#with adrien becoming more and more frustrated

[chocostrwberry]

Sentimaggedon!!

Sentimonster designs I came up with bc I was thinking about Argos’s debut in my AU! Bc I’m dumb and I haven’t thought too deep about him as a character to the story yet-

They were originally suppose to all be based on the seven deadly sins, especially Gasumptious (gluttony) and Elvy (envy). But I also wanted to branch into maybe Felix’s other hidden emotions, like his deep love for Kagami and his fear of being replaced by Adrien (Bride and Athazagora).

Argos becomes an official enemy when Dragonbug tells him they need to be destroyed. He defends them, saying they’re just “infants” and can learn how to behave properly with time. But a frustrated and exhausted Dragonbug she tells him they aren’t like humans and are created for one purpose: to serve and destroy. This hits home with Argos, and he develops a fear and hatred for Ladybug and swears his loyalty to Madame Morphisa afterwards in order to take her down and prove just how monstrous he can be.

I’m still kinda trying to find a way to make this concept work in my au. He promised to serve her in exchange for the peacock miraculous, and she wants him to use it to take Ladybug’s miraculous. In a novice attempt, he might have just starting creating multiple sentimonsters that he thought were harmless enough (something she did NOT expect), but they quickly spiraled out of control. It’s much easier to make sentimonsters based on others emotions, because you can predict which one you will create it off of. But instead, he chose his own, which makes it more difficult to tell how the sentimonster will act. I think it would show the aspect that these creatures do have a mind of their own, compared to previous Mayura sentimonsters who were easily controlled by their akumas!!

Red Moon

Red Moon is obviously already canon, but her power is instead hypnosis. If you get caught in her light, you stop whatever you are doing to stare at her. The streets of Paris become like a statue exhibit: countless of unlucky citizens are bathing in her glow, staring at the beauty of the red moon.

Gasumptious

As he devours, Gasumptious grows bigger and bigger. He’ll eat anything, so beware! After finishing most of the city, Gasumptious sits atop the Eiffel Tower and gnaws on its metal posts.

Elvy

Elvy lives in the sewers. She can control water and uses it to drain you of happy memories, which she keeps in floating green orbs and guards for herself.

It’s so silly to me how the manifestation of Felix’s jealousy of Adrien is fought and defeated by Chat Noir, who is Adrien ehehehheeh.

She also sounds like a Pokémon!! Probably like a Lapras, or the one that trills really pretty

Athazagora

A timid creature, Athazagora took over the catacombs, and hides in the shadows. You can hear the creaking and rattling of its wooden limbs in the dark as it stalk you. If you can’t escape, it envelops you in its cloak of darkness, never to be seen again.

Bride

The supposed advisor of Argos. She never leaves his side, and is always whispering something in his ear. To protect Argos, she showcases her ability to turn her arm into a long spear/sword, incredible strength and mobility, and that her body is made of an indestructible crystal.

Plus, he can make multiple sentimonsters bc he’s a sentihuman himself (Other people can’t. You can only make one, kind of like how the Butterfly miraculous can only Akumatize one person at a time, unless they share an object. Current excuse I’m going with that makes semi-sense HEHEHE) . So Lila totally wants to use that to her own advantage!

Ofc he fails, but she’s impressed with his resolve (and the lengths he was willing to go, albeit unintentionally), especially after sharing her goal of destroying Ladybug. Lila was feeling the effects of unification and now has a willing minion to do her bidding whenever she pleases.

If I decide to go with this plot, Lila has to end up forgetting Felix because of the curse. But she doesn’t care: all she really needs is Argos. I might need to retcon her revenge against Felix because of this but idm! It wasn’t very important to the plot anyways!

I was considering having Dragonbug in this episode, since she could use Perfection to snipe Red Moon out of the sky! The lucky charm would be like a wand that creates a sticky translucent web to keep the sentimonsters secure so they can go find their amoks.

And a sentimonster I never ended up including, Ava. I just didn’t have a reason to put her in there but I liked the yin and yang style of her design!!

[tumblingxelian]

Chloe Bourgeois - Not a Typical Mean Girl

No, I am not going to sit here and talks about Chloe's family, or issues, or one writers seeming obsession with her. No!

I am here to discuss what I think is a very common misunderstanding about Chloe's character and the show in fandom that often crops up in discussion regarding her.

Namely that the thing Chloe needs most is to be chastised, rejected & punished for her mean behavior, that will sort her out!

As though that wasn't already a thing that happens?

Bear with me and I'll explain that claim first:

The school does not like punishing any students. The only reason Alya was punished for coordinating an effort to break into Chloe's locker is because Chloe threatened the principle. The only reason Marinette was almost expelled was because Lila framed her for cheating, theft & assault all in one day & she still needed to make a scene of the whole affair. There's one teacher that punishes students, but she does so unfairly, cruelly and haphazardly and in season 1, Chloe was not shown getting any special treatment from her. Special treatment from the faculty was not a thing unless we are counting later retcons.

So now that the faculty is out of the way, wat I mean is that Chloe is not a typical mean girl because she is not popular.

In stuff like Mean Girls, Heathers and so on, the usual standard is that the mean girls are mean, but they are also revered, beloved, popular in one way or another despite their horrible behavior.

This is not the case with Chloe.

Even in Season 1 where only Marinette & Nino seems to start the season disliking Chloe. (Her presence unpleasant but hardly traumatic given the Origins level bickering) Chloe was still not widely well liked by the class or school.

She had one friend in Sabrina and a second oh so briefly in Adrien, which did let her absorb some of his celebrity by proximity. But within 48 hours of having him she lost him; with Adrien becoming more distant to divorce himself from her behavior.

That's it and while one can say her haughty attitude and ego are the reason we know from season 2 she is aware everyone hates her & it upsets her.

S1-Chloe did get invited to some class events, but even then her presence was not largely welcomed with most far less prone to be patient with her than they were with others even if they exhibited similar behavior. Such as Kim bullying Ivan, or Nino expressing blatant frustration with Mylene, ETC.

By late season 2 she was pretty much entirely segregated from her peers, barring Sabrina, and her presence welcomed with shades of disinterest, disdain or outright hostility. Sometimes evoked on her part or just in general.

This is a big difference from the usual Mean Girls = Popular Girls trend but I often don't see it acknowledged in fandom discourse.

This especially feels to be the case given so often I see people arguing Chloe "needs" to be rejected, or told her behavior is bad, or that no one likes her... But she is, all the time, she is entirely aware people don't like her and unhappy about it.

The issue is not that her bad behavior is being rewarded in school. The issue is that bad behavior is what she was taught at home and what is encouraged there and what is shown to work for her parents. But it doesn't work for her and she doesn't know why, because no one really bothers to teach her why. hey just get angry and snap at her or ignore her.

& sure you can say its not her peers job to explain morality o empathy to someone who was explicitly taught by their father how to cheat at & win elections by intimidation. But the fact is no one at home is going to do so because they are modelling, encouraging & teaching the opposite up until it impacts 'them' personally.

Not sure if there's a greater point to this, but...

I often find people acting like the thing Chloe needs is for her bad behavior not to be 'rewarded' or 'indulged' by her class and to instead be 'rejected' and for her to face 'consequences'.

But she does! That's basically all she does; & When she doesn't usually an Akuma tries to murder her anyway!

So yeah, Chloe isn't a typical mean girl.

She's actually deeply unpopular among classmates and the school has a discipline issue all over, it didn't come from her.

More negativity is not going to magically make her "better".

[kitty-bugaboo]

I know people are disappointed that ladynoir and marichat are “dead”

But I think we are going to get a whole new set of interactions because now they’re protective of each other

✨ Just imagine ✨

Ladybug not letting Adrien out of her sight the entire battle. (bonus: ladybug getting frustrated at chat not showing up while she’s towing around Adrien)

Chat getting completely distracted when he sees Mari get hurt in battle (and possibly becomes more aggressive against the akuma for hurting his princess)

Ladybug assuming Chat is overprotective of marinette cause they went on that date once

Either one of them gets akumatised and has to fight the other (lila ain’t gonna be gentle)

Trying to stay platonic while one is super and the other is civilian (chat just wants to hold her hand but forgets he’s chat right now and not Adrien)

🐞🐾

[literaphobe]

because you're one of the only ml fans on tumblr whose character commentaries make sense to me, i have to ask what your thoughts are on people who seem to think adrien is going to lash out at marinette when he discovers the truth? because not only does it seem extremely ooc to me but it doesn't even make sense - the person who withheld that truth and lied is ladybug, not marinette. i see it happening the way it kind of happens in your (amazing btw) fic - adrien's probably going to be upset (i'm leaning more towards devastated in a sad way than fury with some frustration, but maybe a mix of all, who knows) with ladybug and then, maybeee (assuming adrienette have to break up because i'm still hoping this works out better than i can imagine somehow 😭) marinette feels so terrible about it she ponders breaking up with him because of all the guilt and lies.

OKAY SO HELLO!!!! i was actually literally thinking about this HOURS BEFORE the time u sent this but sadly i only had the time and energy to answer this now IVE BEEN SO EXCITED TO SAY

so. before s6 started airing i predicted that the stress of keeping all these secrets would get to Marinette and it was possible she would break up with Adrien out of guilt

but now im starting to see that while the guilt IS getting to her, it’s also very evident that Adrien NEEDS her, in spite of her simultaneous insecurity that he’s going to leave her for various reasons

what i started thinking about is the concept of a flip. not a love square flip but a public adoration flip

like. adrien is universally loved by the public. it causes a certain level of harassment and vitriol towards marinette. on the other hand, ladybug is also universally loved/trusted by the public (to an extent, she’s had her fair share of hate, and we haven’t seen huge outpourings of love towards her from the people this season yet, but she is the face of the superhero team, and regarded as the leader essentially, by the team AND the public)

i genuinely don’t think adrien will be mad at marinette at all when the truth comes out. because. what does marinette even know in his perception…? in his eyes, he’d likely see her as just as clueless. the ONLY possible thing she could reveal to him that She Knows About WITHOUT risking her identity is the fact that she found Gabriel’s letter 😭😭 and it’s also very evident that BOTH adrien and marinette see each other as… vulnerable civilians. who are far and removed from all this superhero stuff and needs to be PROTECTED

so. fast forward to the public finding out. ladybug will become practically a social pariah for lying to everyone. i think the FLIP here is that. people will go from being OH NO i was akumatized?! im sorry!! I didn’t mean it :( thank you so much for this amulet ladybug! I will remember to control my emotions! TO people practically GLARING at her when she deakumatizes them? to like, snide remarks where they go ‘why do you care? you’re probably working with the new hawk moth anyway’ or straight up tossing any amulet she tries to give them with a scoff. stuff like that. and being just straight up HATED and desperately trying to find a way to get people to see reason or clear her name, trying to navigate having to do her job and fight akumas while knowing and feeling NONE of the previous public support she had

similarly, i think the public will also turn against adrien and. if anything he might use that opportunity to get all the heat turned on HIM. like, he might claim in some public press conference announcement type thing that he knew his dad was hawk moth and that he begged ladybug to keep it a secret. and that NO ONE else in his life knew. <- to protect his loved ones. and I think he might isolate! and marinette will go crazy and want to ask him so damn badly why the fuck he lied because HE DIDNT ACTUALLY KNOW AT ALL!!! but he’s avoiding her as marinette (again, to keep her safe) AND ALSO she can’t just be like ADRIENNNN WHY DID U LIE!!!! I KNEW!!!!! without. once again. compromising her identity. like Tikki would remind her of that

SO, that brings me to the fact that we could get a very interesting ladrien scene!!!!! where ladybug barges into adrien’s room through The Open Window and starts like going WHY DID YOU DO THAT YOU NEVER KNEW AND YOU CERTAINLY DIDNT TELL ME TO KEEP IT A SECRET and also im so sorry i didn’t tell you i know it was wrong and i should have let you know the truth even if i was going to lie to everyone else i just ummm felt really bad about you being sad about it for some reason just like empathy i guess haha and well it could become a bit of a heart to heart where adrien might admit hes actually relieved to know his dad was bad all along because something about his life finally makes sense i guess? idk

ON THE LADYNOIR FRONT. i think its possible chat gets a bit upset about it? its also possible he doesnt really get mad at all. no matter the case, it wont cause long term discord or resentment or anything? if anything, he might defend and protect her against civilians spewing vitriol towards her, and feel guilty because he wasnt there at the final battle and she had to make those decisions on her own. AND she DID tell him she was keeping a HUGE secret she couldn’t tell him in the London special. AND he said he didnt even care. because he knows it must’ve felt impossible. he KNOWS she was doing it from a place of goodwill. from a heart that just wanted to protect people and keep everyone happy!! because she loves this city and its people!! some holders in the miraculous team might get mad at her, alya and marinette MIGHT even low key have a temporary friendship breakup because of it, but i think chat noir will stand by her and might even try to share the heat with her

[sweetcloverheart]

One of the things i love about steven universe—so much of the show is straight up dedicated to inadvertently showing you lore, and then giving you those “aha!” moments once those puzzle pieces come back into play.

With miraculous ladybug on the other hand, it almost comes across like the writers think of their own lore as…a nuisance? Wrapping every episode’s plot up in a 22-minute bow will prevail over any silly “lore” about 85% of the time. Even if that lore is super important!

Oftentimes it feels like they just kinda throw whatever at the wall and only keep what sticks, too. I think I wouldn’t find unification AND the power up potions AND the entire class getting a miraculous AND all the time travel stuff AND the semantics behind sentimonsters as flimsy as it currently is, if only the story had introduced all of this to the audience in a more purposeful way.

So much of the show is dedicated to the same exact song and dance we’ve been doing since season 1 and it all comes back to the episodic “akuma of the week” issue. It sticks the writers in a perpetual rut. Things change… but never much.

Precisely! There's no build up, no hint dropping, no anything! Stuff just happens and we move on to the next ep, or gets retroactively explained an entire two seasons after the event no longer has meaning. For all they like to fall on "watch the previous episodes" when folks ask questions, the show just seems...completely uninterested in doing any world building for that to help - it'll just drop in or remove stuff whenever it feels like it and then acts like that's how it always was or pretend a thing they literally just introduced doesn't exist.

(And what lore they do feel like sharing, is placed sporadically in mediums a good majority of the fandom would not consider buying/investing in to find it; The origins of the Kwami are in a short mini comic and the start of Gabriel's grand plan to become Hawkmoth is in a mini cutscene in a videogame only a small handful either played or datamined. Unless you are obsessive over the media or a habitual rabbithole-diver (like myself), you're likely never going to know where to find this info, or that it's even available.)

And it's frustrating, because there is genuinely a lot of interesting lore in the story (implied or otherwise) that should be expanded upon, but it always gets shoved aside for stuff that doesn't matter (like do they realize how many of those stupid Chloe Salt eps in S5 could have been better used/dedicated to explaining the Sentilore more? Or how LB and CN unlocking unlimited power spamming could have been build up to with hints and loredrops rather than Noroo going "Guess they've grown up now." no explanation of how that even works? Or how we still don't have a episode dedicated to the Order that doesn't involve indirectly mocking them for being "Old Fashion" via Su Han? ).

On the one hand, I feel like part of that's the fault of it being episodic+initially a toddler show - they only have so many minutes for the plotline and half of it has to be dedicated to ensuring a "lesson" for Marinette is inserted somewhere there. They likely are limited to how much lore they can insert at a time. There's also the issue of their "Episodes can be watched by themselves" guideline and other annoying Status Quo enablers (like the "Adrien is Perfect, the world is flawed" rule), because they're clearly limiting what the writers can do with the world/characters in a bad way (hard to have an interconnecting overarching plot when you purposely make your timeline such a janked up jumbled timeywimey mess that even Alexander the Great couldn't cut through it), but they refuse to toss them out.

On the other hand though - we're 5 to 6 seasons, a movie, and several specials in with a good 2/3rds of the magic system being supported/provided by fanon and headcanons. At this point, you should be more than able to properly organize your episodes so they can explain your universe and how it works in them.

[flightfoot]

ML Fanfic Recs for Completed Fics 20K - 40K Words

Got 14 fics for y'all here. I actually originally had this split into 20k - 30k and 30k - 40k categories, but figured out that the categories would be too small if I did that, so I combined them.

All of these fics will be in my Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2024 Collection, and if you like that, please consider checking out my other collections, Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2023, Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2022, and Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics - Misc. Years.

Discarded Claws, Vacant Spots by Tanzle

After Chat Noir leaves his miraculous behind during Kuro Neko, Ladybug is devastated that she pushed her partner away enough for him to quit. Feeling unworthy of being a hero without him, Marinette gives the earrings permanently to Alya. The 'new' hero, Cat Walker, has no knowledge of this exchange taking place. While Marinette and Adrien struggle with the loss of their partnership due to their lack of communication, Alya is stuck in the middle, growing more and more frustrated with everything.

So this is an interesting alternate possible way Kuro Neko could have gone! There's some nice exploration of Adrien's, Alya's, and Marinette's perspectives on the situation. Poor Alya, having to deal with this mess, but at least she gets some nice focus and we get to see more of her and Cat Walker talking things out, which is a nice treat.

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Season Of Giving by The_Rabbit42

As Christmas draws near, Adrien and Marinette want to find special presents to give their partner and... other partner. Combined with Adrien rediscovering what Christmas is without his parents, Marinette getting sick, and Alya and Adrien becoming closer friends, it's sure to be a memorable holiday.

I love this, it's a nice festive story, and I especially enjoyed Adrien and Alya getting to talk and bond and just... be friends with each other, rather than simply existing together in the same friend group! Oh, also, this takes place post-season 5, so Adrien's dealing with being an orphan now and all the complicated feelings that stirs up.

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Feather Fall by @a-flaming-idiot

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a sentimonster. Adrien knows this. Alya knows this. They just wish they could tell Marinette. Maybe if they could she would have stayed safe when the Primordial attacked. When a monster mauled her with the intention of devouring the magic that made up her very being. Instead, Adrien is forced to use the Miraculous his father had used to hurt so many, to save his closest friend. And only Alya can keep him going as he threatens to crumble under the weight of his parents' sins.

I love the friendship between Adrien, Alya, and Marinette on display here, there's some great interactions between them, Adrien and Alya are great friends and both of them care about Marinette a lot, I hope to see more of this AU!

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Tides of Time by JayJoy3000

Chloe, to her disdain, attends a prestigious university in London where she happens to run into her traitorous, ex-best friend who left Paris years ago without an explanation. But Sabrina is not the shy pushover she once was... Or, the one where Chloe Bourgeois absolutely does NOT spend months pining after Sabrina Raincomprix. No, that would be ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

I love how this fic handles Chloe, this is a Chloe who's realized her parents are crap and decided to try to be better, and made some real friends with Juleka and Luka (and seems to be on decently friendly terms with the rest of the class, but they don't come up much), but still has a ways to go, with not really understanding why Sabrina ghosted her, that Sabrina wasn't as happy as she thought.

Also at the beginning of the story Chloe still believes she's straight. Chloe is the ONLY one who believes Chloe is straight XD.

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My Body Is A Cage by @trishacollins

Five Years Ago, Hawkmoth made a wish and disappeared. It should have been the end of the story, but for Adrien, it was anything but. Bound by his Amok at the side of a wife he hates, Adrien struggles to survive in a world that wants to eat him alive.

This fic is DARK, definitely check the tags on this one.

Lila has Adrien bound to her side, forced to obey her every whim, for years on end. The only light in his life is his daughter, the one person he can try to protect. The abuse Lila puts Adrien through... it's a lot. This IS Angst With A Happy Ending, so things gets better for Adrien, but it's torture for him until then.

This fic is M-rated, and it FULLY deserves that M rating.

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Celebrity Status by @kasienda

"Uhh... Do you mind if I lay low here for a bit? I was trying to lose a reporter who was following me. I'm confident they lost track of me by the time I ducked into your room, but I'm worried they'll keep combing the neighborhood for a while." "My room is your room!" Adrien gestured grandly for her to take in the whole area. She giggled. "I don’t know if this actually counts as a room," she commented, taking in everything from the grand piano to the foosball table to the rock climbing wall to the arcade. "It's more like an amusement park." Adrien shrugged, some of the brightness in his eyes fading a bit. "My father tries to make sure I never have to want for anything." "Do you not like it?" He shrugged again. "It's pretty cool, but what’s the point if there's no one to share any of it with?" She took another look around. With that context the room felt positively cavernous. “Sounds lonely.” He ducked into her line of sight, a smile stretched across his face. “I don’t have to be lonely today. You’re here.” She blushed, and offered him a shy smile.

If you want some Ladrien bonding, then this is the fic for you! I loved seeing the two of them talk out their issues with being celebrities and dealing with the public, and of course, getting to hang out and play video games and have a good time together!

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Mr Sandman, Bring Me A Dream by @seas-of-silver

He tossed and he turned, but he was all too awake. He tried everything he could think of: exercising to exhaustion; taking a long, hot shower; playing soothing music to lull him to sleep… but nothing worked. Every time he closed his eyes, the images from his nightmare would flash in his mind and he’d be wide awake again.

So this is a cute Adrienette fic. Adrien has a horrible nightmare of Marinette dying in an akuma attack, and has to constantly see her the next day to assure himself that she's alive. Then Volpina, the akuma who killed Marinette in his dream, shows up and makes an illusion of her killing Marinette... well, you can imagine how Chat reacts to that.

While there's that angst in the beginning, there's a lot of cuteness too, especially with Tom and Sabine being very accommodating to Adrien XD.

There's some Lila trickery in here, but it all stays firmly within canon bounds, with her insinuating that Adrien was ruder than he was in order to get the class to push him to apologize to her because her feelings were hurt and well, this is a very nice class that doesn't want any of their classmates to feel bad, and later Lila latching onto some of Adrien's and Marinette's suspicious behavior to insinuate some bad stuff, etc. But the class is never bashed, they act pretty reasonably, if naively, and when they push past boundaries Nino lectures them about it and they apologize. It's all very reasonable.

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No Mistakes, No Pressure by ChaoticAce2005

Mlss gift for @nagisa_Chan Perfect. That’s what Adrien Agreste is supposed to be. The perfect model. The perfect son. The perfect student. But there’s one major flaw in all of this: Adrien himself isn’t. How can you constantly play roles demanding perfection without fault? The answer is you can’t. Eventually something has to give. And everyone is starting to get worried that the thing that will give is Adrien himself. Or: Basically Adrien starts to crumble because of all the expectations people put on him, and it’s starting to affect every aspect of his life. This is his journey of acknowledging the fact that perfection isn’t possible and that it’s okay to lean on others.

I really love the emphasis on how Adrien thinks of himself as a product here, that he has different "modes" or "editions" that he becomes, like a doll having different versions, and then slowly beginning to get better with the help of his friends. It really captures how he's been objectified, and how, thankfully, his friends are able to help him with that.

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Not Part of the Plan by @kasienda

“What’s wrong, Marinette?” Marinette wiped her tears with her sleeve, and pulled away just enough to reach into her pocket. She gripped the pregnancy test and held it out to her mother. Sabine’s eyes widened as she took in the results of the test in her hand. Her gaze flashed back up to Marinette’s. “You’re pregnant.” And it wasn’t a question, but it was enough to send Marinette into devastated tears once again. Her mother pulled her back into the hug and just held her. “It’s going to be okay.”

So this is a nuanced, sometimes heartwrenching take on Marinette getting pregnant before she's ready - even though she and Adrien have been using protection, and the conversations and decisions around navigating the situation. Definitely check the tags.

I think this is a very NEEDED fic, especially since many elements that Marinette and Adrien struggle with here ARE real life issues (not including the supervillain angle, obviously). It's a great little read!

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Centuries Overdue by @rosie-b

Long ago, an evil Darkness spread across Europe, claiming the lives of many in the magic community. Trained by Plagg himself, Adrien made it his mission to stop the Darkness before it snuffed out the lives of more Mages and Talents, as it did to his own parents. Though he seemed to succeed in his mission, the pages of his old journals tell a different tale. In the modern world, Marinette is a fashion student, working at a small library for the summer to earn extra credit. She’s never believed in magic before, but when she finds the old Agreste journals in her library, her beliefs about reality begin to crumble. Determined to find the truth, both about magic and the unsolved death of one Adrien Agreste, Marinette begins on a journey that will eventually lead her deep into the city’s catacombs, where an ancient force sleeps, but is ready to awaken once more…

If you want a nice Magic AU, this is your jam! I slowly became more invested with Adrien's fate as Marinette did, and I loved seeing bits of this magic society. And of course, Adrien and Marinette always find their way to each other, even if Marinette happens to be a few centuries overdue.

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A Child's Love by @miraclechatbug

This takes place post-Hack-San. Ladybug hands Chat Noir a potion she brewed which accidentally turns him into a kid without any of his memories. How is she going to keep an eye on a miniature Chat Noir while trying to keep their secret identities intact? Or the more pressing concern- how will she preserve her sanity when faced with the overwhelming cuteness and innocence that is her now de-aged partner?

I loved this fic, it's adorable and heart-wrenching. Adrien doesn't understand what's going on, but he still enjoys being around Marinette and the rest of his friends, and they just keep on hearing more and more little things that make them increasingly worried about Chat Noir's childhood.

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Flightless Birds by @myladynoire

The story of the Graham de Vanily family, as told by Félix and Kagami in Representation.

If you wanted a more detailed look at what's shown, what's implied about the Graham De Vanily family in Representation, I highly recommend checking out this fic. I love how we follow Amelie and Emilie as children, see what their parents are like, the kinds of philosophies they grew up around - and also how the girls differed, with Emilie refusing to follow the path their parents laid out, taking risks, and walking her own path, leaving Amelie as the one their parents dumped all their expectations and hopes into - and the pressure she's put under to conform, to do things she doesn't want to, or else lose everything she's ever known.

And then we get to Colt. This fic is rated M, and it's because of him. If you've watched Representation, then you probably already know to expect child abuse, domestic abuse, and marital rape - the child abuse is outright shown in the episode, and the other two subjects aren't much of a leap. We get to see Felix growing up, how his life is around Colt, and what his mother does to try to protect him, as little power as she has.

I really enjoyed this fic, and highly recommend it to anyone who wanted to see Emilie's, Amelie's, and Felix's story in more depth.

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A Supreme Punishment by Polaristar

Alya was ready for a peaceful, and well deserved sleep after spending all night helping Ladybug defeat Shadybug and Claw Noir, villains from another universe, until she found herself trapped in an unknown world by the ‘Supreme’. Her only ticket home is to befriend the elusive Chat Blanc who roams around Paris causing terror among the people. Will she be able to escape back home or will she find reasons to stay, for friendships, and most importantly, love?

This is the rarest of rare sights, an Alyachat fic! Specifically with Chat Blanc.

It's interesting watching Alya navigate this new world, reminiscing on how much of a difference not having a magical emotional terrorist plaguing Paris makes on others, particularly Marinette.

This fic doesn't actually have that much to do with the Paris Special, it mostly centers around Alya reaching out the mysterious Chat Blanc, getting to know the guy that so many others are so terrified of, and falling in love. While there are a few places where the fic could have benefited from a beta to help with clunky sentences or grammatical issues, overall I really enjoyed it! Especially with it being from Alya's perspective, I think everyone knows how much I love that XD.

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The Joke's On Me by @kasienda

Adrien: I had to tell my father we’ve been dating. That we’re going to the gala together this Saturday. I’m sorry. I know you wanted to surprise everyone the day of. Please forgive me. Call me when you’re awake. Nino blinked at the text message and read it again. And then a third time, but the words didn't change. The implications were concerning in more than one way.

So this is a classic scenario. Adrien decides to fake-date Nino in order to get Lila off his back, but along the way, he and Nino develop genuine feelings for each other. Unfortunately, Gabriel refuses to just let the two lovebirds be.

[imthepunchlord]

All the mlb asks on your blog made me search up some fics. But in the tags n storylines (salt and someone both helping Mari and calling her out on her bull) the fics usually have Felix (PV version on the current one) instead of Adrian as the other main character and I keep wanting to sigh in understanding

Yeah Felix is a pretty natural character to come in as Marinette's ally against Lila and the class turned against her.

Up until it was leaked/his intro ep, Astruc long made it clear his dislike of Felix, and insisting that Felix was never coming back, so people needed to stop asking him about Felix. Under that belief, between fandom intrigue with him and him set up as a good antagonist if not villain (as we don't have a mean boy in the cast), Felix became more the fandom's character as Astruc abandoned him.

And given we had very limited info on him aside from concept art, he was crafted to our needs with light guidelines to work off of. And with many agreeing that he's a "take no bs" sort, and many felt upset by Adrien and his response to Lila turning the class against Marinette, and not having her back as much as promised, it's easy to see why that would lead to neutral Felix coming in, able to see the bull, Marinette's the only one to see the bull, leading to an alliance between the two.

Additionally, as Felix is naturally set up as a mean character, he is the catharsis for creatives to let out their frustrations and call out the bs of the classmates, Marinette's "friends" who easily chose Lila over her. I don't think it'd be a stretch for Marinette to get upset and hurt by her friends, but the show doesn't ever let her get mad at her friends, even when they wronged or hurt her, she's more forgiving and tolerable. So Felix can naturally come in to do what Marinette cannot by canon's standards.

Lastly, he's a character who's not a stretch to be her close friend and darkwhite knight in this situation. In early development, they do have history of being a close pair, he was the Chat Noir prior to Adrien, and he was meant to become Marinette's close ally and romantic partner. And with Adrien in the know about Lila, doing nothing to the bare minimum to help Marinette, and having a growing list of frustrations prior; Adrien has not set himself up as an actual ally to help Marinette.

So those are the main reasons on why it's Felix over Adrien in the Lila-class salt fics. There's a lot of aspects to him that just make him an easy inclusion, and Adrien just really upset people.

[nixthelapin]

A Jekyll&Hyde type akuma whose power is to bring out a hidden or repressed part of your personality (but like, making two of you instead of switching in one body), and when Chat gets hit suddenly there’s both “normal” Chat (I’ll get to that in a sec) and Cat Walker/Patte de Velours at the same time.

(Cue Ladybug freaking out upon learning they’re the same person)

“Normal” Chat looks the same, but is just a bit more intense (since this is Adrien’s way of “letting loose” to not be how he is as a civilian, he’s not too different, but because of the split he does lose some usual traits). I.e. *heavily* flirting with LB, going at it with the puns, more agressive and impulsive with the akuma, doesnt like following orders (especially with the remaining feelings of anger towards the partnership being put further into question as LB prefers CW), heart on his sleeve

Cat Walker is also not super different to the episode he was in, but is also more intense thanks to the akuma: all business- no nonsense, doesn’t laugh at jokes (even in a “I’ll laugh if you want” way, like in Kuroneko), cordial to LB, follows LB’s orders to a T (to the point of not making his own decisions in battle), calm and collected (almost emotionless, even with that plastered smile)

CN starts to hate CW as the fight goes on, because LB seems to prefer him (and she’s understandably getting annoyed with CN’s impulsivity). CN gets territorial, saying that he’s LB’s partner. CW: “then why did she replace you with me?” (Man, look at all the self hatred in Adrien’s psyche!)

So CN runs off and leaves them alone to fight the akuma. This ticks LB off even more, but she has an akuma to deal with- and she has CW- so she lets him go.

As the fight goes on, some of the same issues from Kuroneko occur, so she also gets frustrated with CW too.

Since he’s acting more extreme than normal (more like someone awaiting orders than a partner due to the Jekyll&Hyde thing), it causes more problems (like him waiting for her decisions leaving openings where he could’ve done something proactive)

She actually blows up at him, asking why he didn’t do anything (“I was waiting for you to tell me the plan!”), and she says he should be able to think on his own, he doesn’t need her to tell him everything, but- “I thought I was just being what you wanted.”

(He’s shocked and genuinely hurt- though it’s still pretty quiet emotion, subdued and apologetic)

And that’s when it clicks for her what becoming CW was back in Kuroneko. He was molding himself for her. And this version of CW is even more of that. She realizes just how much CN suppresses, not just for her, but for everyone- why else would this be a major aspect of his personality?

(Also, Patte de Velours? Velvet Paw? That’s basically saying he’s been declawed. Yikes.)

She makes CN get his butt back to the fight (or she finds him- he may have been doing something while away like talking with someone, maybe Alya or Nino, or Luka). CN and CW argue more, with insults. Then she goes on a whole rant/lecture to them about how important they both are, both to her and to each other, how they are one person, and their traits are both important, but each extreme is not great. Ex: instinct/impulse and service/obedience (the key is self control, so that your emotions aren’t controlling you, but neither is another person). He is allowed to be both! Neither personality is bad, and hating one is just hating himself- he can’t just reject a fundamental part of himself.

She makes them agree to work together to defeat the akuma. It’s awkward at first, but they get a rhythm by seeing where each one is needed in the plan (LB does still do that, but how they follow is more fluid now). Two cataclysms now! Yay! (Maybe they used their powers already and have to de transform, and they see themselves as Adrien- the same one, not different, and it gets through their skulls. Idk I’m spitballing).

They have a quick talk between the two about accepting each other, it won’t be easy, I’m nervous, we’ll be okay (“yeah, I think we will :)”), etc.

Ends with them combining back with the ladybug cure. Surprise! His outfit is combined too! (Honestly, I just want the ponytail with the fluffy hair)

LB and CN have a talk after recharging about everything. CN apologizes for lying about CW and explains why and how he did it. LB didn’t realize how much he hid. She never meant for him to change or hate parts of himself. He thought she didn’t like the CN parts of him, but LB promises that isn’t true. She admits she did get… annoyed, but never hate! She loves both sides of him. Besides, CW didn’t work out that first time, remember? (Though she very much leaves out her intense crushing being the deciding factor there)

CN admits he feels more, well, not whole, exactly, he’s actually still pretty uncertain about what all this means for “who he is,” but… he can at least say he feels less like he has to perform all the time. He loves being Chat Noir, but he is exaggerating a bit when he transforms, in part to be not like his civilian life. He tells her he’s not like that as a civilian, but he’s also not like Cat Walker. But he’s not really sure who “he” is yet. (What I’m getting at is Oblivio!Adrien- dorky, but not over the top, in love, trusts his lady to make the plan, but is still proactive, etc.)

LB says that’s okay, he doesn’t have to figure it out right away. But she’ll be there to help him figure it out.

END

[milesconure]

Okay so today I finally watched the Miraculous Ladybug & Cat Noir Movie and one thing I really have to say is… I am SO ANGRY THAT I NEVER WATCHED IT IN THE CINEMA, BECAUSE HOOOLY SHIT!

Like I am so freaking late for that, since this movie came out a while ago, but I just watched it and I'm literally so shocked, because I LOVED IT!

I can't believe that I've been watching Miraculous since I was a kid. We got 6 damn seasons of this show. We got bunch of specials. AND THIS ONE MOVIE DID EVERYTHING BETTER. IT FREAKING FIXED THE DAMN STORY. FIXED THE MOST BROKEN STORY POSSIBLE GOD DAMMIT!!!

Thomas freaking Astruc. What the hell did you say back there? "The movie gives you what you want. The show gives you want you need"? WELL SCREW YOU. I DO NOT NEED YOUR MESSY SHOW AFTER WATCHING THIS MASTERPIECE.

So what did I love about the movie:

Marinette being an actually likeable character. Her having struggles, her having development from being this scared, bullied girl, to the amazing superhero who can stand up for herself and people around her. Marinette who's not being a stalker. Marinette who even if nervous, can talk like an actual human being to the boy she likes. Marinette who can be funny and kinda mean (that scene when she tried to get rid of Tikki was literally so funny lmao). Watching this movie reminded me why I loved Marinette so much on the beginning of Miraculous Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. That's the girl I related to back then!!

Adrien not being perfect, having struggles and real emotions after his mother's death. Him actually acting depressed and being kind of a loner made literal sense. Also him kinda acting like an asshole after becoming Cat Noir for the first time?? Honestly I loved it. What I loved even more was him not being afraid of sneaking out from his house and not being afraid of telling Gabriel off. I LOVE ADRIEN STANDING UP FOR HIMSELF! I LOVE SEEING HIM FRUSTRATED AND ANGRY,

Gabriel being an actual sympathetic villain. I liked that as a Hawkmoth he was kinda goofy (with that one song), but he was also serious about the whole thing. It was visible that he was depressed as heck and he really wanted to bring his wife back. And he did care about Adrien, the most important thing that the show FUCKED UP. Was he perfect in the movie? No. Was he a good support to Adrien? No. But I could sympathize with him, because the movie showed us why he is like that. The movie showed us how much he suffers and how depressed he is. But he wasn't cruel to Adrien. He wasn't abusive to him like Gabriel from the show is. He wasn't locking him up. He wasn't controlling his every move (sentimonster go brrr). HE DIDN'T FUCKING BEAT HIM UP OR AKUMATIZE HIM AFTER HE FOUND OUT THAT ADRIEN IS CAT NOIR. He was a depressed man who then started spiralling after becoming Hawkmoth (I loved seeing that change) and who cried and apologized to Adrien after he found out that he is Cat Noir. Not to mention, if I understand correctly, he did face the consequences for his actions (getting arrested).

the dynamics between the main protagonists??? LOVED THEM. They looked natural, they weren't toxic like in the show. I loved that Marinette was at first nervous around Adrien, but then their relationship grew and they literally talked normally without any problems. And I loved Ladybug and Cat Noir's relationship too. It started with difficulties, with Cat Noir being an asshole and all, but it developed into innocent teasing between two partners who were always ready to support each other and save the Paris together. Also it's a small thing, but I loved Marinette's parents and the bond of their family? It was super adorable!

okay I don't know if it's just me, but honestly I loved seeing both Ladybug and Cat Noir get hurt during the battles. I liked it, because it added more drama, more emotions. It showed that even with superpowers, those two are not invincible. That the danger they face is REAL. That loosing the Miraculous is not their only worry, but also loosing their lives. They weren't afraid of showing something more dark and I LOVED IT. The main show would never-

the final battle with Gabriel is literally what I always wanted from the show. BOTH Ladybug and Cat Noir being there, having difficulties, being on loosing postions, detransforming and revealing their identities, being in danger, wHOLE PARIS IS BURNING!! THAT'S IT!! THAT'S THE SHIT I ALWAYS WANTED. I also loved that their special powers appeared on the end of the movie. For some reason I really liked it.

I could probably yap more about it, but I just don't know what else to say. After all those season of the tv show, all those specials, the movie gave me everything I always wanted when it comes to Miraculous. That's the story I always wanted to see. And I'm just so happy with it, because it's GOOD. I can't believe I was watching a Miraculous thing and I was smilling from excitment all the time. I was actually freaking amazed and curious and feeling emotions I've NEVER felt while watching the main show!! Honestly my only complaint about this movie is that it has singing in it, but it's my subjective opinion. I'm just really not fond of musicals. Oh and also the farting scene with Plagg. Yeah, not a fan of farting jokes-

Other than that? MWAH, absolutely amazing movie. OH WHY, OH WHY I DIDN'T WATCH IT IN THE CINEMA-

[nerdy-chocomallow]

Honestly, I think that Season 5 bring the worst isn’t even an opinion anymore. It’s a fact.

I see a lot of people on the Brazilian fandom and especially on the YouTube speaking of how this season is action packed and full of twists.

But, honestly… it’s mostly the plot rushing through things that it should have developed earlier, retcons and bad writing.

I could rant for hours at how bad this season is…

To me, it how marinette is barely facing any consequences at all and I mean people not trusting her and mad at her for her actions and behavior. Instead, we get excuses for them and we’re supposed to be cool with it. And what gets me the most is how it doesn’t matter if she messes up, she still the best superhero in the world, even though she help ended the world completely.

It doesn’t matter if it was action packed and has many twists and turns, if it was written poorly and badly, it becomes more obnoxious than anything. Like, why do the alliance rings work and why did they need to do existence when Gabriel created akumas that had similar powers to the miraculous but just better than any of them, like did he really need the miraculous to do that? Why does marinette keep thinking love was the problem when it was her lack of trust in chat noir and not communicating with him at all. Why remove Su-Han from the story when they need him more now than ever?! Why make the statue scene be the moment when Adrien falls for marinette when there were other moments to choose from? Why excuse Felix and Marinette’s bad actions and behavior, then said Chloé has no excuse to act like a bitch? Why isn’t Felix helping in season finale when you said he cares about his cousin and girlfriend so much, I guess he doesn’t consider he doesn’t try to help break them out? Why blame love for everything when real problem was the lack of trust, not knowing each other’s identities, and just being completely assholes to each other especially ladybug towards chat noir?! And there so much more that I can think of, it frustrates me that I have to watch this season and act like this is okay.

[sploopyghost]

Part 2 of rewrite idea Pt.3

I was thinking of a rewrite for Miraculous (not that i could ever write one) and the changes i would make to canon and i wondered why was Sabrina ever friends with Chloe

So then i thought what if Sabrina felt pressured to be her friend because she didn't want to disappoint her dad. So, lets say Roger and Andre have been friends for a long time even before he was mayor. This friendship would explain why he's loyal to him and he would hope that their daughters would become great friends. Sabrina hates Chloe and how she treats her but stays quiet about how toxic she is and hides it from her dad. Chloe is hated in school and by association no one wants to be near Sabrina. Because of Chloe she missed out on making actual friends

Roger has a hard time saying anything to Andre when he goes too far. Overtime Andre had let the power of being the mayor get to him on top of wanting to please his daughter. Rogercop is roger seeing the cracks in their friendship for the first time. Instead of getting akumatized because he was fired, he's instead akumatized because he's frustrated arguing with Andre about how he can't arrest a child because his daughter is throwing a tantrum. After the events of him being akumatized when Andre apologizes, he accepts it but it feels hollow. He can no longer ignore the state of their friendship and having seen the divide between his daughter and the rest of the class he begins to suspect something

Vanisher/antibug would be sabrina's breaking point. Roger is worried since his daughter has been missing for a couple of hours. He went to Andre but he was brushed off and told not to worry and chloe just didn't seem to care. When sabrina is deakumatized and back home with her dad she finally breaks down crying. She tells him everything that's been happening and how toxic chloe was. Roger is heartbroken that she felt like she had to go through this to not disappoint him and angry with himself for not noticing sooner. After a long conversation and reassuring that he could never be disappointed in her, sabrina feels confidant to end the toxic 'friendship' she had with chloe and roger decides to stop being blindingly loyal to andre

When sabrina arrives at school the next day instead of timidly looking at chloe asking if they were still friends, she holds her head up high as she tells her what she's always wanted to say. The class and chloe are shocked that sabrina, who is supposed to be chloe's best friend, would say that she always hated chloe and hated that she felt the need to make everyone around her miserable just because she had issues. With that she decides to sit in a different seat away from chloe.

A majority of season one would be Adrien finding his footing and making meaningful friendships with the class. He's aware of chloe being mean but unaware of how cruel she can be. He thinks all she does is say mean things and because chloe was there for him when he was isolated he feels the need to excuse her behavior. But when sabrina ends their friendship Infront of everyone he starts to really question it. After class he talks to sabrina and she opens up and explains in detail the torment she endured from chloe, how she was 'friends' with her because she thought it would disappoint her dad if she didn't get along with her. For the first time Adrien is truly hearing how cruel chloe can be. He starts being more vocal against chloe and being firm

Despair bear, he really puts his foot down and means it when he says that he wouldn't be her friend anymore if she didn't stop. After the events of the party chloe is on thin ice with adrien, but because she didn't think he was serious she quickly went back to being terrible to others. After queen wasp is when he decides to officially end their friendship because chloe didn't feel any remorse for almost almost crashing a train. And unlike in canon there would be outrage over what she did, the most vocal being the ones who were on the train and their friends and family. Gabriel would pull away from andre since it would ruin his image if he associated him

By this point chloe would feel alone and abandoned. She was stuck inside her room since most of paris hated her for almost killing the people on the train, sabrina wanted nothing to do with her saying how she always hated her and how she only put up with her for her dad, adrien ended their friendship because she was cruel to others, and ladybug refused give her the bee miraculous making her feel like she wasn't worthy. It would be incredibly easy for hawkmoth to take advantage of her leading to miracle queen. Whether chloe gets a redemption or not would be up to you

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

“it could mean that they didn't think further than season five and we're about to get a lot of awkward writing.”

Genuinely, I’m pretty sure this exact problem is about to rear it’s ugly head into the plot so hard. Once it becomes obvious enough next season, I think this is about to become the biggest gripe people have with the show.

I don’t subscribe to the “Chloé was rewritten by TA out of spite” theories—however—it is almost **impossible** that season 5 didn’t, at the very least, have the bones of the plot laid out *when it was still intended as the final season,* and then those bones were **heavily** rearranged when contracts were signed for Miraculous Ladybug to continue production beyond that point.

This is quickly having a domino effect on the plot, where storylines are being re-sculpted left and right to somehow tie-up the arc of the previous 5 seasons, whilst still maintaining pre-reveal status quo for the seasons still to come. The most glaring problem with this is, of course, that they had to royally shoot Marinette in the foot to make that work.

I don’t want to put my tin-foil hat on too much, but Adrinette getting together sans reveal is just a symptom of the show continuing past it’s original intended “end of life”. We were likely supposed to get exactly what is holding Adrinette back from being interesting right now—the reveal—in the original midseason finale of season 5 instead of Kwami’s Choice.

What’s an even more cynical thought—if season 5 was the end of the show like intended at one point, there is ZERO chance that Marinette would have even NEEDED to lie to Adrien about his father. *THAT’S* what frustrates me most about the season 5 finale. Not that it’s shocking, not that it subverts expectations, that it’s so glaringly obvious the main character is making a decision simply because the plot for future seasons implodes on itself if she thinks logically for 1.2 seconds. It’s not interesting. It’s only there because they wrote themselves into a corner they never intended to be in 5 years ago.

And as the seasons tick on and on, the cycle is just going to continue to chase itself in circles under the guise of “drama” and “plot”, but in reality the episodic nature of the show means that none of the plot lines will ever conclude in a satisfying way

(Post that inspired this ask)

it is almost **impossible** that season 5 didn’t, at the very least, have the bones of the plot laid out *when it was still intended as the final season,* and then those bones were **heavily** rearranged when contracts were signed for Miraculous Ladybug to continue production beyond that point.

Now that is a theory I can get behind and will even admit to subscribing to. Season five absolutely feels like it was written to be the final season and we know that it was, originally, supposed to be the final season. It's not a conspiracy theory to say, "I think that they may have committed to elements of season five before they got a sixth season and that ended up making season five into a bit of a mess."

I'd be fascinated to know the behind-the-scenes timing of things and what was written before the season-six greenlight and what they were allowed to change after season six became a thing. Things like scripts, lore bibles, and plot lines get signed off on by a lot of people! It's entirely possible that the writers' hands were tied on certain elements of season five. If the leaked, season-five Bible is to be believed, it says that it was signed off by TF1 & Disney and has a date of 1/29/21, about three months before season six was officially announced, implying that major elements of season five may have been set in stone all the way back in early 2021:

[Image description: footer for the leaked Bible reading "Ladybug - Bible FINAL VERSION updated season 5 - approved by TF1 & Disney 1/29/21 - CONFIDENTIAL]

This may mean that the writers literally weren't allowed to make major changes to season five because they'd already gone through the approval process for the overall plot. It's also possible that they could have redone things, they just didn't have time based on production timelines or maybe they did have time and just couldn't think up a new version of season five in the time they had. There's no way to be sure with the limited information we have. Maybe season five is exactly what they wanted it to be!

It's hard to buy that, though, because a lot of the awkward writing makes so much more sense if there was supposed to be an identity reveal at the end of Kwami's Choice. Like why Adrien is worrying about how to tell Marinette that he's leaving, but he never once stops to think about Ladybug. If he knows they're the same person, that's suddenly perfectly understandable.

I also full agree that the lie at the end of season five feels like another stalling tactic and not a piece in a well-crafted narrative. It's really common for the writing to get stilted in TV shows and movie series that get renewed past their expiration dates because no plot can last forever. Even the best writers can't draw a concept out to the end of time and Miraculous doesn't seem have the best writers. Now that they've been greenlit for ten freaking seasons, I think we're in for a wild ride and I don't mean the fun kind. Serious identity shenanigans like the love square are not designed to last for 86+ hours. (The show has 26 20-minute episodes per season, so if you multiply that by 10, you get a little over 86 hours + specials and such.)

I just don't see how they're going to draw out the identity reveal for another five seasons without making the love square a toxic waste dump, but I also don't think that they're ever going to do an identity reveal in the mid game. They're saving that sucker for the end no matter how much it ruins the story. (Watch season six prove me wrong, lol. You never know.)

[imsparky2002]

How I Would've Written Lila: Part 2

Lila would focus on molding Marinette into her follower and ally. She'd endlessly praise Marinette, really gas her up about her talent and kindness. Marinette accidentally vents to Lila about her classmates Lila will encourage it! If Marinette says it, it must be true. After all, she's "their Ladybug". Chloe being a bully? Find out dirty secrets of hers! It's ok, she deserves it! In this rewrite, Alya would be the one who's suspicious of Lila, and Marinette would be the one writing her off as "jealous". Doesn't it make more sense for someone like Alya, a journalist-in-training, to be able to spot a liar when she sees one?

Lila would begin to try and convince Marinette that Alya wasn't a good friend. After all, Lila would help her put Chloe out of power, Lila would be the one to help her finally win Adrien's heart. Alya was trying to stop Marinette from having new friends. So Alya is getting more and more frustrated with Marinette brushing her off and finally when Marinette says that Lila was right about being a better friend, she loses it. She's about to be akumatized when Lila jumps in front of her, taking the akuma instead of Alya. Hawk Moth is surprised by this, and Lila mentally tells him that she'll do whatever he asks, including taking the miraculous. Lila doesn't actually want to help destroy the world or whatever, she's fine with getting her butt kicked by the superheroes. No, what she wants is for Alya to believe that Lila is truly good-at-heart and sacrificed herself so that she could be trusted. In reality, Lila knows that if she's akumatized like this, it allows her to get Cesaire off her back. Hawk Moth agrees, and so we get Volpina.

Ladybug in particular seems to struggle in fighting Volpina, since in this universe she sees Lila as her new best friend. Still, they eventually de-evilize her. When Lila "comes to", lots of kids praise her for being so selfless, and Alya reluctantly thanks her, despite still thinking she's up to something.

Next time, I'll talk about Season 2, which will basically be "Lila manipulates Marinette into becoming mean before Alya eventually snaps her out of it". Hope you enjoy! Lemme know your thoughts in the reblogs and replies

@artzychic27 @msweebyness @nerd-chocolate

[kasienda]

Fanfiction Year in Review 2023

I fill this out every year. It’s become a bit of a tradition for me. Allows me to reflect on everything that I’ve written and kinda think about where I want to go next. And I like it better from the ask games because I don’t have to wait for asks to come in and can compare my answers from one year to the next. ^_^

1 List of fics completed this year in the order they were finished:

Displaced (Ladrien oneshot)

No Regrets (Ladynoir oneshot - smut)

You Don’t Have To Pretend With Me (Platonic Adrino oneshot)

Representation Reveal (S5 Adrinette oneshot)

Kisses in the Rain (S5 AU Love Square - technically multichapter, but it’s shorter than many of my one-shots)

Would Trust You With Everything (Adrino multichapter)

Just An Ordinary Girl (Marichat oneshot)

Love Remains (Ladynoir multichapter)

Spin the Bottle (OT4 with cour four - technically oneshot, but it’s longer than Kisses and has more kisses in it. Haha!)

2 Number of words written: 

Written: 166,114 words

Published: 151,018 words (more than twice 2022’s number!! Go me!!) 

Those numbers are incredibly close together because I haven’t been redrafting as much. Those numbers include six one shots, three completed multi chapters. And another four multi chapter WIPs saw at least one update.

And in another fun milestone! I broke a million words published on Ao3 just this last week!! (I've been writing fic since 2003 and everything I've ever written is on Ao3!)

3 Your most popular fic:

Not Part of the Plan - I suspect that this is mostly because being a teen pregnancy fic, it’s my most tropiest story this year. Haha! 

4 Your personal fav:

Aftermath - This story has usurped Right Behind You as my favorite. I’ve been able to connect to the raw hurt and grief in this story, and there’s something very raw and human about it that others seem to be able to connect to as well. I think it’s some of my best work, and that is also thanks to an amazing beta in @ladyofthenoodle who has lent her expertise in more than one way in making this one more true to lived experience. 

5 Your fav scene:

It’s so hard to pick a favorite!! I narrowed it down to my three favorites in no particular order. 

The last scene in Ch 5 Love Remains - Chat Noir give amnesiac Ladybug a geography lesson from space. It’s got Whole New World vibes, and I just loved the imagery of it.

Ch 4 of Aftermath - I’m particularly proud of Marinette’s panic attack when Adrien tells her she doesn’t have to keep coming over. Like it feels like it comes out of nowhere, but it just totally makes sense. And how it manifests and how she soothes herself (it’s not healthy, but it’s so GOOD!)

Ch 7 of Would Trust You With Everything - The scene where Chat Noir tries to tell Nino who he is, but inevitably doesn’t. And how Nino reassures him through all that. This scene feels so raw, but so heartwarming in light of Adrien’s fears. And I don’t know - it’s beautiful to me.

6 A fic or scene that challenged you:

I really struggled with Right Behind You this year, though it wasn’t for lack of trying! I had started out the year hoping to go back to an update a month here and I only updated it three times throughout 2023. 

This was incredibly frustrating because the initial drafts of scenes would come pretty easily, but I couldn’t seem to make them pop the way the earlier chapters did. The good news is I think I figured out what the issue was. Most of my writing this year has been speed writing. And a big part of that is just where I’ve been emotionally. I’m very very out of practice in editing and redrafting, which this story and Aftermath both definitely need. 

I’ve only been able to edit Aftermath because I’ve had a ton of help. (Thanks Noodles!) Sadly, it’s harder to find betas for rarepairs, but I have succeeded! (Thanks@coffeebanana!)

7 A line of writing you’re proud of: 

“She wanted to be there to see it. To see him.”

This line is way better in context, but I’ve made myself cry about three times with it. And I refuse to explain it because that would give its power away. Guess you’ll just have to go read Aftermath. 

8 A comment that touched you: 

I can never answer this question without mentioning several!! 

Would Trust You With Everything - this story had a ton of enthusiastic followers - way more than rarepair work usually gets, and I wrote this story right after my life fell apart and all the commenters here made throwing this story together just that much more joyful during a time when I REALLY needed it. (I'm looking at you, @bittersweetresilience, @bbutterflies @flightfoot @coffeebanana and so many others that I don't know your tumblr name!!!) Not Part of the Plan Comments - I added sex ed lessons to the end of each chapter here because there’s so much about fertility and pregnancy that people don’t know if typical pregnancy fics are anything to go by, and this seemed to inspire so many people to share their pregnancy stories!!! And these have been so cool because I’ve learned that these stories just don’t often have an opportunity to be shared. And it’s neat that this story with its accompanying lessons could create a space for that!! Aftermath comments - lots of people who have really struggled with moderate to severe depression have apparently felt very seen by this fic. And that a story that is essentially about two characters who feel very alone and like no one can understand can help people feel LESS alone and MORE understood is simply amazing!! I love this story so much!! AHH!! Here's one from @neurovascular-entrapta that meant a lot to me.

9 Something that inspired your writing:

Grief and the need to feel things in a distant abstract-these-are-story-book-characters kind of way so I don’t have to feel my actual feelings as closely every moment of the day really kept me writing the whole year long.

10 Your proudest accomplishment (that one scene; finally finishing that one fic; posting your first fic; etc):

My writing has been really raw and messy this year, and I can’t keep tenses straight to save my life. But there’s something powerful about the rawness that I really like even as all the grammatical errors and the lack of effort on the technical side of most of my stories has driven me nuts. 

I am proud of myself for being able to get back into the big projects in these last few months after not being able to face them from April to October. And I’ve started participating in a few writing events here and there again in addition to working on my own pet projects. 

11 Do you have any writing goals for the next year?

Well, I wanted to finish Not Part of the Plan in 2023, which didn’t happen only barely! So hoping the last chapter and the epilogue make it out within the next month. Once that’s done I think I want to try and make Aftermath and Right Behind You my primary focus projects this year. And of course, I’m sure new plot bunnies and writing events will take over my brain on occasion. Last year, I said I wanted my writing to become a reliable mental health tool for me again, and I’m glad to say that it definitely was that for 2023. I hope I’m able to use my writing this year to continue my healing journey. 

And maybe go and proofread all of the fics I finished in 2023 to fix all the inconsistent tense issues to prepare them for being bound eventually!

12 Anyone you would like to thank?

SO MANY PEOPLE!

@jennagrinsoverml for being one of my oldest fandom friends! For becoming a real life friend for all that we haven't actually met in person. For all the times you vented to me and listened and sent me pictures of your family and gushed over pictures of mine. I'm lucky to know you!

@ladyofthenoodle - for showing up in my DMs, For being a most insightful beta, for dragging me into a larger community over and over again, for listening to both my real struggles and my first world problems, for being my friend!!

@thelibraryloser - I don't know how to put this into words. But I very much look up to you. For your resilience through difficult times - you are role-model for how to handle this world with grace and kindness. Thank you for your stories!

@coffeebanana - for being so enthusiastic in the creation process before and after! When I have a story that is getting no attention one comment from you makes it so it doesn't matter. You give me all I need.

@bittersweetresilience and @wackus-bonkus-maximus for just being so kind and enthusiastic and supportive of any idea I happen to be talking about in any given moment. I guess for enabling me. Haha!

@blur0se and @mila-beedoodling for sharing your ideas and inspiring me to create new things!!

@asukiess, @chocoluckchipz, @sariahsue, @miabrown007 for creating so many beautiful things and for being kind and engaging in so many conversations!

And now, I'm really nervous that I'm forgetting someone because this is the first time where I feel like I've had more than three fandom friends. Haha! It's a good problem to have I suppose. In general, thank you to the miraculous community for helping me to survive this year. <3 <3 <3

Happy New Year Everyone!!

I invite anyone who wants to, to fill this out! (Or something similar because I think it can be modified for artwork pretty easily). But if you do, please tag me, so I can be a cheerleader for all you've accomplished this year!

[flightfoot]

the fact that simply criticizing marinette for actually doing something wrong causes people to act like you're saying she should die in a fire but alya being violently mischaracterized is met with mostly silence is deeply frustrating. there is a lot of people criticizing marinette for stupid reasons, but this isn't one of them.

Yeah. Like there's definitely some that feel like they're going too far, but the criticism towards her for lying to Adrien (and to everyone else, but given the particular things she's lying about, lying to Adrien is the most egregious.)

With Marinette there IS some criticism towards her for her lies that I think is uncharitable, but even the more extreme criticism isn't generally crazy, and is derived from actual reality. It's not the kind of violent mischaracterization which is inflicted on Alya. There's disagreement surrounding Marinette's motives for her actions and how much she should be held accountable or blamed for the negative side effects of them, but even most of the people I've seen who are really angry at her and have lost all faith in her as a character and at the writers, still are generally operating off of things she's factually done. That's an improvement over the "Alya will shun Marinette because Lila told her to" (didn't happen), "and will start hurling verbal abuse at her due to Lila's lies" (didn't happen) "and even become the ringleader of the class in physically punching, pinching, slapping, or otherwise hurting her and destroying her things" (DEFINITELY didn't happen) nonsense which is somehow still proliferating.

Some takes on Marinette's behavior are uncharitable, but the fandom as a whole is at least operating based on reality.

[foxwitchaine]

Which is your most hated character in Miraculous Ladybug?

I wouldn't say hate so much as strongly dislike, as it takes a lot for me to outright loathe a fictional character. More often than not, I have better things to spend my energy on than hating a fictional character.

But if I were to answer that, five take the top spot:

1.) Lila Rossi

I know. Surprising, isn't it. Well, it's all fun and games until you actually meet one in real life. And it's frustrating as hell getting those with the wool over their eyes to listen until it's too late. I have to emphasize that it wasn't originally part of the plan to redeem her in the early drafts. It was thanks to Rafe that I even considered doing a Lila redemption.

Lila had a lot of potential in the early seasons. Of course, that was before she was turned into a one-dimensional villain with little in the way of making her interesting. It says something that I got the feeling the showrunners were trying to make her hateable without actually putting in the effort while reading the Chameleon transcripts. (I had to stop reading to settle my blood pressure)

All in all, Lila is just a symptom of a bigger underlying issue regarding the show's writing. I personally think she has a very nice design, but it looks better in 2D than 3D.

2.) Gabriel Agreste

He's a severely underwhelming main villain. At the start, he had potential. But as the series drags on, it's become painfully clear that the showrunners don't actually know how to make a compelling main villain. He was surprisingly much more intimidating and better-designed in the pilot PV.

Gabriel also lacks the charisma you would find with iconic main villains such as Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII, the rogues gallery in the first Powerpuff Girls, Batman's rogues gallery, and so on. I could make a whole post about how to write Gabriel better, but I don't feel like resurrecting a dead horse.

3.) Adrien Agreste

The poster boy for wasted potential. When Rafe and I first started watching Miraculous Ladybug, Season 2 hadn't been released yet. He was nice, if a bit bland. Could have used some flavorblasting in both design and personality (he's a fashion model, for crying out loud. Where's his fabulous wardrobe?)

And then all the red flags in Seasons 3-5 started popping up.

As it stands, he's nothing more than a plot device to humiliate poor Marinette. And a mouthpiece for the writers' very skewed morality. We weren't going to redeem him at first, but then it occurred to me a fantastic way to strike a devastating blow against Gabriel. I won't say anything more since they're spoilers.

4.) Alya Césaire

Ohhhh boy. Where do I even begin with this one? Disregarding the racism allegations towards the writers regarding her character, Alya is just an awful best friend, plain and simple. While it's true that she's a go-getter who isn't afraid to go for what she wants, that same trait has pretty much been solidified into a toxic trait courtesy of her refusal to question Lila later in the show. Even after Marinette broke down in front of her and confessed her secret identity in Gang of Secrets.

I will forever hate that episode just for how entitled everyone was about Marinette's secrets.

When Rafe and I were brainstorming who to use as our civilian antagonist to fill in for Lila, it was rather telling that Alya was among our first choices. It wasn't our intention for her to fall as hard as she did in The Wolves in the Woods, but honestly? It was inevitable.

5.) Caline Bustier

She's a non-authority figure who coddles the troublemakers in her class. I'm restraining myself at the moment because I've had teachers just like her in real life. Who look good on paper and are the sweetest people on the outside. But their inability to discipline a class regardless of behavior does a lot more damage in the long run than many would care to admit.

Bustier is a character who I could have grown to understand if the writers handled her better. The biggest brat of the school is the daughter of the city mayor. That right there is a beautiful setup for interesting conflict. We could have gotten a plot where we had a good, caring teacher trapped in a terrible situation by her superiors. Which is unfortunately something that can and does happen in real life. Instead, we got an airhead who can't for the life of her understand this simple thing called nuance.

I find it very telling the fandom prefers Mendeleiev over her.

Honorable Mentions:

Principal Damocles: Too much of a spineless noncharacter to really care about

Tom and Sabine: I try to understand the parents' side of things given parenting is far from an easy task

Bustier's class: A mixed bag here, since I don't think they're necessarily bad kids

Mayor Bourgeois: Again, another mixed bag here since he's another spineless "parent"

Zoé Lee: Too much of a blank slate to have an opinion on

Félix Fathom: What kind of a name is that?

Master Fu: He was done so dirty in his backstory

Chloé Bourgeois: Another with wasted potential