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folk-ever-lore · 2 years

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I Know Places

The life of the Guardian of the Miraculous was at great risk, as the League Of Assassins had put a target on their back. They wouldnʼt be safe anywhere they went. But Marinette and Jason had still been mad enough to hope that they could come up with a plan that would get the League Of Assassins to leave both of them alone and alive.

They had to be crazy.

“I know places we can hide,” Jason informed his girlfriend, not giving her a chance to argue.

She was going to argue anyway. “A place I will be hiding. You wonʼt be there with me.”

“But-” he tried to argue back, before getting completely cut off. There was no way in hell he was letting Marinette go through this alone. What sort of a boyfriend would he be if he did?

“I can protect myself,” she told him, pointing out her strengths. “If the worst comes to worst I can always use the cat miraculous to destroy them before they can hurt me.”

“Alright,” Jason agreed, knowing full well that once Marinette had set her mind to something there was nothing she couldnʼt do, “but hereʼs the plan.”

***

Moving day soon arrived and Marinette was set to have as little as possible of her stuff moved into one of Jasonʼs lesser known safe houses. She brought only what she considered absolutely essential, including her coffee machine and all her sewing equipment. She may as well get some commissions done while sheʼs locked up for her own good.

Jason was planning on bringing her some more stuff from home each time he visited.

But for the first three days she would be completely on her own there. Of course, she would have WiFi and TV and all the essentials but that didnʼt mean that she wasnʼt as cut off from the world as she could be.

She placed her box of supplies down and went to close the blinds at the nearest window. She couldnʼt have anyone looking in and seeing her. Could she?

BANG!

A bullet shot the window open, getting glass everywhere. She may have screamed a little, but no one was around to see and it had been a bit of a shock.

BANG!

***

People muttered those same useless words over and over.

“Iʼm sorry for your loss.” “Iʼm sorry for your loss.” “Iʼm sorry for your loss.” “Iʼm sorry for your loss.” “Iʼm sorry for your loss.” “Iʼm sorry for your loss.” “Iʼm sorry for your loss.” “Iʼm sorry for your loss.” “Iʼm sorry for your loss.” “Iʼm sorry for your loss.” “Iʼm sorry for your loss.” “Iʼm sorry for your loss.”

It was so repetitive. No one ever dared to make any effort to change the words up a bit. To make any real effort to say that they wished Marinette was still alive. To make any real effort to acknowledge Jasonʼs feelings.

That may have been the thing that hurt the most after the pain of losing his girlfriend. Heʼd been planning on proposing to her on her birthday, but now it didnʼt look like heʼd ever get the chance.

He wanted to say something, he wanted to acknowledge her death, he wanted to say something to remember her; but each time heʼd tried to come up with the right words to say heʼd always ended up coming up with something he wasnʼt meant to say.

Once the ceremony was done, he stayed behind so he could get a more private chance of saying something to her.

He refused to say goodbye. “I will see you again soon, my love,” he promised, standing over her grave.

Upon overhearing his words, the remainder of his family soon joins him in his mourning.

“Are you okay?” Dick asks, breaking the silence, despite the fact that he should already know the answer.

“No,” Jason admitted softly, refusing to move his head up from the ground to look at any of his family. “But I will be when I can kill the bastards that did this. Then Iʼll get to be with my love again.”

***

Jason had made it his mission to find those responsible for Marinette’s deaths and end them. In the space of a week, heʼd managed to find and kill the three operatives that had been in Gotham during the time of Marinette’s death.

He hadnʼt harmed them so much that they werenʼt recognisable, but they certainly werenʼt a pleasant sight to look at.

Along with the bodies, heʼd dragged himself down to the main League Of Assassins headquarters. Dumping the bodies in the training arena, he soon left to go and find Talia and Raʼs.

“I donʼt care what you do most of the time,” he yelled as he stormed into their private family quarters, “but you will stay the fuck away from me and anyone I love. As well as anything miraculous related.”

“We shall do no such thing,” Talia retorted, infuriated at his nerve to demand such things from them.

He sneered at them, “Then I will have fun painfully ending the rest of your people as I did those in Gotham last week. Send one of your servants to go check them if you want.”

When a servant, one from the League Of Assassins who was used to seeing blood and gore all the time, came back looking slightly pale, Raʼs and Talia seemed a bit keener to agree. After all they had taught him some of his skills and the rest had been taught to him by Batman. They were right to be worried about what he would do.

“Alright,” Raʼs gave in after a moment of consideration. “We will leave you, your loved ones and anything miraculous related alone. In exchange you shall leave our assets alone.”

Jason nodded. “Thank you.”

***

Before Jason could go back to Wayne Manor and tell his family that he had taken care of the league, there was somewhere else he had to stop by first.

He slipped into his safe house, making sure to avoid the glass on the floor.

“Hello,” he called out, “Marinette? Iʼm back.”

She grinned once she saw him. “I missed you so much. Itʼs been dreadfully boring being in her all by myself.”

“Iʼve got some good news then,” he said with a smile as he pulled her into a fierce hug that both of them needed far too much. “It’s safe for you to come out. The League shouldnʼt be bothering us again anytime soon.”

“Oh thank god. Iʼve missed human interaction much more than I thought I would.”

“Anyone in particular?” Jason asked cheekily.

“You, of course. But you already knew that.”

He shrugged, “Hearing it a few more times wouldnʼt hurt.”

Marinette laughed gently, “Youʼre such a dork. Come on, letʼs go tell your family the good news.”

He simply groaned in response, “Do we have to?”

“Yes,” she retorted, pulling him out the door. “We absolutely do.”

“Youʼre lucky I love you.”

“Indeed I am.”

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emi-fanarts · 2 years

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Hello hi yes Marichat May who?

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themiraculousladyblog · 1 year

Conversation

Marinette: Can you imagine, like, getting paid for being cute?

Adrien: You would be so rich.

Marinette: What?

Adrien: What?

#miraculous ladybug #adrienette #season 5 be like #ml season 5 #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrien #marinette #incorrect quotes #incorrect miraculous ladybug quotes #incorrect ml quotes #mlb incorrect quotes #miraculous ladybug season 5 #miraculous #hello yes i'm still alive #source: ??

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verfound · 7 months

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MINIFIC: Oct. 23: Day 16: Two-Headed (MLB, Lukanette, DLM AU)

For @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers October Minific Challenge 2023.

Read on Ao3

To Feel Alive Again: Ch16: Two-Headed

Luka was being weird.

Marinette frowned as she stared at the sweater she’d just washed, her thumb rubbing at some of the stitching absently. He was usually weird, she noted, but he’d just been…weirder lately. Not his usual grumpy self. It was like…invasion of the body snatchers, or something.

Grumpy Luka had been snatched away, and this…weird Luka had been left in his place.

He was just…weird! She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. It wasn’t that he was suddenly kind: for all his gruff exterior, Luka had always been kind. At least…to her. To most people. Not usually to Théo, but Théo liked to antagonize him. Even if he was an ass about his kindness, he was still kind. There was just…something softer about it lately. He still snapped at Théo, and he spoke to Mendeleiev with his usual indifference. He was still…not rude, not really, but there was this way he treated people. Like he just was how he was and expected the rest of the world to deal with it.

She had called him a grumpy puppy.

He just…wasn’t so grumpy anymore.

He was grumpy, not…snappy.

She sighed and folded the sweater, holding it close for a moment as she stared at the piles of half-folded laundry on her bed.

She would say she liked it, except…there were still times when he’d pull back. When he seemed to realize he was being weird and doubled down on being an ass to compensate for it. She wasn’t sure she liked that. Sometimes she felt like it gave her whiplash. She wished he would just make up his mind. She –

“Marinette?”

She jumped at the voice.

Speak of the devil, she thought as she looked up to see Luka standing in her doorway. His hand was raised to the door, and she realized belatedly that he had knocked –she just hadn’t noticed.

“L-Luka!” she said, dropping the sweater onto her bed. She turned to him, smiling. “What are you doing here?”

“Got an out of town reap,” he said, holding up a post-it and smiling at her. “Well. Half an hour out. It’s a botanical garden, though, and I thought…you like flowers, right?”

“It’s October,” she laughed, walking over to him. “Most flowers aren’t exactly blooming anymore. But yes, I like flowers.”

“…it’s a nice day out,” he said, shrugging. “Should be a nice ride. If…you’re interested?”

…the grumpiness was gone. In its place was left someone Marinette would almost call bashful, his head hung low and peeking up at her with hopeful eyes and…were his cheeks pink?

She thought of the Luka she had first met, who had dumped her on Mendeleiev without a second thought and stalked off into the night, grumbling the whole time about fresh blood and inconveniences. She saw no trace of that asshole in the boy smiling down at her now.

“…ok,�� she said, turning back to grab her sweater. When she had tugged it over her head and turned back to him, there was a glimmer in his eyes she couldn’t quite place. One that made her smile, until he caught her staring back at him and turned away with a cough, shoving a hand through his hair.

“Right! Ok, best get going. This fucker’s not gonna reap himself,” he said, heading towards the door. Marinette frowned as he hurried off, confused. Then again…

#miraculous ladybug #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #lukanette #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #ml fic #ver fic #lbsc october minifics 2023 #to feel alive again #dlm lukanette au #dead like me au #super loose interpretation of the theme here #but I'm trying to build up to something tomorrow #we'll see

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miabrown007 · 1 year

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My demons follow me wherever I go,

They wanna remind me daily that I'm not in control and I wish they would just go get a life of their own,

'Cause I need the company but not the shade that they throw.

#all time low #atl #tell me I'm alive #the sound of letting go #pop punk #heist AU Marinette <3 #Spotify

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thenaphantoms · 19 days

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It's you! Despite everything, it's still you.

I've been wanting to try the Undertale meme because I've always liked the quote. It feels kind of hopeful to me? You've been through a lot, it feels like everything has collapsed around you, but by the end of it all, you got through it, and you're still in one piece. You're still you.

It made me think a lot about Marinette and all the crazy stuff she went through between seasons 1 to 5. It was hard, she was overwhelmed, she had to fight impossibly hard for herself and the person she loves. But she made it out alive, she got through it and I'm so proud of her!! Go Mari!!!

#undertale #drawing is fun and i need to do more of it #my art #miraculous ladybug #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #miraculous fanart #thena thoughts #miraculous marinette #marinette dupain cheng #tales of ladybug and cat noir #ml ladybug

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literallywhatdoyoumean · 5 months

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Kagami, texting Marinette: I don't care what's going on with you two as long as you're both alive and not in prison

Marinette, texting: we are most certainly alive

Kagami: and not in prison?

Marinette: *read 8:24 pm*

Kagami: DAMN IT MARINETTE-

Adrien:........so how do you think she's taking the news?

Marinette: I'm hiding behind you when she gets here

#marigami #miraculous fandom #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug #miraculous lb #adrien x marinette #adrien agreste #miraculous marinette #kagami tsurugi #kagami x marinette #adrienette

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tumble-witch · 4 months

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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.

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anna-scribbles · 1 year

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hey anna! the wait for kwami’s choice part 2 truly is abysmal and it’s so hard to navigate through the tag with all the leaks about, do you have any fic recs to tide us over until gloob puts us out of our misery?

not only do I have fic recs, I also have way too much to do rn and therefore will spend an inordinate amount of time crafting a detailed rec list for you 😘 (we can also just consider this my 2022 ao3 wrapped lol)

goes without saying perhaps, but ANYTHING by @peachcitt is gold and also uniquely devastating, some of my particular favorites being:

metamorphosis - 97k, enemies, sleepovers, you get it. i'm normal

those benevolent stars - 23k, ladrien thief/prince/soulmates au. what more do I even need to say

chat noir's white french man hit list for feminist purposes - 7k, hilarious and devastating, this fic is a child to me

double dare - 32k, ladrien, absolutely everything. cemented my friendship w/ peach bc I had to scream at her everyday abt it

I thought the plane was going down - 11k, attuned to my tastes specifically, adrinette having a History while on airplanes

@carpisuns also puts out banger after banger like it's her dayjob, specializing in understanding the ridiculous nature of the lovesquare to such a degree and also being the funniest person alive. some of my faves from her are:

tell me something I don't know - 120k, the marichat fic EVER, mar's dissertation on lovesquare and guess what she's right

pink - 14k wip, adrien loves marinette, SOFT

two idiots and a hamster (collab with @botherkupo) - 24k, adrinette roommates, makes me cry laugh

@picayunearts is a goddess on earth. she bends word and image flawlessly to her will. recently she has enraptured me with

final girl - 41k, marichat, au where marinette succeeds in giving up her miraculous to alya in origins. INCREDIBLE marinette character study

@rosekasa invented ladynoir and i'm not afraid to say it. check out everything on her ao3 but just note the following

when things were good - 15k wip, breakup fic/post hawkmoth takedown, has been ruining me in a SPECIAL way

new marinette 12k, post-guardianship memory loss marinette, a classic

like poles of a magnet - 12k, enemies au, hurts my feelings

ya'aburnee - 13k, ladynoir, HURTS ME VERY MUCH. I'VE NOT RECOVERED

@buggachat's fics always feel like i'm attending a course on adrien and marinette's true characterizations explained to me by someone with a PhD in lovesquare and I walk away enlightened. she has an incredible gift for storytelling and just Getting It. anyway read

maintaining a professional distance - 43k, ladynoir hotel room shenanigans, god-tier characterization

when you're near 10k, ladynoir dating but adrinette have never met, a classic

@sha-nwa should honestly quit her career and write lovesquare fanfiction for me full time. proof:

the way I loved you - 68k, marichat break up fic, will be cemented into my mind forever

photograph - 1k, sweet adrinette, abby loves making me cry

things WOULD be amiss if I did not mention @officialratprince (carolinaa on ao3) bc their fics derailed my homework schedule on several occasions last semester, though I'll be honest that their fics are not for the faint of heart or those who wish adrien agreste to have a good time. my faves are

I will take it / it can't go wrong series - 3 fics at 16k, 25k, and 39k, adrien's journey through experiencing child abuse and his friends being there for him, culminating in gabriel's court trial

home sick - 14k wip, adrien gets pneumonia and Everything Is Really Bad

other various fics I love for various reasons:

how hawkmoth got his groove back series by @agrestenoir - 2 fics at 3k and 1k, one of my favorite crack fics i read last year. had me crying laughing

1 step forward, 3 steps back by agnes writes - 10k, breaks my heart every time I read it. also makes me legitimately angry at adrien while still keeping him in character which is a feat in and of itself

the last day on earth by reiaji - 10k, chat blanc keeps happening as marinette gets older, I am incapable of not recommending this fic

okay now go forth and don't do your work<3

#such a struggle for me to hold back and not just list every single one of everyone's fics.#looking at this list I realiize that I in fact read a lot of fanfiction #I cant even find it within myself to feel cringe about it bc these are all legitimately so GOOD #ml #miraculous ladybug #ml fic rec #mlb fic rec #anna rambles #asks

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flightfoot · 6 months

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Fics with major Alya focus that Alya fans should read

So it's hard to find fics where Alya's a central character, where she has a character arc, focus, development of her own to a significant degree, so I figured I'd rec some fics that Alya fans might appreciate! She's not necessarily the main character in all of them, but if she isn't the MAIN main character, then she's still a major character (and almost certainly POV character) in her own right in the fic. I'm only reccing completed fics for this, btw. If anyone knows the tumblr name for any of the authors involved, let me know!

Also I have a blog dedicated to Alya at alyappreciation, so check that out if you're interested!

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In Direct Opposition by @generalluxun

Alya Cesaire is a brand new student to Francis Dupont, to Paris even. The first student she meets is one Chloé Bourgeois, and Alya is determined to make a friend. Things advance Chaotically. Her new 'friend' is definitely a handful, and suddenly Paris has a supervillain and two brand new superheroes! Alya finds herself balancing a lot of things, trying to live up to her ideals and those of her icons. And then reality seems to contradict itself. As time progresses it seems to happen more often. Becoming a hero, battling villains, staying alive, working through friendships. Something is lurking, tweaking events at times, changing them, and no one seems aware. Alya will need all her wits to get to the bottom of this. Her investigative mind can only get her so far though, and then she needs to rely on her friends. This is not a foe you can beat head on.

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Alya's Guide To Surviving A Magical Terrorist Which You Can't Remember by PumpkinPatchworkQuilt

In a world where the fight against Hawkmoth is kept secret from the public, one Alya Césaire sets out to bring the whole thing to light, (and possibly win a journalism award while she's at it)

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Hold Me By Both Hands by @angelofthequeers

“I know he said never to take you back,” Plagg mutters. “But he’d change his tune if he knew.” He looks Adrien straight in the eye and, more serious than Adrien’s ever seen him before, says, “There’s someone you gotta meet. He’s been looking for that book for ages.” How differently might the events of season 2 have gone if Adrien had also known of Master Fu from the start?

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Vantage Point by @ashes555

Most of the time, with more information, life get easier and things make more sense. But Alya discovers that sometimes, knowing everything is just plain complicated.

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Trust by bi_skyes

They thought that because they believed Lila’s lies, they would not be trustworthy to Ladybug anymore. They thought wrong.

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Closure by bi_skyes

After the events of “Trust”, Alya tries to find closure.

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Lean In by Rachelea3

Marinette spills her secret, and Alya does the only thing she can do.

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Alya Cesaire Should Be Allowed To Swear by @stripesandblossoms

Akuma attacks don't stop just because Alya is no longer a Hero, but that's fine, because she can still help clear civilians from the danger zone. Even celebrity-friends like Adrien Agreste.

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Justifying the Means by @ashes555

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?

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Accidents Are Also Miracles by @liiinerle

After some turbulent days that end with five people knowing her secret identity as Ladybug, Marinette loses faith in her ability to keep herself hidden. Wracked with doubts and insecurities, she pleads with Alya to take over as Scarabella, and tries to disconnect from heroing altogether. Along the way, she starts to date Kagami. Hard as she tries, though, she can't stop worrying - especially not once Monarch takes a particular, and personal, interest in her. At the same time, Alya tries to adjust to her new role while she works to uncover who Monarch really is, and makes some realisations about her own wishes. Kagami struggles against a controlling and abusive parent, and a girlfriend who seems bent on destroying herself - with or without Monarch's involvement. And in the meantime, Alix keeps popping her head back in with offers to help (because cool though time travel is, she misses hanging out in her own time). [Contains some spoilers for early s5 episodes, but otherwise diverges significantly from the plot of the season.]

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Alya's Amended Guide For Internet Safety (The RPF Remix) by @redrikki

Alya hadn’t meant to fall down the Ladynoir fic rabbit hole. It just happened. She didn't mean to make Ladybug to read fic about herself either. That just kind of happened too.

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You Are Just A Grin by Midnightdemonht

Oblivio was the only one to need a second separation, even after the butterfly was torn away.

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the best laid plans (of bugs and bakers) by @mexicancat-girl

Paris is buzzing with the appearance of a new ladybug-themed hero, Scarabella. Alya decides to use her second hero identity to help her best friend Marinette. A bit of her flirting with Marinette is bound to make Marinette's crushes jealous and finally ask her out! Her plan is fool-proof…! Except when it's not. Not enough people are talking about Scarabella flirting with Marinette. How can Alya properly help her best friend if the news can't be bothered to cover Marinette's budding romance with Scarabella and only posts things about Marinette with Chat Noir?! So Alya puts her all into her plan, upping up her flirting each time she appears as the newbie hero Scarabella. This totally does not backfire in any way.

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Radio Silence by @into-september

When an inexplicable change between Marinette and Adrien brings the two closer than ever, Alya is left on the outside of a secret too confounding to be about cheesemaking or puppy love. [No S4 AU]

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Creative Lies and Destructive Truths by @azuriteartist

Alya and Lila are two sides of a never-ending fight. The fight between truth and lies, between honesty and deception, between justice and personal gain. And now they have the powers to elevate that fight to a city-wide level. Can Alya stop the deception before it destroys the city? And can Lila stop the truth before it destroys her?

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The Investigation by @11jj11

Adrien and Marinette are finally dating-- which is what Alya has always wanted... but yet this sudden transformation in their relationship overnight? Things aren't adding up. They are suddenly so much closer than they ever have been before, Adrien is apparently a flirt, Marinette is no longer a stuttering mess, and not to mention the nicknames that came out of no where. Alya is happy for her friends, but she knows there's something more going on, and the reporter in her is going to get to the bottom of it.

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Cat Naps by BookGirlFan

Chat Noir doesn't care if he dies temporarily. Alya's starting to think he doesn't care if he dies permanently. Marinette's way too stressed for this, so it's up to Alya to find out why Chat Noir's willing to let his cat naps turn into the long sleep.

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Where were you the first time you were possessed? by @zanzquest

It should be an easy assignment: write about the first time a ghost took over your body to make varying degrees of mischief. There’s just one issue: Alya hasn’t been possessed yet.

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Is it chill that you're in my head? by @bringthestorm

Alya stared at the picture plastered across the homepage of every single tabloid and news site, whispering every curse she could think of under her breath. SHOCKING SECRET ROMANCE BETWEEN LADYBLOGGER AND PARISIAN SUPERVILLAIN REVEALED!!! the headline announced, casually shouting the words she had been dreading for all of Paris to read. --- Alya had always assumed that someday Paris would discover that she had secretly been kissing their most wanted vigilante, but she had never thought it would happen so soon. As the domino effects of her relationship with Ladybug go spiraling through her life, Alya turns her sights towards the one responsible: the elusive superhero Hawkmoth. AKA Someone outs Alya and her girlfriend so she retaliates by deciding to take down Hawkmoth

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Lady and the Fox by @ck2k18

Marinette and Alya, known to their subscribers as “Ladybug” and “Rena Rouge,” have a popular cooking vlog using their parents’ kitchens. While moderating comments, Alya realizes that their viewers assume the two anonymous hosts are a couple, and it causes her to look at her relationship with Marinette in a new light.

(punch punch) fall in love by @mexicancat-girl

One day, Sabrina walks up to Alya. Alone. No Chloe in sight. Sabrina wants to learn self defense. Alya agrees to teach her. Alya ends up getting way more invested than she originally thought she'd be, because Sabrina is a quick learner and sometimes her smile makes Alya's insides go weak.

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When I Grow Up by waltzofthewifi

-I want to be a superhero." The class stifled laughs. "But superheroes aren't real!" Someone called out. A look through Alya's life. One-shot.

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disconnected by just_an_ordinary_fan

Lady Wifi believes she might be the only one who does not want to obey Hawkmoth's orders. When she sees another akuma hesitate in the battle, she finds she might not be entirely alone.

Walking that Mile by @nomolosk

Nino and Alya wake up in the wrong bodies. Several things result from this, including, but not limited to, identity reveals and a better understanding of what their respective best friends are going through.

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(may we write it all down) in cursive light by @sunfoxfic

Since retiring as a journalist, Alya hasn't been involved in an interview in several years. But now that her identity is out, that's about to change.

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Strangely Familiar by @sunfoxfic

Alya Césaire’s life is perfect. Indeed, between the success of the Ladyblog, how well she’s doing in school, and the fact that she’s a superhero who has never bore the weight of a crisis of epic proportions, her life almost couldn’t be better. Almost. But Alya has always been a go-getter, and so she’ll chase after that perfect life if it kills her. Which is how she ends up rushing to move out of her father’s apartment and in with Marinette, Adrien, and a complete stranger: Nino Lahiffe. And in fact, her life does seem perfect — she and Nino are fast friends. They spend a lot of time together and get to know each other really well. But in the end, fortunate situations will bear unfortunate truths, and she learns things about herself that aren’t quite comfortable. Like I said, though: Alya has always been a go-getter, and she won’t let new feelings deter her from chasing after her perfect life.

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Trust your instincts by @ultrakart

Alya has the instincts of a fox. Nino finds it hilarious.

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Foxy Lady by WizardlyMagik

In which Nino finds himself unexpectedly attracted to Rena Rouge, tries and fails to tell his friends and get some advice, and desperately attempts to hide it from his girlfriend. (Who in fact, is planning to use it to her advantage)

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No One Can See Us Here, Alone; or, The Behaviors of Binary Stars by artEngine

"Yeah, about that," Nino turns to fall in step with her out the door, "Hows about we take a small break from the quests? Chillax, enjoy our money and things?" "You say that now," Alya eyes him from the corner of her vision, "but would you still say that if I told you this special quest was to find a hidden genie for three free wishes?" "Dude. Yes." "Fine. Look, I promise to chill if we go on this quest. Okay?" Nino narrows his eyes down at her pleading expression. This dialogue is suspiciously familiar. Somehow, he gets the feeling that this time will be different. And for some reason, he listens to that feeling. "You're lucky I like you," he concedes. Alya hip-checks him with a winning smile. "That I am." : : A series of Alya and Nino's exploits as a part of the 10,000 gamers who found themselves trapped in Akihiko Kayaba's VRMMORPG game, Sword Art Online. For AU April with the Miraculous Fanworks Discord. (Knowledge of and/or interest in SAO or ALO is not required to enjoy this fic)

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well somewhere along the way in our words i must've gotten lost by @noirshitsuji

Beelya where Queen Bee visits the Césaire house after Alya writes an article about her fighting Mr. Pigeon alone. Normally Chloé would like the publicity but Alya had titled it ‘The Birds and the Bees’. After that she ends up coming back to complain about her mother. And her father. And about the fact that her oldest friend seems uncomfortable around her. Her visits becomes weekly, then almost nightly. (Don’t forget to include Chloé redemption (and some “Bee Movie” jokes).) * Alya isn’t quite sure how she ended up here, in a place where she isn’t even surprised Chloé would seek her out to talk about her dad, where she wouldn’t even mind her doing so, where she would expect it, where she would– (–thud. She might be in trouble.)

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Me, My Best Friend, and Her Cat by @ladyofthenoodle

Ladybugs aren't known for being particularly sneaky. Good thing this Ladybug has a fox in her corner, watching her back. (And giving Ladybug's love life a nudge along the way. Maybe more than a nudge. In Alya's defense, Ladybug can use all the help she could get.)

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Best Laid Plans by @captorations

Alya Césaire had always known she was going to be a superhero one day. She even had a rather unique plan to protect her secret identity, and it worked like a charm. But tricksters have to be careful, lest they end up tricking themselves.

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Outfoxed by @captorations

Lila Rossi is not a Miraculous wielder. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have power. Alya was under her spell, along with so many others, until the day Lila unknowingly overstepped herself. Freed at last, the true Fox recognizes magic when she sees it, even if it doesn’t come from a source she understands. She is none too happy about this pretender abusing her natural gifts to make fools of Alya and those she loves. Alya Césaire might need an enchanted necklace and the aid of a tiny deity to cast illusions, but she swore to use her borrowed abilities for the greater good long ago. There is none better suited to facilitate the liar’s downfall. And maybe she’ll help her best friend sort out her increasingly complex love life along the way.

#miraculous ladybug #alya cesaire #rena rouge #ml fanfic rec

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starguardianniom · 9 months

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The emotional immaturity of Adrien and Marinette

This need to be said.

You cannot tell me Adrien lacks the emotional maturity to handle his father being the villain he fights for 5 seasons, his assistant helping him, and his mom being alive in a coma in the basement and tell me he can't handle it. Who the hell would?

And yet, he still should have been there for the final battle, because after spending 5 seasons trying to break free from his caged life that Gabriel threw him in, he deserves to have a final face off with the man and see the reality of the situation, while also denouncing everything his father fought for by saying he was wrong, and he's gonna fight to end his madness.

Somehow, Marinette gets to be in the final battle alone with 2 miraculouses against her boyfriend's father who's the antagonist, and at the end when he wins, she complies with his last request to not say anything to Adrien.

How the hell is that her handling it in any kind of mature way possible, or saying she didn't have her emotions messing with her judgement here?

Cause I'm sorry, but past seasons proved time and time again that Marinette is just as emotionally immature as Adrien, if not more, when it comes to world shattering stuff thrown her way.

Starting with her being very immature emotionally whenever it concerns Adrien.

We saw her screwing up in 3 seasons finales because of her feelings for Adrien having a factor in it.

In season 1 Volpina, she impulsively humiliated Lila in front of Adrien to not only call her out on her lies, but also to get her away from Adrien, after spending a lot of time following them around because she was jealous, before Tikki noticed the Book.

Season 3 in Heart Hunter, her being heartbroken over letting Adrien and Kagami be together and then later seeing them together as Ladybug mess with her feelings and she choose to get Kagami away from Adrien instead of finding Chloé who told her she was ready to fight, and honestly there's no way she chose Kagami purely for selfless reasons 100%, she was still affected by her feelings of being crushed, and when choosing which miraculous she should take, she was clearly debating either to choose Chloé who was already aware of the situation and it was her parents, or choose Kagami who was having a romantic moment with Adrien. Do not tell me she was completely focused when she had been distracted earlier as Ladybug at seeing Adrigami in display, she freaking crashed into a tree when seeing it.

Season 4 Strike Back showed her, after spending the last episode being driven impulsive by Risk, which she became aware of in the end, she decided to go fetch "Adrien" to pull off her plan, despite having much easier options to go as. Not to mention her Lucky Charm saying she had to go in the past, knowing the entire city was affected, yet somehow Adrien wasn't, yet it didn't tip her off that maybe if Adrien wasn't affected it was because he wasn't there the day before, and thus couldn't have been Adrien, but maybe his cousin, since she knows he pulled a twin switch once with him. She could have fetch Sabrina who was already familiar with the Dog Miraculous, heck better yet, she could have just unified her miraculous with the Rabbit and the Dog without having the Horse, and do the travel herself, if she use the beyond broken Rabbit miraculous, then she can freaking use the Dog, but she decided Adrien was trustworthy. She even questionned herself if the idea made her reckless. But since she can't shake her crush is perfect, she stood to her initial plan, and got completely fooled by him which gave Gabriel all the miraculouses but hers, Chat Noir's and the Peacock. She thought with her heart, not her brain there.

It's not the first time she does it either.

When it comes to Adrien, or perfect guys, Marinette becomes one of the least emotionally mature people on the show.

We saw how in Desperada, her knowing Aspik was Adrien couldn't make her focus at all.

In Kuro Neko, having a new partner, which was basically Adrien's model routine up to the max, she couldn't concentrate at all on the mission, let alone KNOW HOW TO USE HER FREAKING LUCKY CHARM.

And now Marinette herself when it doesn't have anything to do with being Ladybug, just being Marinette, or it being about Adrien in any way.

Marinette is a girl who is insecure, nervous and prone to self-spirals to the simplest mistakes, and goes above and beyond to try to either salvage the situation, or try to cover it up with others being none the wiser if she wants to and plays her cards right.

She will go to extreme answers to basic problems, which usually cause more trouble for herself in the long run.

She is extremely reckless in that aspect and doesn't think things through completely like she thinks she is doing.

Mostly because she has an immature response to anything that could cause her any embarassment or having to confront a though situation she doesn't want to deal with or just hope it goes away on its own.

Accidently leaving an embarassing message on Adrien's phone?

Break into his locker, steal his phone, learn his password and delete it, instead of maybe explaining herself calmly.

Accidently erasing a video of Ladybug on Alya's phone? Steal the phone, lie to her bestie, try to redo the video so she won't notice, being afraid she'll break her friendship with her if she finds out, not thinking Alya might have posted it on her blog before showing it to her.

Juleka needs to be in the class photo? Go steal the memory card of the photographer and erase the previous photo so he'll need to take another one instead of just asking to redo it, because she is sure he won't want to.

She didn't do anything grand like her classmates for Heroes Day? Lie about what she actually plans to the entire class and get caught up in her plan when she can't pull it off, despite Alya defending her earlier, her parents and Tikki telling her she needs to come clean, and her classmates, sans Chloé, not being bothered by it, probably understanding that she was very busy and did what she could on a short notice.

Adrien is at a movie premiere with Kagami? Team up with Chloé to humiliate Kagami so she'll be seated next to Adrien and prevent him and Kagami from leaving Japan, instead of trying to stop her bully from 4 years from pulling a cruel prank, a bit similar to what she went through the year prior, being humiliated publically in front of a guy she liked.

Can't give Adrien a gift at his house? Abuse her powers to transform and break into his room to deliver his gift, instead of waiting at the front gates until he arrives like a normal person.

The guys having a boys only party at Adrien's house? She needs to ditch her friends to go to that party, and pass herself as a boy to join, instead of just letting them be, because how dare they have a guy only party the one time they all group together, not like she only hangs out with her girl friends all the time without any guys.

Doesn't know why her grand-father is estranged from her dad? Pretend to be someone else, and lie to him, instead of coming clean from the start.

Learned Kagami and Adrien broke up? Push Kagami to try to make her fall in love with him again and ignores everything Kagami tells her, at one point literally lifting her to get her to talk to him, projecting her feelings on Kagami the entire episode, instead of listening to Kagami and trying to learn what happened.

Ghosted Kagami by ignoring her calls because she didn't want her to be disappointed in her not being able to tell Adrien "I love you" despite dating him at that time.

She doesn't want to see Luka because she's afraid to break his heart again and get him akumatized? Ask his twin to tell him to not come to HIS OWN BIRTHDAY PARTY BECAUSE SHE'S TOO MUCH OF A COWARD TO FACE HIM! Not to mention not listening to Alya telling her she exaggerate and that Luka would like to see her again, as unlike her, Alya has been talking to Luka and knows he would prefer to stay friends with Marinette even if he still has feelings for her, cause Luka is that mature.

Su-Han wants to know Chat Noir's identity for safety reasons in case anything happens to him? Why, lie to Chat Noir about wanting to knows each other's identities, have 2 people knowing his without his consent, then erase the deed so neither he or she will remember it, her thinking Chat Noir will never reveal himself to anyone but her, without her ever bothering to talk to him and explaining the reasons, which given how much more understanding he is than her most of the time, he would get it and would do so without complains, but nope she goes behind his back and immediatly thinks she knows him better.

Learns Adrien is sended to Shangai without her knowing? Welp, time to lie to her parents about wanting to connect to her maternal origins from China and wanting to go there to know her roots, making them pay for what was supposed to be a family trip that they had planned since she was born, just to go stalk her crush whom she basically sees everyday in class in another country, just because she was miffed that she didn't know about it, despite boasting how she knew everything about him and she would know if he was going.

Those are the many emotionally immature actions that she made throughout the show, and you tell me Adrien isn't emotionally mature enough for the final fight in the finale of season 5?

Fuck you, the main protagonist is even more emotionally immature than he'll ever be with all the crap she pulled.

The creators even said Marinette has a very poor control of her emotions. Even as Ladybug she's not immune.

Adrien is probably more mature than her because of all the mental strenght he builded up just to keep up with his life before getting a miraculous.

Marinette is just a normal kid who kids herself, she is very clever and intelligent, but in the emotional maturity department, she is one of the worse, out there with Chloé, Lila and Gabriel.

Any minor problems she faces she tends to go to extreme lenghts to solve, despite many people telling her time and time again that she's really thinking way too much about it. Namely Tikki and Alya.

Her first responses are most of the time, lie, manipulate, steal, in the hopes she can undo her mistake before someone sees it, or to save face and prevent herself from being embarassed. Heck, a lot of the time, it doesn't have anything to do with being Ladybug, she just want to save face.

Honesty isn't her first answer a lot of the time.

Not being honest about making mistakes and just trying to avoid them by lying or fixing them before someone sees them is emotionally immature on her part.

Because she's a stupid 14 years old teen who does a lot of stupid 14 years old stuff.

Like Adrien is a 14 eyears old teen who also does a lot of stupid 14 years old stuff, mostly as Chat Noir, Adrien, a bit less, but sometimes too.

So to hell with Adrien not being emotionally mature to handle his dad being a villain and all that, Marinette is just as worse.

The fact she lies to him at the end about it all proves it.

She is not emotionally mature about him, she has never shaded her rose colored glasses that are glued to her face when it comes to him.

To her, Adrien is the perfect boy who needs protection from anyone and anything that could harm him or cause him grief.

She sees him more as an idol than a real person. Even when he confess his insecurities to her, she's more concerned about his safety rather than trying to learn more about why he feels that way and connect to him more than just drooling over him like the hardstuck fangirl that she is when around him.

She sniffed his pillow. Pulled hair and kissed what she thought was a statue of him. Stalked him to another country. Humiliated 2 girls who were interested in him. Makes tons of complicated schemes to woo a guy she can barely talk to because she was traumatized before by a prank and the lesson she learned from it was to learn everything about the next guy just to be sure she wouldn't be caught again, instead of just listening to her friend's advice, taking it to an extreme form of creepy.

Again, not the picture of emotional maturity here much. So do not ever tell me that Adrien is not mature enough to be able to take emotionally the bad news.

If Marinette's response to the bad news was to lie to the entire city about the villain and make him a hero instead, and lie to her partner, and boyfriend, because she listened to Gabriel's last wish, then seriously, it outright says in blinding lights neon that she was not emotionally mature for it either.

Especially since the villain was her boyfriend's dad, and we all know how she acts when it's about her beloved.

She didn't have to change her views on Adrien, never did, for that she would have needed to treat him like a person instead of an angel gracing the earth.

The shrine she saw him from was so high up in the sky she never saw what was really happening with him, even when told, she just went back to drooling over him as if nothing happened.

#ml season 5 spoilers #miraculous ladybug #ml s5 spoilers #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #gabriel agreste #marinette salt #ml salt #miraculous salt #ml s5 leaks #ml season 5 leaks #sorry to say this but marinette is the emotionally immature one between her and adrien #by a large margin #seriously #i am almost not surprised that she does that #she never got character development for her adrien problem #adrien confessing to her instead of her doing it kind of robbed her of any progress she could have done in that regard

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random-conspiracy · 1 month

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Not a Dunmeshi stan BUT BUT BUT the last episode was A FUCKING DELIGHT because of Chilchuck.

First: I can't fucking stan the hero character archetype. Specifically, the "pure hero". OH GOD, I hate them so much. The hero character that is sooooooo self-giving, that only does good and has not a single stain of selfishness. Is always ready to die for the greater good and the only moment you can see 'em doing something bad it's because "they're also dumb and quirky". Take for example the cute clumsiness of Marinette. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. No, NO! 1000 years in Hell.

I hate how they're depicted like muscled babies in armors ahshasa. "SOOOOOOOOOO INNOCENT AND SOOOOOOOOOO NICE"

Like, call me Eleanor Shellstop because she was right!!! All of this nice characters must have some skeletons in their closets. HOW pretentious yisus CHRIST!!

And for good or bad, my inner compass is trying to locate Laios in this box. I'm definitely wrong, or so I hope, we're only in the WHAT? part of the anime, but still. Call me Villain because I can't stand the "pure heroes" hashahsa. Give me selsfishness, give me hate, give me genuine wrong doing. And BY THE WAY, I'm not talking about the "I hate evil people" kind of hate, that's only the other side of the pure angelic coin.

AND CHILCHUCK GAVE IT TO ME. AAAAAAAA!!!! *FANBOY NOISES*. YOU CAN FUCKING SEE THE MENTAL CONNECTIONS AT PLAY, I WANT TO DISSECT THAT DIVORCED MINION AND SEE HIS MIND.

THE MENTAL ASSOCIATION OF RISK--------STUPIDITY???? I'm pissing myself. A CHARACTER READY TO LIE TO HIS FRIENDS IN ORDER TO KEEP THEM AND HIMSELF ALIVE???????? YES YES YES YES YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS.

Laios is ready to do anything in order to save his sister, but that's just another "heroic" quality. You could say the same about his special interest and the way he's sometimes blind to his crew needs and emotions. However, he's "the heeeeeeeero" and everything he does eventually turns out to be right. Once again, I'm definitely biting more than I can chew but I keep my point for the general archetype.

The screaming-middle-aged-child was RIGHT about a lot of stuff ashahsa. About how stupid and impulsive a lot of decisions were, AND I'M HERE FOR THAT. That's for me the main difference and my main issue with these characters: That everything they do, no matter how stupid is always rewarded.

Chilchuck was just HMMMMMMMMMM *CHEF KISS IN THE ANUS*. Someone genuinely coward, ready to lie to the friends that saved his life multiple times??? A traitor in the name of fucking security???? An open glimpse to his mind mechanics and how he sees the world in something more fleshed out than the "hero quest"?????????????? A VIVISSECTION OF HIS FEAR, HATE, LOVE AND DEFECTS??????????????????????????????????

Roasting him, EATING HIM.

(I know almost nothing about Kabrus but something tells me that I'd receive my kick then ashhasha)

#dunmeshi #dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #chilchuck

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phantoms-world-and-more · 4 months

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They found out. When, in a last ditch effort to avoid a vivisection (dissection? Is he really alive enough for it?) by his parents, he told them and showed them he was their son...

They didn't stop.

But they were surprised. Caught off guard. Enough for Danny to get out, out, out.

He runs away to Paris. Completely cut off from everything that was Amity Park, the ghost portal closed, Danny tries on shaking legs to start over at Francois Dupoint.

Things are different. That should be good, but there's something off. Danny sees a kind girl from his class, a Marinette, getting bullied. He tries to intervene and it doesn't go well.

"I'll be okay. Just be better than them." Marinette smiles sadly at him.

Danny sees green, before he sees purple. A voice in his head tells him it can help. Danny tells the voice to fuck off.

It doesn't go away. Rather, it tries to dig into his head for information to use against him. Any handhold to use to make Danny bend over to some asshole's demands.

It doesn't leave. Days go by, each more exhausting than the next. Danny knows there's things he knows the voice in his head cannot learn. Not only for his sake, as it could tell the US government about him, or Drs. Fenton. But for every single ghost in the GZ. And well, if Danny caves, who knows how much damage, how many lives, he could destroy.

Not another Dan. Never again.

Danny finds out that the voice is gone as Phantom. His resistance is great enough to force the voice out.

To say the least, there's a race against time for Danny to get the voice out. Clearly there's something magic going on. Learning about the akumas is the catalyst for Danny to learn about the Ladybug and Chat Noir duo. He seeks them out as Phantom.

Phantom, who to the dynamic duo looks more like an akuma than a concerned citizen.

(This is a bit all over the place, but I love all the ways this just flows together. Marinette and Adrien worried out of their minds about what Hawkmoth is up to, as suddenly there's just no attacks. Danny having to hold his composure all the time even though what he needs most is to process everything. Sure he can seek some refuge as Phantom, but anyone who sees him thinks he's an akuma.)

(this was an ask, something glitched and it ended up like this, it didn't show who wrote this, but it wasn't me, so credit to whoever wrote this and I'm sorry Tumblr glitched)

#submission

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verfound · 6 months

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MINIFIC: Oct. 23: Day 17: Garden (MLB, Lukanette, DLM AU)

For @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers October Minific Challenge 2023.

Read on Ao3

To Feel Alive Again: Ch17: Garden

Luka had been right: it was a nice day for a ride. Still, Marinette had been surprised when he led her outside to where his motorbike was parked. She hadn’t even known he owned a bike, but really this was the first time she’d known any of them to go on a reap that wasn’t…well, immediately within the city. Most places they needed to go could be reached by walking or taking the metro.

She’d had a scooter, when she was alive. Her Nonna had gotten it for her for her sixteenth birthday, and she had kept it in pristine condition. It wasn’t quite the same as riding on the back of her Nonna’s bike, but for Marinette’s purposes – getting around in the city – it had been perfect.

Riding with Luka had felt like riding with her Nonna again, except she had never found herself pressing closer to her Nonna’s back, or tucking her face against the back of her neck to sniff at her hair, or…

Marinette was starting to think she might be developing a little crush.

…when he took a bend too fast, tipping the bike too close to the pavement for her comfort, and she screamed and clung to him even tighter and he just laughed…she realized she definitely had developed a crush.

And it wasn’t exactly little.

“You ok?” he asked, still chuckling as he pulled into a parking space at the gardens. He pulled his helmet off and looked back at her, and her breath caught in her throat as she saw the way he was grinning at her. “Didn’t scare you too bad, did I?”

“…you’re a madman, Luka,” she said, tightening her arms around his waist. His smile softened, and her heart stuttered in her chest when he dropped a hand to rest over hers. His thumb slipped under the sleeve of her coat to brush against her wrist absently.

“Couffaine,” he said, as if that should explain everything. Thinking back on some of Juleka’s stories about her family, she supposed it did. He squeezed her hand and turned back to the gardens, nodding as he checked the clock on the tower above the entrance. “We’ve got about half an hour before K. Truscott is supposed to go. Let me try to find him, and then the rest of the day is yours. Your reap was for this morning, right? So we don’t need to head back right away?”

“…yeah,” she said. He looked back over his shoulder and smiled at her, tapping a finger against her hands.

“So…shall we go? Or did I scare you so bad your legs forgot how to work?” he teased. She sucked in a breath – she definitely did not squeak – and scrambled off the bike, spluttering apologies as she tried to remove the helmet. It felt stuck, though, and the more she fought with it the worse it got. She stopped when she felt his hands batting hers away, his warm chuckle making her face burn. “Easy, easy.” When the helmet was off and she could see him without the visor, his smile softened. “Better?”

“We…we should go find Truscott,” she said, swallowing thickly. “That…that fucker’s not gonna reap himself, right?”

He was laughing again as he reached for her hand, nodding as he lead her away from the bike and towards the gardens.

It was maybe a little too late when Marinette realized, listening to his laugh and wondering at how his hand felt in hers, that she might be in trouble.

#miraculous ladybug #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #lukanette #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #ml fic #ver fic #lbsc october minifics 2023 #dead like me au #dlm lukanette au #to feel alive again #dun dun duuuuuuunl #who fell first who fell harder #luka: i'm fucked #mari: i might be in trouble #they're idiots your honor

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ggomos-maribat · 6 months

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8 | bearing another mask

Part 8 of Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Dead | Masterlist

TW: a bit of SH, noncon touching

Lila sat in her dimly lit apartment with a souring mood on her face. One hand tapped against the side of her hot mug while the other held a fingernail wedged between her teeth. She stared at the email from her PR and legal team, which promised that they would put out the flames and advised that she kept quiet for the meantime so as to not worsen the situation. But it's not enough, she bitterly thought. No matter how much cleanup they do, those rumors were scars that would forever mar the face of her company.

She let out a slow breath. My sales will be affected, the employees, our suppliers. Why, why does this have to happen now? She switched to another window that showed an article detailing the designs she 'stole' from the deceased girl. I was taking inspiration, she seethed. Aren't those designs better off seeing the light of fame than being stuck in a piece of paper? If Marinette were alive, she should be thanking her.

Sharp trills from her doorbell snapped her out of her stupor. Quickly, she told herself to calm down and let the issues pass—people move on from one intriguing gossip to another in no time anyway. She glided over to her door and opened it up, expecting to see her assistant to greet her.

But instead, a tall blonde man was on the other side of the door.

"Adrien!" The smile froze on her face, albeit also showing slight surprise. "When I said I wanted to meet you, I was expecting to go to your place or something."

"I thought I should come to you instead, so I don't need to see your face ever again." His voice was devoid of any warmth, eyes lacking their usual shine. In fact, it was the coldest Adrien had ever been in front of her, as he clearly didn't bother to hide his disdain.

Lila snorted. "How nice of you. Won't you come in?"

Adrien actually stepped into the place, but only by the living room. Out of obligation, Lila headed into the kitchenette to open up the cupboards and look for something to serve him. "Want anything to drink? Eat?" She hummed. "I think I still have cheesecake cups from an influencer friend of mine . . . or oolong tea?"

"I don't want anything. I'm not planning on staying long."

"You look well." She tilted her head. "We didn't even get to talk much in the reunion. It feels like you were avoiding me."

"I was, in fact."

Lila paused, and looked at him with narrowed eyes. Can't we play pleasantries just for a while, Agreste? "Fine." Her lip curled as she neared him. "You don't want to talk like mature adults, I get it. I'll go straight to the point. Are you behind all those rumors?"

"No," Adrien replied coolly. "If it were me, if I were trying to protect Marinette's designs, don't you think I would've done that a long time ago?" A ghost smile flickered on his lips. "But I do think it's well-deserved for you. Your current silence means you've been put into your place."

"'Put into my place'?" Lila echoed. Maybe it isn't you, or maybe it is and you've just been waiting for the right time to strike. "Those posts are ruining the reputation of my brand! They're baseless rumors trying to make me look bad!"

"How are they baseless when you've clearly tried to rip off Marinette's creations and even designs from small businesses?" Adrien asked.

She scoffed, "Now you're insulting me just because you're back from that hiatus of yours? Look, I've built my company with my own hard work and talent. I get that you're hurt about Marinette's death but I don't deserve this for my petty lies in collège and lycée. They were white lies! I was trying to make friends. Why do you think our class ended up being so close after these years?"

Lila could see the enclosed rage in Adrien's eyes, one with a fire that burned as strong as the one setting off inside her, but he didn't act on it. His tone was calm and unwavering, albeit holding a silent venomous undertone. "You can't call your lies petty if they've hurt someone badly. You didn't make the class so enamored with you—you trapped them and manipulated them that they have no choice but to play along if they didn't want to be dragged to hell with you."

She put herself closer to him, looking him in the eye. Why did Gabriel have to go so soon? Why couldn't you have stayed obedient like you had all those years?

"That's bold coming from you," she whispered, breath touching his skin. He flinched a little. "You and I both know Gabriel would've entrusted his company to me, if you weren't already written out in his will."

She slid a hand up his chest, then to his shoulder, and down his arm. "I don't think the company is even holding up right now. When's the last time it had a show? What was the last design you released—"

"—Don't touch me—"

Her hand cupped his cheek lightly, but when he moved away, she grasped his forearms instead. "If you're smart, you'll realize you can't handle it alone. You need me, you need his protégé. My company can partner up with yours and you'll be back on your feet in no time."

But Adrien pulled away again, more forcefully this time, and glowered at her. "I think it's the other way around—it's you who needs me. If you can get me on your side, you have another celebrity backing you up, or you can divert attention from the scandals with another partnership."

Lila clenched her jaw, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning in to give him a saccharine smile. "Unfortunately, I don't stoop that low. If you don't want us to help each other, that's your loss." She ran a hand through her long hair. "Your father's company will go bankrupt, and Lilia Designs will be the new top fashion brand."

Calm down, she told herself. Although Adrien wasn't an option to be a pawn anymore, it wasn't that big of a deal. She just wanted to feel a little bit of satisfaction if she could put him under her thumb, see him helpless and compliant. But I can't lose my nerve here. If I lash out, I lose. I just need to be the bigger person.

"That's quite confident of you, Lila," Adrien said forebodingly. "We'll see, I suppose."

***

"There's one more thing we want to ask. Felix Fathom—was he related in any way to the case?"

"My cousin? What makes you think so?"

He saw some hint of hesitance on Tim's face. "He had trips back and forth from London to Paris at that time."

"He was helping take care of me after Marinette died while juggling his responsibilities at home." He shrugged. "Technically, I had no family anymore, aside from him and my aunt."

"Is there any way we can talk to him?"

He paused for a few beats, thinking it over. Then he replied: "I can put in a word for you, but I can't guarantee that he'll be available. His schedule's pretty tight nowadays."

He slammed the car door shut as soon as he got onto the seat. That woman's touch was still ghosting on his arms, making his skin crawl. His stomach was a gurgling pit of nausea and his jaw was clenched tight. Was that how Lila acted this whole time?

He kept himself from shivering while starting up the car. It had been a while since he adopted an alter ego, and still, he was yet to fully understand his cousin. Even as he donned Adrien's clothes, and messed up his hair to match the unkempt style, he felt like an impostor in his own skin. Ever since he appeared in the class reunion a couple weeks ago, a voice would nag at him telling him that he was a fake.

Adrien wore many masks, more than what Felix could bear to put on.

And now, Felix finally knew how much Lila had tormented Adrien. Disgusting. She's disgusting. His hands tightened around the steering wheel as he drove. He went through all of that, under the clutches of that vile woman.

But he knew he was the one who chose to be put in that situation. The job is done . . . the recorder is working and the camera was in place. He took a deep breath. Everyone will finally know her true colors.

Everything was slowly coming into fruition, but it wasn't over until Lila met her downfall.

Felix drove around for a few minutes just to make sure no one was tailing him. Then, he sped up and headed for the outskirts of Paris, in an isolated apartment building. He shrugged off his jacket after parking the car, and reached the top floor just as the first drizzle drops of an incoming storm pattered on the windows.

When he opened the door, he found an occupant inside already.

"How was it?"

Felix ran a hand through his hair, idly shutting the door. "Don't give me that look. It went fine."

"It's a live feed, Felix, I saw you." Marinette spun on her chair, following his figure with a disapproving stare. "I saw everything."

Felix tugged at his collar. "It was fine, it was my idea and my decision." Even if I hated her hands on me. "We got the video and it'll smear her reputation if the accusations on her haven't already."

He peeked at the computer where she had just been working, looking to change the subject. "What's that?"

Marinette sighed as she turned back to the screen. "Other testimonies popping up about Lila copying other designs. Turns out it's not only clothes—even accessories and jewelry too."

Figures, he thought. She can never be original. "Well, she got awfully greedy."

"I don't understand her sometimes," the bluenette murmured, "I saw her cry real tears at my funeral, and yet here she is, stealing from the deceased on purpose."

Felix poured himself a glass of water to dispel the sour taste in his tongue. "It's because she thinks she's not doing anything wrong."

He watched as she switched to the second screen, one displaying a high-security website with a sleek modern design. Big letters spelled out the brand: Mira Designs. A few months back, he had argued with her that a new branding could give her away because of the similarity to her former designs. But Marinette had firmly promised that that wouldn't be the case.

And that became the truth: 'Mira's' designs were different, better even, mirroring a rebirth in Marinette's creativity following the new life she'd made for herself. Lila's company paled in comparison, and Mira Designs had gained traction in such a short span of time. Although Felix wasn't an expert in fashion, he could see that Marinette was on her way to become a celebrity in the fashion world. But the appeal point in her company was that the designer herself remained mysteriously anonymous.

"We'll be hitting our quota by the end of the week." Marinette showed him the current numbers. "And you said you didn't believe in my designing abilities."

"I didn't say that." Felix rolled his eyes.

"You implied it." An amused smile tugged at her lips.

"You wouldn't be making these sales without my business expertise."

"Oh, right, yes I'm sorry Mr. Fathom, I must get on my knees and thank you for your help."

Felix snorted and grabbed his things again. He was reaching for the doorknob when Marinette stopped him.

"Where are you going?"

"Out. I need some air," he lied.

Of course she wouldn't buy that. She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going out to visit Adrien," he finally said truthfully. "Just fix up dinner for yourself. I might come back late."

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