filler chapter for the space in between titles

☾ ☽

Hawk Moth was ready. He was ready his whole life, and everything in it was leading up to this very moment. His environment was perfect to cast his first Akuma. His surroundings were constantly cloaked in darkness. The air was chilled and cold, just the way his evil soul liked it. Actually, it was his kwami who enjoyed the weather, not him, but it was rather obvious that he would eventually succumb into his role. And besides, he had gloves on. His hands were gripped tightly around his cane, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.

The man always wondered why his mask had to be so tight and was necessary to envelope his entire head. Why couldn't he possibly have a face mask like his nemeses, Ladybug and Chat Noir? Would it be an instant and dead giveaway if his luscious locks or his chiseled jawline were to be revealed? He couldn't protest though; he could push through the over straining headgear for absolute power. As a bonus, he looked snazzy in his purple suit. If we were to get technical, he would be wearing a dark purple dress shirt with a black vest, a light pink butterfly-shaped brooch with a purple button in the center, and black dress pants. Whatever floats your boat, or in Hawk Moth's case, whatever flies your little Akuma.

The room was pitch black, with no light to shine the way. How he didn't slam his face into the wall a couple of times, Hawk Moth didn't know. Okay, actually, he did. But he had dignity to keep, or whatever he had left. Luckily, no one was there to witness it.

To be honest, Hawk Moth was a little lonely. He couldn't possibly voice this out because he had this all powerful reputation to hold up, like his dignity. Ladybug and Chat Noir had each other, but he only had himself and the people he could akumatize, and frankly, he would prefer not forcing people to become his friend. That would only make him sound straight up lonely. Compelling someone to steal magical items or to become BFFs with a villain were two separate topics. But would you want to be alone in a dark and empty observatory where the only living beings around were white butterflies and you could barely make it into the middle of the room without stepping on them? No? Hawk Moth didn't think so.

This whole thing made Hawk Moth sound like a hypocrite, but it didn't matter. He was about to have his first go at getting the two superheroes' Miraculous. He closed his eyes, calming and readying himself to sense any strong feelings of negativity and depression while settling the butterflies in his stomach (not literally, of course. That would be disgusting). Hawk Moth would be the monarch now.

A minute went by.

Then another.

And now Hawk Moth was beginning to get impatient. "Why isn't anyone getting upset?!" He yelled, not realizing that he himself was getting upset. Pounding his cane against the ground caused a few butterflies to stir, "Where's the kid who cries when he drops his ice cream, or the high school student who failed another chemistry test? This isn't Disneyland!" Hawk Moth placed his head in his hands in exasperation, "Ridiculous." He knew he should've signed up for those meditation classes.

Suddenly, like lightning, something struck him. He froze in his spot. The window of his lair began to open, and Hawk Moth winced at the sudden blue and mysterious light. The butterflies immediately took flight as the window opened to full capacity, fluttering around in the air like a swarm of bees. It was oddly a lot more distracting than Hawk Moth originally thought it would be.

"Ah, what happened was..." The powers of his kwami gave him the ability to see who was experiencing such sorrow, and he instantly frowned, "A young girl, possibly in her teens, doesn't know what to write for her latest chapter online? Will this even suffice?" He squinted as he tried to zoom in on his vision to get a clear look. The girl was angrily pounding her face into the keyboard, obviously engulfed in frustration. His face grew into disgust. He didn't want to mess around with such a mentally distressed human, but this was his only chance. Hawk Moth shook his head and continued with his monologue, "Unable to rid yourself of writer's block? Have no fear, my soon to be Akuma, for it will be your readers who will dangle on a cliffhanger."

He held out his leather gloved hand, waiting for a butterfly to land. Nothing happened. He swiftly looked around at all the butterflies flying around his head, not giving a single care in the world about his situation. "Blast it!" He grumbled, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a small plastic bottle and spraying a sort of all natural mixture onto his hand that would attract the ghastly creatures.

Holding out his hand once again, he watched with anticipation as his first butterfly gently landed onto the palm while moving very gingerly. "This is it! The beginning of a new regime," Hawk Moth smirked with a hint of delight, like a child who lost their first tooth. His right hand began to move to being the akumatizing process, but he couldn't hold himself back.

Due to his excitement, he accidentally brought his hand down a bit faster than he was expecting.

And there was an unfortunate squish.

Then the awkward silence began. Hawkmoth didn't dare to move. He slowly started to remove his hands, but closed them back together after discovering the disgusting sight. His light blue eyes darted around, hoping to find anything to wash off the residue with. But of course, since a villain's lair had to be secluded and empty according to the manual Evil Lairs for Dummies, there wasn't a nearby sink. He sighed, feeling a little tickle behind his eyes. Perhaps the lonely man could wash his hands with his tears.

Sadly, for Hawk Moth, this was just the beginning of his problems.

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okay, i'll be honest, this was really fun to write.

i hope you come to love the little Hawk Moth a little more due to this brief one-shot ^^

thanks to everyone for their kind comments on the past chapter; i'm so delighted that you love this piece of trash :')

xoxo,

arisa