#flightfoot

[shihalyfie]

So I was just thinking about that scene during Digimon Adventure where Taichi recounts to Koushirou how he almost "killed" Hikari when he was younger. How he took her to the park while she had a "cold", which resulted in her fainting and needing to be hospitalized for three days on the verge of death. But thinking about that now, from the perspective of an adult... I think Taichi might have actually saved her? There's no way that simply taking Hikari down to the park turned a simple cold into a near-fatal illness, so it must have already been a lot worse and fast-progressing that either he or his mom realized. She nearly died not because he caused her to overexert herself, but because the illness was ALREADY that bad.

If he hadn't taken her to the park, if he'd simply left her to sit or to sleep, he might not have realized just how sick she was, and might not have gotten her to the hospital until she was a lot worse.

I'm betting their mom realized this later on. She was pretty angry when she first found out that Taichi had taken Hikari to the park, but when she returned home with Hikari three days later, we see nothing but kindness from her then. I think she just didn't adequately explain to Taichi later that it wasn't his fault Hikari got so sick, since she had other, more worrying problems, and Taichi didn't bring it up.

This is a good point! I do think part of the problem is that "Taichi taking Hikari out meant she was more likely to suppress her symptoms and try not to bother him, instead of being more vocal about how she felt," but at the same time, in the end, we're only getting a very one-sided view of the issue, and we never got to hear Hikari's own thoughts about it.

(That said, I don't know how pneumonia works, so anyone who knows more about that is encouraged to chime in!)

To be honest, it's also perfectly possible that even if Yuuko had apologized or told Taichi it wasn't his fault, he still would have internalized it being his fault anyway. Taichi has a recurring habit of taking too much responsibility for things he feels guilt for; in fact, even if Yuuko had never gotten mad at him at all, he still would have probably had the take-home that it was his fault.

[heartfulselkie]

I adored the new chapter of Bell the Cat! It did make me wonder though - is akumatization as easy to undo in your story as it is in canon? And if Chat Blanc had died, would the akumatization have been undone automatically?

Thank you!

Akumatisation is similar to how it is in canon: butterfly goes out -> sentimental item of victim gets possessed -> victim turns into some superpowered villain

The undoing of it though differs slightly as Ladybug's powerset isn't the exact same as canon. The main difference is that she can't cast "Miraculous Ladybug" and cure all the wounds, repair the damage and undoing any deaths caused by the Akuma.

Healing is one of the main aspects of Tikki's power (according to Kwami lore of this world), but its something Ladybug hasn't been able to manifest. However there have been people in the past who were Blessed by Tikki who were said to be great healers.

Ladybug's primary ability is still the "Lucky Charm". It functions similar to canon in that it will give her a (seemingly) random item that she can use to aid her. Fighting the Akuma is normally a test of her swordsmanship, but the Lucky Charm is what helps her gain the upper hand even against opponents more than twice her size.

When she defeats the Akuma, she uses the Lucky Charm to purify them (not healing, just cleansing). Purifying isn't as instant as casting the Lucky Charm, which is why she can't just do it mid fight. She has to focus it and the Lucky Charm will break down into an essence that will then cleanse the afflicted item (so sort of like canon "Miraculous Ladybug" sweeping over Paris, but just localised to a miniature scale).

She can cast multiple Lucky Charms within the same fight, but it can be insanely exhausting to do so, often making it not worth the risk. There also doesn't need to be an Akumatised person present for her to use Lucky Charm.

Lucky Charms can also have other uses outside of a fight - like creating the talismans seen in the show. Those are exceptionally rare though and Ladybug only seems to be able to create them out of very specific circumstance or just sheer dumb luck.

These are all things that will definitely come up in the fic and be given a little more detail in how they function/what actually happens when a power is used...At least from Ladybug's POV. It's her power yet even she's not entirely sure how it works sometimes. On occasion, she's just convinced that Tikki has to be messing with her.

[flightfoot]

So I just found out that I was showing up in so many comment sections that @purpspencil made a tiktok about it XD. I'm pretty well known for that it seems! (which fits, I uh. I read a LOT of Miraculous fanfics).

[gentil-minou]

So what's your thoughts on why Gabriel's suddenly invested in playing "Happy Family" with Adrien, instead of just threatening with pulling him from school if he complained or stepped out of line at all? I have my own theory, but I want to hear your idea.

I'm not quite sure if he's "playing" to be honest.

I think seeing him and Emilie in Evolution about to make sentibabies might have kicked him a bit, making him remember that tiny bit of humanity he has left, the kind telling him he should, you know, kind of be a dad.

But also I think he's getting cocky. He already thinks he's won, that it's only a matter of time before he gets the miraculouses and makes a wish. And so when that happens, he needs to prove he's still the "doting dad and husband" he wants Emilie to believe. He may also be trying to prime Adrien up to be closer to his side.

But I genuinely just think he thinks he's won, and so since he's won he no longer has that ever-present stress and irritability that comes from psychotically chasing and attacking children. Instead he can psychotically pretend he's a great dad and wonderful husband, because it will all be over soon.

Also, I genuinely think Gabe thinks he's a great father. In his mind, he has ALWAYS been doing what he thinks is best, for him and Adrien. He thinks that by getting Adrien's mom back, he's doing the right thing. All that other pesky nonsense, the abuse and neglect? Just an unfortunate side effect, you see. In his mind, he's the good guy doing the right thing for his family. He's not playing anything, he's just delusional to think he is the best dad. And that's what is most terrifying.

[ladyofthenoodle]

So around how old are you thinking of Adrien and Marinette being in this AU, and how long were they cursed?

honestly i hadn’t really thought about ages, since i was thinking about the disney version though they’d be in the late teen/young adult range. maybe marinette can be a little older as a treat.

i think she was only cursed for 3 months but she’s so dramatic about it that adrien assumes it’s been decades until alya informs him otherwise

[emsylcatac]

Separating the two amoks so that if someone got their hands on them, it'd only be ONE of them at a time, is a good point, but... I still really don't like the idea of Marinette holding onto one of Adrien's amoks permanently. Under normal circumstances, I think she'd be pretty firmly against using one of Adrien's amoks against him, but I think there are circumstances right now where she might spiral hard enough that those ethical concerns go out the window.

I keep coming back to Ephemeral, and her plan to circumvent needing Chat's consent to reveal his identity to someone else, since she wasn't certain that he'd agree to reveal his identity to anyone but her, and she thought that informing Su Han of Chat's identity was the best option. I'm worried that if another situation arises where she's convinced that some course of action is for the best, for the greater good, and that she's not completely certain that Adrien would agree, that she might compel him to comply.

It also makes their relationship wildly power-imbalanced, with Marinette having the ability to control, and maybe even kill Adrien, even if she never actually used it.

I almost chose to ignore this and not answer because I didn't ask for this much Marinette salt and misconception of her character in my ask box (and don't try to pass it off as "critics", with what you're implying here it really isn't), but since you're not the 1st I hear saying all this, I'll bite

There's really a huge difference between tricking someone into something (and I'm grossly simplifying the situation there) by lying to them by omission, and actively knowingly controlling someone through a source of power by taking their freewill entirely.

Yeah, Marinette messed up in Ephemeral. Yeah, there were circumstances that made it understandable because of the pressure she was in. It's in no way proof that she'd turn Adrien into a puppet for the greater good like you say.

The 2 times Marinette got the opportunity to control a sentimonster through an amok that I recall were these :

Ladybug, when she got sentibug's amok that she refused to break. She could 1000% have used it for the greater good (because hey, being able to control someone with the exact same power as you without the fear of loosing your miraculous and being able to stay further from the enemy is a damn good opportunity), but she categorically refused to do so and immediately gave the amok back to sentibug, asking her to help them but leaving her with this choice. She specifically told her she wouldn't control her

Sentibubbler, when she ordered Sentibubbler to lower the bubbles with people inside to the ground, aka for security reasons & to save these people. You bet that if it was a matter of saving people she would not need to control Adrien for that and that he'd do it on his own lol

So if you think she'd ever entertain the idea of controlling her partner/best friend/love of her life, even if she's panicked and even if she thinks he might not agree, it's having a very low esteem of her character. Controlling Adrien for one's own need and if Adrien disagrees is Gabriel's thing. Not Marinette's.

And you bet that once the whole sentimonster thing is revealed with Gabriel's misuse of the rings, Marinette will never ever want to control Adrien. Implying she would after that, even for the greater good, is bordering on all these "Marinette is kinda acting like Gabriel when it comes to Adrien even though it's for a better goal" horrible takes and I cannot hear that

You're also talking about this as if Strike Back didn't happen and Marinette didn't realise the bad it caused to lie to Chat Noir this season, and as if the show isn't purposefully placing them in the conflict we've seen them having so they can both grow out of it.

Once again, it's a matter of trust, and as I said Adrien would still be in control of one of his amok. There's no reason to have a power imbalance if Adrien choses to entrust Marinette with it because he trust her to not use it against him and to keep it safe and he knows she's the best person to be trusted with it. As for the last part, I don't know how to break it down to you that I too technically have the ability to kill someone if I wanted to and I don't need an amok for that 🤫

It's totally understandable to not enjoy & be uncomfortable with the idea of someone else possessing one of the ring and be worried about it, but the justifications you're giving are just not it - especially when it's about a post-S4 conflict Strike Back, post-reveal, post-hawkmoth reveal and post-sentidrien reveal Marinette

Anyway if I haven't convinced you and you want to keep on proving your point that Marinette could still want to control Adrien in a reblog go ahead but I don't think I'll continue this conversation because we're not gonna agree here and I don't wish to see nor seek more salt on her character

[thecapturedafrique]

Something that's always bugged me about the whole "Is Alya a good friend to Marinette?" discourse, is that it's never asked the other way around, with "Is Marinette a good friend to Alya?" . And I don't mean in a "oh Marinette is so terrible to Alya" way, but well... there's definitely a double-standard among the saltdom, in what constitutes an unforgivable sin and being a toxic friend.

I still remember the discourse that was going around about how Alya totally, definitely, pressured Marinette into babysitting for Ella, Etta, and Chris while she and Nino went off on dates, without the knowledge of her parents and without paying Marinette. Became the premise of a few fanfics too, unsurprisingly. Despite that really not being held up in canon, with there only being two instances at the time of Marinette helping Alya or Nino with babysitting, with taking care of Chris while Alya and Nino went on a date in Chrismaster (and she very much was NOT busy that day, she spent the next few hours working on Adrien's 35th birthday present) and then being scheduled to babysit Ella, Etta, and Chris while DJWifi dated in Timetagger, only to cancel at the last minute because she was too busy, which Alya was totally cool with. And there's no evidence or much reason to believe this was done without parental permission at all.

It got frustrating when that line of Alya-bashing started to rear its ugly head again with the Simple Man preview, with Alya and Nino getting accused of taking advantage of Marinette once again. Thankfully that pretty much died out once the episode came out, since both Alya and Nino were very clear that they'd cancel their date and help Marinette with babysitting if she needed it, and Marinette ended up being the one to shove babysitting off on someone else in order to hang out with the person she loved anyway, but it was still frustrating to see again.

I actually ended up writing a Prime Queen canon divergence AU one-shot because of that discourse restarting, where Alya discovered that Marinette had lied about talking to parents and had called her over in order to trick Alya into babysitting for her, since dammit, I wanted to use something that actually HAD definitely happened in the show to have Alya be justifiably upset at Marinette, get to work through it, and set some boundaries. To just... really focus on Alya's thoughts and emotions and perspectives. I get why Marinette thought that tricking Alya into babysitting for her was the best option - she couldn't just tell everyone she double-booked herself since it involved her secret identity, and if everything went right with her plan, everyone would be happy and no one would be upset or disappointed with her - but I still thought it was a good opportunity to ALLOW Alya to be hurt and to feel that hurt, to see things from her perspective.

Just... I love putting myself in different characters' shoes, understanding what they're thinking and feeling to make them do what they do, even when it's not always the best decision. To think of them as being people who have their own perspectives, insecurities, emotions, and ways of seeing the world in general.

Which means that when a character's demonized and treated as deserving to be hurt or suffer for relatively minor grievances that no one would give a second thought to if a character they cared about, who they empathized with and related to did that thing, it hurts. A lot.

Just gonna leave this ask as is because hard same to all of the above 😔

(But also I read your fic and it was amazing and everyone else should read it too!)

[tigerhowl]

Longtail frame

flightfootwarrior 2011

[owlart18]

Clangen warriors of Rippleclan, featuring one of my favourite bloodlines

Speedpaint

(Commission info in pinned post)

Character lore below:

Stagwish and Mossybee were one of my og favourite couples and had many kits together including Dampfire. Her first littler with Mossybee included Tallwhisker, Dunepaw and Dampfire. The former two unfortunately didn’t survive long. Her second litter was a sole kit named Toadwillow, who also died young. Stagwish was as bloodthirsty as she was beautiful, climbing her way through the ranks with her fantastic hunting skills, serving as deputy under Turtlestar, the leader who maimed Stagwish, causing her to lose a leg. Mossybee never took another official mate after Stagwish’s death though she did mother more kits. She also served as deputy under Flickerstar for a time before joining her old mate in starclan.

Dampfire was the only Stag x Mossy kit to have children of her own and the only kit to reach the age of elder. Dampfire was a fierce medicine cat and a great teacher to several apprentices. Dampfire had a bit of an on again off again relationship with Flightfoot but they loved each other deeply and had a large family together, including Acornflame and Longnight. While Dampfire was a medicine cat, she was also always willing to defend the territory and especially the clans kits from intruders, earning her many scars. Deputyship appears to run in the family as eldest Acornflame served during their life time, chosen for their ambition and strong connection to starclan. They also has plenty of scars to show, for a rat and a incident by the river. Longnight was on the younger side of Dampfire’s kits, she had a short life but was wise and shared that connection to starclan that their sibling had, she probably would have been made leader if she’d had the chance, her natural wisdom making up for lack of experience. Damp x Flight’s other kits were called: Tigerspeckle (the only one still alive in the currant era), Bleaknose, Springtail, Bristlekit, Fringeburr, Nectarfur, Egretspeckle and Flyspots. After Acornflame’s passing, Flightfoot too served as deputy for a time.

Acornflame’s mate isn’t known, but they parented Volebird, among others. Volebird is the currant deputy of Rippleclan serving under Flickerstar, who’s days are numbered in their old age. She is very smart but still has a playful spirit. She’s faced many hardships in her life, losing part of her ear to a twoleg trap and having been bitten by a snake. She also has taken many mates in her 103 moons, hoping for kits after the passing of her mate Bagderswipe and their two kits, Mintpaw and Fuzzyhare. Every mate after that died in tragic accidents, until Harerunner, whom she finally had a second litter with, Shrewfur. Shrewfur is the light of Volebird’s life. The young cat has a bit of a vengeful streak and is very persuasive but the scar she received protecting some young kits shows that she has a good heart inside.

In the present day, Shrewfur has taken Oakbird as her mate and I can only hope they life a long and happy life together, hopefully with some beautiful kits on the way

[forevermagik]

For the character ask, Roxas

I actually had less to say about Roxas than I thought??? I do love him though, he was not treated well by the majority of the fandom imo, though canon arguably did him worse. Days was amazing and KH2 really did make you care about him before ripping him away from you.

[themooninverted]

What would you think if an evilized villain(maybe a wishmaker-like villain or maybe even a villain that's unrelated to the butterfly miraculous) caused Chloe and Zoe to switch bodies somehow, and nobody fully understands what's going on, so Zoe(in Chloe's body) is taken by Audrey back to New York, despite Zoe desperately trying to explain things. But Chloe enters a fugue state(heavily due to trauma caused by the neglect of her parents) and genuinely thinks she's Zoe, and is even able to recall many of the things Zoe did due to being in Zoe's body. The class thinks "Zoe's" change in behavior is due to the psychological effects of method acting, since "Zoe" is playing Chloe in Astruc's new movie, but they gradually convince "Zoe" to let them help her relearn how to be "herself" again. Meanwhile, in New York, Zoe is trying to get back to Paris, but when she gets there, “Zoe” thinks she’s there to try to hurt Marinette.

Ah! Uh, well first of all, congrats on being the first person to send me an ask, and the first person besides my real life SO or bots to leave a notification of any kind. Wasn't expecting a guest so excuse the mess, if you will.

Getting back at hand! I wouldn't think much of it, to be honest. It'd definitely would be fun, though I feel as though I've seen someone else asked this and answered to a far better extent that I. Distinctly remember in fact. Had to have been either Flightfoot or Generalluxun. Anyways, getting to see Chloe be given the chance to both have her behavior properly corrected while also having a support group in place to encourage and listen to her would be more than nice.

To be honest, not a fan of the fugue state idea. As fun as amnesia and false memories are to play with, it doesn't feel thematically resonant with the emotional journey Chloe would have to go on to grow and change. She's an abused, angry, self absorbed kid who is in many ways isolated and withdrawn. The thought of her in some way finding redemption in running away from the things she has done and the emotions and memories she has doesn't sit well with me. She might fully embrace the lie of being Zoe, but I don't want her to depersonalize so much she loses her identity to the magic swap. It's all about confronting who she is and for the first time shes being given a genuine chance to do so without her father or Sabrina flat out enabling her behavior. Honestly the set up you have here for Chloe's character is a bit muddled, as theres so many little ways that being Chloe stuck in Zoe's body just falls apart if Chloe just... acts like Chloe. I get it, method acting, and Chloe blabbing about who she is and having that initial freak out is likely where I see you thinking would lead to said fugue state, but it'd take a strong writer to delicately balance things to keep both her actions in character while also keeping her on the rails. Doable, but so easy to either gloss over or mishandle and move too quickly into "let's just pretend to be Zoe now" phase without the necessary foundation for both Chloe and the reader.

Zoe on the other hand has the much more solid path for herself as you've set it up. As I see it, anyhow. Stuck in Chloe's body, stuck back in New York with her mother and being removed from her friends. Literal nightmare for the girl, especially after she has spent all that time building herself back up. She'll definitely slip initially into how she used to act, though now her mother is berating her as she would Chloe. Which would make things click for Zoe. She's grown enough to see past her mother's bullcrap. Well, if her mother is expecting a bullheaded out of control daughter, Zoe is a strong enough method actor to give her said bullheaded out of control daughter, but this time with Zoe's newly forged emotional core and backbone. Zoe is gonna quickly learn she does not need to put up with that crap anymore and isn't. That just makes the hurdle in some way getting back to Paris and convincing the others that something happened, which itself could provide the writer an great opportunity to expand on the magical/super-powered aspect of New York/America in the Miraculous world. Something which my SO who I beta-read for, Pearl484, is doing with their fic Replay, though it's going to be a loooong while before they get to the point of reaching all that New York stuff, although they're definitely already expanding the magical lore.

On topic as to how said body swap were to happen, it'd have to be some kind of magic spell, super villain, or bizarre mad science because anything akuma related would immediately get fixed by Ladybug. No way around it, I'm afraid. Akuma's just cannot do that kind of permanent damage to anyone without everything getting reset, and no way in hell is Gabby-boy going to just dismiss an akuma half way into some inane plot to get those Miraculous(es/Miraculi)(?) so theres no easy out except to make whatever swapped them unrelated to the Zodiac/Elemetal/Yin-Yang Set (which I feel like has a proper name that I'm just blanking on, but it's the main set that all of ther main heroes and villains get their miraculi from. Not to be confused with the American Miraculous set with the Eagle and all that).

In conclusion, I think it's a wonderfully fun idea that I'd love to see something done with. Dunno what made you ask me, Anon, but I more than appreciate the chance to just spew my thoughts at someone other than my partner. I still believe this exact idea/set up has been asked before to people far more entrenched in the world of Miraculous analysis and far more interestingly than I, though I'm happy to share my two cents.

[runawaycatwalker]

Part 22. A Best Friend's Interrogative Prerogative

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Description below the cut

Bonus: Alternate version shot in NinoVision:

In black and white, Nino pulls on the brim of his cap as he watches Catwalker uses his baton to leap around the buildings of Paris.

Nino (voiceover): The name's Lahiffe.  Detective Lahiffe.  The foxiest gal in the world, Alya Césaire, called me for a favor: Sniff around the new hero who'd sauntered into Paris.

The image of Catwalker holding his hands up in confusion by a picture of Adrien being sad and a question mark.

Nino (voiceover): I'd met this smooth cat once before.  I assumed he was naïve and oblivious.  He wasn't.

Cut back to Nino hiding behind a wall as Catwalker continues to leap above the rooftops.

Nino (voiceover): According to Alya, the charming kittyboy was secretly involved in the departure of my closest bro, Adrien.  She wasn't sure how the guy had managed to act under all our noses or why, but I am determined to find out.  I'll need to draw upon all my knowledge of the greatest detectives as I stake him out and gather enough clues to—

The panel abruptly switches to color as Catwalker drops in behind Nino, making the latter leap back and hold his hands in front of his face, thoroughly startled.

Catwalker: Are you following me?

Nino: Aaah!  No!  Why would I be following you?

Catwalker holds up a courteous hand.

Catwalker: Perhaps you wanted an autograph?

Nino: No!  That's not...

The panel swiftly switches back to grayscale as Nino pushes up his glasses in a serious manner.

Nino (internally): Get it together, Detective!  Interrogate him!

Nino (aloud): I was just curious if you'd managed to get any info about Adrien Agreste.

Catwalker places a hand on his chest with a look of sympathy.

Catwalker: You're a friend of his, I presume?  My condolences for your loss.  It must be hard not knowing what happened to someone you care about.  Unfortunately, my efforts in searching for Adrien have been fruitless thus far, but I assure you that I will be keeping my eyes open if he turns up.

The grayscale bleeds away back into color as we see a close-up of Nino’s eye, rage bubbling inside him.

Nino (internally): I can't believe this guy!  Acting like he's all innocent!  Screw the subtle approach, this slimeball needs to have the truth forced out of him.

Nino flares his hands out to either side indignantly.

Nino: You can't lie to me, Catwalker!  I know you were behind Adrien's disappearance!

Catwalker’s pupils narrow in shock.

Catwalker: Who told you that?

Nino rebuffs with folded arms.

Nino: A little birdie.  It doesn't matter.

Catwalker holds up a hand, expression now severe.

Catwalker: Your 'little birdie' could be the real reason Adrien had to go into hiding in the first place, so: Yes.  It.  Does.

Nino fumes, waving his arms above his head.

Nino: She would never do that!

Catwalker: 'She' wouldn't happen to be affiliated with a girl named Marinette Dupain-Cheng, would she?

Nino: Even if she is, that's none of your business!

Nino points an accusatory finger, his other hand starting to clench up as if ready to start tearing someone apart.

Nino: You're the one who needs to explain yourself!  What did you do to Adrien?  Where is he now?  What did his father do to him that made him so terrified of anyone knowing where he is?

Catwalker looks down stiffly at his own fists.

Catwalker: Your 'birdie' should already know that I can't provide answers to those questions.

Nino: You have to know something!  Spill!

Catwalker is exasperated as he rubs half of his face.

Catwalker: Please understand.  The nature of Adrien's situation is extremely precarious, so much so that I cannot share what I know with anyone.

Nino: I'm not just 'anyone'!

Nino places both hands on his chest with a look of defiance as tears start to stream down his face.

Nino: I'm Adrien's best friend!  I know everything about him!  I'm the only person he contacted the night he ran away!  So if anybody deserves the truth, it's me!

Catwalker folds his arms and looks away with regret.

Catwalker: If the fallout of his disappearance had gone how Adrien expected it to, you'd know that he's kept an entire part of his life a secret from everyone.  Even you.  Some things are too important to share, even with your best friend.

Nino puts his head in his hands in exasperation.

Nino: But why would Adrien tell you of all people?  He can't possibly trust you more than his friends!  Did you get inside his head?  Gaslight him?  Blackmail him?  Torture him until he did what you wanted?

Nino has now sunk to the ground, hands still grasping at his head, as he weeps.  Catwalker squats about a meter in front of him with a look of restrained beseeching.

Catwalker: Adrien told you as much as he thought he could get away with.  He does care about you.  But he didn't expect that you'd be able to keep whatever he told you quiet for very long.  I'm no friend to Adrien, but he trusted me with his escape.  He knows that I can keep his secrets safe indefinitely.  And I can only consider entrusting you with some of the answers I have if I am certain that you won't tell anyone—especially not the person who asked you to investigate me.  It is vital that you tell me who that person is so I can deal with her.

Nino yells at Catwalker as an akuma starts to fly in behind him.

Nino: Screw you!

Nino’s teeth clench as he is absorbed by his crying rage, right as Catwalker reaches out a Cataclysm-powered hand to touch the akuma, mere inches past Nino’s head.

Nino: You can go—

Catwalker: Cataclysm.

Seen from below, Catwalker looks imposing as he holds the akuma in his hand as it crumbles away, bitter tears starting to fall down his conflicted face.

Catwalker: I'm sorry.  I never wanted this.  Please, for Adrien's sake, let your investigation go.

Catwalker turns away as the remnants of crushed butterfly fall from his fist.

Catwalker: And Nino? You should be more careful about who you confide in.  You never know who might be your enemy.

["Alternate "NinoVision" version is recolored to be all in greenish sepia, with Catwalker's expressions recolored to be opaque and distorted: no green in his eyes, just the black mask and a misplaced line of gold]

Below is the same image as above, only without text:

[heartfulselkie]

The sad thing is, once they figure out whatever's going on, the real Marinette won't remember anything of what Ghostbug has been doing.

"and then it all turned out to be a dream" / "and then they all forget everything important that happened" isn't really a trope I enjoy personally. I write sad stories, but I don't necessarily write sad endings. Ghostbug's efforts aren't something that will just vanish, her aim is to help Adrien and fix whatever anomally caused her existence as the Ladybug holder to be overwritten.

The disconnect between Ghostbug and Marinette is a scary thing, but at the end of the day they're the same person. What can come of that remains to be seen...

[aidanchaser]

once upon a time, magic was wild

There's a summary on Ao3 about princes choosing their brides before the ball, and how its a Cinderella AU and stuff, but the better summary is:

Marinette is slowly falling for both the thief Chat Noir and the Crown Prince Adrien Agreste; Adrien has loved Ladybug for a year and doesn't know why the seamstress he just met is slowly capturing his heart. While the lovebirds figure their mess out, Felix is busy sorting out the actual plot, uncovering all of King Gabriel's schemes, and trying his utter best to make sure he and Adrien get a happy ending, even if it kills him.

Boulangerella on Ao3 updates approximately every Friday.

[gentil-minou]

So I'm curious, since this has been debated in the fandom since the episode came out: what do you think is a better viewing order, Multiplication and then Destruction, or Destruction and then Multiplication?

I'd definitely say Multiplication then Destruction because the beginning of Multiplication involves the rest of the fallout from the season finale, whereas Destruction is kind of its own thing, and much of it is from Gabe's POV!

I think this might have made the most sense if it was just 1 long episode, but the ending wouldn't have had much of an impact if Destruction is first. Multiplication also had the mystery aspect of wondering what Gabe was doing, and the way Destruction ended tied it all together.

It definitely feels like a 3 part season premier though! I wonder if there was a way to like make it clear that this was mean to be the same episode, maybe have the episode start off right after adrien's phone call and then go from there. The order they aired it in made sense the way it was but I can see why there was so much confusion when the episode first aired

[ladyofthenoodle]

Since Marinette wasn't the only one who was cursed, her friends were as well - Alya at least - I'm wondering how that would impact things? What a lot of their thoughts and feelings would be about the situation - it's debatable whether being a sentient candelabra is better than being a giant bug - and how Marinette feels about the curse situation, given that it hurt her friends as well.

honestly someone else added the idea that alya was lumière, and while i think that’s perfect casting, i hadn’t really considered who the animated objects would be in this au. but honestly i think marinette’s guilt would be far greater than how upset most of them actually would be about the situation. like she’d definitely be like “you all should hate me and i ruined your life!!!” and try to shut them out, meanwhile alya’s like “actually my sister nora was going to be married next week and the wedding was cancelled because i turned into a candelabra, and now she can pursue her dreams of being a knight, so you did us a favor.” and they’d all have different reasons for being glad to get away from their regular life for a bit, but marinette would focus only on the signs that they’re unhappy or seeing their families missing them. which is why by the time gabe steals a rose she’s fully accepted that she’s a monster despite everyone being like “i miss having opposable thumbs but this is ok actually”