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sandradoodles · 2 years

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Do you think Chat dropped in on Marinette after Polymouse’s debut to express sympathy over Multimouse officially being replaced? (Ladybug has been known to bring heroes back despite an identity leak, after all, but not if there’s someone else who can take their place)

Omg I had never thought about this before but it's SO CUTE, omg I love it.

HERE’S MY TAKE:

----

Marinette is out enjoying the evening breeze with there's a clang of boots on metal behind her, and she spins around to see a boy in costume slinking along the railing of her balcony.

"Sorry, Marinette. I didn't mean to startle you."

"Chat Noir! What-- what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to check on you," he says, finding a perch for himself on the railing. "After everything that happened today."

"Er..." Check on her? Why? This is too weird... Marinette races back through the events of the day in her mind, panicking for a moment that Ladybug must have said or done something that gave her away. But no, nothing. She was just as careful as always!

"Um, yeah! I guess it was pretty scary.” Leaning hard into her natural tendency for wild gesticulation, she flails her arms about to emphasize her supposed terror. “One of those mini-Malediktators took control of me like I was some kind of robot! And that giant flying leech thing--gross!” She shudders overdramatically, clutching her own shoulders. “What goes on in Shadow Moth's head, am I right?"

She glances at Chat Noir to check his reaction and, wait, why does he look confused now?

"No, I meant... The other thing."

Are they having two entirely different conversations?? What 'other thing'? The mayor’s terrible plan for the Place des Vosges? But they already dealt with that problem, too...?

A certain amount of honesty might be called for at this point.

"Sorry. I don't know what you mean." She fakes a sheepish laugh, just her usual spacey self, nothing to see here.

"Marinette..." His tone is gentle, sympathetic, and it might be touching if she had any idea what he was going on about. "It has to be hard... knowing she can't give you the Miraculous again."

Give her the-- Ohhhhh, that's why he's here? She'd almost forgotten all about deliberately revealing herself to him as Multimouse; it was only one of so many plans she'd come up with on the fly since becoming Ladybug. It surprises her that he's concerned about her feelings when so much time has passed since then, unless... Waitasecond.

"I'm not going to be the next Miracle Queen, if that's what you're thinking," she mutters, crossing her arms. Is that why he’s ‘checking in’? Does he think so little of her?

"No, no, no, I know you wouldn't. That's not you," he assures her hastily, and she lowers her hackles again. At least he knows her THAT well. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Completely, totally, one hundred percent okay," she promises, resting her elbows on the railing next to him. "I knew a long time ago that she’d never be able to give me that Miraculous again.”

Something about his silence makes her feel like she hasn’t quite convinced him.

“It’s fine, really. Ladybug knows what she’s doing.” To throw him further off the scent, she offers a shrug and adds, "Besides, I’m not really cut out to be a superhero, you know?"

"No way!" The forcefulness of his response startles her, emphasized with a lash of his tail. "You were an awesome superhero. Ladybug and I never would have gotten our kwamis back if it hadn't been for you."

A smile tugs at her lips. If only he knew.

“Come on, you know how it is,” she says modestly, giving him a light nudge with her shoulder. His tail twitches again for balance. “Ladybug came up with the whole plan, all I did was follow her lead. It’s easy to be a great superhero when you have a great leader.” Okay, so she’s not being modest at all... but he doesn’t have to know that.

He turns his head to look at her, something unreadable in his expression.

“I just think... it wouldn’t be a bad thing if she gave you another Miraculous. You’d be a good addition to the team.”

Wow... what a sweet thing for him to say, even if it can never happen.

“Thank you, Chat Noir. But you know, if she ever does give me another Miraculous--” Marinette gives his bell a playful ding. “I’ll have to make sure you never find out about it.”

#sandra talks #sandra writes #ask #pisoprano #marichat #adorable fic prompt #when marinette doesn't realize how obviously she's flirting with him tho #I live for it

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emilys-axford · 11 days

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i know i talk about it all the time bc it’s one of my favourite lines from fantasy high but sandra lynn saying to fig “everything you’re going through is something that i get i was just like you” in light of her (most likely) being groomed by bobby dawn, with figs ill-advised interactions with older men in freshman year….. ya i’m thinking about it

#siobhan was bang on when she was like it’s easier for her to give me advice bc she doesn’t see so much of herself in me #sandra lynn faeth u will always be famous i’ll kill and die for u #fantasy high #dimension 20 #everytime i could write a full essay on someone i use tumblr dot com to make a vague point + then put an elipses in so u can join the dots

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perfectquote · 25 days

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Beautiful, you said. You said I was beautiful, and when you said it, I was.

Sandra Cisneros, from Woman at Hollering Creek: Stories; “Never Marry a Mexican”

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magical-girl-coral · 12 days

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Okay, but if Sandra Lynn was in a toxic, manipulative, god awful relationship with Bobby Dawn while he was already married (possibly with kid) and with way more years of experience over her when she was barely eighteen, imagine her horror when she found out Fig had a thing for older men in a position of power. I would suffer a fucking stroke.

#dimension 20 #i bet she threw a party when fig started dating ayda #also kudos for brennan for writing a plot twist that took sandra from the 'messiest bitch of d20'#to 'a woman that was horribly groomed by an older man and is still removing from it twenty+ years later'

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asoftepiloguemylove · 25 days

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William Shakespeare // pinterest // Feel Good (2020-2021) cr. Joe Hampson & Mae Martin // Natalie Diaz These Hands, If Not Gods // Sandra Cisneros Woman at Hollering Creek: Stories; "Never Marry a Mexican" // Holland NUMBER BOY // Richard Siken Crush // 스물다섯 스물하나 Twenty-Five Twenty-One (2022) dir. Jung Ji-hyun // Sappho // Dodie She // Maureen Seaton Furious Cooking; "Swan Lake" // unknown // Frank Ocean Forrest Gump // แปลรักฉันด้วยใจเธอ I Told Sunset About You / I Promised You the Moon (2020-2022) dir. Naruebet Kuno & Tossaphon Riantong // Danez Smith Recklessly (via @tendermimi)

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bones-ivy-breath · 1 year

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Reading the writing of women from Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë to Emily Dickinson, Virginia Woolf, and Sylvia Plath, we were surprised by the coherence of theme and imagery that we encountered in the works of writers who were often geographically, historically, and psychologically distant from each other. Indeed, even when we studied women's achievements in radically different genres, we found what began to seem a distinctively female literary tradition, a tradition that had been approached and appreciated by many women readers and writers but which no one had yet defined in its entirety. Images of enclosure and escape, fantasies in which maddened doubles functioned as asocial surrogates for docile selves, metaphors of physical discomfort manifested in frozen landscapes and fiery interiors—such patterns recurred throughout this tradition, along with obsessive depictions of diseases like anorexia, agoraphobia, and claustrophobia.

The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar

#the madwoman in the attic #sandra m. gilbert #susan gubar #quote #literature #dark things #feminist literature #dark academia #aesthetic #jane austen #Charlotte Brontë #emily dickinson #virginia woolf #sylvia plath #on writing

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thistlefaethfort · 2 months

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SIX COLOURS

She hadn't been this organised for years. Honestly, probably not since her own dad had sat down and put a wall calendar in front of her with a red pen and told her to pull herself together. Last night though Fig had cried with her head against Sandra Lynn's shoulder and then fell down the stairs with her foot stuck in a bucket of cement, and this morning she had come downstairs to find Adaine sniffling as Kristin slept with her head in her lap, and she had had more than one meeting with the Thistlesprings or Sklonda about how horrifically busy their kids were. She took the silence from Seacaster manner to mean something equally as troubling with how often Fabian was crushed under a puppy pile of other bad kids in one bed or another.

It didn't take a genius to know that they were tumbling towards burnout.

So she had called off of work, asked Jawbone to email her all the kids' schedules, and then called the school to talk to the rogue teacher about paying better attention to their students because Riz's schedule was insane. After that, she drove to the local art store and picked up the biggest cork board they had and a million different things in sets of six. Six balls of yarn, six journals, six diaries, six wall calendars, six sets of gel pens, and six boxes to fill with snacks at the local hobby shoppe.

It was maybe silly, but she was careful in assigning colours, one for each kid so they could keep their stuff straight. Even if they didn't use the planners and the bags of chips went stale, she could figure out their favourite colours.

She chose a light purple for Gorgug, who was so kind and gentle, but so good at letting his friends in on how deep the recesses of his mind went when he was left alone for too long. Crimson was red for Fabian, who was so confident and uplifting but bled emotion and love and care for his people. Riz got a deep, emerald green because he was so energetic and smart and freely affectionate. Her intelligent, careful Adaine got cornflower blue, a softer, less brash version of the colour that Sandra Lynn hopes was calming. Her loud, thoughtful Kristin got a yellow that reminded her of honey and buttercups because Kristin was a mess of tangles and wanted to be there for everyone who needed her to catch them. Fig got pink because sometimes she caught her little demon picking at the paint on the walls as if it would still be that same blush underneath. Like it had been before they moved to Mordred Manor. As if she could go back to before everything was messy, or at least tidy it up again.

On a whim (or call it mother's intuition), she picked up stickers and tape as well so everyone could decorate theirs if they wanted to, and smiled at the halfling who checked out her cart.

It was late, nearly nine, by the time the last few bad kids trickled in through the doors and her shoulders sank at the lack of lame excuses or too-innocent grins. Instead, Fabian and Gorgug sighted practice, and Riz was covered in honey for some reason. They followed her instructions and sat themselves around the kitchen table like she asked, and she wished whichever deity was currently listening to make this easier for them. Hadn't these kids died for this world enough times?

There were nachos and hot cookies thanks to Lydia — who had squeezed her arm so tight that it hurt when she explained and dragged her right back down to earth — and she had dropped a paper bag in front of each of them, their names scrawled on in sharpie. She didn't know how to do this, how to be the mom who kept everyone's shit together, but she had tried the passive thing and the wedge between her and Fig had been brutal; that wouldn't happen again. It was time to muddle through the hands-on approach.

"I know you're tired," she started and grasped at her mug of coffee like a lifeline, "and I know everything is piling up, but I'm not gonna lose you kids to highschool, so we're gonna deal with it together."

#sandra lynn #ficlet #fantasy high #fhjy #fantasy high junior year #fantasy high ficlet #the bad kids #fig faeth #gorgug thistlespring #adaine abernant #kristin applebees #riz gukgak #fabian seacaster #sharkie writes

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jtl-fics · 1 year

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Fluent Freshman - Part 20

FF had watched more than a few self-defense videos when he believed that Andrew Minyard was looking for a dark alley to stab him in. He had learned how to turn the attacker’s momentum against them. Had learned about disarming the person trying to stab him.

He’d even had Matt teach him a few punches claiming that it was for the dust-ups that tended to happen on the court.

He, naturally, does not use any of that knowledge because his mind immediately reverts into Lizard panic mode the moment Jackson Plank takes another step forward with a knife (HUGE. Is it wild that he is thinking about Crocodile Dundee right now?)

“If you come quietly you won’t get hurt.” Jackson says and he reverts to who he is as a person and he freezes. His bravery was used up maybe it was only ever tied to great pump up songs and now in the silence of the alley he is back to being Stone-Faced Smith.

“You’re going to dial up Wesninski and if you don’t say EXACTLY what I tell you to then I’m going to have you SING in agony.”

Y’know in that moment he stops thinking about Crocodile Dundee.

He thinks about a movie that is far more ingrained in his mind than any number of self-defense videos or one-off lessons with Matthew Boyd where he’d been trying not to flinch. A movie he had watched in better days with his family and had been a favorite of his Grandma’s (and his).

He thinks about Miss Congeniality.

Sandra Bullock as Gracie Hart has taught him everything he ever truly needs to know when he takes a step back and Jackson comes at him.

He strikes right at Jackson’s nose with the palm of his hand.

“SON OF A-“

The knife is dropped and FF kicks it under a dumpster.

FF grabs the single weapon he has on his person.

The McDonald’s Megamind Happy Meal Light Effects Brainbot.

He points the LED light straight at Jackson’s eyes and just like Aaron in the car on the way back, “Shit, that’s bright!” And now completely blinded by a combination of watery eyes and LED McDonald’s toy he proceeds to SING just as Gracie Hart had taught him.

S - Solar Plexus. He punches Jackson there as hard as he can.

I - Instep. He smashes his booted foot down on the inside of Jackson’s shoes (who the fuck wears LOAFERS to a kidnapping?)

N - Nose. He’d feel bad about hitting it again if Jackson wasn’t y’know…a hitman out to hurt Captain Neil.

G - Groin. He may have to give himself just half a second to apologize to all of mankind for what he is about to do. His step brothers had definitely kicked him in the groin plenty of times to try and get a reaction. It’s an art to not let anyone know that your ball has retreated up into lower intestine. He kicks Jackson as hard as he can (collegiate athlete) with the boots that Nicky had let him borrow. He is right on target with the toe of his shoes.

Jackson goes down.

The next thing he does is not something Gracie Hart had taught him but does still feel like the right thing to do in this situation. He kicks Jackson in the head and the man goes limp.

If FF throws both hands up in the air and lets out a “I am Miss Congeniality!” Victory cry into the alleyway well no one is around or awake to know that.

He feels like he deserves a sash and a crown and some flowers.

He looks down at Jackson and then over at the van the man had hopped out of. He was definitely PLANNING on kidnapping Captain Neil so he probably has like…some kind of restraint?

Well, better to completely subdue this guy before he tries to figure out the game plan for Romero. Wait, what’s that next to the Crocodile Dundee knife, are those...?

***

Roland is calling for a second time.

Andrew had let it go to voicemail the first time. It was usually Roland complaining about Nicky, Aaron, or Kevin doing something exceptionally stupid in their inebriated states. They have a system. Roland will call and leave a voicemail detailing the dumb shit his family has gotten up to and then he’ll let it go.

If Roland calls twice then there’s an issue.

Arm still around Neil’s shoulders he answers the phone, “What.” He asks.

“You need to help your new friend. There’s some guy following him, he’s armed and dangerous and looking for someone to grab to get Neil’s attention. He tried to lead the guy outside but he’s standing watching it for now so there might have already been someone waiting?” Roland gets out in a rush and Andrew is up and moving towards the stairs even as he’s closing the phone to disconnect the call.

Neil, of course, is right on his heels. “What is it? Did something happen?” Neil asks and they are up the stairs and pushing past Frank and his stupid pineapple shirt. Andrew spots Nicky and he spots Aaron.

“Get Nicky and Aaron somewhere safe. I need to go help Smith with something.” He says because whoever this is wants Neil and Andrew will not let Neil get within grabbing distance and won’t mention it. Neil, blessedly, does what Andrew asks without question.

Andrew scans the crowd and finds a man whose gaze goes between his phone and the back door.

A face that Andrew had memorized.

One of Nathan’s surviving men.

In the same Zip Code as Neil.

And that man has the audacity to still be breathing.

He looks and Nicky and Aaron (drunk, drugged, and useless because Andrew had wanted them to be) are with Neil and Roland is directing them to the backroom.

Andrew goes out the alley and can feel Romero’s eyes on him.

He’s prepared for a lot of things to see out in that alley. He’s angry that FF hadn’t just come down and grabbed him and Neil (he does not need TWO martyrs) and he wants to know what the fuck FF was thinking (or if he was thinking at all). Even with that anger he does not wish to see FF’s blood spilled all over an alleyway because Andrew’s family needed to be protected and FF was the only one sober enough and aware enough to do it.

He knows what Nathan’s men are capable of.

Knows that Romero was one of Nathan’s best so if there is someone out in the alleyway then it’s likely one of his other bests.

FF doesn’t even know how to use a knife. He had asked and FF had firmly declined every time Andrew had brought it up after the first fainting incident. “I’m not interested in learning that. No.” Had been the standard response.

He knew FF had at least taken a lesson or two from Boyd on throwing a punch considering the one he shot out a week ago when a Striker came at him after the third time FF intercepted a pass.

Still, Andrew had not anticipated coming out into the alleyway and finding an unharmed FF securing an unconscious Jackson Plank’s arms behind his back with fuzzy handcuffs.

“Am I interrupting something?” He asks and FF looks up at him with a flush on his cheeks.

“It’s not my fault this is a weird sex alleyway! They’re the first thing I found on my way over to the van to look for actual restraints.” FF says immediately and Andrew almost laughs at the insanity of it. “Wait, where’s Captain Neil?” FF looks around nervously.

“He’s with Aaron and Nicky in the backroom. Roland gave me your S.O.S.” Andrew says even as he quickly makes his way away from the door and towards FF. “Romero is watching the door. Let’s give him a reason to come out.” He says going over to Jackson and when he rolls the man over he raises an eyebrow at the piss stain on his pants and the blood dripping down his nose.

He looks to FF who resolutely does not look back at him.

It’s a story he’ll get out of his friend eventually. Looks like FF didn’t really need those knife lessons. Something settles a bit more in Andrew, it’s nice to have someone else in their group that could handle themselves in a fight.

Andrew finds a phone and FF rolls Jackson back onto his stomach, “He could choke on his own blood.” He shrugs and Andrew wouldn’t care if Jackson choked on his own blood in fuzzy handcuffs in a back alley but he can understand FF not wanting a murder charge.

Andrew looks at the phone and sees the the swipe pattern clear as day. It takes him two tries to get the order right but then Jackson’s phone is available for him to get over to the texting app.

The texts he reads there make him angry. There were a lot of plans on what the two of them were going to do to Neil before his body was offered up to a different crime family to show that Romero and Jackson had no loyalty left to the Wesninski line.

He types out a text to Romero that will have the jackass come out thinking everything had gone well and they had two hostages. He looks over to FF, “You ready for round two?” He asks.

“There isn’t a tap out option right?” FF asks and Andrew laughs at the joke.

Always cool under pressure it seems.

“No.”

“Then yeah, I guess just hit send.” FF says with a shrug.

Andrew does just that.

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

Didn’t wanna leave ya’ll hanging on that particular cliffhanger for too long ;)

@i-have-three-feelings @blep-23 @dreamerking27 @andreilsmyreligion @belodensetdust @rainbowpineapplebottle @yarn-ace @iwouldlikesometea @lily-s-world @obscureshipsandchips @booklover242 @whataboutmyfries @sahturnos @pluto-pepsi @dreamerthinker @passinhosdetartaruga @leftunknownheart @aro-manita-muscaria @hologramsaredead @Chaoticgremlinswishtheycouldbeme @tntwme @tayspots @nick-scar @crazy-fangirl2524 @blue-jos10 @stabbyfoxandrew @splishsplashyouropinionistrash @sammichly @the-broken-pen @bitchesdoweknowu @very-small-flower @ghostlyboiii @its-a-paxycab @bisexual-genderfluid-fan @cheesecookie @theoneandonlylostsock @foxsoulcourt @blueleys @adverbialstarlight @elia-nna @can-i-just-stay-in-the-corner @nikodiangel @foxandcrow-inatrenchcoat @hallucinatedjosten @satanic-foxhole-court @vexingcosmos @chalilodimun @insectsgetcooked @angry-kid-with-no-money @queer-crows @lillyndra @themugglemudperson @readertodeath @apileofpillows @mortalsbowbeforeme @hellomynameismoo @next-level-mess @youreonlylow @interstellarfig @notprocrastinatingatalltoday @percyjacksonfan3 @queenofcrazy27 @bsmr261 @ghostlyscares @spencellio @adinthedarkroom @harpymoth @sufferingjustalilbit @anxietymoss @oddgreyhound @ohno-myhyperfixation-itsbroken @ken22789 @atiredvampire @isoldescorner @not--a--pipedream @azure-wing @bushbees @roonilwazlib-main @crumplelush @foldedaces-paperbirds @thesenseinnonsense @let-tyrants-fear @ketchupfriesandallthingsnice @legowerewolf @deadlydodos @but-we-respect-his-craft @cariniqe @zanypersonapricotbiscuit

The requests to be added to the tag list keep being spread out across a few different areas. If I missed you please just ask again in the replies I promise I just missed you.

As stated before if you’re up here and I spelled it right but you didn’t get a notification there might be something switched around in your settings that won’t let me tag you properly?

#Fluent Freshman AU #I would like to thank Sandra Bullock's performance for allowing me to write the stupidest fight scene ever #I would also like to thank my sister for getting engaged on April 25th so Miss Congeniality was floating around in the noggin already #Andrew: Smith is really cool under pressure. He can make jokes at a time like this.#FF: What if no one believes me that I found these handcuffs in the alley?#He's too focused on the embarrassment of using those handcuffs to focus on the fact that round 2 is about to happen #Did my 'research' involve finding out EXACTLY what McDonald's happy meal toys were being offered November 2010 #Perhaps #The internet really does just have like a whole shitload of people who will just have a database of seemingly useless knowledge #I love those people #Neil may be pacing up a storm in the back room but Keeping Nicky away from the dance floor is a full time job #For ONCE Aaron is the easy one to deal with #Roland just gave him a virgin drink and he's happy #AFTG #AFTG OC #AFTG AU #AFTG Fic #My Fics #It's shorter because I didn't wanna leave ya'll hanging #FF - Pt. 20

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resqectable · 8 months

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Beautiful, you said. You said I was beautiful, and when you said it, I was.

Sandra Cisneros, from Woman at Hollering Creek: Stories; “Never Marry a Mexican”

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madcapmento · 2 months

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One sec I need to talk about Shiva.

Lady Shiva was introduced in Richard Dragon: Kung Fu Fighter in the 70s. She was a traveling martial artist hellbent on getting revenge for her sister, who she believed had been killed by Richard Dragon. She lured Dragon into a trap, revealed herself as Carolyn's sister, and tried to fight him to the death. Once she realized that Dragon had nothing to do with it, that Cravat and The Swiss (unimportant villain characters, they killed Carolyn) had been the ones to kill her sister, she helped Dragon defeat the villain (by giving him her shiny belt so he could redirect the beam of a deadly laser that was being pointed at them while they were fighting, don’t even ask) and Richard Dragon and Lady Shiva became allies, friends even. Dragon convinced her it would be a waste to kill Cravat and told her that he had killed the Swiss himself. She accepted this. They shook hands. This all took place over the course of one issue of Richard Dragon: Kung Fu Fighter. It took ONE issue for Shiva to go from antagonist to ally. She then tagged along with Richard because she liked the adventures he got up to, the danger, the challenge, and the thrill of it. Richard even called her later on when he needed help on a different adventure. What I’m saying is she didn’t start out as evil.

Okay, so what do we know about Shiva so far? She’s a thrill-seeking peripatetic martial artist of great capacity and skill. She cared about her sister. She’s willing to kill. She’s an adventurer and a valuable ally. Great. Moving on.

The Question 1987 features THE Lady Shiva. A character capable of both ruthlessness and mercy, cruelty and tenderness. A curious, thrill-seeking, teasing character. She was vicious and nonpartisan and she was working as a mercenary for hire. But she was an ally, even when she was beating the shit out of Vic. She loved the O Sensei. You can tell she even cared about Vic in her way. I’m not saying she had a heart of gold, or that there weren’t tropes she fell into. She wasn’t and there were. But she was a fairly well-rounded, morally gray character that played a key role wherever she showed up. She was closer to a non-traditional anti-hero than anything else. Idfk, just go read The Question.

I read a tvtropes article describing Lady Shiva as “an archetypical Dragon Lady, complete with sinister motivations and exotic sex appeal,” which… she isn’t. She subverted this trope in several ways actually. She never had “sinister motivations” until Chuck Dixon got his grubby little hands on her. Her motivations were pretty neutral. She had her own set of principles, she was very morally gray. She wanted to travel and fight worthy opponents on her adventures for the thrill of it. She seemed to operate mostly on personal whims, and on the basis of building worthy rivals, out of love for the art of combat. And she didn’t use her sex appeal for shit (until the Richard Dragon reboot comic kms), she didn’t tolerate sexual advances or objectification. She just WAS NOT a conniving temptress, I don't understand where this misperception came from (but I do blame Dixon, I’ll get to that in a sec).

This same article states that she began as the arch-nemesis of Richard Dragon? Unless you’re accepting the version of the two of them from the very short lived Richard Dragon 2004 series as their canonical relationship then NO she didn’t. But I digress.

There was a marked change in the way Lady Shiva was written by the time Robin (1991) came out, this is where her character starts to lean towards the Dragon Lady trope imo. She also weirdly, and maybe arguably, leans more into traditional femininity while at the same time being written as more wild and uncontrollable. Chuck Dixon seemed to fundamentally misunderstand Lady Shiva as a character. He turned her (sometimes ironic) disdain for brutes who wouldn’t last a second in a fight with her into stereotypical womanly haughtiness. He turned her capacity for ruthlessness into bloodlust. And he made her into a conniving, somewhat deranged, villainous woman, tempting our young hero towards evil (oh my!). Again, I’m not saying she ever had a heart of gold, but Dixon changed core character traits (namely her respect for other people's personal code) to turn her into a villain.

“Kill him, little bird. Kill him and become a predator…Aren’t you my weapon? My instrument of death? Say you are mine.” Like?? She would not fucking say that, respectfully.

That isn’t even to mention Richard Dragon (2004) where Dixon turned Shiva’s relationship with Dragon into a resentful, sexually charged dick-measuring contest.

Even so, I don’t entirely hate Shiva as a villain, especially in Batgirl (2000). Pucketts Shiva is a bit less egregious imo. So she’s a passively suicidal evil mentor-figure who wants Cass to be a killer like her. Whatever, I can get on board with that I guess. I can enjoy it because I love Cass and this is a great comic run. But the retcon that–Listen, THE RETCON THAT IS SHIVA’S SISTER BEING KILLED BY DAVID CAIN, SHIVA DESCRIBING THIS AS FREEING, SAYING SHE’S GRATEFUL, THEN AGREEING TO GET PREGNANT WITH HIS CHILD IN RETURN?? This boils my blood. Shiva, who was introduced as somebody who cared about getting revenge for her dead sister. Shiva, for whom freedom and autonomy were core character traits. That Shiva?? That Shiva is relieved her sister is dead and is willing to carry her sister's killer's child to term?? What the fuck?

I hate it. I don’t understand it. Why would you take a complex character who makes it difficult to tell who she really cares about, and flatten them into somebody incapable of love?

Okay I’m done, this is getting too long and I don’t even want to get started on New 52 era Shiva. I don’t have a conclusion, I’m just annoyed. Thanks for reading. The Question (1987) is NOT a perfect comic but if you’re interested in Shiva please please please check it out, it’s very moody and philosophical, noir-esque. Also Chuck Dixon suck my dick.

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sandradoodles · 2 years

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oh my gosh, I love you adrienette bffs and ladynoir obsessively in love with each other idea. it gives amazing development and irony to both main ships of the love square at the same time! can’t imagine the looks of adrien & marinette’s faces when the reveal happens and they’re just like, “I can’t believe how stupidly in love I was and still am with you?? I should be thrown but I want to marry you even more now???”

(This is the original post, for the uninitiated; anyone who is interested should please check all the tags and comments over there because people have expanded on the idea in absolutely brilliant amazing ways that I never would have thought of. TEAMWORK IS BEAUTIFUL, I love this fandom.)

I have developed such a fast attachment to this au haha. Best Bros Adrienette and Actual Couple Ladynoir have sooooo much potential for consistent development throughout the whole story, more so imo than the actual canon setup. I do have an idea of how I think events would progress and cobbled various scenarios into this rough timeline fic that devolves into notes and then almost-fic again and then more notes at the end because I can't seem to decide if I'm writing a real thing or just yelling my story ideas at everyone. Either way, I WROTE A LOT, hope you enjoy!!

----

Seeing her ladybugs repair everything for the first time fills her with a sense of wonder and triumph, erasing her first mistake with Stoneheart so thoroughly that she feels like they repaired something inside of her as well. Ladybug's confidence swells, and she thinks to herself: yes, they can do this!

"All right, now we've got to get out of here before we transform back!

"Wait-- Ladybug!" She stops and turns back to her new superhero partner, who reaches out to take her hand. She allows it, considering what they just went through. "That was incredible." A smile spreads across her face. He's as much in awe of her new powers as she is, it seems, and he's right. They've done something incredible together.

"I’ll be quick. I just want to say..." He rubs the back of his neck with his free hand. "I know I was a little over-eager before. Getting the chance to be Chat Noir, it changes everything for me."

He's been full of jokes until now, and this sudden rush of sincerity touches her. They don't have much time before they transform back, but she's transfixed, unable to bring herself to hurry him along for some reason. Her face feels strangely warm.

"I was already looking forward to being a superhero, and now, knowing that I get to do it all with you? Well..." He gives her a grin, back to playful sauciness, but this time it doesn't trigger her impatience. She isn't sure what it's triggering. "I'm ready to follow you anywhere."

She ends up barely getting to cover before her earrings run out of time, and she tells herself that her heart is pounding because of the close call. But that is definitely not the reason.

----

As soon as Nathaniel--well, the akumatized version of him--leaves her room, Marinette leaps to her feet and transforms. What a crazy day! She’s going to have to think of something clever if she wants to manage this situation from both the Marinette and Ladybug sides...

There’s an alert from her yo-yo before she can fully settle on a course of action.

“Hey Chat Noir,” she answers, trying to sound casual. “How are things going with Chloe?”

“Oh, charming.” She is privately beyond pleased to hear the dripping sarcasm. “Listen, she did give me a clue though, by accident. I think the villain might be after this girl--” There’s a chime from her bug phone. Ladybug checks the screen to see a picture of herself (her other self, that is), giving a wide smile and cheesy victory sign. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Pretty cute, isn’t she?”

“Wha-- buh-- you think-- Marinette-- cute?” GET IT TOGETHER, GIRL; why is she talking like this all of a sudden??

He laughs, a dreamy sound even over the phone.

“Not as cute as another girl I know. It sounds like there’s something wrong with our connection, so I’ll make this quick. Can you keep an eye on her? I’m sending you the address.”

“I-- I can’t,” she stammers, trying to figure her way out of this one. “You’re going to have to do it. I've got... a special mission!” Oh no that sounds so fake; he’s going to figure her out--

“Great! Chloe can do her own homework.” Okay, he’s just relieved. “I’ll head right over there.” He hangs up without further question and she experiences a moment of relief herself before the panic sets in.

Wait, Chat Noir is coming to her house? Noooo, what if she turns into a complete babbling disaster again?

(Spoilers, that is exactly what happens.)

----

The first time Marinette suspects Adrien of being Chat Noir she is very uncomfortable with the possibility. It doesn’t even make sense, like why is she even considering something so insane... Just because they have the same allergy?? Chat Noir is a handsome, confident, utterly swoon-worthy daredevil; Adrien is a very nice, kind of awkward, and totally naive boy in her class. Once she gets the tiniest piece of evidence that swings in favor of them being different people, she is more than happy to lay that silly theory to rest.

After a while, she's put the thought so far out of her mind that she forgets she ever had it in the first place.

----

“There’s this... girl.” Adrien blushes, and he looks so adorable that Marinette just wants to put him in her pocket.

“A giiirl? That is so cute! Who is she? Do I knooow her?”

He flaps his hands at her, possibly regretting the decision to say anything. It’s too late now; Marinette is like a dog with a bone.

“No, no, you don’t know her. She’s my-- my pen-pal!”

“You have a pen-pal?” Well, if that isn’t just the sweetest thing she’s ever heard. And kind of sad. Was that his only way of making friends before he was able to come to school?

“Right. And sometimes we... video chat?” He’s so awkward; why does it sound like he’s asking a question?

Marinette continues to press.

“And you liiike her?”

Adrien hesitates, and she thinks about how rarely he must have the chance to talk to anyone about his feelings. He’s barely allowed to leave the house (seriously, the scheme she had to come up with just to get him permission to visit her today...), his mother is gone, and his father might be one of the most emotionally withholding people on the planet.

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” she assures him. “But I might be able to help you out. I can give you insight, from a feminine perspective.” It’s a bold claim from a girl sitting with her legs spread-eagled on the floor and croissant crumbs on her shirt.

“She’s... so amazing,” Adrien sighs, and at that moment a new level of friendship unlocks between them. Love guru Marinette is on the case. She’s already formulating a plan; gosh, she is going to help this sweet naive boy so much and definitely not make everything more difficult for anyone involved!

----

Ladybug saves Chat Blanc but wrecks her own heart in the process. Now she's seen for herself what it would mean for her to act on her feelings for her superhero partner. Her love doomed him to the most miserable existence she can imagine; how could she ever allow herself to risk that happening again?

But she's shown Chat Noir too much of her hand, too much of her heart. In order to convince him to give up on her, she has to do something unforgivable: she has to lie to him.

Two days later, Marinette and Adrien are hanging out in the safe space of her room. He sighs and admits, "She turned me down. She said... there's someone else."

He looks absolutely wretched, and Marinette immediately flies into a frenzy. That sounds fake, just-- utterly ridiculous (and you know she wouldn't borrow words from Chloe of all people unless they actually suited the situation.) Who would turn down Adrien? He's kind, and cute, and multi-talented, and tons of other positive things! She tells him as much, with a great deal of emphatic gesturing and stomping back and forth across her room.

"You can't give up, Adrien! Promise me you'll keep trying!" Even if her own happiness can never be realized, she will NOT allow the same fate to befall her friend, who deserves some happiness more than anyone!

The next day, after they've captured the latest akuma, Chat Noir catches Ladybug by the wrist before she can yo-yo away.

"Hey, I'm about to change back!" She still has a good three minutes and they both know it, but the feel of his hand is dangerous and she wants to run.

"I have to tell you something first. I... I'm not giving up. I'm in love with you, and my feelings aren't going to change. I just want you to know that." He releases her hand as soon as his declaration is finished. She wants to throw her arms around him. She wants to throw him off the roof. She manages to keep herself from acting on either impulse, and instead just... bails without a word.

Later, as Marinette lies in bed with her insides doing some sort of crazy churning, fluttering dance between guilt and hope, a thought worms its way into her brain: isn't the timing of her love life and Adrien's a bit... coincidental?

She doesn't voice this thought aloud, to Tikki or even herself.

----

Ladybug keeps up the facade as best as she can, though there are times where her acting becomes so flimsy she just knows Chat can see right through her. Surely all of Paris can see right through her.

Then one day everything really falls apart.

"I don’t... I don’t know if I can do this.”

Chat Noir is right by her side, as he's always been, despite her repeated attempts to create some distance between them. His hands come to rest on her shoulders, firm and reassuring, and she leans in towards him despite herself. "Don't say that, m'lady... You're going to be an amazing guardian. I know it."

"No, I--" She shouldn't be saying this, not to him. But she can't go to Alya, who is too curious for her own good and would want all the details she can't share, and Adrien... Well, Adrien would be the perfect person to talk to about her anxieties if not for the fact that Kagami has somehow gotten it in her head that he and Marinette are, what? Secretly in LOVE with each other or something? Marinette can't confide in him right now; she needs to give them both some space so he can figure out his feelings and ask Kagami out already, then she'll realize that Marinette was never a threat and they can all be friends again. (And Adrien can fully move on from his mystery girl, who only seems to hurt him lately.)

Until then... staying away from him is painful, more than she wants to admit. The pressure, the isolation, the fear of failure have all been creeping up on her so long. Why does it feel like she always has to be the responsible one, always has to make a sacrifice so that someone else can be happy?

“I’m so tired,” Ladybug admits, a faint quaver in her voice. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up-- being responsible for everything, protecting other people, always... lying to everyone.”

"You've never lied to me," Chat Noir says, and tries to put his arm around her shoulders. She ducks away from him.

"Are you serious? I lie to you all the time! I've been lying to you since the day you told me how you feel about me! Don't tell me you really think--"

Wait.

How is she only just now realizing that Chat Noir... is an idiot?

"Do you actually believe I’m not in love with you?" She’s been fighting so hard but her true feelings are still so obvious, aren't they? Aren't they??

Apparently not. He’s just... staring at her, absolutely dumb-founded. Oh no. She knew she shouldn’t have said anything, this was a terrible idea, now she has to figure out how to fix this before it blows up in her--

That thought falls right out of her brain because Chat Noir has now pulled her into the kind of embrace that Marinette used to have wistful daydreams about on a regular basis.

“Do you mean that?” he asks, breathing the words into her hair, and his voice is actually trembling with hope. How she wishes she could feel the way he does, like the doors of possibility are flung wide open. Even for a second...

“Of course I do, but--” The words start tumbling out of her mouth, and before long she's telling him things she never meant to tell him, about her feelings, about her fears, about Chat Blanc. Not everything about Chat Blanc; even as all her walls are crumbling, she shields him from the worst of it. But she shares enough for him to understand.

“And that’s why I’ve had to keep pushing you away, pretending like I’m not in love with you! If I let it happen-- if I tell you my identity--”

He interrupts her with a brush of his hand against her cheek. “I’ve never needed to know your identity to be in love with you.”

She somehow manages to meet his eyes. How is he like this? She just told him that he might end up miserable, alone and devastated if he takes a chance on her, and his response is to make a tender declaration that weakens her at the knees.

"Did you even hear what I just said?"

"I heard you,” he assures. “But... just because that happened once doesn't mean it's the only thing that can happen! It could be something different this time, something incredible. We could be something incredible."

Something about his sincerity is infectious. She's dizzy, his words are giving her a fever. He loves her so much.

"Please... take my hand, m'lady. We could go anywhere together."

She doesn't bother with his hand. She grabs him by his face, feels the exact plunging physical sensation that accompanies a leap from a tall cliff, and kisses him with the fervor of a love long deferred.

----

AND BOOM, power couple Ladynoir is a thing. There are a few bumps in the road but about 95% of the dysfunction that arises in S4 (in canon) is eliminated because they TALK TO EACH OTHER and RESPECT EACH OTHER’S FEELINGS. Chat Noir is all too happy to bring in new team members because she trusts him with the details (and it’s hard to be jealous when you’re getting regular smooching time with your superhero gf.) He’s her #1 confidant and he knows it. She can finally let herself trust someone else and step out of the pressure cooker that is her own expectations/need to control everything all the time.

Meanwhile bff Adrienette have been working on the problem of Adrien’s crappy life (in this au the dodgeball conversation from Risk happens about two seasons earlier and without requiring the influence of an akumatized villain.) With Marinette having his back, Adrien is able to start looking forward and thinking about what he wants for HIMSELF and his OWN FUTURE. His entire circle of support is expanded because Marinette helps him assimilate more closely into their friend group, and because her parents have essentially adopted him. He gets the chance to process the fact that his father is a terrible person in a gradual, healthy way (which better prepares him for the eventual revelation that the guy is a legit supervillain.)

Felix has to come up with some new sneakiness to take Adrien's place in Risk, because Adrien turns down his offer to help in this version. Later, when Ladybug tells Chat to de-transform and prevent Strikeback from duplicating his power, he has nothing to prove and actually listens to her, meaning... he's not around when she comes up with her plan to recruit a new hero. She goes to grab Adrien, her dear friend, and Marinette lizard brain knows something is wrong but she tells herself it's because of the akuma, and because not having Chat by her side is messing with her head too. They capture the akuma and defeat the sentimonster, Strikeback never gets to Cataclysm anything and Paris is 90% less destroyed than it is in canon, so things seem pretty good until the inevitable happens and Felix steals Ladybug's yo-yo.

Panic attack in Adrien's room. Miraculous, gone. When Adrien throws open the bathroom door, Ladybug hasn't run off yet because Marinette needs him--Adrien, her friend, the person who hands out second chances like candy. It's a character trait that annoyed her when those chances were being handed to Chloe, or Adrien's father, or anyone else she deemed undeserving, but now Ladybug is the one who's made an unforgivable mistake, the one who’s lost everything--

"You can't blame yourself," he insists, and he's putting his arms around her for some reason, pulling her close. "If I'd only told you before... I've wanted to so badly, from the beginning. This wouldn't have happened if you knew who I am... m'lady."

She clings to him. While everything else collapses around her, one thing suddenly falls into place. She's been in love with Adrien Agreste this entire time.

----

And THAT'S AS FAR AS I'VE GOTTEN IN ANY DETAIL. Adrien doesn't totally blame himself for the mistaken identity, he just helps her lift some of the blame off herself. I feel like there's a good chunk of time where Ladybug knows who Chat is but they mutually agree she should stay anonymous. The Ladrien is GLOWING. Marinette has to pretend everything is normal and also like she's not absolutely head over heels in love with her bff, which is... exactly as convincing as one would expect. The final reveal is beautiful!!

#ask #anon #sandra talks #sandra writes #miraculous ladybug #ladynoir #adrienette #marichat #ladrien #lovesquare #ml season 4 spoilers #au

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