#all but one is from Miraculous Ladybug lol

[sallertiacallidus]

Tagged by @grimalkinsquill! (and also @purrfectlypunny before I could finish it on the first tag, lol [I had to go to sleep :p])

Rules: Pick any 10 of your fics, scroll somewhere to the midpoint, pick a line (or a few), and share it! Then tag people! (If you don't have 10, that's okee! Just post what you can! <3)

Tagging: @applebearly, @coracries, @amystarsmith (if y’all want to), and, uhhhhhhhh, anyone else who feels like it?

It’s Just… I Wish Someone Would Listen - Chapter 2

And whoever that person was, couldn’t be farther from who Félix was now. He remembered vestiges. Of not having as many heavy, paralyzing, thoughts. Of being able to approach others out of his own volition. Of talking. Then a giant fog of uneasiness and unsafety, then his throat getting more and more clogged up as the years went on.

Rumpus, Ruin, and a Third One

“Cut it out, Knick!” he snarled to the goblin smacking his head against the wood. “Denting your thick skull won’t help us.” He knocked his own head for emphasis. “We gotta think.”

“Yeah!” Knick threw hands. “Because thinking has always helped the captain! Thinking has never disappointed the Goblin King! Thinking has never made Wuvvy demand satisfaction for making Rue cry!” He jumped high at the end, pulling at his ears.

Trickster - Chapter 5

He sighed after confirming no page had been wrinkled or ripped and turned to scowl at his deskmate, only for it to fall at the red-faced and slightly disheveled Dupain-Cheng muttering under her breath. Her hands shook as she tried to take out her materials, making pencils, papers, and a cookie fall around her, irritating her even more, which made her drop more materials.

Félix blinked out the flashing thought of a bottomless bag that’d never let this cycle end and waved a hand in front of her face. Her eyes focused on his hand and he slowly took a hold of her shaking hands so that she’d follow his movements and pull away anytime she wanted; but she didn’t, and the cycle was successfully broken. With his other hand, Félix began to pick up the fallen objects.

A Pretty Special Date

And she didn’t need to pretty herself for him, but she wanted to; even if he only took her for a walk around the public park, she wanted to look as pretty as he made her feel.

Technicolor Phase

This was one of the scarier movies. The kind that made Félix’s eyes gleam at the details like the green from the grass right after a rainstorm. That hooked his breath out of his lungs like a gray snowstorm right before the tension released the bright aurora—that, in this case, would most like be colored in a gory red. She knew all of that because of how closely she watched him, she had no idea what was going on on the screen.

But instead of snorting or poking him about his little eeps and arghs, she just smiled and felt the thud of the evening stars wanting to burst out of her chest and replace the gory blood from the movie’s scene. And when Félix clutched her arm, she was almost sure the DUM from the sound speakers was exactly that happening.

City of Fools - Chapter 1

It felt dirty, to simply run away from her home while it fell apart, when, maybe, she could be there, doing more for it. She helped her maman to make the amnesia potion, but that was it; she took herself out of the picture after that simply because it was too painful to continue being there. So she draped herself in blue and ran away to somewhere she wouldn’t be in direct contact with that pain.

The Mouse’s Tale: of the Twilight

When Mullo found the first piece of cheddar on the counter, she had assumed it had simply been forgotten there by Marinette. But the Parmesan plate seemed very intentionally placed in front of the door covered in glittering stickers.

Bridgette’s gray eyes—dimmer from the nighttime and brighter from her ecstasy—peeked through the door’s breach, smiling crinkles creasing their edges as she gazed at the small mouse sniffing at the Parmesan. Mullo waved at her and took the food to a crane on the ceiling.

Stray Cats - Chapter 2

She scrunched her nose. After seeing how he took care of his little brother, thinking of him as the “blond jerk” didn’t seem right. Just like letting him go out in this rain with his little brother, when he obviously didn’t have where to go, ticked her off with wrong, wrong, wrong, for several reasons.

A thunder roared out.

Even the sky agreed.

Symphony of Lights - Chapter 1

A laugh escaped her. Hundreds of bells tinkling in harmony with the glistening in her eyes as she took him in. He focused back on what his face was doing and made it give her a smile he hoped conveyed his delight at seeing her well enough—because he was; even if there were others, harder to discern, emotions sizzling his brain.

Alternative Cuisine

“Just jelly!” She took a seat across from him, putting an elbow on the table and placing her chin on a palm. “Come on–” She pushed the tray to him. “The taste is divine, you have to try it.”

He arched a brow at her. “Did you taste it first?”

She bit the inside of her cheeks.

Félix grabbed his book and stood up.

“Nooooooo! Félix, pleeeeaaaaaase!” She leaned over the table, pushing the tray aside as she grasped his wrist. “I need an impartial judge! I can’t criticize my own cooking properly.”

“Translating,” Félix said, groaning as he let her pull him back to his sitting position. “You need someone that still has a decent paladar.”

Marinette humphed and crossed her arms. “There’s nothing wrong with my paladar, thank you very much.”

“Love, you swear that crickets are just like crackers.”

“If they’re crispy enough, people can’t even tell the difference! And they have way more nutritional value.”

[i-wiggle-i-squirm-bc-i-am-a-worm]

Chapter 2- Investigation (Pages 1 & 2)

Previous Page

Next Page

And so we start Ayla’s chapter! I really hope you guys enjoy what’s to come! Also, I’d like to say that I have an official update schedule: I’ll be updating every other Friday. Thank you again for all the support so far!!

[shima-draws]

Sitting here debating whether or not I should rewatch Miraculous

[inkerii]

So I had a different post up about the miraculous movie and how it wasn't perfect but - as someone who liked the series back when it was just Ladybug and Chat Noir against the world, and sorta naturally dropped it when the show started to introduce more heroes just bc it wasn't my thing - it felt nice and it gave me closure.

I was just gonna rewrite it in a way I liked better, but Jesus, whatever minor desire to pick the show back up again was very quickly snuffed out by how negative the a browse through the fandom tags felt. It's like people who like the movie are rubbing it in with a sort of arrogance, and the people who don't are almost gatekeepy with how "it's not the show" and how inferior it is bc of that. And I feel like wanting to talk about that instead.

Like. There are actual criticisms and praise going around but it gets lost in a sea of salt. It's kinda scary.

Personally, I liked it. It had some very cheesy lines, a couple scene transitions could have been better, What Have They Done To My Son, Plagg, and Adrienette's dynamic would have benefitted from a couple extra scenes (just a few tweaks showing him a little embarrassed or staring a little longer than usual in the Baddie Of The Day Montage(tm) would fix it, since I think they do a decent job of setting Marinette as special to Adrien given she's the only person we see him open up to about his mom, when we know he and Nino are friends and Nino already stated to always be there for him), to make the turning the ball invitation down + reveal hit harder, but overall it was fun. It was different.

What I truly cannot understand how this isn't Miraculous or how it doesn't really have a story. Sure, it's not The Series but in movie format, including the characterizations (they ARE different characters), but?? I feel like the core of who they are, or who they were back when the show began, still remains. Marinette still struggles with self confidence (which is in line with her season 1 self), and I particularly love how you can see how she HAS that spice bubbling underneath the surface, she just needed a push to embrace it and grow more confident (very Origins of her). Adrien is still closed off and quiet, and I love the implication that it was each other that gave them the push they needed to open up and be stronger and more social. I love how it was still Adrien's kindness that made Marinette fall for him, and Ladybug's bravery and selflessness that caught Chat Noir's eye.

Marinette is still clumsy and a little over excited, which we see in the first music, it just has a sense of WONDER to it instead of a frazzled energy like in the show, lol, poor baby. Adrien is still flirty and punny, he's still closed off, except show Adrien is trying to put up a brave face about it and trying to move on, and movie Adrien has lived with grief for longer and developed different coping mechanisms in regards to it. They're both very interesting in their own right, and I think the timing of Emilie's loss really explains the changes in him- movie Adrien is just past the meek attempts to be happy that show Adrien is still trying to do. He lost his mom and lived with an absent father for much longer than his show counterpart and it SHOWS. It's a different flavor of Adrien, but I think it's a neat choice, to have LB be the reason why he chose to open up. Show Adrien was interesting bc he chose to stand up to his dad in order to go to school, but he still felt alienated from his peers. The movie just makes that separation clearer but lets Adrien grow and hang out with his friends* and create actual bonds with them thanks to having first created a bond with Ladybug. It's a cool take on it.

I also really like what they did with Hawkmoth, though I don't think I can compare it to the show bc back when I watched it Gabriel was more or less just the absent father, mustache twirling villain that he was. This is where that * is inserted, I think the biggest change is that show Gabriel was more controlling of his son's life, and more demanding. Movie Gabriel straight up "lets" Adrien go missing for a whole night and only tries to talk to him the day after. He doesn't seem to mind Adrien spending time with his friends. He doesn't micromanage his son, though we still see hints of that control in how he talks about his designs, so its there, just a little hidden, that pride and arrogance. Again, it's a different flavor of Gabriel, but it works within the characterization of the movie and what they wanted for his character. Reminds me a bit of the Gabriel that wasn't willing to hurt Adrien (which apparently is an early series thing only, rip lmao) but was willing to go all out on Ladybug and Chat Noir.

So... yea. Maybe I'm just out of touch with the fandom and the show. Maybe it's because the characters have grown in ways I simply don't know bc I lost interest, and the modern MLB fandom understandably attaches those changes to the characters and wants to see it represented, which is valid. But tbh? I still love early MLB - not bc the "writing was better" or bc of Astruc v Zag shenanigans (are those still going? oh the war flashbacks) - just bc I vibed with the concept more. I love the show versions of these characters. And I think the movie is a different spin on them, but I think it does them justice. It has flaws, but the show also did, and I loved it anyway.

Speaking of just what I watched back then... I still think nothing in the movie tops the Umbrella Scene(tm), but I love that Ladynoir got a cute equivalent in the sparring one. I love the banter in both. I love the Adrienette moments in the show and I love how the movie expands on the inconditional trust between Chat and Ladybug, on how they're partners and always there for each other. I love Tikki in both. Show Plagg is my baby. I love what they did with Hawkmoth in both (movie and s1/some of s2). Master Fu as a cooky old man is hilarious. The cringe somehow got cringier in the movie. I think it's funny that movie Adrien gets to have his own "oh my god the second hand embarrassment, I want to cry" to balance out show Marinette lol. I love Chat still simping for LB and I love the cute little romance scenes, shipping fodder moments were always one of the strengths of the show, and we have it here in spades, so good for me.

It's just... as I said, it's different, but to me it's a love letter to the MLB that captivated me for years. It does its own thing, but I think I'm just gonna make a few tweaks in my head, mash Origins with the first half of the movie, then watch season 1 and a few select season 2 episodes, then go back to the movie to finish it up. I actually think that they complement each other quite well, even with the characterization changes, because, for example, the early seasons compensate for the movie's lack of Adrienette, while the show expands on the ladynoir side. If you use both, then the movie manages to effectively reverse the love square, allow Mari to grow past her awkward self, deal with the bits of insecurity in her that we still see sprinkled across the series, allow Adrien to stand up to and face his father, and give me a satisfying conclusion to the Hawkmoth plot and a cute little reveal.

I could go on over more talked about topics like the music (its fine. Christina inserts a certain breathlesness to Marinette that you feel Lou is trying to capture but she just can't. I got used to it tho, and Lou's voice is lovely) or the animation (gorgeous), like I did in the original version of this post, but to me what mattered most was the... For lack of a better word, the vibe of the movie. To me, it felt like a little time capsule bc it really embodies everything the fandom liked about the show during season 1 and its hiatus. I can't give it an objective score bc I think my 8.5/10 feels very biased, but I loved the nostalgia trip. I loved getting that closure. I'm still gonna go off and enjoy parts of both the show and the movie, because something something stronger together might just apply to them as well :)

[nemaliwrites]

omg your next miraculous fic looks so interesting,,who are the voicemails from???

I'm obsessed with how menacing this sounds out of context lmao

(for those of you who haven't seen it, here's an awful summary: a post-canon fic where Hawk Moth is arrested and his identity has been revealed. You’d think Ladybug and Chat Noir can find each other now, right? But Plot Twist! Chat Noir was the Guardian, and now he’s got no memories and nothing to guide him except for a burner phone filled with voicemails from one of the Saviors of Paris.)

The voicemails are from Chat Noir! And I know the description sounds kind of flippant but like...the actual fic is angst central, and my goal is to rip out my own heart when I reread it. There are a lot of tears, a lot of self-loathing, and a little bit of maybe trying to heal and forgive.

I don't exactly know when on my schedule it'll be posted - I have a Naruto longfic that I think I'll finish up first. But you heard it here first, folks!

The Parable of the Caller, coming soon to an ao3 near you!

[zoe-oneesama]

All the Miraculous Requests I had from my Patrons in 2023! This isn't even including all the original OCs and akumas I got!

Ko-fi | Patreon

-Marinette in MY favorite outfit from Scarlet Lady (this one's from "Glaciator") -Chat Blanc and Marinette (specially SL Mari) -Marinette and Tikki sharing Hot Chocolate and Floral Cookies -My Akumanette Little Devil kissing Silencer -Kim and Ondine, Kim kissing her on the cheek -Penny and Jagged kissing -Marc and Nathaniel kissing -Rose and Juleka in their Princess Fragrance and Reflekta Scarlet Lady cover outfits -Nino and Adrien hugging -Good Lila with the Butterfly Miraculous -Good Gabriel with the Peacock Miraculous -Young Marianne with the Fox Miraculous -Original version of Evil Nathalie with the Peacock Miraculous -Bustier with the Bee Miraculous -Scarlet Lady version of Vanisher -MY favorite akuma aka Stormy Weather (I was literally asked to do my favorite lol) -Nathaniel in his Scarlet Lady "Reflekta" outfit -Caprikid wishing my Patron a Happy Birthday! -Gabriel horrified by a full glitter suit he's forced to wear -Ladybug in the Hades game style as a Goddess of Creation -Kagami. Just my baby girl Kagami. -Rose dressed in Pastel Goth Fashion -Rose dressed in a pink version of Chie Satonaka's (Persona) outfit because they share a Voice Actor -Juleka. My other baby girl Juleka. -Juleka in her "Style Queen"/"Queen Wasp" outfit from Scarlet Lady -Human Pollen -Human Nooroo

[sidsinning]

the movie aint better ya goofs (don't read if you don't wanna hear my slander lol,,,)

"Movie!Gabriel is better than show!Gabriel because he actually cares for his son and gets redeemed"

istg this fandom's obsession with redemption needs to END

Morally better character ≠ better writing

Can I just get a piece of media that tells kids "hey, ur abusive parent was an asshole, and even if they had humanity you do not need to reconcile and forgive them in the end" bc I feel like that's what show!Gabriel leans towards which is great

Gabriel barely talks to Adrien in the movie and suddenly when he sees him under CN's mask his entire reign of terror, his determination to see his dead wife again ends in a tearful hug lmao come on now

("but the ending where Adrien suddenly loves his dad again???"- Astruc has been pretty blunt on Twitter that this perfect society you see in S5's ending is built off of a lie, so Adrien is def not gonna just keep that view)

"Adrien actually stands up to his dad in the movie!"

Movie!Adrien is legit a normal human boy, not a sentimonster who is literally physically incapable of fighting back against whoever has his amok

He DOES fight back (even in S1 as CN!), but people like to remember the show only up to S3. Guess what, he learns to fight back and stand up for himself through his growing bonds and relationships with those around him through character development ✨✨✨

Also, he is an abused kid??? In the show?? How can you knock him down a peg for not fighting back,,, 😭 Adrien's lesson isn't that he needs to learn how to fight back, it's that Nathalie shoulda called cps sooner!!! In the movie they are much more of an estranged father-son pair than anything abusive. So obviously the back talk is much easier too. Movie!Adrien gets to go out alone and with friends unless his dad has specifically planted an enemy where he is. Show!Adrien has been beaten, mind controlled, forced to hurt Marinette, isolated and locked up, etc.- he has been TERRIFIED of his dad multiple times.

"Marinette isn't an obsessive stalker in this!"

SIGH.

Man I am so sick of this complaint- the show has never rewarded Marinette for her obsessive behavior. BC IT IS A CHARACTER FLAW. One they use for cringe comedic purposes, but a flaw nonetheless. Every time she has done anything that hurts others in pursuit of Adrien she is punished by the writers. And bc the show has an episodic monster-of-the-week format, this plot is recycled a lot (which is its own complaint). And guess what? SHE STOPS BEING OBSESSIVE. YEAH. SHE STOPS DOING THAT SHIT- so what do you want now??? She grew out of it after it costs her the miraculous so why tf are yalls still hurling this at her like its a L,,,,

This Marinette is just a watered down boring version of show!Marinette. She's just a girl who gets insecure at times but grows confident bc she's Ladybug. Ok. So is our Marinette but MORE. Our Marinette is super smart, creative, resourceful, an overthinker, extremely kind and selfless to others, gets jealous and reckless when her emotions get the better of her, etc. She is fully formed even after watching just 3 episodes of S1.

Like the fact that they didn't even bother to include the oh so important hook of the show- her lucky charm power- shows they didn't care about doing this story justice- its so transparently lazy writing 💀 (miraculous of creation where??? CN gets cataclysm for destruction but what is movie!LB bringing to the yin yang table,,,)

Legitimately all the comparisons I'm hearing from people saying the movie is better are from those who just aren't caught up with the show where Marinette is no longer toxically obsessive with Adrien, where the plot/lore is insane but 10000000x better and more creative than what the movie gave us, the love square was much better developed EVEN FROM JUST THE ORIGINS EPISODES, etc. Istg these people stopped at S3 where the show was at its worst (if I were to pinpoint it)

Everything is so watered down or changed for the worse

Adrienette bonding was 1 conversation and 2 seconds about his mom in a voiceless montage. Marinette didn't fall for him bc of his kindness after a misunderstanding, it was bc he looked handsome in the library's light lol. He called her weird and didn't think twice about putting on his earphones to listen to more alpha podcasts. You really do wonder why she likes this dude over her partner CN bc they have no connection at all.

Movie!Adrien was an asshole don't you dare do show!Adrien dirty by comparing him to this ellen degeneres alien lookin mf

When movie!Adrien is crying after Mari reveals herself as LB, unlike the show, here you're like "yeah no you only like her now bc she's LB lol"

Anyways feel free to enjoy what you enjoy but uuuuuhhhh this movie getting a 3/10 for me would not rewatch

Oh wait the good things

-Visuals

-Some Ladynoir scenes were cute, like them playfully fighting with the accidental wall pin

-I liked Ladybug moving away from CN's kiss- nice hint of angst

-Chloe's coffee stain scene

-Luka cameos were cute

songs were bad or mid

ya das it

I guess feel free to talk to me in my inbox about your own thoughts if you wish (respectfully plz)

[marimbles]

ok since i’ve really only whined but not actually explained my reasoning lol, here is my take on the s5 finale. (this is long, sorry)

I think we’re all on the same page about the idea that gabriel being seen as a hero, by all of paris but especially adrien, is icky. and on top of that it does not feel good that marinette is supporting that lie, even if it’s out of love for adrien. most people are assuming this issue will be resolved somehow in 6, probably by lila exposing the truth. cool. that’s my hope as well. but even if that’s the case, i still dislike the framing of his wish and what the surrounding context seems to imply about it.

it is not my assumption that gabriel’s wish included green initiatives and a reformation of the parisian school system lol. I assume that his wish was to exchange his own life for nathalie’s. but as we know, wishes literally rewrite reality. the fact is that paris improved after his wish, so it is still related. he remade the world, and the new world ended up better. It all supports the idea that his wish was a good thing—a noble sacrifice that redeemed him in some sense. my impression is that even if (hopefully) he is exposed as hawkmoth, the actual wish he made will still be framed as admirable. obviously marinette found it noble enough to agree to lie to everyone about gabriel’s identity as hawkmoth.

which brings me to another pain point: the fact that gabriel essentially won the long battle against ladybug and chat noir. i’ve heard arguments that he didn’t win because he died and how is that winning? he got what he deserved in the end. but imo, he just put himself out of his own misery, because he was on the brink of death anyway because of his cataclysm wound, and he basically escaped having to face any emotional consequences from his literal terrorism and child abuse. and even if you don’t consider that a win, you also can’t consider marinette’s end of the deal a win either. her goal was to prevent hawkmoth from unifying the miraculous and making a reality-altering wish. which is exactly what happened. so she failed her mission. ladybug lost. and to me it’s sort of bizarre that the narrative seems to be framing that as a good thing? ladybug lost, but the new reality that resulted from it is so much better than the old one, and she is actively choosing to lie in order to protect the seeming goodness of that reality.

marinette is lying, of course, to protect adrien, which does not feel out of character. we’ve seen her do this before. but it is frustrating to me for precisely that reason. the final battle was meant to highlight how much marinette has grown over the past five seasons, but her choice here highlights the ways she has not grown. starting with syren in season 2, she has witnessed how much it hurts chat noir to be left in the dark and how it weakens their partnership. in that case, she convinced master fu to let him be in the know, and trust was restored. but then she continued a habit of keeping things from him, putting more and more distance between them, till it culminated with kuro neko in s4—a total breakdown of the ladynoir partnership, where chat noir renounced his miraculous. i would have thought that marinette would learn from that experience and realize that keeping people in the dark is harmful and that even if the truth hurts, adrien has a right to know it. but she once again made the decision for him, and when he finally finds out, it will be all the more painful to know that the person he loves and trusts most in the world lied to him. i actually really appreciate that marinette as a protagonist has such a good heart but is still such an imperfect character, so i want to respect this choice as a manifestation of her flawed but good intentions. i just can’t help but be really disappointed that after 5 seasons of making the same mistakes again and again, she has apparently not learned from them, which makes me feel she has not grown the way the writers say she has.

her facing hawkmoth alone for the final battle is supposed to be a sign of that growth—and yes, I can see how she has grown a lot in confidence and capability since her shaky debut as ladybug. but i also feel that her flying solo defies one of the central themes of miraculous: that in the fight against evil, good people need to stand together. just think of the difference between the s4 and the s5 finale. in strike back, ladybug is broken and sobbing because she has lost the miraculous and feels like a failure who is all alone. but then she is buoyed up by her faithful partner and all of paris, who express unbreakable faith in her and vow to stand by her side. that was so powerful! showing that she doesn’t have to be alone, and she’s not supposed to be alone, and that part of being a hero means accepting help and working with others to achieve good goals. this message was a major part of marinette’s character arc in s4 and it’s something that was introduced from the very beginning and has been supported over and over in the show. but then in “re-creation,” she has no team, and she doesn’t need one. which … good for her, I guess? But then why did we have 5 seasons of “you and me against the world” if in the end it was always going to culminate with “I'm sure we can figure out a solution if we work together. You … and me”—referring to Marinette and Gabriel, while Adrien is literally locked in a blank white prison hundreds of miles away?

it just really kills me that in kuro neko, adrien gave up his ring under the assumption that chat noir was not needed—that he was entirely useless to ladybug. and then the narrative proved him right. ladybug did not need chat noir to defeat monarch. she just needed his ring. the writers confirmed in their recent commentary that they had planned a bug noire fusion from the beginning, and they intentionally sidelined adrien so that could happen—they even had to figure out an excuse for why he wouldn’t be there. so they traumatized him with nightmares of destruction and fear of akumatization to ensure that he would once again give up his ring and conveniently remained locked away while bug noire faced down monarch alone.

you could argue that it’s better for adrien to have missed the final battle anyway, since facing his own father would just be even more traumatizing for him. i understand that. (that’s the reason i liked that in the owl house, it ended up being just luz vs belos, and hunter did not have to face him again.) but at the same time it feels so narratively unjust that chat noir—who has been fighting against hawkmoth by ladybug’s side since day 1—has zero part in seeing his mission through to the end. even though it’s all about him. because while marinette is the protagonist, adrien is the connecting piece of the whole story. it’s always been ladybug vs hawkmoth, and adrien is in the middle of them, because he’s both ladybug’s partner and gabriel’s son.

you’d think, logically, that as the connecting piece, Adrien’s decisions would be vital to the plot. That he’d have the power to tip it either way. but instead he is completely stripped of his autonomy—literally, because he’s a senti, and also symbolically in the narrative, because he’s simply removed from the equation. Like, he’s still central to the equation but he has no say in it. It’s all about him but he’s not even present. Everyone is fighting for him but he can’t fight for himself. Everyone is speaking for him but he doesn’t even have a voice.

the finale kind of sets up marinette and gabriel as narrative foils of each other, showing how they have the same motivation—to make adrien happy. and they make the same decision to protect that goal. which is interesting, sure, but also kind of effed up to me? i’m not sure what to take from the idea of the protagonist mirroring the antagonist in this way. that’s been done loads of times, but in this context, for a child audience, i don’t know what to make of it. what kind of message that is supposed to send to the children who are the primary audience of this show? ladybug is a good guy, and in the end, she’s just like the villain because they both love adrien and want to protect him. so that’s why she agrees to tell everyone the bad guy was a hero. ????

that gabriel/marinette parallel leaves adrien to parallel emilie, which makes sense and is fitting but also just sort of … depressing and again, lowkey effed up. that adrien ends up with the same narrative role as a corpse in a coffin. almost, like, macguffin-esque—a thing that motivates the agents of the story but has no agency itself. despite him being so central to both sides of the main conflict, his decisions don’t affect the outcome. because he doesn’t have the option to make any. because he’s not even present. both gabriel and marinette made a life-altering decision for adrien, thinking it was best for him, without considering that what’s best for him is to know his own story and make his own choices. him getting the rings was somewhat relieving, but it also felt like kind of a slap in the face. because it’s like, “look, adrien’s free! he has his amok and no one can control him anymore!” but, like, how free is a person who is living a lie? will he ever experience true autonomy, or will his life continue to be dictated by the decisions others make for him? will the narrative give him decision-making power or will his role continue to be symbolic?

one thing that makes this all extra dissatisfying is that Adrien literally does not have the option of getting closure with his father, because he’s dead. maybe a dramatic reveal in the middle of the final battle would not be the best way to go about it, but now he can’t have any sort of closure. in the owl house, it didn’t feel necessary for hunter to be present in the belos takedown because he already had his confrontation with belos in graveyard possession scene. belos tried to physically control him, and hunter broke free, and spoke his mind, and as traumatizing at is all was, it was good for him to be able to do that. it would’ve been so nice if adrien also had that opportunity. if he did break free from his father’s control, either by overcoming akumatization or the control of his amok somehow. or if not that, if he were just able to have one honest conversation with his father about emilie. like he did with his alt self in the paris special. it was so significant for the writers that bug noire detransformed and spoke to gabriel as marinette. why couldn’t adrien have done that? Marinette is the one to tell Gabriel that Adrien wouldn’t want him to make the wish and hurt someone else, that Adrien has made peace with his grief, that he has learned to cherish his mother’s memory without living in the past. wouldn’t that be even more powerful coming from adrien himself? if adrien was part of that final confrontation just as himself, we could even still have bug noire play a primary role.

i get that adrien being part of the battle is a risk, since we saw in chat blanc one option of how it could play out. but we also saw in the collector another potential way adrien might respond to learning that his father is hawkmoth—charging into battle by ladybug’s side. especially if he was given time to process the idea beforehand. it’s not impossible. you’d just have to compose the scene and its buildup a different way. so honestly it feels sort of lazy to just remove him for the sake of ease? and also sort of a waste of narrative potential? the villain being the father of one of the main characters is such an interesting plot element. imagine if luke skywalker did not ever face darth vader. if he never even learned that vader was his father. or if he learned that fact after vader’s death, which was the result of a confrontation he was not present for.

of course, i know adrien is not the protagonist. marinette is. and of course i want her to be empowered by the story. but i’m getting a little tired of what i see as kind of cheap feminism in ML. like, girl power for the sake of visibility so the writers can pat themselves on the back about it, if that makes sense? this show does have so much good feminist power with a strong female lead who has realistic flaws and a big heart, who overcomes self-doubt and other struggles, and who has proven time and again to be a smart, capable leader who has earned the trust of everyone on her team. but all of that sometimes feels undercut by the narrative treatment of adrien—like he has to be put down somehow to elevate marinette. ML has subverted gender roles in a lot of ways by having ladybug lead with her brain while chat noir follows with his heart. and adrien has a lot of other strong feminine associations—the focus on his physical appearance, the expectation of perfection and obedience, his soft and gentle nature, his romanticism, etc. And one of the biggest ones is all the ways he is trapped, all the ways he is pushed down and made to be submissive. they even depict him as a princess locked in a tower, with marinette as the knight in shining armor to save him from the evil dragon (his father). with adrien in that traditionally feminine role, it would have been empowering to see him to take a leading part in his own liberation. instead, he was locked away both literally and symbolically in favor of a solo bug noire confrontation, so marinette could look like a girlboss in her cool new outfit, taking on the bad guy all by herself, even when it would (imo) fit better with the themes of the show and her own character arc for her to fight alongside her partner. but as Thomas Astruc said, “She's Barbie, he's Ken. You don't like it. I get it. It won't change. Anything else?” (X) it just makes me feel that the writers cared more about the cinematic value and feminist brownie points of that battle than its narrative significance—which i feel could only be increased by adrien’s participation. “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing” … and that is all adrien was allowed to do.

i think a lot of fans at this point are just assuming that whatever feels dissatisfying/off will be fixed in s6. they’re trusting that the writers have a brilliant master plan that we just have to be patient and wait to see come together. idk, maybe i’m just tired. or a little jaded. i think there will be a lot to enjoy in s6, but i’m also prepared for disappointment. i honestly did not love many elements of s4 as well as s5, and i had expectations that weren’t fulfilled there either. i’ve felt let down by the writers many times now, so i expect that many of their future choices will  not resonate with me. but i still love ML, and I am eager to see how everything will unfold. i’ve also read a lot of other analyses of the s5 finale, and there are great points being made on many sides. this is just my personal interpretation and opinion. i did not like the finale when i first watched it, and after sitting on it for months and trying to evaluate my feelings and look at it logically, i still do not like it lol. if you do, great! this isn’t intended as a personal attack on anyone—just me expressing my two cents, which ended up being more like $20. thanks for bearing with me if you read all this ✌️

[breadnauppercrust]

some designs i came up with for the girls in miraculous. the idea was 'what if they could have multiple outfits like sailor moon, as told by ginger, or totally spies?' and 'what if their clothes reflected their story arc?' however, i kind of gave up on them because i no longer have time to work on it as much as i would like to, so below this are copy+paste from my wip instagram account. lowkey its fanfiction-y lol

Alya:

Alya redesigns! tbh don’t know if they’re cohesive but 🤷‍♀️

S1: dresses for comfort & is geeky - think DrWho/Marvel/Tumblr. Obsessed w superheroes & has dedicated blog for each one, & that includes LB. Beginning of her & Maris friendship, starts to dates nino halfway s1.

S2: Mari influences her way of dress, still geeky but experimenting w clothes. Ladyblog becomes popular, interested in finding out her secret ID. Is also investigating akumas, HM, The Who/what/where/whys. Lowkey figures out who ladybug is but doesn’t say anything. Has been given fox miraculous at least a couple times.

S3: notices changes in Maris behavior & confronts her. Becomes fox miraculous holder full time, helps LB figure out who HM is & shares all the info she’s found. CN lowkey pushed to the side, causing friction, bc wrapped up w finding out who HM is ig. Constantly wears a Fanny pack now for trixx. Goes w comfortable but stylish clothes (ig lol idk) also at this point is BFF w Mari

Chloe:

S1: wears preppy designer brands to impress mom, despite living in diff countries. Basic mean girl, her only friends being Sabrina and Adrien - whose a childhood friend & lowkey helped him attend school. Both know how it feels to “lose” a parent & Adrien has seen a softer side of her. Probably has a crush on him ig. Maris bully, jealous of her talents at sewing & making friends easily, & prob her knit tight family.

S2: still preppy but w 60/70s inspo. Given bee miraculous a couple times, has resisted akumas - info she uses to help others later. Helping ppl & being somewhat nice makes her feel good & likes the appreciation from others+LB. Maybe Mom moves back to Paris w half sister, Zoe - might be significantly younger than Chloe idk. Didn’t like her at first but warms up to her as season goes on. Sees lil sister copying her & their mom, has an epiphany ig. Connects dots on akumas & feelings & tries to be better.

Should Zoe exist tho??? idk

S3: preppy but more casual. She’s nicer but still sarcastic, has made a few new friends, treating Sabrina better. Still trying to get moms approval tho & follows her around, even to fashion things w the Agreste. Notices Gabriel is acting strange, more distant towards Adrien, doesn’t notice what he’s doing or where he’s going. pt queen bee ig, probably given towards the very end of the season tbh by Adrien/CN after being ignored by LB bc of RR involvement w finding out HM id. AND noticing Chloe change significantly in the past several months (?) does Adrien reveal to her IDK he is still loyal to LB but eH

Mari:

1st Mari is shy, her outfits are safe & she kind of disappears in a crowd. She just became 🐞 & isn’t 💯 with her role yet. She’s designed and made her own clothes but doesn’t wear them outside of the house bc Chloe, oof

2nd she’s now comfortable being 🐞 & that boosts her confidence as Mari, she’s wearing more bold colors & outfits that she may or may not have designed herself 👀

3rd 🐞 is now the guardian of the miraculous box, has bigger responsibilities & problems to deal with. Being 🐞 has creeped into her daily life. Doesn’t have time to design/make clothes so wears w/e, but tries to appear happy.

Kagami:

i like the idea of kagami being prim and proper looking all preppy at the beginning, but after making friends she starts to rebel by modifying her school clothes w accessories but eventually wears w/e she wants w a punkish vibe. lowkey worried about falling into a trope so idk

[familyagrestefanblog]

I can only hope the new Paris special won't force Marinette/ Toxinelle into the role of the "chaotic baddest bitch" for superficial praise and keeping Adrien/ Griffe Noire as nothing but her unconditional support again and the "good" one. Because literally from the way the powers of Ladybug and Chat Noir work that's bullshit and the MUCH weaker story premise character wise.

Toxinelle has no offensive powers. She can be as smart as she wants in this scenario her powers are needed for AFTER the Butterfly akumatized someone to save the city, so she can prevent said saving from happening.

Griffe Noire would be required to first nuke the city so the butterfly can react to something and that means alternative Adrien/ Griffe Noire would - the longer all that went on - have needed to let go of all morality he once had and agree to become the moster of the two so SHE can remain level headed and get the Butterfly from the hero.

That's still alot of pressure and burden on Toxinelle's shoulders, being the one who has to be the light at the end of the tunnel for both of them to get their happy ending in a better world. But for the love of God, Adrien throwing out his humanity and only holding onto her and his dead mother

If this is to be believed:

Is ALOT worse and fitting as the conflict's heart piece.

I can only hope the special will be reasonable enough that Toxinelle will be the lesser evil of ShadyClaw and not waste so much story potential for another round of "Chloé the awful bitch". There is so much more interesting stuff you can do with Marinette than that, especially in the Toxinelle field.

Already as Ladybug Marinette showcases extremely dangerous anti-hero tendencies where she becomes so strategic that everyone involved stops being human beings or mattering in the moment because she needs to get something important done.

Most crucial examples are how Emilie Agreste's dead body was used as a mere inhuman tool by her in "Recreation" to defeat her insane husband, by cataclysming the lift and letting it crash down on Emilie to force Gabriel to stand still. Only though that Marinette then barely gave Gabriel enough time to throw the lift sideways and he only managed to save himself and Emilie from being crushed in the nick of time.

Or you know, all of Marinette's horrifying plan in "Destruction" that put several life in danger by sending Monarque to helpless civilians (even to ANNOY HIM) and Chat Noir was literally turned into a non-human object served on a silver plate to Monarque. He couldn't move an inch like a human is to be expected or even BREATH while Monarque went to grab for his throat while Marinette herself stood save and sound in the back because all she actually thought about in that plan were the Kwamis and herself (not even bringing up how fucked up it was to not even let Chat Noir know that her plan involves him having to possibly live with having cataclysmed a person.)

Everyone else MONARQUE had to keep save in her plan by not being the awful and sadistic monster they thought him to be. Tolerating all kinds of disrespectful bullshit and not using any Second chance or other miraculous powers besides voyage, or for the lols quartering Chat Noir's statue for example in a second's notice.

Marinette's plan in "Destruction" was horrifying and impossibly irresponsible in how she instinctively dehumanized everyone but herself and the Kwamis in it without noticing it and 100% relied on MONARQUE to be a decent and reasonable enough person underneath so she could get away with the insane endangerment and dehumanization of everyone but herself (especially Chat Noir).

Her final battle with Monarque had Marinette come back to this questionable morality when she pulled a low-blow anti hero move by dragging the dead spouse of the villain further into the fight, and risking to take any human dignity away from Emilie's remainings - who never wanted any of this being done in her name - by making it GABRIEL'S job to save and preserve her from Bug Noire.

Marinette 100% has some serious anti-hero tendencies in how she dehumanizes people sometimes as side-effect of her strategic mind and when she's either to caught up in her head or she thinks her goal justifies the means.

Jfc, quit the bullshit and let Toxinelle be the escalation of that side of Marinette because she and Adrien know their identities this time around - truly THEM against the world - and she's stuck in a position where Adrien was forced to let go of his humanity and other emotional attachments for their cause, is way too far gone by now and she has to make sure they actually win so all of this wasn't for nothing.

Give me a Marinette/ Toxinelle who made it out of her having been bullied alot worse and that's how she got into this, but by now she deep down fully regrets ever having started this and wished with every inch of her heart she could stop

but she knows she herself already hardly could live with herself after all this so she would never ask Adrien/ Griffe Noire to let go of the only hope he has at this point and live with the fact that he became an actual monster to preserve HER humanity, so she can save them both with the wish.

A Toxinelle who believes they already went too far to possibly go back and because of that she detaches herself from morality in the way it happened in "Recreation" with Emilie because in her (and Adrien's) mind they only have to win and everything will be okay again.

Adrien won't be a monster anymore and will return all together to the boy she once loved - and only still behaves like around Marinette or while thinking of his mother - and Paris, it's citizens, the entire world and THEMSELVES wont remember anymore what happened or that Toxinelle and Griffe Noire ever did any of this to them.

Give me TAHT Marinette/ Toxinelle please. For the love of GOD.

[coffeebanana]

miraculous tumblr AU where Marinette has a secret account and reblogs all of Adrien's shitposts with the tags:

#I WANT TO KISS YOU ON THE MOUTH OP #i mean platonically HAHAHA #lol unless...

naturally adrien is convinced she's actually ladybug because her username is je-suis-maladroite and her pfp is a ladybug and adrien simps too hard to believe that could be a coincidence

eventually Marinette accidentally reblogs one of his posts from her main with the usual tags and proceeds to delete the post and her secret account but Adrien already saw it so he hops into her DMs like:

unless...?

[theerurishipper]

Am I selfish for wishing Marinette wasn't the protagonist? She doesn't really connect to the plot besides her love arc and I don't find it that interesting. Like a lot of female protagonists like the cast of Totally Spies the girls force to work for Jerry, or Bloom finding she's a fairy and has the dragon flame or Iris from lolirock who finds out she's Princess of Ephedia. Like you have all these ladies who's arc isn't just connected to just love like it's part of it but romance isn't central to their character they have more to them.

Like it's so weird honestly because I never really knew of a protagonist who just didn't connect with the story instead the secondary character has. His father the villain, he has fans and many who crush on him, he's a model but he's secretly also the famed ChatNoir, he's an abused child who want their parent attention, rich, and a little behind when it comes to social cues. Like? Are we sure he's not the protagonist is that why the show gives him such little contributions and makes others take what he's deserves. Like the book from early on s2, felix finding out his mother in the basement, Kagami learning early on the whole agreste situation and doing a whole play in front of Ladybug with Felix to convey the situation.

She's in every episode most MC's aren't always there sometimes they leave for an episode or two or have someone take the spotlight but she is there 24/7. Like I kinda want to know another character for a chance because I already gauged enough of her character to know romance is all there is to her lol. I don't know can't we have an Adrien central episode, Alya, Kagami, hell even Luka?

No wonder I think the cast are so bland to me because they just appear we don't really know them personally besides if they get akumatized.

Marinette to me is like if we're seeing the blushing female girl and the entire show from a Hinata perspective in Naruto just there to pine for a boy who aren't even that close.

You're not selfish for that, anon. We all have our different tastes. Personally, I like Marinette as the protagonist, but we all have different likes and dislikes.

I will say that the writing for Marinette as a protagonist is pretty lacking though. She doesn't have any connection to the main plot on her own and can only have any relevance in the final battle of her show by taking the place of some other character. The show is literally allergic to taking the focus off her for more than five seconds. Plenty of shows that have a single character as their main lead also devote few episodes to the developing the side characters.

For example, a superhero show like Miraculous would usually have an episode where Ladybug is incapacitated, and Chat Noir has to do the saving. But Miraculous can't handle not having Marinette be the one to save the day at all times, so Chat Noir is just always reduced to being the sidekick or the one who gets caught and has to have Ladybug save him. Like, even in episodes where it seems like Chat Noir will have a larger role to play, the writers can't help but have it be Ladybug who saves the day in the end. Even in episodes that seem like they are going to focus on Adrien, Marinette will have some B plot shoehorned in that will take over the entire episode until it seems like Adrien's conflict is the actual B plot.

Like you said, it's not wrong for the protagonist to take a step back in a few episodes and let the supporting characters shine. Miraculous' habit of shoving Marinette into the resolution for every other conflict but her own is detrimental to both her own character and every other character. It's just bad writing, honestly.

Thank you for your ask!

[insufferableprotagonistpoll]

Round 2

Propaganda why Marinette Dupain-Cheng is insufferable:

She easily gets away with bad, stalkerish behavior, it always feels like she can ‘do no wrong’ unless the show wants us to pity her, and the show writers want us to think she is a quirky and socially awkward girl when throughout the series we see her be friends with basically everyone in Paris with many connections to high up places.

I get she has social anxiety but the way she goes about stalking Adrien is kind of the worst like she even has creep shots of him hanging in her room? That’s weird. I think Adrien’s going through enough without having to deal with the main character being his stalker lol. I know they’re (spoilers) at this point but in the beginning it was so sus

In the newest season, Marinette hides the fact that Hawkmoth was Adrien’s dad. This leads to the bastard getting a statue and honored as a hero after his death. Adrien now never gets to know the fact that his abusive and neglectful father was the one trying to kill him and is instead proud of him.

Her crush on Adrien is like a black hole for her character. Things she’s done because of it:

1) stolen property

2) ruined dates

3) humiliated other characters

4) has a chart of Adrien’s daily schedule for the next year in her room (this is stalking)

5) broke into his room and sniffed his pillow (also a crime)

6) sniffed, took the hair from, and tried to kiss what she thought was a wax statue of Adrien

7) convinced her parents to let her go to China. Why? Not because she wants to connect with her mother’s heritage, not even because she’s a budding fashion designer and Shanghai is considered a fashion hotspot. It’s because Adrien was there.

I started the show, watched one episode, and never tried again. I simply do not vibe with her.

shes annoyinng anf shes a stalker

I love fanon miraculous but by god she has got to stop obsessively stalking her crush and generally making a ton of other terrible decisions. I’d submit Adrien too but he’s more of a deuteragonist

More propaganda

Anti propaganda

Propaganda why Aelin Ashryver Galathynius is insufferable:

Your basic Mary Sue. Styled as the incredibly cool best-assassin in the land at only 18, she nevertheless is constantly snuck up upon, distracted by pretty boys, and possesses not an ounce of wit. In a competition between murderers and thieves to win a place as the King's Champion, she sees a bag of chocolates on her bed that she didn't put there and immediately starts eating it and gushing about how much she adores chocolate - nevermind that they just had a trial involving poison, which several of her competitors are adept at. She's always right, and other characters exist just to tell her how awesome and beautiful and wonderful she is. And then she turns out to be a super special magical fey princess!

I generally don't believe that a Mary Sue is a bad thing, but the only thing I remember about this book was how she had been in prison for years but was super young but was also still the most super-specialest assassin. And she kept reading when she should have been training or sleeping. Like, girl, this is not final exams where you can stay up all night and then roll into class in your pajamas and still squeak out a C. It's supposed to be life and death. Her character traits didn't make her relatable, they made her a moron

Heir to a kingdom plus turquoise eyes plus best assassin in the world plus protagonist centered morality

Anti propaganda

[kyber-crystal]

For requests, maybe something with rooster where you like to play little tiktok pranks on him. like imagine telling him you paid $200 for premium air in your tires or supergluing a jar and he can't open it lol 😭😭 I just think he would have the best reactions to all of them

HAIJHSOJNSOJXN I JUST BUST OUT LAUGHING READING THIS (also despite being on tiktok i’m not super up to date on all the pranks bc they haven’t shown up a lot on my fyp. but i HAVE seen some stuff here and there so i will mostly be going off that haha). anyway i’m so sorry this was genuinely so cringe bc i haven’t done headcanons in a while but i hope it makes u laugh anyway :)) i have a better one shot coming your way i promise

rooster is the prankster of the group

but there’s only one person that can outdo him: you

this man practically falls to his feet when he sees you and worships the ground you walk on and somehow YOU CANT SEE IT

what this basically means is he will literally drop whatever he’s doing to listen to you

miraculously, cyclone is in a good mood, and thus decides to grant everyone three days off

this is the perfect time for you to mess with little rooster’s head :)

you know you go to the beach to play volleyball every friday. and this friday is supposed to be the hottest day of the month

this means that rooster will burn almost as quickly as he tans

while he’s busy chatting up some “game plan” with coyote, you swap out the sunscreen spray in his jacket pocket for baby oil

SO THEN he comes over to put it on, and not even ten seconds later he’s all shiny and sparkly and you try your hardest not to laugh (and gawk a little bc holy that man is TONED)

you’re able to get about 2 rounds in when he notices

“why do i smell like i just waltzed through a lavender field.”

“hmmmmmmmmm no idea” you smiled at him innocently

“it was you, wasn’t it” and he goes chasing after you as you shriek at the top of your lungs

(he managed to tackle you down and although you get a bit sand in your mouth and hair you count it as a win because you took him completely by surprise AND you got to see his bare chest but you wouldn’t fucking dare admit that to him, his ego is big enough as it is. rooster 0-you 1)

ok later that evening @ the hard deck, he’s on a phone call with one of his old college friends. for this one, you team up with hangman to hand him some of the most random things while he’s talking

you start off normal at first, like with a beer, then your hair tie (he always wears at least 3-4 of these on his wrist bc you always end up needing one at some point in the week.)

then hangman hands him a cube of ice. literally a cube of ice. but rooster barely reacts to this and just pops it into his mouth

then a lightbulb goes off in your head

knowing that rooster has an irrational fear of ladybugs, you quickly go out to the back to find one

then you come back and hold your hand out to him

and rooster, being rooster, LOVES physical contact (especially if it’s from you), and takes your hand in his as he continues talking

but then the bright red ladybug crawls onto his wrist and he almost immediately hangs up, drops the phone, and SCREAMS in the middle of the bar

you and hangman share a secret high five at this

but ALSOOO you kind of feel bad for scaring the shit out of the poor guy

that night you’re too lazy to walk back to your place so rooster offers to let you stay with him

and duh you say yes (it’s def bc you’re getting extra opportunities to pull pranks on him and not bc you have a fat crush on him and are hoping he’ll notice even though you’re the least obvious lil shit and prefer to show you care ab him by asking if he wants anything from costco or his fav restaurant down the street)

he ends up sleeping in the next morning, and you’re up pretty early, so you decide to make breakfast

you make a mental note to yourself to go on a grocery run together next week bc you were almost out of strawberry jam

he comes downstairs w/ messy hair and sits down at the counter

and he tries to open the jar of jam

but it won’t budge

he keeps trying for a minute straight but then gives up

so his eyes immediately go over to you and you play dumb

“i didn’t do anything i swear!”

“y/n.”

“i’m innocent!”

“y/n.”

he suddenly brushes your cheek with his thumb and you find this a bit strange since it’s so sudden. and still, your heart does that annoying thing where it skips a beat every time he touches you

“superglue…” he murmured. “i wonder how that got here?”

hahahahahahahaha you sure wonder. it’s not like you stole it while he was sleeping one night

anyway

later that night you ask him if he wants to go for a drive down by the coastline and he says yes.

“yknow, i paid $200 to get premium air for these bad boys!” you told him as you started the engine.

“you…what…”

“for my tires!”

he looks flabbergasted

“y/n, i think you got scammed”

“ok”

you keep driving anyway, the car did NOT feel any different like the mechanic promised it would

but you were no way in hell about to admit that to an already smug looking bradley bradshaw

rooster has finally, FINALLY started to catch onto your antics

so he starts scheming all week to figure out how to get back at you

during this week you’re extremely busy flying back and forth with payback, lessons with maverick, and staying up way too late with phoenix to talk about the latest season of your favorite show

so you don’t even notice that he hasn’t been around for a hot min

then one thursday afternoon right after you got out of the shower, you get a text from him that tells you he’s grabbing some fancy dinner with the guys in an hour and to dress fancy

this has you SCRAMBLING to change bc the place he’s referring to is absolutely legendary

so you show up to the restaurant all polished up and find him in a private booth in the back

“hey…”

rooster is suddenly speechless bc when he told you to dress nice, he didn’t expect you to look like an actual angel

“y/n…you look beautiful”

“thank you…but hey, where is everyone?”

“running a bit late, they should be here soon”

so you order first and wait. and wait. but nobody else shows up

and suddenly the space between you two felt like it had been chopped in half and now you were sitting a lot closer than you remembered

���okay i lied, i’m sorry” he says all of a sudden and you’re like huh tf u talkin ab “i never asked them to come. this is a date. we’re on a date.”

“we are?”

“yes”

so in the end…it’s ultimately you who gets pranked :)

:) :) :) :) :)

…

taglist (add yourself here!): @uwiuwi @queenbbarnes @cosm1cfae @ellabellabus07 @vitanileon @criminalyetminimal @whatlovegattado @and-claudia @bittergomez @julia-marshal @elenavampire21 @totomoshi @lyn-lc @lunamoonbby @paintballkid711 @yeehawnana @hazelgirl355 @spawn0fsatan @teacactusworld @icemansgirl1999 @cherry-waved @littlebadariell @tallrock35 @hoedameronsworld @aerangi

also quick PSA: my taglist spreadsheet hasn’t been updated in a while so this list may not be completely accurate, sorry for any inconveniences : ‘/

[halfagone]

Oooh, good point! I think I’d prefer to go for a mix of two and three. An experienced Danny who’s super sick of the hero life, but he’s still pretty experience and maybe even harbors resent for the league since they never helped him out. I kinda have a thing for stories about Danny having issues with the league, lol. What do you think?

This is in continuation to this post.

From what I've seen you're not alone with that preference/niche! lol I've even read some Miraculous Ladybug x DC crossover with a similar concept, back when I used to read fics for MLB (it's been a while since I last read fanfic for MLB though). I know I did play around with the concept for down the rabbit hole (goes the throne). However, something that's very tricky to balance is making sure Danny doesn't come off as... self-centered, I guess the right word would be?

Because yes, it's understandable that Danny would be upset that no one tried to help him if they did reach out. At the same time, you have to consider the possibility of censorship thanks to the GIW (which is a popular headcanon) or that Vlad used Desiree to make a wish that would shield the town for his machinations and schemes (which is another headcanon I've seen used before). Danny can be upset at first but if he finds out that their attempts for contact literally could not connect, then it would be unreasonable for Danny to keep harboring that resentment when they're here now because they found out. That implies that had they known back then they would have tried something too, but they are not meant to be omniscient, no matter how hard Bruce might try to be.

Plus... the JL already have a lot of responsibilities. Most if not all these heroes have a base of operations- an entire city to take care of. And yes, so does Danny, but they can't just drop everything and come to his rescue, especially if the problem is much more extensive than just closing the portal. (Which Danny could technically do at any given time, but chooses not to.) But let's not talk about that. And there's also all the off-world missions they're in charge of or participate in. And many heroes have their day jobs and civilian lives to maintain, and plenty of these heroes have kids! Things are complicated!

But complex situations make things all the more interesting, do they not? ;3

Let's play around with that, shall we?

---

"Are you really a ghost?" Bart asks Phantom in curiosity. Is it just 'Phantom' or is it 'The Phantom' because the latter sounds much more mysterious, but is that trade-marked by-

"You think too fast," Phantom grumbles under his breath as he zips around a burning piece of rubble. He hardly bats an eye at it, just watches it fly past and then freezes it, effectively putting out the flames. The rubble slides innocently across the blacktop, falling alongside all the other pieces he's already frozen over.

Phantom's hardly even trying. It's so not crash.

"You're not like any ghost I've ever seen before," Secret agrees with a small frown. She doesn't distrust Phantom necessarily, but her own curiosity is hard to fight down.

Phantom's lips twist with amusement. "I could say the same to you actually." The group collectively watch as Phantom's legs twist and disappear into a wispy tail, the ghost curling it around as if to hug himself.

"What kind of Casper..." Kon overhears Tim mutter to himself. It's a good thing he doesn't have a piece of paper, else he'd be taking rapid fire notes. A computer would've done in a jiffy, of course, but it's not like they had access to one of those in a blown out city street like this.

"I've never heard about you before," Cassie comments with pinched brows. She doesn't look happy about it.

And for what it's worth, Phantom doesn't either.

"You wouldn't," Phantom drawls. There's no mirth in his voice. He turns back to the villain of the day, hands sparking as he zaps the machine so thoroughly that sparks fly and the metal audibly creaks.

Kon shivers at the display. He's not afraid, not really, but he's still uneasy... He knows that Captain Marvel is one of those heroes on par with Superman, and right now, watching Phantom wield his lightning, Kon's starting to see why.

The group shuffle around uncomfortably as Phantom sucks up the villain into a soup thermos? Now that's not something you see every day.

"What's that do?" Tim, ever perceptive, prods Phantom for answers.

"It contains ghosts, spectral entities, the works," Phantom replies curtly, capping the thermos with practiced ease. Ease that spoke of experience. "You kids alright?"

"Dude, you're barely four years older than some of us," Anita deadpans with an unimpressed look. "You don't get to call us 'kids'."

Phantom lifts his shoulders in a shrug. "Sorry, y'all are still babies to me." He points at Kon. "You've gotta be, what, not even six months old?"

Kon prickles at the remark. "That's none of your business." He knows he's not that old chronologically, but that doesn't make him an infant. He'd appreciate some respect about it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," Danny replies and it sounds sincere? But most of them don't take too kindly to him anyways. He just gives bad vibes is all. "Where are your mentors? I feel like there should be at least one of them around to supervise."

"We can take care of ourselves," Tim insists, crossing his arms over his chest. Uh oh, he's hurt Timmy's feelings. That's never a good sign.

"You're kids, you shouldn't have to," Phantom sneers slightly, snidely more like.

"Like you did?" Secret asks tentatively. Phantom's hair visibly floats up, picked up by an inexplicable wind. His eyes glow a shade brighter. It's eerie. It's uncomfortable.

Phantom's face might be impassive, but he still remains an open book.

"Yeah, something like that," Phantom murmurs, his tone unreadable. "I hope you can take care of yourselves. One day you might be the only ones that do."

With that ominous warning, Phantom disappears. Here one minute, gone the next. Like a true ghost.

"I vote we call him 'Casper the Unfriendly Ghost'," Bart announces out of the blue. "Raise your hand if you agree?"

At once, every single member raises their hand.

"Motion passed."

[blues824]

May I request Dorm Leaders with an S/O who is like Marinette Dupain-Cheng from Miraculous Ladybug?

Gender-neutral reader. Finally, a show I have watched lol.

Riddle Rosehearts

Your craftsmanship when it came to sewing was very commendable, according to the strict Housewarden. You have made quite a bit of money by mending clothing for students, and Riddle has been one of them. After all, the trail sometimes gets caught under his heel.

When this man confessed to you, it was so awkward for the both of you. It was a dream come true for you, though. Your crush has finally admitted his feelings. Riddle had presented you with a bouquet of some of the red roses that he took care of, and they smelled sweet. You even summoned the courage to place a kiss on his cheek as a ‘thank you’.

As for seeing Ladybug for the first time, it was when he overblotted. He had never seen Tikki before, so he didn’t know about your alter-ego. Needless to say, you won because you had the element of surprise as well as a very strategic plan using your Lucky Charm.

Leona Kingscholar 

I feel like he would act as though he didn’t care about your sewing skills until you invite someone else over to Ramshackle and you’re taking their measurements. Then, he gets jealous because you are his herbivore and his herbivore alone.

He got to see Ladybug during his overblot, and part of it was because you swung in by your yo-yo. You said to yourself that fighting a villain wasn’t the same without Cat Noir, and Leona heard the name of another man. To summarize, his jealousy led to his downfall.

When he confessed, it wasn’t as romantic as you wanted. He was worried about you after his overblot, and he confessed in the infirmary saying, ‘I care so much because I love you’. Then you both froze, trying to process what he said. No time to confess like after a life-threatening event, apparently.

Azul Ashengrotto

Your business wasn’t in the way of his own business. In fact, your customers often went to the Mostro Lounge until you were finished mending their clothing. So, you were unofficial partners. He gave you tips on how to run your business better, and you both grew closer to each other.

The tweels pushed him to confess his feelings for you, and he did by inviting you over to the Lounge after-hours. You both were very flustered, but he served you your favorite food and a bouquet of fresh flowers. The table was lit by candlelight, and it was very romantic.

When he overblotted, he had already made the guess that Ladybug would be there, so he didn’t hold any hits back. However, if he had known that it was you, he might have tried to hold back. It didn’t matter either way, because you had more expertise than he could ever dream of.

Kalim Al-Asim

He is absolutely blown away by your talent as a seams-person. He’s the kind of guy to overpay you whenever you give him a new headpiece to wear that’s in-theme of the next party, to which you were invited as a guest of honor. Kalim doesn’t even try to hide his interest in you.

When he does confess very bluntly, it wasn’t as grand as you would think. Quite the opposite, actually. It was just the two of you, but you would have thought he was asking you for your hand in marriage. He was down on one knee as he told you about his feelings (that Jamil had told him about) and asked if you would become his significant other, to which you accepted.

However, things kind of flipped when his Vice Housewarden overblotted. Ladybug made their first appearance in Twisted Wonderland, and the young Al-Asim did not know that it was you. Your identity (and Kalim in consequence) were kept safe for the time being.

Vil Schoenheit

Your sewing was absolutely beautiful, and he wasn’t at all surprised to hear that you were an aspiring designer back in your world. If you were to make him a fashionable piece of clothing, he would wear it as much as the occasion would let him.

When he confessed, he felt a bit guilty because the paparazzi was very rampant so he couldn’t really ask you out on a date. The one time where he hates being famous because he knows that you really desire a normal relationship with him, which is almost impossible to obtain.

Then, he overblotted. He was able to piece together that you were Ladybug rather quickly (he’s not stupid, unlike most of the people in Twisted Wonderland), but he did try to hold himself back from hurting you. But he was in pain. Afterwards, he immediately forgave you because you were doing what you had to.

Idia Shroud

You remind him of the protagonist of that one show, Fantastic Butterfly! You were an excellent seams-person just like they were as well! Please excuse him as he turns into a complete fanboy for the next 3 hours. Ortho grows concerned at his brother’s increased heart rate.

If you thought this man confessed, you have deceived yourself. Well, not completely. He often left little texts for you in the morning before you went off to classes. They were filled with gamer talk, but you were able to see that it was him trying to convey that he cares.

When he overblotted, he also already knew that you were Ladybug. He has been studying the overblot victims, and their opponent as they seemed to be a common factor in each scenario. However, your Lucky Charm was different each time, so it gave you some spontaneity.

Malleus Draconia

He had seen your craft, and he was very impressed. You were very versatile, in that you were able to work with any material. That being said, he would always go to you in the very rare case that he tore something on one of his uniforms.

When he confessed, he made it a goal to get you very flustered, and it worked. He presented you with a single rose, a kiss to the back of the hand, and words that made your heart absolutely swoon. You felt like you were in a fairytale that day, and you did not want that feeling to go away. It made you feel blissful.

Malleus already knows that you’re Ladybug, so there’s no point in hiding it from him. He doesn’t think any less of you, considering he had also concealed his own identity from you. Now, you both are on fair ground when it comes to keeping secrets.