#I hope not for Adrien's sake

[rosie-b]

Follow the Red Wooly String

A soulmate story written for day 6 of @adrinetteapril, "Red String" (with art!!!)

The art is a commission from the talented @sinkdraws! Her commissions are still open, so consider getting some of her art for yourself, and reblog the non-png version of this image from her, too!!

Without further ado, you can read the fic on AO3 or just below! I hope you enjoy :D

The first time Marinette saw the strings, she thought she was hallucinating.

Everyone knew about the Seers, the few people capable of seeing soul-binding strings, but it was exceptionally rare to meet one, let alone develop the Seers’ ability oneself. And, well, Marinette knew herself well enough to know she couldn’t fully trust herself after pulling an anxiety-and-ADHD-fueled all-nighter. Last time it’d happened, she’d been fully convinced that Nino had grown his hair out into a mohawk and loudly complimented him on it several times before passing out in the middle of class. In the aftermath, Nino had sworn to never wear a new hat without telling Marinette about it first again.

So, Marinette had been more dubious than shocked when she closed her eyes for a second too long on her walk to class in the morning and opened them to see a mess of red, white, black, and yellow strings tangling and shifting around on the pavement in front of her. It was a cool hallucination, she knew it was, but Marinette wasn’t about to celebrate having a new power that she’d most likely daydreamed up.

Her heart still did a happy, nervous dance when she saw the deep red string that had just appeared on her finger, though, and Marinette really didn’t want to quash the hope that her vision was coaxing to new life in her chest! She’d wanted to know who her soulmate was for so long, before becoming Ladybug and meeting Master Fu, anyway. What if she finally had a chance to find them?

On the other hand, though, it was probably safer for her not to find out who they were.

Chat Noir had always believed that they were soulmates. He’d asked Master Fu, the day they’d been invited to his home and the turtle kwami had revealed that Master Fu was a Seer, if he’d chosen them because he could tell their strings were connected. 

Master Fu had only chuckled and said that he’d chosen them because he knew they would work well with Plagg and Tikki, not for any other reason. Besides, if Ladybug and Chat Noir really were soulmates, and if Master Fu told them that now, he’d claimed, that would add to the risk of another Seer seeing the string while they were detransformed and telling them each about it, thus revealing their secret identities.

They both knew what that meant— they’d have to give up their Miraculous, even if they were platonic, not romantic, soulmates. Their secret identities were crucial in the fight against Hawk Moth. So, Chat Noir had given up his hope of confirming their bond, and Ladybug had reluctantly given up her dream of finding her own soulmate (or soulmates). After all, if a Seer did take an interest in finding out whose string connected to hers, wasn’t there a risk that the same Seer might find out Ladybug’s identity, or at least who Ladybug’s soulmate was? 

She didn’t want to put herself or her soulmate in danger like that, so she’d suppressed her childhood dream of being brought to her soulmate by a kind Seer and a little red string.

But sometimes, Marinette couldn’t help but stare at Adrien’s pinky finger during class and imagine a scarlet red string there, connecting his soul to hers. Love was a foolish thing, but Marinette wished she could afford its risk for the sake of being with Adrien. As Ladybug, though, she’d never be able to, so even after Master Fu handed over the Guardianship to her, she ignored her dream of being connected to Adrien as much as she could. Because she loved him, she didn’t want to put him in danger with her foolish hopes.

Today, though, as she approached Ms. Bustier’s classroom (only five minutes late!) and watched as the string trailing down from her finger seemed to grow taught, Marinette couldn’t help but hope that maybe, the universe was making an exception for her. Maybe, if she really was becoming a Seer, that meant she could finally find her soulmate without needing to worry about her secret identity!

Maybe this was a sign… if it wasn’t just an exhaustion-fueled hallucination, that was.

Marinette slid into her seat with a quiet apology to her teacher, who sighed but didn’t act surprised, since this kind of behavior wasn’t really that uncommon for Marinette. As Ms. Bustier resumed her lecture, Marinette found herself staring down at the string on her finger again.

It’s still there. What if it is real? She wondered.

Marinette looked around quickly, to make sure no one was watching her, and then gently poked the place where the string seemed to be. If the stories were true, only Seers could physically touch the strings. Everyone else phased through them or avoided them, as though by instinct, but the Seers could follow a string to its owner by sight and touch, and they were even capable of untying the string, releasing the bond between soulmates. That only happened rarely, Marinette remembered as she grasped the thick, red string tied around her little finger.

As it turned out, her string was soft, like it was made with fluffy wool. She touched it again, marveling at the texture under her fingertips. It felt so real! 

In front of her, Adrien shivered.

“You okay, dude? Classroom too chilly for you today?” Nino’s whisper barely reached Marinette’s ears.

Adrien hesitated and then shook his head in response as Ms. Bustier shot Nino a meaningful look. There was no escaping the teacher’s attention for students in the front row.

Marinette turned her attention back to the string for another moment before leaving it alone to at least pretend to take notes. In her sleep-deprived state, her notes usually left something to be desired (legibility, for one), and she shot a nervous glance at Alya, who caught her gaze and offered a smile and nod in return.

“I got you, girl,” she mouthed, and Marinette smiled and mouthed a sincere thank you back.

Class moved on, and Marinette lost herself in trying to pay attention, and then in the way the light from outside fell on Adrien’s hair, and then in several doodles serious notes until lunch. At that point, she decided it would be okay to sneak another peek at her soul-string, if it was still there.

It was, trailing down from her finger to a small, coiled pile on the floor between her and Adrien. Marinette traced it with her eyes as she slowly began to pack up.

Then, Adrien got up to leave, saying something to Nino about lunch at the mansion today, and the pile of Marinette’s soul-string began to unwind itself. Some of it began to follow Adrien, and Marinette jumped up in a panic. 

Her heart rate spiked as she worried about what this could mean; was this part of the hallucination? Was the universe telling her that Adrien was taking her heart away for good? That she’d never have him, but never be able to move on from him? No! She couldn’t accept that!

Marinette knew there was only one thing to do: she had to get her string back from Adrien before he stole it all away!

Alya, who was giving Marinette a concerned look, snapped in front of her face. “Girl, are you okay?” she asked, sounding worried. “What is it?”

Marinette gave Alya a serious, determined look.

“He’s taking my string away,” she declared with a frown, and Alya’s face pinched. 

“Who’s doing what? Sorry, Marinette, but what do you mean?”

Marinette began speed-walking out of the door, leaving her things at the bench. “My string is following him, but I’m not gonna let him steal it from me!” she exclaimed, and hurried off in the direction of her string. She stared intently at the ground, watching as the string tangled and weaved through a mess of other ones. She couldn’t let it escape her sight!

Alya sighed and stayed behind. “Oh, no, don’t worry. I’ll get your stuff for you, Marinette!” she called. “And then you’re taking a nice long nap,” she muttered. Marinette ignored her as she hurried along until she caught up with the culprit, the thief of her treasured string.

Stopping in front of him, Marinette posed dramatically, sticking her hand out and demanding, “Adrien, give me my string back!”

The students in the hallway muttered to each other as Adrien stared at her with a completely perplexed look on his face.

“Give you what? Marinette, what’s going on?” he asked, sounding concerned. “Is everything okay?”

Marinette frowned, and her face went red in the usual fashion even as she stuttered out her defense. She couldn’t let herself be distracted by a pretty face, even if it was Adrien’s!

“String, you keep, uh, thief, uh, give it back!”  She launched herself toward the string, grabbing it and pulling until she reached some invisible knot near Adrien’s finger. He flinched in response, looking hurt and surprised.

Nino, who was standing beside Adrien, looking confused, suddenly lit up. He reached out, stopping Marinette before she could untie the string and take it back.

“Marinette, wait! You said Adrien has your string?”

Marinette paused, looking at Nino suspiciously.

“Yes,” she said slowly. “He’s stealing it; I saw it follow him when he left class!”

Nino nodded, furrowing his brows as he came up with a response. “So, is the string still attached to your finger, too?”

Marinette blinked. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of checking!

She peered down at her own hand, stepping back from Adrien as she did so, and noticed a familiar red string still tied around her finger.

“Yes,” she answered as the gears in her head began spinning, “Yes, it is.”

Adrien choked, and Nino nodded, relaxing. “Cool. So, dude, it sounds like Adrien’s not stealing it, then, right? Since it’s tying you two together,” he said, elbowing Adrien with a small grin.

Adrien’s face turned bright pink. “Nino,” he hissed, looking embarrassed. Nino kept going, though.

“And if it’s your string, and it’s still attached to you, and it’s attached to Adrien, then that sounds like a soul-string to me. This must mean you guys are soulmates!”

Marinette stared at Nino, then at Adrien, and then at the red string still connecting her finger to Adrien’s.

“Oh, no,” she whimpered, the horror of what she’d almost done hitting her. She’d almost untied the string binding her soul to Adrien’s! What kind of half-rate, half-witted Seer was she? “Oh, no, Adrien, I’m so sorry! I—” 

Just then, Alya came out of the classroom, walking up behind Marinette and offering her the backpack she’d forgotten inside. 

“Girl, you are a mess today! Are you sure you— wait. What’s going on?”

Alya looked around at the huddle of students in the hall, who were still staring at Marinette, Nino, and Adrien.

It was all a little too much for Marinette, who’d had a very long day for someone who hadn’t gotten any sleep that past night.

She reached out and grabbed the bag from Alya. “Thanks-see-you-later-bye!”

Before anyone could say anything (before she could embarrass herself further), Marinette took off running towards her home.

It was, without a doubt, the worst morning of her life.

__*__*__*__*__

Finding out who her soulmate was by trying to untie the string binding them together was possibly the most embarrassing thing that had happened to her, Marinette reflected. It hadn’t even been the weirdest thing she’d done — jumping into a dinosaur’s mouth was definitely higher on that list — but she knew the morning’s events would be featuring in her nightmares for years.

She’d almost rejected Adrien, her true love, as her soulmate— by accident, but still! It was hard to fathom a more awkward situation.

Still, after a short lunch and a semi-refreshing nap, she shouldered her backpack and headed back to afternoon class, full of resolve. She couldn’t run away from the mess she’d made! She had to make sure Adrien knew she wasn’t upset that they were soulmates, and that she hadn’t meant to hurt him earlier.

She’d only tell him the color of their string if he wanted her to, though. After all, just finding your soulmate was a big enough occurrence; being told whether the soul bond was romantic or platonic might be too much to find out in one day, especially considering how the reveal had happened.

Marinette hoped Adrien hadn’t decided to stay home to avoid her after what she’d done. He’d seemed pretty overwhelmed by her sudden attack on the soul-string earlier, but not unhappy when Nino had figured out that Marinette and Adrien were soulmates, so maybe that was a good sign. He had seemed really embarrassed, though, about as much as she’d been, herself, so maybe he’d choose to stay home, after all. Goodness knew his father would be only too happy to keep him there.

She didn’t have to worry, though; as she walked onto the school campus, Marinette could already see Adrien standing by the stairs. He looked nervous, she noticed as she walked closer, and if she concentrated, she could feel a kind of tension in their soul-string. She swallowed, mustered up a smile, and waved somewhat awkwardly as she approached him.

Marinette paused there, not quite sure what to do or say, and her eyes flitted over to Nino, who was standing beside his friend again, in hopes of some hint or encouragement. Before Nino could react, though, Adrien stepped forward. He opened his mouth, but hesitated, flushing, and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.

Then Marinette felt a slight push at her side from inside her purse. Tikki had encouraged her to tell the truth earlier, at home, and she knew the little kwami was counting on her to set things right.

So, Marinette mustered up all her courage and reached out for Adrien’s hand, the one with the string attached to it. Adrien looked up sharply, nervous and hopeful at the same time, if the emotions Marinette could lightly sense through their soul-string were correct.

“Hi, Adrien,” she said, smiling lightly as she shook his hand as if to introduce herself. “I’m Marinette, and it’s nice to finally meet you, soulmate.”

A brilliant smile broke out on Adrien’s face, and he pulled her into a hug as their classmates cheered around them. Marinette felt her face heat up, but the butterflies she felt in her stomach were happy ones, for once. After a long moment, Adrien finally stepped back, and Marinette noticed that his face was a bit pink, and it looked like he was crying. A spike of alarm shot through her, and she gripped his hands tightly.

“Are you okay?” she asked, feeling worried.

He squeezed her hands back, and Marinette felt a powerful thrum run through their soul-string. 

“I’m more than okay, Marinette,” he told her, “I’m just so happy! You’re not upset you’re my soulmate?”

Marinette’s face hardened. “Never,” she vowed. “I could never be upset about that, Adrien! I’m glad you’re my soulmate.”

Adrien wiped a tear away from his eye, smiling. “This is the best day of my life,” he choked out.

Nino grinned and clapped his back. “I’m really happy for you, dude,” he said, and Alya, who’d come to stand by him and was holding her phone suspiciously like she did to take pictures of the heroes, nodded in excited agreement.

“I feel like a proud mother duck watching my babies swim for the first time,” she joked. “We need a better picture. Pick a pose, sunshines!”

Adrien’s eyes widened, and he hastily dried the rest of his tears away. “A picture? I can’t even think of any poses right now, I’m too excited!”

Alya hummed. “The model can’t think of any poses? Well, that’s fine, I can! How about you dance with him, Marinette? Use up that excited energy before you have to sit still in class!”

Marinette flushed, looking up at Adrien. “A-are you sure, Alya? I can’t even dance, not really, I’m so clumsy!”

“You weren’t clumsy at Chloe’s party, Marinette,” Adrien said shyly. “I thought you were perfect.”

He offered his hands to her, smiling shyly, and she slowly reached out to take them. Nino pressed a button on his phone, and the two of them began swaying to the gentle beat of the music that started to play.

Alya exclaimed and cooed over them, and as the final minutes before class ticked away, Marinette relaxed as she and Adrien began dancing more naturally. She fell into the lead almost by accident, and Adrien grinned up at her as she dipped him while the music swelled. 

“Got your perfect picture, Alya?” she asked with a cocky smile as she spun Adrien around one more time.

“I think I do,” Alya confirmed, grinning at the two soulmates. “Should we head into class? I’m sure Nino can trade Marinette seats so you lovebirds can sit together.”

Adrien blushed and Marinette stuttered, but in the end, they slid into the first row together happily, smiling so brightly that even Ms. Mendeleiev seemed affected by the adorable scene, not mentioning the fact that they were a few seconds late to class the way she usually would. 

As she sat in class, Marinette reflected on her crazy day. She’d gone to school after pulling an all-nighter, discovered her soulmate, almost untied their soul-string, and gone back to school and made it up to him. And her soulmate really was Adrien! Her day could hardly get any better, and now she realized that maybe the universe had been sending her a sign, after all.

If another Seer was going to find out her identity because of the soul-strings, it had probably happened by now. She was no more at risk than she’d ever been, and she’d have to get used to the new feeling of freedom and fear that knowledge brought.

But it was a good feeling overall, a really good one. Maybe she’d even offer to find Chat Noir’s soulmate for him and spread the joy she felt over to him, too! Marinette smiled at the thought of her partner gushing about his new-found soulmate to her. He’d be so happy when he found out about hers, too!

For now, though, she was happy just sitting next to her soulmate, holding hands under the table and taking pride in the happiness radiating from his end of the string. Today had been a good day, after all! 

#and yes the title is inspired by 'follow the yellow brick road' XD #adrinetteapril2024 #ml fanfic #soulmates #adrinette #lovesquare #rosie-b writing #crack and fluff

[anxresi]

Based on what I’ve seen and read, it would appear as though...

...Adrien is the SECOND most underused and underappreciated character in the show (after Chloe, of course).

How could someone, with SO much going for them in terms of relevance to the plot (his dad is the main baddie, him being the main love interest and co-superhero, his NAME being in the title for God sake) be so wilfully ignored?

Let’s just say, Fu’s words about Ladybug and Chat being ‘equals’ sounds awfully hollow when presented with the actual evidence in canon. 

From what I understand, he even spent the big S5 finale locked up with Kagami ROBBING VIEWERS OF SEEING HIM CONFRONT HIS FATHER AND DISCOVERING THE TRUTH.

Inexcusable from a storytelling POV IMHO, but so is having your only apparent agency in the show being Marinette’s arm candy and messing up a LOT during superhero duty so Ladybug can look good by comparison.

What are his other interests, besides trying to make her happy in and out of costume? What are his other personality traits, apart from being a pliable doormat to her every whim? None, as far as I see.

‘Girl Power’ isn’t intentionally writing male characters to be subservient to their female counterparts, it’s about making them EQUAL in terms of importance & relevance. In as far as what I’ve learned about Adrien on the show of late, it looks like they failed miserably on both those counts.

Bring this up with Astruc, and naturally he’ll accuse you of being a ‘sexist’ or worst a ‘misogynist’ (talk about the pot calling the kettle black) and say something along the lines of ‘you just don’t want a GIRL in charge’.

Well considering about 99.9% of the people who bring this up with him ARE female, I fear he may have got his wires crossed on this one. EVERYONE wants a more equal partnership between the two title characters, and suggesting if you do you’re some kind of bigoted chauvinist is gaslighting of the highest order.

(Mind you, this coming from a guy who recently said Ladybug was Barbie and Chat Noir was KEN, so we can’t expect too much from him)

I must say, being an absolute Chloe stan (as if you didn’t know) I was a bit out of my comfort zone during this short rant, but I think it ties in nicely with my problems with the show’s formulaic and contradictory writing in general, so I thought I’d give it a go anyway. Hope I did okay!

 (Don’t get me started on that ‘Marinette must learn a lesson in every episode’ bullshit, either)

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to get in touch. Oh, and one more bonus meme to add to the collection... 

...Hopefully, you’re beginning to see my point. :p

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #ladybug #chloe bourgeois #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #chat noir #ml salt #ml #zag #disney

[blueberry-macaron]

Hey, i'm bored, can u recommend me some adrien salt fics (Bonus points if it's lukanette)

Bonus for Lukanette? Looks like I’m getting all the bonus points😂 I mean I haven‘t really read any Adrien salt fics for the sake of reading salt as of recent but because it was a Lukanette fic that happened to also have some salt😂 so yeah they’re all Lukanette whoopsie

Also I don’t know what exactly you’re looking for but most of those aren‘t really super heavy salt? And several salt on other characters as well, so beware. I‘ll try my best nontheless, hope that works for you

From the top of my head, here‘s a few I can think of:

Juleka vs the forces of the universe by @goldenlaurelleaveswrites , multichapter. Juleka is fed up with Mari being „meant for“ Adrien and works against the forces of the universe to get Lukanette to come closer. Beware, it‘s more or less salt against… well, everybody😂

Choice chances by @miraculouscontent , one-shot. Takes place after 5x02. Mari hangs out with Luka and opens up about her not feeling like she has much of a choice for her life. Adrien is only mentioned

Dread string of fate by @miraculouscontent , multichapter. You probably know that one, in which case, go reread it. It‘s a masterpiece

Everything from @miraculouscontent really😂

The one to make it stay by @thesaltyoceanwaves , multi-chapter. S3 Lukanette au. I love everything about it

Live with it by @quickspinner , multichapter. Aftermath of Chat‘s fuck-up in the NY special

The Ladybug‘s knight by Nyx_the_dragon on AO3, one-shot. Chat is being his obnoxious and flirty self and Luka gets akumatized over it.

Patient by 19thcentury on AO3, one-shot. Also NY special salt with mild Adrien salt. He‘s only mentioned

#ask #anon #fic recs #ml salt #adrien salt #yeah all of them are lukanette #and a lot of them are… fairly well known I guess? #eh doesn‘t matter they‘re still great

[uptoolateart]

A few episodes back – I forget which one because my head is so full of Representation now – in one of Emilie’s old videos she referred to Adrien as their ‘little prince’.

It stuck in my head, because again, we have to remember it’s a French show, and ‘The Little Prince’ is a French literary classic. I don’t think it’s a stretch to look at this, considering ‘Le Petit Prince’ merchandise is eeeeeverywhere in Paris, there’s a statue for him in the Grevin Wax Museum, and there are roads named after the author.

If you haven’t read the book, I recommend it. It’s beautiful, albeit very sad, and not very long. Without giving everything away, it’s about a boy with blond curls who comes to Earth from another planet. It is, at its heart, a story about loneliness, relationships, and learning to love, but it is also very much about the distinction between children and adults - namely, that adults have lost the magic, the ability to see things as they ‘truly are’. The adult world is depicted as materialistic and cold, a world of rules and ownership, while the boy knows love is the only thing that matters.

And when I say the book contains a love story…it revolves around the prince trying to nurture and care for and meet the demands of a red rose. Just thinking of Ladybug in red, and how many times Cat brings her / Marinette red roses. (For interest’s sake, other key characters in the book include a fox and a snake.)

I believe when Emilie refers to Adrien as their ‘little prince’…well, in a way, we can see this as him being heir to the empire, with expectations on his shoulders…but it’s that word ‘little’ that makes me feel she is indicating that Adrien is almost a wonder from another world, dropped into the confusing world of adults with bad priorities.

Just like the prince of the novella, Adrien begins his journey painfully naïve but has his eyes opened to the harshness of the world…and rejects all of it, refusing to become like that, as he grows.

I can only hope Adrien has a happier ending than The Little Prince.

Please no post-Representation spoilers in comments :)

#miraculous ladybug #ml fandom #mlb #ml adrien #adrien agreste #ml emilie #ml meta #ml analysis #the little prince #le petit prince #ml representation

[gale-gentlepenguin]

“Take care Marinette.” Adrien said as he kissed his girlfriend before getting into the car

“See you later Adrien.” She said sweetly, her smile as bright as the sun.

They didn’t want to leave the other but Adrien did have fencing practice and she needed to get back and help with some bakery deliveries.

Marinette started to walk to her scooter to head home.

“Aren’t you a bit old to be playing with dolls?”

Marinette stopped when she heard the statement. She looked to see if anyone was around only to see a man in a hoodie sitting on a bench.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?” Marinette asked.

The man turned his head to look in her direction, his face still obscured by the hood.

“Oh, did I say that outloud? My apologies.” The man said with a tone that came off as condescending.

“What did you mean by that?” Marinette interrogated. Something about what he said bothered her and she wanted to be sure she wasn’t misinterpreting it.

The man smiled deviously.

“I think we BOTH know what I meant.”

Marinette knew it, it was a dig at Adrien! Just because he is a model doesn’t make him a toy.

“Just because he was a model in the past doesn’t give you the right to treat him like an object! He is just like everyone else.” Marinette defended.

The man paused, before bursting into laughter.

“Oh I’m sure his creator worked hard to make him appear just like everyone else. Some real attention to detail with that one.”

Marinette felt her anger swell but some other emotion was percolating. The way this man was talking made it sound like…

“What are you implying?.”

The man stopped laughing. Seeing the clear anger at him.

“So you want me to be the one to say it then?”

“I want you to stop mocking my boyfriend.”

The man sighed.

“So does he have a choice in that or do you have his remote?”

Marinette felt her suspicion confirm. This guy knew Adrien was a sentimonster. And his disrespect for him was nothing short of grotesque!

“So you do know. For a moment I started to think you didn’t. A magical creature made of emotion, so close to human yet lacking a soul. Like a magical robot, comes with a kill switch and obedience chip. But no worries if he gets broken a new one can Always be…”

Marinette punched the man with all her strength, the man fell off the bench, but the hood remained.

“Quite a hook, you must have some experience in a scrap.” He said as he touched his jaw. “It hurts hearing the truth.”

“You know nothing. Adrien Does have a soul! He is real! And he has control! You don’t get to act like you know him! You don’t get to talk like he’s lesser than us. He is Human. He is a person. So shut your mouth or I will shut it for you!”

The man could tell she meant her threat.

“Very well, I will be taking my leave for now. But do make sure he has a grip on his Leash. I would be a shame if someone… Got a hold of it.”

Marinette growled and prepared to pop the mysterious man again but a loud horn made her look away, only for her to turn back and the man was gone.

Marinette tightened her fist. She felt disgusted by the man’s insinuation. She would push it away, for that persons sake, she hopes to never see him again.

But as she left, the man in the hood chuckled. Removing the hood and the mask that they were wearing. For it wasn’t a man, but a girl that appeared to be Marinette’s age.

“Just you wait Marinette. When I turn your pet against you.” She said with a villainous smirk.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #ml season 6 #ml ficlet #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrinette #ml speculation

[theerurishipper]

Do you deny the bad stuff Adrien does??? Like when he refuses to take no for an answer to ladybug rejecting his confessions,when he crosses boundaries?, like in gladiator 2 whare he spread out that he and ladybug are a couple when they aren't???

Can you explain???

I don't deny Adrien's flaws. I deny all the crimes the salters assign to him because he dares to disagree with their queen.

The "he refuses to take no for an answer" talking point just shows me that the people saying that have no understanding of narrative tone, because they clearly can't differentiate between what the narrative treats as a joke and what it wants us to take seriously. You can criticize the fact that they treat it like a joke, but you have to assign that flaw to the writers. In-universe, these actions are exaggerated for the sake of comedy, because ML relies on absurdist humor. Which is why it is ridiculous to use "Adrien doesn't take no for an answer" as a critique. It's disingenuous and it makes me want to just ignore anyone who takes it seriously, because they're just fishing for reasons to salt on Adrien instead of coming up with constructive critique.

It's the same as people who go on long, obsessive tirades about how Marinette is a creepy stalker, cause no, she's not. It's a joke. It's exaggeration for comedy. Him flirting and her being exasperated is supposed to be funny. Her breaking into his house in goofy ways and having his schedule mapped out is supposed to be funny. It's up to you to find it funny, and you can certainly talk about the fact that it shouldn't be used as a joke, but pretending this is some character flaw and not a joke is a bad argument, and makes me less inclined to take anyone who thinks that way seriously.

And in Glaciator 2, he didn't spread rumors about their relationship? It was some magazine that did that (they got voted couple of the year or something), and he was just making jokes about it. And he can be called out for that (and he is called out in the episode), but conjuring up imaginary flaws to make him look worse is not helping your point, because it just makes you look like you don't know what you're talking about. I hope that clears it up.

Thank you for your ask!

#MLB #ML Salt #ML Writing Salt #ML Writers Salt #ML Fandom Salt #Asks #Meta #My meta #This ask has stoked my paranoia tbh #Is someone talking about me specifically or is this a general question?

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Biodad! Bruce Wayne

Realised I haven't posted anything Maribat related in a while. Also realised that it's Biodad! Bruce Wayne month.

I am currently on break from fic writing until October. This happened because the wifi was out for a while and I lacked motivation to study.

-----

Marinette is a Wayne and everyone knows except for the new kids aka Alya, Adrien and Lila.

Mari doesn't flaunt her wealth or tried to hide it but everyone just sort of forgets when she is as down to earth as the rest of them.

Except for the certain times she shows it and everyone is violently reminded that she is richer than Chloe Bourgeosis (who can't stand that fact.)

Picture this, Set season 3-ish, Spring Break is over and everyone is coming back from their vacation.

Chloe comes in a limo and bragging about her vacation in the Carribean or something.

Adrien looks around and is like, "Where's Marinette?"

Marinette hasn't been heard from all break and Alya is only aware that she is visiting family in the States.

Anyways, bell rings to signal classes and still no sign of Marinette.

Then, the chopping sounds of a helicopter is heard and everyone looks up to the sky and sees one.

Everyone moved out of the way as they realised that it was going to land in the courtyard (Or the sake of crack and the magic of imagination and fiction, let's pretend this is allowed and possible)

"I wonder if that is a new student." Adrien wondered.

"Ooh, I hope they aren't another Chloe. They seem rich if they are coming to school by helicopter." Alya said.

"That's Marinette." Nino explained.

"Where?" Adrien looked around for his very good friend.

"The helicopter. It's hers. Well, it belongs to her family. See?" Nino pointed out the Wayne logo to his friends.

"No freaking way." Alya exclaimed, "Marinette's not…" She stopped upon seeing a familiar girl exit the helicopter, arguing with a man in English.

"B, I am not going back out on this. I am staying in Paris and that is final." Marinette yelled.

"Sweetheart, but think of the akumas. They are dangerous." The man tried to appeal to her.

"It's fine and I am not dead yet. Plus I don't want you bubble wrapping me to 'protect' me if I stay in Gotham."

"I am not that bad."

"It's that Bruce Wayne? That's Bruce Wayne." Alya pointed and turned to Nino, "Why is Bruce Wayne here and why does Marinette know him?"

"You don't know?"

"Of course, I don't." Alya feels like there is a story here and Nino is not telling her what it is.

Adrien raised his hands, "Same here."

"How do you not know?" Nino waved towards the pair, "Mari's father is Bruce Wayne."

"What?" Alya and Adrien exclaimed. Brain.exe has stopped working.

"Everybody knew that."

"We didn't. What do you mean my girl's father is one of the richest man on the planet?" Alya demanded as she shook her boyfriend for more answers.

"I know it sounds hard to believe but yeah. Marinette is Bruce Wayne's daughter."

Alya walked away in disbelief and muttering on her phone, trying to see if it was true. She screamed, "Oh my God" when she found Marinette's Wikipedia page.

Adrien is just looking like a lost puppy.

"Dude, you okay?" Nino asked.

"Why didn't Marinette tell me? I thought we were friends."

"Adrien, I think she forgot that you didn't know since all of us already knew and plus I thought you would have known before this. Don't you rich kids hang out in the same circles or something?"

"If my father lets me go out and that is rarely. So no."

"Oh right, your old man. Look, Mme. Mendeleeve is coming. We better get to class. You can ask Marinette why she didn't tell you then."

In the Meantime, Marinette and Bruce had stopped yelling at each other and were angrily doing ASL to communicate hero business.

The helicopter had flew away after dropping off its passengers.

"Mme. Marinette and M. Wayne, it's time for Mademoiselle's class to start so I hope you can continue this fight after school." Mme. Mendeleeve interuppted them.

"Yes, Ma'am/miss"

"And Marinette," Bruce called, "We will negotiate this for a compromise over lunch."

"Fine." Marinette groaned and walked away with the teacher.

Bruce ignored Damocles, who had hurriedly changed out of his Owl Knight costume to greet the billionaire, as he made his way to the expensive-looking car parked in front of the school.

"Oh, wait. Principal Damocles." Bruce said as if he remembered something before opening the door, "Marinette had been complaining about another girl in her class who had been threatening her and apparently framing her for cheating on test and theft. I was also told that she was expelled because of it. Why was I not aware about this?"

Damocles paled and stuttered out a poor excuse.

"I also hear that the Bourgeosis girl is still having her way with everything and picking fights with my daughter."

"About that. Chloe insists on being in the same class as Marinette and the Mayor intervene everytime we try to do something about it."

"I see. I am already considering pulling her out since Hawkmoth is making a big mess of the city. At least back at home, there are protocols in school for attacks but I don't see any in your school policies for akuma attacks."

"Um. We- er are working on it. You see Hawkmoth is a recent thing and um-" Blah. blah. blah. Bruce just hears more excuses.

"Hn." and Bruce gets into his car and drove away.

Damocles made a note to tell Bustier to take Marinette's side for a while.

In the class, Lila was eagerly bristling with excitement. There was a new student in school who arrived by helicopter and it had the Wayne logo. One of the richest children in the world was attending the school. Forget Agreste, this was a bigger fish to fry. She was far away to see who the student was and Mme. Mendeleeve prevented her from getting a closer look but she could recognise them by the red clothes they wore to school. Hopefully, they were in the same class as hers. Lila prayed hard to see a new face as people trickled in. She even got Nathaniel to sit with Ivan so there is an empty seat next to her.

However, she had no luck when Marinette, usually the last one to class, arrived and there was still no new student.

That is until Adrien asked loud enough for everyone to hear, "Marinette, why didn't you tell me that your father is Bruce Wayne?"

Lila nearly crack her neck by turning her head so fast to stare at Marinette who answered, "I thought you already knew." in a confused tone.

Sure enough, Marinette was wearing the same clothes the supposed Wayne child had. Lila has a crisis since one of the best golden ticket to fame and fortune already knew she was a liar.

"Is he really your father?" Alya grabbed Marinette.

"Yes." Marinette looked between Adrien and Alya who both looked betrayed, "Why do you look so confused about it? Everybody knew."

"Everybody. Except us."

Lila picked that moment to chimed in, "Marinette, how could you not tell me that you are a Wayne? I thought that we were friends." Hoping she could salvage something.

Marinette made a face and it was gone as she replied, "It's not like I hid the fact that I am a Wayne. Maybe I wasn't as obvious about my wealth like Chloe and most people assumed that my last name is Dupain-Cheng because she called me that. I kinda forgot you didn't know because everyone already knew. So no hard feelings?"

Alya sighed, "I can't get mad when I know how scattered you get. I mean some things are now obvious now that I think about it and it explains some things."

The rest of the day, Lila tries to act all buddy-buddy with Marinette and Marinette ignores her.

#maribat #biodad! bruce wayne #this time #ml x dc #mlb x dc #everyone knows marinette is a wayne #adrien is oblivious enough to not know something like that #as for the rest #Marinette has a Tony Hawk problem where unless she is wearing formal wear like a evening gown or a suit #People don't know she is a Wayne #that is why most people is so chilled about her being famous

[the-delta-42]

The Truth 1

The Truth

[1 The Truth] [2 Soul] [3 Through a Shattered Mirror] [4 Healing]

Marinette took a deep breath. Adrien deserved to know the truth, about her identity and how his father, who is now being hailed as a hero, was Monarch, the man who terrorised Paris for the past couple of years. Adrien stared down at her, his eyes soft and loving. Marinette hoped he didn’t hate her.

“Adrien?” Murmured Marinette, glancing up at him, “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?” Adrien murmured back.

“I…” Marinette’s mind went blank, “can’t remember.”

Adrien winced, “I hate it when that happens, you know what your gonna say and then to flies out of your mind.”

Marinette hummed, quietly pondering on what she was going to say.

TT

Ladybug looked down at Adrien, he was staring up at his father’s statue, with a troubled look on his face.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Asked Ladybug, making Adrien look up at her.

“I’m thinking about my father,” Confessed Adrien, “He gave his life to defeat Monarch, and he’s a hero for it, but all the stuff he did to me and my friends. How he hurt me and was unnecessarily cruel to my friend. He hated my girlfriend because she made me happy. I, I wanted him to be Monarch, j-just so I could feel justified in why I hated him so much.”

“I,” Ladybug paused, “I never knew you felt that way.”

“Yeah, well,” Scoffed Adrien, “He’s a hero now, everyone loves him. No matter how horrible he was or how bad he made others feel.”

Ladybug felt her mouth and voice move on their own accord, “I’m sure he was just doing his best, Adrien.”

Adrien scowled and scoffed again, “No offence, Ladybug, but you didn’t know him, you didn’t live with him, you didn’t have to work for him, and you didn’t have to try to reach out to him every day and get rejected.”

Adrien spun around and stalked off, as Ladybug gnawed at her bottom lip.

TT

Ladybug gnawed on her bottom lip, she’d asked Chat Noir to meet her, she’d made sure to specify that she wanted to see Chat Noir only, much to the rest of the team’s consternation. Since Monarch had been defeated and Gabriel’s statue had gone up, she’d tried to tell Adrien who his father really was, but every time she tried, the words wouldn’t need her mouth.

“Okay, LB, what’s the news?” Said Chat, making Ladybug jump.

“How many time do I have to tell you not to do that?” Gasped Ladybug, before straightening up, “Never mind, I have a problem.”

“Is it boy trouble? I promise not to cataclysm him too hard.” Rattled off Chat Noir, getting a sigh from Ladybug.

“It’s to do with Monarch’s identity.” Said Ladybug, not hearing the team all gasp underneath her.

“Oh, really?” Questioned Chat, “Who was he?”

“Gabrilllll- Gabb- for fuck’s sake, the guy who dressed like a candy cane before being bleached.” Spat Ladybug, internally cursing whatever was going on with her.

“Gabriel Agreste?” Asked Chat, slowly, “I’m sorry, M’Lady, but I thought he helped defeat Monarch?”

“In a roundabout way,” Dismissed Ladybug, “I can’t remember how, but he got the Miraculous, made the wish and then, nothing, I don’t know what changed, but he seemingly wished himself out of existence.”

Chat Noir swallowed, “W-why didn’t you tell Adrien this?”

“I’ve tried,” Sighed Ladybug, “that’s the problem, every time I try and tell him, my mind goes blank, and I keep forgetting what I’m trying to tell him. Then my mouth suddenly gets a mind of its own and tells him ‘Your father was a hero, he helped defeat Monarch’. It’s like my brain’s trying to erase that he was Monarch!”

“What?” Ladybug and Chat whirled around and spotted Carapace, “Adrien’s dad was Monarch?”

Ladybug groaned, before pinching the bridge of her nose, “Okay, okay, who else decided my instruction of ‘Chat Noir Only’ was a suggestion?”

Slowly, each and every member of the team crawled out from their hiding places. Ladybug groaned again.

“Yeah, I know, we didn’t listen to you and you’re not mad, just disappointed.” Said Rena, “However, in our defence-”

“Rena, be quiet.” Said Ryuko, walking up to Ladybug, “Ladybug, look at me.”

Ladybug slowly looked up and everyone jerked back, Ladybug had blood running from her eyes and nose.

“What?” Asked Ladybug, before her eyes rolled back into her head.

“Oh shit.” Swore Rena, rushing forwards, helping Ryuko lower Ladybug to the floor, “What the hell?”

Chat shook himself out of his stupor and knelt down next to Ladybug, “What just happened?”

“Ladybug said Adrien’s dad was Monarch, before she started bleeding from the eyes and nose and then she collapsed.” Said Pegasus, getting everyone’s attention.

“I think he meant that metaphorically.” Suggested Purple Tigress, as Rena frowned.

“I’m going to have to remove the earrings.” Stated Rena, “Hopefully, Tikki can tell us what’s wrong.”

Rena went to grab the earrings, before hesitating. She frowned, before looking over at the rest of the heroes, “Argos, I need your coat.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t have a blanket to hide her identity!”

Argos grumbled as he shed his coat and held it out to Rena.

Rena took it and carefully adjusted it over Ladybug, before reaching under it and pulling the earrings off. Chat stared at Ladybug’s shoes, they looked familiar to him, before Ladybug suddenly started convulsing.

“Oh fuck!” Yelped Rena, attempting to restrain Ladybug with Ryuko, “Now what?!”

“Stop restraining her!” Yelled Pigella, rushing forwards, “You’re at risk of harming her!”

Shoving the two out of the way, Pigella went to remove the coat, Rena opened her mouth, but a glare from Pigella silenced her.

“I’m sorry.” Whispered Pigella, before pulling the coat off Ladybug and rolling her onto her side.

Marinette suddenly expelled blood from her mouth, everyone except Argos, Ryuko and Rena froze. Pigella shook her head and looked at them, “We need to get her to a hospital.”

“How?” Asked Ryuko, “we can’t just charge in there and say ‘Hey this unconscious and bleeding girl is Ladybug, we don’t know what’s wrong with her!’ can we?”

Chat shook his head and looked away, before rushing over and grabbing the earrings form Rena and jammed them onto his ears.

“What are you doing?” Demanded Rena, as Chat flicked the earrings.

“Tikki might be able to help.” Said Chat, as the Kwami appeared.

“What?” Said Tikki, “Where’s…?”

She spotted Marinette, “Marinette!”

“Tikki, can you tell us what’s happening to her?” Asked Chat, quickly catching her attention.

“It’s a side effect of witnessing a reality changing wish, she tried to reveal what happened in the old world and now it’s trying to kill her.” Answered Tikki, “It was a stipulation Monarch made when he made his wish.”

“Is there any way to reverse it?” Demanded Rena, from Marinette’s side.

“The Celestial Guardian might.” Said Tikki, getting a frown from Chat, he didn’t particularly like him very much.

“They trained me to succeed Su Han-” Started Viperion, before someone snorted.

“You were trained because you were a loose end,” Said a man, appearing with a shimmer, “You are simply a soldier, not a commander.”

“Li.” Chided a woman, appearing, “At ease.”

The man scoffed, before jumping down, “Move aside.”

Ryuko reached for her sword, before the woman spoke up, “Li has a blood connection with the girl. He can help in ways the Grand Master cannot.”

Li crouched next to Marinette, ushering Pigella and Rena out of the way. He sliced into his hand, and started muttering under his breath.

Viperion scowled, before Marinette coughed up some more blood, with some red markings appearing on her. Li frowned, before resuming his muttering. Marinette coughed again, the red markings vanishing.

“She should be healed enough to go to a healer without anyone asking too many questions.” Said Li, after he was finished, “They’ll likely say that she’s exhausted, but she’ll be fine.”

Rena nodded, grabbed Marinette, with Ryuko helping her and jumped off the roof. The rest of the team stood in silence as the Guardians left, with Li casting a sharp glare at Viperion.

T

Marinette coughed blood into the paper bowl the doctors had given her.

“She’s incredibly lucky.” Said one to her mother, “if she’d ingested any more, you’d be making funeral arrangements.”

Sabine glanced at Marinette, before looking at the doctor.

“That being said,” they continued, “it may also be down to the fact the glass wasn’t ground fine enough.”

“Why didn’t anyone notice?” Asked Sabine, making the doctor look at her.

“Ground up glass looks a lot like sugar when ground up.” Said the doctor, “Does she had sugar in anything?”

“Practically everything she eats or drinks.” Said Sabine, frowning.

“Has she had any reaction to anything she’s eaten?”

“No, she’s hasn’t.”

“How about drinking?”

Sabine froze, “She threw away a coffee she got, she said it hurt her tongue.”

“Where did she get it from?” Asked the doctor, frowning.

“A coffee shop near her school, Petunia’s.”

The doctor didn’t move, before looking down at his notes, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Marinette spat some more blood into her bowl, “Maman, am I going to die?”

Sabine sat next to Marinette and gently wrapped an arm around her, “I don’t think so, the doctors don’t seem to be too concerned.”

The door opened, with the doctor re-entering the room, “Right, I’ve contacted the police, we’ve had a number of other patients with similar symptoms. They’ll want to talk to you.”

“Is she going to be alright?” Asked Sabine, getting the Doctor’s attention.

“She’ll be fine.” Assured the Doctor, “Fortunately, the blood’s mostly coming from her tongue, but her fainting is down to another issue. Does your daughter suffer from insomnia?”

“I don’t think so.” Answered Sabine, “But she does drink a lot of coffee at home.”

The doctor sighed, “I’m going to suggest you put her on a caffeine hold and see what happens from there.” They handed Sabine a prescription, “These are a mild sleep medication, she should take one after a meal. I’m going to see about discharging your daughter.”

Sabine watched after the doctor as they walked out, before looking at Marinette, who, for some reason, had stuck four cotton balls in her mouth.

“Habe bhe beebin stobed?”

T

“Don’t be bemused, it’s just news,” Said Nadja on the television, “Petunia’s, a local coffee shop, has been closed by police after it was discovered they were giving some of their customers ground up glass in their coffee.”

Marinette stopped with a cheese puff half-way to her mouth.

“The owner of Petunia’s has not been arrested, but had declined to comment.”

Marinette shrugged, before going back the spell book, pausing when she saw a particular spell.

#miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #kagami tsurugi #felix fathom #rose lavillant #juleka couffaine #luka couffaine #max kante #sabine cheng #tikki #nadja chamack #delta writes #The Truth

[agentnico]

Top 10 WORST Movies of 2023

For every good movie there’s always a dozen stinkers, and 2023 brought out a lot of turkeys, and I’m not referring to all the poor birds that ended up in our bellies this Christmas season. It’s become a tradition for me every year to do a top 10 best and worst movies of the year list, and I tend to leave the top 10 best list till later as I catch up will the awards potentials, however with the bad list I get right on into it. There are of course many bad movies this year I didn’t see, as I don’t actively seek out to watch the bad ones, but I have heard that these following haven’t been the best: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, The Marvels, Indiana Jones 5, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Expend4bles, Children of the Corn, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey…… damn, a lot of films got a bad rep this year. Yet I have 10 other ones that I’ve seen that I thought were crap. Don’t worry if a film you loved ends up on this list, it will simply mean your opinion is wrong and your have to live with that. With that in mind, here’s my humble list of the shit-fest Hollywood had to offer in 2023…

10) ANT-MAN & THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA - Everything that is wrong with the current state of Marvel is exhibited on full display here. Lacking a sense of direction and exploiting the idea of the multiverse just for the sake of it, the movie is a dud. It feels like whilst trying to focus on going bigger and bolder, the movie lost the sense of fun that elevated the earlier instalments in the tiny hero’s franchise. Paul Rudd is still as charming and likeable as ever, however the introduction of Kang as the next MCU Big Bad is pointless seeing as this big baddie can be defeated by a bunch of ants. Don’t make no difference now anyway with Jonathan Majors losing the court case, but who in the first place thought “oh yeah, Kang is a badass who killed many Avengers, but a giant head of Corey Stoll should weaken him no problem”. Look, there’s no sugarcoating it - this movie is bad. Also, Bill Murray appears in this because…?

9) THE BEANIE BUBBLE - Zack Galifianakis without any facial hair is truly a sight to behold, but that’s not enough to make this fluffy yet bland behind-the-scenes look at the famous Beanie Babies toys even remotely interesting. It’s as if this film can’t bear (thank you) to show the creepier side of these toys, as this should have been a more darker and messed up tale, especially with the lightly implied institutional sexism. Oh well, that’s that then.

8) WE HAVE A GHOST - If ever there was a movie that fit more to the phrase “Netflix & Chill” then this is it, as you will be too busy banging your partner or your sock than caring about a silent speechless David Harbour creeping about Casper-like and being all quiet and mysterious. To be fair he’s the only redeemable quality as the rest of the movie is a mishmash hodgepodge of genres that is neither funny, nor effective in its family drama dynamic. At least seeing Jennifer Coolidge jump out a window was mildly amusing. Mildly. Anyway, where’s that sock?

7) THE OLD WAY - It is truly fascinating that after starring in over 100 films, this is Nicolas Cage’s first ever western. Aside from that mind boggling revelation, this movie comes out with less than a bang. I don’t know, I was hoping for something a bit more mad, especially with Cage’s involvement. Heck, in the movie’s opening sequence Nicolas Cage is introduced with a sprawling Poirot-like moustache, and immediately I assumed that I am in for something ridiculous. However following that scene the movie cuts to 20 years later, and with that both the moustache and the hope for something exciting or weird is diminished to singular unseen atoms.

6) FOOL’S PARADISE - The directorial debut from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Charlie Day (who also writes and stars), misfiring Hollywood satire Fool’s Paradise wastes a strong ensemble cast that also includes Adrien Brody, Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman, Kate Beckinsale, Ken Jeong, Common, John Malkovich and the late Ray Liotta. Look, in a way I feel bad about including this film on this list, as you can tell this is a true passion project for Day and one that has good intentions by attempting to go back to the old-school slapstick Charlie Chaplin-era of comedy, with a lighthearted satire on the way the film industry works. In this case the result is neither sweet nor funny enough, and as such it’s an unfortunate misfire, but easily the most disappointing inclusion on this list.

5) GHOSTED - Adrien Brody’s crappy French accent in this movie I could have forgiven, if only I have not seen John Wick: Chapter 4 a couple of weeks prior where I experienced the most delightful Parisian mouthing of Bill Skarsgard’s villain, so now Brody’s French-ish slur sticks out like a sore thumb. What else sticks out is that Ghosted feels like a film from the early 2000s, featuring every cliche of the genre and with a romantic pairing of Chris Evans and Ana de Armas whom share zero chemistry. Their kissing scenes reminded me of that Andrew Garfield/Emma Stone SNL sketch where they don’t know how to kiss on camera, only in this case it’s unintentional. Also featuring a slew of pointless cameos, and I do mean pointless, this is a throwaway campy spy-action flick that is destined to be forgotten.

4) THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER - Billed as the true sequel to William Friedkin’s original horror masterpiece, it really shouldn’t have strived for that. Ellen Burstyn’s return is a waste. For those excited to see her, she’s only in 3 or 4 scenes total, and the creative choices made with her character are such a disservice to the original movie. Without spoiling, it’s a choice that seems to be inspired by the modern woke culture, with Burstyn’s Chris having being studying the art of exorcism ever since the events that transpired with her daughter, and then when questioned about why she herself did not partake in her daughter’s exorcism she blames the patriarchy. The choice of bringing her into this narrative and then what happens to her…it’s basically taking a classic character and making them dumb. I must say though that the only actual shocking moment in the movie comes in a scene involving her character, and though that moment itself is memorable, the build up towards it is so stupid. Also, with the return of Burstyn it comes as no surprise within the movie when a certain other character pops in for a cameo. Does it add anything to the movie’s story? No, it’s just there for cheap fan service. As for the movie itself, the horror hardly works. It’s not scary at all and you really shouldn’t believe in this one.

3) THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE - Yeah, I know, my inclusion of this film on the list will rattle some feathers, but I don’t care, as for any of you pricks out there thinking that stupid “Peaches” song deserves an Academy Award nomination, you guys are stupid and must be high on some very powerful shrooms. If so, I hope you’re having a great trip, but the fact stands that this movie is bad. Simply doing fan service for the sake of fan service don’t make for a good narrative. Me and my friend were bored throughout, as this movie is 100% for kids. There are nostalgic elements to it all, but I do believe that Illumination and Nintendo should have followed more in The Lego Movie’s footsteps and targeted the film for audiences of all ages, due to the fact that many who grew up with Mario are now adults themselves.

2) LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND - So much wasted potential. A long drawn-out slow shuffle to Nowheresville. A movie that offers so many ideas, plot points, and thread lines that are never answered or go anywhere. In Leave the World Behind things are truly happening under the motto “just because” and “why the hell not” and it makes the viewing experience immensely frustrating. Especially when the movie is nearly 2 and a half hours long and the anticlimactic abrupt ending is a slap to your face for wasting your time. Oh, and if I weren’t a fan of the Friends show before, now more so than ever.

1) 65 - Right ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to ask you all so kindly to rise up from your seats and give a humongous round of applause to 65 - the 2023 film to exhibit qualities of a top contender of the worst movie of this year. Look, I’m disappointed as you are. Adam Driver fighting dino-dinos’?! You’d be a madman to not want to see that! However here’s 65′s first mistake: there actually aren’t that many dinosaurs, let alone fights with them. I know right, I can sense the resounding aura of you, my kind audience, in unison thinking “what the f***?”. Exactly, what the fudge indeed. No, instead what we get is a couple of somewhat thrilling dinosaurs interactions, but overall the movie is just Adam Driver and this little girl walking. Just walking. Walking and whistling. Bunch of jackasses.

That’s it - we did it! Now I can happily forget I ever watched any of these and mentally prepare for what wonders of stupidity 2024 will bring to the big screen. As for my Best Movies of 2023 list, don’t worry, it’s a-coming. Still need to watch The Boy and the Heron and Poor Things and then all will be revealed…

#2023 #2023 in film #2023 films #movie #film #movie reviews #film reviews #2023 movies #cinema #65 #leave the world behind #the super mario bros movie #we have a ghost #the exorcist believer #ghosted #fool’s paradise #the old way #ant man and the wasp: quantumania #the beanie bubble #bad movies #top 10 worst movies of 2023 #65 movie

[teawinx]

New and improved Marinette reference sheet!

I’m redoing the core six’s reference sheets like this one (so Adrien, Alya, Nino, Chloe and Lila) so everything is nice clean and professional. And I just like drawing Marinette.

And keeping up my motif of visual storytelling. So Marinette and Ladybug’s designs in Season 1-3 reflect her more childish and creative nature. I love her canon pigtails, I think they could be so effective for visual storytelling if they just tried for once. They’re a very childish haircut, and Marinette is 14 in this version. In her final year of middle school and is still clinging to childhood. But in the Season 3 finale she is made the Guardian after Fu’s death, and she is forced to grow up. Plus, Marinette is a control freak, her hair untied shows her being forced to grow up but also loosing control over her life. So double meaning! And she looses her bright and colourful clothing in favour of darker colours, reflecting her new mindset and mourning over Fu. 

And finally, her refreshed Ascended form ahahahaaaa... Gee I sure hope Fanbug didn’t promise herself she wouldn’t do this! Jokes aside, yeah I’m reworking the powered up/ascended forms. Mainly because I’m redefining them in the story. And honestly they were just detailed for the sake of adding detail. I went too far with them. So I’m scaling it down and using them to reflect more than just “more powerful”.

So voila! There she is, my current version of my Ladybug redesign!

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug reboot #miraculous ladybug redesign #marinette dupain cheng #marinette dupain cheng redesign #ladybug #ladybug redesi #miraculous ladybug rewrite #ladybug redesign

[nirby-wirby]

Rating: General Audiences

Relationships: Adrienette (not much), mostly focused on non romantic relationships

What to expect: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, set post-s5 finale, Gabriel Agreste is dead

Summary: Now, laying on his bed with only the soft light of a bedside lamp illuminating the room, he felt guilt eating at him from inside his chest. His miraculous burned on his finger, a reminder of what he’d given up. Of what had somehow led to his father helping Ladybug and dying in the process. The guilt was suffocating, building more and more until he felt like all that was left of him was guilt.

Or: Adrien deals with the grief and guilt of losing his father with some help.

A/N: This was written for @justmagicalgirl for @mlsecretsanta. I hope you enjoy your gift!!

Adrien sighed, staring up at the ceiling. He was back in his room, the destruction of his house having been restored by the miraculous ladybug cure, or so he assumed. He couldn’t have really known exactly what happened, though Ladybug had assured him that his father had been a hero. He’d never thought his father was capable of giving up his life for the sake of Paris, but there was a lot he hadn’t known about the man.

Now, laying on his bed with only the soft light of a bedside lamp illuminating the room, his curtains drawn, he felt guilt eating at him from inside his chest. His miraculous burned on his finger, a reminder of what he’d given up. Of what had somehow led to his father helping Ladybug and dying in the process. The guilt was suffocating, building more and more until he felt like all that was left of him was guilt.

Chat Noir should’ve been there. He shouldn’t have let fear consume him. The visions of a ruined Paris shouldn’t have stopped him from doing his job. He was supposed to be a hero, stopping civilians from getting hurt. Instead, his incompetence allowed his father to die. It shouldn’t have been that way. It shouldn’t have been his father, just like it never should’ve been his mother. It should’ve been—

A knock on his bedroom door snapped him out of his thoughts. “Adrien?” Nathalie called from the other side of the door, “Can I come in?”

Slowly, he sat up, wiping the tears that had started to form in the corners of his eyes. He cleared his throat, “Yeah.”

“Hey,” Nathalie said softly, closing the door behind her, “how are you feeling?” She stood in front of him, a bit stiff and clearly unsure of how to go about this.

Adrien scooted over to give her some space to sit beside him if she wanted. “I’m fine,” he lied. The words tasted bitter on his tongue.

Nathalie hesitantly sat in the space he’d given her, clearly not convinced. “Are you sure? You can talk about it with me if you’d like.” Her hand hovered over his shoulder for a moment, only to drop back into her lap.

How could he even begin? Of course, it made sense for him to be upset. His father just died, leaving him as an orphan. But how could he explain the guilt he felt? How could he explain that his akumatized father had unknowingly left him with a nightmare that rendered him unable to do his job, later causing his death? It was almost impossible to explain without giving away his identity. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t possibly tell her that—

“I’m Chat Noir,” Adrien blurted, his heart thundering in his ears. Why’d he say that? He couldn’t even look at her; he couldn’t bear to see her reaction.

“What?” Nathalie asked weakly.

He took a deep breath, staring at his blankets. “I’m…Chat Noir,” he repeated, a little bit more slowly. He was shaking. He really shouldn’t have said that. It was too late to take it back now.

Tears sprung to his eyes as a heavy silence settled between the two of them. Nathalie wasn’t saying anything. Why wasn’t she saying anything? Did she blame him, too? Did she hate him now? For not doing his job? For not being there when Ladybug— when his father needed him? 

“Oh,” she breathed, pulling him into a hug, “oh, Adrien, I’m so sorry.” All it took was that simple gesture, the simple act of affection, and he broke, clutching sides of Nathalie’s blazer like a lifeline as he sobbed. 

————

Nathalie was in shock as she held a sobbing Adrien in her arms. This boy, who she considered a son, had been the very boy she’d fought for almost a year with Gabriel. She’d beaten him up — she’d hurt him — all while believing Adrien was safe somewhere. How had she never realized? Was she just as neglectful as his garbage excuse of a father? No, no, she couldn’t have been. Right?

“I-it’s all my fault,” Adrien hiccuped, her heart breaking at the broken words, “if-if I’d been there then—“

“No,” Nathalie said, vehemently shaking her head, “none of it is your fault, Adrien.”

The only person at fault was Gabriel. Nathalie felt anger bubbling inside her chest. That stupid, idiotic man who’d been driven mad by the miraculous. He left Adrien all alone, determined to be reunited with Emelie no matter what. In the time that Gabriel was blinded by his goals and his grief, Adrien grieved alone and moved on. In the time Gabriel left his poor son without a family, Adrien was in danger fighting something that only existed because of his own father. And now Adrien felt guilty? No, she couldn’t let him believe that he was ever at fault.

“But if I’d been there—“ he protested.

“Adrien,” Nathalie tried to keep the rage she felt for Gabriel at bay, making an effort to keep her voice gentle. “Your father is the only one at fault here. He shouldn’t have gotten involved with something so dangerous if he wasn’t prepared to be hurt,” she told him, careful of her wording. 

She couldn’t tell him the entire truth right now, not when he was already in so much pain. Someday, she would tell him everything. But the timing wasn’t right, at least not at the moment. How could she tell him how it all started when he was already blaming himself? 

Of course, none of it was his fault. Emelie and Gabriel knew there were risks to using a broken miraculous, they just hadn’t known the extent of it. Gabriel, however, had taken it too far when he’d tried to get his wife back. As much as Nathalie had missed Emelie, she knew Emelie would’ve never forgiven Gabriel for his actions. Seeing how his actions left Adrien only made Nathalie more sure of this fact.

“I just feel like if I’d been there, he’d still be alive,” Adrien mumbled, sniffling. He looked up at her, his eyes watery and red-rimmed. “I don’t want to be alone,” his voice was paper thin as a new wave of tears hit him. 

Nathalie felt her own eyes sting, but she continued to keep the tears at bay. “Adrien, look at me,” she told him gently. As always, he did as told. “You are not alone, and I won’t ever let you be alone.” Slowly, she took his shaking hands in hers, making sure to hold eye contact and let the words sink in. “You have me, you have your aunt Amelie, you have your cousin Felix, and you have all of your friends. I won’t ever take those people away from you, I promise.” 

Nathalie wouldn’t be like Gabriel and she would never be complicit in the ways Gabriel had treated this boy ever again. She’d make sure he wasn’t neglected or isolated or hidden away. She’d witnessed the effects of Gabriel’s terrible parenting and let them slide for too long. Adrien shouldn’t have gone through any of it, and she shouldn’t have just watched. She wanted to make a change, to help heal this broken child. 

Slowly, Adrien’s tears dried out and his sniffling died down, save for the occasional sniffle. He let go of Nathalie’s blazer, wringing his hands together instead. After a few beats of silence, she said, “I’ll let you have some rest, alright?” 

Adrien nodded as Nathalie got up to leave. As she opened his bedroom door, he called after her, “Nathalie?” She turned to look at him, “Thank you.” 

She smiled, “You’re welcome, and let me know if you ever need me.” As she closed the door behind her, Nathalie knew she needed to come up with a plan to help Adrien feel better. The only question was, how?

————

Marinette wanted to scream. Not for a good reason either. No, she wanted to scream because she felt like she was going to go insane as she paced back and forth in her room.

Gabriel Agreste was Hawk Moth/Shadow Moth/Monarch/whatever just as she’d once suspected way back in what felt like a whole lifetime ago. But no one knew. Except for her and Felix and possibly Kagami and probably whoever Mayura was. And she couldn’t tell anyone because his dying wish was that no one knew what a villain he was, especially Adrien. But she still knew. And it wasn’t even guaranteed that the people who knew still knew because she didn’t really know how the wish worked. Was it just that he ascended into some afterlife with Emelie or was it also that no one would know that he was the villain all along?

She’d complied because, well, it’s not like he could be put into prison or anything. There was no way for him to be held accountable because he was dead. The only person who would really be harmed by everyone knowing would be Adrien and Marinette never wanted to hurt Adrien. If everyone knew that Gabriel was the very person who’d terrorized Paris then the hate would be piled onto Adrien even though he didn’t do anything wrong. It wouldn’t be fair to him to have everyone hate him while he was grieving because he just became an orphan and if they found out he was a sentimons- sentibeing then—

Marinette’s phone rang, effectively stopping her downward spiral. She walked over to her desk and picked up the phone, surprised that Nathalie was calling her. “Hello?”

“Hello, Marinette,” Nathalie greeted on the other end of the phone. “I know you’re probably confused about this call, but Adrien wasn’t feeling well and I wanted to help him feel a little bit better. I figured you would be the person to call for help.” Maybe not the bestperson to call for help since the only reason his father was gone now was because he’d made the wish and the reason for that was she’d let her guard down and— “Hello? Are you there?”

Marinette let out a nervous laugh, forcing a smile even though Nathalie couldn’t see her. “Yeah, sorry about that, my, um, my service is bad. But I’d be happy to help, of course. I’ll call some of our friends and see what we can do.”

“Great. Thank you, Marinette.”

“No problem!” She lied. Nathalie promptly ended the call, leaving Marinette alone with her thoughts again.

Obviously, Marinette wanted to help Adrien feel better. She loved him very much and if she can take his mind off the fact that he’s an orphan for a couple hours and lift his mood, she’d gladly do so. But how was she supposed to face him knowing everything she knew? How was she supposed to face him knowing that his father wasn’t a hero and that he died because she’d lost? 

Marinette glanced over at the two silver rings she’d be given, glistening on her desk from the light that came through her window. She groaned, running a hand down her face. And how was she supposed to tell him that he was a sentim- a sentibeing? There was no way to do that without making everything worse. There was also no way to do that without him knowing that his mom must’ve had the peacock miraculous at a certain point. Which would easily lead to him questioning why his father never told him about that. Which would easily lead to him realizing that whoever Mayura was must’ve been someone his family knew. Which would easily lead to him wondering if his father knew Mayura. Which would easily lead to—

“Marinette!” Tikki was waving her arms in front of Marinette’s face. “Are you ok?”

Marinette waved away her thoughts. “Sorry, Tikki, I was just—“ She shook her head, “I’ll be ok.”

Focus, she had to focus. Nathalie asked her to help make Adrien feel better and she was going to help make Adrien feel better. She just had to figure out how. 

Marinette picked up her phone, dialing a number. “Hi, Nino!”

“Hey, dude,” Nino greeted from the other end of the phone. 

“I need your help…”

————

Adrien woke up from his restless nap when he heard a knock on the door. He rubbed at his eyes as he sat up in bed. “Come in,” he called, voice a bit raspy. His eyes brightened, his mood just a little bit lighter, when he saw Marinette hesitantly walk into the room with Nino and Alya following suit. He scrambled out of bed, running his hands through his hair in an effort to tidy it.

“He—“ Adrien could barely get out a sentence before Nino tackled him into a hug. He couldn’t help but crack a little smile at his friend’s enthusiasm.

“Hey, man, how are you feeling?” Nino asked. “Wait. That was kind of a stupid question.”

“No, no, it’s ok. I’m actually feeling a little bit better now that you guys are here.” It was true. Seeing his friends helped him even just a little bit.

“Awww,” Alya and Marinette said in unison.

It was then that Adrien noticed the bag in Marinette’s hands. “What’s that?”

She smiled, “Well, I thought you’d need a little something sweet to help you feel a little better, so I brought your favorite pastries and some extra for us to share.”

Adrien’s heart warmed at Marinette’s thoughtfulness. He really did have the best girlfriend in the world. “That’s really sweet of you, Marinette,” he murmured, hugging her.

“So, is everyone getting a hug except for me, or..?” Alya asked, causing them all to laugh as Alya and Nino joined the hug for one big group hug.

After separating, the four of them sat at Adrien’s couch, ready to enjoy the pastries Marinette brought. Just as Marinette reached into the bag of pastries, she paused, sniffing the air. “Do you guys smell that?”

Adrien sniffed the air. “Yeah…it smells like something’s burning.” Burning?

Alarmed, the four of them got up and rushed downstairs, following Adrien into the kitchen. There, they found Nathalie looking distraught as she coughed and waved at the smoke in the air, burnt pancakes on the stove which she’d just turned off. She turned to face them, a frown on her face.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I was trying to make some pancakes but…” She trailed off as she gestured toward the burnt heap. Adrien grimaced at the sight. “I wanted to follow a recipe that would actually be good, unlike the ones Gabriel made,” she continued, nodding toward Marinette who knew just how bad his father’s pancakes were.

The only reason Adrien ate them was because he didn’t want to upset him. He was making an effort and he wanted to show gratitude. It wouldn’t have been right to say how he really felt about them. (Why didn’t it feel right?)

“I guess I’m just as bad at making pancakes as he is,” Nathalie concluded, shaking her head.

Adrien felt like there might have been more to that statement than what she’d said, but he wasn’t sure. He felt the urge to comfort her, but how? There was no way he could possibly eat those burnt pancakes and make her believe that he actually liked them. (He wasn’t sure if he even wanted to do that. Why did he ever feel the urge to eat the pancakes his father made him even if he hated them?)

“We can make a new batch,” Marinette offered with a smile. “I know how to make some and they’ll definitely be better than Mr. Agreste’s pancakes.” She glanced at Adrien, “Um, no offense.”

“Yeah,” Alya added, “it’ll be fun to make some pancakes together.”

“And we can save the pastries for later,” Nino supplied. They’d left the pastries in Adrien’s room and he’d almost forgotten about them.

They all looked at Adrien, waiting for his response. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the idea. His past experience with pancakes wasn’t great. But maybe it would be different this time. Maybe making the pancakes with his friends and Nathalie would be fun. Maybe they’d actually taste good. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make some pancakes together.

(Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make new, better memories. Was it even right to say that? To use the word “better”? He should feel bad for that. He shouldn’t think of his father in a bad light. His father was a hero. A hero.)

“Adrien?” Marinette asked gently, suddenly appearing at his side. “What do you think?”

What did he think? Adrien made himself give a small smile, hoping it was believable enough, deciding he’d leave the thinking for later. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

“Awesome!” Nino exclaimed, clapping him on the shoulder. “I haven’t had pancakes in a while.”

So, the five of them got to work, looking for and gathering the ingredients Marinette needed and measuring the amounts necessary for each. Before long, they’d had flour all over their clothes, and the wonderful smell of fresh — not burnt — pancakes was in the air and laughter surrounded them. With so much going on around him, and so much joy in the air, Adrien almost, almost, forgot why they’d come over.

In the midst of all the chaos, Marinette pulled Adrien aside, her brows furrowed. “Hey,” she murmured, “I saw you pull your model smile earlier.” He opened his mouth to protest but a pointed look made him stop. “You know you didn’t have to make pancakes if you didn’t want to, right?”

Adrien sighed, “I know that, it’s just…” Just what?

“Just..?”

“I didn’t want to disappoint everyone. You all looked so excited to make pancakes.”

“Adrien…”

He looked down from her disappointed look, unable to look her in the eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“What? Why are you sorry?” Marinette gently took his face in her hands, guiding him to look at her. “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to do something if you don’t want to. Your father made you do too many things you didn’t like, and I don’t want to keep doing that to you.”

He shook his head, “I wasn’t just doing it because you guys wanted to. I think that maybe… Maybe making pancakes with you will be more fun than eating the pancakes my father made.” Why did he feel so guilty for thinking that? Why was he so conflicted?

“Is this what you want?”

When was the last time he’d heard that question? His father seemed to never ask him such a thing. It was never Adrien’s decision.

“Yes, it is.”

“Ok. If you change your mind, just let me know.”

He leaned down to kiss her forehead, “Thank you, Marinette.”

“Anytime,” she smiled warmly.

“The pancakes are ready!” Alya called from the kitchen.

Soon, they sat down with stacks of pancakes on their plates and toppings laid out in front of them. Adrien opted for some chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top of his pancakes. He’d never tried them like that before, but Nino assured him that it was a good combination.

As they ate and talked, Adrien found himself able to actually, genuinely crack a smile and let out a chuckle. Just for a moment, surrounded by the people he loved, Adrien felt like maybe he was going to be ok. It wasn’t going to happen overnight, but with people who cared about him by his side, he’d get there eventually.

#miraculous ladybug #ml secret santa #nirby writes #adrien agreste #nathalie sancoeur #marinette dupain cheng #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #adrienette #lovesquare stuff #tikki #my writing

[halfagone]

I loved what you did for my miraculous x DP prompt! This next prompt is kinda a continuation of it? Depending on the age difference between Danny and the miraculous duo, maybe he can kinda be a bit of a mentor for them? Like, as soon as they get the whole misunderstanding of Danny being an akuma out of the way his core immediately latches on to them as a sort of his protection obsession. Ooh, maybe he’s helped out the kwami before back in this time traveling days and Tikki and Plagg remember him and apologize for their holders attacking Danny? What do you think?

Ooh, that's great to hear! I'm glad you liked it, hopefully there weren't too many spelling/grammatical mistakes. lol So Danny would probably have to be... 16 or so years old (maybe 15, if his birthday hasn't come around yet), since I had Jazz just graduating high school and soon off to college. Marinette and Adrien can be anywhere from 13 to 15 years old, depending on what season we have this set in. Since he's still Hawkmoth and not Monarch, then safe to say, it's pre-season 4. So... let's make them 14, and Danny 16. For simplicity's sake. I don't write usually Danny with a protection obsession, not because I don't like the idea, but because it limits a lot of routes I could take with his characterization, but let me try it out this time for the idea. While I usually like the idea of Danny going back in time and fighting with other Miraculous users, I think in this situation it would have to be strictly with other Miraculous and not the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous, else Danny would have recognized them, even if he was sleep deprived.

---

Danny had been laying out in bed, finally getting some rest after the... adventure, if one could call it that, he had today. Ladybug and Chat Noir, as they had introduced themselves in English (and yeah, Danny knew Chat Noir was technically "Cat Black", but he wasn't calling the guy that, alright?), had been sincerely apologetic when they found out he wasn't an akuma, and even more apologetic when they found out he was a hero.

Honestly, Danny was just relieved that they actually believed him and didn't just accuse him of lying to them. Or attacking him on sight any further once they found out he was a ghost. He didn't blame them once he found out the situation. He'd heard stories of the Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculous, of course, but he'd never actually gotten to meet the holders before. Most of his experience was limited to the Snake, the Dragon, and the Peacock wielder.

Danny sighed as he sunk into bed further, grateful that his sister had already fallen asleep.

When Ladybug had informed him that Hawkmoth (honestly, what kind of name was that?) had control of the Peacock, he'd been... heartbroken, for the lack of a better word. He'd been given the chance to wield the Peacock Miraculous just once, but it'd been the ride of his life. He hoped Duusu was alright, stuck with a villainous holder like Mayura. And really, what happened there? How did they get ahold of the Miraculous? And why did they only start using them now?

All those thoughts spun around his head like sheep, and unfortunately, Danny wasn't in the mood to count them.

Just as he was beginning to fall asleep, however, two floating creatures hovered over his head.

Danny absolutely shrieked and scrambled up the headboard, instantly waking his sister. Jazz roused with a pinched frown, only to flail in bed when she saw the two floating creatures as well.

"Shh, it's just us!" The red one hushed gently, waving their tiny hands to calm them down.

Danny squinted at her. "Are you- The Ladybug kwami?"

The red one grinned brightly. "That's right! I'm Tikki, and this is Plagg, he's the Black Cat kwami."

"Couldn't this have waited until after I ate my cheese?" Plagg complained to Tikki.

"As if your wielder doesn't feed you constantly," Tikki reminded him pointedly, but Plagg wasn't fazed.

"What are those-" Jazz asked, pointing at the kwami with wide eyes.

"You know Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Jazz nodded. "They get their powers and suits from something called a Miraculous. These guys, the kwami, are connected to the Miraculous and give them that power."

"It's a little more complicated than that, kid," Plagg pointed out, but Danny waved him off.

"Details aren't important right now," Danny remarked. "What are you doing here? Is everything... alright?"

"We wanted to see you! We've heard plenty about you from the other kwami," Tikki explained with a twirl, her little antennae flickering with cheer. Adorable. "We know you only met us thanks to time travel, but you have a lot of valuable experience that we think could help our wielders."

"What? I got a letter of recommendation?" Danny frowned. "To do what?"

"To mentor them, what else?" Plagg remarked callously. "You've wielded the Peacock before too, haven't you? That means you have insider knowledge on how to defeat Hawkmoth and Mayura."

"But you guys are literally Kwami. You are the ultimate insider knowledge," Danny deadpanned, squinting at the pair.

Plagg and Tikki glanced between themselves.

"We're not- There's only so much we're allowed to tell," Tikki explained after some hesitation.

"Are you bound not to share secrets?" Jazz asked.

Tikki immediately lit up. "Yes! You're right! And well, we may be able to offer advice, but it's not like we can really communicate with them once they transform. We can't give any hands-on training like you can."

"What about the Guardian?" Danny prompted.

"The Guardian is biased," Plagg stated flatly.

Tikki shot him a look. "What Plagg really means by that is the Guardian... prefers a hands-off approach. And when he does step in, he... isn't always the most uniform-"

"He plays favorites doesn't he?" Jazz remarked, and Tikki sighed, her antennae falling a little.

Plagg chortled. "Oh, I like you." His laughter faded as he explained, "My holder, unfortunately, is the one that gets the short end of the straw."

"Really? But the Black Cat has always been the more- er, uncontrollable of the two, from what I hear. No offense," Danny replied, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture.

Plagg nodded. "You're not wrong about that. My holder is pretty good at reigning it in more often than not, but he's been... frustrated, on occasion, thanks to the secrets the Guardian and Ladybug- as a result- tend to keep from him."

"That's not good," Jazz murmured to herself, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"I'm not sure how much I could do," Danny told them with sincere honesty. "I know I may look like I know what I'm doing, but I can promise you I'm flying by the seat of my pants half the time."

"Most of the time," Jazz corrected.

"Okay, most of the time," Danny conceded. "Is that really the role model you want to set for your wielders?"

"They really haven't had much in the way of role models period, if you remember," Plagg quipped.

Tikki answered, "We know this may be asking a lot from you, and maybe you don't think you have much experience to offer, but you handled Ladybug and Chat Noir expertly today! Sure, it might have seemed... harsh, on occasion, but our wielders are young. They don't always know how to deal with akuma or amoks, and sometimes it results in them leaning into their special powers and limiting their timers. It's been working out for them, but Hawkmoth has been getting trickier too. They'll need someone to teach them how to use their abilities to the fullest."

"And you think I can do that?" Danny asked with a wince.

"You were a great Peacock holder, Phantom," Tikki assured him. "When you went out as Divinity, you were easily one of the strongest on the battlefield! And all the work you've done as Phantom through the years has only added to that. Could you give it a try?"

Danny looked at her earnest expression, trying not to focus on the twisting feeling in his gut. He didn't think he could do it. Not in the least. Sure, Danny had confidence in fighting his own Rogues gallery, but those guys were ghosts! He didn't always have to hold back as much. And sure, maybe Ladybug's Lucky Charm could fix a lot of the damage, but Danny- Danny didn't want to put all of his weight into attacks. What happened if he steered them wrong? What happened if he made them ruthless, harsh? They were symbols of protection here, he didn't want to poison that. Not when his own image back home was... not the best.

At the same time, his core twisted at the thought of abandoning these kids to figure it all out themselves. And okay, maybe he shouldn't call them 'kids', they couldn't be that much younger than him. But they were still so new to heroics. He might not be all that much better, but even if he had a year more than them, wasn't that a year of experience he could use to help them?

His core kept humming with help-protect-teach-comfort-protect-protect and honestly it was getting annoying.

Danny sighed. "Fine, I'll do it." But then, something occurred to him. "Ugh, I'm gonna have to break Wulf out of prison again to teach me how to make portals. There goes my vacation."

#halfagone replies #dp x mlb #did i just make danny a temp miraculous wielder? #yes yes i did

[mc-lukanette]

Luka groaned into his pillow as his phone started to ring. Most rock stars would probably be up by now, but Luka was not one of them. He appreciated the sound of nighttime but not quite that much.

Blindly reaching for his phone, his fingers came across the familiar shape and tightened around it. He managed to just barely lift his face from the pillow so his voice wouldn’t be muffled, then tapped the 'accept call' button and brought the phone to his ear.

"H'llo?" he mumbled.

"Luka?" the female voice on the other end called in reply. "Wha—were you napping?"

"'M in America," he responded, only semi-coherent at the moment.

"Huh? Then—wait, I woke you up!" the voice panicked. "I'm so sorry! I wanted to call to see how you were doing, but I didn't realize that you'd be in another timezone! This is a disaster, I should go, I—!"

Something clicked in his head, triggering him more awake as he registered the familiar way of rambling. "Marinette?"

She stopped, confused even as she confirmed, "...Y-yes?"

His body protested, but he pressed his hand into the mattress to push himself up. "It's alright. I'm up now anyway, and I always have time to talk to you."

"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly.

He pulled the phone away, staring at the giant 2 AM on-screen in big white letters. Throwing care to the wind, he threw the covers off of himself and got up out of the bed, assuring, "Let me just get something to drink."

"Oh... okay, I'll wait."

She stayed on the call as he headed into the kitchen to start up the coffee machine. It was a minute after the fact when he realized that it wasn't fast enough, so he opted for a glass of cold water instead, hoping that it might hold him over until the coffee was brewed.

"Marinette?" he called into the phone, checking if she’d hung up or not.

"Mm?"

"Okay, I'm not dreaming then. I had to make sure." He was only half-joking.

She giggled. "Yeah, I’m here. Still, I feel a little bad. If I knew it was so early for you..."

"Don't worry about it, really. It's just—it's been so long. I'm happy to hear your voice again." He paused, considering, "Sorry, is that weird to sa—"

"No, not at all! I mean, if it's weird, then at least I'm also weird? Because I'm happy too!" She took a breath to calm herself down. "It's... nice to be on the same page. I don't really have anyone else like that."

He almost blurted out 'what about Adrien' but bit his tongue to stop himself. He knew better than to so randomly bring up Marinette's husband at a time like this, as well as question what she says. He could understand and acknowledge the idea that she could have a stronger wavelength with someone she was friends with rather than her spouse.

"Me neither," he admitted, leaning against the counter and pulling the phone away briefly to hide his yawn from her. "So, how have you been?"

"Better than I have been in a long time, but I'm still tired. I only just got a moment to call you after all the chaos settled down." She sighed, but he could tell that she was smiling. "What about you? How has music been?"

He chuckled. It was adorable that she referred to "music" as if it was a good friend of his. "Do you mean the tour?"

"Not exactly? Just—" She whined. "Never mind. It's a silly question."

"No, please. Go on," he urged gently. He really wanted to know.

He could almost sense the pout on her face.

"I guess... is it still as important to you as it was before? You used to play music for the sake of music, but now it's your job. It—it's not like I'm doubting your choices or anything, of course! I just... I worry about you."

That coffee really needed to get done. He wasn't awake enough for this.

Face flushed pink, he turned away from the counter and paced, trying to focus on the rhythmic sound of his footsteps.

Marinette continued, "I never said anything because it didn't seem like my business, but music's such a big part of you—" She halted. "...Luka?"

She must've heard him.

"I'm okay, sorry." He cleared his throat. "It's... different. I like it enough, but there are deadlines and contracts, so there's pressure that wasn't there before."

And I wish I was there with you, he didn't say.

"I know what you mean," she said sympathetically. "Things change."

"Yeah. What about you?" he questioned in return.

"Me?"

"Your career was really taking off around the time I left," he recalled. "I remember it being a lot too. Did you get used to it?"

"Oh, yeah! I got used to... it."

There was something unspoken there, but Luka could sense that it wasn't something that should be explained in a call at such an early hour.

"Honestly, compared to that, the move was nothing," she said idly, "but I had other things to deal with so I still couldn't call you until now."

"You moved?" That was news to him, though not in a surprising way. They hadn't caught up in so long, after all. "When?"

"A while ago? I mean, I realized that the house I used to be in was still too close to everything after the divorce, so I wanted more distance."

Luka stilled. He ran that sentence over in his head, then again, then once more for good measure. The coffee had finally finished brewing, so he took a large sip whilst ignoring the way it tried to burn him.

Nevertheless, his comprehension of the word - divorce - remained the same, and it was only when he realized how long he'd been quiet that he managed a weak, "W-whose divorce?"

"Mine, of course." There was a pause, after which she said, "Wait, Luka, you—you didn't hear?"

"No." He'd heard nothing of the sort. He didn't have a lot of friends back in Paris, much less ones who would talk about something like this, and the news hadn't reached America. "When did you...?"

"A couple months ago," Marinette replied casually.

Months. Luka gulped down the rest of his coffee in sheer disbelief, making a hissing sound when the heat was still a little much. Setting the cup aside, he admitted again, "I really had no idea."

"Good to know that you're not perfect and not as observant as you thought," she said with a chuckle. "Anyway, it was a long time coming. I had to get out."

He was silent, waiting for her to elaborate while his brain was rebooting.

"It was... stifling. Suffocating. I couldn't handle the paparazzi and everyone just seeing me as Adrien's girlfriend while he was practically basking in it. Maybe it seems weird that I didn't notice for a long time, but when I really thought about it, it made sense. Back when I was a teenager, everyone was pushing for me to get together with him, and after that, everyone started pushing for us to get married. Then, after that, there was no next step, which is what being with Adrien had always been about. We were married, we were living together, but then I finally got to take a look around and realized that I wasn't happy."

"I—" His throat felt dry. He had no idea she'd been feeling like that, and he hadn't heard about it or been there either. "I'm sorry that happened, Marinette."

"No, I needed it. Now I can focus on myself and..." She swallowed audibly, adding in a softer tone, "the people I hold the closest to me."

He was torn, happy to hear her again yet upset at everything she'd been through to make such a heavy decision. He'd never imagined the actual pressure in such a relationship, having the eyes of everyone on her and knowing that breaking it apart would mean “wasting the efforts” of all who tried to make it work.

He tried to find comfort in the knowledge that she was at least alright now, not wanting to drag down the mood further.

"...Luka," Marinette uttered, as if she’d been mulling something over, "maybe it's weird to say it now, but—"

Though still recovering from their previous topic, Luka put on a smile even if she couldn't see it. "Now I'm curious. You can't leave a string unplucked when your hand's already on it."

She snorted in amusement. Good, he'd brightened the mood. "Just... I missed you."

Ah. Luka almost criticized her, wondering how it was fair to call him in the middle of the night, tell her that she was single, and casually throw out an 'I missed you' like it was nothing.

"I missed you too," he said instead.

"I'm glad. Not that I'm glad you've been missing me, because that would mean you've been sad, but—" She groaned and it became clear that she'd been trying to lead into something. "What I meant to say was... do you think—or, I don't know how busy you are, but..."

"What is it?"

"Would it be okay if I called more...?" she asked hesitantly. "You'd have to let me know whenever you change timezones, but—"

"Why wouldn't it be okay?" He spoke perhaps a bit too quickly to be casual, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He'd blame it on the coffee (that clearly wasn't doing its job anyway) if he had to. "I'd love to talk to you more."

"I'd be keeping you," she said as if it was a bad thing.

You can keep me forever. "I'm not busy enough where I can't talk to you, and I don't get that many calls from anyone else."

"But what if they were frequent? So I called you all the time?"

"What do you mean all the time?" he wondered, still not understanding the problem.

"...D-daily?"

He nearly laughed, stifling the noise he made with a hand and being glad that he’d set his cup down earlier. He might’ve dropped it otherwise. "Daily sounds great. I can even call you instead if you want."

"Oh. Oh!" She gasped excitedly. "Yes! Yeah, that'd—that'd be great!"

Conversation from there went smoothly, Luka's brain constantly buzzing from the sheer joy of what was happening. There was music coursing throughout his entire body, but he settled for jotting down notes over playing his guitar, not wanting to risk waking the whole city up. He didn't consider himself a needy person, but he was already craving those future calls with her.

And if they went on talking for over an hour, neither minded.

#queuekanette #lukaneventte: No Context November #Flower Arrangement Shipping #Pro LukaMari #Lukanette #type: salt

[adrinoir]

So…what are Felix’s intentions?

I really hope Felix’s feelings for Kagami are genuine, and that the ring he gave her isn’t being used to manipulate her in any sort of way. Especially since Kagami doesn’t deserve to feel manipulated and heartbroken again.

I know I personally love Felix as a character just because he’s so interesting. But, I do get suspicious of him at times because he has hurt people to get what he wants.

However…I think I’m starting to figure him out a bit.

It seems like he’s looking out for himself and the people he genuinely cares about, but only him and them. Yes, in his debut episode he hurt Adrien. But, I feel he realized he does care about Adrien, after Adrien told him what he did was unacceptable. Notice how from then on, he pretended to be Adrien both for Adrien’s own sake and his own personal reasons, without the intent of hurting Adrien. He tried to encourage Adrien to stand up to his father.

I think he feels that need to look out for Adrien because they’re both senti-beings (it’s pretty much confirmed at this point). He’s shown sympathy multiple times for senti-beings and making it known he doesn’t like the term “senti-monster.”

The one thing that kinda throws me was him making the exchange of almost all the other miraculous for the peacock miraculous with Gabriel. The only reason I can think of is that he didn’t think Gabriel would be smart enough to even use all those miraculous to gain the ladybug and black cat ones (which he’d be right about, if that’s the case). Or, maybe he figured he’d visit Paris quickly enough to stop him in his tracks.

It seems Felix means to keep the very few people he cares about safe and content, but tends to go about it in pretty unethical and risky ways that end up harming them. He did seem genuinely upset after realizing he might’ve taken away Adrien and Kagami’s loved ones, enough to cry and snap everything back to normal.

Anyhow, I’m hoping Felix really does see the error of his ways and is more careful in how he uses his powers. And, of course, I hope he loves Kagami and wants to keep her away from her evil, controlling mother, like he says (I lowkey actually ship them now). A character arc could be happening soon.

#miraculous ladybug #tales of ladybug and cat noir #miraculous #miraculers #ladybug #miraculous felix #felix graham de vanily #kagami tsurugi #feligami #miraculous season 5 #ml season 5 spoilers #ml spoilers #ml pretension #ml revelation #ml argos #tomoe tsurugi #adrien agreste #gabriel agreste

[uptoolateart]

I want to comment on this word 'conformation'.

In part, the title hints at Marinette unifying the miraculous. However, for me the main point is this idea of conforming, and rings, which are symbolically binding.

By buying into the Alliance rings, nearly everyone in Paris conforms to a view planted in their minds by media propaganda. Most conform quickly. A few break free of it...but not many.

The Perfect Alliance antidote is a ready-made cure for a problem fabricated by the same people. It's a classic form of manipulation and control seen in the annals of global history - as is the tactic of grooming someone into dependency and then taking away the thing they're dependent upon. Everyone should be raising an eyebrow at how quickly the solution is able to be rolled out, and yet almost no one does. Instead, they become mindless clones, tools saying and doing exactly what the enemy wants them to.

One person who sees through it all is Adrien. He fights it so hard, but the poor boy is bound left and right by rings. We've seen Gabriel control him with the wedding ring. Now he controls him with the Alliance ring. But Adrien's miraculous is also a ring - he's bound by duty to both Ladybug and the entire population of Paris. There's no space in there for HIM.

Just as we've seen him battle against akumatisation, and against his father's mind control, we see him fight against the nightmares - his worst fear being losing control and hurting everyone. He rejects the Perfect Alliance antidote over and over...but eventually gives in.

I think if he weren't Cat Noir, he wouldn't have relented. He would have endured the pain for himself. His concern was the pain of OTHERS. So, he conforms - but in full knowledge of what he's doing. He isn't brainwashed here. He's making a choice.

When he finally exchanges his miraculous for the Alliance - one ring for another - he's acknowledging his duties and, for the sake of others, allowing himself to be bound to his father. He's acknowledging that he can't be both The Adrien Agreste and Cat Noir. One has to go. Again, there's no space in there for HIM.

It's also worth noting that the Adrigami avatars are all in white. Adrien is in a white room. Gabriel is all in white. When he loses control, Cat is all in white. I wrote loads about the symbolism of white in an older post, but let's add to it.

In that room, Adrien is under an intensive identity erasure attack. He's being stripped of everything he is. When he gives up his miraculous, that's the last piece. He is completely broken down as a person and now primed to be rewritten by Gabriel...which is exactly what seems to happen with the Wish.

And whatever that Wish was...Gabriel got away with another. Marinette said Adrien wouldn't want to know what his father was really like...so she complies with Gabriel's plea not to tell him. In other words...she conforms. She says and does exactly what the enemy wants her to.

What really gets me is ADRIEN ALREADY KNEW WHAT HIS FATHER WAS REALLY LIKE. And I hope to god that knowledge has not been wiped clean away by the Wish - that his trauma has not been wiped away - because that would complete the identity erasure. All his growth is gone. Who is he, right now?? Who remembers the boy locked in that room, the one who essentially sacrificed his entire SELF?

When Marinette puts that wedding ring on his finger at the end, I know it's intended as, 'Look, you control yourself now,' and he says when he's with her he feels so free...but she's now the one binding him. She's keeping secrets. She's controlling what he knows. She's deciding what he can handle and what he can't, like he's a small child. That's not freedom. He needs all the facts in order to make his own life choices.

For all her faults, I have always loved Marinette. I won't pretend Adrien isn't my favourite, though. I want to hope the writers are screwing with us on purpose and this was all a twist to set up bigger drama. My worry is that they really thought it was a happy ending and didn't see all these fundamental problems we are pointing out. I guess time will tell.

#miraculous ladybug #mlb #ml fandom #adrien agreste #chat noir #cat noir #ml meta #ml analysis #mlb meta #mlb analysis #ml marinette #ml recreation #ml conformation #ml s5 finale #ml spoilers #ml s5 spoilers #ml s5 #adrinette #ml ladybug #ml gabriel #gabriel agreste's a+ parenting

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

Hello. I hope I am not being tactless, but I'd like to point out something about your article about the treatment of Chloe. To me it is pretty obvious from the author's words that he did answer your question. "Why did he bother with a false redemption arc? " To show she HAD a chance but refused it. That is what makes a bad person - they had a good opportunity to be otherwise. You make it look like he said people don't change, but he didn't, he said to change you need to want it and work on it.

(The post this anon is referring to)

Don't worry, I'm not upset at all. You were nothing but cordial in expressing your opinion, and even though I personally don't agree with your take, I still appreciate your composure.

I don't think the idea with Chloe deconstructing the whole redemption stuff isn't a bad idea. The problem was that for the most part, it seemed like because so much time was being invested in it, it seemed like it was going somewhere, only to just go back on it for the sake of a cheap plot twist. You could have easily told this story by having Chloe be punished for what she did in "Queen Wasp", teaching kids that powers don't make the hero.

Even putting my feelings about the character aside, Chloe is basically irrelevant as a villain, and adds nothing to the show's rogues' gallery. Lila has already been established as a greater threat to both Marinette and Ladybug, and Felix has a deeper connection to Adrien than Chloe. It just makes you wonder why they even made her a villain if she's not even going to be an important one in the grand scheme of things. She's not even the fun kind of villain, as the writers focus so much on having her rant about how she's the worst person in existence, she doesn't have any charm compared to other villains like Hexadecimal or Harley Quinn.

As for the abuse thing, I was mainly referring to how Astruc compared Chloe's fans to people who try to justify abuse. He seriously compared fans thinking a fictional character who could have had better writing is the same as trying to excuse an abusive partner.

Again, the lesson they're trying to teach with Chloe isn't a bad one, but it's the execution, coupled with Astruc constantly mocking people online for daring to get invested in one of the few character arcs in the entire show, that really gets to me. They set up an interesting character arc, went back on it just for a plot twist, and as far as I can tell, didn't really have a plan for Chloe as a character other than "comic relief who nobody likes".

#immaturity of thomas astruc #iota #thomas astruc #thomas astruc salt #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug salt #chloe bourgeois #queen bee #queen b