful,” Malik said, just loud enough to hear but not loud enough to wake Desmond. “Come over here,” he beckoned.

Altair hesitated only a moment before obeying. Malik stepped out of the door and into the hall, he closed the door behind Altair to not disturb the babe. “You play very well,” he said.

“Thank you,” Altair swallowed.

“Have you played long?”

“Since I was a boy,” he said, looking down. 

He started and flinched when the vampire grabbed him by the chin. “I told you the last time we spoke, look at me when you speak to me,” he said, making Altair look at him.

“Sorry, sir,” he swallowed.

“You learned to play when you were a boy?” Malik kept hold of his chin, like he knew Altair would look away the moment he was allowed. He wasn’t wrong. Altair nodded. “Who taught you?”

“My father. My family has made violins for musicians in the valley for five generations.”

“And you too?”

“I would have. But I was chosen to attend the castle and young master Desmond,” he swallowed.

Malik finally released his chin and he took a step back but didn’t avert his eyes. “Follow me,” was all Malik said and turned around. Altair wilted but did follow Malik. He was surprised when Malik led him into his chambers. In the week or so since his arrival he’d decorated and added his own things to the chamber. Did he intend to stay long? Malik fell gracefully onto a sofa. “Play for me,” he ordered.

“Ah— excuse me?” Altair squeaked.

“The song you played for the boy was lovely. I want one too.”

“Ah— I’m very out of practice. It won’t sound good,” Altair stammered.

“I won’t notice. We don’t have instruments like that where I’m from. Now play me something,” he put his arms on the back of either side of the sofa. Altair swallowed and put the violin up under his chin again. He closed his eyes because seeing Malik watching him was intimidating. He tried to think of something, anything, to play but he came up with nothing. He couldn’t remember a single sheet of music, couldn’t picture a single bar in his head. And Malik was waiting.

He just started playing. Nothing quick, his fingers weren’t fast enough for an upbeat song. He just played how he felt which was all he could do. He could imagine the notes like drops of water, splattering in a pool, and that helped him along. He played something that reminded him of before he was in the castle and he’d go down to the lake near the town and watch the mist lift during the morning. Tranquil, secluded, and with a touch of melancholy. And he knew he’d never get to watch a sunrise over the lake in a long time. Maybe ever again. Who knew how long vampires took to grow up. Desmond might be a child the rest of his life.

As he thought that the music turned from melancholy to sad, long mournful chords that Altair felt in his bones. Playing and hearing the music just made him even sadder. Desmond was two but he didn’t look like he’d aged a day since he’d hatched. Who knew how long it’d be until he looked like he was five, or ten, or fifteen, or old enough for the masters. Altair could be here forever. This could be his entire life now. Taking care of a young vampire who’d never grow up.

He jerked and his eyes flashed open when someone grabbed his wrist holding the bow. Malik was standing in front of him. “Why are you so sad?” Malik asked and to Altair’s horror he reached up to his face and wiped away a track of tears streaming down both cheeks. “What’s William doing to you?”

“N-nothing. I should go,” and before Malik could stop him he bolted.

[nathalie-sancoeur-assistant]

This is filled w/ spoilers

So here it is, time for me to pull myself together and post all my thoughts and feelings on the new episode into one big long post. 

So my overall feelings?

I am upset

Not because it was a bad episode- it was amazing, literally so good- nope, it’s because of Nathalie- but I’ll get into that in a moment. I’m gonna put a read-more here cause this is gonna probably be really long- and could very well be a recap of the whole ep with my commentary. 

-----

First off, when Plagg seemed not to like Adrien’s birthday present for Marinette, he seemed so concerned (these screenshots aren’t going to be very good quality because I REALLY don’t feel like going through all the trouble of making them look nice & take hours on one post)

Look at the little bean! SO concerned. It’s perfect Honeybun, she’ll love it. 

Then onto the next scene...

Even during meals, they sit so far away from each other. Why? I’ve often wondered what the point of such a long table with so many chairs could be, especially in a house that’s so big yet so empty. I suppose that it could do well for meetings, but still, this is a family meal, not a company get-together or business meeting with people you have to impress. They have to practically yell at each other to be heard. 

Also, look at this

He basically asked Nathalie for approval. “Should I let him?” “Yes sir, I would.” “Very well, Adrien.”

Also, the fact that Gabriel and Lila have the same meeting place each time. He isn’t just driving by hoping to catch her, they have a time and place set up. And the idea that Marinette is a bad influence? Preposterous! But of course, this is Lila. 

Screw Lila. 

“You work to hard, sir” 

Yes Nathalie, I’m sure you know what working to hard feels like. You’re not exactly relaxing, yourself. 

---

Next scene! 

Ms. Bustier: Marinette, would you bring your school bag to me please, I need to check something

Okay so first off, you’re going off of an anonymous tip that one of your best and most well-behaved students (Aside from being late quite often) is a thief and a cheat? And secondly, you really think that she is SO STUPID that if she had taken them knowingly, she wouldn’t have maybe removed them from her bag? Third, why did Marinette not FIND them in her bag before school started, take them out, and maybe call Alya or something. 

“That’s impossible Marinette, Lila got the worst grade in the class” not impossible if she stole them after the test- also, way to be subtle on grades. I thought teachers were supposed to keep that stuff relatively undercover. 

And Adrien really said “Marinette Rights”

---

So.

There’s no sound of crashing. 

Lila just yells “Ready?” in the most mischievous voice she can

Then she starts screaming

And no one stopped to think “Hey, not only is Marinette really not known to assault people, but we didn’t hear a single thud that would have sounded like someone falling down the stairs preceding her screams.”

“She keeps calling me a liar, getting the others to gang up against me...” SINCE. WHEN?

Also. 

“Oh...I have proof”

How would she have known that the proof was in Marinette’s locker? And again, if she knew, why would she be surprised to find the pendant in Marinette’s locker??

UGH. 

---

Now we get to the part that started lil miss me to get so upset. 

“Are you ready, Nathalie?”

“More than ever.”

She just bounces out from behind him, ready as she’ll ever be. 

Look at her 

Then she goes on to call him the Almighty Scarlet Moth and I just smh 

Awww. She looks like she’s ready to punch those butterflies in the face. You punch those akumas. 

Varity Queen? Princess Justice? Oh yeah. I wanna see those. 

And now to the scene that hurt me

“What’s wrong?!”

“Nothing, everything's fine! Keep going..”

She was so ready to just fall down and choke while he continued his fight and she would have still loved him if he hadn’t stopped to help her

But this seen makes it so clear

he loves her too

Even if it’s just as a friend and assistant, he loves her. And it just...the voice acting, her voice actor was so good, it physically hurts me to watch that scene. 15/10.  

And Tikki yelling at Marinette...well not really yelling...but holy crap, there is a lot riding on this 14 year old girls shoulders when it comes to her own emotions. She’s still learning what some of them are, puberty is far from over with her, so now she just has the added pressure of not being able to feel the natural emotions that occur with hormone fluctuations and righteous anger from being falsely accused without having to be fearful of Hawkmoth’s akuma. 

But on the bright side, Alya FINALLY believes Marinette! She may have her flaws and push Mari a bit to much IMO when it comes to Adrien but hey, when it comes right down to it, she’ll stick it out with her pals. A true friend. 

---

Is that the same doctor we saw at Master Fu’s?

And despite her state, still the only thing she’s thinking about is him, his goals, what he wants- and he’s not even thinking about that right now. 

He looks so distraught too. He needs her. But she’s just so laser focused on one thing that she’s not thinking about the other possibilities. Mark my words, her persistence is what’s going to drive him to stop being Hawkmoth. 

“I don’t care, Gabriel. I want to help you.” I swear, I’m gonna start crying again. She’s telling him how she feels when she says stuff like that! It’s loud and clear. If he hasn’t seen it by now, when it’s more obvious than Marinette could ever hope to be- then literally nothing but her straight up saying the words “I’m in love with you” is gonna make it click. He has to know!

“Not at that cost! Never at that cost again...” then it cuts to his family portrait. 

Why, pray tell, does it cut to his family portrait? Of all things. Why did it cut to anything at all? They didn’t need to go to the trouble of creating a whole new picture to cut to if they didn’t NEED to. It’s saying something. And Im pretty sure that its that he’s not willing to give up Nathalie, not even for Emilie. 

I would also like to point out that in that picture, he is wearing blue- but now, he primarily wears red. What is a combination of blue and red? Purple. The color of Nathalie’s suit. 

Hmm...

Nathalie: Shh

Me: *handing Nooroo pots and pans*

She’s so desperate to help him- and look at how she treats Duusu. She isn’t being cruel. Duusu just told her “No, you should be resting” and she’s just like “Yeah, but what if I didn’t?” not “Don’t tell me what to do!” or any crap like that. Instead she stops and explains herself. And then Duusu...

No, not it’s not romantic. It’s twisted. I love Gabriel and Nathalie as a pair, but this isn’t a romantic gesture. Nathalie is losing herself in her desperation to help him, get the miraculous, end it once and for all, and her desires to please Gabriel even if it means that he’s not going to want her in the end. She is fighting a losing battle, no matter what happens, she’s going to get the short end of the stick- and it just breaks my heart that she is so willing to throw her life away when there are other ways she could be assisting him that don’t include her deteriortating. That’s why I cried so much during this ep- she wants to prove a point by using this miraculous when it isn’t necessary. And that is why I officially HATE seeing Mayura- because each time she transforms she’s one step closer to falling down and not getting back up. 

Also, I thought this scene was super interesting. That’s how she creates a sentimonster? That is so cool. 

Moving on, when Adrien pulls out his phone 

“I am Mayura, and I’m about to annihilate Ladybug, Mwahahaha!” Points for subtlety, Hon. XD

She’s so cute

“I’ve always gone out of my way to hide my true feelings for you but I just can’t do it anymore” possible foreshadowing? Hmmm?? “Your feelings for me haven’t changed and mine are growing stronger every day” I can’t help but think she was speaking from her own heart in some of that. 

And our poor little kitty

So desperate for love, he refuses to believe that

Ladybug wasn’t actually moving on

“She’s so perfect” “I’m nowhere near as perfect as her.”

Also “Senticharm!” *gets big gun blaster thing*

“Lucky Charm!” *gets fork*

Seriously Gabriel and Nathalie belong together at this rate. 

“Nathalie?!”

“Nooroo why didn’t you wake me up?” “I couldnt bring myself to you were sleeping so peacefully” because “Im scared of you and Nathalie told me to Shh” wasn’t the right response. 

She gets tired even when using the miraculous

And she still goes out in the field 

Heeeerrres Hawky!

Legit tho, this is what an anon was talking about earlier from the Gabenath ask meme I did a while back. I said that what I look forin a fanfic would include Hawkmoth needing to save Mayura on the battlefield. And it JUST became canon. Lord have mercy, I think I’ve died XD

Also 

“You’re the real monster!” 

“Oh, that...you’ll find out very soon” He doesn’t even care tho. Like, where’s all his givacraps fly off to? Oh yeah that’s right they’re akumatizing people, they just keep flying away.  

He is huge compared to them. And just going to town trying to whap this 14 year old girl into oblivion. Boy. 

“All I need to do is wait a few minutes until you two turn back into regular kids, so fragile, so easy to break” Absolutely no filter. Do you think that’s going to make you seem less like a villain? We don’t say stuff like that! You can’t just take that back! I swear, if you have a redemption arc it had better be Paarthurnax/Zuko-level convincing because there are very few people willing to forgive you after you say things like that with no remorse. 

“Release her”

You can’t tell me he doesn’t love her- he sucks at it, but he does. Im really hoping he’ll learn from this mistake and never ask her to use the peacock miraculous again- if she uses it, it has to be on her.

“Don’t mind me” Babe if he doesn’t mind you and you’re discovered then it’s just a hop skip and jump from Hawkmoth being Gabriel Agreste, 

He’s carrying her again

Idk if I should focus on how little Nathalie seems to care about how much danger she put herself in or the fact that we have a Gabriel booty close-up

He’s reprimanding her, she starts coughing, her glasses fall off, and he immediately softens up. 

Look at that soft look. And the music that’s playing in the background? It’s so...sad..and enhances the way he’s looking at her. 

And now.....Adrien

As soon as the adults leave, he growls and the music gets more aggressive. Intimidating. 

He is ticked. “Because we’re friends aren’t we?” that was just laced with venom and malice. They say demons run when a good man goes to war. 

Well Adrien’s started packing. Lila better watch her step. 

And in the end, she basically outed herself as a pathological liar. She admitted it, though she likely didn’t word it that way. 

Well, that’s all I have to say. Remember, God made you special and he loves you very much. *veggie tales theme starts playing*

[indomitablemegnolia]

Languishing at the bar, ruby lips caressing my glamorously green margarita; the midnight purple dress hugged my body like a sports cars paint, all road signs spoke of warning hazards; my goal, mayhem; I am tired of being this good reliable human; I have a deeply hidden and inarticulate desire for something beyond this daily life; I am here at this lovely bar, to test the morality of a priest, I am prowling, wanting, needing desperately to have an itch scratched, and finding; and needless to say, oh Lordy he was no priest. The single flower pinning my hair slipped making the picture perfect, exquisite, glittering in the sunshine of preening laughter showing the dulling edge of my personal lack of compunction and slipping morals. I watched his dark eyes watch me in the mirror, why him, I licked my lips; I am in the mood for some Latin spice; he watched me from a distance just waiting for his opening and here it was, the song changed and my laugh was unstoppable; he pounced presenting sliding next to me; "Dos margaritas por favor" he held up two fingers; he stood there smiling that suave smile at me sliding a second glass to me, “It is too beautiful of a night to be drinking alone.”

I took it, dipping my top lip over the edge I took in a fair sized drink, “So, how is the weather in Albuquerque?”

Oh, the way he just let his full bottom lip, god that lip, so provocative, so titillating, so kissable; it was the perfect mismatch for his shaped cupids bow top lip; God though, the way his sensuous, heavy, pouty bottom lip hanging slightly ajar, showing interest and the evaluation that was being made; so enticing, seductively evocative; when his assessment was finished the muscles tensed in his cheeks pulling that mouth into the most provocative suave smile; given the deep, wildly dark abyss of his eyes that were swimming with approval and temptation; lord with those light crinkle to the corners and that smile sharp teeth and delicious dimples a belying innocence it was a dead certainty that he may well be Lucifer himself; solidifying my assumption as he spoke dropping the delicious sound-sex of his carnal voice down a full octave; letting it rumble through his chest; his simple words not seductive in and of themselves; goddamn, the concerted effort together all served to bring my pulse to life; his chuckle danced on my skin. I watched his satisfied lazy smile draw his lips as the offhand phrase that taunted like a dare. “Perhaps, we are lost in translation.” God that Latin lilt at the end of his words; oxytocin running through my veins thick; "As long as you stay, I hope that we are never found." He clinked the rim of his glass on mine.

My eyes drawn away from those lips; I watched those terrible, sexy fingers rolling deliciously, accentuating the dare; telegraphing a none too subtle promise of delicate fiddling with my vivid, hungry nerves; god, this time of year, this season, there is not much in it to make me smile; it is not yet, not quite yet, the saddest time of the year; yet, there is a haunting sense of the imminent doom, like a bleak abeyance of life; it’s not stark introspective weather, gray and bleak, but none the less the blue skies, fresh green, seemed to be festering, suppurating, killing my soul, I know that time had run out; that horrible clock with the second hand ticking tightening the garrote around my neck painfully, slowly; Jesus what a sick suffocating weight; there are too many things that I wanted to feel, wanted to do and always time… that small hyphen between birth and death the ultimate cause of death… that time. The time to hesitate was through; my hand shook as I watched a delectable twinge running along that lip, like a smile still trying to hide; waiting for the trap to spring when I ask a simple single syllable question, the ubiquitous air of his words raised several; or did I miss part of the conversation? Should I ask... mmm why, or what, but no, I so not want to play his game; I double down and call the bluff, answering with a simple whispered. The trap is sprung, I really have no idea if it is he who is caught or me.

"Yes." My whisper much huskier than I had intended, my margarita wavering in my hand; his delicious thick brow shot up tilting his head slightly to the left, he let out a silent ‘what?’ I watched him in the mirror behind the bar, he hovered those dark delicious eyes staring into mine; I nodded, and again “Yes.” I smiled chewing lightly on my straw; I took joy in his face caught off guard, lazy smile pulled the edge of his lips; again, his lips waved in a silent, 'what?'

"Oh, come on, I answered your real question, the one written in your eyes and on that sensual pouty lip, the answer is yes."

He looked even more confused, "What is the question are you are answering?"

"Well, I have read promises written loosely in your fingertips, I saw previews of plans in your eyes, and lies you will tell to get there, on that lip." I stepped to him, running my thumb along that bottom lip. "Why go with pretense, so simply, I said yes."

Pressing his forehead to the back of my head, his cool fingers sweeping my hair out of the way, he kissed the back of my hair, "Then mi cariño don’t say anything." His eyes so lusciously dark and turbulent never looking away from mine in the mirror; "I want to watch you revel in the feel of my hot breath against your ear. Now I ask you;" he breathed in deeply, the cool air passing my skin into his lungs sent a shiver down my spine; the contrast in temperature mind blowing, my skin prickled into Goosebumps; "do not move." He let his breath excite yet again, the warmth had all those tiny hairs stand to attention, his lips touched feather soft, moist warm breath, my heart kicked a little each pass of his lips, then words. “Te amo sin saber cómo, ni cuándo ni de dónde. Te amo simplemente, sin problemas ni orgullo: te amo de esta manera porque no conozco otra forma de amar sino esta, en la que no hay yo ni tú, tan íntimo que tu mano sobre mi pecho es mi mano. Tan íntimo que cuando me duermo tus ojos se cierran.” I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.

“Coelho?” Arching one eyebrow, I downed my margarita looking somewhat the part of the provocateur

“Si.” He looked cocky, he looked far too self-assured, so much so that I almost forgot my goal.

“Esto no es amor, es lujuria.” this is not love but lust… hmm, lust even the delectable word sounded so much more alluring en espanole.

“En este momento la lujuria functiona para mi.” in this moment lust works for me. Good lord that word in his Spanish just added a delicious wanton edge to the overdose of libidinous delight that he wrought in me, making my head literally spin. His soft cool fingers delectably caressed the other side of my throat, his tongue ran lightly along the rim of my ear; I shivered still our eyes connected in the mirror, I was putty in his hands.

His lips danced along my neck commanding my already tittillated nerves into a frenzy; nuzzling with intent, his cheek pushing my head to a delicious angle, he feasted on the left side; his lips and teeth acting in a beautiful tango so delicious that I leaned back into him reaching behind me for an anchor; he gripped my wrists in one hand, using his other to sweep my hair such as it was to the other side as his libertine lips began to such and feast on the right side, “Ser mío no es fácil. Tengo expectativas Yo hago demandas. Cuando ofrezco mi corazón espero devoción. Insisto en la pasión, cruda y completa, necesitada y fuera de control. Quiero que me duela el corazón cuando estamos separados. Quiero que mis manos sean incapaces de no tocar su piel cuando esté cerca. Quiero que nuestros cuerpos se quemen cada vez que nos besamos. No puedo y nunca aceptaré nada menos. Por eso ser mío no es fácil, pero créeme, vale la pena." Being mine is not easy. I have expectations. I make demands. When I offer my heart I expect devotion. I insist on passion, raw and all encompassing, needy and out of control. I want my heart to ache when we’re apart. I want my hands to be incapable of not touching her skin whenever she’s near. I want our bodies to burn every time we kiss. I can’t and I will never accept anything less. That’s why being mine is not easy, but believe me, it’s absolutely fucking worth it.” Needy and out of control I could do, I was on a mission for exactly that; I let myself ease into the moment, feeling as much as I possibly could devouring it like a man with his last meal enjoying the sweet and the salt and … oh gosh, my eyes flared as he kicked it up a notch his tongue sliding from just behind my ear to the spot where all nerves collide where shoulder and neck meet, my eyes fluttered; apparently to get my attention back his free hand traced across my bare flesh just above my modest neckline, dipping lightly between my breasts.

Jittery my attention came front and center back on his eyes; I raised a single eyebrow; "¿Quién dijo que era tuyo?" Who ever said I was yours? His lips moved along my neck to the place where neck meets shoulder, I became soft in his hands; his free hand caressing up to the edge of my chin, coaxing my head turning it, he kissed along my clavicle; my eyes finally rolled closed as he kissed my lips, he tasted of strong tequila, lime and dreams; I moaned softly.

“Oh, you just did, right there. No translation needed for that... Voy a probar, disfrutar del calor de su sabor embriagador. Quiero respirar tus suspiros; quiero sentirte desde adentro,” I want to breathe in your sighs. I'm going to try, to enjoy the heat of its heady taste; he kissed me deep again, "I am drawn to you, like a moth to fire," he kept his glorious mouth moving, all tongue and teeth and temptation, "I see a frantic almost panic on you;" his hand still holding mine in check, "I have you safe here," his loose hsnd pulling me to him; "I hunger for your touch after get you excited and how easy it is." Neck kissing, is honestly the most sensual, seductive things that I have ever known, but when it is done as well as this gorgeous man is... it is not just a syllogy for sex, I feel his talented tongue slide on my skin, we may as well be going at it right on the bar. "Deliciosa, caliente, con una gota de salsa picante" Delicious, hot, like a drop of hot sauce. He gripped my wrist spun me on the stool; taking off at a run.

@pedeka @writernotwaiting @keeper0fthestars @iamhisgloriouspurpose

[secretagentspydetectiveninja]

Queen Cobra - chapter 2

Yes this is a continuation of the snake miraculous hero Alix fic. There is Rich Kid Friendship. Lots.

Also on AO3 as always

Queen Cobra did not stop going on patrols. After all, Hawk Moth may have been caught, but that didn’t mean crime in the city was just going to stop overnight. She had hoped Ladybug and Rena would join her, but so far she hadn’t seen either of them. Trying to call them up didn’t seem to make any difference. Maybe they really had stopped. Hopefully not, though… it was a bit lonely on the rooftops with no one else around but the pigeons.

She checked the Snakeboards on the little screen near the tip of her tail, seeing if there were any emergencies people were posting about that needed dealing with. It didn’t look like it. Well, it wasn’t like people used the Snakeboards much anyway, instead preferring to talk about the other heroes on the other parts of the Ladyblog forums. She was already used to having to trawl through the city herself, looking for crime the old-fashioned way.

Still no sight of Ladybug or Rena. Those two had always taken patrols together, so maybe she just kept missing them or something? She didn’t know their schedule. Partially because she had never bothered to find out. Yeah, she was starting to regret that a bit. Putting on the “aloof” act all the time was maybe not always such a good idea, especially when it came to her own (rather friendly) teammates.

It was late in the evening now. Usually during the daytime her large cobra hood could keep the sun out of her eyes but now that it was low in the sky, no such luck. She turned to face the other direction instead – and caught the Agreste mansion within her view.

Ladybug’s special powers had fixed all its damage the other day so it didn’t look any different from usual on the outside. Still the same large building, the big imposing front gates, the huge courtyard it overlooked. Inside, on the other hand, things for the occupants must be very different indeed.

Queen Cobra glanced at the phone on the end of her tail again, feeling somewhat guilty. Adrien had indeed tried to call her once in the past few days. She had just ignored it. After that he hadn’t tried again, and he hadn’t sent any messages either.

Well… maybe he was just being polite. Wanted to thank her for the other day, or something like that. Or maybe he just had more superhero questions that he wanted answers to. (In which case he could easily just go and ask Master Fu, duh.) Hopefully he didn’t want support or anything. Nah, he would have called Nino for that instead, right? Nino was good at that kind of thing. He’d even been akumatized for Adrien. So that phone call, that must have been for something relatively unimportant, and it wasn’t a bad thing that she ignored it. Phew.

It was getting late, she should probably get home before her dad realized she was missing and she got into trouble, as always. Ever since her birthday, the amount of trouble she managed to get into had somehow increased exponentially, and it was a lot harder to be a superhero when she was grounded.

She turned back towards the sun to leave…

That missed call just came straight back to mind. What if it had been for something serious? It wasn’t even that she had missed the call, she could easily have answered it. She’d just straight-up turned her phone onto silent and pretended she hadn’t even heard it. Having to have a Meaningful Conversation with a distraught person was one of her least favourite things, thank you very much. So she had just avoided it without even thinking it through.

Oh, why was being a responsible superhero such effort sometimes?

Her conscience got the better of her. (That was probably a good thing really.) Instead of heading back home, she headed towards the Agreste mansion.

She hadn’t been here that often before. There was the whole “defeat Hawk Moth” thing the other day, the time during Christmas when everyone had been invited over, the occasional akuma attack here, such as the Bubbler or Simon Says, and a few times in-between as a civilian for boring stuffy rich people events. It would be weird to visit and know that Gabriel Agreste, aka the world’s most annoying supervillain, was residing in prison rather than in this fortress of a building.

Adrien’s room was one of the windows on the side, she knew that much. Those big evil ones that looked like bars, that made it seem like the poor boy was locked in. Wow, not only was Gabriel a sucky person, he was pretty obviously a sucky father too. Imagine waking up to something as bleak as that every morning.

She used her stretchy prehensile tail to wrap around the railings above the window, then hung upside-down in front of it, tapping on the glass. It was only after seeing Adrien’s expression of shock that she realized that dropping in unannounced, quite literally, was possibly not a great idea. He had been sitting on his sofa and presumably playing video games, but now leapt back in surprise when he saw her, practically falling onto the floor. Whoops.

In any case, once he was over his initial shock, he rather shakily opened the window to let her in. “Queen Cobra? What are you doing here?”

She jumped in through the open window. Standing in front of him as Queen Cobra rather than Alix was nice, since her super skates gave her a bit of added height and she didn’t feel quite so tiny for once. Still pretty short, though.

Noticing that she had been about to put on her normal aloof Queen Cobra voice, she stopped when she remembered that he knew her secret identity. It didn’t matter. She could just be herself.

“Just thought I’d drop by to say hello,” she said.

“Oh, okay… hello.”

Yeah, that had been a lame thing of her to say, and also untrue.

“And also to apologize for leaving so fast the other day,” she carried on. “You probably could have done with a bit more reassurance than a cup of tea.”

He smiled weakly. “Please don’t worry about that, it’s alright, I know that must have been a stressful day for you too. Master Fu was very kind. I made friends with him.”

“Oh, good.”

Now what? She really should have thought about this before she got here. Being polite was boring, small talk was boring, and she didn’t know Adrien well enough for it to be okay for her to make morbid jokes about how he totally had the most emo backstory ever now.

Hmm… maybe attempting to be a comforting friend would be a start. Adrien had always been that kind of person to all his classmates, and he definitely needed someone like that right now, she knew how important it was, remembering how much Jalil’s hugs and kind words meant to her after her birthday when she had–

Nope. No thinking about her birthday right now.

“How are things going?” she asked. That seemed to open the floodgates.

“It’s been stressful,” he admitted, looking down at the ground, rubbing his arm nervously. “My father’s business sort of belongs to me now, I guess. Nathalie’s been doing all she can but she’s very overworked, understandably, so I really should be pulling my weight too.”

“Seriously? A 15 year old, running a company?!”

As usual, she wanted to smack herself with her own tail for speaking without thinking. Why had she decided to do this again? Adrien needed a Rose, or a Marinette, or a Nino, not an Alix.

“Not exactly running it,” Adrien said. “Nathalie’s been doing the business side of things. But considering my father’s… current reputation… the company’s sales have dropped a lot. Too much. I’ve had to double the amount of photoshoots, promotion events to attend, everything like that, just so we can keep the company running…”

He sounded like he was going to start crying again, thinking about his father. Time for the escape plan.

“You’ve talked to Nino about all this, right?” she asked. To her surprise, Adrien shook his head.

“The wi-fi and international messaging costs are so expensive for him now that he’s out of Europe for the next several weeks. He has been trying to call a lot after he heard the news, asking if I’m okay, but I don’t want him having to pay so much just to talk to me when he should be having a relaxing holiday!”

Really? So someone really had been trying to keep Adrien Agreste sane, and he ignored it??? This boy needed more help than she realized.

“You need a break,” she said firmly. “A lot’s happened to you recently and you can’t be expected to just get thrown back into model stuff and high society events while you’re still like, I dunno, grieving. And for god’s sake, talk to Nino! He’s probably super worried about you!”

“I know, I know, but he can’t exactly fly back, and international calls and texts really are expensive! And I can’t just let my father’s brand – my brand, I mean – fall apart! People don’t want to support a supervillain, so I’ve got to show them that it’s not him running it now. It’s m-me.”

Talking about his father really did seem to be making him very upset, with his fists clenched again, and tears already starting to run down his face. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. But he wasn’t stopping now.

“And I wish my father had taught me how to do all of this before, so I would know. But no, he didn’t. And maybe I should go visit him in jail, they said I can if I want, but… I’m not sure if… if I want to see him… Oh man, does that make a bad son?”

“What? No!” No one in their mind would call Adrien-freaking-Agreste a bad son. “Your dad’s a total dick, he doesn’t deserve you.”

He started crying now. Right. Insulting his dad had probably been a bad idea.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

“No, you’re right…” He wiped a few tears away from his eyes, his fists still clenched. “He’s a bad person, he hurt a lot of people. Everything’s so unfair! And now it’s all on me to sort it out!”

Dealing with crying people was never any fun. If this had been school, she would have just run off to look for Rose or someone to go be a Good Motherly Friend and calm Adrien’s tears. But she couldn’t do that here. Drat… she was going to have to be the Motherly Friend herself now, wasn’t she? Was that even what he wanted? What did crying people want?

Well, as much as she never wanted to think about that cursed day ever again, she had certainly been crying on her birthday due to… that thing that happened. And Jalil had been there for her. What had he done again? It was hard to remember now. He had hugged her until she stopped crying, then told her a few bad jokes to cheer her up, and then put on a movie to distract her, and made her some food…

Okay. How much of that could she do? Adrien probably had tons of movies and no shortage of food, but he could do that himself later. He was too busy crying for the bad jokes stage yet. So did that mean she had to hug him? No way. Queen Cobra did not DO hugs. Neither did Alix Kubdel, for that matter, with the sole exception of her brother.

Oh, why did Nino have to be on holiday? Things would have been so much easier with him here! And didn’t Adrien have other people he could rely on? Marinette, Alya, Rose, Juleka, Kim, anyone?

But then again, none of them had been there at the moment when he found out that his father was Hawk Moth. None of them knew how much it was truly, deeply hurting him. And he couldn’t talk to any of them about the dramatic new secret he had discovered – the identity of one of Paris’s superheroes. Perhaps he was keeping it all to himself because he didn’t want to let anything slip. Perhaps he wasn’t sure if any of them would understand if he couldn’t confide everything to them.

So, it was up to Alix then? Great.

Feeling like a totally clueless moron, she stretched out her tail and wrapped it around his shoulders. There, that counted as a hug, right?

Well, it certainly felt like one. Not many people knew that she could indeed feel sensations in her tail when she was transformed, like an extra limb. How else was she supposed to grab people with it and dangle them over the edges of buildings without accidentally squeezing them to death? (Cobras were not that kind of snake.) She needed the pressure sensitivity. Usually she just used it for superhero stuff.

A hug, though? This felt totally new.

It seemed to be helping, thank goodness, since Adrien was now clinging onto the tail for reassurance, his tears starting to subside. It was a good thing the scales were waterproof, or that might have been kinda gross. Anyway, it looked like she had actually done something right, finally.

“Thank you,” he said eventually, still holding onto the tail for dear life. “Sorry, I’m just… a mess? Everything’s been a lot lately, I’m tired, and scared, and… and…”

“Smad?”

He turned to look at her, frowning.

“Smad,” she repeated. “Sad, and mad, at the same time. Smad.”

For a few seconds more he just stared. Then, very quietly, he started chuckling.

Phew, looked like the bad jokes stage had worked fine too.

“Smad,” he sighed, still smiling, finally letting go of her tail. She quickly retracted it, not used to anyone holding it for so long, or for any length of time at all really. “Yeah, I’m smad.”

“Well yeah, that makes perfect sense considering all the wacky stuff going on in your life. Seriously, it’s like a movie. Speaking of movies, wanna watch one?”

He shook his head. “I don’t really feel like it right now…”

Oh, whoops. Movie and food stage had failed. She knew her success streak had been too long to last. Maybe it was best to get out of here before he started crying again when she made another misstep, which she inevitably would.

“Do you need anything else?” she asked, hoping he wouldn’t.

“No, I think I’ll be alright, thanks for being here… wait, are you leaving already?”

Drat, he was looking afraid or something, like he didn’t want her to go. That was somewhat unusual. Unless she was doing superhero stuff, people tended to want her to leave as quick as possible. She knew perfectly well she was considered annoying. But if he wanted her to stick around for a while, that was weird, and… kind of nice.

“Do you want me to leave?” she asked.

“Oh! Um… well no, but… if you have to go, then…”

Technically she really did have to go. If she didn’t get back soon and her father realized she had been out too long, she was going to be in a heck of a lot of trouble. But was Adrien going to be okay if she left him alone again? It was pretty clear he was not going to call Nino, nor was he going to take a rest. The stubborn, perfect child was going to carry on working himself to death.

“I’ll visit you again soon to check up you, I promise,” she decided, wondering if she would regret it later.

“Really? Thank you!” He was smiling again, a little more happily than before. “You’re so kind.”

Liar. She was not kind in the slightest, and he knew it. Honest, maybe, good at heart, had the best of intentions, all that stuff. But kind? That was going a bit too far. And she very much tried to ignore how proud that fake compliment made her feel on the inside.

“If you need anything then just let me know,” she said.

“I will.”

“Cool. See you later then.”

She finger-gunned at him, the gesture feeling so weird now that she was doing it as Queen Cobra, who never usually did stuff like that. He grinned and did it back. Good – if he was grinning then he was unlikely to start crying again, and it was safe to leave. She jumped back out of the open window and leapt away.

She had almost reached home before she heard someone calling out to her.

“Queen Cobra! There you are!”

Oh, that was the most reassuring voice possible to hear when on the rooftops of Paris all alone. She turned around to see Ladybug and Rena Rouge running towards her, huge smiles on their faces. They didn’t know her secret identity, of course, so it was time to be Queen Cobra again. Snarky, sassy Alix would have to wait.

“Hi,” she said. “Good to see you again.”

“You too!” Ladybug replied, coming to a stop in front of her, Rena doing the same shortly after. “We’ve been looking for you. First of all, well done on the other day! We could never have defeated Hawk Moth without your help, you did such an amazing job!”

They were both looking at her with such genuine support on their faces. Trust them to always be so kind all the time, the sort of person a superhero should be. Couldn’t Adrien have discovered one of their identities instead? They would have a much easier time being his freaking therapist!

“Thank you,” she said. “You too.”

“Aww, well, we’re a team, right?”

Barely…

“We had questions actually,” Rena said, in that usual matter-of-fact tone. “Ladybug and I have always specialized in fighting akumas. You, on the other hand, are all about being the coolest masked vigilante ever and cleaning up the streets of Paris, stopping dangerous criminals from hurting the innocents! Now that there are no akumas, would it be okay if we started doing that too?”

“Only if that’s alright!” Ladybug added quickly. “We don’t want to infringe on your job or anything!”

“We just want to help.”

“I know you like working alone, so we won’t bother you or anything, we just wanted to know–”

“–how do you track down ordinary criminals? Unlike akuma villains, they don’t make themselves known–”

“–and do you just take them to the police or what?”

Finishing each other’s sentences, as usual. Oh, classic Ladybug and Rena. She hadn’t realized until now how worried she had been about the possibility of never seeing them again. As distant as she kept herself, she really did like their company. It was nice to know that they always had her back.

“Of course you can start doing that, you don’t have to ask me,” she said. “Isn’t that what superheroes are supposed to do anyway?”

“Oh, right!” Ladybug nodded. “Of course. Thanks.”

“No problem. As for how you find criminals, just keep an eye out. Especially after dark. And check the Snakeboards on the Ladyblog, people often post things there.”

“What do we do with criminals we catch?” Rena asked.

“Take them to the police, like you said. With evidence if you can.”

“Ah right, thank you, that makes sense.”

Did they really have no clue how to do all this? Akumas had always been a big deal, but she had assumed they got on with this stuff too in their spare time. Apparently not, by the sounds of it.

“We’ll try our best,” Ladybug said, pumping a fist in the air.

Why did that nervous smile on her face look familiar? Oh yes, it was similar to when they had fought Stone Heart, the very first akuma all that time ago. Ladybug had been worried, sure that she would fail, not knowing what to do. Then Rena had gone over and put her hands on her shoulders, looked in her eyes, and told her to believe in herself. That they would do this together. That was the moment Ladybug had begun to become more like her usual confident self, and the moment that Queen Cobra knew she was doomed to forever be a third wheel.

So Ladybug was nervous now? Well, this was a fresh start for her. Fighting akumas was what she was used to doing, what her whole hero image was based on. It made sense that she was worried.

“You’ll be great at it,” Queen Cobra said, trying to sound as encouraging as she could without breaking into Alix-levels of enthusiasm. “Paris still needs you. Your jobs aren’t over yet.”

That seemed to help somewhat. It was much easier to motivate a nervous superhero to do her job than to stop a terrified, broken kid from having a breakdown, that was for sure.

“Absolutely right,” Rena said, tapping Ladybug on the head with her flute. “What do you say, milady? Time to clean up the city?”

Ladybug nodded, her face back to the determined expression that she was known for. “Definitely. Let’s get started right now!”

“You coming, QC?”

Queen Cobra shook her head, aware of the sun dipping below the horizon. “I have to go. But good luck.”

“Thanks. I hope we’ll still see you around.”

“Oh, and did you get the Butterfly Miraculous back to the Great Guardian?” Ladybug asked.

“Yep,” she replied.

“Good work! Do you think you could introduce us to him someday?”

“If he wants me to.”

“Fair enough. Anyway, see you around!”

Ladybug flashed her one last smile, before yoyo-ing away into the sunset, with Rena following. Those two really did make a great team. It seemed like two was a good number of superheroes to have together if things didn’t want to devolve into “leader and sidekicks”. Ladybug and Rena were partners, equals, teammates, friends, and Queen Cobra was… an acquaintance, maybe.

Just like she was as a civilian. Her classmates were easy to split up into friendship pairs. Unlike the very distant Nathaniel she wasn’t lonely as such, but she certainly didn’t have a “teammate”. It was fine, really, it was. She wasn’t jealous or anything. Of course not. That would be stupid. Really stupid.

Never mind. Time to get back home before she got into trouble.

Except, of course, she did get into trouble.

“You said you’d be back 20 minutes ago!” her father sighed, looking down at her, disappointment written all over his face. He was always like that these days – did he not realize it hurt?

“Sorry,” she muttered.

“What were you even doing?!”

Being a superhero, duh. But saying that wouldn’t end well. The worst part was, she couldn’t even think of any excuses that wouldn’t land her in even more trouble. Going to the bakery? No, it would be closed by now, he knew that. Hanging out with a friend? Then he’d ask which friend, and knowing him, would literally call up their parents and ask. Another challenge with Kim? She couldn’t keep using him as an excuse, and anyway, that would make her father even more mad!

“If you’re not going to answer me, I suppose I’ll have to waive your rights to stay at home during the upcoming art promotion event.”

The upcoming…?

“What? No!”

“I have made up my mind. You’ll have to come along.”

“Dad, please, no,” she said, trying to sound like a good, adorable child who no one would ever refuse. It was not easy. “You promised I didn’t have to go to that.”

“And you promised you would be home on time, but here we are.”

“Oh come on! You know I hate those event thingies! They’re so boring! And the people are so mean, and I have to wear a…” She couldn’t even bring herself to say the word dress.

“They are necessary, and you really need to learn to attend more of them.”

“No I don’t! I don’t wanna be a museum person or some CEO or something when I grow up anyway, I don’t need to go to these things, they’re just a waste of time–”

“And maybe they’ll teach you some manners,” her father said firmly. “You’re not a little kid anymore, Alix. You’re 15 years old. It’s about time you started acting like it.”

Ohhh, did he always have to say that whenever she was being “bratty”? Wow, it was almost like 15 year olds had their own choices and opinions or something!

She was about to stomp her foot and say so when she realized something.

“Did you say… art promotion event?” she asked.

“Yes, I did.”

“Is it a big thing?”

“Yes.”

“So then… was Gabriel Agreste going to be there before he got chucked into jail like he deserves?”

“I believe so.”

“Sooooo, does that mean Adrien will be there instead?”

“I don’t know, why all these questions?”

Adrien would be there. That was bad for him, poor thing, but at least maybe this way it wouldn’t be quite as awful. And if she was going too, at least he could be reassured that there was someone there who did actually feel sorry for him. A secret superhero to protect him.

But if it was a big event then it was possible that she wouldn’t even bump into him while there. That had happened once before, when she and Chloé hadn’t even realized that they had been at the same gala until Chloé was bragging about it afterwards, since they simply hadn’t seen each other.

In that case there was only one thing for it.

“Adrien is my friend and needs support,” she said. “He can come over here before the event and we can take him there with us. I don’t want him there all alone. Is that okay?”

Friend was a bit of a strong word for Adrien, they were mostly just classmates who knew each other and got along alright, but then again he did now know a bigger secret about her than anyone else did. And calling him a friend might just persuade her father to let her do this. He had always thought of Adrien as much better than her – why can’t you be more like Adrien? So polite and helpful all the time? He’s so responsible! You should try to be like that!

Yeah, it was pretty clear her father wished he’d had Adrien as a child, rather than either Jalil or Alix. Especially after what had happened on her birthday. Adrien would never have done what she did that day…

She looked up at her father, trying her very best not to look as angry as she was feeling. Temper management had never been one of her strong points.

“Oh, alright,” he said finally, sighing. “Maybe he can keep you under control better than I can.”

Hah, there was no way. Adrien was easily the kind of person who would let her do whatever she wanted, whether that was sock-sliding down empty corridors or spending all evening at the drinks table and refusing to talk to any of the other people there.

“Thank you so much!” she said, before running off upstairs to her room. She pulled out her phone and called up Adrien immediately.

“Alix?”

“I know I literally just spoke to you like twenty minutes ago,” she said quickly, “but I’m being forced to go to that art promotion thing on Tuesday evening, are you going to that?”

“The one at the museum? Yes, unfortunately I have to…”

“Well you’re not going alone and neither am I. Annoyed rebel kids team up. You can come over to my house beforehand and then go with us, okay? Then I won’t have to spend all evening looking for you while I’m there.”

“Really? You’d let me do that?” The happiness was easily perceivable in his voice. He sounded like a little kitten, honestly. It was kind of adorable.

“Definitely. I hate these events as much as you do.”

“Oh, thank you Alix! It’ll be nice to have a friend there.”

Hrmmm, friend…

“Do you know if Chloé will be there?” she asked quickly. Maybe if she was then she could be Adrien’s emotional support for once. Those two were friends, right? Sort of? Sometimes?

“I doubt it, this isn’t really the kind of event the mayor would be attending, so neither would Chloé.”

Dang it. “Aw, well, never mind. I’ll see you soon anyway.”

“Yes, see you soon, and thank you once again!”

“No problem. And talk to Nino!” she added hastily, before hanging up. Perhaps if he got to talk to someone else about his ridiculously tragic life before the event then she wouldn’t have to worry so much about him suddenly bursting into tears on her at any possible moment.

He had called her a friend, too. Okay, fine. A lot of people did. Marinette, Alya, Juleka, Rose, Ivan, Mylène, even Kim and Max occasionally…

Was he just being nice, as usual? Or did he mean it?

Eh, no point getting her hopes up. No one ever really meant it.

Scoot floated out of her pocket lazily. “Finally, you’re doing something right.”

She poked him. “I’m always right, string bean.”

“No, you’re always wrong. But I’m glad you’re going to help the Agreste boy. I’ve clearly been such a good influence on you.”

“Oh, be quiet. I’m gonna go talk to Jalil.”

“Fine, escape my wrath while you can!”

Scoot was so darn annoying all the time, always so unhelpful and unsupportive. But hearing him tell her for once that she was doing the right thing, well, it made her feel better than she wanted to admit. He was a kwami who had been alive for thousands of years. If he thought she was doing okay this time, then maybe she really was.

[nibimatatabi]

From: A fanfic that will seriously never happen because it would require WAY too much writing that I don’t have time for Summary: Condensed view of Chapters 4, 5 & 6 from Order of the Phoenix, with the inclusion of one Cassandra Marie Delacroix. Additional dialogue occurs, but not much else changes except for a shift in narrator (seriously I was not about to sit and type up 36 pages). Picks up after the Order meeting lets out in chapter 4, and ends after Sirius’s history lesson at the tapestry in chapter 6. Authors Note: So like, aside from directly lifting dialogue from my Most Ancient Copy of Order of the Phoenix (the jacket art is from 2003 and honestly, I might have had it that long), this was EXCEEDINGLY fun to write. Cassandra is near and dear to my heart, and I didn’t think I’d love her as an adult but here we are, with her and Sirius arguing and then being, well, like brother and sister. So. My heart. Word Count: 2292

-- Chapter Four: Number Twelve Grimmauld Place --

Cassandra was quiet as she stood among the Order, only responding when Tonks touched her arm and pulled her attention back to focus. She had been lost in thought, half glaring at Snape’s head. “Are you staying for dinner?”

“Hmm? Oh, no, probably not. I know Sirius has been looking forward to having Harry Potter here,” the woman offered Tonks a hug before they parted, Cassandra taking a moment to step back into the kitchen to say goodbye to Kreacher.

A crash sounded, and Cassandra straightened up immediately, wheeling around. “Bloody hell.”

“Mistress will-” the shrieking started and Cassandra’s expression shifted from mild to murderous. She left the kitchen, breezing past a group of teenagers and right into the entry hall. Tonks was on the floor, explaining herself, and there was Walburga, screeching.

“Filth!” The portrait started up, the others on the hall yelling as well. Cassandra’s soft blue eyes were full of hatred for the portrait. She only hated that she couldn’t do anything about her, instead helping Tonks with the troll leg.

-- Chapter Five: The Order of the Phoenix --

“I will get her off that wall if it’s the only thing I manage before I have to go back to work,” Cassandra hissed softly.

“You really don’t like her, do you?” Tonks asked as they headed back to the kitchen.

“I never met her in life; Regulus made sure of that. But Kreacher and I have argued over that portrait for years. I just never tried to take it down,” Cassandra admitted to the younger woman as they entered the kitchen - and Tonks promptly caught something on fire. “Here,” Cassandra laughed as she stepped away from the others, helping Ginny and Tonks with cutlery. Cooking was soothing, and if Cassandra could keep her hands busy she was less likely to go start kicking Sirius in the shins for the upteenth time in the last few months.

Boggarts, doxies - Cassandra flushed in shame. She and Kreacher had really let the place go to hell. “Should have spent some time maintaining the place, instead of just checking in on Kreacher,” she muttered at her stew. Remus kicked her shin under the table.

“Cheer up. You couldn’t have known anyone would come back here,” Remus offered her a thin smile.

“No, but-” she knew Sirius was innocent, so she should have kept the house livable after Walburga died. Should have, could have, would have - didn’t. She had barely made it to her eighteenth birthday, let alone kept up a house she didn’t want anything to do with, even when it was abandoned.

The conversation around them shifted, and it was only a matter of time before Molly and Sirius were getting into it. “Sirius,” Cassandra spoke mildly. She had seen his temper flare before, had been on the receiving end of it before, and it was taking all of her restraint to keep her own in check. “Sirius,” she repeated, louder, as he and Molly kept going.

“Arthur! Arthur, back me up!”

“BLACK!” Cassandra barked his name with as much force as she could, drawing stormy gray eyes onto her. She met them levelly. “Five,” he glared at her, jaw snapping shut as Arthur spoke. “Four,” it was something she had started doing after cabin-fever had drove him to trying to start a fight with her the second time - the second fight about Regulus. “Three,” she spoke softer with every number, counting down to when Sirius could give a rebuttal. “Two,” Sirius looked ready to stab her with a fork. “One.”

“He’s not your son,” Sirius had never stopped pay attention to the others, even though he had been glaring at Cassandra. His voice was softer now, though, and when he turned his eyes back to Molly they were less murderous. Remus had mostly disengaged the fight - except from Molly, who was adding flames to the fire.

Cassandra was on her feet in a moment, darting around the table and planting her hands firmly on Sirius’s shoulders, shoving him back down even as Remus spoke. “Sirius, sit down.” Cassandra hadn’t seen Sirius’s face so white with anger since their last row over Regulus, when they had both drawn their wands and been about five seconds from blasting the other out a window.

The rest of the conversation failed to matter much - Ginny was the only child escorted out, and Cassandra’s death grip on Sirius never let up. At least not until Walburga started shrieking. “I’m going to kill your mother again,” Cassandra said very matter of factly as she followed Remus from the kitchen.

“You get one side, I’ll get the other,” Remus instructed as they entered the hall.

“I’d like to shred her face, but I think Kreacher would be disappointed in me,” Cassandra gripped the moth eaten curtain in one hand, pulling with all of her strength and meeting Remus in the middle.

“You mean you haven’t tried that yet?” Remus asked with half a laugh as they headed back to the kitchen.

“No, but it’s tempting,” Cassandra sat down beside Sirius this time, flanking him with Remus and listening. She listened to the complaints and the anger from Harry, and she hummed softly, thoughtfully.

“Well, you! Aren’t you old enough to-”

“Cassie wasn’t involved last time,” Sirius spoke sharply to his godson, for the first time that night, and Cassandra put on a tight smile.

“I work at St. Mungos. I’m a year younger than Sirius and Remus,” it wasn’t a pass or a by, and Harry was still staring at her hotly.

“Then you had to know. You had to-”

“I do. I did. I was aware. And I will not rehash that Sirius, Remus, Molly, Tonks, Arthur - they all know why I didn’t involve myself last time. Dumbledore knows why I chose to involve myself this time,” her expression never shifted, but it was an open and shut conversation on her end. When Molly shepherded the kids to bed, and only when the door shut, did she turn on Sirius. “They. Are. Children. I understand that you have a twisted sense of what it means to be on your own and to have to grow up fast, believe. Me. I know. But they are KIDS, Sirius! Fifteen!”

“Fred and George are seventeen,” Remus said in a weary voice.

“So was I,” her voice was suddenly ice cold. “I highly suggest you think long and hard about this, Sirius. I know that at fifteen you were running away from this hell, but you left-”

“I KNOW!” Sirius shot up as Cassandra stood to leave. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten! I know you’ll never let me live it down! They’re not me!”

“Remember that then!” Cassandra yelled back. Remus watched the two, knowing better than to intervene. “Remember that these kids are NOT you! Or James! Or Pettigrew or Remus! They aren’t me or Lily! Don’t drag them into something that they aren’t ready for!”

“Oh you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?!” Sirius crossed the line, seething. “Being dragged into something you’re not prepared for? How does it feel, living with the knowledge that you got someone KILLED, Delacroix?!” Remus stood up, grabbing Cassandra as she advanced on Sirius, her face gone white, and holding her arms behind her back. He lifted her bodily, turning her away from Sirius before she could speak - or do something worse.

“PUT ME DOWN, REMUS! I AM GOING TO BLOODY STRANGLE BLACK!” She stopped yowling when he opened the door to the kitchen, clamping her mouth shut. They left Sirius standing in the kitchen, shaking. “Put me down, Remus.”

“Nope.”

“I can see myself out.”

“No, I’m making sure you get home safe.”

“Remus Lupin, I will start kicking,” Cassandra’s voice was shaking, as was her entire body.

“He’ll feel bad about that in the morning.”

“He always does. He hates fighting and yelling and screaming but he always looks for a reason.”

“You let him bait you.”

“He knows that gets under my skin.”

“You do it to him too.”

“Well, I did spend a year with his brother,” her smile was thin. Pained. Remus escorted her outside, and then they linked arms. “You’re really taking me home?”

“Yes,” Remus stepped, and turned, and when Cassandra’s heart stopped jackhammering she saw her couch sitting in front of her. “Remember, we’ve doxies to take care of,” Remus said by way of parting, leaving Cassandra in her too quiet flat.

-- Chapter Six: The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black --

“Molly, neither of us wanted to keep this place up after Walburga died,” Cassandra said as she leaned in the door, frowning. “No one lived here, after all...”

“It’s part of his job,” Molly said emphatically. Cassandra exhaled.

“Right. Well,” she turned around, nearly walking into Sirius. “Black,” curtly, as she always was after a fight.

“Delacroix,” he stepped past her, and Cassandra went downstairs, hearing something about Buckbeak being up in mother’s room. A sigh of air rushed out of the girl, and she spotted Kreacher on the stairs.

“Hello Kreacher,” she smiled weakly, not having the energy left in her.

“Miss Delacroix,” Kreacher bowed to her, and Cassandra nodded down the stairs.

“I was going to start tea, would you like some?” The door bell rang then.

“No, Miss Delacroix,” Kreacher frowned, and the two were nearly bowled over as Sirius rushed down the stairs.

“Well, I suppose I’ll go deal with Mrs. Black now,” the tight lipped smile was hiding murder. Kreacher bowed again, and Cassandra hurried down in Sirius’s wake as Walburga’s screams started. “Oi! Shut it, hag! I’ve had about as much of your foul presence as I can stand!” Cassandra wrenched the curtains shut as Walburga started in on her and her blood status, and how Sirius should be ashamed of laying with her. “Jokes on you; Regulus was mine,” she spat at the curtains once they were shut. “Hello Kingsley,” Cassandra was back to warm by the time she met up with the other Order member.

The morning was spent swapping information. Cassandra took notes and contributed where she could, though she had been off for the last two days. When Sirius went back upstairs, following a Molly Weasley Meltdown, Cassandra went as well, trailing behind like Crookshanks. When Kreacher was ran off, she didn’t go after him, only shaking her head at Hermione. “I tried to get him to come live with me. He wouldn’t leave. I couldn’t stand being here for more than an hour at a time when it was empty,” she shivered, and after a moment of regarding her sideways, Sirius seemed to decide to forgive her, putting an arm around her shoulders and squeezing her against his side.

Sirius stepped over to the tapestry, and Cassandra followed, looking at it while the kids crammed around, studying it. “You’re not on here!” Cassandra snorted, shaking her head.

“I used to be there,” Cassandra looked to where Sirius pointed, a burned off patch beside Regulus. Her heart ached dully. “My sweet old mother blasted me off after I ran away from home,” Cassandra turned around, stepping away from the tapestry to study the cabinet of things instead. She didn’t know what she was looking for, only something to distract her as Sirius retold a story she knew well - one from a fight. “I hated the whole lot of them,” Sirius was saying. Cassandra’s hand curled into a fist. He didn’t hate the whole lot. He didn’t hate Regulus. “My idiot brother, soft enough to believe them.”

“I’m standing right here, Sirius! Proof that he wasn’t an idiot!” Cassandra whipped around, furious. Fifteen years - fifteen years and it still hurt her heart every time she heard Sirius say those words.

“No, you were the exception,” Sirius’s eyes were dull though. Because he knew. Cassandra’s jaw was so tight she was afraid she might break a tooth.

 “But he died,” Harry said after a moment, looking between the two.

“Yeah. Stupid idiot...he joined the Death Eaters,” Cassandra moved forward suddenly, hitting Sirius in the arm. It wasn’t hard - she couldn’t muster the strength. Sirius grabbed her arm, pulling her into him as he told the story he knew. “Andromeda married a muggle-born,” Sirius hadn’t released her when he bent down, talking to Harry, and Cassandra gave a small huff of air.

“Genius, I should be your sister-in-law you know that right?”

“And yet here you are,” Sirius stood up, but she knew the sadness in his eyes.

“But I thought you just said-”

“He got in too deep, got scared, and wanted out. What do you think scared him, Harry? After all we grew up in, what could scare someone like that? He stole my girlfriend out from under me,” Sirius shot Cassandra a look - surely he couldn’t still be bitter, right? Nope, he was still bitter, “and they fell in love. And Regulus wanted out. I like to say it’s her fault, but even without her,” Sirius trailed off.

“Point is, sixteen year olds don’t need to be involved with things like that. Not with Voldemort,” she said it in the French way, the proper way, “or with the Order. Children shouldn’t be forced or allowed to make a choice that could ruin their entire lives,” end their entire lives. Cassandra shrugged away from Sirius. “I’m going back to the kitchen. I was looking for something...you had better not have thrown the damned thing out.”

“Language, Cassie.”

“You know when I’ll mind my language? When Walburga walks out of that painting and I can punch her in the face for what she did to you boys,” Cassandra squeezed past Molly, patting the woman on the shoulder. “Thank you, Molly; for everything you do for these kids,” she murmured before heading downstairs.