#i guess this could also be rouge as well but. there was a gag i wanted to do with sonic specifically (ring counter)

[gayemeralds]

sonic & knuckles getting married and putting the rings on each other and when it’s sonic’s turn the comic ends with him staring at knuckles’s mitten doing extreme calculus to figure out how to put the ring on

[sleepdeprivedsimp234]

~Louisiana gets into a car accident~ (angst, hurt/comfort)

⚠️TW⚠️ car crash, blood, drunk-driver, and inaccurate descriptions of how things work

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After a long day of having to attend meetings, Louisiana was glad that he was finally able to go home and relax a bit. As he was getting into his car, it started pouring rain and he realized that he would probably have to be extremely careful when driving to his Baton Rouge home. He turned on the radio and just started driving, mumbling to himself about his stupid government officials.

Loui heard his phone start ringing and grabbed it to see Florida’s contact number on his screen. He smiled as he answered the Sunshine State’s call and put it on speaker so he could pay attention to the road.

"Hey Loui!~" Florida said, a smile evident in his voice.

"Hey Sunshine." Loui responded, smiling to himself as he turned onto another road.

"So how’d it go?" Asked the Sunshine State.

"It went okay I guess. These couyons don’t know what da hell they’re doin’ tho." Loui answered bitterly. He looked in his rear view mirror and saw a driver behind him that was swerving back and forth for some reason. He just shrugged it off when he heard Florida’s voice.

"I feel like that’s all members of the government silly." Florida chuckled.

"Fair enough sha."

"Where are ya headed right now? Maybe we could do a movie night if you wanna."

"Dat sounds fine with me. I’m on my way to my Baton Rouge home." Loui said.

"Mkay. What movie should we watch? Princess and the Frog?"

"Dat one again?"

"Yea it’s your favorite." Florida teased slightly.

"Dat’s also true sha." Said the Pelican State with a slight chuckle. "I’ll text when I get ho-"

!CRASH!

Louisiana quickly got cut off when something rammed into the side of his car. He tried to control his steering but it was utterly useless. Before he faded out of consciousness, out of the corner of his eye he saw the car that was behind him that had been swerving like crazy…..

~5 minutes later~

Louisiana came back to with a slight gasp. He frantically looked around him and noticed that he was in his car, but it was on its side. Everything hurt a lot, but his head and arm hurt the most. He tried to stand up so he could get out, only to cry out at a wave of pain going through his arm and side, that somehow magically started hurting more? He looked down and had suppress a gag at what he saw….

The driver’s door had been folded inwards when he got hit, and the door had been somehow lodged in his side. Keyword "had". Seeing as he had just moved and the door came out, meaning that he was now bleeding even more. Well f*ck. He also saw multiple small cuts all over his left arm from glass shattering, but that wasn’t too bad. After multiple painful tries, he managed to climb out of his car. He climbed to the top but instantly fell on the ground with a loud cry.

Loui managed to painfully sit up slightly and look around him. He noticed that he was in a ditch, and that there was another car next to his that had crashed. He slowly stood up and limped towards the other car to see if he could help the other person.

"Hello?" he shouted, his voice cracking.

No answer.

He looked inside the car and his heart sunk when he saw the dead body of the person that had hit him. Just then, a wave of pain-induced dizziness hit him and he fell down onto the ground. God it was so cold…. Everything hurt. He could hear the sirens of police and ambulances miles away. He just decided to accept that this might just be his next death, and allowed himself to just lay there and zone in and out of consciousness….

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(Back at the statehouse)

Florida sat looking wide-eyed when he heard the crash. Loui’s contact number suddenly disappeared, and the call ended. He looked up at New York, who had been sitting on the couch with him and was also looking slightly wide-eyed at Florida’s phone.

"What the f(speaks New York) was that…?" Asked the slightly taller state.

"I-I-I don’t know…." Florida answered, his voice quivering.

"Well sh*t- whatever it was didn’t sound good. What was he doing?"

"He was drivin- oh…. Oh no…" Florida came to the realization of what happened…. He looked up at York.

"Oh god…." York mumbled. "C’mon we gotta go find im’."

"Yea let’s go-" Florida said before jumping to his feet and pulling York to a standing position. They both teleported where they felt Louisiana’s presence. When they got there, they found themselves in a ditch on the side of the road. They both decided to split up to find the Pelican State.

Eventually, New York saw Louisiana’s unconscious form laying on the ground next to two cars, which were both totaled. "Sh*t." York shouted as he ran over to the smaller state. "Florida I found him!!" He pulled the smaller into his lap and shook him a little bit. Never would he admit that he felt relief when the shaking pulled a slight groan from the smaller.

"N-New Y-York?" Loui mumbled with a shaky voice. York noticed how much the younger was shivering and gently placed his jacket on top of him, which then brought his attention to the gaping hole in Louisiana’s torso.

"Oh god…. Yea it’s me moron." York said with a small smile. He looked up and saw Florida arrive to where they were.

"Loui?! Are ya still with us buddy?!" Florida half-yelled, tears running down his face.

"S-sun-sh-shine?" Loui mumbled, a small smile forming on his face.

"Y-yea it’s me bud." Florida answered, returning the small smile. He started to panic when Loui’s eyes started blinking shut. "N-n-n-no Loui, stay with us please!! It’s not time to sleep, bud…."

"It hurts…."

"I-I know bud, Yorkie’s calling help right now, you’ll be alright…" Florida said, taking the Pelican State from New York so he could call Mass and Texas. He held the smaller close to him as his breathing shook. He could feel Loui stop shivering slightly when he held him. He just sat there holding Loui close and mumbled reassuring words until York spoke up.

"They said they’re waitin’ in Lone Star’s room. C’mon, we gotta hurry if we’re gonna save him." Said the Empire State as he put a hand out for Florida to grab. He teleported them all back to the statehouse where Mass and Texas were waiting.

"Oh thank god- Get im’ over here now." Texas shouted frantically.

Florida and New York watched as Mass and Texas patched up their friend, and carried through with whatever orders they were given. Eventually, Mass walked over to where the two younger states were sitting.

"Is he okay??? He didn’t look okay at all when we found him and he looked like he was a Death’s front lawn…." Florida asked.

"He should be alright. It’s a good thing that yous two got im’ ere’ when ya did, otherwise he woulda had no chance. He’s got quite a few stitches on his side cuz there was for some reason a giant gaping hole there, he seemed to have f*cked up his right arm pretty badly, so he’s gonna need to wear a cast for a bit, but otherwise it was just a bunch of cuts and bruises. He’ll be aight, just make sure he rests though." Mass answered before leaving the room.

Florida and New York walked over to where Texas was with Loui. Texas running a gentle hand through the unconscious state’s hair and had a rather sad expression on his face.

"Mass already tell ya his condition?" Texas questioned, not taking his eyes off his adopted-child/brother’s body.

"Yea."

"Mk."

"You alright Tex?" Florida asked.

"Yea I’m alright. I’m just- really concerned for him is all." Answered the Lone Star State.

"Same…. At least he’ll be alright though." Florida said, smiling and putting a gentle hand on Loui’s hand. He smiled a little brighter when Loui’s hand subconsciously wrapped itself around his, even through unconsciousness.

That night, the three all fell asleep in Texas’s room next to their friend. And they made sure to take good care of the Pelican State when he awoke the next morning….

=======================================================================

( @simpyfrog Hehehehe I did it :D /silly)

[yamithediaperdork]

Baby bird and Super daddy (DC)

it was Friday afternoon and school was out which only meant one thing for a group of young sidekicks: it was time to haul their butts to San Francisco and more to the point to Titans tower.

Oddly though one member of the titans wasn't getting his normal ride from Gotham to the tower with his mentor Batman, AKA Bruce Wayne but inside had been picked up in Smallvile by his surrogate big brother Nightwing who was also giving a ride to Kon-el, AKA Superboy.

Sulking and pouting in his costume, Robin AKA Tim drake was blushing and his bottom looked a little more puffy then normal, but only a expert would know to look and see it.. so Naturally Dick had.

"So I'm not one to judge, I mean, I've know you and Kon where hooking up for awhile." Dick said, smirking and while he kept a eye on the controls of his aircraft, he made sure to steal looks back at the blushing big time Tim who had been tugged into Kon's lap. And of course Kon was smirking.

"but I just need to know, Is my little brother from anther mother in huggies because you two are kinky, or Kon needs to stop topping for awhile?"

"DICK!" Tim shrieked and whined, burying his face in Kon's shoulder and whining.

"He tried to make me his little guy, needless to say it backfired." Kon chuckled, and rubbed Tim's back and patted the boys bottom, a faint crinkling being heard only by Kon due to his super hearing over the dim of the plane.

"Oh, I HAVE to hear more..but before that.. I think I have a juice box or two if the little guy is thirsty." Dick offered.

"Dickkkkkk!" Tim whined and pouted, shooting daggers though his mask.

"Well he is a thirsty bitch, but he had a big ba-ba of fresh milk before we left." Kon chuckled.

"Hate you both." Tim whined and tried to squirm out of Kon's lap, but he was a boy of tissue in a boy of steel's grip, and wasn't going anywhere.

As Dick chuckled, Kon reached into Tim's belt and pulled out a superman logo pacifier and popped it in the boy wonders mouth and rocked him, and in seconds Tim had gone night night and Kon was free to tell the story.

Tim had pleaded and begged to hang out with Kon-el for the two days he had off from school back in Gotham (the staff was recovering from the latest attack by a bat rouge, Riddler this time.)

Bruce had tried to say the time could be used to help out with Gotham but after getting Alfred on his side it had only taken anther half hour before Bruce was dropping Tim off by the Kent farm, commenting on how much extra baggage he had taken with him for just going there for Thursday and Friday (Tim had spare clothes at titans tower)

Tim had come up with a excuse that he might help on the farm and didn't wanna end up smelling like cow dropping and Bruce had let it go.

Superboy of course who's X-ray vision was coming and going at this point had been able to spot right away was was in the extra luggage and just smirked to himself.

The Kent's of course knew without being told that Tim and Kon were dating, Connor just wouldn't shut up about him and they were practically all over each other calling it rough housing.

"If that's what you kids these days call it. Take it out to the barn." Was all Pa said, not looking up from his newspaper.

Once out in the barn, Tim went right to work turning on the puppy dog eyes and kissing Kon's neck and blowing in his ear, things that drove the boy of steel wild.

"Koooon, I have a hawt idea we should try out." Tim said in his 'I'm so cute you can't refuse me' voice which normally had Kon wrapped around Tim's little finger.

However forewarned Kon was ready and kept his control in place, though asked what Tim wanted to try out.

"Well have you ever heard of diaper punishment or age play?" Tim had asked, opening the luggage and holding up a teen sized diaper with little bat symbols on it and holding it out, grinning ear to ear.

Kon however, returned that grin with his own and played along, though not like Tim had expected.

"oh I see, You wanna be my little baby bird! Cute! and you even got bat diapers! Adorable!" Kon gushed as Tim's jaw dropped.

"W-What? No! I-" Tim started, blushing bright red.

"Ohhh I've heard of this, you're gonna act like you don't want it so you can be a pouty little boy while enjoying your diapie wipies~" Kon chuckled, dashing up and snatching the diaper from the smaller boys hands and planting a smooch on him, tongue dominating Tim's mouth and feeling the fight go out of Tim for a second.

he also felt the boy wonder less then wonderful hard on press against his leg and broke off the kiss.

"well I think that answers whether or not you want daddy Kon to make you a good little baby bird." Kon said.

"I what.. No! I was gonna.. you were gonna.." Tim whined, flustered and trying to will away his hard-on, but but there was no amount of zen training with Batman that was going to make the boy wonder's stiffie vanish.

"Oh look, you have a paddle, and some baby outfits.. paci's and ba-ba's..Damn you must REALLY wanna just be a helpless little diaper dork huh sweetie?" Kon was saying, looking though all the supplies tat had been meant for him and super warming up to the idea of babying Tim.

There was even a pair of jean overalls with crotch snaps so a certain diaper boy could work on the farm!

"and look at all these diapers! Somebody plans on making LOTS of presents for his super daddy huh?" Kon added.

"NO I DO NOT! THAT WAS ALL MEANT FOR YOU!" Tim whined and stomped a foot, hands balled in fists and at his sides.

Sadly, this did nothing to help his argument.

"Baby bird, that's enough of the attuide. You need to take off your big boy clothes and lay down so I can get you in a diapie or else mister man." Kon said, smirking but trying to have a authoritative tone, picking up the paddle.

"YOU DON'T HAVE THE BALLS!" Tim yelled.

Sadly as it turned out for Tim's poor soon to be bright red backside, Kon had the balls and more.

On a scale of 1 to 10, Kon guessed the effort he had put into the spanking (and being nice enough not to use the paddle too!) was about a 3 or 4, but from the howls and sobs that had escaped the soon to be pampered sidekick, you'd of sworn he had gone all out.

'Man, either full on humans are more fragile then I thought, or Tim just can't take a spanking!' Kon mused as he cleaned up the puddle that the boy wonder had made during his ten swats, and let's just say it wasn't urine. 'Though for someone who's sobbing so much with his nose in the corner..'

"Baby bird, you're gonna wake up half of Smallville with that sobbing, I'm gonna need you to tone it down or I'll have to get creative with gagging you." Kon called over sweetly.

Tim, with pants gone and butt glowing bright red from the spanking and having his hands on the back of his head turned around from the corner and moved his mouth as if to argue, then apparently thought better of it and meekly nodded his head.

"I-I'll try.." Robin sniffled and whined, any trace of him trying to be dom had left his body when he'd creamed himself from being spanked.

"I could give you one of your paci's, but you have to promise to be a very good boy and not spit it out, I'll just pop it back into your mouth anyways." Kon offered.

Looking around the dirty floor of the barn, Tim made a icky face and nodded he could be good and opened his mouth for the customed Superman paci, with the large oversized rubber nipple making Tim start to drool down his chin in seconds.

"it's too bag you didn't pack a enema kit, I bet you have the CUTEST 'i'm pooping!' face baby bird!" Kon commented, having laid most of the items out on his bed and chuckling at the whimper that escaped from Tim.

"Shucks, and Pa and ma Kent kicked us out to the barn for the night.. I know ma has a nice big one. Ah well, there's always tomorrow." Kon chuckled and shrugged.

Tim gave a series of muffled protests around the paci turning a little pale at the thought of getting a massive soapy enema while Kon and the Kent had breakfast, though it was also making him get a little excited.

"Hmmm? Oh I see someone likes the idea~ thats great! I'm sure Ma and Pa won't mind having a baby around the house." Kon laughed.

Tim whined and wanted to argue, wanted to take out the paci and say no way in hell,m but his body betrayed him again and he made anther puddle instead.

"Sheesh, You must be backed up like crazy.. Better get you pampered before you paint the walls."

"Wait, did he really cream himself again just from-" Nightwing asked, snickering and glad he'd switched to auto pilot for this.

"NO I didn't!" Tim whined and huffed, squirming in his seat.

"Baby bird, what did I tell you about telling fibs?" Kon warned wagging a finger at the smaller boy.

"...OK maybe I did.. But it's not my fault! you know how hard it is to crank one out at the mansion since Alfred doesn't approve!!" Tim whined and sulked,

"Actually back in my day Alfred just left me tissues and Lotion and a note asking I keep my voice down." Dick chuckled, though he blushed a little as he recalled it.

"That's SO unfair!!" Tim whined and huffed.

"Don't worry about it baby bird. now that you'll be my little guy at least once a week I'll make sure you're never backed up again." Kon teased and kissed Tim's forehead.

"My hero.." Tim huffed. "Just finish the poopie story."

To say the Kent's were a little shocked the next morning when A clearly diapered Tim was lead over, sucking on a paci and dressed to go to work in the field would of been a understatement, but as the human couple that had raised Superman from babyhood to adult, Had been the home of Matrix while she was still adjusting to life on this earth and were now looking after Kon,,they got over the shock rather quickly.

If anything, Kon had called it and Ma Kent dotted on baby Tim right away, though to Kon's disappointment (and maybe Tim's) she turned down the idea of giving Tim a enema for fun.

"Those are just in case the widdle cutie is all backed up!" she scolded Kon, who pouted a little but backed down.

Breakfast was egg's and bacon for the Kent's and Kon, and a bowl of oatmeal for widdle Timmy who (thankfully!) was too big to fit in Kal's old highchair, but they did have a booster seat he was put into and had one of Kal's old bibs tied around his neck.

"You know, after we get the farm work done, we could go into the wood shop and likely make him a high chair." Pa mused.

"W-What?" Tim asked, his spoon dropping into the bland icky oatmeal.

"Oh, get idea pa! Think we could make him a crib too?" Kon asked, grinning ear to ear.

"I don't see why not. Just a shame Most of Clark's old stuffies didn't make it." Pa chuckled.

"heh, I can help with that. I've been making teddy bears for the church to sell so I think I could make our new widdle great grandson one or two. Do you want a teddy bear Timmy?" Ma asked and reached over, using the bib to wipe a spot of oatmeal off of Tim's face.

"I...I..I.." Tim whimpered and squirmed like crazy in the high chair, suddenly thankful that Kon was the only one with hearing good enough to heard what he was doing to the front of his diapers, though Kon just smirked.

"Trust me Ma, he does."

[alice-angel12x]

💔Gem!Deku x Gem!Reader

"You think this is the place?" Asked a rouge.

"Yep, that's what our sources tell us," Said another.

"You got the cages and rope ready," The leader asked.

"Yeah of course, but why did we bring this dead weight," A low Lackie asked kicking a tarp-covered cage.

"Because this dead weight is our bait. Those rocks have a soft spot for their own kind, especially the weaker and fragile ones," The leader said as he ripped the tarp away.

Revealing a bound Phosphophyllite gem with messy dark green hair and green eyes. His wrists and ankles were tied together, and a piece of cloth was wrapped around his mouth.

"You know the drill, right Deku," The leader smiled cruelly.

"MMhhm! NNmph!" Deku tried to scream.

The Trappers grabbed the helpless gem as they descended into the caves.

The Kessho people, or gem people many humans call them. Being made entirely of crystals of all kinds, they are highly sought after by humans. Because their entire body was made of pure and untainted crystals, many hunters seek these beauties. For things from jewelry to weapons, or just want a shiny servent, many reasons.

So the gems hide in many places of the world, from small islands to deep underground tunnels and caves. Anywhere out of human reach.

-------

Please. I don't want any part of this. Please let me go! I tried to cry out but I couldn't with the gag in the way. The memories of previous raids started resurfacing. They would use gems like me to lure others out of hiding, for what reason they help me varies. Some communities of gem had an elitist-like community, or even ones made up of one kind of gems. But when they got close they were ambushed and locked away in cages. They would after be turned into weapons and jewelry.

"Here, place him here," The leader Rato said.

They placed me down near a ledge and ripped away from my gag. Looking over I could see two gems walking by down below. I tried to stay as quiet and still as I could so they wouldn't notice me.

"Deku's too quiet," Rato growled.

He stomped on my hand shattering it. I could hold back the pain as I cried out, it echoed throughout the cave. Looking down at the gems below they quickly spotted me and ran away. Good at least they won't get caught.

-------------

Suddenly there was a rustle and a-

"SMASH!!" shouted a large gem.

The gem delivered a powerful punch knocking three of the rouges away. Deku stared in awe at the scene and the powerful gem with a brave smile on his face, but the wind was so strong that Deku was blown off the edge. Time seemed to slow as he watches the edge grow farther and farther away. Deku shut his eyes closed waiting for his painful end When an f/c blurr caught him.

"Are you alright?" Asked a kind voice.

Deku looked up to his hero to be meet E/c eyes with their hair the same color to match. His eyes sparkled as his hero's hair Glimmered beautifully in the moonlight. He looked down to see he was being held bridle style.

"Y-yes," Deku stuttered bashfully.

"Don't worry your safe now, as long as your under All Mights protection you have nothing to fear," The (gem type) smiled.

But Deku couldn't help but just stare at this new gem as an infatuation grew. His captures were long dealt with as the new group of gems escorted him back to their hidden home.

"u-um who are you?" Deku asked the mysterious G/t(gem type).

"Well my friends like to call me Y/n," they smiled as they untied Deku.

"I-I'm Deku," He said with a beet-red face.

"Pleasure to meet you Deku," Y/n greeted as they handed him over to other gems.

"Ochaco, Momo this is Deku. Please get him property clothed and make sure he feels welcomed," All Might a Yellow diamond smiled. (No not that one)

-------------

From that day on I have lived with these Gems for the past 300 years, and my feelings for Y/n only grew. They were so brave and confident, was also one of the greatest fighters in the village. One of the few gems trained under All Might. Sadly cause I only have a toughness scale of 3, so I wasn't suited for combat.

Though All Might noticed that I was very observant and good with notes, so he assigned me to the encyclopedia. My job is to take notes of the enemies we encounter and record events. Then there were some books about stuff I made up, humans would call them fantasies or stories. Though I didn't mind this being my job cause Y/n would come by and read my works. I couldn't help but feel lighter than air and embarrassed at the same time as they were reading my work.

Y/n would always come in after her patrol, come in and read, or more often just sit down and talk to me. Though most of the time it was just him listening to whatever good memories of the human world, or my memories of my original home.

I tried to keep my feeling to myself the best I could by just doodling in my private book, just for my eyes only, but I guess I wasn't secret enough.

"Wow dude, you really have a thing for Y/n," said a voice.

I gasped as I jumped back to see it was Denki, who quickly snatched my drawing book and speed through my embarrassing drawings.

"Wow, you've got it bad. All these drawings are of Y/n and you being lovey-dovey," He said out loud.

Attracting the attention of Iida the Topaz and Ochaco the pink diamond ( No not that one you SU fans). They quickly came over and looked through my book.

"Wow, looks like Touya has a love rival," Ochaco gasped.

Touya the padparadscha gem, was also one of the top fighters for the village and is always Y/n's patrol partner, who was also pinning after them too. There would be times he would just randomly jump into our conversation and steal their attention. But I couldn't hear what they were saying as I covered my ears in embarrassment.

"Oh no, Y/n forgot their other sword," Momo gasped.

"I'll take it to them!" I offered as I quickly grabbed the weapon and ran out of the library.

"Does he know  where Y/n and Touya are?" Momo asked.

"It even notes was Y/n patrols today," Denki said flipping through the pages not paying attention.

----------

Y/n and Touya stood guard at one of the cave entrances, as the warm sunlight funneled through. Y/n smiled as she felt the warm light on her powered covered surface.

"Hey Y/n, do you ever wonder what could be on the surface?" Touya asked.

"Ever since Deku came and told me stories of the surface, it only fueled my imagination," Y/n turned to her trusted partner.

"One day we'll be the ones on top, and I'll take you all over the surface. Just you and me," Touya said with confidence.

" That's an awfully big promise Touya," Y/n said as they sat next to him.

"I mean we can always just wait till the humans go extinct," Touya suggested.

"Haha, all right. I'll hold you to that promise," Y/n laughed as they gently held Touya's hand.

Deku watched from the side of a tunnel wall, as he sighed sadly and turned back into the tunnel. He wandered the cave tunnels as he hugged Y/n's sword close to him. As he turned the corner he bumped into something, something large.

------------

I felt lighter than air as I stared into Y/n's e/c eyes.

"AAAAHHHH!" Someone screamed.

"How did the enemy pass us?" Y/n gasped.

"No, maybe the other entrances were compromised," I suggested.

"You go check the next entrance over and see if anything is wrong, I'll go check up the tunnels," Y/n said as she ran down into the dark caves.

With a sigh, I ran to the next entrance that leads to the forests, which was supposed to be guarded by Katsuki and Shoto. Turning the corner he saw two humans picking up pieces of Shoto and Bakugou and stuffing them into potato sacks. Touya quickly drew his sword and cut down the intruders.

Touya to worried about his partner quickly stuffed the rest of Shoto and Bakugou into the bag, not caring he is mixing their pieces, and quickly ran to the village.

---------

"Looks like we caught a phosphophyllite, hold that rock tight Nomu," A light blue hair human smile.

The giant mutant humanoid figure Nomu nodded silently as it the poor gem in its giant hands. Deku's arms were broken off as he was restrained by Nomu's brute strength.

"What fine craftsmen ship, able to slice through rock," Said a tall human with dark back- purple hair.

"LET ME GO!" Deku screamed as he tried to break free from the Nomu.

"Nomu shut the pebble up before he alerts the others," The man growled.

"HEY!" Y/n shouted.

"Another one," The other human grumbled.

"Y/n," Deku smiled in relief.

"Let him go," Y/n said lowly.

"Nomu get it," Tomura pointed at the G/t.

Y/n ran towards the creature and sliced its head clean off, with the sharp edge of her arm. Deku stared with worried and sad eyes as he looked over their damaged form. The left section around her face was broken off, the elbow broke off their left arm, they were missing their right hand, and her right leg was horribly cracked, and it looked like it could fall apart at any moment.

Y/n moved swiftly and kicked the human hard in the face. Deku quickly got up as the two ran down the tunnel.

Deku looked back to see Y/n was having a bit of trouble keeping up with Deku.

"Y/n, are you okay?" Deku asked.

"Don't worry turn right and follow," Y/n said as she pushed forward.

As the two quickly turned the corner, the humans regained their composer and made chase after the two.  Y/n pushed a medium-sized boulder away from a tiny hole in the side of the cave wall. Deku hesitantly got in when suddenly Y/n started to close the opening.

"Y/n What are you doing?" Deku asked as the opening became too small for him to even squeeze out of.

"Hiding you, I'll come back for you. I have to lead them away from the village," Y/n explained as they backed away.

"No, Please don't do this. Don't leave me Y/n. I- I want to tell you something first,'' Deku said quickly.

Y/n smiled sadly as she turned to face Deku from the other side of the boulder. Deku could tell they were ready to throw their life away for everyone, for him.

"Y/n, I love-,"

Suddenly Y/n's head was sliced clean off by a thrown sword. Deku gasped in horror as he watched Y/n's body fall to the ground, he tried to reach out but he had no arm to hold out.

Deku wanted to scream and cry, but no sound came out of him. Y/n slowly turned their head towards Deku and mouthed.

'Please live for me, Deku," they mouthed as the humans quickly gathered her broken body.

They were in such a rush they left Y/n's head behind. Deku fell to his knees as he stared at his crush for so long. It felt like an eternity When All Might and Touya arrived, Their eyes widen with horror and sorrow as Touya fell to his knees and held Y/n's head. He put their foreheads together as he cried out in sorrow.

"NOO!" Touya cried.

All might soon notice Deku was trapped behind the boulder and quickly moved it aside with no effort.

"Let us go Young Deku, we need to evacuate the village before they bring more of them," All might said as he helped Deku to his feet.

-----------

(400 years later)

It has been a long time since Y/n's death, All Might changed in a way after his student's death. If he weren't needed, he would lock himself away, but for the most part, he was still the jolly smiling gem he was before. Touya, on the other hand, didn't take Y/n's death all that well, he did lose his love who was his partner for 800 years. He started to call himself Dabi and started to cover only parts of his face, giving him a patchwork look. It not only scared most humans but fellow gems too.

I was upgraded to a medic after Momo was taken about 200 years back, we some people over the years and gained new ones too. I helped piece gems back together, but my main goal is to bring Y/n back. The village moved up high into the mountain, so high it would be difficult for them to breathe, but Humans would risk their lives and come up anyways. Some came with Weapons and tools made of gems, and many times they were G/t so I slowly put Y/n back together piece by piece.

I Finished them for the most part, but there were still 3 large gaping holes in their torso. I tried to use other gem pieces that matched her Mohs scale. Yet it only worked sometimes, she would wake up for about three minutes. Yet when they do everyone who was watching my work quickly rushed in to tell them how much they missed them and update them on everything.

Even Tou- Dabi would come by. Y/n was weirded out at first but they got used to it quickly and I would never really get a chance to talk to them, but I will never forget the last time they woke up. As they said their goodnight to everyone, they turned to me as said.

"I'll miss you Deku, I can't wait to wake up to see you again," Y/n smiled as they fell back unconscious.

I'll bring you back Y/n so I can tell you how I feel.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

(Accidental 150 Follower Special) IOTA’s Top 10 Best (and By That, I Mean Personal Favorite) Episodes of Miraculous Ladybug

Alright, I already covered what I considered to be the worst Miraculous Ladybug episodes in two parts, and now it’s time to talk about the what I consider to be the best Miraculous Ladybug episodes before I talk about... him...

I’m only putting one rule in place for this list. I'm going to try and list episodes with good qualities other than “cool-looking Akuma and awesome fight scenes”, and focus on other details like character moments and story.

Other than that, let’s get started.

These are the Top 10 Best Episodes of Miraculous Ladybug (in my personal opinion because your opinion is also valid)

#10: Mr. Pigeon

While Marinette works on sketching a design for a hat for a fashion contest where the winning design will be worn by Adrien (a rare example where the “Marinette does a thing to impress Adrien” plot actually works), a birdwatcher who loves feeding pigeons in the park is told off by the only police officer in Paris, causing him to get akumatized into the titular Mr. Pigeon, who has control over all of the pigeons in the city.

And by God, does this episode have fun with the concept.

In addition to constantly mimicking pigeon cries, Mr. Pigeon's movements are just so entertaining to watch, only aided by the creative ways he controls the flocks of pigeons.

I'm not kidding when at one point, Mr. Pigeon traps Ladybug and Cat Noir in a cage, and threatens to have his pigeons crap on them unless they hand over their Miraculous. Yeah.

This is one of the episodes that really set the standards for how outlandish the Akumas in Miraculous Ladybug could get. It kind of reminds me of an episode of the original Ultraman, where the SSSP has to find a way to move an incredibly heavy monster using increasingly abnormal strategies, like inflating it with air so it'll float like a balloon. It's clear it isn't taking itself too seriously, so the audience shouldn't either.

Admittedly, Cat Noir's feather allergy feels shoehorned in, and is only included to increase conflict, and you would think it would come up when Mayura, a bird-themed supervillain appears in the third season. But then again, that's just a minor nitpick.

It's just a really fun episode, and I wish we could see Ladybug and Cat Noir fight Mr. Pigeon again that isn't used for a cheap gag.

#9: The Puppeteer

After being told by her mom that she can't have a Ladybug doll made by Marinette, young Manon is Akumatized into the Puppeteer. But obviously, you can't have our heroes beating up a five-year-old, so instead, the Puppeteer has the power to exact control over past Akuma victims as long as she has the doll made by Marinette. So Ladybug and Cat Noir have to face off against Lady Wifi, the Evillustrator, and Rogercop, before the Puppeteer gets her hands on the dolls Marinette made of the two heroes and take control of them as well.

It's still kind of funny to think about the fact that of all the Akumas to become a huge threat to Ladybug and Cat Noir, it's a little girl throwing a temper tantrum. And like with “Mr. Pigeon”, the episode has a lot of fun with the concept, best reflected in the voice acting. You can tell that Carrie Keranen is having so much fun this episode with the stuff she says as Lady Wifi.

The fact that someone who was actually a major threat to the heroes with how she was able to easily outsmart them and also came really close to getting their Miraculous is now acting like a little kid using phrases like “super duper sorry” is even more hilarious.

I'm still a little confused as why of all the past villains, it's Evillustrator and Rogercop that get to come back, and I wish they had gotten more to say, but it's still a treat to see Ladybug and Cat Noir fighting four villains at once, especially since this was before “Heroes Day”.

#8: Sapotis

Hawkmoth akumatizes Alya's little sisters into Sapotis (supposedly based off a folktale, but I can't find anything about it online), who have the power to multiply and easily overwhelm Ladybug and Cat Noir, forcing Ladybug to recruit Alya to become a third hero, Rena Rouge.

I've been a little negative about Alya in the past, but this episode gives her some major character growth. One of the biggest problems I had with her character in Season 1 is how often she tried to figure out Ladybug's identity... despite claiming to be a huge superhero fan, who should know why superheroes keep their identities a secret. Thankfully, this episode mostly puts an end to this idea.

The episode opens with Marinette giving Alya some reasons why Ladybug would keep her identity a secret, and it actually plays into the episode.

Putting aside the stupid Rent-A-Miraculous system introduced in this episode, the idea of keeping secrets and how necessary they can be sometimes is reflected after the battle where Alya is hesitant at first to give up her Miraculous, but eventually concedes and keeps her identity a secret from Marinette (who ironically knows, but that's not important).

Even without that, this episode still has a lot of action with the three heroes fighting their way through an army of Sapotis, with plenty of banter during said action. Hell, at one point, Cat Noir says “gotta catch 'em all”. I don't have a joke here, that's just brilliant.

Out of all the introductory hero episodes, this one easily sticks out among most of them.

(Don’t worry, I’m going to talk about Rena Rouge’s character design in a later post.)

#7: Guitar Villain

I said before in an earlier post that Jagged Stone is one of my favorite characters in Miraculous Ladybug, so it's obvious that the episode where he gets akumatized would be on this list.

After a disagreement with his manager about trying to mimic the popular singer XY (who ironically lacks a Y chromosome), Jagged is akumatized into Guitar Villain, a rock star with a pet dragon who forces everyone to listen to his Awesome Solo (yes, he names his attacks too) to dance uncontrollably.

Honestly, there's not much I can really say about this episode. It's Ladybug and Cat Noir fighting a rock star who flies around on a goddamn dragon. That's one of the coolest things I've ever seen! Even the way they defeat him (which I won’t give away) is a fun jab at rock stars.

Admittedly, the episode does border on grouchy old man territory sometimes by complaining about how bad today's music is with the way they portray XY as a whiny and egotistical coward, but after watching “Silencer”, you'll be glad everyone hates him.

Overall, it's a rockingly awesome episode.

#6: The Dark Owl

Mr. Damocles, the principal of Marinette and Adrien's school, is akumatized into the Dark Owl, a corrupted version of his favorite comic book superhero (who would later turn out to be real in the New York special, but I don't want to acknowledge that), who uses his high-tech gadgets to trap Ladybug and Cat Noir, putting them in one of their toughest binds yet.

I'm a huge fan of the Adam West Batman show, so you could probably guess why it's on this list. This episode really feels like an episode of that show with how goofy and over the top everything is. Obviously, this episode has a few Batman references thrown in (even an Incredibles reference at one point), and they're all hilarious.

I just love how complex Dark Owl's traps for Ladybug and Cat Noir are, and the fact that he actually manages to outsmart them at one point. Like seriously, have you ever heard of a death trap that involves drowning someone in whipped cream? That’s totally something you’d see the Joker setting up.

I don't really want to give away the ending (which is why this part is so short), because I think it's a really clever resolution that you should check out for yourself.

#5: Gorizilla

Hawkmoth akumatizes Adrien's bodyguard into Gorizilla, whose sole purpose is to protect Adrien. His motivation? To see if Adrien is actually Cat Noir or not. So Adrien has to avoid this gigantic gorilla's wrath with Marinette, all while trying to catch a movie his late mother was in.

See this? This is Adrienette done right. This is the kind of interaction I like when it comes to romance. Marinette and Adrien spend a few scenes with each other avoiding Adrien's crazy fanbase, and Marinette doesn't stammer half of her words. Even when she interacts with Adrien as Ladybug, she still remains confident, and Adrien trusts her judgment when it looks like he might fall. I don't just want Marinette and Adrien to cuddle with each other or declare their love for each other when they get their memories wiped. I want them to interact like human beings before they actually start a relationship, and this episode is a good example of it.

Adrien also gets some good focus with the way he views his relationship with his parents, as does Gabriel with his relationship with his son. Granted, he's taking a pretty huge gamble trying to kill Adrien to see if he's Cat Noir or not as opposed to just... taking off his ring while he sleeps. Can we at least admit he's trying?

I feel they could have done more with the King Kong homage (guess who I'm talking about?), but I can understand there wasn't enough time to focus on that. It's still an important episode to watch for plot and character growth that will barely be acknowledged in later episodes.

#4: Sandboy

tHe SaNdBoY hAs ChEcKeD iN. nOw NiGhTmArEs CaN bEgIn.

Now that we got that obvious joke out of the way, let's talk about one of the most creative episodes of the show.

Tikki and Plagg, Marinette and Adrien's Kwamis (the magical beings that power their Miraculous) take part in a ritual with the other Kwamis inside Master Fu's Miracle Box to contact Nooroo, Hawkmoth's Kwami, on his birthday and get an idea of where he is. Unfortunately, Hawkmoth chooses to akumatize someone during the ritual, leaving Marinette and Adrien helpless to fight back against Sandboy, an Akuma with the power to make their worst fears come true.

I said before in my worst list when talking about “Ladybug” that there was too much going on for one episode, what with Marinette's expulsion, the attempted Scarletmoth attack, and the fake Ladybug plotlines generally being rushed through. This episode is basically the opposite of that (ironically, they're both the penultimate episodes of their respective seasons).

The Kwami ritual and the Akuma attack are perfectly staged together so one affects the other. Not only do the Kwamis have to risk aborting their ritual to reach Nooroo in order to fight the Akuma, but Marinette and Adrien have to deal without fighting off Sandboy's nightmares on their own. Both plots balance each other out into a well-crafted story.

This is also one of the only episodes in the show where the Akuma of the week isn't the man focus. Here, we don't even see what happens to get the kid akumatized into Sandboy, and instead, Gabriel senses someone with negative emotions and akumatizes the kid offscreen. This works, because it doesn't distract from the main plot too much.

Even Marinette and Adrien's worst fears beautifully contrast each other, with both managing to be unsettling in different ways, even if they both have different tones. While Adrien's worst fear is being imprisoned in his own room (the fear only made worse with Plagg's absence), Marinette's worst fear is... the real star of the episode. Ladies and Gentlemen, I think you all know who I'm talking about.

You can tell the animators had a field day with animating Nightmare Adrien. Just look at the way he moves around and the faces he makes. It manages to be terrifying and hilarious at the same time. Bryce Papenbrook's performance only makes it better, cementing this as the highlight of the episode.

This episode also does a good job at foreshadowing the main plot for Season 3 with Hawkmoth finding out about the other Kwamis and by extension, more Miraculous.

It's got plot, comedy, good action, and Nightmare Adrien, so how can you turn this episode down?

And no, I'm not talking about Nightmare Ladybug, mainly because I'm tired of all the evil doppelgangers from the worst list.

#3: Startrain

Yes, believe it or not, I managed to find a Season 3 episode that wasn't complete garbage, and spoiler alert, this isn't the only one.

Marinette and Adrien's class goes on a field trip to London by taking the train, until the driver is akumatized into Startrain, who wants to escape to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism... SPACE! So Ladybug and Cat Noir have to defeat Startrain while also finding a way to bring everyone on the train back home.

I like how this episode plays with the usual Akuma of the week formula. Unlike every other Akuma they've fought, Cat Noir points out that if they beat Startrain, everyone will die, so they have to be more strategic in their approach. They don't even fight Startrain for most of the episode, as they have to make their way to the front of the train to confront the Akuma. The action in this episode is very creative and really takes advantage of zero gravity, only aided by the design of the futuristic train the episode takes place in.

The new hero introduced, Pegasus (AKA Max, another student in Marinette and Adrien's class), is also really cool, being very intelligent and helping out the heroes progress through the train even before he gets the Horse Miraculous. It makes sense that his intelligence would be used rather than just his powers in this situation.

There are even some good character moments too. For once, Master Fu does something smart and loans the Horse Miraculous (which has the power of teleportation) to Marinette so she can still go on the class trip, trusting her and actually letting her have a life. It was also nice to see Alya stick up for Marinette by keeping Lila from interrupting her nap with Adrien.

This episode is basically like a refreshing glass of water to enjoy during the garbage fire that was Season 3.

(I’m going to talk about Pegasus’ character design later on too, don’t worry)

#2: Silencer

Lukanette shippers, ASSEMBLE!

Music producer Bob Roth and his son XY hold a contest for young artists to show off their skills, and Kitty Section, a band composed of several recurring characters, decides to enter, with Marinette helping to design their costumes. But as soon as they submit their video, they find out that XY copied their style, naturally pissing the band off.

Marinette and the lead guitarist of Kitty Section, Luka, confront Bob Roth and XY, who threaten to ruin their careers by claiming that they ripped off XY. Seeing Marinette getting threatened is more than enough for Hawkmoth to akumatize Luka into Silencer, who naturally has the power to silence and mimic the voices of others.

I talked about Luka and his relationship with Marinette in an earlier post (specifically the one where Astruc claimed that the fandom growing to like Luka counted as character development), and I said that this was one of the few good episodes this season because of their interactions. This episode basically made me realize how much Luka cares for Marinette, and the episode gives plenty of time to show the two spending time together and growing closer. It's basically everything “Oni-Chan” should have been about, giving some depth to Luka and not portraying him as a crazy person like they did with Kagami in that episode.

Silencer is also one of the more creatively designed villains this season, and has a really creative approach to achieving his goals. While the ability to steal and imitate someone's voice seems mundane compared to control over the weather, or making nightmares come to life, it's used very effectively. Silencer basically tricks the police into arresting Bob Roth while imitating the mayor's voice, and he threatens to make his life a living hell by using the connections to the voices he's stolen. Even with the hand puppet gesture, it's still unsettling to have Silencer speak in all these voices, and it would make for a really interesting horror movie.

Even Ladybug and Cat Noir's interactions are back to their Season 1 levels of enjoyment. Even though Silencer took her voice, Ladybug just makes so many expressions that do a great job at describing her feelings, which naturally plays off Cat Noir's motormouth tendencies. Whenever Cat Noir jokes about Ladybug's condition, he is rightfully called out on it and is reprimanded in some way, my favorite being when Ladybug uses her yo-yo to hit Cat Noir on the head to shut him up. Even putting aside that, they still work well together this episode and really feel like equals. I also love their silent fist bump when Bob Roth is exposed.

Again, the episode still takes the time to go on about how unoriginal today's musicians are, and how they lack artistic creativity and all that crap. Look, given how ham-fisted the writing in this show can get, are you surprised the commentary isn't subtle?

Even putting aside how much this episode made me appreciate Lukanette, it still has a lot of great moments that aren't even related to the ship itself, which is a real testament to how this show can perfectly balance romance and story when it's done right. Now if only the show could try this much with Adrienette, then people wouldn't hate the main pairing of the show this much.

#1: The Collector

Taking place immediately after the Season 1 finale, Marinette meets Master Fu and discusses the book she found depicting past Miraculous users. Marinette theorizes that since the book was in the Agreste mansion, Gabriel could be Hawkmoth. And to the surprise of absolutely no one, she's right, and in order to draw off suspicion, Gabriel akumatizes himself into the Collector.

This episode has several good writing decisions for both sides, and the choices the characters make feel natural. Gabriel akumatizing himself is such a smart move, and so is what Marinette and Master Fu do with the book at the end. This episode does a great job setting up future plot threads and establishes Master Fu's character and the mystery associated with him.

The Collector is a visually stunning villain, and his powers are really creative, leading to a great fight with Ladybug and Cat Noir, who use a great strategy to outsmart him. I also love how over the top he is in order to make the heroes believe that he's working for Hawkmoth, all with a devious smile on his face.

This was also the episode that really got me into Miraculous Ladybug as a whole. I checked out the first season on a whim after it was mentioned in a Pan Pizza video, but it was during the hiatus between seasons, and I hadn't really started using Tumblr yet, so it mostly stayed off my radar. When Season 2 started however, I really got invested in the story, and the way this episode turned out was a big reason why. I wondered what it would be like when Adrien finds out his own father is Hawkmoth, and how the story would play out after the reveal.

Despite what it led up to, I still consider “The Collector” to be my favorite episode of Miraculous Ladybug.

Well, now that I talked about that, not it's time to talk about what I consider to be the worst episode of Miraculous Ladybug, “Felix”. God help me...

[thepigeonsopinion]

So, "Hack San" was released...

The episode "Hack San" has finally been released and here I am now, about to go on and on about the episode :) But first let's do a small summary or synopsis of the episode!

Warning: Spoilers to the episode "Hack San"

Summary:

The episode starts off with Marinette trying to make up excuses to stay in Paris/home, instead of going to London to visit her Aunt. So far, all of her attempts have been failures. Marinette then has no choice but to leave Paris with her family. Meanwhile, Gabriel or Shadowmoth creates a new sentimonster with the name of Hack San, which is a virus that allows for Markov to be vulnerable to an akuma. Then, Marinette contacts Alya to meet her at the train station before she is to leave. Marinette gives Alya the Ladybug miraculous trusting her to protect Paris while she is gone. Alya has a chat with the kwami's, Tikki and Trixx, in which they tell her the ups and downs of being the holder of the Ladybug miraculous and the guardian of the miracle box. Alya returns to the park that she was hanging out at before Marinette contacted her. At the park, Alya starts to fuss over everyone's emotions, mainly if they are feeling any negative emotions. Meanwhile, Markov is effected by the virus and is akumatized by Shadowmoth and becomes Robustus. Robustus then (through the internet) takes control of people and orders them to give him their most prized possessions. While on the train, Marinette's parents are affected by Robustus, which leads to Marinette being captured by Robustus. It is then Alya's responsibility to protect Paris. Alya transforms into her version of Ladybug, and while she is trying to find her new super hero name she is met with Chat Noir. Chat Noir does not immediately trusts the new super heroine and suspects they are the villain. However, this distrust is cut short because of the akuma Robustus still being at large. Robustus orders everyone to capture Ladybug and Chat Noir. The super heroes hear a person crying for help and while Chat Noir is at first suspicious, Alya heads straight to where the civilian's voice was heard. This turns out to be a trap and the super heroes are forced to run into a building where they are also trapped by Robustus. Alya summons her Lucky Charm to aid her in this situation. Alya or Scarabella receives a frying pan. This leads her to think of a plan to manipulate Robustus to release the people's possessions in exchange for both her and Chat Noir. Robustus agrees to this and releases all of the objects and among those objects is Marinette who catches on quickly to the plan and uses the frying pan to release the akuma. The super heroes are released as well and Alya uses her Miraculous Ladybug. And as always, Paris is saved once again. A few days later, Marinette and her family are back from her trip and Alya suggest Marinette/Ladybug go talk to Chat Noir, and she does. Ladybug and Chat Noir have a talk about how someone knows about Ladybug's secret identity and Chat's new found fear that Ladybug might not be there anymore, in which Ladybug gives him the reassurance that she won't be going anywhere. And, the episode ends.

Yay! Another very detailed and unnecessary summary of the episode! Welp! It's too late now. :|

Anyway! Now onto my opinion or thoughts on the episode!

(Also I'm re-watching the episode as I do this so this might have some unnecessary details. Anyway, carry on!)

First things first the, I know that Marinette is trying to get out of going to London and staying in Paris, but I swear her excuses are getting weaker. I swear she had better excuses in the earlier seasons or is it just me? Not to mention, since Marinette is so desperate to stay in Paris she purposefully trips down the stairs. Damn the dedication and I mean, I know that Marinette needs to stay in Paris just in case, but she has left Paris like three times now, you would think that she would have a backup plan if anything happened in Paris when she wasn't there (and I'll talk about one of her solutions later on *cough cough Scarabella cough cough*). Also, Tom's desperation and persistence for Marinette to come on the trip is kinda amusing. And the not so subtle jabs at the aunt :0

Moving on! Ummm Nooroo and Dusuu you know that Gabriel is RIGHT there right? I mean he could probably hear what your saying. Also, Gabriel are you just deaf or did you not just hear what they said? Because their right behind you. When Shadowmoth made Hack San, was the weird "Haah" sound really necessary? Also, why does the virus, USB thingy low key look like Nino's shirt logo. Are they somehow connected? Or did they just run out of ideas for the design? (Not me being salty over a sentimonsters design) Why the fuck is this robot doing like three things at the same time? I know that he's a robot, but come on.

Hmmmm. No other option you say? What about bringing the Horse miraculous with you like in Startrain? Or use the cosmic suits that can legit let you fly around the world? Come on, let's be honest here giving Alya the Ladybug miraclulous wasn't the ONLY option. Claps to Alya for doing a fake doubting act, but in reality just trying to think of a new superhero name. You almost got me there Astruc, you almost made me thought that Alya had her doubts about taking over for Marinette, but in reality is just super excited to take over. Props to you my dude, props! Also, I'm not going to lie Alya all of your name ideas are kinda weak, I mean the fandom has better name ideas than you do, but then again that is to be expected. Props to the kwamis for putting all the pressure that Marinette has on her back and transferring it to Alya. Thank you for making Alya aware of all the pressure Marinette's under. Even if Alya's probably not going to bring it up and probably will just brush it off. Yes, Alya just keep telling your self that this weekend is going to be totally chill. Not to mention, Tikki being more supportive to Alya than to Marinette, whaaaaaaaaaaa- :0. Alya you just told yourself that this weekend was going to be chill why the heck are you making your life harder for yourself. To be honest, if your acting like this already you deserve whatever is coming for you. Marinette, honey, why the fuck do you need to right down 675 tips for Alya? I mean I get 33 tips even 40, but 675, really? Not to mention, the tip about laughing at Chat Noir's jokes even if they aren't funny just to make him happy, why the fuck do you need to keep him happy he could be mad, upset, or sad and I wouldn't give a fuck :p.

I will say this again, how the fuck does a multi-intelligent robot that is connected the world wide web, that is also doing at least 4 things at the same time get tempted and corrupted by a virus by clicking on a cute kitty cat ad. HOW!?! EXPLAIN THAT TO ME!?!

Okay, so remember when we thought we were actually going to get a canon Marcenial moment. Hahaha welp Astruc you've done it again you have crushed our shipping dreams again. I hope your proud of yourself. Also, the most precious possession to Marc is his and Nathaniel's manga/comic, really?

Damn the amount of times this girl makes us and Trixx second guess that she's doubting herself, like she's done it three times now. Not to mention, why is her ladybug suit more detailed than Marinette's hmmm? I mean, don't get me wrong I like the design, but why can't Marinette have a detailed suit like this? Also why is Alya acting like The Owl? *Hoot Hoot!* I also just realised that the kwamis are a bit territorial, well not Tikki, but Plagg and Trixx have proven themselves to be a bit territorial of their holders.

I love Chat Noir's distrust to Alya as Ladybug because this shows a different side of Chat Noir that Paris doesn't see, but does Alya see this and realize how much of a ass he is? Nope. Also, not going to lie, his distrust kinda amuses me. Carrying on! Chat Noir, I can hear the toxic jealousy from here my dude, you might want to tone it down a bit, you've got a audience here you know. You know, I was expecting him to say his most prized possession was Ladybug, or even his kwami, Plagg, but I wasn't expecting him to say croquettes. OMG! GUYS! IT'S HAPPENING! CHAT IS FINALLY BEING CAUTIOUS FOR ONCE INSTEAD OF IMMEDIATELY JUMPING INTO TROUBLE!!! Also, Chat Noir being responsible whaaaaaaa- :0. Ummm, why the fuck did they just run into a building, when they legit could've jumped out of that mess, like seriously why isn't anyone using their head today?

Moving on! Why the heck is most of this episode just Alya trying to think of a super hero name like seriously, I know it's supposed to be some kinda of gag, but it's starting to get a bit annoying. Chat Noir being supportive to Alya: *slow clap*. When Alya's whole plan is to just to leave everything up to Marinette, Me: Wow! I TOtAlLy didn't see that coming! Hehehe Chat Noir with a pot over his head. You know, I thought upset Chat Noir was enough for this episode, but now we get sad Chat Noir and Ladybug reassuring him, just wow, you have out done yourself Astruc.

AND! That's that end of the episode! So all in all, this episode wasn't that bad? But it wasn't my favorite (maybe one of my least favorite tbh :0) Mainly, because of the appearance of Scarabella and ladybug catering to Chat Noir needs. This is probably mainly because I'm a bit biased, but in my opinion and I will repeat in MY OPINION I don't think Alya really deserves to get the miraculous. I mean yeah, Marinette has given her trust to her and has told her that she is Ladybug, but has she really done anything to show that she deserves that trust. If I'm being honest she has shown more reasons for Marinette not to trust her. One of the reasons being that Alya doesn't fully trust Marinette herself, and the other being that she disobeyed Marinette by telling Nino that she is still Rena Rouge and not telling her that she did so.

Anyway! Those are most of my thought's on this episode. This has been a loooong week for me with the addition of school now. So expect me to be posting more on the weekends than on weekdays.

Anywho! I hope everyone has a great rest of their day. And always remember...

But that's just my opinion (・ε・)

(This week has been soooo tiring and with the edition of this episode and a sneak peek of a new episode coming up, I know it's only beginning. *smiles through the pain :)*)

[destinygoldenstar]

Cynical Analyzer Reviews DPPC Episode 1 Golden

Hello! This is the first of my many analysis of Delicious Party Pretty Cure!

Why am I doing this? Well I don't know, first time I've been on this wiki for a season to start.

I said this before, but I'm not TOO enthusiastic about this season's theme. One, we already had KiraKira as a food theme season. But another is just a completely personal reason, I'm just not that much of a food invested person. I am a picky eater, I can't eat seafood, tomatoes, or a lot of other foods without me being sensitive. There's only certain things I'll eat that don't make me gag. So yes, I'm a scrawny person, and I've always been, and I'm fully aware of that.

But then again, I was also not a fan of the medical class, and hey, I loved Healin Good, a season that spoke to me in ways I didn't expect going in.

So MAYBE Delicious Party can end up the same way??

I don't know, I still don't think this will be a top tier season or anything, as again, my lack of enthusiasm with food. But I hope that it'll at least be well written or fun enough that it can be on par with Healin Good, a season that while I do love, does admittedly have problems.

So, going over the first episode of this show: "Food Brings Smiles. Transform! Cure Precious"

So we start off our series with-

A narration?!

That caught me off guard, not gonna lie. Has Pretty Cure ever done the narrator thing before? I don't recall it.

It's fine, it's not adding anything, it's not ruining anything. I will say that they MIGHT be hinting that this narrator is an in universe character?

Like, my guess for now, this narrator, at the end of the season, is going to be revealed at either Gentle, or a grown up version of Yui. That's my theory, there you go.

Also Yui plays soccer. We haven't gotten this since I think Suite? Kinda hope this aspect gets some focus honestly, stuff like this can help really flesh out a Cure lead besides liking the season theme.

So why does our Precious like food so much?

She saw a fairy once that looked tasty.

...

Okay, that sounds wrong out of context.

Guess my theory about her past is somewhat wrong, but it's not completely deconfirmed yet. We'll see.

I don't fully know how I feel about how Cookingdom and the conflict is explained tbh.

First off, that king reminds me of a tinier version of the king from MiiTopia, and that's not exactly a compliment.

And second, if you have to explain lore through ZERO prompting, and explain it through talking only, with no warning beforehand for your audience, you need to rewrite that scene. We're just TOLD about the Rice Peppers being stolen and that the soldier guy needs to find them again. Nothing prompting such, and second, Rosemary LIVES here, and is a SOLDIER, he should already know this. Why not have this lore be dropped by Rosemary to Yui either right before or after this episode's battle?

Scene could have been cut, honestly.

Also YES, I KNOW they're called Recipeppis. I'm calling them Rice Peppers, I will say it in my head it's pronounced like pepper. You can't make me think otherwise!

So, the opening...

Mediocre opening.

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of this opening. It's not even as ironically fun as Tropical Rouge, or has such a grand song to hook your ears like Healin Good. I have my own nitpicks with those openings too, but out of the three...? Yeah, Delicious Party is the weakest. The song is just not that catchy to me, I already don't remember it really well like I do with Tropical Rouge's cringy dance, or Healin Good's grandeos music. It's also visually not that impressive and kind of stiff, like, there aren't very good establishing shots of everyone's character, they're just standing there and doing in sync dances. What I get from what we do have is Yui likes rice, Kotone likes lipstick (Manatsu aint gonna be happy stealing her mojo) and Ra-Ra is a panda geek... I think?

Yes I know her name is Ran, but Yum-Yum, Chinese?? Yeah, Ra-Ra is my nickname for this yellow. Also because it just reminds me of Noah from Total Drama in that dodgeball episode, and that just brings a smile on my face.

But that's really it. The villain shots are stiffened, there's a lot of shots of people just hanging out, there's nothing really immersive going on in the backgrounds, and ironically enough, the moving shots of the Cures are the ones in the book, a STILL OBJECT. Even then, it's literally just them walking, nothing interesting happening.

Also the fairies have human forms. WHOOPS. SPOILERS. Thanks opening! But interestingly enough, the rice one is the only one shown... and it's aging... like Ha....?

See what I'm trying to say with that?

So these Cures DON'T fight with cream ropes? It looks like? THANK YOU. At least it's not another KiraKira, at least not yet. The only one who seems to have food ropes of Ra-Ra, but she's a noodle gal with noodled hair, so that actually makes sense! I like that!

One last shot of this opening I DO find interesting is the last one with Yui siting out at the porch by herself, and then when she turns around, she smiles...?

This reminds me WAY too much of Tsubomi's flashback episode in Heartcatch...

I don't think this is hinting at the same thing exactly, but it's definitely hinting at SOMETHING in Yui's character. We don't know what yet, whether it's a past thing or it's going to be a present part of her character arc, but there's something going on under that smile.

So yeah, bland opening overall. Not a huge fan of it. Maybe I'm just spoiled from other openings I like better that do the whole foreshadowing thing better, and also has a more intriguing song. (I stated before my beef with RWBY, but Season 8's opening was a banger and did exactly this) Moving on.

You're wondering why the food stores are closed Yui?

DO I NEED TO EXPLAIN IT?!

How does Rosemary, a soldier from a kingdom of FOOD, end up starving with just a few hours (I think) away from earth? Unless the food there is sentient, which... oh gosh please no, or Rosemary is just really careless. If it's the latter, that's a neat characterization for him.

What were the other food fairies doing while their carrier was passed out?! Either they're lazy or just heartless! Kome-Kome's trying to help, what's wrong with the other two?!

That said, I do like Yui saving the baby here, and that she's actually competent at such. She's not hyperactive, she's just a go-getter.

Also hi Ra-Ra! Blue girl in the car! I'm sure you're not important to the plot or anything.

Kotone calls the green traffic light blue also. So is Lala. But she's green apparently.

NO Yui! You don't lift a grown man like that!! How do you even do so anyway?! Wha- I'm sorry, that's just bothering me for no reason.

I'm so glad I ate before this. The food here looks GREAT, and I'm not even a big eater! I just eat chips with melted cheese and turkey half the time (cause I can't afford anything else at the moment)

The narrator also says that this restaurant is the place where people eat.

Out of context, that makes it sound like it's the ONLY place where people eat. Cause that sounds sinister. Yui be like "We shall be the ONLY available restaurant to the entire tri-state area! Mwahaha!!"

(I'm joking)

Rosemary so far is pretty good as a character. I'm not 100% won over yet, that's kind of just a me. I don't really care for the feminine personality??

Not trying to be mean or anything, and I'm not against men being feminine at all, I'm just worried that everything involving this character is gonna be relating to femininity. That just kinda feels like pandering to diverse people, and not very good representation. But I do actually like how they establish his selfless side by doing labor for the family at his own will, and even his talk to Yui about what beauty represents. So I'll give Rosemary a chance at least to win be over.

I don't have anything to say about Gentle or the other girl (don't know her name) they're there. Stealing books. Please steal my school textbooks next.

Aaaaaaaannnnd any hopes that Takumi and Yui would just have a Platonic friendship is gone!

Right away!

Yeah I'm not sold on Takumi. If he is the Phantom, this is literally just gonna be Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask again. I HOPE it's the manga version of that and NOT the 90s anime version of it, because if it's the latter... oh geez.

So the villain mechanic is to make food taste bad.

Well, good to know I can't be affected half the time! I'm already garbage!

The battles will take place in this one land arena looks like. Lore-wise, it's safe, but also kind of uninteresting. I like it when fights use terrain and backgrounds to their advantage.

Straightforward Pretty Cure awakening so far. You can't really avoid this stuff. I didn't in my own season, not gonna lie.

Cure Precious Transformation.

I like it. It's cute.

I like the cute detail of her eating a rice to obtain her hair (though on first watch did anyone accidentally see her eating Kome?)

Nothing else to add here. It's cute.

Okay, as for Cure Precious's design itself...

I'm not a fan of it.

Probably unpopular opinion, but for me, this design just has WAY too much going on! So many different patterns and shapes in this that aren't fully found in other parts of the outfits to fit, and my eyes can't figure out WHAT part of the design I'm supposed to be looking at.

Might be a me thing, as I study this kind of thing and how to make character designs. This isn't really it for me. But again, style is also subjective, and if you've seen MY artwork and my Pretty Cure designs for my characters, you know I'm more simple with this sort of thing. I don't need all these crazy patterns and laces going on. Sometimes less is more.

Straight forward fight, good animation. Also she fights with calories...

BUY MCDONALDS KIDS

And also her finisher is nothing special, just shooting a triangle beam. How does that relate to food? I think it's maybe because rice is triangle shaped?? But so are a lot of foods, so...

This season is off to an okay start. Too early for me to tell yet honestly. Feels like this episode is more so focused on building up things. Plus, it's good, it's competent, there's some story details that might be elaborated on in the future, but there's also nothing in this first episode that hasn't really been done before in previous seasons, and not much that makes the season stand out so far.

I don't want to say that the season is deliberative just yet, it's the first episode. But there's not stuff there that just reminds me of previous seasons, and not much here that makes the season itself stand out.

But again, at least it's competent at establishing character and world building, but even that feels more like setup than anything else.

Cure Precious herself is at least likeable right now, she's okay, she's a good heroine, but right now there's not much that really makes her stand out from other Cures just yet. We'll have to wait and see what they do with her. She's good, nothing amazing. YET.

And now to cap off these reviews:

Picky Person NitPicks The Food Of The Week:

(What other title do you want? It's just me reviewing the food of the week. If it makes ME hungry, it gets a high score)

Gotta dock points for ketchup

That said, the omurice is fluffy and filled with a ton of sauce, probably.

7/10, could use some salt

And that's what you guys can basically expect from these review posts.

Let me know your thoughts on this episode and how much you disagree with me.

[sleeplessandstubborn]

Emily in Paris or why I stopped caring about the protagonist and I started rooting for the French. Episode 1.

Let’s be clear. I was planning to root for the French anyway. They are in the neighbouring country, I quite like them and I was prepared to confront and make fun about all the stereotypes in this series. Because this was exactly what I expected. Funny, lighthearted and totally braindead (wink wink) escapism in an instagrammed to the top Paris which has the same resemblance with the real one than Vincent Minelli’s... But without Gene Kelly. So what did I think of the first episode?

Meet Emily Cooper from Chicago. She’s young, she is dynamic, she struggles to be liked by everyone and at the beginning of the series. She is a marketing executive about to be promoted or so she thinks.

... Because her boss Madeline (played by Kate Walsh) is going to Paris in order to take work with Savoir, a luxury firm the company (sorry I forgot its name) has just adquired. Madeline is overjoyed because working for a year in Paris is one of her dreams and because French men like mature women, as probed by the fact that their young and hot (sic, but this blog agrees) president married his high school teacher. We’ll never know which plans Madeline had for Frenchmen, whether they are young or hot or not. The case is after two minutes in the series she vomits, which means she’s pregnant and she can’t go anywhere because it’s an truth universally aknowledged that pregnant women can’t go on with their plans.

It’s in the next scene when we meet Emily’s boyfriend, Doug, and when we learn she’s going to Paris in Madeline’s place, in spite of being unprepared and not knowing the language. At this point one wonders how it’s possible that no one else in the company can replace Madeline. All of them are monolingual? Our plucky heroine is not discouraged by the litle fact of knowing virtually nothing about the country in which she’s going to live during the next twelve months. She and Doug - the moment you see the scene you know it wont’ go well - agree on a long distance relationship.

And after a very well done transition, we have crossed the ocean. Yes, this is well done, and I say it unironically. Episodes are short, your show is called Emily in Paris, so, what’s better than having your main lady already in the French capital in less than five minutes. The series goes to the point in this aspect and it’s a good thing to spare us of unnecesary scenes.

So Emily arrives to her apartment with pretty views, confused about in which floor she’s supposed to live (running gag ahead) and already hit on by a French guy on a suit that looks like the love child of Gabriel Attal and Albert Rivera (check it, seriously). I couldn’t take him seriously not only because of that but also because he said that Emily’s appartment was a chambre de bonne. Not by any means. Look, I’ve never lived in Paris but I know that apartment is huge when compared with a real chambre de bonne.

Off to know her working place, Emily has this HUGE smile pasted on her face. I don’t know if this supposed to make her charming and likeable. For me - it’s true than I have this European perspective - she looks a mix between an anxious puppy and a psychopath. I would be scared and would avoid her at all costs. The cultural clash is about to happen.

Yeah, I would look at her too, Julien a.k.a. token black character. You have probably heard about the lack of diversity in this series, I won’t abound in that, others have worded it better. It also an established fact that French people smokes at their workplace, even if in the European Union we have these things called smoking bans that won’t allow it.

And enter Sylvie, Emily’s Parisian boss and supposed main antagonist, à la Devil wears Prada. What to say about Sylvie other than I adore her? Her clothes, her style, her sarcasm. As any rational being would do, Sylvie is pretty dismayed to learn that Emily does not have the slightest idea of French and its already wanting to impose her American perspective and her alleged knowledge of social media. The problem is I don’t know if her posts on Instagram really deserve that much attention. Clash ensues with the rest of her new coworkers. C’est la cata! they comment. I quite agree.

Our fish-out-of-water takes an evening afterwork stroll (this Paris is like one square kilometer and public transport is something you mention but never appears) and calls her boyfriend to state the entire city looks like Ratatouille, which legitimately made me laugh. I am not sure if this reference means that Emily’s filmic culture is that limited or if it’s her boyfriend the one who only knows a movie which takes place in Paris and that’s one is Ratatouille. We know that Emily at least has seen Moulin Rouge and that makes two so probably is Doug’s fault.

Back at home, and since she has forgotten how to count, Emily attempts to open the wrong door. Immediately a wild Frenchman appears; it’s Gabriel, played by Lucas Bravo probably one of these young hot men Madeline would target. He takes the intrusion reasonably well. Especially when it’s discovered that Emily only knows his region, Normandy, from Saving Private Ryan. That makes three films, so definitely I think Doug is the problem here as far as filmic culture goes.

Next day Emily picks a yellow outfit and goes to work, purchasing a pain au chocolat in her way to work. I confess I was underwhelmed when discovered that there wouldn’t be any joke about the Great Civil War that has been going on in France since its earliest days: the partidaries of pain au chocolat vs. the ones of chocolatine. A ferocious, merciless conflict unknown by most nations. A lost opportunity not making this woman someone from the South who bravely defies Parisian conventions calling it chocolatine. I’m team pain au chocolat btw. Naturally when she discovers the wonderful world of flavours she makes another Instagram post. She’s earning more and more followers, Heavens know why.

However, she has a Big Problem with Doing Research. Example given, she doesn’t know her schedule - a problem which could have been solved with reading numbers - and arrives two hours early to her workplace.

Once there she discovers she can’t sit with the cool kids. No one wants to lunch with her, so she decides to miserably sit by herself at the park, where we met her best new friend. Her name’s Mindy, she’s from Shangai and she’s working as au pair, while teaching Mandarin to the two blond children she’s looking after. We’ll later discover more about her. She instantly detects the American in Emily and offers her help to this awkward but at the same time arrogant newcomer.

Meanwhile at Savoir, Emily has earned a sobriquet. La Plouc, which is adopted by Sylvie and most of her coworkers even if Luc seems more or less reluctant to say it. La Plouc means the hick, as she instantly discovers thanks to an online translator. It’s really not a good day for our heroine, and she cames back home - remember that thing about this Paris being one square kilometer? - walking. Co-worker and someone who  for some resason reminds me to the posh-y version of Philippe Poutou - check it - Luc passes by as she sits lonely by herself and apologizes for calling her la Plouc earlier. He also claims she’s arrogant for coming to Paris without speaking or even understanding French - which is true - and tells her people is probably scared as her new, modern ideas. Which makes no sense at all and it’s probably a white lie.

Meanwhile and for some reason her totally inocuous posts in Instagram makes her earn more and more followers. During the night, her oblivious to timezones boyfriend call her and they have - or attempt to have - a totally awkward and unsexy session of cybersex. At the end Emily is so frustrated that she tries to use her electric vibrator which leads to the short-circuit of the entire building. Fortunately before she has the oportunity of getting closer to the device in question. And that’s how Episode 1 ends.

What did I think? It’s fun and pretty to look at. Even prettier to rant about. As long as your brain remains carefully shut off in the meantime and you don’t take it that seriously you are going to enjoy it I guess. At least it’s my case.

Still frustrated for not covering the Great Civil War tho.

[popculturebuffet]

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck: The Last of the Clan McDuck!  Review “It Was Worth THE Dime”

This is one of my faviorite comic book stories of all time. Given i’m a massive comics nerd, for both books and strips, that is the highest praise I can give this wonderful, epic, beautifully drawn and deeply emotoinal story. I first discovered it in the local library that had the second volume, and found the rest online at a now long dead fan site. And while it took me longer than I care to admit to really dig into Duck Comics, and even now i’ve only scratched the surface, I can say without a doubt this story is the reason I’m so deeply attached to Scrooge as a character, and that I was excited as  I was for Ducktales 2017. This comic showed me just what Scrooge McDuck should be at his core as a character, and showed me what a wonderful character that is. So with all that glowing praise as you can guess i’ve been wanting to cover this for years, and even considered though back when I was more primarily a comic book reviewer last year. Any time i’ve reviewed stuff before now, i’ve considered it, and with Scrooge’s Sisters Hortense and Matilda presumably and definitely debuting on Ducktales soon, and it’s about damn time, the timing could not be better or clearer to dig into this utter triumph.  But before we can take a look at the story itself we naturally have to take a look at the man behind it: Writer and Artist Don Rosa. Don Rosa is easily one of the best Duck Comics writer out there, seen by many as only second to his own faviorite duck comics writer and God of Ducks, Carl Barks. For those 1 of you who do not know, Barks was the man who created pretty much everything in the duck universe comics wise and a bit in animation too: He created Daisy, Scrooge, Gladstone, Magica, The Beagle Boys, The Junior Woodchucks, Gyro, Little Bulb, Glomgold, Rockerduck, and the list goes on. While he didn’t make EVERY duck, he made so many that it’d be impossible to imagine either version of Ducktales being possible without him.  So of course Rosa was a fan and while he took up the family buisness, he was also an artist and duck comics fanboy on the side. So when, even if it meant a paycut, the opportunity to actually write and draw them came up, he lept at it and thus became one of their publishers go to guys, even if said publisher published the stories overseas where the Duck Comics are far more popular and still going to this day, and ironically where most duck comics printed nowadays get their stories from. Rosa was known for his meticous historical research and gorgeous art that he took his time drawing to get just perfect and showed on the page. The man has easily some of hte best and most detailed duck art around and I still haven’t found a duck artist that can match him.. and if you have or found one close i’d genuinely love to see that. He is a genuinely talented, spirited guy who was sadly mistreated by disney and that, coupled with tragically failing eyesight, eventually ended his career. He’s still around and I genuinely hope to meet him some day as he still does conventions.  The man is not without fault: I don’t get his hatred of superhero comics, as while I get them overshadowing funnybooks and that around the time of his career they were in decline, but it’s just as unfair to write off Superhero comics as mindless.  garbage as it is for people to write off the Duck Comics as “only for kids” and I genuinely wish he’d see that and see how the medium has evolved so much since then. I also grumble a bit as his refusal to allow anything besides barks into his bubble, and having to be forced to include fethry on the family tree, but that’s more personal preference. I like using as much material as you got. IT’s why i’ve wanted to, and hopefully will eventually get around to, write a sonic fanfic using bits of all the various universes that for legal, ken penders being an absolute waste of a human being, and sega being stupid reasons can’t be used anymore. I like taking everything in a franchise and putting it in a blender and it’s why I love the reboot. But there’s nothing wrong with taking things as is, not stepping on toes canon wise, but still being awesome. We’re just diffrent people and that’s okay.  And a lot of his fanboy showing actually lead to REALLY good things: Goldie O’Gilt was a one off character, and while used ocasoinally overseas, didn’t really pick up as a character again until a combination of Ducktales 87 and Rosa’s work with her, as he always loved the character, and fleshing her out lead to her being used more, and gaining a sizeable fandom. He also gained the Cablleros an even bigger fandom by giving them two stories of their own, and fleshing them out a bit more.  And this very comic is the peak of that, taking EVERY mention of scrooge’s past from various backstories to set up adventures, every tiny scrap, and to his credit going to both Barks Himself and various other Barks Experts Rosa was friends with to check his work, especially difficult given he likey had to find these stories in issue or pullt hem from disney archives, and complied it into one long epic that not only uses all this info effortlessly, but spins a compelling story that gives us a clear vision of what Scrooge should be, how he became the man he is, and how he lost himself only to find himself again with the help of three precocious boys and a cynical 30 something duck. So taint all bad is what i’m saying.  As for how this got started, thankfully rosa himself provided the origin story for this project in the back of the volume of his works that contained the first 7 chapters of life and times, as well as detailed notes for every chapter. At the time Rosa was working for Egmont, the big european publisher who handles Disney’s much larger european comics market, hence why most of his stories appeared years earlier in Europe before debuting here. The american publisher at the time , and an old friend of his, called Rosa with an idea: A 12 issue Maxi-Series focusing on Scrooge’s history, since at the time they were all the rage.. and really even today mini series are still a viable market and many indie titles just have several minis instead of an ongoing. So it wasn’t a bad idea, Rosa just simply offered a tweak: He’d tell his publisher at Egmont about the idea, and let her get a crack team of writers and artists to do this proper, and thus Disney could publish it for free once it was done and for no extra cost. Rosa gave his publisher a fax detaling both the idea and the fact that it needed to be done right, given to the best person possible, and done with the greatest care. She agreed.. and naturally handed it to him, as he admits he hoped. She made the right call, a legend was born and here we are.  One last bit before the read more and before I get to the first story itself at last: Since barks wrote a lot of side stories that fit into the canon, I COULD slot them in between chapters, but have instead chosen to review the original 12 part story as was, and do the various side stories and two epilogues, the utterly fantastic “Dream of a Life Time”, easiliy one of my faviorite comics ever, and the also really great “Letter From Home”, which will likely on some level be the basis for the upcoming at the time of this review “Battle for Castle McDuck!”, after completing the story. In other words i’m probably going to be at this for years. so join me under the read more won’t you as I begin the journey of a thousand miles with a single step as we look at the humble start of a legend. 

We begin, after a fun short teaser with present Day scrooge saying his past is no one’s buisness only to get hit with an oh yeah?,  with a scrap book title for the issue, something I want to bring up since while I got that’s what it was what I never got, and  must’ve glanced over when I first read rosa’s notes when I got this copy, was that it isn’t SCROOGE’S scrap book, but his sister Matilda’s who dutifully and happily catologued her brother’s adventures. It’s a really sweet moment.. and something that will hit VERY hard when we reach Chapter 11. If you haven’t read this story or heard of it.. .that’s this story’s equilvent of “Last Crash of the Sunchaser” and clearly Frank and Matt drew from that story a bit for it, but we can get more into the parallels when we get there. A smaller but fun note is that Rosa had specific coin drawing templates, for different indentions and what not he used, and used them for the coins in these intro bits. Yes he admitted he has a problem and yes that’s damn impressive anyway. 

It’s Scrooge’s 10th birthday, and his father Fergus has taken him up to see the family land, Dismal Downs to tell him of the mighty Clan McDuck and show him the ancestral lands, graveyards and Castle. He admits to having taken this long because the Clan McDuck currently lives in Glasgow so it’s kind of a long trip just to show your son “Hey look at the decay and rot that’s our ancestral homeland”. The Clan is on hard times, as a bad shipping deal, the backbone of a rather good barks story and I wont’ be interjecting for every barks reference as it’d get rather tiring though for what it’s worth Rosa provided tons of detailed footnotes in the back of each Fantagraphics collection, so good on him. Speaking of which though they do include 10 pages of Mc Duck family history that was supposed to open this story.. until Rosa’s editor wisely pointed out the story isn’t about them but scrooge and having read his roug draft, yeah.. there’s a good gag here and there, as well as “Dirty” Dingus McDuck, scrooge’s Grandpa and the reason Dewey is cursed with that middle name. Why anyone thought Dingus was a good name is beyond me, nor why Donald thought that was a good middle name back in 2009 is again, beyond me. Good on Don though for getting that past the censors.  But yeah with no money they can’t buy the land back and they were scared off it years ago by a mystical ghost dog, the hound of the whiskervilles. There is treasure in the castle, Sir Quackly’s gold, but he accidently sealed himself into a wall while sealing his treasure in there. Their interrupted by the town assholes, the Whiskervilles who have been grazing sheep on the land and are naturally behind the hound, using the sound of it to scare off Fergus once they realize he’s a McDuck. Because apparently you can keep a Scooby Doo style hoax up for Centuries if you don’t have meddling kids around. Who knew.  Back in Glasgow, we meet the rest of Scrooge’s family: His Uncle Jake, his sisters Matilda and Hortense, and his mother Downy. Jake hasn’t really been mentioned at all in Ducktales and I know next to nothing about him, which given I share a name with the guy you’d THINK I would. I mean I know a decent amount about this Jake. 

But nothing about who the hell Jake McDuck is or why he lives with his brother and his family. Here, you guys watch the dancing Jake, i’m going to probably do that for hours after this review is done, i’m going to go sort this out.  Okay one google and finding the Scrooge Mcduck wiki page on him, Jake shows up here likely because he was referenced in the story “A Christmas For Shacktown” and apparently borrowed from Scrooge and never paid it back. Otherwise.. there’s not a lot about him and unlike the rest of Scrooge’s family he really dosen’t do much that I can remember. Except like 2017 Scrooge, he apparently has become extremely long lived, as Scrooge and Donald STILL think he’s alive in the 1950′s.. and likely is STILL alive in some form in the Don Rosa stories, given his take place after Barks and thus in the 40′s and 50′s where Barks stories were set. Hence why unlike the Reboot, Scrooge isn’t inexpecilbly over 210. But Jake McDuck sure as heck is. Maybe this highlander is a highlander.. you know the movie and tv show type. Maybe someone cut off his head. That’s what i’m going with.

This does bring me to another point about this story: While Barks gave all of scrooge’s family their names, it’s where Rosa got them after all, it’s Rosa who really made them into characters. Fergus as a loving father ashamed his family legacy has fallen and wanting his son to do better than him, Downy as an equally loving wife and mother, Matilda as his sweet and caring sister and later her brother’s moral center, and Hortense.. well here she’s just a babbling baby but her character will become clear and glorious as we go. She is adorable here though and we do get some great bits with her.  Getting back to the plot now i’ve made my points, Jake is riled up wanting to understandably kick the Whiskerville’s asses with Scrooge, who even as a sweet innocent ten year old still has the family temper already, agreeing.. but Downy gently shoots them out pointing that two middle aged-ish men and a 10-year old just aren’t enough to fight an army of them and while she doesn’t mention it the fight would just tire them out for work and accomplish nothing as while it is the McDuck’s land the combination of the hound and the lack of money to move back means it’s pointless. She also mentions their younger brother Pothole, who went to America. This will be important later. 

Scrooge storms off and Fergus laments, in a scene that’s more painful the more I think about it, how his clan has fallen, with he and his brother lamenting their chances at glory are long gone.. but Fergus has hope his son can do better, and for his son’s birthday makes him a shoeshine kit in the hopes of inspiring him to greatness. This scene still resonates since many of us are poor, struggling and not doing so good money wise. I’m sure many parents have doubts and regrets about not being able to do more for their kid.

 Not only that but the story carefully avoids the trap of Fergus accidently being abusive by you know, pinning his family’s future on one 10 year old. While yes he is asking a lot of Scrooge, to restore their family name.. it’s very clear he mostly just wants his son to do better than him. Even if Scrooge was just slightly more successful, Fergus would likely be happy with that. He’s not using the legacy as a “This what you must be” like say the Gems in steven universe did for Steven with Rose’s Legacy, the kind where it sort of suffocates you till youc an make it your own. He’s just saying “this is what you can be” He believes his child can be great and simply once him to reach his full potetial and is simply giving him a means to hopefully do so, a simple home made shoe shine kit. While Jake scoffs, the narration notes the idea isn’t worth a dime.. it’s worth THE dime. The dime that would set Scrooge’s destiny in motion. 

The next morning, Fergus goes to check up on his son and his new buisness but Scroogey’s having no luck and about ready to just quit, the poor child. Also Matilda is dragging her baby sister around like a doll and it’s entirely precious as it is funny. 

But as for those Dorty Boots, Matilda wonders why her dad dosen’t just tell Scrooge that Burt the Ditch Digger is coming. Fergus tells her to quite and then explains his plan: he’s sending Burt to scrooge, with an American dime Fergus and Matilda found, to teach his son a lesson: By giving him a hard days work, he’ll teach him what hard work truly means.. and by having Burt “cheat” him with the American dime, it’ll give him the motivation to keep going and to nto be as wide eyed and trusting. It’s a well meaning if harsh lesson, and the kind you’d expect from 1900′s parenting and fits the origin well: Scrooge still earned his first money square, as he still did work.. but his getting cheated being a lesson dosen’t diminish what it taught scrooge, and helps flesh out what I talked about above, Fergus knowing his son has great potential he just needs inspiration to reach it. And instead of just telling him that he does a con job but it’s the 1900′s. This orign, and Fergus’ part in it would be entirely untouched in Ducktales 2017, the first scrooge based adaptation since this comic came out, and I bless them for it. Frank even said this comic was used as a bible by the writers and while theirs clear deviations, and we’ll get to that, they were mainly done for good reason, and it’s very clear that while scrooge’s history is very VERY diffrent in the reboot, the core of his past is still there. 

So the plan is on and young scrooge spends half an hour killing himself to get Burt’s shoes clean before getting his dime.. and realizing he’s been had, makes this proud decleration that will be the bedrock of his entire life and character. 

Scrooge being naturally stubborn as you can see takes his cheats a leson: There will always be hard honest work, and he will be there to do it and he’ll be tougher and sharper than anyone trying to cheat him out of his pay. Fergus’ plan has the intended effect, and Scrooge having learned a hard lesson now has the drive and determination we know him for. As for why it gives it to him.. I had to think on it a bit but it makes sense: For some a setback like this would make them quit.. for Scrooge it’s just proof he CAN find customers, he CAN do this job, or any at his hardest and instead takes this as a lesson to be prepared ot out think and outfight anyone who dares cheat him again, and to not earn his money by being the kind of guy who cheats a kid out of an honest days pay, but as a good honest duck like his father and his father before him. =He will make his money square so he can be the kind of person this seeming stranger SHOULD have been. Granted we’ll see Scrooge doesn’t end up as the best person at times but .. we’ll get there.  So with the fire inside turned from a spark into the flame Scrooge soon got to work, and by the next panel we see he’s eventually worked his stand up from a small box given to him by his dad, to a three seater shoeshining bench, who he wipes all at once by stretching one of his mother’s girldes over a light pole, a detail I didn’t get the first time around but now love. Naturally being a good kind boy much like his Nephews, Scrooge always gave his proud father a portion of his earnings, if with a full receipt for tax purposes. Because he’s still scrooge after all. His dad wonders he did too good a job while Hortense glxbit’s in agreement. 

As the years go on, a now tween Scrooge is eventually able to save up for a horse cart, and starts selling Fire Wood up in the city. He eventually realizes Peat, an earthy subtance found in bogs I only know about because I had to look it up for this review, is more profitable and with some snappy marketing moves into selling Peat for the rich instead, also showing the young lad already has a grasp of how to sell to obnoxious rich people. 

But while his business is booming, our young hero can’t resist visiting his family’s ancestral home and longing for it, hoping one day to have it for himself and in a nice show of how despite his temper and tenacity forged over the last few years he’s still at hear the kind, sweet optimistic lad he was just a few pages ago, he decides to tidy up the Clan’s Cemetary while he’s here. 

Unfortunately as proof that Donald and Della’s terrible luck comes from both sides of the family the Whiskervilles are sub-glomgold levels of human beings.. or Dogfaces in this case, and are digging up the McDuck Clan’s graves to hunt for treasure. Scrooge tries to simply do the smart thing and flee, but the asshole brigade catch sight of him and mistkaing him for a peat burgalar chase after him.. and spend WAY too much time and energy chasing a teenage boy over some fucking bog grass you clearly aren’t selling yourselves. I mean spare a thought for how dumb this is: They could easily sell of of that peat to put up a fence or chop down some trees to get the material if their really that concerned about someone getting in the bog. Then again this isn the 1800 and 1900′s where the child death toll was simply “Yes”, so they likely thought whose gonna notice one more dead child on our property?

Scrooge heads toward the castle and is gestured in by a friendly mystery duck who gladly shows him around and can tell he’s a McDuck just by look, showing the castle is still in glorious condition as the whiskervilles are too spooked to go in, hence why they didn’t chase Scrooge inside. I’d say being afraid of ghosts but not murdering a child is weird but these are the same guys who thought murdering a child was plan A. We’re not dealing with a brain trust is what i’m saying.  So the mystery duck shows Scroogey around, showing off some colorful stories about his ancestors recycled from that scrapped prologue I mentioned. THe mystery man, who brushes off Scrooge thinking he’s a McDuck asks Scrooge what he’s doing to restore the family glory and while Scrooge points out he’s already working on it, Mystery Duck points out he’s still missing something: He has the drive and the dream, but peat and shoeshining, while getting him good money for his family, aren’t the thing you can build a fortune or a future off of. He then points out where Scrooge’s dime comes from: America.. and that gives the boy the idea to head to the states. As for what he could possibly DO there to start, the mystery guy mentions his uncle pothole. So Scrooge has the dream, the drive.. and now a plan: Go to america, work for his uncle on the riverboats, and work his way up from there till he finds his fortune and restores his family name.  But while his future is settled, the present is still an issue and Scrooge wants to teach the child murder club a lesson and thus borrows, though MM wisely points out it’s all his property a horse and some armor, and stuffs the armor with peat. As for what his plan is.. welllll

That.. is fucking awesome. And far from the last fucking awesome moment in this thing. It also shows off even as not quite a teen yet, Scrooge is still a badass already, and while he doesn’t have his trademark strength or fighting skills quite yet, his ingenuity is already there.. and that will always trump both. The Whiskervilles run away and into some quicksand and Scrooge vows to return one day as laird and reclaim his family land. But that’s a story for a few chapters down the line. As for who the mystery duck is, he’s naturally Sir Quackely himself, or rather his ghost, who was simply guiding Scrooge and didn’t give him the treasure as simply handing him the money wouldnn’t restore their family’s good name or continue their bloodline now would it? 

For now Scrooge returns to work for a bit before finding his way to America: A cattleboat to New Orleans looking for a Cabin Boy. And so Scrooge bids farewell to his family. His Dad, feeling bad he can’t even give his boy shilling, gives him the family pocketwatch with jake pitching in with the family gold dentures. While Scrooge naturally refuses to sell the watch, he does plan to sell the teeth as soon as possible for good reason. We then get some sweet goodbyes with him, his sisters (With hortense uttering her first words to everyone’s astonishment) and loving mother as he wonders just what awaits him in America. 

And there he stands on the bow of a ship, heading for a new land, in New Orleans he can be a new man. And we’ll see just what kind of man he becomes as this series continues. For now this is the end of a chapter but the beginning of a lifetime. 

Final Thoughts on Last of the Clan McDuck:

This story is excellent. While there are even better chapters to come, this one is still one of the most memorable and most joyous, showing just how Scrooge became what he is, where some of his values come from, others will be instilled along the way , and beginning to flesh out his family. We see Scrooge’s love of wealth comes from starting from the bottom, growing up with a family that barely had anything and badly needed everything, but was loving and instilled fine morals in him. We also see a Scrooge far removed from the bitter old man he is in present day, an optimistic naïve young lad who only wants best for his family. It’s a nice stark contrast to who he’ll become, good and bad, and a nice way to both compare him to Huey Dewey and Louie and break your heart as his own hardens before briefly turning black later on.  The art, as is standard for this series and Rosa, is breathtaking, and the story isn’t lacking in good jokes, their just downplayed so the story itself can take center stage. There’s nothing really more to say: it’s an excellent start to an even more excellent tale and stands proud among an already stellar story as one of it’s finest outings. 

NEXT RAINBOW: Scrooge goes down to the mighty Missipi to work on the riverboats and meets one of his signature Rogue’s for the first time in their first form, as well as Gyro’s dad.. or grandpa.. or possibly both I don’t know his family tree. Point is, tune in next time for some riverboat hyjinks.  Until then if you’d like to comission an episode of any animated show, especially ducktales and the various other duck related disney shows, or another Duck Comics story you really like from Rosa, Barks or whoever you want really, I take commissions for 5 dollars a review, with 5 dollars off your full order when you put in for more than one episode or issue. You can also follow me on patreon.com/popculturebuffet and for just two bucks a month get access to polls (which i’ll start once we have at least three patreons), and my exclusive discord server. And if you liked this review be sure to reblog it to show off. My self promotion done until next time: There’s always another rainbow. 

[cakejots]

Unstained, Chapter 2

After certain events that happened in the day, Chat Noir revealed to Ladybug that he knows who she is under the mask. Her reactions astounded him. After certain events that happened in the night, Ladybug unveiled to Chat Noir why she can’t do what he asked of her. His reactions astonished her.

Rating: T, Words: 6938. Chapters: 4/4

Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4

Read on AO3

“So, are you going to take my Miraculous away?”

“I suppose.”

Chat immediately stiffened his relaxed posture and whipped his head to look at her, moon-eyed. “You—”

“But, if that’s supposed to happen, I wouldn’t be here talking to you as Ladybug, would I?” Ladybug finally faced him with a small smile hanging on her lips.

Seeing her smile, Chat felt even more perplexed than he already was. “What do you mean?”

“I know who you are, Adrien.”

Adrien didn’t think his day would get any crazier, but it just did. “C-come again?”

“Adrien, that’s you under that mask. Marinette, that’s me under this mask. And I’m not going to take away your Miraculous, silly,” Ladybug, Marinette, teased. She seemed to be genuinely enjoying his reactions to all these.

“Sorry, but this is a lot to take in, I need a moment.” Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes to internalise this new information that Ladybu—Marinette just dropped on him.

“Take all the time you need, Minou. We have time. But—”

“But we need to move if there’s an Akuma attack,” he recited.

“You know me so well, but patrols rarely have those, so you’re good.” Her attention was now back to the glittery sky above.

Silence, until…

“My lady? M-Marinette? Argh, I don’t even know which to use now! This is all so new to me,” he whined and pulled his hair while making distressed faces.

“You can use whichever you want Chaton, we are still the same person under the masks,” she giggled.

“I’ve got a few questions if you don’t mind?” He asked with hope in his eyes.

“Of course not, go ahead.”

He started to fidget. “How did you find out?”

“Well, it wasn’t like I actively sought out your identity or anything. It just happened, to the point I simply couldn’t ignore it any longer,” she stated.

Chat was looking at her curiously. But he was listening attentively and signalling for her to go on, and she did.

“Wow this is such a long list, where do I even begin?” She mused.

“Start from your earliest memories of it?” He suggested.

“That’s a good idea. Remember when there was a design competition for bowler hats and your father—”

Chat gagged.

“—got to decide which is the winning piece you’ll wear for your next photoshoot?” Ladybug raised an eyebrow.

Chat’s eyes widened with realisation and nodded. “It was the first time we fought Mr Pigeon.”

“Yeah. And Chat Noir was sneezing non-stop due to the allergies he had against feathers. Guess who I found that had the same allergies after we defeated the Akuma?”

Chat blushed.

“But it wasn’t enough of an evidence to give away that you’re Chat Noir. After all, plenty of people are allergic to feathers.” He nodded. “Next, was when as Chat Noir, you worked with Marinette to take down Evillustrator.”

“Oh! So that’s your secret mission. How did I expose myself? I’m pretty different in and out of the mask.”

“Indeed you are. Thing is, no one knew Marinette and Chat Noir worked together that night. Yet, Adrien-you approached Marinette-me and asked what I thought about Chat Noir.”

“Please tell me there’s no more of my reckless behaviour that could possibly scream Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir,” he grimaced.

“You’ll be surprised,” she winked. And he groaned.

“Those two might have been coincidences, but not this next one. Does ‘Tom Style: Booyah!’ remind you of anything?”

“Wow I really need to stop being so careless, who would have thought!” Chat was hiding his face behind his hands.

Ladybug started listing more. “There’s also that time where Jagged Stone tried being a baker on a reality show, and basically flashed my room full of Adrien’s photos on national TV. And you were acting all smug about it the next day, very Chat-like might I add. And our train ride to London, Chat Noir—”

“Okay, okay, I get it. I leave tons of clues, sheesh.”

It was quiet again and Ladybug went back to admiring the many glimmers that hung above. Ladybug sensed a change in the mood surrounding them and hoped that he wouldn’t ask what she thinks he’d ask.

“So, how long have you known?”

And there it was. “You know how long, Adrien,” as if pleading him to drop the questioning.

“Yeah, but do you know since when?”

“S-since the first year we got our Miraculouses,” she confirmed, hugging her knees.

“Is there a reason why you didn’t tell me in the first instance possible?” He asked gently.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Adrien. I do, I really do, but Master Fu said… he said our identities must remain a secret.” Ladybug tried to reason with him.

“I know you do, and I have no doubt about that. And Master Fu did say that, didn’t he? But you still knew about Rena Rouge and Carapace.”

“They were needed for our battles, and you knew about Queen Bee.” But her determination was wearing thin, and she knew she wasn’t making any sense.

“And so did you.”

Ladybug kept quiet and was looking at everything else but Chat.

“Marinette, if identities were so important, Master Fu would have made sure you didn’t know about Rena Rouge’s and Carapace’s, you know that.” Adrien's voice was really soft, the softest it has been the whole day. “Queen Bee was an unfortunate case that the whole of Paris knows.”

She still wasn’t looking at him.

“Marinette, is there something you’re hiding?” Chat shifted towards her.

And yet, she didn’t utter a single word.

“My lady?” He had begun to hold her as he witnessed her eyes welling up.

She wiped her tears with the back of her hands, but they continued falling.

He looked at her earnestly before he went ahead to wipe her tears with his thumb, mindful of his claws. Chat then placed a hand at the back of her head, and pulled her into his embrace, rubbing circles on her back. He figured that if she didn’t want to talk about it, the least he could do was calm her down.

“I-I’m guessing that you figured out my identity this afternoon? When y-you were almost akumatised?” She started.

Ladybug felt a nod at her shoulder, and she continued.

She heaved a deep sigh and wrapped her arms around him. “In… in another timeline, we knew each other’s identities in the first year we got our Miraculouses. And we were in love.”

Chat went rigid with his ministrations.

“I… I don’t really know the details, but it… it was our love that destroyed the world.”

He felt a vicious chill spread through his core. Chat pulled back to look at Ladybug, eyes conveying desperation that this where it stopped, that it couldn’t possibly get any worse than this.

Ladybug held his gaze for a while before looking up. “This moon above us, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Chat didn’t know where this was going, but he looked up nonetheless. The moon was indeed very pretty, gleaming brightly against the clear blue-black sky that made sure all focus was on it.

“In that timeline, this very same moon was split into half," she paused. "By you. Akumatised you.”

Chat whipped his head back down to her, gaze wavering as a feeling of disorientation blanketed him.

Ladybug fiercely pulled him back into her embrace, instantly regretting the way she had delivered the news to him. “Do you see it now?” She wept. “The reason why I was so hesitant to reveal myself to you?" She gripped on him firmly, afraid that he'd run away.

Chat’s vision had turned blurry, and he squeezed her. “Then why did you reveal yourself now? If you knew this was going to happen.”

“I… I figure the reveal was going to happen sooner or later, and y-you were akumatised because of something entirely different. And honestly, I am so exhausted about everything.”

They basked in the silence together, sniffling and trying to stop their tears from flowing.

“So what are we going to do now?” Chat whispered.

“I really don’t know, I’m just glad that you didn’t get akumatised and I didn’t have to fight you.” She hugged him tighter than what he thought was possible.

Chat slowly pried himself away from her to look at her. With his hand at the back of her head, he pulled it forward and kissed her forehead. She froze.

“Adrien, what are you doing?”

“I love you.” Ladybug opened her mouth but he cut her to it. “You’re always thinking about others even while going through hell all by yourself. You’ve been through so much. I’m so sorry for not being there for you, and I thank you for sharing this with me, Marinette. I love you, so, so much. For being so brave, for being all that you are.”

Her tears flowed down her face like a river escaping a dam, comparable to the speed of her thoughts running through her mind. All the ‘could haves’ she might have experienced with Adrien if it wasn’t for her fears. And the possible devastation that may happen if she went ahead with what her alternate self did.

“Adrien, I don’t know if you know this, but I love you too, romantically. Ever since the first day we’ve met. But...”

To say that didn’t break his heart would have been the joke of the century, but…

“I understand Marinette,” he smiled weakly, “but please stop pushing me away. Even if not romantically, I want to be there for you every step of the way.”

“I’m doing fine Adrien...” She looked away.

Adrien felt disheartened. But he didn’t want to give up, not yet, never. He cupped her face to look at him.

“Marinette, you’ve been waiting all this time, haven’t you?” Marinette didn’t think Adrien’s voice could go even softer than before, but it did. “Since 3 years ago, for someone to save you from this helplessness, for someone to share this burden with you. Let me be that person for you.”

Marinette sometimes could perfectly explain what she saw in Chat. His desire to lighten up other people’s day, his unyielding trust in her, among many many others. But other times, she wasn’t able to, because it was indefinable. It’s just the way he was able to take her to places where no one else could. Maybe, it's time she finally let go of all the burdens she has had and shared them with someone, with her kitty.

“I’ll always be here, my lady.”

She raised her arms to hold his face in her hands—

“I am so sorry.”

—and pressed her lips onto his.

[thepaperpanda]

Naughty Sister || Alfie Solomons x Shelby!reader

Summary: You're a younger sister to Shelbys and you happen to be in love with Alfie. How it's going to end when your brothers catch you during intimate moments with Solomons?

Warnings: slight smut

Words: 2262

Request by: @shelby-maybe

Authors: Cass & Rouge

This was another family meeting, Tommy knew you hated them but there was no way out. You were part of the family so you had to be there.

"... I hope everything will go just as I planned, John. If not, Arthur will do something about it," Tommy muttered, looking at his brother, then his eyes traveled to Polly and you.

You were sitting right next to your aunt, looking curiously at the empty wall on your left. It was obvious that your mind was far beyond the walls of Shelby's house.

"I just hope Y/N here remember what I told her!," Tommy said loudly, hitting the table with his hand to get your attention.

"I guess Y/N took her mind on the vacations, Tommy," John said with a soft laugh, Arthur joined him soon.

"I can see that," Tommy said with a frown. "Mind to tell me what's so fucking interesting in this empty wall, sister?"

You blinked few times trying to bring your thoughts back. "Sorry, brother, I got a little distracted. I don't feel too well today as well," you rubbed bridge of your nose avoiding his glance. "Would you let me go back to the bedroom, I think that a little nap would help me get on tracks again," you asked politely.

Polly raised her hand up. "No, Y/N, it's not a time for napping. Focus on what your brother's saying, it's important," woman snorted and poked your knee.

"Listen to your aunt, girl. This isn't another tea party with your friends," Tommy said pointing at you.

"Exactly, those are bloody important things and you are away or suddenly don't feel well. It ain't the first time, and don't worry it'll over soon, you will be fine," Arthur added and Tommy nodded.

"Maybe she's gonna be on her period, eh," John joked openly and you showed him your middle finger. "Fuck you," you snorted at him and crossed legs nicely. "Go on then. Let's end this as soon as possible."

"Or maybe she is pregnant!," Arthur said and laughed.

"Naaah! Our little sister is too good for boys," John giggled, teasing you.

Tommy smiled softly and shook his head. "Okay, let's finish it so our princess can get her beauty sleep," he said before continuing the meeting. There wasn't much to talk about, you had to stay low when everyone else had their stuff to do.

After the meeting, Arthur looked at you as you were leaving the house. "I thought you said you don't feel well and now you are running off?," He asked in disbelief.

You looked at him above your shoulder and smiled. "It passed, I feel better now" you shrugged and looked at your reflection in a mirror hanging on the wall. You put lipstick on and checked if you looked nice. "Dont wait at me, I'll be long."

Arthur blinked and shrugged, looking at his younger brother.

"She left as soon as the meeting ended, suddenly she feels well? I don't like it," Tommy muttered, lighting his cigarette up. "If such a situation will ever happen again, I am afraid we will have to follow her."

"I can gladly follow Y/N. I bet our little sister is hiding something," John added slipping head to the room and looking at Tommy. "I can spy on her."

"For now we will observe her. Let's just hope our little sister didn't put herself in any trouble. I will inform boys, maybe they will notice something," Tommy said, looking at his brothers.

John pecked his lips nodding eagerly. "Good idea, Thomas."

-----------------

You were bending over the wooden desk, playing with lock of your hair.

"I couldn't stop thinking of you today, even my brothers noticed something ain't right."

"Don't you think it's kinda risky to come here after something like this?," Alfie asked, looking at you. "You brothers are fuckin' crazy, they are going to rip my balls off as soon as they see you with me," he muttered. "This was fuckin' stupid, pet, but I am glad you are here."

You sat on the desk and looked at him. "Alfie Solomons are afraid of my brothers, something new," you teased him a little. "Come here," you reached hand out to him.

"My balls are fuckin' important to me, love. So don't be surprised I am kinda worried about fuckin' Shelbys," Solomons said and grabbed your hand, pulling you on his laps. "I am the one that gives orders here."

"Yeah, you are until I'm sucking your cock," you reminded him kissing his jaw. "And ya know, I like playing with fire," you reached to his belt and unbuckled it. "And well, your balls are also important to me."

"Oh, are they now, pet? Well, we will see how talkative you will be with my cock shoved down your fuckin' throat, little Shelby," Alfie said with a smile on his lips, pushing you down on your knees.

-----------------

The whole situation with you kept repeating few times, you were excusing yourself or boldly sneaking out of the house on a daily bases. It was annoying everyone but especially Tommy, he never could reach you when you were needed because you were gone.

Finally, he had enough of your ridiculous behavior. "We are going to follow her, I am so fuckin' done with her sneaking out. Every fuckin' day," Tommy muttered, looking at Arthur.

Older Shelby nodded slowly. "I think it would be the best thing to do, if we truly want to find out where our little sister is sneaking out," he said.

Tommy nodded grabbing his coat. "Oi! John, you commin'?," He asked, putting on the coat.

Younger brother yawned. "Me? Of course I go! I wouldn't want to miss the drama!"

"Let's hope it won't be a fuckin' drama," Arthur said and followed his brothers.

Men followed you carefully, making sure to not alert you of their presence what so ever.

"Oh, you are fuckin' kiddin' me?," Tommy growled, seeing you entering Solomons' place.

You looked around before stepping into bakery. "Alfie!," You called happily. "Where are you, darling?"

As soon as you vanished into the building, John crossed arms over his chest. "Well, well, that's something unexpected, at least to me, guys," younger Shelby said openly rubbing back of his head. "What are we going to do now, eh?"

"Well, what do you think, eh?," Tommy said frowning. "We are goin' inside."

Arthur nodded. "I will rip this jew's head off if he ever touched her."

-----------------

"The same place as always, lady," one of the workers poked you, pretty annoyed. Everyone was used to you being here every day. "In his office."

You thanked politely and sent man a grin. Grabbing hems of your dress in hands you ran towards Solomons' office and stepped in without knocking. "Good day, mate," you whispered.

Alfie looked from some papers he had on his desk and smiled at you. "Good day to you as well, pet. Is everything okay, you got here earlier than usual?," He said, getting comfortable in his chair. "Missed me?"

You walked to hip with a certain swing in your hips only to take a seat on his lap. "Well," you looked at the ceiling, pretending to be thinking. "Yes. I missed my man so fucking much that I skipped my violin classes to meet him, innit romantic, my love?"

Alfie laughed nodding. "Oh, so fuckin' bad, girl. What happened to this little innocent girl I once met?," He joked, looking at you.

You stroked his cheek with your thumb. "You spoiled me, Alfie," you said as your impatient hands started to unbuckle his leather belt.

"Well, then I think I will have to teach you a fuckin' lesson, you brat," Alfie said watching your hands. "Eager as always, go on, little one."

You got off his lap only to kneel between his legs.

Meantime John and his brothers came to the bakery.

"Where the fuck is she!?," Arthur growled, grabbing one of the working men.

"The office…," Man answered quickly and Tommy nodded. "Let's go, pay Alfie a visit. Shall we, boys?"

"With a fuckin' pleasure, Tom," the oldest Shelby said and went to the office as first, with Tommy and John right behind him.

John was already red on his face. "I sense the drama, Thomas!," He whispered shivering.

Meantime you shoved Alfie's cock deep down your throat humming around the shaft.

Alfie only hummed happily as his hand held your hair tightly, it took him a bit to realize that your brothers actually stood in the same room. "Oh fuckin' shit... The hell you fuckin' idiots do here!?"

"YOU ARE FUCKIN' KIDDING ME!," Tommy yelled while Arthur simply turned on his hill and left the room, probably to not murder you or Alfie on the spot.

You gagged a little and quickly slipped Alfie's out of your mouth. "Tommy.... John...," You whispered with eyes wide opened.

"Yes! Fuckin' us! What the fuck you are doin', sucking off this motherfucker?!," Tommy growled.

"Hey, calm the fuck down, mate," Alfie said.

"No, you fucking shut up, mate, before I decide to decorate walls of your fuckin' office with your own brain. You," Tommy pointed at you. "Get the fuck out of here. Go to Arthur."

You wiped your lips from Alfie's precum and slowly got up on your feet, shaking head like you'd have been saying "no". "I won't go anywhere. I stay here."

Tommy rolled his eyes. "John, please."

John simply nodded and walked to you. He was taller and stronger than you so he easily picked you up, John threw you over his shoulder and walked out with you.

"Now you…," Was all you could hear Tommy saying.

John walked out of the bakery and joined Arthur. "Are you out of your fuckin' mind kid, eh? What the fuck was that?!," Arthur asked.

You struggled with your older brother. "Put me down, coward! Put me fucking down and I'll rip your heart off!," You were screaming.

People who were passing by glared at the sudden situation and chaos.

"I want go back to my man! Put me down, John! I love Alfie! You won't be deciding by me!"

John put you down. "Arthur asked you a question, girl and yes we will. You are Shelby, you won't be meeting someone like this."

"He is right, Tommy will sooner kill him than let you met with him again," Arthur muttered, looking around. "What are you all looking at! Not your fuckin' business," he yelled at people.

"Arthur, brother," you grasped his elbow and looked up at him. "I bet once you were in love, just like me now. Please, don't punish me for listening to my heart. I fell for him and nothing will change it. Listen to me, and if you love me, like your little sister, let me live my life the hell I want."

Arthur looked at you. "Tommy will decide what to do with you, sister," he told you bluntly.

John only laughed quietly. "You fucked up."

After a few minutes, Tommy joined you all. "Fine, ready to go?," He asked simply.

"I ain't going anywhere. I want to go back to Alfie," you stated firmly. "What the hell have you done, brother?"

"Arthur," Tommy muttered.

"Sorry, sis," the oldest Shelby said and picked you up the same way that John did few minutes before.

While you walked, Tommy looked at you. "For now you will sit home, we'll think what to do with your great Jewish love," he muttered. "I guess I will have to talk with aunt about this," he said pulling out the cigarette.

"With Polly? There's nothing to be talked about with her, Thomas!," You growled. "I want to go back to my love."

All three men ignored your whining until you all got home.

Tommy ordered to close you in your room and make sure you won't run away. In the meantime, he went to talk with Polly about the whole situation. Tommy didn't like it even a little but he also couldn't completely close you off.

-----------------

After an hour, Tommy walked into your room.

You were sitting on the floor under the window, knees pulled beneath the chin. Quiet sobs were escaping your mouth.

"You can stop that now, Y/N," Tommy said walking up to you. "I talked with aunt Polly," he informed you.

"And? What? You'll lock me here like a princess in a tower and Arthur is going to play a dragon in this stupid spectacle?!"

"I think you are a bit too old for such metaphors," he chuckled darkly and ruffled your hair. "Better fix this ruined make up and run to your jewish knight."

You blinked. You felt how your blood turned cold within second. "What did you say, Tommy?," You asked frowning.

"Go run to your love," Tommy said with a shrug. "As I said, I talked with Polly. We came to the conclusion that you can be in love and we can benefit."

You grinned and quickly got up from the floor, you rushed to the wardrobe to look for a fresh dress. "I’d say it's awful from your side but I won't complain as long as I can be meeting him. And Tommy. I really love him. He's a good man to me."

"I ain't sure if Arthur would say that. I won't say that eather," Tommy said walking past you.

You shook your head and started getting ready.

It was the very first moment when you felt the sparkle of hope for better tomorrow.

Pandies🐼: @imidarogerson @grossograsso @thewildgardensstuff @leven-and-ashley @la-verdura @bearded-steve-rogers @sebbystan-plantlover @atuckyismylife @krispyjellyfishzombie @personality-within @haseki-huricihan  @choppedgardenwhispers @vroobelek @lattimelka @chris-beamz @hidden-secrets69 @purepearls @volcanoxxx @kastrup-sofie @mikkal-akasaki @withoutashadowofhope @radbluebirdeagle @marvel-fan-site @smutloversblog @buquete @super-psycho-love69 @tanglesss @peter-sommer @baysidewest @vegemania @philip-stan @chodiusmmm @subwaystunnel @tykorclint @dagger-dragger @kurant @nothing-can-least-forever @oxfordkipem @deliciousbouquet90 @tuptuptup @hellenna80 @karina-marina9 @latimeriaaa @bratko @wurld89 @scott-evans @kiss-me-rouge @ovonel-espaniol @dancing-tacco @ratugadhi @white-tiger-shangrila  @axn69 @eternal-life-awaits @mrs-laura-harmon​ @artsy-inside @gleeeeees  @darkllaama @jatut @agawux @fuzzy-tigrrr​ @jrjohnsson2​ @maaargoshaaa​ @dontgetmewrongman​ @einexx​ @nwmtagsb​ @anini71​ @secretlygrantaire​ @kyloren-supreme-ben​ @infinity-stones-seeker​ @thehappyspider​ @wings4life​ @huxyluxy​ @dontbeafraidchild​ @misafiryanki​ @electronicpatrolcollective​ @thisismysecrethappyplace​ @aulika​ @hidden-secrets69​ @a-happy-wolf​ @creative-seahorse​ @biologyforliving​ @stareyedplanet​

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Robin and Gale Hood; Ben Hardy x reader Chap. 4

*Author’s note*

After thinking about how in some versions of Robin Hood they expand more on the Merry Man and how Disney’s only version doesn’t (just has Robin hood and little John) so I’ve decided to rectify that and add more members of the Merry Men.  Now these names are actually the names of other members (well except for one name I had along with keeping the original name) so here’s the final cast list of what I have in store for you all.

Cast list:

The Scotsman: Richard Madden

David of Doncaster: Jamie Bell

Gilbert Whitehand: Taron Egerton

Friar Tuck: Brian May (think early 1990′s Bri)

Chapter 4,

Sherwood forest

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things​

@waddles03​

@psychosupernatural​

@ixchel-9275​

@simonedk​

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​

@queensdivas​

@queendeakyy​

@wormzteef​

@geek-and-proud​

@queen-paladin​

___________________________________________________

Gale Hood was riding along back to Sherwood forest to meet up with her brother and Little John, and along the way three more lovely chaps came riding up behind her and called out to her.

“Oi Gale!” cried out a handsome dark haired, blue eyed Scotsman riding a pure black stallion.  She turned and smiled and said.

“I see you gentlemen have returned from your voyage. Tell me how were the other towns?” she asked the men.

“About the same as Nottingham is. I fear that if Prince John isn’t stopped he’ll suck the taxes out of not just Nottingham but all of England.” Said a young Welsh man with a tuff of brown hair riding a white horse.

“We’ll find a way Gilbert. One way or another. So how were the Sharpe’s Gale?” said the third gentleman with long shoulder length brown hair riding a brown horse.

“Veronica will soon be feeling better thanks to the medicine you helped me find David.”

Guess I should explain to you gentle readers.  These three dashing young men are also apart of Robin and Gale’s Merry men.  Sure there have been many tales of just Robin and Little John, but in this story we’re going to shed some light on some more members of the Hood sibling’s gang.

The Scotsman, well that’s really his name in the gang.  He was wanted for such crimes back in his Scotland home, that he rid his real name forever and just went by ‘The Scot’.  But every now and then he would be called ‘Kit’ by our gang of outlaws.  

At first he wasn’t even permitted to join the group (mostly because the Scots and the English didn’t really like each other) less he bested Robin Hood in fair combat (to which he did).

The second chap on the white horse is known as Gilbert Whitehand. He is really the only person (besides Gale) that is up to Robin’s skill with a bow and arrow.  He has a keen eye and it is said he can even shoot an arrow without even looking at the target.

He can be quick and rash at times, especially when it’s about protecting the poor people but when need to he can be reasoned with and is above all else loyal to a fault.

The third gentleman with the long brown hair is David of Doncaster.  He’s more like the voice of reason of the band.  Whenever tempers fly or someone’s about to get killed (and it has happened before on an occasion or ten) David is the one there to make the peace.  He and Gale were especially close since they both had a similar experience on how their mother’s were killed when they were kids.

He’s also been her confidant (basically he’s her Little John in a way) especially when James left for London and she was heartbroken.

“That’s good.” There was silence through the air, an awkward silence.  So much so that Gale stopped her khaki colored mare and turned towards the three men whose horses stopped and let out a few nickers and neighs at the sudden stop.

“I know what you three are thinking. And believe me I already know.”

“Know what?” asked David.

“Yeah we-we-we don’t know what you’re talking about.” Gilbert tried to play off.

“Don’t lie to me boys. I know that James and Marian are back.”

“What?!” they all faux out innocently.  They then each began to say how they didn’t hear about it.

But one look from Gale and they broke down and all said that they knew and heard about it from the town’s over.

“You lot are so adorable.”

“Well it’s just that…..we look at you as our own little sister and well—when James left never did I want to beat the shit out of royalty before.” Gilbert said.

“Yeah and that would’ve gotten you a front row seat to the hangman’s noose.” David said.

“Look we know how happy he made you and—how miserable you were the first few months lassie. So we—but secretly we’ve been thinking that maybe with him back in Nottingham you both could……”

“I’ll stop you right there Kit. It’s been over 6 years since he left. And in that time with him being the next in line he’s destined to find a woman of royalty to marry and support an heir. There’s no future for us anymore.”

“Gale…….”

“You know as well as I do David. Besides he’s probably forgotten all about me.”

“If he had Gale, then why would he give you his family’s ring?” Gilbert asked.  Gale clenched the ring around her neck into her fist.

“Robin and Little John are waiting for us. We can’t keep them waiting.” She urged her mare onward.

The three gents looked at one another sympathetically for their female leader but urged their horses onward.

When they got back to the entrance of Sherwood forest. Which lay right by a medium sized water fall.  They got off their horses and took the saddles off before sending them off back into the woods.

One by one they walked across the stone-cobbled path that stood over the water before entering behind the waterfall and walked through a tight cave entrance.

And there in the middle of the vast extension of the forest was a campsite with laundry hanging to dry, a few tables and chairs, and a large fireplace surrounded by stones and rocks to keep the flames from spreading.

“YOU’RE BURNING THE FOOD!!” Little John’s voice exclaimed.

“Uh-oh. He’s at it again.” Kit muttered.  The four of them walked around a large tree and there was Little John fanning a smoking pot with one of his newly washed clothes.

“Sorry Johnny. Guess I was thinking about Maid Marian again.” Robin said as he wiped his shirt of the soot and ash from the burned dinner. “I can’t help it……I love her John.”

“So you’ve heard too brother?” Gale’s voice soon spoke up. Robin and Little John turned and when they saw the rest of their gang and family arrive, Robin nodded.

“Yeah. And I assume you—”

“Please not—I don’t want to hear another word of it.”

“Look why don’t you two stop pining and moaning about just marry those two already will yah?” Little John said as he tried to cool down and save the burnt food.

“Marry them?!” the siblings exclaimed.

“You don’t just walk up to a girl, hand her a bouquet and say ‘hey remember me? We were kids together will you marry me?’ No. It just isn’t done that way.” Robin said as he mimed out his first statement before turning away solemnly and going to check the laundry.

“Oh c’mon Rob, climb the castle walls. Sweep her off her feet. Carry her off in style.” Gilbert said.

“It’s no use Gilbert, I’ve thought it all out and it just wouldn’t work. Besides what have I got to offer her?” Robin sighed.

“Well for one thing you can’t cook.” Little John said as he sniffed the food before trying to save the taste by dumping some water into it.

“I’m serious lads, she’s a high born lady of quality.”

“So the lass has class. So what?” Kit said.

“I’m an outlaw that’s what!” Robin shouted as he hung the shirt Little John used to fan the food back over a tree branch. “That’s no life for a lovely lady always on the run. What kind of future is that anyways?”

Gale looked at her brother solemnly before looking down at Prince James’ ring and clenched it in her palm.

“Oh for heaven’s sake son!” a voice suddenly cried out. Robin fell into the laundry basket and when he looked up he saw standing before him was the good Friar of Nottingham, Friar Tuck.

He was a middle aged man that stood about 6’2. Surprisingly for a Friar, he had wild curly dark hair.  He was a kind hearted soul who not only gave his life into helping the poor people of Nottingham in this time of crisis, but he also was a father figure to our gang of outlaws.

In fact Robin and Gale’s mother had asked the Friar to watch over her two children before she died and he kept that word like it was the word of God.

“You and your sister aren’t outlaws. Why someday you both will be called great heroes.”

“A hero?” laughed Robin. “You hear that sister? We’ve just been pardoned.”

“Well that’s a gag. We hadn’t even been arrested yet.” Gale said releasing the ring from her grip.  Friar Tuck walked up to her and gently ruffled her hair as he said.

“Alright laugh and doubt an old Friar you young rouges. But I swear to you there’s going to be a big to-do in Nottingham.” He then walked over to the stewpot, took the spoon that Little John was using and took a small sip of it.

Before anyone could have a chance to warn him that the stew was beyond repair, he started coughing and tears began to stream down his face.

“Well done ain’t it?” he croaked out.  David quickly prepped a cup of water and handed it to the good Friar who took it and rinsed out the bad after taste of the burnt stew.

“You’re lucky your cooking didn’t kill him.” Gale hissed lowly to her brother.

“Like you’re any better at cooking than I am.” Robin sneered back.

“No need for arguments children.” Friar Tuck gently scolded as he cleared his throat.

“Sorry Friar.” The two rebels said solemnly like two children being caught doing something naughty.

“Anyway. I bring news from the minstrel.”

“Ahh. And what does ol Alan O’Dale sing about these days?” asked Gilbert as he perched up along his favorite tree branch.

“Tomorrow, Prince John is hosting a championship archery tournament.”

“Archery tournament. Ha! Robin, Gale and I could win that standing on our heads with our eyes closed.” Boasted Gilbert as he fiddled with one of his black tipped arrows and gave a wink at the siblings.

“Oh Gilbert you flatterer. But I’m sure we’re not invited.” Gale said.

“No. But there will be a couple people who’ll be disappointed if you don’t come.” Friar Tuck said as he took another sip of the water.

“Oh yeah. Like ol bushel britches the ‘honorable Sheriff of Nottingham’.” Little John mimicked the Sheriff’s deep monotoned voice.

“And of course let’s not forget the ruler of this land Prince John. ‘Mummy!’” Kit mimicked as he began to suck his thumb.

“No……Maid Marian and Prince James.”

“Marian?” Robin said in shock.

“And James?” Gale whispered in the same tone.

“Yes. The prize along with a golden arrow is that she’ll also be giving a kiss to the winner.” Friar Tuck winked at the rest of the band before softly chuckling.

“A kiss to the winner?” Robin gasped happily. “Oo-de-lally! C’mon you lot what are we waiting for!?” Robin cheered ecstatically.

“Wait a minute now Robin! What if this is a trap? You know how both Prince John and the Sheriff both want your head for different reasons. What if this is some plot to lure you out?” David warned.

“You underestimate me my dear David. Besides, faint hearts never won fair lady. So fear not my friend, this will be my greatest performance!”

“Where’s Gale?” Little John soon spoke up.  As the six men looked around, they did notice that their only female rouge was in fact missing.

“I’ll go find her.” Robin said.

“Pardon me Robin, but allow me to go find your sister.” Friar Tuck offered.  Robin, secretly knowing that his own sister probably didn’t want to talk to him, allowed Friar Tuck to go search for his sister.

Further down the trail that Friar Tuck used to enter Sherwood Forest, he found Gale sitting among a field of veronica flowers.  Friar Tuck smiled solemnly and walked up towards her and said.

“It is said that the Veronica flower symbolizes fidelity and love. I even saw Prince James pick up a few of these flowers when he and Marian first arrived back to Nottingham. And I could tell that he was thinking of you.” Gale continued to look down at the flowers, fiddling with the purple buds within. “You doubt my words my dear?”

“No. I believe it.” She muttered.  Friar Tuck looked at her with soft eyes. “Friar Tuck……was it my fault for loving him?”

“Love is not a fault. Nor is it a flaw.” She looked at him confused.  He did sometimes like to talk in strange riddles and tongues and it sometimes did get annoying to her when he did that, especially to her. “I also seem to recall seeing the scar on his chin from when you first met and you knocked that rock against his handsome face.”

That at least got a smile out of Gale.  A real smile to which the good Friar softly chuckled.

“Listen my child;” he placed his arm over her shoulders and the two looked at each other as he continued, “Love is a deep magic that is the most powerful thing the good Lord has given us. It helps us define right from wrong. And governs all of our destines. Yours, mine, your brother’s, as well as Marian and James.”

“But what if he’s forgotten about me?”

“If he had then he never would’ve come back with Marian.”

“And what about forgiveness?” she said sadly as she looked down, tears filling her eyes.  Friar Tuck gently wiped a hidden tear from the corner of her eye and he said.

“My sweet Gale. I understand your fear about meeting James after what happened between the two of you. But I need you to also consider of what James has gone through. My good friend King Richard has told me of how depressed his son has become since that day.”

“You really think I should go see him, don’t you?” she asked after a long silence between the two of you.

“It’s not my place to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. You are a mature, beautiful young woman. All I ask is that you make the choice that you won’t regret making.” He tucked a strand of her wild black hair behind her ear before placing his hand against her cheek.

She nuzzled against his warm palm before Friar Tuck placed his forehead against hers.

The two of them remained in that position.  Gale Hood drawing strength and love from the good Friar who had been the only father figure she had ever known in her whole life.

He gave her a gentle and loving kiss to her forehead before standing back up and left her to return to the church.  Gale looked down at the ring and unhooked the chain from her neck.  She let it drop down to her palm and she looked down to admire the family crest.

The proud lion staring right into her very soul.  As tears poured down her face, she placed the ring to her lips before finally for the first time in years, placing the ring back onto her left thumb (since it was the only finger it would fit on her).

When she returned back to her camp, her brother was the first to look up at her.  The others soon followed and the men waited patiently for her to speak.

“Whatever you lot have hatched up—I want in.” Robin walked up to his sister and asked her.

“You sure?”

“I’ve been wallowing in self-pity and guilt for years. I—I want to finally clear my conscious and finally face my past head on.” Robin smiled at his little sister and pressed his forehead against hers, their noses grazing one another’s.

“I’m proud of you sister. We’ll get through this together.” Gale nodded and repeated.

“Together forever.”

“Never apart.” Robin whispered.  He then came around to her side, slinging his arm over Gale and he said. “Gents, slight change to the plan now. We’ve got ourselves a new actor in our midst. Here’s what will happen now.”

Throughout the night, our band of rouges rehearsed and rehearsed their upcoming performance and this time both Robin and Gale would get the closure they needed.  

Finally reuniting with their childhood lovers and hopefully rekindle the flames that they feared were long extinguished.

[gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights]

Rating: T

Chapter Summary:  Chat Noir brings up some renovations the base could use. Also, he and Ladybug flirt decide to study together.

Word Count: 2065 | Chapter 2/?

XXX

It was almost funny—in a twisted sort of way—how she could go from fighting for her life to panicking about her grades.

Today’s akuma had struck while she was supposed to be studying for her first physics exam.  Even with Rena Rouge and Carapace providing backup, the fight through Lord Labyrinth’s twisting maze had taken three hours.  

And, to top it off, she was stranded on the opposite side of the city.

“I’m sorry, Marinette,” Tikki said, curled up into a ball in her palms.  “You’re sure you don’t have even a crumb left?”

She patted her empty pockets.  “Nothing.”  

Tikki had already eaten her five backup macarons, two emergency protein bars, and even a crepe she’d snagged with the last of her change.  She couldn’t afford much more on a university budget.  Tikki didn’t always need to recharge after using Lucky Charm anymore, but she also couldn’t go on forever.

“The hideout is closer than your school, right?  We could stop there, then I can transform you and get you home.”

“Good idea, Tikki.”  Marinette pressed a quick kiss to her head before slipping her into her backpack, which had reappeared once she’d detransformed.  The heavy weight of her laptop and notebook pulling on her shoulders only added to her exhaustion.

“There’s a good entrance the next street over…”

Soon enough she was dropping down into the damp sewer.  In comic books, didn’t the heroes have cool hideouts?  But she couldn’t complain.  Chat may have been the one to suggest the location, but she’d agreed that it was the safest bet.  At least it would be a place she could rest for a minute.

The secret base was disguised from the outside, thanks to Rena Rouge’s new long-lasting illusion.  Marinette could only spot the door by looking for a specific pattern in the wall—four slightly shimmery bricks at about eye level.  She still patted the wall in three different places before brushing the secret handle.

“Finally,” she breathed, fumbling for the padlock.  Once she pulled it just out of the illusion’s range, she could enter the password.  Four letters, one on each dial.

HOME.  She’d thought it was too obvious, but Chat Noir had teared up once he’d seen the lock’s default password, and she couldn’t bring herself to change it.

With the lock still in hand, she stepped into the room— 

—Only to hear someone yelp and fall off the couch.

“Who is it?  Who’s there?”  Chat Noir’s voice rang out.

Marinette nearly jumped back and slammed the door.  But thankfully, Chat’s hand was covering his eyes. 

His ungloved hand.  Thankfully, he’d at least had the sense to cover his miraculous with some kind of… hair scrunchie?  Oh well, whatever worked.

“Don’t look!”  She said redundantly.  If he’d gotten a glimpse of her, it was already too late.

“I won’t, I pawmise.”

She took her fake mask from its hook and slipped it over her face.  Then she shoved her backpack and shoes into the cabinet labeled LADYBUG, exchanging them for a long green hoodie that was too big to wear in public.  Thankfully it was cool down in the sewers, even during the late summer. 

The wooden cabinet door hadn’t been the product of a Lucky Charm, and it hung at a lopsided angle when she shut it.

“Alright.”  She sighed.  “You can look now.”

Chat Noir dropped his arm and stood, his eyes widening beneath the fabric mask as he took her in.  

Strangely, she wanted to squirm under his gaze.  It wasn’t like she looked that different outside of her suit, and the fake mask would still hide her identity.  But Chat’s eyes… the black fabric didn’t change his scleras, and she found herself transfixed by the new shade of spring green.  She hadn’t seen him like this since they’d swapped miraculouses while fighting against Reflekta and Reflekdoll.

“What?  Hotter than you expected?”  He grinned, flexing his arm under his Ladybug-themed hoodie.  At least he’d been smart enough to bring an outfit change too.

“Trying to win me over by buying my merch now?” She raised an eyebrow.  Pretty eyes or not, he was still Chat Noir.  She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of getting flustered.

“No, I’m trying to win you over by being pawsomely charming. This,” he tugged at the hem of his hoodie, “is just because I have taste.”

“I guess I can’t fault you there.”  She stepped over to him and straightened the drawstrings hanging from his hood.  It was still weird, seeing him in normal clothes, being forced to confront the fact that Chat Noir was a regular university student, just like her.  She knew that, of course, but with his over-the-top puns and flirting, it sometimes felt like he belonged in a comic book.

“We need a doorbell.  You could’ve seen me before I had the chance to put on my mask.”  She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of that sooner.  She’d assumed heroes would stop here individually, or arrive transformed.  It wasn’t like her to miss such an obvious problem; the stress of classes must be getting to her.

“You could’ve just knocked, you know.”  He smirked.

“...I didn’t expect anyone to be here,” she admitted, face heating.  “The lock was still on.  How did you even get in?”

“I had Plagg put it back on just in case I ended up taking a catnap.  But don’t worry about it, bugaboo.  We’ll both be more prepared next time.”

His smile hit differently outside of his transformation.  Stupidly, she found herself just staring into his eyes again.

“Great, now we’re going to have to watch the lovebirds in person.”  Plagg gagged from his spot on the counter.  It didn’t stop him from swallowing a wedge of cheese immediately after, though.

“And I’m going to have to smell you in person,” Tikki said, waving her arm in front of her face.

“We’re in a sewer!  How much stinkier can it get?”

Marinette laughed.  It wasn’t often she got to see Plagg, much less him and Tikki together.

“When it comes to month-old camembert, it can always get stinkier,” Chat said.  “Trust me.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”  Marinette didn’t have a very good sense of smell, anyway.  That was convenient when your secret base was located in the sewers.

“I think we’ll be fine coming here without our suits as long as everyone knocks first,”  Chat said, plopping back down on the couch.  “We’ve already got changes of clothes that won’t identify us.  Rena and Carapace dropped theirs off when they were adding their improvements yesterday.”

“Improvements?”  Marinette raised an eyebrow, not that he could see under her mask.

“I told them it would be okay; I didn’t think you’d mind.  Carapace just thought it would be smart to put a Shellter around the Miracle Box.  The kwamis can phase through it with their miraculouses, but no one can reach inside to steal them.”

She stepped up to the entertainment center and opened the cabinet with the miracle box.  Sure enough, there was a glowing green barrier around the red egg.

“That’s a good idea, but… what if the kwamis don’t know they’re needed?  They can’t hear us when they’re inside their magical world.”

Chat’s face fell.  It was weird, not seeing his ears and tail droop, but the rest of his body language was still so expressive.

“I didn’t think of that.”

“It’s okay.”  She stepped over and put a hand on his shoulder.  “It really was a good idea.  You didn’t know.”  

Master Fu had given her more training on being the Guardian than he had Chat Noir.  All the Master said on the matter was that Chat’s schedule wouldn’t allow it.

He nodded.  “I’ll have him take it down next time I see him.”

Maybe they could still use Shellter in other ways; she’d have to think about that.  If only all four of them could control the shield.  That would make an excellent way to protect the base.

“You said Rena made some changes too?”

“Oh, right!”  He sprung up again, then vaulted over the back of the couch to reach the kitchen.  Apparently he was athletic even without the suit.  “She brought some cooking supplies.  Also, she was asking if we had any plans to add a bathroom.”

“A bathroom?  This isn’t a hotel.”  Marinette rubbed her temples.  She wasn’t a plumber.  She couldn’t just Lucky Charm up a functioning toilet.

Plagg let out a loud burp.  “She’s right.  Who needs a fancy kitchen or a bathroom when you’ve got a fridge full of cheese?”

Chat glared at him.  “Some of us aren’t magical kwamis who never need to pee.”

“That’s what the sewer’s for, isn’t it?”

“Not that kind of sewer!”  He smacked his forehead.

Marinette was doing her best not to burst out laughing.  Chat Noir might wear the clown suit, but Plagg was the clown suit.

“I’ll see if I can come up with anything,” she assured him.  Having a bathroom down here would be nice, though she didn’t know how to pull that off yet.  There was a locker room for sanitation employees that they could probably use, but it would be risky, whether they went suited up or not.

This was supposed to be just a simple meeting place.  She should’ve known that doing anything with Chat Noir couldn’t be simple.

Maybe we should’ve gone with his first idea of renting an apartment, she thought as she poured herself a glass of milk.  It looked like Alya had brought disposable cups along with the griddle, spatulas, and utensils strewn on the counter.  She really should try Lucky Charming up some drawers.  Or at least break out the dragon miraculous and cut a few more cabinets into the rock.

“So what brings you here, anyway?”  Chat asked while lounging against the counter.  “Hoping you’d run into a handsome black cat?”

He slicked his hair back in a way he probably thought was suave.  Instead he just ended up skewing his mask, and he blinked in surprise.  Or maybe winked.  It was hard to tell with the fabric covering up one of his eyes.

“Tikki needed a break before heading home.  You saw how many Lucky Charms I used today.”  She held out her cup, letting Tikki dunk her cookie in it before she took another sip.

“You were amazing.  Building a trebuchet out of the pieces it gave you?  Genius.”

She punched him lightly.  “Flatterer.”

“It’s not flattery if it’s true, my lady.”  He winked.

Stop that, she told her heart when it picked up its pace.  It didn’t listen, especially when he leaned in towards her.

It’s those stupid eyes.  Those stupid, gorgeous eyes.

“I still can’t believe you launched my staff at just the right angle to hit the akumatized object over the wall. You wouldn’t happen to be a physics major, would you?”

“A what?”  She blinked before his words actually sunk in.  Then she nearly dropped her cup of milk on the counter.  “Oh no!  The physics exam!”

“...So that’s a yes?”

“No.”  Her face flopped on the stone counter.  Ow.  “I’m terrible at physics.  I just have to take the intro class, and I was supposed to study for the test today, but then Lord Labyrinth took forever and,” she took a deep breath, “I just really don’t want to.”

She’d never procrastinated in her life.  Well, not on purpose, anyway.  She just had too much to do to afford it.

“Even superheroes need breaks, you know.”  He rubbed her shoulder, his touch gentle without his claws.  “But if you do want to study… could I help you?  I’ve took a few physics classes last year.  They were a-mass-ing.”

“Really?”  They didn’t talk much about their school lives—mostly for identity reasons, but also because they usually didn’t have the time.  She never would’ve picked him out as a science guy.  Theatre, maybe.

“Yeah.  You could say I had a lot of potential.”  

She groaned.  “Oh no.  I can’t take cat puns and science puns.  If you keep this up, I’ll just take my chances with failing.”

“What?  Do you think there’s too much friction between us?”

“Chat.” She glared on principle, even though she had to admit that one was almost funny.

“Alright, alright, I’m done.”  He grinned.  “Grab your notes and we can get started.”

[kisilinramblings]

Does Chat Noir could feel on his "cat ears" (and tail-belt) Because in Anansi he seemed to be in pain when Anansi pulled it. Or is it just end dub thing?

I had to rewatch the scene since I didn’t remember it well. I also picked the FR dub to watch and he is indeed a bit “in pain” like when you pull someone’s hairs.

 It reminds me when Lady Wifi tried to pull LB’s mask and the mask just magically stays on the her skin and doesn’t come off, but it still pulls her skin.

So the ears are as magical as their costume, I guess. It’s not the material that gives pain but rather the skin on which the material is magically attached. I guess it could happened if anyone pulled Rena Rouge or Bunnyx’s animal themed ears as well. However, the bell and belt are removable since they are additionnal accessories the Holder subconsciously chose for their costume. 

But remember it is a cartoon, so they like to play with visual comedy as well like when Chat Noir pets his tail after it being pulled in Stormy Weather. It’s just a visual gag the storyboarder added.

So, it is not much of a second skin either. But the ears and the tails are more visually apparent and when you are trying to show emotions in a cartoon, they migth as well move to better convey the character’s emotions. Like Astérix’s helmet wings. 

Notice how they slightly adjust position if Astérix is on his guard, confused, angry, powerless and off-guard even though they are not magical. This is cartoon logic. If an inanimated object is an integral part of a character’s design, they will become an extension of that character and will be animated to reflect the character’s emotion. Just the way Chat Noir’s ears and tail can move. 

[indefinableship]

RTR Red Deer

So, I went to the Red Deer show last night. Below is a writeup of the whole experience. Feel free to skip it as it’s not going to be short or picture-filled, but I’m writing this for my sake, not that I’d forget about it any time soon.

I didn’t take many pictures as I mainly filmed bits of the show. But I quite like this one. (I’ll put the rest of my rambling under the cut.)

About two months ago, in a moment of weakness (I was probably struggling to finish a paper or something), I considered the idea of flying to Canada specifically to see Tessa and Scott on tour. So I started looking at possible dates and made some preliminary arrangements. Then I messaged my best friend saying that I was thinking about going to see a show far far away in October even though I wasn’t sure if I’d have time to do so. He simply replied: "Clear your schedule then!” (That’s what best friends are for, right?) My schedule wasn’t entirely cleared, but I’m here anyway. And I’m glad I did.

Having watched some videos taken by fans who went to previous shows, I kind of knew what to expect of the show before hand. Of course I was there mostly for Tessa and Scott, but the other skaters were fantastic to watch as well. I was at the TYCT Moncton last year, so I knew the crowd would LOVE Elvis and Patrick. Kaetlyn was charismatic and loved by the crowd too. She fell a couple of times, once actually slipping off the ice, but she got right back up and finished the rest of her performance like a champ, with a dazzling smile. Although the crowd didn’t know the non-Canadian skaters as well, I think people fell in love with them as the show progressed. It was so fun watching Jeremy skate, and his back flips always drove the audience wild. Tati and Max won people’s hearts with their beautiful lifts and skills. Carolina really stood out in the 20′s Medley program, but I loved her individual program more. Wish I had filmed it too.

Now, as for Tessa and Scott, I feel like I can never sing enough praise for them. As much as I tried to capture them on film, nothing really beats seeing them skate live. They brought the fire right in the opening with the bit from their Latin Rock SD, leaving me wanting more. How I wish I could have seen the entire program live. After the opening, Tessa and Scott came out again to introduce Jeremy. As they were leaving the rink and hugging Jeremy, he took a big longer hugging Tessa, and I think I actually saw Scott holding his arm out and saying “easy there!”. I guess at this point this “hands off my partner” bit is more of a long-running gag than actual annoyance, but I love it nevertheless. Right, back to the programs. Tessa and Scott really belong in the spotlight, and they always shone brighter than the other skaters, to me at least. Their smiles and enthusiasm are contagious and I can’t help but smile myself during all the fun group numbers. Wish You Were Here was beautifully skated, no surprise there. There were some elements from their old programs, but the entire program felt fresh nonetheless. The way they brought the choreography onto the ice was just... I’m running out of words to describe how breathtakingly ethereal they looked, in addition to being in sync and connected as they always do.

At the end of the night, as the lights dimmed for THE video, I thought I was ready for the emotions since I had already watched the clips posted by other fans. But I was wrong. Nothing could prepare me for seeing them on the jumbotrons with my own eyes, talking about their journey, their partnership, and also thinking about what they were not saying out loud because their relationship was special and unique that it defies explanation to outsiders. Then came Fix You. I tried to not be sad and remind myself of what Tessa said that this marks a new beginning. Still, watching the Mahler ending feels like someone ripped a piece of my heart out. (It felt almost as painful as I later found out that I did not really film Fix You... :’( )

One of the most memorable parts of last night was the performance by the SO athlete Meg (described by Scott as “by far one of the biggest sweethearts” he’s ever met in his life) and the reaction from the cast and the crowd. People were really supportive and encouraging, and she got one of the biggest rounds of applause last night as well as a standing ovation. It really warmed my heart. It’s beyond lovely that the SO athletes were given these opportunities.

After the show ended last night, as people walked out of the arena, I saw a couple of kids dancing and twirling around as if they were jumping on the ice. I guess that’s a big part of the reason why Tessa and Scott did this tour, so that many people would leave the show feeling inspired.

The last twenty months of being their fan has been a fun and wild ride. I’ve spent way more time (and money, lbh) on them than I’d expected when I clicked on their Moulin Rouge performance for the first time. I don’t really interact with others in the fandom much, but being here and loving these two together with all of you has become an important part of my life. It’s been wonderful sharing this love I have with all of you. And thank you if you have ever liked, reblogged, or messaged me about my posts. You’ve all helped make adulting, and life in general, much more tolerable. So, lots of love to you! :)

[nani-lahiffe]

Fighting Over a Lady’s Love: Part 3

In honour of Queen Bee finally on the show, here is a chapter that has her and Carapace hanging out on patrol!

AO3, Part 1, Part 2

“Should I really go? Maybe I should just call in sick, or say I have a family emergency. Oh!” Nino snaps his fingers, “I could say I have explosive diarrhea because Queenie hates talking about poop.” Nino is pacing around his room. He stops when Wayzz floats in front of his face.

“Or, Master Nino, you could face your problems and try to get your team on your side. Tearing apart the group will only cause more problems, not only in your life, but throughout Paris too.”

“Ugh. I know, but I don’t want to do this. Can’t I just call in an emergency meeting tomorrow?” Nino whines as he throws himself to his bed, wishing that he could just sleep the problem away.

Wayzz lands himself on Nino’s chest, and peers up at him. “You know that will only make things worse. It is easier to discuss this with everyone individually. You have already spoken to Alya this morning, albeit not a very good conversation, but you got her to think. Talk to Queen Bee now and Alya again later. If you truly want Paris to believe that you and Ladybug are not dating, then you need your team to back on that point too.”

Nino looks down on where Wayzz has gotten himself comfortable. “Dude, you are way too smart. Why aren’t you the one who is giving out advice instead of me?

Wayzz giggles and flies off of Nino. With a big grin he says, “Now, Master, I believe it is time for patrol.”

“Yeah, alright. Wayzz, shell on!”

One bright green light later and Carapace is struggling to get his shell out of the window. Why do I always forget to transform outside instead? After a good minute of trying to shove his shell out, he finally makes it free of his home and is running towards the lion’s den. Or should I say bee’s hive? Ugh, Chat Noir is really rubbing off on me.  

Carapace tries his best to avoid being seen by any civilian, not wanting to bring even more attention to him. Every time he hears someone call out for him he runs. Sure, it could be an emergency, but they could also be wanting to talk about his ‘relationship’ with Ladybug. He really hopes it is the latter and didn’t accidentally let a civilian get mugged.

Landing on the roof that they usually meet each other on he wonders where Queen Bee is. She tends to always arrive before everyone. Queenie uses her celebrity status as a superhero to her own personal advantage. She transforms early and walks the streets of Paris, hearing people praise her and taking selfies with her hive; which is what she calls her fans. Carapace thinks that people are still wary of her as Chloe, but everyone likes her as Queen Bee. She needs to get attention from somewhere in her life.

He continues to think about Queenie until he gets kicked in the back and falls off a building. He lands roughly and tumbles. He groans as he pushes himself off the sidewalk. Looking up to the building that he was just on, he sees Queen Bee standing there with her arms crossed. From a distance she looked pleased, and Carapace knew that she was the one that launched him off the roof.

He lifts himself off the ground and jumps up to the roof. Glaring at Queen Bee, he asks, “What the hell was that for, dude?”

Giving him an equally menacing look, she says, “That is just part one of my revenge.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

He finds out exactly what she means once she starts beating him up. They have trained together before and know exactly what each other’s strengths and weaknesses are.

“Come on, Queenie, quit it!” Carapace yells as he blocks another one of her offense attacks.

She stops her attack, but the look on her face hurt more than any punches that she gave him. “No. This whole time we thought that you didn’t care about Ladybug in that way. We thought we didn’t have any more competition. You knew that I was in love with her and you just let me make a fool out of myself while you actually managed to get the girl. This whole time you thought you were above us, but in reality, you were just trying to get on her good side. Well congratulations, you did it!” Halfway through her speech, tears begin to drip down her face.

“You have it all wrong! Everyone is misreading this whole situation! Ladybug and I are not together. She turned to me to cry to because of the argument on Friday night. Also, we never kissed! It was dark outside, and we were far away, so of course those civilians thought that we did.”

She looks at him skeptically. “How do I know you are telling the truth? For all I know you could be lying to play all of us again.”

Carapace throws his arms in the air and shouts, “It’s because I’m dating Rena Rouge!”

Queen Bee looks surprised at that. “You’re what?”

“I didn’t exactly know that she was Rena until this morning, but she has known that I was Carapace this whole time. Now we are fighting, so can we please hurry up at get to patrol so I can go visit my girlfriend?”

Still shocked, all she says is, “Sure.”

They patrol in silence for a while until Queen Bee finally speaks up. “So, you are the boyfriend that Rena talks about all the time.”

“Yup.” He says briefly, not really feeling into having a conversation about this.

“She always mentioned having a boyfriend, but I never heard you talking about having a girlfriend. I always thought that you were another loser like Char Noir that could never get anyone to like them.” She says bluntly.

Carapace rolls his eyes. “Wow, thanks, Queenie. You are so kind to me. Unlike you, I take my secret identity very seriously, which is why no one knows about my love life.”

Queen Bee gives him an are you serious look. “A couple of weeks ago you told us that you want a career in music. I don’t think that counts as keeping your identity secret.”

He sheepishly grins at her and scratches the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess I did. I’m trying, dude, but this whole thing is hard to keep to myself.”

“I’m guessing pretty girlfriend did not like the scandal?”

“She has been pissed at me all day, but I am positive that talking with her tonight will resolve our problems. Also, I do not plan for us to ever break up so keep your hands and eyes to yourself.” Carapace pokes her to get his point across.

She slaps his finger away and says, “Why do you think I’ve only tried to get with Ladybug? Rena is hot and all, but she is sadly in love with someone else and I respect it. While Ladybug is strong, single, and the reason why I have an authority kink.” She flicks her ponytail.

Carapace covers his ears and gags. “I did not want to know that last part.”

Queen Bee looks at him seriously. “How are you going to explain all of this to her. She seems like the type that holds grudges.”

He groans, “I don’t even know. I told her this morning the truth about the situation, but she still avoided me the entire day! I’m just hoping that she has had enough time to process it. I don’t think it helped that I didn’t talk to her all weekend, so she has two days’ worth of rage.”

“You ignored your girlfriend for two whole days?!”

“I was busy, and she knew that I wouldn’t be able to message her! It’s not like we have to see or talk to each other every single day!” They have established at the beginning of their relationship that each of them are individuals, and should not always be dependent on one another. It has been really helpful for him since he is introverted, and sometimes can’t make the energy to talk to her every day. Alya has been very understanding and respecting of him closing all contact with people for a few days.

“Well now you really have to fix your relationship fast, or else she will be dating me by the end of the week.”

Carapace cringes and prays to all of the kwamis that he will never see Alya and Queen Bee date. “I can get through to her, but it will be helpful for the rest of the team to be on my side too.”

Queen Bee rests her hand on his shoulder and says, “Don’t screw this up, Shellhead.” Which is probably one of the nicest phrases she has ever said to him.

He rolls his eyes anyways and sarcastically says, “Thanks,” and look around them. “Can we officially end patrol? I’ve got a girlfriend to see.”

“Yeah, alright.” He runs off as soon as those words come out of her mouth. In the distance, Carapace hears her scream, “TELL HER I SAY HI,” and chuckles to himself.

Wow, being a superhero really gives me some strange relationship problems.

Marinette is sitting in her room, still panicking over the news that came out over the weekend. Her anxiety has been worse this weekend than it has ever been, but thankfully she had Tikki to talk her through everything and Master Fu to give her calming teas that help her get more level headed.

Marinette is used to being a leader and controlling her anxiety towards it, but increasing tension in the team is making her walls cave in. Before she only had to directly worry about her and Chat, and the entirety of Paris, but now with Papillon getting tougher to beat the partnership became a full team. All of them together makes defeating akumas so much easier. It became a system for them; some being offense while others stick to defense, and all directing the akuma straight into Ladybug’s yoyo and protecting any nearby civilians. As great as it is, everyone looks at Ladybug to direct them of how to defeat the akuma. So many more people and different personalities to control when they all get out of hand.

She is proud of the roster of heroes that she has made, but sometimes seeing them all the time on both patrol and school, except for Chat Noir, can be exhausting. It sucks even more that she knows them, yet they don’t know her. Today at school, Marinette saw how Alya was upset, but with the secret identity problem she couldn’t truly comfort her. She saw how Chloe had a disdainful look on her face every time someone mentioned Ladybug and Carapace, and she knows that some people purposefully did that around Chloe just to piss her off. She noticed as well that Nino seemed nervous all day. All of her friends, which does now strangely includes Chloe, were having horrible days. Yet there was nothing that she was able to do.

Marinette hears a small, high-pitched voice coming from behind her. “You need to stop looking at social media. You are only going to give yourself another panic attack.”

Marinette runs her fingers through her hair and rests her head on her hands. “I know, Tikki, but I need to figure out how to fix this. Should I set up a press conference?” She feels like she is back to her old self before the miraculous; unconfident and unsure of herself.

Tikki cuddles up to her. “If that is what you think is best then I think you should do it.”

“I don’t want to decide what is best. Sometimes I want others to do it for me.” She hears a ding coming from her computer and looks up. “There has been a sighting of Chat Noir just two minutes ago. We need to go! Tikki, spots on!”

Ladybug runs quickly to see if Chat is still in the area that he was spotted, and with her ladybug luck she found him rather quickly.

She approaches him carefully and quietly from the back. She speaks softly as she gets close enough. “Hey, Chat. I saw online that you were out running so I came to see you.”

Chat Noir doesn’t even turn around to look at her. “Yeah, right,” he says bitterly, “Isn’t it your boyfriend’s patrol day? I think you are out to see him and not me.”

“Chat, please hear me out,” Ladybug begs.

He ultimately looks at her with a painful expression on his face. “I finally get it now. You told me before that relationships are much easier as civilians, and that you liked someone else. I just never expected that you would actually give him a miraculous. You know, you could have just told me,” his voice cracks, “I wouldn’t have cared. I’ve trusted you this whole time with choosing other miraculous holders, but it seems like you couldn’t trust me with this.”

“You’re wrong, Chat! He is not the guy that I like! You and the rest of Paris are misreading this entire situation!”

“How can you prove that to me?” He crosses his arms.

Ladybug tries to control herself, and mentally puts together her answer. “Do you remember when we would meet up late at night and just talk and cry to each other about how stressful this life can be? I needed that on Friday, and Carapace was the only one that stuck around for it. He was trying to calm me down, and that kiss was me kissing him on the cheek as a thank you.”

She leans against a wall up on the roof. “I never meant for other permanent miraculous carriers to exist. I wanted them as a last resort resource for when we can’t beat the akuma. When the team was created I was hoping that we would both share the responsibilities. And not to say that you aren’t responsible! You have been very helpful! It’s just I feel like the others, including you, have been looking towards me for all the solutions. This is still too overwhelming for me. I don’t know how to lead, especially when the team is always fighting. Is it me that is doing something wrong?”

Ladybug begins to tear up, and Chat Noir pulls her into a hug. “I’m so sorry. You are doing the best you can, and I should have been the one to diffuse the fight. We barely ever have patrols alone together, so I guess I never realized it. I should be helping you more, but with an entire team now I just thought that you didn’t really need me anymore.”

She pulls away from the hug to look at him. “Why would you think that? You are still my partner, I will always need you and I will never stop needing you. I care about you too much, Kitty.”

“I care about you too, My Lady.” Chat Noir leans forward and rests his forehead against Ladybug’s. She feels warmth spread through her and realizes how much she has missed just being around him. They stand like that for a minute before Chat Noir breaks the silence. “So… you are not actually dating Carapace, right?”

Ladybug giggles. “No, Chat, I’m not.” She gives him a bright smile before saying, “Maybe I can let you in on a small secret. Carapace and Rena Rouge are actually dating,” She whispers into his ear.

Chat Noir looks shocked. “Are you kidding? Is that why Rena is always checking out his butt even though she has a boyfriend?”

Ladybug gives out a heartfelt laugh at that. “Yeah, I suppose that is the reason. She knew his civilian identity this whole time, but he had no idea about hers. Whenever we patrolled together we would laugh about it. I have a feeling that he found out today though, and it will not be a secret much longer.”

Chat gives a small smile at that. “I’m sorry about accusing you of not trusting me, and for me not trusting you.”

Ladybug reaches up to caress the skin below his mask. “It’s ok. We just need to have a more open and communicative relationship now.”

In a joking manner he says, “Does that mean we have to spend a lot more alone time together?” Chat gives her a devilish smile.

She rolls her eyes and pushes him away by putting a finger to his nose. “Come on, Kitty. I bet I can beat to l’Arc de Triomphe!”

Off they raced into the night, laughing along the way and showing off cool tricks. Neither one has felt this happy for a long time, and their world was finally in balance once again.