#ml new beginnings zine

[alazic02]

Some fanfic insert pieces and the holo sticker I made for the Miraculous Ladybug New Beginnings Zine! The fic that the art is for isn't posted anywhere, but it's titled Rooftop Revelations and is about a new resident of Paris that overhears some LadyNoir conversations that happen right outside her window. Not what I'm used to making for zines but I had a fun time!

Artwork ©: alazic02 | buy me a ko-fi

Do not repost.

[chocoluckchipz]

I Want To Be Your Cat

If he didn’t know any better, he’d say she was waiting for him, opening the hatch to her balcony mere seconds after he scratched at it.

“Adrien? What are you doing here? Why are you still a cat?”

His paws had never taken so long to morph into human limbs before.

Faster! He didn’t have much time left, and he wanted to take her in his arms and press her close to his chest one last time. Fur slowly dissolved all over his body, replaced by the designer clothes he’d soon no longer need. His fingers elongated, arms stretched, legs straightened. As soon as he could, Adrien wrapped Marinette in a hug, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

She was so warm. And for the next ten minutes, she was all his. At least, he could pretend so. He knew she would allow him this selfish whim because she was his friend and ten minutes was all he had.

Hesitantly, Marinette embraced him back. “Adrien? What’s wrong? Why are you here? Why are you still a cat? Did the kiss not work?”

Unable to explain it even to himself, Adrien tightened his grip on her. The decision he’d made just a short while ago was spontaneous and unexpected, but it felt so natural and perfect there was no doubt in his heart it was the right one.

“Adrien, please, talk to me. Why are you trembling? Did Kagami reject you?”

He shook his head. He hadn’t even tried. That whole idea was a mistake. Kagami was not the one. Friendship was all there was between them, but he was too ignorant and naive to realize it sooner. Too oblivious to recognize the love he’d harboured for another girl for years. At least until he saw her leave his birthday party with another.

“Adrien?”

“I want to be your cat,” he whispered against her neck. “Please, take me in.”

Marinette ripped him away from herself, staring at him in shock. “Adrien, no! You can’t do that. You have to stay human. Go back to Kagami, share a true love’s kiss, and lift this curse of yours. You aren’t throwing your life away on my watch! I won’t let you!”

He shook his head, tears pooling in his eyes. Marinette cared. Perhaps not in the same way he cared for her, but he’d take it. He’d take a short life as a cat in Marinette’s care over every other possibility. “It’s too late.”

“It isn’t!” Marinette untangled herself from him, scampered back into her room, and frantically searched for her phone. “I’ll call Kagami and ask her where she is. You’ll race to her, kiss her, and you will stay human, Adrien. The day isn’t over yet. There’s still some time left.”

Eight minutes, to be precise. That was all Adrien had left. He’d rather not waste those precious moments on the solution he no longer wanted.

“It’s too late.” Catching up to her, Adrien grasped her hand, his gaze locked on hers. “I won’t make it even if I try.”

Her body trembled as she looked at him in desperation, silently pleading with him to listen.

Adrien’s lips curled in a smile. He tucked a stray hair behind her ear, whispering, “It’s fine. I’ve always known this was a possibility.”

Tears burst from Marinette’s eyes as she threw herself onto his chest. Adrien wrapped his arms around her, savouring every last moment of holding her close.

What would he give right now for her to love him back? For his past self to realize his feelings sooner? Perhaps, he would’ve had a chance then because as it stood now… Luka was a great guy, and Marinette would be happy with him. As for Adrien… Adrien would be content to be her cat.

“You’re an idiot.” She sobbed into his shirt. “Why didn’t you kiss her? We planned everything. We set everything up! The venue, the party. We left you two alone. Everything was ready! You only had to ask her to be your girlfriend and kiss her. You love each other, Adrien, so why are you here? You should be with Kagami, getting rid of your curse!”

His grip tightened, eyes catching a soft glow of the wall clock in her room.

Five minutes.

“Kagami is not my true love, Marinette. It wouldn’t have worked. I like her, but I’m not in love with her, and if I have no choice but to be a cat for the rest of my life, I want to be yours.”

Her eyes widened as she looked at him. “But… I thought… You said that you loved her!”

“I thought so. I thought that was love but… tonight I was forced to reevaluate what I feel and for whom, and I realized that I was wrong. A friendship is all that it ever was. My heart had always belonged to someone else.”

“Someone else? Who? Can we still find them?”

He shook his head. “It’s too late now.”

“It’s never too late!”

He cradled her face in his hands, his gaze on her as warm and loving as a ray of early-day sunshine. “Marinette, it’s fine. I’ll be fine as a cat as long as I’m yours. Will you take me in?”

Tears streamed down her face as she raised her eyes to him, trying her best to smile. “I’ll never kick you out, even if I’m pissed at you for throwing your life away. Everyone already thinks I have a cat anyway because you’ve been hanging around here so much.”

Adrien couldn’t help a chuckle. Marinette was the only one, apart from his parents, who knew about his misfortune. She had found out on accident the day she started interning at Gabriel. All Marinette had wanted was to steal a peaceful moment to herself during lunch in an abandoned room at the end of a hallway. What she had gotten was an unsuspecting, cursed cat jumping into the window of said room, thinking it was the perfect place for a transformation. When Adrien had noticed her, it was too late.

Half a day as a human, half a day as a cat. Cursed at his birth by an ancient spirit his father angered, the only choice Adrien had in the matter was the freedom to choose which hours he was spending in what form, as long as the hours were even.

His twenty-first birthday was appointed as a pivotal date. Should he find his true love and share a kiss with them on that day, he’d be free of the curse. Should he kiss someone else, he’d become their cat, unable to walk away from that person for as long as he lived. Should he fail to kiss anyone, a feral stray’s life on the streets of Paris was his future.

Marinette had been unexpectedly understanding. She hadn’t run in horror or backed away in disgust. She’d offered to help. She’d given him a hug, and not a pitying one at that. No. Her touch had been, and still was, full of love, support, and unconditional acceptance.

Not a day had passed since then without Adrien visiting Marinette, mostly as a cat though. This brought a whole new dimension to their relationship because while his mind remained human in his feline form, his instincts and senses were a different story.

The first time Marinette had patted him, he’d become addicted to her touch. When she had scratched behind his ear, he was ready to sell his soul for more. And every single time she had allowed his cat-self to sleep in her bed, curled up against her soft, warm body, Adrien had died and ascended to heaven. No amount of human life with anyone else would even stand to compare to what he could have with Marinette. Even as a cat.

Two minutes, and his new life would begin.

“If I dare…” he whispered, looking into her gorgeous blue eyes. “I know you don’t like me this way, but… I was wondering if you’ll allow me one last indecency?”

Tears streaming down her face, she couldn’t say a word, spare a soft whisper of his name.

“Please,” he pleaded. “I swear I won’t ask you for anything else. I don’t want to be a stray. The life on the streets… I’ve seen it. It’s… I won’t last long there. Please, Marinette. Make me your cat. I loved being your cat these past few months.”

“You could’ve been a human, you dummy, if only—”

He shook his head. “The one I love doesn't feel the same way about me.”

“How do you know?”

One minute.

Adrien couldn’t delay any longer. He wanted so much more with Marinette, but if being her cat was all he could ever have, he’d be damned to let that chance slip past him. Hesitantly, he brushed his fingers against her cheek. “It doesn’t matter anymore. May I kiss you, Marinette?”

The clock slowly counted the seconds as she stared at him wide-eyed.

Half a minute.

She remained silent.

Had he crossed the line? Was there nothing but the life of a stray left for him?

“Idiot!” Marinette pulled him down and crashed her lips against his without warning.

Burned by her touch, Adrien froze. She pressed closer, the heated dance of her lips against his bringing him back to reality. So warm, tender, and oh, so soft. Adrien couldn’t ignore her even if he wanted to. He tilted his head and pulled Marinette closer, deepening the kiss, leaving nothing, not even an inch of space between them.

His. For the next thirty seconds, this woman was his.

Her scent, her warmth, her delicate frame. He drank her in like he would never drink again. She pulled away to catch a breath. Adrien refused to let her go, trailing butterfly kisses along her jaw, down to her neck, then back to her lips. He had just seconds left. He couldn’t waste them. His body was tingling with magic already. Soon, he would transform for the last time so…

One more kiss. One more touch. Just one more moment.

Her breathing ragged, Marinette withdrew once more. He pulled her back. He was still human. There was still time for one more kiss. Yet she refused, grabbing his face with her hands.

“Adrien, wait.”

“One more. Please. Just one more.”

She squeezed his cheeks, leaning her forehead against his. “It’s past midnight.”

Was that a no? He closed his eyes, melting into her touch. He’d never force her. She already gave him more than he deserved. “Thank you. I’ll be a good cat. I promise.”

“Adrien,” Marinette whispered, her eyes locked on him. “It’s past midnight, and you’re still human.”

There must have been a mistake. Adrien glanced at the clock on the wall, his eyes widening in an instant.

Three minutes past midnight.

“Marinette…” His heart sprang into a race, eyes locked on the girl in his arms. Did that mean she…

“I love you,” she whispered, her smile shaky. “I’ve always loved you, Adrien. I wanted to tell you, but you said you loved Kagami, so I kept silent.”

His vision blurred, a lump forming in his throat. Marinette hid her feelings from him because he said he loved another? But…

“I thought you loved Luka?”

She shook her head. “Even Luka knows I love you.”

His lips stretching into a smile, Adrien pulled Marinette closer, his arms wrapping tightly around her. A giggle slipped past her lips, filling the room with light.

His. This wonderful, amazing girl was his and his alone. His true love. His Marinette. The woman with whom he was ready to start the rest of his life as a cat but was blessed to stand by her side as a man.

“I love you too,” he whispered, tears of joy flowing from both of their eyes.

Finding her lips again, Adrien caught them in a heated kiss. Her arms wove around his neck as Marinette melted against him, fitting perfectly in his arms, his life, his heart. Just the way he now knew he fit in hers.

Read on A03, WattPad, FF.net

I collaborated with the amazing @melbemol-art on this story for the @newbeginningszine. She drew the most incredible art for it which you can found HERE

[sinkdraws]

Here’s the Lukanette spring-themed print I made for the New Beginnings Zine ( @newbeginningszine )! This was so fun to work on. I absolutely cannot wait to see it in person!!

To order this lovely zine and possibly this print, please check out the shop!!

[iridescentmidnights]

If you want to see what I drew for the @newbeginningszine​ feel free to preorder here 

I did two inserts for a cuter then cute fic by @sariahsue and I’m so excited to share them!!

[celestialtitania]

A preview of my story for the @newbeginningszine. Can't wait for you all to see it! It's a sweet story with plenty of fluff and a dash of humor with amazing art by the wonderful @fictionalinfinity! <3 Don't forget to order! Preorders are now open! newbeginningszine.bigcartel.com

[classicrosie]

My Top 10 Posts Ever

I’m @gemshine​​ and I’ve been posting art on Tumblr for five years. Over those five years, I’ve had ten posts gain over 100 notes. Here I will talk about each one of them, their story, and how I think they got popular. If you like any of them you can click the link to take you to the original post, I really appreciate likes and reblogs. If you want to see more of my art please follow @gemshine​​.

1). How to Make a Comic Infographic - 237 notes - Mar 27 2020

This is my most popular post. It is a how-to infographic I did for class and I am really proud of it. Comics are really hard to complete, there are so many steps that without organization it is easy to get lost and give up. So, I thought letting others into my thought process would help. 

I haven't made that many comics, but I do love making them. I love storytelling and character development so much, so as a visual artist comics are an amazingly creative medium for me to play around with and tell my story. Here is my short story about an elf lawyer named Cherry Elliott I made in 2018 for another class, that made me fall in love with comic making. I dream of writing and illustrating a graphic novel one day.

This was my first time doing the equivalent of a colour palette challenge, I think it turned out pretty well, I love the colour combo of pink, purple, and yellow/orange. The comic I used as the example was a comic made specifically for this infographic, featuring my original character, Mystic. I’m the person in the bottom right, illustrating a comic about “Some Elf Thing”, aka my original story passion project @mysticsrealm​​​. My Mystic’s Realm stuff has not gained much traction yet, so it’s pretty wild that a post with an illustration of myself and my oc has gotten 237 notes and been reblogged 68 times.

Most people finding this post are going through some sort of “comic reference” related tag and I’m glad my experience is actually helping people start making comics. The majority of people tag it with “comic tutorial” or “reference”.

TLDR; this post is helpful for people looking to start making comics and it’s very aesthetic

2). Dad Hank Comic From Detroit Become Human - 205 notes - Aug 21 2018

At the time this post felt like it was blowing up by my standards. It is still my number two post. It gained traction because I posted it in a big fandom at the right time (#connorarmy). If I posted it now it would have maybe 20 notes. A lot of getting notes is posting at the right time of a fandom, but I don’t really know the science.

This post is nice and simple, I like the purple wash. I like Hank’s expression. These two and their dog are a really sweet little family and I cashed in on that angst, like I am one to do. At least it was kinda wholesome angst, I guess. We love found family. 

3). Ladynoir!Opal Comic From Miraculous Ladybug and Steven Universe - 188 notes - Feb 26 2019

I was and still am really proud of this one. I was inspired to try lineless by @sneakysscribs​​‘ lineless art. Lineless art is a pain, but so pretty. This piece was made by having lines, but then colouring them in. I love how I was pushing the comic format, making the two gems flying in the beginning and Ladynoir!opal really pop out of the page. I also love that I actually made backgrounds for once in my life, they’re SU inspired and very aesthetic.

I call this AU Miraculous Universe, and it has been in my head a long time, starring Ladybug!Pearl and Chat Noir!Amethyst. It is not very fleshed out, but it is very fun. It also makes no sense. This concept is so oddly specific it’s hilarious. But I’m also rewarded in my uniqueness in that there’s nothing else like it and I got to work both the SU and ML tags. 

4). Adrinino Dancing Comic From Miraculous Ladybug - 177 notes - Aug 15 2019

I just noticed my top 4 all had to do with comics. Hopefully, that’s a good omen for my future in graphic novel. 

This piece was for the first and only (so far) zine I’ve been in, @theninozine​​. That is where the majority of people found this post. It was nice to create something knowing that people were going to see it. It was also nice to have my work displayed among so many talented and passionate artists. Drawing ships for ml is funny because to have to tag the same exact ship four times to account for their love square. Anyways this piece is very sweet and gay. 

5). Viperinoire From Miraculous Ladybug - 166 notes - May 7 2020

This is my most recent post above 100 notes. And it was posted during the ML offseason. I’m not that big of a fan of the show, but I love the fan content a lot. We lot just kinda take elements from canon and do whatever we want with them. This Viperinoire post is a great example steering far from canon.

This post succeeded despite the last episode of Miraculous aired having been in Dec 2019 because of the active Lukanette fanbase. I have a theory that the reason ML is still so popular on the internet, despite a large crowd being disappointed with the show, is because the fan content gets a ton of interaction, encouraging creators to keep making more, keeping the fandom alive.

6). Christine Canigula From Be More Chill - 141 notes - Feb 4 2018

This was my second post to gain over 100 notes. I posted when the Be More Chill fandom was very popular. People were really nice in the notes, they really love ChristiiIIIIIIiine. In this post I was practicing posing and using a glowy tutorial I found for the stage lights. This is the scene during More Than Survive where she is lifted up and signs the sign-up sheet for the after school play. When I look at this piece I can see the progress I made to get that point, and how I’ve grown since. 

7). Heather Chandler From Heathers The Musical - 120 notes - Feb 19 2017

This was my first post ever to get over 100 notes. I still think it’s pretty good actually, I really like the hair. This post was copied directly from a photo, which I think is pretty good practice for shading. During this time, I didn’t have a drawing tablet so I was posting traditional drawings. This post blew up over all the ones before it because it was at a good time in the Heather fandom and it looks pretty great tbh.

8). Green Diamond From Steven Universe - 108 notes - Aug 15 2018

Someone asked me to imagine two diamonds fused so I did. I think I did a pretty good job combining the aesthetics of Blue and Yellow to create a new gem with their own identity. This post got popular because of Bellow shippers. One thing I would change is that underneath her left arm you can see a little looseness of her top, I would have changed that to be form fitting to match with the SU style of drawing gems. 

9). The Zen Garden From Detroit Become Human - 103 notes - Aug 27 2018

This is one of the only times I’ve ever practiced drawing a background. Came out pretty picturesque if I do say so myself. The Zen Garden from DBH has always been very pretty. This was really just an exercise for me to come out of my comfort zone and draw a place instead of a person. Actually, at first, it started as a background for [this post], but the background came out nicer than the subject, so I posted it on its own too.

10). Pearls From Steven Universe - 100 notes - Aug 14 2019

This post just got 100 notes, which lead me to making this post. I think I captured the SU art style for Pearl quite well. When I was younger I found a tutorial for how to draw Pearl and she became my go-to doodle. This post was made years later, but I definitely used the muscle memory I had for drawing Pearl. Though the Pearl I drew was in her bow outfit, this was my first time drawing Pearl in either of these outfits. This post was made before the SU movie a pretty good prediction might I say. I love Pearl a lot.

Thank you, everyone, so much for supporting my work, and may there be lots more in the future.

[artoflittlemisssquiggles]

"Nativity"

Finally sharing the squigglustration I did for the A Little Light fanzine (@a-little-light-zine) from last year. 

My piece was inspired by the Christmas Nativity Scene set that you traditionally see around Christmas time and depicted all seven kwamis portraying popular characters from the Christmas Nativity Scene.

The roles of Father Joseph and Mother Mary were played by the kwami pair of Plagg and Tikki (of course). The bee kwami was the glorious Angel Noel. Trixx, the fox kwami was our shepherd. Lastly the roles of Three Wise Men were played by the remaining kwamis: Wayzz, Duusuu and Nooroo. 

Sorry for the lack of new kwami content these days guys. As much as I adore the ML kwamis, after pretty much a full year of drawing mostly them (seriously 95% of my art from 2016 were of the kwamis. No lie XD), this squiggle meister kinda needed a short breather. Plus I’ve been enjoying painting the other human Miraculous characters in my Miraculous Squiggles so, if you haven’t seen those, please check em out.  I’ve still got my first session of K-SQUAD art to complete before the new season of Miraculous Ladybug begins. I'll presume working on kwami stuff next month so until then, no new K-SQUAD content until February.

But y’know, as always stay tune for more squiggly awesomeness from yours truly and in the meantime, show some love for my other squiggles too please. Enjoy this new piece everyone and until next time, see you for the next squiggle star kids!  (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

About the Zine

A Little Light is a Miraculous Ladybug charity zine created to help benefit victims affected by Hurricane Matthew which devastated Haiti this year. The theme of this zine is to be a light in the darkness for those who need it most; and it features the works (art, fanfiction, cosplay, etc) of some of the most talented, most awesome-tastic and all round creative minds that you all know and love from the Miraculous fandom.

So please support this zine as much as you! Preorders for A Little Light are still open!  They officially close on January 31st.

For more info, go clickety-click right ♥ here. Support! Donate if you are able to and of course, spread the word.

♥ More Miraculous Art by Squiggles

~LittleMissSquiggles (2017)