#save nooroo

[yolowritter]

The London Special broke me...

I- I...I don't even have the energy to say hello there anymore. This is it, I've finally gone insane. London: At the Edge of Time actually shattered me. 3 Bunnyxes! Bunnyxi? What's the plural here??? And old Bunnyx has Edwardian Era drip??? HELLO??? What is this, FASHION SOULS??? Also, I love how Marinette's lil safety jacket! Like...there were never more than 2 of them onscreen so it wasn't necessary...but it was, ya know? ALSO also, Lila kicking her desk into a wall??? AND THAT POSE RIGHT AFTER??? I obviously knew she was insane! Believe me, I've been screaming it off the rooftops for years now! But I didn't think the SHOW knew that!!! Okay, okay! I'm not spoiling anything else, this Special was 27/10, literal gold, send the awards in the mail, I need to go start a new WIP! God help us all, we are not ready for Season 6... P.S. Nooroo needs a therapist at this point...bye bye New Holder optimism...

[theogtrio]

Someone save him please 😭

[thenadnerb02]

I can’t help but think there’s something inherently comical about Nooroo’s expression here.

Like, obviously he’s physically and emotionally drained by all of Gabriel’s villainy and hates that his powers are being used to attack innocent people yet again.

But at the same time he’s just floating there perfectly embodying the “I’m tired, boss” meme and I can’t help but chuckle a little

But I hope that when all is said and done and Nooroo is finally rescued and reunited with his fellow Kwamis, he takes a nice, long, peaceful vacation.

[mymiraclebox]

To Nooroo, How are feeling now? (You are such a sweet butterfly, you should get lots of hugs!) What makes you happy?

Nooroo: Happy...? Is this a joke…? I just want to go home...

[cravingcraze]

I’m thinking about Nooroo tonight. Kwamis can use their powers by themselves at the cost of a magical disaster, right? Imagine: Noroo gets an opportunity away from Gabriel (don’t ask how it’s late) and sends his own butterfly out to someone suffering and is like “I’m Nooroo, and I need your help. I can grant you some dope powers and you wanna know what you need to do? Take down Hawkmoth. Lol no he’ll notice you’re around cause you’re not forced to listen to him. No he can’t take your powers away, only I can do that. Listen, just take his miraculous and idk, I can lead you back to his house and imprison him. Win win all around. Cool? Cool.”

[mc-lukanette]

Marinette held the butterfly miraculous up towards the ceiling, leaning back in her chair thoughtfully. It was amazing, really, how harmless it looked, yet it'd been so disastrous in the wrong hands. She felt lucky that she got it back before anything seriously bad happened, like Hawk Moth - Gabriel Agreste - finding Master Fu and getting his hands on the Miracle Box.

Nooroo hovered nearby, saying for what must've been the tenth time now, "Thank you so much for saving me, Ladybug, really."

"You can just call me Marinette," she assured, as being called by her hero name was too formal for her tastes. Too used to having a kwami of her own around, she unconsciously pet his head, though he at least didn't seem to mind. "Besides, you shouldn't have been held captive in the first place. You deserved to be free."

She'd already decided to hold onto him for a while to let him heal. Even being as ancient as he was, it couldn't have been pleasant dealing with the situation he'd been forced into.

She frowned, bringing the miraculous back down to chest level and thinking over the situation. Under Gabriel Agreste's ascot the whole time was the butterfly miraculous, and inside that was the woman who led up to all of—

"...Huh?"

Nooroo flew closer, peering over her shoulder. "What is it, La—Marinette?"

She blinked. She remembered the moment she tore the miraculous from Hawk Moth, the way it flew across the room as the man detransformed in front of her. She'd hurried to retrieve it before even seeing who he was and caught the image of Adrien's mother inside, the miraculous having popped open during the fall.

However, in her possession, the picture of Emilie was gone and in its place was Luka Couffaine. It was a simple shot of him looking delicately at the "camera," his eyelids relaxed and a soft smile on his face.

"It changed..." she muttered.

"Yes," Nooroo replied casually. "He feels like a sweet boy. I'm glad you have someone like that. Not all heroes do."

She raised a brow at him, puzzled, and not just from the comment about Luka "feeling" like a sweet boy; it must've made sense to kwami, or maybe just Nooroo specifically.

"Oh." He went over to float next to the miraculous, placing a hand next to the image. "I'm the kwami of emotion, and my miraculous reflects that. The person inside changes based on what's in the holder's heart."

"But..." She hesitated, lips pressed into a tight line as she considered the information. "What about Adrien?"

Nooroo placed a paw to his chin, thoughtful. "Yes, he could have been in my mas—" He tensed. "—ah, in Gabriel Agreste's miraculous."

She wanted to correct him - to say that it wasn't what she'd meant - but the answer he'd given did go down a similar path to what she'd been wondering. "What do you mean?"

"Some of my holders had their lovers inside, some had their best friends, and other had their child or children." His eyes grew briefly distant in his reminiscing. "Even when they already had lovers, there were holders who had their best friend here instead."

That... well, it was interesting, but it didn't explain what she was experiencing. Adrien had been the crush everyone had (unfortunately) known her for, and Alya was always someone she considered her best friend, so what did that make Luka? If she was honest with herself, she never got to think about it; whenever she'd tried to, there were interruptions or other matters to tend to.

Nooroo stared at the mix of emotions on her face, eyes too intelligent for someone so small and cute. Offering her a comforting smile, he reminded her, "You have time to think about it now if you wish to. That's what many holders do after everything's over, even if I can't be there for it."

The statement was so obvious, yet it'd never occurred to her before. She'd been so deep into the monotony of being Ladybug, of chasing Adrien, of making time for everyone and everything she wanted to do, that it didn't feel real for it to be over. He was right though: there were still loose ends to tie up, but she finally had time for herself and for her own thoughts.

She felt... reassured.

—————

One of said loose ends to deal with after the two lost miraculouses were retrieved was Master Fu and Marianne. Now that Gabriel was in prison where he belonged, they were free to be together as much as they wished.

Part of that wish was to travel the world in order to do all of the things they'd once planned to long ago. The Miracle Box would go with him as well as Duusu, who was getting her own well-deserved vacation after having her miraculous broken for so long. Beyond the butterfly, Marinette kept the ladybug miraculous with her in case of emergencies, promising to call if Marianne needed to don the horse and bring her a miraculous or two.

It was bittersweet, heartwarming but confusing. She'd seen them together only for a moment before, but they really did make a charming couple. Despite years apart, they touched each other like it was instinctive and were like a pair straight out of a wedding, ready to jump into their honeymoon phase.

She wanted that. She had wanted that for a long time, ever since she was a child. Someone to grow old with, to share secrets with, and to be comfortable around.

It was uncomfortable realizing that she didn't have anything close to that with Adrien. She'd worked towards something like it, and where had it gotten her? She'd almost managed it and got humiliated in front of her friends.

It hurt worse to see Master Fu and Marianne so thankful to her, when she felt like she was the cause of them being apart for even longer. No matter how many assurances she had that it was an accident, it didn't change what happened. Emotions she hadn't felt before began to bubble to the surface; ones that she either hadn't focused on or simply hadn't had time to feel.

Sure, she would meet up with them again someday, but she wondered if it could've been different. Even seeing them off, it was difficult to say what her relationship with Master Fu even was. He lured her into running in front of a car to save him, but simultaneously cared for her well-being and trusted her abilities. He mentored her and the plan had originally been to make her the next guardian, but it wasn't like she'd really wanted it, or to be Ladybug in the first place.

She hadn't asked for any of this.

As for Marianne, Marinette barely knew her at all. Had the letters not been mixed up, they might've gotten to know each other better. Maybe she would've had a positive female role model in her life, or she could've come to see her like a grandmother figure, someone who stuck around more than her actual one.

She should be thankful, she told herself. Ladybug gave her the strength to stand up to her bully, and she was such a screw-up that it was a miracle she hadn't made things worse for them. It wasn't fair for her to be lonely, jealous, or resentful of them.

"Negative emotions don't have to be ugly," Nooroo whispered from her bag when he caught her wringing her hands together. He touched her with a paw, trying to soothe her. "It's how you work through them that matters."

All in all, she felt... conflicted.

—————

Marinette's friends were the first to learn of her identity, almost as soon she'd been given the okay to do so.

It wasn't all of them, of course, but figuring out which ones she could tell had ended up being more difficult than she'd thought. Her secret had been kept safe for so long and it was precious to her, so even if she was largely out of the weeds of risk, she didn't want it getting out into the public.

Thus came the natural conclusion that she could only tell people she truly trusted, and it would be pointless to tell those who she barely ever hung out with. The latter alone left out most of the boys in her class barring Ivan, who she'd interacted with plenty during the two weeks of preparation for their Kitty Section video.

While Nooroo munched away peacefully on some snacks, she had to resort to writing down all the people she considered "friends," a list that ended up surprisingly long. The Marinette of the past swelled with pride at the sight but, upon closer inspection, there were only a handful she could say she'd genuinely bonded with.

It was then that she realized she didn't really know what having a friend meant. Her parents had always encouraged her to talk to people, make friends, and had been the ones who gave her the box of macarons on her first day of the new year.

A bribe, essentially, or a conversation starter if she was being generous; reel people in with the prospect of sweets and then try to make some sort of connection with them. It never really worked, and the basis for most of the friendships she had nowadays came down to them being nice to or doing something for each other.

Reluctantly, she'd had to scratch most names out and write them on a more proper list, like acquaintances. She was also just as reluctant, if not more so, to recognize that she couldn't come up with a valid reason to tell friends like Alix, Rose, or Alya about her identity.

Alix was for reasons unrelated to Alix herself, as Marinette associated Alix knowing her identity with Bunnyx and therefore the traumatic events of Chat Blanc. Rose, meanwhile, was too likely to let the secret slip by accident.

Alya though, had already spilled a secret of hers before: she'd told Nino about her crush on Adrien, then tried to lie about it. How could she have counted on her to keep her big secret if she couldn't keep the (relatively) smaller one? They spent the most time together, certainly, and Marinette didn't dislike her, but could she say that Alya was her "best friend" if she couldn't keep her secrets safe?

Not really.

In the end, she'd picked four people: Juleka, Ivan, Mylene, and Luka. Juleka was too quiet to care about telling people, Ivan would be fine so long as he could talk to Mylene about it, and Luka was—well, Luka, the most mature out of all her friends to the point where people went to him for advice.

When she pointed out what she felt was a pathetic number to Nooroo, he replied, "It's good not to spread yourself too thin. Even my most caring holders only had so much love and trust to give before they exhausted themselves."

The word resonated with her. She felt... exhausted.

—————

It was, perhaps, inevitable that Chat Noir would want reveal their identities to each other. He'd wanted to since the very beginning and there was little danger to worry about anymore.

Hesitantly, she agreed, but hadn't been mentally or emotionally prepared to see Adrien Agreste standing in Chat Noir's place. He was equally surprised to see her own identity, but she couldn't make out his excitement about them already knowing each other or the actual words he was saying with everything going on in her head.

She put her arms behind her back, allowing her to pinch herself without being seen. She could see the appeal of it, in a way: she'd been crushing on Adrien and Chat had been crushing on Ladybug, so it sounded perfect on the surface that revealing their identities would "solve" things.

Yet, to Marinette, it sounded like a sick joke, like a prank Chloe would've set up so she could laugh while watching Marinette spin in circles over it. Her life had been complicated enough without throwing in something straight out of a cheap drama that tried to keep the characters apart for as long as possible. After all of that embarrassment she'd been through, she'd apparently been "loved" by him all along?

Except she wasn't interested in Chat. Technically, she wasn't even interested in Adrien either until he gave her that umbrella. Was Adrien the "real" Adrien, or was it Chat Noir? Was it half-and-half? If so, what did it say if she wasn't crushing on both of them?

She could still recall that rainy afternoon after having finally stood up for Chloe after multiple years. It was so picturesque, with the sound of thunder punctuating the emotion as Adrien offered her his umbrella. It was the first act of kindness any boy had really—

Oh God, did she really fall for the first boy to show any semblance of kindness to her as Marinette? Had she been that desperate for someone to cherish? How could she go back in time and offer the Marinette who felt like she had nothing a hug?

She tried to focus on what Chat—Adrien was saying, and to respond with her own questions in kind. Why did he notice Ladybug and not Marinette? Why did he tell her that he had no friends when he'd known Chloe as a friend for years? Why...

just why?

But it all came out scrambled, too many thoughts stumbling about to form into anything coherent. Her brain ached at the onslaught of everything she wanted to say and everything she wished so badly to forget about while struggling with the knowledge that Adrien lost his dad and she should be gentle with him.

"It's okay to take a step back," Nooroo had told her sometime before, "You don't owe anyone your time if you're not ready to talk yourself."

Had he known or suspected something like this might happen? Regardless, she took the advice and left for home.

The revelations had left her feeling... disappointed.

—————

Marinette ate meals at home without needing to rush, she finished projects that she'd had to drop due to having no time before, and she slept soundly with the knowledge that an akuma wouldn't appear in the middle of the night to disturb her.

Refreshing was an understatement: it was healing. The ache in her feet and the pain in her spine that no fourteen-year-old should have to deal with disappeared, and she hadn't even noticed how much it had hurt until they were gone.

She could finally make time for herself, going off to an art museum for inspiration or taking a stop to eat just because. She shared food with Nooroo when no one was looking and pretended to be on the phone with someone when she wanted to talk to him. The small things she'd taken for granted before becoming Ladybug felt like a luxury now: like a princess spoiling herself, not with a shopping spree or servants but a hot cup of tea and a midday nap.

When she could enjoy the act of doing nothing in particular, she found herself pulling out the butterfly miraculous to look at. Luka's face continued to stare back at her, the same gentle gaze as always.

While Adrien had been at the forefront of her romantic pursuits, she couldn't dismiss Luka's presence either. Her heart skipped a beat when their eyes first met, they bonded over a mutual appreciation for Jagged Stone, and he gave her what both her and Tikki agreed was a tender and very real love confession.

At the same time, Luka was her friend. Alya had teased her a couple times over being attracted to him, but then wasn't happy with her letting Adrien go date Kagami. She didn't really get it and, as she reminded herself again, there always seemed to be something in the way when she tried to make sense of it.

People rarely batted an eye or said anything when she called Luka a friend, like they didn't even take the idea of him being anything more seriously. Calling Adrien a friend, on the other hand, earned her snickers and sarcastic comments.

It was ridiculous, wasn't it? Either they mocked the idea because she'd made so little progress that they weren't even friends at all (which she wouldn't have disagreed with), it was such an unimportant step on the road to being a couple that it was laughable, or she couldn't see him as a friend so long as she was crushing on him, which was—

Marinette's eyelids flew wide open. She sat up in her seat, taking her first gasp post-epiphany.

"Nooroo, I'm so stupid!"

He blinked at her, gently admonishing, "You're not stupid, Marinette, and you shouldn't say things like that about yourself. If you feel like you have to, try something softer, like silly."

"Then I'm REALLY silly!"

—————

The weather as Marinette waited near the Liberty was only average. Clouds filled the sky, not storm clouds but ones that covered the sun enough to where it felt later than it really was. It wasn't exactly the making a grand statement kind of atmosphere, but the weather had never worked how she'd wanted it to anyway, apparently.

There was no one home, so she lingered around, reclined on the stairs going back up to the city, and idled on her phone. She'd shown up wholly unannounced in her haste to get there, so she was fine being left to her thoughts for a while.

It could've been anywhere from five to thirty minutes before she heard a familiar, "Marinette?"

She looked up. Luka was standing there with his bike, understandably surprised to see her.

"You should've called me to tell me you were coming. I could've been here sooner."

She giggled when he pulled out his phone, just to make sure she didn't text him while he was doing his job and failed to notice. "It's okay. I didn't want you to rush."

"We love having you here," he added with a frown, putting his bike aside so he could make the awkward leap onto the Liberty. Setting up the gangplank for her, he added, "You can invite yourself in any time."

"It felt too empty when there wasn't anyone here." She shrugged, stepping up the little walkway to go across. At the Liberty's side, she sat down on the steps and looked up at him expectantly. "And I came to talk to you?"

It came out like a question because she had considered that he could've have prior plans or some such but, because it was Luka, he smiled and sat down next to her.

He didn't even go back to get his bike.

"Okay." He undid the straps to his helmet and put it aside. "What did you want to talk about?"

It was oddly casual, all things considered. The others that she'd told her secret still were a bit star-struck after she told them that she was Ladybug. It wasn't at all a bad thing - Nooroo encouraged the boost to her ego it gave her - but it was also nice to have someone who didn't care: who just saw Marinette.

Her eyes flicked up to the top of his head. The signature strand of hair there had been pressed down by the helmet he'd had on from his job, and she unconsciously reached out to fix it. His face remained carefully neutral and he was entirely still for all of it.

It only registered with her what she'd done when she pulled back to check her "work." Blushing faintly, she dropped her focus to the brooch clipped to her jacket.

"Do you remember when I told you I was Ladybug—I mean, of course you do—but..." She fidgeted with the brooch, then gently pulled it off. "...how I was keeping the butterfly miraculous for a while?"

He nodded. "Its kwami must've been through a lot. Are they feeling any better?"

"A little." She smiled, impressed and touched that he'd thought about some kwami he hadn't even met. "But I was surprised. There was a picture inside, and it changed when it became my miraculous."

She took a deep breath before handing it over; Nooroo had told her to imagine her own nerves as if they were beings that needed oxygen in the same way she did, and they could only breathe if she did as well. The thoughts raced through her mind from "What if he thinks it's weird?" to "You mean weirder than anything else you've ever done? Please."

Luka turned the brooch over in his hands, Marinette suppressing a giggle as she noted that it wasn't unlike what she'd done when she first got it. Nevertheless, he eventually popped it open, staring at the image of himself inside.

She kept speaking before he could ask any questions, the words rushing forth from her throat, "I didn't get it. I didn't even know it did that. Nooroo - he's the kwami - told me that it could mean anything. Other holders had friends or crushes in theirs, but all I knew for sure was that..." She swallowed, watching his expression carefully. "...you’re important to me."

His head jerked to the side to look at her, mouth dropping open like he might say something, but nothing came out. In the background, she could still see the sky, overcast and gray, but Luka's eyes were blue and appeared even brighter than usual.

"Y—" He exhaled, almost chuckling, but not in any mean way. He was charmed. "You're important to me too, Marinette."

Her heart fluttered pleasantly and she sat a bit straighter from how light she felt. In a way, she already knew that - he'd confessed to her, after all - but it was so soothing to hear it out loud. She threw her arms out, gesticulating left and right as she added, "But I felt like I couldn't just come here and tell you that. I wanted to be sure, instead of saying, hey, Luka, my vaguely important something-or-other!"

That got him chuckling for real. Whatever he expected her to say next, it didn't seem to be what she was going to say. Being "important" to her really seemed to be enough to make him happy all on its own.

She hadn't thought about it before, but all those loose ends had been leading up to this. The kind of romance she hoped to have for herself, the people she could trust, the phrase "just a friend" thrown around almost like an insult.

Luka.

She turned her body towards him, her knee bumping lightly against his. Extending an arm towards him, she gently held the hand that he wasn't holding the brooch with. He quieted, noting the change in atmosphere.

"I'm comfortable around you. I trust you," she told him. "Those two weeks together were probably the most me I've ever been."

He squeezed her hand.

"You're such a great friend—" She hurriedly waved her free hand about. "—and I don't mean it that way, but you are! So I thought it meant we shouldn't be not friends because you wouldn't be that great friend anymore!"

It was a little disjointed, but the underlying message was there. Her experience (or lack thereof) had told her that there was being friends and being together with no in-between and no overlap. When it came to a romantic relationship, friendship was a pathway and nothing more. Following that logic and what she'd interpreted from Nooroo's teaching, she thought that meant that Luka had to be her friend or her crush.

"But... I want it to be both," Marinette concluded. She held onto his other hand too, their thumbs touching just above the picture in the brooch. "I want to be friends with you, Luka, and I want you too. I—" She averted her gaze, voice almost inaudible as she added, "I want to kiss you."

It was perhaps - no, definitely - a bold declaration, but she'd been holding it in ever since she left the house. It was so obvious when it clicked, like the solution to a Lucky Charm finally coming together.

Only this was her life, not the distant life of her superhero self, and the only thing she was fighting was time; time that she wasn't going to waste now that she had it back.

"...Marinette," Luka finally spoke.

Oh. She shuddered, catching onto the heightened emotion in his voice. Not turning her head, she peeked up at him hopefully.

He'd closed his eyes and leaned towards her just slightly, but otherwise didn't move from his spot. In other words, he was opening himself up to be kissed. She nearly uttered a "wow," but it couldn't make it past her lips.

She couldn't believe it was really happening. Was it really so easy, or did it being easy make it all the more real? In a life where everything had been so complicated - making friends, being Ladybug, coming up with grand plans for anything and everything - wasn't it perfect for the love she'd longed for to be so simple by contrast?

Luka loved her. She loved him. That was it, and she just had to embrace the chance.

She slowly took her hands off of his. Then, remembering the thing that got her there, she took the brooch out of his hand. Holding his jacket in place, she clipped the brooch onto it, smiling to herself over the little visual metaphor for their shared feelings.

Luka's eyes stayed closed, but his twitching smile told her he understood.

The miraculous had been kept open, so she saw it change in real time. Light that didn't exist reflected off of the surface, turning it so white that she couldn't see Luka's image anymore. When it faded away, she was the one pictured there, her teeth showing in a beaming grin and eyes glowing in the same way the rest of her face was.

Hands free, she looked up affectionately at who she felt she could properly consider her boyfriend. She cupped his face, her thumbs caressing the tiny lines caused by the straps of the helmet he'd had on. She would've even been happy to continue doing just that, fascinated by the intimate bubble they'd created for themselves.

Still, she eased herself towards him, pulling him in. She tilted her head to the side and encouraged his to tilt to the other, which he followed along to without a word.

She kissed him, and felt Luka's previously stationary body move with purpose. He kissed her back as his hands went from his lap to her sides, holding her tenderly. The sensation was strong enough that it made her squeak, a sound that made Luka let go in alarm.

She took a hand off his cheek to grip his sleeve tight and keep him in place, assuring him that he was doing fine; fantastic, actually. He took the message exactly as intended, sliding himself closer so he could fully wrap his arms around her.

At some point, she climbed onto his lap, or maybe he lifted her there. It didn't really matter. They were kissing, and her whole world made sense at that very moment.

She felt loved, and was finally able to give it right back.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Ok, barring from a reboot (hard or soft), is there anyway a future MLB season can be... Good?

Like, if someone else were to take over the reins and got told "here, fix this mess with no reboots and as little retcons as possible", do you think it's plausible?

The only way I can think of is to just move on from the past seasons and say "ok, we can't fix the past seasons. So let's make sure the present seasons are really good". As in just giving up on the past and focus on the present.

The other way is more fan service than substance: a Marinette villain & health recovery arc. Because I just want her to snap one day and say "fuck all y'all".

But what do you think?

I'm inclined to agree. I think the show was damaged but salvageable after season four, but after season five? It's pretty much dead in the water. However, if someone forced me to fix it with no major retcons AND let me go as dark as needed to make that happen, then here's my pitch:

Make the Kwamis evil.

Gabriel really was a loving father, but Nooroo corrupted him.

Marinette keeps secrets to an absurd degree because Tikki is messing with her brain.

Fu was a paranoid recluse because Wayzz made him that way.

Fluff's chosen always end up trapped in burrows, watching the world pass by, banned from being part of it.

This takes us down a psychological horror route where someone on the newly made team notices that the team is acting strangely as their newly assigned Kwamis start to warp their minds. My gut reaction was Marinette or Alya, but Felix and Kagami may be a better choice as this could be a way to give their sentistatus meaning. Perhaps it makes them immune since the only way to control them is via their amoks?

This would lead to a reveal that the guardian order was made to protect the world from the Kwamis and not to use the Kwamis to protect the world, but Su-Han doesn't know what to do with the butterfly missing or something like that.

Not my greatest idea ever, but I don't know what else you could do to make sense of the nonsense that canon has laid at our feet and this would do something to explain all the inconsistent characterization. It's not bad writing, it's foreshadowing that something is wrong with the characters' minds!

You could also do something about Gabriel's wish creating a reality that needs to be undone and that's why things feel so wrong, but it's hard to pull that one off since reality was literally rewritten from start to finish so why would the characters even notice something was off? Only way I see that one working is if the people who save the day are from another universe. Like maybe Shadybug and Claw Noir pop in for a visit, notice something is wrong, and help out? But I feel like they've got enough bs in their current universe already. Still, the option is there since they visited the canon universe before the rewrite, met the main cast, and Shadybug read Marinette's diary, so they have enough knowledge to notice that something is wrong.

[greentrickster]

What I really want to know is how Gabriel ended up working with Alya and Nino because, frankly, I'm 100% sure that it started out as a hostage situation and also that neither of the kids were the hostage. Seriously, just-

Gabriel, exhausted from another busy night of trying to help people and fight back against the Supreme's tyranny, using whatever secret passage he has to get into his lair (the one where his counterpart keeps Emilie's cryopod) but heavens forbid his son find out about and get involved in such dangerous activities, he could get hurt! And he's not despairing but he's tired, so just kind of walks in and immediately de-transforms so he can talk to Nooroo, because it always helps to talk things over with a friend.

Thus he walks into his lair, exhausted and totally focused on Nooroo, who just freezes in mid-air staring straight ahead, mouth open, "Uh... Gabriel...?"

"Yes, my friend?"

And the kwami points and Gabriel turns the way he's pointing, and there's Alya, tucked in a spot that would be easy to defend or hide in where she has a good view of the entrance but is hard to see from it, and, most importantly, phone out, up, and recording.

Dead silence as they all stare at each other.

Alya: "I'll admit, not the story I was expecting, but I can work with it."

Gabriel: "...I don't suppose I can give you a substantial amount of money to leave and pretend you never saw any of this?"

Alya: "Yeah, no, I want in."

Gabriel: "In? On what"

Alya: "On saving the world and getting rid of the Supreme, obviously."

Gabriel: "What?! Absolutely not, you- you can't be any older than my son, who is a child, I'm not endangering a child in this battle-!"

Alya: "Could you repeat that for me? Because it sounded a whole lot like, 'Why yes, Alya, absolutely post that video you just got of Hesperia turning into Gabriel Agreste on your blog'!"

Gabriel: "...you wouldn't. You'd ruin everything I've been working for, the only chance we might have-"

Alya: "Glad we see eye-to-eye, glad to be on the team, I'm Alya, where should I put my stuff?"

And then she drags Nino along to help out, because power's meant to be shared, right, and there's strength in numbers, and also we'll need Nino because someone's going to have to plan and DJ for their victory celebration when they finally win!

OoOoOoOoO

Alternative that could actually be even more fun: Nino's actually the first one to join the revolution with Gabriel just because he keeps accidentally getting caught up in Betterfly/Hesperia vs. Claw Noir and Shadybug shenanigans, to the point that it's just easier to recruit him officially than to let things continue as they are. Then Alya pulls exactly the same thing as in the previous scenario, except this time she's trying to find out what the bae's up to instead of get whatever dirt on Agreste she was after.

[bigfatbreak]

just like to point out (if i remember right) nooroo's champions were named akumas because gabriel was using it for evil and he's a drama queen, so I feel marinette would simply stick to champions instead of akumas not only because it's the original name but so she doesn't give hawkmoth any hints of her possibly remembering the previous timeline because I feel like it wouldn't be hard to figure out that it's the previous chat noir and ladybug he's fighting

oh, no, she calls them Akuma for the exact purpose of reminding Gabriel/Hawkmoth that she remembers the old timeline. Why rebrand?

Changing to something nicer would defeat the purpose of haunting his ass with her actions. Ladybug doesn't exist anymore. He doesn't get a righteous heroine who's ready to save the day, with gumption and determination and wonderful charisma.

Gabriel gets to deal with the consequences of driving good people to their breaking points. :)

[neoncherryblossom]

Y'all have no idea how mean ao3 was to me while I was trying to post this. Like LOOK AT THIS PRETTY ART. LOOK AT THE DETAILS. I'VE HAD THIS IMAGE FOR SO LONG AND AO3 REALLY DO BE PRETENDING THE IMAGE ISN'T ON ANOTHER TAB AND MY MOTIVATOR.

The details make me go insane. Nooroo giving Sass a little half hug because he can't stand normal hugs. Look at how tired Sass looks in this. Look at how Nooroo is trying to comfort him but can't hold eye contact to save his life. Look at how skinny Nooroo is compared to Sass. LOOK AT HOW NOOROO'S BLANKET IS OVER BOTH OF THEM, BUT STILL GIVES SASS A LITTLE PLACE TO HIDE AWAY!

LOOK AT IT I'VE BEEN EATING THIS ART FOR MONTHS LOOK AT IT!

Me to you @not-someone-who-matters THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR THIS!

After quite a lot of effort from both @neoncherryblossom and me to try and get these to upload, i can finally present an illustration for their fic "a ripple of a butterfly's wings" which is a very good fic if you're a nooroo fan like the both of us (which, btw, if you're a nooroo fan, dm me so we can exchange hcs!) And also has very realistic portrayals of trauma and conflict. The other kwamis are quite important to the plot too! Anyway generally a very good fic go give it a read. Here's the fanart

[imthepunchlord]

So with my thought on different yin-yang pairs that would cycle between 6/7 Miraculous, I also wanted to cover the different pairs for Felix and Marinette as I do think they are a pair that can easily use both Ladybug and Cat.

So I wanted to see if that could extend to my idea on other pairs, particularly Fox/Peafowl and Bee/Butterfly.

Which, for this, there are tweaked themes for these pairs.

Fox and Peafowl echo themes of Deception and Truth/Vision.

Bee and Butterfly echo themes of Order/Notion and Chaos/Emotion.

Bonus, Turtle/Serpent.

As this got long, going to exclusively focus on Bee and Butterfly.

With Lady Wifi introducing the concept of Head vs Heart, this is something I kind of applied to Bee and Butterfly. Emotions are chaotic and unpredictable, which can work off the butterfly effect quite nicely, while bees can reflect the Head, which relates to reason and logic, playing off the values of functionality, which has no room for being emotional and illogical.

With this in mind, it may be that this is the more limiting pair for these two.

Marinette works off both the Head and Heart. She works off what is logical, reasonable, and efficient. But Marinette is also very tied to her heart, she's emotional, she's empathetic, and it leads to her being very chaotic.

By how she is, I can believe Marinette can pull off both of them very well, but I do think there's more merit in her having Butterfly over Bee.

By how Marinette is, she naturally clicks with Bee. She is hard working, she is able to work with others and is also able to step up as a leader if required, but it's not a position she aims for or must have. She just fills that role if no one else does. Marinette naturally is a nurturer and is kind and compassionate, and reflects that mindset of others before myself. She is quick witted and usually approaches problems logically and based around what she observes (only exception is with her crush which logic goes out the window).

Marinette would click with Bee quite naturally, but by how Marinette is, there's not a lot Bee or Pollen could offer her growth wise. Only thing I can think of is Bee would help with emotional control and her self-confidence, but I do see similar issues Marinette has with Tikki popping up, as Pollen should push for work hard, be a team player, others before yourself, address disorder, ect..

Butterfly in contrast I find can match with her, but also offer better growth.

Given that Marinette is empathetic, able to work with others, can step up as a leader as required but able to step down, and canonly does grant powers to other, her with Butterfly is a pretty natural fit. It also works off Marinette's interest in meddling/giving others a boost, and having their best interest in mind.

Growth wise, Butterfly would also help with self-confidence and learning emotional control, but it would also come with learning to step back. Part of this power, in granting abilities to others, is giving others a chance to fix problems themselves. Usually it's Marinette stepping up to fix problems for others, which is fine as sometimes that's needed; but there are times people need to fix their own problem themselves. And that is something Marinette struggles with. She has to get involved, she has to fix the issue. And it just can't be like that all the time. It's not good for her, nor is it good for others to have someone come in and save the day for them.

So by power, it's a nice set up for her to learn to step back, she can still help and give what's needed, but needs to leave it to others to fix and address themselves.

Nooroo I also see being a good kwami to work off Marinette, being gentle and patient, and very empathetic himself. Given that he seems to pay close attention to his humans, given that Marinette already prioritizes others over himself, he'd probably prioritize her emotional needs. I also see him being a nice calm counter to her high energy, but able to roll with the chaos.

For Felix, Butterfly I do see being a struggle.

Felix I do see being a low empathy character, not able to really connect with others the same way, and often him caring largely extends to those who matter to him. He does know how to act and influence people, but this being a Miraculous that required emotionally connecting with others, is not really something he always clicked with.

A lot of concept art has him alone or outside the group.

And this Miraculous does require a social butterfly.

Which Felix is not.

Nor is he known to be someone inspiring and willing to uplift others, he's a more "everyone for themselves" sort.

Butterfly could be handy in helping him learn to connect with others, develop empathy more, and actively help others, but I do see it being a struggle and not something that would come too easily.

Bee though is a better stand out between these two Miraculous for him. He can match it in being dedicated to his goals, hardworking, and going about things smartly and efficiently. It also wouldn't discourage him from lashing out when justified to.

Bee would cover his need to learn to work with others, even more so than Ladybug as that's a bigger priority for bees. It will also lead to opening up to being more of a nurturer/provider, to have more compassion to offer others. Bee would be about finding his purpose, which can be him stepping up to the role of hero and helping those in need in comparison to Felix trying to spend his time living his life minding his own business.

With an adjusted Pollen to work with this, I see Felix having a similar dynamic to her like he could have with Tikki, but one that can be a little more harmonious with Pollen being more open minded/tolerable of how Felix is, as it's apart of who he is and will play into his role in the "hive". She does want him to engage and open his heart more, for a fully solitary bee shall not go far, but she can get it. She is also a 100% with him in "stinging" frustrating sources of disorder (like Chloe).

[yolowritter]

A Case of Ladybug Luck Chapter 5

[...]

Gabriel paused again. His mind examined yesterday’s events. It strayed from the look of Verity Queen glaring daggers into his soul, away from the thunderstorm that echoed above, and moved back to his lair. To before. To when his hands were still clean. Only thanks to Ladybug, only because you haven’t won yet. His inner voice was silenced by the memory of searing pain setting his nervous system on fire, of absolute heartbreak comparable to that blasted moment when he realized that Emilie wasn’t waking up on her own, that single second where his entire life had been upturned, and the moment he realized things were never going to be the same again.

That moment had haunted him ever since. To say that Princess Justice was also haunted, by words that tore through her very core and broke her life to pieces, that placed a finality on what had been years of companionship and memory…the apathetic, indifferent part of him, the Hawkmoth who considered emotions carefully, he thought it was comparable. And Gabriel had been responsible for it. He understood, now. Perhaps not everything, but he had most of the picture. Blinded to the danger that Rossi presented, he mistakenly allowed her into his house, close to Adrien.

Gabriel wasn’t blind. He’d felt Princess Justice’s admiration for Adrien. He- he was doing it again. Marinette Dupain Cheng. Marinette. Dupain. Cheng. That was her name. The name of the girl he’d ki- the name of the girl who was dead. Being close to his son from school, she saw what his other classmates, what Gabriel himself, in his rush to claim another advantage, to crush this rebellious streak he had seen building in his son, had dismissed. Miss Marinette had seen it in all its hideous, rancid glory. She saw Lila Rossi taking advantage of her friend.

Hawkmoth had hoped to feel her anger the day that miss Kagami had been Akumatized the second time. He had felt it, but it wasn’t a strong, blazing bout of jealousy. It was part worry and part horror, because she’d been afraid for Adrien’s safety. He hadn’t understood it then, too concerned with finding a powerful Akuma for the day, but looking back, in hindsight, it was clear. It was clear how much she cared for his son. And Adrien had been so upset last night…

Whatever exactly caused miss Dupain Cheng’s suffering, had also terribly hurt his son, almost by default. Gabriel thought back to the protectiveness he’d felt. It must have been extended towards Marinette. That…made a terrifying amount of sense to him. And he’d barely held off on Akumatizing Adrien for it. Why had he even considered it? Because…because it would get him the Miraculous. Somehow. How?

Gabriel hang his head low. He saw Nooroo in the edge of his vision, hovering nearby. Gabriel sighed. He could usually tell when someone was lying if he had his Miraculous on. There was a delicate mix of emotion that caused a lie to be successful, and he’d quickly figured out how to detect it shortly after first meeting Nooroo, so many years ago.

He did not need a magic jewel to see the Kwami was telling the truth. Gabriel himself had ordered Lila get close to Adrien, allowed her to harass his son and attack his best friend. If he had put a stop to it…but no, the opportunity had been too tempting to let go of. Shadowmoth had ignored the greatest pain he’d ever felt in his life, had fought through it tooth and nail, for the sake of capitalizing on miss Dupain Cheng’s suffering and destroying Ladybug and Chat Noir.

When had it gotten like this? When did it go from targeting a teenager who’d been rejected by his crush to deliberately tormenting a girl for months out of some obsessive need to capitalize and turn her into a destructive monster? When had it gone from just making a flashy mess to force the guardian out of hiding, to attacking Paris every week, to creating Akuma with the express purpose of stealing the Miraculous, to simply deciding that the teenagers fighting him had crossed some imaginary line symbolizing his patience, and that they had to die?

How long had it been since he’d first gone too far?

[...]

[matt0044]

In retrospect, it's pretty clear why Adrien wasn't there to learn Monarch was his father in The Final Day.

Namely because "Chat Blanc" and "Ephemeral" each explained why.

His intense emotions over seeing his mother and learning his father became a villain in order to save her would be too good of an opportunity to akumatize him against Ladybug.

Thus Adrien benching himself is essentially the reason why Marinette was able to knock the Moth Miraculous off Gabriel and talk him down.

However... this only means that there's an extra layer of despair painted upon what would've been Adrien's angst over his father's dark secret. Clearly, his father's "sacrifice" is what keeps him going in believing his final moments were heroic.

So what happens when Adrien learns that not only was his father trying to bring back Emilie and became a villain to do so but that he also went out after causing Operation: Alliance to start with. No way to confront his father about this reveal and even Nathalie would be hard pressed for a straight answer.

Hell, I can imagine him crossing the line and forcing Plagg to spill the beans at his direct command. He and Marinette have been good in never, if ever, enforcing rules upon Tikki or Plagg so... woo.

And with Lila likely possessing this information be it from what Hoaxer got out of Nathalie or Nooroo, something tells me that we're in for something far, FAR worse than Chat Blanc if that's even feasibly possible. Perhaps only that the Lucky Charm can't easily undo.

Aaaaaaaaaand that's why there was more of a benefit to keep Adrien to the side for Season 5's finale. If you can't feel the storm that's slowly brewing, better get an umbrella now.

[rayraygo1267]

Hesperia (Betterfly) Headcanons

Note: I always wonder where the name Hesperia came from. Like is it just a fandom thing? Eh whatever I like it better than Betterfly lol.

He spends his spare time writing out motivational speeches that he usually ends up spewing out in the midst of battles with villains thinking that maybe they’ll change for the better

Is the type of guy to stop and drop everything to save an old lady’s cat from being stuck in a tree

Loves hot tea and energy drinks

Uses his superhero abilities to keep an eye on his loved ones (mostly Adrien)

He makes concept art and designs costumes for himself and other members of The Resistance

He cares for all his little kamiko’s and keeps them in his own personal butterfly garden

Even though he knows he shouldn’t he doesn’t use all his strength when fighting against Shadybug and Claw Noir because he knows they’re just kids and doesn’t want to hurt them

Has a whole collection of DC superhero comics

He tried to get Adrien to have an interest in superhero’s and the miraculous but stopped when he realized Adrien had more of a liking towards the villains

He tried to never fall in love again because of his never ending guilt of being responsible for Emilie’s death

He’d overly sensitive and optimistic

When he met Chat Noir for the first time he couldn’t help but be reminded of his own son Adrien

He tries not to but can’t help but read all the tabloids involving him

He is married to Nathalie Sancoeur she is the only person who is aware of his secret life as a hero

When he went to Ladybug and Chat Noir’s universe he couldn’t help but go and check on that world’s version of Nathalie. Seeing his lover ill (even if they weren’t lovers in that universe) broke him and he didn’t want to leave

Hesperia doesn’t allow his loved ones to join The Resistance because he fears it’s too dangerous

Hesperia once saved Adrien’s life which made the angsty teenager quite annoyed

Nathalie once stole the butterfly miraculous while Hesperia was sleeping to try it on in an attempt to seduce him. When he woke up he thought she was a villain and tried to attack her. Nathalie never used the miraculous after that

Is jealous of Shadybug’s really awesome outfit

Nathalie often scolds Hesperia when he comes home all bruised and beat up

He plays with Adrien’s video games when he’s not home because he wants to study “fighting strategies” — he’s addicted

Whenever he has to go out on a mission at night he has to leave very quietly otherwise Nathalie will stop him

He made a little tiny bed for his kwami Nooroo to sleep in

Is a cinnamon roll

[broadwaytheanimatedseries]

I WAS LITERALLY ABOUT TO SUGGEST THAT

And an extra layer of drama and angst that I propose here;

Because we know Null was originally going to be the main villain's kwami at some point, what if the wish's price for this seemingly perfect utopia was the imminent doom of the entire universe, caused by the corruption of a kwami?

Think about it this way, Gabriel was transformed when he got cataclysmed, which might have been the only reason it took so long for the effects to spread and slowly kill him, but that then begs the question -

Who got the brunt of the blow? Who was really affected the most? Well, if the miraculous protected Gabriel to an extent, it stands to reason Nooroo was left to absorb most of the destruction.

The wish resulted in a paradise state for Paris with seemingly no effort, but I think I know what the trade off was.

Nooroo has been getting more and more desperate in the later seasons, until finally he broke.

He couldn't take it anymore, so he decided to give up and let the corruption consume him.

And through the wish taking everything good out of him and giving it back to Paris

He was transformed into something unrecognizable that should not be

Something meant to remain formless and nameless by its very nature

The opposite of Transmission, Kwami of Negation

Nooroo was gone and in his place was an empty void

The manifestion of nothingness

Null.

Am I the only one who noticed that in addition to being the Kwamis of Creation and Destruction, Tikki and Plagg are also the Kwamis of Nothingness and Being? Look at what they said: Tikki: I am Tikki, the kwami of Creation! I am everything that isn't yet (Nothingness) and is yet to be (Creation)! Plagg: I am Plagg, the kwami of Destruction! I am everything that is (Being) and no longer will be (Destruction)!

It kinda seemed like for Tikki, she said the same thing twice, which seems to be more along the lines of (Potential) - things that WILL be, just not yet.

[q-gorgeous]

Broken Dashed Ladybug Chapter 1

Being Ladybug was hard work, especially while still dealing the loss of Tucker and putting up with Dash at school. He was glad he had his trusted partner to fall back on in all of this.

ao3

ffn

hehehehe

Sam always knew she wanted to help people. 

They were always asked what they wanted to be when they grew up as kids. Most kids wanted to be a vet or a firefighter. Some wanted to be popstars or actors like the ones they saw on tv. 

As a kid Sam also wanted to be a vet. She wanted to help sickly animals and make sure they would feel better. But the sicker Tucker got, the more her ambitions changed. 

Vet, teacher, environmentalist, nurse, doctor. 

But as they got older and Tucker got sicker, she grew more disillusioned with the world. She knew that no matter how hard she tried, she’d never be able to help everyone. Not even those closest to her. 

Tucker died when they were thirteen. 

If only she’d stepped in sooner. If only she’d thought to call on her own family’s doctors sooner. If only their medical system wasn’t so fucked up in this godforsaken country. Then maybe everything would have turned out okay. Maybe her world wouldn’t have been shattered. 

She didn’t have any sort of hope left until her parents were talking to one of their rich friends about something called miraculous a few months later.

The miraculous were powerful jewels that granted the wearer immense power. There were many of them long ago. The fox, the turtle, the butterfly. The black cat and ladybug. Most of them seemed to have been lost to time though. 

The most powerful of all of them were the black cat and ladybug miraculous. Especially used together. Whoever had them both could make a wish and rewrite reality. 

Her parents didn’t believe in any of those stories but they didn’t hesitate in buying the butterfly miraculous when they were given the option. They didn’t even ask what it could do.

She had to get her hands on the miraculous. She could use the butterfly miraculous to find the jewels of the black cat and ladybug. She could use them to help Tucker. To get him back. 

She spent weeks planning ways to get the brooch from her parents. It was all for naught when her parents ended up simply gifting it to her. They thought she might like it. It fit her style and interests in the strange while still being elegant and regal. 

She pretended she lost it two weeks later. 

Her parents were furious but she couldn’t have them growing suspicious once she started using the miraculous and learning what it could do. 

When she put on the miraculous for the first time she was surprised to see a little creature flit out of it. Nooroo was the kwami of transmission. He explained that she could grant one person powers of her choosing and they would follow her orders. She could send them to find the miraculous for her. 

She transformed for the first time in her greenhouse. She called on a butterfly and did what Nooroo told her. Channel her energy and look for someone she could grant powers to. 

It took a bit of practicing, but after a moment of listening she could hear someone’s distressed thoughts. She sent her akuma off. 

Sam would get her wish. She needed to bring him back. She needed to help him.

She was going to save him.