#So it manifested in a miraculous rant

[bugstung]

Ok it's 5 am and I can't sleep so here's a mini revelator rant but what annoyed me the most about the episode is how we get 4 different themes / plot points in one episode and none of them are truly exploited like they could have been

We start off with the miraculers team and their training. It's not relevant to this episode at all. Shouldn't it have been in the first one? Since when does Chat Noir know their identities? I wanted to see more of that. I love seeing hero training and lesrning their powers, it leads to great character and relationship development.

Then we to Adrien's fame, first as a model and then as the son the "hero Gabriel". It is relevant because Revelator happens, but it feels like it could have been an entire episode about it. Or even several honestly. It feels like Adrien is only famous when it's plot relevant

We get the Alya stuff, which I think is the best exploited here. Alya learned the truth, and now Marinette knows how bad she fucked up. Fine we'll see how it plays out at the end of s6. Probably

And then Chat Noir getting a power upgrade. From... Nowhere? Is it implied he got it from the training? Is that what it was? Feels underwhelming

It doesn't feel like Chat Noir grew / deserved it (in this episode specifically) since the episode was not focused on him / Adrien. It truly feels like it comes out of nowhere just for the Alya and Marinette bit

Anyway I think all of these could have been entire episodes on their own and now that this it out of my brain I hope I can go back to sleep

[cybertori]

Rant about how I literally manifested discovering shifting..

I’m going to be extremely honest, I was literally THE weirdest kid growing up; I had peculiar interests and rarely got along with people from my class.

I was also SEVERELY interested in frozen at some point, mind you I was about.. six? if my memory serves my right— I remember lucid dreaming about the first movie, it was extremely vivid but i’m pretty sure it wasn’t a shift.

So! I was wandering around in the cold- I remember feeling scared, looking around everywhere; the mountain was painted white, it was dark, the only way I could go was upwards toward the top of the mountain or downwards towards the bottom, it was almost pitch black that way— I didn’t know what to do?? I mean— I was six.

I vaguely remember looking around to see if I was fortunate enough to find someone who could help me.. but also, as a six year old you’re pretty curious. So I decided to venture my way towards the peak of the mountain before I stumbled upon— yes! you guessed it right. Elsa’s sister and her boyfriend. (This is weird I know, but stay with me.)

They seemed concerned— pretty sure they were wondering “why the heck is there a six year old out in the freezing cold, where are her parents, it’s literally freezing out, she’s going to get a cold, etc etc.”

So I glanced at them for a few moments— I don’t really think it had hit me yet that I was Lucid dreaming about Frozen, before I could say or do anything at all; Kristoff spoke up and offered to take me to the nearest town (or rather, demanded me to come with them because they were sure as hell not going to leave a six year old girl out in the cold.)

Mind you, they spoke in english + I wasn’t exactly fluent at the time, so I just stood there in disbelief for a few moments.

Then I woke up, sweating— I sat up, contemplating what in the world had just happened and THAT’S when it hit me, I lucid dreamt about my favorite movie in the entire world and it wasn’t REAL 💔💔 I started crying like the little baby I was for a good hour, My mom came in thinking something had happened to me, but I kind of just asked her

“Why isn’t frozen real!??”

This would be a question that would be haunt me, being repeated again and again in different fonts.

Timeskip to around 2019– If you thought my obsession with Frozen was concerning, you should have SEEN me during my miraculous ladybug era.

I was completely and utterly in LOVE with that dumb show, in such a way that my friends would get concerned, my sister would get furious when I talked about it (because trust me, i’d talk NON-STOP), my parents kind of perhaps questioned if I was.. ill. (which I was..! but not the point) but through my eyes; It was my miraculous show against the world.

..It got to the point where I assumed I was Marinette; i’d constantly compare this one crush I had on a guy to Adrien and rant about it in my sparkly blue diary, I kid you not. I could write pages about this. literal essays. I’d constantly write about the same topic again and again, claiming that I was Marinette, claiming that i’d one day get a Miraculous, claiming that my crush was quite literally adrien, daydreaming about the fact that one day, I promised myself that I would travel to paris and obtain a miraculous.

Yeah, I was— exceedingly weird.

Then the question came up again, every single day— I think I was half-expecting that one day; my ten year old self would wake up in the miraculous universe, I didn’t think about anything but these two questions

“Why isn’t miraculous real?”

“Why can’t I just wake up and be Marinette— i’m pretty much her anyways.”

and a wish.

“I wished miraculous was real.”

I cannot emphasize the AMOUNT of times I asked myself why the show wasn’t real and WISHED it was. This went on for about a year straight, I’d just constantly wish that miraculous was real, prayed over and over again that one day i’d wake up in that universe; that i’d at least be friends with Marinette— that I would have a miraculous of my own and help her “save” the world.

Thenn.. I stumbled upon THE post

“It’s 4 AM, I just woke up from a shift of 8 months to hogwarts, I want to go back— let me leave.”

Safe to say, I literally manifested my way here. I’m pretty sure if I told that little girl that it is possible to be a miraculous holder or elsa’s best friend, she’d be sure to make it happen, she’d be sure to believe in it—Now I just have to become the little girl I was once. The little girl who’d believe without a doubt that she could be anything as long as she wished for it hard enough.

[pandaofsecrets]

Reworking ML's Power System

Now that I've ranted about all the ways I think the Miraculous don't make sense, it's only fair I tell you what I would've done instead.

My goal here is for each Miraculous to have its own distinct identity and a broad range of powers all built around the same theme, and to have as little overlap with the others as possible. That way we don't have to bring in a new character for every single power under the sun. Each Miraculous would also then have a lot of ways to interact with its user's character development, something I feel was sorely lacking from the actual show.

The Forces of Magic

I know what I said in the last one about how I like the idea of the Miraculous being based on abstract concepts, but the kwami actually being embodiments of said abstract concepts in universe doesn't really make a lot of sense from a worldbuilding perspective. I mean, the kwami don't really make sense from a worldbuilding perspective in a lot of ways, but that's a story for another time.

So, instead, the kwami are conduits of the primordial magic that holds the universe in balance; think the Cosmic Forces from World of Warcraft and you're basically on the right track. In this world, there's eight Fundamental Forces of magic, organized into four equal and opposite pairs: Reality (Creation/Destruction), Structure (Subjection/Transmission), Information (Illusion/Vision), and Substance (Protection/Evolution).

Ladybug

The Ladybug is the Miraculous of Creation, and is basically a combination of the canon Ladybug, Goat, Peacock, and Dragon. Kiiiinda.

The Ladybug's most basic power is to create an inanimate object. The user can either call for their power and get something random (actually random, not "seems random but turns out to be the exact object needed to win"), or they can create something specific, like Adrien did with his Lucky Charm in Reflekdoll. From there, the user learns to create things that are a little more abstract, like flames, bursts of lightning, or gales of wind, and finally living beings—usually barely sentient minions with a single, simple goal. Unlike with the canon Peacock Miraculous though, the creature's life isn't tied to an object, and there's no convenient way for the user to control or dispel their creation. They have to rely on the Miraculous that actually have the power to do that, the Bee and Black Cat respectively. The most talented Ladybug wielders can create beings so complex as to be indistinguishable from humans, but only a scarce few of those are born in any generation. Marinette is one of them, unsurprisingly.

The Ladybug works most effectively in the hands of someone who is brave and has a lot of trust in themselves, and will backfire if the user second-guesses what they're doing. The logic here is that perfect is the enemy of done.

Cat

The Cat grants the power of Destruction, and is used to well, destroy stuff. Very straightforward, I know. Jokes aside, the Black Cat can destroy literally anything, both concrete and abstract. It can bring solid objects to rubble, disrupt and cancel magical abilities, break magical bonds, and even do things like erasing memories from the minds of others. (Thanks for canonizing that last one, S6!) This makes it a very powerful tool and, together with the Turtle, a check against the power of all the other Miraculous.

The Cat's powers are fueled by negative emotion, especially hatred. For the user to destroy something, they must well and truly want it gone.

Alongside the Ladybug, the Cat forms the Reality pair, which when used in tandem can reshape the universe.

Bee

With this one I'm using the more conventional meaning of the word "subjection". To put it simply, the Bee gives its user the power to control anything. This manifests in telekinesis, in bestowing matter with instruction such that for example a weapon can only be wielded by a chosen master, and finally in controlling the minds of animals and other people.

This Miraculous works most readily in the hands of those who value order and act for the good of others, and will go haywire if the user acts selfishly and tries to upset the balance of the world for personal gain. If the other forces of magic don't particularly care about moral alignment, Subjection has to: rules must apply equally to everyone if they are to mean anything. On the flipside, the Bee Miraculous can end up empowering extreme zealotry, and the user must never fall into the trap of becoming a pitiless crusader who viciously hunts down the nonbelievers.

Butterfly

This one would see one of the most radical changes, incorporating the abilities of the canon Butterfly, Horse, Rabbit, and Dog.

The equal and opposite of the Bee, the Butterfly is the Miraculous of Transmission, and governs change and movement in all its forms: of matter, of ideas, of emotions, of state, of magic, and of time.

The most straightforward of these is the movement of matter. The user can open portals to teleport themselves or other people, and can also teleport objects away from someone else.

Next up there's the movement of ideas and emotions. Butterfly users can feel and influence the emotional state of others, read their thoughts, and communicate telepathically.

Then there's the change of state and of magic, which is only available to advanced users. This manifests in transmutation of objects and shapeshifting, and in turning the emotions and internal motivations of other people into magical power (akumatization). Unlike the Miraculous, akumatization can only give one power at a time, and the user has little control over what the power is going to be, so they have to choose who to transform very carefully.

Finally we have movement in time, but like with the Ladybug's ability to create life, only a scarce few who can actually use it are born in any generation. I like to think this is because while time travel sounds straightforward, few people can actually conceptualize it and just end up moving in space instead.

The Butterfly works best when the user frees themselves of mental barriers. Unfortunately, this makes it prone to falling into the hands of people who have no scruples and for whom the rules are just suggestions.

Fox

The Miraculous of Illusion, this is another straightforward one, giving the user the ability to fool the minds and senses of others. Aside from vanilla illusions, it also has the power to make someone else believe anything the Fox user says is true, as well as induce hallucinations of all kinds. It can also conceal things, such as allowing the user to become invisible.

For this power to work, the user needs to trust it completely, and get into a mindset where they truly believe their own lie. If they acknowledge at any point that it's not real, the illusion breaks down.

Peacock

With its canon concept going to the Butterfly and its abilities to the Ladybug, this is essentially a new one altogether, and I'm going with the power I initially thought it was going to have.

The equal and opposite of the Fox, the Peacock has the power of Observation. Whoever uses it can see into both the future and the past, find the answer to any question, remotely observe and track other people, be a living lie detector, and see through any illusion, including the glamour that conceals Miraculous users' identities.

The Peacock works best if the user keeps an open mind. If they go in thinking they already know the answer or expecting to see something, their powers will fail.

Together with the Fox, the Peacock forms the Information pair. Whoever has access to both is a one-person Ministry of Truth—while this pair can't actually change reality like the Ladybug and Cat can, it can change how reality is perceived.

Turtle

The Turtle is the Miraculous of Protection, and is the immovable object to everyone else's unstoppable force. In its most basic form, the Turtle's power creates a shield that protects someone from a physical threat. With time and experience, a Turtle user can make themselves and others invulnerable, imbue objects with durability, deplete objects of their momentum, and prevent others from entering a space or taking a certain action.

The Turtle's powers are fueled by the user's will. The logic is that the ability to protect something comes from how much the user wants to cling on to that thing.

Crane

I considered two animals for this one, the crane and the rabbit, but I eventually chose the crane, for two reasons. One, in Asian cultures the crane and the turtle are both associated with longevity; there's a saying in Japanese that goes something like "the crane lives for a hundred years, and the turtle for a thousand". This makes the crane a great choice for a counterpart to the Turtle. Two, Kagami's last name contains the Japanese word for crane, "tsuru". Okay, the second one is not that important, I just thought it was a fun Easter egg.

Anyway, this is the Miraculous of Evolution, and it has the power I feel should've gone to the canon Rooster: upgrading the user's already existing abilities and that of other people, including other Miraculous users. This also manifests into minor healing and restoration abilities, but this is far from the reset button the Ladybug and Cat would provide. For one, the Crane's ability is much more localized. For another thing, the Miracle Cure brings something back exactly the way it was, while the Crane brings something to its optimal state.

The Crane's abilities are fueled by the power of love. Aww.

Unifications

When used together, two Miraculous (or three, or four, or five...) can unlock a new range of powers that is a combination of their existing domains. This can be done by wearing both Miraculous like in canon, or more simply by combining one's power with that of another wielder. The second option is considered the preferable way to unify—for one person to wear multiple Miraculous would require a good spiritual balance that most people don't have. Those who unify still have to be in sync with each other, though, otherwise the unification might either not work, backfire, harm the wielder, or damage one or both Miraculous. I like to think this is how the Peacock would come to be broken.

Some common unifications include:

the Ladybug and the Cat, which re-shape reality;

the Ladybug and the Turtle, which creates an object that has the power to protect whoever wears it from certain types of magic (basically, the canon anti-akuma charms);

the Ladybug and the Butterfly, which creates a physical manifestation, usually an object, of the emotions of whoever it's used on (the canon Pig Miraculous, kinda);

the Ladybug and the Bee, which creates a non-sentient minion that the users can command (the canon sentimonsters, kinda);

the Ladybug and the Crane, which creates an object guaranteed to solve whatever problem the wielders are currently having (the canon Lucky Charm);

the Butterfly and the Turtle, which creates a time loop (the canon Second Chance);

the Butterfly and the Peacock, which gives the user(s) the ability of astral projection;

the Cat and the Butterfly, which opens a portal that disintegrates everything falling into it;

The Miracle Box

Unlike in canon, the Miracle Box is a magical object in and of itself. It's bound to the Guardian, who essentially has admin powers over the box and all the Miraculous inside, and can: locate Miraculous (Observation), summon Miraculous and the Miracle Box to their location (Transmission), prevent certain people from using the Miraculous or opening the Miracle Box (Protection), assign Miraculous to specific people so that only they can activate it, and making sure that the Miracle Box can only open by their or their chosen successor's hand (Subjection), repair damaged Miraculous (Evolution), and even sever the bond between a rogue wielder and their Miraculous (Destruction).

Alas, Fu never had access to these powers. For security reasons, the ceremony that binds the Box to a new Guardian can only be performed by the current Guardian or, in the absence of one, by all off the eight kwami. With the previous Guardian dead and Nooroo lost, there was simply no way to give Fu the Guardianship. As Guardian-in-training he was allowed to open the box and give out Miraculous, but nothing more than that.

[midnightcoffes]

so uh i got no time to doodle today so I'll be doing a analysis for day 9:

Camicazi, Fishlegs, The Slavemark and Hiccup on How to Steal a Dragon's Sword

The first time I read this book, I have to admit, I was disappointed when Camicazi didn't manifest for Hiccup when his Slavemark was revealed. But now, re-reading the books after months, I think I got it. I got the reason why she didnt manifest (and metaphorically turned her back on him) and why Fishlegs did manifest, and acted so viscerally in loyalty to Hiccup.

It's because the world turned their back on Fishlegs and Hiccup a lot of times before.

It turned their back on them when Snotlout called them useless, said they would be better dead and no one cared to disagree. It turned their back on Fishlegs when he was throw into the sea for being a runt. It turned their back on Hiccup when his dad didn't listened to him. It turned their back on them all the times they were bullied, humiliated, excluded, and no one, except each other, cared.

They were to each other the only safe place, the only way to be accepted and loved for their true selves. And if Fishlegs turned his back on Hiccup at this moment, he would be turning his back to his own self, because Hiccup was his only family and the only one who didn't gave up on him all those times before.

Camicazi, for other side, never knew this all, and never experienced this all.

She IS their best friend. Is undeniable. But she didn't went through the years and years of bullying and mistreatment, and a lot of times she's shown to be surprised that Hiccup went through it, because she always sees a different side of him: always the Hiccup that creates miraculous plans, that has no fear to risk his life for protecting people (and dragons), the one who kept beating Alvin again and again. Camicazi is familiar to the Hero Hiccup, not to the 'Useless' one.

And we might as well go a bit further into Camicazi's own life: for what we see of her, she is boastful, proud, and confident most of the time. She doesn't has the expected physique of a Viking, but even being short and skinny, she is talented in everything she was expected to: she's an amazing swordfighter, a master in stealing, an expert at insulting people, has an amazing dragon and well, many times she acts fearless. Is clear that Bertha is proud of her. Is clear that she knows that she is good. Is clear that she didn't went through what the boys did.

I'm not saying Camicazi had the perfect childhood. She might have had bad times – bet that being captured so many times does not do good for the mind of a kid (because is that what they all are). All I'm saying is that their childhood wasn’t the same, and this causes Camicazi to be shocked to her core when she sees the Slavemark on Hiccup.

She must have felt, at a certain point, betrayed. Because "Why didn't he told her? Weren't they best friends?" and she saw a image so distorted of Hiccup that she believed he was the Perfect Hero. A perfect hero shouldn't have the Slavemark. And that's what breaks the idolized thought she had from him.

So I don't blame her for not manifesting for Hiccup. Not anymore.

Thats it for the day! I had more to say but the migraines truly got my ass and now I cant even look at the letters right. This is more a rant than a analysis but well. its life lol

(also just to be said english is not my first language and im not fluent on it so. just know that this would be ten times better in my mother language. im sorry for any mistakes!)

[theerurishipper]

It's so sad that with the way the love square is characterized I couldn't say with a clear conscious that if Adrien was the one to have a panic attack or mental breakdown Marinette in anyway could handle taht in their relationship. She was never asked to give him this kind of support in return, she only received it while Adrien did all the work to make their relationship happen and conveniently as possible for her.

Or heaven have mercy if Chat Noir had a panic attack or mental breakdown. Chat in Revolution ended up indirectly confessing to Ladybug how unbelievably low his self-worth still is and he only fake it til you make it for her this season, and even if Marinette felt bad for him it was still clear as day in her eyes how badly she wanted him to stop voicing it bc in their dynamic she was never asked to learn to actually supporting him the way he does her.

All she did was saying a little sentence of "You were perfect, Kitty" which from her perspective was well intentioned but Adrien himself wouldn't be able to do anything more with that than categorizing it once again as "Ladybug wants to comfort me and is struggling" bc after season 4 her claiming only now that he was perfect at the end of season 5, when s5 Ladynoir barely asked anything of Ladybug Chat just accepted he has no right to make errors or need help anymore bc Ladybug is stressed™ and needs a care taker - then "you were perfect, Kitty" is the worst wording I can imagine.

For as sweet as taht sentence SHOULD have been, it's only from Marinette's perspective (and when you ignore that she once again says nothing more than a mere sentence as per usual, which is honestly such a painfully underwhelming bar at this point. 5 seasons of partnership and she never improved in giving support. That's honestly sad.)

That sentence makes me so upset and I'm at least glad she at least helps him find the strength to over power the miraculous transformation time limit, but her eyes when he admits to how non existing his self-worth still is just... disappointed me.

I tried reading it in good faith for so long but her eyes show that she doesn't want Chat Noir to voice these doubts in their dynamic because she can't handle it and Adrien then proceeded to take what little she gave him because she made clear that this sentence alone was already asking too much of her again. This is such an one sided partnership, Chat can't voice ANYTHING because Ladybug still can't give more than surface level help.

I couldn't even imagine what would happen if Chat Noir dared to have a panic attack and it didn't manifest in convenient obedient helplessness. He would have to somehow will himself out of the breakdown, deny that anything of importance happened and then make sure SHE doesn't continue feeling bad about herself not being good at helping him.

Sorry for ranting, but thinking about how the Love Square falls apart each and every time Adrien is the one to need help and nothing ever asks Marinette to actually improve in her weaknesses in their dynamics, the moment he isn't cuddling her into development while also serving as her punching bag to take her issues out on him (for which she is also never held accountable or asked to not do it. She can do with him whatever she wants and it's all 100% justified bc she had a bad emotion while simultaneously Adrien has to learn that any bad emotion he feels is literally female oppression)

Is just extremely frustrating.

If Adrien in season 6 feels bad that his father is dead or maybe even both of his parents, I can't imagine how that is supposed to work in their dynamic. It's not a problem Marinette can hit with force and then undo with magic and surface level "I'm sure it'll be fine" won't do it. But it's Marinette Dupain-Cheng. How realistic is it actually to expect more from her from here onwards?

Anon, you put it into words better than I ever could.

It really does bug me that Adrien is never allowed to ask for help from Marinette. Season 4 was literally all about him learning that he wasn't allowed to ask her for anything, and you can clearly see that. He literally shot down Plagg's suggestion to ask Ladybug for help in Conformation because he literally doesn't think he can ask anything of her. Season 4 was full of Ladybug paying lip service to him about how much she needs him and then pretty much never actually taking the time to validate his concerns and try to mend their partnership, even when he tried to voice his concerns. She always went on the defensive and it ended with him just accepting it and resigning himself to being her second fiddle.

And hell, look at Destruction in Season 5. Chat Noir is so distressed about Cataclysming Monarch, and Ladybug can't offer him comfort because she's having her own breakdown. And you just know that if Ladybug mortally wounded someone like that, then Chat Noir would be expected to put his feelings aside and comfort her. Season 5 was full of Chat Noir being the perfect partner for Ladybug on whom she can rely on emotionally and who has learnt the lesson that he must never ask a thing of her, even if he is in danger.

But anyway, you're completely right anon. With all this being said, I have no expectation that Season 6 will allow Adrien to feel sad about becoming an orphan, because that would necessitate that Marinette try to console him, and we can't have any of those feelings that inconvenience Marinette, now can we?

Thank you for your ask!

[beheworthy]

You know, I'm always in hater mode, so I thought I'd share something sweet about watching Thor movies in the theatre - I quite literally manifested my bestie watching Thor4 with me in the theatre when she lived 3000 KM away.

I've been watching first day first show of the movies Thor appears in since Avengers2 (2015). For Thor3 (2017) - my dad had been away on transfer for 3 years and I told him I want to watch it with him. The original plan was that he'd take off from work and get here but as it happened, he got transferred back here in July and we could easily watch it in November when it released. I believe I manifested him back to us.

He doesn't speak much English but he was explaining the plot to me mid-movie. And before he only knew Leo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp as Hollywood, now he also knows Hammer Guy.

Funnily enough, our showing got canceled for unexpected technical reasons - something that has never happened before or since. I think that was the universe trying to protect me like 'babygirl you are about to be handed your supervillain origin story' lol.

When Thor4 was announced in 2019, after screaming and crying and throwing up, I immediately texted my bestie who moved 3000 KM away from me that we watching this in the theatre. I don't care if she comes here or if I have to go there. For some reason, I kept thinking she would manifest here just like Dad did, even though there seemed to be no way for it. When the release date was postponed, I told her I didn't care how much it was delayed or postponed, she needs to be here. And she kept saying 'yeah sure' even though there was no way.

But, miraculously, she came to her friend's wedding here in February 2022. From there, she went to live with her relatives in the city. And then she shifted to a PG (paying guest) close by before finally coming to her own home in the city to oversee its renovation. It was not decided how long she'd stay. But it became clear she'd at least stay till the movie's release in July.

And so we watched it together. Just as I'd told her we would back in 2019 when the film was announced. Even that day, the tap of her mid-renovation bathroom broke, spilling water all over her. She had to fix it temporarily and get changed to reach the theatre. We barely made it,  the second the movie started.

After the movie, we went back to her home where poor she was doing regular chores while I was chewing her ear ranting.

My bestie's floormate in the PG she stayed in briefly was such a huge Chris fan she had his posters on the wall (when I say Indians love him). She was obviously planning to watch this movie with her girlfriends and asked my bestie to join. Bestie said, "It was decided that I'd watch it first day first show the day this movie was announced." And she goes, "I had no idea you were such a big fan of him as well!". Bestie was like, "You wouldn't believe!"

And then she went back 3000 KM away in late August. She literally was here for a few months to watch the movie with me!

So yeah, I've always manifested people back with Thor films and it's such a special experience outside of turning me into a supervillain. I know who I'm gonna watch Thor5 with as well.

[pisoprano]

This is an ML salt post, particularly about Lila Rossi. If you are actually excited about Lila being the main villain in future season(s), this post isn't for you, I just need to rant. A lot.

I hate Lila Rossi. I hate her with a burning passion. Literally every episode where she shows up, my hatred for this character will manifest in me saying "I hate her" the moment she opens her mouth, followed by seething throughout every moment she spends onscreen.

In prior seasons, this wasn't much of an issue--she'd show up for a couple episodes and then she'd disappear 90% of the time, so I could usually just focus on literally anything else in the show. With season 5, however, she started showing up much more. I knew it was coming, of course--the foreshadowing that she would be the successor to Hawkmoth has been visible since season 3, and it was announced that he'd be gone after this season. But if the show had ended at season 5 as originally intended, butterfly!Lila could have been a theoretical problem for adult!Ladybug and adult!Chat Noir in 10 years. But since the powers that be have decided to have the show continue past Gabriel Agreste, Lila is a problem now and will be a problem at least until Chris Lahiffe is a teenage boy, if "Timetagger" is any indication. And we, the audience, will be forced to suffer through all of it.

Why, though, do I hate the idea of Lila being the main villain? I was fine with having Gabriel in the villain seat for five seasons despite him being a terrible father and manipulative git, after all. With Gabriel, there was a particular humanity to him that made him interesting--this entire show is about love and Gabe's love was so overwhelming and myopic and self-serving that he resorted to villainy while convincing himself that he was secretly the hero all along, sacrificing everything (even his morality) for the woman he loved. He used his love as an excuse to justify the harm he caused Paris and his very own son. As he continually reached for forbidden means to get what he wanted, his dreams ballooned in scope--he'd defied the odds when he'd married above his station, he'd defied the odds when he'd become a world-renowned designer, he'd defied the odds when he found the miraculous and created the perfect son--and so it became all too natural for him to fight the impossible fight as Hawkmoth because he deserved to win this too. And the whole time, unbeknownst to either of them, he's fighting against the son who he's been neglecting and controlling in his fight to save someone who never wanted to be saved? That stuff is fascinating.

Lila, though? She's got none of that complexity. She's a consummate liar who hates the protagonists and literally nothing else. In other shows, she'd be the transfer student who shows up for an episode, gets exposed as a fraud by the end of that episode, and then literally never be seen again. This show, however, has Lila overstay the welcome that her character archetype is built for and instead be a recurring problem. And, because a liar can only get away with lying if the surrounding characters don't know she's lying, Lila is made untouchable by the plot. Other villainous characters have some plot immunity to their evilness--Chloe, obviously, has the automatic win condition of demanding her father to get her out of trouble whenever she wants. But Lila's plot immunity comes from an inexplicable ability to manipulate everyone around her (besides our main protagonists, who are forced to only cry wolf). She makes all the supporting cast love her without help, she does so even to characters we'd expect to know better. When she first showed up, her lies weren't even good and still she gets away with her reputation in tact basically every time. The one time where she does get exposed to everyone, she gets to have an easy redo by making up a completely new identity to try again. She's a Villain Sue. And her very presence weakens the story she's in.

Lila only exists because the writers decided to make an absolute hate sink. They absolutely succeeded in doing so. And frankly, that's a problem. Most of the time, if you're going to have a character in a show for any length of time, they should be likeable on some level. They could be sympathetic or competent or proactive or even just have a personality that's fun to watch, but the audience shouldn't feel like the character is a waste of viewing time. Lila isn't someone the audience can identify with, her competence is largely in name only (I will allow that her manipulative skills during season 5 are stronger, but her ludicrously bad prior lying and the unexplained nature of her sudden hypercompetence now aren't nearly enough to make me forgive her here). Lila's sometimes doing things behind the scenes, sure, but she has the laughably petty objectives of "be famous" and "ruin classmate's life" and I cannot take her actions towards achieving these goals seriously as a bit villain, let alone a primary antagonist. And--worst of all--her voice is extremely annoying. I will suffer through a myriad of things, but I can only listen to nails on a chalkboard so long before need to leave the room.

And this might be a bit of a hot take, but honestly? I don't think Lila was even necessary in the first place. In episodes like "Volpina" or "Oni-Chan," she could have been replaced with Chloe (our original mean girl who's clingy with Adrien--she might not be my favorite character either, but at least she's funny). I'm positive that the plot of "Catalyst" and "Miraculer" could have been reworked to happen without Lila's involvement without much effort. The entire subplot of Lila being Adrien's modelling partner was more about Gabriel controlling his son--it could have been easily about forcing Adrien to be alone instead of forcing him to be with someone he didn't like. The fact that Lila shows up so little in the first four seasons just goes to prove how unnecessary she is. She only becomes important in season 5 because the writers now know that they need to prepare for a new supervillain to fill Gabriel's shoes after he leaves--and she's the only one who comes anywhere close to fitting. So, suddenly, she's being far more active than she ever was (almost half of her total appearances are in season 5 alone), but her motivations are less clear than ever, so I'm left assuming that this hollow character must still have the hollowest of motivations--popularity, power, getting back at the kids who rebuffed her... after having 5 seasons of truly delicious drama, why on earth would I want to turn the worst thing about those 5 seasons into main course?

I know I am far from being alone in hating Lila Rossi's character. There are literally thousands of fics tagged with "Lila's Lies Are Exposed" because so many readers want to see her be punished for her actions. I'm actually not really a fan of these--I don't take joy in seeing Lila being taken down. I want her to disappear from the narrative entirely. If the current state of United States politics has taught me anything, it's that that watching a terrible person get their comeuppance is never as satisfying as you think it will be because that terrible person will keep popping up and keep being terrible and keep forcing you to think about them. The best possible punishment I can think of for Lila is to act like she's just an OC made from some background character that never mattered in the first place--and then never have to think about her existence in the show again.

I was happy to watch the first 5 seasons of Miraculous Ladybug. I wish it had only been those 5 seasons (side note: Chat deserved to go up against his father in the final battle. I get that he couldn't since the mandate for more seasons requires the identities to be intact, but this was the point in the narrative when the reveal was meant to happen and it has weakened the story to move it elsewhere). I haven't decided to not watch season 6 at this point, but knowing who I will have to deal with in every episode? It's making it very difficult for me to want to continue any further.

[yolowritter]

Miraculous Adventurer Au 3: Time to spill the tea!

So...anyone remember back here when I said "this AU is still alive and kicking"? Yeah it's kicking alright. Kicking and screaming as I drag it out of my WIP pile! Welcome back to the show everyone, it's been a while! If you guys want a recap of what this Au is about (+ the Origins episode) I highly encourage you to go read part 2 of this Au here. Yes, I did just link it twice. No, I don't care. Anyway, this is just an info/idea dump for this AU, because it was in my head yesterday and refuses to let me write anything until I rant about it!

First off, I wanna explain the magic system a little better. People don't have actual "classes" like DnD, they just happen to be good at certain things and not great at others, just like real-life proficiencies! There's plenty of types of elemental magic like Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, Thunder, Light, Dark, etc. but not all of them can be casted by humans. Some magic subtypes are excusive to certain races (for example plant-related Earth magic is a druid-only thing), and others are very very rare, to the point where only a few people in the whole world can use a certain type of spells. It doesn't really need to go beyond "medieval fantasy magic", so I'm trying not to overcomplicate it. You're here for the characters and the lore, anyway.

Secondly, let's talk characters! I have almost everyone from the Miraculous Cast making an appearance in this AU, some as adventurers who encounter the Core 4 party (Ladybug, Chat Noir, Carapace and Rena Rouge), some as other roles! Here's a short list to give you an idea of what everyone does! Oh, and I should mention that everyone is in their early to mid twenties here, concerning taverns and the like. The legal drinking age in Medieval Fantasy Land is 18, so we're all good.

Marinette: Adventurer and aspiring fashion designer, travels with "Team Miraculous", including Chat Noir, Nino and Alya. Her adventurer name is Ladybug, and she really didn't mean to get wrapped up in all this hero business. Turns out wanting some extra cash can really go arwy if you tango with the local cat enthusiast. Marinette is the daughter of two bakers from a backwater village, and has always dreamed of being a famous seamstress in the Capital. Now an adult and having saved up for the trip, she ends up in a small town not far from her own home. Wanting additional funds for when she eventually arrives at the city of her dreams, Marinette decides to offer her services to any adventurer whose clothing might need adjustment or repair. Surely this won't lead to her signing up with the Guild, right? Cue the Origins episode from part 2.

Adrien: Son to Gabriel and Emilie Agreste, Prince of the Kingdom. Isolated in his childhood to be protected from political scheming, Adrien has only a few friends that he can rely on. His cousin Felix, and a rich noble girl named Chloe Bourgeois who took an interest in him when they were children. A few months ago, he recieved a marriage proposal from an eastern kingdom, and his parents introduced him to Princess Kagami, a stoic but passionate girl who he becomes fast friends with. But one day, tired and suffocated by his palace life, Adrien seeks to live out his own life away from rules and regulations. With the help of his betrothed and cousin, he and Felix switch places, allowing Adrien to don the mask of Chat Noir and freely travel as an adventurer.

Alya: A girl from a small village in the outskirts of the Kingdom, Alya has a high potential for magic powers. Unfortunately, no matter what type she tries to cast, she has great difficulty with even the simplest of spells, leading her to develop a desire to discover mysteries and the arcane as a way to try out new methods of manifesting this supposed potential. During an encounter with Ladybug and Chat Noir, Alya finds out she's proficient in Illusion Magic, for which a caster hasn't been seen in at least a century.

Nino: Childhood friend and later boyfriend to Alya, who happily supports her mystery solving and looks after his fiery and lovable girlfriend. Has a talent for music and defensive magic, and is a local bard. He knows their small village won't keep Alya occupied forever, and once she manifests her illusion magic, decides to follow in the footsteps of the adventurers who saved her and travel the land at Alya's side.

Chloe: Daughter to a backwater Baron, she's been spoiled her whole life in lieu of any parental attention. Her mother is famous in the world of high society, and so Chloe often gets invited to balls and functions where she presents herself as cold and untouchable despite her techincally low station. Once meeting the young prince Adrien, Chloe felt he was unprepared to deal with the "snakes" of the royal court, and took to being an overprotective friend through their childhoods. She still has unresolved anger issues regarding parental figues, and is extremely jealous of a village girl named Marinette, whose town her father's manor happens to be near, for having the loving parents she's always wanted.

Felix: Cousin to Prince Adrien and son of the late Duke Fathom of Lunden. Coming from a prestigious family and looking almost identical to his cousin due to the Graham De Vanily family having historically superior genetics, Felix is not much different than other nobles in terms of attitude. Cold, calculative and extremely cunning, he thrives in situations where backhanded compliments and polite threats are the norm. Having been isolated from the world by his father to be moulded into the "perfect heir", Felix lacks proper social skills, making up for this fault with sarcasm and quick wit.

Kagami: Princess to one of the Eastern Kingdoms, Kagami Tsurugi is the daughter of a queen despised by her people. Perhaps using her last bit of sense, Tomoe Tsurugi has sent her away to be married off to a western prince, who surprisingly turns out to be quite sweet and kind-hearted. However, while she could see herself and Prince Adrien becoming great friends, there exists no true spark of love between them despite his parents' enthusiastic support of their engagement. Kagami is stoic and prefers those who refuse to hesitate or mince their words...and happens to fall in love with exactly such a man. Adrien's cousin Felix, who quickly falls for her in turns during the few short weeks of wedding preparations. Explanaing the situation to Felix's mother and Kagami's fiance, the four devise a plan to ensure everyone gets their happy ending. With Adrien hurrying away to a life of adventure, Kagami is left to adjust to court life with Felix at her side, needing only to ensure Gabriel and Emilie don't realize their son is not who he seems...

Luka: Travelling bard and former boyfriend to one Marinette Dupain Cheng, what Luka lacks in magical profiency is made up for with great empathy and a golden heart. Coming from the family of a famous pirate, Luka sought to venture the world by land, and make a legitimate living unlike his mother, Anarka. Trusting the retired pirate queen with the safety of his younger sister Juleka, Luka left home to travel, and happened upon a village girl he quickly fell in love with. Despite their mutual feelings for one another, Luka still had big dreams of performing in the royal capital someday, and asked Marinette to come with him so they could be together. Unwilling to abandon all she's ever known, she refused his offer, leading to a mutual breakup. Two years later, Luka happens to visit Marinette's home town again, only to realize she's left it behind. Determined to find his one true love, Luka sets out to find out where she's gone, making new friends along the way.

Okay, that's it for the main cast! I have some details about the secondary characters such as Alix, Kim, Mylene, Ivan, miss Bustier, etc. but I'll add them at a later post. If you're interested in someone specific, feel free to shoot me an ask!

Thirdly and lastly, the storyline! I'll be honest, it doesn't necessarily have to be concrete! Since Gabriel is a standup guy and his wife is very much alive, there is no Hawkmoth! I won't spoil if Lila is or isn't here, that's for a later post, but aside from her...there isn't really a villain here. The Adventurer Au is only meant to be a light-hearted slice-of-life type of story, with the occasional beats thrown in regarding the Lore. For example, Alya and Nino becoming adventurers and quickly joining up with Ladynoir to form Team Miraculous. Chloe calling them back to her manor for a job, and joining up with the gang as Queen Bee for a short time. Ladybug bumping into Luka at some point. The Team finally arriving at the Capital, where Marinette has to wrestle between staying with her friends or going after her dreams. Obviously much more, and I do have an entire plotline about what happens when they finally arrive at the Capital regarding Adrien/Chat Noir, Felix and Kagami! That's actually going to be the subject matter next time, since I really want to share it with everyone! Until then, Stay Miraculous!

[cherryonclouds]

Random ish thought thay relates to manifestation.

Spoilers for miraculous ladybug s5e1

Why would you fight Ladybug and Cat Noir when you have the bunny miraculous?

Fighting Ladybug and Cat Noir is akin to fighting and/or engaging with your undesirable circumstances. You cannot find a solution while fighting with your problems.

Gabriel Agreste made some decisions which led aforementioned superheroes being called into action.

The funny/annoying part of it? He had the bunny miraculous. The miraculous of time. His assistant gave him a tool which would have fixed the peacock miraculous before he gave it to his wife.

So his end goal - that his wife lives, would have been resolved without even the existence of Ladybug and Cat Noir.

But noooooo, for the sake of effing plot, he decided to fight my girl and boy and then was most salty when they got back the bunny miraculous.

Um, chile - you didn't even need to make a wish and put someone else in a coma. All you had to do was drop off a flash drive to fix the damn brooch and your family would have stayed together.

You also don't need all that plot.

Circling back to how this relates to manifestation though - you can't change your present situation by engaging with it in a way that makes you feel like you have to fight. If you're lashing out, then you're stressed out about it. Don't fight it.

The good thing is that you may not ever have to use the law of assumption form of the bunny miraculous (revision), but you can change your present situation.

Usually by taking care of yourself and enjoying your life. Making sure your mental health is stable. Dropping the focus of the manifestation until you feel comfortable enough to think about it in a lighthearted, non-obsessive manner.

Because in any case, if you already had it, you'd be focusing on yourself, ensuring your mental health is stable and so on.

But yeah this was just a long rant about not trying to fight your circumstances, because the more you engage with it is the more you maintain it. That and a rant about fucking Gabriel Agreste. What a garbage man.

[itsmeevie01]

Before A Moment in Time

ok! this is a LOT of information, but i wanted to make it easier to understand whats going on in my head when i write over the next bit!

MASTERPOST

this is Before A Moment in Time. Enjoy!

Three years before A Moment in Time. One year after Hawkmoth appeared.

Marinette Dupain Cheng is sitting at her desk. Second row back left side. Making her way up the stairs is her friend Alya Césaire. The two girls have been practically inseparable for the last year.

Fuming one row down on the other side of the aisle is Chloé Bourgeoise. Her eyes are glued to where Marinette is smiling at Alya. Nino Lahiffe is sitting in front of Marinette. His headphones are on, and his hand is moving over a sheet of paper that has a music staff on it.

Adrien Agreste can be seen bounding up the stairs, his eyes alight with the joy of going to school, even a year after he started. Behind Marinette and Alya are Rose and Juleka. Across from them are Ivan and Nathaniel. Behind the boys are Alix and Kim, who are across from Mylene and Sabrina.

Max is sitting behind the two girls by himself. In the empty seat next to him, the tech genius has a computer running through a code that he is trying to double-check.

As their classmates greet each other during the first day of school, Madam Bustier can be seen enter into the room, one Lila Rossi walking behind her curiously.

As Bustier called the class to attention, Marinette shared one more smile with Alya before spinning around. When she was facing the front, the teen blinked.

Standing there was a girl who looked vaguely familiar. It took the teen a moment before she realized that this was Lila Rossi. This was the girl who had been sued by both Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale. This was a gold digger that they had warned her about.

Chloé must have made the same connection because Marinette’s phone started to blow up.

 Mariii + Chlo

Chlo- OH HELL NO

Chlo- M this chit cannot sit with me

Chlo- Dad sued her over the summer

Chlo- MARINETE

Mariii- Chlo

Mariii- hey chill

Mariii- I got this. If you can sit with Alya.

Chlo- anything

Chlo- MY WONDERFUL NONCOFFEE DEALER KEEP ME AWAY FROM THE FUCKING DEVIL

Mariii- on it, queenie

 Marinette looked up as the bell rang. Alya gave her a concerned look. With a smile, the younger girl bumped her friend’s shoulder. “Hey, Als, since I’m class president, I think it would be best if I welcome the new girl. Could you go sit with Chloé today? I promise that we can go back to normal once we get her settled.” Alya flashed her friend a smile before giving the girl a side hug.

“of course, Mari! You have such a big heart!” the girls traded smiles before Alya packed her stuff up and moved to sit with the haughty blonde. The noirette saw her teacher give her an approving smile for diffusing the situation so easily, without conflict.

Inwardly, Marinette scoffed. Outwardly, the girl gave her teacher a glowing smile in return.

 Marinette truly tried to be nice to Lila. Really, she did. Early on, the girl had learned that being nice was a better route when interacting with people who she didn’t know. Even if it was just a small smile, the noirette had always found success from kindness.

Lila was a sweet girl who had batted her eyes at her and given Marinette a small smile. The two had spent the first period of school passing notes and getting to know each other.

In all honesty, Marinette had no idea why the Italian girl next to her was branded a manipulative liar in her world. Then, during the break, Marinette saw what was going on.

When the rest of the class gathered to introduce themselves, Lila panicked. Then, Lila shifted her posture just slightly. She smiled a blinding smile that stood out to Marinette as obviously fake. She started interacting with the class, sickly sweet and subtly guiding them to beliefs.

Shaking her head, Marinette turned away. She had time during her break to call a certain someone. She needed more answers.

 “Clara! Hey… do you have a moment?” through the phone, Clara Nightingale, giggled.

“Of course, Marinette! What is going on with my favorite little cousin? Is everything ok?” the young teen hesitated, before shaking her head.

“I need you to tell me more about Lila Rossi” the dark look that crossed the singer’s face confirmed many of Marinette’s worries.

 When she sat down next to Chloé in the hotel restaurant for lunch, a look of pure disgust was dancing on her face. “this girl has filled a level of malice that I have never heard of. Chloé, she has manipulated every person of interest under the sun who doesn’t have the common sense to not listen to her bull shit. Chlo…this girl is vile. Clara told me what they had to do to sue her. One of the requirements of Lila not going to prison for a long time was getting a psych eval. Chloé…this girl is only fifteen! This is insane...” Chloé raised an eyebrow, surprised.

“Today it looked like you two were good friends. Or on the way there at least.” The noirette shook her head in disgust.

“she has some good traits, but as soon as she gets in front of the crowd…she abandons everything for power. I can't trust her, but it seems that she is under multiple restraining orders. I get the feeling that as long as we stay out of her webs, we should be fine. Jagged texted though. He said that Lila can be vicious if she is provoked.” Here, Marinette looked Chloé dead in the eye. “do not cause trouble. I don’t want you to have to go toe to toe with her, Chloé.”

 Six months later.

 Marinette is settled at her desk, the swivel chair reclined as she looked at the Blonde who was in her room, grinning.

“did she really ask you out?” Chloé’s excitement paired with her nosiness was making Marinette steadily turn Lady Tyche red. Turning back to her desk, Marinette tried to hide her flaming face.

“she asked me if I wanted to go out…like a date…before my birthday.” The noirette tugged slightly on her hair. Her anxiety that had been manifesting more and more at school was not helping her now. “I told Aurore yes. We haven’t set a date yet, but it’ll be soon.” Chloé raised an eyebrow.

“are you two going on your first date on Valentine’s day? Because Mari…I refuse to be best friends with someone so cliché.” The girl flamed a darker red if that was possible.

“I really like her Chlo. But…no. she asked about the 14th. I told her that I was going to spend time with my parents that day. Plus,” here, Marinette turned back to her friend with a Cheshire cat grin. “We,” She gestured between her best friend and herself, “have a standing date. we have for the last three years. Why would I break a pact we made when we were ten, over a girl I haven’t gone on one date with yet?” Chloé’s face broke into a matching grin.

“oh, hell yea. Then, I guess I could help you get ready for that first date of yours…” the friends broke down into giggles and started debating the merits of each of the outfits the young designer had in mind.

 That night on patrol, Lady Tyche alighted on the roof of one of the local lycées.

Her blonde hair whipped in the wind that had been howling all afternoon. Across the streets, the spotted hero was able to see a pair of blue luminous eyes. Using her yoyo to pull herself over the street, the girl smiled at the younger miraculous wielder.

When her red boots hit the roof, Apate handed the girl an unmarked bag. Inside was a pastry and a hot chocolate. Both girls knew they were in for a long night.

 Apate stood noiselessly and moved to the edge of the roof. As she stood there, profiled against the ridgeline, Lady Tyche smiled to herself. Her partner could be as vicious as she wanted when they were fighting Akumas, but the girl who stood in front of her was very kind.

The Cat vigilante, as she insisted she was no hero, had a pair of ears on her head.

They were flicking to and fro while she listened to the night below. Her hands were resting on her hips, one hand toying with the baton that was usually kept in a holster on her leg. The girl’s other hand was fiddling with a ring she had slid off her finger. The skintight black pants blended into the night. The black top she was wearing also seemed to disappear when Lady Tyche wasn’t looking for her partner.

Even now, with Apate being backlit by the city lights around them, the Tyche was the more visible of the two.

“She’s coming.” Apate’s voice broke her partner out of her thoughts. “Let’s hope tonight goes the way we want it to. Otherwise, we could be royally screwed.” The Hero nodded in agreement.

 “I trust Alya. She has been a good fit for Trixx so far.” Apate hmmed in response.

“I fear that our…favorite Italian…may be too close to her. I don’t our fox’s head full of lies and manipulations if I can help it at all.” Lady Tyche winced. She had heard all about Lila’s renewed attack on the allegiances of the class that her crush was in. the past few weeks had not been pretty.

  “No! That’s…you told Lila that I was going to be your first partner! Why did you lie to both me and your best friend! Everyone knows that Lady Tyche can’t do this alone anymore! She NEEDS Miss Vixen!” Lady Tyche closed her eyes and Alya’s rant ended with a yell. The anger simmering on the reporter’s face was worrying the hero.

“Alya. I have not told anyone about you. A few people have seen you training and on patrols. You ran the ‘exclusive’,” the disdain in Lady Tyche’s voice had Alya wincing. “but no one has confirmed anything. There is a good reason. The hope,” here, the Blonde teen’s voice turned cutting, “was that you could work in the shadows. There is only one visible member of this team, but I have never been alone. Tonight, and this attitude. Well, Alya, it has proven that you are not ready to be a holder of the miracle stones.”

The ladybug holder looked over to the roof next to where she and the trainee had been standing. There, in the shadows, were a pair of blue eyes. “go ahead, Apate. Wipe her memory of all of this.”

Seven months after Alya’s Miraculous is taken away. Two years after Hawkmoth started. Two years before A Moment in Time.

Aurore smiled at the girl holding her hand.

The two were walking home from their first day of Lycée. Aurore’s blonde hair fell around her shoulders as she turned to look at Marinette.

The 14-year-old, a certified genius, was glowing at the excitement that their first day of school had brought. Although she no longer was friends with Alya, there were no real hard feelings. The rift between the former classmates had made it easier to integrate Marinette and Aurore’s social circles. Claude, Allen, Chloé, Aurore, Mireille, Nino, Kim, Kagami, Felix.

Their group was full of laughter and life. They spent most of their weekends together, even over the summer. To everyone else, the group was the picture-perfect group of teens. Inseparable for life. Aurore had loved it for so long, had loved watching her girlfriend grow. Tonight, however, she had a feeling that the last half-year was going to be left in the past.

She and Marinette needed to have a talk.

 Chloé held her best friend as the girl cried.

The two had been sitting on the floor of the heiress’s hotel suit for the last hour and a half. When the small girl had shown up, wearing an old pair of Chloé’s sweats that had disappeared years ago, sniffling into the sleeves of the hoodie she was swamped in, the older girl’s big sister senses had gone off.

Now, as her friend started to calm down, Chloé shoved a pile of clothes at her friend.

“put these on, we are leaving.” Marinette glanced at her friend in confusion, before taking the clothes and slowly changing into the skinny jeans and loose grey top. A moment later, a green corduroy jacket was being flung at her by the blonde 16-year-old who had changed as well.

Quickly catching the jacket and sliding on the matching converse that Chloé had given her, Marinette stood to join her friend. Chloé picked up her purse and looked over the two.

While she had given her best friend a simple outfit that be comfortable for the train ride that her friend didn’t know was coming, Chloé had taken a minute longer before deciding to match her friend. Her jeans were light wash as opposed to dark, and she wore a fitted white t-shirt with a cartoon spider hiding in a red chrysanthemum. The red corduroy jacket was the same color as both the embroidery and her own red converse.

“Let's go, Minette. We are going to the country house. You can truly cry there. Horses await.”

 After Marinette and Aurore broke it off, the friends drifted apart. Kagami, Felix, Nino, and Kim refused to let the others blame the split on Marinette. Mireille, Claude, and Allen claimed that Marinette was more likely to be the cause. They couldn’t imagine Aurore doing anything to hurt the teen.

Chloé, Aurore, and Marinette kept their mouths shut over the whole debacle.

Chloé hadn’t heard the whole story, but she knew that Aurore had hurt her friend, and it had led to a discussion that led to the girls both walking away in tears.

It would only be years later that the girls would reveal that they had broken up because of the confusion around their secret identities.

 A week after the fateful breakup, Adrien Agreste pulled Marinette off to the side after class.

“Adrien are you ok?” the girl asked, confused. while usually, the two didn’t interact, Marinette had noticed that all day Adrien had been pale and shaking.

“I need help Marinette. Usually, I would go to Chloé, but last time she almost got Akumatized and I just…I need help. Please.”

“what’s up?” he glanced over his shoulder, to where a group of their classmates stood gathered around Lila.

“Not here, she can't know.” Marinette blinked in shock before grabbing the model lightly on the arm. After glancing at him with a raised eyebrow, silently asking if it was ok to hold onto his arm, she took off through the halls.

 By the time the two had made it to the home of one Gina Dupain just outside of what Marinette knew to be Hawkmoths reach, the blonde was bewildered. “you know the city so well. How?” she giggled slightly at the older boy before leading him to the kitchen and dropping her bag on one of the breakfast seats.

“I get stir crazy and spend a lot of my time exploring the city. Alix and I go and do Graffiti on the weekends sometimes. That means I’m pretty good at evading sight when I don’t want to be seen.” While her statements were technically true, Marinette had also left out a great deal of information in her response.

She had spent most of her time exploring the city as Apate. She grew up on the streets and would forever feel comfortable slipping into the shadows. She did go out with Alix to do graffiti, but the two also spent a good amount of time jumping into burrows to fix world-ending events.

“now, Adrien, what is going on? If it's bad enough that you don’t want Chloé upset, I expect it to be worth the trip out of the Akuma line.” Adrien nodded nervously, before going into an explanation of what had been happening in the Agreste family home.

 Three years into Hawkmoth’s reign. Marinette’s 2nd year at Lycée

 Adrien spent as much time as possible with Chloe and Marinette.

He had shown up more than once during their girls’ nights. Now, he was expected to be there.

When they had left for the weekend, Adrien had disappeared from the Agreste Manor. When had reappeared in time to get in the car that Monday, he learned that the only person who had noticed he was gone was his bodyguard. The man had called him, before joining the teens on the outing.

While the friends were getting Adrien out from his father’s thumb, Marinette was launching her brand.

She had a discussion during the branding process because the symbol that she had chosen, a chrysanthemum, was incredibly complex. Her grandmother thought it was too much. Marinette had told the older woman that she was going to use the flower because that was the one with meaning to her. She spent three weeks fending off the woman, who sent her a different flower every day, until the girl told the woman that she wasn’t going to change her mind.

Her Grandmother, her Nona, had laughed and told her that she was very stubborn, but that this time it had worked in her favor. The teen had come home that evening to a leather Jacket lying on her bed, with her named arching over the back where a chrysanthemum was embroidered in full bloom.

At the same time that Marinette was officially launching her brand and Adrien was embracing his teen rebellion, Chloé was becoming an influencer on social media. On any day that she wasn’t spending time with her friends, the blonde was working to cultivate her social media image. At 17, she started to model on the side. When she was gone, her friends would get calls during every free moment she had.

Fourth-year of Hawkmoth's Reign. 

The three were friends with the other outcasts from their college class.

Kim and Nino were often seen with Marinette when she was out on a shopping spree or seeking inspiration. 

Alix and Marinette were close, and after she became guardian at 14, Marinette had given the Pinkett and crash course on the miraculous, since she had inherited one. The two would always be fond of jumping through time and space to face world-ending events.

Kagami had insisted that Adrien and his cousin Felix make up, and now the three were a force to be reckoned with. As they entered their last year of Lycée, the friends felt like they were on top of the world.

 There had been a project due that morning that Marinette had forgotten about until the night before.

She had been up all night and had gone through three different super coffees. She had been running late when she burst out the door of the apartment.

There was a mug of coffee that was clutched in her hands, and she wasn’t looking where she was going. The guy that she collided with looked how she felt.

While he was in a suit, they were both clutching coffee mugs that they had moved out of the way on instinct before throwing apologies over their shoulder and going on with their days.

Neither thought anything of it. They had other things to worry about.

Tim Drake and Marinette Dupain Cheng had no idea that their lives had changed permanently with that one interaction that had lasted less than a minute.

AND...3000+ words later, here we are! let me know if yall have any questions.

I wanted to get this out sooner rather than later so that I can start to build with other characters now. I had a lot of fun writing the backstory, and I have thrown Cannon out the window...obviously lol.

tag list!

@moonlitceleste @redscarlet95 @ultimatetornshipper @mochegato @liquid-luck-00 @maskedpainter @trippingovermyfeet @nathleigh  @susiej1118 @t1dwarrior-of-earth @sassakitty @remy-289 @laurcad123  @iamabrownfox @m0chick0furan

[miraculousladyblogg]

I noticed in Oblivio Marinette is not clumsy AT ALL! It got me thinking a lot about her clumsiness. I had always as Ladybug, she was not clumsy because the miraculous corrected it for her. But after noticing this apparently lack of trips and scuffs, I think that this is not the case.

I suspect that Marinette’s clumsiness stems NOT from an actual true issue(or at least not a BAD issue. Not an abnormal issue), but because this has become a part of her identity. Essentially it is a learned behavior. People have told her she is clumsy, therefore as Marinette, she is clumsy! But it’s not a true identity, it’s just who she believes she is! This belief is removed when her memory is wiped, so she doesn’t continue to use this behavior because she has no use for it. It is no longer apart of her identity because she is creating a new one. This is seen when she first becomes Ladybug as well in Orgins! She tells Tikki she can’t be LB because she is too clumsy and not a hero (because that is what she has be TOLD so that is what she believes she is). And when she first starts out she IS a little clumsy. But as she realizes she doesn’t have to follow the identity that she has been stuck in as Marinette, she becomes more confident and suddenly not so clumsy. Ladybug was a clean slate for her, just like Oblivio.

Now there are 2 scenes (there might be more, but I can’t recall more) where she shows a bit of clumsiness in Oblivio. One as Marinette and one as Ladybug. As Marinette she misjudges as she is jumping out of the vent and falls on Adrien (okay we all know the only reason this happens is because the writers are OBSESSED with her and Adrien falling on each other literally. 🤦🏼‍♀️ so unrealistic. How can they make Marinette SO SMALL yet somehow ALWAYS KNOCK ADRIEN DOWN. Sorry, rant for another time). This is clumsy, but notice how they easily get up and she doesn’t continue to be clumsy. In many cases as Marinette, when she is embarrassed or clumsy, she continues to be clumsy. Because she believes it’s her identity! But here she doesn’t have any learned behaviors or beliefs to make her be more clumsy so they just get up and move on. Boom. Done. Normal moment. Not excessive clumsiness. When she is Ladybug she trips over her yo-yo string. And this, I mean come on, there’s going to be some learning curve as a superhero, so there you go.

To further my argument, in Oblivio as she’s reading about the miraculous on her phone, she reads that the miraculous increases all “physically abilities.” Aka helps them jump and run better. And while clumsiness is a physical manifestation, it is NOT a physical issue. It stems from a lack of spacial awareness. Aka, not seeing that there’s a backpack on the stairs and tripping on it. Or misjudging where the ground is and loosing your footing. It’s all in the brain. So if she was TRUELY as clumsy as she is as Marinette, she would be that clumsy as Ladybug.

TLDR: Marinette isn’t really as clumsy as she thinks, she has just been labeled as clumsy and therefore believes this and is clumsy.

[pixiebuggiewrites]

Sorry Wrong Number!

Masterpost - Previous - Next - Ao3 link

Chapter 2:  Hawkmoth has really bad designs and perhaps even worse timing

Since it was her off night from patrol, Ladybug was the last one onto the scene. She landed down on a building next to Viperion, who was observing the akuma’s skillset as Kuro Neko played distraction down below them.

The villain of tonight's look was... interesting to put it nicely. They were a boy around the same age as the heroes that seemed to be wearing a slightly oversized purple and blue three piece suit with a not-so-subtle lightning pattern running up the arms. His hair was shock white and seemed to be defying gravity while his eyes were protected by bright blue goggles-possibly where the akuma was residing. More importantly, he seemed to be covered in electricity, which was gonna make it difficult to get any hits in. He also had a laptop with him- another contender for the akuma’s hiding place but most likely just a weapon.

Not Hawkmoth’s worst design, but it definitely wasn't his finest work either. Though to be fair she had run around in spotted spandex for two years before she found out she could change her costume, so those in glass houses she supposed.

Viperion, noticing the team leader's arrival began to fill her in on what they knew so far.

“They're calling themselves ‘Elect-Trick’, keeps sending out shockwaves to try and knock us back which is frustrating but our suits seem to take the brunt of it which helps but Neko’s staff is a no go at the moment since there's no way to know if it’ll conduct the electricity.”

It likely would, something they had found out the hard way during the last weather akuma they had to face. While magical it was still metallic in nature sadly, which meant she needed to also be careful with her yoyo. She still isn't really sure what it’s made of besides magic, but this was not the way she wanted to find out.

“Alright, in that case we’ll continue to keep him away from the Eiffel Tower, it’s likely the akuma’s going to try and use it as a large conductor. I’m gonna head down, stay up here and be ready to use your second chance at the signal.” She instructed

Viperion nodded and went back to watching the fight just as Ladybug swooped down to join in. She was just in time as the akuma had begun to corner Neko, who had no choice but to rely on playing defense while her staff was out of the mix. The two heroes nodded their heads in greeting as Ladybug yoyo-d her cat themed friend over putting the duo back on even ground with the villain, who seemed to be ranting about school elections of all things.

Which would be a probable explanation for the first half of his name.

The two continued to fight back against the akuma, neither side quite able to grab the upper hand. Ladybugs yoyo-as it turned out, did not conduct electricity afterall. And, seeing as it's practically indestructible she was able to land hits on the akuma without getting shocked. But the akuma had realized the issue with Neko’s staff and was using that to their advantage, aiming a decent chunk of their attacks at the cat hero which forced them to go back on the defense.

As the fight had been going for over an hour at this point, the spotted heroine decided to bring out the big guns. After doing a silent signal letting Viperion know to start his timer, she got in position to call on her lucky charm.

But she didn't get a chance to. Just as she went to throw her yoyo in the air, Viperion called out a warning that sent a feeling of dread through her.

“LB watch out, There's an amok headed straight for the computer!”  

Sure enough, there was an all too familiar purple feather floating through the air on track for the laptop that she quickly caught and purified it before it could land. Thank the Kwami for the power of second chance, nobody wanted to deal with a sentimonster on top of everything else tonight.

Keeping Kuro Neko on the lookout for anymore feathers, She finally activated her lucky charm. Throwing her yoyo up she manifests… a slingshot! She could work with that, just needed to find ammo. Looking around her eyes land firmly on the window of a small toyshop.

Bingo!

Having Viperion keeping an eye out in case he was needed temporarily as backup, she sneaks over and breaks the window with her yoyo. Typically, the heroine would feel bad about causing this much property damage but tonight she’s tired and wants to get this over with so she can make a plan of action for the whole ‘Mayura seems to be back’ thing with her team and maybe get at least a couple hours of sleep. Anyways her miraculous cure would fix the window and return the bouncy balls she was actively stealing so no harm done? After finishing committing what was technically a misdemeanor, she made her way over to the roof Viperion was on and handed off the slingshot supplies before making her way back down.

Luckily Neko had managed to keep Elect-Trick distracted enough for the team to catch him off guard. On Ladybugs call Viperion began to pelt the Akuma with rubber balls, drawing his sight away for long enough to tie him up and take his glasses. One cataclysm later, the teen had been successfully deakumatized and she was able to cast her cure, fixing the decent chunk of property damage caused that night. After making sure the teen was okay to get home safe and getting his address for the interview she would have to conduct later, she turned to her team.

“Good work today guys, let's meet back at base in 30.” Her eyes communicated the urgency of the meeting despite the neutral tone of voice she tried to maintain.

From there the teens all departed in separate directions to recharge their powers and head to the team's secret base.

----------

Okay so secret base was a bit of an overstatement. It is a secret place that the team uses as a base of operations but it was less of a Batcave and more of a repurposed hotel room in Le Grand Paris.

Chloe had brought up the idea after one too many close calls with Marinette's parents while the girls were investigating Hawkmoth. They needed a place to discuss hero work safely without having to talk in code but the question was where. Obtaining an apartment would be difficult as all of them but Luka were still underage, not to mention the issue of trying to pay rent without any parental suspicion. Luckily for Chloe, it's surprisingly easy to just claim a hotel room without being questioned when your Father owns the hotel.

And while it was no Batcave, it wasn't anything to scoff at either. The four teens had been able to pool together enough money in the beginning for the basics, which meant that now any small snuck away chunks of commission money, music gig payments, competition winnings, and allowances were all able to go to improving things bit by bit.

The room was already quite nice, having a separate bedroom that they used as a gym and a kitchenette that was kept well stocked with kwami snacks. Then there was the  main area, which had been split down the middle. The first side was dedicated to the investigation and housing Marinette's Guardian materials, While the second half was a hangout zone where they could chat or decompress after any particularly rough fights.

The base was also secure, Marinette had put so many spells and protections on the room with the help of the kwami that it might as well be a pocket dimension of sorts. The magical security system of sorts was extremely complicated, being tied to the teams auras in a way so that the only way to even find it without being one of them was to be taken there by Ladybug herself. It had taken weeks to pull off but was well worth it to give her team a place that was safe from the outside world.

Ladybug was the first to arrive this time, having flopped down into a chair at their meeting table as her two friends entered the room and joined her. They all sat there for a moment, processing the fact of Mayura’s return. Of course this would happen when they were down a member, it wasn't a complete surprise that the peacock miraculous would come back into play at some point but it was really bad timing.

“So what exactly is the plan?” Viperion asked, finally breaking the silence.

Ladybug sighed, knowing that their workload was going to increase once again. At least it was close to summer vacation.

“First we need to increase patrols- especially around the typical hot spots, Neko do you think we’ll be able to finish those jars by this time next week?”

The cat hero nodded “They're almost done, we’ll need to test them somehow though.”

The two of them had recently been working on a variation of an object enchantment technique mentioned in the grimoire. The original object was dubious in nature, having been used as a cage of sorts that kwami wouldn't be able to phase through. Marinette was disgusted by the thought, further feeding into some suspicions she had about the old order. As she was ranting about it to Kagami about it, her fencer friend got an idea for a way to repurpose the spell to trap akuma when Ladybug couldn't easily get to a fight. It would also allow them a new way to prevent possessions when Ladybug wasn't actively on patrol.

“That's good. Lastly I need Bee’s new number, I was going to ask you for it tomorrow but I need to give her a heads up to start on a new case file. We also might want to move up our plans to contact the heroes there.”

Kuro Neko quickly jotted down the number on a nearby notecard and handed it to Ladybug. After hammering out a few last details about their new patrol schedules the heroes were all free to head home for the night.

The trip home was uneventful, and she arrived home to see that it was just past midnight. She also noticed that her bath bomb had been fixed! It was sometimes a gamble on if something like that would count as akuma damage so it was a nice victory after the day she’s had.

Marinette quickly put in Chloe's number, eager to get to bed. She sent her blonde friend a summary on what happened and let her know to be on the lookout for an email tomorrow with the information to assemble a case file. And with that, Marinette drifted off to sleep.

She had made a small mistake though. In her tired state the young designer’s finger slipped, putting a 5 where there was meant to be a 4.

Meaning Chloe Bourgeois was not the recipient of her intended message.

Good thing she wrote the message in code?

----------

Across the ocean, Damian Wayne received a strange text message.

--------------------------------------------

Taglist (open!!): 

@queencommonsense

[theerurishipper]

Inspired by the Marichat Enemies AU post by @ladyofthenoodle. It was getting too long to continue in the reblogs, so I just made it into a fic!

Parts 1-3 here. And I finally wrote a part 4, for anyone who's interested!

Adrien stared at his computer screen, mind whirling, filled with horror and happiness alike. Behind him, Plagg bounced off various objects and shot across Adrien's room in various directions, unable to stop laughing.

He was in a catgirl tournament. And, for better or worse, he was winning.

"Stop laughing," he muttered, as Plagg's cackles embedded themselves into his mind. Plagg paid him no mind. Adrien continued to stare at the computer screen, perusing the article detailing just how Marinette Dupain Cheng came up with the idea to show her respect and admiration for Chat Noir by having him win the official catgirl tournament.

"Oh, so sneaky, I'm impressed," Plagg snickered, wiping away tears.

"What do you mean?"

Plagg sighed, heading back to his Camembert. "You'll see," he said cryptically, and swallowed the cheese in one go, leaving Adrien to contemplate his existence and the nature of the world.

-

In the same mansion, Gabriel Agreste was facing a dilemma. "Hm," he muttered, pondering his choices. One was a choice he didn't particularly care for, but the other was one that went against everything he stood for.

But he didn't truly have a choice. In the grand scheme of things, Gabriel was forced to accept that in this instance, his will and principles mattered not in the face of a greater goal.

Gabriel Agreste voted for Chat Noir in the official catgirl tournament.

-

Master Fu furrowed his brows, looking over at Wayzz, who nodded solemnly. Ah, the things he did to preserve the balance.

His vote went to Chat Noir.

-

All the way back in London, Felix Fathom didn't hesitate for a second before choosing Chat Noir, snorting derisively all the while.

-

After voting for Chat Noir multiple times with numerous sock puppet accounts, Marinette lay back in her bed, congratulating herself for a job well done. Not only had she put her subtle yet brilliant plan against Chat Noir into motion, but she had also managed to bag herself a beautiful boyfriend. She was truly on top of this world.

Tikki floated beside her, trying to keep her thoughts on the delicious macarons she had eaten that day. It was the only way to stay sane.

"Step 1, complete!" said Marinette, and Tikki tried to block it out. "Now, Chat Noir will know that I'm going into action. The sheer humiliation of being in the catgirl tournament and actually winning will cause him significant emotional damage! And to top it all off, he'll be able to see my name in the article, innocently wanting to show my respect for a superhero. But he'll know the truth, Tikki, and he'll know what I'm trying to say."

-

"I don't know what she's trying to say," Adrien cried, pearls falling from his eyes.

-

And naturally, Chat Noir ranted to his girlfriend whom he had to pretend was his platonic pal Ladybug about it.

"I don't get it, M'lady," he said to his girlfriend who didn't know she was his girlfriend. "Why am I in the catgirl tournament? To what end? What does this say about life as we know it?"

Ladybug ate another croissant, calculatedly not offering her distressed partner any. She was a real genius like that.

"The general populace would disagree with your cynicism," she said casually, rejoicing in her brilliance deep within the confines of her mind. Her plan was working!

"I'm not a catgirl," Chat Noir huffed, tail swishing.

Ladybug scoffed. "Don't be such a silly kitty. Catgirl is not a label but a state of being. Embrace it."

Chat Noir sighed, feeling lost and defeated, and storm clouds began to gather, manifesting from his despair. Lightning struck, and Ladybug took that as her cue to leave.

-

Adrien ate his dinner, surrounded by the people in his house who cared about him.

Which is to say, he dined alone as usual.

Nathalie showed in Gabriel's stead to wish him a good night, to at least try to hold up the pretense that Adrien was still cared for by his father.

Adrien felt a little braver today, on account of having become Ladybug's boyfriend. As Nathalie turned to exit the awkward scene as fast as she could so that she might get another glimpse of Gabriel before retiring for the night, Adrien's voice caught her attention.

"Yes Adrien?" she asked, turning to face him. Adrien's steely expression caught her attention, and she knew the matter at hand could be nothing less than life changing.

"Who did my father vote for in the catgirl tournament?"

Nathalie gave him the answer with the true gravitas that such a matter deserved. "He voted for Chat Noir."

Adrien's eyes widened. "But Chat Noir isn't a catgirl... is he?"

Nathalie sighed. "We've discussed this before. Being a catgirl is a state of being, a way of life. Your father would want you to know this."

"Alright, Nathalie," said Adrien, now educated.

Nathalie turned and left. Hopefully, she could catch that last glimpse if she hurried. She walked of briskly, noting the increasing downpour of rain, unaware of the increasing despair gripping the boy she was leaving behind.

-

Marinette was having a grand time reading all the messages pouring into the Ladyblog that praised her for her brilliant idea. "Ha ha!" she crowed, as Tikki drowned her sorrows in pastries. "I bet Chat Noir's having a huge identity crisis right about now! Soon, it'll be time for phase 2!"

Suddenly, she felt a strange feeling in her mind, and gasped. "My Adrien sense is tingling!" she cried, astonished. "My sweet sunshine needs my comforting presence! I must go to him!"

Tikki leapt up in glee, ready for the euphoria of escaping her predicament.

"Tikki, spots on!"

-

"Your girlfriend's coming, don't let her touch my cheese," said Plagg, right before he sunk into a cabinet full of Camembert.

Adrien gasped dramatically, turning to the window just as Ladybug came barreling in, tripping and landing on her face in Adrien's room. Adrien almost shed a tear at how elegant and graceful she was.

"My sweet sunshine! I felt your sorrow through our soulmate bond, and I hastened to your side! Let me kiss away your sorrows!"

Saying this, she smooched him on the lips. Adrien shed many tears, and they would surely have blinded Ladybug had her eyes not been closed.

As soon as the kiss ended, Ladybug swept Adrien up in her arms. "Let us get some soulmate ice cream," she said, and Adrien threw his arms around her. In his happiness, the rain dissipated, and the stars began to shine brightly in the sky.

-

Meanwhile, Andre the ice cream man was trying to escape the law- I mean, bring true loves together. He sang a merry tune as he led the authorities on a wild chase across Paris, making sure they could never catch him.

Just as he planned to retire for the night, Adrien Agreste's girlfriend and Ladybug's boyfriend came swinging in to get a taste of his delicious concoctions. He watched, shocked, aghast and appalled, as they came dancing in towards him, looking like the very picture of love.

It couldn't be true! Ladybug was supposed to end up with Chat Noir! Not some supermodel she'd found on the street! This went against his ice cream and the Ladynoir fanfiction that he'd posted onto Wattpad! It had received two comments, which meant that Ladynoir was practically canon! It couldn't be true!

Andre, of course, refused them service. Ladybug stuck her finger at him. Adrien gave a small whimper, and all his ice cream melted instantly.

Gabriel hastened to his lair, ready to akumatize the man, and noted with horror his son's blossoming relationship with Ladybug. Well, no matter, Glaciator would break them up good and proper!

-

Glaciator did not break them up good and proper.

In the simplest of terms, Ladybug kicked his ass.

Chat Noir showed up thirty seconds later to find that a massacre had taken place, and that Glaciator had been torn asunder by Ladybug's wrath. Her lucky charm had been an ice cream cart, and for once, the solution had been quite simple and also quite violent, with a hint of delicious irony. The perfect flavor.

While Gabriel seethed and raged, Adrien fell in love with her all over again.

[nobodyfamousposts]

False Ladybug AU (Miraculous: Peacock in Disguise)

Hear me out:

This is a combination of a couple different ideas to make something new based off something that the Ladybug episode revealed. I’ve previously posted a rant/salt about the stupidity of Gabriel’s initial plan to wreck havoc on Paris and assume that the specific items he needs are just going to show up, and even noted that his plan was dependent on Fu just happening to be in Paris from the start.

So what if Fu wasn’t?

Fu is hiding out somewhere else in the world—possibly Hawaii to get some sun and pick up a few more of his favorite shirts. So he is nowhere near Paris when Hawk Moth activates Nooroo.

To begin with, this means there is no one for Marinette to sacrifice her macarons for on her first day of school, so yay there.

It ALSO means that there’s no one to stop Adrien from making it that first day of school, so also yay.

This means there is no gum incident as their first meeting, so yay again, right?

Except that the gum incident was what had actually opened up those initial interactions with the class as Nino had seen Adrien trying to help and taking the fall for Chloe. Without it, Adrien is simply known to the class as “Chloe’s friend”, which isn’t helped by Chloe forcing Adrien to sit next to her and dominating his time, and preventing him from trying to interact with any of his classmates. So not yay.

Marinette comes in and is still forced out of her seat by Chloe, which results in an initial friendship with Alya. She does still have the macarons, though and tries to share them with her classmates. Chloe scoffs at them. And while Adrien clearly wants one, he’s prevented from it by Chloe as she pulls him away and insults Marinette and the macarons. Which of course isn’t a good first impression for Adrien and certainly doesn’t endear him to anyone in the class. He obviously wants to interact with his classmates, but doesn’t know how and Chloe isn’t helping. He figures Marinette seems nice given the macarons she’s brought for everyone and tries to interact with her first, but ends up sort of watching her from a distance since she’s wary of him and his own limited social interaction gives him difficulty being able to approach her.

Then akuma attack. Only this time, the attack continues unstopped as there is no Ladybug or Black Cat Miraculous in the area to be sent out to stop it. After hours of rampaging with no effect other than a lot of injuries and property damage, Hawk Moth is forced to detransform. He possibly even releases the akuma temporarily while he tries to figure out what went wrong with his “perfect” plan while the akuma goes on to multiply and form an army for him to eventually summon.

Fortunately and unfortunately, this signals to Nooroo that nothing is going to be done to help. He hates his power being used this way and is desperate to find some way to help the people he’s being used to hurt, so he decides to engage in some civil disobedience. He can’t stop Hawk Moth from using his power, but he can at least try to get Dusuu away so she can send out a message or just let someone know what’s going on. Her Miraculous is damaged and she’s admittedly very hyper and emotional, but it’s the best he can do with Gabriel keeping complete control over his power.

So when Gabriel is distracted, Nooroo takes the Peacock Miraculous from the safe and drops it in Adrien’s school bag, only to hear too late that Adrien is forbidden from going back to school the next day.

Thankfully, Adrien slips out and goes again anyway. And if a wayward butterfly just happened to distract the bodyguard long enough for him to do so, then surely it’s coincidence! Really!

But it’s not the only coincidence that day. Adrien never discovers the Miraculous as due to a series of mishaps, the Peacock Miraculous somehow ends up in Marinette’s hands. Maybe it falls into her bag? Maybe Adrien tries to make a visit to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery to get one of those macarons and the Peacock falls out of a hole in his bag there where she finds it?

Regardless, Marinette finds this pretty brooch with no idea where it came from or who it belonged to. She figures the owner will show up sooner or later to ask about it so disregards it. But at the very least, pulls an Aladdin and tries to wipe it down to clean it.

Which causes Dusuu to appear.

“AH! IT’S A GIANT BUG! A BIRD! A-A BUG-BIRD!”

“Yay! Hello, Master!”

“AAAAH! BUG-BIRD TALKS!”

Dusuu is chipper and impulsive, with really no idea what’s been going on or why Marinette would be upset or scared. She does manage to introduce herself to Marinette and form a tentative friendship, although Marinette remains wary. But when Dusuu sees footage of the “monster attack” from the previous day as well as the Stoneheart army, she informs Marinette that the monster is an akuma sent out with Nooroo’s power and that it’s probably going to happen again if Ivan gets upset. And that unfortunately, only the Ladybug Miraculous would be able to capture and purify the akuma as well as undo the damage caused by the battle, but that she has no idea where the Miraculous in question even is or how to begin trying to find it or the Guardian.

Which…naturally doesn’t help with Marinette’s anxiety over the situation. At all.

Clearly the easiest answer is to keep Ivan calm, but everyone is wary of him the next day because he turned into a monster and was never stopped. With the tension, Chloe’s animosity, and his own issues in dealing with his feelings for Mylene, it’s only a matter of time before he becomes an akuma again. Trying to prevent this, Marinette attempts to help Ivan when she sees him next, which results in the disastrous incident with Mylene and kicks off the Stoneheart army.

So now Ivan is Stoneheart again and leading an army of Stonehearts, Mylene and Chloe have been captured, Alya and Adrien are both in danger albeit for different reasons (Alya trying to follow the army hoping a superhero of some sort will appear and Adrien following out of worry for Chloe and trying to help Alya when she’s in danger).

Desperate, Marinette turns to Dusuu to see what she can do. Dusuu informs her that the Peacock has powers similar to the Butterfly in that it can create an amok that operates under the user’s will and has powers of the user’s choosing. She reminds Marinette that only the Ladybug can actually purify an akuma and restore the damage after a fight.

But Marinette is young, creative, and has absolutely no idea of the limits of a Miraculous or how to be a hero with one. She only knows her friends are in danger and that they need a Ladybug Hero even though there isn’t one.

So she uses Dusuu’s power to MAKE a Ladybug Hero.

Remember, the Ladybug episode showed Mayura was capable of making a Ladybug sentimonster. We have also had at least a couple instances now where Hawk Moth was able to make an akuma with powers comparable if not greater than those shown by the actual Miraculous. Anti-bug, Sandboy’s Nightmare Ladybug, and Sentibug all showed they have some semblance of Ladybug’s power, so it can be done.

And nobody told Marinette it couldn’t, so sure enough, she’s created an amok that is essentially herself if she was the Ladybug Hero, and under her guidance, “Ladybug” proceeds to rescue Alya and Adrien, save Chloe from falling to her death, challenges Hawk Moth when he sends out his message, and defeats Stone Heart. And sure enough, she successfully purifies the akuma and restores the damage caused to the city before vanishing.

Anyone remember that one Horrificator rewrite fic about Ladybug and Chat’s excuses for how they were in the school despite it being sealed off? And how Ladybug claims “I’m an ethereal, dimensionless being and I manifest myself on the physical plane where needed in times of crisis.” Yeah, that’s pretty much what the Ladybug Hero becomes here.

Hawk Moth is actually relieved as this means his plan to draw the Ladybug Hero worked. Nooroo is concerned because he knows the Peacock has been sent out and this could be a result of that. Marinette is freaking out because she did NOT think that would work! Adrien is relieved to have survived an akuma fight and that his dad agrees to let him go to school—if only because at least he’ll know where he is so he hopefully won’t do something that stupid again. And all of Paris is abuzz about having its own hero.

Ivan and Mylene still get together once Mylene realizes what Ivan was actually trying to say. Alya ends up being the first one to befriend Adrien since he went out of his way to help her during the attack so figures he can’t be that bad, and even encourages Marinette to try and reach out to him the way she had tried to reach out to everyone else that first day of school.

With Alya’s encouragement, Marinette gives it a shot, presenting Adrien with a “macaron of friendship” since it had seemed like he really wanted one. No umbrella scene. Marinette is the one to approach Adrien and offer him friendship. And Adrien is thrilled. He’s made his first friends, and despite Chloe’s attempts, he ends up as being more part of a trio with Marinette and Alya, leading to quite different interactions and events.

Fu meanwhile sees the news that Paris has been saved by it’s very own hero, “Ladybug”. And is naturally confused as he checks the Miracle Box and sees that the Ladybug Earrings are still in his possession.

Clearly, this “Ladybug” is a fake.

[bugaboosandbees]

So, like everyone else after Feast, I’ve been thinking about the other miracle boxes that must be in the guardian citadel. I’m hugely into Celtic/British mythology, so I decided to create a possible miraculous box with this theme!

Like the canon Miracle Box, my Celtic Miracle Box has three “tiers” of miraculouses. I’ve numbered the different sections for convenience in talking about them.

The centermost tier (1,2) represents the two most powerful in this scheme and this way of thinking’s concept of “balance.” In this case, I’ve chosen the moon and the sun (feminine and masculine energies) to represent the balance as most modern-day pagans conceive of it. Geaalach is the kwami of the moon and feminine energy and Griian is the kwami of the sun and masculine energy. The Goddess is associated with feminine energy and represents the cycle of life and renewal, so the power of the miraculous associated with Her will probably be quite similar to that of the Ladybug miraculous in that it would have a “Miraculous Ladybug” type move. I would probably call this the “Song of Healing” or something (referencing the Goddess Rhiannon’s healing birds). However, I think that it would have something different in place of “Lucky Charm” -- perhaps something related to the tendency of the Goddess to change form… The God is associated with masculine energies and with the sun. He dies and is born again each year, providing the counterpoint of death to the Goddess’ wellspring of life. For this reason, it is feasible to think that this miraculous would have something like “Cataclysm”, but perhaps a brighter, scorching destruction than the bubbling darkness the Black Cat gets.

The second tier (3,4,5,6,7) contains five miraculous, just like the second tier in canon. For this tier, I’ve chosen animals important in various Celtic myths -- the Boar, the Salmon, the Raven, the Horse, and the Deer. (3) The Boar: Neeart is the boar kwami and the kwami of strength and courage. I would also associate this with willpower, so I feel like the power for this miraculous would be a manifestation of sorts -- the user can physically manifest their will into any object they can envision and concentrate on. (4) The Deer: Forras is the deer kwami and the kwami of weather and winter. In Scottish mythology, the deer is associated with the Cailleach, a goddess deeply associated with winter. The weapon that the deer holds is a hammer, like the one the Cailleach used to chisel new mountains and valleys into the face of the Earth, and its power is to use the hammer to freeze things. (5) The Horse: Riogaa is the kwami of prosperity and sovereignty. The costume will always incorporate some sort of crown, and past wielders have tended to be of noble stock. The power of the horse would probably be some sort of rallying call to strengthen the horse wielder themselves, along with any other warriors that might be present. (6) The Raven: Thuaar is the raven kwami and the kwami of farsight and futuresight. The power of the raven miraculous is to see into possible futures. (7) The Salmon: Eolaas is the salmon kwami and the kwami of knowledge and wisdom. I feel like, if anything, this power would be the closest to lucky charm as that would mesh pretty well with this kwami’s focus on the mind and figuring things out.

The third and final tier (8-20) contains 13 miraculous -- one more than the 12 in the Zodiac tier in canon. These miraculous represent the Celtic “tree zodiac” and are mainly here because I really, REALLY like trees, okay?

 I’m not exactly sure what power sets to give these yet -- I need to find ones that match the character of the trees and that won’t overlap with those I’ve already chosen… I do have a cool-looking book on tree symbolism and magic that I’ve just acquired, so I’m hoping to figure this out soon!

(For reference: 8=Birch, 9=Rowan, 10=Ash, 11=Alder, 12=Willow, 13=Hawthorn, 14=Oak, 15=Holly, 16=Hazel, 17=Vine, 18=Ivy, 19=Reed, 20=Elder.)

Thanks for reading this rant (you can really see the part of me that Dungeon Masters D&D campaigns right now, can’t you, lol).

If anyone has any other ideas about other types of miracle boxes, or other ideas for a miracle box of this nature, please send me an ask! Discussing mythology is always fun for me. :)

If anyone has any ideas for powers for my tree circle or wants to see anything from this drawn out, send me an ask. I don’t know if I’ll be able to respond right away, but I’ll have SO MUCH FUN thinking about it guys, and I promise that I will get back to you eventually. :)

Thanks again. Y'all are absolutely amazing. I hope you have wonderful days ~

[crimeronan]

i like to imagine that in a verse where everyone’s cohabitating semi-peacefully at the barns and not facing constant supernatural threats of annihilation, hennessy and declan don’t really get along - they don’t actively try to kill each other or pick fights, but each kind of edges around the other like wary feral cats who are ready to hiss and claw and defend territory at a moment’s notice

and then one day hennessy steals a six thousand dollar bottle of scotch from the liquor store twenty minutes away because she occasionally needs to feel alive when surrounded by cows.  she desperately wants to show off her prize but feels it would be a dick move to do to ronan (she acknowledges his sobriety and doesn’t want to fuck it up even if she’d rather pull out her own teeth than admit she gives a shit) and jordan is off on some weekend outing with matthew

so she finds declan and is like.  guess who’s got the good shit.  i know you’re a stick in the mud and the worst company in the world but let’s get blitzed

declan doesn’t really let himself get inebriated because it’s too important that he’s in control and ready to act at a moment’s notice at all times, and he can’t let his judgment or impulses be compromised, but.  it’s the barns.  everyone’s safe.  also that’s damn good scotch and he privately enjoys the idea of digesting evidence of a felony.  declan too enjoys the occasional stupid impulsive nonviolent criminal act to feel alive

so.  these two basically siblings-in-law drink.  hennessy expects declan to insist on being classy and using glasses but instead they end up laying on the lawn passing the bottle back and forth and silently daring each other to take increasingly large swigs while making up new wildly inappropriate names for the deer and sheep

like halfway deep into the bottle hennessy’s like “to being the product of trauma and negligent parenting. cheers” and declan’s like “FUCK my dad” and hennessy, fascinated by the most emotion she’s ever seen declan express, is like “preach” and then declan RANTS half eloquent half rambling all slurring and utterly useless.  hennessy is suddenly having an even better time than she did when she climbed through the back window of the liquor store to rifle through their unlocked inventory

jordan gets back with matthew not too much later in the evening and finds hennessy and declan still laying in the lawn.  ronan comes down to give matthew a noogie and also finds hennessy and declan still laying in the lawn.  he and jordan exchange a Look and then go to investigate

hennessy sits up extremely mussed, makeup streaked, bits of grass in her hair, just. just radiating drunk oracle of delphi benign goddess outside a shitty club bathroom.  and announces “you didn’t tell me he’s FUN”

neither ronan nor jordan is sure which of them she’s talking to. probably both

jordan squats down near declan and touches his face and is like “uh.  i think he might be dying”

“he CANNOT,” hennessy slurs, magnificently drunk but not as drunk as declan who is barely conscious, “hold his liquor”

ronan is slightly pleased by this.  he’s sober and all but it is nice to know that he’s capable of drinking declan under a table like four times over. it’s the little things that count

jordan’s like “no seriously, how do you tell if someone’s been alcohol poisoned”

“he’s fine” ronan says

“i think?? i should get him inside??”

“absolutely not” ronan says.  “since when is his dumbassery your problem”

jordan’s like uh since we officially called it a committed relationship but she doesn’t say that out loud because she appreciates this sentiment in theory.  hennessy grabs ronan’s hand and pulls herself to her feet with a lot of stumbling and sloshy noises

“hypocruit” she says.  she does not seem interested in trying to pronounce the word correctly.  “your gansey would’ve brought you inside. rude”

ronan honestly can’t decide if he’s annoyed that she’s using gansey to make a valid point or if he’s warmed by the fact that she’s listened closely enough to his anecdotes about gansey for her drunk-ass self to make a valid point.  this mixture of emotion is how he ends up feeling about like 80% of things hennessy does

declan moans, which is encouraging inasmuch as it means he’s still alive.  then he promptly rolls over and pukes all over hennessy’s shoes.  her facial expression is the dictionary definition of “disgusted regret”

ronan pats her.  he and jordan have come through miraculously out of the splash zone.  gloriously unscathed.  “you deserved that”

“i feel better now” declan mumbles, still on the ground, sounding like a freshman year theater major playacting shakespearean misery

jordan drags him over to a less horrifying patch of lawn and plops down on the grass.  “i need to get you inside and to bed,” she tells declan, “but before that, i need to figure out the best way to use this for blackmail. you’re never gonna live it down mate”

declan mumbles something that might be “you’re pretty” or possibly “i’m shitty” or, equally likely, “you’re shitty”

“i have so much material” hennessy says

jordan and ronan’s gazes both snap to her.  they are vampiric in their focused hunger

“and neither of you is learning ANY OF IT.  cause otherwise he’ll never get drunk with me again.  and he’s cool.  hey. hey. why isn’t there a bed out here.  bring me a bed. i want a feather pillow”

hennessy has acquainted herself with the luxury of cozy sleep since experiencing the novelty of NOT being psychologically eaten by a manifestation of hatred and contempt every time she closes her eyes.  drunk hennessy is singlemindedly focused on this objective. feather pillows are lit

ronan’s like “i’ll do you one better and bring you TO a bed” and helps her severely wobbly listing self into the house

the next day there’s a zoomed-out camera phone shaky handheld video of this drunk conglomeration uploaded to matthew lynch’s tiktok.  there’s nothing remarkable about it except that the background music is sail by awolnation and the first “SAIL” has been timed to declan’s retching.  within six hours it has 200k views

  everyone is in hell