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bittersweetresilience · 1 year ago

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Adrien Agreste and Borderline Personality Disorder

DISCLAIMER: I've been a bit low on spoons this week, so I haven't gathered as much evidence as I probably could have. Also, I am but a humble student in clinical psychology. This is mainly a thought compilation for @moonieratty!

To introduce the topic, without going into it too much, personality is described by features and behavioral patterns, or traits, consistent across situations and across time. Personality disorders are therefore enduring patterns of highly maladaptive traits evaluated in personal and sociocultural context (Dozois, 2019, p. 290).

Like other disorders, personality disorders have diagnostic criteria. The DSM is used primarily for diagnosis in the US and Canada while the ICD is used more widely in Europe and other places. I'm more familiar with the DSM, but I've included a brief section on the ICD to be comprehensive. It ended up a bit longer than anticipated, so let's go below the cut. Warning for discussions of abuse, self harm, and suicide, and a brief mention of substance use.

Overview of Borderline Personality Disorder

BPD is prevalent in a small percentage of the population, about 1-2% by varying estimates, and is characterized by instability across domains of emotions, identity, interpersonal relationships, and behavior. Its onset is usually in late adolescence or early adulthood and symptoms may diminish with age, after one's thirties or forties, especially with therapeutic intervention. Along with ASPD, it has been the focus of a lot of clinical research; it is unfortunately associated with high rates of non-suicidal self-injury and suicide (APA, 2022, pp. 754–755; Dozois, 2019, pp. 308–309).

Etiological factors for BPD include both biological and environmental disturbances. Of note to our discussion is the heightened risk for BPD in cases of child abuse or neglect, as well as growing up with another family member with a serious mental health condition (NHS, 2022). It's been well established that Gabriel is emotionally neglectful if not outright abusive toward Adrien in multiple ways, so this is a clear risk factor. In addition, although I won't argue definitively for Gabriel having a psychological condition, he did keep Emilie's body in the basement, so there is clearly some kind of disturbance going on.

From a cognitive-behavioral perspective, Linehan argues that BPD stems from families who consistently invalidate childhood emotional experiences and "oversimplify the ease with which life's problems can be solved," which may cause children to learn to seek attention and communicate with others through emotional outbursts (Dozois, 2019, p. 297). This rings true for Adrien and Gabriel as well.

I have to apologize for my son, Ladybug, he's like his mother. Way too overly dramatic. (Jackady)

It doesn't seem like this is the first time Gabriel has thought this, and labeling an emotional reaction as being overly dramatic is very much invalidation of it. As for emotional outbursts, Adrien has had quite a few, mostly as Chat Noir. More on this later.

To round out this first section, attachment theory proposes a connection between poor parent-child attachments and BPD relationship difficulties. Specifically, maladaptive behavior in relationships may stem from childhood development of an anxious-ambivalent attachment style, where intense fears of abandonment interfere with a strong desire for intimacy (Dozois, 2019, p. 310). You can clearly see this in Chat Noir's relationship with Ladybug, and I'm sure other people have discussed Adrien's attachment style more in depth, but suffice to say I think this is an apt description.

Argument from DSM-5-TR

In the DSM, personality disorders are primarily diagnosed on a categorical model. There are a few general criteria which I won't be going into, but I will highlight that personality disorders are stable and pervasive, and would be diagnosed only if they were leading to significant distress or dysfunction. Adrien's mental state is not great, so the latter shouldn't be a problem, but this show does not always pay attention to consistency, so I'm going to be speculating some. Everything in this section is cited to the relevant DSM entry unless otherwise stated.

The DSM characterizes BPD with instability in relationships, self image, and affects, as well as marked impulsivity. It has no exclusion criteria, so BPD can be and frequently is comorbid with other disorders like mood disorders, PTSD, and ADHD. Of the below criteria, five need to be met in order for a diagnosis to be made.

Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment

Hey, where're you going? . . . So you're allowed to know her true identity, but I'm not? (Syren)

You're not really replacing me with a turtle, are you? (Anansi)

A lot of people have delved into Adrien's abandonment issues, which feature most prominently in his relationship with Ladybug. His fears of being replaced result in him seeking reassurance from Ladybug, and he can lash out if he does not receive the response he hopes for. Ladybug is his world, and he wants to be hers, so anything infringing on that feels to him like a threat of being abandoned, and he does not like it very much.

Impulsive behaviors like giving up his ring can be interpreted under this lens: he can avoid abandonment by doing the abandoning first. Then it will be him leaving, and not the other way around.

I also interpret Adrien's nightmare (Le Marchand de Sable) as being a fear of being alone as much as it is a fear of being trapped.

Unstable and intense interpersonal relationships alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation

We'll be united, more powerful and free. We'll defeat Hawk Moth, then we can both run away to an island! Far away from everything. We will live off nothing but fruits, and we will have a little pet hamster and we will name it— (Le Patineur)

I just can't do this anymore. I give up… on everything. Even you . . . If I become Chat Noir again, Ladybug will just end up rejecting me, over and over. (Kuro Neko)

Even though Adrien mostly keeps his head on straight regarding what he's owed and not owed by other people, his relationship with Ladybug is full of highs and lows. He thinks Ladybug is the most amazing girl, but this can recoil quickly into feeling as though Ladybug doesn't care about him enough or isn't meeting his needs.

Furthermore, he developed this idealization of Ladybug as a potential lover or caregiver at one of their first meetings (Cœur de Pierre), and continually sought to spend time together and share the intimate details of their secret identities early on. These are all common to individuals with BPD, as is the switch from idealization to feeling as if the other person "does not care enough, does not give enough, or is not 'there' enough." Ladybug is the only person Adrien consistently projects this instability and intensity on, which might be something interesting to explore.

Identity disturbance: unstable self image or sense of self

When I was a kid, I always wanted to be what my parents wanted me to be! (Exauceur)

But, does that mean Chat Noir is who I really am? Deep down inside? (Kuro Neko)

With all the secret identities, it isn't surprising that Adrien fits this criterion, but canon even explicitly draws a link between Adrien's unstable sense of self and his childhood experiences. He doesn't know who he is, and he distracts from this by being Chat Noir, only to struggle even more when he feels useless and underlooked as his hero self. His behavior shifts dramatically between trying to prove himself with grand gestures and refusing to participate or lashing out. There is definitely something to discuss on this front.

Impulsivity in at least two potentially self-damaging areas

Giving you some extra time . . . I trust you to bring me back, m'lady. (Gamer 2.0)

There are only two liars left in Paris and one of them knows the ultimate way to catch her attention . . . Crazy about you, m'lady. (Mensonge)

This is walking a thin line between impulsivity and suicidal behavior, which would be excluded from this criterion, but I'll list self sacrifice here because I can see an argument for Chat Noir's impulsive behaviors being out of love or the desire to be useful. There may still be some self injurious intent or euphoria, but Chat Noir does have faith in Ladybug to bring him back eventually. Nevertheless, this is impulsive and unhealthy. Chat Noir jumps too quickly to this option to have thought it through.

I can't think of another area, because Adrien isn't old enough for reckless driving, spending, substance use, or sex. This is also a kids' show. Just presenting these options for fanfiction writers out there.

Recurrent suicidal or self mutilating behavior, gestures, or threats

I... I don't know what to do! (Chat Blanc)

This is all our fault . . . Cataclysm. (Culpabysse)

By itself, what happened in Chat Blanc would not be solid evidence, as that was an unprecedentedly traumatic situation. Combined with Culpabysse, though, there is a strong case to be made for at least passive suicidality for this to be able to come up as an option.

You could also interpret the self sacrifice in this category. Suicidal behavior in individuals with BPD is often preempted by fears of rejection or abandonment, so an interesting analysis could be made on this front.

Affective instability due to marked reactivity of mood

He's still only thinking of himself! I just want this terrible day to be over and done with! I hate Christmas! (Pire Noël)

Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to make you so mad. I get it. You're sick of me . . . No one can help me, Kagami. (Glaciator 2)

Adrien's prolonged episodes of anger and despair reflect a high reactivity to emotional stressors, especially interpersonal ones. In general, he just doesn't feel very well unless something is actively bringing him joy. Most of his outbursts are brief, though, and I will discuss them as part of a later criterion.

Chronic feelings of emptiness

I'm not Adrien, so I wouldn't know if this is the case, but I can say he has experienced at least one depressive episode (Kuro Neko) and emptiness would not be unfamiliar. You can look at him and decide.

Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger

How was your amazing evening with your "friends"? . . . What do you think? (Glaciator)

Why not? No one'll know if I quit. No one'll care! (Syren)

A two-person plan?! There's only one two-person plan, and that's Ladybug and me! (Sentibulleur)

Give me a break, Miss "I can't even come up with a superhero name"! (Hack-San)

Anger in individuals with BPD can manifest as bitterness, sarcasm, or recurrent verbal outbursts, which Chat Noir absolutely exemplifies. These outbursts are often followed by feelings of shame or guilt and contribute to a feeling of being bad. Chat Noir apologizes after being harsh in Glaciator, and I wouldn't be surprised if he felt badly about the other times. Again, these outbursts are often precipitated by interpersonal fears and perceived threats of abandonment. Unlike other symptoms, this specific one tends to be unique to BPD.

Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociation

I cannot recall any evidence for this but headcanon away, my friends.

All in all, I think Adrien has a strong case for BPD presentation according to the DSM. Canon is not always consistent, but I think it presents an interesting and mostly coherent narrative for this lens. From this perspective, Adrien's behavior reflects a deep intolerance of being alone and a dependence on other people to define the self.

As a corollary, BPD behavioral patterns are frequently linked to self sabotage and self undermining right when a goal is about to be realized, which could manifest as dropping out of school right before graduating or ending a relationship when it seems to be going well. Food for thought. Individuals with BPD may also feel more secure with transitional objects like pets than with interpersonal relationships, which could reflect in Adrien's relationship with Plagg.

To add some subjective understanding to this clinical mumbo jumbo, I've added a source of genuine BPD experiences below (Mind, 2022).

Argument from ICD-11

With the release of the ICD-11, a dimensional model for diagnosis of personality disorders became the new standard. What this means is that individuals are no longer labeled as having 'histrionic' or 'dependent' or, indeed, 'borderline' personality disorders, but are rather assessed as having any form of personality disorder on a sliding scale of severity and with trait domain specifiers (Swales, 2022). To put it more simply, people are diagnosed only with a general personality disorder or personality difficulty which can be optionally specified as deviating on one of the personality traits in the Big Five model, which is well established in personality psychology.

This move has several benefits. Stigmatization related to particular personality disorders can be reduced, and differential diagnosis and comorbidity between personality disorders becomes irrelevant. However, people retain access to treatment and support. Evidence-based treatments like dialectical behavior therapy are particularly well established and crucial for BPD; for this pragmatic purpose, the ICD contains one additional specifier for borderline pattern personality disorder (Bach et al., 2022; Swales, 2022).

The DSM and ICD are designed to be compatible with each other in many ways, and in this case, the borderline specifier in the ICD is directly lifted from the criterion of the DSM (WHO, 2023, 6D11.5). Based on our previous discussion, Adrien would be equally qualified for a diagnosis in France. I would likely describe his personality disorder with moderate severity, where multiple areas of functioning are affected and self harming behaviors may be present, but not all areas or relationships may be equally impacted and traits are not as rigid and inflexible (WHO, 2023, 6D10.0–6D10.2).

Interestingly, the ICD includes three additional manifestations of borderline pattern which are optional and may vary across time (WHO, 2023, 6D11.5).

A view of the self as inadequate, bad, guilty, disgusting, and contemptible

An experience of the self as profoundly different and isolated from other people; a painful sense of alienation and pervasive loneliness

Proneness to rejection hypersensitivity; problems in establishing and maintaining appropriate levels of trust in relationships; frequent misinterpretation of social signals

I'm fascinated by the number of adjectives in here. I simplified very slightly, as I did with the DSM criteria, but I had to keep all these adjectives. Anyway, I won't elaborate for too many more paragraphs, so let's say sentimonster moment and leave it at that. I will spare you my mirrored Félix essay. For now.

Qualifications and Limitations

First of all, Adrien is a teenager. The distinguishing factor between a personality disorder and regular adolescent difficulties would be longevity and identity concerns beyond his developmental phase (APA, 2022, p. 758). Second of all, Adrien has a uniquely terrible home life and magical problems. Some of his behaviors could be normal considering his experiences and sociocultural context, and this matters when it comes to psychological evaluation. Take everything with a grain of salt!

More generally, the categorical model of the DSM has several issues, not to mention diagnostic issues related to culture, gender, and stigma. Some but not all of these issues are addressed by the dimensional model it includes in a later section, which shares theoretical foundations with the model of personality disorders in the ICD. Even so, issues remain. Diagnosis, access to treatment, and political statements are intrinsically linked in complex ways. I won't get into all of the nuances, but be safe, remember this is a fictional character, and keep an open mind.

REFERENCES:

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787

Bach, B., Kramer, U., Doering, S., di Giacomo, E., Hutsebaut, J., Kaera, A., De Panfilis, C., Schmahl, C., Swales, M., Taubner, S., & Renneberg, B. (2022). The ICD-11 classification of personality disorders: A European perspective on challenges and opportunities. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40479-022-00182-0

Dozois, D. J. A. (2019). Abnormal psychology: Perspectives (6th ed.). Pearson.

Mind. (2022, September). What does BPD feel like? https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/borderline-personality-disorder-bpd/experiences-of-bpd/

National Health Service. (2022, November 4). Causes - Borderline personality disorder. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/causes/

Swales, M. A. (2022). Personality disorder diagnoses in ICD-11: Transforming conceptualisations and practice. Clinical Psychology in Europe, 4(Special Issue). https://doi.org/10.32872/cpe.9635

World Health Organization. (2023). International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems (11th ed.). https://icd.who.int/

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dreamdepot · 1 month ago

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What story should I write next?

There’s still a few chapters left in Dreams of the Kingdom, and I plan on taking a little break afterward, but I’d like your input on what the next story should be. Normally I'd do this as a poll, but Tumblr only likes one week polls and I'd like to do a little more time.

Your options are...

Monochrome Redux (Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir from Miraculous!)

Falling Stars (Leon/Dande from the Pokemon series)

Super Royal Assistant! (Bowser from the Super Mario series)

More information below the break. Please comment on Tumblr or leave a comment here with your preferred option. The poll will be open until November 29, and the results will be announced in the final chapter of this story. I appreciate your help!

Monochrome Redux

Potential Tags: Love Square, Mistaken Identity, Aged-up, Coming Out.

A handsome hero catches your eye and you catch his, but does duty come before love? And doesn’t his heart belong to Ladybug? In a Paris turned upside down, anything can happen.

Characters are aged up to be 18.

You are a student at Lycée François-Dupont in your final year when for the first time in years, two new superheroes – Ladybug and Chat Noir – burst onto the scene to stop the evil Hawkmoth from akumatizing civilians. With the oddest of luck, you seem to keep winding up in situations with Chat Noir, a suave hero who appears to be head over heels for Ladybug but seems to be coming to terms with something himself. Not only that, the opportunity to become a hero yourself falls into your hands.

This would be rewriting and finishing the unfinished “Monochrome” from 2019. As with the original, some of the story follows canon and some departs from canon. Based on my notes, it will likely depart canon almost completely just before Miracle Queen.

==============================

Falling Stars

Potential Tags: Rekindling Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Angst

Can Leon see he lives in a castle of sand? Can old friendships be repaired and an unrequited crush from childhood grow into something new, or is the Unbeatable Champion lost in the glitz and glory?

You are a former travel companion of Leon, once with an unbeatable crush for the unbeatable challenger. Flash forward ten years, and he’s more popular – and unreachable – than ever. He’s a total star who has let fame get to his head. Over those ten years, you’ve stepped away from battling and become a talented Pokemon breeder in Wedgehurst, happy in your own work. But, your world is shaken when it comes time for Leon’s brother to begin his journey, as Leon comes crashing back into your life.

My notes give me some Hallmark vibes (celeb returning to his roots) but this is more focused on recognizing mistakes and realizing it’s not too late. Story would take place concurrently with the main story of Sword and Shield, so you’ll definitely see Hop as well.

==============================

Super Royal Assistant!

Potential Tags: Mostly fluff, some angst; Bowser’s a good dad; Oblivious; Mutual Pining

Working for Princess Peach as her official assistant seems like a dream job, until you realize how much you have to deal with a certain Koopa King. Why does he keep kidnapping you with your boss anyway?

You are a human assistant to Princess Peach, trained by Toadsworth to handle her day to day work and calendar. Being the right hand to the Toadstool Princess is certainly hard work – and only made more difficult with a lovesick tyrant knocking on her door every week to kidnap her – how many times do you have to tell him not to kidnap her on Tuesdays?! Yet, you realize over time he’s starting to kidnap you with her, and behind closed doors he’s actually not that bad of a guy. Could this be the start of something?

This is very much meant to be a light-hearted story after Dreams of the Kingdom. Story is spread out across Mario canon, so you can expect to see some familiar locales like Isle Defino or the Comet Observatory.

#x male reader #x reader #my stuff

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disorganizedkitten · 8 months ago

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Bursting Bubbles of Bad Luck Chapter 3

Miraculous Ladybug | 2019 | 602 | Ao3 | Prev | Masterlist | Next

Marinette’s heart stopped. Something jolted through her, leaving a slimy coating under her skin and on her muscles and up her throat and- she took a breath, heaving air into lungs that didn’t feel right anymore.

She scrambled to sit up, breaths coming in short gasps that went from pat-pat-pat to pat to nothing for seconds and then another set of heaving because she did need air, and forgetting to breath helped nothing.

Marinette waited until the pattern died off, even though she still felt wrong. Violated. As her breathing slowly returned to something even, the headache stayed. Something was wrong. Marinette pushed forward, towards the ladder from her bed. In her rush, she knocked it over.

Another deep breath. She found one of her bedposts and pushed magic to it, intending to reform it for the moment.

Marinette didn’t get that far.

As she tried to push magic through her hand, it started stinging heavily, like she had dipped it in a fryer with breading and now the breading was burning her skin while the oil and breading weighed her down.

She shrieked.

Something was wrong with her magic. That… that didn’t happen. Not without a very strong curse or-

Oh no.

Marinette grit her teeth, reaching in the dark for another bauble she kept near her at all times. She used her other hand to try again, just to turn the gnome into an arrow. It hurt nearly as much. Marinette dropped the object and realized she had stopped breathing again. She started the pattern, fast fast fast, normal, stop, fast fast fast, normal, stop, for the second time that night, tears streaming down her face.

That hurt. Physically. And worse. Her skin was only getting more slimy and painful, and she hated it.

She hadn’t done anything yesterday! Or even last week! The only way someone could have cursed her would be if they targeted her, which was a very, very scary notion.

***

Mage inc. Discord chat - Channel #General

Rough-glamor: Any other @Changlings feeling completely whack tonight? I woke up in a cold sweat and it hurts to use my magic.

Goldie The Queen Of France: Nope, but my brother is. He’s also had his trail change colors, did that happen to you too?

Rough-glamor: Lemme check

Yep.

WTC?

Flutetastic: That’s really weird.

Sometimes it can act up if our physical states need help (I once had such severe sleep deprivation that the ringing in my ears became audible to everyone in the vicinity. Not fun to explain) but it’s p weird to see it happen in multiple cases at once.

Le Chien adores la chatte: Um, it’s kinda viral? Here in America anyway. People are collapsing and at least one exploded. The entire street turned into a victorian-era clothing store. I don’t know if they’ll play this off, or leave it like they do Pride.

Flutetastic: That’s… not a coincidence.

Rough-glamor: ‘bout to sound rlly crazy here, but like… does anyone know the state of our heart? I heard that Destruction mages had a really bad week in 2009, and then there was that one guy claiming he’d stolen the heart and cursed it.

Goldie The Queen Of France: Oh I really hope not. Corrupted hearts have really, really bad side-effects.

***

Gabriel watched the gem flicker, changing colors. The kwami that came with it was shaking like a leaf, but he didn’t care.

He finally had a way. He just needed to get enough attention.

Starting tomorrow, Emilie would be well on her way to healing.

***

Marinette threw up. She wasn’t the only one.

#BBoBL #Bursting Bubbles Of Bad Luck #Miraculous Ladybug #Felix #Felinette #ml fanfic #jaymeow writes #old writing #Felix July 2019 #Felix July 2020 #Timeline what timeline #Crossposting spam #Friday update

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citybythesea1-blog · 8 months ago

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I remember when I first got into Fandom. (Timelines fuzzy at some parts) December-ish 2019. I would watch voice actors read Undertale comics. Eventually, I stumble upon one that I need more of. I checked the description of the video.

Sooner or Later You're Gonna be Mine by staringback was the story on a website I'm unfamiliar with; ☆Archive of our Own☆ I read the whole fic in one night. A few months later, I realized it hadn't been updated since around a week before I read it.

I then get curious, I understand that things made more for older people had fanfiction, but what about shows for kids? I put in the one show my parents found incredibly immature: Miraculous Ladybug.

To my surprise; not only was there fanfiction, there was A LOT of fanfiction. And so it began. I discovered Damianette.

I also got into Hermitcraft Season 7. Mostly, I would watch Grian at first, but over time, I branched out to other creators. This would have been early covid.

Now, I was still in high school at that point. June rolls around, and for the next school year, I'm online learning. Instead of doing my school, I started to wonder if Hermitcraft had any fanfiction. That was the day I finally learned. Fanfiction knows no bounds.

I get into the DSMP after November 16 2020. I'm pretty sure it was because I found a lot of Tommyinnit ending up in my Hermitcraft fanfics. (I still didn't have an account on AO3, so I just obsessively checked the Hermitcraft Tag.

My only regret is that "Sooner or Later You're Gonna be Mine" by staringback did not update again after I found it.

#fandom #Fandom travels #education #all of this because i relly liked one story #imagine if i never found it #id be unstoppable #and so bored #maybe i wouldn't be up at 2:47 am writing #i have been up for over 24 hours #since 10:46 pm yesterday #or is it two days ago???#idk im tired

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kimiehashobbies · 9 months ago

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Night time greetings ladybugs,

Im feel so much better! Just had to work through some melancholy but im back at it. I have not done much working out this week but thats ok. What matters is im back on schedule tomorrow.

Something good I focused on during my low mood period: I finished interlocking my locs. I have microlocs so it always takes me 3-7 days. I really try to take my time. I recently cut off 3 rows in the back. My hair is fine and soft in the back in particular so it wasnt doing well in the loc style. Im going to just leave it alone. Just do wash and go in the back for it. Its a good reminder that sometimes we have to go with the flow. People wont like it but thats ok. I've had locs since October 2019. Its been amazing and freeing. I wear my hair for me now. Im comfortable with all the imperfections. I started them myself and maintain them myself. I learned from watching youtube videos. Im probably going to dye my hair again soon. I'll show pics when I finally do it. Im trying to pick a color. I didnt like dyeing my roots so i wont be doing that again. I like a soft dark brown eyebrow and root. Looks better to me.

I also got more yard work done. We are going to start spreading seeds. Its been over run with weeds but the worst part is the stickers. Awful for all of us but mostly our Luca. Im going to work really hard this spring to get the yard growing.

Not too much else has happened. Im back at it with my fitness, art and writing now that my mood has gotten optimistic! I have an idea for a comic book and thats what im working on for my art. Im casually drawing my 1st comic strip (i have 4 ideas) i hope i can get that first strip out this month. My timeline is kind of off a little. I haven't written at all in 2 weeks. Im picking that back up. I should've had this first idea done but I get so in my head about if its good enough. I'll never know if it is good enough unless i finish. Oh and also, I have not even looked at my Banjo so...... I take full accountability I failed at that goal.

Just a piece of wisdom I've learned is that opportunity wont just magically come without inner work. I've had beautiful ideas in my mind for at least a decade but I've always had self doubt and I'm an expert at self sabotaging. I have to get this creativity out there because its what i love and its who i am. Sometimes it is you yourself that holds you back. 2024 im done hiding, I will start this creative journey and document it the whole way through. I've got this and I want this. I believe in me and thats where action starts.

Ladybugs if you feel called to do something, just do it. The regret from not doing it sooner (or at all) will eat away at you. You cant fail if you dont try, BUT (but, but, but) you cant succeed either. You gotta believe in you and be your biggest fan.

As my favorite poet Jermaine Cole wrote "There's beauty in the struggle..."

🫶🏾🐞Kimie

#hobbies #melancholy #locs #feelinghappyagain #failure #beautyinthestruggle

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casadefreewill · 2 years ago

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Fic recs

I got two fics for you this week (month? We’ll see)

Notes to Self by GalahadWilder (@galahadwilder)

Adrien finds out midway through Oblivio that his assumption was wrong, and that Marinette is NOT his girlfriend. So he decides to do leave a message calling himself out for failing to properly appreciate the most incredible person he’s ever met.

Now, having been confronted with his mistakes, Adrien has realized that he has a lot to make up for—and a girl who needs to know exactly how much she means to him.

Yeah this last updated in 2019 so we’re probably not getting any more, BUT! It’s got that good good ‘oh shit I’ve fallen in love with the same girl/boy twice!’ adrinette. Also best mom-dad team Sabine and Tom! Also also hey Adrien, why don’t we try to start addressing your whole ‘putting all my happiness and dreams in the Marinette/Ladybug basket’ situation.

Anyways, good story, go read.

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

And number two

Masks Within Masks by Kyprish_Prophetess

Donald found himself at odds without the kids around 24/7, so he decides to answer a call from SHUSH to come back online.

Everything spirals from there

I. Love. Disney. Ducks. Anyways, recently I’ve gotten back into fics that try to thread all the different Donald media together and this is one that I’ve recently loved the most. It focuses mostly on DT17 and Double Duck (which is honestly so rare) but the other ones are there and woven into the plot. It’s fun and Donald gets to be a cool SHUSH agent while still trying to balance family life and stumbling into superhero shenanigans. Also Launchpad is so great in this 💗

#fic rec #ml #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #ladybug #chat noir #post-oblivio #Notes to Self #GalahadWilder #dt17 #ducktales #double duck #disney ducks #donald duck #paperinik #Masks Within Masks #Kyprish_Prophetess

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rubyfire777 · 1 year ago

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personal update 9.16.23 🌻💕🐹

good things that happened this week:

finally got my wife some suspicious stew limited edition minecraft pringles. she had been disappointed to not be able to find them anywhere in the area but my work suddenly had them months late! she said they were pretty good :)

movie night with lilith ❤ (we watched creep 2!)

i made a big dinner i was really happy with from scratch. i made wayyy too much but it was so good and i felt so proud of myself

movie night with quint! pretty short mellow one but we watched style wars

halloween decoration thrifting with lilith! i took her to a really good st vinnies and a weird little goodwill she hadnt been to before and found sooo many cute things to decorate with, some new mugs for her collection, a toaster (shes been dying for one forever but we hadnt gotten around to it), a baseball cap with a ladybug holding a pride flag that says "produce pride" (probably an event but we cant dig anything up?), and a beautiful crystal splendor barbie (for $20!!!). we also saw plenty more cute and goofy mugs, the fattest coca cola bear plush, some prints of a teens digital anime girl fanart, and a turtle build-a-bear in a ninja costume with a clearly homemade orange tmnt bandana that we didnt take home but still enjoyed seeing. it was such a good day

bowling night with darren and lily! it really was a lovely time this week

had the first really good bagel ive had in a minute since we have a toaster now 😭 plus some strawberries. felt awesome

cel really thoughtfully sent me one of my favorite mellow albums (fief ii) when she knew i was feeling anxious which really made me smile

lilith went and picked us up a yummy dinner from beergarden :) she got the chicken sandwich shes been craving and i got garlic shrimp

decorating for halloween!! <33

some other household tidying. im not done and will continue the rest of this week but i feel good about it

new art experiences:

albums:

eyes on you (lolica tonica, 2017)

future ghouls (xxhardbit3s & slippymudman, 2022)

clock tower (raito, 2022)

virgin in (dj technorch, 2011)

class of 1992 (glowstyx, 2007)

headz gone west (nia archives, 2021)

kaizo slumber found dead in miami (kaizo slumber, 2023)

ghost1 (omnipony, 2020)

akuma ii (alex & tokyo rose, 2019)

movies:

creep 2 (dir. patrick brice, 2017)

style wars (dir. tony silver, 1983)

#personal #/#food

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shesholy · 2 years ago

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a detailed rundown of #𝚃𝚁𝙰𝚅𝙸𝚂𝙱𝚄𝙲𝙺𝙻𝙴𝚈'𝚂 filmography , discography and tour information .

𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐒 .

mr. & mrs. smith as john smith , in production .

babylon as jack conrad , filmed .

bullet train as ladybug , 2022 .

the curious case of benjamin button as benjamin button , 2022

fury as don ‘ wardaddy ‘ collier , 2021 .

the big short as ben rickert , 2020 .

the counselor as westray�� , 2019 .

ad astra as roy mcbride , 2019 .

once upon a time in hollywood as cliff booth , 2019 .

war machine as glen macmahon , 2017 .

world world z as gerry lane , 2017 .

allied as max vatan , 2016 .

12 years a slave as bass , 2016 .

fight club as tyler durden , 2016 .

moneyball as billy beane , 2011 . ( production wrapped before his hiatus )

inglorious bastards as lieutenant aldo raine , 2011 .

the tree of life as mr. obrien , 2011 .

killing them softly as jackie , 2010 .

megamind as metro man , 2010 . ( voice )

ocean’s thirteen as rusty ryan , 2009 .

se7en as mills , 2009 .

burn after reading as chad , 2008 .

troy as achilles , 2008 .

the assassination of jesse james : by the coward robert ford as jesse james , 2008 .

interview with a vampire : the vampire chronicles as louis , 2007 .

ocean’s twelve as rusty ryan , 2006 .

the devils own as rory devaney , 2006 .

snatch as mickey oneil , 2005 .

12 monkeys as jeffrey goines , 2005 .

ocean’s eleven as rusty ryan , 2004 .

meet joe black as joe black , 2004 .

kalifornia as early grayce , 2003 .

thelma & louise as j.d , 2003 .

the favor as elliot fowler , 2002 .

several recurring roles on tv series , 2000 - 2003 .

𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐃 . travis buckley . 2014

his self - titled debut studio album , came out to over all positive critical reviews . peaking at the billboard 200 charts at two for a little over two weeks . before the album dropped in early 2014 , buckley released two singles aint worth the whiskey and alcohol you later both reaching top five in the us country charts . ( the album can be found here . )

truck i drove in highschool ( mitchell tenpenny )

alcohol you later ( mitchell tenpenny )

middle of a memory ( cole swindell )

i’ll be your small town ( cole swindell )

aint worth the whiskey ( cole swindell )

here ( mitchell tenpenny )

both sides of the mississippi ( cole swindell )

to us it did ( mitchell tenpenny )

sterotype ( cole swindell )

black crow ( mitchell tenpenny )

down home boys ( cole swindell )

the ones who got me here ( cole swindell )

𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐃 . mistletoe sessions . 2017

a christmas album released in november of 2017 . ( the album can be found here . )

neon christmas ( mitchell tenpenny )

snow angels ( mitchell tenpenny )

have yourself a merry little christmas ( mitchell tenpenny )

naughty list ( mitchell tenpenny )

let it snow ! let it snow ! let it snow ! ( mitchell tenpenny )

don’t hang the mistletoe ( mitchell tenpenny )

joy to the world ( mitchell tenpenny )

santa claus is coming to town ( mitchell tenpenny )

i hope it snows ( mitchell tenpenny )

o holy night ( mitchell tenpenny )

𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐃 . telling all my secrets . 2019

the second studio album from country artist travis buckley . debuting more upbeat instrumentals despite the relatable topic of love and heartbreak being the foundation of the album . the singles that preceded the album were drunk me , break up in the end , and love you too late . all of which are now certified double platinum tracks . a year after it’s release the album it’s self was certified platinum . ( the album can be found here . )

losers ( mitchell tenpenny )

telling all my secrets ( mitchell tenpenny )

outta my head ( cole swindell )

love you too late ( cole swindell )

horsehoes and hand grenades ( mitchell tenpenny )

drunk me ( mitchell tenpenny )

good and gone ( mitchell tenpenny )

somebody’s got me ( mitchell tenpenny )

broken up ( mitchell tenpenny )

she hates me too ( mitchell tenpenny )

cant go to church ( mitchell tenpenny )

broke down ( cole swindell )

break up in the end ( cole swindell )

𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐃 . going back home . 2021 .

a third studio album comes toward the end of 2021 . welcomed with high critical acclaim and a number one spot on the billboard 200 charts . the first sample of the album was three singles bucket list , mom’s old number , and you should be here which were released at the top of the year in an ep pack titled annabelle dawson as tribute to his mother , who’d passed the year before . later never say never was also released as a fourth single . ( the album can be found here . )

never say never ( cole swindell )

up ( cole swindell )

single saturday night ( cole swindell )

im gonna let her ( cole swindell )

bucket list ( mitchell tenpenny )

party wasn’t over ( cole swindell )

you should be here ( cole swindell )

making my way to you ( cole swindell )

stars ( cole swindell )

mom’s old number ( cole swindell )

cry baby ( mitchell tenpenny )

she had me at heads carolina ( cole swindell )

𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐒 . all released .

a compilation of all of his singles , most released to promote their respective albums apart from mixed drinks and dangerous after dark which were released during separate tour runs . ( you can find her singles here . )

aint worth the whiskey ( cole swindell ) , 2013 .

alcohol you later ( mitchell tenpenny ) , 2014 .

mixed drinks ( mitchell tenpenny ) , 2016 .

drunk me ( mitchell tenpenny ) , 2018 .

break up in the end ( cole swindell ) , 2018 .

love you too late ( cole swindell ) , 2019 .

dangerous after dark ( cole swindell ) , 2020 .

bucket list ( mitchell tenpenny ) , 2021 .

mom’s old number ( cole swindell ) , 2021 .

you should be here ( cole swindell ) , 2021 .

never say never ( cole swindell ) , 2021 .

𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 .

travis buckley live ! tour ( first headlining concert tour in support of his self - titled debut album , with 11 concerts in the united states and canada ) . 2016 .

telling all my secrets tour ( second headlining concert tour in support of his second album telling all my secrets , with 43 concerts in north america and australia ) . 2019 - 2020 .

the tribute tour ( third headlining concert tour in support of his third studio album going back home , with 51 concerts in north america , united kingdom and australia ) . 2021 - 2022 .

#ㅤ۪ㅤ۫ㅤ੭ ᵗʳᵃᵛⁱˢ 𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐲 : ❪ ⠀ ⠀ career ⠀ ⠀ ❫#ㅤ۪ㅤ۫ㅤ੭ ᵗʳᵃᵛⁱˢ 𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐲 : ❪ ⠀ ⠀ muse ⠀ ⠀ ❫#i - yeah this took me too long g bye

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alieinthemorning · 1 year ago

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Lukanette Month 2019 | Week Four | AU

Content: Fluff, Angst, Canon Divergence, Aged-Up Characters

Pairing: Viperion | Luka Couffaine/ Ladybug | Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don’t forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!

This work’s concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.

Sunday September 22nd, 2019 - Sun and Moon

So close yet so far.

The Sun’s light touches upon the Moon.

Reflecting such a wondrous shine.

So close yet so far.

Yet on a Solar Eclipse.

They hold one another

For but a few seconds

Before departing once more

So close yet so far, my dearly beloved.

Monday September 23rd, 2019 - Water and Earth

Opposing Elements

Water blessed by the Moon

Earth blessed by Mother Nature

Opposing Elements

Blessed by the Tides

Blessed by the Quakes

Together a Fearsome Force

Tuesday September 24th, 2019 - Spring and Winter

From the harsh cold of Winter

comes Spring.

When the snow meets fresh soil

do flowers bloom

From the blossoming of flowers

Comes the animals

Who slept throughout the cold

Waking to the beauty of Spring

Sleeping through the beauty of Winter.

Wednesday September 25th, 2019 - Mermaids

Up where the walk Up where they run Up where they stay all day in the sun Wanderin’ free Wish I could be Part of that world

“You literally have everything any Mer could want.”

“Yeah but I could have more; do more- experience so much more if I were able to be up there!”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Walk along the shore with you.”

“But you could do that here?”

“It’s not the same.

“Alright, alright. I’ll help you find a way to walk across the shore.”

“Come on then, let’s go see Gabriel!”

Thursday September 26th, 2019 - Soulmates

“If you’re having a good/bad day your soulmate will have the same amount of good/bad day.” - @/r-evolve-art

It must have been a bad one.

A really bad one.

His heart twisted for her

Or maybe her own heart was twisting from the pain.

He didn’t know what exactly what happened

But he could guess.

One thing’s for sure

He needed to make sure that he made her day better

In every way possible.

Friday September 27th, 2019 - Songbird

Everything stays Right where you left it

They’d finally done it.

They’d defeated Hawkmoth.

Everything stays Right where you left it

It was a bittersweet victory.

Secrets were revealed.

Everything stays But it still changes

But at least one thing was constant.

Ever so slightly Daily and nightly

Although a little weathered from the fight

But she knew she could always return there

In little ways

To him

When everything stays…

Saturday September 28, 2019 - Witch and Cats

She’d meet him in an alley

But he obviously wasn’t an alley cat by the way he held himself

But he also wasn’t a prestigious kitty either

It seemed more like he was there to chill

“Hmm. hey there.” Marinette crouched down to the cat’s level. “Would you like to be my familiar?”

The cat strutted closer and nuzzled it’s head in her open palm in response.

“Alright then. How about I call you… ‘Luka’? How’s that?” The cat purred, obviously liking the name.

“Okay, Luka let’s go to your new home.”

Sunday September 29th, 2019 - Reincarnation

Have you ever felt like you’ve met someone before?

In a past life maybe?

That’s what it feels like when I’m with him.

Just feels like we’re supposed to be together

But deeper than we’re extremely compatible but rather

Just meant to be with one another

Literally meant for one another

Always meant to find each other

No matter the distance

No matter the life

We’ll always find each other

Monday September 30th, 2019 - Vigilante

She watched him crack the door shut. “Are the kids asleep?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

She gave him a smirk. “Are ready to take down some bad guys, Panther?”

He returned it twice fold. “Always, Rogue.”

Ko-Fi | Commission | Masterlist

#alie ficlets #alie series: lukanette month 2019 #lukanette month 2019 #lukanette #luka x marinette #long post

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daggerzine · 1 year ago

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Gary Olson talks afternoon into evening! (interview by Eric Eggleson).

It’s been a while since I caught up with Gary Olson of The Ladybug Transistor; he’s quite the busy guy, but he’s never too busy to take time out of his schedule for Dagger. When he told me about a reunion tour and an amazing concert in Norway, I had to find out more.

How did you end up in the Norwegian festival? (Egersund) The Ladybug Norway connection goes back a couple of decades now. We had a lot of opportunity to play there in the early 2000s after Albemarle Sound was released. Audiences were great and we developed a lot of lasting friendships. It seemed like a natural place for a reunion.

What was it like playing the old tunes again? How much preparation went into practice? Oh, so much fun! It really brought home that we had four distinct writers (Gary, Jeff, Jennifer, and Sasha) in those days and our individual styles rounded into something special. We chose a set list months in advance and made notes… Everyone came prepared as we only had four days for rehearsals. We practiced in Norway as most of us live in different cities these days. Julia and I are in New York, Sasha is in Montana, Jeff is in Burlington, and Jennifer is in Pittsburgh.

How did you choose your setlist? We got together in 2019 to play the entire Albemarle Sound record for its 20th anniversary so we stuck with what worked best from that set and added some of the stronger material from Argyle Heir and Self-Titled.

Many great bands at Egersund, which were you excited to see? There was so much to see in those few days! High Water Marks, Minus 5, No Ones, Rishis and Teenage Fanclub. A new band called Colored Lights really stood out. They have an LP out soon that you should check out.

Did you join any of them on stage? Sasha and Jennifer sat in with the No Ones for a song.

How long were you in Norway? A few weeks. We arrived early to settle in, practice and do some sightseeing… hiking in the fjords. It’s a spectacular place to spend time in the summer. I did a duo tour with Ole Johannes (The Loch Ness Mouse) following the Ladybug show so that kept me there an extra couple of weeks.

The Elephant 6 documentary also aired; was that your first time seeing it? Yes, glad to finally see it. I was waiting for the opportunity to watch it on the big screen in a proper theater. Jeff Baron took part in the Q & A, along with Hilarie from Apples (and The High Water Marks), and Adrian from Elf Power.

Let’s move on to the reunion tour. Why only these five venues? We had a show at The Andy Warhol Museum booked in fall of 2020 and that got postponed during the pandemic. When they rescheduled for this year, we decided to build a little tour around it. Five shows seemed manageable. If it goes well, we will certainly be open to more.

Why these venues? Have you played at them before? We’ve played at Schubas in Chicago many times, but it’s been a while. We played Warhol ages ago. The rest are all new to us.

Any chance for more dates later? 2024 will be the 25th anniversary of The Albemarle Sound so I hope we have the opportunity to do something special. Feel welcome to make any suggestions!

Will you be bringing merchandise? (My t-shirts are getting small!) Yes, working on that now. Sasha is an astrology enthusiast and says this is meant to be the year of Ladybug’s return so we may make some comet themed merch.

Any news on opening acts? Kyle Forester and his band will open in Brooklyn. It seems especially appropriate as he’s been such a good steward to Ladybug through the years. Giant Day (Derek Almstead and Emily Growden) are opening in Pittsburgh. And we've just confirmed that Derek will be joining us on drums for the November dates.

Will you be playing any new songs? Just the oldies, but It would be fun write some new ones with them.

And now some updates on your production work. What bands have you been working or will be working with? Finishing some of Phil Sutton’s projects, Love Burns and Pale Lights. He’s a constant in the studio. I just completed an album for Auguste Juillet Meets The Swedish Miles, which is Jay (Hough) from Sapphire Mansions latest project. That should be out later this year. I worked on the new Sloppy Heads album that was recently released. Give them all a spin!

Are you writing any new music? Your solo album came out in 2020 (Wow, where did the time go?). Loved that, I’m also a huge Loch Ness Mouse fan! How did that come about? Ole Johannes from Loch Ness has been a close friend since my early visits to Norway. We started writing songs together along with his brother Jørn about six years ago and that evolved into an album. It’s a great partnership and we will do more.

Looks like Let’s Whisper is your most recent release. (That also includes Jeff!) Yes, it’s always great to work with the Vermont crew.

I see Jennifer is releasing another The Garment District album in the fall. Very excited for Jennifer’s new Garment District album. I got a preview of the vinyl, and it looks and sounds wonderful.

Well, there you have it, Gary is as friendly today as he was back when I interviewed him many years ago. (Time to check the Dagger archives.) I’ve listed the venues and ticket websites if you’re interested in catching this reunion tour. I know I won’t miss this one. I’m hoping the tour goes well so more cities can be added.

www.gary-olson.bandcamp.com

www.tapeterecords.de

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illusory-torrent · 5 years ago

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ladybug week, day 8: free day. 🐞🖤🥀

#ladybug #rwby #blake belladonna #ruby rose #ladybugweek2k19 #ladybugweek2019 #ladybug week #ladybug week 2019 #mona.txt #mood board #aesthetics

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disorganizedkitten · 8 months ago

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A Study In Friendship Chapter 6

Miraculous Ladybug | 2019 | 5,056 | Ao3 | Prev | Masterlist

Voting In The New Shipmaster

Chloe had not, in fact, left her alone once the week was up. Instead, Sabrina learned that Chloe had been holding back over the past month. Go figure. And while Sabrina still had some problems defending herself, for every scathing comment Chloe sent her way, one of her friends would have a supportive comeback.

In short, life wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty amazing!!!

Did she mention she had seven friends now? Seven!! Marinette, George, Alya, Calista, Rose, Nino, and Adrien. And she was on tentatively good terms with the rest of her fellow students. That had never happened before! She could greet people and be greeted back, positively.

And sometimes it wasn’t her making first contact!

Like today, for instance.

“Good morning Sabrina!” Calista called, waving excitedly in the hallway.

“Good morning Calista!” Sabrina couldn’t help the smile as she dashed up and hugged Calista. “Did you have a good afternoon?”

“Oh it was amazing! I ended up in the catacombs, which yes I know is really dangerous, but I found some really cool stuff. I’m even checking with my dad to see if it counts as property open to the public. And even if I can’t keep it, I have like twenty pictures.”

“Oohh,” Sabrina breathed. Calista had shown in the past week that she had an affinity for finding the coolest things in the most random places. “Can you text me some of them? Or are they all on your camera?”

“Camera,” Calista said sadly. “But I’m going to print them this afternoon. The brooch was so pretty!” Calista sighed wistfully. “Anyway,” she turned her full attention to Sabrina. “How’s your turtle set coming along?”

“It’s coming,” Sabrina answered, rocking on the balls of her feet. “I think I’m ready to put a finishing coat on the main beads, finally.”

“Aw yes!” Calista jumped. “I can’t wait to see the finished product. I have told you how talented you are with beadwork, right?”

“You have,” Sabrina answered around a smile. Calista had said it at least five times in the past week. Especially after Sabrina had given her the star bracelet. Which Calista had worn every day since.

“Well I’m saying it again, you’re super talented, and the turtle set is going to come out looking so amazing.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Sabrina blushed.

“Cally!” One of Calista’s classmates skidded up to the pair. “Cally! Christian and Lucien are trying to claw each other’s hearts out.”

Calista sighed. “This is what I get for running for class rep. Well, better go stop them from getting hurt. See you later Sabrina!” She waved, her classmate latching onto her arm.

“See you!” Sabrina waved as Calista was dragged off by her classmate. Sabrina continued along the upper hallway to her classroom.

“Hey Sabrina!!” Alya leant over Marinette’s empty seat and held out a fist, Sabrina tapped it happily with her own as she passed.

“Hi Alya!

“Morning Ivan!” He glanced over at her, and she caught a small smile as he nodded to her before resuming his conversation with Mylene. Sabrina was… bad… in the love department, but even she could see how in love the two of them were.

Finding someone that compatible for herself in a few years would be a dream come true. For now though, Sabrina would just watch their love bloom happily.

She walked up to her seat, stopping to greet her almost-friend in the back row. “Hi Juleka.” the goth gave a tiny one-handed wave and muttered ‘Hello’ back.

Sabrina even chanced a wave at Nathaniel before she turned and slid into her seat. The redhead gave her a similar wave as Juleka had.

“Good morning Sabrina!” Rose called, skipping up the steps. “Good morning Juleka! Good morning Ivan! Good Morning Adrien, Good morning Mylene! Good Morning Alya! Good Morning Nino! Good morning Nate! Good Morning Max! Good Morning Kim!”

A chorus of ‘Good morning Rose!’ echoed back at the peppy blonde. Rose smiled as she slid into her seat in the back row.

Chloe stalked into the room, head held high. She sent a smirk to the back of the room, and Sabrina shivered. That was not a good kind of smirk. Sabrina hoped that Chloe was just acting haughtily to ride on her father’s coattails. M. Bourgeois was on his way to winning the mayoritorial elections, again. M. D’Argentcourt had been thoroughly humiliated throughout his campaign. At times it seemed the entire city was working against him.

Power players such as Andre were probably why the Americans had a limit on how many terms a leader could serve.

Sabrina listened in on the various conversations as she waited for Mme. Bustier to arrive.

Max was describing an idea for an AI with emotions to Juleka; Rose, Alix, and Mylene had started to talk about shades of the Color pink, and Kim was saying something about not being afraid of anything Ivan would ever know about, - spiders, if it hadn’t changed from when Sabrina had gathered blackmail info last year so that no one would run against her and Chloe in-

Oh crap.

Class representative elections had been making their way around the school this month. Calista had just been voted in on Friday.

Her life had changed a lot in two months. A lot, because she used to have the dates to start gathering information ingrained into her internal clock, and knew exactly what it was for every time. She had thought her secret hunting urges were just because she was so excited about Kitty Section forming and that she knew Nathaniel had been working on a secret project. She’d completely forgotten about elections.

Sabrina had never considered herself someone for whom adaptation was easy, and yet here she was.

“Oh it would be amazing if we got cushioned seats this year. Do you think that whoever gets elected would do that?”

Mylene hummed. “I don’t know, Rose, Chloe definitely wouldn’t.”

“Well no, but Chloe doesn’t have to be the rep this year.”

“She doesn’t?”

“I mean,” Rose took a breath and then leaned forward so she could talk to Sabrina. “Bri, are you gonna help Chloe run for rep this year?”

Sabrina wasted no time shaking her head, keeping her gaze stubbornly on Rose’s face. “Nope.”

Rose smiled, turning back to Mylene. “See?”

“Yeah, okay. But who’s going to run instead?”

“Good question!” Rose leaned over her desk again. “Bri, are you going to run?”

Sabrina paused at that. She hadn’t thought about it. She considered it for a moment, waving to Marinette as she entered, then turned and told Rose she really didn’t know, adding on a “besides, I don’t think I’d be that good at being in charge. I might run for assistant rep.”

“Wait does that mean we’ll have fair elections this year?” Marinette asked, turning around in her seat.

Sabrina nodded.

Marinette pumped her fist. “Yes! Have we decided who’s running this year?”

“I want to run for rep,” Rose admitted. “It’ll be fun to try.”

“I’m running too!” Kim added loudly. “This time she can’t hold my fear of spi-something against me!”

“Can’t I, Kim?” Chloe’s icy voice interrupted. Sabrina watched as she sashayed up the aisle and slammed her hand onto Kim’s desk. “I don’t have anything new to use against you, but don’t think for a minute that I won’t use what I still have.” Chloe turned her glare to Sabrina. She flinched. Chloe looked triumphant about that. “I don’t need Sabrina to keep you plebeians in line." She straightened up. “Anybody who runs against me this year will meet the same fate as previous years.” She yawned into her hand. “I’ll just have to go without an assistant this year.” Chloe turned away and sashayed back down the stairs. She slid into her seat, head held high.

Mme. Bustier clapped her hands before the conversation could continue.

The subdued attitude carried through the rest of class, and only worsened when Mme. Bustier officially announced that the Class Representative election for their class would happen this week, and that anyone who wanted to run needed to decide by fourth period, and have their paperwork in by Tuesday morning.

“I had been so excited,” Rose lamented, setting her tray down between Juleka and Sabrina. The entire class, sans Chloe, had gathered for lunch in the cafeteria.

“Is Chloe really that bad of a class representative?” Adrien asked.

The emphatic Yes from the rest of the class had him flinching. Sabrina felt a little sorry for him. She , at least, had no misconceptions as to what Chloe was like when they were friends. Or, less misconceptions. It was worse from the other side, but not by too much.

“I don’t think we should let her have her way this year.” Alix stated. “I mean, Marinette already told her to take her bad attitude somewhere else, why don’t we all help reinforce that idea? Between the, what, thirteen? Of us, most of her threats won’t actually mean anything, right?”

“Yeah!” Kim cheered.

Max cleared his throat. “As much as I hate to kill the mood, Chloe's threats do still apply. She can still spill secrets, and she has enough pull with the school board that she can still carry them out, just not with the same amount of ease as previous years.”

Alix groaned, laying her head on the table. “Her tyranny has to end somewhere.”

“What if we blackmail her back?” Juleka asked, forking a piece of Salmon into her mouth. Sabrina jolted, staring at her flabbergasted. Apparently she wasn't the only one, because Juleka shrunk in on herself a bit a moment later. “It was just a suggestion.”

“There's got to be someone she has nothing on,” Alix huffed. “Wait a minute, Sabrina?”

Sabrina froze as all eyes turned on her.

“Alix, what are you asking?” Ivan asked, a hint of accusation in his tone. Sabrina wasn't sure which girl it was truly aimed at.

“Who doesn't she have blackmail on.” Alix said again. “Sabrina, you know this, right?”

Sabrina nodded slightly. She didn't like it when the past was brought up, she had tormented them so much, but it was inevitable in this situation. She took a deep breath before answering, hoping her voice stayed factual and firm. “Kind of. I don't have anything on Marinette, Alya, or Adrien. But Chloe might have found something else since I left.”

At her words, the class erupted. Sabrina winced at the overlapping yells, moving to cover her ears. Some of the noise was cheers, some were questions, Kim was making a lot of it, really it was just too much, too much, she couldn't think, how could thirteen people make so much noise-

There was a bang as Marinette stood up, slamming her hands onto the table. “Guys!” her shout cut through the din surprisingly well. The class turned to look at Marinette instead of each other. “One at a time,” she ordered calmly.

Sabrina lowered her hands back to her lap, taking a deep breath in the relative calm.

Rose raised her hand.

“Yes Rose?”

“If you run, do you think we can build a petition for scrapbooking club like we did for the art room?”

Marinette flushed scarlet. “I don't think I'll run, but I can definitely help you set that up if Chloe closes it.”

“Girl, why wouldn’t you run?” Alya asked. “You might be the only one who can.”

“What?” Marinette sat back down, turning so she could focus her incredulous look on Alya. “I can't lead people! And even if I could, I don't have enough time to do so properly.”

“Well I can’t be class rep around the Ladyblog, and Adrien is always busy.”

Sabrina could bring up a few examples to fight most of the points Marinette had brought up. The time one was the only thing she couldn’t argue against. But... Hadn’t she said she wanted to be assistant rep? After running both her and Chloe’s lives for years, there was at least one thing she was good at, and that was managing events around the rest of their lives. And time as a whole. As long as Marinette was okay with that, of course.

“I could help with the time thing,” she rushed out, closing her eyes. She didn’t want to see what they thought of that. Rose would be supportive, but she didn’t know how the others would act.

There was no sound from the rest of the table. Had she just ruined their friendship by going against what Marinette had said? Oh she hoped not, she had only been trying to help!

“What about your own schedule?” Marinette asked.

Sabrina opened her eyes. Marinette didn’t look mad, thank goodness. Instead she looked… worried?

“Oh I can manage mine with time to spare!” she assured her. “It’s not a problem to help, really.”

“If you’re sure you want too, that could work.” Marinette said slowly. “But I don’t want to be an absentee rep for everyone.”

“I could run with you, and we could work together, like with the project! Find times that work for both of us, and then just plan a few weeks in advance.”

Marinette’s smile was worth taking the chance to say that. “I think that could work.”

Rose started clapping, and soon the entire class was too. Sabrina blushed at the praise.

She just kept topping herself at how happy and important she could feel. They weren’t clapping only for her, of course it was for Marinette too, but still.

***

Sabrina rocked on her heels at the apartment door. Marinette had offered for her to come over Tuesday night for them to get a strategy working. Sabrina was late, an akuma had attacked while she was on her way to Marinette’s house. She hoped Marinette wouldn’t be upset. There were footsteps on the other side, and then Marinette yanked the door open. “Sabrina are you okay?”

“Yeah. I was able to hide,” Sabrina assured her quickly.

“Oh thank goodness.” Marinette hugged her. “Come on in.” she pulled back and opened the door wider. Sabrina smiled and followed her inside and upstairs.

“So where should we start?” Marinette asked, plopping into her desk chair and sliding over to her desk. She picked up a box and a screwdriver off her desk, and then spun to face Sabrina. “Do you mind if I work while we talk?”

Sabrina shook her head. “Not at all! What are you working on?”

“A locking box,” Marinette shrugged. “I figured that even though she shouldn’t realistically be able to get up here, I might as well lock up my diary anyway.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Sabrina agreed.

“Do you want me to make you one too after I’m done?”

Sabrina shook her head. “I’ve got my own measures. Thank you for the offer though!”

Marinette smiled. “Good on you.”

“So how are we running this campaign? Chloe normally tries to ruin her competition, but that doesn’t seem like a very you thing to do.”

“Definitely not,” Marinette agreed emphatically. “I was considering a full speech, you know?”

“I can help with speeches,” Sabrina agreed, perking up. It was true! “And you’ve come up with some good ones on the spot before, so this one is bound to turn out amazing!”

Marinette giggled. “Thanks Sabrina.

“Oh! We have to do the paperwork first! How did I forget that?” Marinette spun her chair again, setting the box on her desk so she could open up her computer. A few minutes later her printer was running. “Okay, there’s that.”

Marinette handed Sabrina her set of papers, and sat down with her own. “Do you need a pen?”

“Yes please,” Sabrina answered. Marinette passed her a pen, and they got to work. Line one; year, class, and name.

As it turned out, Marinette did a lot more work than Chloe ever had while they ran. In years past, Sabrina and Chloe had won immediately for lack of competition. Now, she and Marinette were running against Chloe. And even though they knew most would vote for them instead, Marinette was determined to be a worthy candidate, not just someone who was voted for instead. And that was just from the first night of planning and preparing!

Sabrina loved her.

Laying on Marinette’s bedroom floor, Sabrina ticked off another few boxes concerning her health status before looking back up at Marinette. Marinette was beside Sabrina, her cheeks puffed, and her legs kicking back and forth violently.

Sabrina pursed her lips, looking down at the next question on the form. Why do you think you’ll be a good candidate? That one was tricky. Why did she? Organizational skills would work as a reason, right?

“Sabrina, did they nominate me just because I wasn’t Chloe?” Marinette asked, flopping onto her back.

Sabrina looked over, puffing her own cheek. “I doubt it. You have the makings of a good leader. You’re super nice and check on everyone. Or, almost everyone.” She didn’t name the one person she didn’t think Marinette took care of, that was obvious. But still. “That’s what the representative does anyway, right? Take care of everyone?” And really, Marinette had a big enough heart to take care of even Chloe if it came to it.

Marinette sighed. “Yeah. I just don’t want anybody to think I’m only doing it because it’s my responsibility.”

Sabrina hummed. “I don’t think anyone would think that. I mean,” she forced a laugh, nervous and hoping it didn't show. “Look at me! I went from the second most hated girl in our grade to someone with actual friends in four weeks after you offered. And that was all before this.” She looked down at her hands. “They’d have to have pretty bad memories to think you only help because you have to.”

Marinette chuckled. “I don’t think we have anyone with memory problems in our class.”

Sabrina smiled, and turned back to her forms. The sound of pencils reigned for a minute, and then; “Thank you Sabrina. I needed to hear that.”

“No problem.”

You know, support for her friends and good at making things happen were both things that would be good on this. She might as well. In the margins, she ends up scribbling an extra note. Mostly to support Marinette.

***

“How do you speech?” Marinette asked, glaring at her tablet screen as though it had personally offended her.

This prep meeting was at Sabrina’s house, so they were sitting on Sabrina’s bed to brainstorm and write Marinette’s electoral speech.

“Be personal, don’t ramble too much, stay engaged, metaphors are only good if they’re simple or you explain them, bulletpoint a point a minute if you have that much time or that many topics, uh,” Sabrina leant over Marinette’s side to look at her screen. “That looks pretty good, actually. Do you want me to start the stopwatch and see if it fits in the time?”

Marinette shook her head. “I’m gonna revise it again first.”

Sabrina shrugged. “OKay.” She sat back up, and pulled her beadwork back onto her lap. She was working on a new set of more casual jewelry, pink flowers for this one’s theme. The turtles weren’t done yet, she had run out of the type of clasp and hadn’t been able to get more yet, but she was okay with that.

“Ah-ha!” Marinette exclaimed. “I think I got it! Where’s the stopwatch?”

Sabrina grabbed it from it’s pocket on her lap tray. “Right here. Want me to watch it?” “Sure. Thank you!”

Sabrina set up the clock and started counting down. “Three, two one, go!” She hit start, and Marinette took off, her voice loud, if a bit shaky.

“So as you know, I’m running for class rep-”

***

“Alya I think I’m gonna die,” Marinette said in lieu of a usual greeting as she slid into her seat.

It didn’t help Sabrina’s nerves at all.

Alya sighed, turning slightly to look at her friend. “Marinette, you’ll be fine. You and Sabrina worked on this all week, you’re going to kill it.”

“But what if we don’t?” Marinette asked, grabbing Alya’s shoulders.

“Marinette, you’re going up against Chloe.”

“Which is why I’m worried!”

“You’ll be fine. She’s not that big of a threat.”

Marinette didn’t seem convinced, but she let the subject drop. “Any luck getting an interview with Ladybug?” she asked instead.

As Alya descended into an excited ramble about the two minutes of talking she got to do with Ladybug yesterday, Marinette did a half-turn and waved. Sabrina waved back, trying to smile. She didn’t really feel it had come out right.

She was really nervous. Really, really nervous. They had been prepping all week, but there was still a small margin for error. And that small margin would become a big margin if there was an akuma attack or if Chloe came up with a really good plan.

“Are you okay?”

Sabrina jumped at Ivan’s question. “Yep! Of course! No problems here! Not nervous or anything! Heh.” From the look on his face, he didn’t believe her in the slightest. “No,” she sighed. “I’ve broken away from Chloe, but this is the first time I’ll be directly opposing her since the project. I’m worried.”

Ivan shrugged. “We’ve all been scared of Chloe at one point or another. Don’t worry, if she tries anything, we’ll have your back.”

Sabrina smiled. She and Ivan hadn’t talked too much in the four weeks since she started to sit by him, but she felt like they were almost friends anyway. “Thanks Ivan.”

“Alright class, settle down. Before we start our lesson today, I have to remind you that elections are this afternoon at city hall, so be sure to be there!”

Sabrina felt her gut clench again, and she stubbornly did not look towards Chloe’s bench.

Classes passed in a blur. Sabrina almost never had trouble paying attention, but today she was very out of it. She kept going through scenarios in her head that grew increasingly dire as the hours passed. The only things she could remember in detail were the talks inbetween classes. A lot of ‘good luck!’s were sent their way, and George and Calista even pulled her aside to give her a few packages of chocolate. Calista had said something about being excited to see her in presidency meetings.

Sabrina was really glad they had an hour between school and the elections. It was set so kids in fencing or scrapbooking would be able to go to both.

Sabrina stood on the school steps, trying to figure out where she’d go in the interim. She and Marinette had decided that the best thing to do would be to go propless, so she didn’t need to go home. She found herself watching Chloe saunter up to her car. Her dad had officially won the elections today. It was a fact that just made Sabrina more nervous. Chloe turned at the door, and smirked. Sabrina whined in her throat. Was it too late to back out?

“Want to spend the wait at my house?”

Yes, it was. Sabrina turned to shook Marinette a shaky smile. Marinette needed the support. “That sounds amazing.”

“You don’t sound too good,” Marinette noted. “Are you going to be okay? Do you just need to breathe for a bit?”

“I think so,” Sabrina nodded. Breathing sounded nice.

“Come on, we can watch a few episodes of something while we wait.”

They ended up watching lighthearted and simple cartoons, while eating some of Marinette’s scarily large cookie collection, to keep them from fretting too much. Eventually though, the alarm to start towards the city hall rung, and they were pulled back to the present.

“Ready?” Marinette asked, slinging her purse over her shoulder.

“Not at all,” Sabrina admitted.

“Me neither,” Marinette confirmed. “Better when it’s over, right?”

“Normally,” Sabrina agreed. “We should go before I decide I can’t.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Hey Sabrina?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for volunteering to have my back.”

“You’re welcome. I mean, we made a good team, right?”

“Yeah.”

They were only a block away from the hall when Marinette’s phone started going off. She dug it out, and held it between herself and Sabrina. “What’s up, Alya?”

“Chloe’s trying to buy votes,” Alya’s annoyed tone came through the speaker. “With Jagged Stone tickets.”

That sounded like Chloe.

“For real?” Marinette asked.

“For real. How close are you?”

“Just around the corner,” Marinette assured her. “Sabrina and I will be there in just a minute.”

“Alright, see you soon.”

“Jagged Stone tickets,” Marinette huffed. “Of course she’s going for a bribe.”

“We knew she would do something,” Sabrina sighed.

“Yeah. Well, let’s get in there and show her that money can’t buy everything!” Marinette said enthusiastically. Her nerves at least, seemed to have dissipated into fury. Sabrina couldn’t say the same for her own.

All the same, there were a lot of things money couldn’t buy. Like true friendship.

The girls entered city hall, and were greeted with the cheers of some classmates.

“Yeah! Come show us what you’ve got!” Alix yelled, her eyes alight with excitement.

Sabrina smiled a bit. She wasn’t going up against a hostile crowd. She was by Marinette’s side. She could do this.

And then the akuma attacked.

***

“I didn’t abandon anyone, Chloe!” Marinette snapped. “I got knighted while trying to close the upper windows.”

Everyone had been knighted by the end of the fight. It was scary, watching the darkness close in, not knowing if Marinette was safe - which she wasn’t - and knowing they were doomed too.

Adrien cracked some pun about it being a knightmare to be knighted, and Sabrina had to agree. She would be having nightmares for a week.

“Well, obviously only one of you showed any actual leadership skills during the attack, so I think we all know who we’re voting for,” Alya said sassily. Sabrina took s step back at Chloe’s scowl.

“Not so fast, Alya,” Marinette said.

“See! She’s already throwing in the towel! Obviously I’m the best representative, I can handle the job.”

“That’s not what she said,” Sabrina muttered. Chloe’s glare snapped to her. She took another step back.

“Sabrina’s right,” Marinette said. “I said it wasn’t time for voting yet, not that I was quitting.” She turned to the class at large. Sabrina could feel a speech coming on. “I don’t want you all to vote for me based on one interaction, and I don’t want you to vote for me because I’m not Chloe. I want you to cast your votes to who you think will actually do the job best. I won’t be able to do everything, but I’m good at finding compromises and thinking outside the box. Sabrina’s extremely good at schedules, and finding all the hurdles we need to jump to get to a specific goal. We’re good partners, and I promise we’ll both do our best. So, vote for Marinette and Sabrina as Class Representatives!”

Sabrina and Alya were the first to clap, followed by Adrien and Rose, and then everyone but Chloe and the mayor.

“Go ahead and go vote Class. I’m sure we’re all eager to have our representatives chosen for the year,” Mme. Bustier encouraged. The entirety of the not-nominated classmates surged forward at once.

Marinette meanwhile, stepped up to Sabrina’s side. “So, uh, that went...” she trailed off with a nervous laugh.

“As far from plan as possible?” Sabrina offered.

“Yeah, that’s a good way to describe it,” Marinette agreed. She buried her head in her hands. “I completely forgot my speech.”

“It sounded good anyway.”

Their conversation was stopped by Mme. Bustier clapping. “Alright students! Marinette, Chloe, Sabrina, please come up so we can announce the winner!”

“Come on!” Marinette whispered excitedly, holding out her hand. Sabrina took it, trying not to squeeze too hard.

Chloe kept her head up as she joined them, but Sabrina knew the look of fury in her eyes. She bit back another whimper.

“The votes have been counted,” Mme. Bustier said. “And the winners are...” she paused for emphasis. Sabrina caught onto her wording though. She took a deep breath, and fixed a smile on her face. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Sabrina Raincomprix!”

Alya and Rose squealed from where they were in the crowd, and Sabrina wasn’t able to fully turn to smile at Marinette before Rose tackled her.

“You did it! Sabrina I’m so proud of you! I just know you’re going to be amazing!” Rose pulled back, wiping her eyes. “I’m so proud. You’ve just bloomed!” and then she burst into tears.

Sabrina didn’t know what to do with that. Was Rose okay? She didn’t know, but Juleka seemed to think so. She took her friend’s arm gently. “Come on Rose, let others congratulate her too.” She looked up and smiled at Sabrina. “Congratulations, Sabrina.” Juleka led Rose over to tell Marinette congratulations too, and then Sabrina lost sight of them in the crowd of classmates. It was only her class there, but it felt like a lot more while they were all wishing her good luck and offering congratulations.

Eventually the stream died down, and Sabrina could breathe again. She turned to find Alya primed with her phone.

“Come on girls, lets get some smiles! I’ve got to put this on the school blog!”

Marinette found her way back to Sabrina’s side, and they took a moment to pose. Once Alya had the picture, she rushed up to give kisses goodbye, claiming she had a family engagement she was already late for.

“I guess this is it then?” Marinette said.

“Yeah.”

“This year is going to be wild.” Sabrina agreed. It had already been wild, between the Akumas and magic and the shifting power structures. “I’m glad I have you as a partner in this,” Marinette said, setting an arm on her shoulder. “Thank you, really.”

“I like doing things I’m good at,” Sabrina said honestly. “And I want to support you and the others. I’m just glad you gave me a chance.”

“Of course.”

Sabrina smiled, and in a spur of the moment, she held out her fist. “Pound it?”

Marinette smiled even wider, if that was possible, and tapped her own to it. “Pound it.”

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain-cheng #sabrina raincomprix #old writing #Jaymeow writes #Crossposting spam #Red's The Color Of Your Heart #A Study in Friendship #ASiF #Final

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