#Nino disagrees

[rosie-b]

True Blue

Chapter 9: Fight and Flight

6534 words

“Aww, we forgive you too, Bluebird,” Golden Bug said affectionately. “By the way, do you have a name picked out? Not your real one, of course,” he chuckled.

“Uh.” Marinette’s mind raced as she thought. She wasn’t prepared for this! She’d only gotten this Miraculous half an hour ago! “Blue...wing?”

Golden Bug blinked and then smiled. “Bluewing! A pretty name for a pretty hero. Welcome to the team!”

You can read the chapter below or on AO3!

Marinette stood in the light of the attic window, staring in awe at the blue material stretching over her body to cover it.  

A flash of gold on her shoulders caught her eye as two epaulettes appeared on her shoulders; blue-purple-gold feathers grew and spread into a fan in her right hand; she felt herself rise off the floor as a pair of winged heels formed on her feet. A surge of fabric flared out behind her, creating peacock-like shirttails, and above her head, her hair twisted itself into a crown braid. As the transformation ended, a thin, blue mask rimmed in gold spread across her face.  

Feeling oddly in awe of herself, Marinette snapped her fan closed, examined the white gloves on her hands, and cautiously spun around on her heels, which were higher than she was used to yet didn’t seem to make her clumsier than usual. 

Magic is pretty cool, Marinette thought as she faced M. Agreste with a neutral expression as she waited for his judgment. 

He smirked as he looked over her suit, satisfied with the results of her and Duusu’s work.  

“Excellent choice, Marinette! This is a true soldier’s uniform, perfect for fighting in, and it disguises your civilian appearance just enough that Golden Bug will never guess who you are. You look almost ready,” he mused. “I wonder — would you be willing to give the suit a test run? You’ve been late for lessons before; just tell Nathalie you fell asleep in a corner somewhere and she won’t suspect a thing. Oh, yes, this will do nicely!” 

He sounded very excited about this, both Marinette’s successful transformation and the prospect of another akuma attack. But why? Surely he couldn’t expect her to win the final battle on her first day as a magic wielder! 

“Why would I need to do that?” she asked him, trepidation clear in her voice. “If I detransform now, I could still be back downstairs in time for afternoon lessons, and we can always do whatever you’re thinking of later, right?” 

M. Agreste only smiled, a bit darker this time, and adjusted his ascot. “We could do that. But wouldn’t you like to test the suit out a bit first, before you return to those dreary lessons of yours? It’s still possible that the suit won’t work for you, after all.”

Marinette glanced down at the fan she was holding and frowned. True, the suit was a little unfamiliar, but it had been made for her, and she could already tell that it fit perfectly. 

Gabriel continued, “I’m proposing an akumatization, just a short one, mind you! You won’t be engaging the so-called heroes; you’ll only be looking on from the sidelines. I want you to test yourself beside them as they fight; run as fast as they do, leap between buildings, push yourself further than you’ve ever been able to. And you will find it all possible, thanks to your suit’s power! Once the fight is over, you will return to the mansion, detransform, and go back to your lessons as if nothing had happened until the time comes for your first real fight. Are you up to the task, Miss Marinette?” 

Looking at M. Agreste’s determined expression, Marinette felt herself begin to cave. “I guess I could try doing that, but isn’t it more important for me to keep up with my lessons? I was already late enough this morning that I missed one; should we really risk me missing a whole other lesson in the same day?” 

Tugging his ascot off, M. Agreste made a dismissive noise in the back of his throat. “Bah! You are already far ahead of the other students your age, Marinette. One missed lesson will not harm your progress. Nooroo, dark wings rise!” 

Hawk Moth strode over to the window and opened a small panel in it, the one the akuma had flown through in the last fight. 

“I will send the akuma out first, and then it will be your turn to go outside.” At Marinette’s bewildered look, he said, “The side door should let you out without any problems or spying eyes. Ready yourself,” he said, opening the top of his staff, which housed a ready-made akuma. 

A pit grew in her stomach as Marinette watched the akuma fly toward the window. She wasn’t ready to fight anyone, not yet! 

Then again, if M. Agreste wasn’t lying, she wouldn’t have to fight this time. She waited for Hawk Moth’s signal to go downstairs with her knees slightly bent. 

“Go, my beautiful akuma,” Hawk Moth said softly. As the butterfly flapped its way through Paris, he turned to Marinette. “Nathalie should be busy; you may go downstairs and outside. Follow the akuma’s path to the park near your home; that is where the fight will begin. Be careful not to be spotted by Nathalie or the heroes.” 

“I will. Wish me luck.” Marinette laughed breathlessly, because luck was against her now, wasn’t he? 

Hawk Moth’s mouth curved into a confident smile. “You will not need it.”  

He turned away from Marinette, back to the butterfly-shaped window and the dark akuma in the distance. 

Marinette stepped into the elevator, letting its doors close around her like a coffin’s lid. It began its slow descent to the ground floor, and Marinette’s mouth flattened as she prepared for her (hopefully quick enough) dash through the side door. That’s the one the chef uses, right? she thought frantically. Yeah, okay, I know where that is.  

The elevator opened, and she immediately ran to the side door; her heels caught on the rug and moved it out of place as she skidded to a halt and pulled the door open. The handle nearly broke off in her hand, a testament to the strength she’d suddenly gained. Behind her, the rug was still a rumpled mess a foot from the door. I’ll fix it later, she promised herself as she stepped outside and took a deep breath. 

Now, to find the akuma. With few other options, Marinette decided to start running towards Place des Vosges. She was much faster than her untransformed self, she reasoned, so how long could it take? 

Not all that long, apparently! But she nearly plowed into seven buildings, two statues, and three children on the way there. I’ll do better next time, Marinette thought with a firm nod as she came close enough to the park to see the transformed akuma in it. 

He looked nothing like the others. For one thing, he was the ugliest akuma to date; for another, his bright, happy exterior did nothing to prepare for the dark powers he held (which also seemed ironically harmless at first). 

Standing on one of the park benches, the Bubbler waved his wand, trapping three pairs of adults in large bubbles and sending them flying up to the clouds. Marinette’s mouth fell open, and she shrank back behind a nearby building’s corner as if to protect herself from the ghastly akuma, who was cackling in a voice which seemed too familiar for comfort. 

“Ahahaha! Hard to ruin kids’ fun from space, isn’t it? Hey, Paris! Come on, it’s time to party! No chores, no homework, no more nagging, just fun, fun, fun, fun! This is the Bubbler's gift to you.” The Bubbler jumped off the bench and strode over in the direction of François-Dupont. As he did so, he called out, “Adrien! Where are you, dude?” 

Marinette’s face softened as her heart gave a little twinge. “Oh, Nino,” she whispered. “What happened to you?” How had someone made laid-back Nino upset enough to be akumatized? 

Whatever it was, it wasn’t Adrien’s fault, Marinette knew. But before she could try to figure out what had happened, Chat Grise vaulted into the park and confronted the akuma.

She stood there silently at first, waiting for her partner to show up and for the Bubbler to show signs of discomfort. Being stared down by the holder of destruction was enough to crack some akumas; Marinette had seen one or two falter back when she still cheered for every win the heroes scored. 

She couldn’t do that now, though. Today, she was officially joining the enemy side (the right side, not that the heroes seemed to know that). Should she do something to break up the tension and help Nino focus on his goal? 

While she was still thinking, the Bubbler brought his wand out again and shot bubbles in Chat Grise’s direction with a smirk and a laugh. Chat Grise leapt out of the way, slashing one of the bubbles with her claws but backing away when the thin membrane started to pull her hand in instead of popping like she’d expected it to. 

“Come on dude, can’t you see I’m busy?” Nino the Bubbler called in annoyance. “I need to throw my best friend a belated birthday party, to show him I might not have known, but I still care! Why don’t you join in on the fun instead of squashing it?” 

His best friend? Marinette had once held that title, though they’d grown apart in recent years. She felt a stab of guilt as Chat Grise snarled and muttered something at the Bubbler.  

As the two fought, Golden Bug arrived from the other side of the park, dangerously close to Marinette’s hiding spot. She crept back into the alley, flattening herself against a doorway and hoping none of them could see her.

“Hey, ugly! Not to bust your bubble, but if you care so much about giving your friend a birthday party, why do adults seem to take priority in your grand plan?” 

The Bubbler turned to Golden Bug with a deep frown on his blue face. “You guys just don’t get it! If adults have their way, there will be no party at all! Men like Gabriel Agreste don’t care about us kids. We need to throw them all out!” 

Marinette winced. Why had Hawk Moth chosen someone who hated him as his akuma? She couldn’t see this fight ending well. Also, when had Adrien gotten a new friend without telling her? 

“Maybe—” Golden Bug said as he ducked and jumped and rolled to avoid the bubbles the akuma shot at him, “Maybe you should just try finding a different way to celebrate! I’m sure Adrien appreciates that you care so much about him, believe me, but do you really want to get rid of his father, whom I’m sure he still loves even if he is strict?” 

The Bubbler lowered his brows and dipped his bubble wand into the mixture on his back. “Maybe he does, but dear ol’ Gabe still deserves his just reward!” He spun the wand in a circle, spreading bubbles out over the park and making it harder for the heroes to dodge them. 

Marinette’s heart seized, but she wasn’t there to save the city’s golden duo from a problem that they had made.  

Instead, she tried her best to mimic the flips, twists, and quick reflexes of the heroes from her place in the alley, counting on them being too busy evading the bubbles to notice her.  

As she tried, sometimes succeeding and sometimes failing, to imitate them, her mind strayed to the adults Bubbler had sent up to space. What would happen if they never came back down, if Hawk Moth did end up winning this time? Would they die? Surely M. Agreste wouldn’t let that happen! 

So distracted was she by her thoughts that she didn’t notice the fight moving to her.  

A large bubble bounced around the corner, swatted by Chat Grise’s baton as she and Golden Bug pressed the Bubbler backwards. Noticing it, Marinette gulped and hurried further down the street, but it was too late.  

The Bubbler saw her first, lowering his wand and frowning in confusion as Hawk Moth’s symbol appeared over his eyes. Chat and Golden Bug saw her next, both skidding to a halt as they looked over her outfit. 

“You’re not Hawk Moth, are you?” Golden Bug asked, spinning his yo-yo in a defensive shield. 

Marinette opened and closed her fan, stuttering as she tried to come up with an excuse. “Feathered me— I’m a bird—”  

As Chat Grise lowered herself into an offensive stance, Marinette inhaled sharply. She wasn’t supposed to be seen today! She was failing already! Taking a slower breath, she lowered her fan and tried again. 

“I’m bird-themed. Hawk Moth is butterfly-themed. I think the answer is obvious, right?” 

Chat Grise straightened out her crouch with a frown. “Why are you hiding, then?” she asked quietly, her voice full of fire as she eyed Marinette warily.  

“Yeah, you’re not exactly sending a clear signal here. I’d make it more obvious which side you’re on in the feather .” 

Chat Grise looked questioningly at her partner. “The future?” 

Golden Bug crossed his arms and ducked under the bubble the akuma half-heartedly threw his way. “It wasn’t my best, I’ll admit it. It’s hard to beak-lieve, but puns are hard to come up with on the spot!”  

Marinette sighed in unison with Chat Grise. “That was painful,” she said disapprovingly. Then she flashed Golden Bug an apologetic smile. Maybe if she pretended to be friendly for now, she could get out of this without needing to fight two trained heroes? 

“Hmph,” the Bubbler sniffed as he looked at the trio. Then he raised his bubble wand and directed a large bubble straight towards Marinette. 

She could only watch in horror as the bubble drew closer, but the heroes had more presence of mind. Charging towards her from opposite directions, they attempted to move her out of the way... but instead, they wound up colliding in a tangled mess of super-powered teens caught in the bubble, which quickly shot upwards with all three of them squished inside. 

Chat Grise was the first to move. “Ugh,” she muttered, scooting back from the others as much as she could to give them some space to untangle themselves. Golden Bug raised his head from Marinette’s lap, where it had landed, and pushed himself up with a groan. 

“That did not go the way I thought it would,” he said, flashing Marinette an apologetic smile with honest green eyes that made her heart flutter in a way she’d never felt before. “Sorry, I promise we’re not usually this inept. Meeting you was a surprise, and I should’ve accounted for that, but I let us get trapped instead. You have every right to mad at me, but I promise, I will find a way out of this!” 

“He usually does,” Chat Grise said with a small smile. “I— I’m sorry for earlier. I shouldn’t have assumed,” she said quietly.  

Marinette blinked as she sat up in the bubble, ignoring the way her leg brushed against Golden Bug’s and the way her stomach seemed to fill with butterflies because of it. 

“I forgive you,” she said quickly. “I shouldn’t have hung back like that; it did make me look suspicious, even though— I would never want to hurt you,” she said, swallowing down the pit that grew in her throat. It wasn’t a lie, was it? 

“Aww, we forgive you too, Bluebird,” Golden Bug said affectionately. “By the way, do you have a name picked out? Not your real one, of course,” he chuckled. 

“Uh.” Marinette’s mind raced as she thought. She wasn’t prepared for this! She’d only gotten this Miraculous half an hour ago! “Blue...wing?” 

Golden Bug blinked and then smiled. “Bluewing! A pretty name for a pretty hero. Welcome to the team!” 

Chat Grise nodded and offered her own quiet, “Welcome!” 

Marinette blushed at all the attention as Golden Bug grabbed her hand closest to him and raised it to his lips for a kiss which did nothing to calm the fire in her cheeks. 

“Guh,” she said as her heart stuttered out a disloyal rhythm. She turned her head away but panicked when she noticed that the bubble had reached the bottom of a cloud. “Gah!”

Pointing out the bubble, she grabbed Golden Bug’s head and directed his eyes outside, where clouds seemed to part around them as they went higher. 

“Oh, no! Chat Grise, use your cataclysm now! We’ll figure the rest out on the way down!” Golden Bug cried. 

“Cataclysm!” As soon as Chat Grise’s fist touched the bubble, it collapsed, sending the three teens downwards in a dizzying spiral. 

“Lucky Charm!” Golden Bug cried desperately. A leaf blower dropped beside him, and he clutched it to his chest.  

“Oh, that solves everything,” Bluewing muttered. At Golden Bug’s wounded look, she quickly amended, “I mean, I’m sure you’ll figure it out!” She offered him a thumbs up with a wavery smile made wavier by the wind. 

He wasn’t looking, already busy trying to find a safe way to land. They were nearing the tops of the buildings. Privately, Marinette was giving up hope and kissing her dreams of getting back to class goodbye. Not that she loved school, but anything was better than dying in her opinion! 

Golden Bug threw his yo-yo far away, managing to wrap it around the Eiffel tower. Before the line tightened, he turned to Chat Grise and Bluewing and yelled, “Hold on to me!” 

Hesitating for only a moment, Bluewing grabbed onto his right side while Chat Grise latched on to his left. Then they were swinging full tilt towards the Eiffel tower, circling it in an orbit that was steadily growing smaller and closer to the tower. 

“Chat Grise, your baton!” 

Pulling back, Chat Grise took her baton out and quickly extended it to the ground. She held on to it tightly, and as Golden Bug released the yo-yo from around the tower’s metal beam, all three of them slid-tumbled down the baton to the ground, where they landed in a heap of bruised, but alive, super-powered teens. 

Marinette could hardly believe she was alive. 

There was a weed growing in the cement a few inches from her nose. She loved it more than she’d ever loved a plant before. 

On either side of her, Golden Bug and Chat Grise were already pushing themselves up and getting ready to get back to the fight. 

“I think I know what my Lucky Charm is for now!” Golden Bug said excitedly as he pushed his bangs out of his eyes and turned to Chat Grise and Bluewing. “But you’ll both have to help.” 

He stopped and smiled, revealing the dimples in his cheeks, when he noticed Bluewing was still on the ground. 

“Need a hand, Miss Blue?” 

Bluewing stared at him as he extended the aforementioned hand. How could someone so irritatingly stubborn, who she was supposed to be fighting against, be this unbelievably cute? It wasn’t fair! 

“T-thank you,” she stuttered as she reluctantly accepted his help up. 

He pulled her to her feet with a smile and a wink as he turned to the east side of the tower, where the polychromatic Bubbler was approaching them with a pout on his lips. 

“Dudes! What is it gonna take for you to learn your lesson, huh? Leave me and my buddies alone!” 

He launched another flurry of bubbles at them, but these ones didn’t seem to be the trapping-you-and-sending-you-to-space type. No, Marinette realized as a nearby lamppost went down in flames, these bubbles were the exploding type! 

Bluewing flinched as one of the bubbles glided towards her, but Chat Grise knocked it aside with her retrieved baton. It exploded harmlessly a few meters away, and Bluewing let out a sigh of relief before immediately feeling guilty. 

Bubbler glared at Bluewing before sending another volley of bubbles towards them. This time, Golden Bug jumped in front of her, turning on the leaf blower and redirecting every last bubble from the trio. Marinette stared at his back and the muscles there and wished for this battle to just end so she could go home already. She didn’t care who won this round. She just wanted to get away from the danger bubbles! 

One tiny bubble escaped Golden Bug’s notice and drifted over in front of Marinette. The Bubbler’s face appeared on it, and she jumped. 

“Dude,” the Bubbler said in a complaining tone, “Why are you just standing there? Hawk Moth told me you’re on our side!” 

As one, Golden Bug and Chat Grise turned around and stared at Bluewing. 

A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. 

“Uhhh,” she said intelligently as she pulled out her fan and half-heartedly fanned the bubble with Nino’s distorted face on it a few millimeters away. 

“Dude, are you trying to hide it? Uncool. Totally uncool.” 

“I-I, Hawk Moth said I didn’t have to fight this time,” Bluewing protested, throwing her hands in the air. 

Chat Grise gritted her teeth and looked away. 

“I have to agree with you, Bubbler,” Golden Bug said, his face showing an unexpected level of hurt and betrayal for someone she’d supposedly just met. “This is totally uncool. Why would you pretend to be on our side? Just to get the upper hand?” 

“Maybe she’s afraid to fight us,” Chat Grise hissed. “I wouldn’t blame her.” 

While the Bubbler started babbling on about loyalty and presents for rich, repressed teen boys, Chat Grise tossed her baton towards his bubble wand, knocking it out of his hand. She grabbed it before the akuma could and threw it over to Golden Bug, who caught it without looking and broke it while he was still looking at Bluewing, waiting for her answer. 

Well, it didn’t seem like there was any way for her to get out of this confrontation. 

Just then, Golden Bug’s earrings started beeping, and he distractedly touched one of them while he caught and purified the akuma with the other hand. 

“Bubbler was right,” Bluewing said quietly. “I am on Hawk Moth’s side. But I didn’t lie earlier. I don’t want to fight you. But next time I see you, we will be getting physical!” 

Golden Bug raised one eyebrow. Marinette went over her words in her head and slowly turned a shade of red previously unknown to humankind. 

“How forward of you,” Golden Bug said drily. “I hope that day will never come. Look, do the right thing, Bluewing! Hawk Moth is a cold-hearted villain. I hope you realize that, and leave him.” 

With that, he and Chat Grise took off, leaving the scene before Nino finished piecing together what had happened. 

“Was I akumatized?” he asked, looking up blearily at Marinette through tilted glasses. 

She bent down and straightened them for him. 

“You were,” she said. “But Golden Bug and Chat Grise won again.” 

And M. Agreste is probably furious with me.  

Marinette sighed and turned to go, ignoring Nino’s confused questions as she started the long walk home. Or the short run. Or however long it would be by rooftop. 

She kind of wished she had a yo-yo or a baton right now. 

Halfway to the mansion, she traded the streets for the rooftops. There were too many people staring at her; they clutched their purses or their children and looked at her in fear. 

Alya must have caught the end of the fight and posted it on her blog. 

Up on top of the roofs, there weren’t any more people to stare at and judge Marinette for her choice of who to back. (It was the right choice! They just didn’t know the facts, like she did!) 

Bluewing sighed and rolled her neck and shoulders back, stretching out the taut muscles there. Then she glanced around the rooftop, just in case someone had seen where she went and climbed up to confront her.  

There wasn’t anyone there. 

But on the other side of the street, larger than life and staring straight at her, was a jumbo-sized billboard of Adrien. 

It was just an ad for Gabriel’s winter collection. But it felt like something more than that to Marinette. 

You let me down, Adrien seemed to say to her with his eyes. You pretended to be friends with the heroes. You could’ve taken their Miraculous while you were in the bubble with them, but you didn’t even try to fight! Don’t you care about the mission? Don’t you care about me ?  

Marinette forced herself to turn away from the billboard. It wasn’t her fault she hadn’t fought today! She wasn’t ready! M. Agreste was supposed to teach her first! 

But Adrien’s eyes seemed to follow her as she leapt away to the next rooftop. 

The rest of the trip back to the mansion seemed to take forever. 

Nathalie was waiting for her when she got back. 

Arms crossed, she stood at the side door, tapping her heel on the floor beside the rumpled rug and frowning. M. Agreste stood beside her, looking surprised, cross, and just as pouty as the Bubbler had been. 

“Marinette, I presume. There’s no need to deny it; your absence at the start of afternoon lessons just as a new ‘hero’ appeared clued me in, and the security tapes told me the rest.” 

“Ms. Sancoeur, I—” 

“There’s no need to apologize. I know who the mastermind around here is,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she turned to face the problem. “Gabriel, how could you put her in so much danger? You know she’s just a teenager, like your son! How can you expect to have her take over the company one day if she’s dying from the Peacock’s poison? For once, ask me about your harebrained plans before putting them into action!” 

M. Agreste frowned and tugged at his ascot. “She isn’t going to die, Nathalie. She’s already taking the medicine for the poison.”

Nathalie stared at him like he was an idiot. “The medicine which couldn’t save your wife? All it does is lessen the symptoms! It isn’t a cure, not by any stretch of the imagination! This ends today. Take off the brooch,” she ordered Marinette. 

“Wait,” M. Agreste said, grabbing Marinette’s hand as she reached up to unpin the Miraculous. “Wait. We know there is a cure, Nathalie. We have the grimoire; we can decode it and put together a solution. In the meantime, the medicine will work to keep the worst effects at bay. Honestly, Nathalie, try to have some faith in me!” 

Marinette blinked. “There’s a grimoire?” 

Nathalie’s lips tightened. “The grimoire of the Miraculous is also in the safe you discovered. But it’s written in a long-dead, ancient language, and in code, on top of that. You should not count on it to solve your problems.” 

“And you shouldn’t blame M. Agreste for my putting on the brooch! What happened today was my idea. Mostly.” 

“M. Agreste, is that true?” Nathalie asked him with an accusing glare. 

“As true as my love for Emilie,” he replied smoothly. 

Nathalie adjusted her glasses. “Right. Well, this solves everything. No doubt we will have Golden Bug and Chat Grise’s Miraculous in no time, now that we have the help of yet another untrained teenager! You had better train her well before you send her out again, Gabriel. And you,” she said, turning on Marinette, “Be careful. Be far more careful than you think you need to be. Just because you are on the right side does not mean you are guaranteed success, or that you will even survive. If you need someone else to take over for you, to become the Peacock in your place, let me know. I won’t let it be said that any of those in my care died because I didn’t act to save them.” 

M. Agreste laughed. “I’m sure that won’t be necessary, Nathalie, although I thank you for the offer,” he said, clapping her on the back. “Now, why don’t we all head inside and let Marinette — or Bluewing, I suppose it is now — detransform and relax. She deserves a reward for her bravery today, no?”

Marinette hesitated. “Are you sure, sir? I didn’t even do anything. I was too afraid,” she admitted shamefully.  

“Oh, I don’t blame you,” M. Agreste said cheerfully. “It was my fault, anyway. I should have given you some basic lessons first before sending you out in the field. I won’t make the same mistake again. Now, what would you like to do to celebrate?”  

Marinette looked at Ms. Sancoeur, but she only sighed and shrugged in a way that suggested she went along with M. Agreste’s suggestion.  

“Well,” she said thoughtfully, “I think Adrien has fencing after school today, right?”  

“It’s his first match of the year, actually,” Nathalie informed her.  

“Right! And Nino was upset because his birthday had already passed, but he didn’t know about it. And now that I think about it, I found out about it too late to give him a gift; I only told him happy birthday and that was it. What if we go cheer him on? I want to make sure he knows we care about him. I’m doing this for him, after all, and I can’t tell him about that, but I can show my support in other ways, and I know he’d be so happy to see you there! What do you think?”  

Gabriel looked a bit surprised, and he checked his watch with a small frown. “That will take longer than I had planned on,” he began, but Ms. Sancoeur shot him a glare and he quailed. “Good idea. I will let the chauffeur know to have the car ready for us.”  

“Perfect. In the time between now and then, you and I can finally start on your afternoon lessons, Marinette,” Nathalie said. She kicked the rug into place as they walked inside, past the kitchen entrance and down the main hall.   

“Oh, and before you do anything else,” Gabriel said, as if he’d just remembered something. “You should hand over your brooch to me. I will keep it in a safe place for you when you do not need it, since wearing it outside of transformations would bring the side effects to you sooner. There we are,” he said as she unpinned the brooch and dropped it into his waiting palm. “I will see both of you in an hour.”  

Nathalie nodded. “Good. Now, come with me, Marinette. I’ve ordered some fresher medicine for you, and I think you should switch to taking it instead of the older pills from Emilie. Twice a day, now, or they won’t have a strong enough countereffect on the magic.” 

“Yes, Ms. Sancoeur,” Marinette said. “I’ll do my best to help you remember.” 

__*__*__*__*__ 

Adrien was a better fencer than Marinette had thought, though she didn’t know what she had expected. 

He fought his opponents with a fierce, fiery energy, like he was mad that they would even dare to face him, although he was always kind to the ones he defeated, which was all of them so far. 

“Such a good sportsman,” Gabriel remarked during one match when he wasn’t busy sketching a new design on the tablet he’d brought with him. 

“He makes the best of them look like amateurs,” Marinette marveled. Would she ever be as good at fighting as he was? Maybe he should have gotten the Peacock, not her. 

“That’s because he’s an Agreste,” Gabriel responded. “He can’t be anything but perfect.” 

Nathalie sat forward, a pinched expression on her face. 

“You care a lot about my son, don’t you?” Gabriel suddenly asked Marinette. 

She tilted her head. “Yes? I thought you knew that already.” 

Gabriel laughed. A few people glanced in their direction, including one person with a camera who might have been paparazzi, but he shot a glare back at them and they turned their attention away. 

“Of course, I know that. But what I mean is... you care for him. You love him, no?” 

“Like a brother,” Marinette responded immediately. She smiled and cheered as Adrien scored another point against a fighter in blue and white. 

“Like a— what?” Gabriel was staring at her like she’d grown two heads. 

She blushed. “Oh! Sorry, I don’t mean to assume we’re that close to each other. But he means a lot to me,” she said in a carefree manner. “I hope we’ll stay as friends forever.” 

“Yes, yes — very good friends,” Gabriel said, sounding a little strangled. He loosened his ascot around his throat. It was probably too tight for him. 

He touched the brooch under it lightly, quickly, so as to be discreet. 

Marinette raised her eyebrows and turned her attention back to the match. At her left, Nathalie was looking at her with a half-surprised, half-amused expression. 

“You were right, Gabriel,” she said, speaking around Marinette’s back, “They’re quite the pair; I think they’ll be friends forever. Another plan of yours going just swimmingly well!” 

“Hmph.” 

Gabriel sat back on the bleachers, clearly upset, but about what, Marinette didn’t know. She was too busy cheering on her best friend to waste time thinking about it. 

After the match finally ended, Adrien was announced as the overall winner, and went up to receive his gold medal. Marinette cheered louder than anyone in the stadium, and he smiled and blushed when he saw her in the audience. He raised the medal a little higher and stood a little straighter when he saw who was standing beside her, looking suitably impressed. 

Then he winked and pressed a kiss to the gold medal. Nathalie facepalmed, but Marinette laughed. Who knew Adrien could be so funny and carefree? She was happier than ever that she’d convinced Gabriel to let him go to public school and come see this match. It was clearly doing wonders for her friend. 

“Congratulations, Adrien!” she cheered when she finally got to see him after the ceremony, when he’d changed back into his usual clothes. He grinned when he saw her, and she pulled him into a hug without thinking. “You were great! I didn’t know you were so good at fencing!” 

“Thanks, Marinette! I’m glad you liked the show,” he said, pulling back from the hug with a light blush on his cheeks. “And thank you for convincing my father and Nathalie to come, too! I don’t know how you did it,” he marveled. 

Marinette smiled. “I think the Bubbler reminded us all that we should do more to show you how much we care about you. You’re one of the most important people in my life, Adrien! I don’t want you to forget it.” 

Adrien blushed deeper as Gabriel and Nathalie caught up to Marinette. They both looked a bit out of breath, bent over and nearly panting. 

“Congratulations, Adrien. Your hard work has been paying off,” Nathalie said once she’d straightened up. She discreetly bumped Gabriel with her elbow. 

“Ah, I mean, yes! You acted like a true Agreste out there. Keep it up,” he said stiffly. 

“He always does his best, doesn’t he? Don’t you think we should maybe, I don’t know, let him pick something as a prize for all his hard work?” Marinette asked, slinging her arm around Adrien’s back and pulling him close. What could she say, she was feeling daring today, and she was determined to make sure Adrien knew he was loved! Nino had had a point, after all. 

“I don’t know, I mean,” M. Agreste said as Nathalie elbowed him again, “Perhaps. What would you like, Adrien?” 

Adrien smiled down at Marinette, wrapping his arm around her in return. “I’d like some more free time to see Marinette, actually. I was talking to M. Dupain this morning, and he said he’d be willing to provide breakfast for both of us at his place if I get there a little earlier! And it would all be diet-appropriate, nothing too— uh, nothing unhealthy. If that’s alright with you, Marinette,” he said, looking into her eyes for approval. 

She smiled broadly. “I think that sounds great! I might have to wake up a little sooner than usual, though.” 

M. Agreste looked flabbergasted. “Are you sure? That’s what you want, breakfast with Marinette every day?”

Adrien’s grip tightened on her waist. “M-hm,” he said, still looking into her eyes with a fond smile. 

“I think we can arrange for that to happen,” Ms. Sancoeur said brusquely, tapping on her tablet. “Don’t you, M. Agreste?” 

“I suppose,” he said, looking closely at Marinette and Adrien. “That might work nicely. It could be just what we need, yes, let M. Dupain know that we’ll accept his offer!” 

“Gladly.” Nathalie typed something on her tablet as the Gorilla pulled up by the sidewalk outside to pick them up in the limousine. 

Gabriel and Nathalie both took their own row, while Adrien sat next to Marinette in the back. 

“So, did you see the news today?” he asked in a whisper, his eyes gleaming despite the darkness of the car. 

Marinette shifted uncomfortably. “Depends on which news you mean,” she whispered back.  

He didn’t know who Bluewing was fighting for, and he wasn't happy with her appearance. That was okay. She was protecting him, and it made sense for him to assume that she was a bad guy without the information he needed, that she was protecting him from. 

“The akuma. I can’t believe Hawk Moth picked up an ally!” His voice was strained. “I mean, who would pick his side? It’s obvious who the villain is! We were all so hopeful when we first saw Bluewing. She was so nice! And she turned out to be just another brainwashed sidekick! I can’t believe it,” he said, hurt lingering in every word. 

Marinette took a ragged breath. “Well, maybe she’ll turn out to be a nice person, after all,” she suggested. 

Adrien scoffed. “Maybe. If she turns on Hawk Moth and fights the real villain instead, but that seems unlikely to me. But hey, she was flirting with Golden Bug, right? Maybe his good looks will convince her to join the right side of the battle,” he said sarcastically.

He was joking, but Marinette’s cheeks turned red, and she looked away before he could notice. She would never leave Gabriel’s side just because a boy looked pretty! Even if she did think his butt looked cute, she would never betray Adrien like that, no matter how hot and funny and charming her enemy was! 

The silence became uncomfortable.

Marinette broke it. “Yeah, you could be right.”  

Outside, the wind tugged a flag to and fro on its pole. She watched it for a moment, then leaned her head against the car window and closed her eyes.  

“I think she has a crush on him.” She whispered it like a rancid secret, a rotten apple slowing poisoning the rest of her mind.  

She felt more miserable now than she could remember ever being before. The Peacock’s broken magic had nothing on the raw guilt and shame consuming her, eating away the last bit of happiness she’d felt watching Adrien fence. 

She had a crush on Golden Bug! On her enemy, who was a direct threat to the boy she’d promised to protect! 

What kind of a hero was she? 

#bluewing au #enemy au #this chapter features the Bubbler #but Adrien's birthday already happened while he was still being homeschooled. Marinette didn't know about it until too late to make a card #but she was extra nice to him all day #so he thought it was a very good birthday indeed : ) #Nino disagrees #rosie-b writing #kwami swap #ml fanfic #miraculous ladybug #ml leak free

[sunfoxfic]

Most important question you can ask about characters you're writing in a fanfic, regardless of what type of fanfic, is "would they be an earth pony, unicorn, or pegasus"

#alya: pegasus #shirogane: earth pony #loid: unicorn #anya: earth pony #yor: pegasus #adrien: mmmmmm i think unicorn but i could be sold on earth pony #marinette: pegasus? i think #felix: DEFINITELY unicorn #nino: earth pony #kaguya: im VERY torn but tempted to say earth pony #fujiwara: pegasus but maybe earth pony #ishigami: unicorn and if you disagree make your own post #i dont know why i made this post #rambles

[copdog1234]

Man, I was watching the movie and the entire time I was thinking "Wow. This would've been so much more satisfying in the show" because the show has earned it. The show's writing is far from perfect, it has many, many flaws, but my god is it far better than Miraculous Awakening will ever be. And I'll tell you why.

I will preface by saying, yes, an hour and a half movie has way less time than a TV show with several episodes to build up characters and relationships, so time constraints will make it so we may not get as much depth in the on-screen relationships.

You know what, though? The time they spent playing mediocre songs could've been used better to show us all the things the songs had to outright tell us. Cause that was the problem.

The movie sure liked telling us how the characters were feeling. It rarely showed it. Like could you tell me why movie Marinette liked Adrien? Because I couldn't. What did he do to earn her affection beside look pretty? Why did we only get a montage of them getting closer instead of actually seeing it? Or how we never really see much of Gabriel and Adrien's struggles with the loss of Emilie, we simply get glimpses. How am I supposed to feel anything when Gabriel stops being Hawk Moth when this movie showed us literally nothing of their strained relationship? And then there's Gabriel's claim that he did absolutely everything to get Emilie back. No he didn't. He did actually nothing. He freed a couple of criminals and then akumatized himself. That's it. That's all he did.

Could you tell me why Alya decided to befriend Marinette? Could you tell me why Adrien "who decided not to get close to anyone" was friends with Nino? Could you tell me why Chloe was so confident Adrien had any interest in her when they never actually interacted?

And then there wasnt enough explanation on how anything that we should've been told worked. Could anyone really tell me how these versions of the miraculous work? Or why Master Fu was in possession of them? Or why they really chose their holders? Could you tell me if the kwami had much personality and were necessary?

Like, I will say, there were funny moments, the animation was nice, and there were cool set pieces, but where was the substance?? It was nonexistent. If you don't watch the show, would you know or feel anything for what was going on in this movie?

Cause even for me, who does watch the show, I didn't.

Think about this. The show has even faked out multiple reveals to me and every time I was hyped and screaming, I have read fanfiction of these same to characters falling in love and confessing every which way and I've swooned, but we get reveals and love confessions that are real and permanent in this movie and I felt. Nothing.

It's okay if yall disagree with me, but I just needed to get this off my chest. I'm hard on this movie because I wanted it to be good because I love the characters and story from the show.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #miraculous #miraculous ladybug movie #miraculous movie #miraculous awakening #ml movie #ml awakening #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #gabriel agreste #chloe bourgeois #tikki #plagg #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #ml movie critique #ml movie analysis #copdog screams into the void #miraculous awakening spoilers #ml awakening spoilers

[mc-lukanette]

Marinette was just tired, staring down at the ice cream on the ground as Andre scrambled to get her another. A fun time with her friends to run around Paris and maybe get a chance with Adrien had turned into a spotlight of embarrassment for her. The "couple time" her friends had been planning on having was now ruined to focus entirely on her, when all she wanted now was curl up into a corner and cry.

She felt bitter, watching as the mess on the bridge started to melt. It was like some sort of metaphor for how her attempts and opportunities all failed or slipped through her grasp, slowly but surely.

Andre grabbed her wrist and practically forced a replacement ice cream cone into her hand, saying stuff about how the magic doesn't lie and he must've just gotten the colors wrong, but she honestly wasn't listening anymore. She was in her own head, wondering, What would've been the point anyway? It's not like Adrien was coming to see me.

She couldn't see any reality in which that was false. He would've come for his friends, or for the thrill of the search, or maybe even just to have some ice cream. Even if she'd managed to make it all work out and share with him, what were the odds of everything afterward working out? She'd try to say something romantic and would mess it up, or he'd misunderstand and brush it off as nothing, or she'd be bumped into again and send the ice cream right onto his expensive clothes.

She winced at the thought. Maybe him not showing up was just a blessing in disguise, saving her from the humiliation of doing anything and having it all go wrong.

Marinette didn't want to make a big deal out of it, refusing to risk ruining her friends' time further. She diverted her attention to the ice cream cone in her hand, noting the blue and pink colors that she suspected were her own. Maybe Andre had just truly given up on her and this was the sign that it was a lost cause?

Or maybe he just realized that there was no way Adrien was coming and tried to save himself.

She stepped aside from everyone and sat down at a bench, keeping her distance from the happy couples while she poked at the ice cream with her tiny spoon. Andre wasn't exactly wrong if her thoughts on his mindset were true. Adrien always seemed to be unavailable when it mattered, and if she wanted to let herself spiral a little more, it almost seemed intentional.

After all, wasn't it a little too convenient that Adrien had missed out on the preparation for the music festival - when it would've been easiest for her to talk to him - just to show up afterward? Or for Adrien to have gotten the okay to go for ice cream only to be suddenly unavailable? Perhaps it would've been easy to pass those off if it weren't for the fact that Nino so rarely complained about their time together, and Adrien's schedule had been magically free when it came to him setting Nino up with her.

If her suspicions were accurate, then either Adrien knew how she felt and was doing everything possible to avoid her, or he just generally found her uncomfortable to be around; maybe even thought she was weird. Part of her wanted to defend that, suggesting that saying nothing was the "nice" thing to do, but her history of crushing on him when she apparently had no chance would disagree with that. She would've saved herself a lot of time then.

She huffed to herself, scooping up a bit of her ice cream and resolving to eat her sorrows away instead. Faintly recalling Andre's comment about how the magic only works if you eat it, she shook her head in disbelief and thought with a bittersweet expression, If I need magic to make him come see me, then what's the point?

She had opened her mouth, ready to finally taste the sweet treat, when a voice called out, "Marinette?"

Marinette paused, looking towards the source. Luka was standing just at the end of the bridge, presumably having been walking by as he spotted her. She smiled, wordlessly inviting him over, and he returned it as he made his way towards her.

"What are you up to?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"I was just taking a walk to the Trocadéro," he replied, his casual tone assuring her that she wasn't delaying anything serious, "but then I heard your song and wanted to check."

She ducked her head shyly, using her ice cream as an excuse to look away from him. She finally ate a bit, letting the taste of blueberry melt into her mouth. Already, she was feeling a little better.

When she looked back up, Luka hadn't looked away from her. Their friends (if they were Luka's friends anyway; they might've only been Juleka's) were only a small distance away, as well as the ice cream stand, but he didn't seem inclined to leave even to go say "hi."

Smiling, Marinette used her spare hand to pat the spot on the bench next to her, not unlike when he invited her to sit on his bed. Luka didn't waste any time, happily taking a seat beside her.

Whether or not he knew the legend, she was certain that he must've seen both the couples as well as the ice cream they were sharing that was made exactly like hers. She felt grateful at the idea that he was intentionally not prodding, even if he might've been curious.

"Someone didn't show," she explained anyway, fidgeting with her cone, "but I also might've gotten ditched."

He frowned, a hand going to her shoulder in sympathy. "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head, appreciating but not needing the comment. "It's okay. It was never going to work out anyway."

She wondered for a second if she was just fooling herself, but Luka's smile assured her otherwise. If he believed her, she must've meant it.

"Still," Luka began as he leaned back, crossing his ankles before continuing, "in our band, Rose writes the lyrics and I'm in charge of the music. Jule and Ivan feel bad about it sometimes, but we're all putting in effort to make it come together, so we don't mind."

Marinette hummed, nodding as she took that in. She could understand that, of course, given that she'd put effort into just about everything she did, from gaming to fashion to romance.

She never got any effort returned for the latter, either because it all went bad before reaching its intended recipient or it didn't change anything. She still had to ask for Adrien's whereabouts and information when she wanted to know, she'd thought they'd bonded over a shared love of games yet he never mentioned it to her again, and in retrospect, despite her image of him as the kind prince locked away in a tower, he hadn't given her a hand or showed any concern when Chloe shoved her.

The one thing she could think of was the charm he'd given her on her birthday based on the charm that she'd given him - which was so often a defense she came up with in her head - only now she’d finally remembered that she had loaned it to him and he'd just held onto it, thus making the situation seem substantially less romantic. It also didn't escape her that her luck had somehow gotten worse since then, even it was just the universe personally spiting her. "Hey, I'm glad you like having my luck and everything, but can I have it back?" she asked the imaginary Adrien in her head.

Luka had the luxury for her of being an "outsider" to all of it. They'd only met recently, so his knowledge of her relationships was extremely limited. Had it been one of the girls instead, they probably would've asked before she'd even gotten the chance to bring it up.

This was nice. Luka was nice. She still felt bubbly thinking about his apology at the first sign she was upset by him, how his first instinct was to protect her from the akuma, and the way he asked about her first to Ladybug even after having safely hidden her away. It was entirely possible that it had nothing to do with her and that it was just how Luka cared for people, but she actually liked that thought more.

"...Oh," she uttered in realization, noting that she was sitting there with ice cream while Luka wasn't. She turned to him, ensuring that he could see the second spoon still stuck in the ice cream. "Do you want any?"

His gaze flickered from the ice cream to her, confirming that she meant her ice cream. She nodded and he happily took the second spoon, adding a soft, "Thanks. I don't know what you got, but I love the colors."

She beamed, admiring the way his black nails stuck out against the color of the spoon as he scooped some of the ice cream she'd yet to try. Even in his mannerisms, he was such a sweetheart—

Wait.

"Ah—Luka, stop!" Marinette hurried to say, reaching out but not quite touching his wrist. "That's Sweetheart's Ice Cream! Maybe we should get you a different one."

He stopped, blinking at her confusedly. She'd honestly thought he'd know what she was talking about without her having to explain, but he seemed truly clueless.

"Um..." She gestured at it with her free hand. "People go all over Paris looking for Andre so they can taste his Sweetheart's Ice Cream." She raised a finger as she made her point. "They say that if two people eat it together, they'll be together forever!"

Huh. It actually sounded a little ridiculous when she said it to someone who didn't know.

She forged on anyway, figuring that she might as well finish what she started, "I-I don't want to magically attach us together? Especially because you didn't know that and..." She pouted, unsure if it was okay to touch on the topic but adding, "I thought you might have a girlfriend already? Or a boyfriend?"

Luka's eyes left hers to look at the tiny bit of ice cream on his spoon. He turned it left and right like he was trying to spot what exactly made it so magic, but it looked blatantly like normal, plain ice cream.

Eventually, he shrugged, catching her free hand in his and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Thanks for looking out for me, Marinette, but I've never had anyone like that."

"Wh—really?" The shock of him knowing nothing of Sweetheart's Ice Cream paled in comparison to him never having had a partner. "So you're single?"

She'd asked out of sheer curiosity, but blushed when it became apparent how they sounded.

Luka, her savior from embarrassment, didn't even flinch and took it in stride. "Yeah." He looked back down at the ice cream, wondering aloud, "Do you believe in it?"

"Believe in...?" It took Marinette a second to remember what they'd been talking about. She followed his gaze to the ice cream, thinking the question over seriously. Could there actually be a magical solution to tie her to someone, or even just to help? Her parents had gotten together and thought fondly of their time with Sweetheart's Ice Cream, but did they actually believe in it? As Luka had asked, did she believe in it?

"...No. I don't think so," she sighed.

Funnily (or maybe tragically) enough, being Ladybug and getting exposed to the world's "magic" had made her more critical of the idea. "Magic" never actually solved any of her problems and often made them worse instead.

"I like what you said," she added with a self-conscious chuckle, "about effort. Sharing ice cream is nice, but there's no magic to it."

He nodded in agreement. "We don't have to worry then."

"Are you sure?" she continued to prod, though at this point it might not have been about the "magic" element anymore.

Instead of answering, he finally ate the ice cream that had been on his spoon, a pleased hum following at the taste. "Even if it was true, I wouldn't mind."

"You... wouldn't mind being tied to me?" she asked, her blush deepening. His directness was good - really, really good - because it left no room for her to misinterpret it, but she certainly wasn't used to it.

"Mhm." He confirmed it like it wasn't a big deal, but there was a warmth to his face that could've melted the ice cream on contact. "You're talented, amazing, and brave. Why wouldn't I?"

Marinette had experienced flirting before, but only under a mask. Even beyond Chat, there were a few people she'd saved who couldn't help but get a word in about how pretty she was or how awesome it was that she'd thrown the akuma into a web she'd fashioned out of her yoyo.

This was different though. He wasn't saying it to charm her, or gush about strength and dexterity she could only achieve after being powered up. He was just saying how he honestly felt without an ounce of exaggeration.

Shy, she attempted to take a bit more ice cream to give herself time to respond, but a bit turned to a lot when she mistakenly scooped too much. Trying not to laugh, she bit her bottom lip, almost in awe by how things had turned around after just a bit of introspection. She hadn't even realized how much was weighing her down until she let it all go.

"...Luka," she dared to call, throwing caution to the wind. When their gazes met, she held the spoon out to him encouragingly.

His lips parted for a moment - the first sign of throwing him off she'd gotten today - but like a puppy being offered a treat, he obediently leaned over and opened his mouth further to clamp down on the ice cream.

It did actually feel a little magic, but she was certain that it wasn't the legend's doing.

——

——

Marinette walked into her kitchen, letting her long hair down as she prepared to relax for the day. It was still strange getting used to having her own house, but not unwelcome, and one of the biggest pluses was that she didn't have to dig through her parents' weird dessert tastes in the freezer to get to what she wanted.

Pulling out two containers of ice cream at random - welcoming a little chaos in mixing the flavors - she set them on the counter and took out two bowls as well. Scooping an appropriate amount of the two flavors into them ("appropriate" for a lazy day anyway), she added one spoon in each before putting the containers back and taking the bowls out to the living room.

Luka, her boyfriend of almost five years, was skimming through a selection of movies on the couch to decide what they should watch. At the first sight of her though, he stopped, setting them down and welcoming her close.

She set her bowl down on the table, holding the other out to him and taking the time to give him a kiss on the forehead. He responded by pulling her down to kiss her chin, never one to leave a smooch unreturned.

Pulling back, she took in the sight of him holding ice cream and giggled. Unapologetically, she stated, "I guess that ice cream legend was right after all. You've already been stuck with me for years."

Luka raised a brow at her and smirked, catching the joke instantly. He held his arm out, allowing her to plop down next to him and snuggle against his side. "Mm, maybe I should've listened to you back then." Their lips met in a kiss as he blindly reached for the spoon in his bowl, scooping up some ice cream with it. "But you know what I said."

Marinette nodded, tucking her hair behind her earring-less ears before accepting the bite he fed her. "Mhm~" She took her time to savor the taste before swallowing, smiling contentedly as she responded, "I didn't mind being tied to you either."

#queuekanette #lukaneventte: No Context November #Flower Arrangement Shipping #Pro LukaMari #Lukanette #type: salt #episode: Glaciator #((Every episode where stuff like this happens to her my brain just jumps to)) #((okay but what if this was the one where she realized ''hey maybe the hand I was dealt kinda sucks?'')) #((I was going to say that this is nothing but self-indulgence but that's technically every Lukanette piece I write))

[kasienda]

Just An Ordinary Girl

A love square remix of A Friend Like That by @trainsinanime. Written for the @mlsquaredance. This fic was so much fun write. Do please read the original first. It makes this one more fun! Read on Ao3 ...

“We need to stay together!” Viperion called out. “Splitting up does not end well.” 

The sheer exhaustion in Viperion���s tone didn’t bode well either. Carapace didn’t want to know how many loops Viperion had gone through this go around especially considering it was his third time loop this battle.

Even from Carapace’s less than fifteen minutes of experience, this battle was awful. 

The akuma was like Miraculer - he could steal their powers. But he was worse because it could split into four clones of himself. 

“Okay then!” Chat Noir called. “Ryuko, Rena, and Carapace, protect our backs. Tigress and I will guard the gap! Viperion stays in the middle.” 

Carapace missed Ladybug. There was nothing wrong with Chat’s orders. Carapace didn’t disagree with any of his calls. This akuma just sucked. And Ladybug just had this insane creative genius for hare-brained schemes that seemed to be able to cut through anything. 

The akuma struck. Carapace narrowly yanked Rena Rouge aside and they both fell to the ground hard. His elbow took the majority of the impact, which hurt like a bitch, but he was glad it was him who took the brunt of it instead of her. And it worked. 

Except one of the other clones clipped him. 

A mud brown impenetrable dome manifested around all six of them immediately.

Purple Tigress punched it with her power. Nothing.

Cataclysm dissolved it, but it was immediately replaced with another. 

“Crap!”

That was one word for it. Carapace might have had a far less kid-friendly one ringing through his head. The six of them were getting their butts handed to them by this akuma.

Carapace took personal offense to the barrier that stood as a mockery of his own power. 

“Viperion?” Chat called. 

The snake hero shook his head. “We’re on loop number 1703. This is the best possible outcome. Trust me.”

Chat Noir winced. 

Carapace really missed Ladybug.

“I think we have to call Ladybug,” Rena Rouge said, turning toward Chat Noir. 

“No! We can’t!” Chat objected. 

Rena raised an eyebrow. “We can’t let the akuma win. We’re trapped.”

“She only asked for one weekend off! She deserves to have one weekend off! We can handle it.”

“I hate to break it to you, but we’re not handling it,” Ryuko added dryly. 

“We will not be calling Ladybug,” Chat declared firmly.

The other five of them exchanged a look. 

“We can get help from someone else!” Chat insisted.

“Like who?” Rena Rouge demanded. “You’d need someone who is willing to pull off crazy stunts, who is a tactical creative genius against so many, and someone who is not intimidated by akumas.”

“Marinette!” Chat exclaimed, his face lit up in excitement.

“How do you know Marinette?” Ryuko asked, her eyebrows furrowed together. 

“You think Marinette can do what six fully equipped superheroes couldn’t?!” Carapace asked. 

Rena’s eyes narrowed. “Why Marinette?”

“Are you kidding? Marinette could kick any one of our asses,” Chat said. “Marinette is the only person I know who has gone up against an akuma as a civilian.”

Seriously?! Did the cat have selective memory? But it wasn’t like Carapace could remind everyone that Nino had gone up against Anansi as a civilian.

Of course, he had lost, but that wasn’t the point. 

“You’re crazy,” he said instead, crossing his arms.

“I’m in.” Rena said. 

“What?!” Carapace turned to her in shock, feeling more than a bit betrayed. 

Viperion and Ryuko nodded in agreement as well.

Was everyone insane? He turned to Rena. “You’re going along with this? You’d throw Marinette—“ her best friend went unsaid, but Rena understood what he was saying. “—out there unsupported against an akuma?”

His girlfriend shrugged. She shrugged . “If Ladybug’s not an option. Marinette is the next best thing.”

Carapace stared at her incredulously.

Chat clapped his hands together, clearly pleased with this so-called solution. “I’ll call her!” 

“You have her number?” Carapace asked. What the actual fuck?

But obviously he did because he had the cat phone to his ear and it was audibly ringing. “Hey princess!” Chat greeted enthusiastically, turning away from the group like it was a private conversation. 

“Princess?” Carapace echoed. What kind of relationship did Chat Noir and Marinette have? 

“No.” Marinette’s firm voice echoed throughout the dome.

“I haven’t even asked for anything yet.” 

“The answer is still no! I only have twelve hours before this project is due. I cannot take a break.”

“But Paris needs you.”

“The answer is no. Call someone else! Call Ladybug!”

“No! Marinette! I can’t! Last week was terrible for her. I promised I could handle one weekend. She deserves and needs the time off. Plus, we don’t need her. I know you can do this. You can do anything . Remember Kwamibuster?”

Chat Noir spoke to Marinette like he was trying to sweet talk her. Carapace didn’t like it. Chat had always been flirtatious, and Marinette deserved someone loyal and sincere. 

Someone like Adrien.

“What do you expect me to do against an akuma without a miraculous?” Marinette asked. 

“Whatever it is you did against Evilustrator and Hack-san.” 

“I can’t do this. Not today.” 

Chat only grinned at her refusal. “You always say that, and then you do it anyway.” 

“What do I get out of this?”

“Your friends and family safe and sound, free to feel their own feelings and pursue their own dreams.”

Marinette groaned. “Chaaaat!” she whined. “You’re gonna owe me so much for this.”

“See you soon, Princess!” Chat sing-songed, and turned his attention back to the group. “She’s on her way.” 

As if that solved all their problems. 

“Shouldn’t we… I don’t know… come up with a back up plan?” Carapace asked. 

Purple Tigress looked at the other four expectantly, as if agreeing with him, but the others just exchanged glances and shrugged. They honestly thought Marinette was the solution. 

Carapace really hoped they were right. Marinette was amazing, but did that mean she could get through an akuma that Viperion had just spent who knew how many weeks fighting unsuccessfully across three time loops?

“You don’t need to worry so much,” Chat Noir assured, and it was galling that Chat Noir could read him so well. 

“How can you be so confident? Aren’t you worried about her at all?”

“Marinette would kick my ass into next Sunday if I worried about her. She can take care of herself, and she knows what she can handle and what she can’t. I’ve learned over and over again not to underestimate her. Kwamibuster was an akuma where Ladybug and I both lost our Kwamis, and therefore our transformations. Marinette pulled off a stunt the old Guardian thought was impossible with all the remaining miraculouses using the mouse to protect her own psyche. She was brilliant.”

“But she doesn’t have an entire box right now.”

“She doesn’t need an entire box. She defeated Hack-San without any powers at all. Her super power is in how she thinks!” 

Carapace held his hands up. “I know firsthand that she’s brilliant. I’m just scared for her too. That akuma handed our asses to us.” 

“She’s doing fine,” Rena commented, projecting a video from her flute into the air for all of them to see. 

Chat Noir flipped around the projected image, so he wouldn’t be seeing the mirror image like Nino from the back. 

“Some girl just took out an akuma with a trash can and a fire hydrant,” Chat read aloud. “She ran off before anyone could thank her.” 

In the video, Marinette hid in the trash can and when the akuma was overhead, she leapt out of her hiding place and tackled the clone onto the ground where the fire hydrant went off in its face. Marinette used the distraction to snatch the clone’s sash, and the thing dissolved underneath her. Then she was running away before the other three could grab her, her pigtails bobbing behind her. 

Chat’s expression was completely besotted. “The way she lured him in like that?! She’s just amazing!” Then he turned toward Carapace triumphantly like a proud boyfriend. “See! She just has this way of cutting to the right idea at the right time! I could watch her working on a problem or project for hours!”

Did Chat Noir realize how he sounded?

And it wasn’t fair because Nino was certain that Adrien was finally starting to realize that he was crushing hard on Marinette. 

What if Chat Noir got there first? 

“You think she’ll clear this up before sunset?” Purple Tigress asked.

“Why? Got somewhere else more important to be?” Viperion asked. 

“Well, not more important . But something I’d like to do, yes.” 

“A hot date?” Viperion teased. 

“What’s it to you?” Purple Tigress growled back. 

Viperion held his hands up in surrender. “Just teasing! You deserve to get to go on your date. Hopefully Marinette pulls through. She usually does.”

“I never said it was a date,” Tigress muttered. But clearly it was. 

“I have another Marinette update,” Rena announced, playing another video from the Ladyblog’s fan submission page. 

“This girl is insane!” the narrator exclaimed, his camera flashing toward two bungie cables dangling from the overhead railing with two suitcases attached on either end. “She set up a pulley system with two guys’ luggage and a plastic bag to set a trap for a friggin’ akuma and she won!” The video angled back to his face. “Where the hell are Ladybug and Chat Noir?” 

“Wow! That’s super cool!” Tigress said, watching the video with wide eyes.

“That’s Marinette for you. She never sits out a fight when she can do something,” Chat said. 

“You really like her, don’t you?” Ryuko asked, smiling fondly.

“Oh yeah, she’s absolutely amazing! Have you ever seen her designs?” His face was as bright as the moon as he spoke. 

Carapace shook his head. Chat Noir didn’t just know about Marinette’s designs. He had seen them! Nino wondered again how much time Chat Noir spent with Marinette on the regular? Even Nino had only ever caught glimpses of her work and he was in almost all of Marinette’s classes. 

“You know, even if Marinette manages to take out all four clones, how is she gonna break through this barrier?”

“She’ll figure it out,” Chat insisted. “She always does. I wish we had something in here to give her to show our appreciation.” 

Rena smiled at him. “I’m sure she’ll know we appreciate her.” 

“I just feel so bad for interrupting her project right before a deadline. I’ll have to make it up to her.” 

Yeah, Chat Noir had it bad, which wasn’t good. Nino didn’t want him swooping in right before Adrien was finally seeing her. 

“Ah! We have an update on the akuma,” Rena announced, projecting the post into the air again. 

“My little girl almost got hit by an akuma! Luckily, this girl knocked it out of the park before it touched her at all. And then she stayed and danced until my girl was laughing again! What an absolute angel!” 

“Wow!” Purple Tigress said. “Marinette’s usually so clumsy.”

But Chat was shaking his head. “Not during emergencies or akumas. Then she’s graceful. And yeah, she trips and stumbles constantly–” he was smiling fondly as he said this. “-- which can be really adorable, but she’s really good at catching herself! She kind of has this unique way of pinwheeling her arms to regain her balance. And her gestures are so creative and expressive… Honestly, I could spend hours just watching her.” 

That description was remarkably specific. “Aren’t you supposed to be in love with Ladybug?” Carapace asked. 

Chat turned to him, his eyebrows furrowed in total bafflement. “I am in love with Ladybug.” 

Carapace crossed his arms. “Are you sure? Seems like you have a thing for Marinette.”

“Oh, he definitely has a thing for Marinette,” Rena interjected, studying the feed on her flute before flashing him a smirk. “But then who doesn’t?”

“Right?!” Viperion chimed in. 

Even Ryuko was nodding. “I admit I hold more than a passing affection for Marinette as well.” 

Carapace hated that he couldn’t even argue. He had harbored a crush on Marinette for months . But he buried his hooded face in his hands anyway. This was ridiculous. 

“I don’t have a thing for Marinette!” Chat objected. 

“God! You’re worse than my best bro!” 

“What does that mean?” 

“You’re totally oblivious.” 

And Nino hoped it stayed that way at least until Adrien had a chance to say something. 

“No, you don’t understand. I can’t have a thing for Marinette! She’s in love with someone else. You should have heard her confession!”

“She confessed?!” 

“She practiced it anyway. It was silly at first, but then just so sincere. I wish someone would confess to me like that.”

Chat’s shoulders were slumped, and his gaze downcast. Carapace stared at a dejected Chat in disbelief. Did Chat Noir really not get that he had feelings for Marinette? 

Chat looked up straight at Carapace. “Do you think anyone will ever love me like that?” 

Nino froze. Chat Noir, one of the two primary heroes of Paris who pranced around in a catsuit and flirted with every other person he encountered, was looking to him for reassurance?! 

Today was just absolutely wild.

“I’m sure there’s someone out there for you, dude,” Carapace reassured.

There was a loud bang, and they all tensed, flipped around facing the barrier read to fight. 

But the dome just faded away. Marinette stood on the other side, holding out a clear glass bottle with an akuma fluttering angrily inside. 

Chat Noir plucked the bottle from her hold, smiling at her like she hung the moon. He released the akuma just far enough to cataclysm it. 

“See! I knew you could do it.” His eyes were so soft, he could give Adrien a run for his money. 

Marinette scowled at him, crossing her arms. “You know who else could have done it? Ladybug!! She has actual powers! Do you know how hard it was to go after an akuma without enhanced agility?” 

Chat took her hand. “May I offer the princess a kiss in gratitude?” 

“I think I’m the knight in this scenario,” she replies petulantly, but she didn’t pull away.

He pressed a lingering kiss onto her hand. 

Marinette didn’t even blush. “You owe me bigtime!” 

Chat nods. “Thank you for bailing me–” he gestured to all six of the present heroes, “–I mean, bailing all of us out.” 

“Why’d you ask me? I’m just an ordinary girl.” 

He shook his head. “There’s nothing ordinary about you, Marinette.” He said her name with absolute reverence. 

Nino shook his head in exasperation. There was no way in hell Chat Noir wasn’t in love with Marinette. Nino would have to warn Adrien to get his game on. He had competition, even if he didn’t know it. 

The other heroes surrounded her and offered thanks and congratulations. “Marinette! You are amazing!” Carapace told her. “Like you pulled off an impossible feat!” And then he bent down and whispered. “And I think if you’re not careful you’re going to break a certain black cat’s heart.” 

Marinette’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about? Chat’s way too obsessed with Ladybug to ever really see me.”

#miraculous square dance 2023 #marichat #miraculous ladybug fan fiction #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #nino lahiffe #adrien is oblivious #marinette is awesome #nino is just done #heroes are trapped #marinette to the rescue #ladybug just wanted a weekend off #my own content

[pretty-idol-hell]

Idol Land PriPara Episode 12

The end... or is it?

The episode opens with My Dream back at school, at lunchtime. Yui is double-fisting rice balls. Shogo walks by and complains about how loudly she's enjoying herself, so Yui throws his baby pictures everywhere. In other words, everything is back to normal.

While Yui and Shogo are fighting, the remaining members of WITH and MyDre acknowledge they will be holding a surprise promise for Yui later that day.

Meanwhile, Amari is at her desk looking through her old notebook and acknowledging all of her idol dreams have been coming true one by one. She stops when she reaches the place where Mario's page was ripped out, and looks down sadly at the blank space.

Later, at PriPara, Mirei and Shion discuss how things are returning to normal. All of the idols are full of dreams again and it's all thanks to Yui. But, it's thanks to Amari that Yui was returned to normal, so everyone surrounds Amari and thanks her.

However, even after everything that happened in the last episode, there are still some bugs floating around Idol Land. (...Feels familiar.)

The others talk about Mario's disappearance and wonder where he is. Amari says, "He's gone," but the others don't quite get it. Nino says it was rude he disappeared without saying goodbye.

I guess they really did not notice he uhh... burned to death...........

Amari looks down sadly again but only Laala acknowledges it.

Meanwhile in DanPri, all the boys are hard at work cleaning up the mess Mario made. Including Ushimitsu, who is doing his best to remind Shinya of his past using uhh... puppets? (Ninja voodoo dolls? I don't know the actual name for these haha.)

But he is unsuccessful. Shinya is STILL brainwashed even though Mario is gone. Ushimitsu is out of options. HARAKIRI IT IS.

Asahi is able to stop him, however, as WITH arrives to help.

"Leave it to me," says Koyoi as Asahi's eyes light up with fear, reminded of Koyoi's dark past. It can't be that bad, Asahi.......

OH

I GUESS THIS IS JUST HOW WE SOLVE PROBLEMS IN PRIPARA NOW

EVERYONE FIGHTING EVERYONE IDOLS

hahahahaha

Meanwhile, Yui arrives in Idol Land, annoyed at being left behind. She's quickly whisked away by Nino and Michiru, as not to ruin the surprise.

Also meanwhile, SoLaMi Dressing, Hibiki, Amari, Meganii, Meganee, and the managers., are having a meeting to decide what to do about the bugs still appearing around Idol Land. Amari shakily raises her hand.

"D-D-Do we really have to exterminate them?" she says, launching into a stuttering, rambly rant disagreeing with Hibiki about how she doesn't exactly like the bugs either, but the line between love and hate isn't that simple. In fact, they are basically the same, because even after hard times you can still see a blue sky in the end so storms and sunny days are basically the same and and AND... (before collapsing on the table).

"I AGREE WITH AMARI-CHAN!!!" says Laala. Immediately.

Everyone else agrees as well, except for Hibiki of course, but they are far outnumbered.

Meganii says there is still a lot they don't yet know about Idol Land, and it's possible the bugs are connected to that, so perhaps it's best to leave them for now. As Meganii speaks we see Gaaruru walking through the woods as bugs follow behind her. Gaaruru tells the bugs she doesn't care, and they can do what they want.

After the meeting ends, Amari and Laala are walking together in a deserted hallway.

"If only we could have become friends with Mario," Laala says, causing Amari to stop walking. Amari asks if Laala knew what happened to Mario, and Laala says she guessed based on how Amari was acting.

Amari says that thanks to Laala she finally understood that Mario had meaning to her. But, she realized a little too late.

Laala takes Amari's hand and says, "But I think he was really happy! That he was able to save you! That you cared about him!"

"Thank you, Laala..." Amari says as she starts to cry. The two laugh together.

Meanwhile, MyDream is touring Idol Land while the battle between Shinya and Koyoi continues to escalate into by far the most violent thing we've ever seen in Pretty Series.

Goddamn.

And Amamiya is still trapped in the toilet....

Thinking this is some kind of fate that has been thrust upon him, he starts working to make the toilet so clean that uhh...

He hallucinates toilet goddess Mirei...???

The implication I think is that his love for her overflows and gets him out, but we never actually are shown that. His love overflows from the stall and um, next scene.

Nino and Michiru are about to head back with Yui, when.... uhhh...

So, these are Haniwa. I believe the implication is like.... MyDream disturbed Ajimi's ancestral family burial site??? in PriPara????????????

Back at the stage, everyone is ready but MyDream is nowhere to be found. The crowd is getting restless, especially the animals. But no worries, Fuwari knows just what to do...

Sing a new solo in a new recolored outfit!! Prominently featuring her occasional sentence enter, "-nachu"!

And so we get Fuwari singing this lovely, calming song, inter-spliced with like Hibiki dropping their tea and Shinya/Koyoi still fighting (oh lord).

New Making Drama too!

Back in DanPri, a badly bruised and battered Koyoi and Shinya have finally come to a standstill. Apparently Shinya "had fun", "let's do this again".... (the others stare blankly). Back to normal, I guess.

Finally, MyDream arrives and Yui finds out about her surprise. They hop from an air balloon, coord changing in mid-air (AiPri style? haha).

New coords, new song, new Making Drama...

NEW TEAM CYALUMES TOO!!!

After the performance, Non Sugar wheels out Janice in a baby carriage, who congratulates them. Janice thanks Amari for protecting PriPara as well, who has the reaction you would expect she would have being addressed by a goddess (even a baby one).

Janice turns to the audience and explains that she still hasn't returned to her full power, and therefore is unable to carry out her duties as goddess in this form. Thus, she will be giving temporary goddess powers to.... FALULU!

Falulu is (temporarily) a PriPara GODDESS!!

This kinda reminds me of... umm... *mumble mumble King of Prism something something*

Hibiki leads Falulu to the stage, who is calmly surprised by this announcement. The time twins give her a goddess staff.

Fuwari asks Falulu what she will do in her first act as goddess. Ignoring the selfish requests from Meganii and Dorothy, she says she does have something she's been wanting to do...

And so, getting everyone together habitat for humanity style, Falulu has everyone build Pololo a house... T_T After being a roof for others for so long, she finally has a roof of her own.....

Falulu says she will continue to use everyone's power to make everyone's dreams come true!

As the credits roll, we cut to Amari back in the lunchroom at school. She's holding her tray and looking at a group of girls sitting across the room.

Mario's hand appears behind her, giving her a push, as she passes through an invisible barrier, and begins to approach them...

In the voiceover, Amari says, "I have a dream. A dream to enjoy my high school life!"

The time twins curl up together in THE CUTEST PAJAMAS (want), talking about how today was a great day, and tomorrow will be a great day too. We pan to the Takara Tomy logo in the night sky, and the episode ends.

WOW, what a wonderful and also depressing episode to end on.

I really REALLY REALLY thought Mario was going to come back.

Well he did, but he didn't. His hand pushing Amari at the end could have easily been her imagination. But then again, that's basically the same thing, isn't it?

I also super related to that scene WOW. I often feel like, even though I know how to be social, I know I can approach people and make friends..... I just have this invisible barrier around me, and I have to be either right in the perfect mood, or I have to be making a very conscious effort to pass through it. If I'm taken by surprise by someone approaching me in public, I often keep the barrier up and try to leave the conversation as quickly as possible. The more I've adjusted to being back in America, the more I've improved at getting that barrier down and socializing with people when I'm at cons and events and stuff. So it was pretty cool to see something like that represented visually.

So, lots of new coords, songs, making dramas... we've always got lots of new stuff in episodes before, but this was the first time it actually made me sad. Because up until now I knew we would probably get the new coords at least, and there was a glimmer of hope in me that maybe, just maybe, we might get a new song or making drama SOMEday but.... with the lackluster updates this past month, who knows if we'll be getting anything at all anymore. So, I spent a lot of this episode sadly yearning for the arcade days of knowing for sure all the new content would be available to experience soon.........

*sigh*

When they made this episode they were planning on a season 2. SURELY. Or at least, they certainly left the possibility open.

SO MUCH is still unresolved. Like yeah, Yui's back, but all the other stuff from episode 0? The update that went wrong, and the bugs, and losing PriParis and all that stuff..... (I've got watch that again)

I'm scared now that they are gonna resolve that in the Hibiki comic instead.....................

BUT MARIO

Mario should come back. Mario DESERVES to come back.

IT'S. NOT. FAIR.

And Falulu has goddess powers!? Like, for the foreseeable future we're just leaving her like that.

So like. In my other post I denied that Laalulu, the 10th/1000th-anniversary character would have anything to do with Idol Land.

But like, seeing Falulu get goddess powers is making me somewhat rethink that. Like, I dunno, I feel like this could be connected somehow. Maybe.

LIKE.......... THERE ARE SO MANY PLACES TO GO FROM HERE.

Not to mention for all we know AMAMIYA IS STILL IN THE TOILET

COME ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

please

#idol land pripara

[flightfoot]

Hi, I'd be interested in some fanfictions that center around Nino (all ships welcome, bonus points if it's the core four hanging out).

Most fics that have him tagged don't focus on him. If you have any recs lmk, feel free to take as long as you need! Have a nice day

I'm on it! So long as you're fine with ships that also revolve around couples anyway, otherwise this would be rather sparse. I'm gonna go ahead and limit it to completed fics. Oh, and if you wonder why some of these have commentary and some don't, it's because the ones with commentary are from previous reclists I made.

(Edit: I'd said that I'd only include complete fics, but I accidentally included Withered Wings anyway, because I kinda forgot that. It's pretty close to finished at any rate, and it's good and long so I'm keeping it.)

Within Your Heart by Inkyibis

It’s Valentine’s Day and Ladybug just wants to her superhero partner to find his love. And what she wants, the Lucky Charm will create. If only she could remember what it is she did last night.

Adrino fic here! Marinette’s drunk and feeling awful that her superhero partner is alone on Valentine’s (she’s in a loving and committed relationship with Alya), so she creates a Lucky Charm to help Chat find love! In this universe, Ladybug’s Lucky Charms have the power to create new rules for the universe to follow, such as making one that demands that if you have any magic in you, you have to tell the truth or else you’ll freeze. Or in Adrien’s case, that he has to wake up in the arms of his true love every day XD. It’s very sweet and I love both Adrien’s and Nino’s relationship, and the relationship between the rest of the Miracuteam members as well, even though that’s not the focus.

---

I’ll give myself a name (something stupid and pretentious) by @bbutterflies

Nino looked at the number and didn’t recognize it. Usually he wouldn’t answer, but he had nothing better to do – and could still really use a distraction – so he did. “Hello?”

“Hey, Nino.”

Nino stood up quickly, chest tightening. He knew that voice. He’d been waiting to hear it again for over two years. “Adrien?” he whispered.

“Yeah. It’s me."

-

When Monarch is defeated (and revealed to be Gabriel Agreste), Chat Noir immediately goes missing. Adrien disappears not long after. When Adrien finally shows up in Paris again, Nino would do anything to make sure he doesn't disappear again.

Ah this is lovely, Adrien’s been in a lot of emotional turmoil since Monarch’s defeat, convinced that everyone would hate him, SHOULD hate him, for not realizing that his father was the villain, and should hate him even more for disappearing like he does. But slowly Marinette and Nino get through to him, convince him that they just want him back. 

And also Adrien and Nino smooch. Multiple times. So that’s a bonus XD.

---

Would Trust You With Everything by @kasienda

Nino breaks off, tears streaking down his face. Adrien wishes he was here as himself instead of Chat so he could offer a hug.

“It’s not like I don’t think she deserved her privacy. It’s just it felt like I was her last priority. And if I knew why, then maybe we could overcome it. But when I don’t, I’m not willing to be her last thought. You know? I always put her first.”

“Yeah,” Chat agrees, able to relate too well. He always put Ladybug first too, and he’s not sure it has ever been the same for her. “I’m sorry you’ve been so alone through this."

“I haven’t been totally alone,” Nino disagrees, holding up his phone. “My best friend has been keeping me company virtually most of the day.”

“Yeah? It helped?”

“I don’t know if any of the stuff he sent helped, but like, given what I know he’s up to, he totally had to move heaven and earth to talk to me so much, and that really helped. You know, just knowing that someone was thinking of me.”

“I’m glad,” Chat Noir said. “I wish he could be there in person for you.”

Nino sighs. “Yeah, me too, but at least you’re here."

...

Season 4 au - canon divergent from Rocketear Rocketear led to DJWiFi breakup.

Ahh, Adrino my beloved XD. I love the identity shenanigans in this one with Adrien being around Nino as both Adrien and Chat Noir, and both of them vaguely describing their situations to each other. It takes Adrien a bit to figure out that he has a crush on Nino, but once he does...

---

The moment I knew (I’d no choice but to love you) by @bbutterflies

“He’s dating me,” Nino said, taking Adrien’s hand in his own.

Adrien could only stare back at him in shock.

“How dare you all force him to come out?” Nino continued, glaring at the reporters. “That was disgusting.” He pulled Adrien over to the car, guided him in, and shut the door behind them.

In the relative quiet and privacy of the backseat, Adrien finally processed what had just happened. “So… when were you going to tell me we were dating?”

This Adrino fic is delicious XD. Reporters keep hounding Adrien about his love life, so Nino finally gets them off Adrien’s back by fake-dating him. Problem is, Adrien’s actually been madly in love with Nino for years but has never been able to tell him. And now as they’re spending more time together, Nino’s beginning to find that he’s enjoying all these “couple” activities more than maybe he ought to if it’s entirely platonic...

If you want to see Adrien and Nino PINING for each other while “fake” dating (is it really fake if both parties want it to be real?) then you’ve come to the right fic!

---

Chemistry With Him by @bbutterflies

It kind of sucked Nino was taking chemistry, but classes had filled up fast and he needed to take something and his advisor had said the credits would, somehow, count towards his major. It really sucked he was taking it first thing on a Monday morning (and Wednesdays, and Fridays, unfortunately). But he could get through it. He knew he could.

So no more boys. No distractions. He could do this all on his own.

“Is anyone sitting here?”

Nino looked up to find the source of the voice. A blond, green-eyed, absolutely beautiful someone.

Okay. Maybe one distraction.

Ah, adorable Adrino. This is a universe where Adrien never went to public school, so while Chat Noir, Ladybug, Carapace, and Rena Rouge all know each other (and Marinette, Alya, and Nino all know each other’s identities) they’re unaware that they are all already friends with Adrien. I loved seeing Chat and Carapace excitedly tell each other about their awesome crush/boyfriend, not knowing they were talking about each other XD.

---

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.

This is the single longest DJWifi-centric fic on AO3 (which is a travesty) and it is GLORIOUS. Alya and Nino are both well fleshed-out here, with their own problems and baggage they’re dealing with, but it’s easier together.

---

Shelltering Others by @rosie-b:

When Ladybug wakes Nino up in the middle of the night to scold him for revealing his identity, he thinks his career as a Miraculous holder is over. But instead, Ladybug gives him the opportunity to prove himself by becoming Chat Noir’s confidant and learning his secret identity through a scavenger hunt of sorts. Will Nino pass Ladybug and Chat Noir’s test, or will he fail to put the pieces together in time?

Quick disclaimer here: the first chapter looks kinda salty towards Nino, with Ladybug laying into him for revealing his and Alya’s secret identities to Adrien and Marinette. She’s mostly just trying to scare him into taking them seriously, though, since she herself has just proposed that Nino become Chat’s secret-keeper, and he can’t afford to be lackadaisical with that identity. I highly recommend getting through at least chapter 2 of the fic when giving it a shot, because this had some great character development and introspection for Nino, on Chat Noir, Adrien, Ladybug, and himself. 

---

run boy run by tinuviel_tinuviel

Nino was sprawled on the floor of his room with Alya when his phone chimed, in the quiet of a premature autumnal sunset. It was one of those lazy evenings that had become rare lately. Contrary to popular belief, he and Alya could get studying done when in the same room, and he was elbows-deep in late assignments, which meant his phone was on Do Not Disturb, which meant the notification could only have come from one person.

ADRIEN 🐈: cmoe ove rnow ADRIEN 🐈: like riggt now ADRIEN 🐈: plag NINO: that is literally incomprehensible NINO: wait is that you plagg ADRIEN 🐈: mov faster

So this is a “Adrien finds out that his father is Hawkmoth and consults with Nino about what to do” fic, with Nino throwing Hawkmoth off Adrien’s track, though inadvertently at his own expense. Love Nino’s perspective here, and I always enjoy a good Hawkmoth-takedown fic!

---

Best Friend and Boyfriends by @kasienda

“Someone’s in a good mood,” Nino commented when Adrien slid into the seat next to him in the student lounge during the mutual gap they both had between their university classes. Adrien turned his grin towards his best friend. “Yeah,” he agreed. Nino grinned back. “I haven’t seen you in this good of a mood in months. Were you hanging with your mystery lady?” The question caught Adrien completely off guard. Was Nino seriously comparing his feelings for Carapace with his feelings for Ladybug? Sure, Carapace had become one of his favorite people. Adrien currently coveted every moment spent in Carapace’s company. He walked away from talking to him for hours feeling like he was floating on a cloud. And he was anticipating their next patrol like a giddy child waiting for Christmas morning. Holy shit! “You okay, dude?” Nino asked. He totally had feelings for Carapace. When had that even happened?

---

Withered Wings by @11jj11

Nino wasn’t sure if anyone had ever willingly took the akuma butterfly before him, but with his mind completely open to this apparent son of Hawk Moth he knew that he couldn’t turn him away. Not someone that was so afraid, not someone who would be left at the mercy of Hawk Moth.

---

5 times Adrien, the person, helps Nino aka Chat Noir and one time Adrien, the turtle themed hero (still not the fragrance) does it by DearLittleRobin

Adrien is a cool guy that needs more friends Nino is a good friend (and he's also Chat Noir)

---

Turtle-y Awesome by chattonne-rousse

Hugo Dupain-Cheng loves turtles, and by extension, he loves Carapace, his favorite superhero of them all. He doesn't know yet that his idol is also his Uncle Nino, and Nino hasn't yet seen the Carapace shrine that is Hugo's bedroom. But the little man is turning five and has just two wishes - a Carapace-themed party with friends and family, and the latest, greatest Carapace play set. This is a story of best friends, laughter, good kids and even better parents, and a whole lot of turtles.

---

I hope the worst isn't over by thescuttlebug

Falling is exactly like flying right up until you stop. Like, assuming the kind of flying you’re used to involves busted steering and useless panic, Nino guesses. “GO LIMP!” a voice shouts, and Nino catches a glimpse of black something-like-leather and the twin flashes of a golden bell and silver staff streaking through the air. “Are you kidding me, dude?!” he shrieks.

---

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)

---

Won't Tell A Soul by @thelastpilot

Nino accidentally runs head long into the biggest most stressful secret he can imagine, but now that he knows the truth about Marinette he is determined to help her in any way he can.

#nino lahiffe #ml fanfic rec #miraculous ladybug #adrino #djwifi #ask

[starryknightwrites]

Safety and Why Adrien’s “Sudden” Crush on Marinette Makes So Much Sense

Season 5 sees Marinette jumping headfirst into a crush on Chat Noir because her faith in a relationship with Adrien has been rocked considerably. She doesn’t trust the strength of their friendship. She doesn’t trust that she’ll make the right decisions around him. The foundation isn’t even there for her to trust his love for her. Their future is fraught with uncertainty.

Chat Noir is her loyal partner. Chat Noir is in love with her. She’s comfortable with Chat Noir. Chat Noir is the safe romantic choice.

While it’s also true that she has gained a newfound respect and loyalty to Chat Noir, she is also rebounding with him pretty hard. Especially after his unwavering support of her in ‘Strike Back’. He is her rock.

Adrien is doing the same thing. Ladybug neglected Chat Noir. He upset Ladybug to her breaking point with his excessive wooing. Every time he has any hope for he and Ladybug, it is abruptly snatched away by Ladybug herself or outside forces.

Marinette is comforting and kind. Marinette is harmless. Marinette has never shown pushiness or aggression toward Adrien. Marinette feels safe- moreso than anyone else in his life besides Plagg- and his trust in her has been building since Season 1.

In ‘Gamer’, Adrien takes an ego hit. He dazzles his classmates by winning against Max- you can see a little Chat Noir coming out in his body language there. Only to be beaten easily by Marinette during their practice session. He laments his insecurities to her and she comforts him by giving him her lucky charm bracelet. This becomes a symbol of their friendship and mutual support and clearly means a lot to Adrien. It’s a comfort. He keeps it on him wherever he goes.

In ‘The Gorilla’, Adrien almost tells Marinette that he is uncomfortable modeling. I’ve seen people saying that his telling her in ‘Risk’ was “unearned”, but the truth is, he felt comfortable enough to open up to her 3 seasons prior.

Marinette takes Adrien to hide from his unhinged fan club in the fountain. She comments on how it’s awesome that he has such a popular ad and he says “I don’t know about that. It’s actually pretty… embarrassing”. He gets distracted by her pajamas and she becomes embarrassed at his wandering gaze. Then his fan club shows up and the chance to further elaborate never comes up, but he was super close to sharing his discomfort around modeling with her in that moment without the effects of Risk.

In ‘Frozer’, Marinette is the first person Adrien asks for advice about Kagami after ultimately deciding against all of the “close” adults in his life. Nino may have been the most obvious choice- but considering Nino’s hopelessness in ‘Animan’, I can understand why he trusted Marinette. And he felt comfortable enough with Marinette as a safe zone to ask her to come along.

In ‘Malediktator’, while the rest of the class is celebrating Chloe’s curt exit, Adrien is extremely put off. When Marinette explained what happened, he felt comfortable enough with her to disagree and to call her out on the “She was useless anyway” comment. I’m not sure what Adrien expected from Marinette after this. He’s used to people either punishing him for disagreeing or just ignoring him/standing their ground. But Marinette feels guilty and takes steps to remedy what happened and bring Chloe back- something he clearly appreciated in the end.

In the ultra controversial ‘Chameleon’, Adrien advised Marinette not to take an aggressive route with Lila and she listens, ceasing to try to expose her (*in an earlier edit, I said it didn’t stick, but I realized her exposure attempts in Catalyst came before Chameleon. Marinette did actually stick to her word.) Compare this to his conversation with Lila in the same episode in which he asks her not to lie to him and warns her about the class turning against her. He’s nice about it and offers his support, but Lila jumps on the defensive and accuses him of ‘playing superhero’. Similarly, when he gives Chloe advice, she won’t even change her ways for more than a day- even under threat of losing her friendship with him.

Lastly, Adrien allows himself to “slip” with Marinette. He trusts that she won’t admonish him for his jokes or “being silly” Marinette is quite silly herself (that’s why they made such a goofy couple in ‘Elation’). She only takes offense to his prank in Puppeteer 2 because she humiliated herself. She even apologizes profusely for the misunderstanding later.

‘Risk’ made clear to Adrien what MLB has been building to for seasons: Marinette feels like a safe and comfortable space for Adrien. His father is cold and controlling. Nathalie is cold and in league with his father. His bodyguard is emotionally distant and silent.  Chloe is pushy and doesn’t listen to him. Felix antagonizes him.  Lila is dishonest and manipulative with him. Ladybug has been a neglectful partner who he secretly reasons only wants him around as far as his miraculous can assist her. Kagami led their entire relationship and he felt uncomfortable challenging her. Nino was fine until Rocketear where he denounced Adrien’s entire alter ego as a useless playboy.

Even the fact that Marinette has never managed to confess properly, is a safety to Adrien. She’s never put any pressure on him. She’s always just been that cute, silly girl who is compassionate with him and stands up for what she believes in. Never controlling. Not at all intimidating. Down to listen. She’s (the everyday) Ladybug without the strife. Marinette is “safe”.

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrienette #adrinette #love square #ml analysis #just another symbol of the kids’ trauma

[nixthelapin]

What if Adrien never went to school?

I love those “what if” fics where Adrien never went to public school (then LB and CN become a couple bc Marinette doesn’t have Adrien to crush on). I like seeing a slightly different dynamic to the show’s main couple (plus seeing how no love square changes things). There are a lot of variations I could obsess over, but I’ll spare the text space.

Because one thing that doesn’t usually get discussed (not saying never, I haven’t read every single fic in this category), at least in depth, is how much Adrien going to public school in Origins actually affects the plot. Not just the love square, but the actual plot of the show.

There are, of course, single episode stories that wouldn’t happen- The Bubbler, possibly Timetagger, Rogercop, and Gamer, just to name a few that he was directly involved in from season 1 (not even including ones he indirectly influenced because of Marinette or some other classmate).

But then we get to the end of s1: Volpina. Adrien finds the Guardian book at home while getting ready for school, then brings it with him, where Lila and Marinette both see it. Lila uses that as inspiration to pretend to be a superhero’s descendant (*more on her later). Then Tikki has Marinette take the book, causing her to officially meet Master Fu! Without Adrien going to public school, she would only have met Fu as some mystery healer when Tikki got sick in Princess Fragrance. That’s major! (And I wonder if Adrien would’ve even found the book in the first place since he wouldn’t have had school to get ready for- he’d just be home). That’s the start of the whole Guardian Marinette plot line right there! And the catalyst for a lot of events in future seasons: the power ups, the other heroes, Natalie getting desperate and using the peacock miraculous, which would then remove Félix’s part in the plot (beyond wanting a family heirloom for his mom). And probably so much more!!

There could be some reason down the line for Marinette (or both her and Adrien) to meet Fu, but Tikki has only done it when the situation is serious (sickness and a lead on Hawkmoth’s identity), so there would have to be something else to be serious enough to actually go to him.

[*And a small aside about Lila: her crush on Adrien (or on his fame) is a major part of Marinette’s hatred for Lila. Yeah, she’d still hate her lies, like being friends with LB, but it wouldn’t be all mixed up in her feelings for Adrien, nothing for her friends to brush her frustrations on as an excuse- “you’re just saying that because of your feelings for Adrien.” So Lila would still be a self absorbed liar, but wouldn’t have any avenue to Adrien, and therefore no connection to Gabriel, and not a major player with Hawkmoth. So many layers!]

There are just so many things I could go off on about (I’ve barely touched on how his absence would affect other relationships in the class, like Alya and Nino dating), but thinking out these implications really makes you realize just how much Adrien’s position are school affects how the story goes.

If you guys can think of other major things, or want to expand on anything I’ve said in this quick post (or even if you disagree with anything), I’d love to hear it! It’s a fascinating concept to play with, so I’m all ears!

#miraculous #mlb #miraculous ladybug #ladybug #chat noir #cat noir #adrien agreste #Marinette dupain cheng #gabriel agreste #Alya #Nino #Hawkmoth #papillon #mayura #master fu #volpina #lila rossi #alt timeline #miraculous au #Adrien never went to public school #Tikki #Plagg #nooroo #duusu #dusuu #however it’s spelled #felix fathom #adrinette #Ladynoir #love square

[diamaker-moon]

Moving Forward — Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Face it, Césaire

Despite disagreeing with her judgement of carrying it all alone, Félix knew he couldn't just interfere with her work, and will respect her wishes of working on it alone, even if he somehow dislike it. He also knew that when the time comes that Marinette needs help with anything, he can imagine himself suddenly putting down everything in a second and rushing to her as fast as his legs could.

Maybe it might not be for saving Paris, but just to see her smile at him knowing he'll be there to help.

— previous chapter... —

"That's enough Chloé! You're being a real bitch right now!" Alya shouted at the top of her lungs.

"I've always been a bitch, and you're not changing it now." Chloé rebutted.

Alya is already on edge about what's happening. Everything was collapsing around her, suddenly everyone is fighting her for Marinette. For Marinette!

"Why are all of you suddenly like this?! Suddenly ganging up on Lila? That's so low for all of you!" Alya screamed.

Alya couldn't understand why every student in the class is suddenly becoming hostile to her new best friend. She never understood why it is Lila's fault that suddenly the bully, Marinette, is gone. She was the one to blame, she tried to bully a student who did nothing but befriend her. They should've been celebrating. They should be happy that they got the bully to leave! But here they are fighting over the said bully.

"Als... Maybe it's time for you to listen." Nino said, coldly.

She flinched at the sudden tone of her boyfriend. Nino hadn't spoken to her like that ever, not even when he was angry for her being so careless. She knew Nino as a caring person, so she couldn't comprehend that the person in front of her is the same one.

Chloé stepped much closer to Alya, to the point where she was standing right in front of her.

"Listen very carefully. Marinette knew from the very beginning. I could see it on her face. The moment she heard you speak so proudly about your stupid interview with that liar, I could see from afar how she doesn't believe it." Chloé started.

"If anything, Ladybug's best friend should be Marinette. I mean, isn't she the one who asked the heroine for an interview just for you?" Sabrina questioned.

Alya blushed hard. She knows that she still owes the ravenette for the very first interview up close with the heroine for her blog.

"Later on, I understood why. Jagged Stone's cat? Really? You all call yourselves his fan when you know that he doesn't have a fur pet but a reptile pet. And an airline allowing a mere teenager to enter the hangar with absolutely no supervision from any airport personnel just to save a cat?" Chloé continued with a mocking look on her face.

"And don't you hear how ridiculous it is for a grown-ass man, to write a song for a teenager? What you wanna call him a p*dophile now?" The blonde said.

Alya was dumbfounded. While others looked away after hearing it clearly. As if a hidden veil was suddenly lifted from their brains, allowing them to see reason.

"Let's add more injury to the wound, who in their right mind would accept the reason of 'catching a tissue that could gouge out an eye' when the said person that was 'supposedly hit by a ball of tissue' is wearing glasses." Sabrina added gleefully with a hidden tone of mockery.

Chloé sarcastically covers her mouth, "Wow, who knew a ball of tissue could cause such a fatal injury? Oh, what a disaster! Help!" She said with dramatic flair.

If anyone aside from the class could see around them, they will see Alya was flushed red, maybe even darker than Ladybug's new costume. She knows about the sarcastic replies and tones she was receiving from the two.

Lila was seething on the inside. All she knows that everything is getting out of hand, but she couldn't leave the room, as Kim had blocked the exit and is staring blankly at her.

—————

"So when do you plan to execute this plan of yours?"

"Hmm... Who knows, I need more before pursuing it, or else it might backfire all on me."

With a cold hard gaze, people could wonder what happened to the person that they could make such a gaze.

—————

"It's revolting to know that even an adult is willing to help her lies." Chloé sneered.

The blonde looked around before continuing, "Did you all know that Bustier and Damocles believed this little snake's lies about a certain 'Lying Disease'? Guess not."

Then Chloé's eyes moved towards a certain pair of green eyes. "And that somebody had the gall to cover up the lies and continue to act as your friend. Wow, what a coward."

By that statement, everyone knew she was talking about the nervous Adrien Agreste who suddenly had everyone's attention.

"Chloé, please. Marinette tried to warn all of you, but you didn't listen to her and then left her, I didn't want that to happen. It's the first time I made friends, I just didn't want to lose it..." Adrien pleaded.

"That. I hate you for that." Chloé said.

The boy was confused.

"You think everything is about you. You didn't care if Marinette was being bullied or being left by her so-called friends, all that mattered to you is that it doesn't happen to you. And your first time making a friend? What am I chopped liver?" She said.

"Chloé you don't understand... We were friends because our parents were acquainted with each other." He said.

The blonde girl shook her head, "You're wrong. I didn't like you at first, I could see how you slightly manipulate everything around you. That you had to make it all about you."

Adrien was hurt when he heard it.

"It's kind of true. When Marinette planned a party for getting rid of Chloé, I saw you talked to her and saw how her mood deflated." Juleka spoke loudly enough.

"I thought between the two of us, I was the rotten one. But no, it's you. And what's worse, you're not only rotten but you're like a wolf hiding in sheep's clothing. That's why Marinette left." Chloé said harshly making everyone flinch at her tone.

—————

The day passed by in a blur. Alya was walking home, alone, as Nino chose to excuse himself for the reason of having some space.

Alya was confused as to why she was being a target of such hostility when all she did is defend a harmless exchange student from a hidden bully.

The pained look in Nino's eyes hurts her as if it was telling her that Alya personally hurt him. And she didn't like that feeling.

As she walks slowly, she gradually points at the reason for what's happening around her. Marinette.

Chapter 8 — Moving Forward: Masterlist — Chapter 10

T A G L I S T:

@celestial-slytherin-blog @pasteile @1-ahiro-1 @jennifer-rose123 @artisticarson @fantasylover-92 @ravennightingaleandavatempus @lovelyautumnsunflower

This is my holiday gift to the readers! Hope you all enjoy reading it, next chapter will be uploaded 'next year' XD Let me know if you'd like to be added to the Taglist!

#movingforward #marinette dupain-cheng #miraculousladybug #class salt #ao3 #alya salt #adrien salt #class realization #chloé redemption

[celestiall0tus]

Tales of Bloody Bug and Chat Noir - Chapter 22 - Despair Bear

Beginning || Previous || Next

            Alix skated around the skate park around other skaters. She kept her eyes forward, but occasionally glanced over at Nino and Adrien, careful not to let them see it was her. She had been there since early afternoon when they hadn’t arrived more than half an hour ago. She wondered where Kagami was, but she imagined Adrien snuck out. He’s developed a habit of it since meeting Kagami, and when she showed him how she got over the walls of his mansion.

            Alix paused for a moment and watched Nino try to teach Adrien how to skate. She cringed at the process, like teaching a newborn to walk. She shook her head and turned away when she saw them check their phones.

            Alix raised a brow and stopped when she got a message. She pulled out her phone and saw a message from Adrien, inviting her to a party thrown by Chloe. She curled her lips back into a sneer, pulled down her hood, and approached Adrien and Nino.

            “Hey, what’s the meaning of this?” Alix demanded.

            “Yo, Alix, didn’t know you were here, my dude,” Nino remarked.

            “Uh, that was the point? Anyway, what the hell? Why would you send this to me?”

            “Oh, Chloe asked that I send it to you. She said she wants our entire grade there tonight at the party, including you,” Adrien answered.

            “Look, I can believe a lot of stuff that comes from you, but I honestly can’t believe that. Why would Chloe want me there?” Alix asked.

            “I have to agree, dude. Are you sure you read that message right?”

            Adrien nodded and showed Nino and Alix the message. Alix’s jaw dropped when she saw Adrien was being honest about Chloe’s intentions.

            “Fuck,” Alix hissed.

            “What are you going to do? Will you come?” Adrien asked.

            Alix sighed and pulled down on her eyelids. “Fine! I’ll… I’ll at least try.”

            “Awesome! We’ll see you then, Alix,” Adrien cheered.

            Alix forced a smile while she waved goodbye to Adrien and Nino. She dropped her smile and pulled up her hood as Tikki and Stompp poked out from it.

            “Are you sure this is a good idea? Don’t you have history with Chloe?” Tikki asked.

            “Well, yes, but… I don’t know.”

            “I don’t think it’s a bad idea, Tikki. Shouldn’t Alix give Chloe a second chance? She has as Bloody Bug, so why not Alix?” Stompp pointed out.

            “If she does that, she needs to give others second chances too,” Tikki remarked.

            Alix glared at Tikki and skated out of the park towards home. “I don’t have to give anyone a second chance if I’m not willing, Tikki. Chloe is… not Marinette. Chloe didn’t use me. Chloe never made me feel welcomed just to make everyone turn on me. Chloe wasn’t the monster, I was. And… and it should fall on me to make things right, shouldn’t it?”

            “Yes,” Tikki and Stompp said.

            “Just like with Marinette,” Tikki pointed out.

            “I disagree. That Marinette girl was rude for accepting the akuma and hurting Alix when Alix didn’t do anything,” Stompp countered.

            “Maybe, but forgiveness needs to start somewhere. Someone needs to be the better person and teach the other the error of their ways. You’re willing to do it with Chloe, why not Marinette?” Tikki challenged.

            Alix opened her mouth, then shook her head. “Can we drop this? I just want to head home, get ready, and get this party done and over with.”

            Tikki sighed and slipped back into the hoodie while Stompp remained.

            “Yes, Stompp?”

            “Huh? Oh, I’m just comfy.”

            Alix chuckled and headed back home to get ready.

~~

            Alix arrived at Le Grand Paris with Adrien, Kagami, and Nino. She kept her head pulled up as she looked around the room. Every kid in their grade appeared to be here, including Marinette, Alya, Mylene, Juleka, and Rose.

            “Oh, no,” Alix groaned.

            “You’ll stay near me, right?” Adrien asked.

            “Come on, dude, it’s just the girls. Nothing to be scared of, dude,” Nino butted in.

            “But-!” Adrien started.

            Nino grabbed Adrien’s wrist and dragged him towards the girls. Adrien reached out to grab Alix, but she stepped back out of his reach. He turned back as she shot him an apologetic look before he vanished into the crowd. She sighed and moved away from everyone towards a wall when something pulled her sleeve. She turned, expecting to see anyone, but saw Luka.

            “What the-? Why are you here? Don’t you have problem with these things?” Alix asked.

            “I… I’ve been… getting better?” Luka hesitated.

            Alix raised a brow when she saw the noise-cancelling headphones around Luka’s neck. “Right. Don’t you think this is a little much, even if you’re getting better?”

            “M-maybe, but… I wanted to-,” Luka started.

            “Attention, everyone! Welcome to this humble party I’ve so generously put together for all of you! Eat, drink, dance, or whatever it is you do, you have a great time!” Chloe announced.

            The partygoers all cheered and moved around. Alix spied some headed into the elevator. She trotted towards the elevator when Luka pulled on her sleeve again.

            “What do you want?” Alix asked.

            “Could I… could I tag along with you?”

            “Me? Why? Your twin’s here. Why not hide behind her?”

            Luka stumbled through his words as his eyes darted towards them and a blush crawled onto his cheeks.

            “Hold up, do you like one of them?”

            Luka’s eyes widened, he pursed his lips, and shook his head in a panic.

            “You’re a terrible liar, Couffaine. Which one is it? Alya? Rose? Mylene?”

            Luka didn’t answer.

            “Marinette?”

            Luka’s blush deepened as he looked away.

            “Eww, why her?”

            Luka fidgeted. “She’s very pretty and nice.”

            Alix rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Do what you want, Luka. I’m heading somewhere that isn’t here with everyone.”

            Alix headed into the elevator with Luka following her. She headed up to the restaurant floor where it was cleared of the dining tables and chairs to make way for a plasma with a game station set up, a ball pit, and a DJ booth. She spotted Nino already at the DJ booth while everyone else danced.

            “So… this, uh, this looks fun, right?” Luka attempted.

            Alix snorted. “Looks like a headache.”

            Luka grimaced and looked away. Alix broke away up to the bar top where refreshments were set out. She reached for one when she heard a loud bang. She turned towards the door to see Chloe stormed in with Sabrina behind her. Chloe stopped dead when she saw Alix. Alix sighed, pulled her hood more over her face, and looked away. Luka moved beside Alix between her and Chloe.

            “Is… everything alright?”

            “Yeah. Just… just preparing myself.”

            “For what?”

            “Kubdel,” Chloe said.

            Alix sighed. She looked up at Chloe and Sabrina. “Can I help you?”

            “Are you… are you enjoying yourself?”

            “It’s… tolerable.”

            Chloe nodded and left. Sabrina gave a thumbs up and followed Chloe.

            “That was… different. I thought you two, y’know, hated each other,” Luka pointed out.

            “It’s… complicated.”

            Alix sighed and rested her head on the bar top. Luka hesitated as he reached out for her shoulder when the music shifted from club music to slow dance.

            “What the hell?” Alix remarked.

            Alix turned as everyone on the dance floor paired off. She spotted Alya and Nino, Juleka and Rose, and Kim with a reluctant Chloe.

            “I didn’t realize Nino and Alya were together,” Luka commented.

            “I could care less about them. How long have Juleka and Rose been together?”

            “Uh… I’m not sure.”

            “You’re her brother. How do you not know?”

            Luka shrank back and looked away.

            “Sorry. Forget I asked. Hey, why don’t you take a chance and ask Marinette to dance?”

            Luka’s eyes lit up. He turned and scanned the room, then shrank back again. “I don’t think I can.”

            Alix furrowed her brow and looked around. Anger flared when she saw Marinette drag a reluctant Adrien onto the floor as he led her in a slow dance. She glanced around for Kagami but didn’t see Kagami.

            “Where the fuck is his babysitter? Why isn’t she stopping this?” Alix hissed.

            “Babysitter?” Luka asked.

            “Nevermind. I need-!”

            Tikki peeked over Alix’s shoulder in the hood. “Don’t rush in! Be smart about this. We don’t need to cause any, well, you know.”

            Alix sneered and looked back at the dance floor. She noticed Adrien and Marinette stealing attention of the dancers as the floor was cleared for them. She looked over at Chloe, who glared daggers at Marinette, but remained with Kim.

            “I have an idea. Stay here,” Alix whispered.

            Alix pulled her hoodie off, rolled it up, gave it to Luka, and headed over to Kim and Chloe. She kicked Kim in the groin and sent him crumbling to the floor. Everyone gasped around her and jumped back. She took a deep breath and offered her hand to Chloe.

            “Will you do me the honor of leading you through this dance?” Alix asked.

            All eyes fell on Chloe. Chloe looked up, gulped, and reached out a shaky hand. Chloe placed it down in Alix’s. Alix stifled a grimace as she felt Chloe’s still trembling hand. Painful memories surfaced that Alix pushed back down. Alix took a deep breath as she pulled Chloe closer, placed a hand under Chloe’s right arm on her back, and took Chloe’s left hand in her own.

            Alix took a breath before she led Chloe in a waltz. Chloe struggled with the steps until she got ahold of them. Alix had trouble with twirling Chloe as part of the dance with Chloe being a head taller, but Chloe worked with her. Alix kept her eyes on Chloe but glanced aside at Adrien and Marinette.

            Adrien and Marinette’s dance had stopped their dance to watch Alix and Chloe. Adrien’s eyes were wide and sparkled in admiration while Marinette was dumbfounded. Alix allowed herself a smirk until she caught a glimpse of Luka, whose eyes were wide in awe with a slight blush as he stared at Alix. A feeling gnawed at the back of Alix’s mind, but she ignored it as she dipped Chloe and finished the dance.

            Alix bowed while everyone gawked at her. She sat back beside Luka as she put her hoodie back on. She looked over at the door and saw Kagami reappear, putting her phone away. She relaxed when Kagami took her place beside Adrien, warding off Marinette. She smiled, stood, and headed for the elevator when Chloe ran up and grabbed her arm.

            “Wait! I… you aren’t leaving, are you?”

            “I think I’ve had my fill already, Chloe. I’d rather leave now before you-.”

            “Don’t go. I did all this to talk with you,” Chloe admitted.

            “What are you talking about?”

            “I wanted to talk to you, Alix, but I couldn’t think of any other way to, well, talk to you.”

            “I knew it! I knew there was no way Chloe could be nice!” Marinette cheered.

            Everyone murmured as they all shot Chloe side glances. Chloe’s lips curled back in a snarl and her hands balled into fists.

            “I never said I was trying to be nice. I’m just trying to be better, and that doesn’t mean I have to be nice to everyone. I don’t care about you. I don’t care about any of you guys except Adrikins, Sabrina, and Bloody Bug,” Chloe declared.

            “What’s the point of trying to be better if you’re not going to be nicer?” Marinette challenged.

            “Because… because I don’t have to be. If I don’t like someone, I don’t have to be nice, but I don’t have to be mean either. I can still be me and still be better.”

            Alya scoffed. “Yeah right. Where would you get a notion such as that?”

            “Bloody Bug.”

            Alix’s eyes widened as fear and anxiety tore through her.

            “Please, how would Bloody Bug give you such a notion?” Alya demanded.

            “Because I’ve seen her for who she is. She may be a hero, but she’s still a person. She’s… she’s flawed. She’s not some perfect, untouchable hero, but a deeply flawed person. She has her moments of blinding rage that hurts people. I mean, really hurts. However, she can also be fun, energetic, and compassionate. She has baggage, just like the rest of us,” Chloe explained.

            Everyone exchanged confused glances with each other and Chloe. Alix frowned as guilt mingled with the anxiety.

            “I don’t believe that. Bloody Bug is a hero. There’s no way she’s just like any of us,” Alya remarked.

          �� Chloe opened her mouth, but Sabrina stepped in the way.

            “And that’s why Chloe is better. She recognizes this fact, unlike someone like you who actively stalks the hero to unveil her identity. Don’t you stop to think of the dangers of that and how compromising it is?” Sabrina challenged.

            “It’s not that big of a deal. Besides, I bet she could take out the enemy, even with her identity revealed.”

            Alix shook her head. She had heard enough. Alya, Marinette, Sabrina, and Chloe continued their argument, but she headed out. She crossed over to the elevator as Chloe’s butler ran into the restaurant. Curiosity struck her, but she pushed it away. She entered the elevator as her hand hovered over the panel. She considered leaving but didn’t want to just yet. She did need some quiet, so she headed up to the roof. She heard her name called out as the doors shut. She wondered who it was but ignored it and leaned against the wall.

            Alix watched the numbers go up until she was at the rooftop. She stepped out to the empty pool and sat along the edge. Tikki and Stompp flew out from her hood and hovered in front of her.

            “Alix? Are you ok?” Tikki asked.

            “I don’t know. A lot just happened a moment ago. I’m still processing it all.”

            “Should we be worried that Chloe knows who Bloody Bug is?” Stompp asked.

            “I mean, Bloody Bug and Chat Noir know, so it can’t be too bad, right? Besides, Adrien is down there, hopefully helping with the situation,” Tikki remarked.

            “Or getting out like he should,” Stompp muttered.

            “Anyway, Alix, how are you feeling?” Tikki asked.

            “I don’t know. Confused? Angry? Sad? Confused? I mean, Chloe clearly had been talking with Sabrina to come to all those points. There’s no way she would have on her own without Sabrina’s help. Which means she’s listening to others, which is good. However, that might be part of it.”

            “What do you mean?” Stompp asked.

            “I dunno, but hearing Alya say that Bloody Bug couldn’t be like any normal person just… I dunno. It hit different. I know what she meant, that Bloody Bug can’t be flawed, but it just hit different.

            Tikki and Stompp exchanged glances. Tikki opened her mouth when Alix’s phone buzzed. Alix checked it to see a message from Adrien about Chloe’s butler being akumatized and turned into a teddy bear that could control people and was targeting Chloe. Alix groaned and rolled her eyes while Tikki and Stompp read the text.

            “I don’t want to deal with this nonsense,” Alix complained.

            “Hey, at least with Blood Shell, it’ll be quick and painless,” Stompp pointed out.

            Alix rolled her eyes and growled. “Alright, let’s get this over with. Tikki, Stompp, unify.”

            Tikki and Stompp flew into their respective jewels and transformed Alix into Blood Shell.

            Blood Shell heaved herself up and back downstairs. She walked into the restaurant to see the utter chaos of everyone running around while the teddy bear took control of people by grabbing their leg. She rolled her eyes, activated her armor, and whistled.

            “Hey, chew toy!” Blood Shell yelled.

            The teddy bear stopped and turned to Blood Shell. It ran up to her, grabbed her leg, but nothing happened. It tapped her leg, and she reached down, grabbed it, and tore the head off the bear. The Akuma flew up, then back down to the mace as it lit up. It purified and flew away as a white butterfly. Everyone blinked and then cheered while Blood Shell grumbled and left. She headed for the stairs and up to the roof again.

            Blood Shell stepped back into the cool night air. She headed for the railing but stopped herself. She knew where she would head. She would go to the cemetery where her mother’s grave was. She’d be alone for a little while until Alim or Adrien came looking for her. The idea was enticing to have people around her help her, but not this time. She just wanted to be left alone.

            Blood Shell curled into a ball and rolled back into the empty pool. She held her knees tight as she let everything surface before it all came crashing down.

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#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #miraculous au #au #alternate universe #bloody bug au #alix kubdel #despair bear #canon rewrite #mlb fanfic #fanfiction writer #fanfiction #fanfic

[frostedpuffs]

question: in your fics you rarely ever include other characters (like alya, nino, luka, kagami, etc.) why is that?

allow me to be completely honest here but the only characters that really capture my attention and interest at all in ml are just adrien and marinette. i just do not care enough abt any of the side characters to write about them in depth LMAO. I'm literally watching this show 99% for the romance and to see what happens between love square, not necessarily for any of the other characters. i mean they're cool and all but they're not my main interest

i mean it's not that i DISLIKE the other characters, it's just that they don't particularly interest me enough to write about them more than occasionally. like I'll include them in a story but they'll never be the main focus, you know? and also forgive me for disagreeing, but i dont rarely ever include them. i do write them in my stories, even if theyre not the main focus. sewing sentiments and perfectly platonic (unless) both feature quite a bit of alya and nino was mentioned a lot in sewing sentiments. 

i enjoy thinking of headcanons, discussing other characters periodically, and shipping other ships that arent love square, but it's just that no other characters really...inspire me as much, i guess???? im very picky with what i write about because im only going to write things i enjoy. if im not thoroughly enjoying what im writing, im not gonna write it!! lol

it may be boring from some readers' perspectives but i know what im about at least

edit: also i want to be clear when i say i dont dislike any of the characters you listed. i actually love all four of them a whole lot. they just dont inspire me as much to actually write content in depth about them

#ash answers #my fics are VERY VERY VERY love square centric and tbh they probably always will be lol #thanks for the question!!1 #i'll also be honest in saying that the only fics i can ever really read are also love square centric #and i will skim past scenes that arent HAHAHA #my adhd hyperfixated brain has one focus and one alone

[goodfully]

a little delayed but i wrote most of this in my notes app waiting for internet access hahaha i finished reading the third book yesterday, mostly in the car, im in the middle of a trip with family and relatives so this might be more vague/disorganized. mm okay thoughts on "those who leave and those who stay"!

i mean all of this in a lighthearted way! but wow idk what i was expecting with nino, i was lowkey hoping he wouldnt be a major character in the third book. oh my god, i swear every time ninos name was revealed (the author of some article, somebodys friend, some babys father, etc..) i mentally rolled my eyes.. i get that hes an important character and its great how he encourages lenu with her academic work much more than pietro ever did, but wow, tbh ive had enough with this guy hahaha

okay! i think what i liked most about this book is that that while the first two books were centered on lenu and lila looking towards their future and escaping their neighborhood, the third book was so much of them both looking back on the past. by that i mean, both their own lives in that neighborhood in naples, as well as history and politics globally.

anyway im glad we got more political history in this book, it just makes sense to i think. lenu and lilas lives are very much affected by it, and always had been, but it becomes much more clear to them now that theyre older, altho ig in different ways. mm like understanding the connection between the violence in the neighborhood they grew up in and the systems of exploitation that exist globally (like imagine finding your first boyfriend is the leader of some fascist thugs that beat ppl up in front of the factory your friend works at). i think its important bc ever since the first book im sure that we've been hearing from both lenu and lila that they feel as tho something beyond their grasp and comprehension is keeping them from escaping from the lives they had/have. and like.. maybe theyve known it was the patriarchy, fascism... before they even knew what it was. ahh the stuff that lenu said in the beginning about how we cant really escape bc the world is poisoned everywhere. its a bleak view, but that part in the very beginning was ahhhhh...

oh god, lenu having daughters.. like.. more mother/daughter relationship things... the things girls learn from their mothers (dede and elsa in front of the mirror acting dissatisfied with the way they look.. i know it was a short, insignificant scene but i would have cried) and also. when lenus mother came to take care of her, and she said "i was afraid she would never return. but she always did"... ahh!!! and then when elena told her daughters about leaving their father and both of her daughters asked if she would take them or begged her to stay. screams. oh oh oh and every single time she notices that one the younger children resembles their father???

as much as i do adore lenu, i find myself attached to lila.. so when there was that big chunk of just purely lilas part of the story, i was excited (despite the very distressing events)... anyway thoughts on that lila part:

i was thinking about how much this part showed how revolutionary movements arent that straightforward, esp between the actual working class and the intellectual students, like when revolutionary movements arent led by the ones the revolution was made purposefully to liberate? ohh actually i have a lot of thoughts on this and the events that happened, i like how much ferrante talks about it, but ill keep it short.. the part with lilas speech in the pamphlet, the fight in front of the factory, pasquale and nadia disagreeing with lenu helping lila, local and state armed fascists, union organizers not truly representing the workers, its relation to the patriarchy etc..

also so heartbreaking, seeing lila lose her mind over her child, believing that the closer he is to her, the more likely he'll break.. like her. god god i understand that feeling, but i imagine its so much worse for lila when its her own child. that thing about feeling trapped in the same fate as your parents is just so so sad. ive literally never wanted to have my own children bc of this.

i know im projecting onto lila, but tbh the idea that lila is aroace is...!!! haha.. like when she was crying and telling enzo that she loves him and wishes every night to hold him close, but "beyond that i dont want anything." and hhfhrh idk i feel this way for a lot of ppl and know i risk being left if im unable to give what the other person in a relationship wants and they suffer for it. hh

oh! i think its cool that while the revolutionary/workers rights movement was a bigger thing for lila, the feminist movement was more significant for lenu.. god pietro was so??? idk why he was so insistent on following traditional husband/wife roles. i thought something was off about him since they first got engaged and he didnt care of her novel. tbh i am happy for her and hope she gets to be content with her self and her life in the next book. oh and the new thing that lenu writes is so interesting... i think maybe the women in the books would find it the truth for them, except probably lila. so it was interesting when alfonso tells lila that he wants to if he was a woman, hed want to be like lila.

oh some other random parts i keep thinking about: when she and lila were talking excitedly like when they were children, and the talk finally inspired something in her to write a second novel. and when lila read it, and cries. and they both say they dont know who they are without the other.. and when lenu starts rambling about how she believes lila has the intense capacity for apocalyptic violence like she did at the start of the second book, i go crazy i love that hahaha. hmm and gigliola... i remember not thinking much of her yet in the first two books, but really i like her and feel a lot for her.

mm there might be stuff i forgotten to mention, but ill end this here for now! i cant believe its only one book left already...

#finished reading #those who leave and those who stay #neapolitan novels

[misfitclassismyfreetherapy]

I genuinely don't like crossovers. (RANT)

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 ⚠️ THE THINGS I SAY HERE ARE MY OPINION! I RESPECT YOU IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ME AND I WILL LISTEN TO CRITICISM ⚠️

 ⚠️ Also mentions of not so kid-friendly topics such as stalking, swear words and etc.  ⚠️

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I hate crossovers. It makes me quite pissed the fact that people do crossovers like MHA x M!Ik crossovers or worse.. MLB crossovers..Like:

Welcome to Demon School! Izuku-kun!

No, just no don't get me started on the Blue Deku thing I will literally riot if you say Iruma is just a a blue version of Izuku Midoriya. I will, don't try me.

MLB x MHA crossovers. ARE. THE. FUCKING. WORST. Just for clarifacation, I don't hate MHA. It's a cool concept and plot, there are great characters in the anime (like Bakugou Katsuki and Todoroki Shouto).

I honestly like Todobaku because there are the most interesting fucking characters in the fucking anime-we're getting off-topic. (Also the most interesting dynamic in the anime-) Not to mention all the girls in MHA are bland as fuck-

I just prefer Mairuma over MHA. That's all I'm saying. ( because they focus on the aspect that I have preference over and do it better.)

⚠️!MLB RANT!⚠️

Scroll until you find this emoji 🌈

However MLB is a different fucking topic. Where abusing children and stalking your crush is fucking justified in this zombie-assed world.

Characters that actually had potential like Chloe's redemption and Adrien's backstory are completely thrown out the window 😄🔫. Characters that might contradict the "totally non-toxic" Adrienette are known as "rivals" or "antagonist". Nino is a fucking cunt.

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🌈 Done 🌈

How does the two work anyway? MHA > MLB any day with their power physics. MHA actually has at least a reasonable way to convey it but MLB doesn't. I guess the hero shit makes sense from different countries blah blah blah- but MLB also doesn't have any quirks from citizens to protect themselves. Don't think of making a quirk AU as an excuse it's got holes all over it if you don't execute it well and MLB has fucking jewelries as a fucking weapon ( It sounds stupid ngl- ).

Anyways crossovers just don't make sense in general. I mean..if it's Haikyuu x Kuroko No Basket or Haikyuu x Given I don't like it, it can make sense but it just makes the plot more weird. I love fanfics but there are two options you can go from fanfics (that I know) Fucking AUs or pin the timeline that happened.

Timeline

As for example, my fanfic was around the aftermath of the Heartbreaker. So I put the mention of timeline in my fanfic from where it's start to get out of canon timeline ( Where the characters basically have a different approach from the canon timeline.)

AU ( Alternate Universe )

AU is a different topic, no, crossovers are not fucking AUs. If you put Haikyuu x MHA as an "AU", how the fuck did Haikyuu NOT mention the powers they came from? Don't. even. fucking. think. of. making. a. quirkless. AU. as an excuse because that throws the plot completely away. Unless you have gem-powered motivation to write it from scratch, don't you dare fucking spit that shit into my face.

AU is more like where the scene and vibes changes as for example, Welcome to High School! Iruma-kun! (Human AU) can actually work! Sure it throws some of the plot away like the Iruma being human and shit but it's still can be worked out. ( If you want to disagree with me, feel free to comment. ) or quirkless AU can work as long there are no fucking crossovers like UA's Ikemen from Victoria's Bakugou Shrine, it's a great one that could still work without their quirks by using their TALENTS as replacement.

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 ⚠️ SPOILERS TO MY FANFIC!  ⚠️

Before you go to me and say " What about the Iruma-kun x HAMILTON AU your doing in your fanfic? " I'm not making them crossovers. I hate to spoil the plot but it's INSPIRED by the Hamilton Musical. They're making a musical using the misfit class as characters. No, I won't tell you why since I spoiled too much already.

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~ ENDING ~

So that concludes my rant. This is the first time I made a rant on social media so if it's offensive I apologize. However, please do respect my opinion even if my self worth is on thin fucking ice, I have dignity in myself and I'm adamant when it comes to defending my opinion if you HATE on it as for example:

"How could you say that! MHA is way better than this excuse of an anime!"

Criticism is:

" In my opinion, I honestly think there are personality to the MHA girl characters as for example..."

That's the difference between hate and criticism. I'm honestly tired right now for typing so long so yeah, we'll stop here. Anyways I hope you have a good day or night guys, gals and non-binary pals!

#m!ik #mairuma #iruma suzuki #midoriya izuku #welcome to demon school iruma kun #mlb rant #ninoisafuckingbastard #mairimashita! iruma kun #rant #mlb #miraculous ladybug #mairimashita iruma kun #mha #my hero academia #bnha #boku no hero academia

[gentil-minou]

Is it me or does Marinette express herself with her body while Adrien does so with his face?

I disagree wholeheartedly I think they are both extremely expressive but do so in different ways, but both are expressive with their bodies and faces.

With Mair, perhaps it's to overexagerate her actions for comedic effect but she is extremely expressive with her face. In fact one my say she is more expressive with her face, as she makes a range of emotions and expressions that make her essentially an open book.

(there's definitely long posts where people have shown mari's varying moods but she is super expressive all over)

Adrien is also expressive with his body as well as his face. This is especially true when he's Chat Noir. His body language speaks volumes, whether he is expressing confidence, flirtation, or vulnerability and agitation.

I think you may be more confuse by how Adrien is more inhibited than Mari, who has no reason no to express herself open and plainly. In contrast, Adrien is more careful about his actions which make sense given his fame and upbringing. This does not necessarily equate to being less expressive thought, just that he has fewer spaces where he's safe to express himself. As Adrien, we see him be very expressive when with either Plagg, Nino, or Marinette, or even alone.

If you are referring to this I'd say it's more indicative of Adrien slowly becoming more comfortable with who he is, but by no means does that imply that he is less expressive in one way or another.

In fact take that scene in Glaciator 2.0 where he is talking to his father (cant take a screenshot right now but you know the one). Although one can argue his expression is fairly neutral, his body language is extremely closed off and his stance is giving defensive vibes. Maybe not the definition of expression you might be familiar with but this is nonetheless very indicative of his emotions here.

Basically these two are both so painfully obvious but that's why we love them i think

#the over exaggeration is necessary for comedic effect and also to make sure young audiences understand what a character is feeling #they do this with a combo of body language and expression so it has to be the case #literally every episode has some example but you can really isolate as one or the other #because as humans unless one is trying really hard and focusing on limiting expression we express ourselves with our body and our face #think of even when you are appearing neutral or nonchalant you may be tense in some way #shoulders may be raised or a hand may be curled #and unless you have had a lot of practice you are gonna be expressive with both #it's just not fathomable to have one or the other #especially these two that are very much all over #asked and answered #miraculous ladybug #ml psychology #bushy overthinks things

[flightfoot]

I’d argue that season 5 crossed over into class betrayal with how they acted in the Lila becomes class president vote scene and how Alya and Nino accused Adrien of lying for Marinette, but season 5 is chock full of inexplicable character choices for me including the CN attempted murders, the extreme Chloe without a shred of nuance, Adrien and Marinette both abandoning hero post without much of a thought after specifically promising each other that they’d stay by the others side against Monarch and never abandon the other, all of the core four but alya being on board to get someone akumatized purposefully for the greater good (I know it’s Gabriel and he sucks bigtine but they don’t know what we know and it’s adriens dad for gods sakes! Cold behavior on their part and his), no one but Zoe speaking up for Marinette when Chloe accuses her despite everyone knowing Chloe’s deal by now, gabriel getting the wish and deciding I’m not gonna bring my wife back actually and Ladybug telling alya and suhan but inexplicably not telling CN Monarchs identity for no logical reason after a season of why that is a bad thing. It seems like the plot the writers want is running the characters, characters be damned. Season 5 has me wanting to just default to earlier season characterization because I have a feeling this is just going to get worse and it’s more exhausting to try to use watsonian thinking to make all of this fit when it just doesn’t

Season 5 had a lot of weird characterization, and Revelation especially made Alya and Nino act in ways I disagreed with, with how dismissive they were of Marinette, and Adrien when he backed her up. Still wouldn't categorize it as a "betrayal" though. The argument there was that Marinette was pretty busy, Lila thought she had a shot at reforming Chloe, and Lila HAD missed the student election, due to joining the class after it occurred, so she never got a chance to run for class representative, and there were only a couple of weeks left in the school year anyway, so it wouldn't matter that much. It wasn't about "punishing" Marinette or trying to hurt her or not appreciating her, it was just giving Lila a shot.

Chat being more trigger-happy with his cataclysm in seasons 4 and 5 does seem to have been intentional, and made some sense when looking at it. Adrien's patience slowly gets worn down in later seasons as his closest relationships become more and more strained - him and Ladybug in season 4, and him and his father in both of those seasons. So he becomes more trigger-happy, more prone to lashing out because of that, especially at anything or anyone who stomps on his triggers or who hurts the people closest to him. Considering how Representation and Conformation had Chat get trapped in a nightmare of the aftermath of an accidental, overblown Cataclysm, becoming scared of his power to the point he didn't dare transform because he feared his powers going out of control in his anger, the earlier incidents where he lashed out and attempted to use Cataclysm recklessly seem to have been set up for that.

Now, going so extreme with Chloe, reverting her back to her season 1 characterization (and then some) while ignoring the bits of nuance we saw in seasons 2 and 3... I didn't like that, and it made it seem like there was a fight in the writer's room about her portrayal. Adrien and Marinette giving up the Miraculous without considering how their partner would react to them also didn't really seem to work.

Everyone but Alya being on board with akumatizing Gabriel did actually work for me, Adrien had conflicting feelings about his dad, Marinette was desperate to do SOMETHING to advance the fight against Monarch, and Nino's always hated Gabriel.

Zoe being the only one to speak up for Marinette with everyone else just standing there... yeah I think that came down to wanting to keep from cluttering the scene with too many people talking at once, and giving Zoe a chance to shine. Very obvious hand of the author in that one, but I do see why it went like that, writing-wise.

Gabriel getting the wish and deciding against using it to revive his wife did have some set-up, with Nathalie specifically bringing up him sacrificing someone else's life to bring Emilie back and him denying it, and all those videos of Emilie saying NOT to revive her. With how far off the deep end he went in season 5 I still don't completely buy him healing Nathalie instead of reviving Emilie, but it did get some decent lead-in.

I'm not completely sure that Marinette DID tell Alya and Su-Han Monarch's identity. It was a little unclear. I could see Marinette keeping that close to her chest to try to minimize the chances that Adrien find out the truth.

#ask #miraculous ladybug #ml analysis