#turtle!adrien

[nionom-art]

Soooo… more designs for Adrien for my Miraculous Coccinella au. Sorry he isn’t doing anything more interesting than just standing there… haha…

[imthepunchlord]

Possibly How It Should Have Been

Gosh, I've just thought about it sometimes, as I'm largely trying to turn my creative focus onto something more enjoyable than ML (hence less writing for ML fics), but sometimes I just can't help but focus on it. Cause it's a great concept and it's butchered and that bothers me so much.

And there's SO MUCH that could've been done to improve it. Some of which could be easy tweaks. Some of which needs massive overhauling. Some of it is just picking a lane, staying in that lane, and you follow the road to progress.

It's a great concept with a LOT of possibilities and ways it could've been done. I've actually thought about possible ML Rewrites a few times, I even reached out to a friend to try and help develop a Rewrite that we could've collabed on cause I was struggling to much to decide, and we both just got stuck cause there's so many options for characters and what could possibly be done as we could see so many pros for each option.

And of course, part of the pondering that came to my mind was seeing promising improvement with kwami swaps.

Like, Marinette and Adrien may have developed better if they had each other's miraculous. Plagg could've been the ideal foil to Marinette as he's the opposite of her in every way, addressing her overworking herself, prioritizing others over herself, and caring so much about her responsibilities that it just weighs and stresses her out. And with Adrien and Tikki, she could've helped him develop as an actual, step up in responsibility, learn to take on duty, to care about others over himself. She also would've helped him get the plot rolling, as Adrien is a stagnant character but Tikki is not. She's going to get him involved into the Agreste plot whether he wants it or not, and in turn, he's going to get Tikki to learn to be more attentive and considerate of her holders cause things can go south for Adrien very quickly if she pushes too much.

Gosh, another great kwami swap that could've been done that could've improved a lot was switching up who are the leads. I always wondered if Tikki and Plagg TRULY would've picked Marinette and Adrien, also if they were even the right picks now that we know that Fu doesn't know everything and is running on limited knowledge. As far as we know, they ARE the wrong picks for these two. And considering there was an ep of Tikki and Plagg picking their own users, I now wonder if Alya and Nino should've been our actual leads.

How Alya was initially as Scarabella screams to me that it would've better served in the Origins as a starting hero. Alya also has promising potential arcs as a starting hero, especially as being a superhero is her living her dream:

There's the struggle of balancing her civilian and hero life, she can learn that the civilian life is just as important.

She can learn that being a hero isn't all glory and isn't always easy.

She can learn the importance of secrecy, and what happens if she exposes herself to the public or to a friend (probably Marinette).

And a lot of the lessons Tikki is involved with would make more sense with Alya, who does get tunnel vision and isn't good at listening to others and isn't so considerate and can be very pushy with her own agenda. Alya naturally aims for the leadership position and Tikki wants her Ladybugs to be leaders, so Tikki can help guide Alya to improve as a leader. Lastly, Alya will challenge Tikki on her call outs, which could at certain points help established that Tikki isn't always right and is open to learn and adapt too. And Alya could busy herself looking into HM, making her theories and being nosy about his identity, which Tikki would readily be apart of and encourage. Which Alya should've done in the show than recklessly trying to expose the heroes identity to the public and help HM win. Which, if Adrien wasn't a hero, maybe that should have been his role instead, which Gabriel could encourage and Adrien is even more excited cause he thinks his father is taking an interest in what he does which can be some later Adrien angst for you.

With Nino and Plagg, the BIGGEST plus is that it would actually give Nino SOMETHING outside Alya and Adrien. It would've prompt him to get more focus, and based on what's seen, he's 2nd to Marinette in having the most friends, meaning he can be more engaging and present with what happens to his classmates. Plagg also could bring some needed chaos to his life. You can even expand upon what's seen in Horrificatr where Nino can be controlling, strict, and harsh so Plagg can work on that. Nino does have some similarities to Marinette where he does care a lot for his friends and is hardworking, so there's something there to make Plagg a bit of a foil to him. To expand on Nino's role as Alya embraces being the big hero and savior, could even do the fandom popular idea of him getting Guardian training.

With those two taken, this nicely opens up others getting the Five.

Marinette can work with either Bee or Fox. If you want to work off Chloe vs Marinette, it works best if Marinette has the Bee. Though I think Pollen's personality should be overhauled, but if not, at least there's a perk that yes man Pollen going to force Marinette to take initiative and decide things for herself instead of seeking advise from her kwami. And with Fox, that can work off Marinette being a meddler, schemer, being creative, and her more inclined to work from the shadows. There could also be a fun twist to explore with Marinette not liking liars and she has a miraculous tied to deception, plus her and Trixx could've been an interesting pair to see interact, especially if working off what's seen in Sapotis where Trixx is very observant and manipulative, but also a bit of a chaotic gambler (from what I've seen, later seasons seem to ruin Trixx as a character). And of course, Marinette having Fox could work off her vs Lila, you could even dabble in her vs Felix.

Arguably, Chloe MAY grow as Alya and Nino would NOT have been so tolerant of her unlike Marinette and Adrien, so Chloe could've gotten the Bee and actually be a good hero and character for it. But that can also come down to preference and how you want Chloe to go.

Adrien could've gotten the Turtle, which I think could've been one of the best miraculous he could've gotten as he naturally likes to be a protector, and this miraculous works off that while also giving him protection. Wayzz also could've maybe addressed Adrien readily sacrificing himself, help him learn to be more cautious instead of rushing in, or at least think and be smart about how you go forward. There's even a possibility of Adrien having Turtle full time, as Nino could share his suspicions with Fu about Gabriel, so Wayzz could be there as a spy to check things out, which would have Adrien eventually get involved in his own plot, but still allow things to be at a slower pace. And as Wayzz, ideally, seems to be serious and dedicated but also playful and open minded, I think he would be very engaging with Adrien, which in turn could mean that when Adrien needs a call out, he would listen to what Wayzz had to say more (as most of the time Adrien ignores what Plagg says).

As for the leads, both would have an equal neutral involvement in the plot that can explain why things don't resolve quickly (looking at you Adrien who won't even ask questions about the suspicious book your father has). Alya would be a hero and lead for glory and self-righteousness, Nino would be to genuinely help others. Neither would have a super close tie to Gabriel, allowing him to sit under their noses for a while.

Also, gosh, you even could've had a lot of fun with color coded rivals/foils/personal antagonists for Alya and Nino.

If you really wanted to do Alya vs Lila, let Lila actually have the Fox or maybe she bought the Fox in Volpina, and this has Alya and Lila having the miraculous the other is color coded for. She could work off being a hero initially for the wrong reasons, just like Alya who starts for the glory too, as well as integrity vs deception.

Something could also be done between Nino vs Felix, with Nino really color coded for Peacock while Felix is color coded for Cat. Could play off both being ambitious to a fault and being selfish and nosy, but Nino cares more for others vs Felix is more exclusive.

And if expanding to others...

Of course could do Marinette vs Chloe if Marinette has the Bee, Chloe could have the Mouse, which could be funny to see Chloe deal with herself. That might humble her.

As for Adrien... could do him and Max being foils, work off Max getting Horse while largely wearing green, and I think Adrien is most color coded for Horse. Could work off both being perfectionist and could delve into the shared interest of gaming, with Max trying to bring out the competitiveness in Adrien. Could be thinking vs action.

Either way, ML is frustrating cause it's a show with potential and great concepts and it's irritating that it got butchered so. And the most frustrating thing is that there is just so many options to how it could've been done better. And kwami swap wise, these are my top two picks that would've been better.

Thank you for coming to my TED talks.

[lea-panthera]

And here's the sixth part!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

Chapter 15: The First Sentidemon

“You really don’t need to help, Marieta. I’ve got this.”

Marinette rolls her eyes and threads her needle with white thread. “I want to, Kit. You’ve done so much for us.”

Queenie comes into the living room with a platter of freshly baked macarons. Pollen sits on her shoulder, watching them with a prim but soft expression on her tiny face.

“Yes, you have,” Queenie says firmly, setting the platter on the carpet. She gently takes the needle and fabric from Kit’s hands. “And you’re going to relax now while Mari and I finish the outfits.”

Kit smiles tiredly and sits down on the ground. The kwamis land on her shoulders, head, lap, and neck, nuzzling her as they eat their macarons. Marinette grabs a macaron and passes another one to Queenie, careful to not get any on the fabrics.

"Are those cookies I smell?" Ajax's voice floats in from the kitchen.

Kit giggles. "Over here, Ajax!"

He walks in and promptly sits down beside Kit. He grabs multiple macarons and leans his head on Kit's shoulder as Plagg gulps down the rest of his cheese and lands beside Tikki on the arm of Marinette's chair.

"Avis and Philip are in the Multiverse Burrow," Ajax informs them. "They're trying to track the sentidemons that aren't in Sector 21."

"I wonder how Roi Paon managed to travel and export sentidemons between universes without the Horse or the Rabbit miraculouses," Kit muses aloud, running her fingers through Ajax's neon green hair. He hums, satisfied.

"He probably created a sentidemon to do so," Marinette says.

Suddenly, a portal opens up in the living room, and Chevalapin jumps out, startling everyone there. Queenie shrieks, Kit scrambles back, and Ajax and Marinette automatically jump up and assume fighting positions. They relax at seeing who it is, but then tense again at the panicked expression on his face.

"There's a sentidemon attacking the Paris in Queenie's universe," he says, and Queenie's eyes widen.

Marinette exchanges a glance with Kit. "This is going to be our first battle with a sentidemon," she says, turning to the now pale Queenie, "but I think we can handle it. This is like...an experiment. We'll try over and over again with this one and find what works for us. We can do this."

Queenie takes a deep breath, then nods, standing up. "You're right. Let's do this."

"Where's Zara?" asks Chevalapin.

"Napping in the bedroom," replies Kit, getting up.

"We'll get her. Get Avis out of the Multiverse Burrow and recharge your kwamis, Philip. We'll meet you back here," Marinette says, grabbing Queenie's hand and following Kit to the girls' bedroom.

"Please hurry!" Chevalapin calls after them.

Chapter 16: Brothers And Sisters

The two Adriens watch the three go, then Chevalapin enters the portal and comes back out with Avis, who’s dressed in an indigo tank top with silver cherry blossoms along the neckline and white capris.

“We’re going to battle that sentidemon,” Ajax tells her. “The other girls are changing in the bedroom.”

Avis gives him a nod and heads off in that direction.

Chevalapin closes the portal and detransforms. “You guys need to recharge and get ready for battle,” Philip tells the kwamis. They fly off to the kitchen.

Ajax notices that Philip’s hands are shaking.

“Phil,” he says, “you good?”

Philip shudders and covers his eyes with a hand. “This is going to be my first time battling a sentidemon after…after what happened,” he replies quietly.

Ajax places a hand on Philip’s shoulder. “It’s going to be okay this time around. Besides, we aren’t facing the entire army right now. Just one. We’ll be okay, Philip.”

Philip just shakes his head. "How will we be okay, Ajax? Only Zara and I have fought them before, and they defeated us with little effort. Everything we’ve practiced, everything we’ve done so far…it’s all theory. The real thing requires experience.”

“But we won’t gain experience if we don’t fight one ourselves, Phil,” Ajax cuts in. “Think about it: this one is on its own. We fight it, most likely defeat it, and then we can reflect and come up with a better game plan. If Mari can look through the grimoire and find something that can help upgrade our powers by then, then great! We’ll be much closer to defeating Roi Paon himself!”

Philip hesitates. “I just don’t want to see any of you get hurt. I dragged you into this. If I had just recognized who Roi Paon was-“

“You’re not the cause of this, Philip,” Ajax says sharply. “Don’t forget, I lived under the roof of my archnemesis, too. In fact, it was only after you and Zara revealed his identity to us that I realized that it was him.”

Philip says nothing.

“Phil, we’re ready to fight by your side. Zara loves you more than the sun and moon, and the other Marinettes consider you to be their brother. And so do I.” Ajax pulls Philip into a side hug. “We signed up for this ourselves, and we’re not backing down.”

Philip grins. “Okay, then. If you say so.”

Ajax grins back and holds out a fist. “L’Espoir…”

“Unite!” Philip cheers, bumping it with his own. The two laugh.

…

Marinette ties her hair back into a high ponytail with a red ribbon. Excitement and nervousness bubble up in her stomach.

Queenie has already changed into her combat suit and is pacing the length of the room, muttering under her breath in a mixture of panic and anger.

“I can’t believe this. The audacity he has to attack my universe and steal the Ladybug-OH NO! THE LADYBUG MIRACULOUS IS WITH CHLOÉ! Oh, this is bad, this is so, so bad! And Adrien’s there too! Oh, if the sentidemon so much as touches him, I’ll send Roi Paon to hell!”

Marinette gives Queenie a hug from behind, trying to stay optimistic. “Whoa, whoa, calm down there, bee. It’s going to be just fine. We’ll kick this sentidemon’s butt, and then Roi Paon’s. Got it?”

Queenie giggles.

Avis dangles upside-down from her bunk. “And you get to see Tortue~.”

Queenie blushes hard as Marinette and Avis roar with laughter. Kit comes in from the bathroom wearing her combat suit and looks at them.

Avis jumps down from her bunk, bounds over to Kit, and throws an arm around her shoulders. “Sing along with me, Kit. Queenie and Tortue, sitting in a tree…”

Kit smirks and joins in. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

Marinette clutches her stomach, wheezing as she tries to control her giggling.

Once they all calm down(and Queenie’s face no longer resembles a tomato), Kit says, “We should probably wake Zara up.”

They somber up as they remember the task at hand.

Marinette strides over to Zara’s bunk and sits at the edge. She places a hand on the sleeping girl’s hip and shakes her slightly. “Zara?”

Zara moans into her pillow. “What?”

“We need to go fight a sentidemon.”

Zara bolts upright. “What?”

“A sentidemon managed to travel to Queenie’s universe,” says Avis. “We’re going out to fight it.”

Zara trembles. Marinette places a hand on her shoulder, concerned. “Zara?” she asks gently. “You don’t need to come if you don’t want to.”

“We understand,” Queenie says softly.

“No! I mean, no, I-I’ll come,” Zara replies. “It’s just that…” She places a hand over Marinette’s and squeezes it. “…I don’t want any of you to get hurt.”

Kit’s lip quirks up. “It’s fine if we get hurt. We’re superheroes. It’s kind of an occupational hazard.”

Zara shoots her a glare. “You’ve been spending way too much time with Ajax.”

Avis snorts, then walks over and hugs Zara. “Don’t worry about us, Zara. We can take care of ourselves.”

All of the Marinettes crowd in for a group hug, Zara crying tears of gratitude. When they part, she wipes her tears and stands up, a determined glint in her eyes. She looks at the four girls, all identical to her, standing in front of her.

Her alternate versions. Her sisters.

“Alright, girls,” Zara says. She winks. “Let’s go kick some sentidemon butt.”

Chapter 17: The Skirmish

L'Espoir stand in a circle in the living room, their kwamis sitting on their shoulders.

"So, once we enter the universe," debriefs Marinette, "Zara will act as bait while the rest of us try to find the amok gem. Once we find it, we'll regroup in the alley behind the bakery and come up with a plan."

"What do we do about Tortue and Red Lady?" asks Zara.

"Avis, Queenie, do you guys mind explaining everything to Tortue? It's likely he won't believe us completely, but just let him know that we're there to help," Marinette says. The pair nods their assent, and Marinette turns to the rest of the group. "I'll handle Red Lady."

"What about Hawkmoth? Are we going to go after him?" Queenie asks.

Zara, Philip, Ajax, and Kit look at each other, then Zara sighs. "I'll take care of him. We know his secret identity because it's the same , so I should be able to catch his civilian self unawares and steal the miraculous from him."

Avis crosses her arms. "You know the identity of Roi Paon, and you didn't tell us? Don't you think we should know?"

"Hey!" Roaar exclaims from his holder's shoulder. "Don't scold Zara!"

“I think we have a right to know,” says Queenie, hurt.

Marinette bites her lip. She feels just as affronted as Avis and Queenie, but she can understand why keeping it a secret might be necessary.

She herself knew all about secrets.

She sighs. "Let's not go into this now. There's not time to waste. But we will want answers later."

Zara nods, then transforms into Tigris. Philip transforms into Chevalapin and Ajax transforms into Chat Nuit. Kit transforms into Vixen and looks at the remaining three Marinettes expectantly.

Avis transforms into a peacock-themed superhero. Her wavy bob becomes longer and dark blue, fading to purple at the tips. The scleras of her eyes become purple, and the irises magenta. Her skin becomes a light shade of blue. Kohl lines her eyes, and the mask around her eyes is dark blue with small pink beads on the rim and silver lace on the exterior. She wears a dress similar to Mayura's, minus the fluff around the neck and wrists. Instead, her hands and forearms are magenta, giving the illusion of long gloves. The material on her legs is also magenta, but the short high-heeled boots she wears are the same dark blue as her dress. The rim of her boots are decorated with magenta and silver swirls.

"I am now Bluebird," she says.

There's a flash of yellow light as Queenie transforms. Her suit is similar to Marinette's in that it's simple and tightly fit. It's highlighter yellow, with black fuzz around the ankles, wrists, and neck. The area around her hips is black, with diagonal yellow stripes. She sports two black stripes on her biceps, forearms, forelegs, and abdomen. The ones on her abdomen meet at her middle, forming two V's, one on top of the other. Her hair forms a ponytail that looks like a stinger with its black and yellow stripes and curled tip. Her mask is black with three gold stripes running through it horizontally.

"I'm Honeybee," she says.

Marinette transforms and says, "And I'm Ladybug. Let's go!"

"Is everyone's earpieces still on?" Kit asks, tapping her ear. There are sounds of assent from around the circle.

Chevalapin opens the portal to the Multiverse Burrow. They all go through the portal to find Chevalapin holding the globe of light that represents Queenie's universe.

"Is everyone ready?" he asks.

Ladybug looks around and nods.

Chevalapin says, "Paris," and lets go of the ball of light as it shows them a vision of a destructive sentidemon ravaging their city. Ignoring the horrified gasps of his comrades, Chevalapin makes the ball bigger by pulling on it and dives into it. The others follow suit.

The next thing they know, they're hurtling out of the sky toward the sentidemon. Ladybug wraps her yo-yo around a statue and her arm around Bluebird's waist and swings the two of them to a nearby rooftop.

"Thanks," Bluebird mutters. "See the amok gem yet?"

Ladybug scans the scene. The destructor is wreaking havoc on the once peaceful city. People are running around, screaming, and many buildings have been crushed.

The destructor itself is about the same height of the Eiffel Tower and is an inky black humanoid, hulking figure with enlarged fists that are out of proportion with its body. It has two glowing red eyes on its face. There's no gem in sight.

"No sign of it," replies Ladybug. She turns to Bluebird, whose attention is directed elsewhere.

"Look, it's Tortue and Red Lady," she responds, gesturing to their right with her chin.

Ladybug turns there to see the heroes standing a few rooftops away. Tortue is doubled over and panting with exhaustion, while Red Lady is yelling at him.

"We need to separate them," Ladybug says, her lucky vision highlighting the Eiffel Tower. "Tortue may hate Red Lady, but he'll probably view a threat to her as a threat to him, too."

"I'll talk with Tortue." Honeybee's voice comes out of Ladybug and Bluebird's earpieces with startling clarity. "I'll try to explain as much as I can to him with the time we have."

"Okay, great," Ladybug replies. "Vixen, we need a distraction."

"On it."

"Chat Nuit, I need you and Chevalier to examine the destructor up close and find the amok gem. Has he recharged yet?"

“I’m ready to go,” says Chevalier.

“Perfect. Tigris, I assume you’re on Hawkmoth’s tail already?”

“Tracking him down as we speak.”

“Okay, let us know when you get his Miraculous. I’ll take care of Red Lady,” says Ladybug, muting the microphone on her earpiece. She sees Honeybee land beside Tortue and smiles as Tortue immediately embraces the bee heroine.

“Bluebird, keep an eye on the fight. Chat Nuit and Chevalier might need help,” Ladybug tells the heroine crouching beside her.

Bluebird gives her a nod. "Got it. Good luck with Red Lady."

Ladybug smirks. "I don't think it'll be necessary."

She swings towards where Red Lady is yelling at Honeybee. Standing between them, arms crossed and glaring at Red Lady, is a defensive Tortue.

Without saying a word, Ladybug picks Red Lady up, slings her over her shoulder, and swings toward the Eiffel Tower.

"HEY!" Red Lady screeches. "PUT ME DOWN, YOU DISGUSTING WANNABE! WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY!?"

Ladybug reaches the highest platform in the Tower and deposits Red Lady on the ground. Before Red Lady can react, Ladybug pulls off her earrings. In a flash of pink light, Tikki flies out, staring at Ladybug, confused, and Red Lady detransforms into Chloé Bourgeois.

"HOW DARE YOU!" The girl yells, getting up and stomping her foot angrily. "WAIT TILL MY DADDY HEARS ABOUT THIS!"

She tries to charge at Ladybug, who dodges her quite easily.

Ladybug wraps her yo-yo around Chloé and stares at her impassively. "Till your daddy finds out that his daughter has been frolicking around Paris in a skin-tight spandex suit, you mean? I bet he doesn't know that yet."

"You're ridiculous," says Chloé. She narrows her eyes at Ladybug. "Utterly ridiculous."

The superheroine rolls her eyes. “Glad to see that you haven’t changed one bit,” she deadpans. “Now, you are going to stay right here while we defeat the sentidemon.”

“And why should I listen to you?”

“Let me put it this way.” Ladybug lets go of Chloé and spins her yo-yo, getting ready to swing away. “If you stay put, then you get your miraculous back. If not, then you can kiss your days of being Red Lady goodbye.”

“HOW DARE YOU-“

“Think about it.” Ladybug wraps her yo-yo around a distant chimney and throws Chloé a mischievous wink that would’ve made Cat Noir proud. “Bug out!”

She smirks as she swings away, Chloé’s incessant yells fading behind her. That smirk, however, quickly disappears when she sees the rest of L’Espoir minus Tigris struggling to battle the sentidemon.

Ladybug turns her muted earpiece back on. “Guys,” she says frantically, “I’ve taken care of Chloé. What’s going on with the sentidemon?”

“Oh, thank the kwamis,” she hears Vixen mutter.

“Ladybug, we need your lucky charm,” says Honeybee, her voice fearful. “We’ve checked everywhere, but there’s no amok gem!”

“What?” Ladybug breathes. “But how is it being controlled, then?”

“I don’t know, bug,” replies Chat Nuit, his voice tense, “but we need to figure that out as fast as we can.”

"Guys, I've dropped off the Butterfly and Peacock miraculouses with Master Fu," says Tigris. "I'm heading over to the scene now. What's the situation?"

"There's no amok gem, apparently," Ladybug replies, trying not to panic.

"What?!?" Tigris shrieks. Ladybug winces at the shrill sound coming through her earpiece. "Can Roi Paon control them from other universes?!?"

"Not possible," Chevalier replies. "There's a range limit as to how far a sentimonster or sentidemon can go before the owner loses control of it. Even if Roi Paon's range limit has increased, it most likely can't go as far as another universe."

"Let's search for it one more time," Ladybug says, "and then I'll use my Lucky Charm."

She hears their assent and turns to Tikki, who has been watching her silently.

"Tikki, take the earrings and hide. Get back to Chloé once the sentidemon's been taken care of."

The red kwami nods and takes the offered earrings. Ladybug watches her fly away, and then determinedly swings into the chaotic battle.

…

Ladybug breathes out heavily, wincing as she stands up and limps toward her fallen yo-yo.

They had been fighting the sentidemon for hours, trying to find the amok gem while attempting to reduce the destruction caused by the sentidemon. They had so far failed to do both.

"Ladybug...do...do the lucky charm." Chat Nuit's weak voice filters in through her earpiece. She spots him leaning heavily on Vixen and clutching his stomach. He looks up and makes eye contact with Ladybug.

"Chat Nuit's right. There's nothing we can lose at this point," Chevalier says gently.

"We can't keep looking for the amok gem, Ladybug, please," Honeybee urges.

Ladybug is too exhausted to argue.

"Lucky Charm!" she cries. She stumbles back in shock when a large red-and-black-spotted sword falls and lodges, blade first, into the ground beside her. She stares at it, then looks at the sentidemon terrorizing civilians in the distance. She can only see one solution, and her eyes widen in horror.

"Tikki wants me to...cut…the sentidemon," she says, her voice shaking.

There's a moment of silence, and then Honeybee yells, "WHAT?!?"

"Do it."

Tigris's voice is quiet, but it reverberates in everyone's ears.

"Not doing the deed will cause the loss of more civilians, Ladybug," she continues. "It must be done."

Ladybug looks out at the carnage around her. Dozens of civilians are dying, crying out for their loved ones. She swallows hard.

"Ladybug, this is Tortue."

Tortue's voice is a softer version of her own Adrien's. Ladybug holds back tears.

"I don't know if my words will carry any meaning to you, but Honeybee's given me the rundown of what's going on, and...I believe in you. You can do this. It'll be hard, but if you really are another version of Honeybee, then I trust you to save my city. Our city."

Ladybug stiffens.

This wasn't her Paris.

Or...was it?

It had the same people, but with different personalities, and fate had guided them in different directions.

A voice in her head speaks, unbidden.

But what if it was your Paris? Wouldn't you defend it with your life?

Wouldn't you defend it, even if it meant the loss of the guilty?

Forcing her hands to remain steady, Ladybug grips the handle of the sword and yanks it out with a grunt. It feels heavy, and she has to struggle to swing over to the sentidemon with it in her hands.

With a war cry, she bounds over to the nearest rooftop, attaches her yo-yo to her hip, and propels herself off, raising the sword high above her head. The sentidemon looks up at her, fiery eyes widening, and raises an arm in defense.

Time seems to slow down as the sword slices through the sentidemon's arm.

The sentidemon bellows, the weight of its other enlarged arm causing it to lean precariously on one side. Its foot suddenly slips, and the giant sentidemon crashes to the ground, causing the earth to shake.

Ladybug lands on her feet and stares at the gaping wound. Dense black smoke oozes from it, sinking to the ground in gaseous curls. Lying on the ground is a small blue sapphire that sparkles in the light. Ladybug picks it up and examines it. An amok is trapped inside.

"He's found a way to hide the amok gem inside the sentidemon," she murmurs in shock.

"What?" Bluebird says. Ladybug had forgotten her earpiece was still on.

Chevalier nimbly lands beside Ladybug. "He's made the sentidemon hollow and put the gem inside it," he says over his earpiece, his voice grim.

"So he's adapting," Tigris's voice is a low growl.

Ladybug looks at the sentidemon's pained expression as it tries to get up. Its remaining hand flails and smashes a couple of buildings. Chevalier nudges her, having already crushed the gem under his foot and released the amok within. Ladybug instantly captures it in her yo-yo and purifies it.

Instead of disappearing into dark blue bubbles, however, the sentidemon screams as it slowly disintegrates into black dust.

Ladybug gasps in horror and stumbles back, pressing her hands to her mouth. The others, save for Tigris and Chevalier, seem to be in the same state of shock as they approach Chevalier and Ladybug.

"Is that… is that supposed to happen?" Honeybee asks faintly.

"Yes," Tigris says grimly, looking like she wants to throw up. "It happens every single time."

Swallowing the dark emotions swirling inside her, Ladybug picks the sword up from where it had fallen and flings it into the air, shouting, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The magic ladybugs fly through the practically flattened city, fixing all damage caused by the sentidemon, but Ladybug can see that it hasn’t fixed the injured civilians. It exhausts her more than usual, and she detransforms almost immediately. A winded Tikki hovers in front of her. Marinette hands her a cookie, which Tikki takes and nibbles on, watching the girl in concern.

“Are you feeling alright, Mari?” the kwami asks quietly.

The lights of the others’ detransformations dance across Marinette’s haunted face.

“This…doesn’t feel right, Tikki…” she whispers, wrapping her arms around herself. “This shouldn’t have had to happen…I shouldn’t have had to…” Her voice breaks.

Queenie hugs Marinette hard. “You did what you needed to do to save us, Marieta,” she says softly. “Don’t feel guilty.”

L’Espoir crowds in around her, a wave of concerned voices crashing over each other. It’s too much for Marinette. Too much sound, too many people, too much, too much, too much…

“STOP!” she yells. Everyone stares at her.

“Please,” she chokes out, “I need some time. Alone.”

She pushes past them and begins to run aimlessly. She keeps running, wiping tears from her eyes.

For how long she runs, she doesn’t know. Once she finally runs out of breath, she finds herself in an unfamiliar, narrow alley that ends in a dead end.

Marinette crumples against the wall, buries her face in her hands, and begins to sob. Huge, shuddering wails erupt from her throat as she lets out all of her emotions. No matter how much she cries, however, the image of the crumbling sentimonster and the sound of its dying scream are imprinted in her brain.

I did it. I killed it.

“Ma-Marinette?”

Marinette looks up to see Tikki hovering next to her. She sniffs and wipes her nose, looking away. “Go away, Tikki.”

There’s a small pause, and then Marinette feels a small warmth on the crook of her neck. She looks down to see Tikki hugging her neck and glowing softly.

“I’m so sorry, Marinette. I didn’t realize…I didn’t realize what effect this might have on you. I just found a solution and went along with it.”

Marinette’s heart melts. She lifts a hand and strokes Tikki’s small head with a pinky finger. “I don’t blame you, Tikki. It’s important that we defeat the sentidemon. It’s just…”

She sighs. “Sentidemons are beings, too, aren’t they? We don’t know much about them, but what if they have thoughts? Feelings? Just thinking about how I…I slayed the sentidemon makes me feel so…heartless.”

“Marinette, look at me.” Tikki floats up to look Marinette in the eye. “Feeling these emotions about what you just saw proves that you have a heart. Many see sentimonsters and sentidemons as things and not sentient beings. But you don’t. So no, you aren’t heartless. You regret the sentidemon’s death, which is okay. Someone had to do the deed, and it just so happened to be you. You just saved Paris…again!”

Marinette smiles tearfully. “I guess we did, hmm?”

Tikki giggles. “Yep!”

“Oh, how cute. A holder and her kwami, having a bonding moment,” a new voice says sarcastically.

Marinette and Tikki freeze and look toward the shadowed figure standing at the alley’s entrance.

“It would be a pity,” the voice drawls, “if someone interrupted it.”

Chapter 18: The Encounter

Marinette scrambles up. "Who are you?"

"Mari, behind you!" Tikki shrieks.

Marinette hears the low whistle of something approaching at high speed and manages to grab the staff and whip around before it connects with her head.

Her attacker is a woman in an orange suit with a light orange underbelly. The hands are blood red, and so are the lower legs. The mask the woman wears is also blood red, with orange along the border. Her cold blue eyes glitter dangerously behind it. Her pixie cut is red with orange tips. The thumb ring of the Rooster Miraculous shines on her right hand.

Marinette and the woman exchange punches and jabs until the woman manages to pin Marinette down. She makes a grab for her earrings, but Marinette manages to kick the woman off of her. Getting up and facing the two, she backs up against the end of the alley and removes her earrings.

"Mari?" Tikki queries, alarmed.

"Take the earrings to the team," Marinette instructs her. She clutches the earrings in her fist and dodges as the Rooster Miraculous holder takes another punch at her. Grunting, she delivers a powerful blow to the holder's jaw, knocking her out. She holds the earrings towards Tikki as the other figure advances. "Please, Tikki, there's no time!"

Tikki darts forward, grabs the earrings, and flies away, just as the other figure steps into the light. It's a tall man dressed in a blue suit with a dark blue cape. The bottom of the cape is shaped like peacock plumes. The suit itself is armored and fades to purple near the feet. Exquisite silver embroidery decorates the entire suit, giving off a regal air to the man himself. The Peacock miraculous's fan is attached to the silver belt around his waist. The miraculous itself is attached over his heart. His mask is plain dark blue, his magenta irises and light pink sceleras flashing evilly behind them. His skin is light blue, and his hair gleaming white.

"It's been a while, Miss Dupain-Cheng," the man grins. "You know what I want from you."

"Actually, I don't," Marinette growls, clenching her fists. That's only partially true: she'd easily bet any amount of money that this stranger was also after the Ladybug miraculous.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, please think rationally."

"Think rationally? Fine, I'll think rationally! Let's see…you and your psycho girlfriend have just jumped me while I'm untransformed and tried to take my miraculous. Rationally, I think you and I are enemies."

"I'm doing it for Adrien, you insolent child! I'm doing this so I can bring back his mother and mend our family, so we can rule the multiverse together! Don't you want him to be happy?"

Marinette freezes. "Wh-what did you say?"

"If you really loved my son, you'd help me!"

She chokes. "You! Y-you're Gabriel Agreste!"

The man throws his head back and laughs as Marinette reels from the shock. "Quit the act of innocence, Miss Dupain-Cheng. This is the last chance I'm giving you. Join me. Help me bring my wife back. Help me bring the multiverse under my rule. My son shall be my heir, and you his consort!"

"You're insane," Marinette says, backing away. "I can't believe I ever idolized you."

A manic grin lights Mr. Agreste's face. "You'll regret this, Tigris. Don't forget, Roi Paon always wins. Scarlet Dawn, get her."

Marinette cries out in surprise when the rooster villain pins her to the ground. Fear courses through her.

This was Roi Paon. Roi Paon, who's the reason she had left behind her family and friends to live in a different universe. Roi Paon, who's the reason Zara screams in her sleep and Philip sometimes stares off into space, gripping whatever he's holding hard enough for his knuckles to go white.

Roi Paon, who has the capability to destroy her entire world and kill her friends and family.

Marinette frantically struggles against Scarlet Dawn's hold, but the villain is too strong. Roi Paon crouches over her.

"Turn her head to the side," he commands. Scarlet Dawn obeys. Roi Paon leans down to whisper in Marinette's ear. "I warned you, little girl, that if you stepped in my way then there would be grave consequences. Did you not learn your lesson the first time? I suppose I must get rid of you now."

He sits back up and plucks a razor-sharp feather from his fan. Its tip glows, red-hot. Tucking the fan back into his belt, he regards the defiant girl with a sneer.

"It wouldn't hurt to play with my prey a bit, would it? Any last words?"

Scarlet Dawn permits Marinette to move her head. Marinette looks up at the peacock villain and, to the best of her ability, spits on his feet. Roi Paon's lip curls in disgust.

"Fine," he snaps, lowering the tip of the feather to Marinette's cheek. "Let the fun begin."

…

"This is all my fault," Zara moans, pacing back and forth. She covers her face with her hands. "I shouldn't have brought you guys into this…this mess. I shouldn't have endangered you guys like this."

"Zara, it's okay," Queenie says softly. Her Adrien holds her around the waist, and she leans on his chest. "It's just… we're not used to seeing something like this. Usually fighting sentimonsters doesn't require the violence we just saw. Mari's just in shock."

"We're going to need some time to adapt," adds Avis, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, "but we'll be okay in the end." She strokes Duusu's head as the kwami chows down on an éclair.

Philip hugs Zara. "See? They're with us."

Before Zara can reply, a frantic Tikki zooms over.

"It's Roi Paon! He's here!" she cries, clutching the ladybug earrings to her petite body. "He's got Mari cornered in an alley!"

Zara pales. "What did you say?" she gasps.

Queenie squeezes Tortue's hand fearfully. Ajax and Kit stare wide-eyed at the ladybug kwami. Avis stops petting Duusu and gapes. Philip and Zara look at each other. Their expressions can only be described as "oh no".

"This is my fault," Zara says, shrinking into herself.

"No," Kit says sharply. She transforms into Vixen. "You couldn't have known that Roi Paon would be here, nor that he would ambush Mari. All that matters is that we find her and fight him."

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream pierces the air. Civilians look around, startled and confused.

Ajax jumps up from his seat on a park bench. "We need to go help her. Now!"

Vixen turns to Tikki, her mouth pressed into a firm line. "Lead us to Mari."

Tikki zips away, the others transforming and following her. Avis transforms into Bluebird and rests a hand on both Philip and Zara's shoulders.

"You two stay behind. No, please," she cuts them off when they begin to protest, "neither of you are in the right mindset to fight Roi Paon right now. Let us handle it. Please take some rest."

Zara looks like she's about to argue, but Philip entwines their hands, and she looks up at him. Understanding flows between them, then Zara turns back to Bluebird. "Okay. Be careful."

Bluebird hugs her. "We will."

…

Marinette can no longer sense what's going on. In fact, from the moment the burning hot feather touches her face, she has felt nothing but blinding pain. She’s pretty sure she’s screaming, and her eyes are squeezed shut and leaking tears. She fights against her restraints, but Scarlet Dawn has her pinned down well.

She feels the feather lift off of her cheek and opens her eyes. Her vision’s blurred by her watery eyes, and spots appear because of the pain.

“Good.” Roi Paon’s voice seems far away. “Let that be a message to my son.” He spits out the last word as if it were a curse.

Marinette cries out as he grabs her by the hair and lifts her head off the ground. He presses the tip of the feather to her neck.

“And so the great Tigris fell at the hands of Roi Paon,” Roi Paon sneers, “alone, defeated, and pathetic.”

This is it, Marinette thinks. This is how I die.

She closes her eyes.

Suddenly, something whooshes over her, and she hears Roi Paon shout in surprise. Her eyes shoot open, and she winces as the muscles in her throbbing cheek move.

Through her flawed vision, she sees Chat Nuit standing in a defensive stance between her and a fallen Roi Paon, his baton extended.

"Stay away from her," Chat Nuit hisses.

Roi Paon just smiles sinisterly and gets back up, swiftly grabbing a feather from his fan and creating a sentimonster shaped like a saber-toothed tiger. It growls and leaps at Chat Nuit, who braces for impact, but is knocked aside by another sentimonster, this one in the form of a hydra. Marinette can just make out Bluebird's outline from behind Roi Paon.

There's a yell of "Venom!" and a yellow blur flies out of nowhere and just misses Roi Paon. The green shield of the Turtle Miraculous's power appears around Marinette. She quickly turns her head around to see Tortue looking at her in concern, but instantly regrets it as her head pounds and spots appear in her vision.

"It's okay, Marinette," Tortue murmurs as he leans over and picks her up carefully. "I've got you."

Marinette manages to give him a faint smile before everything goes black.

-End part 6

[maddascanbe-blog]

Here's a bunch of doodles I did for the redesigned heroes, plus one Zoé Lee-Bourgeois, in her Bee hoodie no less. I do have designs for tiny Vesperia that I might put out later. But for next time, I think it's time we bring in a villain? Maybe a certain fox?

[cornerverse]

And with that, we officially have the entire Main Five team of the Lady Luck AU! Adrichat is the only one of them completely unchanged from the main universe but he's here!

Also, because I can and since I did it on the last team photo, have everyone's heights in my AU:

Chloé - 172 cm/5'8"

Adrien - 181 cm/5'11"

Mari - 163 cm/5'4"

Sabrina - 168cm/5'6"

Mylene - 152cm/5'

[huynun]

I definitely want to keep what I think the canon writers were trying to do with assigning the miraculi so I want each hero to have something to do with the powers that they’re good at and one thing that they improve on throughout the series

Currently I have

Marinette

- Good at: creation

- bad at: good luck

Adrien

- good at: ? (Destruction???)

- bad at: bad luck?

Alya

- good at: attention to detail

- bad at: noticing lies (and or telling lies)

Nino

- good at: being protective of others

- bad at: standing up against things that are wrong

Chloe

- good at: ? Being able to delegate? Good at subjugation?

- bad at: hard work

Now, you may be able to tell that I have some uncertainty, with Chloe, then I know the bee is the miraculous of subjugation but I’m not entirely sure I want to encourage that, especially for a show that I would theoretically target towards kids

Honestly, I want them all to be very good at the main point of their miraculous like marinette is good at creating things and Nino is good at protecting people (in this au, i don’t mean in the canon show where he has…. limited screen time)

But, that leaves me in a bit of a pickle because I don’t know how one can be specifically good at destruction, especially since destroying things is very easy; it also means that with Alya I’m at something of a loss because illusion is not something easy to be good at either for different reasons, though maybe she would be good at selling lies but not good at noticing when someone else is telling them?

Much to consider

[wisteriasymphony]

The LuckyBug Miracle Team Sucks - TWEOS AU Analysis

(4 individuals who don't work for their miraculous, and 1 person that does)

Just to start off, yes, I am analyzing my own work. Nobody really has the same depth of information on this other than me, after all. I want to get more into these sorts of things, because I like to organize my thinking behind the choices I make in this fic, and maybe even draw people into my work as well!

Lucky Lucky Ladybug - Viperius - CARA.PACE - Renared - Chat Noir

These are the five main holders of the LuckyBug Team before CN quits at the start of TWEOS. We're going to be talking about why most of them suck at their job (but mostly why Lucky chose terrible miraculouses for her peers), starting from worst to best synergy.

Viperius - Snake of Intuition

The ideal holder of the Snake Miraculous is someone who is level-headed, wise, and capable.

Luka Marcel Couffaine is the exact opposite of all of these things.

In TWEOS, Luka Couffaine is as far removed from empathy as humanly possible, making him a terrible superhero in general, much less one with a power as important as interrupting the flow of time. Luka never goes out of his way to explore his abilities, rarely involves himself in battle unless forced to, and put more thought into giving his superhero form a sexy haircut than into being a good teammate. He is explicitly only a superhero for the money it brings in even though he is already the son of a world-famous rockstar. Luka is not intuitive or wise, he is shallow and self-serving.

More Suitable Miraculous: None of them. Maybe the Mouse so he can multiply and go fuck himself.

CARA.PACE - Turtle of Protection

The ideal holder of the Turtle Miraculous is someone who is stable, sacrificial, and steadfast.

Nicolas Ibrahim Lahiffe, unfortunately, falls short of the mark.

While not as outwardly shitty as Luka, Nino also lacks the right qualities in an effective superhero. Nino is the type of person who, as Quinton Reviews once perfectly put it, "would rather be chill than be right". Nino is laid-back and likes to show off with his Miraculous, enjoying how cool it makes him look while still helping out at the end of the day. ...But he's not exactly protective. If anyone even stood up to Lucky being physically abusive, it should've been him. But Nino does not protect the weak, because he is the kind of person to stand on the sidelines. Nino is not a source of stability, he's too much of a laid-back (and often cowardly) jokester to protect anyone.

More Suitable Miraculous: Monkey, Pig.

Renared - Fox of Illusion

The ideal holder of the Fox Miraculous is someone who is cunning, sly, and witty.

Aaliyah Thérèse Césaire is trying so hard to make it work, but is underserved by what she's been given.

If anyone in the team has the braincells, it's Alya. Alya can draft up plans with her Holo-Illusions like second nature, strategize on the fly, and takes to her ability to make diagrams out of thin air like a fish to water. ...But that's not what the Illusions are for, is it? As natural for her determined nature, she strives to bend her miraculous to her will anyways, rarely ever using her Illusions to actually distract and more to help her with her thankless job of the actual team leader. It makes sense that she would function this way, though! Alya is a proponent of the truth through and through, and is rather blunt often to the point of being brutally honest. Alya is not cunning, she is forthright and stubborn. If only she got a miraculous to reflect that.

More Suitable Miraculous: Ox, Rooster, Bee

Lucky Lucky Ladybug - Ladybug of Creation

The ideal holder of the Ladybug Miraculous is someone who is creative, compassionate, and clever.

Marinette Anne Louise Dupain-Cheng is this in all the wrong fucking ways.

It does take a creative person to formulate a plan to woo your celebrity crush with a perfect version of you. It takes someone who knows how to be compassionate to so effectively deny a shred of it to Chat Noir. It takes a clever person to make up a fake eulogy. And yet, at the same time, Lucky Lucky Ladybug is hindered by her hot-headed entitlement and her need to be the center of attention. She lets her team do the creative work, weaponizes her compassion as something to market herself with, and is somehow so caught up in her own world that she ignores evidence of Adrien being a relationship when it is staring her in the face. Marinette is best described as an embodiment of "creation" only in the sense that she will one day orchestrate her own undoing.

More Suitable Miraculous: Anything would be better than the Ladybug. That way she isn't brainwashing people anymore.

Chat Noir/Errant - Black Cat of Destruction

The ideal— Actually, let's break from convention for this one.

If anyone is fit to embody Destruction, it is Adrien fucking Agresté.

Once you get deep enough into TWEOS, Adrien is by far the most emotionally turbulent character out of any of them. It helps that the narration is so often colored by his input, but his range is exceptional and takes up a significant focus of the story. He is the mostly openly self-destructive and suicidal, romanticizing the idea of dying with his girlfriend, but is equally willing to destroy others in pursuit of his goals.

It's also worth taking into account that TWEOS is essentially a corruption arc. The whole point of the story is to witness his circumstances tear him apart, unearth his traumas, show a version of Adrien that becomes bitter and violent and vengeful. What power would suit a vengeful, violent person better than the power to destroy things?

Conclusion

In short, it's meant to be incredibly ironic that the only holder that truly embodies their miraculous is the one that quits. The entire ordeal is a stageplay put on by higher powers, of course it's more important to them that their puppets are obedient more than anything.

Of course, this isn't to say that synergy between a person and their miraculous is a good thing, either; That's what makes the eventual magic-induced insanity even worse, after all. This is what killed Emilie, what's ruining Marinette's relationships, and what is starting to happen to Adrien as well.

[goggles-mcgee]

Ashes of Rage: Act 1 - It Would Take A Miracle

Chapter 4 of the story for @miner249er

AO3 Last Chapter

Summary: Luka's heart had never felt so broken, his world so dark and his music so static. He hasn't had any motivation to do anything besides stay in bed. It would take a miracle to make him do so...or a sympathetic and determined kwami.

It Would Take A Miracle:

Static. 

All he could hear was static. 

There were no melodies, there were no solos, there were no symphonies. All it was was disheartening static and Luka didn’t know what to do. His life three days ago had been so loud and comforting but now it was silent, muddled and so dark. He felt listless and refused to get out of bed. It was a good thing that he and Juleka got their own rooms finally, it had taken a lot of convincing for his mom to let them clean out one of the storage rooms and turn it into his new bedroom. It had actually been Marinette who had convinced his stubborn mom and it had made Marinette all the more wonderful. She was always incredible, but seeing her out stubborn the most stubborn person in Luka’s life had only made him love and value her more. A fresh wave of tears washed over the forlorn teen at the thought of his crush and friend. His heart twinged with a twisted pain he was slowly getting used to. Pain. He was in so much pain. He wanted it gone. He wanted her back. But like every time before, his pleas and wishes were ignored and just led to more heartbreak. 

His appetite was all but gone and he barely ate what his mom made or bought him, he still drank though and maybe that was why she wasn’t pushing. He hadn’t showered in three days but with the way he was feeling he knew it would be longer. It was hard to get out of bed even if it was to use the restroom, taking a shower just felt like too much work. He would see the shower and a barrage of thoughts would crash into him, reminding him all he would have to do to feel clean again and it was like he was tranquilized or something because he would just feel this bone-deep tiredness that wouldn’t go away no matter what he did so it would just lead to him laying in his bed and starting the twisted routine all over again. It was like he was in one of those groundhog day movies or like his own power Second Chance, was glitching and not letting him out of the situation.

Luka’s emotions felt too big for his body, his skin itched with his frustration and the days passed without a shower, his teeth ached in his longing, his muscles screamed in his sadness, his heart clenched in its breaking and his lungs drowned in his guilt. As much as he craved to do something, anything he also couldn’t help the thoughts of ‘why?’ Why do anything at all when his world had crashed and burned around him? Why plead for things to be different when his prayers fell on deaf ears? Why get up when nothing he did would bring back Marinette? It was a lot and there was never a break form the never-ending torture. Not even his dreams were safe. Dreaming of Marinette led to more heartache even if the dream was normal to past ones he had had that had previously brought him endless joy. The nightmares were the worst but he would take them over the bittersweet ones that just made his longing deeper and his hope stronger. But reality would hit him once his eyes opened and he would cry for many minutes, maybe even hours. Time didn’t register to him really. 

The only reason he knew how long it had been since he had showered was because of his mom and Juleka. He knew they were trying to help but he had been angrier than he honestly expected after Paris learned of Team Miraculous’ Finale Fight, he hated it but that was what everyone had now dubbed it. It hadn’t been a fight, at least not from his and the rest of the team’s point of view. No one knew what exactly happened in the underground chamber since the only ones who could tell them were two comatose Kwamis and three villains who would probably twist the events. It was hard to come to the realization that Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste, even for Luka who had the unique skill of ‘reading someone’s heart.’ That’s what others referred to it as but according to his long talks with Sass, Luka seemed to be someone who could read a person’s aura which mixed with his Synesthesia. He had Chromesthesia, specifically, but his was more along the lines of seeing color and the color had a sound. He saw colors in a lot of things but it was constantly people, their auras and tones of voice would bring color and the color would bring the music. 

It did get overwhelming sometimes and it had been a big factor in him doing his schooling online for a while which turned into permanently. He just enjoyed it more than when he did go to school and his former teachers told him they saw remarkable improvement in his grades. He still met up with his friends, they still hung out and had study sessions, so he was still a social teen but he didn’t have to worry about migraines or coming across weird to other people who weren’t his friends. His former bandmates in Kitty Section had also been really understanding and never treated him differently and helped him when some days were just too much. But they changed, their music’s changed and it had been jarring, when he eventually left the band he knew it had been inevitable. There was no doubt in Luka’s mind that if he hadn’t quit he would have been ‘politely’ fired and he had strong feelings about that. The one constant had been Marinette, when the others changed she didn’t. She remained strong and melodious. 

Even if she was going through something her melody was still recognizable. He was still coming to terms with the fact he would never hear her song any time soon or ever. She had been there when he left the band, she had been there when he begun fighting with Juleka more than normal and she had been there when he decided to get to know his dad more. She had been such a strong light guiding him through some of the roughest seas he had ever experienced. Kagami had also been a constant presence before everything happened. She was a calming presence and often kept him and Marinette from getting lost in their projects. Both he and Marinette tended to get distracted easily and they both fed off each other’s energy and Kagami would be the one to keep them grounded and focused. Kagami’s music was a new sound he had gotten used to hearing and it was easily in his list of top ten songs from people he heard. When Marinette, Kagami and he would get together he would hear such wonderful melodies. 

Marinette had often joked that they were the Three Musketeers with how often they would hang out together when they could. Without Marinette it felt like a knife to the heart to use the group chat between the three that was titled as such so he and Kagami never touched it when they spoke. Phone calls were still too much for Luka at the moment so the two just texted each other but it still brought him comfort all the same. That was probably another reason why his mother wasn’t pushing too much, it probably would have been a different story if he had cut off all his friends but especially Kagami since his mom knew how close they along with Marinette were. But he still overheard his mom talking on the phone over how worried she was and how she didn’t know what to do. Luka always felt like telling her she was doing all she could and just comfort her but he didn’t have the energy. He suspected she was talking to his dad or Penny, most likely both. He knew from the sounds of it his dad wasn’t doing so well either with the news. 

“Snakelet…” 

The voice of his Kwami cut through the current haze Luka found himself in but he couldn’t bring himself to look at his friend but he did manage to hum as a response. 

“I have thought about what I could say that would make you feel better for ages. I came to the conclusion that no words I could offer would make you happy. Nor satisfied. But I don’t want to leave you with no words from me. I…I am lost. I have been through this situation more times than I’d like to admit and yet all those instances have left me with no answers.” Sass admitted in his soft voice as he flew to sit in front of Luka’s face on his pillow. Luka couldn’t look away, he wouldn’t look away, he knew it would hurt his small friend if he did so. 

“Though there are few words I can give you that express my condolences and support, I simply will say, I am here for you.” Sass said and did his best to give Luka a hug, though it was more like he laid himself on Luka’s nose. “I am here for you and I will continue to be here if ever you need me.”

Luka felt himself begin to cry again, which astounded him as he felt like he was all out of tears. “Sass…” He choked out, he tried his best not to sound like he was going to sob but he knew he failed when he felt Sass try to hug him harder. 

“What do I do?” He asked in a small voice once his small cry ended. Sass was no longer on his nose but instead sat in his hands as he finally sat up after what felt like ages. 

“ We do our best to move forward.”

“We?”

“I did say I will be with you. I mean it, every step of the way, I will be here.” Sass didn’t say he promised but Luka could hear it in his tone of voice. It was a promise but it felt like more. It felt like a lifeline. 

Luka couldn’t really think of an appropriate response without risk of crying again and he already had a cry-headache settling in. “What…What do we do?”

“We need to go to…Ladybug’s house, her room specifically.” Luka was about to protest that suggestion, because he was absolutely not ready to do that. He didn’t think he would ever be ready. “I know that is probably the last thing you want to do Snakelet, but I can’t communicate with the other Kwami to see if one of their holders can do it. The Miracle Box is sitting in…Ladybug’s room unknown and unprotected. If someone with ill intentions were to find it there would be great difficulties and more tragedy.”

“More?” Luka felt his anger rise at an alarming speed. “Hasn’t there been enough?”

“Luka…I understand you are in pain and worried. I…I am also going through the same. My friends  are unconscious and unresponsive…I…I can barely feel them even if they are in the same room.” At Sass’s words Luka’s anger all but left him in an instant. “Besides obtaining the Miracle Box and keeping it safe, I feel something telling me that Tikki and Plagg need the Miracle Box. I can’t explain and I know you are hurting, but-”

“Okay.”

“-it is…Wait. Okay? You…You will do it?” Sass asked and the wide-eyed hopeful look on his face broke Luka’s heart a little bit more. Sometimes it was hard to remember that he wasn’t the only one hurting even if it felt like it at times. 

“You and me, Sass, you…you said you were here for me and I’ll be here for you. We’re friends.” Luka said softly as he brought the Kwami to his chest in the best hug he could give, it was somewhat like the hug Sass gave Luka earlier. He wanted to make Sass feel as safe and loved as the Kwami had made him feel despite their size difference. After their hug Luka forced himself to get out of bed and ignored how weak his legs felt and softly said his transformation phrase. It felt weird being Viperion even though it really hadn’t been that long since he had last transformed but there was this odd feeling like being in his hero form was wrong without…Ladybug there to lead. Ladybug, it was easier to think of her as Ladybug, it didn’t lessen the pain but it made it just a bit more bearable. But now he was going to her house, to her room and he knew what it looked like, smelled like and there would be no way to think of her as Ladybug when he was in there.

He had to do this though. For Sass and for Ladybug, he would rather die than let the rest of the Miraculi fall into the wrong hands. He'd be damned if he didn’t protect the city that Ladybug loved with her whole heart and soul. So he made his way to her home, to her tower. He and Kagami often joked about Marinette being the princess in the tower and Mari-Ladybug only laughed. She loved her tower. Kagami once joked when it was the two of them that Kagami was M-Ladybug’s knight while he was her minstrel. He had laughed and agreed but later he would think about it and decided he would be a knight if she needed him to be. Though she had needed him and he hadn’t been there. Nope! No! He would not fall down that line of thinking as he was jumping across rooftops and using his lyre to help him along the way. It was a weird day when they found out his lyre could turn into a crossbow, the end of his “arrows” could also change into a grappling gun. 

Apparently he and Sass had been bonding pretty well and slowly harmonizing which is why his lyre upgraded to one of its forms. The arrows of the crossbow themselves were weird as he didn’t carry a quiver or anything but an arrow would be equipped if he needed it. Some had no arrowheads, some had normal arrowheads, others had barbed arrowheads, and sometimes the arrows had string attached to them. Whatever kind of arrow he needed, it would show up on the crossbow already loaded. Sass had told him that that showed just how in tune the two were becoming and that soon they would probably be able to communicate with one another while Luka was transformed. It was something he had been looking forward to. He was sure it would come in handy and besides, he already talked out loud when transformed, it may have looked weird but he had been talking to his kwami even if he didn’t think he could hear him at the time. He hadn’t but now he would, hopefully soon. 

Finally, Luka touched down on the roof of Ma-Ladybug’s tower and looked around in sadness as he noticed the plants up there had wilted. Before he could talk himself out of it he opened the hatch of the roof and jumped through and onto the floor of the bedroom. Some dust had begun to settle and it broke Luka’s heart more but he willed himself to take deep breaths before he dropped his transformation. He and Sass needed to be able to talk and they weren’t quite at that stage of being able to communicate with one another. As the transformation dropped he looked down at the dirty pink bag that he had taken to looking after and opened it to look at the kwamis who slept inside. Tikki and Plagg, as he had learned from Sass, were normally darker in their colors but looking at them they seemed shades or tones paler, well according to Sass.

“So what are we looking for?” Luka asked as he refused to look anywhere else but his kwami. 

Sass had opened his mouth, probably to respond but both of them froze when they heard thumps coming from the roof and the unmistakable murmur of voices. Luka scooped his kwami out of the air and quickly hid behind M- Ladybug’s .( Ladybug. Goddammit .) chaise. The light in the room was off and he himself had been wearing some of his darker clothes…er well, pajamas. Both kwami and teen held their breath as the hatch to the roof was opened and down came two? No, three, actually make it four, people. It took a minute for Luka to recognize them as his teammates. He didn’t know whether or not to greet them but that choice disappeared when a purple kwami and blue kwami flew out from somewhere and floated in the middle of the room. 

“Please don’t be scared!” The purple one pleaded. “I am Nooroo and this is Duusuu. I am the kwami of the Butterfly Miraculous while Duusuu is the kwami for the Peacock. I know that alarms you but please listen. I called my friends here and they probably don’t know why or just had a feeling they had to come here so you followed.”

Barely after speaking, the kwami - Nooroo, was sped into by Sass who flew so fast the two kwami shot off into the air. Luka figured there was no point in hiding anymore and stepped out from his hiding place and awkwardly waved at his teammates. They seemed to be in shock before Noc-Turtle mumbled something and their transformation dropped revealing Marc Anciel. Fox-Tail’s jaw dropped before he hastily said his detransformation phrase and there stood Nathaniel Kurtzberg who hurried over Marc and hugged him. Donryu had been looking at Luka the whole time and quietly made her way over to him, once she was in front of him she too dropped her transformation and there was Kagami. It shouldn’t have shocked him as much as it did but the two just stood there staring at each other before they heard an odd wheeze come from Bee-Witch who was staring at everyone with wide eyes. She too dropped her transformation and only to the shock of Marc and Nathaniel, she turned out to be Chloe Bourgeois. 

“I don’t know how to handle all these revelations at the moment but I can work through them later with my cat.” Marc said, clearly still in some shock. “Er-Nooroo right? Can you explain more?”

Nooroo who was in the middle of a kwami group hug along with Duusuu nodded and reluctantly left the hug. “Like I said, I was able to call you all here to meet, I had to borrow power from the other kwami in the Miracle Box though. I’m not at full power and even then my messages would have been more feeling than anything. Sorry, I’m rambling. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to talk so freely.”

“You are fine, Our Friend.” Pollen reassured while glaring at everyone else like she was daring them to argue. 

“Take your time.” Sass murmured from his spot next to his friend. Luka wanted to comfort the little kwami but he didn’t think it would help given how Luka could imagine he was treated by his former user. If Luka were him, he would be wary of humans no matter how well intentioned. 

Nooroo took a deep breath and nodded. “I…I don’t really know where to start. What I have to say is…shocking to say the least. I know all of us here have been through a lot…have lost a lot…but I felt like if I stayed quiet I would be betraying Ladybug just…just like Chat Noir did.”

It was quiet. So quiet. Until Nathaniel choked out a small, “What?”

Duusuu merely nodded in response along with Nooroo. “It was awful. Chat Noir and his father planned the entire thing. Chat Noir planned to be suspicious of Gabriel Agreste once more and had you guys purposefully find out he was guilty of being Hawkmoth. Ladybug was the big target and you guys would have been just…collateral. So when Ladybug proposed the ambush…”

“Uncle Gabe already knew.” Chloe stated in a voice full of disgust even if her eyes were filled with tears. 

“He did.” Nooroo confirmed. “Chat Noir played his role well and the ambush was happening so fast. Ladybug could barely try and fight back before she was secured to the chair. She was so angry…so heartbroken…she did all she could to fight against Gabriel and his son…”

There were some gasps among the humans at the information but Luka merely took a much needed breath in. He had guessed as much since the only ones in the house after the explosion had been Adrien, Gabriel, Nathalie and the body of Emilie Agreste. It just clicked. Sure Chat Noir could have disappeared like Marin-Ladybug did but that didn’t feel right. Chat had already been acting off before the ambush and confirming he was in fact Adrien was like the final nail in the coffin. Luka had had suspicions of who the Chat was and just whose side he was on but after everything, the confirmation was bitter. According to Sass, Luka had known who he and Ladybug were but the memories of their identities faded as a safety measure to keep the team’s identities safe. Luka would only have kept the memories if both heroes had accepted he knew and trusted him. It was weird but Luka just chalked it up to Miraculous Magic. 

He wished he had been able to remember, if he had then maybe all of this wouldn’t have happened. He wouldn’t be standing in M-Lady…no. He had to stop. It didn't matter how much he told himself, Ladybug was Marinette. Marinette was Ladybug. They were one and the same and denying it to himself was more likely to hurt him than bring him healing. He couldn’t delude himself anymore. It hurt, it hurt so much, but he had to acknowledge the truth because that was the only way he’d be able to move forward and help protect the city that Marinette adored. He missed her. He missed her so much, but he had to do the healthy thing and not try and separate her from herself. It would be like he wasn’t giving her, her due credit and Marinette deserved so much credit. “If Adrien and his dad got the earrings…then why did the mansion explode like it did?” Luka asked so they could continue. They could all mourn and scream and cry after, but right now they needed information.

“I’m not sure.” Nooroo admitted. “Everything was happening so fast. Gabriel was so close to making his wish and magic was everywhere in preparation. But I felt it, it was this enormous feeling of betrayal and anger that washed over all of us. Tikki looked so scared and worried and Plagg looked shocked. I had turned to where I felt the emotions and it was no surprise they were coming from Ladybug…but just as I looked at her, there was this awful cracking and whistling. Like something was breaking through the roof and flooring at high speed. I panicked as did the other kwami but Tikki looked…she looked like she recognized what was happening.”

“She looked like her heart broke.” Duusuu mumbled, their voice was soft and scratchy. They seemed to be in pain. 

“The room filled with this bright, bright red light and then next thing I know…the mansion exploded. Ladybug was nowhere to be seen.” Nooroo flew over to Luka and pointed at the open pink bag in his hands. “Tikki and Plagg know what happened, but because of all the ambient magic, plus the overwhelming emotions swirling in the air, and their own merging being interrupted, they were hurt.”

“Something like this hasn’t happened in a long time.” Wayzz admitted. 

“So there is a way to help them?” Kagami asked. 

Wayzz nodded. “Yes. But it will take time…a lot of time. I’ve never seen them so bad. The best we can do is return them to the Miracle Box. It will heal them, but the damage is great and as I said, it will take time. Nooroo, I imagine you called us here, not only to tell us the truth but also because of the Miracle Box.”

“That’s right. The Miracle Box will be vulnerable if there is no one to watch over it as it heals our friends. I sensed the box here and that’s only because Duusuu and I are both still being affected by the interrupted magic. We’re more sensitive right now.”

“One of our holders will definitely protect the box.” Pollen declared. “They are all brave heroes.”

All the humans looked at one another in disbelief. Marinette had been guarding this box all while being Ladybug? They knew she was amazing but this was something else entirely. Luka sadly guessed that this is why she was always so stressed. If they had to watch this box and protect it then so be it. He’d do it for Marinette, no matter the cost. Now all that they needed to decide was who to send the box with.

Next Chapter

[a-flaming-idiot]

So remembered an animatic that said every Ladybug holder was destined to abandon their Black Cat and they'd never see each other again. So I quickly threw together a set of curses for all the Chinese Box.

Ladybug - They are destined to always die alone with their goals unaccomplished

Black Cat - They are fated to always be abandoned by the person they hold closest

Fox - They are fated to always destroy the person they love most

Turtle - When it counts most they won’t be able to protect those they hold most dear

Bee - They are fated to drive others away at their most vulnerable

Butterfly - They are fated to have their good intentions twisted sour

Peacock - They are fated to put their faith and love into the wrong person and destroy themselves

Snake - At the end of things, they will always end up alone

Dragon - They are fated to never have the strength they most need

Bunny - They are destined to see the worst fates of their friends repeat over and over again with no chance to save them

Tiger - They are destined to always squeeze too tight and break those they love

Pig - Their kindness and desire to help will be their downfall

Mouse - They are fated to feel the weight of every task and eventually be crushed by it

Ox - They are cursed to be destroyed by their own growing doubt

Horse - They are fated to always be a moment too slow and be ruined by it

Monkey - Their happiness will come at the cost of the misery of others

Goat - They will be consumed by their passion and desires

Dog - They will devote their lives to a goal and only in their last moments realize they were wrong

Rooster - The people they hold closest will be unreachable

My rough idea is that the Miraculous of the Chinese Miracle Box are so powerful that their magic naturally backlashes onto the user in the form of a curse. So if someone wears a Miraculous for too long, they will be doomed to the curse even if they take it off.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

The real problem is honestly Master Fu. He gives Adrien one of the two most powerful Miraculous with one of the more reckless kwamis and instead of being there for him like he is for Marinette and helping to train him, he basically ignores him and doesn’t tell him what’s going on about basically anything.

See, this could have led to an interesting conflict: Have Master Fu be the one to inadvertently sow doubt between the two due to focusing on training Marinette to be the next Guardian.

That way, you could have Marinette believe she doesn't have to share everything with her partner because Guardians are supposed to keep secrets, while Cat Noir could believe that Ladybug doesn't even care about getting his help anymore.

Instead, we got a single episode where Adrien complained about not knowing about Master Fu, the little temper tantrum he threw somehow convinced Fu to reveal himself, and they only got to have a conversation without Ladybug being around once (Party Crasher) before Fu left Paris entirely.

It's almost like the writers had no plans for Master Fu to actually be a mentor to Adrien or someting.

[gee-arid]

Last, but not least! Zoe with the monkey and Ivan with the turtle!

There we go, full team! Woo hoo!

Bonus, Adrien with the monkey. He was my first choice before swapping to Zoe.

[huli-jinx]

Adrien's Codenames for Each Miraculous:

Ladybug Miraculous: Mr. Bug

Black Cat Miraculous: Chat Noir

Bee Miraculous: Bumbleblade

Fox Miraculous: Mr. Fox

Turtle Miraculous: Tortoise

Peacock Miraculous: Plume Paladin

Butterfly Miraculous: Silk Spector

Snake Miraculous: Aspik

Rabbit Miraculous: Lapin Lancer

Mouse Miraculous: Monsieur Souris

Ox Miraculous: Bullrush

Tiger Miraculous: Feline Renagade

Dragon Miraculous: Dragonheart

Horse Miraculous: Arion

Goat Miraculous: Satyr

Rooster Miraculous: Cockerel

Monkey Miraculous: Marmoset

Pig Miraculous: Boaris

Dog Miraculous: Canine Warrior

Eagle Miraculous: Aviator

[imthepunchlord]

Adrien's Elemental and Miraculous Matches (Bagua)

Wu Xing

Being of Fire and Earth, of the Bagua, Adrien's set up to thrive with Bee, Songbird, and Eagle.

Bee works off where Adrien likes to be in the field, provides for his needs, and can help him grow. Working with a magical hive to prompt plant manipulation sets Adrien up to learn some leadership skills, the power allows him to be in the front lines, can cover for him, and he can learn to be more conscious of others as his bees will unionize if he tries to act out with this power. The ability to sync his mind up with others is also something that will help broaden his horizon, and as this power makes others an open book and he gets all of their reasoning and feelings, it actually sets him up to grow in empathy and understanding.

Pollen is the biggest curiosity as I wonder if she could be the only kwami with a gender preference (as most bees are female and males only exist to breed and die so she may prefer girls), but for the sake of this we'll go that she can work with any human. Sweet but sassy, Adrien and Pollen I see being an instant click, with her covering his need for a companion while also setting herself up immediately as someone Adrien can listen to and heed her advise. Pollen would work on expanding Adrien's social circle and connecting with others, try to build up leadership skills but more than happy to work off him as a team player, counter against his need to stand out as it doesn't matter for a bee to be better than others, and encourage his sense of duty and responsibility. A plus is that Pollen would gently discourage Adrien's overzealous pursuits in romance and find fulfillment in other forms of love. Her biggest goal would be help Adrien find his purpose, what he wants to do, what shall be his role in the "hive" that will allow him to flourish.

Songbird largely plays off Adrien's natural instinct to perk up those that are low, give them that needed boost to get back up and keep going. And it offers him a chance to expand upon his communication skills and be open to learn more details before he rushes in. And while this is a support based Miraculous, Songbird's bow actually can straighten into a staff or split to become dual batons, which can work with Adrien's desire to be in the front lines and direct in fights.

Arria will connect with Adrien immediately, being energetic and friendly. As songbirds are tied to family bonds, Arria will feel deeply for Adrien's situation, and offer him two pathways, either trying to make his current family work or realize that family can be more than blood relations. She will advise Adrien to be more responsible, but won't discourage his expressiveness, the inner song his father tries to muffle. Her stance is that Adrien should sing loud and proud. Through Arria, Adrien can develop some nosiness, and much like Tikki, Adrien will wind up getting involved in his own plot and needing to face what and who his father is, and his stance in it.

Eagle matches Adrien in his eagerness to act and his preference to be in the front lines. He likes to be fast and this Miraculous thrives off speed, fast reflexes, and diving right into the fray. Eagle can also hit close to home with the power to remove restrictions, and he would be happy to extend it to others and to have access to it himself... honestly, by how Eagle is set up, Adrien gets to live out as an shounen hero (living the dream, probably call himself Owl Might).

Allma is going to relish Adrien's initial excitement for heroism, and would be furious at the injustice of Adrien being contained and restricted. She would urge Adrien to make changes, rebel if he must, but don't bow his head and go with how things are. Allma is a kwami that is set up to get Adrien involved in his own plot as she is observant, and is set up to already dislike Gabriel and assume the worst, so if she catches wind he's HM she's going to be all over that and have Adrien face this fact. Allma would also work on expanding Adrien's awareness of others and their potential needs as everyone has their own unique restrictions. She would also work on how Adrien fights, liking his spirit, would work at him fighting smarter, not harder.

Adrien's viable for Lion, Turtle, Mantis, and Deer. They're not the best matches, either by power or kwami, but there is potential for Adrien to pull them off.

Lion really matches with Adrien if you really work off his less stellar behavior, which can make this a mixed match. There are things to work off there and click with Adrien well, but this Miraculous (and kwami) can be set up to worsen Adrien's flaws. But on the positives, power wise, Adrien would thrive and do well with both powers, and can learn from them. A power that gives himself any power he wants to work with (for five minutes), can really grant him that flexibility and chance to thrive, though that will mean he'll have to be more clever/smarter at times in how he uses it. And an ability to manipulate sound and magnify his voice can work off him learning to speak up more, make his stances stronger. Be heard by those who really need to hear him.

Valrr is probably the one that makes Lion an issue when paired with Adrien. Working off lions, Valrr will be good in helping Adrien pick up leadership skills and for him to combat his situation, to speak up and be heard. Valrr can also work in boosting Adrien's confidence and offer validation for him, as he does sometimes stress about that in canon. Valrr though can also easily boost Adrien's ego and entitlement and make it worse. Valrr can back the idea of others will step up so Adrien doesn't have to solve their problems or involve himself, that Adrien is valid in his wants and desires and he could pursue them as they're his right. Valrr really is a complex kwami to pair with Adrien as he can bring in a lot of good, but can also bring in a lot bad and make Adrien's flaws worse.

Turtle I always stood would've been a solid match with Adrien, and I still do, even if there are now some issues with this analysis and how I have the rules go. By set up, Turtle does allow Adrien to be in the front lines where he likes to be, it plays off that instinct to shield others, and provides him his own protection. And with the power expanded to not just create 1 protective dome, it allows Adrien more diversity in how he utilizes it. Only thing is this power doesn't allow him to be more offense based, but that's not a must. And the ability to enter a safe pocket dimension that no one else can reach I can see Adrien using, just to be his own safe space if he needs to get away from his father, and he can detransform and talk with Wayzz if he needs to let his feelings loose.

Wayzz then will be the core issue in this match up, and I imagine he'll have a similar issue that Nooroo has, where he is observant and will adapt and adjust to work with the human he's with and engage in their interets, which sets him up to click with Adrien quickly, but he may have a harder time being heard when voicing his concerns. Wayzz is one to question his humans and their choices, which can make him a bit of a "nag", and eager to act Adrien isn't really going to have that patience to stop and listen to these concerns. Wayzz will try to instill caution in Adrien but it'll be an uphill battle as Adrien is a leap before he looks sort.

Mantis I honestly see Adrien using it similar to Kid Cosmic, where instead of telekinesis being used as a power that is controlled and calculated in use, it's more volatile and sudden, responding and snapping with his psyche. So it's more used for flight, a mind blast that sends people away from him, and occasionally lifting something; it'd be doable but lack control. Adrien would have to develop focus and self-discipline if he's to really flourish with it. The ability to open up his cosmic eye is a power I see Adrien being reckless and selfish with, like him wanting to see if he can learn who his crush may like, or trying to see and aim for the future he desires, even if farther into the future and less likely to happen. But he could use it well, and it would help him thrive in the field, he'd just have to learn to be more mature with it.

Savvy would be an unpleasant kwami for Adrien to find himself with. Having strong value for the intellectual, Savvy would look down on Adrien for his recklessness. She's also someone who doesn't tolerate pettiness or maliciousness, and would be irked with Adrien tolerating Chloe and Lila. Savvy will tell it to Adrien straight and lay out all of his problems, which is something Adrien needs to hear, but he will be resistive to her bluntness, even more so as Savvy will not ease up until she gets that desired change.

Deer I see Adrien working with power wise, using it to bring up "good memories" to try and appeal/manipulate those into working with his agenda. It could also potentially open his eyes up to another's perspective and feelings. And the ability to travel to a reflected world and able to see through reflections and travel thruogh one I see up his alley, plays off his want for mobility, though the reflected world is cold, quiet, and lonely, so I don't see him liking traveling there much.

Sillva is the big issue as he's a very quiet and stoic kwami, I can see him reminding Adrien of his own father, which could be off putting for him. And already living a quiet life, having a quiet kwami doesn't promise a good relationship, unless Sillva can adjust himself to be more talkative and engaging. And given that Sillva doesn't talk often, I can see the high probability that Adrien will ignore any words Sillva speaks, especially words he doesn't like to hear.

Adrien has a subpar match with Bear, making it the least ideal Miraculous and kwami of the Bagua for him.

Bear is going to be a struggle for Adrien as this power requires the user to have a solid foundation with themselves. Adrien does not have that foundation, having a weak resolve (like quitting coming up 3 times), is unable to move to try and change things he doesn't like, nor will he acknowledge or address his own faults and seek to improve himself. Foundation requires having something to stand upon and build on top of, and Adrien can't do either. I don't see him able to even manifest his own spirit to use. And manipulating earth I can see him able to use it offensively, but it'd be volatile in use and reckless as he tries to power through obstacles with it. I don't see him able to harness the sensory ability with it either as that requires patience and awareness of his surroundings. This power is going to require a lot of self growth from him and changing how he does things.

Bamboo would be a worse Plagg with Adrien. Picking up on his emotional needs, of him designing someone to fill the void his mother left, Bamboo would take up that slot and cater to his needs, and as Adrien does desire a lot of validation and pity, Bamboo will work off of that and become that parent who thinks their child can do no wrong. She'd spoil Adrien with affection and validation, would firmly stand in his court, agree with him when others have wronged him whether they actual did or not, and just be a nurturing mother who's not exactly working to help the child grow. Great for his emotional needs and that want to have a mom back in his life, but not for his overall growth. Bamboo would have to adjust herself on how she handles Adrien, which chances are good she's going to have to try and soothe a big tantrum when she's no longer going with his wants. It'd be a messy unpleasant episode.

[lea-panthera]

A Demonslayer's Tale can now be found on Wattpad!

https://www.wattpad.com/story/319069066?utm_source=android&utm_medium=link&utm_content=story_info&wp_page=story_details_button&wp_uname=LeaPanthera&wp_originator=%2BIpptx3V%2Fu7FEE0STg0zWpqlbYA4h2grRb7IyDTwfl4MzexfzND%2FRnYIG2Tg8XWdO3x%2BOqcP6aOPkn2M4lQDwHtRhN5nePQJhV41bzoR%2F5OWsIYnMQpvmwyFKoIjyOQl

This includes the newest chapter!

[jigglypuff1994]

The Devil Wears Gabriel

Inspired by The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

SUMMARY

Being Ladybug is no easy task; she is the leader of Team Miraculous and keeps peace throughout Paris. Other than the weekly akuma attacks, her main problem is keeping Chat Noir and Viperion under control and out of each other’s jealous hairs. Sometimes, she misses the old days when it was just her and her kitty.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng recently graduated university at The Paris Institute of Arts and lives in Paris with her steady boyfriend of a few years, Luka Couffaine. After interviewing for a position she didn't want in the first place, she ends up working at Gabriel as Gabriel Agreste’s assistant.

Between akumas, having no time for herself from being an assistant to a Narcassistic boss, and the men fighting for her attention, how will she survive the next year of her life?

[burntwaffle12]

Turtle and mouse embroidery

Turtle and mouse miraculous symbols are done! I'm really happy with the result, lines are way cleaner and the border aswell.

I researched a lot and I did numerous changes to improve. I tried new types of stitches and used a stabilizer. I figured out a better way for the border and overall I'm really satisfied!

I think I got the technique down, now it's a matter of finesse and practice. I also just got new (better) needles and thimbles because I won't lie, it can get quite painful.

Like always I'm open to recommendations, tips, feedback, anything!

Thanks for reading :)))

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