#it’s been like four years and I’m still absurdly furious. like at least give me back my fucking money
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soothing myself with affirmations like ‘it’s ok if you end up having to make a fuss and they hate you forever, you love being hated’
#my ramblings#trying to figure out if this artist I commissioned is ghosting me -_-#I get so mad about this. anikicosplay still refuses to email be back. can you believe they took my money and ran#it’s been like four years and I’m still absurdly furious. like at least give me back my fucking money#sigh… one of sister’s friends was able to commission a guy on facebook for a toku helmet… maybe someday I can have a beast helmet…
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13 & 16 + angst + lucas pls 🤧🤧
[ 13: what would you have said to me? ] + [ 16: maybe i should have lied ] ok this is going to be good
the prompts
everyone started cheering as you walked down the aisle, the classic organ music encouraging them to stand up from their seats to welcome you.
your mother left you in front of your soon-to-be-husband, who had never had this much light in his eyes before. staring at you, eyes glowing as if they were in front of a stellar explosion.
the vows came after that, laughter, tears and sentiment flooding the room. your parents were totally bawling their eyes out, your friends doing likewise. you caught sight of your bestfriend!yukhei who had his cheeks full of tears. you gave him a thumbs up and he responded with a half smile.
“if any of you has a reason why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace”
you were too lost in your thoughts to notice the priest was talking again, but you were brought back to reality when the room fell silent for a moment.
smiling at your fiancé, you let out a deep breath. you were one step behind of giving each other your rings, sharing an intimate kiss and living happily ever after. easy, right?
“i do” the entire crowed gasped as you recognized the tall boy standing in the middle of the path.
“yukhei, what?”
“i don’t think you should marry him”
you exasperatedly looked around for answers, but everyone was as shocked as you were.
“let’s talk outside” you stepped down and inhalations and murmurs could be heard again. “i’ll be right back” you apologized with pleading eyes to the boy standing in front of you.
“yukhei, we said no jokes today” you held your dress while running out of the venue, feeling the summer breeze. this had to be taken out of a movie scene. it couldn’t be real.
“i’m not joking” he impossibly tried to find your gaze, you not being able to keep still.
“what do you mean?”
“i love you” he blurted.
you felt as if the whole world stopped. as if you were in a car driving at full speed until it crashed against the most solid wall ever built, only to collapse into pieces.
“what?” you almost felt as if your mouth was spitting out words on its own. you couldn’t think of anything right now, barely even move. maybe you had heard him wrong.
“i love you”
yukhei and you had always had this weird relationship, to say the least. you had known each other for as long as you could remember. growing up together, you fell in love with him overtime. and him with you too. but for some reason, call it fear, call it youth, neither of you had ever came clean about it.
he had kissed you, once, on your 18th birthday party. and that night, both of you fell asleep fantasizing about it finally being the start of something new.
but it never even started. maybe you were absurdly shy to bring the topic up, or the chance just didn’t present itself. what you did know is that time passed and you got over yukhei. you guys remained best friends, of course, but as you got older, you also fell in love again. with someone who didn’t have trouble making his love for you known. with the person you had now left alone at the aisle.
“i love you since, always. since we were kids, y/n, i’ve been meaning to tell you from that kiss i still can’t get out of my head”
“that kiss, yukhei, was almost four years ago now. you had time” you sputtered. you were furious and you wanted him to know. and oh, he definitely felt it, the dissapointment and distaste in your voice.
“i know i’m late”
“yes, you’re more than late. what were you expecting when you confessed your love for me on my wedding day?!” yukhei’s hands trembled while watching you scream, your beautiful, full of make-up face crumbling down as the conversation went further.
“i think realizing you were actually marrying someone else encouraged me”
“you should have found that amazing courage some long time ago”
“yeah, well, but what would you have said to me? huh? if i had confessed back then?”
“fuck yukhei, i don’t know!” you cried out. “but it might have been different. you just had to do it at my wedding when i already moved on”
the boy cautiously walked towards you, and just admired you for a second. when you didn’t give any sign of protest, he held your hand and interlocked your fingers.
“tell me you really moved on” he put his forehead against yours. he could see your chest growing bigger with every hurried breath you took. “tell me you don’t love me, that maybe i should have lied back there. pretended to be happy for you”
his head brushed against your perfectly combed styling, petals daintily placed over your hair. his hands took care of your ridiculously cold ones. he was waiting for an answer. even without looking at him, you could feel his hopeful eyes.
neither had the y/n toddler, the hormonal and teenager y/n, the i’m-gonna-write-love-poems-for-you-more-than-i-breathe y/n ever imagined she would end up in this situation. she had always dreamt about situation like this, one small, different detail from the actual reality being that yukhei was meant to be the one standing on the aisle all along.
you stood on your feet again and cleared your throat, rearranging your dress and soggy make-up. positioned in front of the heavy door, you stared back at him.
“perhaps you should have”.
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173. Sonic the Hedgehog #105
You Say You Want a Revelation?
Writer: Karl Bollers
Pencils: Ron Lim
Colors: Josh and Aimee Ray
We're finally back to the main series plot! Sonic is disheartened to see Nate's things being moved out of his house, knowing that by leaving Nate behind in Robotropolis they consigned him to the fate of roboticization. However, he's not content to leave him in there without at least trying to rescue him, and so leads Tails and Uncle Chuck to the castle in the hopes of talking to Elias, unaware of his disappearance. In Robotropolis, Hope goes to her step-father along with her grandmother to voice her concerns about the Robians she saw escaping the city, stating her beliefs that her uncle created them. Colin initially refuses to believe her, but Eggman steps out of the next room with Snively, grinning evilly as he informs them that she's totally right. Back in the castle in Knothole, King Max is experiencing true regret for perhaps the first time since we've seen him come back from the Zone of Silence.
Sorry, Alicia, but I have to wholeheartedly disagree. A lot of this is Max's fault - he refused to listen to either his son or daughter, and picked someone who was clearly not cut out to be a leader to put in charge of everything, over his daughter who was trained her whole life to lead a kingdom. In Robotropolis, Eggman airs an announcement over every screen in his city that he's "discovered" that everyone is infected with toxic waste poisoning, and must come to him for treatment immediately lest they succumb and die. Colin is outraged, pointing out that Eggman should be infected as well then, only for Eggman to reveal his true colors - literally - as a robot.
Uncle Chuck and Sonic both explain their plan to use the sword to King Max, who seems somewhat apathetic, upset not only at the loss of his son, but the loss of Nate as well. He's uncertain, as he only knows of two people who can even use the sword's abilities: himself, and –
Max reluctantly agrees to Sally's plan, ordering her to take Sonic with her as an escort. Sonic is pleased, but finally notices Sally's somewhat lackluster responses to everything he says, asking her if he did something to upset her. Before she can respond, Mina suddenly rushes up, hugs Sally while thanking her profusely for saving her mother, and then races off again, leaving her speechless. Meanwhile in Robotropolis, Hope runs for her life through the streets, trying to hide in a back alleyway with Eggman's voice following her the whole way. He finds her through a hidden screen in the alley, and tries to manipulate her into surrendering by saying he'll spare her grandmother. Agnes, of course, yells for her not to listen, and as Hope watches…
Hope is surrounded by shadow-bots, but Sonic suddenly appears, smashing them up and ushering her over to Sally for protection. Eggman is furious to see her being rescued, until he hears Sonic's voice behind him, Sonic of course having run at light speed all the way into his headquarters. Eggman tries to grab hold of him to roboticize him, but Sonic smashes the floor underneath him, sending them both plummeting into the room below. There, Sonic is horrified to find a familiar, frozen face staring back at him.
Eggman gloats that the sword doesn't seem to affect roboticized Overlanders, and then, with the rest of the city's Overlander population gathered within the room, offers them a demonstration. He calls Snively forward, informing him that he, too, is poisoned from the toxic waste, and while Snively is upset, having thought that as his lackey he would have been protected, Eggman offers him a deal - take his hand. You see, apparently Overlanders only become frozen after roboticization if they're unwillingly turned, but if they take the offer of their own free will, they retain their ability to move and act… and with a grin, Snively takes his uncle's hand.
And that is the awful true scope of Eggman's plan. He let everyone live within his city for two months, ensuring that they'd become sick, and then offered them supposedly the one thing that could save them, making sure that they'd have to take his offer willingly and become his slaves. Of course, we just watched this backfire, but Eggman knows that by rejecting his offer and going with Sally and Sonic, all the Overlanders are likely to get even sicker and stretch the already strained resources of Knothole. However, we know that Sally is smarter than that, and there's already a hidden city of Overlanders - or sorry, humans - out there that might have some room…
Before we move on to the conclusion of Myth Taken Identity, we have another character file to peruse - this time, for Snively! Unlike the previous couple, this one actually contains some new information about his life - but first, the technical info. Calculating his real-world height gives us the absurdly-short height of 97 cm, or 3'2". For reference, someone is considered to have dwarfism if they're anywhere below 147 cm or 4'10" tall, so Snively definitely qualifies. (Nate Morgan probably would too, but we're never actually given any information on his measurements, so there's no way to say for certain.) Snively also weighs 38.4 kg or 84.5 lbs, and his birthday is on May 14. Interestingly, his birth year indicates that he's actually only thirty years old! He definitely looks a lot older due to male-pattern baldness, but if you think about it it makes sense - after all, he's Robotnik's nephew, and the original Robotnik was likely in his late forties or early fifties at the time of his death.
What really makes this entry noteworthy, however, is his life history. He was born Colin Kintobor, Jr., which is an ordinary enough name, and his mother died giving birth to him. He was treated terribly by his father Colin Sr., who is actually the one who gave him his nickname. You'd think it would have been Robotnik who stuck him with such a humiliating nickname, but no, his own father called him Snively because of his lack of social skills. He compensated all throughout his childhood by immersing himself in the world of technology, and found a way to take advantage of every friend he made. He was kicked out of the house as a teenager, and with nowhere to go, turned to his uncle Julian, whom he helped seize power over the Kingdom of Knothole. However, he soon found himself being mistreated by his uncle as well, and as we know, eventually grew so resentful that he rigged the Ultimate Annihilator to target only Robotnik so he could be free of him once and for all.
While one could argue that these are the actions of a sociopath, or a narcissist, I'm gonna go ahead and say that Snively would have had a very different personality had he actually grown up with a family who loved him and looked after him. All this poor kid ever knew was bullying and emotional abuse. He's been taught, by life and by the actions of those around him, that the only way to look after himself is to be selfish, and to latch onto those more powerful than him for security. I touched on once before that Snively seemed to be basically in an abusive relationship with Robotnik, and didn't know how to go on after he thought he was dead, but this page confirms that things are only sadder than we originally realized. It was this page, plus some other events further into the comic, that made me realize that I actually liked Snively as a character, and wanted to see him break free of Eggman's control and come into his own. Unfortunately, having just allowed himself to be roboticized, that's not likely to be happening any time soon…
Myth Taken Identity (Part III)
Writer: Mike Gallagher
Pencils: Nelson Ribeiro
Colors: Frank Gagliardo
Guru Emu, upon discovering the dam from last issue, has found himself with rekindled hope that he can find and save his friends who have been kidnapped by the bunyip. He descends into the dam, discovering that it was originally constructed by Crocbot, who of course used it to power his various weapons and detention camps. It turns out that this dam is behind the strangely dry riverbeds and the disgusting lake, as it's been disrupting the local ecosystem, even more so now that it's abandoned and not being maintained. But what of Walt, Barby, and Bill? Well, as it turns out, they're also inside the dam, protected by an airtight compartment with a window through which they can see the bunyip gazing in at them. Barby, apparently, speaks many languages, including whatever ancient language the bunyip speaks, and convinced it that they're no threat. She gets it to explain its plight, as well as why it's been attacking everybody.
I mean, that hardly seems like a good excuse for just attacking random people on the street who clearly aren't Crocbot, but the Downunda Freedom Fighters want to help anyway. While Barby informs the bunyip that Crocbot was defeated some time ago, Guru races down the hallway toward them, having overheard everything. He has discovered a room full of explosives elsewhere in the complex, and so…
The bunyip is grateful, and leaves to spend its happy days in the clean water, and though the D.F.F. briefly consider inviting it to join their team, they ultimately decide that they'd rather stay as a four-person group from now on, knowing that no one can replace Stu.
And now we have one last character file to look at for the issue, this time for Dimitri! Dimitri is actually the tallest individual so far, at a height of 133 cm or 4'4". That's a full foot taller than Sonic! He weighs 39.9 kg or 87.7 lbs, and his birthday is on September 28. He's 378 years old, finally giving us a clearer idea of exactly how long the Brotherhood has existed, considering earlier issues were very unclear and inconsistent on the matter. Like Sally and Julie-Su, however, his character file doesn't give us any new information, merely recapping the previous events of the comic as well as history we've already been shown. Still, in a way, having such inconsequential information as his height, weight, and birthday really kind of serves to humanize him in a way - or, er, "Mobianize"? Eh, whatever, you know what I mean.
#nala reads archie sonic preboot#archie sonic#archie sonic preboot#sonic the hedgehog#sth 105#writer: karl bollers#writer: michael gallagher#pencils: ron lim#pencils: nelson ribeiro#colors: joshua d ray#colors: aimee r ray#colors: frank gagliardo
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Fox Rain chapter 03
@lilanette-week
@supermenteuse
@emblian
@starcrossed-stardust
I’m back! Sorry for the delay, but I needed to find information on foreign etiquette-and writing it was absurdly hard. Anyway, I started writing this chapter after the first episode of season 3. I will take some hints from that, but I still remain of the opinion I had when I started writing this: that Lila, when she first appeared, wasn’t evil. That, and in her months of absence she had been the target of a very experienced manipulator capable of using excessive means (seriously, financing a movie just to piss Lila off at the right moment?!)… And today we have the decisive moment. What, at least in my version, would have started pushing Lila toward the one villain that Papillon cannot control, but, due different circumstances, has a completely different outcome.
Chapter 03: Her Holyland
“Salima, was Vorpika hidden inside a half-Klingon, half-duck creature?!”
“I suppose we could call it that, y-”
The suite’s phone ringed, prompting Salima to distract herself-just long enough for her charge to leave.
Natalie took the pre-paid SIM card out of the old burner dumbphone, broke it, and threw it in the public thrash bin. It had done its job to try and isolate Lila Rossi from her oldest friend, and no matter if it worked or not it wouldn’t do to risk it being traced back to her. She had made the call from her car as she went to work for that reason, after all.
As she prepared to go back to Agreste’s mansion she started hoping it would work. She was painfully aware of how they were acting, and would be rather infuriating if it failed.
“WHO IN THE FUCKING WORLD WAS SUCH A DERANGED IDIOT TO PUT THIS ON LILA’S DESK?!” Lila and Marinette heard shouting.
That the shouter was Chloe Bourgeois, that she was pointing at the sheet of paper in her hand, and she had been cursing were all hints it was something unforgivable and she was beyond furious. Enough Lila glanced around for an Akuma, before grabbing the sheet from a very surprised Bourgeois and seeing it was a printout of a gossip site praising “Vorpika, the Real Wielder of the Fox Miraculous” and shitting on Volpina.
“I take I was being punked when they told me it’s a Parisian tradition to give new students some toilet paper?” Lila replied as she crumpled it, stopping Bourgeois mid-step as she was about to bolt.
“You-you aren’t getting Akumatized? I mean-”
“Just some idiot running their mouth and someone who should deal with I-know-what a better way.” Lila declared. Then, noting the whole class was there, she continued: “Speaking of idiots, I apologize for considering you one, and I think I did call you that, for taking at face value that claim about Jagged Stone. I had no idea it was believable.”
“Huff! As long as you admit you were wrong…” the mayor’s daughter replied. “But for the future, remember that in the class where everyone but two students and the homeroom teacher have been Akumatized at least once everything is believable.”
“And that makes sarcastic claims much more difficult to do.” the Italian girl replied with irritation. She had spent two whole weeks to come up with something unbelievable that would be immediate to the French, only to end in the same class as the daughter of Jagged Stone’s landlord and the girl who designed and created his Eiffel Tower glasses in an afternoon and drew the cover art for Rock Giant… What was she supposed to claim if she didn’t want to be believable? That Jagged Stone had a kitten? No, if what she had heard about his crocodile was true that could be believable too…
“Why don’t you use calling cards that declare you’re the Queen of Sheba?” Rose proposed, answering to the unvoiced question.
“For a very good reason: I hadn’t thought about it. You’re a lifesaver.”
With that Lila went to her seat, near Kudzberg, wondering why did Marinette and some of the others seemed so surprised about Bourgeois’ actions. Obviously she didn’t believe she’d let someone get Akumatized on purpose, so why she was so surprised?
As the class was being let out for the lunch break, Marinette was still having trouble believing that Chloe had been trying to stop an Akumatization. Maybe she was being unjust with her, but with everything she had pulled, especially in the four years before Marinette received her Miraculous, it was just surreal to see her trying to be helpful.
“But seriously, what’s with that stupid name? Vorpika, ha!” Chloe let out as she had been talking with Sabrina of the new hero, putting the world back in place.
“It’s Italian slang for “Fox-themed antihero from Rome”.” Marinette explained.
“And you expect me to believe it?”
“Would a confirmation from a Roman of Rome help?” Lila intervened. “The short version is that, back in the 1960s, the comic book Diabolik and its villainous protagonist made such an impression that it spawned an entire subgenre of Italian crime comics, and between that and Disney, of all publishers, getting in the game, in Italy names that end with “-ik” are reserved for villains and antiheroes of both genders, and “-ika” for female antiheroes(1). And if you add it to an actual word you can also get the character’s theme. For example, an evil guitarist would be named Chitarrik(2), a certain most evil comic book character was named Satanik(3) and Vorpika takes her name from the word for “fox” in Romanesco, the dialect of my beautiful Rome.
“An association quite obvious to an Italian… But not to a Frenchgirl, especially so far from the border. Let me guess, Italian relatives?”
“My grandmother, she used to visit often enough I picked up the language, well, I understand it, and a few other things, including body language. I used to be mistaken for an Italian on that alone…”
“Could have been worse, you could have been mistaken for an Englishgirl.”
Marinette was starting to get worried about Lila’s apparent hatred for England, but before she could even think to ask anything a tan boy their own age, dressed in rather covering clothes and with a pair of dark glasses and the most fake pair of mustache on his face, barged in and started addressing Lila in a language Marinette didn’t understand, with Lila covertly passing her phone to Rose that for some reason, used it to call someone as she left the classroom.
As Lila was calming down the newcomer, Marinette went in a corner and covertly asked Tikki what was happening.
“He guessed that Lila is Vorpika, apparently she “signed” her first appearance.” Tikki whispered. “Also, he thinks she got Akumatized on purpose to cover for it.”
As Marinette tried to process the fact someone could think Lila would do something like that (and noticed that Adrien too was in a corner and looked as Lila as she had grown a second head), none other than prince Ali’s chaperon came in and grabbed the boy with the fake mustache, who was looking at Lila in surprise.
“Had Rose call Salima, because, seriously, you have a crack shot as a chaperon for a reason.” Lila told her friend-who Marinette realized was the Prince Ali. “Seriously you can’t just come here like that!”
“After school at the hotel?” Ali replied.
“After school at the hotel. Stay safe, Lustro.”
“Don’t get into your nickname, Shijjar.”
As she looked at the prince being grabbed away by his chaperon, Marinette went to Lila, trying to speak through the shock.
“Yes, we are on nicknames term, comes with being each other’s oldest non-imaginary friend.” Lila said. “And no, we aren’t dating even if someone seems convinced we’re secret lovers.”
As Rose gave a shy smile at the remark, Marinette started wondering exactly how much had Lila actually lied, and why. It made no sense…
Trixx liked Lila for many reasons. Among others there were her cunning, her ability to use the illusions to their full and devastating effect, the “if I’m smart enough to pull it off” attitude (though that meant he’d have to work a lot to keep it in check. Especially at how she had accidentally used the “I’m half-Klingon half-duck”(4) in-joke between her and her friend and outed herself on the first sortie), the fact she actually knew how to play the dizi (he was a musical kwami, he needed that and instructing the Holder was always a pain), the wealth and related unwillingness to spend too much (by the description of her wardrobe, he’d have cried in pain had he been entrusted to Chloe Bourgeois), and the immense quantity of hair (made possible by the wealth) that allowed the kwami to stay close to her head without being noticed. The latter was especially useful right in that moment, as Lila, after visiting her royal friend, had just been given a potentially devastating news.
“What did you say?” Lila whispered in shock.
“This morning a woman called us and revealed that not only you aren’t friends with Ladybug, but also that you refused an offer of friendship.” Salima, the chaperon, repeated. “I of course reported this and all the very numerous details to His Majesty, who gave precise instructions.”
“Shijjar, my friend, you must make amends with Ladybug.” the prince said, looking pained. Trixx believed it was because he knew Lila well enough to anticipate her answer, or what she was thinking. “You are my sister in anything but blood, but our kingdom cannot afford to be seen linked to the enemies of Paris’ protector.”
Trixx knew exactly what Lila was thinking, who she was going to blame, and how she was going to react. He understood how angry she was, and that she’d blame the wrong person-unless he made her notice something:
“The chaperon said “woman”, not “girl”.” he whispered to his Chosen. And by her slight wincing he knew she had understood.
“It is not His Majesty’s policy to support such foolishness.” Salima said.
“But letting a terrorist use him and his heir to manipulate a girl is?” Lila replied coldly.
“What are you trying to come up with to get out of your trouble?”
“Who were the witnesses?” the prince instead asked, quickly realizing what his old friend meant.
“Only Ladybug, Adrien Agreste and myself were present for the initial encounter, though the terrorist Papillon obviously knows though the same magic he uses to find his victims. As for our later disagreement, it took place above Gustave Eiffel’s apartment in the Tower, with only Ladybug, Chat Noir and myself present-and the terrorist once again knows thanks to his magic.” Lila explained.
“And we actually don’t know if he has accomplices.”
“What?! Your Highness, you can’t believe this girl!” Salima protested.
“Why, exactly? It certainly makes more sense than the alternative. Would you please inform my father about this?”
“There is no need.” an unfamiliar voice announced, coming from an equally unfamiliar man that had appeared in the computer’s screen. Unfamiliar to Trixx, because the humans appeared to know who it belonged to, though both Lila and the prince appeared startled.
“Your majesty, I was not aware of your presence.” Lila said to the man without bowing, heavily hinting what country this man was king of. The following words confirmed it: “And I believe your son wasn’t either.”
“That was the point. I needed to know if he was ready to assume greater duties-though I cannot say I’m displeased to have missed this chance due something we should have suspected all along.”
“In the current circumstances? Easily forgiven.”
“Then I believe you should share the saltiest bread.”
“Of course, father.” the prince replied with a smile.
“I’m grateful for your attention, though I believe your subjects are worthier of it than myself.” Lila continued, in a display that would have likely confused many of the other kwami who lacked experience with the Arabic etiquette.
“I’ll follow your suggestion, then. Just… Please, find an honorable peace with Ladybug as soon as possible. Be well.”
As the king of Akdor left the conversation, Lila turned to Salima with an unpleasant smile.
“And so, we kept you from causing a mess.” she stated. “Though I believe I should be grateful-now I know who I should ruin.”
“Lila, calm down.” the prince told her.
“I am calm. Calmer than I thought I’d be with this mess.”
“That’s what worries me-you were just like this before you started denying non-existing rumors at your London school.”
“I agree, we should all calm down and discuss things around a good coffee.” Salima added.
“I’m not taking advice from you. You almost cost me my place in the world, my trust in people and my friends, my… Uh uh… My Holyland, that’s what you nearly cost me.”
“What did you say?” the woman hissed.
“Nevermind, I’ve read the hotel’s brochure and I see we need one of their services. Follow me, both of you… And please don’t interfere.”
The tone of the last phrase worried Trixx. The prince too, he looked focused and wondering what his old friend was thinking to do.
As she, her friend-currently doing something with his phone-and the add-on went to look for the one she needed, Lila was taking deep breaths to keep calm after being completely manipulated like that. Just a simple phone call from an accomplice and Papillon had her murderously furious at Ladybug, to the point she had almost been about to renounce to what until the previous day had called her oldest non-imaginary friendship just to have a shot at destroying her, and lose all remaining trust in her friends in the process. Sure, Lustro, the add-on and His Majesty had been fooled too, but considering what their realm was going on they had an excuse to not notice on the spot, while she had needed Trixx to realize what was happening.
Still, raging would not help. All she needed was to play along, wait for her chance, and at the right moment rip the Butterfly Miraculous from him and throw him to the authorities-no matter what his reasons were, the Princess Fragrance incident had left the French government and judiciary with no reason but hitting him with the full weight of their laws, and that was without counting Volpina and everything else(5). Maybe the French authorities would consider reopening Devil’s Island just for sake of a papillon pun(6)-that was what she’d do if she could, at least.
For now, however, she’d be content with exposing him for what he was besides a terrorist, and crumble the romantic ideas some people had to have on him. Not personally or by Lustro’s hand, she needed him not knowing she had found out. No, the Tiger would do it-she wouldn’t deny her this favor, and as she was in Beijing and normally lived in Tokyo and showed her location on the Ladyblog’s forum it was unlikely she’d be connected to her, even if the bowtie hebephile could track internet connections.
And now that she had found Bourgeois, she could get the password for the wi-fi and talk to her friend.
“Bourgeois, I need your help.” she asked to the mayor’s daughter, who had been using the phone.
“Uh… Just a moment.” the blonde replied before doing something and turning to her. “What can I do for you?”
“Well, I would need the wi-fi password, even a temporary one. I need to urgently contact a friend who’s currently in Beijing, a friend that doesn’t have the, how is it said in French, well, she’d end up spending a lot if I called her without internet and I just don’t have the time to go back to the Italian embassy or register at an internet cafe.”
“Does that have anything to do with your current collective mood?”
“Yes.”
“And it’s a o-”
Chloe was interrupted by her phone’s ringtone, Clara Nightingale’s It’s Ladybug, but touched it and put it away.
“Sorry for the interruption, Lila. Now, this thing that’s getting you furious and that you need need the wi-fi password for, it’s a one-time only, right?”
“Of course. I know I’m not registered as a guest and shouldn’t access the wi-fi, but…”
“Save it, here’s the password.” Chloe said as she pulled out a ticket with a password. “But remember, you owe me.”
“Thanks.” she replied, and web-called her friend.
“What’s up, Zorra?” her friend saluted her in French-one of the languages they shared-except for the chosen word for “female fox”.
“Just a thing that happened today.” she replied in Japanese. A language none of the presents knew, aside for Trixx, so they wouldn’t be able to stop her. “It’s a bit long to explain, and it’s urgent, but… Could you start a discussion on the Ladyblog’s forum and denounce Papillon as a pedophile?”
“… Why aren’t you doing it by yourself? Wait, are you planning to try and make yourself an accomplice to strike him down at the right moment?!”
“Exactly.”
“Don’t you think it’s crazy?”
“Precisely. And why it’ll work.”
“Uh-uh. By the way, does your Arabian prince know of what happened to make you plan that? Because I was on the forum right now and someone from Paris, username “Fatimid”, has just started that very discussion.”
“Come, scusa?”
“A guy calling himself Fatimid has started this very discussion a few minutes ago. Sounds like Prince Ali to me.”
“Oh. Sorry for disturbing you. I suppose tomorrow you’ll have to work with the movie…”
“Second day of shooting… And he’s even hotter in person!”
“Just… Just don’t make your parents grandparents, ok?”
“Not for another three years-no child of mine will be called a bastard! Good luck in that madpeople cage!”
“And you don’t start a revolution. Good night!”
Lila took another deep breath to calm herself, then she turned to the prince and leveled a glare to him.
“I’m your oldest non-imaginary friend, remember? We may have met before the Pantherhunt, but I still know exactly how you think.” Ali reminded her, completely unfazed. “And I’m not letting you get in that kind of mess.”
“What if I wanted to get in that kind of mess?”
“Then you were too angry to think straight.” called an unexpected voice, prompting Lila to turn-and see Ladybug and Chat Noir standing near a very smug Chloe, who was showing that her cellphone had an ongoing call… With Ladybug.
“Listen, Ladybug, I just discovered that Papillon tried a horrible thing, and-” Lila started, but was interrupted.
“And you’re going to let him anger you and give him power over you?”
Lila stopped, surprised at what she had just been said. She had to admit, at least to herself, she had screwed up. And she should be grateful to Ladybug-but why had she done it? She could have manipulated her so easily had she just let her stay angry…
“Wait, where’s Vorpika?” Chloe asked, jolting Lila from her thoughts.
“She’d been in Tokyo until a few days ago and was too busy investigating a possible trail to Papillon to rest.” Ladybug explained, surprising Lila again. The superheroine was quite good at lying for someone who hated lies so much…
Nathalie Sanscour was a user of the Ladyblog forum, and prone to use it during work hours. “Secretly”, of course-officially she had to keep it secret from Gabriel or risk a reprimand or being fired, something that would come handy if Adrien or the Gorilla (she really needed to find out his real name) saw her while she looked if someone slipped something useful for Paris’ supervillain. And her scouting of the forum was the reason for her current anger.
“Nathalie, calm down.” Gabriel told her, ignoring Nooroo as he chuckled at the irony.
“Calm down?!” the woman replied. “Sir, they’re calling you a pedophile! A PEDOPHILE!”
“And how did we act with Rossi?”
“Well, we tried to manipulate her, and-”
“She’s fourteen. Or fifteen. Between the age gap and teenagers being Akumatizable far more often than adults, it was only to be expected they’d mistake me for a pedophile.”
“But-”
“Don’t worry, I can shoulder this until I win-and then, it will have never happened. Now excuse me, but I need to set a supervillain on Rossi or the prince as soon as possible-I have a character to keep.”
As she waited for Vorpika with Chat Noir at the Eiffel Tower, Ladybug thought at what she had seen of Lila at the hotel-and the effect of her words. It had been a gamble, based on how close she was acting to certain things she had wanted to do before Tikki… And it had worked. That gave her a different perspective on the Italian traveler-one she’d rather not have, if it wasn’t for the bullet everyone, and especially Lila, had just dodged. If nothing else, Chat had accepted to just follow her lead on that-she hadn’t managed to tell about that even to Tikki, and Chat, sadly, was out.
“Hi, guys.” Vorpika said as she arrived, before coming extremely close to Ladybug. “The thing at the hotel, how, and why?”
“Well, we gave Chloe our numbers due the many Akumatizations she causes so at least she can get us to intervene, and she hadn’t abused it.” Chat interjected, trying to distract the fox. “Not yet, at least. We gave them to the mayor, Jean David the butler, the Agreste’s Gorilla, Marinette…”
“Makes sense… But it wasn’t about that. Ladybug, how did you know what to say to calm me down, and why?”
“I’d rather not talk about how I knew-and frankly, you wouldn’t believe it.” Ladybug replied. “As for why… Why not?”
“Because you could have easily turned me into your pawn, eliminated a future enemy and gained the best attack fox in Paris, that’s why!”
“Maybe I don’t want that. I want you as a friend, not a pawn.”
Vorpika stepped back, thoughtful and curious, muttering something about owing Ladybug her “holyland” (and using the English word). Then, after a few seconds, she asked: “Where did you guys learn how to fight without weapons?”
“I did some karate(7)-” Chat started.
“What style? Goju Ryu, Shotokan, Kyokushin? Was it sundome, or-”
“I was five and mom and father pulled me out after a month. Never knew why.”
“Oh. And you, Ladybug?”
“Well, I try and imitate my cousin, she’s a Savate practitioner and often shows off her moves to try and get me to join.” Ladybug said.
“So, one may or may have learned something years ago and never practiced again, and the other tries to imitate advanced moves without knowing the basics. Explains why you’re so bad. Fists in front of the face, now.”
After that, Vorpika taught them the jab-cross combo, or one-two. The very basic of boxing, she had said while she moved Ladybug’s left arm through the jab motions. Ladybug knew it was her way to not feel indebted for pulling her out of her anger at the hotel, not an actual sign of friendship, but was willing to wait. Maybe it would never happen, but at least she’d make sure to save her from herself and that she didn’t need saving-that was what she promised to herself.
Notes
(1)The longer version is as follows: in 1962 Diabolik was first published, and its success spawned the “Nero Italiano” (Italian Noir) genre, comic books characterized by being a rather violent take on the crime genre and featuring protagonists whose name includes the letter “k” (not used in Italian words) or, sometimes, the suffix “-ik”; among the public outrage (including even judicial seizures and trials) also appeared parodies such as Cattivik (created by Bonvi, of Sturmtruppen’s fame, and then gifted to fellow author Silver) and Dorellik, and Disney Italy, when creating an antihero alter ego for Donald Duck, named it Paperinik (also known as “Duck Avenger” in the English-speaking world), adding the suffix “-ik” to Donald’s Italian name “Paperino”, and this being still Disney they also gave one to Daisy (in Italy, “Paperina”. Disney is usually more clever than this…) and called it “Paperinika”; while the genre all but disappeared under moral outrage and the low quality of most of Diabolik’s successors, it and especially Diabolik (who is still published) had already left a standing impact on Italian comics and media, that included the association of the suffix “-ik” with antiheroes and villains and “-ika” with female antiheroes.
(2)That is how Guitar Villain is named in the Italian dub of Miraculous Ladybug.
(3)An actual Italian comic book created to ride on Diabolik’s success, whose protagonist renamed herself Satanik upon getting the power to act on her revenge plans.
(4)Blame Astruc, he said that when he was asked about Lila’s ethnicity. Then again, that and crazier could be applied to all Italians…
(5)The Princess Fragrance incident saw an Akuma villain attack foreign royalty and diplomatic personnel (what the prince’s chaperon would count as), both covered by diplomatic immunity, and he made a full threesome of attacks on people covered by diplomatic immunity the moment he Akumatized Lila, the daughter of an Italian diplomat. Simply put, after those stunts the minimum Gabriel can get is life in jail with eligibility for parole at 18 years.
(6)The Bagne du Cayenne (Penal Colony of Cayenne), also known as Devil’s Island, was a French prison famous for being used for internal exile of political prisoners and the harsh treatment of the inmates (up to 75% death rate). Closed in 1953, the prison is the subject of numerous books and movies, including Henri Charriére’s best-seller Papillon.
(7)Chat said that in “Simon Says”. Given his performance and Gabriel being Gabriel, either his dojo wasn’t focused on combat (more common than one would expect) or he didn’t stay there long.
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My Top 10 Albums of 2018
If you know me well, you know I do this every year. It’s not in the hope that people will read it; more a sort of time capsule that I can look back on in the future and fondly remember the music that soundtracked my year. Some years, there’s a clear and obvious number one (Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly in 2015, for example). Others – such as this one – are more of a close-run thing, with the top spots changing sometimes as late as the writing process.
Before I get to my top ten, I would be remiss not to mention a few albums that missed out but have nonetheless been regulars in my rotation this year. Firstly, I should tip my cap to the experimentation shown by Beach House, Ben Howard, and Low, all of whom showed a refreshing intent to break from their norm and make some greatly interesting music. I’m also acutely aware of the lack of representation for R&B and hip-hop in my top ten – I didn’t ignore these genres, it just so happened that they weren’t among my ten favourites. Kids See Ghosts and Earl Sweatshirt in particular came close, and Janelle Monáe was another that I enjoyed greatly. Here’s my honourable mentions list in full:
Beach House – 7; Ben Howard – Noonday Dream; Low – Double Negative; Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer; Brockhampton – Iridescence; Anderson .Paak – Oxnard; Villagers – The Art of Pretending to Swim; Jeff Tweedy – WARM; Matt Maltese – Bad Contestant; Kids See Ghosts – Kids See Ghosts; Pusha T – Daytona; Earl Sweatshirt – Some Rap Songs; Parquet Courts – Wide Awake; Kurt Vile – Bottle It In; The Beths – Future Me Hates Me; Jungle – For Ever; Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel; Mitski – Be The Cowboy; Hop Along – Bark Your Head Off Dog; Lucy Dacus – Historian.
Also, here’s a Spotify playlist of all my favourite tracks from the year.
Now on to the top ten…
10. Blood Orange – Negro Swan
I’ve got a soft spot for a true album – one that’s greater than the sum of its parts, and should be listened to as a whole. There are actually very few tracks on Negro Swan that hit home outside the context of the album. But there’s so much to like here: the way tracks flow into each other, punctuated by regular snippets of dialogue from the likes of transgender activist Janet Mock. The word that defines this album is ‘introspection’ – there are regular references to the desire to be loved and the fear of allowing oneself to be loved completely. At times the tracks feel frustratingly unfinished, and that’s all that keeps this at the back end of my top ten.
Highlights: ‘Saint’, ‘Charcoal Baby’, ‘Nappy Wonder’
9. Snail Mail – Lush
It’s been a hell of a year for young, female indie rockers (more on that later…), and Lindsey Jordan (A.K.A. Snail Mail) is perhaps the most prodigious of them all. The teenager’s debut, Lush, is a highly impressive record that showcases her signature sound: subtle, twinkly guitar melodies and foot-tapping drum beats. It tails off a little towards the back end of the album, as the novelty of her style begins to wear off. You wonder if this was a record she rushed into making, to capitalise on the considerable hype around her. If that’s the case, it’s a shame as a few more songs to the standard of ‘Pristine’ and ‘Heat Wave’ may have pushed this album up into my top five.
Highlights: ‘Pristine’, ‘Heat Wave’, ‘Stick’
8. The 1975 – A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships
This album is getting a lot of love, and I’ll admit that on first listen I didn’t get the hype. The 1975 are a somewhat controversial band – they face lavish praise and upturned noses in seemingly equal measure. There were moments of their absurdly-titled previous record that I liked, but their overly synthetic sound and Matty Healy’s unique vocal style are occasionally grating. ABIIOR has its flaws, but there’s also much to admire. They’ve incorporated a variety of styles, from stripped-back acoustic to arena pop and even jazz. The obvious themes of life and love in a digital age are well-explored and the production is, at times, gorgeous. Stick with it – it might just grow on you.
Highlights: ‘Love It If We Made It’, ‘Inside Your Mind’, ‘I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)’
7. U.S. Girls – In A Poem Unlimited
In many ways, this record is a better executed version of the 1975’s. Meg Remy looks at similar themes of our problematic modern world, though in her case she explores them through a lens of feminine anger. Songs like ‘Rage of Plastics’ and ‘M.A.H.’ are direct, furious tirades towards American politics in the Obama era. The instrumentation and production is staggeringly brilliant throughout, with each track demonstrating a different string from Remy’s bow. On ‘Rosebud’, she channels her inner Madonna to produce one of the finest, most listenable indie pop tunes of the year.
Highlights: ‘M.A.H.’, ‘Rosebud’, ‘L-Over’
6. Maribou State – Kingdoms In Colour
My favourite electronic album of the year, Kingdoms In Colour improves on Maribou State’s encouraging debut, 2015’s Portraits. The improvements lie in their balance between the dance-pop hits, where they utilise long-time collaborator Holly Walker on vocals, and the more experimental, sample-based pieces that make up the rest of the album. It’s the latter that leave the most lasting impression, no better than on ‘Vale’, with the sample of Melanie de Baliso’s ‘I Feel You’ dovetailing beautifully with the group’s accompanying melody. If you’re looking for an album to put on as a backing track at your next party, look no further.
Highlights: ‘Beginner’s Luck’, ‘Nervous Tics’, ‘Vale’
5. Big Red Machine – Big Red Machine
A collaboration between Bon Iver and the National was never going to be bad, was it? Big Red Machine doesn’t quite hit the heights you might expect from such a high-profile meeting of minds, but there are enough moments of genius here to make it an album worth revisiting repeatedly. For the most part, Justin Vernon leaves his trademark complex song structures at the door in favour of simpler, more lineal compositions. This leads to some tracks feeling repetitive at times, although even these feature a central hook strong enough to keep you interested. And on 'Lyla', with its polyrhythms and meandering structure, there are hints of the exciting fruits this partnership could eventually produce.
Highlights: ‘Lyla’, ‘Hymnostic’, ‘I Won’t Run From It’
4. Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
Perhaps Arctic Monkeys’ most divisive album since Humbug, TBHAC is also their bravest and most ambitious. It’s essentially a concept album – tales of a futuristic hotel on the moon brought to life by Alex Turner’s controversial switch from guitar to piano. It’s no surprise that the album has alienated some of the band’s more fundamentalist fans, as there’s a blatant lack of Turner’s usual indie dancefloor hits as well as a side-lining of outstanding drummer Matt Helders. Instead, we’re treated to songs without clear structures and, aside from ‘Four Out Of Five’, catchy choruses. Turner occasionally strays too far towards self-indulgence (‘Batphone’ is a difficult listen), but he’s still a remarkable lyricist and he’s produced an album that cements their status as the band of their era.
Highlights: ‘Star Treatment’, ‘American Sports’, ‘Four Out Of Five’
3. boygenius – boygenius EP
I may be cheating a tad here by including an EP, but given that there’s as much to enjoy here as on many fine albums released this year, you’ll excuse me. boygenius are a supergroup of sorts, featuring female up-and-comers Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. Individually, all three are well worth a listen. But their collaborative EP propels them to new heights. Each has their own songwriting moments (two each from the six-track EP), and these intertwine through stunning vocal harmonies to form a completely cohesive collection of songs. The finest moments are Bridgers’, with her soft vocal timbre particularly captivating on ‘Me And My Dog’. We can only hope the success of this experiment results in a full-length album in 2019.
Highlights: ‘Me And My Dog’, ‘Souvenir’, ‘Ketchum, ID’
2. Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour
No album surprised me more in 2018 than this one. After a slew of out-of-this-world reviews, I decided I had to give Golden Hour at least one listen – if only to be able to confirm it as what almost all country pop albums are: ‘not for me’. The thing is, this record transcends genre, and even those who like neither country nor pop will appreciate its beauty and the quality of its songs. Everything on Golden Hour is well-executed: Musgraves sings beautifully; the instrumentation feels minimal yet rounded; the production is absolutely on-point; and the melodies are to die for. There are even psychedelic elements throughout – nods to Musgraves’ use of acid during the album’s production. Give this album a chance, leave your prejudices at the door, and you’ll be treated to a simply perfect collection of pop songs.
Highlights: ‘Slow Burn’, ‘Wonder Woman’, ‘High Horse’
1. Soccer Mommy – Clean
As I mentioned, this wasn’t a runaway number one. But the more I re-listened to my shortlist, the more it became clear that Clean was the strongest candidate for top spot. Snail Mail and boygenius have already taken spots in my top ten, demonstrating what a strong year it has been for female indie vocalists. But Soccer Mommy’s (Sophie Allison’s) album just feels like the finished product that both Snail Mail and boygenius are aiming to eventually produce.
Clean doesn’t just contain great songs with deliciously spiky lyrics (the opening line of ‘Your Dog’ is a belter), it also feels so well balanced. Laid-back, melancholy tunes like ‘Still Clean’ and ‘Blossom’ are countered by catchy indie numbers like ‘Cool’ and ‘Skin’. Allison’s voice seems refined too – perfectly able to handle those two ends of the spectrum. Considering the album centres on a feeling of teenage angst, the sound feels remarkably mature. It’s a worthy album of the year.
Highlights: ‘Cool’, ‘Skin’, ‘Blossom (Wasting All My Time)’
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