#akuma to love song icons | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

judyhopps934-mt-zd · 3 years

Text

Thoughts on Miraculous Shanghai: The Legend of Lady Dragon

Warning: Spoilers! Other than that, have fun!

Also, if you want to watch the full English Dub, click here!

I love how we saw Fei's backstory as to how she became guardian of the Prodigious and how it was actually stolen because there are people who want money from her adoptive father's studio. It was also sad to see that the values her father implemented into her fade due to the circumstances they found themselves in. I speak for all of us to say that this girl needs a hug.

The intro as always is beautiful! Since it was not the first thing we saw, I was confused when looking through the episodes on YT.

I always enjoy Marinette's monologues, and this one was over how she looked forward to her holiday (it was like a vacation type thing). And how she looked forward to spend time with Adrien since his father was going to let him out. It was all perfect...

...until she went to deliver Uncle Wang's package and found out Adrien left for Shanghai at the last minute. But all is good though because she could go to Shanghai, deliver the gift personally, and see Adrien.

It hurts me to see that the writers made Marinette's purpose to go to Shanghai is to see Adrien when she can do that in Paris! It frustrates me that her character development goes back to square one, even as the protagonist of the show. People might point out this was before season 3, but I have a few points that say otherwise or that the writers are mixing things up. But first, the plot points and thoughts of everything else.

Also, I get that Marinette is 14/15/16 at the time of this episode, but how likely is it to send your child on their own halfway across the world??? On SHORT NOTICE??? I swear Sabine and Tom are too chill with this, but then again, there would be no story.

Also, I love how Ladybug and Chat Noir took the opportunity of their patrols without akumas to bond more. The Ladynoir in this episode I stan!

Gabriel you piece of trash! If you did not plan to spend time with your son, why take him to Shanghai when he was hoping to spend time with you?! And do not say "for business purposes" because even though Adrien is a face in the brand, at least don't give him false hope and that bs!

Nooro, thank you for trying to talk Gabriel out of it, but he is literally a wall (talking to Gabriel=talking to a wall)

I will say, the waiting for 15 years thing is very concerning.

Uncle Wang has been looking forward to see Marinette in person in Shanghai to learn more about her roots. He is ecstatic and its just heartwarming and heartbreaking when you think that part of Marinette's stay will be related to Adrien.

At least we see one thing that makes Marinette's stay not all about Adrien though: she is genuinely interested in her origins! Like when she asks about her family's traditional songs and about her mom, even learning her real name!

Speaking of which, Sabine's name is Xia Ping and only called herself Sabine when she started living in France. Also, I love her photo!

Bastille the bird that was around since forever is an icon!

Also, I can't believe Uncle Wang has not taken a break since Sabine moved to France, like what the hell??? Give this guy a break for goodness sake.

Thank you Gabriel for having one brain cell and allowing your son to leave the hotel! We still hate you for everything else though.

Its cool that Kwamis speak all of the languages. It is also the most logical thing because their wielder could be from anywhere. My question is are they taught the languages, does it form when a concept forms in the universe and they start existing, or like everything else is it magic?

Gorilla is iconic for two reasons: he is still a self care king, and he was willing to give Adrien some space to get action figures.

And now as I wrote that, this is where I am getting confused and start to believe this is post season 3: 1) Gorilla seems less anxious about being in a new place (unlike NY where he stayed in the hotel room the entire time), and 2) His obsession for action figures was shown in Party Crasher (season 3), which makes me wonder if the explanation is during season 3 or this episode hints at season 3. For the first point, it could be because Gabriel was not in NY to his knowledge.

Fei appears again and explains how she views the world and how she also uses that to help and take advantage of others.

She almost steals Adrien's phone and miraculous until Gorilla steps in. It hurts me because she is a good person but had to resort to stealing for a reason that we will explore soon.

Plagg, we always say your stomach causes trouble, but this time, you brought Adrien to Marinette's uncle...

...but also that ironically separated them as Marinette found them just as they climbed into the taxi.

This is also where Fei (wearing a disguise) crosses paths with Marinette and steals her purse. Then she went for the kwagatama and miraculous.

Things get worse for Fei as these boys that took a photo with Adrien earlier started chasing her. Then Marinette started going after them.

That is when she realized she was robbed and understandably, she was more horrified of losing her Miraculous.

Adrien shows up to Uncle Wang's home/restaurant. So many iconic moments happen.

1) Bastille says something about love between Marinette and Adrien. And Adrien responds with the line that makes us want to jump into the TV and talk some sense into him.

2) You say that "she's JuST a fRIenD" yet you stay over with her mom's uncle so you can surprise her lol. Adrien, you kill me and every other Adrienette fan with this contradicting statements.

Speaking of Marinette, she gets lost and has trouble communicating with others because she does not speak Chinese. And at some point says that she regrets not taking lessons?! Uh, what does this imply, that she refused lessons or that she did not have the opportunity for lessons??????? I NEED ANSWERS!

Can we say once again how talented and artistic Marinette is? Bad time? Moving on!

Uncle Wang is unaware of Marinette's tardiness, and Adrien just jokes about it. Considering that she is technically missing (reality is that she's lost), I don't think its time to joke about it.

The lady that gave Marinette some earrings that look like the Miraculous is so nice and bless her soul

The person from the pawn shop is the bad guy that we see at the very end of the NY special! And he knows about what happened to Fei's father! I am grateful that he sees no value in Marinette's stuff so he won't sell it for a lot, but I hate how he's greedy for money and was willing to exploit Fei's hunger for answers and Marinette needing her miraculous for personal gains.

Meanwhile, the boys from the photo with Adrien that chased Fei were trying to get Marinette's attention (they found her kwagatama when Fei dropped it running away and fighting them), but she thought they were gonna attack her. And then she bumps into Fei, who helps her escape.

Marinette finds comfort in Fei for being willing to "help" her (remember that she was gonna bring her to the pawn shop). She also finds Fei as a helpful, kind person who is brave: something that Fei does not see in herself, but does not have the heart to tell Marinette the truth.

Meanwhile, Chat has transformed to find Marinette and its the most endearing thing I've seen! Adrien, you blind oblivious fool! You care about her more than you think!

They arrive in the pawn shop, Tikki escaped the claw machine, and Marinette finds the earrings...for 100000 Yuan.

Fei, understanding what its like to have something entrusted to you be stolen, gets in a spat with the pawn shop owner in Chinese, accusing the owner for greed and accusing Fei for theft, while Marinette just stands her.

Also, when did Marinette become naive???????? I get that she's in another country and they are speaking in a different language that she does not understand, but based on the tone of their voices and shouting, I feel like she should have sensed something was off.

Fei swaps the earrings the lady gave Marinette and took the miraculous back. To the lady, this is why your soul is blessed. So bless your soul!!!

Apparently, Marinette realized what happened and said that Fei stole her earrings and feels bad for the man. Girl, you do not have to feel guilty for the man! He was about to destroy them before he thought about sentimental value! Also, he did not pay Fei anything for them! (Felt that this should be brought up because even though Fei was wrong in stealing her stuff, she was also robbed from potential cash and answers, therefore the man was owed nothing.)

The boys from Adrien's photo are actually vigilantes of Shanghai (and will be referred as such from now on), wanting to bring Fei to justice for stealing, which catches Marinette's attention, but not enough to ask any questions.

Also Marinette is not wanted as a criminal. She is missing as Uncle Wang called the police.

Fei still lives in the school, which has been in ruins. Despite not having much, she still offers Marinette a cup of what I believe is water (or tea?). See peoples, Fei is a good person at heart (if y'all aren't aware of it by now)

Gabriel saw and recognized Marinette. This is horrifying and if it is prior to season 3, we see why he tries so hard to target her. Or reasons why he targets her in season 4 along with everything else we know from "Truth".

Fei should have been given the chance to explain why she stole Marinette's things, but the pawn shop owner was like "you know, I might as well expose Fei myself"...

...and it really broke Marinette, who heavily trusted her. But she can't dwell on it for long...

...because AKUMA COMES FOR THE PAWN SHOP OWNER! AND HIS FAN SHOOTS KNIVES! AND HAS GREEDY MOTIVES! AND HELPED HAWKMOTH GET INTI THE CAVE WITH THE PRODIGIOUS!!!

Also, Nathalie was involved in obtaining the bracelet years ago. Again, the 15 years thing is concerning.

Marinette flees to transform, but not without telling Fei how she broke her trust and how she feels that Feinwas not genuinely helping her. It hurt me so much!

Ladybug transforms, hears Chat's voice-mail (to which she is swooned by the fact her kitty cares for her civilian self), and calls him. The best Ladynoir scene so far!

So the prodigious is like a jewel with powers, there is only one prodigious from what we see, and that one prodigious has multiple renlings that only the wielder can see. Oh, and the bracelet is like a key. Cool.

I don't like how Fei's Lady Dragon outfit looks whitewashed, but at least her hair is red instead of blonde (which still does not make this okay)

Epic Showdown between the akuma, Hawkmoth, Ladybug, and Lady Dragon. Hawkmoth corners Ladybug and Lady Dragon gets caught in some rocks.. All hope seemed lost...

...until Chat shows up and frees the akuma with the help of a basketball.

We learn something new folks: the same butterfly can create a different akuma. This is very frightening because...

The statue that determines who is worthy of the prodigious gets akumatized! The horror!

Also, if the statue says Fei cannot become the dragon because her intention to seek vengeance for her father is not noble and worthy, then what makes Hawkmoth think he will be successful in becoming the dragon??? Because it seems that his intentions are not pure or noble. Just saying.

Hawkmoth notices the akumatized statue heading to the city and all of a sudden remembers about Adrien. Confronting the statue, he gets turned into ashes(?).

CHAT, HAWKMOTH IN ASHES WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR THE BETTER IF THE STATUE DID NOT DESTROY SHANGHAI AND YOU WOULD NOT THINK AS SUCH IF YOU KNEW HE WAS YOUR FATHER! But I am not mad at you, just wanted to point out your irony.

ML WRITERS, WHY DO YOU KEEP KILLING OFF CHAT????? LADYBUG DOES NOT NEED ANY MORE TRAUMA AND THAT WAS COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY!!!! I AM SCREAMING INSIDE!!!!!

Fei is understandably upset and blames herself for what happen. I want to hug her so badly.

Marinette reassures Fei and forgives her, even though Fei felt that she could not be forgiven.

The structure they were standing on collapses and it was Fei as the Dragon who saved her, not Chat. Honestly, I love how it turned out as it strengthens their friendship, but I still prefer a Marichat alternative. WHERE IS THE MARICHAT PEOPLES???

Final showdown!

Poor statue guard was upset about the damage they caused as an akuma, but Miraculous Ladybiug fixes everything.

Fei learned an important lesson: let justice take its course, not enact revenge. But it was quite funny to have the pawn shop owner be flown away to court in a literal sense.

The bracelet has a renling-like creature, who is just so adorable, especially since they missed Fei and was waiting for the day they would be reunited. Aww!

Ladynoir version of the Moon scene from NYC! Except no dancing, just them challenging each other over who will get to Paris first if they traveled in opposite directions. No one shall ever know we were in Shanghai as civilians lol (Reminds me of my best friend when eating grapes during choral rehearsals)

Marinette, Adrien, Fei, and Uncle Wang enjoying a birthday (?) dinner was wholesome.

I love how Uncle Wang calls them boyfriend and girlfriend because of how they act around each other, yet Marinette and Adrien both deny it. Bruh, these children need to open their fricking eyes! I really wanted to jump through my phone screen!

The Shanghai Vigilantes came to return Marinette's kwagatama necklace. They are so precious even though we thought they were enemies in the trailer.

Even though they were at odds at first, love how the Vigilantes blushed when Fei played the accordion and she's just like "whatever". I stan an asexual queen.

Do I even want to know what Marinette accidentally said when she mispronounced "sister" in Chinese? Based on what Fei said, probably not.

Uh...NOW I WANT TO SEE MORE OF ADRIEN TEACHING MARINETTE CHINESE! While I do take some issue of Adrien (a white French boy) teaching Marinette her culture like most of us had issue with in "Kung Food", I also want to see them interact outside of school and hopefully bond. ML writers need to keep their word otherwise Adrienette stans will riot!

Love how the final scene turned out! Its just *chef's kisses*

Also, the hell with the business trip?? It was mentioned once again IN THE ENDCARD! It might not be as interesting, but I want to think that there was more truth to it.

Also, wifi troubles kept interrupting the show at crucial moments, but okay.

Overall, I live for the Shanghai episode! The animation is just as incredible as the NY special (which I also live for) and I love how this episode has a great focus on Fei and the prodigious. I mean, before the intro, she tells her story. And she has her monologues alongside Marinette's. In many ways, it's refreshing. Also, Ladynoir and Adrienette stans will be satiated with the scenes associated with each ship. Also, I love Fei's character development! And the final scene is wholesome!

I won't lie though: there are a few issues regarding whitewashing Fei's transformation and such. It is important to see these things and as a good friend of mine always says: you can enjoy something while also being critical of it. And that is very important no matter how devotive to something you actually are.

Anyways, we are being well fed with all the Miraculous content and I will see you all very soon! Also, get some sleep peoples! I know some of you aren't sleeping!

173 notes · View notes

lilliganmusic · 2 years

Text

Hello and welcome to my final post! Here I’ll be talking about my Top 10 Favourite anime EDs. I was more excited to make this list than the OP and OST combined, and I’ll be a lot more emotional for this list. I think it’s because I know exactly what EDs I’m listing and what place I would give them that gives me that excitement. As for the OP list, there will be spoilers ahead, so skip to avoid if you don’t wish to see any. Enjoy!

I made all the gifs in this post!

Honourable Mentions for EDs that didn’t make the cut (extra!) :

Attack on Titan - S2 ED3, S4 ED7

“Yuugure no Tori”, “Akuma no Ko”

Carole and Tuesday - S1 ED1

“Hold Me Now”

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood - S4 ED4

“Scandal”

Inuyasha - S1 ED2

“Fukai Mori”

The Seven Deadly Sins - S1 ED

“7 -seven-”

Blood Blockade Battlefront - S1 ED1

“Sugar Song to Bitter Step”

Now onto the chosen ones!

10. Beastars - Yasashii Suisei

My god, they took the budget for the second season OP and gave it all to the ED. What an amazing ED it is. The animation is stunning, and I love its sketchy, watercolour style, making it one of the more unique EDs on the list. Yoasobi’s here to claim her stake on both the OP and ED, and she more than delivers for both. It’s such a heartbreaking ED as well, foreshadowing the kind of monster Louis forces himself to become, and Ibuki watching as his young master begins to lose himself. We see him also coming face to face with his carnivorous biology, unable to change anything about his nature or DNA. It also foreshadows his death! Wow! Thanks for making me want to die! Father figure Ibuki rest in peace my king.

9. Dr. Stone - Voice?

WOW!!!! I LOVE IT WHEN ANIME CHARACTERS RUN!!!! The song is an absolute bop, I was tempted to skip this ED when I was watching but I was curious to listen to the song, so I stuck around and I’m glad I did! It was stuck in my head for ages. This definitely isn’t the most impressive ED on here but I love how it foreshadows Senku running with his flash grenade to blind Homura, what a thrill!

8. My Hero Academia - Datte Atashi no Hiro

Yeah!!!! LiSA!!!! The iconic fantasy AU ED!!!! This ED unleashed so many fanfic ideas and artwork, I think they should just make another anime with the same cast in a fantasy world. I say that’s much more interesting than hero society. But enough about that, THE SONG!!! THE COLOURS!!! THE FUN AND WHIMSY!!! They just want you to enjoy this ED, and maybe go WOOOOOAAAAAAAH when you see Midoriya swinging his Ex-All Might-ibur.

7. Violet Evergarden - Michishirube

Wow. The way this ED made me sob during the mother daughter letters episode. Hearing “Michishirube” being sang has me screaming and wailing. I used to skip this ED but after that episode, I made it compulsory to listen to it. I don’t have much to say, because I’m listening to the ED while writing this, and if I continue I’m going to be unable to do anything else for crying too hard.

6. Ouran High School Host Club - Shissou

[dies] WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE THAT GUITAR RIFF IS RELIGIOUS. YES YOU DON’T GET TO HEAR IT IN THE ED BUT GO AHEAD AND LISTEN TO THE FULL SONG!!! I like this song over the OP, I don’t give a shit about your “kiss kiss fall in love” this is the true best song. This song is just such a nostalgic song, it’s the perfect song to run to. Or chase a certain blond anime boy to…. Get up and dance to it when you hear it! I can’t say I like the artwork in the background but who cares when you can just dance around or sing along without paying attention. The Japanese and the English are both phenomenal in their own way, but don’t get me started on “Just as long as you move you’ll be okay!”. I will throw up and cry.

5. My Hero Academia - Heroes

ANIME! BOY! RUNNING!!!! And another MHA ED! Imma say it: I prefer all the MHA EDs to the OPs. I love them so much!! But let’s talk about this ED. This song has that nostalgic, emotional thing going for it already and MHA isn’t even finished yet. Knowing how far Midoriya has come, and that once obtaining his dream seemed as impossible as reaching a star, I want to scream and cry knowing that his dream is so close now. I love when he wipes away his tears and at the very end we see the beach that he cleaned gleaming in the morning sun. The song itself is just so catchy and I can’t think of a better ED for the show than this.

4. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Uso

Haha, I made a post about this song before! I was screaming over the lyrics! BOKURA SAYONARA!!! The first time I saw the very simplistic, childlike animation I was shocked. Hang on, why is Studio Bones slacking? Where’s my sexy sakuga ED? Then you get to the end and see why it’s so simple because it’s literally drawn by child Ed and Alphonse. Hear that? That’s the sound of my heart crumbling to dust. Love this song to bits, and I love singing along whenever I hear it come on, amazing first ED for FMAB.

3. Hunter X Hunter - Hyori Ittai

I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that this isn’t the most gorgeous ED you’ve ever witnessed. You get to see the original four standing in that anime sub space that all other anime characters can be found in. Then you get to see the most gorgeous celestial events reflected in the water as time passes by impossibly fast, our main four hardly bothered. Then the sun rises once again, and Leorio looks back at us — or Kurapika maybe. We then are rewarded with one final shot of the four of them at the start of their journey, caught in a picture framed on Leorio’s wall. Enough to have me choking back a sob. Absolutely devastating Thinking harder about the OP, you can see Gon is further ahead than Killua and Leorio who seem to be at an almost equal distance. Kurapika, who is set further back than them, shows how much distance has grown between the group that was as close as family at one point. Quite literally, both Killua and Leorio are unable to reach Gon or Kurapika. Kurapika being behind the group, suggests he is stuck in his past, incapable of moving forward to rejoin them. Gon being further ahead shows how he has fixated on his future - trying to reach his father and obtain all the power that he will ever have in his life.

2. Toilet Bound Hanako-kun - Tiny Lights

As I said before in my Top 10 OSTs list, I would put on a piano rendition of this song and sob uncontrollably in my maths class. I basically Pavlov dog trained myself to cry on command when it hits a certain point. This song kills me with its symbolism. Having read part of the manga, knowing that Nene is so close to death, toeing the line between the shore of the living and dead breaks my heart. When Mitsuba died and his and Kou’s paths crossed in the ED, leaving only a camera behind, I simply shattered into fragments. Don’t get me started on when Hanako fails to capture fish-ified Nene, managing to rescue her while falling deeper into the water. Absolutely devastating. This song is so beautiful and so emotional, it really is a thing of wonder in it’s simplicity. It would have easily been in first place, but there was always one ED that was going to take that spot. Excuse me while I sob dramatically for the next hour.

1. Hunter x Hunter - Hyori Ittai

Wow, the same ED in the same tier list? Yes! This. This is a masterpiece. I have added at least 500 views to Yuzu’s YouTube video. Go listen to this song so we can give it the views it deserves. I couldn’t put the second half of the whole song before the first half, the first half of the ED was what hooked me in the first place. This is my all time favourite song ever. This song changed my life for the better. It erased all the problems I had at that time. Nothing comes close to this song, this is in a league that transcends this world. Mere emotions aren’t strong enough to convey what this song does to you. When I heard them sing “Hyori Ittai” for the first time and saw those Gungi pieces flip, I fell so damn hard, that I’m still falling without any signs of stopping. I would happily rewind time to go back and listen to this song for the first time.

9 notes · View notes

saltymiraculer · 4 years

Text

Ceremonial Kisses (Part 1 of 3)

Part 2

So I decided to try my hand at the “Marinette, the princess of China” trope and see how I did! Tell me what you think?

Also, the first chapter is going to be fluffy, the second chapter’ll have a sprinkling of salt, and the third chapter will be a mix of piles and piles of salt and some fluff. Be warned!

“I’ve got a big, big, big announcement for you today, class!“ Bustier chirped, clapping her hands to get their attention. “China’s princess will be coronated in a week and a half, the day she turns 18, as many of you know, and one class from the school will be selected to travel to China and watch the ceremony. Guess which class it was?“

“Uhhh…Mme. Mendeleiev’s!“

“Ooh, M. D’Argencourt’s? They’ve wanted that trip for weeks!“

“No, class, it’s ours! In three days, we’ll board the plane to Asia and have a few days to sightsee and explore, then attend the coronation on the second-to-last day!“

“Wow! Why our class?“ Kim asked.

Marinette knew exactly why. Marc had told her that the entire school was sick of Lila’s lies and wanted to enjoy the coronation without her butting in in the middle of the assembly to tell a ‘story’ about herself.

But she couldn’t just say that.

“You know, I actually know the princess,“ Lila said, immediately drawing the attention of everyone in the room. “But her identity is being kept a secret for now. That’s how we landed the trip!“

“Wow, Lila!“

“That’s amazing!“

“So cool of you.“

“They know that’s stupid, right?“ Alya stage-whispered, earning a glare from Lila’s new puppy–more commonly known as Kim. She shrugged. “I’m just tellin’ the truth!“

Alya, who was now her only other supporter next to Nino (and technically Adrien, but she’d discuss that later–it was very complicated), had decided to Google Lila’s name during a sleepover and found…some rather incriminating Facebook posts.

After that, she was 100% team Marinette and an amazing friend, along with Nino, who had decided that he needed a theme song. No one knew why.

But they loved him anyways!

So while Bustier was rattling off facts about Chinese emperors and kings and queens, Nino was showing them his latest idea to expose Lila.

“Okay,“ he started. “First, we go to China. Then we do our sightseeing and shit, and then. I did some research, and we can ask the princess questions if we’re with a national news channel. Alya’s blog counts. For real, we can talk to the princess of China. And we ask her if she knows Lila.“

“Brilliant plan, Nino. I wonder how the princess will react to a few teenagers in the middle of a crowd of famous people.“

Nino frowned. “The princess is only, like, 17. She’ll probably notice us, Als.”

“Oh, that reminds me, your birthday’s on the same day as the coronation, Marinette! Weird, isn’t it? That you and the princess have the same birthday?“ Alya asked, pulling out her phone and swiping through something.

“Huh, yeah. You’re right. Maybe we can invite her to my birthday party?“

“Ooh, the wiki page says she likes custard buns, and I’m not sure how they know that,“ Nino chuckled. “but make sure to stock up on those.“

“Noted,“ Marinette said drily as Bustier turned to them with a condemning look on her face. “Alya! I hope what you’re doing on that phone relates to the lesson!“

“China’s princess’s identity is being kept a secret because the last two were sent death threats, dangerous items, highly innapropriate items, and several other things that prompted them to not reveal the princess until it was necessary.“

“C-correct, Alya. Good job.“

“Nice!“ Marinette mouthed, high-fiving Alya, who flipped her phone around to reveal a website about the princess.

-🌸-

The final bell rang as several of the students cheered. One school day until the trip over, three more to go. Alya swung her bag over her shoulder and bumped Marinette’s elbow. “We goin’ to your place to hang out?”

“Yeah, my dad’s out anyways and mom closed the bakery for the afternoon. let’s go!“ Alya took Nino’s hand and walked the short distance to Marinette’s house. They entered and immediately felt something off.

Ah, there it was.

Sabine was leaning over the counter with a cup of very strong-smelling peppermint tea beside her. She was rubbing her temples and muttering to herself in rapid Mandarin.

“Maman? Are you alright?“ Marinette asked worriedly. Alya and Nino stood by the door–they had only seen her like this once before, when her cousin had been run over and killed.

“Yes, dear, everything’s okay, it’s just–there’s something I need to tell you.“

“Oh, no, did something happen to someone?“

“No, no, everyone’s just fine. I can’t not tell you without there being serious problems.“

“So what is it? What’s so important you had to close the bakery?“

“You’re the princess. China’s princess. The one nobody knows about.“

“I’m what?!“ Marinette screeched, grabbing at her hair. “I’m the heir to the throne of the most populated country in the world, and you waited until a week before the coronation to tell me?!“

“Holy shit.“ Alya and Nino said simultaneously. Sabine stared at them, likely just realizing they were there.

“Oh. They know now, too. Perfect, that’s just what we need, a reporter knowing who–“

“Maman! Alya wouldn’t tell a soul, I know she wouldn’t.“

Sabine turned to Alya. “I’m sorry, dear, I’m just stressed. With that trip to China in a few days and all that, we’ll have to close down the bakery for about a week.”

“And we never close down the bakery.“ Marinette finished, putting a steady hand on her mom’s shoulder. “But I know just the person to run it while we’re gone.“

As she was about to say who exactly would run the bakery, Nino backed into the door, wide-eyed.

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. My best friend…holy shit.“

“Nino, I know this is a lot, but we’ll have to stay calm,“ Alya said, grabbing his hand. “So we don’t spill her secret. That’s top priority, all right? Don’t–tell–anyone.“

Nino sighed. “Sorry, babe. This…“ he turned to Marinette. “Do you have any cookies?“

Marinette grinned and led them into the kitchen. “Of course! Chocolate chunk or raspberry frosted?“

“Raspberry, all the way!“

“There’s the Nino I know!“

After a quick cookie interval, Marinette pushed her plate away and sighed. “Anyone up for an impromptu sleepover? You all left a bunch of your clothes here the last few times.”

“Marinette. If you know us, you will know our answers.“ Alya said solemnly.

“Hell yeah. Wanna go choose which terrible rom-com to watch this time?“

They ended up settling on The Kissing Booth, one of Marinette’s personal favorites (”To lighten the tension, you know?” Alya had said. “Although the tension in here probably weighs the same as an obese hippopotamus at this point.”) and made a bowl of caramel popcorn, with a tiny bag of sea-salt Skinny Pop for Nino.

“Sugar on popcorn is a crime, man. I ain’t touching that.“

“You’ve tried it once, Nino.“

“Yes, and I hated it. Is there anything else to be said?“

So they spent the next two hours in a blanket fort that was made almost entirely of throw pillows laughing over Elle and Noah and Lee being idiots, with a few highlights such as the iconic “Ninth grade skirt, eleventh grade body” scene, where Alya snorted and said “You know, Lila’s skipped so much school, might as well be ninth grade brain, eleventh grade work.”

“Too true,“ Nino agreed. “The other day, she called Chloe’s mom Aurora Bourgeois. That was a pretty major mess-up.”

“Shhh! Let’s just watch the movie!“ Marinette said, effectively quieting them down.

They watched the rest in silence with the usual laughs., ending up falling asleep halfway through the second movie, snuggled up on their respective couches. Marinette mother shook them awake the next morning, telling them to take showers and eat breakfast and get dressed and for god’s sake, Marinette, finish your homework.

“Crap, crap, crapcrapcrap! Nino, we’re going to be late if we don’t get ready fast!“ Alya shouted as Marinette ran up the stairs to change. “Can I use your shower, M?“

“Sure!“ was the muffled reply.

After about 10 minutes of running around and shoving waffles in their mouths, they grabbed their bags and ran off to school.

They burst through the door in the nick of time, the bell ringing just as they plunked down their things.

Bustier wasn’t there five minutes into the class, so they started talking.

“Marinette, you have to listen to Nino’s latest track, it’s–“ Just as she was about to describe Nino’s latest track, a bouncy-ball the size of a walrus snashed through the wall, nearly taking off Kim’s head.

There was a cackle from outside. “I am Gradack! You will all feel the same sorrow that I did!“

-🌸-

The fight was over relatively fast, and everything was calmed down and restored before their next class. Turns out Chat Noir didn’t show, so Marinette had to ask Alya for assistance.

In hindsight, she probably should have picked a better place to transform.

“Tikki, spots on!“ After she transformed, she was about to go to Fu to get one of the Miraculous, when she heard a strangled gasp.

“…shit.“

“My best friend is the princess of goddamn China and Ladybug? What the fuck?! Who are you? How did I not know? When did–“

“Alya, I know the feeling, but you can’t tell anyone. Got it?“

“Nino?“

“Well,“ Marinette paused to think. “Yeah, I guess. I trust him enough. Now, take this and transform!“ she tossed Alya the hexagonal box, and after a quick transformation, they ran off to defeat the saddened graduate of an akuma.

As she said, it was an easy fight.

They comforted the victim with four minutes (each) to spare, then ran back to the locker rooms to transform back.

Time Skip!

It was the morning of the flight to China, and she was ecstatic. Of course, she had to get up at 3:45 in the morning, but it was worth it–the flight took off at six in the morning, of course.

She could see the logic of wanting to arrive at 12:00, but she would’ve much preferred a red-eye.

Then she wouldn’t have had to stay up all night reading, because no way in hell would she just wake up at 3:45 in the morning.

The alarm would’ve had to go off for hours.

But back to the morning, she poured herself a sasquatch-sized mug of coffee, with about a gallon of cream and enough sugar to put an entire city of diabetics into shock, she started getting dressed.

Trudging around and haphazardly pulling out shirts, she finally decided on a simple red-and-orange flannel, a white t-shirt, and a pair of cropped jeans.

The she downed the rest of her coffee with an apathetic “Bottoms up!” and slapped her cheeks.

She grapped her suitcase and walked outside to where her mother was typing away on a laptop in the pitch-black night.

“Mom, why are you up?“

“Because I have to drive you to the airport, that’s why. And no alarm would be able to wake me up at 3 in the morning.“

“Preach. I’m ready to go, so can we get in the car now?“

After driving to the airport and saying goodbye to her mom, she walked into the airport and immediately saw the group of sleepy teens (and a certain disheveled teacher) leaning on their suitcases, trying not to fall asleep.

Nino and Marinette were already there, their eyelids drooping. The only person who looked properly awake was Sabrina, who was–inevitably–holding a saucer out to Chloé, who was sipping from a teacup.

Alya rolled her eyes and walked over to Marinette and Nino. “Who’re we missing?”

“Kim and Rose. They’re carpooling, so they should be here any minute.“

Just as Marinette had said, a few seconds later, Rose and Kim walked into the airport. Kim was still wearing pajama pants.

Another Time Skip!

“Marinette.“ Alya groaned, shaking Marinette’s shoulders. “Marinette, wake up, we’re here.“

Marinette’s eyes fluttered open. “No. Five more minutes.”

“Everyone else is already off the plane!“

“Shit. Let’s go!“ Marinette said, jumping up, grabbing her purse (which she had recently learned concealed a kwami) and scrambling out the door.

Alya picked up the mini-backpack she now carried (which held Trixx, cookies, and some grape jelly) and followed her out the door.

Almost as soon as they stepped off the plane, they heard a loud wail.

“Great. She’s back on her bullshit.“

“I just can’t believe she would steal that, Lila! It’s so unlike her!“

“M-maybe, but there’s p-proof! Look!“

“Oh, great, what did we do this time?“ Alya asked exasperatedly. They watched as Lila held out the remains of–from what they could see from a meter away–a sketch of an orange mermaid gown with a black lace collar, ripped into quarters and laid out on the ground.

Marinette gasped beside her.

“That’s your dress, isn’t it?“

A small tear made its way down Marinette’s face. “It was going to be for you,” she said softly.

Alya threw her arms around Marinette and rubbed her shoulders. “It’s okay, sweetie. Once you’re princess, we’ll sue her for all she’s worth.”

Marinette detached herself from Alya and wiped her eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, thanks, Alya.”

-🌸-

Nino stormed up to where Alya and Marinette were standing with a furious expression on his face.

“That fox,“ he seethed. “that bitchy little fox of a liar stole your drawing.“

Marinette chuckled wetly. “Yeah, we know.“

“Are you okay? I know how important they are to you.“

“I’m fine, Nino, and o–who the hell are you?“ A man in an oddly formal suit was standing next to her, holding out a small red envelope.

Marinette plucked the envelope from his fingers, opened it, and read the contents. She looked up and nodded at the suit-wearing guy.

“Good. In that case, Miss Dupain-Cheng, I’m going to need you to come with me.“ Alya and Nino immediately stepped in front of her in a protective shield.

“She’s not in trouble, is she?“

The strange man looked surprisingly amused. “Not at all–but you might want to come with us, too. You as well, headphone-boy.”

Nino put a hand on his chest and gasped in offense.

“Nino. He’s going to drive us to the palace. You’re coming, too, ya doof!“ Nino made a noise of realization and followed them out to where a black limousine was waiting.

They climbed in and drove off.

About five minutes into the drive, he moved his foot to the side, accidentally kicking a black box.

Just as he was preparing his final goodbyes, it sprung open, and inside was a junk food lover’s heaven.

“Dude.“

#ml #ml salt #ml salt fic #marinette dupain cheng #marinette deserves better #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #alya sugar #nino sugar #lila rossi #lila salt #lila bashing #adrien agreste #adrien salt #adrien bashing #marinette the princess of china #WHY ARE YOU READING THE TAGS

1K notes · View notes

heyitsbugette · 4 years

Text

Todobug AU - Headcanons (2)

Pairings:

1. Marinette Dupain-Cheng / Ladybug x Todoroki Shoto.

2. Adrien Agreste / Chat Noir x Luka Couffaine/ Viperion

3. Kagami Tsurugi/Ryuko x Bakugo Katsuki

Masterlist:

Part 1

✦ During his stay in Japan, Chat Noir was the first to jump to become friends with everyone there, so it was not strange for anyone when he took the time to meet Shoto, and surprisingly both immediately connected by having in common the bad relationship with their fathers. Of course, they understand each other perfectly.

✦ Eventually Viperion decided to adopt him symbolically, as with his empathetic and mature personality he managed to become close to him. To such an extent that when he was questioned about his father assuming he would talk about Endeavor, he just raised an eyebrow and shamelessly replied: “Yeah, Viper's a pretty cool hero.” Of course, his response becomes iconic.

✦ But not surprisingly, both Shoto and Ladybug didn't connect at the beginning. To be honest, the french gal didn't know how to deal with someone so serious, she always had been surrounded by people with bubbly personalities in both inside and outside her heroic alter-ego. He instead seemed at times somewhat introverted, someone who, although not aggressive like Kagami, still kept his distance. Shoto didn't see the charm in bonding with someone who was going to leave anyway.

✦ However, they were cordial. It was not until seeing them train Ladybug paid attention to the details of each student along side with the snake hero, both commenting on certain patterns that they noticed in their fights, Ryuko instead did not join the pleasant discussion because as he was always arguing heatedly with Katsuki for some triviality. But those who caught her attention mainly were Momo Yoyorozu and Todoroki Shoto.

✦ In fact, although Adrien used to be very jealous of anyone who dared to gain Ladybug's affection during his past infatuation with her, it was in fact him who introduced his new friend and his lady as soon as he had noticed that she felt a certain interest into speaking to him. He knew that if anyone could soften Shoto it would be Marinette, even his cousin Félix did.

✦ Marinette thought that Momo Yaoyorozu would be the perfect replacement if something were to happen to her to make her unable to fight. She wouldn't hesitate to comment on her idea to Tikki, just to find out her opinion of someone else wielding her. And naturally discuss the idea with the girl just in case of she was willing to.

✦ Endeavor's son on the other hand demonstrated certain techniques that caught her curiosity, and when she came to let him know it was a tremendous shock to him that she asked for his advice. Why would a professional heroine ask for help with her attack techniques?

✦ Soon he would know that each member of Team Miraculous is chosen according to their specialties. Ladybug and Viperion were strategic, intellectual. Ryuko and Chat Noir were the best in terms of strength and lethality. Yes, Ladybug was a great heroine, but she still needed to polish her skills. So they decide to start training together, learning some things from each other, an action that does not go unnoticed by the gossip of the student body.

✦ It was kinda obvious they were having too much fun in Japan. Kagami missed her country, Adrien fell in love with the culture beyond his fanaticism for anime and manga, Marinette was inspired by Japanese fashion and had decided to prepare to create her own inspired line with some native models. Luka was more neutral, not a big fan of big cities, but he found rural areas pleasant to hang out for inspiration.

✦ Adrien would soon discover that Bakugo has talent as a model, it is a pity that they cannot hang out with the U.A. students as civilians, he knew Marinette would have loved for the grumpy blonde to model her designs.

✦ Eventually the team finally meets Endeavor, who showed interest in mentoring the foreign heroes, but still not entirely trusting, keeps his interest hidden as he sets out to investigate them as much as he can. So, It was not so strange to see the miraculous team come to their home from time to time. Little did he know that they did not have the best image of him, with the blond cat being the most defensive.

✦ Ladybug taking out her inner Marinette bakes occasionally with Fuyumi, Shoto joining them most of the time to ruin the mixes awkwardly by accident. Although no one complains, they have a good time tasting the failed mixes and joking around.

✦ Chat Noir and Ryuko are not that close to the family, remaining neutral most of the time. Although Viperion makes his distrust of the flame hero clear, letting him know on more than one occasion. For him, his tune is confusing, but ignored It while he quickly becomes Natsuo's friend, teaching him how to play various songs on guitar.

✦ It turned out the spotted heroine had some things in common with the youngest son of the Todoroki clan, however, she soon noticed that he did not experience many situations that other teens his age did, it was like having a second Adrien Agreste at her side. Anyone said he didn't play ultimate mecha strike? Suddenly she taught him how to kick butts in that video game. He never heard of Jagged Stone? Unacceptable. Ladyluck casually gift him the Rock Giant album. Never went to paintball with friends? She would leave him so full of paint that it would take days to get rid of all the ink. The guy never seen The Fresh Prince of Bel Air? It was her job that the boy had some culture and some rest.

✦ Eventually they became close enough to make their own plans without having a third party present with them, despite how annoying it was that her transformation interrupted them in the best parts of the movies they watched together, or when they came out for a coffee and she had to find a hiding place to recharge her miraculous. Eventually he gave her a Kitsune mask as a gift, so she could protect her identity while hanging out together, also wanting the heroine took a souvenir for her to remeber him when she returned to Paris.

✦ But after thinking about it and remembering that her stay would be temporary, he couldn't help but feel saddened about her future return to France. Yes, he knew that every day the miraculous team teleported to fight akumas, he even followed them on missions sometimes along with Midoriya, but it was evident that it would not be the same; the girl was too professional to use her powers for selfish gain. Why would she teleport to see him? He had to get the idea that their friendship would not be the same once she leaves.

✦ The half redhead never expected at all that his dear friend was equally concerned about losing him due to distance. That's how united they had become.

#miraculous prompts #crackship #todobug #todoroki shoto x marinette dupain cheng #kagami tsurugi x bakugo katsuki #adrien sugar #platonic adrienette #mlb x bnha #bnha x mlb

122 notes · View notes

teacupfulofstarshine · 4 years

Text

une ladybug, lady du coeur

summary: logan just wants to save the city. he's not very interested in the advances of his partner. he isn't. yes, he is. (OR: a miraculous ladybug sanders sides!au that is a VERY late birthday gift to @blinksinbewilderment)

a/n: this is a gift for my lovely spouse squad member blink!!! her birthday is in august, and it is now almost february, i know, i'm bad at this, i'm sorry. also i love you blink i hope you enjoy this ~

cw: mutual pining, cartoon violence

wordcount: 2818

read it on ao3!

“This is getting ridiculous,” Logan grumbles, fumbling to shove his books into his messenger bag. Outside, there’s a loud, distorted roar from the akuma of the day. “We are never going to finish the French Revolution unit at this rate.”

“Good thing you memorized the entire textbook at the beginning of the school year, hmm?” Roman says teasingly. He throws his iPad into his bag and elbows Logan, who smiles at him as soon as Roman isn’t looking at him. The building shakes with the force of another blow, and Roman instantly tugs Logan close to him. Logan pretends it doesn’t make his face flush pink.

“We have to go,” Roman says. “We have to get out of here!”

“Roman -”

Roman throws his backpack over his shoulder, and Logan barely manages to sling his messenger bag over his shoulder before Roman is grabbing his hand and sprinting through the school. Logan stumbles after Roman, once again cursing that he’s so much shorter than his best friend. Roman flies down the stairs three at a time, and it’s a wonder Logan doesn’t faceplant.

They burst out of the school and immediately dive into a nearby bush as a large hoof slams down into the street nearby. Logan cowers into the bush, and Roman hovers his body over him. Logan opens his eyes, and it’s only then that he notices that when Roman had grabbed his hand, he’d laced their fingers together.

There’s a very strange feeling in his chest, and he has no idea how to handle it. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to think about it for much longer as Roman pulls away. He feels disappointed, but then Roman is flashing his million-dollar model smile and Logan forgets how to feel anything but lovestruck.

“You stay here where it’s safe, okay? I’m gonna go get help.”

“What? What if something happens?”

“Hey, you know me! Paris’s favorite face and all that, I’ll be fine.” Roman winks at him, before leaning down and hugging Logan quickly. He sprints out of the bush, a streak of blurred red, and Logan buries his head in his hands and groans.

There’s a little rustling noise, and then a tiny little creature flies up out of his bag. It’s a little red creature, with two small antennae, covered in large black spots. He hovers next to Logan’s head, little tail twitching as he pats his head sympathetically.

“Crush got you down?”

“Shut up, Emile,” Logan mutters. “He’s not my crush.”

“I don’t think you’re telling the truth,” Emile sing-songs, landing on Logan’s head. “Did you see the way he held your haaaaaaand?” Logan blushes, picturing the way Roman’s fingers felt laced between his and the press of Roman’s broad palm against his smaller one, the glow of Roman’s vibrant green eyes in the sunlight as he glances over his shoulder and grins rakishly at Logan.

“Shut up,” Logan says shortly, rather than think about feelings anymore. “We have to deal with this akuma before anyone gets hurt.”

“Whatever you want, Logan,” Emile says. “You know how to suit up!”

Logan sighs, running his hands through his hair, and tucks his messenger bag into the bushes. He sweeps a few stray brown curls behind his ear, revealing his unassuming, plain black stud earrings. “Alright, here we go. Emile, spots on!”

A flash of red sparkles swirls around him, and the earrings glow. Emile giggles as he swirls around and disappears into Logan’s miraculous. Logan can’t stop a cocky smile from spreading across his face as the transformation begins to take hold.

He presses his hands against his eyes and pulls them across his face, leaving a gleaming red mask in his place. The transformation races down his body and spirals around his arms, his torso, his legs, melting away his polo and tie and slacks. His outfit is replaced with a bright red bodysuit, covering him completely from the neck down in a pattern of tiny gleaming hexagons with large black polka dots. He feels the red ribbon attach itself in his hair, tying it back from his face, and his yoyo materializes on his hip.

Ladybug drops to the ground in a perfect crouch, reaching for his yoyo and quickly flipping it open. He presses one of the buttons, and his insufferable partner’s face appears on screen with a phone dialing icon.

“Honestly, if you don’t pick up I swear to god,” Ladybug mutters. The phone rings for almost twenty seconds, but no one picks up. He snaps the yoyo shut when he hears a civilian scream and immediately throws it up towards the roof. He tugs the line and swings away, directly into the line of fire.

*~*~*~*~*

Most days, Roman doesn’t give a damn about being one of the most recognizable faces in Paris. He’s an extrovert - he loves people, loves taking pictures with them and performing for them and just generally being around them. He’s not like his introverted best friend. He loves the limelight.

When he’s trying to sneak away and transform, however, this is less appreciated.

“You want some help, kitten?” his kwami drawls, curled inside of the pocket of his letterman jacket.

“I don’t like it when you do stuff like that, you know that,” Roman mutters, ducking quickly into an alleyway to avoid yet another paparazzi camera.

“I know, but I don’t think you have a choice,” Remy says. Roman swats at his pocket, but he can’t deny that Remy is right. Normally, he can sneak away on his own, but the crowds just keep growing and growing.

“Don’t do anything too permanent, okay?”

“No sweat, kitten. You know Ladybug’s gonna fix it all when you’re done, right?”

“I don’t wanna make extra work for him!” Roman argues.

“It’s literally not even him, kitten, it’s his miraculous that powers it all.” The little black catlike creature flies up out of his pocket and disappears into the crowd. Roman keeps running, not taking any time to look back or see what his kwami is doing. Little black bubbles fizzle through the concrete, and he hears someone shouting behind him, but he darts around a building and into a dark and dirty alleyway. Within a minute, Remy floats through the wall and lands in his palms.

“Do I even want to know what you did?”

“Probably not. You subscribe to that pesky human concept of ‘morals’ or whatever.” Remy yawns, curling into Roman’s cupped hands.

“Can you just get in the damn ring already?”

“I will not.”

Roman reaches into his backpack and pulls out a small plastic travel thermos. “Not even for . . . coffee?”

Remy’s ears twitch, but he maintains a nonchalant facade. “Coffee? What would I care about coffee?”

“Oh, nothing much . . . it’s just double-brewed espresso, made with that expensive shit you love, that’s all.” Remy whimpers and twitches again. “And I added a little splash of lavender honey and creamer . . . but if you don’t want it, I guess I’ll have to drink it . . .”

“No!” Remy wails, shoving the lid off the travel cup and diving inside. Roman has no idea how Remy can stand submerging his entire body in near-boiling coffee, but he isn’t complaining. Remy pokes his head out of the travel mug and shakes a few drops of coffee out of his fur, smiling.

“You needed me?”

“Of course I do,” Roman snarks.

“You know how to call me, don’t you?”

“Remy, claws out!”

Roman grins as a blur of black disappears into the silver ring he wears, which quickly burns black as well. He can feel power thrumming through his body, racing along his veins like lightning, and he smirks, shifting his stance to a more confident one. Two fingers swipe along his face, dragging black leather in their wake. He combs through his hair as it grows longer and more unruly, and black leather cat ears sprout up from his tousled curls. Black leather and green lightning spiral around him, and the facade of Roman Roi drops away.

Steel-toed black boots hit the ground as Chat Noir pulls his black belt tail out of his outfit, With a flick of the wrist, his staff is in his hand, and he vaults up through the Paris sky.

*~*~*~*~*

Ladybug dodges another blow from the akuma, which shrieks and hurls another projectile his way. It’s a florist, he thinks, akumatized over scathing comments from the mayor’s hellspawn. Ladybug doesn’t blame him for being upset, but the thorny vines choking the city streets are really a bit much to deal with.

“This is not necessary!” Ladybug shouts, drawing his yoyo and quickly lassoing the nearest building. He swings away as a plant erupts where he was standing. The thorns are enormous and sharp and almost as big as he is. “I know that you are upset, but please -”

“You want to call my profession silly?!” the akuma roars. Ladybug is sure that he has some kind of proper akuma name, but he honestly doesn’t remember it anymore. “I will cover you in thorns, and you will see how sharp a florist can be!”

Ladybug winds the cord of his yoyo around his fingers, crouching in the shadow of a balcony. He needs to figure out where the akuma is hiding, he needs to control the damage to make sure no innocent civilians are injured, he needs - he needs -

“My ladybug, look out!”

A silver staff flies out of nowhere and knocks Ladybug back as a Venus flytrap roars to life beneath him. If he hadn’t been knocked out of the way when he was . . .

A dark figure lands next to him. “Fancy running into you here,” Chat Noir purrs, eyes gleaming dangerously as he pulls Ladybug to his feet.

“Of course I ran into you here, we are both superheroes. This is our job,” Ladybug says, rolling his eyes. Chat Noir spins him around and dips him, and Ladybug is about to scold him for letting romantic nonsense interfere with their job until he realizes that they’ve narrowly avoided a deadly blow.

“You’re welcome,” Chat Noir says. “You can thank me properly later. For now, we have a job to do, don’t we?” He pulls Ladybug to his feet easily and takes his staff from where it’s lodged in the building behind them. “What’s the scoop?”

Ladybug fills him in. “I hate people like that,” Chat Noir mutters. ‘People who try to put others in boxes and act like they can’t ever have a different role . . . that’s complete and utter horseshit. I deserve to be - people deserve to be whoever they want to be.” Ladybug tilts his head in confusion.

“You are correct, Chat Noir, but still . . .”

Chat Noir shakes his head and spins his staff in one hand, deflecting a barrage of thorns. “Where do we suspect the akuma is, my ladybug?” Ladybug squints at the akuma, trying to reason out where the akuma might be.

“I . . . there! There’s a sunhat on the akuma’s head, and from what I understand the akumatized citizen wears that hat frequently.”

“How are we going to get to it?” Chat Noir asks. “I only get one Cataclysm before I change back, so we have to make it count!” Ladybug pulls his yoyo from his hip and spins it rapidly in front of him.

“Let us see if this evens the odds. Lucky Charm!” He throws the yoyo up into the air, kicking one leg up behind him for balance. Logan does not believe in luck, but Ladybug finds he has no choice but to believe, given what he does.

The yoyo glows, giving out a shower of heart-shaped sparkles as it spins rapidly around and around in the air. Ladybug can never look up at the lucky charm while it’s forming, but Chat Noir always stares at it starry-eyed (when he can, anyway, and isn’t too busy defending them from the akuma attacks).

The Lucky Charm glows so brightly that even Chat Noir has to look away, and it drops down into Ladybug’s waiting hands, and it’s . . .

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Ladybug asks, holding the red-and-black-spotted plastic hairbrush in his hands. He looks up, and the world is suddenly black and white. This is normal; once his Lucky Charm lands in his hands, the world is devoid of color until he looks around, and certain objects will light up in red and black color. From there, he has to figure out what to do.

“You got an idea yet?” Chat Noir asks. Ladybug squints around, and then he has one.

*~*~*~*~*

Chat Noir doesn’t know what Ladybug sees when he holds his Lucky Charm. His eyes go slightly unfocused, and the brown of his irises gleams red and black. All he knows is that within a minute, Ladybug’s eyes always refocus, sharp and clean, and he always knows exactly what to do.

“I need to get close to the akuma,” he says. “As close as you can get me, okay? I know what I need to do.”

“Any specific vines you want me to take out?”

Ladybug points out a few key points, and Chat Noir grins, throwing his fist into the air. “Cataclysm!” His fist comes back down covered in inky black bubbling flames. Ladybug spins his yoyo rapidly, and Chat Noir can’t stop himself from winking before he tears off across the street.

Chat Noir only gets one Cataclysm, the same way that Ladybug only gets one Lucky Charm. Unlike Ladybug, however, Chat Noir has a little bit of a window where he can work. If he’s fast enough, he can hit a few of the vines before his power fizzles out. He launches off the building, careful to only land with his feet and his free hands, and takes off towards the akuma.

Ladybug had pointed out three or four specific vines that Chat Noir should try to hit; he manages to hit two of them before his Cataclysm runs out. He settles for smacking the vines aside with his staff, trying to draw as much of the akuma’s attention as possible. He succeeds, too; the akuma is so busy staring at him that it doesn’t notice when a red-and-black-spotted plastic hairbrush comes flying out of nowhere like a boomerang and hits the akuma squarely in the eye.

The akuma wails, and Chat Noir can hear his ring beeping down to four minutes left as Ladybug’s yoyo soars through the air and knocks the akuma’s hat off its head. It goes flying through the air towards Chat Noir. “Chat Noir, it’s up to you!” Ladybug calls.

Chat Noir deftly expands his staff to pin the hat against the nearest building and sprints along the street, vaulting himself off of a nearby parked car and snatching the hat up. The akuma wails as he tears the hat in half, and a little black butterfly flutters out of the hat. “Get out of here, you nasty bug!” Chat Noir hisses.

Ladybug’s yoyo glows bright white as he spins it around rapidly. “Time to de-evilize!” The yoyo sails through the air, slamming right into the akuma, and two black-spotted red wings snap out and trap the akuma inside the yoyo. Ladybug pulls it back against his body and gently taps the compact. It pops open to reveal a little white butterfly fluttering off into the sky.

“Bye-bye, little butterfly,” Ladybug croons, a fond expression on his face. Chat Noir can’t stop himself from grinning dopily at the sight. Ladybug hops off the roof and picks up the hairbrush from the nearby building and throws it into the air, as high as he can. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

A glittering swarm of ladybugs tears around Paris, and Chat Noir grins as a tingle of magic floods through him.

*~*~*~*~*

By the time they finally escape Patton’s eager questioning for his blog, Virgil standing next to him with a GoPro dutifully recording, there’s only two minutes left on their respective miraculouses. “Pound it!” Chat Noir exclaims, offering his fist to Ladybug for a fist bump. Ladybug rolls his eyes, but he accepts the fistbump anyway. Before he can pull his hand away, Chat Noir grabs his hand and turns it so that he’s holding it, back of his hand facing up.

“Chat Noir? We’re about to de-transform, what are you -”

Chat Noir lifts his hand to his lips and kisses it, softly. “Until next time, my lovely ladybug.” Before Ladybug can protest, Chat Noir is vaulting away. Ladybug barely manages to make it to a safe place before his last dot beeps away and his transformation disappears in a flurry of sparkles. Ladybug is gone, and Logan Cerveau lifts his hands to catch Emile.

“Thank you,” he quietly tells his kwami.

“No problem,” Emile yawns, settling in for a nap as Logan tucks him into his breast pocket. “You’re so smitten, it’s adorable . . .”

Logan is too busy concealing his blush to protest. Much.

#starshinewrites #blink tag!#logince #miraculous ladybug!au #wife squad!#sanders sides #logan sanders #roman sanders

167 notes · View notes

gyakutengagotoku · 4 years

Text

GS4 vs AJ:AA - Episode 3, Part 2

Good, I’m not having problems with tumblr this time.

This one’s a bit on the shorter end, which I notice goes for many day 1 trials in cases with more than one trial day, but I can still find plenty of things to share, comment, and explain as always! Like with the previous episode, most of the bulk of work was from the introductions and initial setting.

While the previous one, I could squeal over Yakuza references and all that jazz, this one’s more for Klavier’s fans and classic rock junkies out there. I enjoy the occasional taste of rock too, but sorry, I’m forever a Eurobeat gal.

Oh, if only there were a future AA case about street racing... You just know that Edgeworth would be on that case. He’s probably the only prosecutor (besides maybe Klavier) who can make a sick drift and would know a thing or two about cars. Too bad for the car-less defense attorneys at the Wright Anything Agency, though.

> Courtroom

> 1st Witness Testimony, press 1st statement

<Apollo> “なくした”っていう発想はないのかな。 Isn't it possible he simply misplaced them?

<Klavier> “なくした”で済むか！ Misplaced them!?

カギはその後、死体の手にニギられていたんだぞ！ Misplaced items don't just wander into a murder victim's hand on their own!

<Judge> な。なんですって‥‥！そ。それでは‥‥ What's this!? Prosecutor Gavin, if your keys were in the victim's hand...

ハンニンはあなた自身ということになるではないですかッ！ That makes you a prime suspect!

<Klavier> ‥‥♪　“遅効性の恋はアトロキニーネ”‥‥ ..."Love, slow-acting and new. Atroquinine... is waiting for you..."

<Trucy> ハナウタ、歌ってます。 He's singing something.

<Apollo> 大物だよな。なんにしても。 Does everything with this guy have to be so over-the-top?

Just wanna share lyrics. The original line, taken literally, is "Slow-acting love [is like] Atroquinine", but it's so vague that it can be reworded many ways, since it’s a song lyric.

> Press 4th statement

<Klavier> 部屋から脱出できる出口は、あの通気口だけだった！ That air vent was the only way out of the room!

そして、そこには、被告人の指紋が残っていた！ The defendant's fingerprints were found on the grill!

‥‥さあ、おデコくん！ ...Well, Herr Forehead?

ここから、キミはどんな“物語”を想像するかい？ What fairy tale does this suggest to you?

<Apollo> ぐ‥‥ッ！ Urk...!

<Klavier> ‥‥ちなみに。その通気口‥‥ Only one could pass through that vent, that "doorway to heaven"...

“天国のトビラ”をくぐることができたのは‥‥その妖精だけ、さ。 ...and that one is our pixie.

Another song reference, but instead of a "Stairway to Heaven", it's a vent-way.

I've been watching way too much Among Us lately... but this episode from back in 2007 seems suspiciously related to a 2018 game, somehow.

> Finish pressing, present any evidence

<Apollo> 検察側の主張をくつがえす‥‥ これが、その証拠品です！ This evidence does more than contradict, it flips the whole case on its head!

<Judge> ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ ......

<Klavier> どうやら、ぼくの言った通り。ハッキリとした“反証”のようだね。 Thank you for presenting evidence that is both clear and plain, as requested.

<Judge> たしかに‥‥ ハッキリ“ちがう”と分かります！ Yes... Clearly and plainly wrong!

その証拠品で、検察側の主張をくつがえすことはできません！ I'm afraid the only thing flipped on its head here was you as a child, Mr. Justice.

<Apollo> （うう‥‥ちがったのか‥‥） (Ugh... I guess that wasn't it.)

Savage, Your Honor! The original line seems a bit disappointing in comparison: "This evidence doesn't overturn the prosecution's case at all!" That said, it does give me an idea for where the "flip on its head" phrasing came from.

> Select "no proof"

<Apollo> 反証のジュンビは‥‥ あ、ありません。 I... don't have contradicting proof, actually.

<Judge> そうですか。それでは、さっさと判決を‥‥ Too bad. Very well, this court finds the defendant...

<Trucy> ま、待ってください！ W-Waaait!

<Judge> な、なんですか。 Wh-What for?

<Trucy> 弁護側には‥‥えーと。は、“はんしょー”でしたっけ？ We have, uh, what was it called? Contradictual proof?

と、とにかく！ジュンビがありますッ！ Anyway, whatever it is, we've got it!

Meanwhile, I think this line from Trucy seems a bit out of place when "contradicting proof" isn't a very difficult phrase to say. Maybe they could have thrown in something sillier like "contradicting poof- I mean, proof!" and it'd work pretty well. In JP, she's still learning her words and especially kanji, so she usually pronounces words correctly, but doesn't write them out in the text.

I like to think that whenever Odoroki speaks and uses phrases that she isn't as familiar with, she actually breaks the fourth wall and takes notes on his textboxes. Hey, learning from your peers is a great way to study! Learning Japanese with your fave Ace Attorney characters is even better.

> Ask for new witness

<Apollo> 牙琉検事‥‥ まちがいありませんか？ Prosecutor Gavin, you claim that there were no witnesses to this crime.

『この事件に、　目撃者はいなかった』‥‥ Are you absolutely sure?

<Klavier> マチガイないね。‥‥誓ってもいい。この検事生命と‥‥ Absolutely. I'd swear it on my career as a prosecutor...

１００万枚を売り上げたヒット曲、《恋のアトロキニーネ》にかけて。 And on my million-seller hit song "Atroquinine, My Love".

<Trucy> ‥‥さりげなくジマンされちゃいましたね。 ...There he goes again.

<Apollo> ザンネンながら‥‥ この事件には、目撃者がいたのです。 That's too bad, because there was a witness.

Minor tweaking to song titles again. It was "Atroquinine of Love" before.

> 2nd Witness Testimony, present at 3rd statement, Perceive at 6th statement but point wrongly

<Apollo> あなたのココロの動き‥‥ オレには分かるんですよ。 You may have seen the world, but I've seen your heart.

あなたは、今の証言をするとき、動揺していましたね！ You were flustered during your testimony just now!

<Lamiroir> ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ ......

<Lamiroir> あなたの言っていることが、よく分からないのですが‥‥ I do not understand what it is you are saying.

それは、日本語のジョークか何かですか？　さっぱりです。 Perhaps this is a joke, in your culture?

Making a note here about culture: It's characteristic of Japanese that since they have so many homophones and alike-sounding words or phrases, it's fairly simple to come up with puns out of the blue. You hear it all the time with Japanese comedians and writers who just can't help themselves and have to throw in a pun here or there. And because they can show up so suddenly, it can catch the audience off-guard, so they're more likely to appreciate the humor.

Relatively speaking, of course; as with any language, there are also those kinds of puns that are super obvious and cringy when delivered. As a language buff myself, I'm still fascinated with what goes into creating puns in the first place, whether or not they're cringy or clever.

> Present evidence to Lamiroir's contradiction to her own testimony

<Apollo> そして、こうも証言しました。事件については“何も見ていない” Furthermore, you testified that you had "seen nothing".

<Lamiroir> ‥‥！ ...!

<Apollo> お分かりですね‥‥ レタス氏が“撃たれた”ことを‥‥ Yet you knew that Mr. LeTouse had been shot!

あなたが、知っているはずがないのです！ How could you have known!?

<Lamiroir> ！　‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ ...!

<Lamiroir> きゃあああああああああああッッ！ Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeoooooooowrk!

<Judge> ラミロアさん！ Lamiroir!

‥‥あなた、まさか。何かをかくしているのでは‥‥ You aren't hiding something from this court, I hope!

<Lamiroir> ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ ......

<Apollo> （ラミロアさんはウソをついた‥‥ 　ゼッタイに何かを隠している！） (That sweet song of hers was sounding a little too sweet!)

So, I'm not sure why Lamiroir's cries were localized to this. It sounds like something so out of place from someone whose voice is so beautiful and melodic usually. Maybe that was the point? Like, it's a subtle nod to sudden record-scratches or sudden cuts in a piece of music?

Fyi, Odoroki's last line here was simply: "(Lamiroir-san was lying... She has to be hiding something!)"

> Press newest (7th) statement

<Apollo> ほんの少ししか見ていないのに、よく“弾痕”だと分かりましたね。 Only a glimpse, yet you knew they were bullet holes?

<Lamiroir> ‥‥‥‥ええ。一目で分かりましたわ。 Yes. I recognized them immediately.

以前にも、銃の弾痕を、見たことがありますから‥‥。 I have seen bullet holes before, you know.

<Klavier> アナタは歌い手として、世界中を回られていますからね。 You have traveled the world as a singer...

この国よりも治安の悪い地域で、歌われることもあるでしょう。 You must have sung in places far more dangerous than our country.

<Lamiroir> わたくしの歌が必要とされるならば、どこにでも行かせていただきますわ。 I go wherever my voice is needed. Those places... are many, these days.

<Trucy> かっこいいですね！　ラミロアさん。みぬきも、いつかは海外に出たいな。 That's really cool! I hope I get to travel like Lamiroir some day.

<Klavier> ぼくも、レコーディングは海外ですると決めていますよ。 I plan on recording my next album overseas.

むこうのスタジオは、音のヌケがちがいますからね。 Their studios have a different sound, you know.

<Apollo> （へえ‥‥それは、発声練習にも　良さそうだな‥‥） (Hmm. Maybe I should go on a Chords of Steel tour, too.)

And this last line is totally different. "(Huh... it sounds like they'd be great for vocal training too...)"

("Far more dangerous", huh... Maybe she previously had a tour in the Republic of Zheng Fa... and maybe the Kingdom of Khura'in too.)

> 3rd Witness Testimony, finish pressing, select "There's a problem"

> 4th Witness Testimony

<Apollo> （すっかり忘れていた‥‥ 　オレの知らないところで‥‥） (I admit, I'd forgotten about the song...)

（そんなトンでもないオチが　ついていたなんて！） (But there it is now, waiting for me... the grand finale, as it were.)

<Trucy> あ！　それに最初に気がついたの、みぬきですからね、みぬき！ Hey! You know I was the one who first noticed that!

<Judge> “歌詞”に合わせて殺人など‥‥ I've heard of jumping rope to songs, and counting to songs...

“かぞえ歌”と“手まり歌”だけの世界だと思っていました！ ...But killing!?

<Klavier> 世界は、おジイさんが思っていたより広い、ってコトだね。 It's a wild world out there, Herr Judge.

<Judge> それでは！ Very well!

この、ナゾの歌を踏まえた上で、尋問をおねがいします！ We've heard one song and dance, let's get on to the next: the cross-examination!

<Apollo> （ベツに、歌にはナゾはないと　思うけど‥‥） (I'm not so sure I'm going to be doing much singing...)

By the way, "手まり歌" (temari uta) is roughly like playing handball to a song. A temari is a ball of usually extra kimono cloth wrapped together with fabric. Over Japanese history, it went from a handmade toy to embroidery art. Link to Wikipedia.

Also, "Wild World" is a 1971 hit song by Cat Stevens too. With all the talk of songs, I figured the loc team might have been able to slip in a subtle nod.

Last couple lines there: "Let's build on this mystery song and begin the cross-examination!" "(I don't think the song itself is the mystery here, though...)"

10/21/20 edit: Ash has enlightened me to one of Takumi’s inspirations. Like Agatha Christie’s And There Was None and Van Dine’s The Bishop Murder Case, where a murder seems to follow a nursery rhyme, a classic Japanese mystery novel by Seishi Yokomizo, Akuma no Temari Uta, is a murder mystery that follows the rhymes of a song.

And now looking into his works, I just realized this man is also the legend who wrote the iconic private eye Kosuke Kindaichi. Yeah, the same guy who’s said to be the grandfather to the MC of the Kindaichi Case Files manga, by Yozaburo Kanari. What a small world we live in, after all.

> Press 1st statement

<Klavier> なかなか悪くないじゃないか、刑事クン。イイ声してるよ。 Bravo, Fräulein Detective. Your singing... it's not bad.

‥‥そして、最後のパート。 Now, for the finale!

“Ｇｕｉｔａｒ，Ｇｕｉｔａｒ‥‥ 　ふたりは空へ” "Guitar, Guitar... Up together to the sky."

この歌詞の通り、盗まれたレタス氏の死体は‥‥ As it says in the lyrics, Mr. LeTouse...

“空高く”そびえるステージの上で発見された。 ...was found with a guitar, high in the "sky" over the stage.

どうだい？　これだけ一致してたら。もう偶然とはいえないさ。 No series of coincidences could be so well conceived!

<Ema> ‥‥カガク的に言ってもね。 He's right. ...Scientifically speaking.

<Apollo> （‥‥一体、　なんのコンサートだよ‥‥） (What would Wocky have said? ..."That concert was wack.")

<Trucy> あんな風に気持ち良さそうに歌われたら、反論できませんね‥‥ It's hard to argue when she pours her heart into it like that.

<Ema> ‥‥えーと。と、とにかく！犯人は‥‥ Ah, er, ahem! Anyway, the shooter...

Aw, I really wish I could have actually heard Ema sing... or at least hear her textbox beeps change in tone to the music. That would be a bit of extra coding work, though.

By the way, Odoroki was talking about: "(...What kind of concert was this supposed to be...?)"

> Press 4th statement again

<Ema> おそらく、犯人と被害者の距離は、２メートルもなかったはずです。 Furthermore, there was no more than five feet between shooter and victim.

これは、ハズすほうがムズカシイぐらいの距離です。 Hard to miss at that distance.

<Trucy> でも、マキさんは、目が不自由だったから‥‥ But, Machi can't see...

<Ema> おそらく、“音”と“気配”にたよって、撃った‥‥ He would have had to use sound and other senses to aim...

だから、ハズれたのでしょう。 ...and miss.

<Klavier> ‥‥部屋には大音量でぼくたちのナンバーが流れていた。 And our music was blaring over the room monitor.

音を聞くには、不利な状況だったと言えるよ。 Not the best circumstances for aiming by sound.

<Ema> だから‥‥ハンニンは、目が見えなかった人物‥‥ Which makes it very likely that the shooter was blind.

<Klavier> これが、検察側の主張だよ‥‥ Thus the prosecution's position.

<Ema> うーん！　やっぱり、カガク的説明って気持ちいいわね！ Ahh! Nothing like a scientific explanation to get the blood pumping!

<Apollo> （今は、　まったく同意できないよ‥‥） (Why's mine frozen in my veins, then...?)

It was just "(I can't agree with that sentiment at all...)" but I also wanted to make a joke about about "Apopsico".

> Press 5th statement

<Apollo> か、歌詞になぞらえた殺人だって、じゅうぶん、非カガク的です！ What's so scientific about a murder to lyrics!?

<Ema> 何よ！　それぐらい‥‥カガクで解明できるに決まってるでしょ！ Lyrics can be explained scientifically!

<Ema> カガクを甘く見ると‥‥ ケガするわよッ！ ...Never underestimate the power of science!

<Apollo> （うわ！　指紋検出粉のビンを、　ふりかぶりながら言うなよ‥‥） (Put that bottle of finger- printing powder down before you hurt someone, like me!)

じゃ、じゃあ！解明してみせてくださいよ！ OK, then explain it! Scientifically!

<Ema> ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ ......

まあ。それには、まだデータが足りないかな‥‥ I require more data.

<Apollo> （なんだよ、それ！） (Hah! Likely story...)

"(What kind of weak excuse is that!?)"

> Press 6th statement

<Ema> そのことは、楽屋にいた全員に知らされていました。 Everyone backstage was told about the maintenance.

だから‥‥当然。マキさんも知っていた。 ...Including Machi Tobaye.

キャタツをのぼれば‥‥そこに、 “脱出口”がある、と‥‥ He would have known that there would be a way out at the top of that stepladder.

<Apollo> そ、そんな‥‥！今、初めて聞きましたよ！ But that's... Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this!?

<Klavier> ‥‥なぜ、あんなところにキャタツがあったか‥‥ You could have figured it out for yourself.

それを考えれば、カンタンにわかると思うけどね。 You only needed to consider what that stepladder was doing there.

<Judge> ‥‥どうやら、弁護人の異議は、キャタツに押しつぶされたようです。 ...Looks like the defense's objection has been squished by a stepladder.

<Klavier> どうかな？　おデコくん‥‥ Well, Herr Forehead?

もう、この証人の主張をひっくり返す武器はないのかい？ Out of ammunition, perhaps?

<Apollo> （‥‥なんだ？　この、牙琉検事の　挑戦的なタイド） (I've never seen Prosecutor Gavin so... so aggressive!)

（なんか、“不自然”な気が‥‥） (Maybe he's caught the scent of blood...)

That last line has gotten a bit more dressing to it. It went "(Maybe he's caught onto something 'unnatural'...)"

> Accept the prosecution's challenge, but present wrongly

<Judge> ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ ......

<Judge> その証拠品に、検察側の主張を崩すチカラがあるとは思えません。 I'm not sure that overturns anything, Mr. Justice.

<Apollo> （うう。ちがったのか‥‥） (Ugh. Wrong evidence, I'm guessing...)

<Klavier> オドロキ・イズ・ブラインド‥‥ 何も見えてないのは、キミだったね。 Apparently both love... and Justice are blind.

<Apollo> （考えるんだ！　何でもいい‥‥何かないのか！） (I have to think! There must be something... anything!)

"Odoroki Is Blind... Seems like you're the one who can't see anything."

(I capitalized that because Kyouya said it in English.)

> Present photo of crime, point out the contradiction, Klavier takes the lead

<Klavier> ‥‥お楽しみはこれからだよ。おデコくん。 This is where the real fun begins, Herr Forehead!

<Apollo> ぎゃあああああああああああああああああッ！ Yeeeeaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggh!

<Klavier> ‥‥さすがに、ヒトが悪かったかな。 I knew you didn't have what it took.

<Ema> サイテーです！ You... You jerk!

あたし、ナニしに来たかわからないじゃないですか！ Just what was I in here for? Comic relief!?

<Trucy> そうですよ！　あやまりなさい！ Yeah! Apologize!

<Klavier> はっはっはっ。いやいや、ごめんね。 Ah ha ha. Oh, sorry!

<Trucy> なんですかそれ！ちゃんとアタマさげる！ That's no way to apologize!

<Apollo> （やれやれ‥‥タイヘンな騒ぎに　なっちまったな） (He's angered the Trucy now. Look out...)

"(Oh boy... This trial has turned into one huge ruckus.)"

> Point out reason why Machi had to pretend to be blind (or not, it continues either way)

> 5th Witness Testimony, press 1st statement

<Apollo> どうして見えなくなったのかも、分からないのですね‥‥ So, you don't know why you went blind?

<Lamiroir> ‥‥その通りです。 ...I do not.

もしかすると、生まれつき見えなかったのかもしれませんわ。 I may have been born this way, in fact.

<Klavier> ‥‥彼女の過去について、余計なセンサクは無用だよ。 ...It's fruitless to attempt to pry into her past.

これは、きわめてデリケートなモンダイだからね‥‥ And, I might add, it's a delicate subject.

<Judge> 弁護人にデリケートを期待するのは、少々ムリがありますからな。 I'm not sure we can reasonably expect Mr. Justice to do anything delicately.

<Apollo> （シツレイな‥‥ 　たしかにあまり自信はないけど） (Hey! Why I oughta... take a deep breath and calm down.)

"(Hey... though I actually don't have much confidence about that either.)"

> Press 5th statement

<Judge> 《もくげきしゃ‥‥めがみ》でしたかな。 "The witness... siren"?

何度も聞かされましたぞ。弁護人の、迫真のモノマネつきで。 We've heard them many times. Along with a little play-acting by our defense.

<Klavier> 最後のコトバは、死神にノドをつかまれて、闇に消えてしまった。 I remember them well myself, but that statement is not to what I refer.

‥‥あのコトバには、 “つづき”があったんだよ。 I mean what he said before that.

<Apollo> “つづき”‥‥ （“めがみ”につづくコトバ‥‥） ...Before? (What came before that...?)

あッ！ Ack!

<Klavier> ‥‥そう。レタス氏は、こう言おうとしていたんだよ。 ...That's right. He tried to tell you.

《事件のことは、目撃者に聞け。　ただし‥‥その証人は‥‥》 When he said "can't see" he wasn't talking about himself.

《“目が見えないぞ”》 ‥‥ってね。 He was talking about the witness!

<Judge> めがみ‥‥えない‥‥ “目が見えない”ですか‥‥ッ！ I see!

<Klavier> “目が見えない”のは、ラミロアさんだけではなかったねえ。 Too bad the defense did not.

どうだい？　おデコくん。 Well, Herr Forehead?

少しは落ち着いて、モノゴトをよく“見て”みたらどうかな。 Try relaxing and "looking" at the facts first next time.

<Apollo> ‥‥ぐうッ！ ...Urk!

For this entry, it's entirely a matter of how LeTouse's last words had to be translated. The original Japanese script didn't leave a lot for him, and there were places where it was quite ambiguous. As it turns out, he wasn't saying "megami", as in "Goddess", but "me ga mienai", as in "unable to see".

"It was... 'The witness... Megami', if I recall. We've heard them many times, with a little play-acting by our defense." "His final words, just before Death clasped on his throat and he was consumed by darkness. ...Those words had something 'following' them." "('Following'... 'Megami'...?) Ah!" "...That's right. This is what LeTouse-san was telling you: 'Ask the witness about the incident. However... that witness...' 'cannot see.' "Megami... enai... You mean, 'me ga mienai'...!?" "Though, it wasn't just Lamiroir-san who 'didn't see'."

> Finish pressing

<Judge> ‥‥ごくろうさまでした、眉月刑事。たいへん、参考になりました。 Thanks for looking into that for us, Detective Crescend. It's a great help.

<Daryan> いやいや。かまいませんよ、裁判長さん。 Oh, no problem at all, Your Honor.

‥‥それじゃ、オレはこれで‥‥ ...I'll be heading out...

<Lamiroir> 待ってください‥‥！ Wait!

<Judge> ど。どうかしましたか？ラミロアさん‥‥ La-Lamiroir! Is something the matter?

<Lamiroir> 今の、その声‥‥ That voice just now...

<Klavier> ダイアンが、なにか‥‥？ Daryan?

<Lamiroir> ミスター・ダイアン‥‥ というのですか。 Mr. Daryan, is it...?

‥‥‥‥‥‥彼、です。まちがいありません。 ............ It was him. I am sure of it.

<Judge> “彼”‥‥なにが、ですかな‥‥？ It was "him"?

<Klavier> ‥‥ッ！　ま。まさか‥‥ Y-You aren't saying--!?

<Lamiroir> ２発の銃声を聞いたとき‥‥ レタスさんと話していた声‥‥ That voice I heard, talking to Mr. LeTouse... when I heard the gunshots fired.

そう。今の方です！ミスター・ダイアン！ It was him! It was Mr. Daryan!

Just making a point here since I forgot to last post: Lamiroir and later Machi are the only ones who still call people using "Mr." in English, in the JP script. However, for the briefest moment here, she refers to Mr. LeTouse with the general -san suffix instead, and I don't think this was something that was simply overlooked, since the line immediately after, where she accuses Daryan/Daian, she goes back to using "Mr." Perhaps Lamiroir is getting more and more in-tune with her other language outside of Borginese?

...I'm still sticking to my Poland theory, but they could be like a mix of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia... around there in Eastern Europe.

#gsvsaa #gs4 #ajaa #turnabout serenade #part 2

6 notes · View notes

sincerelymarinette · 4 years

Text

A Recorded Life (48/50) - Miraculous Ladybug

Words: 1597 Chapter Summary: Time to figure out what they found at the Agreste Mansion and take some action. Soon enough this war with Hawkmoth will end... Author's Note: I lowkey love this chapter. Gives out underdogs some more screentime :) only two chapters left and I'm so excited to write them!! ALSO, IT'S OFFICIAL! There will be a mini-sequel!! Mayve 5-10 parts because I really want to touch on what happens after this story in my youtube au universe and I feel like the chapters of this youtube au have been lacking actual videos oops. Keep an eye out for that after the story ends! (On wattpad, it will be posted in the same book!)

Prev / Next / Masterlist

Tracking

---

Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Rena Rouge found everything they needed at the mansion. Alya was able to download pretty much everything on Gabriel's computer, even the locked stuff. It would take her a little longer to crack it, but she would get into that soon enough. Plus, there was a hit on the bug. They all knew it wasn't them because it was planted as they were leaving last time, and it wasn't Gorilla because he has been staying at the Bourgeois hotel to accommodate him while he's out of a job. He wouldn't go back to the Mansion; it would put him at risk, and Adrien didn't think that was a possibility.

Since the bug had a hit, they got out of the Mansion as fast as they could. They don't know what would happen if they ran into Hawkmoth without the full team, and with their guard down, it was better to stick together. Luckily, getting back to the bakery was easy, and as Alya worked on her computer with Nino, the other three listened to the bug.

There was a lot of muffled noise, like walking and random buzzing, but once they heard a deep voice, they all perked up. It wasn't the easiest thing to understand, but they were still able to get something out of it.

"That Akuma was a mistake," The voice of Adrien's dad grumbled. "They needed to shut up."

"Well, it's too late for that," Nathalie's voice came through much quieter. "We shouldn't even be here. We should get back to the-"

It got quiet, and the team assumed there was a silent action that made them stop. "No, I need to check on something," Gabriel insisted. "We will go back to being off the gird soon. Just trust me," He said.

"Yes," Nathalie said. "You're sure Adrien doesn't know about the Etserga home?" She asked.

"Positive. His mother and I kept it a secret from him just in case. Sure, this wasn't its intended use, but it's working-" They paused again. "They've been here...recently. We have to go," He said quickly, and their footsteps followed, running.

Adrien looked confused. "The what home?" He said just above a whisper.

"I heard et-something," Chloé said.

"Alya," Marinette turned to her. "Anything about a home starting with e-t?" She asked. Alya nodded as she typed away, and a few seconds later, put her head in her hand.

She sighed loudly. "Well, we never did say Hawkmoth was the smartest. He's got something in here about Etserga, but it's a locked folder. I'll get into it, just give me a few minutes," Alya said. "But that's Agreste spelled backward," She laughed slightly and went back to typing.

Adrien turned back to the group and looked more confused than before. "I wonder why they kept it a secret from me," He said. "Seems like they were always planning to do something evil."

Marinette put her hand on Adrien's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Adrien," She said. "You know we're right here with you. He won't get away with this."

Adrien didn't respond, but a small smile grew on his face, and he shut his eyes, laying his head on Marinette's shoulder.

---

"I don't know how much time we'll have," Rena Rouge warned as she held her flute in one hand and her phone in the other. "I can hold the Mirage of us, but we don't want to take any risks," She said.

"We'll be quick," Carapace promised. "We just need to get confirmation that this is the right place," He reminded.

Queen Bee scoffed as she nearly tripped in the forest. "No wonder Adrien didn't know about this place, it's in the middle of nowhere!" She complained.

"Yeah, I think that's the point of a hideout," Carapace joked. "I still don't understand why they didn't tell him."

"Gabriel's weird, why would he?" Rena Rouge said. "Okay, stop, we're getting close," She said and put her phone down and bringing her flute to her mouth. Once she finished her song, the three blended in with the forest surrounding them. They didn't want to get too close, but this would protect them from even having the chance to be seen. "We have to be quiet, too, don't forget," She told them.

The three heroes were silent once they got closer, they had no idea what could be in this forest, and they don't want to be caught off guard. If Hawkmoth found them snooping around, they would lose everything they've been working towards.

"There's a house," Queen Bee whispered and pointed straight ahead.

"That's gotta be it," Rena Rouge nodded, looking down at her phone and back up at the house. It wasn't very big, and looked a bit run down. Probably to make it look like no one lived there, keep it out of any suspicion.

The group moved out of direct sight of the house and hid behind a few trees. "Just because he can't see us doesn't mean we shouldn't be careful," Rena Rouge said. "Let's do this quick and get back to Marinette and Adrien," She said.

"Got it," Both Carapace and Queen Bee responded at the same time.

"Shell off," Carapace called quietly. It took Wayzz a few seconds to adjust to being out of the bracelet, and Nino gave him a quick snack. Once Wayzz adjusted, he took his part in the plan. Wayzz sighed. "He's definitely in there; I can feel Nooroo. He's sad and nervous," He said. "I've felt Nooroo before, but this is much worse," He reported.

Rena Rouge nodded. "Great. I'll let Marinette know we're coming back. Suit up and let's get out of here," She said. "This ends soon."

---

Adrien and Marinette sat out the visit to the woods. They knew Alya, Nino, and Chloé could handle it alone, and it could have caused issues if all five went. Besides, Adrien was exhausted, and if they were right, this fight could happen sooner than expected, and Adrien needed to be rested.

He still couldn't believe that his mother was in a secret garden basement the whole time. It had been years, and he thought he and his father had finally gotten through all the pain...but no. Adrien needed a mental break, which is also why they stayed back.

Adrien and Marinette sat on the couch with a random movie playing. Adrien was focused on the movie, and it was nice to have a distraction. Marinette distracted herself with editing a fashion video she filmed a few weeks ago- she had a few as "in case" recordings if she was going to miss an upload day. Though her upload streak has majorly died recently, due to essential circumstances, editing videos always got her mind focused and off the superhero world.

She decided to take a break and look at some recent comments on her videos. She was a little afraid of what she would find, but she wanted to know what her fans thought.

I miss marinettes daily videos but i hope her and everyone is doing okay. I can't imagine the kind of mental and psycial stress the crew is under right now. Mari, we stand behind you!!

I love mari and her crew. I can't wait for them to kick hm's ass once and for all. You guys got this!

ugh i get why she cant upload but i miss her and adrien. they always make me so happy

Adrien idk if you read mari's comments but if you do: I love you and I hope you're doing okay, I can't imagine what you're going through and I wish you the best. Mari give Adrien a big hug from all of us!

I can't wait to see how the world changes after they get rid of hawkmoth, like that will be iconic. I hope they record his demise.

> I hope they don't, that will be traumatic for Adrien to see everywhere. For all of them really, please be considerate

>> yes taking him down will be iconic, but we need to remember they are actual people...TEENAGERS having to do this

mari adrien alya nino chloe thank you

Mari is a BOSS, you're doing amazing. I'll keep watching all your videos over and over and over again to keep supporting you in any way I can. I'm not from Paris but i know they love you!!

Marinette was pleasantly surprised by how kind most of her comments were. They were sensitive to her situation, but she wasn't sure what changed. She hasn't been on social media at all recently, so maybe some nationwide campaign about being kind to the heroes happened. Honestly, she wouldn't be surprised at this point. Nothing really surprises her anymore.

"They're there!" Alya, Nino, and Chloé shouted as the burst through the door.

The sudden noise scared Marinette and Adrien, and they were both staring at the group with wide eyes, more awake than ever. "Wayzz could feel Nooroo. We found them," Alya clarified.

"Great," Marinette nodded, set her computer on the couch, and stood up. "Then we go through with the plan."

"If I may," Wayzz flew from behind Nino. "You all are a great team and I support the plan. But please remember that Hawkmoth has made it clear that he does not care that you are kids or his son. He is ruthless," Wayzz said. "And he's not holding back anymore."

Marinette looked from Adrien to Tikki, who was floating next to her. She looked back at the group as a whole. "Then neither are we."

---

@lady-of-the-roses-and-lilies @bookishserendipity03 @avatheexceed @gkz10 @coccinellegirl @kat-thatoneweirdo @strawberryblondish @snow-swordswoman @lilgaga98 @evufries @toodaloo-kangaroo

11 notes · View notes

mikauzoran · 3 years

Text

Ladrien: Drunk Ladybug on My Balcony? Yeah. This is Fine.: Chapter Eleven

Read it on AO3: Drunk Ladybug on My Balcony? Yeah. This is Fine.: Chapter Eleven: Honest Conversations

“Wow,” Adrien breathed as he looked down at Paris stretching out before him from the top of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica.

While it was true that the Eiffel Tower was taller, from the top of that monument, the city seemed to spread out on all sides in an endless web. From the roof of the church on top of the hill, Paris spilled forth like a waterfall or the train of a wedding gown, perfect and beautiful like a carpet of blue and white flowers.

“It’s gorgeous up here.” He suddenly realized that he’d never seen this view before. Not really. Not like this.

He’d been to Montmartre for akuma attacks in the past, but he’d only been there for the fight, and he’d had to hurry back to whatever photoshoot or class or other obligation he’d left behind.

He’d never stopped to really see what his city looked like from this vantage point, so staring at it now with his Lady still with her arm partially around him, not having yet stepped back after setting him down… It took his breath away.

“Yeah,” she whispered reverently, savoring the moment.

They stood there together for a long stretch, transfixed, until it occurred to Ladybug that she still had her arm wrapped around his waist despite the fact that there was no longer any need.

She cleared her throat and smiled bashfully as she slipped away. “You…um…you have a beautiful singing voice.”

He returned the smile, rubbing at the back of his neck, embarrassed and pleased at her praise. “You think so? Thank you. I’ve been singing for a long time. Since I was a child,” he added for context. “My mother was a stage actor. She did musicals often, and, for a few years, she got it into her head that she wanted to be an opera singer. She got a vocal coach,” he chuckled fondly at the memory. “I used to hide in the music room and spy on her lessons. Then, I’d sing along with her when she practiced. I grew up singing Bellini and Rossini and Puccini.”

Suddenly, he realized he was monopolizing the conversation and immediately sought to rectify the situation. “Sorry. I’m rambling. I like singing. I’m glad you think I’m good at it. You have a really pretty voice too.”

She blushed, waving away his compliment as she went to retrieve the wicker picnic basket from where she had stowed it earlier at the seam where the slightly slanted roof met the base of the tower supporting one of Sacré-Coeur’s iconic, turnip-like domes.

“I’m just glad I didn’t make your ears bleed,” she snickered self-deprecatingly. “Like I said, I’m not a good solo singer.”

“I don’t know,” he hummed skeptically. “I like your voice, Nelle. Will you at least agree that we make beautiful music together?”

She had to try not to laugh as he waggled his eyebrows at her. “Okay,” she relented. “Yes. The duet was actually really nice. I liked that.”

“We’ll have to do it again sometime?” he replied hopefully, but it sounded more like a question, as if he were unsure whether lightning would strike the same place twice and he’d get another date with her.

She had gone into this with the intention of this being a one-time thing, but…he was looking at her so hopefully, and she couldn’t bear to break his heart.

“Of course,” she promised, setting down the picnic basket and spreading out the blanket. “One way or another, we’ll get together and sing more Disney songs. This was fun,” she assured, not certain if that would be with Ladybug, but she would definitely follow up with him as Marinette, if not.

“Oh, good,” he chuckled giddily in relief, rushing to help her smooth out the blanket. “I think I tried to warn you that I was a dork, but I’m not sure you truly got the full picture. I was a little afraid I’d scared you off.”

“Not at all!” she insisted, taking a seat and beginning to unpack all of the goodies she’d packaged up in Tom and Sabine’s takeaway boxes earlier that afternoon. “I’m having fun with you.”

“Good,” he reiterated, the dread and worry beginning to fade.

“And I liked hearing about your mom before,” she added, stopping to look up and meet his gaze. “Seriously. You weren’t rambling. I…I want to get to know you better, Adrien, so…I’m happy when you share things like that with me.”

The sincerity of her smile nearly made him forget how to breath.

“Oh.” A grin slowly spread across his lips, making his face shine in joy. “Thanks. I’m really glad.”

“You’re very welcome,” she assured, blushing down at the pastry boxes. She got out the tiered serving tray and started to open up the boxes and arrange the miniature blackcurrant scones, golden raisin scones, strawberry jam, and clotted cream on the bottom tier.

“Wow,” Adrien breathed in wonder, eyes widening as Ladybug unpacked an assortment of mini tarts, trifles, petit fours, and macarons for the top tier. “This spread is amazing, and I can tell you have good taste. Tom and Sabine are the best in the business.”

“Well, Marinette actually made all this,” she confessed, taking out a variety of finger sandwiches (egg salad, tuna salad, smoked salmon, and cucumber) and placing them carefully on the second tier of the tray. “But she learned from the best, so the quality should still be passable.”

Adrien’s eyes went even wider. “Marinette made all this?”

Ladybug’s blush flared up as she nodded. “Yep. I actually know her, so…”

“Wow,” Adrien reiterated, taking in the array of items with renewed appreciation. “She’s so unbelievably talented!”

He was going to give her a heart attack if he started gushing about her civilian self again.

“Look at how neatly she’s cut off the crusts! And the way she’s placed the berries on this tart just so…” He shook his head, blown away by Marinette’s many skills. “She’s just so incredible. I can’t believe she does so many things so well, you know? She’s amazing at everything she sets her mind to.”

Then he looked at her with the most earnest smile, and she was a goner.

“She’s…something all right,” she laughed nervously, trying to remember how to breathe through her nose.

Adrien frowned, picking up on her unease. “I’m really sorry. It’s kind of weird that I’m talking about another girl on our date, isn’t it?”

“No, no!” she rushed to assure him, waving her hands in a flurry and almost knocking over the tiered tray. “It’s okay. No worries. I mean, I’m the one who brought her up. I’m sure she’d be really happy to know you thought so highly of her.”

“I hope so,” he chuckled, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck. “We’re pretty close, since we’ve been friends for years, but I’m a little socially awkward, so I worry sometimes that I’m a little too effusive. I’m sure it’s kind of annoying to listen to me rant about her all the time.”

“I would never get tired of you ranting like that about me,” Ladybug insisted, sounding almost breathless.

He blinked and then grinned. “Oh. Good. Duly noted…. Because you’re sort of phenomenal. Like, has anyone ever told you that you’re radiant when you’re solving one of your Lucky Charms? And your laugh is endearing.”

“Oh,” she responded in a daze, unprepared to find herself in his crosshairs.

“Your smile? Killer,” he praised. “And that’s just you physically. Don’t get me started on how noble and brave and clever and funny you are.”

“I’ll be sure not to because I think I’d overheat and pass out if you did,” she laughed, only partially kidding.

“Well, we wouldn’t want that,” he snickered impishly. “I’ll be sure to save some compliments for later, then. Sound good?”

She nodded, turning back to the food. “So…afternoon tea.” She carefully got out the plates, saucers, and cups, making sure they sat still on the inclined roof before retrieving the thermos of mint tea from the wicker picnic basket. “Marinette happened to mention that you’re something of a pescatarian, so I hope the sandwich varieties are to your liking.”

He gave a bit of a start. “You and Marinette talked about me?”

“Just a little,” she rushed to assure, hands going up in defence. “Nothing, like, too weird or anything. Nothing especially personal. I didn’t pump your friends for information about you or anything, but when I was placing the order with Marinette, I just happened to ask her if she knew if you had any preferences, so…”

“No, it’s okay,” he assured. “You were being thoughtful, and I really appreciate that.”

He attempted to fight the sinking feeling caused by Marinette knowing that he was on a date with Ladybug. She certainly wasn’t going to be inviting him out for a coffee date now, and that realization disappointed him. He felt like he was missing out…even thought that was ridiculous because he’d been dreaming of a date with Ladybug for years, and, now, here he was literally living a long-standing dream, but…

“I actually do eat meat,” he informed her with a smile, forcing himself to get out of his own thoughts and back into the present moment where he was having a lovely rooftop picnic with Ladybug. “If it’s set in front of me, anyway. I don’t particularly like it, and I wouldn’t choose it of my own volition if there were other things to pick, but…thank you. I really do appreciate you being so thoughtful. It was really nice of Marinette to come up with so many different pescatarian-friendly options.”

“She knows you don’t really get to make decisions a lot, so she wanted you to have a selection,” Ladybug replied, not sure why she was putting in a good word for her apparent “love rival”.

“Aww,” Adrien cooed. “That was so sweet of her. I don’t know what I did to deserve such wonderful, caring women in my life.”

“You’re pretty wonderful yourself,” she added bashfully, making him blush as a pleased smile slowly spread across his lips.

“Thank you for thinking so,” he hummed happily, drinking in the perfection of the moment.

“Of course.” She returned his grin.

“…So.” He cleared his throat. “What kind of tea are we drinking?”

“Mint,” she replied and then watched his face closely for a reaction, trying not to appear to be doing so. “I know it doesn’t exactly go with the rest of the menu items, but Marinette mentioned that it was a favourite of yours, so…”

“Yeah,” he breathed, trying to keep in the broad, beaming smile that was trying to rip his face in half with its force and radiance. “It’s… My mom used to make mint tea for us when we had a bad day. It’s a comfort food for me.”

“Ooooh,” Ladybug sang over three pitches, eyes widening as she pretended that this was news to her. “Well, that makes sense why Marinette suggested it, then.” Cautiously, she poured them each a cup.

“Marinette is a pretty good wingman,” Adrien observed, appreciating how well his friend knew him.

“She’s doing pretty well so far,” Ladybug chuckled, handing him one of the small dessert plates. “Go ahead and dig in. Don’t hold back on my account.”

“If you insist,” he replied politely, needing no further urging as he took a cucumber sandwich and a blackcurrant scone to start with.

Ladybug helped herself to one of the petit fours, a raspberry and custard mini tart, and one of the golden raisin scones. “So…do you mind me asking why you’re not such a big fan of meat? Is it the texture?” she inquired.

Marinette already knew the story, but she knew it was a good way to get Adrien talking.

“My mom was kind of one of those crazy vegetarians,” Adrien chuckled sheepishly, a fond expression settling onto his face. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being passionate about animal rights or anything. It is important, but my mom was a little extreme,” he explained, lest Ladybug think ill of him. “Like, she’d always try to get my father to stop eating meat by making tortured mooing sounds while he ate steak or by describing in gross detail all the bad things that the people raising the animals did to them and how they slaughtered them.”

Ladybug winced even though she’d heard the story before because she knew how Émilie had inadvertently traumatized Adrien as a child. “I bet that made for…um…an unpleasant dining experience.”

Adrien shrugged, looking down at his plate. “My father thought it was amusing, actually. He made a big show of enjoying his meal because he knew it drove her nuts.” Adrien’s fond smile shifted into a bit of a grimace. “I was kind of freaked out, though. For the longest time, I thought that the animals could still feel pain after they were dead, so I always used to cry when I was served meat.”

Until his father had severely punished him and let him know that that was not acceptable behavior, Adrien had confessed to Marinette several years before.

Adrien reinforced his grin and chuckled lighthearted, trying to keep up a jovial mood. “I got over that phase, but since I had such negative associations with meat as a child, I never really developed a taste for it. I’ll eat it if it’s put in front of me, but I’d rather eat other things.”

“But you eat fish and seafood?” she asked in seemingly earnest interest as she nibbled on her petit four. She always loved his next line.

“Well, yeah,” Adrien chuckled genuinely this time. “Shrimp and lobster and clams and snails all taste delicious in butter. My mom always used to say, ‘Fish don’t count. They swim’.”

Ladybug put a hand over her mouth as she laughed. “Did she eat seafood often?”

Adrien shook his head. “No. No, she didn’t, but I think she felt so bad about causing me to have an existential crisis over eating meat that she was trying to make me feel better.”

Ladybug nodded, smiling warmly. “That was nice of her. Didn’t you get confused, though? I mean, other things swim besides fish.”

He giggle-snorted. “I did. I was very, very confused, so I just went with whatever my parents told me to eat. Is it any wonder dessert ended up being my favourite part of the meal? There’s nothing complicated about cake.”

“Amen to that,” Ladybug snickered, popping the mini raspberry tart into her mouth. “…Talk more about your mom. I mean, only if you want,” she hastily amended. “It’s just…it sounds like you have a lot of happy memories with her, and I was thinking that maybe…maybe you don’t get to talk about her a lot.”

She bit her lip, smiling tentatively, hoping she hadn’t miscalculated. She remembered him saying something to that effect to Marinette at some point.

“You don’t mind?” he inquired warily, wondering if she was just trying to be nice but wasn’t actually interested.

Most people couldn’t deal with all the baggage he had surrounding his mother, their complicated relationship, and her disappearance. He didn’t want to dump too much on Ladybug too soon right when they were just getting to know one another.

“I really want to know,” she insisted, leaning back and supporting her weight with one hand propped behind her. “I like hearing you talk.”

“Okay,” he agreed cautiously, taking a bite of his cucumber sandwich as he mentally fished for a suitable topic concerning his mother. “…I mentioned she was a stage actor. I used to spend a lot of time backstage with her. I got to see a lot of rehearsals and performances from behind the scenes.”

“Oooh, I bet that was really neat,” she cooed, watching as his eyebrows danced in excitement.

“It was!” he affirmed enthusiastically. “The theatre has always been a really magical place for me. I loved seeing how everything came together, how all the sets slowly coalesced into enchanted castles or Victorian sitting rooms or undersea grottos. How props were made and how costumes and lighting were designed. I always felt at home backstage,” he confessed wistfully.

“You sound like you miss it,” she noted quietly.

He nodded, his smile turning sad. “She disappeared seven years ago, and my father hasn’t really wanted anything to do with the theatre since then. It reminds him too much of her.”

“I’m sorry,” Ladybug offered helplessly, wishing she could soften his pain.

Adrien shrugged and tried to force his lips back into a neutral smile. “It is what it is. I mean, I’ve seen plays and musicals and operas since then, but…it’s not really the same as being on the other side of the curtain. I think the closest I’ve come is doing some voice acting. That’s similar in some ways, but…you know. Not really…. I actually did some acting myself when I was younger.”

She leaned back in, resting her elbows on her knees as she focused her attention on him. “Oh, yeah? I didn’t know that.”

She’d seen him participate in Nino’s movie projects and some school plays, but his father had never allowed him more than a bit part because his modeling and extracurricular activities schedule was already so full.

He nodded, enthusiasm slowly coming back. “My first role was when I was a baby and my mom was staring in A Streetcar Named Desire. I’ve been in a lot of shows with my mom. Some on my own too, but…nothing recently.” He gave a little sigh of discontentment.

“Have you ever thought about taking it up again?” she timidly pressed.

He paused, considering, surprised at her suggestion. “I hadn’t…actually thought of that. I mean…acting was something I really loved, so…”

His eyebrows slid together into a frown. “…My father would never let me, though. It’s too much Maman’s thing. It could never be mine. He wouldn’t like it.”

“No disrespect, but you’re legally an adult. And it’s your life, Adrien, not your father’s, so I don’t actually think he gets a say in whether you try out for some community theatre show or take an acting class next semester,” Ladybug replied, trying to keep the heat and annoyance she felt for Gabriel Agreste out of her voice.

Adrien blinked, staring at her for a good ten seconds before reacting with an “Oh” of enlightenment. “Yeah. I…You’re right. I could totally do that.”

“And you should,” she encouraged with a wide smile. “If that’s something you decide you want to do, I mean. Never let other people dictate how you live your life, Adrien. You should do what makes you happy first and foremost. So long as you’re not hurting anyone, you should just do whatever you want.”

He hummed thoughtfully as he finished off his cucumber finger sandwich and reached for another one. “…I think you’re onto something, Nelle. Acting used to be really important to me, and I even dreamed about doing it professionally when I was little, just like Maman. I think I’d like to give it a try again. At the very least, maybe it will help me reconnect with some of my memories of her. I know it can never be like how it was when we were onstage together, but…I’m sure it will still be a meaningful experience.”

“Definitely!” She nodded enthusiastically. “I hope so, anyway. It sounds like you and your mom were really close, so it would be great if you found a way to tap into something you used to share together again. Kind of like how you two used to make mint tea and salads when you were having a bad day.”

Adrien opened his mouth to reply but then stopped as his brain caught up with what she had said.

An impish grin unfurled across his lips. “I never told you about making salads with my mom.”

Ladybug’s eyes went wide in a panic at her slipup. “Yes, you did.”

He shook his head slowly, smirk growing larger. “No. I only told you about the mint tea. Marinette told you about the salads…. You did pump my friend for information about me, didn’t you, Nelle? Admit it,” he chuckled, having way too much fun with this.

“Just a little bit!” she protested, fiddling with her pink sunglasses as her entire face started to burn. “Marinette was the one who just went off gushing about you completely unsolicited!”

She should have been concerned with how easy it was to throw herself under the bus, but, in that moment, she was more than happy to make this Marinette’s problem so that Ladybug didn’t have to deal with it.

“She did?” Adrien asked breathlessly, as if in awe at the very thought of Marinette Dupain-Cheng gushing about him.

Ladybug froze. “Um…yeah. I mean… To be fair, she just wanted you to have a really nice date, so…so she told me some things she thought would help.”

A faint blush spread across the bridge of Adrien’s nose, and his smug grin morphed into a warm smile, touched by Marinette’s thoughtfulness. “That was really sweet of her,” he mumbled almost to himself. “She’s such a wonderful friend.”

Ladybug averted her eyes so as not to overheat and die from an overdose of Adrien’s adorableness.

“Yeah,” she chuckled nervously. “Marinette’s great.”

“Sorry,” Adrien groaned, catching himself. “We’re going to have to have some kind of rule about how we’re not allowed to talk about Marinette or something because it’s really hard for me not to rant about how awesome she is whenever someone brings her up. I’m sorry my crush on her is so obnoxious,” he apologized with a wince.

“No, it’s fine. Really,” she insisted, feeling bad for making him feel guilty. “I get it. It’s not a problem. I think it’s really sweet, actually.”

“Oh, good,” he laughed, giving the back of his neck a rub. “Because I know I’m kind of breaking one of the top five rules of dating by talking about another girl, but…”

He shook his head and looked out at the city, taking in the view. “…Anyway…. You wanted to hear more about my mom?”

“Mmhm,” she encouraged softly, starting on her scone.

“I was really close to her,” he added with a fond sort of melancholy. “Over the years, I’ve started to realize that she was far from perfect. She didn’t always get it right, but she tried really hard, and I knew she loved me, so…”

Ladybug nodded, commiserating. “My parents don’t always get it right either, but knowing that they love me no matter what is a big deal. It makes it easier to forgive them when they slip up and easier to ask for forgiveness when I’m the one in the wrong.”

Adrien hummed softly, mentally conjuring up an image of Ladybug’s parents, not for the first time. He’d always imagined them as fun and loving and energetic and encouraging. He’d always imagined them a little bit like Tom and Sabine. The anecdotes Ladybug had shared with Chat Noir reminded him of the Dupain-Chengs and his experiences with them as both Chat and Adrien.

“I still have a lot that I can’t really forgive my parents for,” Adrien whispered sadly, remembering the times when his mother had taken out her stress and mental health issues on him and the times when his father had been cold and distant when Adrien needed his love and support the most.

“I’m sorry,” Ladybug mumbled, regretting her part in summoning that rueful smile to Adrien’s lips.

He shook his head, and his grin went back to a careful neutral. “It’s okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t,” she assured. “I just feel bad for making you sad and…I don’t know…rubbing my family situation in your face? I didn’t mean to do that. I mean—”

“—No worries,” he cut her off before she could spiral further into guilt and awkwardness. “It’s…yeah.” He blew out a sigh as he tried to think of the best way to explain it. “It’s fine for you to talk about your family. It’s okay that you’re happy and that you have a good relationship with them. It’s great even. I’m actually really happy for you.”

“Oh,” she replied, her defences starting to come down. “I’m not making you feel bad or anything?”

He shook his head again. “What really makes me feel bad is making other people feel bad or awkward or whatever,” he confessed. “I know my father isn’t the best sometimes, and I know my mother either got murdered or abandoned me or something, so I know my homelife is really messed up, but…there were good times too. I had happy moments with my family, so… It’s okay.”

He caught her gaze and held it, his eyes completely earnest. “The best thing you can do is treat me like I’m like anyone else. Pretend I’m ‘normal’.” He put the word in air quotes and snickered, lightheartedly rolling his eyes. “Whatever that’s supposed to mean, you know? Just pretend I’m normal, and don’t feel like you have to walk on eggshells around me.”

She slowly began to nod. “Okay. All right. Thank you. I think I can do that.”

“Good,” he sighed in relief, looking back down at his plate. “And I apologize in advance if I say something that makes you uncomfortable. Like I said, I know my family is messed up, but it’s kind of what I’m used to, so…sometimes I just want to talk about things and not have people freak out on me. So…if I ever say something and you think, ‘Wow. His father is a real jerk’, I already know that, but…it’s my reality, so if you could just pretend I’m normal and not bring up things like ‘abuse’ and ‘neglect’, that would be really great.”

He looked back up at her with a sheepish smile. “Sorry. I don’t know if that made any sense, but I’m just kind of sensitive about it.”

“No, it did,” she assured, reaching out to rest a hand on his arm as she gave him a bolstering smile. “I get it. Sometimes you just want to talk about your experiences without having to worry about the other person thinking about you differently or treating you like you’re a freak. I get that from years of being Ladybug and not having anyone but Chat Noir and my kwami Tikki to process that with, so…I’ll do my best,” she promised. “I’d like to be a safe space for you so that you can just talk and vent without having to worry.”

He rested his hand on top of hers, relishing the skin-on-skin contact their suits had always deprived them of.

“Thank you,” he stressed sincerely. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you just trying. Not a lot of people even get what I’m talking about most of the time, so… Thanks.”

The warm gratitude contained in his smile made her heart feel like it was about to burst. “You’re very welcome.”

“So,” he chuckled softly, returning to the food as he released her hand and she pulled back. “Um…I’ve always admired my mother. She dealt with a lot with my father’s career. She never wanted to be a society wife, and I know what it’s like for me to have to go out there with my public persona and deal with the media and everyone’s opinion of me, so I know it’s tough. I know it must have been tough for her. She struggled a lot with mental health too, so it was really hard for her at times, but she always gave her acting her all. She loved it,” he informed with a fond smile. “She was always so passionate about her job, and I wanted that for myself. I wanted to do something that I could really throw myself into and derive a sense of satisfaction from.”

“You don’t feel that way about modeling, do you?” Ladybug remarked sadly.

As much as Marinette had always been a fan of the Gabriel brand and Adrien’s work as a model, she had slowly realized over the years that Adrien modeled for his father more out of obligation and in an attempt to have something in common with him rather than out of any kind of enjoyment of his job.

Adrien grimaced, popping one of the snickerdoodle macarons into his mouth to stall a little before having to answer. “…Honestly? …I hate it.”

Ladybug winced. “Sorry.”

He shrugged and shook his head. “It’s just how things are. I mean, I’ll eventually stop modeling and run the company when the time comes, but…”

“You don’t want to run your father’s company either,” she surmised. “…What are you studying in university?”

“Business,” he sighed, grabbing a lemon curd tart. “I kind of hate that too. I’m not really suited for it. I get by okay and do well in class, but it doesn’t come naturally to me, and I don’t enjoy it the way some of my classmates do.”

“So…other than for the sake of your relationship with your father, why are you doing this to yourself?” she dared to ask the question she had always wondered but never had the nerve to voice as Marinette.

He looked at her for a minute in surprise.

No one had ever asked him that before. No one had ever thought to ask Adrien what he wanted to do with his life, what his dreams were. Everything had always been assumed and planned by someone else, just like all the other aspects of his life had always been.

“I…” He pursed his lips and frowned, trying to come up with a good answer.

Why had he always gone along with it?

…Because that was the way that things had always been.

“I don’t think there is another reason,” he admitted.

“…Is your relationship with your father something you’re willing to be miserable the rest of your life for?” she pressed her luck, feeling emboldened behind her mask.

He looked away and laughed ruefully. “I don’t know how to answer that.”

“That’s okay,” she assured gently. “You don’t have to answer now, but…maybe that’s something you just want to think about going forward?”

He was quiet for a minute as he studied the blackcurrants in the scones. “…What else would I do if I didn’t run Gabriel and model?” he finally asked in a soft, uncertain tone.

“Well…brainstorm a bit,” she encouraged. “What are some things that sound fun? What would you want to do with your life? What do you think would make you happy?”

He pursed his lips and gave his mind permission to go where it willed. “I don’t know. I haven’t exactly let myself think about it because my future has always been set in stone, but…I have daydreamed about what it would be like to be a househusband,” he chuckled.

She couldn’t help but blush as she imagined coming home from her atelier to Adrien in the kitchen with their baby secured to him in a carrier sling and their toddler on his hip while the six-year-old played on the floor of the adjoining den with the dog.

“I think that’s completely impracticable, though, because I lack basic survival skills like the ability to clean a toilet or do laundry,” he added, trying to be honest about his skill set while still not scaring her away.

“Well, you could always learn,” she prompted, not wanting to give up her mental image of Adrien as homemaker.

He shook his head. “I don’t think I’d actually want to be a stay-at-home-dad anyway. Yes, I would love to spend that much time with my kids, but I’ve been stuck at home by myself my whole life. I really want a job where I can get out and interact with my peers, socialize, feel like I’m connected to others. I’m sure being a househusband would be great and rewarding in its own right, but I think I want to work outside of the home at least part-time.”

Ladybug bit her lip, considering his line of reasoning before ultimately deciding that he was right. “Okay. So, what else would you want to do?”

He hummed contemplatively, finishing off his scone as he mulled it over. “Maybe I could do something with piano?”

“That’s a thought,” she replied encouragingly. “You seem to enjoy it when you play with Kitty Section.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’m actually a big fan of ragtime and jazz. I like doing piano arrangements of popular songs too. I mean, I do love the classical repertoire as well, but I don’t think I’d enjoying touring as a soloist…if I were even that good,” he snorted disparagingly. “I’m not. My father will be the first to tell you I’m not good enough. I’m a hobbyist, really, so…I don’t think people would pay money to hear me play.”

“Could you teach?” she suggested, throwing the idea out there.

Adrien shrugged, his expression lukewarm. “I mean, I guess I could, but I don’t think I’d actually enjoy it. It’s not my passion. …It would be better than slaving away at my father’s company, though.”

“Well, what’s something you would enjoy?” she kept pressing him, trying to get him to think outside of the box. “You do so many activities. Could you do something with fencing? How about Chinese? Could you go teach French or English or something abroad? Could you be an interpreter? Translator?”

“I could translate manga,” he replied softly, surprised as the idea popped into his head. “I don’t know. That could either be fun or turn something I love into something that stresses me out.”

“It’s an idea, though,” she praised, giving him a wide smile of approval as a reward. “The point is just to get you to weigh your options and think of the possibilities. What else?”

He let out a startled laugh as an idea caught him off guard. “Okay, this is crazy, but I’ve sometimes daydreamed about Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng adopting me and teaching me how to be a baker.”

Her eyes flew open, and she blinked repeatedly in shock. “Oh, but…then you couldn’t marry Marinette.”

The smile fell off his face. “Shoot. That—” He caught himself and cut himself off before he could further explore the consequences of being adopted by the Dupain-Chengs on his love life. “Okay. I just want to point out that you brought up Marinette this time.”

Ladybug raised her hands in surrender. “Okay. Guilty. …What else would you want to do with your life?”

He tapped out a silent melody against his thigh with his left hand as he went back to the mental drawing board. “I don’t know. I’ve thought about being a florist. I think that would be nice, working with flowers and talking to customers. I don’t know much about flowers, but my mother had a garden, and I liked helping her out.”

She nodded supportively. “That’s a realistic idea. Honestly, you’ve probably made or inherited enough money that you don’t necessarily need to worry about working for a living. It should just be an enjoyable job that makes you happy and makes you feel accomplished. If you like working with people, a customer service job is perfectly respectable, even though it doesn’t make much.”

“My father would have a heart attack if I told him I was going to run away and become a shop clerk,” Adrien snickered, imagining the look on Gabriel’s face.

Ladybug had to hold in a burst of laughter at the mental image too and ended up snorting unattractively.

Of course, Adrien thought she had the most gorgeous snort ever.

“If that’s what makes you happy, though,” she pressed. “I don’t want you to end up wasting away, hating your job as a cog in the corporate machine. You deserve better than that.”

“Yeah,” he replied hesitantly. “I think maybe I do.”

“You do. Ask anyone,” she insisted.

He nodded, repeating, “Maybe I do. Maybe I should tell my father I want to…start acting classes next semester.”

“Really?” she asked excitedly.

“Yeah,” he affirmed with a wide smile. “I mean…why not? It’s fun, and I used to be good at it. I think I’m still good at it. I could at least give it a try and see if it sticks because anything would be better than taking over the company. I can always start there and see what happens, see if I find something I like better along the way.”

“Adrien, that’s wonderful!” she cheered, taking him by the hand and squeezing it joyously. “I’m so happy for you! This is definitely a step in the right direction. Like you said, you can go from here and see if you come up with something else you’d rather do, but just taking that first step and trying to find a career you’d enjoy is huge! Congratulations!”

“Thanks,” he chuckled in satisfaction, proud of himself for making such a big decision. “Seriously. Thank you for having this conversation with me. Like Marinette told you, I don’t get to make my own choices much because everything in my life is so structured and things are often decided for me, so this really is a big deal. I hadn’t ever seriously thought about trying to change the course others had set me on. Thank you, Nelle.”

She couldn’t bear to meet his gaze as he beamed at her like she had created the solar system. It was too much for her already overflowing heart.

“You’re welcome,” she mumbled shyly. “I’m really just glad I could help.”

“You did,” he insisted, “and I shall forever be in your debt.”

“I don’t know about that,” she hummed in amusement, giving his hand a squeeze before pulling back and returning to her fast-cooling tea. “So…what kind of roles would you be interested in acting? And would you do stage plays like your mom or musicals or movies or TV shows or what? What kind of characters do you want to play? I can easily see you as the charming romantic male lead,” she chuckled.

He bit his lip and thought for a moment, recalling theatre productions that held special meaning for him. “I’m thinking plays and musicals mostly. Maybe some occasional opera or movies or TV, but mainly the stage. …And…I’m not sure about romantic male leads, honestly.”

She arched an eyebrow in open curiosity. “Oh, no? What kind of characters interest you?”

“Well…” He bit the inside of his cheek, remembering the roles his mother had performed over the years, the characters he’d looked up to and wanted to be like. “I mean, yeah. Obviously, there are some lead male romantic roles that I’d be interested in, but…”

He looked away and scratched at the back of his neck as he tried to decide how and whether to go into it.

He gazed back at her and replied cautiously, “The roles I’m most drawn to are actually female roles. Like Laura in The Glass Menagerie or Shelby in Steel Magnolias or Viola in Twelfth Night or Irina in Three Sisters.”

She blinked in surprise. “O-Oh.”

“I think it’s because I’ve always really admired my mom, and those were the kinds of roles she’d play,” he hastily explained, beginning to fidget with the cuff of his sleeve. “I grew up idolizing these characters and aspiring to be like them. I’ve always identified more strongly with female characters in fiction.”

He looked up nervously to see how she was processing this, and she seemed to be listening with surprised curiosity, no disgust or horror or judgment, so he tentatively continued.

“It’s because of how I was raised. I mean, I’ve always been really sheltered, really controlled and restricted. I know there are strong female characters who shape their own destinies in fiction too, but I saw a lot of movies and read a lot of books where the female characters didn’t always have that power, and I really identified with them,” he explained ruefully, gaze flicking down to the half-eaten lemon curd tart on his plate.

“So the roles I’m more interested in are women who use whatever they have at hand to take control of their lives and make the best of their situations and find happiness, even though the system is stacked against them,” he mumbled, hoping at least some of what he was saying made sense to her.

“…I can see the appeal of portraying a story that aligns more closely with your own,” Ladybug replied carefully, wary of tripping the wrong wire.

He looked up at her in surprise, pleased at her neutral-to-positive response. “Oh, good. Because I was kind of worried about what you would think of me saying, ‘Yeah. I want to cross-dress and play women’s parts’.”

She shook her head, assuring, “No. The way you explained it makes sense. If you identify with the characters, you identify with the characters.”

His dour expression lightened a bit as he nodded, happy that she was hearing him and understanding at least somewhat. “Good. Because…I know everyone always sees me as some handsome, rich, prince-like personality or Paris’s most eligible bachelor, but the truth is, I’m more of a princess.”

Her head tipped to the side curiously at his word choice. “How so?” she inquired carefully, not wanting to step on any toes.

“I told you about how Marinette is a butt-kicking, world-saving princess, right?”

She nodded, remember the conversation they’d had the week before when she’d seen her civilian identity listed as “Princesse” in his phone.

“Well, I’m the ‘princess in a tower’ variety,” he sighed. “I’m a princess trying to break free of her prison so she can find happiness and be her authentic self. I’m not quite sure how I’m going to get there yet, but…I’m working on it.”

Ladybug bit her lip as what Adrien had been saying struck a chord in her mind. “Adrien?” she called tentatively.

“Hm?” He met her gaze.

“I know you said you identified most strongly with female characters,” she proceeded with caution, “but would you also say that you identify more as female yourself?”

He paused and blinked at her as he pondered the question. “…I don’t know,” he replied after careful consideration. “I mean, no, probably not, but I don’t necessarily identify very strongly with the typical male stereotypes either. I’m just me,” he summarized.

She nodded, accepting his answer. “Okay. Thanks for answering.”

“Sure,” he replied with a slowly growing smile. “I mean…I don’t know if that was much of an answer. I’m sure it raised more questions than it put to rest, but…I guess the main thing is that it’s not a big deal to me. I don’t feel uncomfortable in my body, and there’s nothing in particular I feel like I need to change physically or behaviorally. And, besides, the idea of ‘gender’ is just a societal construct that’s completely made up anyway, so I don’t personally feel like it’s important or relevant in my life.”

Ladybug nodded, not really fully understanding but getting the important parts.

“Like I said, there are male roles that I’d want to play too,” he continued, encouraged by her supportive response, “but I wish people wouldn’t freak out if I said I wanted to be Elsa or Elphaba or Jasmine. I wish there weren’t these dumb rules telling me what I’m allowed to do because I have a Y chromosome,” he huffed and then paused as he mentally reviewed the conversation.

“I’m sorry. This is kind of a heavy topic, isn’t it?” he realized, grimacing and hoping he hadn’t freaked her out.

“It’s fine,” she assured. “I mean gender identity isn’t something I’ve ever really thought about too much, so it’s really interesting to hear you talk about it.”

“Sorry,” he repeated, wondering if this was going to come back to bite him. “I realize this is sort of a weird conversation for a first date.” He winced, mumbling, “Maybe this is why I generally don’t get invited on second dates.”

“No. Adrien, you’re seriously fine,” she insisted, giving his sleeve a playful tug. “Thank you for sharing. I’m really glad that you felt comfortable talking about this with me.”

He gave her a scrutinizing look, worried that she was just being nice so that he didn’t get akumatized but secretly planning to never ask him out again. “Are you sure? I haven’t scared you away?”

She shook her head, giving him a kind smile. “No, you goof. Absolutely not. Like I said before, I genuinely want to get to know the real you, Adrien, so I’m actually really excited to learn more about you.”

She seemed sincere, but he was only ninety percent convinced. He’d have to see how the rest of the date went.

“Okay,” he eventually relented. “But…maybe you talk now,” he suggested with a sheepish chuckle. “I feel like I’m monopolizing the conversation with all of my deep, dark confessions. Tell me something about you,” he prompted, peridot eyes gazing hopefully, expectantly, into hers.

She gulped. “Oh. Um…. Okay. I…” She bit her lip, trying to come up with something sufficiently deep that it would balance out the things he had shared with her without being something so personal that it would jeopardize her secret identity.

She looked out at the city and took a deep breath. “I guess…in terms of ‘confessions’…I don’t know if this is necessarily considered a dark secret, but it is something I try to keep hidden.”

“Yeah?” he prompted gently, watching the way the bright, late-afternoon sun lit her face as he sipped at his mint tea.

“I doubt myself a lot,” she confided. “We talked about this a bit last week when I visited to ask you out, but I feel like the public sees me as this infallible, magical machine whom they can always rely on to save the day and figure things out and miraculously fix everything, but…the truth is, under this mask, I’m just a twenty-year-old trying to make it through university and succeed in my career and maybe find love and not screw up too bad.”

She smiled bitterly and shook her head. “I’m not perfect. I mess up. I make really disastrous mistakes sometimes, and there are times when I don’t know what to do.”

She looked up and continued in a slightly guarded tone, “Did you know I almost didn’t become Ladybug?”

His eyes widened as his heart sank at the thought of never meeting her, never fighting by her side, never knowing the joys and pain of loving her. “What?” he breathed.

She shook her head, chuckling ironically. “That first akuma was really rough for me. I had zero self-confidence, and I was totally freaking out. I mean, I was thirteen and a total klutz. I couldn’t even stand up for myself against bullies. How the hell was I supposed to fight supervillains and save Paris?”

“So, what happened?” he pressed, setting aside his teacup.

“I tried to give the earrings to a friend. I slipped them into her bag, but she didn’t find them, and then she was in danger, and…” She shrugged. “I sucked it up and put on the earrings. Mostly it was Chat Noir, though.”

His heart forgot how to beat for a second, and his lungs momentarily stopped functioning. “Chat Noir?”

She nodded, her smile turning warm and affectionate.

He nearly died of happiness on the spot, seeing her wear that expression while thinking about him.

“He believed in me,” she explained, her grin growing wider. “He believed in me and encouraged me to keep going when I didn’t believe in myself. I’m only Ladybug today because of him.”

“Oh,” Adrien exhaled, heart fluttering in his ears.

To hear her say that… He hadn’t known how much his words had meant to her, what an effect he’d had.

“Yeah,” she affirmed, chuckling to herself as she picked up a tuna salad sandwich. “So, I’ve never been very good at being my own cheerleader. I’ve struggled with self-doubt from the very beginning, and I’ve never really gotten much better. I mean, I have gained some self-confidence with each year of experience, but…I still doubt myself all the time.”

“How so?” he inquired.

In truth, he already had a good idea. She’d sometimes confided in Chat Noir about her doubts and sought comfort in his friendship, but he wanted her to feel comfortable telling Adrien as well.

Plagg had been right that the dynamic between Ladybug and Adrien would be different than between Ladybug and Chat Noir, but Adrien wanted to do all that he could to shrink the divide between them as fast as possible.

“Well,” she cleared her throat and looked away with a soft, cherry blossom blush to match her sunglasses. “Just the latest example of me doubting myself and chickening out would be asking you out as Ladybug.”

His eyebrows inched together into a slightly befuddled frown. “How so?”

She bit her lip and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, seeming to size him up as she debated how much to tell him. “…We’ve met before.”

He quirked an eyebrow, thinking that that much was obvious. She’d saved Adrien any number of times over the years.

“When I’m not Ladybug,” she clarified.

“Oh,” he replied, trying not to overreact because he knew she’d freak out if he let slip that he had figured that they knew one another as civilians when she’d asked him out.

“Yeah,” she sighed, still mentally kicking herself. “I could have approached you as myself, but I was afraid you wouldn’t say yes, and I’d heard you were a fan of Ladybug, so…”

“…From Alya?” he deduced.

She gave a start and stared at him like a mouse staring down a cobra. “Ye—No. What? No. Why would I—? …Alya who?”

He snorted in laughter and shook his head. “You know Alya who. The only people who know about my ludicrous crush on you are my friends Nino, Luka, and Alya. Alya told you, didn’t she?”

Ladybug froze in a panic, mind reeling as she tried to process what exactly Adrien thought he knew and how he knew it and what was going on. Eventually, she gave up and admitted defeat.

“She was just trying to give me the confidence to get me to confess to you as me. She didn’t mean to rat you out or anything. She was just trying to help because she knew we both liked one another, so please don’t be mad,” she pleaded, sick with herself at having given Alya away.

Meanwhile, Adrien was internally panicking because Ladybug very much made it sound like Alya knew her secret identity, and he wasn’t sure what to think about that.

On the outside, he kept his composure, pushing away those thoughts for contemplation later and assuring, “I’m not angry. No worries. Like you said, she was just trying to help us.”

Ladybug nodded, sighing half in relief, half in regret. “I should have listened to her. I should have believed in myself a little more and just sucked it up and asked you out as myself instead of hiding behind this mask.” She clicked her tongue and shook her head. “I wish I would have asked you as me.”

“Yeah,” he replied softly, wistfully. “Me too.”

She turned to look at him in open astonishment. “Really? You do?”

He slipped his hand into hers, giving her a glowing smile that lit up his chlorophyll-green eyes. “Yeah, I really do. I know I’d love you under the mask once I got to know you.”

“Oh,” she gasped, her entire being melting even as she wondered how he came up with these lines and delivered them in such a way that the came across as painfully sweet and one hundred percent in earnest.

“Oh,” she repeated, realizing yet again how profoundly she had screwed this up. “I really should have asked you out as me because I don’t think we can keep doing this superhero dating thing,” she confessed in a tortured groan.

His eyes flew open in alarm. “Wait. What?”

He knew that. Deep down, he knew that it couldn’t be, but the prospect of living in a world where he knew she loved him and yet couldn’t be with him was becoming less and less supportable the more time he spent with her pretending that he could have this dream come true without any consequences.

She shook her head, looking down at the basilica roof. “I’m sorry. Just this short time we’ve spent together today has already been incredibly fun. I do like you, and I am having a good time, but the more I think about this all rationally, I don’t think this is tenable.”

He hated when she stopped and thought with her head instead of her heart. He was really enjoying his date with rash, impulsive Ladybug, and he wasn’t quite ready for responsible Ladybug to come back yet.

“I mean,” she continued with a snort, “putting aside all the safety issues, how can you be in a relationship with a girl who lies to you?”

He blinked, taken aback by her point of focus.

“You’re not lying,” he responded automatically, gaping at her in surprise.

She grimaced and sent a sheepish smile his way. “I’m sort of lying,” she haggled. “At the very least, I’m not telling the whole truth…and I feel like a horrible person,” she blew out with a sigh, regretting having sunk this low.

“You’re not a horrible person,” he whispered, scooting in closer and placing a reassuring hand on her back, beginning to rub soothing circles as his other hand gave hers a squeeze. “You’re not. You’re amazing and kind and brilliant and selfless. You’re one of the best people I know, Nelle.”

Her lips were slowly persuaded to form a genuine smile at his unwavering patience and support. “Thank you…. Part of me still feels like a liar, though.”

He bit his lip. “…Well, you’re not a horrible person…and maybe I have my own secrets,” he suggested, trying to lighten the load of guilt upon her shoulders.

She looked up at him, eyes narrowing as they studied his face searchingly. “Adrien…are you…?”

He held his breath, mind and pulse racing as he debated the odds of her having figured him out. She was exceptionally sharp.

“Are you Papillon?” she teased, arching a mock-skeptical eyebrow.

He burst out laughing. “Not…Not to my knowledge,” he managed, half relieved and half disappointed.

“Then, I think I can forgive you,” she informed softly, leaning in to place the daydream of a kiss to his cheek.

He nearly swooned.

“…I just hope you can forgive me,” she added in a dejected whisper.

“I’d forgive you anything…” He touched his lips to her temple, tempted to call her “My Lady” and out himself then and there.

“…Nelle.”

#Ladrien #Adrinette #Adrienette #Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction #Fluff #Comfort #Supportive Ladybug #Talking #Getting to Know You #Date #Ladybug #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Adrien Agreste #Chat Noir #Mikau's Writings #Drunk Ladybug on My Balcony? Yeah. This is Fine.

1 note · View note