#they send one of their own to monitor. Gabriel quite welcomes it but hes hoping minos doesnt treat the councilor like he does him

[minophus]

envisions a councillor traveling down w gabriel to minos' or sisyphus' palaces

[ladyserendipitous]

Kitty It’s Cold Outside

(‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ might be the reason Chat Noir stays overnight at Marinette’s but ‘Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow’ is how they feel the next day.

This is a cute song fic to @acaseymonster for @mlsecretsanta

Hope you enjoy!)

Adrien really hadn’t planned to stay all that long.  Just to stop by and say hi to his favorite princess perhaps, but Marinette had other ideas.

“I really can’t stay,” Chat Noir said as he stood on the rooftop balcony over the bakery, one hand holding the mug of hot cocoa Marinette had handed him soon after he had landed.  Glancing out at the city, blanketed in white, he was once again surprised by all the snow coming down heavily all around, at times blowing near vertically. The storm hadn’t seemed so imposing when he first started his patrol.

“Come on in Kitty. It’s cold outside,” she said to him, motioning Chat Noir to the window hatch.  Marinette was bundled up in a jacket and stocking cap that she’d quickly pulled on when he landed atop her room. She was smiling up at him so warmly it could melt ice.

“I really can’t,” Chat Noir shook his head even as he took a step closer as she held out her free hand to him.  “I just came over because this evening has been so very nice. Though even if it hadn’t been seeing you would make it so.”

Marinette laughed lightly like the tinkling of bells.  For all he knew she had her doubts about how nice the evening was for him. It had been a good patrol though. Mostly because he started it early. “I had been hoping you’d stop by,” she told him as she took a hold of his hand, then gasped.  “You’re like ice!”

He chuckled nervously, but knew he was doomed as she tugged him to the skylight. “I mean if I’m not home someone might worry,” he said even as he tried to think of who would worry about him at this hour. The people his father employed were already home themselves. If his mother was around, but of course she wasn't and Adrien wouldn't dwell. Still perhaps… “And if Father found out he might actually, I don’t know, pace the floor?”

They were now securely in Marinette’s room and she was rolling her eyes at him. Not that he blamed her, he didn’t buy his own excuses either. The room, as always, was cozy and Chat Noir noticed on Marinette’s computer monitor one of those ‘real fireplace’ YouTube videos.

“What’s your hurry Kitty?” She asked as she turned to look at him now that they were on the lower level of her bedroom.

“I… really should scurry?” He asked, not sure himself as Marinette started disrobing from her winter wear. Under her coat and scarf was a cute pink sweater that he suspected she had recently knitted for herself.  

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Well,” and he lifted his mug.  “Maybe just a half drink more?”

“I’ll go get you that,” she said to him as she takes his mug. “Mind getting us some music?”

Once Marinette disappeared down the stairs, because he really had a hard time keeping his eyes off her, he walked over to her computer to look for some seasonally appropriate songs. It was actually quite easy since Nino had three different holiday playlists online. Choosing ‘Auld Skool Xmas’ he sat back and waited for Marinette’s return.

“A mug of hot cocoa for the hero of Paris,” Marinette announced as she came back up to her room.

Chat Noir took the mug with a saucy wink before leaning back once more. “Do you ever worry about what your neighbors might say?”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “No one saw you come over, and honestly I would have been found out long before you started coming around my balcony, you stray cat. Besides, anyone that’s looking up is looking at all this snow, not at you handsome.”

It never failed, when Marinette called him handsome, or really just about any sort of complement, he felt his chest swell and his cheeks burn. Not that he wanted her to notice he was a blushing mess from such an off handed comment. It was best to play off the heat in his face.  “What’s in this drink?”

“Hmmm?” Marinette tilted her head, then smirked. “Riiiight, the drink.” So much for her not noticing. “By the way, I looked outside while I was warming the milk. There wasn’t a car, a Uber, nothing on the road.”

“Still trying to get me to stay longer?” Chat Noir lifted an eyebrow looking down at her. She looked back at him. They seemed to stare into each other's eyes for eternity or maybe it was only an instant.

“You stubborn cat, just let go of your transformation, will you? I’m sure Plagg will be happy to snuggle up with Tikki and there’s plenty of cheese in the house.” Then just to tempt him more she reached over and started running her hands through his hair.

“You have bewitched me,” Chat Noir pretended to complained even as a soft purr started. Yeah, that wasn’t helping anything. “Plagg, Claws In.”

His kwami snickered but made no other comment as he flew off, probably to do as Marinette suggested. Adrien wasn’t even sure where Tikki was. Probably hiding somewhere in the room to stay warm. “If anyone says anything you forced me to stay.”

“Mmhm,” she uttered as she snuggled up next to him before taking a sip of her warm drink.

For a while it seemed Adrien was content enough to stay, but his worrying hadn’t completely abated yet. “I really should…”

“Come on, Adrien, it’s horrible out there,” Marinette sounded annoyed. She then snuggled into his arm. “It’s an honest to goodness blizzard out there! I simply have to insist you stay.”

He looked down at his girlfriend and knew she would do just about anything for him. “Why are you always so good to me? Welcoming me into your warm and happy home any time I need it.”

“Because I lucked out having a fantastic, if slightly self sacrificing, boyfriend?” She asked in response, bopping his nose with a finger.

“Nathalie will probably figure out where I am by dawn,” Adrien said as the last of his resistance dissolved. Especially with the way Marinette was looking at his lips. “Gorilla will probably be ordered here before noon. Waiting at the door.”

“Sure,” Marinette said, obviously not listening to his excuses as she reached up and kissed him. Mugs of mostly drank hot cocoa were quickly put to the side and they enjoyed kissing each other for a time. At least through the next four Christmas songs. Adrien wasn’t sure he minded missing another rendition of Rudolph.

“You know,” Adrien said, pausing for a yawning as they snuggled up together, one of his hands going up and down Marinette’s arm. “Chloé would have a fit if she could see us now.”

“Chloé would have a fit over a lot she doesn’t know about us,” Marinette reminded him as she pulled a blanket down off the back of her lounge.

Adrien had grabbed the candy cane that Marinette had stuck in his mug, holding it between his lips.  He liked the minty taste as it cooled him even as the blanket and Marinette warmed him. Eventually his eyes started to feel heavy. It had been a long day and now he was warm and comfortable and… “I should really go home.”

“Not this again!” Marinette tried to sound annoyed but there was laughter in her tone.

“You could lend me a coat,” he suggested his eyes half closed.

“The snow is knee high Adrien. A coat wouldn’t be enough,” she told him, kissing his cheek.  

“This is real nice,” he said slowly as he looked at her with sleepy eyes. Then he took her hand and kissed it. The blush Marinette sprouted was so cute he wanted to go back to kissing her again. But maybe in the morning. Oh, the morning! “Your parents are going to assume things in the morning.”

“Oh probably, but it’s better than you catching pneumonia out there. Besides my parents adore you and would agree with me that you were not to be let back out when you snuck over to visit.” Somehow she snuggled into him more.

“Yeah I suppose,” Adrien agreed as he put his arms around her, sighing in contentment. He didn’t mean to fall asleep, but in the morning he was woken to Mister and Misses Dupain-Cheng snickering and taking pictures of the two of them still on the lounge where they had fallen asleep.

There was indeed some good natured teasing by Marinette’s parents, but no more than that. His phone didn’t have any worried texts so he was able to send one to Nathalie informing her of his location. It seemed though the storm was so bad that his father’s assistant was working from home. It wasn’t said, but she did not bring up informing his father and as long as Gabriel wasn’t looking for his son, it seemed unlikely he would find out where Adrien had run off to pre-storm.

“Ready to admit I was right?  That it’s a frightful storm out there?” Marinette asked as she started gathering their breakfast dishes once he put his phone away.

Marinette had been understanding of his need to text while they ate breakfast and Adrien had tried to not let it interrupt their meal too much. Standing, Adrien grabbed a dish towel to help with drying the dishes. It became his ‘chore’ when he stayed for a meal. It made Adrien feel like less of a guest.  “Yes, you were right. Honestly I’m glad I get to be stuck here. Being home alone because of this weather, THAT would have been frightful. I will admit, looking outside the snow does look delightful.”

"I'm just glad neither of us have any place to go," Marinette said pointedly and Adrien nodded in agrement.  There was no reason to disagree with her on that point.

They discussed going down into to the bakery to help her parents, after all the fire from the ovens made the whole place warm. When Marinette's father surprised them by coming up saying business was so slow he wasn’t going to do any more batches for the day, they settled for making it a movie marathon day. Sabine came up from the shop and made popcorn while Marinette took a turn manning the front of the shop. Adrien’s assistance, while not needed, was still welcomed.

By noon, they closed the bakery for the day and turned all the lights way down low.

“For all I care, let it snow,” Marinette said softly as she snuggled up to her boyfriend to watch It’s A Wonderful Life with him and her parents. Eventually he’d have to go home, but she’d make sure to let him know how welcomed he always was here and that the warmth here was his home too.

Yes Marinette loved her kitty so, so much.

(AO3)

[thebibliomancer]

50 More Days of Comics! 18/50: Batman and the Outsiders #14 (1984)

So! Batman and the Outsiders!

So basically what happened it that once the Justice League told Batman that they weren’t going to get involved in a foreign military coup so Batman got mad, quit, and formed his own team without blackjack because there’s no time for fun when there’s work to be done. Playing cards are for solving crimes.

On the Outsiders we have Brion Markov/Geo-Force Terra’s brother and user of abstract Earth powers, Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning a man destined to be changed in adaptation so no royalties have to be paid, Metamorpho a shapeshifter, Tatsu/Katana who owns a katana, and Gabrielle/Halo who has a power for every color of the rainbow and also amnesia.

And this issue is 1984 Olympic themed. Seriously, check the cover.

The issue starts off with Halo on a date which gets interrupted when Geo-Force throws a garbage can. After she chases him down and dumps him in front of Katana, he defends himself that he was just chaperoning her because young American men are all horndogs. When Halo says that maybe she wanted to be taken advantage of, Geo-Force actually gasps in shock horror. Katana tells him not to mess with Halo’s dating life again.

Halo is kind of hilarious by the way. The idea is that she’s supposed to be portrayed as basically a womanchild because of her amnesia but during this scene she’s so hilariously over-dramatic.

Halo: “I caught this nerd, spying on me! He ruined everything! Phil’ll never talk to me again, I’ll die an old maid, I’ll—”

Halo again later: “Boy, what a bummer! Maybe I’ll just join a convent, and end the suspense!”

Meanwhile in Arkham Asylum, a dangerous Batman rogue who will become the villain of this story and in fact, apparently the archnemesis of the Outsiders over this series.

Maxie Zeus.

He’s a guy. Who think he’s Zeus. Just because his name is Zeus.

This story tries to paint him as a threat and sure, that’s fine. But I just want to note that when Bane busted open Arkham during Knightfall (the story wherein Bane broke Batman’s back), Maxie Zeus was the only escaped rogue who the police captured with no help from Batman. Because he ran into a tree and knocked himself unconscious. And now he has to live with that. Being the person that happened to.

Anyway, Zeus is writing a letter to his daughter Medea, or his daughter who he thinks is Medea, or an unrelated girl named Medea who he thinks is his daughter for her birthday, hoping she got the lyre and pipes she sent and commiserating with her wish that she had a mother.

And then he spots a newspaper and sees something that changes everything like an omen!

Every 100% wool suit now only $125-$200! Wow!

Wait, that’s the side towards the camera.

Well whatever he saw it gives him the motivation to escape Arkham by the ingenious escape plan of hitting the janitor with a trashcan and then switching clothes with him.

Thaaaaaaaat’s Arkham for you!

In fairness, or not very fairness but in some fairness, despite Batman telling the asylum eleven times to put Maxie Zeus in maximum security they just didn’t listen to him! For obvious reasons.

Batman: “Just because he doesn’t look as dangerous as the Joker or Two-Face doesn’t mean he isn’t!”

Sure, Batman. Sure.

But Maxie left behind a clue to his schemes. A newspaper with an article about Olympic athlete Lacinia Nitocris. And Batnerd just so happens to know that Lacinia is another name for Juno, aka the wife of Jupiter aka Zeus.

So Maxie broke out of minimum security Arkham by hitting a janitor so he could force an Olympic athlete to marry him so his maybe daughter can have a mother.

He’s delusional but this is why he’s in minimum security. He breaks out and he doesn’t poison all the fish or whatever. He’s not really comic book crazy.

Now here’s a thing that’s just kinda weird. This issue is one of the earliest appearances of the Monitor of Crisis on Infinite Earths fame. Except instead of protecting the multiverse from his evil twin, he’s apparently a broker that rents superpowered mooks to supervillains.

Maxie calls on him for some ‘operatives.’

I’m sure this gets explained away but just always know from now on that one of the Monitor’s first appearances was as a headhunter who worked with Maxie Zeus.

Also happening: Halo tries to hook Katana up with her geometry teacher (because they’re both Asian?). And gets some turnabout is fair play on Brion.

He invited a classmate of his, Alisa, to a ‘study session.’ Scare quotes is because they start making out.

But Halo comes out of Brion’s bedroom in one of Brion’s shirts with sex hair going hey send the cleaning woman home so we can get back to it.

Alisa takes off in a huff and Brion chases after Halo in a snit. She insists that hey this is the same thing he did to her but he insists that it was totally different.

When he catches her, he grabs her and demands that she call Alisa to clear things up as she protests that he’s hurting her.

And then they start making out.

God, the hormones in this series are through the roof. Batman must be so vexed by these young adults.

Also they’re both two-timing their respective love interests. Not a great look, you two.

We finally get to the Olympics in the last seven pages of the book. Jefferson Pierce (as a previous gold medal winner) and Brion Markov (as a fancy foreign prince) are both very special guests, Batman has a private booth reserved under Bruce Wayne but Metamorpho has to be undercover as an ice cream seller and Katana and Halo are in really crappy seats.

You couldn’t even put them up in your fancy booth, Batman?

Also President Reagan is in attendance so security is supposedly tight although not tight enough to prevent Maxie from stealing an MBC News copter to infiltrate the Olympics.

When Batman realizes it, just slightly too late for it to mean anything, he orders the Outsiders to converge on the field.

Meanwhile, Zeus leaves the copter and introduces his new Monitor-provided friends. Well, not by name or power or anything. But he does walk in a cool group formation while speechifying.

Zeus: “Please, do not fear us! Rather you should welcome us… for we are he who has given his name to these games! I am Jupiter Olympus – perhaps better known as Zeus… and our companions are the New Olympians!”

The New Olympians take the President hostage, maybe?, and have Lacinia Nitocris brought out to Maxie.

But then Batman shows up and counters Zeus’s group shot and speechifying with his own.

Batman: “You act like you own the place, Zeus, but this is supposed to be a contest. Don’t even gods have to obey their own rules?”

Zeus: “Our patience wanes, mortal. Speak quickly.”

Batman: “This, then: let the President and the spectators leave unmolested. Then my Outsiders will fight your New Olympians, winner take all!”

Zeus: “Agreed.”

Because if you absolutely must do an Olympic special in your superhero book, definitely get the Greek-mythology themed guy as the villain and definitely have the villain team and the superhero team competing for medals.

I mean, I’m assuming that they’re going to do challenges and not just fight each other. A straight superhero fight would be dullsville. I want to see Batman jump some hurdles, dammit!

So, okay. This is a goofy premise. Especially considering that Batman and the Outsiders was supposed to be a book about Batman putting together his own team to deal with issues the Justice League refuses to touch. Fourteen issues in (hell, probably earlier) they’ve apparently abandoned that premise to be a goofy soap-opera drama and hormones normal team having wacky mishaps and I’m thrilled.

This was a fun issue.

Apparently later reboots of the Outsiders concept try to get back to the gritty seriousness. One iteration is a secret black-ops team for Batman and another is heroes pretending to be borderline villains for some reason, like a reverse Thunderbolts. And then there was the team of Outsiders that was born out of the Graduation Day crossover in which so many children died.

Just let comic books be about a goofus taking over the Olympics to try to marry an athlete because her name is an obscure mythological reference. Geez.