#ML canon discussion too

[generalluxun]

I think one of the failures of the show is trying to portray chloe as this menacing opposition towards the protagonist either fisrt as an antagonist and later as a villain, but the problem is that she kinda isnt.

Like when has chloe ever won at just one of the conflicts she is ever present, she always loses it, no matter the stakes so its difficult to take her seriously, second as far as the shows establish, she doesnt have any skills or knowledge that lets her compete or surpass the rest of cast (and never seems to use her supposed ballet or other skills outside of specific circumstances that never amount to much) she uses her fathers (not hers) money and influence and is literally nothing without that.

In chloe goes back in time AU this could be an important plotpoint, when she took the ring from chat noir, broke her akumatization and run away with it, that was hers and ONLY HERS victory, within the framework of how she sees her life know, this is truly her triumph, and only leaning into it (by beign purrge) she has value, otherwise chloe sees herself as nothing.

Poor plagg is gonna have his hands full with this, if he gets even a simple understanding of chloe current state, he wouldnt want to leave her even for all the cheese in the world, because this kitten needs him ASAP.

yeah, the canon had this weird mix of trying to make Chloe out to be an actual threat but also using her as the buffoon. You can't really have it both ways. She was best as the buffoon who never did serious damage. When they tried to make her out to be a 'real villain' it just didn't work with what they had set up. Lila fits as a 'real villain' because she never loses anything important. Even being 'caught' amounted to nothing. She discarded the personality of Lila without a second thought and walked away undeterred.

Chloe WOULD have thought of taking the ring as a victory in Chloe goes back in time AU, but then it was Adrien. Yes she's angry at Adrien, but in a different way than she is angry at Cat Noir. So when one became the other it turned into a bit of an emotional implosion. Victory turned to ash, and now he's got new ways to be angry, ways she hasn't had time and doesn't have the experience to understand.

She's running on instinct, and she's never done that before. It's terrifying.

[flightfoot]

Hey, do you have any good recommendations for Lukadrigaminette or Julerose fics? Mostly canon-compliant. No fantasy or western AUs, but stuff like Adrien never going to school is fine.

Yeah sure, I've got some stuff for you!

The Quartet's Duet by timeandspace_lord

In which Kagami and Luka attempt to get two idiots to fall in love. Instead, four idiots realize they were already in love. Based a lot on Determination and Wishmaker specifically. ~~~ It was only a matter of time, he told himself. Sooner or later they’d stumble into the same secret he had and realize they were made for each other. And if they needed a helping hand to get there, a conductor for the symphony of their lives together, he was more than happy to take on that role. Kagami nodded firmly. She’d known that Marinette was Adrien’s true target from the beginning, but it had taken longer for her to get over her own jealousy and realize that the other girl was also the correct target. Now that she no longer had blinders on, it was obvious the two were meant to be together. If she could help them realize it, so much the better.

---

Hold Me By Both Hands by @angelofthequeers

“I know he said never to take you back,” Plagg mutters. “But he’d change his tune if he knew.” He looks Adrien straight in the eye and, more serious than Adrien’s ever seen him before, says, “There’s someone you gotta meet. He’s been looking for that book for ages.” How differently might the events of season 2 have gone if Adrien had also known of Master Fu from the start?

Honestly, I think this is one of the best ML fics EVER, and I've read a LOT of ML fics. It's a re-imagining of seasons 2 and 3, with Lila sticking around the whole time, lots of discussion and growth of all the major players in the fic, and some truly amazing character arcs. It features what I consider the BEST Chloe redemption arc to date, with looking at where she started in the early seasons and having her actually figure out reasons why she wants to be better, and what that looks like. If you've watched The Good Place, it's like that.

I wrote a 26,000 word essay analyzing the various subplots in the fic, that's how intricate it is.

---

holding onto the memory of you by @fruitdragon1a

For MLB Femslash February 24! Day 10: Juleka/Rose 'hold', 'dress' Juleka and Rose are on the métro when something happens to Rose.

---

You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess by @mexicancat-girl

With Team Miraculous now full-time holders, Ladybug has them patrolling in pairs like her and Chat Noir. New partners Pigella and Purple Tigress get along phenomenally, their easy banter and similar wavelengths making working with each other a joy in and out of combat. But sometimes Tigress is surprised just how close she is with her partner. Sometimes she tries not to feel too guilty thinking about it.

There’s some nice Julerose here! I love them kinda getting into a lovesquare with each other, though it’s not as much of a problem as it is in canon since it’s reciprocal in every relationship and they’re both down for a poly. It’s fun, and I love the “Luka attempting to woo some of his love interests” plot going on in the background XD.

---

Everything I need by @coffeebanana

When Ladybug asks Pigella to care for her injured teammate, she wants to refuse. She's not the best person for the job, and she's not sure if Purple Tigress even likes her. But Ladybug insists, so Pigella fights through her fear and tends to Tigress' injury. It doesn't make things any easier that Tigress keeps reminding her of Juleka.

---

Ink, Skin, and Hearts by EpicNerd

For Rose and Juleka, the topic of soulmates is surprisingly a difficult one.

---

I hope these catch your fancy (especially Hold Me By Both Hands, that fic is a must-read).

[tumblingxelian]

Alternate Season 3 ML Ending

I have been musing on an alt Season 3 finale that could catch the same general vibes while also perhaps serving as a culmination of Chloe's redemption arc efforts, Lila's whole 'thing' and while still shaking up the status quo as canons kind of did, here's what I have:

Post Ikari Gozen, there's a minor subplot in Party Crasher of Chloe trying to get in contact with Kagami who assumes its to shout at her about hero stuff. She's half right as at the end of the episode Chloe uses Adrien's mobile to lure Kagami in & says they need to talk, hero to hero.

Post Party Crasher, through The Puppeteer 2, a spin on Cat Blanc (Maybe) and Félix there's little scenes of them meeting to discuss their findings. These relate to feeling like Akuma are around them at night, finding Lila suspicious as fuck cos either Ladybug's bestie is too loose with details or Lila knows way too much and is trying to make Akuma happen.

They agree to keep watch over Marinette. Barring Chloe & Kagami, she seems to be her main target.

The next three episodes all fit together, with Heart Hunter first.

Heart Hunter changes:

Lila cuts the Bee Signal before the Akuma arrives, negs Chloe & then stalks Marinette, Adrien & Kagami.

When Kagami speaks to Ladybug she figures out its Marinette & while hurt at the sabotage date she still shares what she & Chloe think & they both realize today is an ambush.

Not having seen Ryuko, Chloe's not totally given into despair & upon claiming Pollen tries to fight Hawk Moth. She but gets injured reclaiming the Miracle Box & has to be saved by Kagami.

Hawk Moth & Mayura retreat with the tablet and Fu gives up being Guardian due to the strain of the battle nearly killing him.

Chloe's hospitalized as she tried to use Venom more than once. Ryuko is still upset with Marinette, Chat's upset about Chloe, Marinette is upset about Fu & feels incredibly alone.

A terrified Lila assures Hawk Moth she knows 'another' Miraculous Wielder and this one will break, Marinette.

Ladybug

Marinette tries to adjust to having all the Kwami with her & with translating the book.

Chat & other heroes are cycling in and out of Chloe's hospital room where she remains unconscious.

Despite going through a day from hell, Marinette still has to go to school the next day cos she can't even tell her parents what's wrong.

At school only Alya is present (She did her shift) Adrien's visiting Chloe as a civilian and Nino is (Sick) guarding Chloe.

Then everything goes to hell when Lila presents a video of Marinette stealing from her locker. They are sent to the principle.

Alya realizes something is sus.

Marinette 'can' get super jealous and see the worst in people but she isn't a thief. So Alya follows them.

She arrives in time to see Lila reveal an Akumatized appendage that jabs a needle into Marinette & sends her into a nightmare (Basically the rest of the canon episode) then tries to steal her ear rings.

Lila only gets one before Alya tackles the fuck out of her and then Lila starts vomiting up an Akuma that infests Marinette's remain ear ring much to her despair.

"I needed that!"

Cue half transformed, fully Akumatized Ladybug, partialy trapped in a nightmare despair mode going on a rampage.

The Battle of the Miraculous:

Lila flees, carrying Alya & a fading Tikki who explains Lila's being turned into an Akuma, & that they need to call in 'everyone', revealing IDs.

Hawk Moth sends Mayura and a fake Sentimonster Ladybug to get the Miraculous (Having realized Lila was covering for having figured out Ladybug's identity to steal the miraculous for herself) While he takes Marinette towards the hospital to kill Chloe & lure out Chat Noir.

Ryuko, Alya & a partially feral Lila defend the Miraculous Box, with the other heroes showing up to help after Mayura is driven off.

Lila also reveals Hawk Moth's identity, so Chat knows via phone call.

Chloe awakens in time to finish her redemption arc by basically goading Marinette & HK into focusing on her over Chat.

Nino catches Hawk Moth in a bubble shield and Chat has to destroy the ear ring to free Marinette & everyone gangs up on Hawk Moth.

He is un-masked publicly but manages to escape, despite Chloe's murder effort, thanks to unleashing a swarm of Akuma from Lila.

The Akuma are captured and purified before they can do much harm, but the Miraculous Cure is not working properly. The ear rings are only half usable at best. Worse, if they want to avoid Lila becoming a permanent Akuma she needs the remaining one to stay herself.

The heroes get Marinette out of the public eye before her ID can be revealed & she's allowed to have a good fucking cry. Adrien reveals his ID & he probably has a small breakdown too. But everyone resolves to go to the Agreste Manor & end things.

Sadly, Hawk Moth has fled, blowing up the manor and sending an Akumatized Gorrila to collect Adrien. Leaving behind only a weird basement ruin with no sign of his plans.

Epilogue:

Because of this, the Miraculous are divided up with their various users, though some are likely swapped or have other security precautions.

Until Marinette decodes the book & fixes Tikki's Miraculous she is left as Multi-Mouse and with a half functional Miracle Cure courtesy of Lila who 100% cannot fight but is hiding out with their crew anyway.

Hawk Moth is shown repairing the Peacock Miraculous and unveiling his Unification/Rebrand. Though where he is or who is harboring him is still a mystery. His identity may be publicly unknown to protect Adrien who has moved in with his aunt and cousin.

This leaves us with a massively shaken status quo, a full hero team, an empowered but no longer anonymous and much more personal villain, no more school rivals and no more mentors or secret identities among friend or foes.

[jennagrinsoverml]

Got any Catwalker fic recs? Haven't found many yet but the angst and identity shenanigan potential from the setup makes me wanna read more, and your recs are top notch.

I really wish there was more Catwalker fics! Sadly there aren't very many still. I feel like, in general, there just wasn't as much fic for season 4 as for prior seasons (and it's only gotten worse for season 5...) With that said, here are a few I enjoyed.

Walking a Fine Line by @11jj11​

Ladybug learns that Chat Noir was Cat Walker. Emotions ensue.

One-shot. I think all of us are itching for some good ladynoir confrontation considering canon events and how much they did NOT get into the nitty gritty of the conflict. So read this awesome fic that starts off light and leads to these two screaming at each other and then…well, I don’t want to spoil, but it’s absolutely beautiful 💖

another side of you by @emsylcatac

"Did he..." Chat Noir started, searching for the right words. "Did he like puns, my Lady?"

Ladybug frowned, clearly confused by the question. "Um, I'm not sure? He didn't laugh at mine, but—"

"Then it's a no," he grinned.

"What?" she scoffed. "You can't say no just because of puns, Chat Noir!"

"And why not?" he crossed his arms. "If I need a replacement, I need one who can fit my role perfectly. And the basic requirement to be a good Chat Noir is to like puns, which this Catwalker of yours clearly doesn't seem to meet."

One-shot. Ladybug and Chat Noir discuss the possibility of bringing back Cat Walker as Chat's emergency back up. Although Cat Walker doesn't make an appearance, the discussion is amazing, especially with Ladybug's crush on full display. (But of course Chat is Adrien and as oblivious as ever 🤣)

Marinette Considers Giving Cat Walker a Miraculous by Hadithi 

“I should probably figure out whoever Cat Walker was and give him a miraculous,” Marinette jokes.

Her hands are covered in flour because she’s kneading dough, and she’s kneading dough because she found out last week that Adrien buys his bread at the grocery store. Her boyfriend is rich, and he could buy nice bread, but he doesn’t. Instead, Marinette bakes bread from scratch and knows that Adrien is always touched by gifts that aren’t paid for.

“You never found out?” Adrien grins as he leans across the counter.

One-shot. This is a cute post-reveal established relationship fic where Marinette finds out her boyfriend was Cat Walker too--and he teases her mercilessly. It's funny and sweet and it makes me happy to think something like this could happen one day.

The Sun is In Your Eyes by @deinde-prandium

The morning after they’ve revealed their identities to one another, Ladybug and Chat Noir have a much-needed talk. Post-season 4.  

One-shot. Oh man, I love this fic a ridiculous amount. We get post-reveal pre-relationship in the aftermath of all of season 4′s angst and it’s beautiful!! Chat trying to hold back because he doesn’t want to pressure her, but his feelings haven’t changed, of course they haven’t. It’s post-reveal, but we get a Cat Walker reveal too!

Runaway Catwalker (ML Comic) by @runawaycatwalker​

After Chat Noir's identity is discovered by Mayura, the only person left for Adrien to be is Catwalker...

Takes place post-Kuro Neko, pre-Risk/Strike Back.

Comic. This is a WIP! But it’s so good and I’m enjoying it immensely. You can also read it here on tumblr at their username. Everyone is really in character and there’s really excellent exploration of the fallout of Chat Noir’s identity being discovered, as well as his turn to being Catwalker full time. I’m excited to see how it all plays out!

[melissak2802]

To systematize what we know on the complicated topic of secret identities in ML.

Season 1:

Two heroes. No one knows or is allowed to know anyone's identity besides the Guardian. There's an episode dedicated to the importance of secret identity, with Cat Noir and Alya learning to understand it ("Lady WiFi"). Everything's neat.

Season 2:

We have first temporary heroes, whom only Ladybug knows as guardian-in-training. (Remind me, does Fu actually know the identities of temps or it's fully on Ladybug without adult supervision?) Okay.

Chloe goes public, that gets her targeted then gets her incapacitated during Heroes Day when her family is targeted. Alya and Nino accidentally reveal to each other, that also incapacitates them during Heroes Day when their feelings for each other are used against them.

Everything's still neat, and the finale shows clearly without extra words why it must be secret.

Season 3:

More temporaries. Okay.

Chloe is personally targeted again and removed from the team for safety. Okay.

The Multimouse gambit had "Multimouse revealed her identity to Cat Noir and is removed from the team" as part of it. Okay.

Ryuko exposes herself, is removed, Ladybug breaks the rules to use her again, this is shown as serious mistake triggering Chloe's betrayal. Well, okay, heroes make mistakes too...

Miracle Queen happens with mass reveal of the temps, not just to someone, to the villain directly. And so things start.

Season 4:

The exposed temps are still active like nothing happened. They get personally targeted and still nothing happens. The author's explanation around the lines of "they had to take this risk" is not valid because they could easily redistribute Miraculouses. And this "dangerous necessity" is never even discussed by characters in canon.

Alya in particular gets personally targeted twice. First she is made permanent user, then goes Rena Furtive. Viewers are livid because the "new form, new identity" thing changes everything: somehow it was never an option for Queen Bee, Multimouse, Ryuko or any of Miracle Queen's victims.

Alya reveals herself to her boyfriend again (learnt nothing from Heroes Day), despite promising not to, and it is framed as good thing. It still backfires later, forcing her retire this time, and causes the loss of the Fox Miraculous, but still seen as good.

All while Marinette tragically parts with Luka because secret identities matter more.

But does share hers with Alya. (It is psychologically understandable, she is on peak of crisis, but this supposedly out-of-ordinary fact and the fact it does not backfire kind of loses its intended impressiveness considering how in this season almost no one cares of secret identities)

There is the second what-if episode where Ladybug and Cat Noir knowing each other equals apocalypse.

And Luka learns both and acts like nothing happened.

Nino gives away himself and Alya to Adrien for no good reason.

And Cat Noir keeps wanting a reveal (forgotten Lady WiFi, forgotten Heroes Day, forgotten the whole Chloe thing, forgotten the targeting of temps in this season).

Season 5:

Alix is sent into hiding with an extremely dangerous Miraculous. Her identity is made public with heroes' permission for no reason at all.

Luka after a risk of akumatization finally takes measures and has to leave Paris and his family in order not to be a danger...

While Kagami learns, does nothing, is akumatized several times, nothing happens.

And then she casually gives Ladybug (the Guardian, the hope of Paris and wielder of one of the most important Miraculous) away to Felix whom she had close interactions with for like several days and who recently was an enemy, had committed betrayal before and is known for good acting. (Which also is after she was tricked by one girl twice in a row, anyone should have gone paranoid especially knowing their own absense of social knowledge) And everything's apparently okay about it.

Have I forgotten anything?

[circuslollipop]

discussion of ml leaks/fan theories/salt under the cut

one fear: that one theory that lila’s a full grown woman masquerading as a teenager becomes canon. like on the one hand that seems too dark and mature for a kid’s show like this but on the other hand considering the other crap theyre pulling. sigh.

like as it stands now with the current leaks the show is kind of officially ruined for me but at least i have little aus and fan content i can indulge in but if That theory becomes canon i feel like those would become ruined. like they’d be so tainted.

[heartfulselkie]

im sorry youre sick selkie!! i hope you feel better soon 💕

🎀 and 🕯️ for the ask game! (i think there are two questions with the last emoij; i mean the ''was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?'' one lol)

Thank you!

From the Fanfic Writer Ask Game

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing

Hmm... I think I'm good with characterisation? At least, I don't think I make Adrien or Marinette OOC when I write them. And even when they deviate slightly from the show's canon, its within the realm of reason (like Adrien's hero Ladybug persona being slightly different in Kaleidoscope AU since he's a solo hero)

🕯️how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

When people curate their fandom experience and treat each other with respect and kindness, it can really create one of the best experiences of community. There's something really special about obsessing over a piece of media and its characters and find other people who also obsess over it. I've always been really attached to my interests, and IRL I've known other people who've also liked those interests too, but just never to the same extent. Finding other people who like these things just as much as I do is incredibly validating.

I am someone who struggles with crippling social anxiety. Honestly every time I've joined a fandom discord server I have to try not to panic about people welcoming/greeting me. People are just being nice but it's just a reaction I can't help. And there's numerous times when I see a discussion happening and want to join in, but my anxious brain cell stops me (what if i'm misunderstanding the topic? what if i derail the conversation in a bad way? what if i'm interrupting someone else? what if no one actually likes me being here and will get annoyed if I try to join their conversation?? do I just sound selfish if I talk about something I know or do?). It's hard, but when I do persevere through those moments of anxiety my experience has overall been very positive! Being a part of a fandom has only helped me become more comfortable with myself in all sorts of ways. I started drawing a writing again after so many years of not doing it because of the ML fan community! I've found a kind and supportive corner to be comfortable in and I'm so glad to be here even when working through my low moments!

[the-chihayafuru-landslide]

Charles Rambles: on Chiharata and shipping the losing ship

I’m currently working on something else but I had to break away for a bit because this train of thought was too long to include and needed a post proper. This is a topic I have always wanted to discuss but have been too scared to because people are always ready to jump you in a dark alleyway if they even hear Arata’s name mentioned in vain. Well guess what DING DONG bitch ANSWER THE FKIN DOOR because today I’m breaking my silence and talking about Chiharata.

I mean lucky for me most of the avid Chiharata shippers have died in the war and what else do I have to lose since I am already hated by quite a few in this fandom (lol). So anyways this is more of a ramble (not an essay) on why I never shipped Chiharata and the reasons why I think it would have been a lacklustre ending to Chihayafuru on the basis of the way that Chiharata was PURPOSELY written.

You should have known it was over for your when Arata did the platonic Eden no Hana goodbye handshake. I blame the flowers.

For anyone who knows me, I was an Arata hater from day 1. When I was about to watch the anime people told me I was going to like the 2ND ML (Taichi) more and be very depressed. I was like pffff yeah right we’ll see about that. Then it happened exactly the way they said it would. The moment Taichi was introduced I was like oh noooo that guy lol he’s the one. Then for the rest of Chihayafuru I laid awake in anguish as I watched Chihaya have a crush on Arata FOR NO DISCERNIBLE REASON (to me)!! I was like WHERE TF DID THIS COME FROM??

So she did want to see him but was it because of a crush or because she wanted to play him in a match? (Spoiler: it was about Karuta)

I’ll admit a little hatred began brewing for Arata (but like I didn’t hate him but I also did y’know??) and I’m going to be real, I wasn’t always fair to Arata’s character lmao. I was biased because of preconceived notions I had going into the anime. I know this, but I don’t regret it because at least it was funny:

OK NO THE SECOND TWEET I AM STILL RIGHT ARATA SHOULD HAVE DELIVERED IT HIMSELF? EVEN IF TAICHI WAS HER BF HE CAN GIVE HER HIS PHONE NUMBER WTF

Like at the start of the manga Arata was going through the traumatic loss of the person he loved the most (canon) his grandpa. And I was like HOW DARE YOU NOT TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS IMMEDIATELY?? Why was I so needlessly heartless towards him LMAO.

I mean he was purposely written as the boulder so WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO FEEL

Sometimes people tell me that Taichi was right (when they first visited him in Fukui) in pushing Arata over when he kicked the cards but Taichi really DID NOT need to do that at all idc what you say. I’m defending Arata’s big stinky dogs in this case. Taichi I still love you even when you make mistakes. Sorry this got off topic... (that’s why this is a ramble not an essay)

However, I never fully hated Arata. The problem was since I didn’t like him in the ship there wasn’t much to like him outside of that. I did like the relationship with his grandpa but it only seemed to be really relevant at the beginning of the manga and at the end. Arata’s Karuta arc was probably the messiest out of the three and it was really difficult for me to resonate with it. His arc seemed to be a prodigy not feeling bad for playing at his full strength and winning? I don’t know the jury is still out on that one (and I am simplifying it a lot for the comedy). I actively looked for people discussing Arata’s Karuta arc but I almost never found any and I’m not sure if it’s because they kept their analysis locked up behind an Arata loving paywall or because I quickly made myself known as another bitchass illiterate Taichihaya they kept me blocked and off their lawn. So I am not an authority on that but I think when I do a re-read I actually would like to try and figure it out.

What I did often read in relation to Arata was of course the romance the ship between him and Chihaya. Now, I didn’t read these analysis to piss myself (necessarily lol). I actually think to be fully critical and fair you should read the other side’s arguments if for no other reason than to rip them apart (which I could every single time lmao). However, now it make a me sad because now that Chiharata didn’t pan out nobody wants to talk about him much anymore. Taichihayas hate him and already dug his grave out back Chiharatas threw him in there started piling dirt on him. It’s ok Arata, if nobody loves you then I will. YES I HAD MY LOVING ARATA ARC…

Funny story after shipping him pettily with Sumire I flew to close to the sun b/c I wrote a 5k petty fic about him and Sumire (as a response to my ACTUAL LEAST FAVOURITE SHIP TAICHI AND SUMIRE) and then I started to like the ship and Arata… I was like oh no this isn’t a joke anymore… AND THEN I MANIFESTED MY CRACK SHIP? Crazy

Back on topic:

From what I observed through the bars of my Taichihaya cage these are some of the reasons people like Chiharata:

Arata not putting any sort of pressure on Chihaya when he confessed and respecting her boundaries (not that she ever had to explicitly set any since they barely interacted)

His earnestness

The connection they had to their childhood

Their flirting? (I mean people thought it was sweet the way they were always blushing around each other and using someone else’s words “the cautious touch” personally I found it awkward that’s why I cannot in good sense not put a question mark LMAO)

Both being Karuta Bakas and the idea that they would be clueless in their relationship because they would just hyper-fixate on their shared passion. (This was more a HC than what we actually saw considering Chihaya didn’t remember the game she played against Arata)

Right so on the surface level I don’t see anything wrong with any of these points? A lot of them I too like in theory. Especially a man who respects boundaries (side eyes at you Taichi). I don’t think shipping them because this kind of relationship appeals to you is bad even if they were not the canon ending. It’s fiction and you can do whatever you want. You can have your head canons and your fan fictions (like someone passively aggressively said to me about Taichihaya once lmao)! Please your Chiharata AO3 tag needs it there’s only 24 fics (I think)

Even I can think of moments between Arata and Chihaya that made me question my loyalty (ok there was only 1 LMAO).

Not gonna lie it’s kinda funny he picked hauled her up on his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. ARATA IS SO IMPULSIVE AND THAT’S WHY HE’S A FUNNY LIL GUY.

Why did I like this moment despite finding it a lil awkward and cringe? Because for the first time Arata kind of understood the weight that Chihaya carried and he really saw who she was - someone who works hard and wants to win more than anything. He learned more in this little moment than he ever would playing against her. It was THIS that was needed… moments outside of a Karuta match where they could dispel the illusions that they had of each other and actually get to know WHO THEY WERE IN THE PRESENT!! Both of them had changed a lot since their childhood.

That was always my criticism of Arata and Chihaya’s relationship was that they really did not know each other beyond their childhood selves. Let’s look at what I tweeted I think 12 episodes into the anime:

This tweet still makes me laugh because of the Karuta name thing cddkj I was really going through it

That is not to say you need to know someone in order to date them. You can date anyone for any reason. In fact, people seem to forget that Chihaya herself was willing to date random man from train station who had no interest in Karuta lmao.

But surely, knowing someone intimately is something required to maintain a romantic relationship? I’m hoping that is a given for everyone. That’s why I failed to understand why people would see them dating as a victory in the romance department; that they would instantly have this incredible profound, moving, and impactful relationship instead of thing that happened because Chihaya had a crush and felt like it? Or was it because they both liked Karuta and dating would be an extension of their passion for Karuta…….. uh ok sounds gr8 but they don’t need to date to play Karuta together dclksdjknsdjk

Like what did Chihaya even see in Arata as a person? The only thing that she seems to admire about him is how he plays Karuta..

That and his big hands I guess lmao. Big hands to play Karuta with.

Because I am in my Arata defender stage I actually think THAT IS A CRIME BECAUSE ARATA HAS A LOT OF GOOD TRAITS GOING FOR HIM:

He’s shy and blushy

He’s awkward but cute

His black hakama

He’s blind in an endearing way

Domestic King (thanks to the spin off chapter)

Caring to the elderly

Occasionally very sweet when he feels like

Cares DEEPLY ABOUT HIS FRIENDS

Strong arms can pick you up because of his 500 practice swings

Gives tall guy vibes despite being shorter than Taichi (he’ll always be taller to me idc)

Now unlike Arata we actually saw Chihaya’s thoughts towards Taichi:

I mean I don’t even need to point out the stark difference between them lmao. That’s not even mentioning what the boys think of Chihaya. It’s pretty evident when you put their confessions side by side.

Like for Arata the basis of his confession is him thinking back to their childhood memories and Chihaya asking him to play Karuta together forever. So no wonder he ended his confession with “let’s play Karuta together sometime” because literally that’s all he knows about her.

Which brings me to my next point of why I never shipped Chiharata and this is due to their lack of present “screen time”. Now, do not misunderstand me, lack of screen time does not stop me from shipping two characters when I think characters might actually be a good pairing. I shipped Arata and Sumire based on their one single interaction in the manga BEFORE IT WAS COOL. So trust me when I say I AM OPEN TO FILLING THE GAPS OF CANON WITH HEADCANON.

Though it immediately becomes clear at the beginning of Chihayafuru that Chihaya feels some sort of way towards Arata (a crush) however we as the reader only got like 6 chapters of childhood backstory to explain their relationship which included Arata helping Chihaya make a dream of her own and her awesome moment when she takes a card from him. What is lacking is any cute childhood blooming romance. Most of the childhood arc is spent on the trio: Chihaya, Taichi and Arata. So I always failed to understand WHY she would be crushing on this guy other than guy really good at Karuta and me likey Karuta. Literally she said the time they spent apart made him become like a God of Karuta… Like uh this your man?

Chihaya and Arata’s bond based on their shared childhood dream is meant to be contrasted to the relationship Chihaya has with Taichi. While one is confined to Chihaya’s longing to see him (Arata) THE ONE SHE HAS WITH TAICHI IS REAL TANGIBLE AND CLEARLY UNFOLDS BEFORE OUR EYES.

This is from the first 11 chapters we early Taichihaya shippers were FEASTING

From this we understand their dynamic! Did Chiharata’s ever listen to the reasons we liked Taichihaya? Well here are my reasons: it was because of their chemistry, their banter and teasing. But they are also so caring towards each and supportive and it wasn’t one sided either. They help each other become the best versions of themselves and they also have something that the other person lacks. Chihaya has a terrible memory and Taichi doesn’t have naturally gifted hearing. They are soulmates but opposites. SUN AND MOON.

Maybe all of this could have been used to develop a friendship? You know sure I’ll roll with that let’s say it was all leading to something completely platonic. Then please explain to me what would be the reason of PURPOSELY DEPICTING TAICHI AND CHIHAYA LIKE THIS?? LIKE THE PICTURES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

I purposely picked moments from Chihaya’s perspective to make a point lol

The only thing that was lacking from these interactions is the shoujo filters, sparkles and flowers almost like the point was a superficial teenage crush vs. SOMETHING WITH A BIT MORE SERIOUSNESS AND DEPTH.

I have always ascertained that Chihaya is clueless when it comes to love but I never meant that in a derogatory sense. She is a teenager who is figuring herself out IN A COMING OF AGE STORY! She has to start as a dumbass in order to grow up!! People always seemed to get it wrong and think that Chihaya was somehow very mature in her feelings when it came to Arata when she was most certainly not. Why did she leave Arata hanging for 8 months only to be reminded by Kana’s remarks about turning into sea foam (sea weed?) that she should actually respond to his confession like kdjsnakjdsnsc.

It’s fine that she had a crush on Arata though. At that age, I too had dumb ideas about love. I thought that the person I marry should be good at piano because it would be very important to be serenaded in the future. While this certainly would be nice I AM WISER that there are far more important qualities to look for in a partner.

Since Chiharata shippers have also suddenly become cognizant that Chihaya and Arata had little screen time together (and none outside of Karuta) they are calling it bad writing since it wasn’t “fair”. First of all, real relationships are not always “fair” - not everyone gets an equal chance to become a couple with someone and spend time with them? Not to mention that it wasn’t the problem that Arata didn’t live in Tokyo because LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS EXIST? If Chihaya and Arata wanted to they could (Taichihaya ending up long distance is almost like Suetsugu is trying to say the distance was never the problem). It was never supposed to be “fair” because thematically that’s not what Chihaya’s crush on Arata was ever about.

These girls are me being like Chihaya what on earth are you talking about.

Chihaya’s views about love at the beginning are incredibly and purposely naive and immature. The only thing that seems to matter to her in a partner is being good at Karuta. THIS IS NOT TREATED AS SOMETHING SERIOUS AND OR MEANINGFUL IT IS PURPOSELY RIDICULOUS!! Because of this being one of the only traits Chihaya looked for in a partner IT MADE HER FIRST CRUSH BE her MARRIED sensei.

On the one hand I get it Chihaya Harada is a dilf you are valid.

That’s why when Chihaya said she needed to be “worthy” to sit in front of her crush I hope every single one of the people who shipped Chiharata realized this was an arbitrary standard and really should not matter when it comes to love?

If you or someone you know had to say this line with any ounce of seriousness as a defence for your ship you may be owed financial compensation.

I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they were thinking that eventually this notion would be deconstructed afterwards because damn that is very shallow and also stupid lol. It’s just very weird that so many people still thought that “feeling worthy to sit in front of him” was relevant for Chihaya to be able to confess back to Arata because…

Arata confessed independently from Chihaya feeling “worthy”

She already sat in front of him and smoked him

It definitely does help when the person that you love shares your passion absolutely but again “passion” for another (love) is not the same as “passion” for sport. They are separate and not interchangeable. That was the point.

Like I’m sorry it couldn’t get more on the nose when some NPC said this about Chihaya’s crush dcndacjkjkn.

Then of course there are the subjective reasons why I don’t think a relationship between Chihaya and Arata would be really good for them. In a lot of ways they are too similar to each other in the sense of being “clueless” Karuta bakas. That’s why so many people made a ship where Chihaya and Arata’s relationship had to be mediated by Taichi who would keep both of them in line, which, would be fine if Taichi wasn’t a miserable sod who had his heart broken. Like that was simply too much to expect from him even if he was the happily rejected party in the end… Like sorry I don’t wish that for him !! He has the self esteem of a roll of paper towel in what world would that be a good ending for him kjncjdjkn

Even in canon like Arata simply must let Chiha go to move forward (I will expand on this a later time). The love that was pushing him forward (unlike for Taichi) was actually the love he had for his grandpa.

That’s beautiful, I guess platonic love wins! Thank you, I’m collecting tips in my hat.

No but seriously there was also this holier than thou attitude that some Chiharata shippers had that they were the enlightened ones who valued the true platonic love that Taichi and Chihaya had and that people who thought it was romance were simply projecting. Taichihayas simply were not respecting Chihaya’s agency! Because YES it was so clear that Chihaya was already in love with Arata!!

Damn Kana that manipulative mastermind making Chihaya doubt her strong and passionate love for Arata!

I mean she had a crush on him, she already said she was in love with him (even though she said she didn’t understand her feelings platonic love could never apply to Arata shhh) and rejected Taichi. The thing is, it’s fiction idc what the author might have “intended”. The depth in a relationship I wanted was in the Taichihaya pairing. I never once felt guilty shipping them even though I didn’t genuinely believe in a Taichihaya ending until 246. Not because Chiharata was better written but because I am a depressed bitch. But like if Chiharata was canon I could simply write it off as being dumb and pretend away the ending while enjoying everything else. However, I was always willing to accept a Chiharata ending because at the end of the day I actually do respect the character’s “agency” to pick their partner and love doesn’t always make sense.

What would not make sense to me in the slightest is why Taichi and Chihaya would be written like that to have a more meaningful and impactful relationship than the guy who she was in love with. But then we get to subjectivity, maybe people consider their best friends to be their closest relationships and the guy is the one you date because of his large hands and supposed sexual tension. Idk to each their own.

It speaks volumes that now that Chiharata didn’t become canon people are pissed off because at the end of it they don’t even consider Chihaya and Arata to be friends? SO WAIT A MINUTE THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS ENOUGH TO SUGGEST LOVERS BUT NOT FRIENDS?? I don’t even need to say much about that.

I know some people REALLY wanted a friendship ending with Taichi maybe more than they even wanted Chiharata to happen. I get it, the idea that your friend can be crazy in love with you but then be you know what after everything we can still be friends (WHICH TAICHI FKIN DID). So if you liked that theme, why are you not satisfied with it being told through Arata? HELL SUMIRE HAD THAT EXACT STORYLINE?? YOU HATE WOMEN OR WHAT.

Is it because Arata didn’t need that much time to process getting rejected (well he did actually b/c as we always said he got soft rejected) because MAYBE HE CLUED INTO THE FACT that he was fighting a losing battle? Or is it the fact that absolutely nothing changed Chiharata’s relationship with Chihaya not reciprocating his feelings? If that’s the case, then maybe the author was trying to say that Arata’s feelings weren’t that DEEP for Chihaya. Maybe HE VALUES friendship with both Taichi and Chihaya more than to make a big scene. He has been set up to process disappointment easier than say Taichi?

LIKE LOOK:

I guess it sucks when it turns out you guys were PROJECTING as much into the story as those Taichihaya romance obsessed baboons. Everyone projects into a story. It’s actually ok ! WE ARE THE SAME IN THIS REGARD. LET’S JOIN HANDS AND UNDIG ARATA FROM HIS GRAVE PLEASEEEEEEE. To conclude my massively long rant and because I can no longer add any pictures, by the time we got to 246 without Chihaya and Arata dating it should have been fairly clear that it was not going to happen. Their relationship had barely progressed and if Chihaya would date Arata with the intention of getting to know him more OUTSIDE of Karuta... SHE’D NEED TIME FOR THAT!! It should have happened much earlier and not been dragged out to the end of the manga. (A topic I will leave for another time)

However by the time we got to the ending if Chiharata happened it would simply just be the pairing off of two characters a romance conclusion a la shonen. Chihaya would be getting a trophy and a husband for accomplishing her dream.

Instead the thesis was actually that “love” like Kaurta is something you have to work towards. It’s not always easy nor is it always “happy”. Yet it is worth it when you find the right person- you will still want to be with them “by their side” even when it’s rough.

Crazy how Taichi said this in chapter 9.

SO that pretty much wraps up my thoughts on Chiharata (for now)

This is Charles reminding you that Arata is now in his Tokyo Hottie arc!

[xhanisai]

Was discussing this with the lads in the LO server and thought that I might as well drop my thoughts here too.

One of the reasons that I rarely read aged up ML fanfics (other than the spicy stuff UwU) is because often, writers strip Marinette of her anxieties, unhingedness and her overthinking habits and they sugarcoat Adrien’s depression and make him very rebellious against his father because ‘that’s what adults do’. (Especially pre reveal and pre relationship)

It just makes it seem like that all those negative feelings and sadness that they go through in canon is just a childish thing. I know ideally, everyone would love to be a cool and collected adult but unless you’re super rich, have everything you want and barely struggled as a child, that’s unlikely.

[fannish-karmiya]

Hi, I really enjoy and love reading your mdzs meta. And I would like to ask you as I like your analysis and your views on characters.

I have just seen some tweets questioning Lan Wangji's morality and how readers look over in the way Lan Wangji deal with Wen Remnants and constantly put the blame on Jiang Cheng only because he (Lan Wangji) is ML...etc

But as MXTX has said before 'Both Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi are highly ideal characters, so there wouldn't be too much dispute on their moral standing'

So how do you think about those tweets?

May I know your thoughts on Lan Wangji ?

Oh wow, thank you! And this is a really interesting subject!

It's definitely a complicated one, and I think LWJ himself in canon is very well-aware that he didn't do enough in WWX's first life; that's why he always stands so steadfastly by WWX in his second.

But I think people both forget what he did do, and also ascribe to him more power than he really had. LWJ may, as the younger brother of the leader of GSL, have a lot of privilege, but he doesn't have a lot of political power.

His brother is the sect leader, and LWJ can't force him to make any decisions as sect leader; in fact, I think we can argue that LXC and LQR tend to both view LWJ as a child and dismiss his opinions. Even after the siege as his reputation as Hanguang-jun develops further and he has more prestige, there's not much he can do. He refuses to attend discussion conferences (this is mentioned both during the conference chapters and also when LWJ recounts the tale of XY and Songxiao to WX before Yi City), and he interferes whenever he comes across JC harassing 'demonic cultivators'. But there's not much he can do by himself as one man.

Back in the day, we did see him speaking in the favour of WWX and the Wens a few times. He speaks up in WWX's favour during the conference after the QQP breakout (chapter 73), disputing the lies JGS is spinning about how WWX supposedly disrespected JC. And he follows after Mianmian when she speaks in WWX's favour and shows his respect to her.

When he visits WWX in Yiling, WWX tells LWJ that he has no other choice, and that he thinks LWJ in his position would do the same thing (protect the Wens). I've always taken LWJ's silence as tacit agreement; they're on the same page on this, but LWJ is also not ready to take the step of walking away from his family and joining WWX, so they part ways that day.

While we never see a moment like this in canon, I think it's highly unlikely that LWJ didn't return home and tell his brother about the Wens, including that a toddler and his elderly grandmother count among them. As to why he didn't visit again...well, I have my theories, but we'll never know for sure. I do think that familial disapproval of WWX may have played a role.

Much later, in chapter 89, it's revealed that LWJ spoke in WN and WQ's favour when they surrendered themselves at Koi Tower for execution.

It seems to me that, like Mianmian was before when she accused the sects of abusing the Wens in prison, LWJ was the lone dissenting voice, and easily dismissed.

He then seeks out WWX before Nightless City, surely hoping to warn him about the conference, and is unable to catch up to him in time. After the battle is over, LWJ escapes with WWX and brings him back to Yiling, even fighting 33 of his sect elders in order to defend WWX from capture by them. He successfully fights them off, and WWX is free to return to the Burial Mounds and protect the Wens.

At this point, LWJ returns to his family and is punished, whipped 33 times and left severely incapacitated. It's not directly stated, but it's definitely implied that he knew nothing about the siege until after it was over. LWJ returning at this point was likely a mistake, but I also doubt that he had any idea of just how severe his punishment would be. He then, while severely injured, flies to the Burial Mounds to search for any remains, and finds A-Yuan and brings him back to Cloud Recesses, the only thing he can do when he's in such poor health. He pressures his family to allow A-Yuan to be given the Lan name to protect him, something they only give in to after LWJ brands himself in a drunken state. If not for him, A-Yuan would have died, and the sects really would have succeeded in their quest to 'exterminate' the Wens.

I think that the steps LWJ could have taken differently would have only had personal impact. He could have left his sect and joined WWX in the Burial Mounds after he broke the Wens out, or he could have stayed with WWX after Nightless City and helped him fight the sects and protect the Wens then. Most likely in either case, he would have either died in the siege or been captured and imprisoned by his family, and A-Yuan would not have survived.

LWJ is someone who is very moral at his core, but still struggled when he was younger with the question of how to stand up against injustice and whether it was right to defy society and his family. However, even during his youth you can't say he was complacent in the face of injustice; he may not have gone far enough, but he always did speak up and make his voice heard, as little good as that sometimes does in a society where there are so few dissenting voices to back you.

[aridelula]

Who's the Male Lead?

I wonder why some Athykiel shippers always insist that Ijekiel is ML? I mean, isn't it obvious that Lucas is the ML?

I've read that they still believe Ijekiel is ML because Athykiel's story is similar to Claudiana.. dude, don't you realize that Claudiana's story is quite tragic/?

They also say that Athykiel is canon because the manhwa is different from the novel. I admit the manhwa is a little different. For example, Athy who takes control and decisions, Lucas who supports Athy in making decisions, Ijekiel who helps Athy, Jennette who turns sweet and loveable, Athy and Diana meet, the main villain is Anastasius, and they also added more Lucathy moments like a kiss on the cheek and their date on the boat (maybe in the future we can see they both get married..)

I sometimes comment on posts that say if Ijekiel is ML and I give my opinion according to what I believe. but instead of discussing, I was called toxic by them :) I swear I'm not trying to be toxic but why do they always say Lucathy stan toxic? okay, maybe some of them are toxic but doesn't it mean that if you say someone is toxic just because of some person it means you are also toxic?

.

.

According to Manhwa rules/? (most of the manhwa I've read) to find out who the ML is, you can guess them from the following characteristics:

Appears more often (a lot of screen time)

Always stay beside the FLs.

Will do anything to help Fls.

Usually have the opposite nature of FLs (aim to complement each other).

Overpowered.

Has a dark past.

Have a high position and rank.

Feared (but usually they are nice to FL but some people are afraid and very submissive to them).

Etc.

I have no problem with athykiel shipper, but saying if he is the ML for me is a bit too 'dreamy'. I like the dynamic between athykiel but i'm sorry, i prefer lucathy.

For those who say that Lucathy stan is toxic, please read this, a fandom is said to be toxic because there are have more fans, usually only the majority fandom is said to be toxic. I've never seen minority fandoms called toxic because most of them are invisible and flop, but they will be seen if they attack and insult the majority.

And also 'toxic' should be pinned to the person who did the toxic not the fandom.

[flightfoot]

“Chat’s a sexual harasser” “Marinette’s a stalker” You would be amazed at how few fucks I have left to give.

[olderthannetfic]

One thing I haven't seen a lot of people discussing re AO3 tags is whether or not multilingual tag support is in the works. Part of Tiffany's naivete in her statements stems from a different experience as a ML Chinese user -- since AO3 is just the parking space for NSFW, most CN fic readers come there from a different platform; Chinese AO3 fics thus tend to be undertagged. I don't think she expressed her tag clarification points very well, but (1/2)

--

it did lead me to think that if AO3 could do more Newbie Guides to tagging + multilingual tag support, that would open up more of the site to non-EN speakers. It seems like the Additional Tags section currently relies too much on understanding English fandom genres and conventions, and sometimes even _current_ conventions; explanations of major/canon tags in other languages + more support for non-Eng tags could help? (2/2)

Considering how much trouble native English speaker n00bs have, yeah, definitely.

I doubt the way tags work will get updated (so no 'trope tags display in your own language instead of English'), but a solid guide plus wrangling canonicals in other languages would let Chinese speakers use the filters more effectively.

I did think Tiffany meant something like "I'd like people to understand it's not just the parking lot", but that wasn't at all clear if one isn't familiar with how Chinese fans use AO3.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML What if:

(What if Gabriel told Adrien about the miraculous After Style Queen?)

-After the failure of Style Queen. Gabriel realized he had put his son in danger. His son could have been gone for good and it would have been his fault.

-This compounded with his failures made him realize that he needs to tell his son the truth.

-Like in Canon, Gabriel arrives at the show and hugs his son. In that moment. He whispers to his son.

-"I need to talk with you about something after the show."

-So as they are leaving and bump into Audrey. Chloé does the whole reveal thing she did in canon where she exposes herself as Queen Bee. Which while it surprised Gabriel. He had made up his mind to tell his son the truth first.

-So Sure enough Gabriel uses this chance to take Adrien and leave.

-Gabriel also keeping a sense of what Chloé is up to. (But that is more for later.)

-Gabriel walks with Adrien to the office.

-"Today has been an eye opener for me. I realized I had made a terrible mistake, and I need to rectify it."

-Adrien asks what his father is talking about.

-Gabriel stops.

-"Adrien... I am going to show you something that will be a lot to take in. I am not sure how well you will process it. So if you do not want to hear it, I understand."

-Adrien was no way backing out of this. His father telling him something that isnt an order? Sign him the f*** up.

-Gabriel starts talking.

-"Do you remember that book you borrowed from my safe a while ago?"

-Adrien nodded.

-"There is more to it than sentimental value."

-He typed in the code on the painting to reveal an elevator. That surprised adrien. He had no idea that was a thing. But considering all the cool stuff in his room, it isnt too much of a leap in logic.

-Gabriel tells him to follow him into the elevator. There he sees a metal container in a small well kept area.

-"Father... What is this place."

-"This... this is the place I have her kept as she rests."

-Adrien blinks

-"Her?"

-Gabriel reveals Emilie in the container. Cue an absolutely stunned/horrified Adrien.

-"Its okay son, she isnt dead."

-"She... She isnt."

-"No, she is comatose. But her ailment is not natural."

-Adrien starts piecing it together.

-"Wait that book... are you saying that its related to her condition?"

-"Yes. That book is an ancient tome that discusses the miraculous. And inside it describes a way to cure any disease and any ailment. But I am missing two key components. And I have been trying for so long to get those components. But no matter how close I come... they always find a way to elude me."

-Adrien realized it. It all clicked. The book, his mother's illness, the miraculous... Adrien knew what his father was trying to say.

-"Father... are you..."

-"Yes Adrien... I am Hawkmoth."

[k1201a]

it’s odd to me when people claim lwj has dark/toxic traits when mxtx herself mentioned that she hopes her readers can be like him (and wwx)? is she telling her readers they should be toxic too or what?

It's not odd, it's because people already know he has impeccable character and self discipline, the idea of him losing control and has "dark" preferences in bedroom is even more appealing, it makes the self insert feel more special, because they're the only one can see and invoke this side of the top. It's a common fantasy, and it's a safe fantasy because you already know the canon version wouldn't do it. it's not a problem if people write it just to giggle, hehe and feel good, it's a problem when people start treating this is canon and start having serious discourse about consent and rape. frankly any serious discussion about smut ruins the fun. you're just supposed to post like

and move on....

all these dissertation about "dark lwj" by some wx are phony nonsense, if these people were actually into dark romance and dark ML, they wouldn't be into lwj, they would be into xue yang.

[marrys-dream-world]

I see you've been getting quite a few discourse-y ish anons and idk how you feel about it but I figure you might want a palate cleanser so: Favorite ML ship that you never want to happen in the actual show, why, and any headcanons for them??

Thank you, anon! I don't really mind the discourse asks as long as they’re respectful and I like discussing stuff, it's not like I have the opportunity to talk about this stuff offline too. But I did need a palate cleanser (another discourse ask dropped soon after this one was sent), so let’s tackle your question:

I did spend some time thinking about it because I was unsure about what type of ship I would talk about. A ship that could realistically happen in canon? I don’t have any that I care about like that, so I’ll just talk about one that would never happen and I don’t want it to: Adrino (yeah, it now turned into one of these posts).

Adrino is my second favorite in ML because their dynamics got me on the floor and they would be the cutest couple. However, I don’t think the show is interested in developing side couples for Adrien and Marinette and would rather focus on the love square, a decision I support (even if we adrigamis were robbed). I think working on an Adrino romance in canonverse would be doable if they had started earlier, but not only were they never actually do that (though the executives’ reaction if it was ever pitched would be really funny), their friendship is only starting to get the spotlight now in season 4.

(It would also break up djwifi who are absolutely power couple goals right now and we can’t have that.)

That doesn’t stop me from having headcanons about them and dreaming:

They are the kings of mutual pining. Adrien doesn’t make a move for fear of losing his closest human friendship and he doesn’t know enough about social clues to be sure that Nino is showing interest in him. Nino doesn’t think Adrien could ever be interested in him since his only crushes were Ladybug and Kagami and Marinette who were all girls that were nothing like him and he doesn’t want to make a move and make Adrien uncomfortable and leave Adrien without a friend he can rely on.

Adrien (as Chat Noir) goes to Ladybug for advice on how to deal with his crush. She is immediately on the Chat Noir/His Crush fanclub and helps him elaborate at least ten crazy confession plans a week (was that how she dealt with her crush??)

Nino goes to Rose and Juleka as they’re the happiest same-sex (and overall tbh) couple he knows. They say they can subtly check if Adrien is interested and end up not being able to go through with the interrogation (Juleka) or not being subtle at all (Rose. “Nino is kinda cute, isn't he, Adrien? If you’re into men. Are you? Do you think Nino is-” “Hahaha, Rose, we’re late for our, huh, thing.” “What thing?” “The thing with the, you know, horses and wegottagobyeAdrien-”)

Nino is the one who confesses first after taking advice from Chat Noir as Carapace. Adrien barely lets him finish before he hugs him.

They hold hands all the time. If they aren’t taking notes in class? Hand in hand. Lunch? Hand in hand. Running from an akuma attack? Hand in- where did Adrien go?

Adrien is very shy about kissing at first, but Nino is very gentle and Adrien feels very safe with him, so he gets comfortable with it soon.

Nino loves sitting on Adrien’s lap and Adrien loves being able to wrap his arms around Nino when he does that.

They mostly have online dates because Gabriel sucks, but Adrien does sneak out at least twice a month to go to Andre’s with Nino or simply hang by his house.

Nino’s family adores Adrien and he loves them right back. His parents call him Adrien Lahiffe to tease Nino and Nino blushes all the time for it, but he doesn’t complain because Adrien gets emotional over that.

(If they ever got married, Adrien would take Nino’s surname and be very proud of being called Mr. Lahiffe.)

(They wouldn't invite Gabriel to the wedding either, good for them. Emilie is on thin fucking ice too.)

Gabriel doesn’t know about their relationship and Adrien doesn’t even try to tell him, too afraid his father would separate them. Gorilla does, though, and keeps it a secret because Adrien is really really happy.

Adrien introduces Nino to anime, who hadn’t watched anything but stuff from when he was a kid, like DBZ. Since Nino is unused to anime tropes, they bother him a lot more, so he’s picky about what to watch. They’re on their third rewatch of Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Nino goes with Adrien and Chris to anime conventions. They cosplay as Utena and Anthy (Chris goes as Naruto) and Nino lowkey hates the event but seeing Adrien happy makes it worth it. (He also gets into an argument with a guy about music in Neon Genesis Evangelion for 30 minutes.)

Nino gets irrationally insecure in their relationship sometimes, but learned to communicate about it better after his break up with Alya. Adrien always goes out of his way to show Nino how much he appreciates him when this happens, with words and romantic actions.

Nino is the first person Adrien openly talked to about how he feels towards Emilie going missing. He thinks his mother would like Nino a lot.

When they grow up and move in together (Gabriel is in jail and only gets vent visits from Adrien), they adopt a turtle called The Quickster (emphasis on the "the") and a cat called Nanami.