#adrien is dead and will stay dead sorry | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rosie-b · 3 months

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Centuries Overdue

Chapter 6

Thank you @acise and @nireu-art for creating such cool art for this chapter! You can find and reblog their pieces from here and here, respectively :D

Now, where did we leave off? Oh right, Marinette is trapped in the catacombs by Adrien's corpse. How quaint : )

Happy reading!

A skeleton was collapsed by the tunnel just to the right of the one she’d emerged from, and there was an old leather journal a half a meter from its outstretched hand.

Marinette trembled; she knew that this was definitely not part of the tunnel system on the tour. No, no one was supposed to come here at all, and the last person who did…

To keep her wobbly knees distracted from giving out, Marinette stepped over to the book and picked it up, brushing a layer of dust off its cover and squinting at the title in the low light.

There was nothing on the front cover, or on the spine. She cracked it open, gingerly, just like she always did at the library.

The Tenth Journal of Adrien Agreste, she read, and then she did collapse, falling to the floor and landing hard on her kneecaps.

“Oh, come on,” she moaned, clutching the book’s pages tightly as her gaze darted towards, and then very quickly away from, the skeleton next to her.

This was possibly the worst-case scenario for this trip. Zombies would be the real worst case, but they were only attracted to Mages, and Marinette was not a Mage. So at least she would die in peace, surrounded by abandoned tunnels and right beside her favorite author, instead of running for her life from humanoid shapes made of darkness.

Her breath shuddered through her mouth as her entire body twitched erratically. Marinette closed her eyes and breathed in deep through her nose, trying to listen for the murmurs of her group, for anything, really, to keep herself calm and give her even just a fool’s hope.

There was nothing.

She opened her eyes as a tear escaped from them.

I’m so sorry, Alya. I should have listened to you.

Marinette wasn’t sure how long she sat there, listlessly thumbing the book’s fragile pages, not caring whether they chipped or crumbled into dust. Eventually, the feeling of her phone in her back pocket made her uncomfortable enough that she shifted her position. She pulled it out of her pocket and sat criss-crossed as she turned the screen on and stared at the time.

20:14. The tour was supposed to be over by now.

Marinette frowned. Couldn’t she get just one bar of service? Enough to send a call through to the surface and get help? It felt cruel that she was so awake and alive, capable of walking through the tunnels, if not navigating them, of walking up 112 stairs and going back to the surface like any other visitor today, yet even though she was perfectly healthy, in a few days she’d be dead.

Days. It would be a slow, painful death, all alone except for a skeleton and her thoughts, which were already turning against her.

She also had a book, one written by a dead man, but what else was new.

Marinette set her phone on her lap and opened the journal up again, giving the title page another glance. She hadn’t known that there was a tenth journal; Alya hadn’t talked about it, and while Adrien had mentioned a book of spells in his ninth journal, she’d thought he was talking about one of the other books he’d written, and that he’d forgotten to take it with him on his final journey.

Apparently not. The book she was holding was labeled “Book of Spells (III)” in Adrien’s handwriting, so he had taken it with him, after all. Now, it would serve as Marinette’s only entertainment while she figured out whether to venture out in the dark beyond the concourse and get even more lost or stay here, where not even the Mages had managed to venture before.

Marinette flipped to a random page in the middle of the book. It was blank, so she flipped backward to just a few pages after the beginning of the journal and started to read, silently at first, but the quiet began to make her nervous after a while, so she read aloud.

“A spell of Tikki’s Mages.” Marinette was glad Alya had taught her the Mages’ code, so that she could understand the journal. Without it, she had a feeling that she would just go insane. “Being a spell to conjure an illness, that once it has infected the individual, will spread until he or she dies… nope. Okay, A spell of Plagg’s Mages, being a spell to conquer spreading illnesses.” She paused for a moment and snorted.

Plagg and Tikki were two paired kwamis, she remembered. They were practically soulmates, and apparently, the spells of one’s Mages would cancel the spell’s of the other’s. Wasn’t that funny? Apart, they were so powerful, but together, they were practically useless!

Marinette laughed until she gave herself a case of the hiccups, because everything was funnier when you were trapped and doomed to die in the exact same way as the person you’d promised not to go looking for, in the exact same room that they’d died in, from which their dead body was never recovered.

Okay, Marinette thought as her giggles abruptly sputtered out, that’s not very funny after all.

She returned her wandering attention back to the book. “A spell of Plagg… to place a most powerful and eternal curse,” she read, skimming through the introduction. “Well, that’s not very cheery. Tikki, what’ve you got? A spell to undo the strongest curse. Nice.”

As she began to read, she stretched her legs out in front of her, trying to stop her left foot from falling asleep. She tapped it against the ground a few times while she slowly made her way through the long spell, but that didn’t work. Annoyed, she broke the spell off and stood up, pacing around the concourse as pins and needles jabbed themselves into her foot.

“Now this is a curse,” she muttered. “Can’t a girl die in peace without her own body attacking her?”

She sighed and came to a stop by the corner where the light was coming from and noticed for the first time that there wasn’t a lamp there. There had been one in every other corner of the tunnels, at least the ones in the actual tour, but here there was no sign of a standard light source, only a pale, greenish ray extending from the limestone.

Marinette marched back over towards Adrien’s skeleton and let out a huff. She was not going to give in to fear now! The light was maybe just a remnant of one of Adrien’s spells. Maybe he’d gone off the path on purpose and lit some magic lamps as he went, to see where he was going. Maybe he’d forgotten to put a time limit on those spells, and accidentally led her astray with them and trapped her in here with him to die!

Marinette scowled at the pale bones jutting out from Adrien’s decomposing 19th century attire but reminded herself that it wasn’t his fault. He’d gotten attacked by a zombie or something, and hadn’t been able to save himself, and lost the chance to turn off the magic lights himself. Now they were just a danger to whoever managed the weird combination of turns Marinette had taken to get stuck here.

She had no one to blame but herself.

“A spell to undo the strongest curse,” she began again. “Tikki, spirit of creation, guide my thoughts and grant me luck. From dawn to dusk, and dusk to dawn; from sea to land and land to sea, creation, hear my desperate plea. What’s good is bad, and bad is good; what’s right is wrong, and wrong is right, but let the curse now come to light. Reflect the evil that’s around, and let goodness within abound, this wretched evil lift. Embrace what mortal man can’t touch, for all the world can’t cover up the monstrous half-known Gift. Mistake or madness, be undone; the endless battle shall be won when mercy’s light is in me found. For but a wish can now surpass the long reach of this Mage’s grasp, so let my spell fulfill its task. Only this do I now ask, a lucky charm for this poor lass, a miracle to me.”

There was a sudden burst of light from beside Marinette, white and hot, spreading out from Adrien’s skeleton in a ball-shaped form. Marinette closed her eyes against it, but she could feel its power even through her eyelids, and she felt a spike of fear. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she wondered whether Adrien’s spirit had heard her and taken offense at her reading of the spell which he had written. She clutched the book to her chest as the light receded and stood rigidly as she waited for something else to happen.

What if just reading a spell attracts zombies, even when you’re not magic? she wondered. What if they got mad and decided to turn Adrien into a zombie and now they'll all be coming to kill me?

That option sounded more realistic than Adrien coming back from the dead to chide her for reading his journal and didn’t do any good for Marinette’s nerves.

Just as suddenly as it had come, the light vanished. Marinette peeked one eye open, and not even the green light was still glowing. But slowly, the paler light returned, this time from a different corner. It made her more afraid, and she squeezed her eyes shut again in anticipation of what was to come.

A whimper escaped her mouth just as a groan arose from the ground at her feet.

Her eyes flew open, and she gasped at what she saw.

Adrien Agreste’s skeleton was not just a skeleton anymore. He had flash, and bones, and skin, and hair even, and he was moving, oh fuck, he was moving! He was reaching out his hand, he was getting closer, he was almost touching her!

Marinette screamed.

Adrien looked up at her. Instead of darkness or a bloodshot, wrathful gaze like she was expecting, his eyes were green, and warm, and very confused.

He opened his mouth, but looked surprised, and turned away to cough into his elbow. Then he pushed himself up to a crouch, and very slowly stood up, swaying on his feet as he looked back at Marinette.

He was unfairly handsome for a guy centuries older than her. He was unreasonably handsome, actually; he was supposed to be just a skeleton! He had just been a skeleton only minutes ago! Seconds, even!

As she stared at the full-on suit Adrien now seemed to be wearing, Marinette decided that he didn’t really seem all that murderous. He didn’t seem like he was possessed by evil zombies. He didn’t even seem like he was going to lecture her for stealing a dead man’s book and reading it out loud beside his helpless, dusty body.

Actually, maybe Adrien was just a near-death hallucination. She’d heard that those were common.

Maybe she should say something to him, because hallucination or not, this was getting awkward, and there was only so long she could keep staring into his gorgeous green eyes while keeping her cool.

“Good evening. You’re Adrien Agreste, right?”

Adrien blinked, and his brow furrowed adora— no. Not adorably. Not remotely cute at all!

Marinette cleared her throat and tried again in English. “Hello?”

Adrien raised his eyebrows. “What does that mean?” he asked in French.

Marinette had been trying for a response of some kind, but when it came, she found that she was so startled all she could do was take a step backwards.

His voice sounds surprisingly good for someone who’s just been reanimated, she thought, and furiously scolded herself for thinking that.

Adrien blushed. “I recognized the first thing you said, mademoiselle, but I was unable to speak just then. I apologize. What language is ‘hello?’”

Marinette blinked several times in quick succession and decided to focus on the least crazy thing. “Hello? Like, bonjour , but in English? You don’t know that word?”

Adrien shook his head. “I’m afraid not, mademoiselle. I also fail to recognize the style of clothing that you’re wearing. Please, could you tell me how long it’s been since I entered the catacombs?”

Marinette coughed. “Too long for me to believe any of this is real, honestly.”

Adrien shrugged. “That’s fair enough; it’s only rarely that a Mage as powerful as you is born, so it wouldn’t surprise me if a few centuries have passed. I wasn’t expecting to be resurrected at all,” he admitted with the air of a man who had watched the sun set and was extremely (but pleasantly) surprised that it had risen again the next day.

Marinette felt the need to correct him. “I’m not a Mage,” she said. “I’m just a normal girl. I got trapped in here maybe half an hour to two hours ago; it’s been a while since I checked my phone. I think I dropped it when you woke up. You scared me, you know! It’s not every day you get a near-death hallucination, and I wasn’t expecting mine to come for a while— maybe the air quality is worse down here than I thought.”

Adrien let out a long sigh. “It seems that language has changed a lot since I was last alive,” he said. “You have a device on you that tells the time, but you dropped it? Is that right?”

Marinette nodded.

Adrien took a step back and bent down. When he straightened, he was holding her phone in his hand.

“I’m very sorry; I stepped on it by accident. Will it still work like this?” he asked, offering it to her.

Marinette took it from him, and her stomach flipped. This hallucination had been going on for a while, and she was beginning to think that maybe it wasn’t one, after all.

“It’s still good. And it’s only been an hour.”

Adrien nodded and smiled, looking rather confused by the phone and its screen, though he didn’t say anything about it.

“Only an hour, that’s good for you! As for me, could you tell me what year we are in, please?”

Marinette slid her phone back in her pocket, slowly, as her hand trembled. “2023, if I remember correctly. I could be wrong.”

Adrien closed his eyes, and the muscles in his face twitched. “It has been longer than I thought, then. I’m sure I will have trouble adjusting to the new millennium, but I must thank you that I even have the opportunity to do so. Now, let’s return to what you said earlier. If you are not a Mage, then how was I resurrected?”

Marinette frowned. “I don’t know. I really don’t know what’s going on, and I haven’t since I got lost and accidentally left the main tunnels. If this goes on for much longer I think that I’m going to either faint or scream or both.”

“Hmm. Pardon me for asking, mademoiselle, but how did you get lost?”

Adrien had turned his gaze back to her; his sharp green eyes pinned her in place. She gulped as she began to tell her story, starting slow but talking faster and faster as she grew more nervous under Adrien’s gaze.

“I came on an official visit, but got distracted. I fell behind the tour group I came with and took a wrong turn, and then probably did it again, because I’ve never been down here before and I was totally lost. There were lanterns lighting up a path away from the dead end I’d found, but they just led me here, not back to the group. They also turned out not to be actual lanterns, which is embarrassing but kind of scary. I still don’t know where the light’s coming from,” she said, glancing towards the corner where the murky green light started. “It led me here, and then the tunnel fell dark behind me. I don’t even remember which one it was now. Then I saw you, uh, your skeleton, and I was panicking, so I picked up your journal and read it, and there was a flash of light, and you know the rest, I think.” She gestured helplessly. “I still think I might be hallucinating, or I wouldn’t be so calm. If this is what dying’s like, at least it’s not so bad; I mean, I get a hot guy to look at and everything!”

Adrien tilted his head, considering the long string of words she’d just vomited. “It might be for the best that I don’t know what that phrase means,” he said with a shy laugh. “I’m going to assume that it means my presence is calming to you since you haven’t seen another human in a while, yet it is unnerving at the same time because you think it means that you are dying. Good news; you are not dying— yet.”

Marinette swallowed hard and stared at him. Adrien offered her a tiny, not-so-reassuring smile and kept talking.

“More good news; the fact that you were able to resurrect me by reading the spells from my book is proof that you are, in fact, a Mage! One of Tikki’s Mages, and a very powerful one at that! So, with any luck, we might survive this. If you don’t believe me, mademoiselle, I have further proof to offer you: the lights you described are the same ones that led me astray over two hundred years ago. They are part of an elaborate and everlasting curse which was specifically meant to affect me alone, the one which led to my demise."

"However, Plagg and Tikki’s Mages share a bonded magic, with each group bearing one half of a whole Gift. Because you are a Mage of equal power to me, the curse affected you through that bond, which recognizes Plagg’s Gift to me and Tikki’s Gift to you as two parts of one whole and allowed the curse to affect you in just the same manner as it did me.” Adrien smiled sheepishly at Marinette as her mouth fell open and she stuttered out little aborted attempts at responding. Then he blinked, and his face sobered. “Ah, and if you can permit one more question, I have another one! You insisted you were not a Mage before, but then, you didn’t seem surprised at all to hear that I thought you were one. Do you know what they are, what magic is, or kwamis?”

Marinette was shocked. “I, uh, yes, that is, I do! I know a bit about kwamis, and a bit more about magic and Mages, but I was tested by quite a few of those, and I really don’t think that I am one! I failed all their tests,” she said with a nervous laugh.

Adrien frowned. “The only way that a curse as powerful as the one placed on me could have been lifted was if one of Tikki’s most powerful Mages read a specific spell from my book, the one that you’re still holding, mademoiselle, and the one you read from just before my sudden and unexpected revival. So, regardless of the tests you ‘failed,’ I am very certain that you are a Mage. Now; you reversed the curse which killed me, and you know about magic, and so you must know by now that this is all real. You are not hallucinating, you did not dream getting lost or finding my body or coaxing life into it again. But tell me, the light which you described— is this a new one, or is it the same as the one that led you astray before? It took a while for my eyes to adjust, or I would already know the answer, but I do not, sadly,” Adrien admitted.

Marinette pursed her lips and turned, considering the eerie light. “I think it’s a new one. The light used to come from a different corner before you woke up.”

“Before you resurrected me by undoing the curse which killed me,” Adrien corrected. “Which I am forever indebted to you for, mademoiselle. I know of no way to repay you, but I will do my best.”

Marinette turned as red as a tomato at the attention. “N-need you no,” she stammered. “Uh, I mean, thank you! You really don’t need to worry about it, though!”

Then she froze as a thought formed in her brain, which seemed to be lagging as it processed the fact that what she’d thought (almost hoped) was a hallucination was real life.

The spell she’d cast was supposed to undo curses… but who had cursed Adrien?

A vague memory entered Marinette’s mind from the very start of her internship at the library. Curse Adrien Agreste for choosing these books to write in…

Oh, no. This was all her fault, wasn’t it?

Wringing her hands together, Marinette blurted out, “Oh, no, the curse! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to kill you! I really didn’t even know I could use magic until you got resurrected, I swear!”

“Oh, you aren’t the one who cursed me, though I would like to examine that fear of yours more closely in the future. It was my parents,” Adrien said nonchalantly, taking the book out of her arms and flipping forward a few pages. “Or rather, what’s left of them.”

In the distance, a loud noise like metal being torn sounded, and Marinette's stomach dropped.

“What was that?” she asked, taking a tiny step closer to Adrien.

“Excellent question. I was trying to figure it out before my untimely death but I didn’t make much progress. The best description I have is darkness, mockingly crafted into the form of a human being.”

Oh, so the magic zombies woke up after all. Great.

“They can sense us,” Adrien was saying, snapping Marinette out of her panicked spiraling. “We’re both Mages, and if I’m right, our magic gives off a signal that they can follow. I’m so sorry for dragging you into this! They should know better than to go after young maidens.”

Marinette wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, well they already tried to kill my friend, Alya, so they must not have gotten the memo.”

Adrien turned, looking at her with sorrow in his eyes. “I apologize. It is always a tragedy when evil grows bold enough to challenge us unchecked. I blame myself for not putting an end to the Darkness sooner. I should have seen it for what it was.”

Marinette felt something spark in her chest. “Hey, no, you don’t get to blame yourself for that! How were you supposed to know your parents could turn into weird, dark magic zombies? I know how hard you fought to destroy the Darkness, and I know how much you lost because of it, and how much you never had the chance to have at all. You’ve done more than anyone else to stop this Darkness. And if…” her voice trailed off as the sounds got louder, still not as loud as the thump-thump of her heart in her ears, though.

If you couldn’t do it, then who can? She felt bad for thinking it, and guilty for the pain she was about to cause Alya. Marinette swallowed and clenched her fist at her side as her thoughts tugged her down a dark path. She hadn’t listened when she’d told her to stay home, she hadn’t listened to her suspicions that she was a Mage; she’d gone to the catacombs by herself instead, and now she was going to pay the steep price for her folly.

A light touch at her wrist stirred her mind out of its spiral. She startled, turning to look at Adrien, who pulled his hand back from hers and offered her a small smile.

“You’re right that I fought them before with all I had. But we’re going to have to give them one last fight,” he said calmly. “We’re going to give the effort everything we’ve got. And if it doesn’t work, if we don’t make it out of here, then allow me to say that I am honored to go down fighting beside someone as strong of heart as you are.”

Marinette stared up at him. “I— I’m not really what you think,” she whispered. “I’m not a true Mage. And I know that I’m not a fighter. I’ve never faced anyone the way we’re going to have to, when they find us here. I can’t do it,” she said bitterly, shaking her head.

Adrien looked down at her with something like guilt in his eyes. “I told you, your magic is equal to mine. You might not know how to fight, but you can read a spell, and this book has plenty of them. I swear, I will do everything I can to protect you, but you’re going to have to help me if you want to make it out of here alive,” he spoke in a rush. The footsteps were getting louder. He reached out, slowly enough to broadcast his movements, and took her hand in his, squeezing it as if by doing so he could pass his own strength on to her. “I understand if you want nothing to do with me, but won’t you stand with me this once? You’ve already proved your strength by resurrecting me, mademoiselle— uh. Actually, may I know your name?”

Marinette found it was hard to refuse Adrien when he was looking at her with such an earnest, soft expression. “Marinette,” she whispered. “My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Adrien raised her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it. “Nice to officially meet you, Marinette. My name is Adrien Agreste,” he said, and her lips twitched up into a smile.

“I know.”

A light blush spread over his cheeks. “Oh right, my name was in the journal. Which you’ll be needing again, so here, take it!” He handed it to her, and she gingerly accepted it.

“Do you really think I can do this? What if the first time was a fluke?”

He raised an eyebrow. “No spell that powerful could ever be done by accident, if that’s what you mean. It will work, I promise.”

Marinette took a shaky breath. “Okay. Then I promise that I’ll try.” It was the least she could do, at this point.

Adrien nodded, satisfied. “It’s open to a spell that should offer us some protection, once you speak it. I’ll distract the first… beings, for as long as I can. And, Marinette?” Adrien turned that same earnest expression to her, and she couldn’t look away. “Believe in yourself. You’re more powerful than you know.”

The tunnels surrounding them lit with a pale green light, and Adrien stepped in front of Marinette, holding his hands out in a defensive stance.

“Plagg, claws out.”

A richer green light flashed around him, and a staff appeared in his hand.

The first zombie stepped into the room with them, and before Marinette had a chance to take in its mockingly human features, Adrien was already attacking it, lashing out with his staff and forcing it back before moving on to the next zombie. Now that the first one was down, the rest poured into the room quicker, and though Adrien did his best to hold them back, he couldn’t be everywhere at once, and there was no place for Marinette to hide in the midst of the fight.

Under the eerie light of the tunnels, she traced her finger over the words of the spell Adrien had left his book open to. She didn’t feel ready to try magic again, but Adrien was counting on her, and even if she wasn’t a powerful Mage like he’d thought, she owed it to him to try and help.

“Tikki, spots on.” A red flash briefly surrounded her, and suddenly, she was holding a yo-yo. It was red, with black spots, and as soon as the zombies saw that she was holding it, they began to attack more ferociously. A few of them made it past Adrien while he was fighting on the other side of the room, and Marinette’s heart pounded fearfully.

“Spin the yo-yo, it works like a shield!” Adrien called to her. A zombie grabbed hold of his arm while he was speaking, but he touched it with his right hand and called, “Cataclysm!” The zombie hissed and sparked with a black energy before seeming to dissolve.

The other zombies wailed, a chilling, otherworldly sound that nearly paralyzed Marinette. But she did as Adrien told her to, and even though they rushed toward her in rage, none of the zombies made it past her shield. Turning this way and that, she held them off, occasionally whacking ones that got too close on the head. They never stayed down long, and as still more zombies poured into the room, Marinette felt despair well up in her heart.

“Cataclysm!” Adrien called out again, and this time he touched a group of zombies packed all together. All of them were affected by the spell’s power, and as they faded, a pocket of empty space briefly appeared around Adrien and Marinette.

“Is there another spell that can help us?” she asked him. Her right arm was beginning to feel the strain of constantly needing to spin the yo-yo for protection, and she had the journal tucked under her left arm so tightly that she could feel the imprint of its edges on her body.

“There’s always another spell, but there’s always a consequence for it,” Adrien said, moving to stand back-to-back with her as the zombies closed in on them. “The most powerful ones in my arsenal would collapse the tunnels on us, and I’m not a master of Tikki’s own spells; I don’t know which ones would work in this situation.”

“But there must be something!” Marinette cried in panic. “Use Cataclysm on them again and buy us some time!”

Adrien obeyed, and another pocket of space opened up. Marinette took advantage of the short amount of time free from zombies to flip through the book and find an appropriate spell to use.

“Teapots, galette des rois, fork, stone, why are none of these spells helpful? What are they even for?”

Adrien shrugged and lunged forward to catch a zombie who was leading the third charge towards them. “Tikki’s Mages were never focused on war magic; they’re mostly pacifists. Otherwise, I think the last battle against the Darkness would have gone a bit differently,” he muttered. “No offense to them, of course! Creation is by its nature in conflict with that of war. And many of those Mages offered what help they could. But to use their spells effectively, they had to get creative .” He took the time to flash a smile at her before lashing out with another spell.

Marinette noticed that the zombies were getting closer to her again, and quickly resumed spinning her yo-yo shield. “Is now really the best time for puns?”

“Now is always the best time for puns,” Adrien retorted. “Cataclysm!”

Marinette rolled her eyes as her mind raced ahead, trying to come up with a solution. There was a short spell on the same page as the one Adrien’s ‘Cataclysm’ was on; like the others towards the front of the book, it seemed to be the opposite of Plagg’s spell, but it seemed like it might be useful to her. Unless, of course, it canceled out Cataclysm entirely.

“Adrien!” she called, still fighting off the endless surge of zombies attacking her.

Adrien turned to glance at her while keeping his own shield up. “What?”

“Do all my spells cancel out your spells? Like, if I use the one by Cataclysm, will the zombies you touched come back?”

Adrien wrinkled his nose. “Not necessarily. You would need to use the Miracle Cure for that, but even then, we’re fighting in tandem. Our powers should recognize that and work together, so—” he paused to fight off a particularly vicious pair of zombies, “—your magic should recognize the Darkness as what’s wrong. If you use the Cure, it would try to undo the Darkness, the ultimate cause of these beings, the zombies, as you called them. It is a fitting name for them,” he said.

Marinette ducked as a zombie leapt towards her and turned to drive it back. “Really? How so?” She knew zombies didn’t always mean the brain-hungry monsters of television, but she was surprised that Adrien even knew what the word meant.

“Because they’re not just figures of Darkness! They were people, once, but they’ve been corrupted by magic, forced to serve the Darkness until they’re released from their bodies.”

“Until they’re killed,” Marinette gasped. The next zombie to attack her nearly succeeded in grabbing her, but Adrien rushed over just in time, cataclysming it and turning it into ash in front of her eyes.

“They’re already dead,” he said mournfully. “In every way that really counts. And since it’s been so long, since they’ve been trapped in this hell for centuries, I think they would consider this a mercy, if they could think.”

A zombie wailed and hissed as he struck it with his baton and drove it back against the others.

“What do you mean? They can’t think at all?”

“They’re possessed, Marinette. I still don’t know by whom, but they are. My own parents wielded the curse that killed me. If they were themselves, if they could think and resist, they would never have done that to their own son.”

Marinette gazed through the thin shield she’d created at the zombies on the other side. They truly seemed to be made of darkness, like they were humans that had become like black holes, impossible to look at for long except for when a flash of green light would trace around them and give them the illusion of features.

“Then how did you know they were your parents?” she asked.

Adrien didn’t respond. He called for another Cataclysm instead, clearing most of the room now that the zombies were so tightly packed together.

A fourth wave quickly appeared.

And this time, Marinette could see how Adrien had known it was them.

These zombies were not like the rest. They were not made of darkness, not entirely, at least. Their features were like that of regular humans, but their eyes were inky black, and they moved as if they were sleepwalking, as if this was just a dream, like she’d once thought. But many of them were coated in blood, brown and dry, that had once oozed from their heads, their chests, their necks.

The two leading the others looked like Adrien. The woman had light blonde hair, while the man’s was graying. Unlike the others, they didn’t seem to have any blood on them. If it weren’t for their eyes, she never would have known anything was wrong with them.

But the woman opened her mouth, and a gurgling sound came from her throat, like she was choking on water. They had drowned. They’d drowned, and their bodies were lost. They were here.

They were possessed. They’d killed their own son.

Marinette felt sick.

“A…drien,” Emilie Agreste said slowly, her jaw's movement like that of a gate long rusted shut, now being forced to open. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“You should not be alive,” her husband agreed in the same unearthly voice.

Adrien’s spine stiffened. “Cataclysm,” he whispered, and held the glowing ball of destruction in his fist like a threat.

“Your magic will not save you,” Gabriel said, and his voice was growing stronger. “Nor will hers.”

“The Mages must die. You are a plague on the earth, and I have been far too kind,” Emilie hissed.

Marinette felt panic clawing at her throat. “Lucky Charm!” she called at last, remembering the words of the spell she’d found.

Gabriel lunged forward and caught the object before it had time to finish forming. “Cataclysm,” he said.

The object turned into ash, and Marinette’s mouth went dry.

“I thought they weren’t Mages,” she whispered fearfully.

Adrien looked at her from the side of his eyes. “They weren’t,” he said. “Their curse gave them magic, somehow. They can use as many powers as they want. We can’t stop them.”

“We have to,” Marinette said desperately. Adrien stepped closer to her and took her free hand, squeezing it in his.

“We will try,” he assured her.

The zombies still weren’t attacking, but Emilie gave them a beckoning wave, and they filed into the room, lining its walls and blocking off the other tunnels.

Adrien and Marinette readied their shields. Emilie summoned a trompo and smirked at them in a way very unlike the gentle woman Marinette had pictured while reading her journals.

“Venom,” she called brightly.

Marinette was frozen before she knew what had happened. All she could do was gaze ahead in fearful awe, though her head seemed to be free to move, unlike the rest of her body.

Adrien groaned. Checking her periphery, Marinette could tell that he’d been frozen, too.

Well, there were worse things that could’ve happened, Marinette thought as she eyed Gabriel’s open fist.

“Your little game has gone on too long, Mages,” Emilie told them with a smile. “You should take some time to prepare for the end.”

The Agrestes turned to stand by the one open tunnel, like sentries guarding their post. The light in the tunnels turned from a sickly green to a brilliant white, and the darkness was gone.

Adrien murmured something hurriedly under his breath, and the stiffness keeping Marinette in place released. She staggered forward, and the zombies gave her a warning glare.

“Please don’t bother trying,” Gabriel sniffed from his place by the tunnel entrance.

Marinette turned back to Adrien, who was wincing and rubbing his arm.

“What did you do?”

“An adapted version of a spell,” he said. “I wasn’t sure it would work. I used a small curse to counteract Venom. It won’t be enough.” He eyed the tunnel warily as the room grew even brighter, until finally Marinette had to close her eyes against the scorching light.

Then it faded.

“There you are, little Mages,” the voice from before crooned. It filled the whole room; it shook the floor and the ceiling and seemed to echo on eternally. “Yield to me, and I will keep you alive.”

Adrien gasped, and Marinette cracked open her eyes. In front of them stood a huge being, bright white and pink, with six arms and five teal eyes. They had curved antennae and gauzy wings, and the brightness seemed to emanate from them. All around them, the tunnels dissolved, leaving a dark void like space, though the zombies remained, surrounding them in a large circle.

“It’s impossible!” Adrien cried. “From where are you drawing your power, that you can take this form? Only the kwamis may wield this much magic!”

The being offered them a grim smile.

“I am the eldest and wisest of the kwamis,” they said in a double-toned voice. “I am everything that was, and is, and will be. My power is infinite; to fight me is to bring about your own destruction. Yield, little Mages, that your lives may be spared.”

Written for @mlbigbang 2023

#tw for zombies (kinda sorta) and general catacomb gloom #ml fanfic #rosie-b writing #centuries overdue #ml au #adrinette #miraculous ladybug

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theerurishipper · 8 months

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Sorry, I need to rant about the whole "Adrien sitting out fights in Kuro Neko" bs from season 4 bc I hate how that was handled with every inch of my being.

Marinette stans always make it out as if Adrien didn't show up in 7 seperate episodes but the only episode where he's actively doing that is Kuro Neko and that episode did not take place without context. I HATE IT how Ephemeral is basically just written off in this fandom as non-existing episode just because Marinette's actions can't be excused easily or because it's a time loop.

Most of the episode takes place outside the time loop and Marinette's fucked up plan is 100% NOT hidden from Chat Noir in the end. Once the time anomalies happen she straight up makes NO effort in hiding from him that she is in direct communication with an transformed Sass and even leads CHAT right to Luka so they can talk to Sass about a time loop time-line he JUST undid!

Adrien KNOWS Ladybug did something here and that her asking to meet him was of innocent intention. She is NOT hiding it. He then remains professional until everything is solved and when they fly back to earth he asks her what she wanted to talk about, giving her a fair chance of explaining herself, and she just says nah, which bothered him (of course??) alot.

THIS lead into Kuro Neko.

Ephemeral did.

Adrien in Ephemeral honest to god couldn't attend the battle for once because his civilian life prevented him from going. He didn't choose to sit out, Chat Noir has a civilian life no matter if that's convenient for Ladybug or not. She called him who knows how many times but couldn't reach him and Adrien also seemingly only had time to finally transform and call her back hours later.

He immediately had the feeling he's in trouble but he still immediately called her back because that was the responsible thing to do. He tries to explain to her what happened but Ladybug isn't interested in his explanation and just asks to met him.

And that's the thing that pisses me off SO BADLY about all this. Marinette is giving 0 fucking shits about Chat's civilian life, what reasonings he has or if something else happened why he couldn't come. In Kuro Neko Adrien stays away for longer and Ladybug is treating his absence as if ShadowMoth has to ask for HER PERMISSION first to have found and gotten Chat Noir as civilian. Chat could have been dead in a gutter 17 times already and she just doesn't question his absence. "Chat was apologetic on the phone before I cut him off so that'll forever be the case now"

No? You're not benevolently giving him a break Marinette, he stopped showing up.

And he stopped showing up because he couldn't attend the battle in Ephemeral, she called him like 20 times but HE doesn't know that the reason why she set up the trap against him is because of Su-Han (and her own bullshit). All he knows is that he couldn't come, he already felt like he's in trouble when he saw her calls, she wasn't in anyway interested in WHY he couldn't come and once he met her he finds out he apparently WAS in trouble because she's painfully upfront with having lead him into a snake miraculous trap!

From his perspective he couldn't be there ONCE since "Mr pigeon 72" because of his civilian life and he was immediately treated like an obstacle and problem by her she needs to take care of.

And he's giving her the fair chance to explain herself at the end and she rather flies home in silence instead of explaining all she just directly showed him. And after THAT Adrien stays home where Ladybug also doesn't try contacting him again.

Meaning for him she only had patience for waiting and calling for him one time, then she immediately used another Miraculous (holder) against him but her plan apparently resulted in such horrible consequences that Sass had to use his powers and undo everything. Sass even EXPLAINS that be can only go back to second chance save states, meaning Chat Noir KNOWS that it was used by Luka right when Ladybug and he met. Luka who was in direct conversation with Ladybug. Marinette, you idiot! Why are you letting Chat Noir see and know all that and then refuse to give ANY fucking context when he gives you the chance for it??

Why tf was ADRIEN the one in the wrong here? I would have stayed tf home too if I'm immediately turned into a non-human obstacle that needs to be taken care of like an Akuma villain just because my life stopped me from joining the battle ONE time in how many weeks since Mr Pigeon 72.

Chat noir then afterwards not showing up for longer? Well, ShadowMoth didn't ask for her permission first so nothing could have happened to him. It's not like in last episode's time loop ShadowMoth DID find Chat Noir behind Marinette's back because he overheard his son at the ONE wrong moment and that's why Sass had to use his powers!

What is this bullshit? Why was ADRIEN blamed for this? Non of this was in anyway taken care of, just written off because it would have required more than nothing from Ladybug in terms of taking Chat Noir and his life and survival into concideration in her leadership and guardianship. But as season 4 kindly teached us, her allowing him to be part of her group is already basically charity work he should be grateful for.

Of course Chat Noir, by all means, didn't made it out of this partnership and only returned in the new reality. It's a miracle he even made it THIS long

You actually hit on something I hadn't thought about, anon. Chat Noir seeing Ladybug in contact with Viperion for reasons unknown to him and her subsequently dismissing him when he asks her what's up would be reasonable grounds for him to understand that she pretty much doesn't need him anymore and that he's being left out of the loop that Luka is somehow allowed to be in. Maybe that's a reason for him not showing up in the next episode, especially since he's also seen that Ladybug doesn't really need him to defeat villains. Ephemeral even specifically focuses on his expression when Ladybug dismisses him, which is an odd choice unless they wanted us to pay attention to his reaction.

But you're absolutely right. Ephemeral had Adrien be unable to come to the battle because of his civilian life, and Ladybug managed just fine. People love to salt on Adrien for "leaving Ladybug high and dry," or "neglecting his duty and leaving her to face Shadow Moth alone," or some BS like that, when the reason he didn't show up is because she did have more people and didn't need him anymore, and he felt left out and neglected. And realizing that Ladybug had some plans going on in the background that she didn't want to let him in on would be enough reason for him to believe she doesn't want him anymore.

And about this:

Yeah! Like, I get that Marinette is stressed and has a lot on her plate, but it is kind of her responsibility as the leader and Guardian of the Miraculous to ensure that they are protected. She has all these plans and resources and allies to call on in her time of need, and yet she doesn't seem to even consider that her partner might potentially face dangerous situations and that she should maybe consider his safety. Either she has to treat him like a partner and share information with him, or she has to be the leader and take steps to ensure his safety, because he is also Shadow Moth's target, and he wants Chat Noir's Miraculous too.

Like, she's the leader. It's her "job" to take decisions about this. She doesn't want to share important information with him, but she also doesn't want to take any sort of responsibility for his safety. She wants him to be content with staying out of the loop, but she also expects him to take care of himself without giving him the information he might need to do so. And like we see in Ephemeral, he got caught. When Marinette was caught, she called Luka and somehow managed to save the world, but Adrien had no such luck.

She never even cared WHY he couldn't be there or if it'll be something that'll keep him away longer. Genuinely, no fucks given by her. The way the narrative treats it Marinette is approaching Chat's life and involvement in her leadership and guardianship in the way that he automatically feels sorry for having "caused trouble" but nothing of significance ever could possibly happen in his life or to HIM that would require for her to LISTEN to him. Chat noir then afterwards not showing up for longer? Well, ShadowMoth didn't ask for her permission first so nothing could have happened to him. It's not like in last episode's time loop ShadowMoth DID find Chat Noir behind Marinette's back because he overheard his son at the ONE wrong moment and that's why Sass had to use his powers!

I don't like to be too harsh on Marinette for this, but I agree completely. Chat Noir's safety is so unimportant to her and isn't even a factor in her leadership. She just expects him to be okay as she hides more and more stuff from him. And I get that Marinette is under a lot of pressure and that she isn't the best at considering larger perspectives, but it's still bad leadership and it's still irresponsible. We literally saw that her secrets impede his ability to act, like in Hack-San, and that he is literally alone and has no one to turn to if he is in danger, like in Ephemeral. She just expects him to be around and keep being her faithful partner and never have any sort of issues or problems ever. She acts like she is his leader by hiding stuff from him and pretty much demoting him, but she also wants him to remain her partner who won't ask a thing of her or won't give her any new responsibilities and will just endlessly support her, even though that can't happen because their dynamic has changed.

Yeah exactly. It always pissed me off that Chat Noir was portrayed as the one in that wrong and had to apologize to Ladybug. She owes him nothing, it's just that he was too sensitive. Kuro Neko is literally the worst.

And also:

And I'm supposed to be surprised that Chat Noir never made it into the final battle? When Adrien tells Plagg he can't ask Ladybug for help because only she is worthy of getting help or breaking her precious rules only HE has to strictly uphold anyway. Of course Chat Noir, by all means, didn't made it out of this partnership and only returned in the new reality. It's a miracle he even made it THIS long

You've said it all so well that I have nothing more to add.

Thank you for your ask!

#ML Salt #ML Writing Salt #ML Writers Salt #Marinette Salt #Ladybug Salt #Meta #My meta #Asks #Ladynoir conflict

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l-starlight-l · 10 months

Text

Study Buddy

A/n: In honor of the new movie here’s a little fic with Adrien.

Warning: none

Summary: Adrien finds you trying to study in the library and offers to help.

Pairing: Adrien Agreste x reader

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After flunking yet another test you were stuck in the library praying to actually learn something from the old text books you were reading. Your head was resting in your hands while you looked down at the paragraph about some king that ruled thousands of years ago. You sighed and laid your head down over the open book to take a small break. “How am I ever gonna pass this class ” you quietly muttered out loud. You closed your eyes for a few seconds trying to recall the information you just read. After failing you got up and walked over to the history shelves in the library.

There were so many books full of the past that you struggled to find the specific time period you needed. You walked up and down the aisles searching. You found some books from after the kings ruling so you had obviously gone past it. You were at a dead end. You decide it was a lost cause and plopped down to sit on the floor. You were so tired, you just wanted to close your eyes for minute but suddenly you were in a deep sleep.

You awoke to a light nudge, looking up you saw a familiar face. “Are you okay” the blonde boy asked with concern. You blushed realizing the situation, “oh, uh yeah I’m sorry I must’ve dosed off”. He smiles and your heart skips a beat. You’ve had a small crush on Adrien for the past year. His kindness drew you in not his family or it’s fame. “You don’t have to apologize, I was just worried”, he sits down next to you. “Are you studying for the next test” he asks. You nod shyly, “I really need to pass this test” you say a little embarrassed. He doesn’t shame you at all, “do you want to study together” he asks holding up a history book. You smile at him and he smiles back. You wonder if he feels the same way about you or if he’s just being nice. You’ve known him for around a year and wanted to say you understand him and how he feels but you can feel there’s something he’s keeping from you. He opens the book and puts it in between you two.

You spend the rest of the day studying. At one point you both reach to turn the page at the same time and your hands touch. You had thought it was just gonna be a quick accidental touch but his hand stayed on yours for a few seconds. You looked at his face to see his eyes focused on your touching hands. He quickly moved his hand away realizing how weird he must’ve made you feel. He apologized and continued reading. By the end of the chapter you had fallen asleep again. Your head rested on his shoulder and he looked like the happiest boy in the whole school. He has liked you from the first day he met you. You were smart even if your grades didn’t show it and your personality was like a dream to him. He watched you sleep instead of studying, he thought you were the most beautiful person in the world. He was so in love with you and you loved him just as much, even if neither of you would admit it yet.

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#adrian agreste #cat noir #mlb fandom #miraculous ladybug #adrian x reader #adrian x mc #adrein agreste

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whumpurr · 3 months

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Adrien and Sawdust part 24

cw: pet whump, pet on pet whumping

masterlist

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Missy’s white boot was cold, hard, and heavy. Its toe slammed into Sawdust’s gut, sending him toppling over, his vulnerable stomach exposed to her. She glared down at him. Her eyes were icy cold, her teeth bared, her fists clenched at her side.

She was far crueler than the other dogs.

Sawdust was ashamed that he was ever excited to meet her. He regretted the butterflies he felt in his stomach when he saw her walking through the office. Now, he only felt a sour taste in his mouth and a hot, radiating pain in his torso.

“You’re stupid.” Missy growled, “You know, if you ever set foot outside on your own, you’re as good as dead! There’s no way a dumb animal like you could ever take care of itself!” She reared back and kicked at his side.

Sawdust’s paw covered the newly injured area, the other pressed down onto the floor to try and roll himself back over. He didn’t want his stomach exposed for her to step on. Although, she was right. Without Ma’am or Master Adrien, he could never survive in the wild. He needed his food served to him in a dog bowl. He needed to be taught how to shower. He needed to be taught how to walk on two legs. He was ashamed of himself. Such a burden.

Missy raised her boot and brought it down on Sawdust’s paw, crushing it against the floor. The dog yelped and cried in pain, tears welling his his eyes as he tried to squirm away.

“You’re disgusting! I don’t know what Charline thought, sending me in here with you.” She huffed and sat back down in her chair, arms crossed while Sawdust writhed in pain on the floor in front of her.

“S-S-Sorry-” He choked out in between sobs. He didn’t even want to move his paw from its spot on the floor, for fear of injuring it more. Maybe he should just wait until Ma’am comes back for him and saves him from this beautiful, cruel monster.

Although he longed for the safety offered by his new master, he still dreaded going back. He feared seeing what state Master Adrien was in now. He hated that he would be brought back just for him to be a burden once again.

“Shut up, I don’t want to hear from you.” Missy looked at the closed door to the pet room. “I don’t want Charline to see you ugly you are… You stay here.” She stood and walked to the door, Sawdust flinching at the thumping of her boots on the floor. “I’m leaving. Your owner will be here to pick you up later. Don’t get yourself in trouble because then she’ll blame me, and I’ll make you regret it.”

Missy stormed out, slamming the door behind her and leaving Sawdust alone in the room. He was hopeless to leave on his own as he would probably get lost on his way back to his owner. He didn’t even know if Ma’am was still at her office or somewhere else in the building. He whimpered to himself, finally peeling his paw off the floor to take a look at the damage done to it.

His fingers refused to bend as much as they previously could. His paw ached. It hadn’t even been that long since Master Adrien took his paws out of their duct tape bindings; Sawdust was still learning how to use them. The hot tears kept flowing down his cheeks, landing on the cold floor.

At the very least, his paw was not bleeding. It would most likely be deep purple by tomorrow, but he was grateful that there was no messy blood for his owner to be burdened with cleaning.

Time ticked by painfully, with an ache in his stomach and a searing pain in his paw. He stayed curled up on the floor until his gracious owner finally came and got him.

The door creaked open slowly.

“Sawdust, Missy, I’m back!” Ma’am sang as she peeked through, cutting herself off when she saw the sight of her feeble, useless pet curled up on the ground alone. “Oh dear, what happened?” She kneeled by his side and used a gentle hand to turn him to sit up. Sawdust did his best to hold back his tears as he shamefully presented his paw to her.

Ma’am silently took his paw and looked it over, careful to not twist or turn it more than she had to. She didn’t interfere with his fingers, which were only growing more and more red.

“Alright sweetie, we’re going to get you all fixed up at home, okay? Where did Missy go?”

“She left.” Sawdust stated, choking on his words just a tad. Ma’am nodded understandingly.

“And how did this happen to you?”

“I fell…” The longer he ached, the more he thought about Master Adrien. The pain brought him back to the day that he was brought home to him. The day he’d met him, and the day that Master Adrien graciously decided to take care of the stupid mutt.

“Alright, can you stand? We can go back home.”

That was not home. It was a cold, scary house. Master Adrien’s house was home, not where Ma’am was. Not where she was keeping Master Adrien off in some locked room. It wasn’t fair. And now on top of all that, he had to burden Ma’am with taking care of his paw.

The trip back to Ma’am’s house was silent on Sawdust’s part. She would ask him questions, but he would respond in short one or two word answers. He felt absolutely drained from being around all those humans, and from all the pain and crying he was subject to. He just wanted to curl up on Master Adrien’s couch and sleep, but he was not even afforded that.

When he was finally led back into Ma’am’s house, he was at least eager to finally see Master Adrien again. The heavy lock on the door thunked as she unlocked it and opened up the door.

Sawdust stumbled through as fast as he could, too timid to call for his Master, but eyes scanning frantically for him. They finally found him, kneeling next to the sofa.

“Wh-” Sawdust suddenly couldn’t force his eyes to focus. Master Adrien’s back was to him, his head bowed. He almost looked like he could be sleeping, except for the fact that he flinched when he heard Sawdust mutter.

“There’s my other boy,” Ma’am locked the door again and stepped out of her high heels, trotting over to Master Adrien and rubbing the top of his head much like how she does to Sawdust. “Now you two can both be good boys, right?”

Sawdust dropped down to his knees and crawled over to Master Adrien, limping on his bad paw. He crawled in front of him, but Master Adrien squeezed his eyes shut and turned away. Sawdust could recognize a look of shame anywhere. He tried to nudge his head to Master Adrien’s side, but he just lurched away.

Sawdust wanted to cry. He never thought that he would be so utterly rejected by the owner who was once so kind to him. He couldn’t understand what was happening, it made his head hurt. What did Ma’am mean by other boy? Sawdust hated it. Something was wrong. Something was broken.

“Seems like it’s dinner time, you can fix us something, right Adrien?” Ma’am said, scrolling on her phone while she lounged on the sofa.

“Yes, Ma’am.” He stood up steadily and made his way to the kitchen without another word. Sawdust couldn’t smother his whine as he squirmed in his spot. What was wrong? Why were things this way? Was it his fault?

There had to be something he could do to fix it. Maybe he’d finally stressed Master Adrien too much? Was that why he was so cold now? How could he possibly un-stress him?

He thought back to what Missy had told him. How he could never survive out in the wild. Maybe if he could prove that he could, he could prove that he was able to take care of himself, and Master Adrien wouldn’t be stressed, then he could go back to normal!

It was the perfect plan.

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Taglist: @starnight-whump @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @neuro-whump @whump-me-all-night-long @cupcakes-and-pain @whumpzone @whumpcreations @dancinglifeboat @pinkraindropsfell @looptheloup @cowboy-anon @meetmeinhellcroutons @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @firewheeesky @maracujatangerine @it-will-all-whump-out @theydy-cringeworthy @kim-poce @bluetheautisticrat @whump-in-progress @wh-wh-whu @mylifeisonthebookshelf @grizzlie70 @wolfeyedwitch @nicolepascaline @melancholy-in-the-morning @jumbledbyrd @batfacedliar-yetagain @no-terms-and-conditions-apply @scp-1269 @whumpdreamz @bees-among-the-okami @taterswhump

#whump #whump blog #whumpee #pet whump #whumpblr #whump community #sawdust #whump writing #my writing #adrien and sawdust

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bababaka · 10 months

Text

Part 3 - Clexa x reader headcannons

This got longer that i wanted to :)

Lol at this point really this feels more like the bones of a fic that i was too lazy to elaborate. Oh wait. It is exactly that. Enjoy.

Part 2

Warnings: Violence. Nothing too explicit. And self deprecating thoughts :)

- An internal war was brewing. Azgeda against the coalition. Against Lexa.

- Lexa needed help. Clarke's help.

- A coup was happening. There were infiltrators amongst her people trying to undermine Lexa. Saying she wasn't the true commander. Not fit to lead. Not loyal to their ways. Weak.

- She needed you.

- Days later, you got a visitor. Though, it wasn't who you were expecting.

- Clarke? Yes. Lexa? She would have to eventually face you. Now, Adrien? Well, you couldn't hold the tears when you saw the blond teenager.

- "Adrien!"

- "Sorry for the delay, they wouldn't let me pass."

- You laughed while you sniffed and tried to clean you tears.

"And now they did?"

- "Not really" he shrugged. At seeing your raised eyebrow, he smiled cheekly. "I have my ways."

- You would be lying if you said you weren't a little bit proud.

- "What have you come here for?"

- "What do you mean? I came to see you!"

- You almost burst into tears.

- You cheer up, though. And ask him about how he was doing. And he tells you, in a boyish way. Something that he only ever did in front of you or Lexa.

- It always warms you heart to see him that way. Relaxed, free to be the kid he was, without the weight of his destiny as a natblida.

- He asks you about your time. And you try your damn best to make him laugh. You are sucessful.

- "Oh! You were with the Wanheda! Yeah! Lexa introduced me to her once. She seems smart."

- You smile. "She is very smart."

- You get confused though. Lexa was very protective of Adrien.

- "Why, Why did she introduce you two?"

- You didn't know much about Lexa and Clarke's relationship. Sure, you were there at the beginning, but not much after.

- So you were suspicious at the very least.

- Clarke forgave Lexa. And, apparently, Lexa trusted Wanheda enough to introduce her to Adrien.

- To you, that was telling a lot.

- "She wanted me to promise to Clarke when i become Heda i'd protect the skaikru."

- "What? Why would she want that? Why would she do that? She's not dead! Nor is going to die! We're not in the middle of a war or something? Are we? How long have i been here? Is Lexa in danger? Does she need help? I have to leave this cell! I have to make sure she doesn't get hurt!"

- You were spiraling. Adrien needed a few tries to get you to breath.

- "Heda is fine! She's not in danger! She's okay!"

- She's okay. She's okay.

- Adrien doesn't stay long after that. He was going to be caught if he didn't leave soon.

- Lexa doesn't take much longer to come to you.

- "Heda" you tilt your head in respect.

- She stays in silence and positions herself right in front of you. Head held high, arms behind her back just like the disciplined leader she was.

- You wait for her. You give her time.

- And while she was in silence trying to not break your neck or something, you make an assessment of her.

- She was in her clothes of Heda. No guards behind her.

- No injuries either. Good.

- Her hair was in it's usual style. Her green eyes seemed to shine a little brighter. Her shoulders weren't as heavy.

- Clarke, you presumed. Somehow, Clarke was helping Lexa. Just like the way she helped you.

- Days i couldn't get out of bed, she was there. I hope she is there for you and you are there for her.

- You heart then seemed to ache.

- You realize. Shit. Wait...

- You saw them in the beginning. And you could sense now. They are together, aren't they?

- You are happy for them. They deserve eachother. No one was more deserving.

- "Love is weak." but you could bet their love could conquer the world.

- As i would for you.

- A selfish part of you wanted them to you. To be with them.

- You knew you felt something for Clarke.

And though your relationship with Lexa was complicated, you couldn't not care for her. For the both of them.

- You just wish for more. To be more.

- But, that's impossible. You would do them no good.

- You were a spy. An assassin. A traitor.

- You look at the now frowning Heda. You betrayed and almost killed Lexa.

- At somepoint, maybe, you would've done the same to Clarke.

- Yes. They deserve eachother, and you belonged nowhere.

- A traitor the Ice Nation and the coalition. A traitor to Lexa.

- Your chest felt like it was squeezing. You couldn't hold the heavy and defeaning gaze of the Heda.

- So, you spoke.

- "Are you going to speak? Have you came here to just look at me and bask in my misery? Or do you have something important to say? Perphaps my death sentence."

- "Do you want your death? Do you think you deserve to live after what you've done?"

- For some reason, Clarke's words come to you.

- "We all make mistakes, Heda. I can't erase mine, so i shall take the consequences. Whatever you deem suitable, i will take it. If i have to die, then so be it. Just get to it."

- Lexa stays quiet at that. This time, not for long.

- "You will have a... Second chance... To prove yourself."

- You weren't expecting that. People from earth weren't... Merciful. Neither was Lexa. Not for something like treason. You still remembered Gustus.

- It seemed like that wasn't the case anymore.

- "How... How do want me to prove myself?"

- "Doing what you are acquainted with. Spying."

- You understand then. You are not getting second chance. No. You are going to serve Lexa, to be used and then discarded.

- She doesn't tell you anything more. She just calls for the guards and they just... Open you cell.

- You knew she said you'd be in probation, still, you were shocked.

- "Do you remember how to walk?" Lexa says, looking at you over her shoulder when you don't follow her. "or have you grown attached to your cell?"

- You shake yourself from your stupor.

- You go to the throne room(?) and there she is, Clarke.

- You give her a smile, though it weakens when you remember. You do her no good. You are only means to an end. A knive to help killing their enemies.

- You mean nothing. You can't. You won't.

- She notices your lack of enthusiasm. And that makes the bright smile on her face simmer down.

- You don't waste time on formalities or trivialities. You go straight to the point.

- They needed your help. Lexa needed your help.

- Lexa alongside Clarke explains everything.

- They make a great pair.

- People were trying to undermine Lexa's people and throw them against her.

- They were afraid of a coup. Of the other nations breaking the aliance and rebelling against Lexa and, most likely, joining Nia.

- When you realize Nia is alive, you don't really know what to do. Or feel. So you do your best to brush that aside.

- What you were needed to do was simple. You did things more dangerous and complicated. You needed to pretend to want to destroy Lexa, get into this little group and then report what you found out to Heda and Wanheda.

- Easy.

- "It will be done, Heda." you said serious.

- "Good."

- You never ran out of a room so fast.

Only maybe when you tried to kill your Heda.

- You just roam around. Not knowing just where to go. You didn't want to go back to your cell nor did you knew if could just get out.

- Everything felt awfully familliar.

- So familliar and yet so foreign. So out of place.

- Your mind was swelling with so many thoughts and your body with so many feelings. You felt like you could throw up.

- The bliss of solitude doesn't last long.

- Clarke reaches you.

- At first, she is silence. A very welcomed quiet.

- But all good things must come to an end.

- She asks how you are.

- You almost laugh at how ridiculous that felt. And almost tear up at how all seemed to bubble up in your throat, begging to be released, for you to throw up.

- You swallow, feeling a burning and acid in your throat.

- "I am ecstastic. I will be freed. How thrilling."

- "You used to be a much better liar than this."

- "Maybe you just used to be denser."

- "Maybe."

- She doesn't speak again. And for some dumb and sentimental reason, you felt yourself spilling words as if they were choking you.

- "There wasn't many people that knew me, truly know me. Just one. My... Friend. He was perceptive, but more than just that. He knew me."

- Ronan was like a brother to you.

- You grew up with no family, no friends.

- Treated by everyone only as a weapon for the kingdom. Except Ronan.

- He trained alongside you.

- You were molded to be a ruthless assassin and he was molded to be an unstoppable warrior.

- You sometimes faced the same training or task.

- Learning how to move in a fight.

- Analyzing each and every types of weapons.

- Hunting wild animals.

- Torturing enemies.

- Killing comrades.

- On a task when you were 12 years old, you were released into the forest with the task of finding and then dueling each other.

- you were supposed to be silent, agile and deadly.

- He must be brute, merciless to attack and quick to defend.

- You found him, but he's the one who knocked you out.

- That day, in that way, he earned your respect.

- And somewhere along the way, you became… friends.

- And a year later, when he took the blame for stealing a loaf of bread for you, he became a brother.

- You watched the 13-year-old boy's punishment with horror. But also with relief.

- It would have been you there.

- When asked why he took the whipping instead, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said:

"You're pretty skinny, I don't think you would have held up."

- At the time, he was the only person besides the queen you trusted.

-You missed him.

- Now, having also betrayed Queen Nia, you understood Ronan. Even if the tinniest bit.

- He had to save Costia. You only imagine how his failure must weight on him.

- You imagine if you had killed Lexa. And your stomach churns.

- Clarke tells you of Ronan. He was the one that kidnapped her.

- Of course. You should've known, but you were preocupied by something else. Like getting Clarke safe.

- "Is he... Is he still here? In Polis?"

- "I don't know. Maybe. Lexa must know."

- You didn't have the energy to talk to Lexa or to go after Ronan or do anything.

- You just wanted to sleep.

- You say your goodbyes to Clarke. You don't explain.

- You see that she's hesitant to let you alone, but doesn't push.

- Good. You really wanted some time to just be. And get a good long sleep.

- Not knowing whereelse to go, you go back to your cell.

- The guards were confused, but let you in regardless.

- You pay them no mind.

- You just... Lay in the hard cold ground. You were already used to that.

- You are going to be used. She wants you to do her dirty work to save herself.

- It turns out, despite all the sadness you felt, you didn't care all that much.

- As long as she is safe, you would be fine.

- As long as they are happy.

Part 4

#clarke griffin #clarke x reader #clexa x reader #clexa headcannons #lexa kom trikru #lexa x reader #fanfic #the 100 #my fics

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celestialtitania · 3 months

Note

12 for the kiss prompts!!

Ahh this one is so cute!! (I definitely went a little overboard so here it is on AO3 as well!!) Thank you for sending in this one!! 💜🩷 #12: Sleepy/Half-Asleep Kiss from this list by @kisspromptsforthelovesquare!!

“Ladybug?” Adrien asked in surprise before immediately hating himself for it.

The superheroine was curled up into a ball behind the dumpsters, looking dead for all the world. Her eyes slowly blinked open at the sound of her name, gaze remaining cloudy and unfocused.

“Chat?” she whispered.

And there was the self-hate. He should’ve transformed before waking her up, but Adrien couldn’t help himself. Out of concern, his knee jerk reaction had been to get to her as quickly as possible, forgetting he was out of the suit. That as far as Ladybug knew, he was just a random civilian. Or at the very least, nobody worth noticing.

If only he’d transformed. If only he could lie now.

“No, I’m sorry, Ladybug,” he said, “I'm not Chat Noir.”

Ladybug reached up, a gloved hand patting his cheek, even as she continued to lay there, looking for all the world a lifeless doll.

“Oh, you're not,” she agreed, voice alight with wonder. “Who are you, pretty boy?”

She was delirious, he reminded himself firmly, but that did absolutely nothing to help stop the flush that was crawling up its neck.

It absolutely didn’t help when Ladybug began to lazily stroke her thumb back and forth on his cheek.

Adrien’s breath caught in his throat; his heart was playing a staccato in his chest. He needed her to stop, he wanted her to never stop.

“How are you so pretty?” Ladybug asked, her eyes flitting over his face. “It’s not fair.”

“You’re even prettier,” Adrien replied immediately. It was true. She was the prettiest person he had ever met, with a heart that was big enough for the entire world.

Ladybug laughed— a soft laugh, the kind that dissolves into a sigh, warm and contented. “I don’t want to stare at myself all day long.”

“I do,” Adrien blurted out, before the implications of her statement hit him. Before he realized what he himself was saying.

“You want to stare at me all day, pretty boy?” Ladybug said it like it was all a big joke.

“Always,” Adrien replied. He could’ve told her about his photo collection, how often he clutched his phone wishing he could talk to her, but he didn’t know how to find the words. Nor was she coherent enough to listen.

Ladybug smiled. “You’re the sweetest boy in Paris. I love you so much,” she said. Adrien froze. She did what now?

She yawned right as she finished speaking, pulling her hand (and his head) down as she did. Still frozen, Adrien followed without much (any) resistance. Next thing he knew, bluebell eyes were looking into his, an almost negligible distance between them.

His eyes widened, as he stared back at her, unable to move.

She sighed again, her warm breath hitting his cheeks, the scent of mint and coffee invading his nostrils.

“I wish all my dreams were as nice as this one,” she whispered. Dreams? There was no time to correct Ladybug’s assumptions or even begin to comprehend what she was saying.

Before he could even begin to react, he found his lips pressed to hers. His first thought? Soft. The pressure was unexpected but comforting. Then he regained his sanity.

What was he supposed to do? Return the kiss? Try to move? She clearly didn’t know she was awake, so did she really mean to kiss him?

His brain was racing trying to come but his limbs refused to cooperate. So instead, he just stayed where she wanted him.

The kiss lasted for all of a moment, maybe two, before Ladybug stiffened. She pulled away, all traces of sleepiness gone now.

“You’re real?” she asked, looking a little horrified. “I thought…” she licked her lips before freezing, unable to do much more than stare at him.

Adrien gave a helpless shrug.

She let out a squeak, clasping a hand to her mouth. Moving back to sit up, there was a terror in her eyes. “What have I done?” she mumbled to herself before looking up to meet his eyes. “I am so sorry,” she cried. Shame was flooding her features; she looked utterly miserable.

“I wasn’t complaining,” Adrien interrupted. He would have said anything to get that look off of her face, but this one had the benefit of being the truth.

“What?”

He’d never seen Ladybug look more confused in his life. And they’d faced some pretty perplexing akumas together.

“It was you. I would never complain about that. You can kiss me whenever you like.”

“Adrien,” Ladybug shook her head.

“Besides, I have it on good authority that you love me,” he interrupted before she could try being self-deprecating.

Somehow that realization seemed to be even more devastating to Ladybug. “I thought I was dreaming,” she half hissed, half wailed.

“I love you too,” he said gently. He never had a problem telling her how much he loved her, but somehow it felt different out of costume. More intimate. Or perhaps it was the fact that this time he knew his sentiments were being reciprocated.

Ladybug searched for something on his face. “I—,” she reached out for him before dropping her arm. “I’m in the suit,” she muttered, closing her eyes. “I’m sorry, I can’t…Not like this.”

He wasn’t surprised. Ladybug was nothing if not a professional. And that was fine, just knowing she loved him just as much as he loved her was enough for him. One day, they would reveal their identities and would be able to be together, without anything getting in their way.

Adrien could wait.

Until then…he smiled at Ladybug. “I understand. But how about one more kiss, for the road?” he asked, having summoned all of his courage to say the words aloud.

“I never realized how cheeky you can be,” Ladybug murmured. She seemed to be looking at him in a new light.

He gave a wry smile. “Is that a no?” he asked, pushing his luck.

Ladybug shook her head and that was fine. Adrien was only a little disappointed, but then she was placing her hand back on his cheek and leaning in.

Adrien brightened. He began to lean in himself but before their lips could meet, Ladybug turned her face to the side, her lips meeting his cheek instead.

“That will have to do,” she said, pulling back. “I should get going.”

“You’re okay right?” Adrien checked, ignoring the way disappointment and butterflies were swirling in his stomach in equal measures. “I mean, this isn’t exactly the most comfortable place,” he said, gesturing towards the dumpster.

Ladybug grimaced. “I was cutting through here to get home and ended up falling asleep mid-swing. It had been a long night. It’s fine, I should be okay to get back now.”

Adrien nodded. “I’m glad.” He darted forwards, quick as can be, pressing a kiss to her cheek this time. “Get home safe, Ladybug.”

She gaped at him, launching her yoyo and swinging out of there without another word. Adrien didn’t mind.

He was fine watching her leave. He had a new hope now and it was all he needed to keep going.

#fay fics #ml #miraculous ladybug #ml fic #ladrien #ladybug #adrien agreste #love square #fluff #hurt/comfort

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tsuki-chibi · 10 months

Text

Ladynoir July 2023 Day 10: Trust Fall

Read all the entries on AO3 (except today's, which I was unable to post b/c of the obvious... I waited as late as I could and now give up.)

–

Chat was snickering to himself when Ladybug arrived for their patrol that night. A bit bemused, because she rarely saw her partner in such a good mood, Ladybug hopped down next to him. They were the first ones here for once, but she had no doubt that Carapace, Rena, and Queen Bee would be along shortly.

“What’s so funny?” she asked curiously, and Chat laughed harder.

“It’s – it’s my father,” he rasped out, and Ladybug furrowed her eyebrows. She really didn’t see what was so funny about Gabriel Agreste. If anything, any mention of Gabriel was usually more than enough to suck all the joy out of a room.

“Your father?” Ladybug repeated after a few seconds, hopelessly lost. So far as she knew, there had been nothing special or out of the ordinary about Adrien’s schedule today. He’d left school early for a photoshoot, and then he had a Mandarin lesson. But when you had a somewhat tempestuous father like Gabriel Agreste, your schedule could change on a dime.

“I’ll tell you when everyone else arrives. I think I’ll crack a rib from laughing if I have to tell it twice,” Chat said.

“That’s mean,” Ladybug said, pouting a little. But she couldn’t stay mad. Not when Chat’s smile stretched from ear to ear. It was such a pleasure to see him so happy for once that she didn’t even press the issue; just laid her head on his shoulder and waited for their friends to arrive.

Queen Bee came first, followed by Rena Rouge and then, after a good ten minutes, Carapace. He was huffing and puffing as he dashed over to them.

“Sorry! I couldn’t get Chris out of my room. He watched a scary movie and wouldn’t go to bed,” he explained, dropping to his knees.

“It’s fine. Now, we’re all here. Chat, tell us!” Ladybug ordered.

“Tell us what?” Rena asked with interest, and Chat grinned.

“So recently, my father’s company has been having a morale problem,” he revealed.

“Shocking,” Queen Bee said dryly. “I can’t imagine why employees wouldn’t like working under Gabriel Agreste.”

Chat nodded at her. “Yeah, exactly. But my father doesn’t really get that. He authorized Nathalie to hire these people to come in and analyze the company and figure out where improvements could be made.”

“My mom’s company did that once,” Carapace observed. “She said it was a pain.”

“My dad too,” Rena said.

“Yep. But man…” Here, Chat giggled.

“Chat! Tell us!” Ladybug practically screamed.

“Okay! Okay. So one of the things these people said we should do is get to know each other better. They had all these ideas for employee icebreakers and what not, and they said it was best if everyone did them.” Chat’s shoulders were trembling with laughter. “Everyone including the boss.”

Dead silence.

Rena’s eyes were huge when she said, “Are you telling me – what, that Gabriel Agreste did a trust fall with his employees?”

“Is he in the hospital because they let him fall?” Queen Bee wanted to know.

“Queen Bee,” Ladybug said half-heartedly.

Queen Bee scoffed. “Oh please. Don’t even try to tell me you wouldn’t let him fall, because I wouldn’t believe you.”

Ladybug had no response for that.

“Not my dad. He’s too good for that. He sent someone in his place.”

And then Ladybug got it. She burst out laughing. “Are you telling me Nathalie Sancoeur did a trust fall on your dad’s behalf?”

They all started laughing, Chat most of all. His giggling was almost frantic as he waved his hands.

“It – it gets better!” he sputtered. “She was holding my dad’s tablet and FaceTiming him the whole time!”

That did it. All five heroes collapsed into helpless giggles. Needless to say, no patrolling got done that night.

#miraculous ladybug #ladybug #chat noir #rena rouge #queen bee #carapace #miraculous ficlet #my fic #ladynoirjuly2023

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artzychic27 · 11 months

Text

Some Clone High NathMarc quotes because I’m a psycho for this au

@imsparky2002 @msweebyness

Ivan: Goth's darkness is nihilistic whereas Emo's is cynical.

Juleka: Wait, I thought we were nihilistic. ...Whatever, it doesn't matter.

Ivan: No, see, you're cynical.

Juleka: Oh yeah, you're right.

—

Alya: It's the Emo kids! *The other Vamp kids turn to look at the Emos and take to hissing and snarling at them. Louis steps forward and snarls at Marc as he and Nathaniel head for the podium*

Nathaniel: Ugh! You spit on me, Louis! *Adrien steps down so he can address the Vamps* Uhh, hey everybody, uuhm, I know we aren't on the greatest terms right now. We realize we called you all jackasses, and we're sorry we burned down the Hot Topic at the mall.

Marc: Sorry.

—

Juleka: So, all of a sudden you Justin and Britney wannabes think it's cool to dress like us?

Adrien: We dress the way our souls feel, to express the darkness, per se.

Nathaniel: … Aren't you Adrien Agreste?

Adrien: That's Vampir Agreste now.

Juleka: You kids need to all go put your freakin' Banana Republic clothes back on, right now!

Marinette: Hey, we're just as dark as you guys, maybe darker.

Marc: Really. Do you guys even think about arson?

Adrien: Of course not. That’s a crime.

Nathaniel: Oh my God.

Adrien: You know, you guys are really giving off a negative human energy. We prefer to take our darkness somewhere else, per se.

Ivan: All right, Count Fuckula, you go do that.

—

Adrien: Edgar Allan Poe was the original Vamp kid.

Marc: No, he was the original emo! But he's been dead for 150 years!

Nino: Hey, look man, all genres of Gothic subcultures are derivatives of Poe's work… Motherfucker.

—

Poe’s ghost: Children of Darkness, I would help you, but I fear I cannot be seen with a bunch of douchey Vamp kids and their poser-ass plastic fangs.

Nathaniel: Thank you!

Adrien: Hey!

Nathaniel: I'm just saying it's nice to know that Edgar Allan Poe agrees with us.

Poe’s Ghost: Agrees with who? Is that red dye in your hair or did a blood demon spit on your head, poser?

Nino: Ha! He got you there!

Nathaniel: … Your clone father is kind of a dick, Marc.

—

Nathaniel: Nobody is stopping Shadow Moth now. All will be sadness. Life will become death, and I will watch the crimson blood leak from your neck.

Ivan: Whoa. This emo kid is hardcore.

—

Kim: Dark as night. Hair like tar. Take your soooky self to the car.

Marc: Sigh. Once again, your poetic brilliance has put me to shame.

—

Alix: Nath, how the hell do you stay so mellow?

Nathaniel: I just pour all of my rage and anxiety into murals I paint for sick children.

*Cut to a child in the hospital bed having trouble sleeping because of Nathaniel’s mural depicting a haunting scene*

—

Kim: Look at them! They look exactly like Edgar Allen Poe and Vincent Van Gogh! They’re probably… Clones, or something.

Max: Kim, while scientists have been working on cloning technology, cloning humans is just… Unethical and goes against God and humanity.

Rose: I don’t know… Has anyone ever actually seen Nath’s left ear?

Akuma Class: …

Alya: Okay, obviously we need to do some detective work-

Max: Or not?

Alya: Then it’s settled.

Max: Why can only I hear me?

—

Marc: *Sitting in the school basement with Nathaniel* Wanna go out tonight? I’ve been wanting to browse the catacombs.

Nathaniel: What?!

Marc: *Turns Nathaniel’s head around* Wanna go to the catacombs tonight?

Nathaniel: That’d be lovely.

—

*Adrien somehow roped Nathaniel into modeling with him*

Stylist: *Brushing Nathaniel’s hair* With just a few snips, you’ll look- WHERE IS YOUR EAR?!

Nathaniel: Ugh. Like you’ve never seen someone with a missing body part.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #nathaniel kurtzberg #marc anciel #incorrect quotes #clone high #clone high van gogh #clone high Edgar Allen Poe

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celestiall0tus · 7 months

Text

Miraculous Absolution - Chapter 9 - Loyalties

Beginning || Previous || Next

“Alright, we need to discuss what happened last night,” Adrien started. He glared down at his computer screen at the video call. Nino was barely awake, Chloe was on her phone with Lila lingering just on the edge of the screen, and Juleka and Rose were cuddled on their couch.

Nino yawned. “Couldn’t this have waited until later?”

“This is important. We have a rogue holder claiming to be a messenger of the ladybug,” Adrien reminded.

“I don’t get what the big deal is,” Nino remarked.

“Are you kidding? This is competition. We can’t let these upstarts take over our duties,” Adrien spat.

“She certainly did a better job than you ever could for an upstart,” Lila remarked.

“Lila, honey, I said you can stay so long as you don’t antagonize Adrien,” Chloe commented.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Did I hurt your wittle feelings?” Lila mocked.

Adrien’s eye twitched. “Chloe.”

“Lila, please, stop. It’s too early to deal with his shit,” Chloe begged.

Lila huffed but kept quiet.

“Finally. Now, we need a plan on what to do about these rogue holders that’ll be popping up,” Adrien said.

“What plan could we need? Why don’t we just work with them? Wouldn’t that be easier? Better for the people to see their ladybug working with Chat Noir?” Rose asked.

Adrien sneered. “I will never work with that creature.”

“But in fighting, we are prolonging the suffering of the people. On top of that, we are giving our enemy more fuel for the fire. If we come to blows, what of the city? What of the people? Haven’t they lived in enough fear?” Chloe pointed out.

“But-!” Adrien started.

“But nothing! Adrien, please, this has to end. We are given a chance to finally end this bullshit. Bring the world some peace. Bring the people peace. Isn’t that more important?” Chloe continued.

Adrien grumbled. “I… can’t. I won’t. Not the ladybug.”

“And why? Why not the ladybug?” Chloe demanded.

Adrien didn’t answer.

“Adrien, please, see reason. We owe it to the people to end this. Was that not the promise we made taking up arms? To do what was best for the many.”

“Your Queen Bee is right. This needs to end,” Alya said.

Everyone paused and looked at Nino’s screen. He was pushed to the side, passed out snoring in his seat. Alya had pulled up a different chair and took his place.

“Put Nino back on,” Adrien commanded.

“You hold no power over me, cat. My loyalties belong to Ladybug.”

Adrien sneered. “Are you here to spout more nonsense about the ladybug?”

Alya smirked. She brushed back her mane to reveal a gold ear cuff. A chain dangled from it with a deer print charm. Adrien stiffened as his stomach dropped.

“Now that I have your attention, know this. Ladybug fully intends to end this farce with Papillon. You all can join her, assist us in finally bringing peace to the city, or you can remain with the cat and be nothing more than pinup models.”

Anger and contempt tore through Adrien. “If you think I’m just going to concede defeat and allow the ladybug to take over this, you’re dead wrong. I will never side with that charlatan and neither will my team.”

“Is that so, Jule and Rose?” Alya asked.

Juleka pursed her lips, remained silent.

Rose grimaced. “I don’t know, Alya. We made a deal with Adrien.”

Alya bowed her head. “I understand that, however, don’t think you can buy the rest of us so easily. We will stand by Ladybug and see this all finally end. You have until I take the field to make your decision. So, roughly about, say, three months. After that, Ladybug will arrive.”

“Well thank you for the timeline. Now we have time to prepare,” Adrien hissed.

“You four do. Though you will have lost a member starting today,” Alya commented.

Adrien opened his mouth but was cut off by Lila.

“Good for Carapace. He’s better off with Ladybug than the stupid cat.”

“Chloe! Get rid of her now!” Adrien roared.

Chloe groaned. She muted her end and spoke with Lila. While her back was turned, Lila flipped off the camera and left the meeting room.

“My, what a fire. Think we should introduce her to Alix?” Rose asked.

“No,” Juleka and Alya said together.

“Enough! Listen here, Nino and I made a deal. I-!”

“I know all about your deal. You basically pay for his living expenses and everything else. However, we have family who’ll help us now. We won’t need you, cat. Nino. The city. The people. No one will need you. You failed us for the last time. Ladybug will arrive and she will succeed where you have failed. We will finally be free of this hell. And I, for one, will revel in your downfall, stupid cat.”

Alya flipped off the camera and left the call.

Adrien lowered his head as rage and fear tore through him. He flexed his fingers then balled them into fists. His body shook with anger that slipped from his control.

Rose opened her mouth, but Juleka covered it. She hurried and left the call.

Silence lingered for a brief, blissful moment. Adrien snapped his head up and screamed. He flung his laptop at the wall and broke it. He sent clutter flying everywhere, broke vases, glass, and other fragile items, and tore through his apartment, destroying it.

Plagg phased out of the fridge and sat atop the counter. He watched Adrien in his fit of despair. He calmly groomed himself until Adrien collapsed into a heap of tears.

“Are you done?” Plagg asked.

Adrien glared up with tear filled eyes. “What more could I have done? Was what I did not enough? Where did I go wrong?”

“You didn’t. You did everything in your power with the knowledge you had. That fact hasn’t changed.”

“Then why does it feel like I failed? Why does it feel like I could have done so much more? Given so much more to the people. Why?!”

Plagg sighed. He jumped down and approached Adrien. “Come on, I know this part. Just let it all out.”

Silence hung between them before Adrien spoke.

“I’ve never done anything right. I was a failure of a son. The only thing I was good for was standing still and smiling. People loved my smile. Always told Father how much it made their day seeing such a happy boy. Father never seemed to care. Was almost annoyed by it. Beat me down until I didn’t want to smile, then people didn’t seem to like me anymore. I lost everything until you found me.”

Adrien paused for a breath. He reached up, grabbed Plagg, and held him close.

“You changed everything. People liked me again because of you. They enjoyed looking at me, having me around. It was amazing, but then the attacks got worse. I did what I could, but the casualties got worse. Until that day when aid that was promised was deterred. Papillon unleashed his madness upon the world and set it ablaze. The world crumbled before him and abandoned Paris to appease Papillon. Is that what I should do, Plagg? Should I bow to Papillon’s whims?”

“Do you want to?”

“I… I don’t know anymore. I wanted to save the city. I wanted to be a hero the people loved. I just wanted to be, well, wanted. I didn’t want to feel like a burden for once in my life. I just wanted to be loved. I just don’t want people to hate me. I don’t want to be alone anymore. I… I just want to be happy for once since… since….”

Adrien broke down. He clung to Plagg and buried his face in Plagg’s side. Plagg grimaced but put up with it for Adrien.

“P-Plagg? Why… why do I bother trying? What’s even the point?” Adrien whimpered.

Plagg’s eyes widened. “Life is difficult, but full of wonder. There are bad moments, but there are also good.”

“Then why has my life been an endless nightmare? What did I do to suffer like this? Why do I even bother existing?”

Plagg opened his mouth, but Adrien shot up and glared at him.

“Look at me! What am I? Who am I really?”

“You’re Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir,” Plagg answered.

Fresh tears fell from Adrien’s eyes. “I wish I could believe that. I really could, but I can’t be Adrien. The Adrien I knew was a happy little boy. One that ran about the mansion without a care in the world with parents that loved him. This? This is just another Gabriel Agreste. His temper, his hatred, his bitterness, his everything. Even his face. And just like Father, I’m about to lose everything.”

“And when you do, will you be like him? Or will you be better?”

“What can I even do? Nino has already left me. Juleka and Rose are sure to be next. And Chloe… dammit. Why me? Why did I agree to this? Why didn’t I stick to the only thing I was good at?”

Plagg sighed. “I wish I had the answers you seek. I really do. But I want you to know something.”

“What’s that?”

“No matter who has turned against you, I will always be here. The world can turn against you, but I will always be in your corner at your side. Nothing in this world will keep me away from you as long as breath fills your lungs, and your heart carries a beat. I will be here. Whether you like it or not, not that I carried if you did, of course.”

Adrien snickered through the tears. He scooped Plagg up and cuddled him. “I can always count on you, Plagg.”

Plagg smiled. He nuzzled Adrien, then paused. An idea formed in his head. He bounced and flew up out of Adrien’s arms.

“That’s it! We will only count on each other!”

Adrien raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

“Who needs a team? They only slowed you down. I mean, they couldn’t ever do what you did, and things didn’t go wrong until they joined you. So, we can take on the world just the two of us.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to abandon them.”

Plagg scoffed. “They’re going to leave you for Ladybug anyway. Might as well toss them to the curb and go solo, right? Save them the trouble and make the decision for them, like a real leader.”

“Are you sure?”

“I always am.”

Adrien hummed. He did start alone but slowly built a team. He wouldn’t deny that when he started it was easier. However, when the others joined, there was a strange burden that came with it. Things got harder and they lost favor with the public. Perhaps he could leave the ladybug to lead a team while he went solo. He could prove on his own that he is more than a mangy, stupid cat.

Adrien stood and searched through his mess. He uncovered his damaged phone. He sent a text to the girls, informing them that the team was disbanded, and they could do whatever they wanted. A flood of messages came in, but he turned off his phone. He moved over to Plagg and offered an arm.

“Let’s go. We have a day job to get to.”

Plagg meowed and hopped onto Adrien’s shoulders. He nuzzled Adrien and purred.

Adrien smiled, nuzzled Plagg, and left.

“This is bad. This is bad. This is very bad! What are we going to do?” Rose freaked.

Whisper sat on the couch as she looked out. She watched Adrien’s tantrum and breakdown. A heavy weight fell on her heart hearing his struggles.

“What are we going to do?” Rose asked Whisper.

Whisper’s eyes fluttered and she returned to the apartment. She looked into Rose’s fearful eyes and considered. She didn’t want to leave Adrien alone, not completely. She wasn’t sure how to help him and didn’t believe Rose could help him right now. He would need someone that was more stranger to him than they were.

Whisper paused and considered getting Luka. He wasn’t supposed to arrive for a couple more months, but this was an emergency. Adrien was spiraling and needed someone that wasn’t the embodiment of destruction. It was nice that Plagg was there for Adrien, but true to his nature, he was helping Adrien destroy everything.

Whisper considered again. Even if Luka did help Adrien, what of the others? What of Marinette, Alix, and Alya. They are still hurting and will take it out on Adrien. She’d wager Alix was looking for any excuse to beat his ass. She needed to get them to see reason so Luka’s work wouldn’t be for naught.

“Jule?” Rose asked.

“I’m going to see Marinette, then get Luka.”

“What? But how? She’s not coming back for a while yet and he’s not supposed to be here for another couple of months. Jagged won’t-.”

“To hell what Jagged likes. Adrien is going to destroy himself if we don’t have someone intervene. He won’t open up to us willingly, so perhaps it’ll take a stranger.”

Rose considered and nodded. “Do what you can to save Adrien. To save our livelihood.”

Whisper kissed Rose’s cheek. “I’ll see you for lunch.”

Whisper ran out and headed for Alix’s place. She knocked and waited until Ondine answered the door.

“Ju-, I mean, Whisper? What are you doing here?”

“I need to see Alix’s kwami.”

Ondine hesitated.

“Please. There is news that needs to be shared.”

Ondine considered, then sighed. “Come in.”

Whisper darted in as Ondine left. Whisper waited when Ondine returned with Fang.

“What can I do for you this fine morning?” Fang asked.

“Can you take me to see Marinette? Then my brother, Luka?” Whisper asked.

“I very much can.”

Whisper’s eyes lit up. “Oh, thank you. Please, can we go now? It’s urgent.”

Fang bowed her head. She transformed into a wolf and stood beside Whisper. The apartment faded away and they appeared in the middle of the Cheng estate.

People gasped and jumped back at their arrival. Whisper grimaced as she looked around and heard their foreign words. She took a breath and focused. She searched the estate for Marinette, finding her in a training room. Marinette’s training paused when someone new entered the room with some news. She assumed it was about her as Marinette’s eyes widened in shock and ran out of the room. She watched Marinette emerge from a far-off building in the compound into the main courtyard where she was at.

Whisper’s eyes fluttered as she returned to her surroundings. She headed towards Marinette, meeting her halfway. She let out a laugh and scooped up Marinette in a bear hug.

“It’s so good to see you!” Whisper cried.

“Juleka, please, what’s going on? Why are you here?” Marinette asked.

Whisper put Marinette down. “We have a big problem.”

“What’s the problem?” Xiu asked.

Marinette and Whisper turned as Xiu joined them.

“I… I was part of Chat Noir’s team, but he’s disbanded the team. He is going solo as suggested by his kwami,” Whisper said.

Marinette snorted. “Is that all?”

“What? No. Please, I need you to listen. I know you hate him, but please don’t attack him or anything. Just… let him be.”

“What? Why should I?”

“Because I want to help him. I bore witness to his demons and the weights he carries. I will bring Luka back early just to accomplish this. To save Chat Noir before another monster is created. Before we have to deal with another Papillon.”

Marinette opened her mouth, but all arguments died on her tongue. She growled as she paced back and forth. Xiu approached and placed a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. They exchanged words before Marinette left. Whisper started towards Marinette when she was intercepted by Xiu.

“Follow me.”

Whisper followed Xiu to Xiu’s garden into a pavilion.

“I apologize for Mar-Mar. Please understand that she is still in mourning and that the cat’s words still have power over her.”

“I… had a small feeling, but I just wanted her to understand.”

“And she will in time. For now, you will work with me in this regard.”

“Uh, why?”

“Because I see your concerns. This Papillon is indeed a threat, but you need to take measures to ensure you don’t face a threat equal to or greater than him. And you see clearly what danger the black cat possesses, don’t you?”

Whisper nodded.

“Good. Then we can work together. I can give you all the information we have learned about the black cat and the holders it chooses, but I will want something in return.”

“And what would that be?”

“Understand that Mar-Mar comes from a long and prestigious line. Because of her blessed blood, she is a very valuable and auspicious match that any man should be proud to take. And while the snake has its own benefits and what if offers, it’ll never be the black cat.”

Whisper furrowed her brows. “And you want me to, what?”

“Bring the two together, the ladybug and the black cat.”

Whisper took a sharp breath. “But… but she has a boyfriend.”

“I’m aware, but I don’t approve of the match. Not when there is a better option on the table for the family. Do you understand?”

“I understand, I just don’t approve.”

“I don’t need you to approve, just to understand, girl. Now, if you want the information you seek, you’ll ensure that Mar-Mar and the black cat are together. Otherwise, you’ll watch your friend destroy himself.”

Whisper gritted her teeth. “I will, but only if you have something else.”

“And what is that?”

“Information on the butterfly. If you can give me information on the butterfly and the black cat, then I will see Mari and Chat Noir together.”

“Hmm, I suppose it would be in your better interest. Very well. Get comfortable girl while I prepare the material.”

“How long will it take?”

“Oh, not long. I’ll be back before long.”

Whisper nodded and took a seat. Fang joined her once Xiu was long out of earshot.

“You’re not actually going along with her demands, are you?” Fang asked.

“Not exactly. She just wants Mari and Chat Noir together for appearances. There doesn’t need to be anything between them. Well, perhaps at least friendship, but that’s no easy feat. Besides, I’d never betray Luka like that. Mari is his everything, his very heart. I wouldn’t dare break him like that.”

“Others would, so guard him well,” Fang remarked.

“The only others there could be is our enemy, but I’ve never seen him pull such tricks.”

“Would you show all your cards immediately, or play smart and keep the aces until the perfect moment? And for your enemy, what would that perfect moment be?”

Whisper’s stomach dropped. “Oh no. You don’t think he knows?”

“We’ll find out. The coming months will be the most telling. Don’t you agree?”

Whisper pursed her lips. She sat in quiet contemplation when Xiu returned with a pair of grimoires.

“Here we are. A tome on the black cat of destruction and the butterfly of transformation.”

Whisper took the tomes and bowed. “Thank you. I promise to put these to good use.”

“I know you will. Just don’t forget our deal.”

“I don’t renege on a deal, ma’am. I will see your wishes carried out. Fang, let’s go.”

Fang howled and teleported her and Whisper away.

Xiu frowned and turned away. She stepped out of the pavilion as an owl perched carefully on her shoulder.

“Do inform me should she renege on our deal, will you?”

The owl hooted and vanished.

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #au #miraculous au #alternate universe #mlb fanfic #fanfiction writer #fanfiction #fanfic #adrien agreste #absolution au #absolution #juleka couffaine #whisper #cw trauma #tw trauma #tw sui implied #cw sui implied

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nionom-art · 1 year

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hi so about the miraculous danganronpa, bc its an Akuma attack does that mean the deaths won't be permanent since Ladybug can just miraculous cure it away? do the participants know that its an Akuma attack? would they be able to see the broadcasts after the miraculous cure thing or keep their memories from it? btw I think ur au and art is very cool!! also will u ever turn this into a full thing like in the form of a fic or comic or smth?

Okay- sorry it took me so long to get to this ask! I wanted to make sure I had a fully formed answer first.

The participants definitely aren’t aware of what is really going on behind the scenes. Like in the games, the characters have had their memories wiped, and only remember their ultimate ability and their names (and a little bit of their pasts, with varying clarity).

I’m not sure if I want it to be an actual akuma attack (with the same mechanics as the miraculous show) or if I want it to resemble an akuma attack with danganronpa logic applied instead.

If it was danganronpa logic, Gabriel would have used a mind control device like they did in the danganronpa anime, having the same effect on Adrian as an actual akuma would have (or I could lean into the “Adrien is an artificially created human” angle and say Gabriel was able to mind control him that way- maybe with a microchip imbedded in his mind?). “Ladybug” would have been Marinette’s vigilante persona, fighting against the ultimate despair (Gabriel) with “Chat Noir” at her side. I imagine neither would have magical super suits or powers, but that they would be leading a resistance against Gabriel (the rest of the characters that held miraculous in the show would be part of this resistance).

Gabriel wouldn’t know the identities of Ladybug (dubbed the Ultimate Creative) or Chat Noir (dubbed the Ultimate Destruction), and they wouldn’t know Gabriel’s identity either. Gabriel would just be known as an entity called the Ultimate Despair. Gabriel’s mind control of Adrien happened when he found out his son’s identity as “Chat Noir” and used his moment of weakness to use mind control on him. Through Adrien, he found out about all the other people in the resistance and their identities, so he orchestrated a game of despair (including Felix and Lila because they were both starting to cause problems for him). This would be how Adrien became the Ultimate Despair of the game, through his father’s mind control.

I imagine Kim and Max wouldn’t be included in the game because they somehow managed to escape or maybe joined the side of despair. Idk.

If I go for the miraculous logic akuma attack, then yes, the characters would be brought back to life.

If I go with danganronpa logic (which I personally find more exciting) than no, unfortunately, the characters would have to stay dead. (Plus that would leave the AU open to an “Ultimate Despair Girls” arc- that would be very fun, I think).

I probably won’t do a full comic/fanfic, but I probably will continue doing artworks for it.

#miraculous danganronpa #lore dump i guess haha #ask

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ct-multifandom · 6 months

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Hey so there was this theory with the pic of Emilie and Gabriel looking at lil Adrien and I just wanted to ask you if you could explain it a bit more clearly cuz this theory sounds absolutely insanely fantastic and id like to understand it properly,thanks sm

Hi! Sorry for the very late response. I’m still not caught up on the show, so I’m probably missing many details, and for that reason I’d like to open this post up to other people to discuss because I think the things I noticed in prior seasons have become more relevant with the s5 finale.

the Amelie vs Emilie “theory”

For the new people, about a year ago I made two posts in response to the s4 episodes Wishmaker and Gabriel Agreste pointing out things that caught my eye regarding the twins.

All in all I don’t have much of a solid conclusion for the “theory” which is why it’s so confusing. It’s mostly a compilation of details I thought were strange and potentially foreshadowing a future plot twist. I’ll list some below.

In Wishmaker, Adrien’s baby memory depicts his mother with blue eyes and his father with green eyes. Astruc claims this was an error, which might be true.

Many depictions of Emilie have her in black and white. For example, the movie she starred in was B&W, and Felix and Kagami’s award winning indie film was all B&W, plus their eye colors didn’t change anyway under the masks

When Gabriel made the wish, Emilie didn’t open her eyes, she stayed dead

In the first post I pointed out that Emilie and Amelie are wearing different colored blazers, although I believe Astruc has since also said that’s insignificant. Once again dk if that’s true or not. In Andre’s dream box, he has headshots of supposedly young Tomoe and either Emilie or Amelie, but she’s wearing Amelie’s blazer.

Of course, since I’ve made those posts, we’ve seen actual scenes of Gabriel and his wife where she clearly has green eyes

I want to put emphasis on this because I’ve never seen anyone except me mention it: in the episode Gabriel Agreste, Gabriel’s tablet falls and breaks due to Marino’s antics. Amelie and Felix are the only guests to arrive AFTER this and NOT get their finger prints scanned.

Most recently, the writers commented on the finale. They said that Emilie has not come back to life, but intentionally avoided specifying who was at the pool party in the big sunhat. This would lead us to just say it’s Amelie then, but the vagueness makes me wonder.

The writers also suggested they left the contents of Gabriel’s wish vague on purpose to pull some twist. They said you’d think it just healed Nathalie’s illness, but that’s not all, and there’s a trick to it.

Minor note, but the whole reason people were confused about the swimsuit woman’s identity is because the leaked texture reference page for her character model was labeled Emilie. Either they changed the story, had a spelling mixup, or [insert conspiracy]

Adding on, after the first post I made, someone sent me old concept art of Adrien’s mom simply labeled “Adrien’s mother”. Either they didn’t come up with her name yet back then, or [insert conspiracy]

So at the end of the day, I have some level of confidence that they’re planning something with these GDV twins, but every explanation I can come up with for it sounds kinda crazy. Perhaps the most straightforward thing I can suggest is that the two swapped places early on in the overall plot? Idk. I’d love to hear other people’s ideas no matter how crazy. Maybe Gabriel wished for Emilie’s ghost to possess Amelie, awaken in the dead of night, and carry on his legacy of throwing plastic trash directly into the river. Who even is Emilie? Who’s Amelie? I’m excited to see where it all goes.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #ml s5 spoilers #ml s5 finale #ml theory #ml thoughts #emilie agreste #amelie graham de vanily #emilie graham de vanily #miraculous theory #side note that writer commentary made me excited for the Ivan lore. if Ivan had zero fans that means I am dead #what if there’s a woman named Umelie who’s just as confused as I am and one named Oomelie who runs the shadow government

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hbt-fangirl-4-life · 8 months

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Marinette has TOXIC FRIENDS

Okay, there is something that I have noticed that I feel like nobody ever talks about. ALYA IS TOXIC(including most of Marinette’s friend group). Weather you believe me or not this is why I think this:

-they believed lies/rumors that lie-la 🙄 said on multiple occasions.

-The episode (season3, episode23,”ladybug”) where lie-la accused Marinette of stealing her necklace and pushing her down the stairs. People from her best friend group including her bestie friend ,Alya, believed her for a moment.

-(With personal experience an NON-TOXIC friend is supposed to be on your side until you're proven guilty (or just stay by your side in general.))

-In a recent episode (season5,episode 20,”Revelation”). Marinette is accused of calling lila an idiot. When Lila runs out the room (fake crying like the fake b***h she is) Alya said something indicating that she believed that Marinette called Lila an “idiot” (she is more than just that).

Quotes from the episode:

“I’m sorry I'm going to withdraw my candidacy. Marinette convinced me. She’s right to call me an idiot and to say that what i’m trying to do is pointless” -Lila

“I didn't say-”’-Marinette

“I’m having a really bad day. The truth is I didn't quit. Gabriel Agreste fired me. I loved helping people so much, being their assistant on their Alliances, and now I feel completely useless. So, when I saw Chloe, I was convinced that this could be a new way for me to help myself be useful, to feel like I,too, might belong somewhere. Even though wherever I go there's always someone rejecting me. But if marinette is right, and there’s no hope for Chloe, Then there's no more hope for me either.” -Lila

“I think you went a bit too far. You shouldn't have called her an Idiot!” -Alya(aka marinette's supposed best friend)

-The only healthy friends that Marinette has are Adrien(her bae), Luka(ex bae), Kagami, Zoe, Tikki(kwami),Melynn(forgot how to spell her name), and Ivan. (probably more i just am to lazy to list them all)

-If you watched the episode you should know that Marinette did not indeed call Lila an “Idiot”

-Yes we all know that Marinette has always not liked lila but marinette would not give lila the reaction she wanted or the time of day.

There is so much more evidence that Marinette's friend group isn't very healthy for her but these are the main ones that stuck out to me. In conclusion Marinette needs to learn how to identify who is a real friend and who isn't. She already has enough on her shoulders with being the Guardian and having to get the miraculous from the monarch (and attempting to defeat him). She has to balance her double life and having healthier friends would lift some off her shoulder.

*come back from the dead*

This took far too long to write but here it is. Finally, something to actually post on Tumblr. I hope you enjoyed reading. My bad for any mistakes I made.

#adrien agreste #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #lila rossi #mlb #mlb fandom

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sariahsue · 1 year

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Marinette’s Three Rules for Preventing the Apocalypse

Set shortly after the events of Chat Blanc, Marinette uses her knowledge of what happened that day to create three rules to prevent disaster. What happens when she can’t keep them all?

[Prologue] [1] [2] [3]

Chapter Four - Conversations

Marinette didn't sleep at all that night. Nothing was comfortable and her mind was restless, playing over every possible scenario from every angle.

When the sun rose and it was time for school, she wasn't sure if the nausea she felt was from the lack of sleep or from knowing she would have to face Adrien again.

She stayed home, but it didn't make her feel any better. Between dealing with Tikki's cheerful encouragement, Alya's worried texts, and her parents' smothering concern (she must have looked even worse than she felt), it wasn't a very restorative morning. Even the sunlight seemed extra harsh, determined to keep her awake and disoriented until early afternoon, when she finally shoved her head under her pillow. It was stuffy and claustrophobic, but she was finally too tired for it to matter.

A banging sound woke her from a nightmare, breathing hard, pinpricks of tears in the corners of her eyes, fists rubbing into her temples. And reminding herself that Adrien wasn't dead.

A knock above her made her jump, and the concerned face of Chat Noir made her chest squeeze tight.

"Can I come in?" he asked as he pulled the skylight open. "Sorry I woke you, but you looked-"

Marinette grabbed his wrist and pulled him down onto the bed with her, and when he wrapped her in a hug, she finally felt like she could breathe for the first time in days.

"It's okay," he whispered into her hair. But it wasn't. Nothing was as it should be. Everything felt out of place.

She pulled away from him, trying to get some mental distance more than physical distance. (She hated both.)

"Are you okay?" He cupped her face, letting the pad of his thumb run over her cheek. "You weren't at school, but Alya said she didn't know what was going on. I was worried you were still upset about yesterday." Like he'd suddenly realized what he was doing, he dropped his hand from her face. "Sorry," he said. "About everything. I don't want to ruin anything. You're important to me even if you-"

They were kissing before Marinette even realized she'd moved. Something in the way he'd looked at her, the tenderness of his fingers as he touched her face, the overwhelming sense of wrongness when he pulled away had propelled her forward, until her lips brushed his again and again, until her hands found his hair and pulled him closer, until he leaned into her and returned the kiss.

For a few seconds, the broken pieces she was trying so hard to hold together felt like they were in the right places. Everything stilled and settled. Their breathing was quiet, like the brush of her shirt against the front of his suit. Warmth followed wherever he touched her, her neck, her shoulder, down her back and to her hip as he pulled her closer. He pulled away from her mouth long enough to kiss her cheek and murmur her name.

The last time she'd heard Chat Noir call her Marinette… Visions of white flashed behind her eyes.

"You need to leave." Her hands were already on his chest. She pushed lightly and he pulled back.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I– I can't– Please, just go."

"Marinette?" His grip on her waist slipped. His hair had flopped into his eyes, but she resisted the urge to push it out of the way for him. "Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?"

"No. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

He nodded uncertainly, unconvinced.

"I can't," Marinette finished after he'd left. "I can't stand to hurt you, but I can't figure out how not to."

---

She didn't get until tomorrow to collect her thoughts. There was a scheduled patrol that night. Light rain washed out most of the life of Paris. People stayed inside and windows were shut against the weather. Everything seemed muted, so it was a nice match to how their route went that night.

It had only been 24 hours since Ladybug's confession to Adrien, and he was surely still confused about Marinette's indecisiveness. She didn't think she'd been part of a longer or more awkward silence in her life. She couldn't end it, though. That would mean she would have to take back everything she'd said last night, to preserve her hope of avoiding a disaster.

Chat Noir broke the silence first.

"We need to discuss something," he said when they reached the arched roof of the Musée d'Orsay. The whole thing was made of hundreds of panels of glass. Soft light from inside lit him up from below, casting shadows on his face.

"What?" Ladybug said, though she knew perfectly well what.

"My identity's been compromised. I know, I'm sorry." He held up his hands in apology. "Yesterday's akuma trapped me with one of my classmates and I didn't have a choice."

That wasn't at all what she'd been expecting, which made it all the more a relief.

"So," he continued when she said nothing. "What do we do about it?"

They couldn't be together, and she'd messed up, but maybe there was still a way to salvage this. Ladybug needed more time to think, and she was grateful that he waited patiently for her answer.

"Do you think she'll tell anyone?"

"No, no. She's very trustworthy, but how did you know it was a girl?"

"Oh, uh, I just guessed." Ladybug blushed at her mistake. His eyesight was good, but she hoped he wouldn't notice past the way her damp hair stuck to her face.

"So I guess we don't need to worry about that," she rushed on. "That's good."

"You're not going to make me swear her to secrecy or something?"

"Uh, yes, of course." It's what she would do with anyone else, after all. She'd have to stop being so careless if she didn't want to risk her own identity. "Do that. Talk to her tomorrow, and then we can figure it out from there."

It was a delaying tactic, and a flimsy one, but she was still exhausted from her broken sleep and couldn't think of anything better.

"Great," he said, toeing the glass and looking down at the distorted sculptures below them. "I guess that's really all I needed to say, so I'll see you later."

That wasn't all. But Ladybug was too much of a coward right then to call him back. There was still time later.

---

The next morning, Adrien had a plan. One, wait for Marinette to show up late to school as usual. Two, play it cool until their lunch break (easier said than done). Three, make sure she was okay. That was the most important step. After he knew he hadn't hurt her, they could talk about identities and feelings and figure out what to do. He hoped she'd been only surprised after the akuma attack. It was a lot of take in, but avoiding him at school yesterday wasn't promising, even if she had kissed him afterward. He tried to keep his hopes in check. Making sure she was okay was the first priority. If she was okay, then that would be enough for him.

The methodical plan was shot down as soon as he stepped out of the limo. Marinette was sitting on the front step, early and waiting for him. She hopped up when she saw him, coming to his side before he'd taken half a dozen steps in her direction.

"Can we talk?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course," he said. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Not here." Marinette spun on her heel and marched around the corner of the building. A quick peek told him there wasn't anyone close enough to hear.

"I promise I won't tell anyone," she said. "You don't need to worry about that."

"I wasn't," he said quickly. "But I did want to check on you. What happened, it was a lot."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to freak out. I'm good."

"Good." Less than a minute into the school day and he'd already hit all three steps of his plan. It was a world record for his productivity, but he felt lost. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear what she might say about how she felt, but Marinette gripped the hem of her shirt and continued.

"I really like you, but–"

"Really?" If he'd been in costume, he was sure his cat ears would have perked up.

"Yes, but I don't know that it would be safe for us, you know, dating."

"I'd protect you," he said. Now that she'd given him the smallest hope, he wasn't going to let it slip away.

Marinette opened her mouth to argue, closed it, then started again. "Okay, aren't there rules? Aren't you not allowed to date?"

"Not that I know of."

"What about Ladybug? Shouldn't you clear it with her first?"

Hearing her name was like an electric shock. A tangle of live wires that he didn't want to touch right now. "I did, actually." He rubbed the back of his neck, not if he was embarrassed by the admission or just by thinking about his partner. "She said I should ask you out."

Marinette's face fell.

Her objections had been so quick, like she'd had them prepared in advance. Heartache smothered his hope.

"I… I think I need some time to adjust," she said.

Her final excuse had failed. Maybe she did really like him, or maybe she only liked him enough that she didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him no.

"Is that really it? Or are you just trying to let me down easily?" he asked bitterly.

Marinette considered, then pushed herself up on her toes and kissed his cheek, soft and slow. "I've been in love with you for a long time. But you're right. It's a lot. And there's a lot that could happen."

"You love me?" Embers of his hope started sparking again under the ashes.

She shrugged and turned away, watching the stream of people entering the building. "Have almost since we met." She peeked back at him, a blush rising across her face.

Adrien grabbed her hand, so he wouldn't float away. "I don't mind waiting," he said. "To be with you, I mean. If you need time, you can have it."

"Thank you," she said, voice quiet, and she pulled her hand out of his.

---

Marinette had gotten herself well and truly stuck, and she didn't know what to do.

The only way to protect Adrien (and the rest of the world, but he was much more important) was to stay apart. She didn't want to take back her confession. She didn't think she could stand breaking up with him. But she also knew she couldn't make him wait for her forever while she "adjusted." Adrien was smart. He would know something else was wrong, and she couldn't afford to have him asking questions she couldn't answer.

As soon as the final bell rang, she ducked out of the room, past Alya's inviting wave and Adrien's politely hurt smile. A run was what she needed. The wind in her face and the rhythmic push and pull of her yoyo would give her time to clear her mind.

She didn't expect to be out for over an hour. Or to go past Adrien's house. And she definitely didn't expect him to be waiting at the window, like he'd been hoping all afternoon to see her. But when he called to her, she couldn't help but stop.

"I should have said this earlier, but I'm sorry I can't reciprocate your feelings right now."

"What?" She panicked for a split second before remembering that he was talking to Ladybug, not Marinette. "It's fine."

Adrien stuffed his hands in his pockets but didn't say anything, and there wasn't any way for her to convince him that she really wasn't heartbroken without relying on her terrible acting skills. This was so complicated.

Though this gave her an idea. No one else knew how complicated her situation was. "Could I ask you for some advice? About boy problems?"

Adrien raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Okay so–" She swung her legs over the edge of his window and sat down on the ledge, her feet dangling above his carpet. "The guy I've liked for a long time confessed his feelings for me, and I still like him, but I'm torn. It's dangerous for us to be together. What do I do?"

"Go out with him," Adrien said without hesitation. His face was blank, but his voice was firm.

"But it's dangerous," she repeated. "What if something happens? There are so many things that can go wrong."

"Why is it okay for me to date, but not you? That's a little hypocritical."

Ladybug kicked her heel against his wall, unsure of how much to say. "It's not. With him though, it's different. Worse."

"Why?"

Pale blue eyes. Bone white hair. A fractured boy.

"Ladybug?" Adrien reached for her arm, concern splashed across his face.

The breath was cold in her lungs. "I don't want to lie to him about being Ladybug," she sidestepped.

Adrien stepped back, considered her reaction, and then shrugged. "So tell him the truth. The classmate who found me out is the same girl I like. It might take a while for him to get used to the idea, but I'm sure he won't hold being the Savior of Paris against you."

The ghostly echo of her second rule, don't let Adrien find out my identity, rattled in the back of her mind. If only it could be that simple. Then they could both be happy.

He turned so he could lean against the window next to her, his face angled away so she couldn't read his expression.

Her voice caught in her throat.

He wasn't as over her as he pretended, and now she'd confessed and given him everything he'd ever wanted to hear too late, only to take it all back by asking him for help with "another boy." All she wanted was for him to be happy, but she couldn't seem to stop hurting him.

"Adrien," she started. She reached for him, hand hovering, still undecided on how best to comfort him.

A shrill alarm sounded from Adrien's phone, and the decision to do nothing was made for her.

"Akuma," Adrien said, pushing away from the wall and pulling out his phone. His back was still to her. "About two blocks from the National Library."

She pulled her hand back in, resting her fist against her heart. "Guess that's my cue to leave."

"Our cue." A flash of bright green light left her blinking as he transformed. "Sorry," Chat Noir said, when he saw her surprise. "I've wanted to do that for a while."

Ladybug shook her head and rolled backward out the window, her partner following closely behind.

---

Tag list: @tbehartoo @mlbigbang

#marichat #love square #ml #miraculous #miraculous ladybug

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