#queercosette

[mlwritersguild]

Vivere Sine Dolore Est

vivere sine dolore est by QueerCosette

primroses - yellow flowers named so because they're one of the first flowers to bloom in spring. common meanings are youth and young love; often used to send the message "I can't live without you."

Gabriel brings Emilie primroses.

Words: 1004, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Gabriel Agreste, Emilie Agreste, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Relationships: Emilie Agreste/Gabriel Agreste

Additional Tags: Language of Flowers, Flowers, Young Love, Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Dead Emilie Agreste

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/46784776

[queer-cosette]

“I figured I have until eight AM on Monday morning to have my last bit of fun before she ruins my reputation beyond repair, so… Iwasgoingtoaskifyouwantedtohavesexwithme.” JD stares at her, his mouth falling open slightly in surprise. She hopes to god it’s good surprise and not the bad kind. “Me…” he chokes out, after an agonizingly long silence that really only lasts ten seconds, “with… you?” Veronica feels her cheeks flush with mortification. She should never have done this. She should have just gone home and waited for Heather’s revenge to rain down on her - “Yes.” Alternative titles for this fic included Dead Girl Walking (one more time with feelings), Shameless Jdonica Fluffy Smut, and Fucking Hell I Can't Believe They Fucked In Comic Sans (Writer's Block Sucks).

None of you fucking look at me

[areseebee]

Hi! I know imstressedx just posted a fic (right? I’m not crazy?) but I was wondering if you had any other recs for James & Erin fic (to tide us over while you’re working).

yes, you are correct! @imstressedx just posted a banger the other day (which would also be on this list, but since you mentioned it, i'll link it right off the top for the good people of tumblr):

talking about the way things change by @imstressedx - a "missing scene" after 3x06 that feels like it actually happened with its representation of clare's grief. plus, some james and erin that i'm still thinking about days later.

and i am happy to share my other favorites! but i want to caveat and say that i am very bad at keeping up with my "marked for later" list - when i am writing fanfiction, i tend to be a bad reader of fanfiction, and vice versa - and i know that there are a lot of great fics out there that i just haven't read yet. i recommend checking out @derrygirlstrash's fic rec list as well for a few that aren't on here, and i would love to hear folks chime in with their favorites!

in order of the tabs open in my browser, to which there is no order at all, my favs are:

a different way to be by tiffanyachings - a sweet one-shot from erin's POV as she and james walk to prom in season 2. i think it gets erin so right.

darling, i fancy you by lovealwayskatie - another short and sweet one about erin trying to keep her feelings about james secret and failing kind of spectacularly.

the mystery solvers of derry by queercosette (looks like this one's restricted on ao3 so you'll have to sign in to read it) - a derry girls/scooby doo AU that is a TREAT. it's still a WIP, but so far i think the mysteries have been so well thought through and have such a particular scooby-doo-esque quality to them that is truly skilled. it involves every member of the gang in a major way and gets the character voices just right.

a decade and then some by madeinfrance - the first derry girls fic that i loved. the title says it all: it's about the decade between when the show ends and when james and erin get together.

and last on this list but first in my heart: what a girl wants by @derrygirlstrash/carouselunique - also a WIP (fingers crossed that it won't be for long), but best described in one word: hijinks! featuring james being down horrible for erin and an incredibly fun characterization of aisling and charlene kavanaugh. i have been lucky to get to read ahead on this one and there's a jerin scene in the next chapter that makes me grin so big.

i have also recently enjoyed the work of private_bryan, burningsoftly, @erinquinnfromderry, and nowgodsstandupforbastards!

[webui1tgwensface]

@queer-cosette has actually!

You can read it here

I recommend giving it a read. But if you happened to do your own take on it I'd definitely read 👀

Guys guys guys

Has someone already done a heathers au bc like I was on TikTok and INSPIRATION STRUCK but honestly I've only seen the movie like twice butttttt yk toxic couples and mean girl friend groups and all that

It could be perfect

Plus Heathers is yk. Like . Hello. It's in the name

[ao3feed-ladynoir]

The Four Realised Love Languages

the four realised love languages (and the one that isn’t quite there yet) by QueerCosette

There are many ways to say 'I love you' even if you can't get the words out.

Valentine's fic for StrangeRahne, I hope you enjoy it!!

Words: 2954, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire, Nino Lahiffe, Plagg, Tikki, Ella Césaire, Etta Césaire, Chris Lahiffe

Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Plagg/Tikki

Additional Tags: copious references to all my current hyperfixations, mwg valentines fic, Friendship/Love, Gift Giving, acts of service, Quality Time, physical touch, Words of Affirmation, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, Ladrien | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29783016

[thosemeddlingsims]

queer-cosette replied to your post: “hey gang... i'd like to practice my spoken english and i'd like to...”

You're welcome to use any of mine if you want! I'm QueerCosette on AO3 so if there's any you like the sound of you're 100% welcome to use them 💖

oh thank you! was not really expecting anyone to reply. i'll check them out once i have the chance 😁

[ao3feed-lukanette]

by QueerCosette

Luka and Marinette duet on the deck of The Liberty as they realise it's over for them.

Words: 1542, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of Let Me Be Loved

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Rose Lavillant, Juleka Couffaine, Ivan Bruel, Kagami Tsurugi (mentioned), María Sugrue-Dupain (mentioned), Original Female Character (mentioned), Rolland Dupain (mentioned)

Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Original Female Character(s), Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Minor or Background Relationship(s)

Additional Tags: Break Up, Break Up Talk, Rilo Kiley - Freeform, Pining Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Has a Crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Marinette Is An Amazing Singer

[on-ce-sent-comme-par-magie]

Book three!!! Book three!!! Book three!!!

Go read it!!! I'll love you forever!!!

[mlwritersguild]

These are Times That Can't be Weathered (and We Have Never Been Back There Since Then)

these are times that can't be weathered (and we have never been back there since then) by QueerCosette

One day Carlotta Suero-Dupain's life was normal - well, mostly. She went to school, hung out with her friends, looked after Klikk, her Kwami, moonlighted as a whale-themed superhero called Cachalotte, studied at her cousin Marinette's house, and offered her own unique support for said cousin's unconfessed crush on one Adrien Agreste.

And then that support caused the world as she knew it to be changed forever.

(In which it turns out that breaking into a guy's house to give him a valentine's poem on behalf of your cousin can have unforeseen consequences that throw you headlong into an existential breakdown. Like discovering that his father is secretly a terrorist who is keeping his wife's corpse in his basement.)

Written for the MWG's February 2023 event, based on the prompt 'Monotonous, ludicrous, supportive, 🦚'. Started out meaning to be a comedy, quickly took a turn into psychological horror, and ended up as an existential crisis.

Words: 6114, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: Gen

Characters: Original Miraculous Ladybug Character(s), Original Kwami Character(s), Carlotta Estrella Suero-Dupain (Original Miraculous Character), Klikk the Sperm Whale Kwami (Original Kwami Character), Gabriel Agreste, Nathalie Sancoeur, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug (mentioned), Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir (mentioned), Emilie Agreste

Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Original Character(s), Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Original Character(s), Original Kwami Character(s) & Original Miraculous Holder Character(s)

Additional Tags: Gabriel Agreste | Hawkmoth | Shadow Moth Identity Reveal, Dead Emilie Agreste, Existential Crisis, Breaking and Entering, Valentine's Day, Animal Death, Whales, Emotional Constipation, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, the love square exists and is the driving force but is not the focus, Gabriel Agreste's Murder Basement, It's All Gabriel Agreste's Fault, I wasn't lying about the existential crisis by the way, Escape, when you try to be supportive and accidentally discover your friend's dad is a terrorist, there's no actual graphic violence, but it is discussed that graphic violence may have happened at some point, hence the warning choice, basically Carlotta wonders if Gabriel is a serial killer, and freaks out about what a fashion designer serial killer would do

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45743155

[queer-cosette]

“Anyway,” Veronica says softly, a little smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, “I’ll be kissing her aerobicized ass on Monday, but right now I just want to cuddle in bed with my new boyfriend and maybe fool around a bit more if he’s up to it.” JD and Veronica never go to Heather Chandler's house the Saturday morning after they hook up; instead they get the morning after they deserved, and maybe the chance to fall a little more in love with each other while they're at it. It's probably a lot easier to find a reason to make yourself better when playing God with Drain-O never presents itself as an option, after all. (Also there's the added bonus of there tending to be more sex when you don't kill the mood by covering up murder with suicide. I'm pretty sure that's just a given.)

...Yeah, so I decided to post the first chapter of this.

I've been working on this fic for a month or so now and I really like what I've written; unfortunately I have no idea where it's going, so I was a bit hmmm about posting it, but I think the first chapter is done being edited now, so here it is.

This... may well be some of the cutest shit I've ever written. I'm pretty happy with it, and I hope anyone who reads it will enjoy it too.

AO3 info below the Read More

Rating: Explicit

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: F/M

Fandom: Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe

Relationships: Jason "J. D." Dean/Veronica SawyerHeather McNamara & Veronica Sawyer

Characters: Jason "J. D." DeanVeronica SawyerHeather Chandler (Heathers)Heather McNamaraKurt KellyRam SweeneyMartha Dunnstock (Mentioned)Heather Duke (Mentioned)David (Heathers) (mentioned)Peter Dawson (Heathers) (mentioned)Big Bud Dean (mentioned)

Additional Tags: Porn With Plot, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Demisexual Jason "J.D." Dean, Jason "J. D." Dean Loves Veronica Sawyer, Jason "J. D." Dean is Not a Villain, They never go to Heather Chandler's house, Smut, Fluff and Smut, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mild Angst, Chapter 1 could probably be rated M, but Chapters 2 5 and 6 are E, First Crush, First Time, Loss of Virginity, Morning After, Vaginal Sex, Hand Jobs, Falling In Love, Kissing, Motorcycles, I read 3 cosmo articles for this, First Time Blow Jobs, Cunnilingus, I was a theatre major and it shows, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, I don't know where it's going but it's gonna be happy, Heather McNamara is a Good Friend, Victor Hugo move over there's a new king of run-on sentences, Making Out

[areseebee]

reblogging to add another of my own recent favorites:

The Mystery Solvers of Derry by QueerCosette - a scooby-doo au of the gang. "delightful" is an understatement, some of the most fun i've had reading a fic in recent memory.

Do you have any jerin(James x Erin) fic recommendations? I’m new to the fandom and need more of them after watching season 3

Welcome to our fandom!

I can make a proper list later, but to start with:

Maybe Someday by @areseebee - Ongoing series, explores the canon compliant future for Jerin where they get together later in life, while also addressing how two people who are best friends and have boatloads of intimacy and chemistry take so long to get together. It’s the best and I even made fanart of it it’s that good!

Making Moves by (kinda) Myself and (mostly) @areseebee - One of the newest fic about James and Erin practicing kissing with each other starting in Season 2 - this one is going to be a lot of fun, so I don’t even mind shameless self promotion for once!

Our Favourite Eejits by Warks1999 - Practically required reading, I can’t recommend anything without starting here, but I started with my friend first, because I’m biased as heck.

something about the way you look tonight (takes my breath away) by @missssblanche - I had this idea where James and Erin are chaotic and in love so they end up having their first time in Jenny Joyce’s room and get banned from her house for life and then it was immediately spun into gold, and I couldn’t be happier about it!

Hopeless/Romantic by thegoldenkneazle - one of my personal favorites!

A decade and then some by madeinfrance - recently reread this and it made me CRY legit it’s really good

a different way to be by Tiffanyachings - recent one but it’s probably my favorite take on the walk after the prom scene

God it’s so hard to stop here but I’m tired ask me for more later!

[ao3feed-ladynoir]

Mistlejoke

Mistlejoke by QueerCosette

My Secret Santa gift for flashflashitsash; Chat Noir comforts Ladybug after a rough day unwittingly caused by his own Christmas joke prop.

Words: 3532, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Nino Lahiffe, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire, Chloé Bourgeois, Lila Rossi, Background & Cameo Characters

Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe

Additional Tags: lila and chloé being awful as usual, Mistletoe, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Cheesy, Jokes, Bad Jokes, Bullying

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28466163

[ladysunamireads]

MArinette

mArinette by QueerCosette

Marinette tells a lie. A pretty big lie. And soon one lie turns into another, and before she knows it, she's going out of her way to keep the lie going.

When Lila lies, it's sloppy. But Marinette's lie is all too believable.

At least no one else is getting hurt by her lie.

But Marinette's about to find out how hard it is to be known as the school slut.

An Easy A AU.

Words: 2490, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M, M/M

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Alya Césaire, Nino Lahiffe, Marc Anciel, Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Lila Rossi, Original Miraculous Ladybug Character(s), Tom Dupain, Sabine Cheng, Caline Bustier, Caline Bustier's class

Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Sabine Cheng/Tom Dupain, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Sabine Cheng, Caline Bustier/Original Character

Additional Tags: Slut Shaming, Lila Rossi Can Suck It, Rumors, Teenagers are cruel, But Seriously Fuck Lila Rossi, Post Puppeteer 2, Jealous Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Easy A References, Implied/Referenced Sex, no actual sex happens though, They're Of Age Obviously

Read Here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/20002510

[ao3feed-lukanette]

by QueerCosette

"And it's only doubts that we're counting On fingers broken long ago. I read with every broken heart We should become more adventurous..."

As Marinette sings at a Kitty Section concert, Adrien starts to notice her in a new late. Unfortunately, he's too late, even if he's not quite sure what he's too late for.

100% inspired by 'More Adventurous' by Rilo Kiley

Words: 1093, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of Let Me Be Loved

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, F/M

Characters: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine, Rose Lavillant, Juleka Couffaine, Ivan Bruel, Kagami Tsurugi

Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Kagami Tsurugi, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Ivan Bruel/Mylène Haprèle

Additional Tags: Concerts, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Post-Episode: s03 Miracle Queen (The Battle of the Miraculous Part 2), Let them be kids, Song Lyrics

[fuckyeahladybug]

I don’t agree on all points, but this was an interesting read. I’d definitely like to see Zoé and Sabrina interact more.

*pauses to fish through AO3 bookmarks*

I’ve been thinking about the very first page (not where the storyline ends) by QueerCosette for a solid month. The Zoé/Sabrina dynamic it presents is interesting and makes me long to see someone explore it in a multichap.

My thoughts on Zoe Lee...

I’ll be honest - I don’t necessarily hate Zoe. Despite the reasons the creators (claimed not to) have for creating her, I didn’t really see any reason to justifiable revile her entire existence like a majority of the fandom, because it was less her fault as a character that said reasons ended up being so deeply tied to her coming about than it was her creators for letting them eclipse any need for her to create a base outside of them

That being said, I couldn’t really come to like her either (or at least do so outside of fanfic) not because, again, of her reasons for being made, but because I just don’t like the lack of effort the writers put into her, because when you actually look at her character and despite her role being specifically tailored to take Chloe’s place as the new Bee holder, she’s basically a generic akuma victim given main character status with no work put in to develop her past that previous stage.

Keep reading

[mlwritersguild]

The world is still sleeping, while I keep on dreaming, by @queer-cosette

Based on John Rzeznik's I'm Still Here (submitted by @thedreadpirateholmes)

AO3 link; Grief/Mourning, Autistic Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir, Disabled Character, Brain Damage, Partially Blind Character, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Permanent Injury, descriptions of an accident that lead to permanent injury, Advice, Eye Trauma, brief mention of Christianity

Summary:

On the second anniversary of his mother's disappearance, Adrien is struggling with grief - not just for her, but for the family his father doesn't seem to want to fix. Marinette's cousin offers him some advice.

Written for the Miraculous Ladybug Writers' Guild's August Challenge; partly inspired by I'm Still Here by John Rzeznik. Carlotta is an OC who pops up frequently in my ML fics; this one features a lot of her backstory.

Rated M

———————————–

Friday, 1pm

Le Collège Françoise Dupont

4th Arrondissement

Paris, France

It’s just another normal Friday lunchtime for Carlotta Suero-Dupain, until she opens the art cupboard and finds Adrien Agreste sitting on the floor with his chin resting on his knees and his hands clamped to his ears. Although initially taken aback at finding her classmate uncharacteristically lacking most of his composure, she sets aside her surprise in favour of gently addressing him.

“Adrien? You doing okay?”

Adrien squints up at her, looking for all the world like a Crying Cat Meme. It occurs to Carlotta that he’s been sitting there in the dark and she’s just exposed his eyes to a lot of light, so she gently closes the door behind her and sinks down next to him, abandoning her quest for a decent highlighter pen for the moment.

“I’m guessing that’s a no. Bad day, huh?”

Adrien makes a little noise that sounds like half a laugh, half a sob. “You could say that,” he croaks. “Lila wouldn’t leave me alone, so I snuck in here while she was in the loo.”

“Can’t blame you,” Carlotta says, making extra effort to put a smile into her voice. The cupboard is too dark for her limited eyesight to make out his face; it seems politest to assume he can’t see hers either. “She’s like the world’s most mendacious limpet.” Adrien lets out a little amused snort at that. “But I’m guessing today was especially bad compared to normal?”

Adrien sighs softly, and while it sounds sad, he doesn’t seem to be on the verge of tears anymore. “Most of our class know that this week is a hard one for me. Even Chloé gets it. But, I dunno, either Lila didn’t bother to ask anyone about it, or she did ask but just doesn’t care.” He falls silent, and Carlotta settles herself against what feels like the collage box, letting him keep the metaphorical stage for the time being. At last, Adrien sighs again, but now he sounds more frustrated than sad.

“Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of my mom disappearing.”

And that rings a bell; Carlotta remembers Marinette mentioning something about this - her cousin had been running around the Dupain-Cheng’s kitchen, frantically making passionfruit macarons that Carlotta had been expressly forbidden from sampling. A gift for Adrien, so he knew Marinette was thinking of him and wishing him an easy time of it. Sweet of her.

She can’t think of anything to say, but then Adrien continues, “It feels like it shouldn’t be as painful as it was last year. But everything just feels… like it’s too much. And I haven’t seen my father all week, and I just… I just wish I could talk to him. But I couldn’t even make an appointment. Nathalie insists he’s too busy.”

Carlotta sighs sadly, and reaches for where she thinks his leg might be, patting a knee-shaped thing gently. “I’m sorry, Adrien,” she says softly.

“Thanks,” Adrien replies. “Sorry I took up the end of your lunchtime.”

“‘S’alright. It’s good to talk about it, y’know?”

“Yeah, you’re right. It feels… not so bad now. Thanks.”

The actual bell rings at that moment, and they both jump up, hurrying to leave the classroom before anyone catches them leaving the cupboard together and starts making assumptions. Carlotta pokes her head out the classroom door first and glances around, before beckoning Adrien to follow her.

“Lila’s not anywhere out here. I can’t see any sign of that tacky jacket.”

“Thank God,” Adrien sighs, emerging into the corridor. He looks noticeably less stressed than he had been when she found him in the cupboard, and an idea strikes her.

“Listen, Adrien,” Carlotta says hurriedly, tapping his shoulder. He looks around at her, apparently surprised. “If you ever want to talk to someone who, I dunno, doesn’t know all of it already… I just find that sometimes a fresh perspective helps, I guess. So if you want to talk to me about anything that’s going on, any shit that’s bothering you… I’m here.”

Adrien stares at her, his big green eyes round and incredulous. “You… you’re sure?”

“‘Course. Tell you what,” Carlotta adds as they both start down the hallway towards the science labs, “I’m usually at the skatepark on Sundays after eleven o’clock, you know the one around the corner from the little cinema on Impasse Carrière-Mainguet? If you ever wanna chat, it’s pretty quiet. All the usual crowds are sleeping off Saturday night.”

Adrien is still staring at her, but now a small smile is tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” Carlotta smiles sincerely at him as they enter the science lab, before hurrying over to the desk she shares with Ivan. Adrien sits down in his own spot next to Nino, but throws a full smile over his shoulder at Carlotta before Ms Mendeleiev enters and begins explaining that day’s experiment.

As they begin organising the equipment for studying the combustion enthalpy of butanol, Carlotta ponders that, while Adrien is unlikely to take her up on her offer, she feels glad that it seems to have done something towards making him feel a little less crappy. That’s all you can hope for, after all.

------------

Sunday, 11am

Skatepark de Charonne

11th Arrondissement

Paris, France

As his Chat Noir transformation melts away and Plagg tucks himself into his favourite pocket, Adrien watches as Carlotta effortlessly slides her skateboard along the park’s flatrail and ollies off it before effortlessly mounting the half-pipe ramp. True to her word, the skatepark is almost entirely deserted, and she stands out against the tranquil scenery, a vibrantly energetic figure clad in a floral turquoise summer dress and matching cardigan. It’s an outfit that seems far too bizarrely formal for skateboarding in, and it’s a far cry from her normal wardrobe of scruffy cargo shorts and appliqué-adorned crop-tops, although she’s refused to part with her stripy knee socks and scuffed red converse. But before he can do anything more than ponder this, she spots him and waves.

“Adrien! Hola!”

Adrien waves back and approaches her as she easily turns the board around, exits the half-pipe, and tail-flips the board into the air, catching it and tucking it under her arm. “Didn’t think you’d come,” Carlotta admits, sitting down on one of the benches at the edge of the skating area. “But I’m glad you did.”

“Yeah,” Adrien smiles, sitting next to her and leaning back. “I didn’t think I’d get the chance, but it’s the Gorilla’s day off, and Nathalie had to help Father with… well, I think he locked himself out of his own iPad, so they might be there a while. I took my chance and snuck out the back window.”

“Adults versus tech, huh?” Carlotta laughs, removing her helmet and shaking out her hair. “My dad nearly spontaneously combusted last year when my sister Geneviéve filled up his harddrive with photobooth selfies. Couldn’t figure out how to get rid of them, poor guy. Mom called the computer store when it started looking like he might tear out his moustache.”

Adrien laughs with her. Carlotta isn’t someone he’s particularly close to - he really only knows her through Marinette - but she’s funny and easy to talk to, and like every friendship he’s made since starting school, talking and laughing with someone makes his heart feel the lightest it has in a long time.

“So what’s with the dress?” he asks, the tiniest hint of teasing creeping into his voice. Carlotta groans.

“I didn’t want to miss you if you did come, so I didn’t bother changing after Mass.”

“I didn’t know you were Catholic.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not good at it,” Carlotta laughs. “I really only go to make my parents happy.”

Adrien feels a little twinge in his chest at that. “I get that,” he says softly. “You don’t wanna let them down.” Even though you feel like you can never be who they want you to be.

Carlotta sighs, but it seems to be an agreeing noise, and they fall into amiable silence, broken only when Adrien compliments her helmet: it’s purple with a light-blue cartoon whale sticker on one side. Carlotta smiles and taps it lightly with her fingers.

“Can’t be too careful.” She pauses, tilting her head at him, then - “So, you wanted to chat?”

Adrien sucks in a breath, letting it out slowly. “Yeah. I, uh, I’m not really sure where to start -”

“You can just talk,” Carlotta suggests, surveying him through her thick eyelashes. “Just whatever’s on your mind. And I’ll listen. If you want.”

He nods, because that does sound good. Over the next half-hour, Adrien tells her everything - how his mom vanished two years ago, how he doesn’t know if she walked out or was kidnapped or what happened, if she ever intends on coming back, if she’s even alive, how much he misses her; and then he explains how not once through his grieving process - because he’s almost crushed with grief for losing her - has he been able to turn to his father for support. Adrien just wants to keep the last parental relationship he has, but his father forces him to make an appointment before even giving him the time of day, and while his existence up until this point has been lonely in general, that was nothing compared to what it’s been like these last few years, with no mother, and a father who seems intent on locking his son out of his life. How last year, he’d felt like they might be ready to move on and accept that this was the Agreste family’s new normal, but his father had brought all that crashing down with only a few words, and now they’re two years in and Adrien feels more confused about it than ever.

“I just thought,” he tells Carlotta, his voice hoarse with how much he’s been talking, and he’s definitely going to be in deep shit later if he can’t disguise it, “maybe this week… he’d want to be closer. Want to talk or spend time together, anything. Acknowledge that we can still find a way to be a family. But I couldn’t even make an appointment. He’s… too busy. And I know he misses her too, probably even more than I do, and that this is just his way of dealing with that, but… I just hoped that… this time… it would be… different.”

Carlotta, true to her word, has listened intently the whole time, occasionally nodding slightly, a trace of a frown adorning her face. She’s silent as he slumps back, her dark brown eyes scanning him slowly, as if to gauge whether or not he has anything else he needs to get out. But he’s told her everything he’s never been able to really tell anyone (short of the fact that his only escape from this painful homelife is donning the Chat Noir costume and fighting supervillains), and when he doesn’t speak for two whole minutes, she shifts sitting positions so one leg is now tucked up onto the bench, the other still dangling with her converse toe scuffing the ground slightly.

“Is it…” she says slowly. “Would it be okay, Adrien, if I told you a story?”

“Uh. Sure. I guess.”

“Just… I have some advice for you - you don’t have to take it if you don’t want to. It’s just one person’s opinion. But it doesn’t make sense without the story - or, well, it makes more sense. With the context added.”

Adrien mulls this over. What little time he has spent with her has given him the impression that Carlotta Suero-Dupain is not the type to give someone advice in bad faith, so he nods. “Go for it.”

Carlotta gnaws her bottom lip. “Alright. So… You know how I trip over my own feet a lot, and some days I can’t walk in a straight line, and sometimes I use a sight cane at school?”

Adrien nods; Carlotta doesn’t trip quite as often as Marinette does, but she’s got a reputation for being clumsy, and in the past he’s wondered if her occasional stumbling and wobbling while she walks might have been a sign of too much teenage freedom. As for the sight cane, it had taken him by surprise the first time he saw her with it, carefully sensing her way up the stairs to class, but he’s vaguely aware that she seems to have trouble seeing where she’s going all the time.

“It’s because, about two years ago, I had an accident while I was skateboarding. It was a really stupid one. I went backwards down a hill, which I shouldn’t have done in the first place, and I hadn’t planned how to break… then I hit a high curb. I flew twenty feet, then skidded another ten, and I don’t remember anything after that until I woke up in hospital. I’d been…” Her voice wobbles a little, but she soldiers on. “I’d been put in an induced coma. And when I woke up, I couldn’t see anything because I had to wear eyepatches while my eyes were recovering. Because… when I landed, it caused permanent brain damage.”

“Oh,” Adrien says quietly, because he’s not sure what else he can say to that.

“My occipital lobe was… It took a really bad hit. It’s like I can only see the right of everything, because the left side of my visual field is just… gone. It was my right side that I landed on, and brains flip everything around, so…” Carlotta laughs bitterly. “I have to use the cane on low atmospheric pressure days, because I get migraines that make it too hard to see at all, really. My arm and ribs got it pretty bad too. It’s pretty much all scar tissue from my shoulder to my waist on that side. Sometimes I can’t move my fingers properly.” She kicks at the ground, gnawing her lip again. “My brother and sister saw it happen.”

“God,” Adrien breathes, horrified at the thought. Carlotta's lips press together; there’s a sadness in her expression that he isn’t used to seeing from her.

“Yeah. They… they didn’t realise anything was wrong, at first. When I didn’t get up, they just thought I was joking, that I was doing a bit. And…” she laughs, and it sounds sad, but also very genuine, “Juanito drew a chalk outline around me. He thought it was funny. But when I still didn’t get up… I think Juanito still blames himself for it.”

She sighs heavily.

“He told me once that sometimes, when he can’t sleep, he just lies there thinking about it and wondering, what if he hadn’t goofed around? What if, instead of drawing a chalk outline, he’d checked to see if I was okay? He would have seen that… my helmet was completely cracked open at the back. He would have got to our parents quicker, and I’d have gone to the hospital quicker, and maybe the damage wouldn’t have been as severe. And I think that way myself too, sometimes. What if I’d planned better? What if I’d never tried to do the stupid stunt in the first place?”

“I’m so sorry,” Adrien whispers. Carlotta gently pats his arm.

“But that’s the thing, Adrien. You can’t go through life thinking like that. Because the past is the past, but time keeps marching on. You have to find a way to keep living. Because your mom might not be around, but you’re still here. You’re still living and growing and thinking and hurting. You have to find a way to live with it, even if your father can’t. Sorry if it seems harsh…”

Adrien shakes his head. Her words make a lot of sense. “It’s not. Is that how you can still skate even after…?”

Carlotta smiles and nods. “Yup. Found a way. I don’t want to let worry or fear run my life. Not everyone can manage it, because sometimes that’s life. But some fools are luckier than others, and I’m one of the ones who got lucky. If I hadn’t been wearing a helmet…”

She shivers.

“It could have been way worse. Some people think it’s reckless of me to keep skating after what happened, but I’m not stupid. I learned to skate with my off-foot forward. I come to this skatepark when it’s quiet, I know every inch of it like the back of my hand, I don’t skate when it’s crowded or if I don’t know what the topography is like. Next year I’ll be able to get prism contacts, so I won’t have such a massive blind-spot. And it sucks sometimes, that I can’t do exactly what I want. But it means I can keep living my life. We can’t let our grief for the past take away our future. And you can’t let your father’s ongoing pain stop you from allowing yours to heal.”

She gets up at that, dropping her skateboard onto the ground and rolling it experimentally under her right foot. It occurs to Adrien that most people skate with their left foot at the front, leaving their right free to manoeuvre with. But that’s not an option for Carlotta. He wonders how hard it was to learn how to completely reverse her entire stance. It must have taken so much time and effort and patience. But she managed it, and it’s become so natural to her that if she hadn’t told him, he wouldn’t have noticed.

Find a way to keep living.

“How do I do that?” he finds himself asking. “Keep on living?”

Carlotta shrugs. “It’s up to you. Find a new hobby. Start back with an old one. Make the most of the relationships that aren’t in flux right now. You have a lot of friends, Adrien,” she smiles. “Everyone in our class thinks you’re great. I get wanting to avoid Lila, and I know your schedule is tight, but everyone else is willing to be there for you, if you show them a way that they can do that.”

She grins. There’s a long white scar on her cheek; it stretches when her mouth moves, but not in an ugly way. It looks like someone’s drawn a line on her face to connect up her dark freckles like they’re constellations.

“Hey, if you’ve got the rest of the day off, I know Marinette usually bakes on Sundays. Y’know, in their actual kitchen, rather than in the bakery. She’d probably dig your company.”

“Are you sure?” It seems too good to be true - Marinette is so sweet, and her baking is always amazing, but he can’t help but feel she’s unusually reserved with him, in a way she isn’t with everyone else.

“Trust me. Very sure. She just gets overwhelmed easily, like, in her head and stuff. Overthinks everything. But…” Carlotta’s grin widens. The scar becomes a perfect semicircle. “She keeps living in spite of it. And she’d love to hang out with you.” She clips on her helmet, and Adrien knows the conversation is over.

“Carlotta?”

Carlotta looks back at him; for the first time, he consciously notices how she turns further around to face him than most people would. Of course. Missing vision field.

“Thanks. I mean it.”

Carlotta smiles gently at him. “You’re still here, Adrien. Don’t let the world change who you are for people who can’t understand that.”

She pushes off, rolling away from the bench towards the half-pipe. Adrien watches her leave, feeling unusually peaceful. Marinette doesn’t live far from here. It’s shaping up into a pretty okayish day after all.

He’s still here.