#voice actor adrien agreste

[lildudie18]

🐞 this guy thinks he's theee eren jeager smhhhh bro really thought 🐞

🐞 last doodle as a 16 year old yippe 🐞

🐞 other stuff lowk 🐞

[digitalgate02]

i hate how i did it not one but THREEE TIMES this VA joke. (BR dub joke)

[weirfq1]

just watched an eng dub trailer of soy luna... ok

[generalluxun]

So, booting up Xenoblade Chronicles X for the first time in forever. I forget everything so new character.

One of the English VA choices is... Bryce Papenbrook!

Adrien Agreste is joining the defense of NLA.

[geekgirles]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN JESÚS BARREDA IS DEAD?!?!?!?! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! TAKE ME INSTEAD!!!

[foxgloveciara]

Why is he everywhere.

[purrincess-chat]

Adrien Agreste's Road to Recovery Playlist CH1

Happy Christmas! You all voted, so here we go~ The sequel to Marinette Dupain-Cheng's Spite Playlist: Remix has begun.

Summary: The day Hawkmoth was unmasked was a day marked in Paris history as a celebration, a triumph, a victory, but for Adrien Agreste it was anything but. Left to grapple with his father's villainy and a yachtful of childhood trauma, Adrien finds himself spat back out into a world that no longer knows what to think of the face they once revered, and neither does he, for that matter. Who is Adrien Agreste? And what does he want? The answers lie at the end of a long road filled with painful memories, secrets, and of course, black cat ears.

Rating: T

Read on AO3

For those who don't like sodium chloride content and therefore, haven't read MDCSPR, I've provided a quick summary of MDCSPR that includes everything you will need to know going into this fic as it is a direct sequel, though this fic contains no sodium content and is entirely an exploration of Adrien's character amidst the fallout of learning the truth about his father. If that interests you, here is what you missed:

Quick summary of MDCSPR for those that never read it, but who want to read this:

After the events of Chameleon, Marinette changes schools because of Lila’s influence over her classmates and because she was almost akumatized. She enrolls at a private art academy full of incredibly rich and talented classmates. There she meets a new group of friends:

Macy Chanteur: a tall, perky, brown hair, brown eyed girl with the voice of an angel who has been recovering from an eating disorder. Modelled Marinette’s center-piece design in her summer fashion show. Former wielder of the rabbit Miraculous (Bunny). Dating Martin.

Eliott Chasse: a black trans boy with aspirations to be a famous actor. Starred as Chat Noir in a community play. Somewhat of a flirt. Bi panic incarnated. Former wielder of the fox Miraculous (Malin). Dating Lisette.

Martin Michel: a lanky brown hair, green eyed boy with glasses. Very smart and a skilled photographer, one of his photos was featured on the cover of Style Magazine (Audrey’s company) after Marinette’s fashion show. Shy bean. Former wielder of the turtle Miraculous (Emerald Shell). Dating Macy.

Gabrielle Burton: a tall red-head with green eyes. Formerly wealthy, formerly the school mean girl. Friends with Marinette. Former wielder of the tiger Miraculous (Tigress).

Lisette Auclair: tiny blonde girl with brown eyes. Makeup fanatic. Shy bean. Secretly savage. Pastel bitch. Just a tiny little fairy. Former wielder of the mouse Miraculous (Souris Rose). Dating Eliott.

During her time at her new school, Marinette helped her new friends change into more confident individuals who stand up for each other and others. She even helped a few of them find the courage to confess their feelings to one another. Shortly after she transferred, she and Alya’s friendship fell apart after Alya was akumatized. Alya spent the rest of the story trying to figure out what went wrong and who to trust.

After Marinette transferred, Adrien began visiting her to check in and keep in touch. He often relayed Lila’s influence over their classmates. Chloe tried to enlist Marinette’s help in taking Lila down (because she’s stealing all the attention away from her), but Marinette refused. After Lila taunted Adrien about Marinette, he joined forces with Chloe to attempt to out her as a liar, but the two were unsuccessful.

Adrien realized that he cares deeply for Marinette, and eventually the two started dating. The rest of the class remained torn on who to believe in the Lila vs Marinette debate. However, when Lila accused Marinette of pushing her down the stairs on a school field trip to the Louvre, most of her classmates turned back to Lila’s side, prompting Marinette to join forces with Adrien and Chloe to take her down. They devised a plan to make Marinette famous by pitching a fashion line to Chloe’s mother who helped Marinette start her brand by hosting a fashion show.

After the show’s success, Marinette’s brand took off, and she was propelled into stardom that she and her friends used to perform a lot of charity work, but more specifically, they performed all of the acts Lila claimed to have done, thus rooting her lies out from underneath. When Alya caught wind of all of their accomplishments and realized Lila lied, she outed her in an Instagram live, thus bringing her down once and for all.

On the same night as Alya’s Instagram live, Ladybug and friends finally defeated Hawkmoth, a revelation that rocked Adrien to the core. He spent several months in a hospital wrestling with mental demons inflicted from his abusive childhood. Around the end of November/beginning of December, he left the hospital only to find that his mother had succumbed to her illness and passed away. He attended her burial alone, then returned to his old home to retrieve a few items before it is set to be demolished and turned into a new foundation for akuma victims to help heal their trauma. (funded by Marinette). He parted ways with Nathalie and left to meet Marinette at the train station where they both gave their Miraculouses back to Master Fu who headed to London to finally be with Marianne. After their goodbyes, they returned to Marinette’s home where her parents set up a spare room for Adrien to stay with them.

(Epilogue) Several years later, he and Marinette return to Paris from NY where they both live while Marinette is in school and training under Audrey Bourgeois. Adrien visits his father in prison for the first and last time to tell him how happy he has become when not under his control. He and Marinette enjoy tea with friends, and after they leave, Adrien brings her to the Trocadero to the exact spot he was standing when he fell in love with her as Chat Noir all those years ago. He asks her to marry him, and she says yes.

This story takes place between the events of Adrien moving in with the Dupain-Cheng’s and the epilogue. Specifically, it begins the very same night that MDCSPR ended on. The Adrien and Marinette of this story are not canon’s Adrien and Marinette as they have already been through the events of MDCSPR. In particular, this Marinette is now a famous fashion designer, and Adrien is essentially a traumatized orphan trying to find where he fits in in the world. This story follows his road to recovery with all of its ups and downs. Keep the epilogue in your thoughts as you read this. It will help XD Enjoy!

Without further adieu, here is Adrien Agreste's Road to Recovery Playlist CH1:

Chapter 1

♪♫ Easier to Run ♪♫

The soft brush of Marinette’s fingertips on the nape of his neck should have been relaxing, but Adrien was still on edge. It was a losing battle really. Laying against her chest on the couch, while she played with his hair, warm and safe. Last summer, Adrien would have considered it bliss and fallen right asleep, but he didn’t want to close his eyes, a fact that became increasingly frustrating the sleepier he felt. He could tell her to stop, but after 3 months apart, the last thing he wanted was to let go of her, even if the steady rise and fall of her chest only made his eyelids heavier.

A laugh track played from the sitcom on the living room TV Adrien had stopped watching, a heavy fog descending over him. His eyelids drooped, his vision clouding over. He took a sharp breath to wake himself up again, but the effect lasted less than a second. It had been a long day—leaving the mental hospital, saying goodbye to his mother, Nathalie, and Master Fu. Plus, M. and Mme. Dupain-Cheng cooked him a feast worthy of a king to celebrate his homecoming. He really shouldn’t have eaten that extra slice of cake. The sugar-high he’d been riding was about to run out, and he was crashing fast. He cursed himself when Marinette nuzzled closer, pressing a soft kiss to his temple, and his exhaustion took control.

The blackness was nice at first, but purple light filled his mind, flashes of deep grey eyes glaring up at him. His eyes flew open with a jolt, and he let out a sigh.

“You okay?” Marinette asked.

She was as perceptive as ever. It was one of the things he loved about her, but it made it hard to maintain the mask.

“I’m fine.” He assured her.

“Are you ready to go to bed?” She shifted to look him in the eye.

He smiled up at her and shook his head. “I don’t want to get up just yet. Let’s just stay like this a while longer, please?”

Marinette searched his expression, blue eyes filled with worry. She laid back down after a moment, seemingly appeased, and Adrien’s battle against his eyelids resumed. When he was in the hospital, he could pace in the privacy of his room or call in a nurse if his nerves became too much to bear, and although he knew the Dupain-Cheng’s would be supportive, he couldn’t bring himself to tell them about the nightmares. He was already burdening them enough.

A couple minutes passed—or maybe it was twenty—and Marinette clicked off the TV. Adrien sat up, stifling a yawn as Marinette stretched. His phone read midnight, the start of a new day. The second longest day of his life was officially over, but the sleep haze only brought with it flashes of things he’d rather not think about.

“We should go to bed,” Marinette said, her voice low and gravelly.

“Or we could stay up and play video games.” Adrien flashed her a grin, but she wasn’t biting.

“I’m exhausted, aren’t you?” She stood up.

“Oh, come on. It’s been months since you’ve kicked my butt. Just one round.” He took her hand, tugging her back to the couch, but she stood her ground.

“I’ll kick your butt tomorrow,” she said around a yawn. She stooped to give him a quick kiss, smoothing her thumb over his lips. “Good night.”

Adrien sighed as she headed for the stairs, jumping up to chase after her. “Wait, give me a real kiss good night.”

She paused on the bottom step with a moan, and Adrien flashed her a pleading look. A coy smile curled on her lips as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He pulled her in, kissing her long and deep, but as his lips parted to invite his tongue into the equation, she pulled back with a giggle.

“I love you so much, but I’m way too tired for that. I’m falling asleep on my feet,” she said. 

“Five more minutes.” He kissed the corner of her mouth. “I’ve missed you.”

With a relenting sigh, she leaned in again, running her fingers through his hair. He held her close, memorizing how her body felt against his. It wasn’t completely deceptive. He had missed her, achingly so, but her pity only lasted another minute.

“Go to bed, minou.” She squished his cheeks together. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Oh, come on. We used to stay up later than this talking on the phone.” He teased. “You’ve gotten soft.”

“Bold talk coming from M. Bloodshot-Eyebags.” Marinette cocked a hip. “Why do you want to stay up so bad? Do you not like your room?”

“No!” He insisted. “No, it’s perfect. I just… You’re right. It’s late. We should go to bed.”

Marinette quirked a brow, so he leaned in to kiss her.

“Good night, mon ange.” He flashed her a smile that faded the moment she turned around and headed up the stairs.

Rubbing his hands on his soft pajama pants, he stared down the dark void at the bottom of the stairs that led to his room. Stony eyes flashed in the abyss, and Adrien averted his gaze with a huff. Squeezing his eyes shut, he mentally sifted the image from his brain. He couldn’t stay awake forever. Shaking himself to relieve the tension in his shoulders, he made his way down the stairs, making a pit stop to the bathroom, but he could only scrub his teeth for so long before he ran out of toothpaste on the brush.

Reluctantly, he found his way into his room, but unable to bring himself to get in bed, he opted to pace instead. It got old quick—4 paces from the door to the wall, 5 paces length-wise. For the first time, he missed the massive room of his childhood. He could pace for hours there. With a defeated grunt, he flopped onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. The bed was comfortable, and although his muscles were screaming to melt into its embrace, he couldn’t give in.

The old building creaked, and the thin walls did little to drown out M. Dupain-Cheng’s snoring. Adrien drummed his fingers on his chest, curling and uncurling his toes before jumping up and resuming his pacing. 4 paces across, 5 paces deep. 4 across, 5 deep. The walls were too close. Adrien swore they got closer with each lap, and the air in the room seemed almost too thick to breathe. He needed to get out.

Stepping with the balls of his feet, he quietly crept back upstairs to the living room. He took deep breaths, running his hands down his thighs, and paused at the base of the stairs leading to Marinette’s room. M. and Mme. Dupain-Cheng would be upset if they caught him up there, and the last thing he wanted was to make them think he was taking advantage of their hospitality. But he just needed to be near someone.

Just one more kiss good night. That was all he needed. A hug and a kiss… a really, really long hug.

His feet found each step with haste, but when his hand curled around the trap door handle, they locked into place on the final steps. Hands clenched tightly and feet glued to the stairs, Adrien stood frozen like a statue in a museum. His breath hitched, a trembling hand shooting up to catch it. His shoulders shook, and for a moment, he worried he might be sick. Creeping back down the stairs as quietly as he could, he scrambled for the kitchen sink, breaths rapid and shallow. He flicked on the faucet in anticipation, but the sensation passed after a few moments. He sat up, turning the water off, and ran his hands over his face.

It was selfish… He was being selfish, always running to Marinette with his problems. And she’d always do her best to fix them because that’s the kind of person she was—always looking out for those she loves. But he couldn’t expect her to fix everything. Even still, his restlessness showed no signs of ebbing. He needed fresh air to clear his head. Just for a minute.

He found a black Marinette branded hoodie in the closet in his room and pulled it on, then laced up his sneakers. Locking the front door behind him with the key M. Dupain-Cheng gave him earlier, he headed down the stairs and out into the night. The brisk cold almost sent him right back inside, but the air was so much clearer. He blew warm breath over his hands and rubbed them together. Summer was a distant memory in the mid-December frost.

Tucking his hands under his arms to keep them warm, he paced the sidewalk in front of the bakery, hoping the movement would warm his muscles. Just one minute, then he’d go back inside. A breeze blew past, cutting right through Adrien’s hoodie, and he ground his teeth together to keep them from chattering. He needed to move faster to stay warm. A quick run would do the trick, just around the block. Then he’d go back inside.

He picked up the pace, venturing down the pavement with increasing speed. The dreary streets were empty as Adrien ran, street parked cars that had long gone cold as their owners fled indoors. He ran past Francois-Dupont, flashes of his time there playing in his mind. He remembered his first day, how nervous and excited he’d been to meet people his age. To have a normal life. A life he’d still never quite managed… but he’d met Marinette there and Nino. And Plagg… The day Ivan was akumatized.

Adrien’s mind filled with gray, and he shook his head to clear it, pushing his legs to run faster as if he could put physical distance between him and the memory. He rounded the next corner and pressed on, cold air burning his lungs, but he couldn’t stop. Not when he passed Nino’s block or his old Chinese tutor’s house, not even when he passed the street corner he and Ladybug used to meet up at. The corner he and Marinette would meet at.

Marinette… Ladybug. His partner. His girlfriend. He wanted to see her, but it was too late. She’d be asleep by now, and he shouldn’t disturb her. Even if she’d understand and listen. Even if she’d hold him and comfort him. Even if she loved him. She’d always love him. So, why couldn’t he tell her he was struggling?

The rubber soles of his shoes skittered on a patch of ice, losing their traction, and Adrien hit the cold, hard pavement with a yelp. Pain shot up his leg as his knee collided with the concrete. He rolled onto his back, chest heaving with each breath as he stared up at the towering buildings blocking the night sky.

What was wrong with him? Why was normal so hard for him? Normal people were at home asleep at this hour, and Adrien Agreste was outside, lying in the middle of the sidewalk because he was too anxious to close his eyes. Everyone kept asking him how he was doing, and most days he told them he was getting better because that’s what they wanted to hear. But was he? Some days he felt like he was, but others… They all wanted him to be fine. He wanted to be fine. He coveted their normalcy, but it always hovered just above his grasp.

He wanted to go to school and make friends, but his father forbade him from seeing them most days while plastering his image on every billboard in town. He gained fans and wealth, while other kids played games at the park. He became a superhero with a double-life, fighting bad-guys between fencing lessons and modeling gigs. Other kids ate dinner with their families. He filmed movies that normal kids went to see, posed in clothing ads that normal people bought. His father spent the majority of Adrien’s life making sure he stood out from all the rest — making sure he’d never fit in. He became a supervillain that threatened the city, just to ensure Adrien would always be talked about. To ensure that he’d never be normal.

Everyone put him on a pedestal, but he’d trade everything to be the one looking up from the crowd. To not have to feel the way he felt. To be home in bed with pleasant dreams instead of lying haunted in the middle of the sidewalk, staring up at his ghosts in the rooftops.

He missed Plagg.

“Having trouble sleeping?”

Adrien shot up, blinking at the arms crossed in a bright pink coat. Clouds of steaming breath billowed from her mouth with each heave of her shoulders, cheeks flushed from the cold. Fuzzy pink pajamas were stuffed haphazardly into winter boots, and the blue eyes looking down at him were creased with concern.

When Adrien remained quiet, Marinette shifted her weight. “Me too.”

Adrien balled his hands into fists at his sides. “How did you find me?”

“I heard you downstairs, and I got worried. When I came out of my room, you were heading out the door, so I followed you. It’s a lot harder keeping up with you without superpowers, but I’m kind of an expert at following you.” She crouched beside him, brushing his hair out of his face as she cupped his cheek. “You okay?”

He leaned into her touch, a hot tear slicing down his cheek. He couldn’t tell if he was relieved or embarrassed to have been found out. Mostly, he just loved that she cared enough to chase after him. At the shake of his head, Marinette pulled him into her arms, and he locked his arms around her waist, his quiet sobs muffled by her thick coat. He savored her warmth, a shiver creeping up his spine.

“No one expects you to heal all at once, Adrien,” she murmured in his ear. “I will always be here for you, and so will Maman and Papa and all of our friends. We all love you, and we’ll be with you every step of the way through all of the good and the bad. You don’t have to run and hide.”

“I’m sorry.” His voice shook. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m-”

“It’s okay.” She squeezed him tighter. “I’ve got you. Always.”

Always.

Marinette pulled back, taking his hands in hers. “Come on, let’s go home. It’s freezing out.”

“Yeah…” Adrien let her help him to his feet, wincing against the pain in his knee. He did his best not to limp on the way back to the bakery, keeping a tight grip on her hand.

Marinette shook herself when they were back inside. “The good thing about living above a bakery is the brick ovens keep the building warm in the winter.”

“I’m partial to the lingering smell of fresh croissants,” he said.

“That’s another plus.” She flashed him a smile, and he felt one tugging at the corners of his own lips. “Come on, let’s get you in dry clothes.”

She toted him up to the apartment, only letting go of his hand when he needed to change, but her fingers trailed up his bare back as she helped him out of his shirt. He shivered, goose bumps dotting his skin while she helped him into fresh pajamas. Her hands were small and dainty, but they kept him grounded enough to crawl into bed. Marinette laid beside him on the edge, running her fingers through his hair. He really had missed her touch.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked.

“Anything,” she said.

“What are your nightmares about?”

She paused mid-stroke, her fingers warm on his scalp. Shifting to look him in the eye, she pursed her lips. “It’s always that same day. You’re there crying on the ground, but I can’t ever reach you. No matter how hard I try, you’re always just out of reach.”

“For me, it’s my father. The moment that purple light fades, and all I see are his eyes glaring up at me with hatred and anger. I see those eyes everywhere, like he’s still looming over me. It feels like I’ll never be free of him.” Adrien squeezed her hand.

“We’ve been through too much,” Marinette said. “But we survived. Miraculously.”

“Barely.” Adrien grunted. “Is it weird that I miss how things used to be? For the longest time, all I wanted was to defeat Hawkmoth with you. To ride off into the sunset when the day was saved. It sounds selfish, and maybe it is, but now, I wish things could go back to the way they were. Fighting by your side, both in and out of the mask. I’d never been happier.”

“I know what you mean.” Marinette resumed playing with his hair, and after his stint out in the cold, he was grateful for her warmth. “For the longest time, I always thought that Hawkmoth was our biggest enemy, and that once we defeated him, things would go back to normal. We could be happy and free, but everything has been way more complicated on the other side of things. Those days seem so simple now.”

“Nothing’s simple anymore.” He sighed. “Do you think it ever will be?”

“Mmm.” She hummed. “I hope so. I think you and I more than deserve it.”

“Yeah…” He stifled a yawn.

“You should get some sleep. It’s been a long day,” she said.

“Will you stay with me?” he asked.

Marinette leaned to kiss his forehead and laid her head beside his on the pillow. “Of course, chaton. I’m here.”

Reluctant, but too exhausted to fight it any longer, Adrien closed his eyes. His body ached from his fall, but the bed was soft and warm. The steady brush of Marinette’s fingertips on the back of his neck helped ease the tension in his muscles, and he finally drifted off to sleep.

His nightmare began as it always did, but instead of shying away from his father’s piercing gaze, Adrien reached for Ladybug’s hand. When he turned to face her, her mask vanished in a flash of pink light, and Marinette smiled back at him. He wrapped himself in her embrace while she stroked his hair, warm and safe.

“I’m here, kitty. I’ve got you. Always.”

[swannbluana]

pt. 5: an analysis of the different vedic themes within miraculous ladybug

i have some lingering notes and observations that i did not include in the analysis that i’d like to discuss. this also includes spoilers, so read at your own discretion.

before the days got filled with responsibilities, i was an avid miraculous ladybug watcher. to this day, i still keep up with the show during my free time. throughout these past few years, i’ve deep dived into the knowledge of vedic astrology and progressively started to recognize themes present in the show that coincided with certain nakshatras. this is part one of my research, a deep dive into the vedic astrology of miraculous: the tales of ladybug and cat noir. 

-> i used the birthdays of the voice actors and actresses to confirm my findings.

director [thomas astruc]: uttara bhadrapada moon & uttara ashadha sun

gabriel agreste/hawkmoth [keith silverstein]: vishakha moon & mula sun [as the show progresses, his name changes to monarch, however i'm going to refer to him as hawkmoth throughout the analysis].

marinette dupain-cheng/ladybug [cristina vee]: uttara ashadha moon & punarvasu sun

adrien agreste/cat noir [bryce papenbrook]: magha moon & shatabhisha sun

chloe bourgeois [selah victor]: anuradha/jyeshta moon & ashwini sun 

-> definitions

miraculous: magical jewelry containing hidden powers that transforms the wearers into animal-themed superpowered beings.

miracle box: holds all 36 miraculouses when they aren’t in use. 

akumatized: regular people who are transformed into villains. 

cataclysm: the superpower to destroy anything the person touches.

absolute wish: aka the ultimate miraculous absolute power, grants a person one wish to ask for anything in the universe. 

this analysis of the show is my interpretation and is all up for interpretation! 

please credit if shared through any type of means! 

･ﾟﾟ･｡

adrien and chloe used to be childhood friends and came to be friends because their parents are old friends. also, chloe had a semblance of a crush on adrien (only because of his status). shatabhisha and ashwini are both horse yonis and in society, horses and horse-back riding is perceived as a sport played by the wealthy. 

chloe, adrien, and gabriel are all ketu nakshatras: ashwini, magha, mula, and are major characters in the show who are wealthy. i can’t indicate these particular nakshatras or nodal influence in general grants wealth, but the characters, chloe and gabriel, carry similar themes of acting elitist in their own manner, while adrien doesn’t share that mentality. perhaps this is due to his saturn and rahu influence. 

in contrast to adrien’s broken family, marinette has a strong, loving family. i don’t know if uttara ashadha has any connections to family, but one of punarvasu and magha’s symbols is the home/family. i wonder if the reason for adrien’s poor family life can be explained by just shatabhisha or the combination of magha and shatabhisha. the fathers’ occupations feel symbolic to their home situation: marinette is the daughter of a warm, loving baker vs adrien is the son of a strict, withdrawn designer–punarvasu vs shatabhisha sun. 

marinette’s love for adrien has been referred to as basically obsession by the viewers and i wonder if it primarily has to do with her ardra venus (conjunct ardra mercury). venus rules over love and romantic relationships. ardra is a rahu nakshatra and rahu relates to obsession. it’s different from the obsession i observed in the vishakha native that obsesses over achievement and loyalty towards a person. marinette is obsessed with adrien himself. she sees it as simply having a crush on him, but can’t quite seem to do anything about it–she’s in her head about it. yet, she is very intelligent, has out-of-the-box ideas, and can connect ideas together very quickly which i believe is a combination of her punarvasu and ardra placements.  

marinette and gabriel’s beginnings in life are very similar. gabriel’s family owned a french-fry shop and as a teenager, he used to support the punk movement which advocates for anti-authoritarianism. this means he was all for giving the people as much freedom as possible, contrasting his current self. as stated before, marinette’s family owns a bakery and ladybug’s mission is to free the people from hawkmoth’s control. both gabriel and marinette’s dream was to become a fashion designer as children, and gabriel has accomplished this feat, while marinette is in the process of accomplishing it. their similarities and differences show the relationship between vishakha, mula, punarvasu, & uttara ashadha (if the rashi is sagittarius)–the similarities and differences in the way jupiter manifests. if her uttara ashadha moon is not a sagittarius, the difference between sagittarius and capricorn (which would connect to the director’s cap ua). in particular, it highlights the similarities and differences in the themes between the jupiter nakshatras: punarvasu vs vishakha, also the gemini-sagittarius axis: punarvasu vs mula. 

･ﾟﾟ･｡

<- part four of the mlb vedic analysis

[princess-of-the-corner]

So, I THINK this could be tagged as Princess Bee, or adjacent, this is mostly me feeling this out on the Miracuclass and attached jobs they’ll have as adults? Tell me how you think it sounds, and if any are WILDLY out of place, I guess.

Marinette - Designer. Has mostly taken over the Agreste brand, and redone it as MDC Designs. While still doing a lot of work herself, she is much better at delegating her time than Gabriel was, so can spend more time with her family.

Adrien - yeah, this one’s a little weird, cause I can sort of see him doing … . just about anything? Keep doing modelling? Sure. Take over Marinette’s parents bakery? Why not. Be a House Spouse? Absolutely! Voice actor, stage manager, set designer- Hell, go really out of left field and be, like, an astrophysicist? Go right ahead! Just … the only thing I can think of, is whatever Adrien does? It NEEDS flexible hours. He is NOT turning into his old man, he needs there to be plentiful family and friends time!

Alya - no brainer, she’s a reporter! Probably taken over from Nadja Chamack as the face of Paris’s news cycle. Or, I could also see her going mostly self-employed, get a bit more freedom in her reporting, but that one would depend, I think.

Nino - couple of things, really. I can see him being a movie producer or director, but I could also see him working in movies as a sound designer. The guy who does sound effects, or creates the sounds needed for a film. Either way, I can see him DJing in his off time. That’s his hobby.

Sabrina - future Mayor of Paris! I weirdly see her as, like, starting going into forensics or criminal law. She didn’t start OUT going for politics, but. Well, shit happened with her dad when she started dating Luka, one thing leads to another, and boom, youngest elected mayor in over two hundred years. She’s damn good at her job, too.

Luka - cause I mentioned him above, he and the band are still doing Kitty Section, but it’s kind of taken a back seat to the whole, ya know, Families they have now. They still make music, still put out new songs, or record covers, might do a local show, but they Don’t tour or anything. Luka himself, I can see as either a local music teacher, some kind of instrument maker, or even the owner of a small record label. Guess it depends.

Juleka - apart from Kitty Section, I can see her still being a model, but she might have stopped to try other things. I can also see her being a photographer, or also a kind of music teacher. Or maybe she and Luka co-manage that little record label, who knows?

Rose - so, Rose is interesting, cause besides Kitty Section, there are there jobs in my head I can see her as REALLY CLEARLY. Either flower shop owner OR Doctor OR head of a charity organization. Not sure what exactly the charity would be, or what kind of doctor, but I can see her as each of these really clearly.

Ivan - besides Kitty Section, weirdly the only thing I can really see Ivan as is a teacher? Not sure why, but like. He just radiates Papa Bear energy? He’s a big hit with younger kids, they just climb all over him, but they will always listen when he talks.

Mylene - I’m thinking stage actress? Like, she still does activism and stuff, but I see her really getting into stage plays, they weirdly are better for her stage fright than recorded shows.

Kim - Olympic swimmer. Or, maybe sport hopper Olympic Athlete? Anyway, he wins a few gold medals, then decides to settle down a little, ends up as a PE teacher.

Max - Game designer. Like, also inventor, he keeps creating new software and hardware to run the games he wants, and people keep trying to get him to be the next Microsoft, and he’s like “Fuck no, I’m making Legend Of Zelda:No Fate, Special Edition, now it comes in VR Chamber version!”

Alix - I … honestly don’t really know. I think she might try professional skater for a year or two, win some competitions. Maybe she eventually starts working at the museum with her brother? But she’s also the only one with a working Miraculous, she might be doing something with that …

Nathaniel - a graphic artist, mostly working on his own comics, but will do commissions for people. Self-employed.

Marc - writer, mostly works on Comics with Nath, but has also published a few short stories, maybe a novel or two. Self-employed.

Kagami - probably a champion fencer, Olympic gold winning even. Rest of the time, might coach a few fencing classes, or work on her art. Might have done a few collabs with Nathaniel, or drawn a few covers for Marc’s books.

Felix - Either ALSO works as a stage actor, OR owns his own studio to make whatever movie or play he wants. Probably employs many of his friends.

Chloé - Off being a kickass lawyer. If she hadn’t gone into law, might have become a realtor.

Zoé - I know actor is popular, but I could see her being a detective, or private investigator. She’s very popular, because she gets great results! … despite the fact she’s always quite put out that the culprit wasn’t a vampire or a ghoul or something.

Lila - if you want to get extremely technical, she’s a freelance writer. That’s what she tells people she does, jets around and writes stories. And she has published a few books, mostly mysteries. But of course, her actual way of getting money is using the Butterfly to con people. She’s even moonlighted as a masked thief a few times. Though she might be looking to shift careers, after a certain news report from Paris goes live … 

BONUS:

Aurore & Mirelle - Weather girls, right? Nope, those two are storm chasers! After growing up in Paris at the height of Hawk Moth? They MIGHT have turned into adrenaline junkies. They go around the world, chasing storms, working out the science, and reporting about it on cite to various agencies. They even had their wedding near a tornado! Everyone is VERY happy for them, but also thinks they’re nuts! (They do not, as of me writing this, have kids, because I can see that being the thing that makes them decide “Ya know, we should probably stop chasing hurricanes if we want children.”)

Mme. Bustier - Now the Principal of Dupont.

Nathalie & Emilie - professional grandmas! In all seriousness, Emilie probably helps manage Felix’s studio, while I headcanon Nathalie never really recovers from being Damaged by the Peacock. Like, she’s ok! She’s healthy, and isn’t in danger of falling into a coma! But the damage had physical effects that, for whatever reason, didn’t hit Emilie as hard, but did stick around for Nathalie. Like, she gets short of breath easily, needs more rest than others, I kind of see her with a cane? She’s doing alright, but isn’t up to running any marathons. So Nathalie is enjoying a pleasant retirement. Maybe she works at the museum now, she did used to be a grave robber - “the only difference between a grave robber and an archeologist is one has permission!”

Chester Fester - uh, on paper, he’s a cook, but he keeps getting fired for allowing pests into his workplaces. Then he met Lila, and now I guess if you want to get technical, he’s her personal chef? He does most of the cooking, cause Lila CANNOT cook to save her life, so Chester tries to make sure she’s eating healthy. He also helps out with her schemes, and such, though, so, maybe general housekeeper? Butler? Not really important, I guess, unless he needs one of those to put on his taxes.

(Please include your thoughts, and anyone you think I missed, cause I swear to GOD I’m missing someone!)

-

YES

Okay so like. My notes are mostly gonna be ‘hell yeah hell yeah hell yeah’ because I know I have like. Somewhere in the tag I listed jobs and yeah this is! This is basically it! But let’s go a bit more! In-Depth since we can!

Marinette - Designer baby! It was her dream in the first place and she kinda. Low-key yoinks all of Gabriel’s industry? Like he dies ofc and his fashion company goes to Emilie and Adrien but they’re.... Not really into it? Emilie is fine running the company stuff, but she’s not a designer. Adrien’s decent at the company stuff but also isn’t a designer and really isn’t into Business. They do keep what they can going but when Mari starts making a name for herself, enough that she feels she got the fame on her own terms, she takes over the stuff that’s still running and gets the industry contacts and such.

Adrien - Honestly I think he rolls with having so many options. Mainly stay at home dad, especially when the kids are little. But if Mari asks him to model something, he will. Tom and Sabine need an extra hand in the bakery for a big order/catering? On the job! Get told ‘hey we have a character in a movie your voice would fit?’ sure he’ll come help out!

Alya - hell yeah a reporter! I did debate on if she’d still do more written journalism, but she does like the camera type so yeah taking over for Nadja makes sense!

Nino - Yeah director! He does the sound and such too on his movies. Very much a jack of all trades in that he can step in when he can’t get across to the crew his ideas. (not like in a pretensious way just genuinely ‘idk how to describe this so hand me the wheel’)

Sabrina - I love the Mayor!Sabrina idea so much lmao. Like yeah I think she would’ve been into law more on the ‘well my dad’s a cop and he thinks I’d be good at it’ but then.... yeah between the tensions between him and the Couffaines and then Sabrina learning to think more for herself and some encouragement from others and various circumstances she ends up runnign for mayor. And wins!

Luka - Yeah his main thing is still Kitty Section and yeah no tours. They’re starting to get a little back into the idea of short tours now that the kids are a little older and able to like. Handle themselves for a weekend trip. But yeah shows have to be local like that instead of hopping over to like austraila or some shit.

Rose - mm! I like the doctor one! She’d def work with kids. The charity stuff can kinda be like a side thing of just. Heavily supporting and using her platform of Kitty Section to advertise the charities she supports!

Ivan - this was actually suggested within this AU but he gets to be a music teacher! On top of Kitty Section ofc. But yeah he looks scary but is so soft with his students!

Mylene - Yes! Actress! She gets over a lot of her stagefright(or at least has made it managable) and can be on stage! She does some movies too, but she very much prefers stage acting to film acting!

Kim - Olympic swimmer turned gym teacher? Hell yeah.

Max - 100% game designer. Beautiful.

Alix - honestly I like her working at the museum! She def liked that sort of thing even before she got time travel. Def has a roller derby hobby though.

Nath and Marc - yeah they absolutely still make comics together!

Kagami - olympic fencer! hell yes! And yeah I’d see her being a fencing instructor in the downtime. She def brings Adrien in for a ‘real match’ to spook her students though.

Felix - mm! opens a branch of Graham Films in Paris to make movies there! Works a lot with Nino and Zoé.

Zoé - tbh I love her being the actress but where canon just. Yoinked that from mylene I’m making their differences re: stage v film. So Zoé is more into film than stage. I do like the PI thing though, but maybe in another universe.

Lila - my girl is out here committing crimes! But yeah she’s done various cons. She has /some/ morality so her cons and thefts are usually a little Leverage-esque in that her target has it coming, but def more for profit.

Aurore & Mireille - Ha! I love that! I will note one thing on the like. I actually don’t ship them? Like in theory I like the ship and I’m not like ���ugh’ when I see it. But usually I have Aurore is gay but Mireille is unfortunately straight. 

Bustier - Ye! She’s principal now! Since I’m nice to her in this AU I like. Rewrite everything that went down with her in Season 5 so she’s not ya know fuckin awful at her job. So her being principal is a good thing!

Chester - once again I love him. But yeah ‘officially’ he’s Lila’s personal assistant but he’s just rolling with whatever con she’s doing.

[beginningobserver]

Lui Noir and Daisuke Bug returns.

If you don't know... the BR dub voice actor for (adult) Lui is the SAME for Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir.

(please refrain from telling me about the American dub having Cody new VA being the same for Chat Noir, i know that already 💧)

[thehopesquadhq]

Hope Squad HC Voice Actors

Tom Wayne/Gadget:

Zach Callison (Look, a lot of Tom was inspired by Steven. Besides, Zach Callison is amazing at singing, but, again, Tom and Damian NEED to share a voice actor for plot and comedic puporses. So, it also depends on who would voice Damian. So, summing up, Tom is the most uncertain. But, if we remove all external factors, I wished it was Zach)

Zack Miller/Thunder Boy:

Bryce Papenbrook (The guy voiced Rin Okumura and Adrien Agreste. He would nail Zack's vibes)

Amber Charm/Fitostar:

Ariel Winter (... she played a Disney Princess before, wink wink)

Charlie Nex/Time Shooter:

Philip Solomon (I imagine Charlie sounding a lot like Craig from Craig of the Creek. And the guy can sing, so...)

Kitty Nex/Spance Dancer:

Kamali Minter (Another VA I met through Craig of the Creek. Although Sparkle Cadent and Kitty don't share much, I think Kamali would be able of showing how much versatile Kitty's voice is. And, again, they can SING).

[skygemspeaks]

me watching buddy daddies with my friend and being completely insufferable: oh hey he looks like adrien agreste. wait omg why am i getting vld keith vibes. wait isn't that shigaraki tomura's voice actor? oh my god the two main characters are voiced by the two yuris from yuri on ice. hey doesn't miri's bio father look like aph america? wow karin is really giving me alice cullen vibes-

my friend: sarah, can we stop talking for a second

[sizzleissues]

The miraculous movie has improved upon third viewing.

Except for the list of fifty new things that bug me

I feel like they cut some many important scenes. Apparently there was meant to be more Adrienette, an entire other song and also some other things I’m sure happened in the script or they imagined happening while writing other scenes and then didn’t write the scene. Like Adrien was supposed to also love Marinette? If that had been kept in- imagine it!

Thing I liked, the kwami’s can turn into their animals, That cat in Adrien’s room was Plagg and I need some one to do something with this fact.

Wtf was happening with the akumas?? How do they defeat them? Ladybug still cleanses the butterfly’s but no cure and no lucky charm but also no akumatised object that’s evident. Except maybe there is, the first akuma went into that man’s engagement ring but the second akuma’s went straight to the heart. AH! I don’t mind them changing it but I feel like they didn’t commit.

Liked how Gabriel used criminals instead. (For the most part.) People who would probably agree to more power anyway. It feels reminiscent of the PV version

I don’t think this version of Adrien was homeschooled? I feel like he was just on a break from school after his mom died and knew Nino from before, hence why the know each other and Nino’s concern. This change further changes Gabriel away from his show counterpart. I makes it more believable that he was just a normal slightly absent father before and then a properly absent and would be neglectful if Nathalie wasn’t running the show father after. This is a different Agreste family, and this realisation/theory affirms this.

The songs just get better (even if I wish Marinette’s english voice actor sung them) as I listen and when you do pay attention to the lyrics it really enhances the story.

Back to scenes I think were cut. There was definitely a scene of Adrien coming home from the theatre on the night they get their miraculous, probably saving Fu too, that was cut because it interrupted the flow of Marinette getting her miraculous.

Lol anyway, those are some extra things I noticed

[weirfq1]

adrian chase is dubbed by the same voice actor that also dubs adrien agreste in italian (????) 😭

[qu0rky]

danganronpa voice actors gotta stop taking jobs because wdym Mondo, Zhongli and Gabriel Agreste are the same man… WDYM NAGITO (and Makoto) AND ADRIEN ARE THE SAME MAN??? Poe and Korekiyo (we do not talk about Teruteru), Verosika and MONACA FROM UDG?? AND MARINETTE?? crazy world we live in.

Let me discuss Poe and Korekiyo in greater detail because the discovery SHOOK ME TO MY CORE. I had never watched bsd dubbed before and the first time i came across the dub was when i watched some cute Ranpoe videos on tiktok. Imagine my fucking surprise when as soon as that man opens his mouth my brain has to take a mental screenshot because it sounded exactly like Korekiyo. Todd Haberkorn, you are not slick. If you think you can just fuck with me by voicing 2 characters that could very well be the same goddamn person (tell me their personalities aren’t similar i dare you, and both are coincidentally in love with detectives, even if i’m an amaguuji truther i have to admit that saiguuji had potential), then i will tell you right now that it absolutely worked and i’m obsessed with both of them. (let’s not even open that can of worms of Atsushi sharing a VA with Itto because i will lose my shit).

And yet, the characters that i WOULD expect to share a VA because my mind always connects them (like Byakuya and Alhaitham) don’t share a VA. What is this magic.

[justminawrites]

Of Ribbons and Other Lost Things - Chapter 3: Unlucky Girls

AO3

1 | 2 | 3 | TBC

Luka Couffaine had made a mistake.

He couldn’t decide when it had happened– maybe following his ex-girlfriend’s father into their family bakery was where it all started to fall apart, or even putting the idea of part-time employment into Tom Dupain’s mind. 

Maybe it went even further back than that. In hindsight, waking up today didn’t seem like such a good idea.

“No, no, you need to feel the dough admit defeat,” Tom attempted to demonstrate the delicate kneading technique, “See, like this.”

Luka stared at the evidently undefeated beige mush on the counter and tried not to cringe as he imagined it growing two eyes, a mouth, and begin laughing at him. He’d never been particularly good at any non-musical extracurriculars, though he wished he’d taken pottery or something, just so he wouldn’t dig himself into an even deeper grave in front of Marinette’s father. And her best friend.

“Wow, Luka, you’re really showing that bread who’s boss,” Alya Cesaire teased from across the room, watching him massacre the flour-to-water ratio as she tapped away on her phone.

“We don’t seem to be in harmony,” he admitted, embarrassed by how quickly he was ready to quit. Forget harmony, they didn’t even seem to be playing the same note. How anyone could do this was beyond him. Marinette really was amazing.

“Maybe it’s better if I give up fighting the dough, altogether.”

“Nonsense!” Tom interrupted, visibly trying not to wince as he leaned in to examine the creation, “We were all beginners once. You just need a.. uh.. you just need a little more–“

Luka braced himself for what he was going to say. Skill? Patience? Humility-to-admit-you’ll-never-be-good-enough-for-certain-things-and-let-them-go-because-you’re-not-Adrien-Agreste– 

“Flour, dear. You just need a little more flour.”

Both Tom and Luka looked up to see Sabine Cheng enter the bakery, her arms filled with stacks of colourful flyers. 

Alya quickly tucked away her phone in her back pocket to lighten her load, sending a few papers scattering across the tiled floors. As Sabine thanked her, Luka watched a bright blue one float across the room and gently settle on the marble counter, inches away from his pile of mushy dough.

QIXI JIE PLAY: Tickets only available till XX/XX/XX (2 weeks left!)

“Sabine!” Marinette’s father seemed to (for lack of a better phrase) light up, eyes twinkling, as his wife proceeded to dust off her apron and join them; carefully holding a cup of flour. 

“I made the same mistake when I first learned to bake,” she said reassuringly, dumping the white powder over Luka’s hands, “Tom’s father wouldn’t let me live it down for weeks.”

“Of course!” Tom grinned, putting on an affected accent to his voice, “Two cups of water in the mixture, Sabine? That’s not how it’s done!”

“There,” Sabine smiled back, “Now try, Luka.”

He reluctantly replicated the kneading movements he’d been watching Tom make for the past twenty minutes, and was relieved to see that his watery creation had now solidified into a a more play-dough like consistency. The tightness in chest eased a little, seeing the progress he’d made. 

“Are you putting on a play, Mme. Cheng?” Alya interrupted, not waiting for a response as she plucked the final flyer off the counter and added it to her pile,

“I could drop a link in The Ladyblog if you’re having trouble selling tickets.”

“That’s kind of you, dear,” Sabine gestured for her to pass the flyers back which she did, “But it’s not my play. I’m doing this as a favour to a friend who wanted me to teach his actors the traditional art of Dunhuang.“

“The Chinese ribbon dance,” she clarified, when three pairs of eyes blinked at her bemusedly. Sabine sighed, tucking away the sheath of papers in a cabinet below the counter, and looked up at her husband with worry. 

“Unfortunately, it’s all very last minute so I can’t run the bakery and teach full-time. Tom and I were thinking of getting Marinette to help out but we don’t want to overwhelm her–“ 

“Maman? What did you need help with?”

Luka could feel his heart cartoonishly leap into his throat as her voice drifted down the wrought-iron staircase, and mentally pushed it down into the depths of his stomach, as the tap tap tap of ballet flats slapping the ground hurried to join them. 

Sure, it’d only been a week since he’d seen her but a lot could happen in a week. He could be perfectly fine in a week. Perfectly fine and completely over the breakup, and not at all thinking about how Jule took close ups of his face all week that she’d probably shown to all her friends and oh he was so going to disown his sister when he got home–

Marinette Dupain-Cheng entered the room and let out a sound that was somewhere between squeak and wheeze when she saw his face.

“L-Luka?!”

Luka couldn’t recall what he’d said in reply, if he’d said anything at all or wether he was even breathing because Marinette.. because her hair..

Her hair was down; out of its trademark style and spilling down her shoulders, the ends thick and black.

The idea that Luka had never seen Marinette with her hair down was laughable as it was strangely poetic. They’d hung out together so often - they’d dated! - but seeing her like this seemed much more vulnerable somehow. Like he was getting a glimpse of all the things she couldn’t tell him when they were together. All the things he couldn’t bring himself to ask. 

Not that she wasn’t beautiful. She was always beautiful. 

It was only when Marinette blushed and pulled her hair into its usual twin ponytails, that he was able to tear his gaze away from her and back to the mound of dough in front of him. Don’t lose your cool, don’t lose your cool, don’t–

“Hey, Marinette,” he said easily, though his voice wavered in a way that no one but Jule would’ve noticed.

“I didn’t expect– I mean– You look– Your jacket–“ she floundered her reply, earning a laugh from her best friend. 

Luka looked around him in surprise; he’d taken off his jacket to keep it from getting in the way. He felt a little naked without it but hadn’t wondered if it made him look weird until now. Great, now she thinks I’m weird and a stalker.

“Real smooth, girl.” After a pointed glare in Alya’s direction, Marinette turned back to him, finally noticing the dough in his hands. 

Her lips broke into shy smile. 

“What are you making?” She asked curiously, skirting around the awkwardness of him being here, in her house, when both of them knew she’d been avoiding him.

“Just bread,” he said, almost apologetically covering it with the flat of his palms, “–but I think Baking might not be the right instrument for me.“

“Here, let me see.”

Luka moved back in surprise as she came to stand beside beside him, dusting her own hands in flour. He’d expected her to be nervous and uncomfortable around him now that they’d broken up (for reasons neither of them could articulate), but Marinette only furrowed her brow in concentration, pulling the baking sheet towards herself, and got to work. 

“There,” she beamed up at him, barely ten minutes later, “All done.”

Marinette had managed to pummel his sickly-beige, barely-dough concoction into the dusky brown colour of before-bread with only a few shakes of flour and the twist of her wrist. 

“O-oh, wait,” She mumbled when he’d stared at her in awe instead of replying, “I didn’t mean– I wasn’t trying to show off or anything–“

“You’re amazing, Marinette,” It escaped his mouth before he could fully realise what he’d said, and now she was looking at him with big eyes. Crap. That was probably a bit too strong. 

“I.. am?” 

“–at baking!” He added quickly, not meeting her gaze, “A real magician, Marinette!”

Why couldn’t he stop saying her name? The awkwardness and the lingering effect of his words seemed to envelop the two of them and Luka had to force himself not to react to the spark of electricity that shot through his nerves when their forearms accidentally brushed. 

“That’s right, my daughter’s a genius!” Tom swooped in between them to examine the dough, and Luka moved back, relieved. 

If this kept up, he would start pulling out the finger-guns before lunch; and absolutely, under no circumstances, could he have Marinette realising that the ex-boyfriend she thought was cool and mature, was actually a huge dorkasaurus. He’d done enough damage already.

Tom swept the dough into a tray and lovingly placed it into the oven as Sabine handed them both a wet towelette. He tried to look at Marinette out of the corner of his eye, and found her gaze already transfixed on her best friend’s phone.

“We gotta leave soon if we want to make it before André splits,” Alya said matter-of-factly, pointing at something on her screen, “It’ll take us at least 20 minutes to get there on foot.”

“And guess who’s going to be there because of the Bourgeois’ anniversary party?”

Luka didn’t need to turn around to see Alya shake her friend’s shoulders and quietly mouth ‘Adrien’ to know who it was. 

To know who it always would be, with Marinette.

“Marinette, could you be a dear and get the apples I left out by the door before you leave?”

“Sure, Maman!”

Luka smiled at her retreating back as she pushed open the bakery door, and stored the sorrow somewhere deep inside him instead. 

He’d meant it when he said he’d be happy for her when they got together. Not ‘if’ but ‘when.’ Because that was yet another curse he carried by remembering the events that he’d lived through, akumatised as Truth– Marinette’s secret was that all her roads ended up at Adrien Agreste, wether she wanted them to or not. 

All of Paris seemed to know that it was only a matter of when. 

He would be happy, He would be happy, he would be happy. Even if the stars fell from the sky and the moon broke into a thousand pieces. Even if every instrument he’d ever made went up in flames. Even if Shadowmoth won and all of Paris became a wasteland.

If Marinette loved Adrien, he’d be happy for her even if it killed him.

...

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was going to kill her best friend. 

Not only would she have appreciated knowing about her frickin’ ex-boyfriend baking bread with her father, Alya also had the gall to laugh in her face when she’d nearly fallen to pieces in front of him. 

She sighed as she curled her fingers around the crate of apples; Marinette could hardly blame her bff for the latter. Her heart had spontaneously combusted when she’d walked in to see Luka Couffaine of all people, behind the counter without his jacket, up to his elbows in flour, clearly out of his element and did she mention without his jacket??

In all the time that she’d known him, she hadn’t ever seen him jacket-less, and she hadn’t expected to feel so flustered by the strange intimacy of seeing Luka’s tanned forearms for the first time. Or those same arms baking bread.

Well..trying anyway.

Marinette stifled a smile at the thought. Luka was normally so calm and collected, there was something almost gratifying about knowing that he could be just as much as a fish out of water as her, even if it was just while kneading dough.

She felt the her cheeks flush as she recalled his awestruck expression ‘You’re amazing, Marinette.’ Alya had cackled knowingly and Marinette’s back pocket had buzzed with a text from the brunette. She didn’t even need to open it to know what it said.

@alya.ladyblogger: tryna impress someone r we

( ͡° ᴗ ͡°)

Marinette shook her head to clear away the blush. 

Alya had it all wrong; she wasn’t trying to impress Luka with her bread-making skills. If anything, she was trying to impress.. uh.. herself! That’s right, it’d been so long since she’d helped out her parents at the bakery that she started to wonder if her baking had become a little rusty. Yeah, that was definitely it.

Not seeing Luka in over a week had momentarily made her forget why she was avoiding him in the first place, and now Marinette wondered how he was handling the after-effects of the Truth akuma. 

She’d wanted to ask him about Jagged, about his mom; she’d wanted to ask him if he could ever forgive her for getting him akumatised, for any of it, but for once, she was afraid the answer might be exactly what she’d expected.

So she settled for Juleka’s mumbling and the close up pictures on her purple-haired-friend’s phone, telling herself it was for the best, it was for the best, it was for the best. Unlucky girls like her didn’t get to fall in love, and besides, Luka couldn’t get akumatised if she wasn’t around to let him down. Again. 

Marinette tried not to sigh, as the memory of the last time she talked to Luka rose up in the back of her mind: she’d broken up with him over the same bridge he’d taken her to that very evening, because it was easier than telling him the truth. 

No, not easier– safer. It was safer for the both of them if she stayed away. Or at least, she hoped it was. Oh, and Adrien too, of course. 

Though, she supposed, Adrien was hardly in danger with the way her words twisted themselves into pretzels around him. In fact, the only chance he’d ever become akumatised because of Marinette, is if he completely misunderstood everything she’d said– like Marianne.

And after everything that’d happened on French-American friendship week, even her feelings about Adrien had become pretzel-shaped; the inextricable threads of shame and disappointment weaving their way into the “love” she’d been so sure she held for him, less than a month ago.

Marinette took a breath and hoisted the crate up to her hip, trying not to recall that final night in New York, the cold shards of rain that peppered her face as she pedalled as hard as her burning calfs would let her. Hot tears rolling down her cheeks as she screamed and screamed after the car, only for Adrien to leave without even turning once. 

What a mess.

As Marinette was about to push open the bakery door a single apple fell from the crate and rolled backwards.

She tried to reach for the runaway fruit with one arm while balancing the crate in the other, and ended up losing her balance and toppling over instead, spilling the apples onto the sidewalk and earning sympathetic glances from the pedestrians on the street as she fell. 

“Are you okay, Marinette?” Tikki flitted out of her purse as if on cue, perching on top of an apple, as her big bug eyes widened with concern. Marinette could see herself reflected back in the glassy blue tint, from the shadows under her own eyes all the way to the the defeated slump of her shoulders.

She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d gotten a good night’s sleep– mess was an understatement. 

“I’m fine, Tikki,” she sighed rather than said, gathering the fruit back into the crate. 

“Just the same old, klutzy Marinette.”

The kwami frowned up at the mouse miraculous pendant hanging at her neck.

“Maybe you shouldn’t..” 

Whatever Tikki was going to say was immediately interrupted by the hum of a motor as a black taxi pulled up in front of the bakery, and a blonde girl, about her age, got out. 

The kwami quickly flew out of sight as the girl promised the driver she’d only be a few minutes, oblivious to the disarray Marinette herself was sitting in the middle of–  and the single red apple that had rolled to wait right under the girl’s colourful sneaker.

“Wait, WATCH OUT–“

But it was too late. 

A slip and a stumble later, the girl found herself right beside Marinette on the pavement, her fall jostling the blue beanie she was wearing off of her head, so Marinette could see a faded streak of pink hair peeking out of the blonde. 

“Oh my, is everyone alright?” The bakery door swung open to reveal a concerned Sabine, holding her purse tightly, with a bemused Tom in tow. 

The girl gave Marinette a weak smile as if to say ‘oh, clumsy me,’ and the idea that there was someone out there in the world who was just as uncoordinated and graceless as her was so silly that she grinned right back, and the two were soon in stitches on the floor outside the bakery. 

“Here, let me help you.. uh..”

“Zoé,” the girl smiled, taking Marinette’s outstretched arm, “I’m Zoé Lee.”

“Hello Zoé,” Marinette smiled, dusting herself off, “I’m Miss-Walking-Disaster, but everyone calls me Marinette. Please let me spot you some of our macarons to makeup for all this.”

“Oh, that’s not necessar–”

“I insist,” Marinette interrupted bending over to put away the last of the apples, “It’s the least I could do after introducing you to our lovely Parisian pavements.”

Before Zoé could reply however, Sabine sighed and took the crate off of the ground and handed it to her husband, who dutifully retreated back into the bakery.

“Maybe that’s enough excitement for the day, dear,” Sabine added, not unkindly, “Why don’t you let your father handle the macarons, hmm?”

“Yes Maman.”

“Wow!”

Zoé glanced down as Marinette got an eyeful of the bright sneakers and looked up at her with sparkling blue eyes.

“Your sneakers are awesome! Did you decorate them yourself?”

If there was anything Marinette loved more than designing, it was seeing other people’s designs. Particularly DIY ones. There was just something so inspiring about them.

“Yeah,” Zoe agreed tucking a lock of hair behind her ear sheepishly, “I’ve written down every nice thing that anyone’s ever said to me.”

“To keep them with me all the time.”

A single I ♥ U, was scribbled on to the toe cap of the left shoe.

Marinette frowned, “But there’s only one message.”

“I.. uh.. only had one friend.”

Both Sabine and Marinette let out an ‘oh’ sound, the sound wavering somewhere between pity and second-hand embarrassment. Zoe shifted on her feet, suddenly uncomfortable. 

“Why don’t you two come inside?” Sabine smoothly changed the topic, holding out an arm to help her daughter up, “And you can show your new friend around the bakery, Marinette.”

“That’s a great idea, Maman!”

“I mean..,” Marinette held up her hands apologetically, “Only if you’re free Zoé.. I don’t want to keep you from anything.”

Zoé shrugged, “I’m not in a rush.”

Sabine looked back and forth between the two girls fondly, smiled and turned to leave. Marinette quickly checked the left pocket of her pink jeans to make sure the bee miraculous was still where she’d left it and missed the strange glance Zoé gave her. 

“By the way,” Marinette added over her shoulder, as the two of them followed her mother back into the bakery, “–where’s your accent from? It’s really pretty.”

“New York,” the other girl replied, bending over slightly to tie her shoelace, “I’m from New York.”

“Wow! How exciting– I was just there on a class trip!”

“No way!”

“Yeah– so what brings you to Paris?”

“I’m here..“ the light in Zoé’s eyes darkened.

“...to see my family.”

______________________________________________________________

END NOTES:

This chapter was basically: Luka on the inside: asdfghjsjdjhbjhrwkjefehfhrgbkrhIstillloveyou Luka on the outside: oh hi marinette Mari on the inside: *Mari.exe stopped functioning after seeing jacket-less exboyfriend* Mari on the outside: *baking to not process feelings*

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