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irisintheafterglow · 1 month

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HAND FOUR - THREE OF A KIND

summary: in a season where you're determined to fly under the radar, newly-returned crown prince!touya todoroki has other ideas. in this hand, the debutantes are met and a dance is done.

wc: 2.4k

cw/tags: royalty!au/regency!au, fem!reader, banter driven (what else is new), pining and tension and tension and pining, jealous!touya hehe, prince keigo and lady kaina cameos :)

note: every time i write another part of this series, i think i cannot create any more tension and then shit like this gets created. every thing i do i'm like that one meme with the butterfly like "is this slow burn?" anyways hope you enjoy, thank you SO MUCH for all the love you've given this series!!!!

likes, reblogs, and replies are appreciated <3

“I can’t fathom being in his presence for more than a few minutes. I don’t know how you do it,” remarks Lady Kaina Tsutsumi, your new-found ally in the palace hall of debutantes and suitors. You were initially drawn to her because of the striking dark purple of her dress and were delighted to find that she shared similar opinions on presentation season. With the prince preoccupied with making painfully awkward small talk with guests, it was up to you to entertain yourself until he returned to your side.

“It’s been a learning curve, to say the least,” you reply politely, taking another sip from your glass of lemonade. You think you catch a glimpse of the prince’s bright white hair in the crowd, but find yourself unexpectedly disappointed when the rest of him doesn’t follow.

“Is there a reason for his…intensity all the time?”

“I’ve found that it is, unfortunately, his resting demeanor,” you inform Lady Kaina and she chuckles. “Surprisingly, I’ve started paying closer attention to the relationships within the ton, no thanks to him.” Your friend hums in amused assent.

“Shall I share my roster of eligible ladies and their prospects with you, then?”

“If you would, please,” you say gratefully and she nods in understanding.

“Well, of course, we have your man,” she teases, gesturing a magenta-gloved hand in the general direction of your only suitor. He was currently intimidating some poor souls from the district of Lord Tsunagu Hakamada, the most successful textile entrepreneur in the kingdom. When the prince told you that he was to visit with other high-ranking members of the ton, you had a vague idea of what their interactions would entail. Now, as you witness it first-hand, the victims shrink away from his conniving smile and you roll your eyes, allowing yourself a smile before Lady Kaina clears her throat from beside you.

“I would not call him my man,” you correct light-heartedly after you remember your manners, but she waves you off with a knowing look. “I’m serious!”

“Yes, and the sky is green,” she counters. “Moving on, we have Lady Rumi Usagiyama.” The woman in question was not difficult to spot among the droves of guests, as her aura alone seemed to be taking up most of the space. In a generously cut off-white dress, she radiated confidence and pride like you’ve never seen before. “Notoriously hard to court in the Takami Kingdom, and rumored to have the strength to chuck any man out of her foyer window.”

“She is the object of my envy,” you deadpan, glancing back in the direction of the prince. “I only wish I dared to do such a thing to His Highness.”

“Your gaze tells a different tale, my friend,” Lady Kaina murmurs and you shoot her a look of warning. She shrugs indifferently, pointing out two other vaguely familiar faces in the hall, a bubbly, tall debutante and a scary-eyed woman beside her. “Lady Yu Takeyama and Duchess Ryuko Tatsuma. Rumors say that the Duchess ate her husband.” You snort so unexpectedly that your lemonade travels into your nose and you cough, fanning yourself with your hand to cool your warm face. “Anyone else you would like to learn about?”

“Do you know of anyone that the prince surrounds himself with?” You ask once you’ve regained your composure. Lady Kaina shakes her head, the corner of her mouth tugging down into a frown.

“I’ve heard of three, but I’m not sure it’s my place to reveal their identities.”

“I have no one else to spread this information to,” you remind her.

“True,” she agrees, dropping her voice to a barely perceptible level. “Whispers say he is acquainted with the bastard of King Shigaraki, the missing daughter of the Toga dynasty, and a traveling circus magician.”

“Your whispers spin a vibrant tale.” You listen to her continue to relay what she’s heard about the prince’s friends, but you try not to let yourself immediately be convinced by them. From the month that you’d reluctantly spent with the prince, you were increasingly perplexed by the cocky-smiled enigma that was your future (fake) intended.

There were the little things, observed from a surface level: how he holds a sword with his left hand but is right-handed in all other situations, how he’d rather jump off a cliff into sharp rocks than eat a spoonful of fish, how he closes his eyes during carriage rides to avoid getting nauseous.

But recently, you also started noticing deeper things about the prince that you didn’t know how to manage. He hated his father. He hated the ton. He hated the presentation season. And yet, despite everything that he had no problem expressing his distaste for, he called on you half an hour before your agreed-upon time. He waited in the garden instead of the sitting room because he knew you’d rather see your beloved flowers before you left. He became bored easily, but listened to you go on about traveling the world during visits to the modiste, another place he insisted on accompanying you “for coordinated aesthetic purposes.” He loved to mutter brutal comments about a person’s looks when you passed them on the sidewalk, but he never dared to say anything negative about your appearance. When he was with you, anything negative registering in his mind seemed to disappear before his mouth could articulate it.

The things you witnessed had unwanted sensations traveling through your heart and fluttering in your stomach, which made it endlessly difficult to remind yourself that he was simply a business partner and, more importantly, likely an enemy of the kingdom that hasn’t been caught yet. But what were you supposed to do when he caught your eye across the room and smirked like you shared a secret?

“Mmm,” Lady Kaina hums from next to you, pulling you back to the ground after your head starts to float off with the string quartet. “Yeah, you’re gone.”

“I’m standing right here.”

“But your attention is elsewhere, friend,” she concludes, dipping into a curtsy and sending you a wink before disappearing into the milling crowd. “You might want to open your fan. Your eyes are giving you away and he’s coming this way.” As if on cue, the low voice that no longer sent chills up your spine appeared over your shoulder.

“You’re not causing trouble, are you?”

“Speak for yourself,” you scoff, meeting his eyes with a considerably less amount of fear than weeks prior. The wool of his coat tonight was copper-colored, making the blue of his eyes glow even brighter. They always seemed to shine more when you were looking into them. “You socialize with the same grace as a wolf in a chicken coop.”

“I’m doing a great job, then,” he drawls, positioning himself next to you in a way that, if people were walking by, they would run into his shoulder rather than yours. Another perplexingly thoughtful action that you couldn’t figure out a motive for. “You were speaking with Lady Kaina?”

“I was. She’s a very informed individual.”

“Any information about me?”

“Only the well-known,” you state cryptically. He glances at you with a curiously amused look.

“Such as?”

“How you prefer orange zest in your bubble baths and were shorter than a doorknob until you were seven years old,” you jest and the corner of his mouth tugs upward, following your lead as easily as breathing.

“It’s lemon zest, not orange,” he murmurs and you stifle a laugh into your glove, nodding curtly at passing ladies. “Will you still be accompanying me while I babysit Prince Keigo next week?”

“I’m not sure I have a choice,” you admit, spotting the scarlet-feathered coat of the royal in question. In a way, both princes seemed to be matching each other in color schemes. Telling the prince beside you would most certainly end in a barrage of complaints about his royal duties, so you keep that part to yourself.

“Of course, you have a choice, though I will say it will only wound my pride further.”

“Then for the sake of my sanity and your pride, consider my attendance guaranteed.” He nods in satisfaction, following your eye line to His Highness Prince Keigo.

“I’m not going to duel another man, am I?”

“What do you mean?”

“You having eyes for Prince Keigo was not something I anticipated,” he muses and your face heats as you finally take Kaina’s advice, snapping your fan open instead of answering.

“I don’t have eyes for anyone here, Your Highness,” you scoff, waving the fan back and forth in front of your burning cheeks. “If I were to muster up attraction to any royal, it would be Princess Fuyumi.”

“You have a taste for the Todoroki family then? I always knew you couldn’t resist me,” he says, leaning close enough so that you can feel his breath on your ear. You freeze momentarily, pulse racing in your ears, but are just as quick to push him away.

“I made it clear from the start of our arrangement that feelings were not to be factored into this relationship,” you state bluntly and he steps backward; you catch him blink a few times in a way that you’d learned was his way of hiding disappointment. Disappointment with what, you couldn’t understand, and you decide not to think about it further. The prince, however, isn’t satisfied. A satin-gloved hand extends to you and you stare at it with all the caution of taming an agitated cobra. “What are you doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing? Dance with me,” he commands and you peer at him expectantly. His eyes roll to the side when he understands what you want, but he gives it to you nonetheless. “Please.”

“Do you have a certain connection with this song?” You ask in an attempt to cover up your sweating palms and heated face as he leads you to the middle of the floor. It was the first time he’d proactively asked you to dance, outside of the agreed-upon quota required to keep your ruse believable. “I can’t fathom any other reason to be dancing with you otherwise.” He’s still quiet, but his hands seem to be acting on their own tonight. One slides assuredly around your waist while the other interlocks its fingers in yours, ushering you closer than you’d ever danced with him before. “Are you about to end this whole arrangement? I’d prefer to know in advance if I am to be broken up with at the end of this evening–”

“With all due respect, dear,” he murmurs right next to your ear, “Please stop talking.” As the sound of strings dances around you, your body moves in time with his and you’re forced to look to the side, sensing his stupid mouth brush your forehead. “Loosen up a bit. You’re stiffer than a board.”

“Forgive me,” you whisper back, barely able to keep your voice steady. “I–I’m–My mind is not currently present,” you swallow nervously and are relieved when he chuckles too, his chest humming against yours. You risk meeting his eyes only to find his gaze elsewhere, and you trace it to the scarlet-coated Prince Keigo charming debutantes across the room. His eyes are dark and threatening, an expression you only witness when he’s trying to guard a good hand of cards. The pieces click together in your mind one by one and you can’t help laughing when you realize what he’s doing. “I must say, jealousy is not a good look on you.”

“I’m not jealous,” he mumbles like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, still avoiding your eyes. “You’re seeing things.”

“Is envy a better word, then? Resentment? Covetousness?” That catches his attention and you’re surprisingly unafraid of being the sole recipient of his intensity.

“Call it being…defensive,” he manages after considerable amounts of thought, but you swear you catch the tips of his ears turning slightly pinker. “I’m merely establishing that I am your only suitor, even with a shiny new thing visiting.” Like a game, you press on, determined to see how far you can get before his bluff breaks.

“Is that really for you to decide, though?” He tenses and you do not doubt that your eyes are shining in challenge. “What would happen if, for instance, I wanted to consider my prospects with His Highness Prince Keigo? Should he be interested, of course.” The muscle in the prince’s jaw clenches and his hand around your waist tugs you impossibly closer until you’re inches from his face.

“He’d be either blind or foolish to not be interested,” he assures you and you’re back in another stare-off, feet moving unconsciously to the rhythm of the music while each of you waits for the other to back down. “Which is exactly why I’m making sure he sees you dance with me before anyone else.” You end up being the first to break, tearing your eyes away just in time to see Prince Keigo considering you and His Highness from across the ballroom. Your partner’s plan, it seems, has worked. As the song ends, he guides you off the floor with a strong arm under your fingers; you try not to think about the lean muscle flexed under your touch.

“This ruse became more political than I anticipated,” you manage to force out after the adrenaline of your dance begins to subside. “I didn’t know I’d be defended like some damsel princess.”

“I consider it more flaunting than defending,” he corrects. “I do, after all, have the diamond of this season, though that may be influenced by bias.”

“All these sweet words for what end goal, my prince?” He swallows thickly, the only indication that your new nickname for him is heard. “For you to leave me at the altar with a sum of money and a broken heart?”

“It was what we agreed upon, was it not?” His burning eyes were sending you a completely different message but you can’t find the courage to acknowledge it. You felt like you’d just seen the river and were pushing all the stacks you had into the pot, only for him to raise again and again. Again and again and again, you didn’t know how much more you could risk.

You fold.

“Of course. An arrangement is an arrangement, after all.” You curtsy and turn away on shaky legs before you can see his reaction. “Goodnight… Touya.”

if you enjoy my writing and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee on my ko-fi! you can also check out my full masterlist here :)

#dabi x you #dabi x reader #dabi x y/n #touya todoroki x you #touya todoroki x reader #touya todoroki x y/n #mha x you #mha x reader #mha x y/n #touya x you #touya x reader #touya x y/n #bnha x you #bnha x reader #bnha x y/n

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zoe-oneesama · 1 year

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I know it's not really the right chapter for me to be asking this but:

I get you keeping a third of the secondary heroes since their powers really click with the personalities, but what made you decide to keep Max as the horse and change everybody else? I feel like out of the ones you kept he's the one that fits the least-

To start, I assigned Max the Horse Miraculous back before I was planning on having all the Miraculouses in the field. At that point, the only "extras" beyond the main 5 I was going to have were Luka/Viperion, Kagami/Ryuko, and Max/Pegasus.

This three way kwami swap wouldn't really work, because the Snake was pivotal in defeating Desperada, which as an akuma after Jagged Stone and guitarists, it made the most sense for the center character to be Luka. While other Miraculouses could've finished off Ikari Gozen, I knew it had to be Kagami's debut episode, and I knew Max would be the hero in "Robostus" to deal with Markov. While Kagami probably could've used the horse (since Marigold had Venom to stop Ikari Gozen), I had a set way for Max to deal with Markov as Pegasus, so everything just slid into the three keeping their Miraculouses.

Maybe I could've thought a little longer to make it work, but at the time, the idea of Kagami and Max having a kwami swap never even crossed my mind, and if it did, I probably would've dismissed it because then it would've left Luka as the only one not to swap (besides Adrien). Personally, I would've felt off balanced. I especially didn't even consider swapping out the Snake, Dragon, or Horse for one of the zodiacs that, at the time, I had no intention of using. Idk why but it's like a wall was there preventing me from even thinking in that direction.

By the time I decided to add the rest of the zodiac, I had JUST FINISHED "ROBOSTUS". So kinda too little too late lol.

I'm not sure what Miraculous I'd give him if I had absolute free range. Maybe the snake, ignoring how essential it was in "Desperada". "StarTrain" did try to imply that the user of the Horse Miraculous needed a good grasp on geography, which is "why" it's suited for someone smart like Max:

But then it also implied that Max messed it up lol.

I think they kinda dropped that idea once other people started using it (like, how would Monarch even know the exact longitude and latitude of his akuma victims to use Voyage to teleport his akumas?).

I do kinda want to draw the Kept Their Canon Miraculous Club kids in each other's Miraculouses though. That is a six way kwami swap (seven if I add in poor Alix).

#sl ask #sl:pegasus #sl:max #edit: fixed 'akuma' to 'miraculouses' in reference to defeating Ikari Gozen lol

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ninadove · 9 months

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I think many more people would appreciate Feligami if they realised that they were not, in fact, written according to the enemies-to-lovers trope.

Their story is not about that; it’s about two kids who spent their entire lives being othered and rejected, finally found someone who went through similar hardships, and immediately developed a connection as a result. The fact that they were originally on opposite sides of the conflict is almost an accident.

Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look at the ✨ symbolism ✨, shall we.

Secret identities form the very core of the Miraculous universe: masks are worn by heroes and antagonists alike, and as such are manifestations of their narrative roles.

Which is why it is so important that Felix and Kagami’s first significant encounter took place during a masked ball, and that they were the only attendants not to hide their faces.

Kagami’s vulnerability even pushes Felix to throw caution to the wind and reveal way too much about himself, compromising both his evil plan and his safety. In that moment, they’re not Ryuko and Flairmidable, or even Ryuko and Argos; they’re just two children who have been hurt in similar ways, and bond over their shared desire to run away.

And of course, in Representation, they recount their love story and take off their masks in the same breath — because authenticity and acceptance are the foundation of their romance.

So to be clear:

Yes, they were once enemies;

Yes, they are now lovers;

No, it is not the point of their relationship.

“But Nina,” I hear you ask, “Why is it so important to make that distinction?”

Because it has a massive impact on the audience’s expectations, and whether or not Feligami was developed properly.

When reading an enemies-to-lovers story, chances are you’re looking for a slowburn; for chapters upon chapters of tension; for seemingly insurmountable hurdles that are eventually overcome through the Power of Love™.

But if you’re reading a story about two kids who have been through Hell and back (because they’re very very queer and very very neurodivergent on top of being child abuse survivors), desperately crave love and affection, and also might get murdered or torn apart any second — then suddenly it makes perfect sense for them to celebrate new beginnings by kissing in front of the sunrise within two weeks of meeting each other.

This is what Feligami is about, and this is why it works.

#miraculous ladybug #felix graham de vanily #argos #kagami tsurugi #feligami #mlb spoilers #mlb representation #trigger warning: child abuse #random ramblings #This goes without saying but it does not mean we (the fandom) can’t write them as enemies-to-lovers #It’s just not the point canon is trying to make #And it’s unfair (and incorrect) to hold it to this standard

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comics-and-fanworks · 1 year

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Idea for you class salt after the class is out of school and in the real world.

Marinette's phone gets broken so badly she needs a new number. She only tells a few her new number no one from her old class has it.

Some of her old class goes to bakery to ask why she hasn't called them back when they called her. They get told her phone got broken and all that.

The class member goes okay tell her to call me when it gets fixed or replaced it is important.

Only her parents forget and when said class member comes back later is told that but is also told Marinette has a new phone now. But not a new number.

Classmate rushes out to call her so she can fix their problems like always only it goes to voicemail as the person whom has her old number is like I don't know this person calling me. It goes on and on till it gets bad and the person with the new number goes to the police with worry over the threats they are getting.

Should I be worried for myself or the person they are trying to reach

It comes to a head when alya talks max into hacking the location of the phone and they go to have a talk with Marinette only it's not her

Thank you so much for the request! It's my first one so I went a bit overboard and wrote a lot! So sorry it took me so long to get to this! I'm taking organic chemistry over the winter so that has been kicking my ass. The first draft was deleted, so hopefully, this is a better version! Thank you for your patience with me!

TW: swearing, minor threats of violence

~~~~~~

"Well shit," Marinette's day was already bad, but this was just throwing salt into the wound. She had started her day with her phone blowing up with requests from her (former) classmates and friends. Ever since she returned from College they had gotten right back to their usual B.S. "Mari I need a new dress for a meeting with Prince Ali," "Marinette! I told my team you'd design some sick jackets for us and you'd have them done by our next swim meet!" "Girl! I need three new outfits! Adrien and Lila are taking me with them to a fashion show and this is my chance to interview some top designers! Oh sorry, you're not invited." She was up to her neck in demands and requests, to the point she was seriously considering closing her commissions, not like her former friends paid her anyways. THEN Hawkmoth decided that she hadn't suffered enough, she had to deal with Volpina, Frozer, AND Prime Queen and it was not even lunchtime. Volpina was easy enough to take down, why Lila was akumatized is anyone's guess. Frozer was a bit trickier, and since Chat had no plans of showing up she had to bring in Ryuko and Viperion. The trio ended up fighting Prime Queen, who was convinced that LadyNoir would still happen and the Cat Hero's absence was due to a lover's quarrel. Marinette was finally able to return to the alleyway she had transformed in... only to find her shattered phone. It must've fallen out of her suit's pocket (she had redesigned her costume since returning to Paris, she wanted a more mature, fashionable look) when she was rushing to get to the battle.

"Great! Just Perfect! This is just what I need now!" She sighed picking up the shattered phone. There was no way this was salvageable, the impact of hitting the ground had practically broken the thing in half. Tikki knew her chosen was stressed, between being Ladybug, being the Guardian of the Miraculous, building a blossoming fashion empire from scratch, and having to deal with her former friends' constant demands it was only a matter of time before she lost Marinette to Hawkmoth's akumatization. The goddess recognized that this was just the opportunity she needed to help her chosen, and she would start by helping Marinette cut off the people hurting her most. "Marinette! I have an idea! Why don't you get two phones? One can be your work phone, and the other can be your personal one. That way you won't have to worry about your work stuff getting lost in your personal stuff. You can get new numbers for both too!" Marinette looked at the Kwamii with some confusion, "Why would I need to change my number?" Tikki sighed, "Marinette, they haven't been very good friends to you, they haven't even been your friends for a while now. Think about it, your former classmates don't talk to you unless they want something, they expect you to use your connections to benefit them but won't return the favor, and they promise you and your time to other people without your consent. That isn't right babybug, friends don't treat friends like that. They don't even pay you for your time, effort, and the cost of materials!" Marinette knew that Tikki was right, but she was still hesitant, "But..." "Would Kagami text you expecting you to make her something and refuse to pay? Would Luka text you telling you that he promised another musician you'd make their wardrobe by their next concert? Would Kagami and Luka use your work to get ahead, and then refuse to extend the favor? No, they wouldn't! Those are healthy friends babybug, you can give them your new number, I know they'll understand!" Marinette thought about it for a moment and decided that Tikki was right. With a renewed conviction she made her way to the nearest tech store to begin to take control of her life again.

Adrien was frustrated, he had been texting and calling Marinette all afternoon but she wasn't answering! That wasn't like his princess, so something had to be going on, but there wasn't an Akuma on the news, Ladybug, Viperion, and Ryuko defeated the three earlier today. He did feel a little guilty that he didn't go to help, but he was busy! He had modeling shoots all morning and then joined Lila and Alya for lunch discussing their upcoming trip. The topic eventually turned to the Wayne Gala that was approaching as well, with both models confirming they had been invited. Well, Lila had only been invited because she was an official Gabriel representative, but she didn't need to know that. The brunette was currently making a big show of bringing Alya as her plus one, which brings Adrien back to his current predicament. When he arrived home, his father told him that he had to invite Marinette Dupain-cheng as his plus one no matter what. Both Agrestes had been shocked when she had rejected Gabriel's offer to join his company, but her answer had been reassuring, "I greatly appreciate your offer but cannot accept it in good conscious. Adrien has been my friend for years and I would hate to potentially harm his, the company's, and my reputation by accepting. I am worried it could be misconstrued as me gaining the position, not by my own talent, skill, or merit but because I had a connection to someone with considerable sway." His father didn't seem to pick up that the last bit was about Lila, but seemed content. In fact, Gabriel had complimented Marinette's business savvy and remarked how good it would be if she followed in his footsteps by building a fashion house from scratch. He had mused that it would be even better to have the two great fashion houses merging together instead of just taking Marinette in as a designer. Now that Miracle Design Clothing (MDC) has risen to compete with the likes of Gabriel and Style Queen, his father had decided now was the time to begin winning Marinette over.

Adrien would never admit it to his father, but he had his own motivations for being so on board with the plan to invite Marinette to the Wayne Gala. They were now in their mid-20s, and everyone in Paris wanted to know everything about the Agreste Heir's love life. Lila had hinted multiple times that Adrien was dating her, so much so that the media was beginning to spin her narrative. However, Adrien wasn't entirely out of the running yet. He knew that the Wayne Galas were always a media frenzy so if he, a fashion empire heir, showed up to the Gala with Marinette, a rising star in the fashion world, on his arm the media would quickly assume they were dating. It was a brilliant plan, Marinette was charming, beautiful, intelligent, and incredibly talented. His father held her in high regard, and he knew that if Gabriel approved of him dating anyone, it would be Marinette. Besides Adrien had a trick up his sleeve, he knew Marinette was in love with him, or at least that was what Alya had told him. She told him about Marinette's crush right before the ravenette left for college, hoping to embarrass her former best friend. Their old class still believed what Lila had said about Marinette being a bully. In their get-togethers they would often mock the designer's success, reassuring Lila that the only reason they talked to her was to get stuff from Marinette. While it upset him a little to know Marinette was being taken advantage of, a larger part of him felt like she deserved it since she didn't listen to his advice about Lila. Oh well, it was her own fault. Adrien was brought out of his thoughts by Alya's shriek.

"OH MY GOSH! The Waynes just announced the Designer they got their Gala outfits from, and it's Marinette!" Adrien choked down a laugh at the sour expression Lila wore, as Alya continued to read, "The article says that Marinette and Timothy Drake Wayne met while they were in college, and he thought her designs were so incredible that he referred her to Bruce Wayne himself! She's considered a family friend and received their order along with an invitation to the Gala! Why didn't she tell me any of this??" 'Maybe because you only talk to her when you want something' Adrien thought as their former classmates began to text. Alya was trying to call Marinette, most likely to scream at her for not letting Alya in on such a big story, but she couldn't get through. "Ugh! Marinette is ignoring me! Who does that stupid bitch think she is?" Lila's eyes sparkled as she saw a chance to jump in and control the narrative, "I know right? You'd think she'd be more grateful after I introduced her to Timmy- oh I've said too much," She batted her eyelashes and made a show of covering her mouth. "YOU introduced Marinette to the Waynes? Girl you've gotta give me the details!" "Well, Marinette was going to college in Milan, and I happened to be there for a modeling shoot," That part was actually true, Adrien was sick and couldn't make that shoot, "We happened to bump into each other at a cafè, and Marinette apologized to me for how awful she was to me in our youth. She told me that the only reason she did what she did was that she was jealous and felt threatened by me, you were right Alya." That was how Lila worked, she mixed a little bit of the truth with what someone wanted to hear, which caused the lies she told to pass by noticed. "Anyways we had lunch and caught up, she was showing me some of her amazing designs," as much as it pained Lila to admit it, Marinette was truly talented. In fact one thing she regretted was not working harder to deceive Marinette back when they were still in school, if she had known Marinette would be so successful she would've fought like hell to take the spot of Marinette's Best Friend away from Alya. She would've been MDC's top model, instead of having a stagnating career as just another practically nameless model for Gabriel. "I remembered my dear friend Timmy, we met when my mother was stationed in Gotham, he had told me that the Wayne family needed suits and dresses for their upcoming Gala and that Gabriel was too busy." Another partial truth, Lila didn't know any Wayne, but she knew Gabriel was too busy being Hawkmoth to make their outfits. "I gave him Marinette's number as an olive branch because I had thought she changed, but I guess she was lying. Oh and Alya? Adrien? Please don't mention my friendship with the Waynes, I don't want people thinking they can get to them through me." Lila smirked as both Adrien and Alya promised her they wouldn't say anything.

When Marinette told them she was cutting off her former friends for good, Tom and Sabine were over the moon. They knew about the Lila situation and all its complexities after the faux fox tried to infiltrate the bakery and convince them their daughter had stolen her necklace. They almost fell for it, until Tom remembered that Marinette had been helping him in the bakery during the time Lila said their daughter took the necklace. He had sternly told Lila that there was no way Marinette could have done it, and even offered to show her security footage that proved Marinette was not the thief. Instead, the brunette stormed out of the bakery, and Tom and Sabine knew they had to talk to their daughter. After a bit of gentle prodding, Marinette broke down and told them everything. She told them about Lila, her classmates, and Adrien, and she told them about everything they were putting her through. They were horrified, and that feeling was solidified after Lila got Marinette expelled. After their daughter's name was cleared, that useless principal was trying to dodge removing it from her record, until Sabine threatened to contact the school board about how their daughter was expelled without an investigation. They did everything they could, but it seemed Lila had everyone else in her pocket, and it seemed to stay that way once Marinette returned from college. She had swung by the bakery and explained that her phone had been shattered while she avoided the akumas, and she was taking this opportunity to change her number and cut those leeches off. Sabine and Tom promised that they would say nothing because it was only a matter of time before her former friends wound up at the bakery because of the radio silence from Marinette.

The chiming of the doorbell confirmed their fears. In stormed Marinette's old class, with her former friend Alya leading the pack. They could see Lila hiding in the back, and decided it would be better to say nothing. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng! We have a problem and thought you could help us. We've been trying to get in contact with Marinette all day, but we can't reach her and we wanted to make sure she was okay." Sabine smiled as she tried to hold in her rage. They weren't here because they were concerned, those brats wanted something. It would appear that Alya and co didn't know that Marinette's parents knew Lila was lying or what they did, so Tom decided to answer in a way Lila couldn't twist. "Oh, she came by earlier today and let us know that her phone was broken. She dropped it during one of the Akuma attacks, and it was pretty smashed up. She told us to let you know if you came by since she would be off the grid until it was fixed. It might be a while though, it was almost as bad as the time it got caught in the bread mixer!" His answer seemed to calm the group down, typical clumsy Marinette strikes again. "Ok, well can you please let her know to reach out to us once her phone's fixed?" The two nodded and promised they would, and watched as the group of adults left. Sabine turned to the freezer, "They're gone! You can come out now!" The two chuckled as their daughter slowly poked her head out of the walk-in freezer, ready to dash back in at a moment's notice. Yeah, they're glad Marinette was finally cutting those people off and the bright glow in their girl's eyes confirmed it.

The Gala was in a few weeks, and Marinette was STILL radio silent. Adrien was pacing back and forth in his room, trying to figure out what to do. Her social media was most likely controlled by an assistant like his was so he couldn't message her there, he couldn't get into her studio without an invitation or employee badge, and he realized he had no idea where she lived so he couldn't even pay her a visit or send a letter! "I don't know what to do! No one has heard from Marinette and her parents promised they'd talk to her about it!" "Maybe she finally got tired of your bullshit and decided to cut you and the rest of those users off," Plagg snapped from somewhere in his room. After The Paint Incident, Plagg's attitude towards him seemed to change. He snapped at Adrien more, called Adrien out on his behavior, and started giving Adrien harsh (and desperately needed) advice. Other than that, Plagg was getting on his case about slacking off on his duties as Chat Noir, claiming that his behavior was a disgrace to the legacy of the Cat Miraculous. Adrien was getting fed up with him, hadn't the stupid cat heard the saying 'if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all?' "Marinette wouldn't do that! We're her friends!" "Some friends. And some friend YOU are. You knew Lila was lying and let her wreck Marinette's school life, get her expelled, and continue to lie to everyone. You told Marinette to shut up and take it, news flash kid, the high road does not mean stay quite and let people hurt you! YOU currently know that YOUR friends only care about what they can get from her and that Lila is planning to pull some bullshit at the Gala, but all you're concerned about is making sure karma doesn't bite you in the ass!" Plagg roared. It was hard to argue with the little god without sounding like a hypocrite, but Adrien was going to try. "Well... When Marinette agrees to go to the Gala with me I can fix everything! She likes me, so we can get together, and I can get Lila to apologize! Once everyone knows they're on good terms things will go back to how they should be!" Plagg was paying more attention to the cheese he was juggling, but he did glance back at Adrien, "One, IF she decides to go with you. Two, she may not even feel that way it's been years. Three, How are you going to get a narcissist to admit to wrongdoing? Four, How does Lila apologizing change how your ex-class treat Mari when that's how they treated her before Lila showed up?" Adrien chose to ignore Plagg and tried calling Marinette again.

Alya was STRESSED. The Gala was coming up and she needed a new dress that would wow everyone and make her stand out from other reporters. She had already secured her Press Pass, and because she was Lila's plus one she could actually get into the Gala. The only other reporters with that privilege were Clark Kent and Lois Lane, close friends of the Wayne Family. Lila offered to get her a Gabriel Original but she turned it down, both girls shared a sentiment that Gabriel's designs had really been declining. "I think it was the loss of his wife. She was his greatest inspiration, and especially with Hawkmoth on the loose, I can understand not wanting to leave your house. Maybe he's just out of touch," Lila had told her, and Alya agreed. What she needed was a Marinette Original, something to show she was in with both designers. She was thinking of something fox-inspired, to pay homage to her time as Rena Rouge. She'd talked to the other girls about why Marinette had never told her she would be designing for the Waynes, and they reassured her, "Well, maybe she thought you wouldn't be interested or were too busy?" Rose offered. "You didn't really report on fashion until Adrien and Lila took you to that fashion show. Maybe she thought you wouldn't be interested." Juleka suggested. "Als, you're overthinking it! Mari didn't tell you because she couldn't! A family like the Waynes has wicked good lawyers, they probably made her sign an NDA." Alix concluded. They were probably right, Marinette would have told her if she could have, and Alya needed that dress. So there she was at Tom and Sabine's bakery again, asking about Marinette. "Oh, she just called this morning! The damage was too severe, so she had to get a new phone." Sabine told the young reporter, who thanked her lucky stars. As she left the bakery, she sent a text 'Mari's back!'

Adrien nearly dropped his phone when he got the text from Alya, before excusing himself to run upstairs and call Marinette. The phone rang, and rang, and rang, before the call was answered, "Hello? Who is this?" A woman's voice answered, but certainly was not Marinette. Adrien was floored, he was sure he dialed the correct number. "Um hi. I'm looking for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm a friend of hers and was calling to speak to her." "Oh really? Well if you're her friend maybe you can explain to me why the second I had this number activated my phone was bombarded with calls and texts demanding things from dresses, to invitations to some Gala, and all kinds of other demands." Wait, had Marinette changed her number? No, she wouldn't have. "Listen, lady, I don't know if you find this funny but I KNOW Marinette wouldn't change her number. If you're her assistant you better give the phone to Marinette NOW or I'll see to it personally that you're fired!" Marinette should really have taken care to not hire such incompetent people. It was unfitting of an eventually-to-be Agreste. "I don't know who you think you are but I will make one thing clear: I DO NOT KNOW A MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG!" The line went dead. Adrien pressed the redial button, and felt his stomach drop as the call didn't go through, he had been blocked. From the way the group chat was blowing up, he could guess the others were getting the same response. Lila was going on and on about how Marinette was abandoning them in their time of need, and adding fuel to the fire. Adrien decided he was going to do damage control. He had thought a bit about what Plagg had said and realized that he needed to show Marinette that he was still on her side, besides it would be tougher to get everyone to make up if they were mad at her for something her crappy assistant did. He sent the chat a message, 'Guys relax. The woman on the phone wasn't Marinette but has her number, so she's probably a new assistant! Miracle Design Clothing has really exploded since the Waynes announced she made their outfits for the Gala so Marinette probably hired some help and the lady didn't know who we were. We can try again later.'

Lea Dubois was having the roughest week in all of her fourty-three years. She had gotten a new phone, since she her old one was stolen, and decided to get a new number with it. Not even a couple of minutes after activating her phone it began blowing up with calls and demands for a Marinette Dupain-Cheng. After a particularly snobby boy threatened to get her fired from a job she didn't even have, Lea decided to do some snooping and figure out who this Marinette Dupain-Cheng was. Googling the girl's name directed her to a Miracle Design Clothing website, and after scrolling through she found a tab labeled, "Founder." Clicking on it, she saw a picture of a smiling young woman with shiny black (almost blue) hair and sapphires for her eyes. She was a truly gorgeous woman, and from what Lea read very talented. That explained the demand for clothing. She decided to check social media next, and quickly found articles about how the rising star had been personally invited to the Wayne Charity Gala! That explained all the calls from people claiming to be Marinette's friends and demanding to be taken to the Gala, to that one girl who demanded an interview and a dress for the Gala. Lea went through the messages that quickly went from demanding to insulting and toxic, and thought to herself, 'I see why that girl changed her number, I hope she knows these people aren't her friends.' She decided to look up the people who had called her, and see what she could find out about them. A girl named Alix and a boy named Kim were both athletes, although both played for the minor leagues of their respective sports, but it did explain the requests for jersey designs. A boy named Ivan and two girls named Juleka and Rose had been calling about outfits for their next concert, apparently they were in a band called Kitty Section. Lea vaguely remembered that it was a popular group, before their lead guitarist was kicked out and went solo. Two girls named Sabrina and Mylene had asked her to create costumes for a production in the Théâtre du Châtelet, a boy named Max called asking for a suit for his new tech reveal, and another boy named Nino asked her to design a couple of album covers!

A few other people called, but they seemed to be genuine friends. One standout was a boy named Nathaniel who had called twice, once to congratulate Marinette on her work with the Waynes and invite her to an event for his comic. The second time was to apologize to Lea when he found out Marinette had changed her number. He had also apologized for the harassment his (and apparently Marinette's) former friends had been throwing at her. He explained that when they were younger, Marinette didn't know how to stand up for herself, and was pressured by her teacher to constantly put her needs on the back burner to help her classmates. Nathaniel told her it had gotten better when Marinette left for college, but now that she was back in Paris, things had gone back to the way they were. Instead of their teacher, the role of pressuring her had fallen to three people, Lila Rossi, Alya Césaire, and Adrien Agreste. That last name caught her attention, could that have been the bratty boy who threatened to fire her? "Sweetie I hate to do this to you, but if you have time could you meet me in person? We have a lot to discuss, and I'm beginning to worry for Marinette." Nathaniel had agreed and had said he was bringing a couple of Marinette's friends, her real friends. "They've been harassing us too, maybe we can look into getting a restraining order or something." And that was how she ended up in a cafe sitting at a table with some of the most impressive people she'd ever met. There were Nathaniel Kurtzberg and Marc Anciel, the power couple of comics. She hadn't read comics since she was a little girl, but her nephews talked nonstop about the Ladybug comic the two had started in collège. Olympian fencer Kagami Tsurugi, and hit rock artist Luka Couffaine. There was academy award winner Zoé Lee and fortune 500 company founder Chloé Bourgeois.

The group exchanged pleasantries and got right to business, "So we heard from Nathaniel that you got Marinette's old number and that your phone has been blowing up with all the shit she used to get," Luka said. Lea nodded, "Yes. They refused to believe that she'd changed her number and one man even threatened to get me fired! I don't know what job he thinks I have that he can influence, but I digress. " "Ugh. That sounds like Adrien alright. I swear it was like a switch flipped in his head during Collége, he's acting like I used to," Chloé had come to terms with the kind of person she was, and had taken the steps to apologize and change for the better. A part of that was she swore never to touch a Miraculous again, she had become aware enough to realize that when given that much power she would be tempted to fall back into her old ways. "It's telling that their first reaction to being cut off is to harass an innocent person instead of reflecting on their actions and what lead them to that point," Kagami said, "I think we owe you an explanation since you have unfortunately been dragged into this." Lea nodded, that sounded good. "They weren't always this bad, well they weren't always this blatant about it. For a long time, Marinette was happy and popular, hell even when I bullied her she didn't seem bothered. Then Lila Rossi transferred. That girl is the type to convince people that two plus two equals five, you know what I mean," Lea nodded, her ex had been like that. "Well anyways, Marinette saw through her bullshit and called her out for it, so Lila declared war. Before anyone could process what happened, Lila had convinced the class that Marinette was the Devil's spawn. She even managed to get Marinette falsely expelled, and while that was reversed, it was the moment Marinette realized she couldn't rely on her classmates. Alya was an up-and-coming journalist and her best friend, but if she couldn't bring herself to fact-check this girl's stories..." Chloé paused to take a sip of her drink, and Lea thought of something, "Maybe Alya did fact-check and knew Lila was lying. I did some research before I came here, and I know that Alya ran the Ladyblog. I also know that her videos featuring Lila are her most viewed videos, but when I looked at the comments I noticed that a ton had been deleted. Maybe she knew but saw how much attention her blog was getting, and chose to ignore Lila's lies, or maybe she believes them, I don't know." The group continued to chat about their situation and were snapped out of it when the door to the cafe was flung open.

Alya was gonna kill Marinette when she found her. How dare she hire someone and not tell them who she was?! How dare she do that to her friends?! Doesn't she realize they need her? It didn't take much to convince the others, specifically Max, to ping the location off of Marinette's number and track it down. If she was going to be bitchy and ignore their calls and messages and hire some dumb assistant to annoy them, they were gonna make her pay! They had tracked her location to a cafe in the fashion district and were waiting for the last of the group to arrive. "I don't understand why she's being so petty," Lila whimpered, fighting back tears, "You all have been nothing but kind to her even when she's been such a nasty person!" "I don't understand it either," Sabrina said, "It's like a switch flipped in collège or something." Well whatever it was, they weren't gonna let her get out of this! Once Kitty Section had arrived, the group stormed into the cafe ready to give Marinette a piece of their minds! To their surprise, Marinette wasn't there. Their old friends turned enemies were there and sitting with them was a middle-aged woman, was she the one who had been answering from Marinette's number. "Where's Marinette?" Alya demanded. Chloé and Kagami lept to their feet. "She isn't here, and unless someone is dying you are not getting in contact with her!" Chloé was a lot less polite about it, "Wow, I'm surprised none of you got the memo. You've been cut off!" The older woman turned to face them, and Adrien snapped at her, "You! Are you Marinette's assistant or something? Get her here now!" Oh, that was it, Lea walked right up to him, ready for war. "I will do no such thing because I am not her assistant! I did not even know who Marinette was until you people began blowing up my phone with demands! I have never met more selfish people! And you," she pointed at Lila, "I've heard all about you and what you've done to that poor girl!" Lila began to sob, wailing about how she didn't do anything, and that she had been trying to mend bridges with Marinette by introducing her to the Waynes.

"Woah, Woah, hold on! You did NOT introduce her to the Wayne Family," Luka stood up and walked over, Lea noticed how Kitty Section seemed to shrink under his gaze. "Marinette met the Waynes at a fashion show in Gotham that Jagged Stone took us to. She met Selina and the two hit it off like a house on fire," Luka pulled out his phone and showed off pictures of a much younger Marinette with a woman who could have passed for her mother. "Notice the date? She was in high school when she met them. Here she is at Selina and Bruce's wedding. Know why she's there? She designed Selina's dress." The dress was a stunning white with elegant black lace. The top resembled the head of a cat, and if you looked close enough you could see little cats and bats hidden within the lace. "Marinette's been the Wayne Family's go-to designer for YEARS. Hell, the Waynes were at her graduation party, and the opening of Miracle Design Clothes Studio, and have been to every major life event she's had since she met them." Luka showed them More photos of Marinette and the Wayne family. "I don't know how you could introduce her to people she's known for years," Luka said, "Not to mention Stephanie tells me they're desperate to either adopt her into the family or have her marry into it," Marc added. All eyes were on Lila now, she had told them all that she'd introduced Marinette to Timothy Drake Wayne and that was how Marinette got the job, but with all this evidence it was clear her lie was dead in the water. Lea turned back to the group, watching as the realization crossed their faces that Lila had lied, and had most likely lied about various other things. Turning back to the people she had met she said, "It was very nice meeting you all. Please pass on my concerns to Marinette, and let her know if she ever needs friendly advice, she knows what number to call,"

The Wayne Gala was very... Awkward for Adrien. After their failed attempt to confront Marinette, Lila got exposed, and in the excitement, it came out that he knew about what she had been doing. Simply put he was excommunicated from the group. They figured that if they cut him, Lila, and Alya (who had doubled down on Marinette being the problem until it came out she knew Lila lied and had said nothing to protect her views) out that they could apologize to Marinette and she'd take them back. Their pleas on social media brought attention to the situation, and Marinette's friends and parents were more than happy to tell the world what happened to their favorite designer. When he, Lila, and Alya walked into the Wayne Gala, they turned heads but not for the reasons any of them had hoped for. People were polite to their faces and when speaking to them, but Adrien could hear them whispering behind his back. He needed to talk to Marinette, if he could smooth things over with her then maybe, just maybe this could be salvaged. However, the Wayne Family seemed to personally take offense to his plan, because whenever he saw Marinette (and she stood out in an absolutely jaw-dropping sparkling red mermaid cut dress) she was whisked away before he could say anything. First, it was Selina, who lead her over to some of his father's former clients and proudly told them the story of how she met the young designer. Then it was Bruce Wayne himself who came to introduce her to the Kents, who much to Alya's dismay didn't even glance her way. Finally, it was the Wayne Kids who were determined to dance with Marinette all night, Adrien swears Jason was smirking at him. Eventually, she broke off from the main party with Tim and the two were chatting on the balcony. This was as close of a chance as he would get.

Marinette was having an amazing night! She met so many amazing people and made so many new contacts! She even set up an interview with Lois Lane! She could feel Alya fuming on the other side of the room, and tried her best not to think about it. She knew Adrien, Lila, and Alya were at the Gala, and she knew what had happened a few weeks before. While she was happy Lila was finally exposed, she had moved on. She got to dance with each of the Wayne siblings, but her favorite dance had to be with Tim. When Selina had introduced her to him, their reaction to each other was to freak out. Tim was over the moon to meet the designer he'd followed for years, and Marinette was ecstatic to meet the young Wayne CEO (whom she may have had a bit of a crush on). The two had exchanged numbers and talked constantly, building up a close friendship. As time went on her crush on him grew as well, but she was too nervous to risk their friendship and say anything. Eventually, when she thought her feet were going to fall off, Tim led her over to the balcony. There they talked quietly about anything and everything when a cough interrupted them. There was Adrien, with a charming smile, but Marinette had learned not to be fooled. "Hello, Adrien. Enjoying the Gala?" Marinette asked, she knew he was up to something, and from the way Tim looked at him, he could sense it too. Marinette decided to take control of the conversation, "I heard what happened. With Lea Dubois and the phone number and everything. To put it lightly that certainly wasn't your best moment." "Well, I... I never thought you would change your number, so it kinda threw me for a loop. Anyways, I wanted to apologize for the part I played in all of this. I really dropped the ball and it lead to you getting hurt I never intended for that to happen," "Yet you continued to let Marinette's former friends use her for free things?" Tim butted in, holding up his phone and showing various text messages between Adrien and his friends. Adrien's face darkened, "How the hell did you get those?!" Tim just threw his head back and laughed. "I'm a tech prodigy. Finding texts is a piece of cake. I started looking after Nathaniel told me about what happened in the cafe. I also found the texts between you and your father, and no I won't let you use my girlfriend as a publicity stunt. We were gonna announce our relationship tonight-" Adrien turned around and stomped off before Tim could finish his sentence. Marinette sighed, he really hadn't changed. Turning back to Tim she asked, "Since when are we in a relationship?" The raven-haired boy blushed a little, "Well Unofficially since your graduation party, but neither of us knew it at the time. Officially now... If you want. If not that's cool and we can just pretend this never happened. Damn Adrien! I had a plan for this but he had to show up and ruin it!" Marinette chuckled and brought Tim's hand up to her cheek, smiling up at him fondly, "Officially now is fine with me."

#vixin-unchiha #adrien salt #lila salt #maribat #marinette deserves better #marinette dupain cheng #class salt #timinette #tom and sabine sugar

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maddascanbe-blog · 3 months

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Finally! I will say now that the class girls will likely take a long time as well.

Kagami's first and second looks here are meant to be her pre and post character development outfits.

Buckle in, this is a long (haha) one

Kagami in cannon is clearly designsed to resemble Marinette in a lot of ways, both are of Asian decent and have blue-ish hair and blue eyes. Both have freckles and even their suits share a very similar color pallet. At least Luka was different from Adrien in more than personality.

I didn't want that for my Kagami. I wanted her too look like more than a Marinette clone. So she gets to keep her freckles since my Marinette doesn't have any. Her hair is a darker color instead of a blue, and her eyes take on a stormy grey color. And of course their body types are different, namely Kagami is both taller and ripped.

Ryuko's hair is more blue since I gave the miraculous blue, white, and gold accent to match the weather pattern on her chest. Her hair get's shorter, pinned back and is a bit more wild. It's probably got some static. Little horns and some armor to keep her extra safe as well as further resembling scales. Her suit is closer to an orange shade than Ladybug's cool red. I almost switched her to blue since I agree with the sentiment that the dragon should have been blue. But red looked good too.

I don't particularly like any of the akuma designs for Kagami. I like Oni-Chan in concept at least (hate the name) so I decided to combine that with Riposte to create her initial design. Than she gets a pallet swap and a few thorny details to represent the rose. And Bara-Oni, literally just 'Rose Demon' I ain't creative, when Lila pulls her stunt.

Kagami's personality is very similar to cannon, however her character still has some pretty harsh changes. Kagami has come to realse through Adrien and Marinette's friendship that she isn't very happy with her life. Her mother is trying to live through her, forcing Kagami to participate in fencing and putting pressure on her to perform perfectly in every aspect of life.

This comes to a head when she is given Longg. While sitting in the akumatized mech her mother became, all because she had the audacity to make friends, she actually waits long (haha) enough for Longg to explain the miraculous. When Long explains the weapon he points out that she must be thrilled to have a sword. At which point Kagami was an emotional breakdown and sobs that she doesn't even like sword fighting. That she would rather learn hand to hand combat and that she's wanted to switch for years but her mother refused to hear it.

Longg says her can change her weapon to better suit her, and she get's armor and the abilitly to summon gauntlets when her power activates.

After having this break she and Adrien sit down and try and find ways for Kagami to feel more like an individual without being disowned at 16. Cutting/dyeing your hair and getting a Tattoo are two of the results, and since Kagami already has short hair and doens't really want to go shorter she gets the tattoo instead. Subtly referencing her time as Ryuko in blue (her favorite color). And of course her mother is blind and doesn't know

Is it kind of shitty to abuse your mother's disability to use her money and get a tattoo? Maybe. But that's what you get for mentally and emotionally warping your duaghter to the point where she lies about her favorite color to please you. She, Adrien, and Chloe are in the "Our mom's suck" club together. Chloe will be collecting her for new wardrobe shopping.

#miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #miraculous ladybug #ryuko #kagami tsuguri #kagami tsurugi redesign #ryuko redesign #miraculous fanart #miraculous redesign #miraculous re-write #riposte #riposte redesign #oni chan #oni chan redesign #dragon miraculous

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cyphyree · 7 months

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Kill la kill: What is Ryuko and Senketsu's friendship anyway

I talked before about how Life Fibers are representations of fate and predominantly facist ideals, which is why the show ultimately isn't about and doesn't end with interspecies friendship. Senketsu then is a representation of Ryuko's fate, and in the end, he frees Ryuko of himself.

BUT, Ryuko and Senketsu's relationship is more complicated than "fate imposed on a person"...... yet at the same time that's exactly what it is. Their friendship is real and fraught with ups and downs, and they BOTH undergo arcs catalyzed by the other.

Ryuko is a product of destiny grappling with her own agency. She takes up the scissor blade in order to avenge her dad, but was forced to confront her fate--Senketsu, who was tailor-made specifically for Ryuko, and who very literally and uncomfortably forced himself on Ryuko.

...Not a great start tbh. Just as Junketsu is Satsuki's wedding dress, Senketsu is Ryuko's. At that point, the only reason Ryuko rolled with Senketsu was because she could then leverage Senketsu's powers to defeat Satsuki.

(Side note, Satsuki forces Junketsu to bend to her will, but like her conquest, playing to best the system is still playing within the system. Both girls were both going to be fed to their predetermined fates one way or another. But anyway)

Ryuko has a complicated relationship with her destiny and with herself, all of which is reflected in her friendship with Senketsu. She was forced into a role, became a pawn in a game set by her parents and those around her, and yet somehow learned self love and agency. Her relationship with Senketsu is a reflection of her own self-image: when she's comfortable in her own skin, she and Senketsu are in harmony. When she is disgusted by the truth of being a Life Fiber human hybrid, she sees herself in what Senketsu is, and is vehemently repulsed.

Like Ryuko, Senketsu is a hybrid of Life Fibers, Ryuko's human DNA and his own personality. As much as Ryuko is a product with predetermined destinies, so is Senketsu, more obviously even.

Senketsu is weaponized clothing. In a world where everyone wanted to possess or destroy him, Ryuko calls him her friend.

Ryuko is a manufactured hybrid soldier. In a world where everyone wanted to use her or put her down, Senketsu calls her his friend. (We'll get to Mako in a bit)

Senketsu and Ryuko both embody their own struggles against fate and self-image. How can you live and accept yourself, when you were created a monster? A tool to be used and otherwise euthanized? Products made to either save or destroy your own species?

"Everyone else can take off their clothes, but I can't take off my own skin."

Although Senketsu's struggles aren't as upfront as Ryuko's, we still see him grapple with how Ryuko perceives him: as a friend, as "just a piece of clothing," as a mirror held up to herself? And what then, when the answer is "yes?"

The simple and most difficult answer, that I believe was presented to us, is to accept yourself and to choose what path to walk.... which is essentially the very thing that our facist villain Ragyo wants to eliminate.

At her lowest point, Ryuko was faced with the reality that she is in fact the weapon that everyone treated her as. Her fears are realized. How can anyone love this? How can she? Mako shows her that there are those who love her unconditionally--Mako herself in fact! It's important that Ryuko realizes this. But this alone isn't enough to save Ryuko from self-loathing.

The Wedding is a scene where we can clearly see the difference between giving into a predestined fate, and accepting yourself. It's here that Ryuko finally realizes that she does have the power to choose, and that for everything she is, she is unconditionally worthy of love from others and herself.

Senketsu would also make this realization, but from his side of the coin. He is clothing, to be worn, to be grown out of. He is also a weapon destined to consume his wearer. He is horrified by the idea that Ryuko is supposed to be his food, and yet would force himself onto her at the beginning. Even at the time of the Wedding, Senketsu declared that he'd force Ryuko to wear him to save her.

However, like Ryuko, Senketsu struggles with and would finally accept Ryuko's own agency. Ryuko broke out of the Wedding NOT because she was forced to wear Senketsu, another wedding dress, but because she CHOOSES to. It is finally when she willingly and full heartedly accepts herself that she and Senketsu are the most powerful, and this could only happen by her choice.

Notably, Ryuko flays herself of Junketsu, effectively a second skin, to be in her own skin again.

Just as Ryuko is a person who can choose what to wear, Senketsu is clothing that is chosen to be worn.

That's not to detract from Senketsu's personhood. What I'm saying is that Senketsu is clothing given voice and personality, and both he and Ryuko learn to make peace with what they are, and are empowered by the choices they can make.

People are people. Clothes are clothes.

People are not meant to be worn, clothes are.

This is why Senketsu leaving in the end is a powerful conclusion to his and Ryuko's arcs. Even as he burns, he protects Ryuko. He tells her to wear something she wants. As much as they could've been destined to meet, as much as he is Life Fibers meant to consume her, he is not her wedding dress, and nor will he force her to wear him. He is clothing but chooses to be a friend.

We are what we are and can't change how we were born; perhaps that is fate. But our choices are what really matter, and some of the most powerful choices we can make are to accept and love ourselves.

#do you guys know i really like this battle bikini anime #head in hands shinji chair #kill la kill #kill la kill thoughts #analysis #ryuko matoi #satsuki kiryuin #mako mankanshoku #Senketsu #not art #anime analysis

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kasienda · 5 months

Text

Just An Ordinary Girl

A love square remix of A Friend Like That by @trainsinanime. Written for the @mlsquaredance. This fic was so much fun write. Do please read the original first. It makes this one more fun! Read on Ao3 ...

“We need to stay together!” Viperion called out. “Splitting up does not end well.”

The sheer exhaustion in Viperion’s tone didn’t bode well either. Carapace didn’t want to know how many loops Viperion had gone through this go around especially considering it was his third time loop this battle.

Even from Carapace’s less than fifteen minutes of experience, this battle was awful.

The akuma was like Miraculer - he could steal their powers. But he was worse because it could split into four clones of himself.

“Okay then!” Chat Noir called. “Ryuko, Rena, and Carapace, protect our backs. Tigress and I will guard the gap! Viperion stays in the middle.”

Carapace missed Ladybug. There was nothing wrong with Chat’s orders. Carapace didn’t disagree with any of his calls. This akuma just sucked. And Ladybug just had this insane creative genius for hare-brained schemes that seemed to be able to cut through anything.

The akuma struck. Carapace narrowly yanked Rena Rouge aside and they both fell to the ground hard. His elbow took the majority of the impact, which hurt like a bitch, but he was glad it was him who took the brunt of it instead of her. And it worked.

Except one of the other clones clipped him.

A mud brown impenetrable dome manifested around all six of them immediately.

Purple Tigress punched it with her power. Nothing.

Cataclysm dissolved it, but it was immediately replaced with another.

“Crap!”

That was one word for it. Carapace might have had a far less kid-friendly one ringing through his head. The six of them were getting their butts handed to them by this akuma.

Carapace took personal offense to the barrier that stood as a mockery of his own power.

“Viperion?” Chat called.

The snake hero shook his head. “We’re on loop number 1703. This is the best possible outcome. Trust me.”

Chat Noir winced.

Carapace really missed Ladybug.

“I think we have to call Ladybug,” Rena Rouge said, turning toward Chat Noir.

“No! We can’t!” Chat objected.

Rena raised an eyebrow. “We can’t let the akuma win. We’re trapped.”

“She only asked for one weekend off! She deserves to have one weekend off! We can handle it.”

“I hate to break it to you, but we’re not handling it,” Ryuko added dryly.

“We will not be calling Ladybug,” Chat declared firmly.

The other five of them exchanged a look.

“We can get help from someone else!” Chat insisted.

“Like who?” Rena Rouge demanded. “You’d need someone who is willing to pull off crazy stunts, who is a tactical creative genius against so many, and someone who is not intimidated by akumas.”

“Marinette!” Chat exclaimed, his face lit up in excitement.

“How do you know Marinette?” Ryuko asked, her eyebrows furrowed together.

“You think Marinette can do what six fully equipped superheroes couldn’t?!” Carapace asked.

Rena’s eyes narrowed. “Why Marinette?”

“Are you kidding? Marinette could kick any one of our asses,” Chat said. “Marinette is the only person I know who has gone up against an akuma as a civilian.”

Seriously?! Did the cat have selective memory? But it wasn’t like Carapace could remind everyone that Nino had gone up against Anansi as a civilian.

Of course, he had lost, but that wasn’t the point.

“You’re crazy,” he said instead, crossing his arms.

“I’m in.” Rena said.

“What?!” Carapace turned to her in shock, feeling more than a bit betrayed.

Viperion and Ryuko nodded in agreement as well.

Was everyone insane? He turned to Rena. “You’re going along with this? You’d throw Marinette—“ her best friend went unsaid, but Rena understood what he was saying. “—out there unsupported against an akuma?”

His girlfriend shrugged. She shrugged . “If Ladybug’s not an option. Marinette is the next best thing.”

Carapace stared at her incredulously.

Chat clapped his hands together, clearly pleased with this so-called solution. “I’ll call her!”

“You have her number?” Carapace asked. What the actual fuck?

But obviously he did because he had the cat phone to his ear and it was audibly ringing. “Hey princess!” Chat greeted enthusiastically, turning away from the group like it was a private conversation.

“Princess?” Carapace echoed. What kind of relationship did Chat Noir and Marinette have?

“No.” Marinette’s firm voice echoed throughout the dome.

“I haven’t even asked for anything yet.”

“The answer is still no! I only have twelve hours before this project is due. I cannot take a break.”

“But Paris needs you.”

“The answer is no. Call someone else! Call Ladybug!”

“No! Marinette! I can’t! Last week was terrible for her. I promised I could handle one weekend. She deserves and needs the time off. Plus, we don’t need her. I know you can do this. You can do anything . Remember Kwamibuster?”

Chat Noir spoke to Marinette like he was trying to sweet talk her. Carapace didn’t like it. Chat had always been flirtatious, and Marinette deserved someone loyal and sincere.

Someone like Adrien.

“What do you expect me to do against an akuma without a miraculous?” Marinette asked.

“Whatever it is you did against Evilustrator and Hack-san.”

“I can’t do this. Not today.”

Chat only grinned at her refusal. “You always say that, and then you do it anyway.”

“What do I get out of this?”

“Your friends and family safe and sound, free to feel their own feelings and pursue their own dreams.”

Marinette groaned. “Chaaaat!” she whined. “You’re gonna owe me so much for this.”

“See you soon, Princess!” Chat sing-songed, and turned his attention back to the group. “She’s on her way.”

As if that solved all their problems.

“Shouldn’t we… I don’t know… come up with a back up plan?” Carapace asked.

Purple Tigress looked at the other four expectantly, as if agreeing with him, but the others just exchanged glances and shrugged. They honestly thought Marinette was the solution.

Carapace really hoped they were right. Marinette was amazing, but did that mean she could get through an akuma that Viperion had just spent who knew how many weeks fighting unsuccessfully across three time loops?

“You don’t need to worry so much,” Chat Noir assured, and it was galling that Chat Noir could read him so well.

“How can you be so confident? Aren’t you worried about her at all?”

“Marinette would kick my ass into next Sunday if I worried about her. She can take care of herself, and she knows what she can handle and what she can’t. I’ve learned over and over again not to underestimate her. Kwamibuster was an akuma where Ladybug and I both lost our Kwamis, and therefore our transformations. Marinette pulled off a stunt the old Guardian thought was impossible with all the remaining miraculouses using the mouse to protect her own psyche. She was brilliant.”

“But she doesn’t have an entire box right now.”

“She doesn’t need an entire box. She defeated Hack-San without any powers at all. Her super power is in how she thinks!”

Carapace held his hands up. “I know firsthand that she’s brilliant. I’m just scared for her too. That akuma handed our asses to us.”

“She’s doing fine,” Rena commented, projecting a video from her flute into the air for all of them to see.

Chat Noir flipped around the projected image, so he wouldn’t be seeing the mirror image like Nino from the back.

“Some girl just took out an akuma with a trash can and a fire hydrant,” Chat read aloud. “She ran off before anyone could thank her.”

In the video, Marinette hid in the trash can and when the akuma was overhead, she leapt out of her hiding place and tackled the clone onto the ground where the fire hydrant went off in its face. Marinette used the distraction to snatch the clone’s sash, and the thing dissolved underneath her. Then she was running away before the other three could grab her, her pigtails bobbing behind her.

Chat’s expression was completely besotted. “The way she lured him in like that?! She’s just amazing!” Then he turned toward Carapace triumphantly like a proud boyfriend. “See! She just has this way of cutting to the right idea at the right time! I could watch her working on a problem or project for hours!”

Did Chat Noir realize how he sounded?

And it wasn’t fair because Nino was certain that Adrien was finally starting to realize that he was crushing hard on Marinette.

What if Chat Noir got there first?

“You think she’ll clear this up before sunset?” Purple Tigress asked.

“Why? Got somewhere else more important to be?” Viperion asked.

“Well, not more important . But something I’d like to do, yes.”

“A hot date?” Viperion teased.

“What’s it to you?” Purple Tigress growled back.

Viperion held his hands up in surrender. “Just teasing! You deserve to get to go on your date. Hopefully Marinette pulls through. She usually does.”

“I never said it was a date,” Tigress muttered. But clearly it was.

“I have another Marinette update,” Rena announced, playing another video from the Ladyblog’s fan submission page.

“This girl is insane!” the narrator exclaimed, his camera flashing toward two bungie cables dangling from the overhead railing with two suitcases attached on either end. “She set up a pulley system with two guys’ luggage and a plastic bag to set a trap for a friggin’ akuma and she won!” The video angled back to his face. “Where the hell are Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

“Wow! That’s super cool!” Tigress said, watching the video with wide eyes.

“That’s Marinette for you. She never sits out a fight when she can do something,” Chat said.

“You really like her, don’t you?” Ryuko asked, smiling fondly.

“Oh yeah, she’s absolutely amazing! Have you ever seen her designs?” His face was as bright as the moon as he spoke.

Carapace shook his head. Chat Noir didn’t just know about Marinette’s designs. He had seen them! Nino wondered again how much time Chat Noir spent with Marinette on the regular? Even Nino had only ever caught glimpses of her work and he was in almost all of Marinette’s classes.

“You know, even if Marinette manages to take out all four clones, how is she gonna break through this barrier?”

“She’ll figure it out,” Chat insisted. “She always does. I wish we had something in here to give her to show our appreciation.”

Rena smiled at him. “I’m sure she’ll know we appreciate her.”

“I just feel so bad for interrupting her project right before a deadline. I’ll have to make it up to her.”

Yeah, Chat Noir had it bad, which wasn’t good. Nino didn’t want him swooping in right before Adrien was finally seeing her.

“Ah! We have an update on the akuma,” Rena announced, projecting the post into the air again.

“My little girl almost got hit by an akuma! Luckily, this girl knocked it out of the park before it touched her at all. And then she stayed and danced until my girl was laughing again! What an absolute angel!”

“Wow!” Purple Tigress said. “Marinette’s usually so clumsy.”

But Chat was shaking his head. “Not during emergencies or akumas. Then she’s graceful. And yeah, she trips and stumbles constantly–” he was smiling fondly as he said this. “-- which can be really adorable, but she’s really good at catching herself! She kind of has this unique way of pinwheeling her arms to regain her balance. And her gestures are so creative and expressive… Honestly, I could spend hours just watching her.”

That description was remarkably specific. “Aren’t you supposed to be in love with Ladybug?” Carapace asked.

Chat turned to him, his eyebrows furrowed in total bafflement. “I am in love with Ladybug.”

Carapace crossed his arms. “Are you sure? Seems like you have a thing for Marinette.”

“Oh, he definitely has a thing for Marinette,” Rena interjected, studying the feed on her flute before flashing him a smirk. “But then who doesn’t?”

“Right?!” Viperion chimed in.

Even Ryuko was nodding. “I admit I hold more than a passing affection for Marinette as well.”

Carapace hated that he couldn’t even argue. He had harbored a crush on Marinette for months . But he buried his hooded face in his hands anyway. This was ridiculous.

“I don’t have a thing for Marinette!” Chat objected.

“God! You’re worse than my best bro!”

“What does that mean?”

“You’re totally oblivious.”

And Nino hoped it stayed that way at least until Adrien had a chance to say something.

“No, you don’t understand. I can’t have a thing for Marinette! She’s in love with someone else. You should have heard her confession!”

“She confessed?!”

“She practiced it anyway. It was silly at first, but then just so sincere. I wish someone would confess to me like that.”

Chat’s shoulders were slumped, and his gaze downcast. Carapace stared at a dejected Chat in disbelief. Did Chat Noir really not get that he had feelings for Marinette?

Chat looked up straight at Carapace. “Do you think anyone will ever love me like that?”

Nino froze. Chat Noir, one of the two primary heroes of Paris who pranced around in a catsuit and flirted with every other person he encountered, was looking to him for reassurance?!

Today was just absolutely wild.

“I’m sure there’s someone out there for you, dude,” Carapace reassured.

There was a loud bang, and they all tensed, flipped around facing the barrier read to fight.

But the dome just faded away. Marinette stood on the other side, holding out a clear glass bottle with an akuma fluttering angrily inside.

Chat Noir plucked the bottle from her hold, smiling at her like she hung the moon. He released the akuma just far enough to cataclysm it.

“See! I knew you could do it.” His eyes were so soft, he could give Adrien a run for his money.

Marinette scowled at him, crossing her arms. “You know who else could have done it? Ladybug!! She has actual powers! Do you know how hard it was to go after an akuma without enhanced agility?”

Chat took her hand. “May I offer the princess a kiss in gratitude?”

“I think I’m the knight in this scenario,” she replies petulantly, but she didn’t pull away.

He pressed a lingering kiss onto her hand.

Marinette didn’t even blush. “You owe me bigtime!”

Chat nods. “Thank you for bailing me–” he gestured to all six of the present heroes, “–I mean, bailing all of us out.”

“Why’d you ask me? I’m just an ordinary girl.”

He shook his head. “There’s nothing ordinary about you, Marinette.” He said her name with absolute reverence.

Nino shook his head in exasperation. There was no way in hell Chat Noir wasn’t in love with Marinette. Nino would have to warn Adrien to get his game on. He had competition, even if he didn’t know it.

The other heroes surrounded her and offered thanks and congratulations. “Marinette! You are amazing!” Carapace told her. “Like you pulled off an impossible feat!” And then he bent down and whispered. “And I think if you’re not careful you’re going to break a certain black cat’s heart.”

Marinette’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about? Chat’s way too obsessed with Ladybug to ever really see me.”

#miraculous square dance 2023 #marichat #miraculous ladybug fan fiction #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #nino lahiffe #adrien is oblivious #marinette is awesome #nino is just done #heroes are trapped #marinette to the rescue #ladybug just wanted a weekend off #my own content

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