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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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One Year Anniversary: Top 12 Ducktales Episodes!

Happy anniversary all you happy people! Yes it was one year ago today I started reviewing animation and it’s been a ride to be sure. I’d always WANTED to be a reviewer: I love going on and on about stuff I love, really digging into it and picking it apart... but I could never get started. I tried youtube but I didn’t have the money for the equipment nor a proper shooting space to record, so my efforts.. were not great. And while I TRIED text reviews, my own looming pile of self hatred meant every attempt I made was shot down when it got hard as me not being good enough.

But one year ago I finally got past that. I’d already been reviewing a bit, doing invididual issues of comics... but got way in over my head trying to do the current line of X-Men comics as it came out, and wisely bowed out of that. But that left a gap: I had nothing to cover week to week and with a demanding new job, I drifted into just doing in charcter chats, little fan fictions script styles. Not bad work, I should do some more at some point and I even got a comissoin once in a while, but nothing I could really live on and not what I wanted to do with my life.

Enter Ducktales. I’d always WANTED to review the show.. and when the double premire happened, I decided fuck it, and put up my thoughts. And then decided.. hey maybe I can do this every week.. and slowly.. my work evolved, getting better and better, getting more and more likes. I picked up Amphibia when that came by week to week.

And eventually.. this went from a hobby, if one I was passionate about to a career. Not a largely paying one, as only one person was really intrested in paying me for it, friend of the blog and our fincial backer @weirdkev27, but .. it’s money and i’m now making about 30 dollars a month due to a comination of comissions and patreon. Other contributers are always welcome mind you, my patreon is here if your curious and comissions are 5 dollars an episode, but i’ts just nice to have money coming in. To have gone from simply WANTING to review things and make a living off it.. to simply doing it.

And it’s been one hell of a year.. and not just because 2020 felt like hell or 2021 began with a full on insurrection. I feel like i’ve acomplished a lot in the year i’ve been doing this: I finished what I started with Ducktales season 3, getting better and better as I went. And I didn’t stop there with ducks: I started covering what brought me to Ducks in the first place, the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, and while that retrospective has slid a bit on the schedule, I intend to get it back on track this month. I reviewed a bunch of Darkwing Duck episodes leading up to the Just Us Justice Ducks.. chronologically anyway. The actual airing order reads like someone took 50 issues of a comic, made it rain with them, then just started reading whatever ones they picked up randomly. I also covered some of Duck Master Carl Barks work with the classics Night on Bear Mountain, A Christmas for Shacktown and Back to the Klondike, with more to come.

And the Duck didn’t stop at just reviews I did on my own: Kev comissioned two MASSIVE retrospectives from me: My first for him was Ride of the Three Caballleros where in just a few short months I covered the boys entire televisied careers together from the movie, to house of mouse, to mickey and the roadster racers, to ducktales (again) and finishing with the wonderful Legend of the Three Caballeros. It has probably the worst Daisy imaginable, but otherwise is really excellent and i’m glad I finally watched it. I also covered Don Rosa’s two stories with the boys as part of it. It was a fun ride and I enjoyed every minute of it... okay most of them again Three Cabs Daisy is the worst. And once that finished Kev started up another idea: Shadow Into Light: a look at Lena’s character arc from start to finish that has gone on to be my most popular series on this blog, and that finishes next week. And there’s more to come as after that there’s a short breather with a look at Lilo and Stitch’s crossover episodes.. folllowed by me looking at all three of season 2′s ducktales arcs. And I fully intend to have covered every episode of the series by this time next year, so stay tuned.

Outside of ducks though I didn’t slow down. I restarted my Tom Lucitor retrospective, covering what i feel to be one of Star Vs’ two best characters, tied with eclipsa, and my personal faviorite as he redeemeed himself, found love and I bitched a lot about the horrible directions the series took and probabably will more as that’s still not done yet. I did what I always wanted to do and started looks at some of my faviorite comics ever, starting with Life and Times and adding in New X-Men and Scott PIlgrim. I also threw in the awesome comic Blacksad. I did pride month for the first time and not only came out publicly, but also did two whole arcs i’m proud of with The Saluna episodes of Loud house and the rednid episodes of OK KO, and generally just had myself a good old fashioned time as an out bi man reviewing childrens cartoons.

I started Season 2 of amphibia with it’s lows of an endlesss road trip and highs of adding Marcy to the cast and giving us more of the silky voiced keith david. And finally Patreon wise Kev’s taken me on a hell o fa journey: In addition to the restrospectives i’ve covered some additional darkwing duck, and a simpsons homage to the duck comics... but also got a bit weird and obscure with detours like the lost animnaics sucessor Histeria, the apocalyptic comedy where Santa dosen’t know how doors work Whoops! and the adventures of Santa’s bratty teen daughter jingle belle. In short.. it’s been a long year but damn has it been fun and there’s more to come. I’d like to thank all of you for reading, thank my Patreons Kev and Emma for supporting me, and thank my family for doing the same. So with that out of the way, I figured the best way to celebrate was to do something i’ve been wanting to do for a long time, something honoring the show that gave me this calling in the first place. And with Season 3 sadly being the last, and enough weeks having passed for me to digest it between the finale and today, I could think of nothing better than my top 12 episodes of Ducktales.

Ducktales is one of the best cartoons of the 2010′s. Brilliantly taking EVERYTHING that had come before, the comics, the original cartoon and every bit of duck media period to craft a masterful, unique and wonderful reboot. It was funny, it was insane, and it had damn good character arcs. By the end every member of the main cast along with major supporting cast members like Fenton, Drake and especially Lena, had changed and signifigantly at that. The show was everything I could’ve dreamed of and more and I miss it terribly, hoping DIsney will do a revivial movie at some point. For now though, Frank and Matt’s run on ducktales, as they called it and I do too since i’m a massive comic book nerd, it’s time to look back on my favorite tales of ducks. So grab your sharks, your number one dimes and your friendship cakes with clear gay undertones and join me under the cut as I celebrate one of my faviorite shows and my anniversary in the best way possible.

12. House of the Lucky Gander!

So as i’ve gone on about before and no doubt will again, Donald kinda got the short end of the stick in season 1. While Frank and Matt had good story intentions, keeping Donald away from adventure since he had no interest in it, in practice it meant a beloved Disney Icon who they and disney HEAVILY promoted as part of the series and whose being here this go round was a big draw for fans of the comics.... was only in a quarter of the season and only got TWO plots centered around him in 23 episodes, with only one being the main plot of the episode. The PIlot and Finale both centered around the family more as a whole if your curious how I counted those so while he got plenty of focus in both, it’s still not a day in the limelight sort of thing.

But unusually for Donald, he lucked out as his one big starring role for Season 1 was both one of my faviorites and one of Season 1′s most inventive outings. A lot of the episodes enegy comes from a one two punch of a great guest star and one of the series best settings. The guest star is of course everyone’s faviorite overly lucky himbo Gladstone Gander. The show adapted the prick perfectly: The original Gladstone from the comics.. was the worst asshole imaginable, utterly insufferable. And for a villian, and Donald’s rival, that’s all well and good.. but his super luck meant he RARELY , if ever, suffered any consequences for being just...

The 87 series simply made him nicer, while Going Quackers simply removed his luck. No adaptation really got how to make this fucker work.. until this one. Here Frank split the diffrence: Gladstone is still smug.. but he’s no longer actively malicious. While he is an insensitive prick to Donald in this one, unlike the comics he’s not constantly bragging about his luck or how great he is or actively BAITING Donald to fight with him or trying to ruin his relationship or a million other reasons he sucks and I hate him.

This version by contrast... is generous. He’s not the most empathetic, because he doesn’t get how life works, but he does share the riches of the casnio with everyone and in a cameo appearance in “Treasure of the Found Lamp” gladly offers his nephews some diamonds. He’s got a nice surface level charm to him that makes you understand why people like him.. but it’s also clear ther’es nothing UNDER that of value, making you equally understand why Scrooge and Donald hate him. Gladstone in this reboot is a perfect example of why we need reboots or new adaptations in the first place: Because sometimes the original got something wrong or something can be done much better by the new writers.

He’s perfectly paired with the setting: The House of Lucky Fortune, a mystical casino with an East Asian astatic based in the country of Macaw and provides two great plots. Donald’s really highlights his character: His understandable jealousy at gladstone earning the boys love through nothing while he struggles to make a living for them, and how he feels like a looser and like Gladstone is simply showing that off instead of just not knowing what empathy is. Having Louie be the one to bond with Gladstone was also just pitch pefefct, as is showing some depth for the boy by having himr ealize his hero is an asshole and be the one to help donald in the end.

The other plot is just pure joy though and is where the setting REALLY shines: Scrooge and the rest of the kids try to leave.. but can’t find the exit. This is where the creative part comes in: The Casino simply morphs to keep people trapped, and caters to them, giving them whatever they want to keep them trapped. In the cases of the kids it’s all hilarious and adorably in character: Huey becomes entranced by a fancy water show, in one of his best bits of the season, Dewey gets a pet tiger who sadly did not come home with him and Webby gets to live the dream we’ve all had of stuffing her face directly in a choclate fountain. Scrooge’s escape is likewise clever: He simply prepares to get a room.. then books it as the check in desk is ALWAYS near the front.

We then find out Gladston’es trapped get the whole mystical contest with absolutely gorgeous animation, i’ll talk about it in full some time but this episode is just a treat to watch, has a great arc for donald and had some memorable gags. I can’t help but smile when I watch it.

11. The Dangerous Chemistry of Gandra Dee! As I mentioned before i’m a superhero nerd so naturally Fenton was one of my faviorite parts of the show. Frank and Matt were just damn good at crafting superhero stories, and like gladstone improved fenton turning him from an awkward donald stand in to an awkward peter parker-esque science nerd who just wants to be a good person and the best hero he can be. He got into science not just because he thinks it’s neat, but because he honestly wants to help people and you can’t help but foot for him whenever he pops up. Lin Manuel Miranda is a large reason for that, bringing his incomparable a-game to the character. While we sadly didn’t get a ton of gizmoduck focused episodes, the fatct we got AS MANY as we did and that Lin didn’t drop out for a minute even with his busy schedule was a miracle and I’m acknowledging that.

As for why this one, I feel it builds brilliantly on the previous Fentoncentric episode Who Is Gizmoduck?! which just BARELY didn’t make this list and uses the fact we haven’t seen fenton in a while as both a plot point and to move some things forward without having to spend screentime they clearly didn’t have. By having Fenton be just burnt out on superheroics it finds a way to both explain where he’s been, he’s been busy with his new job, and give us an interesting angle to the old “superhero is tired of the life” thing. He never once complains about saving people or stuff... it’s just like any job it gets tiring after a while. As someone who has his dream job but has struggled with it from time to time, I vastly relate.

Though while I love my boy and Lin is game as always, the episodes real MVP is my other boy Huey. The episode has moved Huey up from being simply Fenton’s fanboy to being his best friend, and adorable as hell relationship. The two clearly respect and appricate each other and Huey is looking out for his buddy the whole episode. His love of love is also just really cute. Added in the mix is Webby, who in one of my faviorite gags of the series, finds out Fenton is Gizmoduck because Huey is incredibly and insanely blatant with his unecessary coverup. But she of course is game to help while Fenton is trying to play it casual. We also just get a waterfall of great gags as everyone overdoes it wingmanning for fenton: Huey sets up an itallian bistro and tries to purposfully create a lady and the tramp situation, and sings opera (With Manny on acordian), the wonderfully 80′s suit from Fenton’s dad his mom gives him to wear, and Launchpad, who gives us a tremendous list of his exes, and plays my favorite song of the series: It’s a Date, a micheal mcdonnel riff.

This episode also wisely ups Mark’s Beaks game as Fenton’s arch enemy, still keeping him hilaroius, with the guy acting like a bored teenager and guzzling so much nanite jucie he turns into a hulk, as well as said hulk mode leading to a ton of great gags from kidnapping the children (”I got your kids.. are they your kids? I don’t know how this family works), to “take that coach dad” to eating a pie with tins and all and wondering about said tins. But he’s an actual threat now, taking on fenton in one hell of a fight, and having an utterly transcendent scene where he hacks his way past gyro’s security while dancing.. and dabbing because of course he does. It’s a fun, well done character piece that’s mostly here for i’ts laugh but Fenton’s struggle with Gizmo overtaking his life, and finding out someone he truly hit it off iwth only wanted him for that.. it’s really good stuff and Lin’s delivery after Fenton finds out, the pure pain and betryal in his voice, is just excellent. Also that opera scene is poetry.

10. Quack Pack!

One of the episodes that started my career naturally landed here. Not for that reason though: Quack Pack is a fun riff on sitcoms, specifically the tgif ones of the 90′s that Disney Afternoon Kids no doubt also watched, the kinds Disney Channel still makes today, and most importanly the kind the Disney Afternoon itself made like Goof Troop and well... Quack Pack.

Riffs on sitcoms are nothing new and the last year has been FULL of them. 2020 gave us this episode, Beef House and the wonderful “The Perfect House” episode of Close Enough, and this year gave us WandaVision, my second favorite MCU project so far, right behind Black Panther, which used the sitcom deconstruction to create one hell of a character study.

So you’d think with a year having passed and this concept happening as an entire mini series would dull this one.. but no. it’s still damn funny, having fun at the cliches while, again like WandaVision, having one of the main cast be responsible by accident but go along with it. The episode pivots from glorious affectionate parody of cheesy sitcoms, to that plus horrifying “Humans”, and a character piece for Donald. This brings Donald’s hatred and fed up ness with adventure to a head revealing his fondest wish is just to have a normal life and not loose anyone again.

It takes one of his best friends to snap him out of it. Look Goofy is my second faviorite of the sensational seven, an episode with him was already an easy sell for me.. but the episode uses him really well. First for laughs as he’s gentically dispositioned to be a perfect sitcom neighbor.. but also for heart. With his family preoccupied and a bit hurt, i’ts Goofy who cuts to the heart of the issue, pointing out NO ONE is normal and even his normal domestic life raising Max, who we see go to prom with roxanne eeeeee, has all sorts of chaos. Normal is what you make of it and pining for some ideal that will never happen was just tearing donald apart piece by piece and by letting go of that.. he finally begins to grow as a person throughout the season. It’s also a great thematic tie in to the season’s overall plot with Bradford and what Makes donald, despite also disliking the chaos his family gets into, different. Donald accepted it and grew as a person.. Bradford clung to his hate and it ate him alive. Or turned him into a non-sapient kind of vulture. Before I close this part out Jaleel White is also excellent and I wish eh’d get back into voice acting. He’s so freaking good at it. Seriously man i’d love to see him and ben in a sonic property together as a mythology gag. Same with Jims cummings and carey. Just think about it whoever owns the sonic movies.. think about it.

9. The Last Adventure!

Look I knew this was coming, you knew this was coming. But it had to be on here. The Last Adventure is not perfect: The lack of a build up episode like the previous two finales had really hurt this one: even at about 70 minutes, it still feels rushed in places and Huey, one of hte main characters of the season, dosen’t feel like he has a full payoff to his character like Dewey and Louie got.

But despite those flaws.. this episode is just a damn good ending. Almost everyone gets a big moment paying off their character arc, everyone in the party that comes to rescue webby and huey, along with the two themselves, gets a moment to show off, and everything comes together to give us one last epic sendoff. There’s just moment stacked on moment stacked on moment from Launchpads heroic second wind and donning of the gizmoduck armor, to Webby’s tearful confrontation with Beakley, to Huey using the greatest adventure of all line to foil bradford in one of the most deligfhully nuts moments of the series, I could go on for days with just how triumphant this finale felt. While it left a lot of doors open.. that feels like part of the design. It’s the end of the fight with FOWL.. but our heroes will never stop adventuring, never stop going and never stop being in our hearts and the curtain call at the end is now my faviorite bit of end credits ever, perfectly giving the main cast and friends one last chance to take a bow in their own unique ways. I will always miss this show but I will never be disapointed by the note it went out on.

8. The 87 Cent Solution!

Look some episodes are show stoppers, some are heartfelt tearjerkers, some are all this and more.. and some episodes are just clever and hilarious. The 87 Solution is the second funniest episode of Ducktales with me and my go to episode when watching the show. It’s just pure fun and with a clever premise: Scrooge notices 87 cents have gone missing, and already coming down with a cold, goes mad with paranoia as the kids slowly don face masks, something that has become even eeerier given everything, one by one realizing he needs to stop.

While David Tennant is an EXCELLENT dramatic actor, his comedy timing is really something that shoudln’t be ignored and i’ts on full display here as his performance gets more and more deranged, to thep oint he thinks an 8th dimensional imp is repsonsible. He nicely balances the disturbing side of Scrooge’s paranoia, his distancing from his family, with plenty of great gags about it too, the standout being when he offers 2 million dollars to whoever took the money like he’s publicly appeasing kidnappers. It’s fucking brilliant.

But while David is awesome as ever what really, truly makes the episode is my boy, one of my faviorite characters on the show if not my single faviriote FLINTHEART GLOMGOLD. Keith Ferguson is ALWAYS a dream as the character but this is his best performance by far. Part of this is the addition of Zan Owlson, Kev who I mentioned earlier’s faviorite Ducktales character. She’s not only throughly likeable in her own right, but provides the one thing Flinty was missing; a straight man.. or woman in this case. Scrooge wasn’t TERRIBLE in the roll, but can easily step away from his shit or foil it. Owlson has to put up with Glomgold’s nonsense while desperatly trying to stop him from undoing all her hard work with sheer force of jackass. The two jut play off each other brilliantly, Glomgold not getting sh’es not his employee but his equal and Owlson constnatly snarking at him.

And of course both things hit their peak in the climax with the family staging a fake funeral (Though no one told donald it was fake), and we get the funniest scene in the entire fucking show as Glomgold burts in in a white suit, money shades and full dance number to “All I Do Is Win’, which when first watching this I was convinced the song was somehow accidnetly on in the background but nope. They got it after using it in the test phase and the scene is better for it. Glomgold twerking on Scrooge’s casket, trying to get on it to dance, and having to be placated like ac hild is the icing on this very rich cake

And the reveal scene is also gold as Glomgold gets into a YEARLONG staring contest with a baby, fails to steal more than the 87 cents and, in my faviorite touch, put on an imp costume just to make scrooge seem crazier... then keeps the damn thing on the rest of the time for no explicable reason. The episode is the show at it’s comedic peak while giving Glomgold a chance to be a genuine threat and that’s Glomgood.

7. Let’s Get Dangerous!

Frank’s Rebooted Version of Darkwing Duck is probably his greatest achivment with the show. While this show is a team effort, something I slowly realized as I reviewed the show, it’s very clear from the way he talks, how well he knows the show and how much effort was put into porting Darkwing into the reboot that this was his baby. While redefining ducktales for the 2010′s was clearly a huge dream of his... doing the same for the master of suprise was an even bigger goal. And as a huge fan of superheroes i’ve seen my fair share of half assed takes on laired and complex characters. The XCU alone is one giant grab bag of missed opportunities for me.

So i’ts no exageration when I tell you Frank.. nailed it. In one of the most brilliant moves i’ve seen for a superhero work Frank worked his love of the show into the reboot.. by having Darkwing have been a show, one Launchpad loved.. and so did Drake, who was inspried by the show to become an inspriation himself and while his attempt to do that through a zack snydery reboot failed, Launchpad encouraged him to do it for real. Drake was still himself, but the meta aspect and the toning down of some of darkwing’s more obnoxious traits that didn’t work in a universe that, while patently rediciulous still took it’s characters seriously, he made a BETTER version of the character.

This is where all that comes to it’s peak, and hoppefully convinced Disney to let Frank , and possibly matt, run the reboot. And no, even if Point Grey is producing that dosen’t stop that: Thanks to Invincible i’ve now realized that Seth and his friend Evan producing the show dosen’t mean it’ll be RAN by them, nor unrelated to this. It just means their helping make it and if anything given how lush and gorgeous invincible’s animation is, it’s a VERY good sign their helping out with it if it’s true.

But wether this versoin continues or not, Frank gave it his best shot. Part of his diffrent angle is having Drake as a rookie here and as such here we see him truly struggle: he’s had his origin, he ahs the cape, he has the gadgets (in a brilliant turn thanks to fenton, who he actually likes... but is so far the ONLY person to not get he’s Gizmoduck), and the city.. but no crime to fight and no real idea how to go about his lifelong dream. The events of the episode slowly shape him: WHile he already had the spirit for darkwing, never giving up, looking good in a cape etc, this episode gives him the heart the same way it gave his original it: With Gosalyn. Dimantopolis and Beatriz just play off each other perfectly, as the two go from neimies to slowly bonding as Drake realizes this kid needs him and that he needs to fight for more than just filing the ohle inside, and goes to hell and back to help her get her grandpa back, with one of the best moments of the episode to me being when Launchpad helps her realize how hard he’s been working at it, an exausted drake refusing to acccept that he can’t get her grandpa back because he promised. He grows from simply trying to live the dream.. to surpassing the original. We also see more from Launchpad, who grows into his new family and helps push his boyfriend and newa dopted daughter in the right directions. The episode really evolves these characters from the simple disney afternoon versions, who while awesome were made into fully fleshed out characters. Gosalyn still has her edge but now has a hard lesson to learn about doing the right thing, forced to give up someone she loves for the greater good but finding a new family in the process.

Part of what makes the episode work though as while it is funcitonally one big darkwing duck reboot pilot that’s awesome, heartrending and a joy to watch... it’s still a ducktales episode in parts without either part hurting each other. Huey plays a vital role, figuring the ramrod is too good to be true.. and discovering just how it is, then when captured, slowly unravling why Bradford’s there and being at least in part responsible for outing him as a FOWL agent. While this is largely Drakes story the rest of the cast is still vital to it: Scrooge trusting in huey, Louie serving as his logical counter and Dewey meanwhile bonding with team darkwing and helping Gosalyn, knowing exactly where she’s been and providing a nice foil. The episode is just one long and impressive love letter to the original show while creating it’s own thing and that’s really this reboot in a nutshell. It also has some of the best fights of the series, with the first fight between darkwing and bulba, where our hero, unlike his original counterpart, easily troucnes bulba using his speed and skill, is the standout.

6. Woo-Ooo!

I covered this one recently so I won’t go on for too long.. but I will say I hold this one up as the gold standard for first episodes. In one hour, hell even in jus the first half we get a sense of the whole cast, the tone of the show, and the world we’ve been thrust into. It gets all the table setting out of the way by weaving it into a compelling story of Scrooge getting back in the game, finding a reason to get back to what he does best in those he loves most and setting up the season long arc effortlessly in the process. The worst I can say about the episode is it sets the bar a bit high for Season 1 and a lot of the first half really struggled to reach these heights. This episode is a masterwork and the perfect showcase for what the series would be at it’s height.

5. Moonvasion!

Speaking of Golden Standards, Moonvasion is one of the best season finale’s i’ve seen. it’s not THE best.. but that’s a really high bar to clear and that spots currently taken in my heart by “The Crossroads of Destiny” from Avatar the Last Airbender. But while not the best of it’s kind, it’s sitll the best the series put out and is an utterly satisfying epic that ties up season 2.

While I love the Last Adventure, it had a LOT to tie up and was really hampered by having to do all of that with no direct lead in. Moonvasion by contrast hits the ground running with the Moonlanders arriving on earth and all hell breaking loose, and the episode itself breaking into two stellar plots. Scrooge leading an army of every ally he has against the invaders, and Della seemingly going for reinforcements.. but really just trying to keep the kids safe from it, to their anger once they find out.

Both sides end up going badly: Scrooge looses most of his army as Lunaris was one step ahead of him and is left iwth Beakly and Launchpad, while Della ends up marooned.. and finds Donald. The reunion between the two is the highlight of the special, as the two argue as you’d expect (And Dewey cutting in seemingly to stop it.. only to rant at Donald for costing him “ten years of turbo” is the best gag of the episode), before embracing.

Our heroes naturally find ways to bounce back though. Louie, capping off his growth for the season, convinces his mom they can’t just hide.. and in the second best scene of the episode sings the lullabye she wrote.. one Donald sung them every night

And no sooner than Della gets her step back and realizes that dangerous or not she and her newly reunited family have to get back in there, do the cousins show up on Fethry’s giant shrimp/girlfriend Mitzi, and our heroes head back.

Scrooge’s plot hits i’ts peak though as he’s forced to accept the help of an unlikely and unwelcome ally: Glomgold, who turns out to be exactly what they need: While his plan is as stupid, short sighted and insane as you’d expect, complete with forcing Scrooge to dress up as santa just to piss him off and dressing his sharks in parkas (”I call them sharkas”), the sheer lonacy throws Lunaris off as he dosen’t know how to deal with this and Glomgold not only gets the better of him but gets his company back as part of his scheme. “You were prepared for our best but not our dumbest!” “And i’m the dumbest theirs ever been! Muahahahaha! Wait...”

And of course our other heroes arrive just in time to save things.. and the episode still manages to pull off what many works struggle to, something tha’ts very hard to: a SECOND climax. Lunaris decides to just say fuck it and blow up the earth and i’ts up to our core family to kick his ass in space. Epic space battles, Della’s girlfriend meeting the family and more insues and an emotoinal, action packed and fully satisfying finale is had by all... and it’s all topped with one of the best sequel hooks i’ve ever seen as FOWL makes themselves known to us.. and prepares to strike.

4. How Santa Stole Christmas! This one will also be short as i’ve talked about this one.. a lottttt. The initial review, my best christmas specials list and my best of 2020 list. I stand by all of that: this is a unique and wonderful christmas special, i’ll be watching it every year, and i’ts full of charm, humor and gay subtext. In short it’s this series but on christmas footing.

3. Last Crash of the Sunchaser!

Another one I covered very recently, this episode is a master piece of suspense, slowly building tension as our heroes get closer and closer to the truth about Della.. and to death, the simple but deadly stakes making this an absolute nailbiter from start to finish. This is some of the series best pacing bar none... but what seals it is the ending: the masterful flashback finally explaning whatever happened to Della duck, our heroes lashing out at each other.. all cumilating in the best Scene of the show. I said it might be in the review but no I can confirm: Scrooge bitterly ruminating over things while we find out just how much he’s lost... ending with him tearfully and angrily sitting once again alone in one hell of a powerful shot echoing Scrooge’s first apperance. Damn fine stuff.

2. Escape from The Impossbin Only one episode not only matches Last Crash in mounting tension and atmosphere but suprasses it. With FOWL and Bradford’s true nature now out in the wind, this episode uses that to create tension and rattles it’s two most unshakable characters: SCrooge’s normal boundless confidence is shot, not sure he can win this time against an opponent who knows him as well as he knows himself while Beakly slowly unravels, pitting Webby against the boys.. and pitting herself against Webby when Webby sees her terroizing them is only dividing them. Both plots start out funny enough but slowly escalate in tension and stakes until by the end your on the edge of your seat. The Beakly plot is the standout of the two, giving Bentina the starring role she badly needed, having gotten even better in light of the finale. Everyone is at the top of their game and everything builds up to one hell of a twist ending and one hell of a badass boast from our heroes: Their down.. but their far from out and this is far from over.

1. Nightmare On Kimotor Hill!

I”ll be reviewing this episode in full later this week as part of my Lena retrospective, but I stand by putting it up top. This episode is ducktales in it’s purest form and focuses on it’s best original character as Lena grapples with her self hatred and her past. That core helps anchor an amazing concept: going into the Kid’s dreams and finding out their greatest desires. The results.. are all gloriously rediclous and are easily the best gags of hte series as a whole: Dewey’s high school musical santa claus is going ot high school nonsense from getting a’s in Dewology to running away from the abstract concept of a love intrest, to not getting the sybolism of himself crying a moon made of his own tears. Louie quite literally becoming garfield, and my faviorite scene of the show: Huey, wanting to be the tall older brother..g iving himself horrifcly long leg. While everyone else is just understandably baffled, what makes the scene is the banter between Dewey and Huey, with Schwartz and Pudi at their best as Dewey first freaks out and then asks what the hell man, while Huey defends his weird decision (”I”m not good at imagination stuff okay!”), and then tries to get a jar of pickles. Each dream is just so oddly and wonderfully specific to each kid and each one of the triplests dreams, as well as violets being color coded down tot he backgrounds is a very nice touch. The visuals here are just peak ducktales, using the setting for all it’s worth and the climax is utterly emotoinal and heartbreaking... and Lena’s break from her abuser, finally realizing she has the power now is not only a wonderful metaphor... but also just so damn cathartic. And that’s why this one’s the best to me personally: it just packs so much into 20 minutes: some of the series best and most creative jokes, a gripping emtoinal arc, and so much more. It’s just that damn good and tha’ts why it’s the best... that and starting Huelet for me. Seriously that LIbrary scene is so fucking cute.

Thank you all for reading. If you liked this artcle, join my patreon and help me get to my stretch goal for monthly darkwing duck reviews, a review of super ducktales and more after! Until the next rainbow... it’s been a pleasure.

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cosmiclatte28 · 4 years ago

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#11 It’s a Small World (You x yuta x taeyong)

Eleventh day of Christmas

It’s a Small World (You x Yuta x Taeyong)

warning : expect a plot twist okay? It’s quite interesting, hope this can be a real life story for someone 😂💖

I do not own the pictures, but I own the stories :) hope you enjoy this

You’re glad to spend the Christmas and New Year with your family in Japan and now it’s time to go back to work. Your company has given you an extra two days holiday since you’ve been doing great for them. Your family send you off to the airport that morning and you’ve checked in your luggage and have some hours to stroll around the airport before departing home.

The Kansai airport in Osaka was not the biggest, but you sure can still stroll around the stores and pick up last chance Japanese snacks from the mini kiosk and after purchasing your favorite chocolate bars, you walk to the waiting room.

Before sitting down, your phone vibrates and you check to see a new message coming in.

“Safe flight (y/n)! I’ll pick you up in Incheon. Don’t forget my souvenirs. XOXO TY” the message read and you slap your head for forgetting the most important souvenir.

Quickly you scroll the chat room and look for the list of things he asked.

“Ramen done, skin care done, snacks also done,” you mumble as you read through all of the things he listed. “And shit I forgot the book.”

The nearest bookstore is a ten minute walk, the directory said, and you still have an hour. Without a second thought you make your way to the bookstore. You won’t risk going back to Seoul without that book. You basically promised him you will get him one if you’re in Japan.

You pray that the book store has the complete comic series, or you’ll need to find something for an exchange.

“Here I go,” you huff when you stand outside of the small store.

You directly go to the comic area and run your eyes through the Japanese characters, mumbling their titles as your heart beats faster and faster whenever you read another title.

“Here it is! Howl’s Moving Castle!” your happy squeal almost make you get kicked out from the store, as you extend your hand to take the last complete comic book you brush someone else’s hand.

“I grabbed it first,” was all that taller man said when he saw you opening your mouth.

You are speechless and you still keep your hand on the book “Excuse me,” you finally can speak up to him.

His Japanese is fluent, so he must be someone from here. You cannot recognize his face because of his shades and his long hair.

“What? I touched the book first, your hand comes after it. So this belongs to me.” The man said in his deep calm voice.

You shake your head “Can’t you just buy something else? I want to give this to someone.”

He shakes his head “Too bad, I also need this as a gift.”

You tighten your grip and try to pull the book “No, look you don’t understand. I might die if I did not get this.”

He smirks “Oh yeah? Someone’s a diehard Miyazaki fan. Cliché” he shrugs his shoulder.

In a glance he looks like Howl, considering the loose white tee he wore, the tight pants, the long blonde hair, you just wish you can see his eyes.

Maybe he is one of those guys who do cosplay and he always dresses up as Howl so he looks like this in daily basis. Your mind must have been crazy.

A cough interrupts the cold staring contest you two held. Without letting go off the 4 comic book set, the two of you shoot your heads to the sound.

“I am sure you do not want to make a chaos here. Please put down the book, you haven’t bought that yet.” The store owner points his finger to the book you and this man hold.

Flustered the two of you just mutter a polite “Sorry,” but without letting go off the book.

“I need this like seriously, please help me out this one time.” You plead but the tall man shakes his head, okay in your mind he is an asshole now.

“I also need this, four of them to be precise.” He sighs.

You roll your eyes “But I also need four of them. Since we both need to at least bring this book, let’s share it.” You hate this, you don’t like backing down but considering your time limit and your urgent need to bring this book home, maybe bringing back 2 is better than none.

The shop owner seems to agree with you, he offers you two to share and just look for the rest series later. He apologized for not having extra copies, because the book is a best seller.

The tall man finally gives up when his phone vibrates and his alarm rings.

“Fine. You’ll take two I take two. You take the even numbers, I take the odds.” He pays the book and after thanking the shop owner he walks to you. You give him the money and walk away, only to notice he is also walking the same way.

“What’s your name?” he asks suddenly when the two of you are walking back to the gates.

“(Y/n), you?” you feel sort of cranky with him, why can’t he be a gentleman and just let you have the book.

He hasn’t introduced you his name for there is a call for the passengers leaving for Seoul.

“Whoops, that is my plane. Nice to meet you (y/n),” he waves and disappears like that.

You shake your head and mutter a curse, when you realize you’re having the same flight with him.

Slowly you queue behind the long lines and after handing the ticket, you board to the plane.

Well you tried to forget the unfavourable encounter and just explain everything to Taeyong, while wishing he didn’t hate you.

“Seat 27 H” you smile and put up your things on the cabin above your head.

You notice someone is not sitting beside you, but since you’re in the window seat you nicely make your way into the chair. You buckle your seat belt, leave a message to tell your parents you’re on board already and send Taeyong a message too that you’re on schedule. You lean back while looking out of the window, taking in one last view of the Osaka vibes.

“Good bye home,” you whisper

“I guess that window seat is mine,” a finger taps your shoulder.

“What?” you turn around to face the same man from the bookstore, “You again?!”

“Oh we meet again,” he pretends to sound surprised in his same deep voice you’re trying to forget.

He smirks and takes off his shades, “Nakamoto Yuta.” He offers a hand and to be polite you take his hand, but something didn’t feel right.

“It is my seat,” you scrunch your eyebrow.

He grins, “Well yeah by the ticket it was yours, but I always like to take the window seat. Besides I put something there already,” he shows you the book he bought is inside the pocket infront of you.

You roll your eyes, “That doesn’t mean this is yours. I paid to get the window seat.” You lied.

He acts surprised, ”Really? You’re lying. Now I usually ask them kindly to switch place with me-“

He cannot finish his sentence because you cut him “No. Sit on the aisle or find another chair Yuta.”

He smirks and shrugs his shoulder, “I thought people always fall for my smile, but not you. Fine, you won this time.” He simply sit down on the other seat and buckles his belt.

“Sorry for the bookstore incident, I hope we can still enjoy our flight back to Korea.” He said softly to you in Korean. Your eyes widen, oh he is a fluent Korean speaker.

You just nod and when you feel like there is nothing else to talk about right now, you put on the headphones and play yourself some music.

Something tickles your brain, something about Nakamoto Yuta, his name somehow feels familiar in your ear. You take off your headphone to listen to the safety procedure and that’s when Yuta speaks up again in Korean.

“Look at us,” he suddenly whispers, “We fought over the last book, fought over a window seat, both speak Korean… we have some things in common. Aren’t we basically a couple already?”

You punch his shoulder “Are you in your right mind?”

He looks at you annoyed “Didn’t you know I was flirting?”

You blush and scoff “Not that fast sir-“

He smirks “Oh Sir? You’re into that huh? Sounds interesting.” His gaze examines your face.

The way your eyes look into him with curiosity but defence, the way you hide your cheeks from blushing but your ears give away too much, and the way you bite your lips.

He winks, “Alright, I am not teasing my little lamb anymore. You might cry if I go too far. Just know that whoever dates you must be very lucky to win someone like you.”

Your heart fell for that, “Actually I am single,” you blurt that out and curse yourself when you see his gaze changes to a challenging one.

“Woah, were you hinting me?”

You shake your head “Sorry I just didn’t know I’d say that outloud.”

“People tend to tell the truth when they’re nervous. So tell me little lamb, are you nervous because I am too stunning or you’re afraid I might harm you.”

You close your eyes, it’s not the fear of him killing you in your sleep or robbing you. No, it’s pure nervousness.

“I am sorry, I need my time alone.” You give him a forced small smile so he doesn’t feel bad and you return to listening your music.

The rest of the flight, Yuta did not bother you anymore. He watched movies, played some game in his phone and even read some books.

You just interact with him when he helps you take out the things on the overhead cabin and while you wait for the luggage. He helps you with your luggage and you’re grateful for it, at least he is not a total asshole. He is actually sweet and caring, maybe he is a tsundere.

“Alright, I guess this is it. We part ways and maybe never see each other again.” Yuta pushes his trolley and you also did the same thing beside him.

You nervously chuckle, something in your hear wishes you’ll bump him once again. “Yeah, this is it. Thank you for helping me and the books.”

He laughs, “As much as I want to give you the remaining half, I promised someone this.”

You nod your head, “I understand, same thing goes to me.”

He taps his finger on the handle, “Think we might see each other again one day?”

You look to the distant, “Maybe? Hope it’s better than our first encounter.”

Yuta nods, “Yeah I wish that never happen again. So, this is it. Is someone picking you up?”

You take your phone out to see the message from the man picking you up, “Yes, my cousin is here. What about you? Taxi?”

“No, someone came to pick me up too.”

Your phone rings and both Yuta and you toss each other a glance. “Go, your cousin is here maybe.” He shoos you politely and you laugh at his action “See you when I see you! Bye Yuta!” you wave and walk with your trolley away while listening to your brother’s direction.

Yuta also picks up a call not longer after it, “Oh the mini market? Yeah I saw it. I’m walking there.”

You meet your cousin already and hug him tight “Taeyong!!! Glad you’re not late. Let’s go!” you try to bring him home first and show the other souvenirs first before finally telling him about the comic.

He ruffles your hair “I know you’re excited to go back to Seoul, but I am also here to pick up my friend. He’s also from Japan and I promised to pick him up too. He’s on his way.”

Your mind feels fuzzy but you try to ignore it, maybe you’re just nervous about telling the story. That was until you hear your cousin’s voice calling out a name you learnt today.

“Yuta!!”

“Taeyong-ah!!”

You peer over Taeyong’s shoulder and gasp when you see the same man you’ve been with the whole day.

“Yuta, this is the cousin I used to talk about, and (y/n) meet Yuta, my boyfriend.” Taeyong proudly introduces the two of you without knowing anything.

Yuta plays along and shakes your hand “The girl from the bookstore? (y/n) right?”

You smirk and play along too “Mister window seat! Yuta, true?”

Taeyong looks at the two of you with a big question mark on his face.

You stifle a laugh when Yuta nicely grabs his boyfriend’s hand and pushes his trolley to get to the car.

“We owe you a story, come let’s eat lunch and we will tell you everything!” you giggle as you push your belongings too.

Taeyong nods his head “Fine, looks like you two are hiding something. Hope it’s nothing bad.”

After loading your stuff and Yuta’s stuff, the three of you stop over a restaurant for lunch.

Once the lunch is over, you and Yuta both pull out a paper bag.

“For you, open it up and we will tell you the story.” You hand him the same bag Yuta handed over.

Taeyong curiously open the bag and screams when he sees the book, he wanted is complete here in front of his face.

“Oh the two of you did not forget! Why did you just get me two each?” he notices that soon when he arranges the comic books on the table.

“Who wanna tell?” you glance to Yuta.

He rolls his eyes, “You go first, then me.”

With that Taeyong laughs at the story both of you re-enact. He has the greatest laugh this year when he sees how you and Yuta re-do the scene while muttering the same Japanese words he did not understand.

“So, in the end both of you got me the complete set. Congratulations! None of you will die.” Taeyong ends the story with a nice wrap and the three of you can’t believe how small the world is.

See you tomorrow, on the last day!

Thank you so much!!! ily!!

Christmas masterlist

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greensword101 · 4 years ago

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My secret santa was @freedom-barricades-bighero16! I am so sorry for the late gift, I tried to finish yesterday, but I had a sudden case of vertigo. But I am pleased with the final product and I hope you are as well. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

“No…” Hiro murmured again, balled up the paper and tossed it over his shoulder. He barely heard the thud of paper hitting paper; no doubt wondering that the wastebasket would need to be emptied again. He combed a hand through his tousled, jet-black hair and slipped another sheet of paper in front of him. The pencil scratched for a few minutes as he worked out what he wanted to draw before discouragement overcame him again and he crumbled the paper and threw it away without a second glance. He dared a glance at the clock and wanted to bang his head against the desk ad nauseum.

Wow. Washed up at fourteen. So sad. He almost heard the rustle of paper from behind before he remembered and scrunched up his eyes to keep the tears from forming. Tadashi wasn’t here to help him now, and he never would ever again. But it helped at times to think of what he would say were they living in a better world. It was effective when thinking of an idea, but every time he tried to imagine Tadashi’s voice now, it would not come to him. He tried to think of what he would say now, what sort of wisdom he would try to impart on Hiro, but he wasn’t sure if Tadashi had ever given him advice on a girl before.

Aunt Cass would be after his hide again if he didn’t put himself into bed, Hiro knew. Bitterness filled his mouth, and it was all he could do to not throw something. Instead, he pushed himself away from his desk and collapsed onto his bed in a dead heap, not bothering to change into pajamas. He just laid there, prone and tired. Seven days until Christmas, he told himself, another year without you, Big Brother.

He wasn’t sure when he fell asleep, but he knew that he hadn’t been underneath his blankets earlier. Now, Mochi was resting, curled up on Hiro’s stomach and a glance at his alarm told him it was just before eight o’clock in the morning. He managed to trudge his way downstairs for breakfast, still groggy with sleep as the hustle and clamor of the café washed over him. Aunt Cass had a plate of eggs and bacon set up for him at a single table with a tall glass of orange juice, which he began to wolf down fervently.

“How’s your little project going?” Aunt Cass asked. His mouth full of food, Hiro took a large swig of juice before he could respond.

“It’s…it’s going bad,” he said bluntly, “I got nothing that might work, and Christmas is in a few days.”

“You could always buy your Secret Santa a gift,” Aunt Cass suggested.

That would work…but I don’t it would be good enough. If it was anyone else he had to get a present for, Hiro would have leapt at the chance to go shopping. But he knew that it had to special, it had to be meaningful since it was coming from him. Tadashi still managed to get him one last Christmas gift even after passing on and it was a meaningful gift that he hoped to cherish for years. For Karmi, it had to be meaningful too.

But what could he get for her that wouldn’t come off as saying Hey, here’s a nice present for you? What’s that? Why does it have your initials engraved into it? It’s because I wanted to show off how much I like you now. Would she like jewelry? He never saw her wearing anything flashy, even during parties. Would she be alright with a stuffed toy? Hiro wasn’t certain if Karmi kept anything plushy around at her age. And what if she didn’t like the gift? Would that mean she would make fun of his efforts?

Suddenly, his appetite left him all at once. He pushed his plate away and looked down into his lap. What was he supposed to come up with in a few days as a gift? Bells jingled as the entrance was opened and a jangle of voices came in with it. He could pick out a few of them, but the noise swallowed up the words too fast for him to follow. Thankfully, Fred was never capable of keeping his voice ‘room appropriate’ and that was the one Hiro was able to focus on.

“Come on, Wasabi! You gotta admit this was my best idea ever!”

“Fred,” Wasabi drawled, “All you did was tape mistletoe to a hat and wear it all day.”

“That didn’t stop you from kissing me!”

Wasabi chuckled deeply, “I guess it didn’t. Hey, little man. Feeling the reason for the season, yet?”

Hiro turned around and had to hold back a snort of laughter. Fred had decided that a fishing hat was most appropriate for his idea. The mistletoe dangled dangerously close to the edge and had a little strip of scotch tape keeping it there. Wasabi decided to wear a dark green, short-sleeved shirt with a Christmas tree embroidered into it instead of his usual sweater.

“Not really,” he admitted and noticed the two of them flushed, “Are you two feeling okay?”

“Yeah,” Wasabi’s voice went up a pitch as he replied, “We’re…we’re good. Really good –”

“Wasabi finally kissed me!” Fred shoved his face close to Hiro’s. He pointed to his hat, “I wish I knew sooner! I’m gonna wear this every year, now!”

“Huh?” It took a moment for Hiro to register what Fred had said, “Oh! Congrats, guys. Maybe you can double date with Honey Lemon and Go Go…”

“Or, we could triple date!” Fred smiled broadly. Hiro looked at him oddly and Fred rolled his eyes, “You know…us, them, you and…”

“It’s not a thing, alright?” Hiro grimaced, “It is certainly not a thing and I don’t think it will be a thing, ever. Forget I asked.” He made to stand up, thinking that Fred would take the hint and drop the matter.

“You’re her Secret Santa, aren’t you?” Hiro stared at him incredulously and Fred just smiled, “Just because I love comic books doesn’t mean I can’t notice these things, little dude.”

Hiro looked around quickly in case he caught sight of someone who shouldn’t have been listening. He looked at Fred, feeling exhausted just looking at his friend now, “You got me. Luckiest guy on Earth. Just a few days till Christmas and I got nothing to show for it.”

Wasabi looked sympathetically at him, “Is there anything we could do to help, Hiro?”

“Not unless you could pull a time machine out of Fred’s hat so I could get back to the start of the month and have more time to get something made for her.”

“I’m serious,” Wasabi grabbed a nearby chair and dragged it over to Hiro’s table. Hiro reluctantly took his place back at his own seat while Fred leaned over Wasabi’s shoulders like a monkey. “So, you still don’t have a gift yet. You can go simple.”

“Simple? For Karmi?” Hiro was incredulous, “Like, what? Show up at her house dressed as…” He did a quick scan around the café before leaning in and whispering, “You know…”

Both men looked at each other and grinned. Hiro gulped nervously; he was used to seeing Fred smile with impish delight, he just didn’t have any idea how scary Wasabi looked with the same kind of intent on his face. Before he could begin to protest, Fred took hold of his arms while Wasabi seized his legs and hoisted the boy into the air. He tried to kick and squirm in their grip, but it was iron clad. They carried him upstairs and into the first floor.

“What are you doing?!” Hiro felt Fred release his grip on his arms and found himself dangling upside down.

“We’re doing this in Tadashi’s stead,” Wasabi was supposed to be the one convincing Fred not to pull crazy stunts, not encouraging them! That was their dynamic. “Just do your thing, little man, and look for a new angle.”

Hiro stopped struggling and allowed himself to dangle, hoping that an idea would come before all the blood went to his head. He trusted that Wasabi wouldn’t let him fall to the hard floor, and he had to trust that he and Fred were on the right track. Baymax couldn’t do something like this for him; lifting a ton in weight didn’t mean that his body was able to do “looking for a new angle” safely without letting Hiro get hurt. It would have gone against his protocol altogether to let someone in his care get hurt.

Protocol…help…Hiro’s eyes lit up with inspiration and he let out a loud whoop of delight that almost had Wasabi dropping Hiro.

“I got it!” He cheered as Wasabi righted him and barreled into the larger man’s chest, hugging him as tightly as he could, “Thanks, Wasabi! I needed that!”

“Hey, what about me!” Fred pouted. Hiro turned to him and threw his arms around Fred’s neck, threatening to choke him. He made a dash for upstairs, “Gotta go, guys! Feel free to bum around!”

The moment he got into his bedroom, Hiro swept away the mess off his desk with one arm and laid down a large sheet of paper, taking careful measurements for the designs and hoping that Karmi would like it…

(0-0)

Karmi felt the beginnings of an agonizing headache coming upon her. It always happened when she was stressed or failed to get enough sleep. This was one of those times and no drink or medicine would prevent it from overcoming her at any rate. The best remedy was to usually fall asleep, but Christmas was almost here, and her gift still wasn’t ready yet! In any case, sleep was for the weak and weary. Karmi wasn’t weak or weary and she had faced more dangers than any sixteen-year-old ought to. It had taken much pleading with her parents and the crime rate in San Fransokyo to go down before they decided to move back. Now that she was home, she wasn’t going to waste a gift like that.

She looked down at her work and frowned. Half-finished patterns, torn pieces of fabric, and loose string caked her worktable. It was always in such an orderly state that Karmi wanted to tear her hair out in frustration. Part of her missed the days where she would recline on the couch and watch Christmas specials as a kid, free of worry or care for serious work while she cherished the sparce days away from school. School was never a happy place for her, truthfully. And it had taken three years of pleading with her parents before they conceded and hired tutors to come to the house. But all she did was exchange bullies for loneliness and Karmi had taken to writing and sewing to dull the ache.

It hadn’t come easy at first; her fingers bled from needlepoints and her hands struggled to create what she would imagine in her mind. The struggle still persisted to this day, but Karmi had learned simple tricks and techniques that made her projects easier. She just prayed that it would help her now as she struggled a few days before her gift needed to be made. Why couldn’t she find an idea that would stick?

Karmi wasn’t always nice to Hiro when they met. In fact, she had been overtly hostile, reeling back from the new threat that had made itself known in SFIT. He was the parasite to her ambitions as he took the honor of youngest student to ever enroll away from her. But, like swimming for a long period in cold water, she had grown used to the boy. In fact, she began to see him as a friend before the crisis with Sycorax forced her to move away. Returning briefly for the summer made her realize how much she missed Hiro. It had been like an early Christmas present when her parents told her that they’d be moving back to the city.

Part of her wished she got a chance to know Hiro more personally. She couldn’t think of anything she knew of the boy regarding personal interests. All she knew was that he was intelligent, cheeky, headstrong, stubborn, liked hanging out with talking robots and that he was the younger brother to the Legend of SFIT. How was she supposed to make a gift based on that alone?

Her head felt like someone had crammed a large bell inside of her head now and was ringing it endlessly. She tried pinching the edge of her palm to delay it, but all she rewarded herself with was more pain. Some part of her wanted to go to find Hiro and ask to see Baymax for help. There must be some protocol in his databanks that could help her deal with her headache…

Her eyes widened with realization and the dull agony in her head was briefly forgotten. A smile crept up on her face as she cleared off her table of waste and debris before laying down a fresh sheet of paper. The measurements had to be precise, she knew it. She wasn’t used to making anything from scratch before, there was usually a reference for her to go by. That thought brought cold prickles to her toes, but she brushed it aside.

As the process continued, her movements became less halted and smoother, like grooving into a fresh block of wood. Her hesitations had lessened, and new thoughts came to mind as she created the patterns for the plushie. And she knew that when Hiro caught sight of her gift to him, it would be a Merry Christmas indeed.

(0-0)

The music was pleasantly mellow and quiet a few days later in the large Exposition Hall of SFIT. Hiro had a fierce battle with his hair earlier that evening, fighting to untangle the gnarls and knots that had been developing overtime unattended. It had taken over an hour before it was decidedly flat and malleable for a comb to attend to. He decided to dress in a red dress shirt with a dark green tie and a pair of black slacks. Fred had suggested he wear a mistletoe on his head, but Hiro had dismissed the idea. He wasn’t going to willingly invite the mockery and teasing of others.

Fred and Wasabi were already there, arms linked together and laughing at something Honey Lemon was saying. She was with Go Go, who had decided to wear a formal suit like Hiro’s, but with a green shirt instead of a red one. Honey Lemon was dressed in a lemon-yellow dress that ended just below her knees. Fred and Wasabi were dressed as alike as a cat was a dog; Wasabi had a black bowtie while Fred had a white tie. Wasabi had a white dress shir Fred wore a black sweater.

Somehow, a pang of jealousy hit Hiro and he tried not to show it. He looked at Baymax warningly in case the robot decided to announce his emotional readings to the rest of world.

“Hiro!” Honey was the first to see him and glomped him, planting a peck on each cheek as they embraced. Once, that would have had his cheeks flaming, but now he just smiled and chuckled. Honey Lemon saw the roll of paper he held under one arm, “Is that your Secret Santa gift, Hiro?”

“Maybe,” Hiro chuckled nervously and tried finding Karmi’s face in the crowd, “I actually need to go find them right now. Catch you later!” And with that, he ran off into the crowd, muttering apologies and pardons to each person he accidentally rammed himself into.

Karmi slowly entered the hall just a moment later, holding a sloppily wrapped bundle in her arms. She was dressed in silvery and gold with long sleeves that ended just below her knees with a blue scarf draped around her shoulder. She had been hoping to see Hiro at the entrance when she came in, but only found his group of friends instead. She looked to Honey Lemon, the one she was most familiar with, “Hey, have you seen Hiro? …not that I’m interested in seeing him or anything, just wanted to know where he was so I could um…not be near him…?” Her smile in the end would have frightened children if they dared to look at her.

Go Go half smiled, “Try the crowd he just bodysurfed into. You might catch him there.”

Karmi looked at the audience of people with trepidation before her eyes hardened with resolve, “Wish me luck, everyone. I’m going fishing!”

“When you come back with Hiro, be sure to bring some sushi!” Fred called out to her as she entered the mob, cradling her present protectively. Wasabi looked at him funnily and Fred shrugged, “What? I’m hungry!”

“How about my lips? You hungry for them?” Wasabi pressed his lips lightly against Fred’s.

Fred’s face burned as he took a hold of the front of Wasabi’s shirt and began to drag his boyfriend away, “Um…excuse me, we need some privacy.” Wasabi’s eyes widened with surprise for a moment before he shrugged and let Fred carry him away without protest.

“Pardon me. Excuse me. Coming through. Really sorry! Nice dress. Love your shoes, wear them more often!” Hiro danced through the crowd, hopping on one foot to the next as he tried to catch a glimpse of Karmi. Hindsight told him that he should have just waited by the entrance or had Baymax scan the room for any sign of her. Stubbornness told him that determination rewarded the daring. His stomach told him that the food at the snack table must be worth skipping out earlier at home.

Meanwhile, Karmi was on the verge of screaming that she had a dangerous bacterium in her hands at the top of her lungs. If it didn’t get her thrown out of the party, quarantined or crushed under a frenzied mob, then it would allow some breathing room for her to move around with ease. She clutched her present tightly, horrified of dropping it to the floor and having some careless foot smash it underneath. After all of those hours of sewing, stitching, and nursing pricks on her finger, Karmi was not going to let it be demolished so easily. Someone bumped into her from behind and Karmi tightened her grip on her gift as she hit the floor.

Someone else tumbled to the floor next to her with a grunt and the crinkling of paper. Karmi got to her feet, reaching down to help the stranger to their feet when she saw that it was Hiro.

“Hiro?”

“Karmi!”

Hiro looked at her outstretched hand for a moment and hastily pulled himself to his feet. They sheepishly tried to avoid looking directly at one another. A moment of courage came to them at the same time and they both noticed how red their faces were. Hiro tried telling himself that it was pretty warm inside. Karmi dismissed what she saw as a trick of the light.

“Nice dress,” Hiro muttered weakly.

“Good color coordination,” Karmi mumbled in reply.

They stared at each other for a few more moments, trying to find the right words to say. They both tried desperately not to let the other see what they were holding in their hands.

“It’s kind of cramped,” Hiro observed, “Snack bar should have some more room.”

“Yeah!” Karmi eagerly leapt at the invitation, “Snacks! I’m hungry!”

They managed their way to the snack bar without difficulty before they both realized that their hands were linked together. Neither of them pushed away from the touch.

Give her the gift, Hiro thought to himself as he eagerly snacked on a plate of pigs in a blanket. This is the best chance you have, just give it to her already.

Shove it into his face and have him open it already! Karmi slowly nibbled on some cheese and crackers, barely tasting them at all. Just do it now.

“Hiro…”

“Karmi…”

They both looked at each other.

“You first,” Hiro smiled nervously.

Karmi flushed and fiddled with the gift in her hands, “I…some party, isn’t it?”

“I haven’t gone to a lot, to be honest,” Hiro rubbed the back of his neck, “Last time I went, the dance got cut off because of High Voltage. I thought Megan was going to get hurt…”

“Megan?” Karmi tried to keep the terror out of her voice.

Hiro looked at her with wide eyes and hastily added, “She’s just a friend! A friend with a really crazy cop for a dad…who wanted to hook up with Aunt Cass.”

Karmi winced, “Are they still seeing each other?”

Hiro’s smile grew mischievous, “They haven’t been on a date since Aunt Cass learned he was being a…”

“Jerk?” Karmi suggested.

“Yeah. A jerk.”

Karmi looked at her present and grew determined, “Hiro, I wanted to…”

“Karmi, I…”

“Merry Christmas,” they both said at once, shoving their gifts forward, eyes wide shut and braced for impact. When they both braved a look, however, they each stared in silence at what was being offered to one another.

“You first,” Hiro held out his gift to her, looking more fourteen than Karmi had ever seen him. She took the roll of paper from him and hastily gave him her poorly wrapped gift in exchange. She undid the wrapping and unrolled it. When she looked inside, Karmi saw a small Chibi design of herself looking back at her on blueprint. Measurements were inscribed as well as features that would be included in it. Her own personal aid in the lab, meant to be programmed with features to help keep her projects safe and monitored.

“It’s not finished yet,” Hiro murmured apologetically, “This is the final draft I made and it’s going to take a few weeks, and I figured…” He chuckled weakly before continuing, “Who else could you trust with your lab than yourself?”

You. She wanted to say it. I would trust you, Hiro.

“I love it already,” Karmi said instead, “Thank you…you should open your gift too. I didn’t think I could make a robot like you, but…this was the next best thing.”

Hiro ripped the present open and felt his mouth widen. He knew it was made with minky. He couldn’t help but think of Mochi as he caressed the fabric in his hands and sorely wanted to press it against his face. Two black button eyes stared back at him and Hiro was certain that it would sound just like Baymax if it could talk.

“Karmi…” He began, but words failed him.

“I like to sew in my freetime too,” Karmi blushed, “I didn’t know if this was your thing or not, but I know how much you love Baymax. Its like having a piece of your brother with you. You could have that in your room and it’d be like…having a piece of me with…”

The rest of her words were cut off as Hiro slammed into her and wound his arms tightly around her chest.

“Thank you, Karmi,” he whispered in his ear, “I love it.”

Karmi reached around with her arms and hugged him back fiercely. They stayed like this for a few minutes before pulling apart. Hiro reached out and grabbed her hand into his own and guided her through the crowd again without another word.

When they reached the entrance again, they saw Honey Lemon and Go Go waiting for them with knowing smiles on their faces. Wasabi was walking back to them, straightening out his mussed shirt and tie, hastily covering his neck with one large hand when he caught sight of the others. Fred came following afterwards with a blissful look on his face that came right off when he noticed Karmi and Hiro and said, “Hey! Where’s my sushi?!”

30 notes · View notes

angelisverba · 5 years ago

Text

so precious, if only you knew

in which y/n thinks her brother’s best friend sees her as a little sister, and Jason, her brother’s best friend, thinks she’s too cute for her own good.

word count: 9k give or take some :D

pairing: y/n, and her brothers best friend, Jason (from the snl skit)

notes: inspired by project x. that’s all.

When Jason and his friends were in their freshman year of high school, they made a pact.

To have a party.

A party so big, everyone got laid. A party so big, celebrities came. A party so big, the police feared it.

One where they would loose their virginity. Get drunk so they couldn’t remember how they lost it (although, now it’s too late ‘cause none of them are virgins). And maybe, just maybe, participate in the illegal consumption of illegal substances such as drugs and or alcohol.

At the time of their promise, it was unknown if this party would be any sort of celebration, or just for the hell of it. The four, gangly, skinny, face-full-of-acne, boys had been so fueled by the simple idea that they just had to make their party so legendary future alumni could only imagine imitating an ordeal as great as the one they created. As time passed, they argued over who’s birthday, or what holiday would be the cause of, as it had come to be named, G.C.B.B. Get Crunk and Bone Babes. Pronounced gee-sea-babe, because somehow the two b’s had morphed into ‘babe’. GCBabe, in the end, was endowed to Jason when he made a bet that he would score the winning touchdown and win the league for his high school during his junior year. Andrew and Kent, slightly peeved but more relieved that they had a reason to celebrate (they’d settled on Jason’s birthday), and had shifted their focus to the hows, when, wheres, and whats of the situation.

This was the only thing they ever talked about the closer it got to the date, Feburary 1st, and everything they did revolved around spreading the word, obtaining booze, weed, and whatever else they planned on having. Andrew, who’s uncle so conveniently ran a radio station, not only announced a message himself on said radio station, but also convinced his uncle’s dj coworkers to email any celebrities they knew.

Kent, more on the brainy side of things, was working on the booze and drugs. He snuck into the school and used that machine they had to make student id’s and created a fake state id for himself. He would buy booze in a store where workers didn’t know him. Maybe drive 30 minutes to the next town for beer and the lot. His cousin had told him not to worry about weed and the sorts, as long as he received payment.

Jason, ever the spoiled brat, would pay for everything. Even if it was his birthday.

No, no, because it was his birthday.

The thing is, his parents were going out of town to celebrate their anniversary, which just so happened to fall on Jason’s birthday (what a wonderful gift to Jason’s dad), and had given him a generous sum of money to make up for the fact that they wouldn’t be there to celebrate his 18th birthday party. So, he had the house, the money, and the birthday to celebrate.

“YOU’VE HEARD IT ONCE BEFORE, AND YOU’LL HEAR IT AGAIN TILL THE END OF THIS SCHOOL’S TIME,” yelled Andrew, who stood on the back of a golf cart, megaphone in hand while Jason and Kent drove him up and down the lunch tables, “PARTY AT FUCKING JASON’S HOUSE, THIS SATURDAY. MISS IT, AND YOU’LL DIE.”

“Andrew!”

The cart came to a stop in front of a very disgruntled-looking y/n, Andrew’s sister. She stood comically, with her hands bunched up into tiny fists at her hips, lips in a frown at her brothers actions. “Are you trying to cause a riot? Miss it or die,” she mocked, pulling a funny face and cocking her hip to the side as she does so, “Yeah, think I’d rather die, thanks. Now shut up and put that cart back before they take away your senior privileges.”

Kent laughs, and Jason, leaning with his forearms crossed on top of the steering wheel, snickered into his wrists.

“Well, I’ve got news for you sissy,” said Andrew, his tongue poking out at her playfully, “Coach Barnwell let us borrow his cart, and all the snitch staff is in a meeting, so I’m not gonna get into trouble,” He makes and L with his forefinger and thumb, pressing it on his forehead, “Loser. Now, scram. Go study for chem or... something.”

Y/n laughed at her brother, knowing that he was only joking with her, and flipped him off. She walked away with, as Andrew said, her chem book tucked underneath her arm, and shut herself in a little nook at the library for the remainder of the lunch period. Away from the ‘get crunk and bone babes’ nonsense, god knows she heard enough of it at home. Jason this, and GCBabe that. Sheesh, it was terrible. All she ever wanted to do was study and do her homework in peace... and maybe steal a few glances and Jason here and there.

But we don’t have to talk about that. What y/n really needed to do, was study for the chem test she had on Friday. Tomorrow. She was the best in her class, always raising her hand to answer a question, but for whatever reason, she just couldn’t get the hand of stoichiometry if she didn’t have a sample problem in front of her. She didn’t want to have to, but grades mattered, so all day she had been thinking of way to cheat. How to write what she needed. Which letters to shorten. Where to hide the slip of paper.

She’d done it before.

Cheat on a test, that is. The pressure there was to ensure good grades, well it was an insurmountable force. Her entire life, her parents told her academic success led to success in life, and you don’t want to end up homeless under the bridge do you, y/n?

She didn’t. It was her biggest fear. Studying hard for a nice home and car, and enough money to support herself and her kids was a constant thought in the back of her mind.

It’s because of this that the tip of her nose was always stuck in a book, her fingers always wrapped around a pencil that transcribed notes in her neat writing. It was all she knew.

Because it was all she knew. It was no surprise to her parents when she pulled all-nighters to study for tests. Or when she declined offers to eat dinner out because ‘mom, I have a test to study for’ or ‘dad, i really need to finish this essay’. That night, was no different. Y/n stayed up to study, her thumb pink because of all the pages she was flipping through. Her wrist her from forcing her writing to be as small as it could, so she could fit all she could on an index card she cut in half.

In the morning, Andrew cheered a loud, “WHOOP! WHOOP! MY SISTER ISN’T SUCH A GOODY TWO SHOES AFTER ALL!” when he saw her place the card up her shirtsleeve after she put her seat belt on. Y/n, had she had the energy, would’ve pushed his shoulder, but instead chose to take a nap during the measly 15 minutes it took to get to school. Her head jostled against the headrest with the cars movements, and she almost cried because she couldn’t doze off. Somewhere along the way, she felt fingers against the side of her face, cradling her head. She jumped, startled, but she heard Andrew say,

“Relax, its Jason. Picked him up cause he needed a ride to school.” and she was out like a light.

Andrew got out of the car once he parked, and Jason circled around the passenger seat so he leaned over the console, with his palm still on the other side of her face. He rubbed up and down her forearm to wake her, murmuring, “We’re here, y/n. S’time to wake up.”

Y/n woke up disoriented, starting with a deep breath and her eyes blinking open slowly, looking around and landing on Jason, who was smiling at her tenderly. She smiles back at him, tilting her head to the side as she does so. She hopes he can’t hear how fast her heart is beating.

“Good morning,” she said to him. The warning bell rings not long after that, and she turns away from him to reach for her backpack. Jason grabs his own backpack, too, swinging it over his should and stepping out of Andrew’s car. Andrew stands at the front of the car, texting someone on his phone while he waits for Jason and his little sister to step out.

“C’mon guys. Big day today!” yelled Andrew. It seemed as if he was always yelling. His voice, ebullient and clear, held an electrifying energy today, amplifying itself to the max. He whooped and hollered, locking his car carelessly and comically skipping away, but not before turning back and blowing a kiss in Jason’s general direction, yelling, “This is for you, big boy!”

Y/n snickered at her brother, and at Jason’s shocked face. “That was for you, big boy,” she repeated after he brother.

“You forgot the kiss,” he said, pouting and pointing his chin down at the floor. Her heart doubled over in her chest, and she struggled to contain her swoon.The little 13 year old in her, having been the first time she ever felt anything for Jason, squealed like a banshee, and the rational 17 year old in her, shushed her by taping her mouth closed. Having seen Jason’s blonde, skinny, cheerleader girlfriends, she knew it would never happen. Jason was only nice to her because she was his best friend’s little sister.

That was all she’d ever be.

“Oh I have no doubt you’ll get plenty of those tomorrow,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. When she noticed the groups of students getting smaller and smaller, she started walking away, eager to get to class and not be late. She’s only taken three steps when Jason calls out her name.

“I know you’ll do great on your test today,” and he has the goofiest smile on his stupidly handsome name and y/n just wants to go over there and slap him for making her heart to pirouettes.

“Thank you,” she said, and turned to walk to her class.

Jason felt as if he was in one of those indie movies. But, the ones from the 80′s. Ironically, he’s leaned up against the car, one foot propped up, hand clenching the singular strap he wore on his left shoulder. Entranced, he stared after y/n as she walked away, brows dipped over his eyes and his leg bouncing jitterishly.

When he was 16, a sophomore, and she a freshman, he’d stumbled upon her on a rainy spring day. He’d been on his way home from his (now ex) girlfriend’s house, and she was huddled underneath a large birch tree, the canopy thick enough so she wasn’t getting wet, but the winds strong enough that she was chilled to the bone. Her knees were banged up, and her ankle was twisted. Jason remembers asking her what happened, and she said nothing, instead jumping into his arms when he knelt down beneath her. He remember hissing because she was so cold, her clothes soaked through. She’d whispered to him a weak don’t tell my parents, please take me to your house, and he did. He took her to his house, carrying her because the poor thing had to hop on one foot. This was around the time he was bulking for wrestling, so he didn’t have a hard time lifting her and carrying her the rest of the way.

She fell asleep on his bed wearing a pair of his sweatpants and his hoodie after she took a warm shower. They never talked about. Not even once. But Jason swears that every once in a while, the skin of his neck still burns where she pressed a kiss to it after he got in bed next to her because she was ‘still cold’.

Since then, Jason harbored feelings for her. His yearning of her dainty hands to press against his chest while she cuddled into him was squashed every time he heard Andrew yell at another guy in the locker room for sexualizing his sister.

It was a dangerous game he played. Sneaking looks at her in car rides to and from school. Wanting to kiss her like he did then. And when she wore plaid school girl skirts, he wanted to press her up against the wall and hold her by the throat while his tongue snaked into her mouth. All while he sat next to Andrew.

He knew that one day, he’d say fuck it all and do it. He wasn’t an idiot. His back burned when she stared a him from her kitchen isle while he played video games with Kent and Andrew in the living room of her house. He knew every little thing she tried to pass as discreet, because he did the same thing too.

One day, and one day soon, he’d say fuck. it. all.

Y/n was very nervous.

Well, she always get nervous when she’s getting ready to take a test but, today was different. She was on edge, leg bouncing and head pounding. She was stressed. Her english teacher had assigned a paper that was due at midnight, and her math teacher had given her a surprise quiz she knows she failed. And this test was her chance to bring her B+ to an A-. Not to mention, if she got caught, she’d be sent up to the office with a referral.

“You have until the end of class to complete this exam. If you fail to complete before the class period, you will be granted five minutes after the bell. You may begin,” the teacher, Mrs. Prowe, sat down after the little announcement, and turned her full attention to an adult coloring book she had set up on her desk.

Y/n stared at the first question for a solid 2 minutes before any of the information actually sunk in. To which does He belong? a. metals b. metalloids c. non-met....

The first few questions are always easy. Review from past chapters, all of which y/n understood. The first page, front and back, were a breeze. She bubbled in circled on her answer sheet without hesitation. The back side, however, was a different story.

Her palms began to sweat at the sight of brackets and subscripts on letters. Her pencil started slipping. Y/n’s heart started to race, the edges of her eyes blurring. Don’t cry, don’t cry. Fuck. The note card. She took it out with no second thoughts. Within seconds, she had finished the first problem. It was almost exactly like the example exercise she had copied down, only the letters had been changed; different elements. Halfway through the period, the teacher announced how much time was left, and y/n was nearly done.

On the last page, however, was one problem she knew she wouldn’t get. It was one of what the teacher called ‘irregulars’, because you needed to follow certain rules that pertained to the elements or whatever the heck it was. She stared at the paper with her eyebrows raised, and all the dreadful feelings she had felt before tumbled back. Her pencil began to slip, her eyes began to blur. Shit, shit.

The bell rang. She didn’t want to doddle any longer, cut she needed to answer this last problem, and she didn’t fucking know how. Her leg was near violently shaking, the table quivering with her movements. Her breathing grew tight, and she figured, she could lose one point. Knowing Mrs. Prowe it wouldn’t matter because that last one is most likely worth half the test. Y/n felt herself go rigid, body nearly frozen as she walked against student traffic to place her test on the teachers desk.

She was the last to exit the classroom. She did so with her head hung low, her feet dragging slowly on the tiles. Lips trembling, fighting to hold back tears.

That was how she bumped into Jason. Shoulders drooping and eyes shining wet. She bumped into his chest so hard, she would’ve fallen back if he didn’t catch her.

“Y/n?” He asked after he stumbled back a bit. He’d seen her coming, and he was looking at her, ready to smile when she looked up, but she hadn’t. “What’s wrong?” He followed her gaze to try and make eye contact with her, but she shifted her eyes to the floor, and let the tears slip.

“Y/n? Y/n? Hey, look at me,” Jason’s voice was desperate and panicked because he wasn’t really sure what was wrong. Y/n started to curl in on herself, her hands coming to clutch opposite shoulders. When she didn’t look up at him, Jason gingerly lifted her chin up with his curled forefinger. “What is it?”

“It’s too much. I-I,” was all she managed to whisper before she started crying, she body swaying with sobs. Y/n knew, she knew she was crossing the same lines she had that rainy spring day, but she needed to feel her arms around him. She needed to feel secure.

So,

she took one step forward, and wrapped her arms around his neck awkwardly, Not a full millisecond passed, when she felt his arms encompass her, a secure bind around her waist. His chin propped on her head, on his hands rubbing up and down her back, and she had her face tucked into his neck.

“S’okay, y/n. You’re okay,” He cooed into her ear, making ssh-ssh noises every now and then.

Slowly but surely, y/n felt herself come down from the self-destructive place she put herself in; the knot in her throat untangled. She began to retract her arms from Jason’s neck, when his arms tightened around her. She stilled, unsure of what to do.

For a second, Jason had forgotten his situation. Why he couldn’t get close to her. He was so close to saying fuck-it-all. He wasn’t sure what held him back. Maybe it was her teary eyes. Or the fact that a teacher had come out of their classroom. But, he cleared his throat and pulled away from her, stuffing his hands in his letterman jacket to avoid reaching out to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

“Sorry about that,” she said, sniffing and attempting to laugh to brush off the back that she had a mini-breakdown in his arms. “I-”

“It’s okay, y/n. Don’t apologize. I just want to to know what had you so upset,” Jason said, his words coming out slowly to make sure that she truly understood how much he meant them.

“It’s just,” she sighed, “school. It’s a lot.”

He scoffed, “I bet. You do so much. More than you give yourself credit for, I think. Deserve a break.”

“This weekend; s’gonna be my break. Yours too, no? Are you excited?” She confessed, turning the other way and beginning to walk. She was sure that Andrew was waiting for them at the car. Jason walked alongside her, as soon as she started moving.

“Yeah. It’s been all me, Kent, and Andrew have wanted since freshman year.” Jason stops talking for a minute, and scrunches one side of his face.

“But?” Y/n prods. Looking at him out of the corner of her eye. He scratched the back of his neck, and his jacket inflates where his bicep flexes. Jason notices her looking, and smiles at her while giving her a side-eye look. Blushing, she turns her face straight forwards, like that didn’t just happen.

“But, some of the novelty has worn off if I’m being honest.” When she hums, almost knowingly, he adds quickly, “Don’t tell Andrew or Kent I said that.”

She giggled, and murmured, “You’ve kept my secrets, I’ll keep yours.”

Jason, surprised at her subtle acknowledgement of what happened nearly 2 years ago, turns to look at her, shocked. He wants to say something. Anything to get her to say more, but he sees Andrew and shuts his gaping mouth.

“There you are- hey, y/n, are you okay?” Andrew’s chesire cat grin drops from his face when he sees that his little sister’s face is splotchy and swollen red from past tears- a look he recognizes all to well from the times she’d come into his room in the middle of the night asking to be held.

“I’m good,” she smiled at her brother, a sad smile that revealed she wasn’t okay, but didn’t wanna talk about it. “Let’s go home.”

Their ride was full of quick gibber and banter over tomorrow. How thing would go down, who they hoped to see and, in Andrew’s words, fuck. What music they would play, etc. etc. Y/n laughed at their enthusiasm under her breath. As much as she loved her brother, he could be such an idiot sometimes

They dropped Jason off at his house, which was being prepped by Kent by the looks of it. His car- a red corolla- was parked in Jason’s strip of a driveway. Andrew promised he’d be joining them later that night, and pulled out.

He pulled the windows up, and turned the music off. Then, he said,

“Y/n, what happened?” Andrew, as much as he was a fuckboy an party animal, cared about his sister if he cared about anything at all. Maybe a little too much.

Pushing air past her lips, “I’m fine now, Andy. I promise. That stupid chem test really had me going, that’s all.”

“Are you sure, y/n? No one was bothering you?” Andrew looked at her quickly, hesitantly turning away from her to look at the road.

“Andy, I’m okay.” She reassured her brother.

Jason wasn’t a bother.

Saturday morning, y/n woke up to an eerily quiet house.

A difference to the pasts months. She’d gotten used to Andrew yelling ‘GET CRUNK BONE BABES!” all over the house. Hell, their parents knew of the entire party ordeal, and were quite skeptical about it. Knowing their son, they didn’t try to stop him, they just told him time and time again to ‘be safe, Andrew.’ So many nights he had come home excited and drunk, and shown them videos on his phone of what had occurred at whoever’s house he’d been at before

Their dad, in fact, had watched the videos with amazement, and never bashed on anything other than the fact that he shouldn’t be drinking when he wasn’t the appropriate age for it yet. Y/n and Andrew were lucky to have such laid-back and relaxed parents that focused much more on safety and well-being rather than the semantics of it.

As y/n crept down the stairs in her silky pj’s (a christmas gift from her 26-year old aunt who liked to shop at Victoria’s Secret), the murmurs of her parents in the kitchen became louder and louder.

“Heard it on the radio, for godsakes,” said her mother, laughing as she stirred whatever liquid she had in her mug.

“I wonder if Jason’s parents know, about the whole thing,” said her dad, his back was to her, facing his wife.

“They must, I mean, it’s the only thing these boy’s have wanted since they started high school, Jason proba- oh hey, y/n!” Her mom smiled wide when she saw her step off the last stair. At the mention of his daughter’s name, her dad turns around, and y/n can see that he has a mug in his hand too.

“Good morning,” y/n croaked, her voice froggy early in the morning.

“Big day today, no?” Her dad teased.

“I guess so,” she murmured, taking a seat on the kitchen counter and drumming her knuckles on it. Her mother makes her a small plate of what was left over from their breakfast, eggs, bacon, and a slice of toast with jelly. Picking up the slice of toast, she takes a small bite out of it and pulls out her phone from her back pocket, and starts scrolling through her social medias. It consists of people’s dogs, food, photos of Brad Pitt, and....

Her brother had posted a snap from the night before. A short video, not even 3 seconds long. Jason heading into one of the rooms in his large house, with a girl trailing behind him. She wore shorts that barely covered the swell of her butt, and a bikini top. It was captioned crudely: pre-birthday head for the birthday boy.

“Y/n?” Her dad, or maybe her mom, she didn’t know. Her stomach started twisting, a sour taste settled in the back of her mouth. A weird underwater filter covered her ears, making it seem as if her head was underneath the water, and her parents were speaking to her from above the surface.

Forcing a smile onto her face, she hummed a response, not taking her eyes off her phone screen. It was weird, the feeling that overcame her when she spotted Jason with another girl. Every time, the same thing. Nausea on her tongue, a heat covering the back of her neck and ears, and a dreadful feeling settleling in the pit of her stomach.

“So, you’re going tonight then?” One of her parents asked.

Taking a few seconds to think, taking into consideration what she could be doing instead of watching Jason....”No, I don’t think so.” Her voice is sure, and strong, loaded with finality.

A load clink of ceramic against marble echoes in the kitchen. She looks up from her phone then, placing it on the counter face down. Her mother was staring at her with her lips pressed together in a hard line. “And why not?”

“Because a party isn’t my scene, mom.” Y/n responds tentatively, alarmed at her mothers hard and inquisitive tone. Her dad stood quietly watching the interaction, stepping to the side to that there was nothing on between y/n’s line of vision.

“And how would you know that if you’ve never been to the one. You’re brother loves them! And I think that you need this break. Andrew told me what happened yesterday. You need to let loose, y/n.” Her mother argued, her words going from agitated to coaxing. “Go to this party.”

“No.” y/n said, looking at her mother straight inn the eyes. She didn’t want to go. She wanted to spend a calm night at home,, all cozy in her blankets with a book, and not having to look at Jason with a pain in her chest.

“Fine,” said her mother, taking her phone out of her pocket.

“Thank you,” responded y/n, relieved. Her dad nodded, and opened his mouth to speak, when her mom said,

“If you don’t go, Andrew can’t either.”

Both y/n and her dad gasp. Her mom was lifting her phone up to her ear, the dial tone ringing in the room.

“N-no, you can’t do that! Andrew’s gonna be so upse-”

“Hello? Andrew? I’m doing good sweetie, uh, listen. Your sister doesn’t want to go to the party, so you can’t go either. However, if YOU MANAGE TO CONVINCE THEN YOU CAN GO,” Y/n’s mom’s voice raises to cover her brother’s protests, “THAT’S FINAL. GOODBYE.” Yn’s mom hangs up the phone and places it next to the kitchen sink.

Not even a full second later, while y/n stares mortifies at her mom and dad, her phone starts to blare the theme song to The Simpsons, the ringtone for her brother.

She picks it up with her jaw still dropped. She answered the phone.

“Y/n! Y/n, PLEASE. WHAT’S GOING ON? PLEASE COME TO THIS PARTY, Y/N, DON’T DO THIS TO ME, Y/N...” her brother’s voice fills the room even when she doesn’t have him on speaker. he’s begging her, his voice truly distraught.

She knows she has no other option that to agree. She couldn’t do that to her brother, not when it’s the only thing he’s talked about for the past month. She wasn’t mean enough to do that to him.

“... FOR TWO WEEKS. I’LL DO ANYTHING, PLE-”

“OKAY! I’ll go, fuck,” Y/n yelled back, exasperated and defeated. She pinched the bridge of her nose, and stares down at her plate, not bearing to look at her mom and dad.

“Thank you! Oh my god, thank you. I’ll pick you up at 5, so-”

Y/n hung up on him. Glared at her mom, and the went to mope until 5 in her bedroom.

Somewhere along the line, moping turned into pre-party prep. She turned her speaker up all the way, and sang at the top of her lungs. Y/n was going in with the mentality of drinking and keeping to herself. Observing, or locking herself in on of the rooms and fall asleep. She was dreading it, but wouldn’t deprive her brother of this because it meant so much to him.

Her parents tried coming in several times, and every time she refused to open her door.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, she thought to herself, I’ve got this.

Once it got closer to 5, she put in some jeans and her favorite t-shirt. A faded purple short-sleeve with a smokey image of Prince on it. She totally didn’t wear it because every time she wore it, Jason complimented her on it.

It was 4:57 when Andrew knocked on her door.

“Y/n, y/n, y/n, my sister whom I love so much, can you please-“ he’s knocking rapidly on her door, and y/n throws on a green knit sweater at last minute before opening the door, and her brother knocks right on her eye.

“Ow!” She helps, the hand that wasn’t holding her shoulder bag reaching up to cover her eye. Andrew gasped, and started to repeatedly apologize.

“I’m so-“

Y/n, irritated and upset, held up her palm and shook her head. “Just shut it. Please.” Andrew tried saying something, and y/n just pushed past him, staring ahead coldly, “lets go.”

Her previous attitude about this party had returned. She was mad and couldn’t be more bothered to attend. A tiny part, deep in her heart, ached and pulsed wildly. She wasn’t really sure how the night would end, and she didn’t like that. She wanted to know that by 10, she’d be falling asleep after a bubble bath, or reading a book safely in her bed.

Not drinking and partying with nobody she knew (none of her friends-the little she had- were going). And she was damn sure that Andrew wouldn’t stick around the entire night. No, he’d be eager to be at all places at once, included in all the action. All. The. Action.

They walked to Andrew’s car in silence, she strutting and fuming with attitude, and he, with his head bowed and cowering like a shunned puppy. Sure, he was older, bigger, taller, buffer than y/n, but when she was mad, he became a scurrying mouse who bent at her command. Not because she was mean or anything like that, but because Andrew loved her and he wanted to see her with a smile, and he figured listening to her was the first step.

So, he shut the fuck up, and followed behind her, listening closely in case she ordered something else. To clarify, y/n didn’t order. She said things. But Andrew (again) loved her and took those sayings very seriously. It wasn’t like she was the Wicked Witch of the West with a whip in her hand. It was more like she was a disappointed mother, and he her kid who loved his mom and didn’t want her to be upset at him anymore. Their dynamic was like that.

Not even a full 10 minutes later, Andrew was pulling into Jason’s driveway, and pulling into his six-car garage, next to Kent’s car. Pulling the key out of the ignition, he sat for a moment, not turning to look at his sister.

He didn’t have to.

Without glancing at him, she said, “I want a margarita... please.” Then, she turn to look at him with a tiny smile; a piece offering. She’s forgiven him. And she has. Well, she wasn’t angry at him to begin with, but her irritation is gone.

Andrew laughed, his head thrown back and his ha, ha, ha’s bellowing. “Yes, ma’am. Strawberry or Mango?”

“Both.” Y/n opens the door to the car, and walks through the garage door that leads to the house. The doorway opens into the kitchen, where Kent and Jason are seated on the kitchen isle, a blunt mid-pass from Jason to Kent.

She stops in her tracks, eyes wide at the smell, and the smoke exiting in grey ropes out of Jason’s lips. Andrew pushes past her like nothing, and opens the steel fridge to look for fruit. Jason grins, a slow and lazy spread of his spit-slicked lips. Kent coughs after he inhales.

“Hellooo y/n,” Jason sing-song’s, drawing out her name and laughing. Kent snickered.

“Long time to,” Kent makes a c-shape with his hand, “see,” and bursts out laughing.

“Gimme some of that, dickheads.” Andrew makes a ‘come here’ motion with his fingers.

Y/n fakes a gasp, and hoists herself up onto the counter. She’s been surprised, and a tiny part of her itches because marijuana is a drug, but she can’t really do anything to stop them. They’re half gone and if she said something, she was a party pooper. Tucking her legs underneath herself, she takes a long look at Jason’s kitchen. She’s been in it plenty of times before, when his mom invites her and her brother other for dinner, or breakfast. She’s even helped prepare meals.

But it never gets old.

It always look bright, the lights on the ceiling shine in a way that fills the space, and the reflection off the cream marble glint against the steely surfaces of all the appliances. Toaster, fridge, sink, stove, all a grey color. There was an oven built into the wall, and another right next to it to cook pizza or bread. The kitchen isle in the middle was 7 steps long (she counted once) and 4 steps wide. There was a stove on the counter, and a sink next to it. Jason sat next to the stove, and Kent in the alcove that stretched and transformed into the sink up against the wall.

“... bringing booze and 6, and says he’s got Snopp Dog as DJ. Ben is on back up DJ, or alternate if Snopp wants to.” Kent says, coughing and waving a hand in front of his hand as he does so. Y/n’s ears perk up at his revelation, and her head turns in a peculiar motion.

“Wait, wait, did you say Snoop Dog?” She says, the top half of her body leaning forward. Andrew looks up from his task at the blender, dunking in cut strawberries with ice.

“You heard right, sissy. Snoop Dog!” whooped Andrew, pumping his arm in the air.

“Jesus Christ,” Y/n murmured underneath her breath, shaking her head.

“Raise your hand if you’re staying to fix this place up tomorrow,” said Jason, lifting both of his arms up in the air.

Kent crosses his arms as if he were in a straight jacket, and Andrew laughs and says, “Jason the party keeps going tomorrow.” He presses a button, and the machine starts blending, the loud noise blocking out whatever Jason said next. Whatever it is, Andrew and Kent catch it and bend over laughing, while y/n just watched in confusion.

Once the machine stops, Andrew pours the thick, pink substance into a sugar-rimmed glass, and gives it to his sister. Y/n takes it from him, and looks over at all the ingredients next to the machine because she hadn’t seen what kind of alcohol he put in it. She sees a squat bottle with a green sticker and a cork top; Ciroq.

It’s when she’s puckering her face after her first sip, that the first group of people come in. Andrew and Kent spring forward to answer the door, and Jason just watched them push each other to see who would get there first. Her and Jason are alone in the kitchen, and even though she sees perfectly clear where Kent and Andrew are, she seizes this as her chance to ask Jason what may be her only chance for a stress free night.

Climbing down, she walks over to where Jason sits,and poked his jean clad thigh. “Jason?” She tries not to let her eyes linger on the spots where his plain white shirt pulls tight across his chest, his pectoral muscles rippling. His blonde hair is unruly today, parting down the middle so strands of hair glittered in front of his green eyes.

“Mmm-oh! Yes?” He said, his eyes blinking owlishly at her, slow reflexes when you’re high and all that.

“Is it okay if I lock myself in your room? Or a guest room? Please, I just d-” she started to explain herself when he interrupted her.

“Yes.” Jason placed his hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner, his eyelids drooping a little further than they already were.

“Yes?” She asked, surprised.

“Yes. Si. Oui. Andrew told me what your mom did. And I’m sorry. You can lock yourself in my room. I’m the only one with the key.” He said. Jason stretched, yawning and raising his hands over his head, the bottom of his shirt raising up and revealing the hard lines of his abdomen, the two lines that form a ‘v’; a make shift runway to what lies underneath the waistband of his pants. Y/n, having seen only one other penis, a leaked celebrity’s nudes, is surprised to see that Jason’s doesn’t have a ‘happy trail’.

Clearing her throat, she said, “Thank you. I’m going up there now, okay?” Y/n backed out of the kitchen, Jason’s nodding at her and turning his attention, and what a surprise this is, the blondes that had just walked in with a few dudes who carried packs of beers in their arms. The girls, five of them, all looked like barbie dolls in bikinis.

Rolling her eyes, y/n trudged up the stairs and walked down the hall to Jason’s all-to familiar room. She entered again, into the place she had mulled over many nights in a row.

Jason’s room would be her sanctuary, like it had been that one rainy spring day.

It was just like she remembered it.

For a teenage boy, Jason was very neat. He had a bamboo four poster bed, with Japanese art covering the space above his puffed-up white pillows. His comforter was the same eggshell color of his walls. In front of his bed he had a record player, and a wooden box with records in it. He had a mahogany bookshelf as well, every crevice stacked with books, straight across, and sideways in the spaces between books and the self above it. His room faced the backyard, and y/n had a clear view of the pool and the people that gathered around it. Jason had a window ledge large enough that he could sleep in it comfortably, and judging by the looks of it, he had. There was a tartan quilt and quilt laid out messily on the expanse of it, a book titled Norwegian Wood open with the pages-side down next to the pillow.

His room smelled like him too. No clothes lay scattered in any place, but his scent permeated the room. Sandalwood and vanilla; his musky and sweet scent of boy.

Y/n kicked off her shoes at the foot of Jason’s bed, and set her barely-even-touched margarita on his bedside table, next to a pair of clear lens glasses. That’s funny, she thought, I didn’t know Jason wore glasses.

She tucked herself into his bed, lifting the comforter out of its tucked position, and nestled tightly into the warm cocoon. Taking a deep breath or Jason, her eyes shut themselves, and snapped back open seconds later. Did I lock the door?

Fuck. No, she didn’t. She had to get back up and lock it. Jiggled the knob for extra measure, just to make sure it was locked. Once she was satisfied,she returned to the bed, and tucked herself in. Her eyes were closing once again, when the thrum of the bass in whatever rap song it was blaring the house, shook through Jason’s room.

No matter. She was out like a light not even 5 minutes later, Lulled to sleep by the smell of Jason.

Jason, Kent, and Andrew were having the time of their fucking lives.

Andrew had forgotten all about y/n after Jason told him she was in his room, and had downed a total of 6 body shots, all on different people. He lost track of how many people took shots on him. Cloud nine, this is what cloud nine is. He was everywhere and nowhere. Try looking for him and you’ll only catch his shirt-tail because he was already moving on to the next scene. If you saw a flipped red solo cup, then he had been there. He was absolutely reveling in the mass of sweating bodies. His yelling inn the cafeteria had paid off.

Everyone and their fucking mom came. He’d seen everyone he knew from school, and twice the amount of people he knew from school that he didn’t recognize. True to his word, his friend had brought Snoop fucking Dog, and he was up by the pool, dj-ing with five towering giants surrounding him. This only brought more attention. The party had spread out to the streets.

Kent was out of his mind, with how high he was. Don’t tell his mom, but he didn’t know what drug it was making it look like the guy passing the blunt had an elephant head. The lights made him feel like he was in a galaxy, sitting on the rings of Saturn with two topless babes under his arms. He sat with a ring of boys in the den, where you couldn’t see past your nose with how much smoke there was in the air.

And Jason? Shit, Jason was having a really hard time getting his dick up. He was in the pool with more than TWENTY topless babes he was supposed to be boning. It was his birthday after all. Andrew had posted a sign on the shallow end of the pool that said ‘only naked babes allowed’, and would appear every five seconds to remind said ‘babes’ to “TAKE YOUR TOP OFF!!!”

No matter how hard he tried, Jason just couldn’t get hard. The girl who pressed her tits in his face- a real 10 really, with bee stung lips and all- was starting to get confused, and Jason was starting to feel like a real tool.

There he was, his party was crazy, police having been chased off, a racoon being passed around on a leash, Snoop Dog having a literal concert inn his backyard, and far off in the distance there was the shinning light of a news helicopter. And he wasn’t having it.

He did for the first hour. Did some shots, smoked more weed, grinded on some people, got grinded on. Someone had inflated a whole-ass bouncy castle next to his garage, and it was filled with nothing but naked girls (which also did nothing for him). And it was fun seeing it build up. It gave him a bit of a heady adrenaline rush, knowing that ll these people where there because-

“So are you gonna let me give the birthday boy, his birthday present?” said the girl who was topless on his lap, her voice sultry and velvety smooth. She was licking a stripe up Jason’s throat, her hips swiveling against his groin.

Jason, still wearing his clothes, jeans and white shirt and all, looked up at his bedroom window, and what he saw made his heart crack in two. Y/n, his precious y/n, was looking at him with horror, tears painting her cheeks not unlike the way they had yesterday in the hallway, and a hand cupped over her mouth. The other hand was lifted up to her ear, and Jason saw that her mouth was moving.

She was on the phone.

He started to feel dirty, like slime. Guilty, was more like it. He realized then that the reason why he couldn’t get hard is because the girl in his lap wasn’t y/n. And seeing her, in his room all alone and in pain, made him feel like scum.

Pushing the girl off without remorse, he said, “No, I don’t think so.” He ignored the girl’s protests, and also whatever the hell Andrew yelled after him. Jason looked straight ahead, striding with intention to his room. It was difficult, with all the bodies and high-fives and bro-slaps he had to give on his way up the stairs, but he made it. He was dripping all over his floor, but he made it.

He hesitated, placing a hand on the door. As the bass of This is How We Do It vibrated through the wall and against his hand, he wondered what would happen when he opened the door. He wanted to console her. Ask her what was wrong, even though he had a large inkling he knew why she was upset- that it might’ve been his fault.

Jason dug his hand into his pocket, using his fingers to peel apart the cloth because it stuck together, and felt for the key to his room. Once he found it, he fed it through the lock, and turned it, the door giving away a sliver to which he was able to peek inside.

Y/n was on the phone. She was sitting at his window ledge, on her knees, still looking out. She hadn’t heard him coming in. Shutting the door closed behind him, Jason held his breath and listened.

“Am I an idiot?” she squeaked, sniffling to the other person on the line. “Why? Well, isn’t it clear. Donna, he’s constantly surrounded by all these skinny, tall blondes, and I’m not like that.”

Jason’s eyes widened. His heart felt as if an arrow had been shot through it.

“I’m so stupid, really. How could I ever think-”

Yes, yes?

“-that Jason could like me?”

He was appalled. Frozen in his tracks, because god did she really think like that? How could she not realize it. She was so precious; all Jason ever though about. If only she knew. If only she knew-

Well, the thing is- and it might be the weed talking, but- she could know. Jason didn’t have to keep it from her anymore. He could tell her. Fuck it. Fuck it all.

“Y/n?” He said. Clearly, not loud enough because she didn’t turn around. He walked to her, close enough that his knees pressed against the ledge of the window seat, and close enough so that he could grab her wrist.

She yelped, surprised, and whipped her head around. When she saw it was Jason, even though he was smiling a dopey, sweet smile that made her want to fall into a puddle, her face fell into one of mortification. He took the phone from her hand and hung up, tossing it on the pillow.

“Oh, y/n.”

“Jason, I-” Her cheeks flushed. Her words died in her throat, her tears frozen on her lips.

“I like you, y/n. More than you know.” And his clothes were wet sure, but it didn’t matter because fuck. Fuck it all. Jason pulled her up, wrapped a hand around her waist, and kissed her.

A soft, gentle, press of his lips against hers, their noses bumping. She squeaked and tensed, her fingers squeezing his biceps. His thumb rubbed circled to the sliver of skin that peeked from the place where her shirt rode up.

He pulled away from her, and she leaned forward with her own lips puckered, whining because he pulled away.

“I’ve been wanting to do that, for so long, you know?” He told her, placing her back down on the ledge, while she stared back up at him dreamily.

“Why didn’t you?” she asked him.

“Because Andrew would beat me to a pulp,” he said, laughing. “But it doesn’t matter anymore.” Jason reached for the bottom of his shirt, and pulled it over his head, y/n watching with cheeks flaming at the way his skin rippled and tightened with every movement. After a beat she says,

“Why’s that?”

“Because I’d rather get beaten to a pulp, than be away from you any longer.”

super proud of this. THERE WILL BE A PART 2!!

much love, -abigail

#Harry Styles #harry edward styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles blurbs #harry styles fic #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #harry styles soft #harry styles smut #harry styles smut oneshot #harry styles fluff oneshot #harry styles writing #harry smut #harry swriting #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x reader #harry oneshot

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sassyduckqueen · 4 years ago

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Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 40

Here's heroes day!!! God, this is the longest chapter I've ever written! A whooping 17,000 + words :O so if you decide to read this chapter, get a drink and get ready for a long read. Anyway, this was super fun to do. As for the akumatized heroes, I've got some fun facts about their chosen names in this. Culpeo, Abeille and Leatherback become Void Fox, Frelona and Tortue Serpentine. Void Fox is a reference to a type of Kitsune, known as the shadow fox, the void kitsune or dark kitsune. Frelona comes from the french word for Wasp and Tortue Serpentine is Snapping Turtle in french, which my friend Naruwitch suggested then we have Ryuko and Aspik. Ryuko becomes Okami and Aspik becomes Aapep. Now Okami is a legendary dragon who tends to be portrayed as evil and Aapep is another name for an ancient Egyptian deity who is the personification of chaos and takes the form of a giant snake. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter :D

Oh and also I recommend going back and re-reading Reverser. I've edited it a little to work in with this chapter and Volpina.

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Chapter Forty: Heroes Day

"See you next time, Bug a boo!" Lady Noir called out as she ran off in a different direction then him. He smiled and shook his head before running off towards the Seine. He jumped off the building and threw his yoyo, swinging across the water and towards the Liberty. He landed on the roof and backflipped off before jumping through the porthole to his room. He landed on the floor as his transformation dropped before catching Tikki. Both of them let out a yawn before Luka stumbled to his bed and fell onto it almost instantly before crawling into it. Tikki helped him pull on the covers before gently kissing his forehead before curling up on his stomach as he breathed in, having fallen asleep straight away. However, his alarm went off two hours later, causing him to groan and hide his head in the pillow.

"Five more minutes," He mumbled as it kept ringing. He groaned and slammed his alarm, silencing it before trying to go back to sleep. However, his second alarm went off, making him groan even more. Once again, he turned it off and went to fall back to sleep but the final alarm went off, turning on the radio. As the person on it talked, Luka groaned, wanting nothing more to sleep and was mentally cursing Hawkmoth for creating an akuma at 3.30am. However, his eyes widen when the host mentioned Heroes day and he jolted up, wide awake. Tikki gasped and jumped as he did before he grinned at her and jumped out of bed.

"Are you ok?"

"It's Heroes day!" He gasped, getting dressed and grabbing his school bag before he stopped with wide eyes. Tikki rose an eyebrow. "Oh no! I forgot to plan a good deed! Uh!! I am an awful human being,"

"And the fact that you were up all night saving Paris isn't enough of a good deed?" She asked, causing Luka to shake his head.

"Unfortunately not. You see heroes day is when everyday citizens preform a good deed for everyone's benefit " He explained, making her pull a thinking expression. "Besides, it's not like I can't tell anyone about been a hero and two it would count as Anatis' good deed, not mine... well, I'll just do what I did last year,"

"What was that?"

"See what happens and improvise," He grinned, making her smile. "Last year, Rose ended up needing help with something so I helped her. I'm sure there'll be someone I can help this year too,"

"That's a great idea, Luka," Tikki smiled as he handed her a cookie. She happily bit into it as he made sure he has his books before pulling on his usual hoodie. He glanced over at the jacket Marinette made him and smiled to himself before turning to Tikki, who had finished her cookie. He opened his bag for her and she flew in before he closed it and left his room. He grabbed a piece of toast from the kitchen and gave Anarka a kiss on the cheek before heading up to where Juleka was. Almost instantly, he was hit with the emotion of the city, making him grin. All of Paris was singing today and it was a gorgeous song. For a second, he closed his eyes and let himself bask in it's crescendo before Juleka cleared her throat.

"What are you doing?" She asked, as he looked at her.

"Listening to the music of the city," He replied, making her roll her eyes before he grinned at her. "Shall we get going?"

"Sure," She nodded, walking off. Luka shook his head and followed, smiling to himself. They passed several stores and saw lots of balloons. Luka smiled a little as he saw Juleka go bright red when she noticed several Culpeo themed things.

"So what's your good deed for today, sis?" He asked, making her look at him.

"Oh... well, me and Rose are sharing a good deed," She mumbled, moving the bangs from her eyes a little. "We're planning to doing a collection for Prince Ali's charity,"

"That's a great idea," He grinned as they came to the school, along with some of the other kids. Rose was already there, waving happily and Ivan was stood with Mylene. They greeted Luka and when inside almost straight away. Luka looked at his phone and decided to linger for a little bit. He closed his eyes and breathed in, once again listening to the melody of the city. He opened his eyes as he heard a familiar melody. Marinette was running over, causing him to look at his phone again. She was on time but only by a few minutes. She stopped to take a breathe, causing him to smile. "Hey, Melody, you ok?"

"Luka!" She gasped, jumping. The box she was holding flew out of her hands but he caught it, causing them both to let a sigh of relief as he handed them back to her. "Uh sorry,"

"No, no... I'm sorry," He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to make you jump,"

"Ooh, it's ok!" She grinned before holding up the box. "Want a macaron?"

"Sure," He smiled, taking a chocolate one before gently kissing her cheek. She blushed and smiled shyly. "Thank you,"

"N-No problem," She gasped before jumping against as the bell rang. "Ah that's class! We have to go!! See ya for lunch! I have a favor to ask!!"

"Ok," He nodded as she ran off. He shook his head and smiled a little as he walked to his classroom. He walked in and took his seat as Kagami waved at him. He smiled and waved back as Aurora rushed over with Jean and Mireille and wished him a happy heroes day. He wished them one back as Ms Mendeleiev walked in and clapped her hands.

"Alright, students, we have an assembly so let's move it to the gym," She ordered, causing them to get up and grab their bags. They walked over to the gym and took seats as the other classes came in. There was a stage at the front with a couple of teachers stood on it already. Luka took a seat next to Aurora, who smiled at him. He smiled back as the rest of the classes took their seats. Marinette walked past with Alya, shaking her head as she walked behind her.

"I don't get it, Marinette... I know you and Lila don't get on but she isn't lying about this," She sighed, making Luka frown as Marinette turned to her.

"Not lying?! Alya, you know she's a liar!" She gasped, clearly stressed. "It is literally on your blog,"

"Ok so it was a one time thing and who wouldn't want to know the heroes?" Alya gasped, shaking her head. "Besides, I asked her about that and she apologized. Sure, it wasn't cool to do that but she just wants friends, Marinette and she promised not to lie again so why would she be lying that she's in Achu?"

"Because she's a liar, Alya," She gasped, looking annoyed. "Even Miss Bustier questioned her!"

"Yeah and Lila literally showed us that she had permission from both her parents and her therapist," Alya sighed, pinching her nose. "Been away has been good for her. You know it's stressful getting akumatized. I mean you took a day off after yours,"

"Exactly! I took a day! One day! Not weeks!" She gasped, making Alya roll her eyes. "And none of us got a 'trip' around the world to deal with our stress,"

"True but her mom is also there and she's the Italian ambassador," She stated, making Marinette roll her eyes. "Look, why don't you give Lila a second chance for your good deed for heroes day? I know she was lying but trust me, girl, she's turned over a new leaf,"

"No! She hasn't because she's lying!" Marinette gasped, sitting down and crossing her arms. Alya sighed and shook her head as Miss Bustier walked in front of the school and clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention.

"Hello everyone and welcome to our annual heroes day assembly," She grinned, causing everyone to look at her. "Now I know everyone may have a hard time working out what good deed to do for today but let's not forget today is about been able to be a hero for one day and your good deed doesn't have to be something huge liking helping save planet earth. It can be anything from making small donations to a local charity to helping an elderly neighbor. All we need is..."

"A little imagination! Hoo, hoo!" Mr Damocles called as he ran onto the stage in his owl costume. "This year, Anatis and Lady Noir have been our heroes, protecting us from the terrible Hawkmoth. They have shown us that heroism is beyond comic books and fairy tales! Heroism is real and it is up to you to show how Anatis and Lady Noir have brought out the best in all of us, by been every day heroes! Now a few of our students will tell us their eyes to be everyday heroes! For those of you who have yet to work out a good deed, their suggestions may be able to inspire you! Over to you, Miss Bustier!"

"Thank you, Mr Damocles," She smiled. "From my class, we have Nino Lahiffe and Alya Cesaire. Care to tell what you two have planned for heroes day?"

"Of course, Miss," Nino grinned, standing up. The whole student body faced him, causing him to take a deep breathe. "I gotta admit. I never use to do anything for anyone before but Anatis and Lady Noir have showed me what been cool is really about... so, this year, I'm gonna visit the elderly down at the retirement home and play them all their favorite songs!"

"Excellent, Nino," Miss Bustier smiled, clapping along with everyone else. "Alya?"

"Last year, I wrote an article about public buildings providing disabled access," Alya stated as she stood up. "But after seeing Anatis and Lady Noir going that extra mile every single day, I decided that I too could do better... so I got the mayor's approval to improve facilities so disabled kids can actually attend our school!"

She sat back down as she got a round of applause. Mrs Mendeleiev stood up next as the applause died down.

"From my class, we have Aurore Beauréal and Kagami Tsurugi," She stated, causing both girls to stand up. "Girls, care to tell us what you have planned?"

"Yes, Mrs Mendeleiev," Aurore nodded as everyone looked at her. "Me and the others at the Kidz plus tv studio will be doing a live show with celebrities guests and all proceeds we get will be donated to a number of children charities,"

Everyone applauded again, making her smile as she sat down.

"Kagami?"

"I have signed up to volunteer at a soup kitchen for a couple of hours on the weekend," She stated, getting a round of applause but she held her hand. "My family will also be making a considerable donation to a number of charities who help the blind and the visually impaired,"

She got a huge round of applause for that one. She sat back down as the other teachers introduced to of their students who proceed to tell them what their good deed would be. Luka frowned to himself as a little as the whole thing made him feel like he wasn't doing enough. It wasn't that he was jealous of the other students. Far from it but compared to what they were doing, just helping a person out seems so small and trivial. He let a sigh out and looked around. He frowned a little as he saw Marinette didn't look happy either. He decided he would ask her what was wrong for lunch. Aurore leaned over to him and gently poked his arm, causing him to look at her.

"You ok?" She asked, making him nod.

"Yeah," He whispered back. "Just not sure I can match up to whatever one else is doing,"

"I'm sure you'll do a cool deed, Luka," She grinned, making him give her a small smile as Mr Damocles took to the stage again as the lunch bell rang.

"Alright, everyone, now don't forget that we have the parade this evening," He shouted before dismissing everyone. Luka got up and headed over to Marinette but before he could reach her, she bolted off causing him to frown but she did say she needed to talk to him. He took out his phone and messaged Juleka, saying that he was going to grab dinner at the bakery before heading there. He hummed a little as he walked there, glancing over and smiling as he saw the huge balloons of Anatis and the other heroes. His phone vibrated, causing him to take it out and read the text. Apparently, Marinette was going to be hosting a massive tasting party after the parade tonight and has invited everyone. She and the rest of Kitty Section will be going so she thought she'd inform him off it. He texted back, saying he'd love to go before walking over the bakery door. He knocked on the door and entered, causing Sabine to look up and smile. Marinette was talking to her father, who was looking at a list nervously.

"That's not the same as every year, Marinette," He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"How about just half then?" She asked, looking at her hand. "500 Macarons, 100 pies, 300 sweet buns and just a thousand croissants! That should be enough!"

"Is that for the party at the park tonight?" Luka asked, making her jump and turn around. She grinned and nodded before turning back to her dad.

"You can do that... right?" She asked but Tom frowned and sighed, scratching the side of his head.

"If I didn't have this giant Anatis cake to finish by tonight, I would gladly rise to the challenge but there's simply no way I can do both," He replied, making Marinette frown and look down. Luka frowned a little too. "I've committed myself, Marinette. I can't let the mayor down,"

"I committed myself way over my head and now I'm gonna let everyone down," She sighed, slumping down on a stool. Luka frowned a little and moved over to her. She looked up at him with a sad expression. "Sorry, Luka,"

"It's ok, Marinette," He smiled in a reassuring manner.

"You know it's not too late to tell your classmates the truth. I'm sure they'll understand like Luka has," Sabine smiled at him, causing him to nervously look down.

"But it won't be very heroic..." Marinette muttered, looking down.

"Of course, it will," Sabine smiled, trying to reassuring her. "Been brave enough to face one's mistakes is heroic,"

"You're right!" She gasped, jumping up and grabbing an apron as Luka rose an eyebrow. She rushed over to the door before turning to them as Luka rose an eyebrow. Her parents on the other hand appeared to be use to this. "If I get to it right away, I'll have enough time to make the macarons myself!"

With that, she disappeared into the apartment, causing her parents to sigh as Luka shook his head a little. While he loved how passionate and enthusiastic Marinette was, he worried about her a little bit. Sabine cleared her throat, making him look at her as she held out two bags.

"Would you mind making sure she's eaten, dear? Tom needs a hand with the cake," She smiled as he took the bags.

"Of course, Mrs Cheng- I mean Sabine..." He muttered before nodding and heading into the apartment. Marinette was mixing something in a bowl and appeared to have already started to make the macarons. She grinned at Luka who placed the bags down before giving him the bowl and checking on the macarons in the oven. However, they were burnt, making her groan and sink to the floor, tears filling her eyes. Luka put the bowl down and knelt down next her as she sniffed.

"This is just one big failure," She sniffed as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm a terrible everyday hero..."

"No, you're not,"

"But I haven't done any heroic at all today... all I did was bring macarons to class wherever else is doing so much more. Alya is helping disabled kids, Nino is going to visit old people, Adrien is helping his classmates and all I've done is brought in stupid macarons," She mumbled, looking down as tears roll down her face. Luka frowned and gently wiped them away. She hugged her arms and let out a small sigh. "I doubt that made anyone's day..."

"It made mine," Luka stated, causing her to look at him. She narrowed her eyes a little, looking for any sign of pretense or lies but her eyes widen when she didn't find any. Instead, she saw sincerity and honesty.

"T-That really made your day?"

"Yeah," He smiled, causing her to blush as he looked to the side. "No one's ever offered me a macaron before... anyway, I think the bravest thing you can do is just tell everyone the truth... they'll understand,"

"But that will ruin the whole party..." She mumbled, looking down as he frowned.

"It's not the end of the world if it doesn't happen," He replied, making her sigh before he gently moved a stand of her hair. "I don't want to see you burn yourself out just to please everyone else, Marinette,"

"Luka..." She muttered, blushing before gently leaning in and kissing his cheek. "Thank you,"

"Let's have our lunches,"

~Meanwhile~

"Lila?" Mrs Rossi stated as she knocked on her daughter's door. A few minutes later, Lila opened it and smiled falsely at her, though she was more focused on her phone. "Were you on the phone earlier?"

"Oh, yes, it was my boyfriend, Adrien," She gasped, making her mother nod. "He just misses me so much,"

"You weren't lying to me, were you?" She asked, briefly looking at her. Lila mentally cursed Anatis as his live interview with Alya had almost revealed her for the lying fox that she was. However, she did damaged control as best as she could. With Alya, she claimed that she just lied to be popular as she was afraid that no one would like her, especially since Marinette seemed to have it in for her. Alya was weary at first but she also was too willing to give Lila a second chance, especially Lila 'promised' not to lie again. She also convinced her that she didn't realize that she had overstepped boundaries with certain people and was learning how to understand social interactions with her therapist. Alya lapped it up and easily forgave her. The school, on the other hand, wasn't as easy but Anatis and Hawkmoth unintentionally gave her the perfect reason. She was far too stressed out to possibly come back to school right now. She knew she couldn't get it to last forever but it was a temporary solution. As for her parents. Well, that was the easiest. Her father dotted on his little princess, refusing to believe a word of Anatis' interview as he believed the ladyblog was ran by an amateur tabloid writer. He wasn't exactly wrong but this man is believed that Elvis Presley was abducted by aliens so pulling the wool over his eyes wasn't exactly hard. When he questioned it, she just turned on the water works and since he didn't want to upset his precious princess, he would drop it and ignore it. It helped that he worked aboard a lot of the time. Her mother on the other hand wasn't as easily convinced and she was forced to take a similar route to Alya. Of course, she promised not to lie again and to go to a therapist to get help but her mother's job worked to her favor as well. Since she was constantly busy with her job, she trusted her husband to arrange a therapist for Lila and since Lila was his little princess who could do no wrong, she was able to convince him to send her to a very basic therapist who was certainly not equip to deal with a teenaged pathological liar who knew how to exploit people's weaknesses and strengths to her advantage. She had even convinced the 'therapist' that she needed time of school to help her deal with the trauma. Contrary to popular belief, this wasn't the first time she had been exposed. The only difference was it wasn't a superhero who called her out last time. It was some snotty nosed kid who thought that people actually cared about what he thought. That's where she came up with the whole been bullied thing. It did wonders for her that time but she would have to play her cards a little differently this time. Most because she was dealing with a superhero but there's also the fact that someone else might catch on her lies and get akumatized. "Well?"

"Of course not, Mama," She sighed, making her mum frown. She began to 'cry' as tears rolled down her face, causing her mother to gasp. "Y-You don't believe me, do you? I'm trying so hard to be a good person and you d-don't even believe me,"

"Of course, I believe you, mia bella," She gasped, looked distressed. Her phone vibrated, causing her to looking at her phone as the sound of cheering caught Lila's attention. She moved over to her window and frowned as she saw people cheering in the streets. Huge balloons of Anatis, Lady Noir and the other heroes moved past, making her scowl as she closed the blinds. Her mother walked over to her. "It's just... Well... that interview Anatis did..."

"B-But I didn't even do half of those things... I know I told the principle that Marinette had stolen off me but I really thought she had because of how she was treating me and because of what Chloe Bourgeois told me," Lila replied, making her mother frown as she took in her points. Seeing her chance to poison her mother's mind, she smirked a little. "It's not like Anatis is competent anyway..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he lost a miraculous which ended up in the hands of Chloe Bourgeois who used it to cause a crash and then was akumatized but he didn't take responsibility for his actions," She pointed out, noticing her mother had a thoughtful look. "I don't hate Anatis but he could at least own up to his mistakes instead of blaming someone else. After all, he blamed the Style Queen for it. I understand that Chloe is her daughter but none of that would have happened if he hadn't been careless..."

"You have a point, mia bella," Her mother replied, making Lila smirk a little. "And these akumas are concerning. I'll bring it up in the next embassy meeting. Ciao, mia bella. Your lunch is in the fridge. I'll try not to be home too late,"

She kissed her hand and walked off, failing to notice Lila's wicked smirk before she glared at her closed blinds. She turned on her heel and walked over to her laptop, logging back on. She went onto a news website and the ladyblogger, growling as she saw the recent video from Alya that was devoted to Anatis and the other heroes. It was showing a bunch of floating balloons that had the faces of the heroes on it. She growled as she saw the Anatis one and rolled her eyes at the Culpeo one. She was the better and the original fox. Volpina was the best and these were just second rate heroes compared to her, especially that pretender Anatis. He may pretend to be the kind hero that everyone loved but she knew the truth. He was a cruel and malice bully, who deserved to fall for calling her out. Sure, she lied but it wasn't hurting anyone and he didn't have to ruin her chances with Adrien. He would be hers by now and she would be worshiped by all of Paris as the true hero if it wasn't for that goody two shoes and his dumb sidekick, Lady Noir. She nearly had him at her mercy with that Marinette illusion but that stupid cat worked out it was an illusion. She didn't think it was possible to hate someone more then Marinette but that was before she met Anatis. At least, Marinette was easy to torment and it was child's play to get her expelled. Targeting Anatis wasn't going to be as easy. In fact, it would be the most challenging take down of her life, which is why she had prayed every night that Hawkmoth would choose her again. She longed to have her powers back and squash that nasty bug.

"Liar," She growled, flicking through different channels as she glared every moment. All of them showed something on Anatis and his pathetic team. They showed him stood next to the mayor, waving shyly at the cameras or standing with some little kids in Anatis themed merchandise. "Traitor! Coward!"

"In honor of the wonderful Anatis, who has saved my son, Adrien, and myself and who has relentlessly protected us everyday, I have financed this tribute to him and his team of heroes," Gabriel Agreste stated, causing Lila to stay on that channel as she stared at the screen. Gabriel moved his hands together and looked up at the camera. "Anatis is clearly a true hero... unlike false heroes such as Actis, Lady Copycat and Volpina!"

Lila gasped and threw her laptop against the wall in rage. How dare Anatis think he is better then her?!

"I hate you, Anatis!!" She screamed as she began to trash her room. She would give anything to be Volpina again right now. Then she could show Paris who Anatis really was. She would reveal him for the monster and fake he is. After all, he ruined everything for her and she was yet to have her revenge. She swiped her desk before sinking down to her knees before hugging them. "I hate you, you stupid bug!"

The sound of fluttering got her attention, causing her to look up and gasp in surprise as she saw an akuma right near her. It flew into her bracelet, causing it to turn dark as a connection with Hawkmoth formed. A wicked smile came across her face as she felt him inside her head.

"Volpina," He stated, making her grin even more.

"Hawkmoth,"

"Your dreams were once a reality until Anatis turned them into a nightmare," He declared as she stood up. "Reclaim your power of illusion and make this heroes day a nightmare for all Parisians,"

"With great pleasure, Hawkmoth," She declared, moving her arms up in front of her face before moving them to the side. The purple smog engulfed and transformed her into Volpina. She climbed out the window and jumped across the rooftops until she got to the Eiffel Tower. She jumped up and landed on top of it before stepping onto the fencing. She narrowed her eyes as she looked down at the city, happily celebrating their heroes. Noticing a helicopter near by, she smirked and listened to what the reporter was saying with her fox hearing.

"Look at these Parisians," The blonde reporter stated as they filmed live. Volpina's smirk increased. "So happy to be parading in honor of their heroes,"

"Well, that won't do," She stated as she narrowed her eyes. "That won't do at all,"

Smirking to herself, she took out her flute and placed it to her mouth as she envisioned the illusion she wanted. When it was clear in her mind, she played a tune on the flute, creating a ball of light at the bottom of it. She threw it towards the parade, causing a bright orange light to cover it. When it disappeared, there stood Lady Noir facing a very scary looking Anatis.

"Look, Mummy," A little girl stated, pointing to the balloons. "Annie looks weird,"

"Come on, sweetie," Her mother stated, kneeling next to her. "That's not Anatis... that's..."

She gasped as she looked over and saw Anatis and Lady Noir. Only her daughter was right. This Anatis didn't look like his normal self. Unlike the normal one, he had pure black hair and his skin was a little paler then usual. His outfit was reversed with red spots and sides on a black back ground instead of red background with black spots and sides. He also had long black gloves that showed off his hands, revealing his nails were black and his boots were completely black and styled like combat boots. His mask, yoyo and earrings were reversed as well, along with his boots but the bit that really sealed was the dark smirk on his lips and his eyes. His normally blue eyes were replaced with black scleras and crimson irises. Not only did he look terrifying but he wasn't standing with Lady Noir. He was fighting her. Luckily, the cat girl was giving it as good as she got but it was a scary sight.

"Anatis?!" She gasped, causing other people to look as he grabbed Lady Noir and threw her his shoulder, sending her flying across the Culpeo balloon. She managed to recover and landed on it, taking out her baton as Anatis let out an evil laugh that send shivers down the spine.

"Move out of the way everyone!" Lady Noir shouted, panic clear in her voice. "He's been akumatized!"

He jumped across to the balloon she was on and laughed again before looking at her with a psychotic grin.

"What's the matter, Kitten?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. She growled but didn't answer. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Annie, this isn't you!" She gasped, clearly not wanting to fight him. "You can fight this! You can fight against Hawkmoth!"

"Aww, such sweet words, kitten," He replied, playing with his yoyo. "But you didn't take one thing into account!"

He threw the yoyo at her, causing her to knock it back as he grinned.

"Oh and what's that?" She asked, charging at him.

"I don't want to!" He grinned back, jumping up and slamming his fist towards her. Luckily enough, she jumped out of the way before he could hit her, making him growl before he straightened up and narrowed his eyes. She narrows her back as he threw up his yoyo. "Dark Charm!"

"D-Dark Charm?" She gasped as he summoned a huge blade and grinned evilly at her. She gasped as he charged at her, trying to cut her into tiny pieces before she managed to grab the sword and threw it away from the scene, causing him to growl.

"You think that will stop me?!" He roared, trying to kick her and hit her. She dodged and blocked his attacks before he threw his yoyo at her. She managed to move her head but he brought it back and threw it again, causing her to move and jumped back as the helicopter filmed them. Distracted by the yoyo, she didn't see his foot coming until he kicked her, causing her to fall back. She landed on her feet and faced him as he spun the yoyo, walking towards her. She backed away as he smirked evilly. "It's over, Kitten. You know I can't be beaten so give me your miraculous!"

"Never!" She screamed, running away from him. He smirked evilly and ran at her, spinning his yoyo. She jumped up and he followed, clashing with her in the air. She intentionally got the upper hand but he headbutted her and hit her with his yoyo, sending her flying onto the Leatherback balloon as he landed on it. Blood was dripping down her chin as she weakly looked up at him.

"I'll tell you one more time," He started as everyone gasped, looking at them. "Give me your miraculous,"

"No," She growled, getting back up and taking a fighting stance. "If Hawkmoth wants a ring so badly, he can go to the jewelers like a normal person,"

"Now, now, Kitten," He scolded, glancing at her. "It's rude to deny a request from a friend of a friend. Clearly, I'm going have to teach you some manners,"

"We're not gonna be friends until you're deakumatized, Annie," She shouted back, causing him to growl and throwing his yoyo towards her. She caught it around her arm and held her hand to it. "Cataclysm!"

"I don't think so, Kitten," He growled, yanking her towards him and grabbing her hands, holding one behind her back and one in the air. She struggled against him as he moved his lips closer to her ear. "I've always wondered what would happen if your cataclysm was used on a person... let's find out, shall we?"

"No!" She cried out as he slammed her charged hand onto her chest, causing her to gasp as a tear rolled down her cheek. Her body appeared to turn to coal and disappeared into dust as the wind blew. He laughed and picked up the ring, holding it up as he looked at it as a purple mask appeared over his face.

"You've won, Hawkmoth. I have both the ring and the earrings!" He declared, making everyone panic before the mask disappeared. He held up his hands like a typical villain and laughed evilly. "Fear, people of Paris! Your heroes have fallen and there is no one left to save you!"

He let out a wicked laugh before swinging away, leaving devastation in his wake. Volpina smirked to herself as she grinned from the Eiffel tower. That when even better then she expected. A purple mask appeared around her eyes, making her smirk.

"My dear Volpina, you've performed your role very well for the time being," Hawkmoth declared as she smirked. "We will meet again, very soon,"

"I'll be waiting, Hawkmoth,"

~Hawkmoth's Lair~

"So much sadness! So much disappointment!" Hawkmoth declared as he looked up at the window. "I can feel the chasm of despair and fear able to open about to open and swallow up every single Parisian... my dear Volpina, you've performed your role very well for the time being. We will meet again, very soon,"

"I'll be waiting, Hawkmoth," She replied, causing him to call back the butterfly he used to grant her powers. With that one called back, he took another one and corrupted it before turning to Nathalie.

"Are you ready, Nathalie?" He asked as she walked over.

"They've been keeping you from achieving your dream for too long," She declared, looking up at him. "I will go to any length to end the reign of Anatis and Lady Noir,"

"Good," He declared, looking at her before he placed his hand on the tablet she was hold and lifted it up. He placed the akuma on it, causing it to enter the item and set up the psychic link before him and Nathalie. "Catalyst, you've always been my most loyal supporter. I give you the ability to boost powers,"

She nodded, transforming into a strange looking akuma. She had periwinkle skin and wore a black helmet with a red visor with black edges and a red spike pointing towards the back of her head, leaving her mouth exposed. She was also wearing a black dress suit. It had stiff shoulders, a dark red front and swan neck collar with red arrow-shaped sections in the center. The sleeves covered her entire arms, with the tips of her fingers fading into red. She also had pocket-like ridges on each side of her hips, and her pant legs came down to her feet, turning into red high-heels with red soles and tips. She took Hawkmoth's arm and placed her other hand over the top of his cane, infusing it with a crimson energy.

"Hawkmoth, I give you the power to release as many akumas as you desire," She declared as he looked at her. "From now on, you are the almighty scarlet moth,"

A red energy traveled up from his feet, transforming his outfit into a crimson version. He grinned as the transformation was complete. He took out his cane, spinning it before tapping multiple butterflies with it. Each one turned into a scarlet akuma, causing him to smirk even more before addressing them.

"Fly away my little akumas!" He declared, continuing to tap more butterflies with his cane. "Find the Parisians as they despair over Lady Noir and Anatis' final hour and evilize each and every one of them!"

He threw his arms out, causing the scarlet akumas to flutter out of the window and decent on Paris as he smirked at them. Once they had left, he turned to Catalyst.

"Stand here while I head to the Eiffel tower," He ordered, getting a nod of her before he dropped his transformation and left as Gabriel Agreste. It would be much easier to get to the tower as Gabriel Agreste then as Hawkmoth after all.

~At the Bakery~

"You ok?" Marinette asked, causing Luka to look up from his phone. "You keep looking at your phone... Am I boring you?"

"Oh, no!" He gasped, shaking his head. "I was just keeping an eye on time so we're not late for the rest of school,"

"Ah, ok," She smiled a little as she cleared up their lunches. They had disposed of the burnt macarons as well. "What time is it anyway?"

"Nearly time to head back actually," He replied, getting up. "Shall we head back to school? I've got double art,"

"Lucky you," She huffed, grabbing her bag and walking with him into the bakery. "I have double maths,"

"Ouch," He replied as they waved to her parents. Sabine gave him a grateful smile and a thumbs up before grabbing something for Tom as they left. Almost as soon as they stepped out of the bakery, Luka was hit with an intense amount of fear and despair that it actually caused him to stumble back and grip his head in pain, causing Marinette to look at him with worry.

"Luka?" She gasped, moving over to him. "What's wrong?"

"I.. I don't know... I just... never mind..." He muttered, looking to the side. While she knew he was a musical empath, she didn't actually know how deep his empathic abilities went. Most people would think that the music is his empathy but they are far from it. The music is simply how he projects it into the world but it's not the ability itself. For him, the feelings that he plays, he actually feels them as if they are his own. He can feel other's pain and symptoms when they are sick or their sorrow when they are down. Music was an outlet for him as it can become too much to have everyone's feelings as well as your own. It especially helps with the whole akuma thing. Marinette gently took his hand, making him look at her.

"You can tell me," She smiled, making him look at her before nodding.

"The world sounds different," He replied, making her frown. "Like this morning, the song of Paris was glorious this morning. Everyone's hearts were singing happily at their fullest,"

"And it's changed?" She asked, making him nod. "To what?"

"It's fear..." He muttered, making her frown. "Something isn't right..."

Before she could question him any farther, he grabbed her hand and ran as fast as he could to the school. As soon as they walked through the door, Marinette realized he was right. Everyone was in the courtyard but they were completely silent and looking at their phones with horrified expressions. Marinette looked at Luka before the two of them rushed over to Juleka, Rose and Mylene.

"What's going on?" Marinette asked, causing Rose to look up at her before she showed them a news broadcast on her phone.

"Lady Noir defeated," Nadja Chamack stated, looking heartbroken. "Anatis in the clutches of the terrible Hawkmoth! This is Paris' worst nightmare!"

"What?!" Marinette gasped as Luka frowned deeply. "I... I don't understand..."

"A-Anatis was akumatized..." Mylene sniffed, making her frown deeply. "Lady Noir tried to stop him but he used her cataclysm on her..."

"No..." Luka gasped, looking what the girls mistaken for distraught as they nodded. Marinette covered her mouth as Jagged Stone appeared on the video.

"Anatis defeated?" He gasped, playing a sad song on his guitar as Clara Nightingale looked heartbroken. "Nothing will ever be rock and roll again!"

"We'll have to cancel the concert?!" She gasped, causing him to play his hand on his head dramatically and pull her in for a hug.

"You're right, Clara," Nadja gasped, sadly. "There's no sense in celebrating Heroes Day either,"

She closed her eyes sadly as Luka frowned and Marinette looked afraid before she turned to him.

"You were right..." She gasped but the sound of screams came from the video, causing them both to look back as the camera turned, showing red butterflies fluttering towards everyone. Clara and Jagged ran away from them as Nadja attempted to swat them but then one of them went into her mic and engulfed her arm with a red energy, causing her to fall back before the video briefly cut off. Marinette looked at Luka, who was frowning deeply.

"Akumas?" She asked, frowning.

"Red ones..." He muttered as the video went back online. This time showing Prime Queen.

"Dear viewers, what does makes sense is getting ready for the coming of..." She declared, gesturing to the side as Guitar Villain rose up, causing Luka to grit his teeth a little.

"Our New Lead Rockstar..." He stated, playing his guitar as Frighteningale spun onto the screen.

"Scarlet Moth!!" She sang, making both Marinette and Luka gasp. Literally as hundreds of Scarlet Akumas fluttered over the school. One of them aimed for Marinette but Luka grabbed her and pulled her to him, glaring at it and daring Hawkmoth to come at him. He would keep his promise and hunt him down. The butterfly seemed to know what he intended as it fluttered away from him, causing Marinette to look up at Luka with awe as students and teachers began to get akumatized as they panicked. One flew over to Mylene, turning her into Horrificator. Ivan backed away as one came towards him but Luka ran over and pulled him away from it as a number fluttered over to Juleka and Rose, who were backing away from them. Adrien and Kagami backed away and ran from the school as fast as they could. He didn't blame them.

"T-This is bad..." Juleka gasped as she and Rose backed away from some. "R-Real bad... Aah!"

"Juleka!" Luka gasped, causing one to come at him again.

"Don't let fear get a hold of you, Juleka!" Marinette called out, causing his heart to flutter. The akuma stopped, confused about his conflicting emotions and giving him a chance to came down. He took a deep breathe before glancing at his sister and Rose.

"Marinette's right!" He shouted. "Don't let fear control you, Jules!"

"Remember, there's a hero in everyone of us!" Miss Bustier added in as they moved in closer to people.

"As long as we show we aren't scared! Hoo, hoo!" Mr Damocles added in as Nino ran past. Almost instantly, he got turned into the Bubbler, causing Alya to cry out before she turned into Lady Wifi. Luka frowned as more people panicked, creating more fear. He climbed onto a bench and looked around before he placed his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, getting everyone's attention.

"Everyone, listen!" He shouted, making people look at him in surprise. "We can beat this because they are nothing but stupid little butterflies and we are Parisians and we do not go down without a fight! Jules, you are not easily scared! And Rose, thinking of pink and fluffy kittens!"

Juleka took a deep breathe and began to calm herself down, glaring at the akumas at it.

"That's it!" He grinned. "Don't let fear get the better of you,"

Rose nodded and took a deep breathe too, glaring at the butterflies as well. Luka jumped down as Dark Cupid swooped down, terrorizing a few people and allowing them to turn into akumas. Marinette was helping a few people escape as Luka rushed over to her, along with the others.

"We can't stand here," She pointed out, making him nod. "Or we'll end up been akumatized,"

"It might sound crazy but we need to split up and find a safe hiding place in the school," He points out, making everyone nod and split. He rushed over to the boys bathroom and opened his jacket, causing Tikki to fly out.

"This is bad!" She gasped, causing him to nod.

"There's too many to fight at once. We need to see Master Fu right away," He muttered before transforming into Anatis. He slipped out of the bathroom and made his way to the roof, keeping low as he saw the akumas. They were leaving the school, making him let out a sigh of relief but he did wonder where they were going. He had a feeling he would find out but he needed to get to Master Fu's. He jumped off and swung off, landing on the rooftop. He swung down to the ally but stopped as he felt like he was been followed. He glanced around but saw nothing. However, he didn't go to Master Fu's shop. Instead he opened a manhole and headed down there. He moved around the corner and frowned as the manhole was opened and closed again. He narrowed his eyes as Vanisher moved down and threw is yoyo at her but to his surprise, she dodged it and charged at him, knocking him back. She dived at him but a baton knocked her back, causing her to dodge. Taking the chance, he got his feet and grabbed her glasses, breaking them before catching the butterfly and purifying it as Vanisher turned back into Sabrina. He let it go as Lady Noir grabbed her baton and rushed over to him.

"Annie!" She gasped, hugging him. He hugged back. "God, I was so worried when I didn't see you on the roofs,"

"I'm sorry, Kitten," He gasped before glancing to Sabrina, who was confused. "I had a tail to get rid off,"

The two of them looked at her before Lady Noir let go and Anatis walked over to her. She gasped and backed up a little, causing him to frown but he knelt down in front of her as Lady Noir walked over. Sabrina gasped and looked at her in surprise.

"Lady Noir? You're alive?!" She gasped, making both heroes frown before she looked at Anatis. "And you're not akumatized?!"

"Akumatized?" He asked, making her nod before looking at Lady Noir.

"Y-Yeah, everyone saw it on the news!" She gasped, making him frown even more. "You were akumatized and you killed Lady Noir... but it wasn't real because she's here right now and you're you... you are you, right?"

"Yes, Sabrina," He smiled, causing her to hug him.

"I'm so glad!" She gasped, tears rolling down her face. "It was just..."

"An illusion," Lady Noir muttered before Sabrina jumped on her. "Whoa!"

"An illusion..." Anatis muttered, standing up before his eyes widen. "Volpina!"

He turned Sabrina, who had let go of Lady Noir.

"Sabrina, head back to the school. It's probably the safest place right now," He stated, making her nod as he walked over to Lady Noir and began climbing up after her.

"I will do, Anatis!" She grabbed. "And when I get there, I'm gonna tell everyone not to lose hope, cause the real Anatis and Lady Noir are still going strong!"

"Well, it is heroes day after all," Lady Noir grinned as she opened the manhole.

"And we wouldn't miss it for the world," Anatis continued before the two of them climbed out of the sewer and ran to Master Fu's shop. Checking that no one was around, they headed inside and knocked on the door. Master Fu answered it, looking afraid.

"I always knew that Hawkmoth would one day realize how powerful he could be," He muttered, letting them in. "That day has come,"

He walked over to the phonograph and took out of the miracle box, placing it in front of the two heroes and opening it.

"Anatis... Lady Noir... you must pick an ally you can trust to fight along side you this mission," He stated as the draws popped open. Anatis reached for them as he looked at him, working out some sort of plan. "Once the mission is over, you will get the miraculous back from them and return it to me,"

Anatis nodded and looked around at the miraculous. He honestly didn't know what to expect. Lady Noir leaned near him.

"Take them all, Annie," She whispered, making him look at her. "They're need to be as many of us as possible..."

"No, Kitten. In this case, less is more," He stated, surprising her. "We don't have time to find new holders and explain everything again. We need allies who already know what they're doing,"

He grabbed the bee, the fox, the dragon and the snake before looking up at Master and gesturing to his bracelet.

"May I, Master?" He asked, causing Master Fu to take off the bracelet and handed it to him. "Hawkmoth wants miraculous and that's exactly what he's gonna get,"

"You got a plan?" Lady Noir asked, leaning on her baton as Anatis took out his yoyo and checked something before she walked over to the draw with the little boxes in. She grabbed enough for the miraculous as he walked over to her.

"The akumas are all heading to one place," He stated, showing her. "The Eiffel Tower... we're gonna head there too... as soon as we have help that is,"

"Calling in the cavalry?" She grinned as he placed the miraculous in the boxes. He put the fox, the bee and the turtle in his yoyo before handing the snake and the dragon to her. She took them and put them in her pocket.

"Once you've collected Ryuko and Aspik, head to the Palais de Chaillot," He stated, getting a nod of her as he walked over to the window. She moved over and quickly gave him a kiss on his cheek, making him blush before he saluted her and dived out of the window. He landed on another building and saw Lady Noir heading to the neighborhood where Kagami lived. He smiled a little before diving off that building and swinging through the city. He landed on the school building and jumped down into the courtyard before looking for Ivan, Rose and Juleka. He found Juleka and Rose in one of the locker rooms, trying their best to fend off scarlet akumas. Juleka was holding Rose and gently talking to her while trying to keep her own emotions under control but he could tell they weren't going to last much longer. Just as two akumas fluttered towards them, he burst through and caught them with his yoyo, causing both girls to look up and gasp. "I don't think so,"

"A-Anatis?!" Rose gasped as he let the two purified butterflies go. Juleka stared speechless as Rose began to cry tears of joy. "It's really you?!"

"Yes," He smiled, causing her to hug him. He gently hugged her back as Juleka walked over before sighing. "I'm really sorry for what I'm about to do. I know that I'm able to reveal your secret identities but I haven't got time to find excuses to give them you separately,"

He took out two of the boxes from his yoyo.

"Culpeo and Abeille," He stated, holding them up to them. "I need you both,"

"You're Culpeo?!" Rose gasped with massive eyes as she held her face, causing Juleka to blush as she took her box. "So cool!!"

"And you're Abeille?" She asked back as Rose nodded with enthusiasm as she grabbed her box. "Awesome,"

"Why didn't you tell me though?" Rose asked as Juleka opened the box and allowed Trixx to manifest.

"It was suppose to be a secret, right?" Trixx grinned as Juleka put on the necklace.

"Trixx, let's pounce," She mumbled before swiping her necklace as Trixx got sucked into it. She swiped her hand over her eyes, creating her mask before holding out her arms as the orange energy spreaded over them and her body, creating her outfit. She swiped her hands over her hair, creating her ears and changing it to orange and black before swiping her hands down her back, creating her tails. An orange light appeared on her back, creating her flute and completely the transformation. Rose squealed in pure excitement as Culpeo nodded at Anatis. "Ready when you are, Boss,"

"Good," He smiled before looking at Rose, who nodded and opened her box. Pollen manifested and bowed to her.

"Greetings, my queen," She smiled, making Rose smile. "It is good to see you again,"

"Same here, Pollen," She replied before fixing the comb into her hair before holding her hand up. "Pollen, Buzz on!"

She threw her head back as her hair turned honey blonde and black strips appeared in it before holding up her arms as a golden light traveled up her body from her feet, creating her suit before the second light appeared, giving her gloves and adding the black detail to her suit. She swiped her hand across her face, creating her mask as her transformation completely.

"Let's go kick some akuma butt!" She declared, causing Culpeo to giggle and Anatis to shake his head.

"Head to Palais de Chaillot but stay low," He ordered, making them nod. "Lady Noir is collecting Ryuko and Aspik and I need to find Leatherback. I'll meet you there as soon as I've got him... be safe,"

"You too, Anatis," Culpeo nodded before taking Abeille's hand and leaving through the window. Anatis turned on his heel and left the locker room.

"Now if I was Ivan, where would I hide?" He muttered to himself before clicking his fingers. "Of course,"

He ran to the music room and looked inside before opening the door and looking around. He found Ivan hiding under the table as best as he could as he hugged his knees but as soon as he saw Anatis, he jumped up.

"Is it really you?!" He gasped, making Anatis nod. He lifted him off the floor as he crushed him in a hug before putting him down. "I'm so glad you were deakumatized.... but Lady Noir..."

"Is alive and kicking," Anatis grinned, making Ivan look at him in surprise. "And I was never akumatized. It was just a cruel illusion, engineered by Hawkmoth and excused by Volpina, to create mass panic and sorrow,"

"That's awful," Ivan gasped, looking disgusted. "Mylene was re-akumatized... I would have been too if my pal Luka hadn't helped me... you know you should consider him for a miraculous. He's really brave,"

"I'm sure he is but right now, we need to focus on the task at hand," Anatis replied, trying not to give away how happy he was that Ivan saw him as brave. He took out the last miraculous box. "I need Leatherback's help. You up for it?"

"You bet ya, Anatis," Ivan grinned, taking the box and open it. "Sup, Wayzz,"

The two of them did a secret handshake before Ivan slipped on the bracelet.

"Wayzz, shell on," He declared, causing Wayzz to be sucked into the bracelet before stomping his feet on the ground and pushing his arms out, causing a green energy to creating his outfit. The green energy burst from the center off his chest, creating his emblem that resembled a turtle's shell attached to a harness. The energy traveled down his arms, leaving a gray strip in it's place before causing green spikes to burst from his gloves before he pulled down a pair of goggles over his eyes as the blonde tuff of his hair turned a forest green, completing his transformation. "Alright, Boss, what's the plan?"

"We're heading to Palais de Chaillot," Anatis declared before the two of them ran out of the music room and jumped up to the roof, heading to the Palais de Chaillot.

~Meanwhile~

Lady Noir jumped across the roofs until she came to Kagami's house. She dived down into the garden as Kagami practiced her fencing. She stopped as soon as Lady Noir landed in the garden and rushed over to her.

"You're alive?!" She gasped, causing Lady Noir to nod. "And Anatis? Is he... still akumatized?"

"No, he never was," Lady Noir explained, making Kagami frown deeply. "It was an illusion,"

"An illusion?" She asked, frowning deeply. "That was an extremely cruel one,"

"Indeed but part of Hawkmoth's plan," She replied, reaching into her pocket and taking out a box. "Which is why we have a plan. You in?"

"Of course," Kagami grinned before taking the box from Lady Noir and opening it, causing Longg to manifest. "I'm honored to see you again, Longg-sama,"

"The honor is mine, Kagami-san," He replied, nodding and making her smile as she put on the choker. "We shall accomplish great things together.

"Indeed," She replied before holding her arms out. "Longg, bring the storm!"

Longg got sucked in her choker. She held her fingers in the peace sign and moved them across her eyes, creating her mask. She threw up her left hand, creating a dark light that created her glove. It traveled down her arm and body, creating her outfit as she held out her other arm. She held her head up as a golden light covered her hair, creating her horns before the same golden light created her sword on her back and the tail detail on her suit, completely her transformation.

"Alright, let's go find Adrien," Lady Noir grinned.

"I believe he should be at home with his bodyguard," Ryuko stated, getting a nod of Lady Noir. "As soon as the red akumas hit, we escaped. Both of our parents have been akumatized and we wanted to make sure they were ok,"

"Understandable," She nodded as they jumped across roofs, coming to Agreste Manor. Lady Noir held out her hand, causing Ryuko to stop. Adrien was there in his room but he was been guarded by Gorizilla. The two girls dived off the roof towards them. With Ryuko keeping Gorizilla busy, Lady Noir grabbed Adrien and jumped to the roof with him, placing him down before joining Ryuko and breaking his akumatized object before grabbing a jar and capturing it in a jar. The two girls jumped back on the roof as Adrien started at them.

"Lady Noir! You're alive!!" He gasped with relief. "And Anatis?"

"Not akumatized and never was," She smiled before she handed her the akuma jar to Ryuko and took out the snake miraculous, holding it out to Adrien. "Annie needs help. You in?"

"Anything for my friends," He replied, taking it and opening. Sass manifested and nodded to him as he slipped on the bracelet. "Sass! Scales slither!"

He held up his hand as Sass got sucked into the bracelet. He moved his hands over his face, creating his mask and giving his hair green streaks. The teal green energy moved down his body creating his outfit before a ball of teal light turned into his lyre. He grabbed it and placed it on his back, completing his transformation.

"So what's the plan?" He asked, looking at the girls.

"We're meeting Annie at the Palais de Chaillot," Lady Noir replied, spinning her baton. "Shall we go?"

Ryuko and Aspik nodded before the three of them jumped off the building and headed to the Palais de Chaillot. They ran across the buildings until they came to the Palais de Chaillot and jumped on it. Lady Noir grinned as Culpeo and Abeille was already there. Abeille was gently leaning on her and Culpeo was patting the bee's head, making Lady Noir smile. They were very cute together.

"Hey, foxy," Lady Noir grinned, causing Culpeo to gasp and look up. "How's it going?"

"Lady Noir," She gasped as Abeille looked up as well. "I'm really glad to see you're ok. Anatis told us it was a trick but still,"

"I get ya," She nodded, looking around. "Where is my handsome partner?"

"Getting Leatherback," Abeille replied, smiling as they moved over to the edge of the building and looking at the akumas. Lady Noir frowned a little as she looked at them but they didn't seem to be planning anything, just waiting. She wondered why. "They've just been stood there for about 15 minutes,"

"Strange," She muttered as she heard the sound of a yoyo. She turned around as Anatis landed on the building with Leatherback. "Hey, Turtle, good to see you again,"

"Lady Noir!" He grinned, hugging her as Anatis smirked. "I'm glad you're alive!"

He put her down as Ryuko threw the glass jar at Anatis. He caught it and looked at it before he opened it and caught the akuma before releasing the now purified butterfly before he signaled for all of them to moved over to the edge and hide as he looked down at the akumas. He narrowed his eyes as it reminded him off Princess Justice's reign but it appeared that she wasn't here. However, almost every akuma that ever was had turned up yet they weren't running wild like they did with Princess Justice. They were just stood there. Lady Noir moved over to him.

"So what are they doing?" She asked in a hushed voice.

"They're waiting," He muttered back, making everyone frown as they moved a bit closer to him.

"For what?" Aspik asked as an extra person jumped onto the Eiffel tower, causing Anatis to narrow his eyes and clutch his fist a little. The rest of them gasp in shock as they stared at the person. "Is that-"

"Hawkmoth," Anatis stated, causing his mini army to look at him. "In the flesh,"

They watched as Prime Queen sent up one of her flying camera, causing Hawkmoth to look at it.

"Anatis! Lady Noir! Behold my powerful army!" He shouted, gesturing to the akumas. "And have no doubt that today belongs to Scarlet Moth!"

"Not for long," Anatis muttered, glaring at him.

"He better not get too cocky or I'll slam my shield into his face," Leatherback grinned as Aspik smirked.

"It's only like ten villains to everyone of us," He grinned in a chilled back way. "Who wants Hawkmoth? How about we rock, paper or scissors for him?"

"No need for that game, danger noodle," Ryuko smirked, holding her sword. "For he shall taste my blade,"

"I'll protect you no matter what, Culpeo," Abeille gasped, determined.

"No, I'll protect you," Culpeo gasped as Lady Noir leaned next to Anatis as they both glared at Hawkmoth and his Scarlet army.

"So what's the plan, Annie?" Lady Noir asked as Anatis narrowed his eyes. The akumas had started to chant 'hail, scarlet moth' repeatedly, causing Anatis to frown even more as questions popped into his head. Scarlet Moth held up his arm, silencing his akumas. He smirked as Prime Queen's cameras focused on him before addressing them.

"Anatis! Lady Noir! I can feel your close present," He stated, smirking as he brought down his arm before lifting his other into a fist shape. "If you want to save Paris and all it's people, I'll give you one last chance!"

He threw out of his hand dramatically.

"Give yourselves up and bring me your miraculous!" He shouted as Anatis watched with a worried expression. Lady Noir moved a little closer to him and gently placed her hand on his arm, causing him to flinch a little before looking at her and his team.

"Annie?" She asked as he looked back over. "Want to share what's on your mind?"

He frowned before sighing a little.

"It's like he's been preparing for this for a long time...." He sighed, making his team frown as he glanced at them. "But we... we're not prepared for this..."

"Yes, we are," Lady Noir stated, making him look at her in surprise. "We've faced all of these akumas before... this is just like Princess Justice's reign but on a slightly grander scale. Only this time, you're not alone. There's seven of us this time,"

"Yeah, Hawkmoth doesn't stand a chance," Aspik grinned as the rest of the team nodded. Anatis looked at them all, seeing nothing but determination in their eyes.

"Alright but if we're gonna do this, we have to have a plan," He muttered, glancing back over to Hawkmoth and his army. "If we want to win, we have to fight Hawkmoth even though we've never fought him before,"

The team nodded as Anatis stood up and climbed onto the edge of the building.

"Hawkmoth!" He yelled, getting the villain's attention. "I hope you liked Volpina's illusion... because me and my team will never hand over our miraculous!"

"And we've got a better idea!" Lady Noir shouted, joining him before she pointed at Hawkmoth. "You're gonna give us your miraculous!"

Culpeo, Abeille and Leatherback stood next to them, on Anatis' side.

"You may have an entire army of akumatized warriors!" Leatherback shouted, clicking his hands.

"But we're a team of heroes!" Abeille added in, taking out her spintop.

"And we're gonna kick ass..." Culpeo added in, albeit quieter then the rest. Ryuko and Aspik jumped up and stood next to Lady Noir.

"So bring it, old man!" Aspik shouted, making Hawkmoth frown a little.

"We're ready for a fight!" Ryuko added, smirking before tilting her head. "Are you?"

The seven of them took their fighting stance, making Hawkmoth laugh.

"I understand you want a fight," He stated, smirking. "Then so be it. Guitar Villain, Frighteningale.... Music!"

The two musical villains began to sing and play as some of the scarlet army charged towards the heroes. Anatis nodded and jumped down with his team, charging towards them. They could hear Prime Queen narrating the fight as they ran towards them. Anatis narrowed his eyes as he couldn't see her around. He could see Lady Wifi, Pharaoh, Mime, Timebreaker, Style Queen, Troublemaker and Desperada running towards them on the ground while Bubbler, Stormy Weather, Reverser, Sandboy and the Puppeteer flew towards them. Rogercop and Malediktator stood at the back, along with the giants.

"Don't forget our main object!" Anatis yelled towards the others. "We want to get to Hawkmoth!"

"Well then let's go for the big, bad boss," Lady Noir grinned, getting a nod of Ryuko and Aspik as Stormy Weather lifted her parasol towards the sky.

"Cyclone!" She shouted, creating a whirl wind that lifted up Desperada, Trouble Maker and the Mime.

"Horus, give me your wings!" The Pharaoh shouted as his head transformed. He flew down towards Lady Wifi and picked her up. Timebreaker smirked and sped up on her skates as Style Queen turned into glitter. Stormy Weather directed her parasol towards Anatis, shouting Thunderbolt as she did.

"Leatherback, shield!" He shouted, causing Leatherback to throw it as a bolt of lightning headed towards him. It blocked it, causing Stormy Weather to growl and pull back her parasol. The wind disappeared, allowing the akumas to fall. Desperada went to hit Anatis but he jumped back as Ryuko ran over and held out her sword as Mime and Troublemaker landed behind her. Mime mimicked a sword while Troublemaker clicked her pen before the three of them charged towards them. "Your weapons are no match for Ryuko's sword. Show them what you've got,"

"Lightning Dragon!" She shouted, transforming into a bolt before repeatedly attacking the three akuma, keeping them busy as Anatis dived back as Lady Wifi fired at him. Leatherback jumped in front of him and blocked her attacks.

"Abeille! Pharaoh's pendent!" He shouted, causing Abeille to throw her spintop and break it. Pharaoh transformed back into Jalil Kubdel, causing him to drop Lady Wifi. Anatis captured the butterfly as Lady Wifi threw a symbol and landed on it, flying upwards. However, Jalil was still falling. "Culpeo! Rescue!"

"Good aim, mon cherie," She smiled as she slid and caught Jalil before turning around and throwing her flute at Lady Wifi's phone and turning her back into Alya. Abeille jumped and caught her as Anatis captured her butterfly too. Bubbler dived towards Ryuko as she blocked Mime's invisible sword. Lady Noir jumped over to her and used her baton to pop the bubbles he created as Apsik slammed his lyre into Desperada, which caused her to fall onto Troublemaker, who was attempting to fight Leatherback. Unfortunately for her, she clicked her pen at the wrong time which allowed Desperada to knock her down. In turn, she dropped the pen, allowing Leatherback to break it as Apsik grabbed Desperada's guitar back and slammed it into the ground, breaking. Anatis captured the freed akumas as Lady Noir blocked Bubbler's sword with her baton. She grinned and stomped on his foot before grabbing him and throwing him towards the mime, who was too distracted by Ryuko to notice Bubbler flying at him. Both villains fell to the ground, causing Mime's hat to fall off. Ryuko impaled it as Lady Noir jumped and landed a kick at Bubbler's sword, crushing it. Anatis captured those butterflies next before jumping back as Stormy Weather started to fire at him. He caught Timebreaker skating towards him, causing him to backflip and throwing his yoyo, destroying her skates as Lady Noir extended her baton, allowing Abeille to balance on it as Stormy Weather fired a bolt towards Anatis again. She threw the Bee heroine towards the weather witch, who used her parasol to protect herself. Abeille brought her leg down on it, breaking it and freeing the akuma. Lady Noir dived and caught Aurora as Anatis caught the loose akumas. Leatherback and Culpeo ran towards Rogercop, using Leatherback's shield to protect them from been hit. Culpeo threw her flute over Leatherback, causing Rogercop to dodge it but Anatis broke his whistle while he was distracted, capturing that akuma too. He jumped back as Style Queen went to slam her staff at him. Lady Noir dived at her and began to fight her as Ryuko ran towards Leatherback, who held out his shield. She jumped on it, causing him to throw her into the air and towards Reverser. She cut his plane and caught Marc before dodging Sandboy's attack. Aspik jumped over them and threw his lyre at Sandboy's pillow, ripping it. He caught his Lyre and the little boy who fell to the ground. Anatis caught their akumas as Lady Noir wrestled with Style Queen. He jumped over them and threw his yoyo, breaking her rose and capturing that akuma.

"By the power invested in me, I declare your miraculous are mine," Malediktator shouted, throwing balls of light at them as Puppeteer charged towards them. Since she didn't have her dolls with her, they couldn't be used in battle but it appeared she could control people she hit with her wand as she got Alya to try and attack Lady Noir.

"I'm sorry!" Alya gasped as she tried to punch the heroine, allowing Malediktator to fire a ball of light towards her. Anatis jumped over and blocked it as Leatherback threw his shield at Malediktator, who knocking him back. Abeille jumped at him and grabbed his sash, tearing it and freeing the akuma as Leatherback grabbed his shield and held it up again. This time, Abeille ran and jumped onto it, flying towards Puppeteer. She wrapped her spintop around her wand and pulled it from her hands, snapping it when she caught it. Manon flew from the sky but Leatherback caught her and put her down as Anatis caught the rest of the lose akumas. Lady Noir pushed Alya towards the other civilians.

"Your days of attacking innocent people will soon be over, Hawkmoth!" Anatis declared, throwing up his yoyo. "Lucky charm!"

He frowned as he caught a tennis racket before he glanced around, working out what to do with it. His luck vision lit up a canal boat, a lamp post then finally his team as a plan came into his mind. He smirked before nodding to his team.

"Get ready," He stated, turning to the akumas. "I'm gonna need all of you,"

The team nodded but before they could do anything, the sound of arrows been fired caught their attention. The people they rescued suddenly turned angry and aggressive, showing off black stained lips as they glared at the heroes. Anatis' eyes widen as Hawkmoth released and handful of akumas that turned them all back into their akumatized selves, causing Anatis and his team to go the defense. Lady Noir glanced up at the sky before gasping.

"Hawkmoth is using Dark Cupid to create all the negative emotions he needs!" She gasped as Dark Cupid flew up into the sky and aimed his arrows at Anatis, causing him to jump out the way and the fight to start up again. Ryuko was fighting against the Mime while Aspik was up against the Bubbler . Culpeo and Abeille were going against Style Queen and Malediktator as Leatherback was trying to fight off the Pharaoh and Troublemaker. Anatis was blocking Desperada's attacks while Lady Noir was fighting Lady Wifi, all while Dark Cupid led the air bound villains in an assault on the team.

"This is a nightmare!" Aspik called out as he dodged an attack from Reverser and hit Bubbler with his lyre before grabbing it and kicking the mime as Ryuko cartwheeled away from Stormy Weather's attack.

"Stay focus!" Anatis shouted as he jumped down and tripped up Desperada before blocking an arrow aimed at Leatherback. "We can't let them win,"

"Fall on them like rain, my scarlet akumas!" Hawkmoth shouted, causing Anatis to look at him as he thrust his cane into the air. A huge swarm of Scarlet akumas fluttered up from behind him, causing Anatis' eyes to widen in horror.

"Oh no," He gasped as they fluttered towards them. He turned to his team as they continued to fight. "Watch out!"

Lady Noir gasped as she looked over before pushing back Lady Wifi and landing a kick on her, sending her flying. Lady Wifi smirked at her as Puppeteer and Sandboy flew down towards her, shooting at her. She jumped back as Aspik fought with the Pharaoh, who managed to knock away his lute and grab his arms. Aspik managed to get free and kicked him back, glaring at him.

"Aspik! Watch out!" Ryuko called out, causing him to look behind as Dark Cupid fired an arrow at him. His eyes widen as she dived in front of him, taking the arrow. He caught as she fell and gasped as her lips turned black. She shoved him back and glared at him. "Keep your hands off me, you snake!"

"Ryuko..." He gasped as an akuma fluttered towards her. Anatis caught it before it could hit her.

"Ryuko! Don't let any negative emotions over take you or you'll get akumatized too!" He shouted, blocking Rogercop's attack as she sunk down, trying her best to fight it as she held her arms. "That's what Hawkmoth wants,"

"It's going to be ok, Ryuko," Aspik gasped, moving closer to her and causing her to look up.

"Coward," She growled before trying to attack him. "You're not worthy enough to be a hero!"

He grabbed her and restrained her as she struggled against him. One of the akumas tried to take advantage of the situation but Abeille dived over and blocked out the attack as Culpeo fought against the mime. Style Queen and Malediktator began to attack Abeille, causing her to move away from them. Ryuko slammed her fist into Aspik's rib and threw him over her shoulder before opening her arms and allowing an akuma to flutter into her choke.

"I am now... Okami!!" She declared, turning into a scarlet version of her self as Apsik looked up at her in horror and fear. Almost instantly, an akuma flew into his bracelet, covering him in a red smog as Anatis looked over.

"Apsik!" He shouted before blocking an attack from Pharaoh.

"There is no more Aspik," He declared as the smog disappeared, showing a scarlet version of him. "There is only Aapep!"

He then dived at Anatis, causing him to jump back as he slammed his fist into his ground. Leatherback threw his shield at him but Aapep dodged it as Okami charged at him. Abeille dived out of the way but Despair Bear jumped at her and forced her to stop. Culpeo jumped and landed in front of her, spinning her flute to deflect Dark Cupid's arrow but Lady Wifi threw a pause icon at her, trapping her too. Dark Cupid fired two arrows, hitting her and Abeille then akumas landed in their miraculous.

"Culpeo! Abeille!" Anatis called out, getting knocked back by Pharaoh. He kicked him back as they turned into scarlet akumas.

"Culpeo is no more, pest!" She growled, charging at him and trying to fight him. "Only Void Fox exists!"

He blocked her attack as she tried to attack him relentlessly. He managed to kick her back and jumped away but the akumatized Abeille jumped at him, trying to sting him with her now unlimited venom.

"Stay still, cockroach!" She growled as he back flipped away. "Frelona orders you to!"

Malediktator smirked and held up his fingers to his mouth.

"By the power invested in me, I order to stand still," He declared, throwing it towards Anatis. However, Leatherback pushed him out of the way and took the hit, allowing Dark Cupid to fire an arrow at him and a scarlet akuma to fly into his bracelet.

"Leatherback..." Anatis gasped before jumping out of the way as the newly villain threw his shield at him.

"Don't call me that!" He growled, catching it. "I'm Tortue Serpentine now!"

"Annie!" Lady Noir gasped as a number of akumas dived at her. She fought them off as Anatis blocked and dodged the attacks aimed at him. "Now would be a great time to use that lucky charm!"

"I need all o us for it to work!" He called out, rolling out of the way of Frelona as she tried to sting him again and block several attacks with his yoyo. "I can't do anything with it now,"

He jumped over and landed next to her, holding up his fists as she held up her baton. All of the akumas began to move in on them, causing both heroes to try and look for a point of escape. However, there wasn't one. The two of them blocked the attacks as best as they could but they really needed to get out of there.

"How are we gonna get out of this?!" Lady Noir gasped as she blocked another attack. Aapep managed to get pass their defenses and dived at Lady Noir but Anatis grabbed him and pinned his arms behind his back, in cased he had already activated his second chance. Anatis nodded at Lady Noir, who threw up her hand and summoned her cataclysm before slamming her fist into the ground. Anatis threw Aapep away from him as the ground cracked beneath them and gave away, causing the two heroes to fall into the sewers. Wasting no time, they swam away from the scene and climbed out of the water. Anatis helped Lady Noir out of the water before the two of them took off. Judging by the fact that they were still running and hadn't been ambushed, Aapep hadn't activated his second chance. They ran as fast as they could, heading deeper into the sewers as they did. Anatis frowned as his earrings beeped before glancing at Lady Noir.

"I'm about to transform back," He declared as they saw forked tunnels up ahead with a wall between them. "I'll take the side of the left, you take the right,"

"Kay!" She nodded, jumping across to her side. He jumped across to the other side and sighed as his transformation dropped. He caught Tikki and took out a macaron for her. She happily took it as he heard Lady Noir call off her transformation and give Plagg some cheese. "Enjoy it but don't take too long,"

"Let's share it," Plagg replied as Tikki suggested the same thing with her macaron. Both holders thanked their kwamis before eating their halves.

"You ok, Annie?" Marinette asked, causing Luka to sigh.

"Hawkmoth has never akumatized so many people in one go. The amount of akumas was... worrying to say the least and he looked different..." He frowned, thinking about it. He called the akumas scarlet akumas and he was referring to himself as Scarlet akumas. Not just that but the amount of them was well in the hundreds. "Something's changed,"

"He must have worked out how to boost his powers," She sighed, thinking. "Just like we did. Though I don't think he did it with magical food or potions.... Annie?"

"Do you still think we can win?" He asked, making her frown a little. He sounded small and so unsure of himself. Despite the fact that she couldn't see him, she knew he was holding his arms and looking down. She placed her hand on the wall as he let out a small sigh.

"We can't give up hope," She declared, causing him to look at the wall. "People are relying on us,"

"But our whole team crumbled," He sighed, looking down. "I failed to protect them..."

"Annie, listen to me. You did not fail. Hawkmoth cheated and that's all there is to it," She stated in a firm voice. "As for a crumbled team... well, let's go back to what we know works. A duo! You and me against the world, Annie,"

"Thank you, Kitten... I needed to hear that," He muttered, making her smile a little before they hear the sound of snarling and running. "They've found us,"

"Time to make a quick escape," Marinette grinned before noticing the flowing water. "You like Water Rides, Annie?"

"Don't forget to put your diving gear on," Luka replied, taking out a green macaron as they both ran towards the edge and dived off with their eyes closed. He threw it towards Tikki, who ate it as Marinette did the same with Plagg. "Tikki, power up!"

"Plagg, Power up!" She shouted as they free-fell towards a pool of water. "Aqua Plagg, Claws out!"

"Aqua Tikki, Spots on!" He shouted. They both transformed then hit the water. Once underneath, they opened their eyes and swam into a tunnel but Syren appeared to block their way, grinning. They heard a splash, causing them to look behind them as Animan in the form of a fish swam towards them. Anatis grinned as Syren charged at them. Lady Noir grinned back as she blocked Syren's attack. She knocked her weapon out of her hand and broke her bracelet as Anatis tied Animan up with his yoyo and broke the button on him before catching the akumas. Animan and Syren turned back into their civilian selves, causing Anatis and Lady Noir to give them their weapons so they could breathe before swimming off with them into the Seine.

"It's gonna take a long of time to deakumatized these villains one by one," Lady Noir pointed out as they swam.

"Which is exactly why we have to take on Hawkmoth directly," Anatis replied as they swam. "I think his cane is the source of his power up. I'm not sure how he did it but if we can destroy it, it should revert him back to normal and free everyone from his control,"

"Good plan but we can't do it from the water," Lady Noir pointed out as they both swam up and jumped out of the water, landing on the ground as they transformed back into their normal forms. As soon as they did, Timebreaker skated towards them, holding her hand out. However, Anatis clocked her before she could get them and broke her skates again, capturing her akuma before jumping to the bridge in front of the Eiffel Tower, causing Hawkmoth to glare at him. Ondine and Otis ran off as Anatis faced Hawkmoth with Lady Noir stood next to him, holding her baton behind her back.

"Hey, Hawkmoth! You're not gonna wanna miss what happens next! Time to show everyone that the real Anatis and Lady Noir are back!" He yelled out before taking out his yoyo. He pressed it open and threw it up in the sky, releasing all the purified butterflies he captured and causing a white beam of light to escape from it. Almost instantly, he could feel the change in the city's song and smirked as he closed his yoyo, knowing Hawkmoth could feel it too. "You feel that, Hawkmoth?! It's called Hope!"

"No more escaping for you, Knaves!" Dark Blade called out, causing Anatis and Lady Noir to face him and his army. "Down with the enemy!"

"Time for a little detour, kitten," Anatis suggested as they began to back away.

"Couldn't agree more, Annie," Lady Noir nodded before they ran off, causing the akuma army to follow them as they ran as fast as they could through the streets of Paris, trying to avoid the akumas that followed them. The ones from the sewers climbed out and joined the hunt. Lady Noir looked at him as they ran. "Got any ideas?"

"Besides running and surviving?" He asked, glancing at her before they both look ahead and saw a barricade of cars and a bus. The two of them jumped over it, rolling as they landed before noticing those behind it. Both heroes blinked as none of other then Nora Cesaire climbed onto the bus and lifted a broom up. Chloe and Nathaniel joined her, along with Tom, Sabine and Gina. Alya's mother was there too as was Anarka, Tomoe and a number of others.

"Parisians!" Nora shouted, getting their attention. "We can be heroes just for one day!!"

"What?! A revolution!" Dark Blade yelled before pointing his blade towards them. "Charge!"

"Charge!" Chloe shouted back, causing the Parisians to run into battle. A number of them grabbed the akumatized heroes from windows as Gina moved over to them, along with Anarka and Marlena Cesaire before helping the heroes to their feet.

"Are you two ok?" Anarka asked, causing Anatis to nod.

"It's awesome seeing you two again," Marlena grinned, clearly happy to see them as Gina placed her hand on Lady Noir's shoulder.

"Parisians are all on your side,"

"We're slow them down, Lad," Anarka grinned, clearly thriving in the chaos. "You two go save the world!"

"Leave the akumas to us," Gina grinned, causing Anatis to smile.

"You guys are amazing," He gasped as Lady Noir nodded.

"Thank you so much," She added as the two of them turned and ran off before jumping onto the rooftops. They came to a stop as the giant akumas arrived but the Parisians distracted them too, giving Anatis and Lady Noir a chance to get to the Eiffel tower. The two of them worked together against Glaciator and Gamer, causing them to take out each other before they jumped up and landed on the Eiffel Tower, rushing over to where Hawkmoth was standing, causing him to gasp as he turned around. Lady Noir held out her baton as Anatis spun his yoyo.

"It's just us three, Hawkmoth," He declared, causing Lady Noir to summon her cataclysm before he threw up his yoyo and summoned his lucky charm. He caught the little box and opened it before glancing at Hawkmoth, stopping as he got a shiver. This was too easy but he knew he couldn't let Hawkmoth catch on. He lifted his arm in front of him so the box reflected what was behind him before grinning. "It's a sign, Hawkmoth. That your miraculous will end up in this box,"

"Are you sure you're not making a mistake?" Hawkmoth asked. "How do you know that my wish wouldn't be beneficial for everyone?"

"Hm! I doubt that!" Lady Noir gasped as Anatis stepped forward. He moved his hand behind his back and pointed to his shadow.

"Even if it was, there would be a price," Anatis shouted, hoping Lady Noir got when he meant. Using the box, he saw her glance downwards towards Hawkmoth's feet. "Why don't you tell us your wish, Hawkmoth?"

"Give me your miraculous and find out," He replied as Lady Noir flicked her hair in a way that made it look like a nod. Anatis hid his smirk. "Unlike you, I'm not afraid to use these powers. Since you're so good, why did you never bother to change the world for the better?"

"We are changing it... by our actions..." Anatis stated, making Hawkmoth frown. "Instead of just wishing for it or taking advantage of innocent people,"

They moved forward to him as Anatis held out his hand with the box so he could still see behind him.

"But it's not too late.... you can fight for good with us," He stated as the real Hawkmoth climbed behind them with two akumas in his hand. Anatis placed his hand on his yoyo, waiting til he released the akumas. "Now!"

Lady Noir destroyed the Hawkmoth illusion and blocked Dark Cupid's arrows as Anatis captured the two akumas. She threw her baton at Dark Cupid, breaking the button on his chest. The akuma escaped and Anatis captured it, returning Dark Cupid back to Kim before he caught him with his yoyo and lowered him to the floor before the heroes faced Hawkmoth.

"No!" Hawkmoth growled.

"You're such a coward," Anatis growled. "But did you really think we were stupid enough to fall for that?!"

"No where to hide now," Lady Noir smirked as Hawkmoth growled. The two heroes charged at him and began to fight him. Anatis blocked his attack with his yoyo before he knocked him back. Lady Noir instantly took over, using her baton like a bo staff and attacking him relentlessly, annoying Hawkmoth until he got annoyed enough to try and beat her with his cane. Seeing his chance, Anatis threw his yoyo and snatched his cane out of his hand as Lady Noir flipped over to him. Hawkmoth charged at him but Anatis threw to Lady Noir, who caught it with her charged hand, destroying it. Hawkmoth returned back to his normal form as a number of white butterflies fluttered away. "As Annie said... it's over!"

"Alright, Kids," Hawkmoth growled with a look of determination on his face before he got into a fighting stance and held up his fists. "Watch what a man who has nothing to lose can do,"

The two heroes charged at him as he ran towards them, fighting him as best as they could but Hawkmoth was so much stronger then they were. He used his limbs and height to his advantage, beating them as he did until he knocked them onto the floor. Anatis tried to push himself up as Lady Noir's ring beeped. Hawkmoth smirked as he walked towards them.

"You're never going to win," He declared, walking towards them. "You're still so green, young heroes. You can't even stay transformed after you use your powers!"

He went to grab Lady Noir but before he could, Anatis slammed his foot into him, knocking him back before he got up, surprising Hawkmoth as he held up his arms in a strange position, similar to a snake.

"Annie..." Lady Noir gasped as he stood in front of her.

"I'm not done yet," He snarled, making Hawkmoth smirk before charging at him. To his surprise, Anatis managed to hold his own, using his hands to hit Hawkmoth with powerful jabs but gradually Hawkmoth got the upper hand, knocking him back. Hawkmoth smirked and lifted his arms to beat the knocked down heroes but he went flying when a shield was thrown into him. Leatherback jumped with the other heroes and caught it, allowing Anatis and Lady Noir to jump. Anatis threw his yoyo around, creating a net around the Eiffel Tower that trapped Hawkmoth. Ryuko clicked her fingers as the seven of them stalked towards Hawkmoth. Abeille held up her spintop and called upon her power, ready to sting him as he backed up. "It's over, Hawkmoth,"

However, a blue mask suddenly appeared around his eyes, causing his expression to change to one of genuine surprise. Anatis frowned deeply as they moved closer.

"No, don't do that!" Hawkmoth suddenly gasped, making everyone confused. Who was he talking to? The mask disappeared and he sunk to his knees, apparently admitting defeat. Anatis took another step forward but as he did, a giant moth suddenly appeared, causing the heroes to gasp before it began to flap it's wings, causing a gush of wind that sent the heroes flying. Anatis tried his best to hold onto his yoyo as he grabbed Lady Noir's hand, stopping her from been blown away.

"What is that monster?!" He gasped as his yoyo's string up wrapped, sending him flying. He threw his yoyo and wrapped it around the moth's tail, pulling himself and Lady Noir towards it so they could attack but it vanished as soon as they got near. They landed on the Eiffel Tower and looked around as the others returned. Anatis moved over to the broken cane as a darkened feather escaped it but as it fluttered away, it turned back to white. Lady Noir walked over and looked up at it as the others looked around for Hawkmoth.

"A feather?" She questioned as he frowned before his eyes widen.

"Master Fu mentioned that the Butterfly Miraculous wasn't the only lost miraculous," He muttered, making her look at him. "There's another one... the Peacock and I think we just saw it's power,"

"Anatis, Hawkmoth is gone," Culpeo stated, making the team move over and look around.

"He must of have escaped when that monster appeared," Lady Noir sighed before they moved over to the broken cane. Abeille leaned down and picked it up as Aspik and Ryuko frowned deeply.

"The timing of that monster was too good," Ryuko muttered, frowning.

"But where did it come from?" Aspik asked, getting a nod of the rest of the team.

"Another miraculous holder," Anatis answered, standing next to them. "Which means Hawkmoth is no longer working alone. He had help from the owner of the Peacock miraculous,"

"Well, maybe this can help us track him," Lady Noir muttered, taking the cane from Abeille but it disappeared, making them all gasp.

"There goes our chance at tracking him," Leatherback frowned as Anatis sighed.

"He must have detransformed," He muttered as his earrings beeped along with Lady Noir's ring. "We've gotta split, guys... but first..."

He held up the box and threw it into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybugs!" He shouted, causing it to burst into the magical swarm and fix everything before the heroes headed back into the city. Leatherback, Abeille and Culpeo followed Anatis while Ryuko and Aspik followed Lady Noir. Landing back on the school roof, Anatis jumped down, followed by Leatherback who detransformed and gave back the bracelet after saying goodbye to Wayzz. Anatis thanked him before jumping up to the roof, where Abeille and Culpeo were waiting. They detransformed and said goodbye to their kwamis before handing back the miraculous. Anatis thanked them before swinging off into the city back to Master Fu, briefly de-transforming on his way there. Meanwhile, Lady Noir dropped off Ryuko and Aspik at Kagami's house. The two of them detransformed and said goodbye to their kwamis before handing her the jewels without hesitation.

"Thank you for your help, you two," Lady Noir smiled.

"Thank you for trusting us," Kagami replied, bowing a little before her ring beeped again. "Send my best to Anatis,"

"I will," Lady Noir nodded before jumping off into the city. She briefly found somewhere to hide before her transformation dropped. Taking out some cheese, she threw it towards Plagg and headed to Master Fu's place. Arriving there, she re-transformed and entered through the open window, smiling as Anatis placed the fox and bee back in the box. She moved next to him and placed the dragon and the snake back, allowing Master Fu to close the box and lock it away.

"You both did very well today," He stated as he moved over to them. "But I sense something is troubling you, Anatis. Would it help to share what's on your mind?"

"The owner of the peacock miraculous helped Hawkmoth escape..." He muttered, frowning. "And I feel like Hawkmoth was planning this... I think Princess Justice was his inspiration for this attack... since she was arguably one of his most successful and intelligent akumas, he took her plan and evolved it... he was calling himself Scarlet Moth and had amplified his own powers... it was concerning..."

"Yes, it does seem that way," Master Fu agreed, making both heroes frown. "We were lucky that she did not make an appearance though... however, I think you two have earnt a well deserved rest. Go and celebrate this victory. It is heroes' day after all,"

"That's a good idea," Anatis nodded before getting up. "I have something I need to do,"

~After the Heroes Day Parade~

Marinette frowned to herself as she walked towards the park. She wasn't sure why but Alya asked her to meet her there at 7 pm, despite the fact that she told pretty much everyone that she couldn't do the party. Alya also insisted she bring a box of macarons. Luckily, because of the time, she was able to make some from scratch and these ones didn't burn. She saw Alya stood outside and waved towards her, getting her attention. Alya rushed over and smiled.

"Did you bring the macarons?" She asked, confusing her but she nodded. "Good! Right, close your eyes!"

"Uh.." She blinked. "Alright?"

She closed her eyes and allowed Alya to lead her into the park. She frowned as she felt Alya leave her side, making her nervous.

"Ok! Open your eyes!" Alya gasped, causing her to open them. She gasped as she took in the scene in front of her. Fairylights had been put up and tables had been set up. All kinds of food covered them and there were several picnic blankets with people on. Everyone who she had invited were there and it was exactly how she imagined it. Tears filled her eyes a little as she looked around.

"Oh my gosh..." She gasped. "But... I don't understand.... I cancelled the picnic because I couldn't provide the food I promised,"

"We know," Kagami stated as she walked over, holding a tray of food. "Which is why we all brought a dish each,"

"You're always helping people," Rose gasped as Juleka nodded.

"Like when you helped me with my photo curse," She muttered, pushing her hair out of the way as Nathaniel and Marc came over.

"Or when you helped me and Marc meet so we could create a comic book,"

"Or the time when you helped me escape so I could see my mother on the big screen," Adrien piped up as she looked around. "That's why we all jumped at the chance to help you. You do some much for us so today it was our turn to help you,"

"B-But... I still don't understand..." She gasped, confused. She was sure she cancelled the picnic. "Not that I'm not grateful... cause I am but I definitely cancelled the picnic so who asked you all to help?"

"I did," Luka stated, making her turn around in surprise as he walked over. "That's why I was looking at my phone all lunch,"

"Y-You did this for me?" She asked, tears appearing in her eyes as he nodded. She suddenly hugged him, causing him to stumble back a little as he caught her. "Thank you so much,"

"It's fine," He muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's heroes day so this is the least I could do,"

"You're my hero, Luka," She muttered, causing him to blush before she kissed his cheek and looked at him before the two of them joined the rest.

~Later that Night~

"Hey, Annie," Lady Noir grinned as she joined him. He was sat on a rooftop, writing down something down. "What ya doing?"

"Working out a code," He muttered, looking up at her as she sat down next to him before he handed her the note pad. He had written down several colour codes on there. Each one corresponded to a threat level. The lowest threat was Code Gray for weak akumas like Mr Pigeon. Code Black were for akumas like Lady Wifi. Code Yellow is for akumatized miraculous holders that weren't them. Code Orange was literally reserved for Volpina. Code Blue was for the peacock holder and Code Purple was for Hawkmoth. "I'll be adding more as time goes on but what do you think so far?"

"It works but what's Code Red?" She asked, making him frown a little.

"It's the warning if I'm ever akumatized..." He muttered, making her look at him. "The list isn't finished yet but I think it helps to have codes. That way we can prepare... speaking of preparing... I think we should train the newbies and look into calming techniques,"

"That's a good idea," She nods before looking at him. "You are ok right?"

"Yeah, I'm good, Kitten," He smiled, placing the notepad in his yoyo. "Are you?"

"Yup,"

---------------------------------------------------------------

Next Chapter: https://ultra-sassyduck.tumblr.com/post/638625574156419072/miraculous-rise-of-anatis-41

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solange-lol · 5 years ago

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who is he (and what is he to you?) - ch. 1/3

words: 1,720

solangeloweek day 1: fathers day

read on ao3

Will Solace has never been nervous to travel.

He used to go on vacations with his mom when they could afford it, although most of those were road trips. Then, when he got older and started working for the magazine company he currently works for, he was sent on all sorts of business trips. Will got used to traveling; used to flying and being in different places every couple of nights.

It’s less the plane ride that he’s nervous for and more the actual reason why he’s going. Yes, it is technically a business trip, but its a business trip to Texas and Will thinks he’s found his father. The one that walked out of their house when he was barely a year old and never looked back. The one that never sent birthday cards or went to Will’s graduation, who didn’t even attempt to contact Will once he was older.

It was an accident, really, that he found his father.

Of all things it was an ad on his Instagram feed that popped up, promoting a touring band called Apollo with lead singer Lester Papadopoulos. Seeing his father’s name not spoken from his mother for the first time was a bit of a shock.

The universe had a cruel sense of humor though, or so it seemed, as their gig in Austin, Texas lined up right as Will was headed there for a business trip slash unplanned reunion with his mom.

The opportunity was at Will’s feet, practically begging him to finally find out what kind of man his father really is. Or more likely, have Will give him a piece of his mind.

“You good?” A voice from behind him came. His coworker and best friend Nico was also assigned this trip with him (like usual, and thank god for that).

Nico bumps their shoulders together as the two of them board. “Usually I’m the one with plane anxiety.”

Will pushes back his thoughts and replaces them with a smile. “It’s not that. Can’t say I’m completely looking forward to three days of conferencing, though.”

“Tell me about it!” Nico groans, practically throwing back his head as the two of them settled in their seats, preparing for the four-hour flight from New York to Austin. “Last time we were stuck in one of those, I pretended to be taking so many notes but I was just doodling!”

Will laughs. “I remember that one. We played hangman at one point,” he reminds Nico, which just causes him to go onto retelling many stories about conference days. It was one of Nico’s ways of calming down before the plane took off, but also gave Will time to zone off again about his father.

He has the date, location, and time of the bar that Lester and his band were playing at just in case. The thought was burning in the back of his mind just like it had been ever since Will first saw the ad, and he imagines it wasn’t going to leave until Will just sucked it up and faced his deadbeat of a dad.

“Is your mom still upset that we aren’t staying with her?” Nico asks, pulling Will from his thoughts once again. (Though not completely. Like he said, burning in the back of his mind.)

“I think right now she is, but once we take over her house during the day, demanding food and laundry, she’ll be glad to have the space to herself at night.”

“We are not demanding anything from your mother,” Nico replies indignantly.

“You might change your mind about that once you taste her cookies.”

They’re cut off as the engine begins to roar, and Nico squeezes his eyes shut, grabbing Will’s hand. Even after a few years of working together, he’s still scared of planes. He has the same reaction to every flight.

Will had offered his hand on their second flight ever together, and every flight since then, to the point in which he just takes it when he feels they’re about to take off. It’s one of their weird business trip traditions.

Will notices an older man eyeing their hands from across the aisle, making him nearly roll his eyes at the guy. For one, they’re not even dating. And if they were, what was the big whoop? Were people still sensitive to two guys holding hands in this day and age?

It didn’t matter, he supposes, because there was no way Nico was letting go until they reached a level relationship to the ground.

⁠—

Naomi Solace was waiting for them as soon as they got their bags. She had insisted that even while they weren’t staying with her for the trip, the least she could do was provide them some transportation so they wouldn’t have to rent a car.

Nico was visibly uncomfortable, Will could tell. He’s tried explaining multiple times that his mother is the last person to be afraid of as long as you don’t hurt Will or mention his father, neither of which Nico had done. It didn’t help to calm him down though.

That worry seemed to melt the moment Naomi catches their eyes, immediately waving them over with the brightest smile on her face.

She hugs Will first, of course, who could feel relief spreading through his body when she wraps his arms around him. Even with all the crazy going on around them, it was comforting to know that his mom was there for him. (Not that she knew Will’s other reason for the trip, nor would she. It would crush her, and he can’t handle that right now.)

After she finally lets go of Will, she immediately goes to Nico. Will winces, cursing at himself internally that he hadn’t told his mom that Nico didn’t like to be touched without warning until he realized that he can’t even help but to relax into one of Naomi’s hugs.

The tension had completely dissolved by the time they got to the car, leaving Will to excitedly tell Nico all about the area that he had grown up in.

“Schlitterbahn!” he cries excitedly, causing Nico to give him a confused look.

“Bless you?” he says, more like a question than a statement, causing both Will and Naomi to laugh.

“Not a sneeze,” Will says giddily. “Just the best waterpark ever!”

Nico still looks confused (has he never been to a waterpark?) but he seems content with letting will rediscover his past. Will’s grateful for it, especially considering it takes his mind off his father.

It also makes Will realize something. Something huge, unknown to Nico, and only a select part of the southern experience. He turns to Nico with a near-crazed grin. “Have you ever had Whataburger?”

“Had a what-a-what?”

“We have to take him there for dinner, mom!” Will’s voice is pitched higher than normal, dripping with pure childlike excitement. Next to him, Naomi’s smile was much more calm, only laughing at her son’s antics

Meanwhile, Nico looks like he’s almost expecting Naomi to say know. Lord knows how many times Will has refused to go to McDonald’s with Nico for dinner on business trips. That changes as soon as Naomi takes a quick turn into a parking lot.

Will nearly pulls Nico out of the car as she parks, dragging him towards the bright orange and white doors of the restaurant.

“I know you’re a devoted McDonald’s fan, but at least give this a try,” he says, walking Nico up to the counter. “I think we might be able to change your mind.”

Once the three order their food, they sit down together at a booth. Will ends up sliding next to his mom rather than Nico, which is a force of habit after many restaurant trips spent sitting across from each other.

Both Naomi and Will eagerly watched as Nico took the first bite of his burger. He chewed comically slow, making vague facial expressions before swallowing. He pauses, then decides “It’s alright.”

“Alright?” Will nearly yells, trying not to laugh through his words.

Nico’s face breaks out in a grin. “Okay, maybe it’s better than alright. I still think McDonald’s is my number one, though.”

Will rolls his eyes. “We need to get you some new taste buds.”

⁠—

Later, Will flops back happily on the hotel bed. He sighs contentedly as several joints in his back pop, savoring the feeling of resting for the first since they got off the plane.

After dinner, they gave Nico a quick car tour of the city of Austin before Naomi dropped them off at the hotel they’re staying at. They’ll have plenty of time to explore the city tomorrow after some much needed rest.

Will hears a soft laugh coming from next to him. He rolls to his side to face Nico, who’s sitting cross-legged on the bed across from him as he bemusedly watches Will stretches.

“Comfortable?” Nico asks, grinning. Will’s taken aback for a moment by how soft his best friend looks at that moment in black sweatpants and a soft gray-green t-shirt. He’s actually very pretty, and for a moment Will wonders what it would be like to cuddle with him.

He shakes that thought away with a smile, dramatically stretching his arms above his head. “Very.”

Nico laughs again, uncrossing his legs and scooching up to the headboard of the bed. “Not quite like my bed at home-”

“But better than some of the others we’ve had,” Will finished, nodding. He mirrors Nico’s actions, sliding under the covers of his own bed and reaching to plug his phone in. He's not really that tired, but he doesn’t want to think about the day ahead of him tomorrow anymore.

“Hope you’re ready for some epic rounds of hangman tomorrow,” Nico says as Will reaches to turn off the lamp next to him.

He grins in response. “It’s the highlight of these conferences.”

Nico rolls his eyes. “We need to stop agreeing to these trips.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he laughs. “Goodnight, Nico.”

“Goodnight, Will.”

He rolls over, facing away from Nico as he tries to force himself to fall asleep. His mind is still racing, though, overlapping thoughts about his mother and his father, and even Nico himself.

All he could do was close his eyes until he fitfully fell asleep.

⁠—

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stilesssolo · 5 years ago

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baby I’ll come back to you: coming soon

Well folks, since my current wip, where the wild things are, is winding down (there’s only one chapter left WHAT) and I’m taking off March/ early April from posting anything to focus on finishing up my remix fic(s) on time, I wanted to share a sneak peek of my next wip (mostly just so I could show off @dragonanddirewolf‘s BEAUTIFUL beautiful art.) So here it is: the long-awaited Jonas Brothers au (sorta), which I hope to start posting in late April. I am really excited to start working on this fic, and even more excited to share it with everyone! Hopefully this little preview intrigues you and gets you as excited to read it as I am to write it! And tides you over while y’all wait for my next update, since I am incapable of really working on more than one project at a time. WHOOPS. Anyways, here it is, so enjoy!!

It feels like it’s been a bloody age since he’s actually seen both Robb and Theon in the same room.

He spots them the moment he steps into the coffee shop, even though they’re tucked away in a back corner, away from prying eyes. Jon keeps his head down as he maneuvers through the crowded café, sunglasses still on even inside, just in case people are looking his way. It’s an old habit he has yet to break— out of the three of them, he certainly gets recognized the least nowadays, which is probably why all the tabloids claim he’s fallen off the face of the planet. Theon’s been doing movies, Robb was in a new band and is married to probably the most famous woman in the world, and Jon— well. He’s been living, best he can. Getting better, all of that bullshit. But truly, he hasn’t done anything like his brothers have in the past five years, so people don’t recognize him as much. Enough to squint at him in an I-know-you’re-famous way, but not enough to rush him like they do Robb whenever he steps foot outside his house. He outgrew his nineteen-year-old baby face and started tying his hair back, and all of a sudden it’s like he’s wearing a mask.

Jon’s not sure how much longer that will last, though, because he has a feeling he knows why Robb’s asked them to meet him here today.

“Jon,” he hears that familiar voice call, and he nods towards the two men at the back table, head still down. The last thing they need is the paps recognizing them, starting to spread rumors about the three of them all together again.

“Hi,” Jon says, slipping into the booth, finally taking off his sunglasses. Light from outside streams in through the large windows, the busy sprawl of King’s Landing right before them. Theon slaps him on the arm in greeting; Robb smiles at him in that way he does now. That way that looks like everything’s fine, but where the light doesn’t quite meet his eyes.

Gods, he can’t remember the last time his brother actually looked truly happy to see him. Probably before their last tour.

He knows why, of course. Robb would never say it, but Jon knows that he blames him for the breakup. For everything.

“Bloody hells, Jon, it’s been an age,” Theon says, grinning at him. “Where’ve you been?”

“I’ve been here,” he responds, crossing his arms. “You’re the one who was off filming that movie for three months.”

“Aye, how did that go?” Robb asks, gaze turning to Theon, that guarded look disappearing. “I haven’t seen you since you got back. You missed Rose’s birthday party, you know.”

“I know,” Theon grumbles. “I’ll make it up to her, I promise. I have to maintain my favorite uncle status.”

They chat for a while— mundane things, catching up. Theon tells them about the movie he’d just wrapped on. Robb shows them both a million new photos of his children. Jon keeps quiet, just listening. It’s… nice, to be back with both of them, the warm sunlight spilling in through the window, making Robb’s eyes shine like they used to when he was younger. It makes him forget, for a moment. Wish for those days back, when the three of them would spend every moment of their time writing music, pouring their hearts and souls into their careers. It was something so fleeting and magical, he’s not really sure he’ll ever find anything like that again.

Jon realizes he’s lost track of the conversation when Theon clears his throat, looking at the two of them almost nervously, in a decidedly un-Theon-like way. “I’m glad we did this,” he says to them, “because I wanted to tell you both.” He pauses, looking at Robb, as if trying to gauge his best friend’s reaction before he even says anything. “I’m going to ask Sansa to marry me.”

Robb’s eyes get comically wide, so much that Jon chuckles, ducking his head. But it only takes his brother a moment to recover, before he’s grinning widely, eyes sparkling in a way Jon hasn’t seen them in a long time.

Or maybe that’s just because Jon seldom sees Robb anymore.

“Wow,” Robb says, almost speechless. “That’s— that’s brilliant, Theon. Congratulations!”

“Well, I haven’t asked her yet,” Theon says, giving Robb a look. “Don’t go cursing me or something now. She’ll go on and say no.”

“You think she would?” Jon asks. Theon shrugs.

“I don’t really, but— hells, I don’t know.” He gives Robb a look. “How did you know it was right when you asked Margaery?”

Robb huffs in laughter. “Oh gods, don’t take advice from me on that,” he says, raising his hands in surrender.

“What do you mean?” Theon demands. “You’re the only one of us who’s bloody married!”

Jon looks down as the sudden feeling of coldness creeps in, like an icy dagger to the heart. Memories flash before his eyes, and he’s trapped back in the past, glimpses of hair like moonlight and teasing smiles dragging him down, drowning him.

He still has that diamond ring somewhere— buried in the back of a drawer, probably, where he won’t stumble upon it. Seeing it is too painful, but getting rid of it— well. That’s painful in an entirely different way.

“Aye, but Margaery made it easy for me,” Robb says. “She wrote a whole bloody album that basically told me she was waiting for me to ask her.” He laughs, shaking his head. “Y’know I still get asked if I married her with paper rings.”

At that, Jon snorts, a little of the darkness lifting. He’s seen his goodsister’s engagement ring, and it is certainly not made of paper.

Jon tunes out as Robb continues on, reassuring Theon. He doesn’t realize he’s being addressed until both men are staring at him expectantly.

“Sorry, what?” he says, and Robb rolls his eyes amiably.

“I asked, what have you been doing, Jon?” Theon repeats, and Jon shifts uncomfortably. Nothing, is really the most honest answer. Working out. Walking Ghost. Trying to keep his mind occupied and himself sober.

It’s probably sad, to look at his life now, compared to what it used to be. When he was nineteen years old he was touring the world, singing for millions of fans, writing songs every single minute of every single day. Music was most of his life. And now he’s just— trying to get by, he supposes. It’s sad, but it’s what he’s become accustomed to. Just… making it through the day, one day at a time.

“Er, not much,” he admits. “Not like you two, anyways.”

Robb glances up at him, that guarded look back in his eyes. “Arya told me you’ve been writing again,” he says, quietly. Jon curses mentally— he never should have told her that.

“Fuckin’ tattletale,” Jon grumbles. But he can tell from Robb’s expression he’s not going to drop it. “Aye, I have been,” he admits, heaving a sigh. “Not anythin’ good. Just… I dunno. I missed it, I guess.”

“I miss it too,” Theon says, a smile tugging at his lips. “Acting is fine, but music… it’s something different, isn’t it?”

“Aye, it is,” Robb agrees. “Margaery’s been workin’ on her next album, and it makes me think back to then. When we’d just crowd around the table in Mum and Dad’s living room, and Jon would come up with a lyric, and Theon would just hear how it should sound, and we’d write a song in an afternoon.” He sighs, a little wistfully, looking down. “Watching Margaery at the piano, it just…”

“Feels like a part of you is missing,” Theon supplies.

Jon doesn’t answer, but he knows what they mean. Maybe that’s why he began songwriting again. Not because he wants to have a music career anymore— just because it’s so ingrained in him, he doesn't really know what to do with himself if he’s not making music. And if he’s being honest, writing down lyrics, coming up with a melody on the guitar or the piano that mainly just collects dust in his living room… there’s a comforting familiarity to it. Like maybe his sense of self hasn’t been completely destroyed. Maybe some of the old person he used to be is buried down deep.

“Do you ever think about it?” Theon asks, and Robb’s brow furrows. “Y’know. The possibility of… us. Getting back together.”

Robb exhales slowly. “More than I should,” he says. “I… it’s really hit me, in the past few years. How much I miss it. And doing things by myself, or with other people, it’s just not the same.”

“Aye,” Jon agrees, both Theon and Robb looking a little surprised at the fact that he’s participating in this conversation voluntarily. But he knows what Robb means. He did solo things after the breakup, just because he didn’t know how to do anything else. And it had been a lackluster replacement, nothing like he’d felt for the almost seven years he and Robb and Theon were together.

“What about you, Jon?” Robb asks, and as casual as his brother may be trying to appear, Jon knows him better than that. He can hear the apprehension in his voice. And the hope.

Jon exhales, trying to sort out his words in his head before he says something he regrets. “I… do miss it,” he says. “And sometimes I think about it. Gettin’ back together. But I always…” He hesitates. “Would it even be the same? Can we have that again, truly? Or was it just some miracle we stumbled upon we can’t get back?”

“I wonder that too,” Theon admits. “If we got back together— would anyone even care? Would anyone want to listen to our music in the first place?”

“I know what you mean,” Robb says, and his blue eyes flash with determination, desperation. Like he’s clinging onto this with all his might. “But I miss making music with you two. And I think if we truly did this, we couldn’t worry about the fans, or the people. We’d have to do it just for us.”

Just for us, Jon thinks, trying not to roll his eyes. That’s a novel thought in Hollywood. All he seemed to do when they were a band was give and give and give himself away. Nothing here was ever just for him.

Well… there was her. But now that’s gone as well.

“I would do it,” Theon says, with a conviction that surprises Jon. “It would be hard, and who bloody knows what would even come of it, but I would. If this is you asking, Robb, then I say yes.”

Robb blinks, a little taken aback, but then Theon’s words really seem to hit him, and he smiles. A laugh falls from his lips, eyes shining in a way that Jon rarely sees anymore.

“What about you, Jon?” Theon asks, and that’s when Robb’s eyes dim.

Jon sighs. “I dunno,” he says. “That’s… a big decision. I’d like to just say yes, but…”

“I know,” Robb says. “And I don’t want you to say yes unless you really mean it, Jon. If you just… do this for us, nothing will end well.”

His eyes drop down to the coffee table, heart heavy. Yes, he knows that’s true. Because isn’t that how it all blew up the first time? Jon couldn’t do it anymore, and instead of telling anyone, he soldiered on for Robb and Theon. For his brothers. And it all ended in fucking disaster.

“I’ll think about it,” he promises, and the sincerity in his voice takes him by surprise as much as it does Robb and Theon. “Truly, I will.”

Maybe it’s not a bad idea. He loved making music with Robb and Theon. It was his entire life for so long— some crazy dream they somehow made come true. The most surreal, incredible thing in the world, right there before them. And he does miss it. He misses having a purpose, an outlet, an… anything. He misses the time when his life wasn’t an endless void, a monotonous parade of going through the motions day-to-day, trying to learn to move on from something he never really thinks he’ll be over.

Robb’s smile is warm when it meets his, and Theon claps him on the shoulder, looking uncharacteristically hopeful. And for a moment, Jon’s heart feels light, not like it’s made of iron, still heavy in his chest after nearly seven years.

But then Robb’s expression shifts, and his stomach sinks once again.

“There’s somethin’ else,” his brother admits. “Sansa just told me. And I figured you’d rather hear it from us, than see it plastered across all the tabloids in King’s Landing.”

“What is it?” Jon asks, dread filling his stomach. He just knows, somehow, that this is it. This fragile peace he’s tried to build these past years is about to shatter, the rug pulled out from under him.

Robb exhales, like he has to physically force the words out, and Jon prepares himself for the fallout.

“Dany’s back in town.”

And with that, the world stops spinning.

#jonas brothers au #my writing #jonerys #jonerys modern au #jonerys fanfiction #baby i’ll come back to you #im so excited for this one guys #AND THE ART!!!#I CANT!!!!#martha did such a good job #really im posting this because I was too impatient to wait #to share her gorgeous gorgeous artwork with yall #HOPE YOU ENJOYED #coming soon to an ao3 near you

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stubbedbakutoes · 5 years ago

Text

Moving In

pairing: chuuya nakahara x dazai osamu

genre: fluff, that homo agenda *insert chef's kiss*

masterlist

"Be careful with those, I – "

Crash.

"... Never mind."

"Sorry, baby – was it important?"

Chuuya could hardly get mad at Dazai with his mismatched socks and low-slung sweatpants, forehead pecks with his lip brushing his warm skin when he murmurs I'll buy his a new one into his hair.

The distinctive crack of shattered glass breaking in the box he just bumped into the wall with indicates that he's going to have to pull out his wallet, and the flashbacks to the consecutive drops, trips, and stumbles with wince-worthy snaps and cracks resounding in the cardboard box tells his he might have to run to the nearest bank too.

He waves it away – "we needed new picture frames anyways, and besides, the dinner plates were pretty chipped to begin with" – and he let it slide with his lips on Chuuya's neck.

Needless to say, it's taken his much longer than anticipated to move all the boxes in.

Giggles and playful kisses, awkward shenanigans in the stairs with large boxes in his hands and yelps mixed with laughter when he sets the boxes down only to pick his up over his shoulder.

"This is all I'll be needing, thank you very much boys."

The movers smiled a little at the two of them, fanciful lovebirds with a sea of cardboard boxes to an untouched new place, ready to make new memories, ready to make a new home – they shake their head a little bit at his naivety with the reality of broken sink faucets and overdue bill payments, but there's something in the way Dazai looks at Chuuya that makes even the biggest skeptic believe everything is going to be okay.

And it's something Chuuya’s been waiting for – something he’s planned, months on months of searching for houses and apartments, open houses and horn-rimmed real estate agents with tight buns on their head and clipboard in their hands; long nights of looking over pamphlets and brochures, only to have his long fingers over Dazai’s eyes as he splays them all out over the table and whispers pick one, signing the contract to the apartment in the brochure he chose with closed eyes the day afterwards.

Weeks of packing things and labelling them into sealed boxes, neat letters in his hand and cartoon doodles in the other’s; his life sealed up and ready to be opened with him in a place they now could call their own.

It took his three days to get the taste of paint off Chuuya’s lips after a week of paint wars with rollers on back of white paint on black shirts and hair dipped in lavender; fingerprint smudges of idle tapping to the music that echoed through the empty halls and wrinkled texture on the now-dried wall of when he pinned his up like his were a finished masterpiece despite the messy splotches of color around his.

He thinks there's a bit of a pattern of being rather sidetracked when it came to doing things with Dazai.

But regardless of how long it took, they were here now – with each other – long legs tripping over themselves as they tried to find their footing below the large cardboard box full of shoes in their hands.

Dazai drops them more times than he's made complete trips and he’s grown accustomed to the sound of heavy thuds of a six-foot body falling on the stairs and a twenty-pound box, accented by the almost comical oof or whoops.

He pouts with pink lips and dark brown eyes and Chuuya promises to kiss him all better after he picks himself up to help finish carrying the rest of the boxes; singsong voice of so kiss me kiss me kiss me as Chuuya passes him with rolled eyes.

By the time he’s done with all the boxes securely through the front doors and messily stacked like half-finished skyscrapers, his arms are sore and his calves are aching, but his eyes are definitely not tired of watching Chuuya stretch his strung back next to the windows, thin band of stomach showing and broad shoulders with muscled arms reaching for the sky.

He catches his watching with a smirk, you like what you see?

Chuuya sees a mess of a room filled with things he’s yet to rediscover and Dazai in the middle of it all; the old in the new and already with memories dried on the wall and floors scratched with the recollection of today's work.

And he does like what his see – the boy he loved with the place he now shared with him, the first place, the only place he could finally call ours with him.

Chuuya likes the sound of that, he thinks.

A home in every sense, a home with Dazai.

Yes, his thinks. His can see it now, he thinks he can see the next sixty years of his life, right here, with Dazai.

Dazai gives his a curious look with raised eyebrows, chin propped up on his stomach as his long fingers wrap around his waist.

"What?"

Chuuya asks him, because he knows he has that adorably confused face of his with the cocked head and big adorable eyes trying to figure something out.

"You were spacing out again – what were you thinking of?"

Chuuya pauses for a moment, trying to find a way to answer his question.

Because he sees picture frames of his and him on his bare walls of a wedding and a child and a graduation and a retirement, because he sees chipped corners of the paint his just coated on a few days ago that unveil back his history with the peeling color, because he swears he can taste all the kisses he'll give his in this house for this lifetime he'll spend with him.

"Tomorrow." He smiles. "I was thinking of tomorrow."

Dazai laughs a little, because his boy's always been vague words for such a complex mind and he won't quite understand today, but he knows he will, he will one day.

"Yes. Tomorrow," he pauses dramatically for effect, "we'll be unpacking the rest of these boxes."

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thebibliomancer · 4 years ago

Text

Essential Avengers: Avengers #230: THE LAST FAREWELL!

April, 1983

“Yellowjacket no more!”

Aw, dang! Hank got raptured!

Captain America, Thor, and Hawkeye is a weird collection of characters to be staring forlornly at the empty Yellowjacket uniform.

Thor hasn’t really expressed much about the Yellowjacket situation in comparison. You think they could squeeze Wasp into the shot. Just her ex-husband is all. She’s just the team leader is all.

Put Wasp on the cover, you cowards.

So last times on Avengers: Hank Pym got himself kicked out of the Avengers and out of his marriage and pretty much deserved it. He was tricked into committing treason by his arch-nemesis Egghead and sent to jail. He sat in jail for, like, a really long time. The wheels really spun on the arc.

He was kicked out of the Avengers/walked before he could be kicked out in #213. He was arrested at the end of issue #217. His trial was in issue #228.

He was kidnapped from his trial by the Masters of Evil. Then in #229, he turned the tables on them all in quite a satisfying manner and slugged Egghead in the egg head.

Then Hawkeye manslaughtered him. He’s dead.

Hawkeye arrowed the science gun to stop Egghead from shooting Hank in the back and then the science gun backfired and microwaved that egg.

This makes Hank’s victory a little bittersweet for him.

Hank Pym: “I defeated the Masters of Evil single-handed... but more than anything, I wanted to bring Egghead to justice. He was a thorn in my side for so many years. I was never able to defeat him for long, not when I was Ant-Man... and not even after I became Giant-Man! He bedeviled me in every identity I assumed. He did me the greatest wrong when I was Yellowjacket. I’d already ruined my Avengers career, when he tricked me into committing a federal crime!”

Hawkeye too is set to thinking by what happened. Maybe humming a bit of Bohemian Rhapsody to himself too.

Hawkeye: “This is unreal! I’ve never killed a man before! I never planned on anything like this happening! Yeah, but I can’t feel sorry for Egghead! If anyone deserved this, he did! My brother Barney bought the farm, stopping Egghead from killing the Avengers. And if I hadn’t acted when I did, Hank Pym would be dead! If I had to do it again... I would!”

Hawkeye: ‘Eh, fuck ‘em!’

hah.

But Hank laments that with Egghead dead, so goes his chance of proving his innocence by turning him over to the law.

Hank Pym: “Egghead was always getting away from me, Hawkeye. It’s almost as if he’s pulled the ultimate escape!”

Fun fact: There doesn’t seem to be an Ultimate Egghead! Why would there need to be? Even more than in the 616, Ultimate Hank Pym is by far his own worst enemy.

Hawkeye basically tells Hank to buck up and that there’s basically incriminating evidence lying all over the place.

He doesn’t say it but even Egghead’s dead deceased corpse is kind of like evidence. Evidence that he wasn’t dead until recently.

Captain Marvel shows up because someone finally came looking for Hawkeye.

Hank is surprised, much like others have been that this is Captain Marvel. He knew the old guy, the super saiyan. And I guess he didn’t hear there was a new one.

Hawkeye: “We’ve had a few changes since you went in the slammer, Hank. C.M. is an Avenger in training.”

Huh. Captain Marvel doesn’t even react to the dead body. Then again, there’s a lot of bodies lying all around the place.

And while Hawkeye is introducing the new Captain Marvel to Hank, one of those bodies stirs.

Moonstone has regained consciousness and assesses the situation. She could blast Hank, Captain Marvel, and Hawkeye with her coherent light pew pew but that’d just weaken her.

Like in the previous issue, Moonstone is one of the few supervillains who knows when to fold ‘em.

So she decides to skeedaddle while the getting is good but whoops.

Getting wasn’t good.

The rest of the Avengers have shown up and cornered her while she was pondering.

So Moonstone decides ‘eh fuck it’ and promises to spill all the beans if it gets her a lighter sentence.

So days later, the mostly off-screen trial of Hank Pym finally ends.

A loooot of new evidence suddenly popping up led the prosecution to withdraw all charges.

The lead prosecution witness, Trish Starr, suddenly reversing her testimony after putting on Tony Stark’s magical mental-scan helmet kind of tanked the case, really.

Wait, they really did just admit the use of the helmet in the trial when its new, unsubstantiated technology whose inventor disappeared?

Damn, I knew the Marvel legal system was wild (considering comic books as legal documents as explored in Dan Slott’s run on the character) but still!

Although it makes sense. Egghead got Trish to incriminate Hank by using the bionic arm to alter her memories. The helmet Tony invented undoes that kind of alteration. This connects the dots quite reasonably. Glad Stern was paying attention when preparing to finish this arc.

Moonstone and Beetle confirming that Egghead was using Hank as a tool also helps.

In fact, not only did the prosecution drop all their charges, the judge also dismissed all the charges. Which feels redundant? I dunno much about law, really. Just the She-Hulk version of law. Which, again, uses comic books as legal documents.

Apparently happening at around the same time, Hawkeye also had his day in court.

Literally a day.

It wasn’t a trial, just a hearing to investigate whether he was guilty of wrong-doing in the death of Egghead.

Newsman with a newsplan: “Though he was threatened with contempt-of-court charges a number of times -- Hawkeye was found innocent of any wrong-doing in the death of Dr. Elihas Starr -- the self-styled Egghead.”

Yeah, I bet Hawkeye was threatened with contempt-of-court a bunch. And I bet you anything that at least one of the times he rejoined with “No, you’re out of order! This whole damn courtroom is out of order!”

And then the judge probably just sighed.

I mean, look at that unbelievable Hawkeye in the bottom left panel.

Anyway, I think Stern must have felt a little pent up having to start his Avengers run finishing off someone else’s story, especially having to devote a recap issue to it since the plot had been interspersed with fill-ins.

Because in the middle of concluding this arc, he throws in two plot beats that I have to assume are to set up stuff of his own.

A day after the trial, the Beetle is being escorted to a cell in a Western Pennsylvanian federal maximum security prison when he bumps into another prisoner.

What neither the Beetle or the guard notices is that the bump to “Sam Smithers” has peeled off some skin on his arm and revealed THAT HE IS ACTUALLY MADE OF WOOD!

Suspect possibly a living puppet.

And elsewhere but samewhen, IN SPACE, specifically on Saturn’s moon Titan, Thanos’ brother Eros is basically complaining about being bored.

When Captain Mar-vell died of having a lot of cancer, he asked Eros to look after Mar-vell’s... uh... -google- robot girlfriend?? Elysius.

Eventual mom to Genis and Phyla-Vells.

Soooooo, Eros has done as Mar-vell’s deathbed wish was and spent an agonizing several consecutive months hanging out in Titan’s beautiful inside forests and just having a real hard time caring about one thing for such a long period of time.

I’m not even being unfair to him.

Eros: “This is the first time in ages that I’ve spent so many consecutive months on Titan! I have ever been a wanderer! I’ve sought out adventure across the wide cosmos. Frankly, I have known romance on more worlds than most sentient beings could imagine. That’s part of the problem. Our friendship has been wonderful, but I’m having a hard time adjusting to it. My previous relationships have all been of a fleeting nature.”

‘Look its not you, its me’ except for attempting to dump someone as a friend, instead of romantically.

Not dump, even. He just kind of wants to ditch her and is asking in a roundabout way if she’s emotionally stable enough to ditch.

She goes, yeah sure, go off and have fun. And maybe she’s getting tired of his company too.

Elysius: “Look... you’ve been a great comfort to me these last few months, but now I need to be alone for a while with my thoughts.”

Geez, how clingy has he been this whole time while desperately wanting to be anywhere else?

Anyway, since she’s fine with him fucking off, he does fuck off. Right to the Hall of Science.

Where Eros’ dad is like ‘oh ffs’ when Eros tells him that he needs to use the LIVING COMPUTER Isaac to look up planets with the highest adventure potential.

Mentor of Titan is a man deeply disappointed in both of his sons for very different reasons.

Anyway, would you really be surprised if I told you that Earth was in the Top 3 planets in known space for adventure?

You wouldn’t, right?

Meanwhile, back at the plot, Hank Pym is on a boat with Trish Starr.

She wants to apologize for that time she incriminated him but Hank isn’t going to blame her for being as much a pawn in Egghead’s scheme as he was.

Trish: “Yes, uncle was like that all of his life. I think he really enjoyed using people.”

And she remembers the first time they met in Marvel Feature #5, where Egghead tried to drain her mind to power his machines. Because. Batteries hadn’t been invented? Because he’s just not happy unless he’s screwing over someone else?

Second one sounds likeliest.

She also remembers the time he car bombed her car but siphoned out most of the gas first.

Trish: “He didn’t want to kill me... only maim me. Nice guy, my uncle.”

Yeah. Its stories like that why its only Trish and Hank also Fred Sloan on a boat at Egghead’s funeral. Yeah, by the way, this is basically Egghead’s funeral.

Fred is only here for Trish.

Hank reacts to Fred so I wondered if he’s important in some way or if Hank recognized him but I checked the wiki and his main importance seems to be... this issue? So I don’t know why Hank reacts to the guy.

So Fred is just here for Trish. Trish is here out of duty, since she was Egghead’s only known family. And Hank is also only here out of duty but more archnemesis ‘can’t believe that asshole is dead and I don’t even get to feel good about it’ duty. I assume.

Hank even gets the honor (?) of laying Egghead to rest. By dumping his ashes into New York harbor.

Mostly because it doesn’t seem like Trish wants to?

So Hank quotes some Mark Twain and dumps the ashes.

Hank Pym: “‘Death... the only immortal who treats us all alike, whose pity and whose peace and whose refuge are for all -- the soiled and the pure, the rich and the poor, the loved and the unloved.’ Farewell, Egghead.”

Trish: “It’s awful to say this -- but I can’t find it in myself to be sorry. I think I’m glad he’s dead.”

And that’s Egghead’s legacy. Mourned by no one. And his death is only not cheered because the only people that cared feel shitty about feeling glad he’s dead.

ANYWAY, there’s some other loose ends to tie up.

So Hank takes a taxi to the Avengers Mansion and I guess finally explicitly explains why the mansion has seemed to change positions over time?

Hank Pym: “I never thought I’d be coming here again. The place has certainly changed since the day Jan and I met here with Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk to draft the Avengers charter and by-laws. And I still recall the time Iron Man and Thor moved the mansion back from the street to give us more privacy. What a project that was!”

Sounds like a heck of a noodle incident, Hank.

... Why just Thor and Iron Man? Did they... did they literally just shove the mansion back from the street? ... There’s... basements and caves under there. How does that work? That seems like a massive architectural project.

Hank, pls, I need to know more details. You can’t just drop that information and casually stroll away. HANK!

Captain Marvel meets Hank at the door and escorts him inside, captain marveling at how calm Hank is despite everything he’s been through.

Hank shows up to the Avengers meeting and-

Oh god, She-Hulk looks like she wants to punch the suppressed emotions right out of Jan. She-Hulk, pls.

So, Wasp is super formal, calling Hank Dr. Pym and telling him that they want to use the mento-scan helmet to see if he was under outside influence when he did all the very bad things he did.

All of the Avengers are harboring their own concerns.

She-Hulk: “I’ve read legal briefs that were more informal! She’s cool on the surface, but inside -- ! Jannie, why are you doing this to yourself?!”

Are you guys already at the cute nickname stage of your friendship or is that just the way She-Hulk be?

Cap is worried that this is rough on Jan but that she’s doing what she needs to do as the Avengers chairwoman. But he’s more worried about the absence of Iron Man who is still missing and who ignored three calls to assemble.

Thor is just internally like ‘just do the helmet, my dude.’

Hawkeye is literally biting his lip at the tension.

Hawkeye: “Jan divorced Hank after his last breakdown. If we find out that he wasn’t to blame, what’s it gonna do to the both of ‘em? I hate this! That stupid court hearing was a breeze in comparison.”

Huh, Hawkeye has a point. Even if outside influence is proven, its not as straightforward as Jan and Hank instantly getting back together, no harm no foul. There was harm. And the problems with their relationship were deeper than one incident. But it would also create this possible expectation that they should get back together because the specific incident wasn’t Hank’s fault.

And Captain Marvel is still looking at this from an outsiders’ perspective.

Captain Marvel: “They’re really hurting over this... all of them! They all care so very, very much. If I ever become a fully active Avenger, I pray that I can live up to their example.”

So Hank very calmly agrees to use the helmet. But...

Hank Pym: “Sorry... no outside influences. It would have changed a lot of things if there had been, wouldn’t it? But no, I made my own mistakes... and I have to live with them.”

Thiiiiis was the best decision for the story arc. It may seem, in retrospect, the worst decision in the long run, but I can respect the story for standing by what it has done and standing by the growth Hank has had as a result of everything that happened.

I think a lot of more modern marvel comics have gone a little wild with letting the heroes do all kinds of dubious things and also die because it can be easily undone. It was a Skrull, they were being mind-controlled, it was an AU Nazi version of them created by a cosmic cube child. Or by giving the hero some big redemptive moment like Iron Man wiping his mind to make up for doing Civil War. Or Iron Man dying to make up for Civil War 2. You can explore whatever scenarios you want without worrying about dealing with the consequences long-term.

But in this era of Marvel, they were concerned with the long-term. Not to say that there weren’t cop-outs back in this day too. But since books were expected to keep going indefinitely instead of being cancelled and relaunched, there’s less of a sense of ‘this thing is only here to play with for a little while.’ If you wrote a thing, another writer was expected to follow up on it.

And I miss that a little.

So not giving a cop-out bullshit thing that undoes Hank’s actions was bad in the long run for his image as a character. But that’s a long way from now problem, exacerbated by writers like Chuck Austin and Mark Millar who wanted to wallow in it.

For an arc where Hank fell from grace and proved himself again, taking ownership of what a garbage fire his life can be was necessary.

One among many reasons I probably won’t like the Crossing when I get to it, haha.

With Hank’s actions proven as being Hank’s actions, Hank says there’s one more loose end that he wants to help tie off.

He wants to participate as witness when the Avengers hold a court of inquiry for Hawkeye killing Egghead.

This comes as an absolute surprise to Hawkeye, who I guess never read the bylaws. Which honestly, is very in-character for him.

But it being brought up, he insists that all he has to do is enter the findings of the state judge and be done with it.

Hank insists he participate though.

Hank Pym: “Hawkeye is faced with charges because he acted in my defense. It’s only right that I act in his.”

So, the Avengers go to the first floor library, which is apparently the court of inquiry room. I feel like we’re suddenly getting a lot of details about the layout of the Avengers Mansion in recent issues.

So Wasp convenes the court all formal style, so formal style that Hawkeye thinks that stickler Cap(tain America) couldn’t have done a better job. The purpose of the court of inquiry is to determine the validity of the charge of “unreasonable use of deadly force” and determine what if any proper disciplinary action should be taken.

I think Hawkeye is annoyed at having to go through with this (read the bylaws, my dude) because when Wasp asks if he has anything to add to his claim of innocence of the charge, he says he already gave the court copies of the court transcript that cleared him of the same charge, but also decides to speechify a little, because he wasn’t accused of contempt of court enough today.

Hawkeye: “I have already given the chair copies of the transcript of a hearing of the state courts... a hearing which found me not guilty of the same charge. And I have something else to say as well!”

“I don’t deny that my actions caused the death of Egghead. But in no way did I use undue force! I found Hank Pym in mortal danger, and I used the necessary means to save him... period. After all, we are supposed to be the Avengers, right?”

Luckily for Hawkeye, the Avengers are more willing to put up with him than a state court so Jan just goes ‘ok, noted.’

Captain Marvel also has a minor change of heart on Hawkeye. I don’t think we’ve gotten her in-depth feelings on him before (although he did get pissy about her joining the team, we didn’t see her response to that) but she’s impressed because she thought he had more wind than conviction but is seeing that isn’t so. And she’s also impressed by Serious Mode Jan who she thought was kind of flighty.

Captain Monica Marvel seeing all kinds of new sides of the Avengers lately.

Also, this isn’t important and you won’t be able to see what I mean unless I included more caps than I wanted to, but in the panel establishing the court of inquiry, Monica is just standing off to the side. But in the next panel she appears in, she’s moved over to sit on a couch instead.

I think its a framing thing but its still kind of funny to imagine her going ‘wait why am I standing up’ and heading for the comfy couch.

With Hawkeye’s statement given, Wasp invites Hank Pym to speak his piece.

And Hank gets up and gives an entirely unnecessary but probably appreciated defense of Hawkeye.

Hank Pym: “Ladies and gentlemen... I have not always been on the friendliest of terms with Hawkeye. Point of fact, we nearly came to blows a number of times... back in the days when I was an Avenger. But in all the time I’ve known him, Hawkeye has never used undue force.”

“I realize that this inquiry is little more than a formality. I have no doubt that you will find in his behalf. He did, as he said, act only in my defense. Unlike my own recent case before you, there is not the slightest hint of misconduct or negligence. The only thing Hawkeye is guilty of is being a good Avenger.”

“When I last spoke before this body, at my court-martial, I was not in a rational state of mind. I was unfit to be an Avenger. You wisely expelled me. I never expected to speak before you again. And now, I can think of no finer final statement than this... It has been my sincere honor to have known Hawkeye’s fellowship... as it has to have known yours.”

Okay. So. Half a defense of Hawkeye. And half... just a general good-bye and a demonstration that he actually does know how to deliver a defense at a court-martial. Cool.

I imagine if he had a mic, he would have dropped it.

Probably not, actually. Hank isn’t that exact blend of cool and inconsiderate for a mic drop.

Jarvis intercepts Hank on his way out and asks that he come with him to the second floor study. Jarvis has taken the liberty of gathering up the personal items Hank just kind of left in the mansion and packing them for him.

One suitcase has a bunch of Hank’s clothes that he had stashed in the mansion over the years. Including some wacky ties for wacky tie Fridays and a shirt that Hank had just plumb lost.

The other suitcase is a spare Yellowjacket outfit. In case Hank ever needs it.

Then Hank and Jarvis shake hands, Hank thanking Jarvis for everything that he’s done for him and the Avengers. He asks Jarvis to take care of himself because he knows he doesn’t have to ask him to take care of the Avengers.

This is a very touching scene. Its so touching that Jarvis excuses himself to go get misty eyed.

This is a Jarvis appreciation blog because I appreciate Jarvis as well.

Then, as Hank heads back down the staircase, he is intercepted by Thor, Captain America, and Hawkeye.

Yeah, the court of inquiry resolved off-screen because of how forgone a conclusion it was.

The three Avengers basically fall all over themselves to pat Hank on the back. Hank actually looks somewhat panicked by the positive affirmation.

That’s some mixture of funny and sad that I can’t identify.

Hawkeye tells Hank how much he appreciated his unnecessary defense. Thor clasps Hank’s shoulder and tells him he’s a class act, but in Thor-y words. And Cap extends an offer for whatever the Avengers can do to help Hank get back on his feet.

Hank thanks him for the offer but he’s already received an offer from a small research foundation in the Midwest.

Seems like getting exonerated of a treason charge is the best resume of all. That and Hank’s actual impressive resume.

But Cap has some stuff to work out re: Hank because he starts off on the stuff he put on the back burner back in that Ghost Rider issue.

Cap(tain America): “Hank... I know Iron Man would agree, if he were here, that we’re all sorry about the way things worked out. We should have realized the pressures you’d been under, prior to your breakdown. I was group leader at the time! I should have -- !”

Hank Pym: “Hold it right there, Cap! What I did, I did to myself! If I could have admitted that my problems existed... If I’d been willing to open up to you folks... Well, ‘if’ can be a big word sometimes. The fact of the matter is, I screwed up. And you did the only thing you could do! I don’t blame any of you.”

Hank has boarded the personal responsibility train and goddammit he’s riding it to the end of the line!

Good for him. Good clarity for the arc to have in its last issue.

But having started to slightly shout at the Avengers that he’s taking responsibility dammit! (he looks a bit pissed when he’s responding to Cap) Hank awkwardly excuses himself.

Cap tries to stop Hank from leaving because he has reached the bargaining stage of grief, I guess.

Cap: “Hank, wait! It doesn’t have to end like this! We could make a special amendment to the by-laws! We could reinstate you as an Avenger! You could be a special reservist -- !”

Hank: “Thanks, Cap. But no thanks. Trying to play super hero was the biggest mistake I ever made with my life! I was only fooling myself in ever thinking otherwise. But if you ever really think you might need a Yellowjacket again some day...”

He hands Cap the Yellowjacket suitcase.

Hank: “... Here! All you need is a good man and what’s in this case!”

I would hope, anyway. It’s going to be awkward if he opens it up later and its full of wacky ties.

The funny thing, although not really funny ha ha, is that Yellowjacket is the one codename of Hank’s that never really catches on outside of him.

You have multiple Ant-Men, a couple Goliaths, at least one other Giant-Man. There was a second Yellowjacket, eventually. But she didn’t make a big splash.

Despite Hank’s attempt here to pass the torch, Yellowjacket is a codename that remains inextricably tied to him. Which might be the problem. If there were another, more successful or at least more endearing Yellowjacket, Hank’s infamy in the role would not stand out so much.

Alas.

She-Hulk and Captain Marvel try next to intercept Hank. They don’t know him very well but they wanted to say their goodbyes too, despite not really knowing him that well.

Its the thought that definitely counts, probably.

But Hawkeye has some social awareness for a change and draws their attention to Wasp who is hanging back, but who clearly wants to talk to Hank.

So the rest of the Avengers quickly vacate to let Hank and Jan finally have closure. Or re-closure. “I want a divorce and to never see you again” is a kind of closure.

The situation has changed, however.

They both try to apologize to each other and then laugh at the awkwardness.

Hank: “Janet van Dyne, you are one in a million! After all that I put you through, you want to tell me that you’re sorry?”

Wasp: “I think we both made some mistakes along the way, but there were some good times... weren’t there?”

Hank: “Yes. But you can’t base a marriage on just a few good times. I fell for the young lady who reminded me of my first wife... and you thought you’d found the strong, silent hero. But I was never that strong, Jan. You know that now.”

Wasp: “Uh-huh.”

Damn, his prison time really did bring Hank a lot of clarity. That or the pile of therapists Tony kept throwing at him.

Hank also kind of talks over Jan here. Or at least steers the conversation. I don’t know what Jan would have said because Hank tells her that they both have other lives to lead and tells her to take care of herself.

Maybe its for the best, if, like Cap, she was going to try to shoulder all the blame for Hank’s bad decisions.

Hank walks out the door and finds Trish and Fred from the boat waiting to give him a ride to the airport. And then he is gone.

Like in the final image of the COURT-MARTIAL issue, Jan watches at the window.

“The last time Henry Pym left these walls, Janet felt like crying... but couldn’t find any tears. Today, at last, she has found the tears... for her former husband... for her team... for herself. Today, there is pain and remorse and release. There will be time enough for joy and hope tomorrow.”

Emotional catharsis can be like that.

In that the book kept going ‘Jan is really holding her emotions in and that’s probably not overall great for her’ its good that she can let it out now.

Kind of laughing at Captain Marvel and She-Hulk who only recently just met Jan being the ones going there there while the men she has known for years are just awkwardly standing in the background.

And that’s the fall and rise of Hank Pym. Apparently collected in trade as The Trial of Yellowjacket, which is a decent enough name too.

Overall, a good arc. That is kind of hampered by the need for filler and a writer change near the end. But honestly, Stern catches the ball and runs with it. He concludes the arc just as good as Shooter would’ve.

This arc is all kinds of iconic for Hank, although, unfortunately, most people are only aware of the beginning and maybe have a hazy understanding of what the ending does.

Although. This is a really good send-off for Hank. A really, really good send-off that would have worked best if he did like he said and quit superheroing forever.

That’s not to be, obviously, not in a perpetual narrative machine like Marvel. But it feels like it could have been and maybe should have been the last word on his character.

I enjoy Hank in Busiek’s Avengers and in Avengers Academy. And also, conceptually, Hank telling Reed “it’s on, bitch.” I very don’t enjoy Ultimate Hank Pym. So its a balancing act. The perfect exit for the character vs but I like some stuff when they brought him back.

Anyway.

After this, Stern gets to move on to his own material. Which he already planted the seeds for in this issue.

That’s a pun.

Follow @essential-avengers because of my bad puns. Also like and reblog, if you like to reblog.

#Avengers #Egghead #Masters of Evil #Hank Pym #Hawkeye #the Wasp #Captain America #Thor #She Hulk #Captain Marvel #Monica Rambeau #i did a lot of quoting because the comic has some good quotables here #essential avengers #essential marvel liveblogging

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