#I just think Marinette is pretty solid | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tumble-witch · 5 months

Text

TW light suggestion of body horror. No descriptions though!

Creatomachia

Bunnix shows up in Marinette's bedroom when it's already dark outside.

Marinette knows what the older heroine is about to ask the second she hears the burrow open. When Bunnix greets her, Marinette is hyperventilating. Instead of exchanging pleasantries, she asks:

- Is it... him again?

Bunnix has a grim expression on her face, yet shakes her head. Marinette exhales. She has another question.

- Is it something I did?

- No. I'm sorry I'm asking this from you again. I'm sorry there will be no answers yet.

- It's okay. I am ready.

At first Ladybug thinks she is on another planet. Another dimension, even. There are cloud fractals in the sky. There is a street light growing out of another one, growing out of another one, growing out of another one... Trees are huge and have so many leaves they are almost a solid green mass. Some buildings are so tall they go way past the clouds in a curvy line. It reminds her of the Jack and the Beanstalk fairytale her mom used to read her before bed.

The roads branch out like blood vessels, getting smaller with each separation, ending in dead ends near the buildings or growing vertically on top of the walls.

The whole city almost looks like it could move at any second. It almost looks alive.

As Ladybug progresses through the streets (if she can even call them that), she finally realizes where the people are.

At least, what's left of them.

Infinite growth apparently works on humans, too. She never thought she'd be so thankful to see somebody not move.

The silence makes her ears ring. Everything is quiet, except for some mechanical sounds the structures make, not really meant to support their own weight in this new form.

Then, she hears laughter.

A girl with hair so long she's not sure where it ends is frantically pacing around the roof, her body movements jittery and odd. As the camera of the heroine's yo-yo focuses on the akuma, helping seek out where the cursed butterfly is hiding, Ladybug realizes the dress this girl is wearing is not grey.

It's is covered in trillions of colourful tiny dots of different shapes and sizes. They seem jittery too, as if trying to move, but some force is making them stay together. This feels like standing up after lying down for too long. Looking at the pattern for too long makes her head hurt

Ladybug continues hiding. She takes her time looking for clues. At this point she's not really sure if the girl is actually laughing or this is a weird hysterical cry. Sometimes the akuma starts muttering under her nose, too quiet to make out most of the words. Ladybug is pretty sure she heard the girl say "I can fix this" a few times though. She shifts to hear the words better.

The akuma turns around

This is the hardest she's ever fought. Chat Blanc feels like child's play now.

While the villain almost looks out of breath, long hair going everywhere, Ladybug is still barely able to keep up.

The air is too dense with oxygen.

The girl has a yo-yo as a weapon, in a cruel twist of irony. And she's damn good with it. Yet, she clearly hesitates in using the thing, saving it as a last resort to escape.

Ladybug tries to reason with the akumatized victim.

- Wait! Please, let me help you!

- You don't understand, - the girl looks around frantically, - I have to fix this! I need to fix this!

Villain's grey yo-yo starts to glow white and she throws it at a fire hydrant, making it grow another one on top.

The akuma was inside the earring. Ladybug was hit by the yo-yo. She doesn't have the time to think as she casts Miraculous cure, just before her brain registered the pain fully.

She'll remember the way it looked when she closes her eyes though.

The streets go back to normal. Her body is normal. Ladybug turns around and meets the eyes of

herself

Marinette sits on the ground, horrified. But before Ladybug can talk to her Bunnix appears and she has to go.

Bunnix doesn't say anything as they walk through the burrow, but she's pretty sure the older heroine is holding her shoulder softer than ever before.

They didn't change anything. They didn't fix anything after they came back, no scoldings, no erasing her name from anywhere, nothing. Marinette is growing more paranoid at every turn, expecting to get akumatized. Her conflict avoidance is at all times high. She's withdrawing from her friends.

Nobody is near when Hawkmoth himself shows up in the middle of the night and she has to transform. He senses her distress immediately.

This is just too easy.

The butterfly lands in her earring just as she started to call for a last effort Lucky Charm.

"Creatomachia, this is Hawkmoth. You are overwhelmed with every problem creating a million smaller ones. Things seem to stack on top of each other and just never end. I'll give you the power to fix everything. In return, you will give me your and Chat Noir's miraculous."

For a split second, everything is white.

160 notes · View notes

flightfoot · 3 months

Note

Can you recommend angsty fics which don't revolve around the main duo?

Hope you like these! I avoided fics that revolved around either Marinette or Adrien.

---

Can’t Sleep Either, Huh? by EmeraldButterfly

Chloe gets up late at night. Turns out she’s not the only one who’s worried about Pollen. (AU where former Miraculous holders have an empathetic link with their kwamis)

This is a very interesting AU. Chloe and Zoe are both able to feel Pollen’s emotions and even things like her hunger, and end up taking solace in each other to try and cope. It’s just really sweet.

---

oh, no, not again by @bittersweetresilience

Félix doesn’t want to broach the subject, but he won’t be able to after they leave.

So this is a glimpse into a time-travel fix-it story, with various wielders being sent back into their younger selves. But Felix doesn’t think he’ll be helpful, because well… his backstory. He would be unable to step out of line. It’s pretty angsty and I love Chat’s reaction to learning about how bad Felix had it.

---

Changeling by @unecoccinellenoire

Gabriel makes the Wish believing that he regretted everything with Adrien. The results suggest that he in fact regrets Adrien

So this is interesting. It’s giving a glimpse into a universe where Gabriel and Emilie never found the Peacock Miraculous, and they (along with Amelie and Colt) just adopted. Which unfortunately meant that Adrien and Felix as we know them never existed, and Gabriel finds that he misses his original son, which is especially acute when interacting with his new adopted son and knowing how much he’s NOT Adrien.

---

Late Bloomer by @generalluxun

On what might very well be the last night of her life, Sabrina Raincomprix pulls out a very special scrapbook, pressed between the pages is the past, the past she has never shared with anyone. She relives how she got to this moment one page at a time, preparing herself for the end. A phone call interrupts her self-imposed exile and brings news that could change her life forever. Even if it does though the question looms… change it how?

Sabrina-centric Hanahaki AU here! I love how it goes into Sabrina’s relationship with Chloe over the years, the good and the bad - and even what happens post Revolution.

I love the description of some of the plants involved, and what they mean, what they represent. If you want a fic that delves more in Sabrina’s character and her relationship with Chloe, this is a solid choice.

---

Spread Your Wings by @myladynoire

Set before the Finale. Félix uses his Kwagatama to summon his father’s memory and has a talk with him.

I love Colt’s characterization here, how we see his mindset, his beliefs, and even what made him the way he is. We have a limited amount of knowledge about him in canon, only having the play Felix and Kagami put on to go off of, but myladynoire made good use of it! I’m glad Felix got some closure here as well.

---

Eat, Pray, Duck by @trishacollins

Gabriel Agreste split his twin sons apart when his wife died, keeping one with him and sending one to London with his sister. Unfortunately, the Supreme was not willing to let this be. He wanted a matched set. Felix is a weapon, a servant of the Supreme. On a mission to retrieve the stolen Miraculous. In a world that has outlawed kindness, sometimes the most dangerous person is the one who chooses it anyway.

I love this glimpse at what might have been going on with Felix back in Shadybug and Claw Noir’s world, I did wonder what might have been going on with him. Poor kid, he managed to have it even worse than he did in canon. I really loved seeing his interactions with Luka, the Couffaines rebel through kindness it seems!

---

Trapped by @consistent-chaos-corporation

Felix asks to visit Adrien as soon as his father is gone. Gabriel catches him snooping, looking for Adrien’s Amok. Everything gets worse from there.

Damn, poor Felix. He came to try and help Adrien, but instead Gabriel stole his Amok, forcing him to obey his commands, holding him prisoner in his basement for months. If you want some quality Felix whump, this is the fic for you!

---

Justifying the Means by @ashes-555

When the worst happens, Alya finds that she may be willing to do the unthinkable. Is any sacrifice to big to make for her friends?

Once again, Ashes comes out swinging with an Alya focused fic!

Basically, there’s a major, destructive akuma attack. During it, Ladybug orders Chat to cataclysm a building in order to stop from being trapped. Unfortunately the building collapses, injuring or killing a lot of people - unbeknownst to her, including Chat Noir. Gabriel releases the akuma, which means she has no way of fixing the damage, either.

A lot of of focus is placed on Alya and Nino worrying over Adrien, who was found in the wreckage barely clinging to life, in a coma, with the doctors unsure whether he’d make it. Shadow Moth takes advantage of their distress to make an offer: if he gets the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses, he can make a Wish to fix everything, including saving Adrien. With as dark a place as Alya and Nino are in, they seriously consider it. Especially with how unhappy both of them are with Chat Noir supposedly “abandoning” Ladybug and Paris as a whole, and Nino being angry with Ladybug for failing (since Alya knows that Marinette is Ladybug, she’s far more understanding on that front).

I love how much credence Alya’s thought and emotions are given here, and that she doesn’t go for the more drastic option right away, either - she talks with Ladybug about it first, tries to do it her way. She understands the costs, but... her friends are important to her, and she’s desperate. I think this was a really good way to present a more antagonistic sort of Alya. She’s still very much herself here, and still considers Marinette her friend, willing to do things her way to an extent, and understanding why Marinette doesn’t want to use the Wish, even though she disagrees with her. Alya’s mindset, her emotions, her problems, are given respect and credence by the narrative. She’s still willing to talk things out, she’s still sympathetic to Marinette and the enormous trauma and guilt she’s going through, she just disagrees with Marinette’s approach. She wants her friend back.

If you want a fic that has some solid focus on Alya as a person, on her emotional struggles and mindset and just... dealing with things, I highly recommend checking out “Justifying the Means”.

---

I Won’t Let You by @generalluxun

After Gabriel’s defeat, two individuals not party to the celebration run into each other, and find each other.

The summary doesn’t give much of an idea of what the fic’s about. Post-Hawkmoth Defeat, Chloe and Felix run into each other at the celebration of Gabriel’s downfall, and vent about their problems. Neither of them think the other one has it too bad - Chloe’s worried about disappearing, since her worth was entirely tied to her family’s prestige and wealth, and being seen as friends to a terrorist is gonna cripple both of those, while Felix is on edge about Ladybug having the Peacock Miraculous, since she has the ability to kill him at a moment’s notice (yes this is a Sentifelix fic).

They both make each other understand the turmoil the other is going through in extremely visceral ways, showing the other what it’s like to be them, in the circumstances they’re in. I don’t want to spoil what, exactly, they do, but needless to say, it’s worth a read.

#ask #miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic rec

20 notes · View notes

miraculouslbcnreactions · 2 months

Note

This happening very recently, but I was replaying to another fan about the whole thing with the fandom being mad at Marinette about not telling Adrien about his father and about him being a senti monster and how it was dumb that the fandom was (going into a lot of the fandom making fanfic of Adrien leaving Marinette because of her lying and then turn around to complain.)

I, at first, said that I understand the fandom’s criticism because that moment seems OOC for Marinette to keep Gabriel’s secret and that if Marinette loved Adrien, she’d tell him the truth, regardless on him leaving or not.

They responded (to sum it up) that Marinette hates lies yes, but she keeps lies to protect the ones she loves. She does it all of the time. And her keeping a secret has nothing to do with the fear of loosing Adrien, but everything with his safety.

They then responded some more but I can’t get into cus…they blocked me…after I basically said they had Vaild points but I wouldn’t blame Adrien for leaving Marinette if he found out. I see both of their POV’s

My over all thoughts on this is that…I do understand why Marinette did the things she did, but it doesn’t erase the fact that it feels…icky that Adrien has little to no knowledge or anatomy over himself. The knowledge and anatomy lies with his partner…

So….thoughts?

So I disagree that this lie protects Adrien. It might keep him emotionally safe, but it risks his physical safety since he has two magical remote controls that aren't exactly well kept secrets. Marinette has no idea who all knows about them and she should be assuming that the new butterfly is in the know since the butterfly clearly knew about Emilie's hidden chamber.

If Marinette had kept the rings, then you could make the argument that she's keeping him safe in the best way that she can while still protecting the rest of the world since there is a solid argument to be made for not exposing her secrets while there's still an ongoing threat, but that argument's out the window since she gave the rings to Adrien! She made him the unknowing guardian of his own freedom in a world where jewelry theft is a common teenage past time. That's really, really, really bad and you cannot logically justify that choice.

With that being said, I can actually buy Marinette not telling Adrien right away. He just lost his father and, as previously said, telling Adrien probably means exposing her secret identity, which is a huge deal when the butterfly is still at large. I do think that she'd cave pretty quickly, though, because the guilt would eat her alive. I think that she'd quickly start having nightmares about him losing the rings and other such stuff that would quickly poison their relationship.

However, I also feel like this is yet another case of Marinette getting an unfair amount of blame for a thing that isn't all on her. Yes, she needs to tell him, but she's a late comer to this party who only knows the details second hand. Heck, I've said before that I'm not even totally sure that she knows that Adrien is a sentimonster because Felix's play was rather vague about Adrien and Kagami's status.

But you know who is fully in the know about everything? Felix! And Kagami! And Nathalie! And probably Amelie, too. People who are also supposed to love Adrien and want what's best for him. People who have also told him diddly squat even though they knew long before Marinette did, yet I don't see anyone complaining about them.

Kagami in particular really grinds my gears because I especially don't buy her keeping this from Adrien. She's the queen of confrontation who literally called him up to yell at him for being such a push over after seeing a freaking marketing photo! Does anyone actually buy her keeping the senti stuff from Adrien for literal months? In a lot of ways, I actually think Kagami and Felix should be the ones to tell Adrien because they know so much more than Marinette and because they share his status so he won't feel so alone.

Basically, the fact that Adrien doesn't know isn't the result of good writing, it's the hand of the author taking corporal form and sewing everyone's mouths shut because the writers either don't want to deal with this issue or they want to milk it out for drama in the coming seasons. Do I like that Marinette is keeping this a secret? No, but she's not doing it because she wants to. She's doing it because she's a fictional character whose writers are really bad at handling both serious topics and satisfying reveals. I haven't read any post season five fics but I'm sure that they'd annoy me just as much as the fics that deal with the season four conflict by heaping all the blame at Marinette's feet and holding no one else accountable for their actions or lack there of.

#ml writing salt #ml writing critical #ml season 5 salt #senti salt #adrien deserves better #marinette deserves better #ml fandom critical #ml fandom salt

17 notes · View notes

picturejasper20 · 4 days

Note

What’s are few examples you can think of that are redemption arcs done badly?

Well, uhh...

One issue i have with animated series lately that they tend to wait until the very last episode to redeem a character- something i don't understand why they can't do earlier or show better that they are regretting their actions. Steven Universe series has this but it was more a production issue of having to smash everything in 5 episodes. This is why Sasha's redemption arc from Amphibia was pretty solid, even if it needed more episodes, because the show didn't wait until last minute to do it.

Talking about examples of mixed redemption arcs below.

As redemption arcs that have questionable execution, Starlight Glimmer from MLP G4 is one of the first that comes to mind:

I don't certainly dislike her character but the way her actions were explained was... (sigh) She lost a friend when she was little because of cutie marks, so she started to hate cutie marks and then make a whole cult about it.

youtube

That's it, that is the reason. We don't get further details of how Starlight decided to become a villain, not if she lost more friends because of the cutie marks or if she was bullied for not having her cutie mark yet.

I know this is a show of colorful ponies but the series is capable of exploring the character's backgrounds and being emotionally complex for one expects for its demographic (like Bluey). We could have had one or two episodes about this to develop her character past better.

Her character arc itself is not so bad, she does have good episodes and shows some growth throught the seasons. She serves well to give lessons when the main six have been developed a lot in later seasons. The issue is that in some episodes she gets away with some awful things like using a spell to semi brainwash the main six. I think it is more a sign of the writers not knowing how to execute her character more than anything else.

My Little Pony has many good things but it can be questionable... the way it chooses who ¨deserves¨ to be redeemed and who doesn't. It is something that probably deserves its own post though.

Gabriel Agreste as a character who gets redeemed... good lord, this man does very awful things, specially to his son, Adrien. He just gets worse every season from what i have seen, getting more controlling with Adrien and escalating in the way he becomes more ridiculously villainous.

Then the Season 5 finale has him suddenly ¨regretting his actions¨ to the last moment, doing a semi-sacrifice, and he has the galls to ask Marinette to tell to Adrien that ¨he was a good father¨.

And after all that he gets an statue, potraying him as a ¨hero¨.

I can't fully judge it since i haven't watched the whole show. However, the execution of his character regretting his actions falls flat and the worst of all is that Adrien doesn't learn that Gabriel was Mothman. Most of what i have seen of this show is a trainwreck, and this is just the top of the iceberg

The movie takes the elements of the show and it is overall so much better. The characters develop and Gabriel gets written a lot differently from his series version. He isn't as cruel and he cares about Adrien in spite of how distant their relationship becomes.

Catra from She-ra 2018 is often another character that is cited as a bad example of redemption arc, even Steven Universe fans seem to hate her character.

Honestly, i think a lot of things in her character arc in Season 5 are decent? She does changes through the season, tries to make amends and apologizes for her actions. She grows to be kinder and better than the controlling person she was before.

The main problem for me is that things that made her character interesting in earlier seasons kinda... get dropped in season 5. Her inferiority complex to how Adora got easier and was more loved and respected by people around her? Gone. That along with other things that drove her character.

I remember that her relationship with Adora gets too much in the center, overshadowing other recurrent characters. Other thing that bothered me was that she did one nice thing and suddenly the protagonists were very accepting of her? I understand Adora but others, uhhhh.... And not to mention that Scorpia forgives her way to easily after the way Catra treated her... i guess you could argue that it is in her character but still, if there is one character that would have been mixed about that should have been Scorpia.

Nine from Sonic Prime has a bit of Gabriel Agrestre syndrome with him suddenly regretting his mistakes and actions at the last minute, not showing much regret around Season 3 with his actions until that point and getting worse.

The character in Season 3 suffers as a whole because it feels like he was rewritten. In previous seasons Nine was potrayed as someone who cared about only himself, but that was it. He didn't try hurting innocent people on purpose and then in Season 3 he didn't seem to care he was destroying the realities from other words to create his ¨perfect safe world¨.

His realization in Season 3 feels too sudden and it is like he changes too quickly in five minutes. At one minute he is fighting with Sonic and the other he is feeling bad. There is a lack a build up to that moment that he could have had before.

One thing i can give is that nobody seems to want anything to do with him after he apologizes and they leave him to be. They do what Sonic asked but they still seem to hate Nine after all that he did. That was nice to see for a change.

I would add the redemptions arcs in Hazbin Hotel, not because it the idea behind them is bad, but cause there is lack of screen time for the characters to see them develop properly. We don't seem them spending time growing and the process, we are only told that they ¨changed¨ so much like it is the case with Angel Dust. We aren't shown the path in between. Only the start and the finish line, which is very frustrating when watching the show.

I feel i could add more from animes, videogames and what not but these are the first that come to mind at the moment.

#ask #redemption #redemption arcs

8 notes · View notes

princess-of-the-corner · 6 months

Text

Miraculous Winx (Cont)

(Again, I will never do anything with this, so if anyone wants a go, have at it! 😁)

This is mostly little shit I thought of but didn’t include in the last one because, man, it got long didn’t it?

Anyway:

There are ways to tell if a spirit has chosen someone, so when Trixx chose Alya, people knew someone had been chosen, they just didn’t know who. Lila, who grew up next door to Alya, found her freaking out about being chosen, and convinced her that they could fool people into thinking Lila was chosen instead. Alya went for this immediately, and at the time, Trixx just thought it was the exact kind of hilarious prank someone they chose would pull. As the years have gone on, they’ve begun to realize that Lila is a toxic person playing on Alya’s insecurities, but they don’t really know what to do.

Despite the usual tradition about Creati and Destruk rulers not marrying, Bridgette and Felix have secretly been seeing each other for ages and wish they could be openly together. They both want to argue that as neither of them possess the spirits of Creation and Destruction, there shouldn’t be a problem with them being together.

A lot of Nino’s magic manifests as “bubbles” of sound and vibration that he can control. Once he starts working with Wayzz, he learns to make bubble-like shields.

Luka’s Heartsong ability is not only rare as hell, certain people knowing about it could put him in danger. The only people who know about it are his mom, his sister, and his … . babysitter? Family friend? Person who helped him get control, at any rate.

Usually, Plagg follows Tikki and Longg on picking his next chosen from the next heir, but every so often, he throws people a curveball and picks someone out of the line of succession. While he gives a lot of reasons, one of the main ones is usually that he’ll have had a string of chosen that were rulers of a kingdom and he’s bored out of his mind. Hey, kid, you sick of being stuck inside all day? Me too, ya wanna learn how to pick locks?

Sabine’s magic, along with her brother Wang’s, is severely “atrophied”. Fu didn’t want to risk either of the children being found, so he “sealed” their magic away. If either of them tried an active spell, it would be very hard for them. However, most magic needs some kind of outlet, and while Fu did his best, he was pretty hurt and drained when he cast those spells. So Sabine and Wang might be pretty abysmal spell casters, but their PASSIVE magic is a sight to behold, especially as they often don’t know their doing it.

Marinette’s magic was similarly sealed, but Fu didn’t use a very strong seal as Marinette was only a baby, meaning the seal was about as strong as a toothpick. The reason the seal didn’t break earlier was because Marinette was never in any kind of life-or-death danger. The moment she’s confronted with real magic danger, that seal snaps like twig.

I’m headcanoning that Magic school starts at, like, seventeenish? Like, ML is all over the place on ages, and in Winx, Bloom is supposed to a first year and she’s sixteen, so I’m kind of making up the magic School Year. Like, you have ages 5-8 as like, primary school, then 9-12 as middle or elementary, then 13-16/17 as the high school equivalent, then after that college. Like, 16-17 is the year most powers start to “settle” and people have a solid “base form” to start working off of. Like, you are physically considered an adult, or almost-adult, when your fairy/witch form settles, and the 16-17 age range is just the usual. It can be as early as 13, or as late as 25.

Because Marinette’s magic was mostly sealed, when it snaps, at first, her magic seems really inconsistent. Sometimes she’s powerhouse, other times she struggles to make a single magic spark. Her magic is basically trying to “stretch out” and “settle” now that it has the space.

the moment this “settling” happens, Marinette promptly goes through a magic-puberty speed run. Like, most kids with magic go through a magic puberty that syncs up fairly well with their physical puberty, which is almost entirely by design. Magic races Have evolved so that the two processes work together in a way that means the person develops at a natural and healthy pace. Unfortunately for Marinette, because her magic was sealed, her physical puberty is basically done, and her magic puberty senses this and tries to catch up all at once - which is basically the worst thing it can do. Marinette ends up having a miserable month of magic surges she can’t control, cramps, nausea, vertigo, chills, fevers, and several symptoms she will never admit to having, even under pain of death. When it’s finally over, she has to try and assure her new friends that this is not what she was talking about when she mentioned “monthlies”.

Partially because Marinette’s magic was sealed while she went through puberty, there are certain things Marinette is physically deficient in, because her magic didn’t develop at the same pace as the rest of her. For instance, her height is stunted. She has a few vitamin deficiencies. Her magical immune system is basically nonexistent. Some of these things will correct themselves as time goes by and her magic integrates itself into her system, but some things (like her height) are permanent.

The Order of The Guardians does exist is this universe … or it used to. There are many conflicting legends, but everyone agrees that the Order used to exist and that it would “pair” spirits with suitable chosen. No one is clear on what happened next, but the Order vanished, and now the spirits roam the galaxy, selecting their own chosen. The only clue is a certain legend on Destruk, which talks about the Spirits Shadows …

In case anyone was curious, that’s my idea on the big “villain” behind everything. Like, the Order used to exist as a kind of “bridge” between the various magic peoples, and beings they had dubbed “Guardian Spirits”, but are actually their own race, the Kwami. Like, they are still technically “deities” but they also have, like, various species. They eat. They reproduce. Anyway initially the Order existed to facilitate communication, because the Kwami were these insane otherworldly beings with immense power no one could communicate with, but they were also pretty benevolent. Eventually, someone managed to form a magic “link” with a Kwami, allowing them to communicate and the Kwami realized the link could be used to share their powers and abilities to help people, which most of them were pretty happy to do.

However.

A few of the Kwami - like, Plagg, for instance - wanted nothing to do with this, and while they didn’t antagonize anyone, the Order grew fearful (and covetous) of the powers they didn’t control. It started as little things, extra precautions, but they eventually imprisoned the Kwami within jewelry, and would only give them to their own specially picked “chosen”, ignoring the Kwami’s opinion.

Which is where they fucked up, because it turns out there’s a very specific and important reason certain people shouldn’t become chosen.

Like, the Order thought they knew everything, but they categorically did not, and they gave the Butterfly and the Peacock to the wrong people. People who never should have been chosen. People who vibed with the Butterfly and the Peacock in all the wrong ways, and, well. Nooroo’s power is metamorphosis. Transmission. Change. Which can go a lot of ways. So can Duusuu. And while both Kwami could usually try and control a link they had chosen and agreed to, this one they hadn’t. They were enslaved, and had no choice. The end result was a merged being, Shadowmoth, made up of the hatred, the greed, and the cruelty that the Kwami had endured, and of the people who hadn’t truly been “chosen”. The Order, who at least knew they were in over their heads, set out to find people who could use the rest of Kwami to fight Shadow Moth, and free Nooroo and Duusuu.

In case you were wondering, they found them. These people also, unanimously, had the reaction of “I’m sorry, you imprisoned a race of sentient beings, and now that it’s bit you in the ass, you want us to use these enslaved sentient beings to fix something you fucked up? Which of you is the villain again?”

So, the final battle goes down, but even if it didn’t completely destroy the Order’s base and fuck up the planet so much it’s magic basically ran dry, there would have been some pretty strong words for any of the Order’s survivors. The Heroes basically spent the next decade or so of life figuring out how to break the jewelry and free the Kwami, which had a pretty profound impact on the Kwami. While some were still disillusioned with humanity and left to explore the stars, some felt as if their faith had been restored by these people who had tried so hard for them. When they were free, in gratitude for the kindness these Heroes had shown, they took up positions as “Guardians” of their Hero’s family or planet, leading to at least some of the various royal families.

Now, interesting note. That planet that got all fucked up? That’s Earth. The reason it’s magic is basically gone. Well, technically, it’s not. It’s all being drained by a massive fuck-off sealing spell keeping Shadow Moth contained. By the time the Heroes got there, Shadow Moth had been “feeding” on Nooroo and Duusuu enough that they couldn’t kill it, so they instead sealed it away. And the thing is, the way the spell works, is it’s feeding Shadowmoth Magic, then using that to power the spell. And the way long term effects work, people who don’t use magic will eventually lose it, so Earth would become less and less magical, and Shadow Moth would eventually starve to death.

Only, then Fu needs a place to hide. With two magic kids, who go on to have another magic kid. And all three of those domains are Creation and Healing. And Shadow Moth … Well, it was created from the link between Kwami and chosen. Sealed away or not, that link is still there. And if you don’t know about it - if you don’t even think it’s a problem - how do you warn someone? How do you defend them? How do you even know that a being like that could use that link to, oh, I don’t know … whisper in the ears or your current chosen? Maybe even … Overshadow them?

Ohohoho?

#submission

20 notes · View notes

carpetbug · 3 months

Text

ML Bandit Prince AU!

this is just me kinda dumping everything I have at least sort of figured out so far lol, this is definitely not how i’ll format the au should I develop it

ok so imma be fr I don’t have a whole lot fleshed out for this au yet, and i’m not sure how much i’ll develop it but i’m having fun with it for now!

The basic idea is alternate universe, medieval-y vibes, Gabriel is the king mourning the recent loss of his queen, Emilie. He is in ownership of all the miraculous, and they are a relatively well kept secret. When Emilie suddenly ‘dies’, Gabriel finds the black cat ring missing soon after and sort of goes into lockdown. He puts his son, Prince Adrien, under the constant protection of a 24/7 bodyguard. Said bodyguard is none other than Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a seamstress under gabriel’s teaching. He sees her fondness for Adrien as Marinette, and offers to allow her to wield the ladybug earrings so long as she keeps Adrien safe above all else, returns them when the time comes, and works with him to retrieve the stolen miraculous from the anonymous thief.

Only problem is, the thief is Prince Adrien, who discovered the miraculous and the truth behind his mother’s ‘death’ the night she was lost. He took the black cat to keep the wish out of his father’s hands and began pretending he was still the oblivious, obedient, perfect son he was made to be. The only thing he wasn’t quite prepared for was a ladybug hero vowing to protect him with her life, who was also the most beautiful girl he had ever met. and under her father’s manipulation. and maybe trying to arrest his vigilante identity.

I haven’t settled on a name for his hero identity yet, but here’s a design i made back in november!

definitely needs some revisiting 😅

no full body for ladybugs design yet, or what her name will be, but i have this little doodle also from november :)

i think that’s pretty much everything i’ve thought up so far, and none of it’s entirely solid yet lol. lmk what y’all think! who knows if anyone people are interested i’ll do something with it 🧐 (not anytime soon probably)

#carpetbug talks #ml au #ml bandit prince au #carpetbug wip #love some parts of his design hate some parts #will be giving him and his lady a makeover #UHHH YEAH #low key nervous to post this wtf why 🤨#enjoy eat up #okay i really hope this makes sense my brain is fried from homework and i’m so tired lmao

13 notes · View notes

imthepunchlord · 4 months

Note

Which miraculous could you give to them?

For the sake of this, going to stick to canon. And my preferences on Miraculous-Holder match ups, cause I would like a pair that will help a human grow and improve, and bonus if they can be a fun match. Though, I will say, some match ups I just like. Also, as this will be a long list, I'm just going to stick to my for sure list and not honorable mentions.

Marinette

Cat works off her as a creator wielding destruction, though it can work nicely as to create does involve destroying the state of what something is; Plagg though is the biggest key for this preference. Cause not only would Marinette-Plagg be absolutely hilarious, he's her ideal foil to help her grow and covers her biggest issues: she's too selfless, too dedicated, overworks herself, piles too much on her plate, and doens't prioritize herself and her needs. Plagg though is lazy, selfish, and is up to be dicey on his duties. Between him and her integrity, Marinette I think will find a nice medium, keep to who she is, but learning from Plagg to not overwork herself and to consider her own wants and needs more. Plus, big bonus for Marinette to get a kwami who's going to 110% have her back and truly come to care for her and her feelings. It's something she really needs. There is also the big appeal that when Marinette overthinks and spirals, Plagg can ground her with logic and being calmer in his approach to things. Bee is kinda more a match up I just like. Cause everything about Marinette screams a match with a Bee, to a point there's not a lot going for her growth wise to have it. Working off the canon power, it could be a good way for Marinette to learn enough is enough and do as needed. Pollen though I think would need a personality overhaul. Fox I've always had a soft spot for the potential, there's the intrigue of her not liking liars but she has a Miraculous of deception, but it does work off Marinette knowing how to direct and manipulate people, and that she will meddle, and it can work off her creativity. I do think she can be a solid Fox too as she knows how to be subtle. Also her and Trixx could be so fascinating to see how they work off each other. Tiger has a lot of the same appeal as Cat (and Bee power wise), which I'm also intrigued with her having the Lion I thought of; I guess Marinette to me just clicks really well with cats. But her and Roaar should also be pretty chaotic and fun, and Roaar should also push for self prioritizing and less pleasing others more. Rabbit is in the same boat as Bee, where it just clicks but may not offer much growth wise. Fluff and the power though would need to be overhauled. Dragon given it represents great power and divinity, it's another that feels fitting to pair with her. Though I can't quite say what her and Longg would be like together. Snake is one I could see Marinette working well with, especially as she's able to roll with the chaos and would prioritize it's used for the best outcome. The bit we see of Sass also intrigues me for Marinette. Ideally he should be along the lines of Sapotis Trixx. Horse I think would just be a huge relief to Marinette power wise, able to use teleportation to get around, so much stress would be off her shoulders. I think her and Kaalki could be a fun or interesting pair, as Kaalki is the snobbiest of the kwamis we've seen being paired with the more humble Marinette. They could be a very fun match. Goat is largely here as it's an artistic Miraculous and Marinette is an artist. Kinda a must pair to try sometime. And I think her and Ziggy could be cute together. Rooster has the same appeal to Horse kwami wise as Orikko should be haughty and honest and he could be very funny to pair with Marinette. Dog can play off Marinette being very loyal, loving, and dedicated, could help her learn there is also time for play, and can play into her swiping antics. Barkk and her I think would be a sweet pair.

Adrien

Ladybug largely plays off Adrien's lack of involvement in his own plot, which when paired with Tikki, is going to be impossible for him. Though now that we got to see an alternative example of Lucky Charm, this Miraculous is now more viable for use and not so limited to elaborate thinkers. And at the core, Tikki would help cover everything Adrien does need growth wise. He does need to find purpose in life, he does need to initiate and interact with others, he does need to be more aware and considerate of them, and he can't just keep bowing his head and rolling with stuff. He does also need to step up in his hero duties if he's going to be a major full time hero. There is that risk of Tikki putting too much pressure on him, but it could be a good moment for her to learn she needs to ease back. Turtle is honestly my top pick of the 5 for Adrien. It's one of those rare matches that works off how Adrien is, provides a solution to it, and answers his needs. Adrien is a natural protector, but he takes things too far and self sacrifices. And that's not good. Turtle though offers the protection HE needs while working off that protective nature. Wayzz I also think would be a solid kwami to work off Adrien. Work on getting Adrien to be more cautious or think a little before he acts, but we also see Wayzz adopt his humans' quirks so he'd quickly bond with Adrien and solidify him as a friend. Fox is now the 2nd pick of the 5 for me. Reckless as he can be, Adrien does know when to be subtle and can be clever, and illusions can work off his involvement in acting. Trixx I also think would be a good kwami to pair with him, knowing how to guide Adrien but also rolling with the chaos and fun. Mouse I think Adrien would get a kick out of working with multiples of himself, or help him learn how annoying he can be; given Mullo is very impish, I do think Adrien would have a good time with her. They can go prank Gabriel together. Tiger I think would be the better match than Cat, and it largely comes down to Roaar. Roaar would encourage self prioritizing and rebelling against Gabriel and go do what he wants, but she's going to be far more involved than Plagg is, and would call Adrien out on what he does. And based on what we see, she'd be heard. Horse can play into Adrien's want of freedom, and Kaalki would be delighted to be paired with Adrien. Though she'll definitely shape him to be the ideal noble hero. Monkey this match promises chaos incarnate and I want to see it. Dog plays off Adrien being a dog person, but at the core, I think Barkk could've been a solid kwami for him. She'd help him learn there's a time to play and a time to work, and give him a lot of affection and support, and would 100% go protective over him.

Felix

Ladybug I actually think could be kinda funny to see with Felix. While Tikki would push the hero agenda on Felix, this is pairing the bubbly optimist with the stiff skeptic. They find their happy medium in the fact that both are dedicated to see things through efficiently. Cat could be another funny match up given Plagg is lazy and chaotic, while Felix is more orderly and dedicated. He is set to drive Felix up the wall and that could be funny. Though he can vibe with that gremlin energy. Fox has the in between appeal of Ladybug and Cat, as Trixx is a kwami that can go chaotic but also is duty driven. Felix and Trixx could also be a fascinating pair to see work off each other. Also, Fox itself can play off Felix being deceptive and an actor. Mouse has similar appeal to Cat and Fox in pairing an impish, chaotic kwami with Felix. Rabbit can work on Felix needing to learn to be more gentle and aware of others. Though Fluff and power would need changes. Snake I think would be very interesting given it's dual nature, and Felix himself is a very dual character. I see it similar to Fox in being an in between Ladybug and Cat, as Sass seems very dedicated, though he should also be cunning and chaotic too. Horse I see Felix enjoying power wise, though I think him and Kaalki could be a funny match up, given she's kinda similar to Chloe in personality and Chloe should be someone who does drive Felix up the wall. Rooster is another interesting pair given it's a big symbol of truth and protection, and Felix at the core is meant to be more deceptive and more selfish. Felix I can also see getting annoyed with Orikko being loud and haughty, though could appreciate the honesty. It's another possibility for a comedic pair. Dog has similar appeal to Ladybug as you pair a bubbly, affectionate optimistic kwami with Felix. Though I think Barkk would do a better job clicking with Felix. This could also play into his impishness.

Alya

Ladybug Alya is probably becoming my preferred alternative pick to Ladybug Marinette. It's a similar boat to Adrien with Turtle, working off who Alya is and what she wants to be, but also would offer the lessons she needs. Alya likes attention, she wants to be in the heat of the fight, but does seem to like having the option of where she is, and Ladybug can work off that. Alya also wants to be the leader, and on the civilian side of things, she is the leader of others, not Marinette. Marinette steps up to the position as needed while Alya goes for it. But she needs leadership skills and TIkki wants her Ladybugs to be leaders, and in general, a lot of the "lessons" Tikki tries to teach Marinette do better apply to Alya. And unlike Marinette who more readily accepts any sort of criticism and tries to adjust to it, accepting it at word of mouth, Alya is more likely to challenge Tikki on some of her criticism/advise. And there is the interesting aspect that Tikki is THE kwami who is pro secrecy, paired with Alya who wants a reveal. These two together can really get into that topic of secrecy vs reveal, the pros and cons of both. Turtle has a lot of the similar appeal to Adrien having it, but isn't as needed growth wise. Alya can jump the gun and be reckless and put herself in danger, but it's not to the extent of Adrien. Either way, Turtle can address that and offer her some needed protection. It can also play off her as an eager defender, stepping up against bullies. Wayzz I also think could be good to slow her down when she's eager, but also click with her well. Bee has a lot of the same appeal as Ladybug, it allows her to be versatile in the field, and by symbolism, it also works on Alya's wants and needs. Bees do relate to leadership, but they also relate to working with others and prioritizing others over yourself, which Alya needs. She means well, but she can take over and be inconsiderate. The other big appeal is this can play into an Alya vs Chloe rivalry, a Bee vs Wasp, as Alya and Chloe have a lot of similarities in how they treat others so can be good foils to each other. Pollen though would need an overhaul in personality. Mouse can play off Alya needing to learn to work better with others, and also getting a taste of who she is. She and Mullo could be fun as Alya does dabble in mischief. Ox can work off Alya being stubborn and charging in, sometimes literally power housing her decision forward. Ox/Bull though is also tied to shouldering the burdens of others, to provide assistance, have strength to carry on when others don't. Could be nice things for Alya to learn. Tiger is an in between Mouse and Ox in appeal, it works off Alya as an aggressor and powering her way through things, but she also needs to learn subtly and to go about things smarter. It's actually set up to be a better Fox for her as she can be involved in fights like she wants to. Roaar would also be a kwami that's involved with her and get through to her when she's getting stubborn. Dragon a lot of the similar appeal to Tiger, allowing flexibility in the battlefield. Longg would work on Alya's heroism, and try to adjust how she helps others. Horse could be interesting and fun, with it largely coming down to Alya and Kaalki as this kwami has a similar personality to Chloe. Horse would also work off Alya want to be a hero, and would work on her sense of chevalry. Rooster works off Alya's vigilance, want to be a leader and protector, and strong ties to truth. She and Orikko could be fun as both would be big personalities paired together. Dog can work off Alya's quickness in accepting others, instinct to step up and help, and some of her underhanded tactics. It can work on her loyalty and awareness of others and how she treats them, and Barkk could also work at the play vs work as Alya does seem to initially treat heroing as a game.

Nino

Ladybug can work off Nino's want to be a director, which does mean he should be clever and an elaborate thinker. It would also offer a lot of flexibility on where he should be in the field. Cat has a little less appeal as I see Nino preferring to be more long range in fights or more support, at the core, I think him and Plagg could be a funny match up. Something along the lines of the appeal of Plagg and Felix. Plagg just throws curve balls into Nino's life and he has to roll with them or fumble. Fox is one of the better matches for Nino out of the 5. It is going to be more long range and prefers to be out of the heat of things, and the little focus Nino has gotten (at least s1-3 as that's what I work off of), he seems to prefer to be more the background. Like, even Carapace's intro fight does NOTHING against Anansi. You could cut Carapace out of Anansi and you wouldn't miss much. Nino just isn't built to be in the direct line of fire. So Fox can meet that, and it can play into his want to be a director cause he'll need to know how to put on a good show, how to influence a crowd. Trixx could also be an interesting kwami to see paired with him. Mouse I think Nino could roll with the power of cloning, but Nino and Mullo I think could be a funny match up, similar appeal to him and Plagg. Ox is kinda a reverse on Alya having it. Nino is someone who readily shoulders the burdens of others and readily offers his support, now he he just needs to stand his ground more, discover his own inner strength. Though Ox may not put him where he wants to be in fights. Snake is going to be up Nino's alley by default of having a role in leadership but not being directly involved. It can also work off some clashing duality we see in Nino, where largely he is providing and helpful, but he can be inconsiderate too. I also think him and Sass could be very interesting to see as a piar. Pig largely works off Nino being supportive and empathetic, but him and Daizzi could be fun. Nino can have tendencies of being controlling and pushy, paired with Daizzi who can be oblivious and should be on the side of lazy can counter that.

Kagami

Cat can honestly be one of Kagami's ideal Miraculous. It plays off how she likes to work and where she wants to be in fights, while also answering her want for fun, rebellion, and independence. You also have a similar appeal of Plagg and Kagami match up as Kagami can be stiff and controlling and you got Plagg as a source of chaos. Should be quite fun. Turtle has the same appeal as Adrien, as Kagami does like to dive in and can be on the side of reckless, so Turtle offers that nice defense and self protection. And with Wayzz, he could help Kagami with opening up to others and connecting with them. Expand her view to offer protection to others than just going in to fight. Bee on paper is the 2nd most solid match up. Bee does work with who Kagami is, being very dedicated and efficient, but it also works off what she wants, connections with others and learning to work with others. Pollen though will need an overhaul in personality. Ox similar appeal to Bee as it can work off Kagami's aggression and personal power, but also help with connection with others, to step up to help others and share their burdens. Tiger has a lot of similar appeals to Cat, in that it plays off how she is, but also works off her want to rebel and be more independent. Roaar would also have similar appeals to Plagg in terms of chaotic personality, but probably would rile Kagami up as she's not lazy or selective on her duty. Horse works off Kagami's dedication and sense of duty, but can work off Kagami stepping up as a hero, helping others, and learning true nobility. Kaalki could also be an interesting kwami to pair with her. Goat is largely working off the reveal that Kagami is artistic. Goats are also known to be escape artist and rebellion, to do their own thing, so Kagami can work off that. And if Goat also represents Sheep, it can play off Kagami's want to connect with others and learn to be apart of a flock. Ziggy I like the idea of her being sweet but blunt, so she could be fun to pair with Kagami. Monkey just works off Kagami's want for fun, freedom, and rebellion, though I think Xuppu would drive her up the wall. Rooster works off the aggression and honesty, but can work off that want for connection as they are social birds. Orikko could also be fun to pair with Kagami and probably wouldn't clash with her too much. Dog can play off Kagami's sense of duty, but could help her in forming relations with others. Stepping up to help others. To be more accepting and open minded. Barkk I also think would hit that sweet spot as I see her as a kwami that knows there's a time for play and time for work.

Zoe

Cat works off Zoe's cunning and cleverness, and could help push her to stand her ground against Chloe. Plagg also does wind up going 110% commited to his humans, so Zoe can find someone in her corner and really support her. Fox works off Zoe as an actor and skilled manipulator, one who knows how to lie and misdirect others, and her cunning. And while it plays off her natural skills, Trixx would be a good kwami to help shape her into who Zoe wants to be. Rabbit in terms of symbolism can work off Zoe well, being clever and benevolent, offering provision and assistance. It can work off that strength of being in a tight spot and surviving through it. Snake can work off her cunning and manipulative skill. Sass should be like Trixx in helping her grow into who she is and wants to be. But should also offer the chance to really stand her ground against Chloe. Goat works off her creativity, learning to stand her ground, and going for what she wants. It can also work off her wanting to be apart of the flock, and which can have her be a bit of a sheep before she joins the right flock. Rooster works off the need for Zoe to embrace who she is and her moral standing. And it could be funny for someone who has a knack for lying paired with a big symbol of honesty. Dog works off Zoe's want for connection, her being open minded and accepting, willingness to work, and potentially the unconditional love she could have for Chloe? It can work off her better connecting with others too. And Barkk I think would be sweet and helpful. Pig works off Zoe's cleverness and being very empathetic. It can also work off Zoe needing to learn to not stress about how others will view her and fitting in, or pleasing them with what they want her to be, that she needs to do her own thing and be who she wants to be. And Daizzi being oblivious, lazy, and friendly could click well with Zoe.

#ask Punchie #miraculous ladybug #kwami swaps #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #felix agreste #felix pv #felix graham de vanily #felix fathom #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #kagami tsurugi #zoe lee

15 notes · View notes

nerdypanda3126 · 11 months

Text

The Triumph of Luka Couffaine

This was written for the @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers Round Robin event! @trixxiephantomhive, @mrsmayday @rierse, and I took turns adding onto this story with "bike" and "just accept it" as our prompts. Also, go check out the art by Rierse, they did a fantastic job!!

Summary: Luka brings home a project that Marinette isn't entirely thrilled with, at least until he asks for her help.

Read on Ao3

Luka had a soft spot for outcasts. Marinette had known him for long enough that she'd noticed it was a quirk of his, and she loved it about him, even before they were together. Then when they had started dating, she'd learned to take it in stride when he brought home one-eyed goats and stray deaf dogs and other "projects" that "he couldn't just leave."

But this had to be pushing it.

"Luka." She tried not to scold, really she did. "What on earth is that supposed to be?"

From where he was kneeling in front of what looked like a pile of twisted, rusted, metal junk, Luka grinned up at her from under his blue-tipped bangs. "My new bike. Great, right? And I got it for practically nothing. A few tweaks and she's golden."

Golden would not have been the word she would've used. Did he not see the parts falling off and the missing pieces, and the rust? She was pretty sure that as far as motorized vehicles went, rust was a very bad thing. But if Luka did notice, he didn't seem to mind as he beamed at his prize.

She glanced at her own Vespa, which she'd kept well-maintained since it'd been given to her four years ago, and then back to the… "bike" Luka had bought. There was some resemblance, now that she was looking for it. There was a place for a seat, although the seat itself was long gone, and that ball of solid rust a little below it looked like it was meant to be an engine, and there were two axles and hubs where the wheels would go…

"Well," Luka was saying, which brought her attention back to him. He was eyeing the bike more critically now, much like she had been. He wiped at his nose and it left a little smudge of dirt and grease behind that she had to admit was cute on him. It had no right bringing out the blue of his eyes like that. "Okay, so it needs a little more than tweaking. But the bones of this thing are rock solid. And underneath all of this is a Triumph Bonneville."

"...A what?"

"It's an old British brand, but super reliable. See the twin cylinders here?" He pointed to two rods on either side of what would be the seat, then grinned up at her again. "A classic Triumph, Marinette, can you imagine? Once I get it all fixed up it'll sing."

She hummed in what she hoped was a noncommittal way. "How do you know all this stuff?" she asked instead of answering him. He stood and dusted his hands off on his ripped jeans, then dusted the seat of his pants off, too, which, even after all the years they'd known each other, was still just as distracting. Moreso, maybe, because now they were dating and she could look at him now with all the love and appreciation she felt for him.

Luka shoved his hands in his back pockets as he smiled warmly at her, apparently thinking similar thoughts. "I picked up a few things, tinkering on my old bicycle down at the shop. I've always wanted a vintage motorcycle."

"I didn't know that," she admitted. He chuckled back.

"You never asked."

A flush of heat crept across her cheeks as she realized he was right. "So… you know how to fix this, then?" She stepped forward into his space and put her hands in his back pockets, too, earning her a mischievous raised eyebrow. "Because I have to tell you… right now it's…" She dared a glance at him, then bit her lip as she winced. "It's really ugly."

He laughed at that and wrapped his arms around her waist instead, holding her close to him. "Yeah, I know how to fix it." He leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead.

"I hope you've got your tetanus shot," she muttered, only half-meaning for him to hear her. She blushed again when he let out another one of those laughs, bright and open and beautiful, and nodded.

"Thanks for worrying about me," he said, adding, "I know you always do."

At the same time, she said, "I always do." They both smiled at the jinx and Luka glanced back at the bike with a thoughtful look on his face.

"I was hoping…" he started, pulling his gaze back to hers, "that maybe we could work on it… together?"

Together. Marinette ran the math in her head. This was at least months' worth of work, if not a year or two, and he wanted to do this. With her. She couldn't help the smile that lit up her face as she nodded. "I'd love you—to!"

She blushed as she realized her slip, and she knew Luka had noticed it because he always noticed everything, but he only smiled back, pleased, and pulled her into a tight hug before continuing to point out the features that his new bike would have.

She had to admit she was getting excited with him.

***

The next morning Luka woke up bright and early. His plan was to set up his tools for starting on the bike. 'I just need the solution, a screwdriver, a hammer, and a crowbar,' he thought to himself while waiting for Marinette to arrive.

She showed up around 20 minutes after their planned time and began profusely apologizing and flailing about.

"I'm so sorry, Luka. I know I promised I would try to get better at being on time, but I didn't get much sleep last night and—"

Luka placed a hand on her face and pulled her into a hug as he quietly chuckled.“I love you, Marinette. Can we get started?”

She returned the laughter and nodded. “Yep! Not entirely sure what you want me to do, I can barely ride my Vespa, let alone repair it.”

He stepped to the side and started looking intently at the bike. “Well, today we’re going to take all the rusted parts and soak them in a solution to see what’s just surface rust and what needs to be replaced or welded,” Luka explained in a soft voice, fully understanding and not judging her lack of knowledge.

“So… do we just put the whole thing in?” she asked almost jokingly, looking at his "bike" loveable scrap heap.

“Pretty much. Except we have to take it apart because some things like the engine and brake wires need to be unhooked and replaced.”

Marinette nodded and pulled out five large containers as he pointed to them. Luka carried the gallons of solution and they worked together to slowly pour it in.

They moved on to the next part of the day, which was getting the outside pieces of the bike loose.

“Thanks for helping Mar—” he said in a strained voice, struggling to loosen a siding panel of the bike while Marinette was standing above him using a crowbar to unwedge it from the top.

“No problem! This is difficult, but it's fun to work with you!”

Luka smiled, and began to lose himself in her beautiful blue eyes that sparkled like the sun—until BANG! The piece came loose and sent Luka to the ground with it. Marinette burst into giggles as she helped him up, and Luka squeaked out a quiet, "Ow—"

Luka knew at that moment that it wasn't going to be the only time an incident would send one of them into giggles.

A few days later and just a day after the soaking had finished, Marinette jokingly pointed the sandblaster Luka was renting at him. He screamed and jumped to the ground, knowing if she hit the on switch it would hurt. 'The device was made for smoothing down the bike, not him.' She didn't actually turn it on, but Luka was still planning his revenge.

A revenge which came into play a few days later, when they'd finally gotten to the point of washing the metal sides of the bike to put them away and start on the next part of rebuilding the bike.

The couple filled up the soapy buckets and pulled out their sponges. They were old ones that Luka stole from the kitchen, one bright green with a sunglasses print, and the other red and black striped.

"There was a sale on decorative sponges a while back," Luka explained to a giggling Marinette.

Not too long after the buckets were full and Luka was starting to rinse the bike, he smirked and whipped around, aiming the water stream straight at Marinette, causing her to scream and start laughing.

"COLD! COLD! Luka, that's cold!"

***

Luka laughed and dropped the sprayer innocently to his side. "Truce?"

Marinette pouted and didn't miss the way his eyes flickered to her mouth. "Truce," she agreed reluctantly.

"Great, now let's sort through the cleaned up pieces and take inventory of what we need. Can you help write things down as I count them off?" he asked with his hands held up in a pleading gesture.

She knew he struggled to read his own writing at times and smiled. "Of course."

So they set about sorting through what they'd done so far. Some pieces were okay after a soak and quick clean up, which had shocked her. She was sure this was more scrap than salvage, but he had been right, there was a lot about this bike that was still quite solid.

They made a list of pieces that needed more work to be functional, and a list for the pieces that were missing or completely beyond redemption. Both lists were… not short. Luka eyed the final count critically but nodded in approval. "Honestly? This isn't that bad. It might take some time to track down some of these things, or afford some of them, but I have some ideas on that front."

Marinette watched with adoration as he spoke passionately and excitedly about restoration projects and how there were whole groups of people who picked these kinds of old vehicles up to try to make them look good again. He talked about auction sites where vintage or restoration pieces could be gotten fairly cheap through bidding or at special events.

"I might even be able to get an in with some of the people I used to know from around the shop. So what do you think?" Luka looked at her expectantly, still enthusiastic and joyful.

She gave him a quick kiss. "I think you're amazing being able to see the beauty in this thing. I think this sounds like a lot of fun and I'm learning a lot. I'm so happy you asked me to help."

He beamed at her and suggested she change into dry clothes so they could go pick up some things. She pointed out that it was his fault she even needed to change but he didn't seem the least bit sorry. She rolled her eyes and went inside.

When she came back out in one of his shirts, his gaze lingered and she felt her face heat under his attention. "Well, where to? Do we take your truck or do you want to ride the Vespa?"

He laughed. "We probably need the truck, we don't want to carry that much on the scooter."

They took off for an automotive store and happily sang to the radio together, both passionately belting out the lyrics. Marinette found herself basking in the moment, warm and full of love.

When they arrived, Luka opened the door for her and took her hand to help her out but didn't let go as they walked in together.

Luka led her around the store excitedly, grabbing different things they needed for the next steps in restoring the bike. He asked her opinions or answered her questions where she chimed in.

"We might pick up paint if it's on sale. It'll be one of the last steps in putting the bike together but we can look." He smiled as her eyes lit up at the prospect of something more artistic to look at.

Marinette had been captivated by the different options for color and design. When she had found the metal flakes and pearl options, Luka had been reminded of Rose in the glitter section at the craft store. Marinette ended up grabbing a variety of swatches and samples to play around with colors and effects.

In addition to her samples, they ended up picking up polish, wax, sealant, some more solution, and a few smaller things that would help get the pieces they did have better assembled while they tracked down the bigger parts.

When they got back to his place, they set some of the stuff in the garage for later and went about replacing the few valves, screws, and wires they picked up. Doing that fastened different parts of the bike together or allowed them to make sure everything had a proper seal and connection.

"So this is a 1964, not the peak of the Bonneville bikes but still a really good model. We'll need to make sure we look at the right year when we're searching for parts since they aren't always interchangeable, though some might be." He pulled up some of the sites he was talking about before to show her some of the visual differences and why different models needed slightly different parts.

Marinette was feeling pretty excited herself by the time the day ended and she said goodbye. While she rode home, she felt the familiar buzz of inspiration and decided she needed to do something with the energy.

The moment she got home and settled, she had her sketchbook in hand. As she sketched a few different stray thoughts, she had another idea. She pulled out her phone and clicked on a contact.

"Hey, Nona. Yeah, I'm great, thank you. Hey, do you know anything about Triumph Bonnevilles?"

She smiled as her grandmother started off on an excited tangent. Maybe she could help get some more traction for finding the remaining parts, too. She was excited to run the idea by Luka and watch his face light up. If she could do something to make him happy and excited, it would only be fair.

***

Over the next couple months, they managed to fix up almost all of the remaining parts they had, and had even purchased several of the missing pieces. It was coming together nicely and it had been a great bonding project for them.

They were in the garage, Luka tinkering on the bike, Marinette sketching in her design book, when Luka asked, "Do you know how to ride a motorcycle?"

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Yeah, passenger at least. I've ridden with my Nona often enough. Why?"

Luka nodded "Good. I'm just thinking about the first ride on this thing."

"It's… not roadworthy? It's missing the seat and the tires still," she pointed out.

Luka gave her a secretive little smile and hummed noncommittally.

"Did you find them? Luka, is the bike almost done?" Marinette pressed, suddenly very eager to get an answer.

He just flashed that lazy boyish smile and leaned over to give her a quick peck. He could be awfully irritating when he wanted to be.

"Oh come on!" She grabbed his face in her hands and gave him a look but found herself losing her train of thought when he looked at her that softly.

"I might have a lead. We're getting close." He was speaking quietly, staring into her eyes like he was as lost as she was.

They were interrupted by the very loud ringing of her phone and Marinette sighed. She looked at the caller ID. Luka leaned over to see who had disrupted the moment. "Oh, Gina. Go ahead and answer her, tell her thank you for the last tip she gave me, it panned out really well." He waved his hand to shoo her to answer.

"Hey, Nona, what's up?" Marinette asked when she answered.

"Marinette, my fairy, how are you? How is your sweet blue boy?" Gina asked with affection.

"We're great. He said to thank you for the last tip you gave him, I guess whatever it was is going good so far."

"Ah! Marvelous! Benissimo! I knew my dear friend was reliable," Gina exclaimed.

Marinette smiled. "Did you need something? Are you calling for an update or is this a social call?"

***

Luka smiled as he worked, enjoying the sound of his girlfriend's animated voice as she chatted with her Nona. Gina had been an excellent reference for the project. And Marinette had been more enthusiastic than he'd anticipated, he really just wanted to spend time with her, working on something creative together, a project that could be both of theirs. She had design and he had music, but this would be theirs.

“Really?” Luka looked up as Marinette’s background chatter grew more enthusiastic, “Thank you SO much Nona! That will be perfect! Talk to you later, love you!”

“Good news?” he asked.

“Very, can I take the seat base and padding home today? I need to get precise measurements for the cover.”

“Sure, of course, I’ll help you get them home. Do I get to see the plan?”

Marinette smiled mischievously at him. “Hmmm, not just yet… unless you’re willing to share your news?”

Luka smiled patiently. “I can wait.” The tires Gina had helped him locate were perfect; she had a contact with access to vintage surplus—he had scored a near perfect match that had never been used.

“Hmpf. Of course you can.”

“C’mere.” He grinned at her little pout; they both knew he was far more patient than she was—she could keep a secret, though, even when she wanted to share. He had no doubt that whatever she was planning would be perfect.

Marinette hop-skipped over the parts lined up on the ground until she reached him and he pulled her into his lap. “I think this next bit is gonna need a little luck.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmmhmmm.”

“Where do you plan on getting that?”

“I was kinda hoping you could spare a little.” He bopped her gently on the nose then let his finger trail to her lips. He swallowed hard as she kissed his fingertip.

“I think I could manage a little.” Her eyes danced as she leaned in for a kiss. Best project ever.

***

It was gorgeous. Marinette ran her hand over the material that had arrived in the mail while she was out. Nona had found just the leather she wanted and expressed it over from Italy. It was supple, yet very durable—and the colors were perfect. Deep black, antique white, cerulean blue, and a perfect "Sass" green, ironically called "Serpente Nell’erba" or "Snake in the Grass." She had been determined to keep the retro feel of the bike while giving it a little more personality. She hoped to find a way to showcase the depth of character she saw in Luka in the colors and lines of the bike. Nona had approved of her design and she couldn’t wait to see it in reality. Marinette stopped short as she pulled the last of the leather from the box, there was something more. She grinned at the note, Stay safe my Fairy, and have fun! ~Nona, on top of something black and bulky. It was a riding jacket. Black with hot pink accents, and it fit perfectly. She took a quick selfie and sent a thank you text along with the photo to Nona Gina.

Marinette glanced at the seat frame in the corner and shrugged off the jacket. The frame had been sanded, cleaned, and painted, though it still needed a clear coat along with everything else, but it was ready enough to get her started. Getting the seat back to her place had been a little tricky; she and Luka had been reduced to gales of laughter as they tried out different configurations to get both of them and the seat and padding on her moped, and had finally found a functional, if awkward, arrangement that required her to drive rather slowly, but they had managed it. Now she had work to do.

***

They were getting close. Luka surveyed all the parts. Once the clear coat went on, it would be a matter of final assembly and fine tuning. Marinette had loved the painting side of things and had gotten really good with the automotive sprayer. The colors she had helped him choose were gorgeous and while the vibrancy was certainly more modern than the browns and tans of the '60s, the overall design looked good on the vintage bike. She had shooed him out of the tent, insisting that she wanted to paint the clear coat on the tank herself. He knew she was planning something, he just didn’t know what. It was the final piece to be clear-coated and he was trying to remember that he was the patient one. He worked at polishing and assembling everything that was ready. Reassembling all the spokes for the wheels was time-consuming and a little tedious. Marinette had gotten it into her head to create a pattern with the spokes, some classic chrome and some a glossy black—it was going to look amazing in motion, but was nearly akin to torture to get them all into the correct pattern.

The flap of their makeshift spray tent flipped open and Marinette exited with a glowing smile. “It’s amazing how much a difference the clear gloss makes!” she announced excitedly. “Want some help with the spokes?”

“Sure, Melody, this pattern is making me a little dizzy.” She dropped to the ground next to him and started laying them out in order so he could just grab and install. Huh, he should have thought about laying them out first. “We make a pretty good team.”

“Yeah, we do.” She nudged her shoulder into his arm with a grin and set to work.

They hummed as they worked, enjoying the time together while focusing on the task. And if their hands brushed and lingered as she handed him spokes, well, so much the better. He liked this, one goal between them. Even as they used their individual talents for different aspects of the project, it was thrilling to see it all come together cohesively.

***

Marinette tried to stay calm as she worked on the spokes. Luka was too observant to not know she was up to something, but she was trying her best to remain calm. They still had to assemble all the parts, it wasn’t as if she could keep it a secret till the end or anything, but she did want the glossy finish to dry so he could see the decal as it was meant to be. She had worked hard on the design, and searched all over to find a shop that could print it on the right material for an automotive decal. In the end the work was well worth it. She had gotten the decals to go on smoothly without any bumps or bubbles, despite how nervous she’d been of messing it up at the last minute. The decal featured a green cobra, perfectly matched to the leather on the seat, coiled around a branch of sakura blossoms and rearing as if it was about to strike, fangs bared. The blossoms were pretty, but the snake had just the right vintage flavor to pull the whole thing together. She was pretty sure Luka would love it. She hoped he would at least.

The wheels were done, the spoke pattern was mesmerizing, and everything that could be put together before the tank went on was ready.

“Can I see what you’ve done now, Marinette?”

“Yes! Of course. Let me just make sure it's dry…”

“It's been hours, I'm sure it's ready.”

“Okay, okay…” Luka grabbed at her hand as she fidgeted nervously.

“I know I’ll love whatever you’ve done, I trust you, can you trust me?”

She stilled. He was right, her nervousness suggested she was worried about his reaction and of course she trusted him to be both honest and appreciative of her work. She relaxed and tugged him towards the tent. “Yeah, come see.”

They flipped the flap open, pinning it back to let in the light and stepped inside. “Oh wow, Marinette, this is incredible!” She bounced, biting her lip as he traced the coiled snake and tapped the blossoms gently. “It needed this, a little piece of us visible. Mari, I love it.” She squealed and threw herself into his arms for a hug, trying not to knock anything to the ground. He caught her in his arms and took a step or two away from the finished tank before spinning her around in a triumphant embrace.

He loved it. She knew he would, but it was good to hear. The hug was nice, too.

***

Marinette stood waiting in front of the bakery. She could feel it, today was the day! Her jacket was stowed in her Vespa and she had wrapped the seat—she had struggled with some of the seams, but was happy with the final result.

“Hey, Marinette, let me take that.” She handed over the awkwardly wrapped bundle—the finished seat—as Luka joined her at the bakery. Maman and Papa fussed over them a bit as they arranged themselves on her moped with the seat. It wasn’t quite so awkward now that it was all one piece, and they were soon off.

Marinette gushed over the work he’d done after she left the night before and he was beyond thrilled when he unwrapped the seat. He was amazed at the quality of the leather, and the design was elegant and playful. “Marinette, you are a wonder.” She blushed furiously at his praise and pecked his cheek before nudging him to attach the seat to the bike. Once the seat was on, it was down to the last details, and those were quickly accomplished.

“I learned so much, Luka, I might be able to handle my own repairs on the moped if I ever needed them now,” she said as they attached the last bolt and adjusted the mirrors.

***

Luka was flabbergasted at how quickly it all fell into place. Marinette was rubbing a clean cloth over the chrome to make it shine and it looked amazing. Her grasp of design and color was fully evident once the machine was put together. He might have eventually finished the bike on his own, but there was no way it would have looked nearly this good without the creative eye and dedication of his girlfriend.

He scanned the area for the next step, "Now we just need…" and cocked his head in confusion when he didn’t see any more spare parts. Surely there was more to work on, right? He ran through his mental checklist as he fidgeted with the torque wrench in his hands.

Marinette laughed at his floundering. "It's done Luka, just accept it."

"Yeah, I guess it is." He was surprised to find that he was feeling a little sad about the end of their work together. The plan had been about the journey—more so even than the end result, as perfect as it was.

"Luka.” Marinette slid her hand into his and forced him to look at her. “This is the part where you tell me to hold on tight and we ride into the sunset."

Well, that sounded pretty good. He glanced around. "It's barely noon."

"Guess it'll have to be a long ride then." She pulled something out of her moped and pulled on a form-fitting leather motorcycle jacket. Damn, she looked good.

Luka smiled, and grabbed her so he could steal a kiss. Well, he tried to steal one, but she wasn’t resisting, so he gleefully took the kiss she offered him instead. Maybe the end of the project wasn’t so bad after all. "Wanna go for a ride?"

“I’d love you—to! I’d love to, and I love you, Luka.” Music to his ears.

He pressed a soft kiss to her temple. “I love you, too, Marinette.”

His heart swelled as she climbed up behind him and he reveled in the feel of her holding tightly to him. Time to chase a sunset.

#lukanette #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #pro lukamari #marinette dupain cheng #luka couffaine #gina dupain #motorcycle restoration

30 notes · View notes

charlietheepicwriter7 · 1 year

Text

A Comedy of Error

A/N: I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've written Adrien without salting him like a steak :/ This was stuck in my head, so I picked it out.

“I think I’m in love with Marinette.”

In the shadowy alcove Adrien had dragged him and Alya into, Nino could only stare at his best bro. Adrien was clearly distressed by his revelation, his eyebrows furrowed and his trademarked Agreste smile nowhere in sight, and Nino immediately understood why he wasn’t happy about this. Marinette was dating Luka, looked happy with Luka… happier than she looked pinning after Adrien.

He checked on Alya, who’d yet to react. And from the look on her face, she’d be spaced out for a while, staring at Adrien with a dumb-founded expression. He could practically see all the gears in her head stuttering to a halt. Knowing his girlfriend would need a minute to reboot, he asked Adrien, “How’d you figure it out?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I saw Mari and Luka out on a date, while I was modeling with Lila–” It wasn’t so much that Adrien made a face at Lila’s name; it was more like his face went completely blank trying to hide what he thought of her, so Nino was going to have to ask about that in the future— “So I snuck away to say hi to them, but then as I was approaching, he kissed her!” Adrien threw his hands up in the air. “And I was so jealous! I haven’t been this jealous since–” He cut himself off. “A while. It’s been a while.”

Alya was still going through the five stages of grief and then some, so Nino took point. “Well, I’m glad you figured it out, dude, but I’m not sure what I can do,” he confessed. “I can’t really encourage you in winning her heart.”

Adrien nodded, sad but understanding. Unfortunately, his words were exactly what it took to knock Alya back into the real world. “What!?” she hissed, bloodlust in her eyes. “Why not!?”

Nino gave her a look. “You can’t just break up a happy couple, Alya. That’s a really cruel thing to do.”

She looked away, guilt flashing across her face. “Well, how do you know they’re happy?” she asked, doubling down. “Besides, Adrien and Marinette are destined to be together!”

Nino didn’t know how to respond to that.

Fortunately, Adrien did, and he placed a comforting hand on Alya’s shoulder. “Thanks for saying that, Alya, but we both know it isn’t true. Marinette doesn’t think of me romantically.”

Alya visibly fought off the urge to strangle Adrien. “What.”

Either ignorant or ignoring the threat in her voice, Adrien continued, “She’s in love with Luka; there’s no way she’d ever fall for me! Luka’s so cool and handsome and he’s older than me. He’s in a band! I can’t compete with that, my father would never let me in a band! Who could even blame her for choosing Luka over me?”

Maybe Adrien has a crush on Luka too? Nino almost wanted to suggest polyamory as a solution, but held his tongue. Gabriel the Company might be inclusive towards the LGBTQ+ community, but that didn’t mean Gabriel the Shitty Father was. He wasn’t willing to potentially put his bro in danger like that.

Alya covered her mouth and screamed into her hands for a solid minute. When she was finished, she jabbed a finger into his face. “You’re dealing with this.”

“What?”

“He’s your best friend, that means you deal with the… problem area.” She gestured at Adrien.

“You just gestured at all of me.” Adrien pouted.

#adrientte #love square #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #adrien agreste #adrien is a himbo #background lukanette #mlb #miraculous ladybug #there's like no salt here it's great

56 notes · View notes

celestiall0tus · 6 months

Text

Reawakening - Connection

Table of Contents

Rose trotted down the pathway to Liberty. She headed below deck where Juleka, Alya, Alix, Nathaniel, and Marc waited.

“Hey, Rose. Did you bring the chart?” Alya asked.

“I got something even better,” Rose answered.

Rose set her backpack down. She removed rabbit Fluff along with a collection of photos. She arranged the photos with Marinette in the middle with everyone else surrounding her in a circle.

“Ok, Fluff, do it,” Rose said.

Fluff thumped three times. Ethereal strings crept out from Marinette’s photo to each photo with most strings yellow. Some strings had two colors that mingled on one side or clashed in the middle from opposing sides.

“Woah! What’s this?” Nathaniel asked.

“Neat, huh? It’s one of Fluff’s powers. Not the one she shares with me, but she sees all the threads that connect us. Not only that, but she can discern what relationships those individuals have.”

“That’s pretty cool. Not as cool as time travel, but still pretty cool,” Alix remarked.

“Isn’t it? I absolutely love this. Now we can help Marinette better. But not just Marinette. Everyone!” Rose cheered.

“Let’s start with Marinette first, ok?” Alya asked.

“Oh, of course. Now, most of the strings here are yellow, which stands for friendship. The brighter, the healthier. The ones mixed with touches of white are where she’s establishing proper friendships. Now, this is where it gets interesting. You see Zoe’s connection with Marinette?”

Everyone leaned in and observed it. On Zoe’s end, the thread was yellow with hints of pink while Marinette’s end was solid yellow.

“What does it mean?” Marc asked.

“So, the pink is developing relationships. Like infatuation and crushes. That means Zoe has a small crush on Marinette,” Rose cooed.

“But, what of Luka there?” Juleka asked, pointing at Luka’s photo.

Everyone glanced at the thread. Luka’s end was a dark scarlet while Marinette’s was a deep yellow with dashes of pink.

Rose chuckled nervously. “So, that’s where some problems occur. While the brighter, the healthier. The opposite is also true. The darker, the more toxic and harmful it is. That said, red is for romantic love. Not the developing of pink, but the full love. And we already covered yellow and pink.”

“So, Luka and Marinette wouldn’t work?” Juleka asked.

“Not quite. See, there’s still some hope. After all, it’s not like… like Adrien’s connection,” Rose muttered.

Everyone looked at Adrien’s thread and grimaced. The thread was black as night on Marinette’s end and a deep, dark crimson that neared black on Adrien’s end.

“What’s black mean?” Alix asked.

“Well, that’s the worst of the worst. When a thread is black, it’s a problematic relationship. One that would be extremely unhealthy,” Rose admitted.

“But I thought they were made for each other?” Marc asked.

“I guess we thought wrong,” Alix remarked.

“So, what now?” Nathaniel asked.

“We help them heal. But not just them, Mylene, Ivan, and Luka too. They’ll need us. Right, Fluff?” Rose asked.

Fluff shifted into kwami form and flew up. “Correct. For these may be the threads now, they can change. Allow for time to make room for healing and, hopefully, they’ll become new, beautiful bonds.”

“You mean you have no way of knowing?” Alix asked.

“Nope, and it’s blissful for once. I’m not fighting to stay in one place, one mind and I’m back to my element. It was quite unhealthy. Something I don’t recommend. Nonetheless, even if we don’t know what’ll happen, we must be supportive. Don’t force them into things they may not want or what you think is best. I’m looking at you, Juleka,” Fluff added.

Juleka pursed her lips, hugged herself, and looked away.

“Just let things happen naturally. If things aren’t going to work, don’t force it. If you do, you could force people into uncomfortable positions and put pressure on a thread until it snaps. And that goes for all of you. Not just Juleka. Understood?” Fluff stated.

Everyone nodded. Fluff grinned and turned to Rose.

“Alright, who’s next?”

11 notes · View notes

miraculouscontent · 2 years

Photo

Okay, first thing’s first, babe, and I’ll get to your problem-infested ask in a second, but this thing you did? That giant wall of text?

Don’t.

Here’s a little piece of advice: if you’re going to send me something that you clearly haven’t read through all my points on (quite frankly, I don’t even know where you came from), at least make it palatable to the eyes. No one’s going to see that and want to read it because paragraphs exist to make information more easily digestible.

Now, with that said, let’s get into all of the issues with your ask (you best sit down for this one too because there are a lot).

if your friend is attacking someone you and her barely know, with little solid evidence to back up her position, and that person she’s attacking is able to produce some pretty solid evidence that your friend is purposely hurting her

I’ll ignore that “pretty solid evidence” is a laughable phrase to use here for the sake of humoring you, but just know that I would’ve stopped there otherwise.

The first problem in your ask is that this is clearly referring to the episode “Ladybug” with Lila setting Marinette up. Already, you’ve skipped previous episodes, which is a problem in its own right and I’ll address it momentarily.

I have very rarely - if at all - blamed the class for what happens in “Ladybug.” That’s not my issue with this episode and honestly I get more irritated with them for “Chameleon.” I do, however, note things like Marinette being very blatantly set up in “Ladybug.”

There’s no reason for the test answers to still be in Marinette’s backpack after the test is over, as there had been more than enough time to discard it (an investigation that Alya had done properly would also show that Marinette got a mystery call from an unknown person at the time she was at her locker; either that call can be traced back to Lila or Lila used a burner phone, but regardless, that was never mentioned by Alya despite its relevancy). It was also contrived for Bustier (who has previously taken Marinette out of the room to speak with her in “Zombizou” even when she wasn’t in trouble so as to not cause a fuss) just to embarrass Marinette and leave her in the same room so Marinette can blame Lila. The lockers in the school are easily able to be opened by anyone, and Lila was the only one around to “witness” Marinette shoving her down the stairs with no visible injury present and the fact that you would not walk away with barely a leg injury if you were shoved down a flight of stairs. Remember that last one too because it’s going to be important.

then continue disbelieving the girl you don’t know

You keep saying that they don’t know Lila as if it furthers your point. It doesn’t, because presuming that Marinette’s friends know her at all, they would know that Marinette hates liars and lying, which is a commonly known piece of information about her. Marinette has lied and been blinded by the Adrien crush before, yes, and yet she has not gone to such levels of ruining an innocent’s reputation at the time of “Catalyst”(she tries to fact check Lila more than accuse her of lying)+”Chameleon,” the former of which is where Alya accuses her of only hating Lila because of Adrien.

In fact, most of Marinette Adrien-related “crimes” involve Chloe, who is Marinette’s bully and someone that the show has basically described as pure evil, so Marinette being against her makes perfect sense even disregarding Adrien.

Pardon me if I expect Marinette’s friends to believe her over this new girl.

The class do not know that Lila is malicious. She’s a con artist, and she’s good at it.

Remember what I said before about Marinette supposedly shoving Lila down the stairs? Because it’s coming back to bite you right now.

I do not want to hear about Lila being “a good con artist” when the show is constantly and consistently covering for her.

Think back to all of Lila’s lies in “Volpina” that she has yet to own up to, specifically the one where she states that she knows Prince Ali (who Rose knows personally and could’ve asked him about; we see that they have met again in “Guiltrip” and don’t try to tell me that Rose wouldn’t use the opportunity to bond over a supposed shared friend) and that Jagged (who Marinette knows personally and is in repeated contact with, shown by “Troublemaker” and “Gamer 2.0″) wrote a song about her. These two things could’ve come back at any time but the writers explicitly ignore them to protect Lila from being outed.

Next, look at “Chameleon” where Marinette is prevented from outing Lila by Adrien. The fact that this happens heavily implies that Marinette would’ve caught Lila in a proper trap had she not been stopped, which is why the writers had Adrien intervene in the first place. If Lila could’ve been outed so easily had feather boy not stepped in, then no, she’s not a good con artist at all.

Also in “Chameleon,” Marinette would’ve had an easy continuation to go at with her story by saying that she saw Ladybug show up when Lila and Adrien were talking, which is part of the actual truth and even has the bonus of her casually claiming that she’s not Ladybug. Alya or Nino could’ve then asked Adrien if that’s what he saw, leading to Adrien either outright lying to protect Lila or telling the truth and outing himself as someone who’s protecting a liar by not saying anything before, but I guess that would make him out to be a bad person and we know how the writers feel about that. This is a very obvious way of going about it but the writers swerve around it like they’re drifting in a racing game, all so Lila can continue lying with no repercussions.

Also also in “Chameleon,” there are conveniently no cameras around to capture Ladybug supposedly carrying Lila back, despite reporters and regular people whipping out their phones to take pictures of Ladybug normally (like Ladybug carrying Adrien in “Queen Wasp”). The newsreporters just magically disappear even though they’d been recording Ladybug previously at the Eiffel Tower and Ladybug literally circles all the way back to the Eiffel Tower when finishing the fight with Chameleon.

Then there’s the little leg injury in “Ladybug.” Conveniently enough, Lila had a similar fake injury during “Oni-Chan” (which, fun fact, takes place before “Ladybug”) only the firefighter actually, properly looked at her leg and confirmed that she wasn’t hurt at all. Also conveniently, this happened only in front of Chat Noir, who already knew that Lila was full of lies.

They did such a shoddy job in “Ladybug” of actually checking her leg injury that they bandaged her leg over her tights, which shows an obvious negligence. They didn’t even have her remove her tights to properly inspect the wound that doesn’t exist. Had Lila actually hurt herself like a true con artist would (showing real injuries that she’d react to even if you prodded them when she wasn’t paying attention), we wouldn’t be having this discussion. She didn’t even purposefully scuff up her clothes/rip her tights to make it look like she fell (this is a simple and basic texture edit; if they can put a bandage on her, they can edit a texture). Lila also has a motive at this point to go against Marinette even if she hadn’t put the test answers in Marinette’s backpack because Marinette is accusing her of setting her up.

To imply that Marinette would be dumb enough to shove Lila down the stairs in a rage when they were literally on their way to the principal’s office to see which of them was right is dumb in and of itself. To further imply that Marinette (one of the loudest, most emotion-filled people in the school) wouldn’t have yelled or screamed when shoving Lila and no one (neither the staff member nearby and Mr. Damocles in his office) would’ve heard Lila tumbling and screaming while falling down the stairs is even dumber.

Did you ever notice in “Ladybug” that Alya is seen directly interviewing Lila about the expelling situation, but nothing comes out of it? Do you honestly think that Lila would claim anything except “there was no one else around and Marinette definitely pushed me, there’s no other possibility” (y’know, after getting her expelled and having her entire goal be to turn everyone against Marinette)? This is a genuine question, because if not, then it does in fact become a situation of “either Lila is lying after all - because she can’t be this certain if it didn’t happen otherwise - or my best friend actually shoved her,” but Alya’s faith is never challenged. Hell, despite Marinette and Sabine getting akumatized to find “the truth,” Alya not being akumatized is used as a sign that she believes in Marinette rather than she can’t pick a side/wasn’t upset enough about the accusations to get akumatized herself (I refuse to believe that Alya has better control of her emotions than Sabine).

And speaking of Alya’s pathetic investigation, forget about getting fingerprints off the locker. How about getting fingerprints from the test answer sheet?? That thing that wouldn’t have Marinette’s fingerprints, would have Bustier’s, and would also have the culprit’s. Paper is easily susceptible to the oil from fingerprints, so maybe the episode shouldn’t act as if Alya is doing “professional investigative work” to clear Marinette’s name if she’s not going to actually think about what the culprit’s prints could be on?

Oh, and you may not recall this, so allow me to jog your memory: one of Lila’s biggest lies is that she’s friends with Ladybug, and Alya got handed Ladybug’s identity on a silver platter in “Gang of Secrets.” She also becomes aware (“Multiplication”) that Marinette was correct in “Risk” about Adrien not wanting to model (so she clearly wasn’t just lying for the sake of countering Lila), but what comes out of it? Nothing, not even an apology.

What’s happening here is that the writing is telling you that Lila’s great at what she does and you are falling for it, hook, line, and sinker.

You’ve got to be willing to look at this situation from the perspective of the people Lila’s trying to trick

I’m going to stop you there because that is your assumption of me based on nothing. When I talk about Lila and her issues, I’m bringing up example left and right of things that should’ve been noted but aren’t. I’m not seeing people who are being cleverly tricked by Lila, I am seeing people who are letting themselves be tricked just to bask in the awe of Lila Rossi’s fake accomplishments.

What Lila does in “Chameleon” is play the victim to get the class to turn on Marinette for the first time, but none of what Marinette did before that was anything but casually questioning Lila (confirming that she has a hearing problem, pointing out Jagged’s current pet, and asking Miss Bustier why she has to sit in the back). She doesn’t attack her by that point and literally anyone could’ve pointed out how valid Marinette’s feelings are for being forced to sit by herself without being asked, or even stood up for her by saying “oh, I’m sure Marinette doesn’t mean it that way, Lila!”

They did nothing of the sort. They turned on Marinette instantly. Do note also that part of Lila’s victim card is going, “if Marinette has an issue too, then--” with the obvious message being that the class gets upset because they believe that Marinette supposedly has no issue. However, by the end of the episode, Bustier “confirms” that Marinette must have a hearing issue when Marinette doesn’t hear her calling for her, yet no one apologizes to Marinette about it. Lila made it out like Marinette was targeting her specifically when all Marinette asked to prompt the comment was why she had to sit in the back.

This isn’t a mastermind at work. Everyone got played like the cheap kazoos that they are.

And sometimes, you may genuinely not know your friend as well as you think you do.

Let’s flip this around; how about you look at it from the class’s perspective? Virtually everyone is friends with Marinette, and they’re seeing her “attack” this “completely innocent, pure-hearted soul.” Would you be friends with someone like that? No, actually, go even further than that; if you suspected that the cause of this behavior was Marinette’s crush on a boy and nothing else, would you support it?

I can forgive Marinette’s friends being unsure (not convinced, mind you) about Marinette’s motives and wanting to find the truth. What I can’t forgive is the sheer wishy-washiness of their behavior. They’ll discourage her supposed Adrien-based attacks on Lila, even complaining at times when Marinette is talking about Adrien things, and yet when it comes down to it, they support her in her crush anyway. Sorry not sorry, but if they refuse to pick a side (either “your crush is negatively affecting your personality and we won’t support it” or “hey, she might go far with her crush but I believe that she must have a deeper reason if she’s doing this much against Lila”), then I will pick a side for them and say that they are bad friends who avoid any and all personal responsibility relating to Marinette’s behavior.

“this other person they’re attacking is obviously wrong despite all evidence to the contrary”

I would like to hear about this so-called “evidence” you mention, because Lila’s “thing” when is comes to lying is covering up her lies with more lies. Very rarely does she actually have any evidence to prove her case, and accusing Marinette of having no evidence is ridiculous when Alya shows blatant hypocrisy in how she deals with the two situations between Marinette and Lila.

Alya believes that Lila is friends with Ladybug without a word, but when Marinette puts that into question, Alya lets the burden of proof fall on Marinette when proving a negative is virtually impossible. Without digging up footage of every moment of Ladybug’s existence, she can’t prove that Lila doesn’t know Ladybug, but likewise, Lila herself has no evidence that she knows Ladybug. The burden of proof should fall on her because she is making the claim without evidence and Marinette is putting all of it into question. Therefore, Alya is being pro-Lila and anti-Marinette by demanding proof from Marinette but not Lila.

I’d also direct your attention to “Catalyst” where - as I’ve stated before - Alya accuses Marinette of only hating Lila because of Adrien. What you have failed to explain, however, is why Alya believes that when she has direct evidence to the contrary. Kagami is rich, pretty, and talented, and Marinette’s only interaction with her (pre-”Catalyst”) is “Frozer” where she literally says that she’s not jealous and wants to let Adrien and Kagami have their date. It’s Alya who starts shouting about Marinette not giving up on Adrien, not Marinette herself. Therefore, Alya has a comparison between Kagami (who Adrien even specifically expressed interest in, so Kagami is more of a rival than anyone else would be) and Lila, yet fails to connect the dots and realize that something must be wrong with Lila if Marinette is okay with Kagami.

And even if Adrien tell's everyone about Lila's true nature, that still would’ve been a ‘he said, she said’ situation, though with both Adrien and Marinette saying the same thing, I GUESS it would’ve lent more weight to it, but it still wouldn’t prove they were right, and she could’ve said they misunderstood.

You fail to point out the fact that Adrien is lacking one thing that Marinette isn’t: a motive. It’s not a “he said, she said” situation because whenever Marinette is accused of going after Lila, they claim it to be because of Adrien. Adrien himself, however, has no reason nor motive for going after Lila, and being the “sunshine boy who can do no wrong” that the show hails him as 95% of the time, the class has no adequate reason to suspect him of foul play when accusing this “innocent” person. Lila could accuse Adrien of taking Marinette’s side, certainly, but the class has to start splitting at some point and at least Marinette wouldn’t be alone anymore like Adrien seems content with leaving her in the eyes of everyone else.

If I make three promises to you that I can’t prove were kept, tell twenty tales that I talk my way around instead of proving are true, and give you only a few things that I can actually base in some form of reality, you would have every right to be skeptical of those last few things because I have failed to back everything else up.

Everyone asks Marinette to take responsibility and blame when no one else wants to be even the slightest bit skeptical. Alya never asked Ladybug if she knows Lila, everyone believes Lila without even a thought, and Adrien sits idly by without saying a word to the rest of the class so he can play superhero in the background and not risk any backlash from others.

I’m not even asking for everyone to turn on Lila, nor for them to blindly believe Marinette. What I am asking is that they either pick a side and drop Marinette for being “a terrible person who is trying to ruin an innocent girl’s life over a boy,” or at least believe Marinette enough to go, “That’s nice, Lila, and I won’t even accuse you of being a liar, but if you don’t have proof then I'm afraid I can’t believe you. I’d rather hear about stories that you have evidence for to prove that they happened.”

I would also expect Mr. Damocles to inform the school of Lila’s little “lying disease” (which sounds extremely dangerous to leave people uninformed about) thus proving Marinette correct, or at least for the class to apologize for not believing in her, but I have absolutely zero expectations of them honestly.

Literally this would all be over if the class went, “we’ll prove that all of Lila’s stories are true and that’ll show Marinette not to be suspicious!” at which point everything would fall apart like a Jenga tower.

But they won’t, because the class systematically searching for proof of Lila’s tall tales would mean that the writers would have to actually think to figure out how to have Lila “prove” all of these as much as possible.

They will avoid obvious solutions, literally hand characters the answers just so they can ignore them, and have Adrien actively tell Marinette to do nothing so Lila can continue her power trip (ignoring the “Origins” lesson of “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing”).

I could not care less about the class being “victims” when they’re little more than a mob sharing a single brain cell for no other reason than to make Marinette suffer.

#category: long post #category: salt #salt: miracuclass #salt: alya cesaire #salt: adrien agreste #other: ask and answer #other: ml spoilers #((Funnily enough))#((the wall of text offended me more than the argument (or lack thereof).))#((It's more tiring than anything else seeing an ask from someone who has probably read one or two posts of mine and nothing else.))

220 notes · View notes