#one sided adrinette

[bakawitch]

Shit random adrinette (one-sided?) au where Adrien finds a random definitely-not-haunted doll in an antique store. The owner gives him a quick run down on the doll's history and tells Adrien that her name is Marinette. Adrien decides to buy it and take it home initially as a gift for his mother. When Gabriel sees the doll, he immediately protests against it, immediately assuming that Adrien got it for himself, but Emilie is delighted that Adrien has what she believes is a new hobby that she also happens to be interested in (doll collecting (insert a deep elegy about whether Adrien is just another doll for her collection, or something other than a toy or an extension of herself)).

Flustered, Adrien just decides to keep the doll in his room after his mum basically locks him in a situation where he has to keep it. He puts Marinette on his desk, but when he gets up in the middle of the night to the sight of glassy blue eyes that seem to glow in the dark staring at him, he decides to stuff her away in a drawer.

The next afternoon, when Adrien gets back from school, he finds the doll back on his desk. He freaks out a little because of the eerie feeling he got from it last night, but Emilie admits to putting it back because she went through his stuff looking for her, and she thought it would have been a shame to let a cute doll like that stay out of sight. So Adrien leaves Marinette there, but he constantly feels watched and on edge.

Meanwhile, Marinette is definitely a normal doll who doesn't crawl into Adrien's bed at night and watch him sleep and whisper what their fictional future could look like together if her saviour would just notice her. No siree, nothing supernatural of the sort happening.

Will Adrien's eventual isolation lead to him accepting the doll as his only friend, or will he gather the courage to toss it out and live without a tiny stalker always looking at him through sapphire eyes?

Who knows! I sure as hell don't XD

[monpetitchattriste]

*sits down at bar

*slides over a $20 monopoly bill

"I will take a Ladynoir romance hurt/comfort angst fic. 100k+"

*bartender sighs

[wield-the-mighty-pen]

The lovesquare: *exists*

Me: HDAJSFHASJLKASJDANSJF 😍🥰🥺😘🥰🥹😊🥰😘😍🥹😭😭😏🥰

[wisteriasymphony]

Miraculous Mortality - Transmutation

CW: gun, body horror, blood and pus and ickiness :( also like. toxic yaoi vibes i guess

It had taken hours to find a suitable shelter—Hours that Jaqueline arguably did not have. Every bandage she once had was now coated with blood and pus, and the boils on her arm just continued to grow and burst and multiply like they fed off of her. Damn that Helix Vert—She could admit he'd pulled a fast one on her, but that was the last time she'd ever let that slimy bastard get that close.

Jaqueline huddled up against a wall, letting herself sink to the floor. She'd lost control over her good arm, too, making everything even harder. Her satchel needed to be opened with the same hand that held her gun, and that hand also had to—It was annoying, in short. If she had any bullets left before recharging, Jaqueline would track that bastard down and make sure to pay him back double for the mess she'd been put through.

Jaqueline fiddled with her revolver, sticking it to her jaw.

"Amalgam."

Jaqueline felt the path of the bullet through her skull, the feeling just as painful as always was. But it made watching her targets writhe in pain all the better, as she knew what it felt like when the copper shrapnel burned through flesh and spread a fire like no other through every nerve. She'd be catatonic for the next few minutes, and then just in debilitating pain for another hour—that was what made shelter so invaluable. If she'd dealt with it in the middle of a horde, she'd be dead meat. And if she was dead meat while the infection was still in her... that bastard Helix would have a carte blanche to her skillset. And there was no way in hell Jaqueline would let anyone take her gun, cause she was sure it was all she needed to be the last woman standing.

Her infected arm began to spasm, dripping pus onto the dirt and gravel as the infection was burned out. And it was never exactly pretty either—The boils and open wounds would suddenly explode in number, her arm splitting apart at the seams and spraying viscera everywhere. Jaqueline threw her head back against the wall, grinding her teeth from the pain. She'd get Helix good for this, she swore it. Tie him up with his own string, force him to grovel at her feet before she stamped his head through the ground with her boot. And if he didn't beg for mercy, she'd find a way to make him—stick her revolver against his head and force his brain to rewire. Imagination was the limit to Amalgam, and Jaqueline chose Iciss because she was as creative as she could be cruel.

The infection was nearly staved off—only mere remnants of the poison remained in the greenish-yellow tint of her veins. Through her grunting and panting, Jaqueline forced a smile; She could only imagine the look on Helix Vert's face when he realized just how easy it was to ruin his 'hard work'. It wouldn't be so easy the other way around, now would it?

Jaqueline's arm buzzed as she finally regained feeling in it. Still, she couldn't bring herself to move it, stretch the fingers that were seconds away from rotting off at one point—All she could do was lie there, drained and nauseous, until the pain fully subsided. It'd be a damn shame if she got jumped again, cause then she'd just have to fight through it instead of giving herself the luxury of a nice rest. But no matter what she put her body through, Jaqueline's spirit would never weaken or waver. She would never die.

-----

big thanks to...

@bakawitch (Creator of Miraculous Mortality AU)

@nocturnal-notes (Contributor for Beetum/Helix Vert/ I thought you would want to see this anyways :3 )

and whatever lovely individual contribued to Iciss hm i wonder who that could be guess we'll never know

[feather-of-argos]

My favourite thing about @wackus-bonkus-maximus' odnlb Marinette is that she was introduced as her typical soft spoken ditzy persona that would probably have a panic attack if an automatic toilet flushed too suddenly but she’s also the most capable murderer in the entire story.

Similtaneously, Adrien if-I-can't-be-free-than-I-will-die-trying Agreste, is this soft cinnamon roll who thinks being inches closer to death is the biggest 'fuck you' to the universe. Boy knows he needs therapy, but not as much as the sad girl crying drunkingly into his £2,780 Givenchy sweater.

Then we have our work efficient Kagami who, in typical fashion, is the one doing the hot pursuing by eye-fucking her long time co-worker at meetings and making him her "problem".

Paralleling Felix, whose introduction makes him seem like a cold, selfish, political juggernaut but who would spontaneously combust if the right girl made eye contact with him over a game of chess.

Anyway, they’re dating.

[sparklingcubes]

this whole romantic adrinette-platonic ladynoir-thing-in-s5 discourse makes me really wondering about how both stans would have reacted if the situation was reversed, like if romantic ladynoir-platonic adrinette happens.

would some adrinette stans complained about pre-reveal romantic ladynoir? would some ladynoir stans being boastful and superior about how right they are about their ship? would some adrinette stans rooting for the ship to break up? would some ladynoir stans make an entire essay defending about how ladynoir pre-reveal canon is not bad or didn't harm other LS sides? Would both stans still has the "the love square is dead except *LS side that's in the romantic relationship pre-reveal*" mindset?

I probably will never have the answer but I do wonder about this. a lot.

[aphroditelovesu]

Yandere Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Adrien Agreste Headcanons (Poly!Romantic)

❝🐞 — lady l: hi!! I finally wrote this and it's set in an au where they eventually discover each other's identities to make more sense. I hope you like it and forgive me for any mistakes! ❤️

❝tw: obsessive and possessive behavior, stalking, polyamorous and unhealthy relationships.

❝🐞pairing: yandere!adrinette/ladynoir x gender neutral!reader.

Everything was always very complicated between them. Marinette in love with Adrien and Adrien in love with Ladybug, both unaware of each other's identities and feelings.

Marinette always remained hiding her feelings for Adrien, too embarrassed to say anything and Adrien continued to yearn for Ladybug. This continued for a long time, until your arrival in their lives.

You were a new student and felt out of place after leaving your old school and your friends. You hoped to make friends at this new school, but you were afraid you wouldn't be able to do so. But luckily, or unluckily, you met Marinette first and she introduced you to her friends, who immediately liked you.

Marinette liked you, at first sight, you were so kind and sweet. She almost fell right there and it confused her, but she couldn't help but admire you.

Adrien became interested in you after a few conversations, and you caught his interest and attraction. He had something about you that made him attracted, and curious, an unknown feeling that he wanted to feel more of.

It wasn't difficult to notice their interest in you, Marinette constantly stuttering and blushing when you were around and Adrien, although shy, loved flirting with you and seeing you blush.

It wasn't easy to admit their interest in you, Marinette was still in love with Adrien but she really was in love with you, therefore, she didn't know what to do. Adrien was more resolute and acted in the way he knew how wanting to declare himself because he could no longer keep his feelings to himself.

Adrien was the one who first noticed Marinette's interest in you and he was surprised to notice that he didn't have a problem with it. If it were anyone else, he would have, but not with her. Because Marinette had a habit of stalking you incessantly, it didn't take long for her to realize that Adrien liked you. She was curious and excited, not jealous like she thought she would be.

They talked and decided to act quickly, both confessing to you. You were surprised and flattered and accepted, and finally, a romance happening.

Marinette is very jealous and overprotective, always wanting to know where you are and she will be very worried if she doesn't know. She will go so far as to use her Miraculous to look for you, even knowing the consequences.

Adrien is possessive, getting jealous very easily, and doesn't react well to it. He doesn't like it when you're with someone other than him and Marinette and will use intimidation to make someone stay away from you, whether with money or even his Miraculous.

They have always been very protective of you and at any sign of danger you will be quickly hidden and protected. They already talked about giving you a Miraculous, but Adrien considered it too dangerous. There was always a chance you could get hurt and he wasn't going to allow it.

You are spoiled intensely, clothes made by Marinette and bought by Adrien, jewelry, food, expensive and extravagant gifts to the simplest ones, like roses. You will never lack for anything as long as they are by your side.

They want to see you happy more than anything and will do everything to make that happen. They can't even think about the idea of ​​you being akumatized, the idea alone sends them into a frenzy at the thought of it happening to you. No, they have to be sure that this will never happen.

Marinette is very kind and soft, a mask of her true stalker and extremely jealous side. Adrien is kind and calm, always with a smile on his face and ready to make you smile, but he acts very strangely when you don't do what he asks.

They know they shouldn't use Miraculous for selfish reasons but when it comes to you, they won't care. Marinette doesn't care about ruining herself for you and Adrien has been ruined for a long time.

You are theirs and anyone who tries to get in the way will suffer the consequences. After all, you didn't just belong to Marinette and Adrien, but also to Ladybug and Cat Noir.

[marimbles]

can i get an update on what is happening in the fandom nowadays?

I assume you mean the ML fandom? tbh I feel like I’ve just been floating on the fringes lately lol so I’m not sure I’m the best person to offer you a Full Report on the happenings of the ML corner of tumblr, but I’ll give it a shot! (FYI this is based on what I personally have been seeing most on my dash so I can’t tell how widespread some of these things are lol)

Buggachat finished the bakery enemies AU! <3

Anna-scribbles has had an Emilie Agreste obsession for several months because of her ongoing fic “thirteen”

the loveybug AU seems pretty popular and there’s a lot of cute art of it (I haven’t looked into it a ton but to my knowledge it’s an AU where Marinette embraces her giant crush on catwalker and creates her own alter-alter-ego called loveybug to shamelessly and anonymously flirt with him while wearing a cute pink costume with hearts on it)

There is either an increasing general obsession with Felix or like a few dedicated felix stans who continue to publicly study him under a microscope. either way I’m seeing a lot of felix lol

hamsternamedmarinette went on a crazy road trip across the USA and met a bunch of fandom people, including buggachat, ladybeug, anna-scribbles, isninoluka, and the clown formerly known as carpisuns (me lol)….or DID she? 👀

A lot of people have started rooting for adrinette to have a messy breakup in season 6—not because they hate the love square but because the drama would be interesting lol (I am one of those people, and Anna scribbles is feeding into my delusions that this could lead back to marichat lol)

There is a residual obsession with shadybug and claw noir from the Paris special back in October. Tbh I think this is the last really Big thing that happened so if you were there for that you probably haven’t missed much since then lol

I keep forgetting that there was a whole entire miraculous movie that came out last year bc the tumblr side of the fandom appears to have agreed to ignore it for the most part lol

There is a London special coming out sometime this year but I don’t think we have a date yet

No date for season 6 either but potentially end end of this year? or who knows! lol

I probably missed stuff so people can add more if they want haha

[anxresi]

I Beg To Differ.

Okay, now just because I'm about to embark on an epic rant does NOT mean I think anything bad about you as a person, OP. It's just on this one teensie-weensie most minor of points, I happen to think you're 100% wrong. Just thought I'd clarify that, so no offense intended. Anyway, on with the show...

Nah, they did us SO dirty with Chloe. I hear your above argument a lot, and it WOULD be a fair point… if it wasn't for the fact that there are SO many clear signs this wasn't what was intended from the beginning that it makes your reasoning completely null and void. Chloe's 'arc' was the most blatant case of in-show character assassination I've ever had the displeasure of witnessing, and I'm about to explain why. Read on! (If you want to, that is.... no pressure).

They strung us along for at least three seasons with various hints about her 'traumatic past', her problems with her often absent mother (which Marinette didn't help by encouraging them to bond because 'they're both such awful people'), showed her genuinely apologizing to her victims, protecting Sabrina from akumatization and having times when she treated her as a real friend, sacrificing herself to save the day occasionally, hugging Miss Bustier in a moment of genuine emotion, telling Ladybug how 'useless' she felt in a teary rooftop encounter, saving lives both as a superhero and a civilian (check back if you don't believe me), giving Adrien a moving speech on his phone about how 'she'd always be there for him', sharing a really close bond with her father, telling her butler Jean it was time she started doing things for herself, loving Mr Cuddly, adoring Pollen… I could go on. Not the best person in the world, true.... but a promising start. Green shoots, and all that. Her name literally means that.

S4 simply forgot any of this happened, and literally pushed her burgeoning development off a cliff with Sisyphu's boulder tied to it's big toe. There was NO build-up, NO foreshadowing, NO precedent for Chloe suddenly becoming a one-dimensional total-sociopath irredeemable-monster AT ALL, they simply made her that way on a whim. They had her start acting like a complete psycho for the evilz, made her the most stupid person in the show BY FAR, severed ALL of her few close relationships, wrote AN ENTIRE FLASHBACK EPISODE in incrimate her newfound nastiness even more and 'punished' her by sending her off exiled on a plane in tears with her abusive mother to… what else? Get abused, of course. GREAT MESSAGE TO ALL THE VULNERABLE TEENAGE GIRLS OUT THERE. (I won't even get into how utterly useless and blandly boring her 'replacement' of a plot device Mary S... oops, I mean Zoe is).

And we're supposed to believe the former corrupt mayor Andre, the terrorist Gabriel Agreste and Thomas Astruc (you know him) are the GOOD guys here? Well, I'd like to tell you what I'd like to do to them… but for fear of censorship, I'd better withhold that particular information for now.

The upshot of it is… if Chloe had been bad from the beginning and terrible at the end, I'd have accepted it. Heck, if her so-called damnation arc was even halfway well written and gave us an accurate and compelling look at the moral descent a person who's capable of redemption could take to the light but ultimately chose to stay on the Dark Side, this would've been highly disappointing to me but fine from a storytelling perspective.

But they didn't give us anything like that, did they? It was just… 'pretend the last three seasons never happened, develop amnesia, hit yourself repeatedly on the head with a shovel… we don't care. Just accept this is the NEW Chloe without question despite past evidence, because you won't be getting any answers. Now let's go back to what we're REALLY here for… Marichat, Ladynoire, Adrinette and that other stupid ship name. SWOON!'

Thanks, but no thanks. Did I ever tell you how much I HATE this stupid show? Apologies if I didn't make that clear enough.

[fortuna-et-cataclysmos]

S5 finale: wrapping up the "running out of time" theme

So I have been mentioning frequently that there is a theme of "running out of time" in season 5, but I wasn't able to make out the meaning of it, until now.

We can say that there are three situations where the theme explicitely manifests:

Gabriel: After receiving a cataclysm wound in Destruction, we often hear Gabriel repeat that he is running out of time. The entire Intuition episode is based on that premise.

Ladynoir: This is the most obvious manifestation of this theme. In Jubilation, Ladybug and Chat Noir live a dream just to be constantly reminded that their perfect life together will end when they wake up to reality. I call it Ladynoir, but actually it is Maribug's love and romantic relationship with Chat in general.

Adrinette: This is the most subtle one, but it is there. Notice how Marinette needs to ease into a relationship with Adrien, and Adrien is doing his best to cut her slack, so much so that he says in Derision, and I quote: "We've got time." Soon after, Adrien is sent to London.

If you think I have forgotten other strings of running out of time, feel free to let me know!

Now let's look at these three strings individually:

Gabriel running out of time

This one is the simplest one as it starts very early on in the season, with the episode Destruction where he gets the cataclym wound, and ends in Recreation with his "sacrifice." Also worthy noting the names of the episodes. What starts as Gabriel running out of time in Destruction is concluded in Recreation with him making his wish, accomplishing his wish, and dying. We can consider this thread concluded.

2. Ladynoir running out of time

Of course, the first episode that comes to mind is Jubilation. In Jubilation we (and the blorbos) learn that they actually desire to be together, romantically. And indeed they get to live a perfect little life in their dream, ignoring the increasingly bigger alarm clocks that are trying to wake them up. Except that at the end Ladybug realises that they must wake up (duty calls!), and she abandons Chat Noir in the dream universe, broken.

From here on, nearly every episode is a warning for Marinette against being romantically together with Chat Noir:

Determination: Marinette accepts that she has feelings for Chat Noir, her reaction to that is crying

Passion: Ladybug's crush on Chat Noir leads to her being distracted and making many critical mistakes in their fight

Reunion: is a cautionary tale about Ladybug and Cat Miraculous holders falling in love

Illusion: (I haven't watched this in a while but I think nothing relevant happens here)

Elation: Marinette is nearly akumatised because of her love to and rejection by Chat Noir

The overarching message from Jubilation to Elation is that: if Maribug ends up with Chat Noir, it'll be a disaster.

So Marinette decides to close up her heart to anyone, and after a brief depression, Adrien finally convinces her to be with him and they become an official couple. From this point onwards, the key ship becomes Adrinette.

Does that mean that Ladynoir has run out of time? Not necessarily. They just decided to love each other in a different way. I should remind here that even though we tend to polarise the sides of the square as fandom, the creators have repeatedly told that the love square is one, there is one love.

The Ladynoir relationship has a direct connection to the Adrinette dynamics because after all, they're the same two people.

3. Adrinette running out of time

Now that Adrinette is finally together, they should have all the time in the world, right? Right? It's what Adrien says, after all.

But I couldn't shake this sense of urgency throughout this season. Every time they said that they had time, it made me feel like they actually don't and they don't know it. And it was exactly what they wanted to make us feel: with Adrien's move to London, it turns out they didn't have time. Worse is that, Adrien actually knew that he'd need to move to London but he couldn't tell it to Marinette, he kept it a secret all the way till he was shipped off to London.

And there is a parallel between Jubilation and Revolution here: in both episodes, their dream is shattered, they share one last dramatic kiss, and they are torn apart from one and other (@asukiess had a big brain time and pointed this out back when Revolution aired).

But now, in Recreation, Gabriel is gone. Everything is fixed? Everyone will be happy, right?

Well... No.

As I pointed out in a previous post, the world that Gabriel creates is a bit too bright, too perfect. The show is notorious for associating the sun with fake happiness at this point, while the "real" moments are rainy and/or dark. And let's see the colour palette in the end:

Another detail that makes me put on my tinfoil hat:

They're not very visible on the static image, but there are white butterflies flying over the flower arch. Those could be symbolising the end, as a reference to how Ladybug releases the purified akuma at the end of each episode. But it might also have a second meaning, a reference to how this world was in fact created upon the ideals of Gabriel.

And that can't be good for anyone. I explain more the consequences and aftermath of this episode in the post I mention above, but basically this world is Gabriel's ideal, and it is far from being a good place for neither Marinette, nor Adrien.

One main reason why: Gabriel has left Marinette with the truth about the Monarch, and she agreed to keep it a secret from Adrien. But we know that it will eventually come out. Either she tells it to Chat Noir, or maybe Lila plots something, but it won't remain a secret forever. And when it does... it will have tremendous impact on not only Adrinette, but also Ladynoir.

This world is a fantasy world where Marinette and Adrien have ended up together, just like in: Chat Blanc, Ephemeral, Oblivio, Jubilation. And at one point the alarm clock will ring, the hammer will drop, and both Ladynoir and Adrinette will run out of time. Except that this time, we may not be able to revert back to the status quo.

Gabriel has left them with a tickling time bomb.

[bakawitch]

Came up with some dollynette dresses! (Special thanks to @wisteriasymphony for the suggestions and the name for the au!)

Her post disposal form is sort of inspired by the infamous ahenobarbus henocied. I also made a base for myself because drawing her got a little exhausting and repetitive 😅

I don't have much planned for this au, but I know that Chloé's 100% getting stabbed at some point. This low-key turned into a slasher au, so most people around Adrien will probably croak

[purrincess-chat]

These polls have actually been interesting seeing what scenes people love from each season and then which ones they love most of all. I think it goes to show what moments stand out to people and in turn what things they love about each side of the love square.

For LadyNoir, it was the moment they reunited as a duo and reaffirmed their partnership. A moment of encouragement and unwavering faith in each other.

For Ladrien, it was a moment of vulnerability where Ladybug gets to save the boy in distress. A moment of trust and awe and love.

For MariChat, it was the moment that two people wanted to be together at all costs. A silly moment that turned deep and passionate and romantic.

For Adrinette, it was the moment they put aside their differences and saw each other. The moment Marinette saw the person underneath and not the person his father presented. The moment they became friends.

And I just think all of that is really beautiful in the grand scheme of things, and I think all of these winning moments perfectly encapsulate not only each side but the love square as a whole. They're two people who love, trust, and respect each other, who see each other for who they are, faults, flaws, and shortcomings included, and love each other anyway. Partners who defy all odds and no matter what always have each other.

I know these polls are mostly silly and for fun, but I just think it's really neat seeing how things have panned out. ❤️ A lot of people expressed difficulty choosing, and I just think it's so special that we all love these two dorks so much. 🥺🥺

[wield-the-mighty-pen]

I’m curious to know what makes you like Ladrien. What’s the appeal? I have my reasons for why I dislike them, so I’m definitely interested to hear all about the other side.

Absolutely no hate, I’m just super curious

Hi! First of all, thank you for giving me an excuse to babble on about Ladrien 🥰

I just want to preface this by stating that it is my belief that people who don't like Ladrien, are those who don't really understand the ship and/or the beauty to the ship, so it would be my pleasure to talk about why I love them so much:

1. They are the pinnacle of Lovesquare mutual pining

I personally am a mutual pining fiend. If there is mutual pining in a ship, chances are you can find me onboard. Mutual pining is probably my favorite part of a ship timeline, I love the angst, the bitter-sweetness, the confused and pained but still loving interactions, and my friend, Ladrien has all that and a bag of chips.

The thing is, Adrien is in love with Ladybug, Ladybug is in love with Adrien, but there's a certain impossibility to their love. Ladybug doesn't know Adrien well enough to love him, so it would never cross his mind that she would even entertain him as a romantic interest. Adrien has hardly even interacted with Ladybug, so it certainly wouldn't make sense that he would have feelings for her, forget about being in love with her.

What cements these beliefs is the fact that they both know the other in very different circumstances. Chat Noir and Marinette both know that the person they are in love with is not fickle about their feelings and is not shallow about love, they aren't just going to fall in love with some random celebrity. What's even more so is the fact that Ladybug knows that Adrien is in love with someone (circa season 3) and Adrien knows that Ladybug is in love with someone (circa season 2), making it so that they believe that the others' affections are tied elsewhere, seemingly making them unavailable (hence the pining).

I also want to point out that Ladrien is also void of the friendships of Adrinette and Ladynoir, meaning the pining becomes even more powerful as they don't even have access to the comforts of friendship. They are apart in every painful way.

This all creates an environment where every interaction between the two is filled with this yearning tension of wanting to be closer, wanting to move closer, but having to stop themselves because it doesn't make sense, because they fear rejection, because they just can't.

2. They have amazing on-screen chemistry and interactions

If you don't watch any season 2 Ladrien scene with a giant smile on your face, then you are missing out. I chose to mention season 2 in particular, because it's the season with the most Ladrien interaction, but honestly, you can find amazing Ladrien in every season.

The way they both stare at each other in wonder, in the first ever Ladrien interaction might I add, in season one's episode "The Mime", was the perfect way to set the stage for what we were to expect from this ship. They love each other, they are amazed by each other, they make each other dizzy and distracted, it's beautiful and hopeful, and directly contrasts the very difficult interactions that Adrien has in the episode with his father. Whereas Adrien's family is a point of pain for him, Ladybug is the light, the hope for him

Just discussing my two favorite Ladrien scenes, their chemistry and brilliantly portrayed relationship is obvious. Firstly, there is the catch scene in "Gorizilla". I don't think this scene needs explanation, but my goodness it is one I like to talk/think about a lot. The way he portrays implicit trust in Ladybug, the way he fully believes that she will catch him, is just so djaskljdaksljdkals, it's so sweet to watch. But then, she catches him, and even without talking about the trope subversion (though it is important), the way that they stare at each other, how their sole focus is on each other, how the catch was fast and sudden, but then Ladybug slows down to make the descent more comfortable for Adrien, it's all just *chef's kiss*. Adrien is then so enamored and lovestruck, that he forgets where he is, he forgets who he is, and nearly exposes himself by using a term of endearment for his love, which is just the most Ladrien thing ever jdksadjaskld

Finally, I want to talk about my other favorite Ladrien scene, which is the panic attack scene at the end of "Strike Back". Here we see Ladybug coping with the worst betrayal she has ever endured, and at the hands of the person who looks identical to the boy standing in front of here. And with all that uncertainty and mistrust, he stays there, he comforts her, he talks her through her panic, through her next steps. And when he offers her to detransform in his bathroom, with only a door to prevent her reveal, despite being unsure and cautious, she ultimately decides to trust him. She puts her vulnerability into his hands and allows him to see her emotional vulnerability and potentially have access to her physical vulnerability.

(there are more scenes to talk about but for brevity's sake I will stop here)

3. They very obviously love and support each other, despite the circumstances of their relationship

Just drawing back to the episodes that were mentioned in the last point, just from viewing those two scene alone, it is obvious that though they both love each other, she also trusts him and he trusts her.

The truth of the matter is, no side of the lovesquare exists in a vacuum. The sides bleed and meld and create together some amalgamated item that will only feel whole when the full square is revealed. As such, the knowledge and feelings that they have as Adrinette and Ladynoir, are going to have some presence while they are Ladrien.

My point of mentioning this, is that trust and sensitivity for each other is going to be present in their relationship, even if they didn't necessarily reach that development as Ladrien. On paper, Ladrien is a superhero and a model who have only interacted a handful of times. And yet, to both of them, their relationship is so much deeper than that.

They know each other, they're familar with each other, and yet, they're not. Adrien knows how Ladybug will take a joke from Chat Noir, but he doesn't know how she'll take one from Adrien, or why there's a difference. Ladybug knows how Adrien will react to a gift from Marinette, but she doesn't know how he'll take one from Ladybug, nor why there might be a difference. Adrien might know Ladybug's favorite drink order, but he doesn't know her birthday, her parents' name, etc. And Likewise, Ladybug might know Adrien's favorite color, but she doesn't know what he does at night, where the ring on his finger is from.

And yet, despite all of this, despite only being familiar with half a person, they take that half and choose to love them whole-heartedly. They choose to take the information they have and trust that person blindly. Despite, the impossibility of their relationship, they choose to continue to hope.

Because they admire each other, they care for each other, they love each other, and they will do everything in their power to continue to do that. And I think that's beautiful.

There are more reasons, but these are the main three, and I doubt you want to hear me drone on, so hope this sufficed!

Thank you for the ask! <3

[flightfoot]

i think you rec fics if i'm wrong i'm so sorry. any fluffy fics with all 4 lovesquare sides? - though just ladynoir/adrienette would work too.

Yep I give those recs! This is actually one of the tricker cases, because on the one hand there's a lot of them and on the other hand they're interwoven with a lot of other things and often don't have specific tags to search with, so I'll see what I can do. I'm mostly just looking for fluff fics that have more than one side of the Lovesquare represented.

I Put A Spell On You by dazaimaru

Friday, October 25. 6 days until Halloween. It’s their first high school Halloween dance, and Marinette and Adrien are ready to throw on some non-superhero costumes for once--that is, until an akumatized witch spoils the party and threatens to reveal what lies underneath everyone’s disguise. With Hawkmoth taking full advantage of the spooky season, the days leading up to Halloween are certainly going to be thrilling! Especially considering Marinette’s growing feelings for a certain black cat…

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Fate, Destiny... A Hamster by @mostmagical

After finally moving into his very first apartment per Ladybug’s suggestion, Adrien stumbles upon something no movie or TV show could have ever prepared him for: someone else's hamster. At least now there’s an excuse to talk to the new neighbor. (Adrinette Never Met AU)

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Villainous Matchmaking by @nedjsmlfavs

When Chat Noir is tragically unable to attend an event with Ladybug, the mayor calls in a favor from a designer ‘friend’. Now she’s attending in style, on the arm of the hottest male model in Paris. Which would be fine if it weren’t for one, tiny issue: Paris’ favorite domestic terrorist now knows how Ladybug feels about his son. This leads him to his greatest plan yet, using Ladybug’s extremely obvious crush on Adrien Agreste to akumatize Chat Noir. A Ladrien/“platonic” Ladynoir fic

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Painted Canvas by @wehadabondingmoment

And then, Adrien would send her a selfie, acting as if he was some secret agent trying to not get caught and he was so ridiculous that Marinette’s heart ached at the thought of being away from him. Hushed phone calls, his voice sounding like honey; in moments like these, she wasn’t Ladybug, only a teenage girl drunk on love. Or: Adrien and Marinette are soulmates and it still takes them years until they finally meet. Also fencing.

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Professeure (of your love) by @mostmagical

“We should do it.” Her voice came out in a screech. “What?” “Just a fake wedding at graduation,” he said, like it wasn’t completely crazy. . . After ages of letting Paris believe their beloved superheroes are married and in love, Marinette's superhero partner turned fellow teacher wants to apply the same logic to their civilian lives and put on a fake wedding for their students. Only problem is, for Marinette, the being in love part is very much not an act.

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From School Bells to Wedding Bells by @linnieluna

When the superhero duo takes on another exhausting fight against an akuma, Chat Noir does what he never hesitates to do and takes a hit for his partner. The problem being: neither of them knew what power the akuma possessed. That is... until he is transported into the future. More specifically, to his friend Marinette's wedding.

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The Power of Love by @nedjsmlfavs

In which Ladybug announces that she’s pregnant via her long term boyfriend and Chat Noir is a supportive partner. After all, he can hardly be upset when he’s been dating his Princess for years! A different take on the show’s tagline (“The Power of Love Always so Strong”) written for Valentine’s day 2023.

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The Rules of Engagement by underworkedoverwhelmed

When tragedy sends Adrien Agreste racing back to Paris to run his father’s fashion house, Marinette doesn’t expect much from her very new, very rich boss. At least not until she is set up on a blind date with a very familiar face. Much to her surprise, Adrien Agreste was hiding far more secrets behind his stoic business-like mask of temporary CEO. Maybe as many secrets as she had been trying to hide for years. As they grow closer, Marinette fears her mask isn’t nearly as foolproof. Day after day, it gets harder for her to keep all her secrets well hidden from the surprisingly sweet man who insisted on staying by her side as often as possible. Only she couldn’t afford to fail. Not when her biggest secret could spell the end of the job she’d dreamed about for years.

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Dreams of You by @chocoluckchipz

Dreams had long been his only escape. Dreams of Ladybug, the girl who had always been there for him. If only in his dreams. And only while she was also sleeping. Because with the first rays of sunshine gliding over her skin, with the first fluttering of her eyelashes, from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning, memories of Adrien would vanish from her mind. She would go on living her life. He would always be the only one who remembered. At least until they meet in the real world and fall in love all over again, something that would’ve been easier to do if Adrien wasn't a prisoner in his own home.

---

Tell Me Why You Love Me by @linnieluna

“Anyway, that piece of paper contains the name of this texting app. It’s completely anonymous, so you can download it, make your account with no attachments to your personal life, and communicate with me outside our suits. I included my username on the paper, too, so you can add me once you’re done." Her partner skimmed through the words on the paper and nodded his head. “Brilliant as always, M’lady. I’m surprised we didn’t figure this out sooner within our superhero careers.” “Yeah, it would’ve been nice to have this before, but hey, better late than never. Make sure not to have your phone screen on the messages if you’re going to leave it somewhere. We don’t want anyone reading our texts. Also, this is for emergencies only. No jokes or puns. I can only deal with you for so long.” “I don’t know if I can agree to that last one,” he said. Now 22 and working full-time, Marinette and Adrien seem to be getting busier and busier, which means fewer opportunities to keep track of akumas and show up on time. With the idea of using a messaging app to communicate with each other without revealing their identities, their lives immediately grew to be easier... until it wasn't.

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Soul Searching by LiquefiedStars

Marinette was devastated when her soulmate turned out to be Adrien Agreste and not her sweet, loving partner Chat Noir. Despite their misunderstandings, she is willing to give Adrien a chance, even if he doesn’t seem all that interested in her. After all, they are soulmates and the universe says they are meant to be together. A Soulmate AU.

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Love is Blind by @jennagrinsoverml

Tired of all of his potential girlfriends being blinded by his face, his fame and his name, Adrien takes a chance to compete on Love Is Blind: France, where he hopes that dating without seeing each other—or learning each other’s names—will finally help him to be lucky in love. What will he do when he realizes that his Lady is one of the contestants, however? And will he be able to win her heart where he’s never succeeded before? Meanwhile, Marinette is looking to meet the right guy after years of pining away for someone who has only ever seen her as a friend. She’s not entirely sure if she can fall in love with someone without seeing them, but the things that have always mattered to her most are the kinds of things that can’t be seen. What will she do when she realizes her heart is being pulled in two directions? And will she be ready to make a decision in time?

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Over and Over by stcrsquad

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has had the worst day possible. She's failed to confess to Adrien (again), made an embarrassment of herself, and got into a fight with Chat Noir. Adrien Agreste has had the worst day possible. He is tired of being pushed aside by everyone, including his crime-fighting partner Ladybug. Luckily, fate (and Bunnyx) works in mysterious ways because they wake up again on the same day. A do-over. Except it keeps happening. Can the two figure out what they need to fix to break the loop, or will they be stuck forever?

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Graine de toi by MireilleTanaka

Ladybug and Chat Noir think they’re close, until they begin waking up in one another’s skin. AU: Adrien is homeschooled, and he and Marinette have never met. Written for Adrinette April 2020, Day 17: Life Swap. The one prompt snowballed into a multi-chapter fic. Loosely inspired by Your Name (Kimi no na wa), but no need to have watched it to read, since there's no actual plot connection except the premise of swapping lives.

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Knight in Shining Amour by Cakedecorator

Marinette is the daughter of the castle bakers, and she herself is the royal seamstress. She lives her life making clothes, helping her parents, and generally living a simple life. However, she also laments the loss of her childhood friendship with Prince Adrien, and remembers the promise they made when they were five years old. Resigning herself to the reality that she would never be able to marry the prince, and assuming he'd forgotten their promise, Marinette tries to live her life without letting loss get to her. However, her love story begins a new chapter when she's approached by Cat Noir, a debonair new knight in the castle.

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Evergreen by tanyatakaishi

Everything was gone. The entire cityscape had been obliterated, leaving them in a valley of trees. Blue mountains, peaks dressed in snow, stretched tall in the distance and at their foot lay an array of vineyards, miles wide with no civilization in sight. AKA: two heroes lost alone in the woods with no cheese.

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Someone to Watch Over Me by @dfcfanfics

Adrien is used to his father taking him for granted and treating him poorly, especially since his mother's disappearance... but it's never been anywhere _near_ this bad before. Between that and trouble at school, his life is in quite the downward spiral. He's been putting on a brave face, but he's struggling... and his friends are starting to notice. One special friend in particular. Marinette is determined to help him, any way that she can -- with _and_ without her mask. But when Akumas fly towards Adrien, he soon finds himself more deeply entwined in Marinette's life AND Ladybug's private life than he'd ever imagined. Can Adrien possibly decide between the two angels who are making his life worth living again? Can Marinette process Adrien's crush on Ladybug AND his growing feelings for her? And can Gabriel stop laughing long enough to launch his master plan? A fluffy DFC - buggachat Ladrienette jam. 10/15: Our story is now complete with the posting of Chapter 24, the epilogue. Thank you so much for reading, as always.

[ilikekidsshows]

Do you think Kagami’s introduction foreshadowed her character’s role in the story well? Also, what’s the best use of characters of her archetype in a show like miraculous ladybug?

---

Okay, so, Kagami’s introduction, outside of a couple of comments from Marinette, reads a lot like a regular “Victim of the Day” episode. I was actually really surprised that this was how they chose to introduce one of the major love rivals. It was actually good writing from the crew, since it allowed us to learn about Kagami as an individual first and foremost, before getting her entangled in the romance.

I still believe that a lot of the show got retooled between seasons 3 and 4. One of the reasons I think this is specifically the 180 Kagami’s character made in season 5. Kagami’s first ever friend was Marinette, and she befriended Marinette after Marinette showed her kindness. Her first love is Adrien, the kindest character in the cast. And then season 5 comes along trying to tell me the jackass Félix is suddenly her type when he literally kidnaps her? Yeah, I don’t buy it. Never mind her taking her breakup with Adrien so badly she didn’t want to see him, only to be totally okay with constantly seeing and macking on his identical cousin.

Said breakup was also written in a way that completely disregarded the original dynamic between Adrien and Kagami, downright reversing their roles. Adrien was the one who taught Kagami how to go against her controlling parent’s wishes and pursue what she wanted to do (I was so delighted how he was paying along what Plagg taught him so I was so pissed when the show ignored that). But, in season 4, Kagami is suddenly the perfect rebel pulling Adrien along. Never mind how Kagami used to be so oblivious about social cues that her idea of a friendly smile was more like a grimace, but, as of season 4, she’s suddenly more emotionally astute than Adrien, who used to be a master of empathy and sympathy (when people weren’t lying to him). And yet, despite this supposed new emotional intelligence, she dares to victim blame Adrien for the abuse he suffers, when she of all people should understand how difficult parents like theirs can be.

Frankly, Kagami’s utility as a character in the series got crippled every single time she got close to having some. Like, she was the first rival for Adrien’s affections we’d seen with an actual shot, Adrien was actually really into her, but, as soon as they got together, Adrien was suddenly completely uninterested. The writers terminated that relationship so quickly we might as well call them Agent 47. Then she stops being as much as Adrien’s friend, and instead joins Marinette’s girl posse and starts shipping Adrinette because she had the realization that they were “made for each other”. Except we also have the rest of the non-villainous kid cast only caring about Adrinette as of season 4, so she completely uses her uniqueness as a character.

Then, of course, she becomes Félix’s “reward” for turning into a good guy. Suddenly all she cares about is defending the Writers’ Pet from suffering consequences for his various crimes and telling him Ladybug’s secret identity and helping him with his asinine plans.

No, I don’t think Kagami’s first appearance foreshadows her future role as the trophy girlfriend of the writers’ new favorite side character in season 5.

Instead of using her for cheap drama that doesn’t actually amount to anything meaningful in the show, Kagami could have been utilized for so many different lessons about socio-emotional proficiency, something I thought Miraculous was going to be teaching to kids due to its focus on dealing with negative emotions specifically. Kagami is a character with a lot of baggage, she has a controlling and demanding parent, she has no friends, and she doesn’t really understand the boy she’s crushing on and later dating.

Kagami is a blunt enough character that she could have been used to teach Marinette about her very damaging tendency to butt into other people’s family relationships and project her own family dynamic onto theirs. Kagami could have been the one to tell Marinette: “no, my mother doesn’t just let me do things I really care about just because I care about them and talking to her about it will just make her mad.”

If the show had decided to focus on the hero team properly, Kagami could have been a very fun addition. She tends to get very serious in the few hero situations she’s in, and those types are always funny when the villains can have really wacky powers. The overly serious character being forced to deal with tomfoolery is a riot every single time.

Kagami’s lack of social skills and lack of friends could have also been used to showcase different ways of making friends. The reason Kagami latches so strongly onto Adrien despite her not knowing much about him is because he’s the only person she’s met who’s similar to her. He’s also one of her only two outside of family bonds, which makes her extra reliant on him. This is not a healthy dynamic, and the Adrigami breakup could have had something to do with that, with how Adrien shouldn’t be everything to her and she needs friends more than she needs a boyfriend. And then they could both make more friends together. Or, they could make more friends first and then realize they don’t need each other that much after all. (Of course then the show decided codependency is actually a good thing and obliterated all of Adrien’s friendships to make him reliant on Marinette. Oh, the irony.)

Frankly, I think the choice to make it so that Adrien wasn’t actually into Kagami after all was such a copout way of dealing with the Adrigami breakup. Yes, sometimes your feelings with someone else don’t match, but that’s not what the episode teaches the viewer. The episode instead tries to hammer it in that Adrien is Marinette’s, no one else’s. It’s just Lovesquare pandering instead of the episode trying to say anything about love or relationships.

[hamsteriffic]

Miraculous Fandom Stats

Ao3 Wrap Up 2023

I don’t know if anyone has done this, I hope I don’t step on anyone’s toes. Here a wrap up for 2023 for Miraculous Ladybug!

This study only assesses the fanfics posted by the last update, so if there was an older fic that was from 2021 that was updated in 2023, this would be captured by this study.

📈 The data presented here is a snapshot of the Fandom on: 05 Jan 2024

🖤 Works posted to Ao3 in 2023

In 2023 there were 10,515 fanfics posted (including crossovers and all languages). The median word count per fanfic was 2,268 words. In general, each fic received 5 comments, 561 hits and 36 kudos (median).

A majority of fanfics were not crossovers (Fig 1). The peak of Ao3 posts for Miraculous Ladybug was in 2021 with a total of 11,350 fanfics. Fanfics with crossovers have had a steady rise in popularity from 2018 with a peak of 2,609 in 2021.

Fig 1. A total number of fanfics posted to Ao3 in 2023 for the Miraculous Ladybug fandom without crossovers (blue line) and with crossovers (dotted line).

Note that this analysis will excludes crossovers (a separate analysis to come!).

Fig 2. Total number of completed fanfics (red) and incomplete fanfics (pink) posted to Ao3 in the Miraculous Ladybug fandom for 2023 (excluding crossovers).

Fig 3. Total number of words per fic published or updated in 2023. The median word count per fanfic in 2023 was 2,268 words.

The most frequently used tags for 2023 were (in descending order):

Fluff (1495)

Angst (1040)

Identity Reveal (982)

Aged-Up Characters (968)

Alternate Universe (732)

Hurt/Comfort (700)

Adrien Needs a Hug (510)

🏆 Highlights in 2023 include

Miraculous Ladybug Season 5 Finale, s05e26, Re-Creation (Part 2) (First Airdate: July 01, 2023) [2]

Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie (Released: July 05, 2023) [3]

Miraculous Paris Special (Preview Screening: October 15, 2023) [4]

🖤 Most Tagged Side of the Lovesquare in 2023

Fig 4. Percentage of fanfics tagged with different sides of the Lovesquare.

Note that these are only taking into account fics that use this tag. There may be fanfics that have sides of the Lovesquare that are not indicated. This analysis also includes tags for Marichat May, Ladrien July etc.

Adrinette (34.5%; 737 fics)

LadyNoir (32%; 677 fics)

MariChat (23.5%; 501 fics)

Ladrien (10%; 213 fics)

🖤 Top 10 Characters Pairings on Ao3 (excluding Lovesquare)

Alya/Nino (927 fics)

Luka/Marinette (734 fics)

Juleka/Rose (405 fics)

Nathaniel / Marc (337 fics)

Felix / Marinette (317 fics)

Gabriel / Nathalie (286 fics)

Adrien / Luka (269 fics)

Felix / Kagami (183 fics)

Adrien / Kagami (159 fics)

Kagami / Marinette (158 fics)

There was a large shift in a number of pairings, in particular there was a dramatic increase in the number of fics tagged with Felix Fathom / Kagami Tsurugi (see below the cut for Season 5 spoilers). Other notable mentions are also Marinette Dupain-Cheng / Zoe Lee with a 2.5 fold increase in fanfics posted in 2023 (63 in total) compared to 2022 (26 in total).

🖤 Conclusions

It’s been a big year, and one that is controversial in many ways. I was just curious to see if there’s a decrease in activity since the season 5 finale, but it looks like the fanfiction writing is going strong. But are fans tuning out? Or are we trying to create more fix-it fics? (I will delve into that in a different post, since this was quite labour intensive).

There have been some interesting changes in relationship tags as well as tags for Sentimonsters (below the cut).

Methodology, References and Season 5 Spoilers below the cut:

Warning: Season 5 spoilers below:

🖤 2023 was also the year Feligami became official

This has lead to a dramatic increase in fanfics for the power couple.

Fig 5. The total number of fanfics posted on Ao3 for Felix / Kagami, represented per month saw a dramatic increase since the release of Season 5 in 2023 (blue). In contrast, I have plotted the total number of fanfics per month 2022 (red).

💔 2023 was also when the sentimonster theory was confirmed

Fig 6. Fanfiction that have used tags for Sentimonsters since 2018. Note that this is not a cumulative plot and that the numbers are individual works from each year tagged for Sentimonster.

In 2023, there were 192 works that tagged for Sentimonster Adrien, and 95 for Sentimonster Felix and 34 for Sentimonster Kagami. Recent usage for the tag 'Adrien is not a Sentimonster' was also observed (21 cases).

Please don’t be mad at me. I’m just a stats hamster.

Methodology

Filtering

The analyses start from Sep 05, 2012 when the first promotional video (PV) for Miraculous Ladybug was publicly leaked [1].

Since the website is very active, the information may change as this data is best considered to be a snapshot of the fanfics posted at this point in time. Also note that the filter is also for last update, and not first posted, so that older fics may be captured in later datasets. But for the purposes of this study, I am assuming that if the author is updating, then they are still active in the fandom.

To get an idea on what was posted to Ao3 this year, I have filtered for last published date 01 Jan 2023 - 31 Dec 2023. Note that while there was only an option for selecting by Last Post Date, which meant that works originally posted earlier (pre-2023) would still be captured if it was updated within the bounds of these dates.

Furthermore, it is also possible to backdate works on Ao3 which may also give false results. However, it may be likely that if this did happen it would only be a small percentage of fanworks. As such the data is an approximation of fandom activity during 2023.

Relationship Tags

I have followed the Ao3 rules so that / are taken to mean romantic relations and & for platonic relationships. In this analysis, I have combined the numbers for Felix (PV), Felix Graham de Vanily and Felix Fathom.

References

[1] Miraculous PV (https://miraculousladybug.fandom.com/wiki/Ladybug_PV)

[2] Miraculous Ladybug Re-Creation (s05e25) World Premiere (Switzerland) (https://miraculousladybug.fandom.com/wiki/Re-creation_(The_Final_Day_-_Part_2)#google_vignette)

[3] Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie (https://m.imdb.com/title/tt10364034/releaseinfo/)

[4] Miraculous Paris Special (https://miraculousladybug.fandom.com/wiki/Miraculous_Paris)