Are you doing an angelic layer au? I thought I saw some stuff about that. Is it still a thing or was it just some fun doodles.
At the time, I was fully intending to do another comic series with the Angelic Layer AU, but I've just kinda....lost the enthusiasm for it? It's not even the AU itself, Miraculous Ladybug just hasn't particularly inspired me for a while now.
But behind the scenes, I HAVE put a lot of work into outlining chapters and mapping character arcs and got a lot of it done, so part of me doesn't want to announce the AU totally dead, which is why I haven't said anything to the several people who've messaged me about it.
So I think, definitevly, I can say that the Comic Idea is dead, but the AU is not.
Scarlet Lady was made by the seat of my pants, I had the overall intention of the story planned by every chapter was sorta made up as I went (ex: I knew I wanted Alya to stan Scarlet Lady and then be disillusioned by her before finally coming into her own as a hero and journalist, but I didn't choose specifically which episodes I'd focus on that until the timeline hit them)
Because of that, I wanted to make sure the ALAU was veeeeery planned before publishing everything. That does mean that I wouldn't publish anything until it's at least fully written. But the writing is hard when I'm just not as enthusiastic as I once was.
If I do publish ALAU, I think it'll be as a fanfic with artwork breaking up a the paragraphs. So, a very different format than Scarlet Lady.
So I'm very sorry to anyone who's been waiting around for this AU. You might be waiting for a very long time, it might never come out. I do give anyone permission to do what they want with this AU, and take no offense if it is completely different from my vision. This project is not abandoned but it's definitely not being given my attention right now.
I'm cleaning out my "Potential Art" sketch folder, enjoy these hella rough sketches that I let rot in my files.
Since some of my first fanart was of @imthepunchlord's Little Kitten and Little Princess, so I wanted to redo it some nearly 10 years later lol
Some Minnie Miraculous AU extras for @goatlilly's AU
Headcanon fun stuff with Kitty Section
I just love drawing Clara, she's so fun in my style. And some Lukanette that I'm sure I'll get flak for from @miraculous-content for never posting lol
aaaand some Miraculous Rewrite AU stuff for my own reboot that I never got too deep into (this is also First Draft Alya, I have way more sketches of her cuz I'm not sold on what to do with her hair lol it's Koki Marina ALL OVER AGAIN!)
Danny is Bruce's kid through doner. Bruce doesn't remember ever donating, so that was a bit of a shock, however luckily(or unluckily depending on POV I guess) Danny was the only viable pregnancy. Though Bruce doesn't want Danny involved in the night life, he does want to get to know his son, and Jack and Maddie are 100% okay with that. In fact, they even let Bruce take Danny to Gotham with him for the school year so that they can get to know eachother, Danny is their kid but they also want Danny to know his doner and his family, not to mention they think sending him to Gotham Academy might help get his grades back up. Danny was fine with Bruce and slowly getting to know him, he didn't want to be forced to spend most of the year with him though! But hes a kid so nobody listens to him and now hes in Gotham.
Danny is two-three years younger than Damian, so they go to school together. Damian insists he wants nothing to do with his younger brother, but its kinda obvious to anyone who knows Damian that hes stoked to be a big brother and not be the youngest anymore.
Because Danny is a trouble magnet, he quickly starts getting bullied. Damian of course notices, but doesn't want to step in if Danny has it handled. Except, Danny never defends himself, nor does he go to Damian for help. Damian is certain Danny will ask him for help once they get closer, but still Danny never goes to him. Jon tells him that maybe Danny is embarassed and doesn't want Damian to think Danny is weak or something? Which Damian takes to heart and starts persuading Danny to let Damian teach him self defense. Danny agrees because Damian seems so excited about it, plus he sees it as an opportunity to learn some new moves to use when fighting ghosts.
Now, in terms of what's actually happening with the bullying? Danny could not care less about it. Listen, Gotham Academy is filled with spoiled rich kids, most of which have never thrown a punch in their lives, their greatest 'weapon' is their words, most of which are barbs about how much richer they they are compared to other people, something Danny could care less about. They're annoying at best, completely forgettable at worst, even when they do try to beat him up, Danny can hardly feel it, they're that weak. Amity Park was way more brutal, completely ignoring the ghosts, the football players were way stronger, and more vicious, chasing him down before beating him up, or stuffing him in a locker, or giving him a swirly ect, ect,- compared to all that, Danny can deal with a few "harsh" words.
Basically: Damian really wants to be seen as a cool older brother, especially when he finds out Danny is being bullied. But, he also doesn't want to overstep boundaries or make Danny inferior by forcing himself into the situation, so instead he teaches Danny to fight. Meanwhile Danny is completely unbothered by the bullying because he's gone through worse back home.
Hi there \o, been a while, but i'm back, and back with a new AU, but this time its a miraculous one. I was very much inspired by @zoe-oneesama scarlet lady's comic these past few years, so i decided i'd create a universe and a comic of my own :D
Meet Zoe Lee, aka Lady Luck and Sabrina Raincomprix, aka Black Minette. Will be posting more soon, hope you like it
Okay. I have written and rewritten this thing three times now because they keep turning into massive essays about the problems of Sabrina in Canon—and there are a LOT of problems with Canon Sabrina, let me tell you. I would even say that other than the “rule” that Marinette has to make a mistake and learn a lesson every episode regardless of whether or not she is actually in the wrong or just everything about Lila and how she functions in the world, the show’s treatment of Sabrina remains one of my biggest gripes.
But I am trying to avoid falling into simply ranting about Canon rather than why I love the version of her in Scarlet Lady other than that she’s not the Sabrina of Canon. SL Sabrina deserves better than that, so hopefully this third time is the charm and I can adequately explain why she deserves a spot on this list in and of herself.
1. Breaking Tropes
There’s a general expectation in stories that any bully characters need to have a sidekick, also called a Dragon or a Beta Bitch. Otherwise they look rather lonely and it begs the question of how a single bully is expected to be an ongoing antagonist of any real merit if no one likes him and he lacks strength and numbers to make the protagonist an underdog. This is even more important with female bullies (aka the Alpha Bitch) who tend to target people socially and emotionally, which should be impossible if they themselves aren’t social. Thus we get a character who serves to fill the empty space on the bully’s side and make the bully look stronger. Someone who can highlight the bully’s power and cruelty while also doing most of the legwork for them in order to highlight their role as the “bigger bad“ of the group.
It should come as no surprise that Sabrina is this in Canon to the point that at the time of writing this, she is the image on the TV Tropes page for the Beta Bitch trope. Which makes sense, given how happily subservient she is to Chloe’s whims and how horrible she could be at Chloe’s order.
The thing about these characters is that they are generally shallow at best but more commonly shallow and two dimensional. There is nothing more to them and nothing more to do with them, so we don’t get to explore their lives or reasons or build on them as characters—THAT’S reserved for the bullies and other more important characters. Maybe they’ll get a day in the limelight episode…maybe. BIG maybe. But they’re just not as interesting of characters as the main antagonist. Heck, many of them aren’t even named.
As such, there usually isn’t much to do with them, so their fate is often to fall alongside the bully they support, surpass the bully they served to somehow be even worse, or to simply fade into obscurity once their role is no longer needed. IF there is any focus to be had among this group, it will go to the head bully—whether it be as an antagonist or a future redeemed ally. Even if the sidekick betrays the bully at the end, it’s usually portrayed less about personal growth or the character doing the right thing and more about the bully getting their long deserved comeuppance at the hands of “the least likely person”.
VERY rarely do we actually get to see this character be recognized on an individual level AS an individual. And even more rarely do we see them break away of their own will from the toxic environment they were in because of how toxic it was instead of betraying their former “friend” out of greed or necessity once it’s convenient. Then even IF they help the heroes and betray their leader, we still get little focus on them—no real focus on why they did it, and they usually still disappear afterwards. Even worse if the bully is redeemed, in which case the follower (despite often being less antagonistic or capable than the leader) will turn out to somehow be even more evil than the original bully ever was and takes over, showing that the bully and primary instigator can be a three-dimensional and decent person, but their followers (who only ever seemed to do bad things at THEIR direction) are just the worst ones ever—usually to highlight the nuance of the former bully leader and downplay their previous bullying as “not that bad”. From start to finish, they serve to make the bully character look “better“ and have no real life or character outside of that.
SL Sabrina breaks the mold. Not just with Canon but the trope setup as a whole, and in such a way that I can’t help but admire her for it. She’s more than just a crony or a follower, she is a person with her own development and it really shows here. She is a character with her own story and role that while it relates to Chloe, it isn’t necessarily about Chloe. And certainly not to the extent that Canon did.
Story-wise, Sabrina is the tale of someone giving her all in a relationship only to constantly be taken advantage of before she finally has enough and decides to live her own life for herself. She is the coming of age story of a girl who has to navigate a major change without the support she previously relied on. She’s the cautionary Aesop of the girl who realizes that her “best friend” is neither a friend nor best for her. A lesson about toxic relationships and that as scary as the unknown is, it can be worth taking the step away. Her whole arc is about discovering who SHE is, who she could be, and who all will actually stick with her through this journey. She grows up. She opens up. She moves on. Chloe may not change, but that doesn’t mean Sabrina can’t.
In any other story, she would be prime for the role of the main character. The fact that she isn’t a starring character of the series doesn’t mean she isn’t a central part of it.
2. Symbolism
Narratively speaking, Sabrina is a symbol of change throughout the series. She serves as a sort of representation of the stability of Chloe‘s life. At the start of the series, Sabrina is one of the staples of Chloe‘s reality alongside her father and his status, her mother and her status, Adrien and their roles as each other’s “only friend”, and Chloe’s own new status as the “Hero of the City”. Sabrina started off as one of the pillars that held Chloe up and let her appear and feel superior. She was a yes man who went along with anything Chloe wanted, did her dirty work, prioritized her wellbeing over her own, and told her what she wanted to hear while being silent on her own opinions. She was always there to support and cover for Chloe when needed. Over the course of two seasons, we got to see in slow motion each incident that helped to contribute to Sabrina’s changes until she eventually had enough and finally broke away at the start of season 3. Both from her relationship with Chloe and as her symbolism as Chloe’s stability. Sabrina was the first break to Chloe’s world as she knew it.
Think about it: in Sabrina’s akuma episode (and by the way, she got her own akuma episode), we had two major plot points: Sabrina cutting off Chloe and Marigold’s arrival. These are major changes to the previously established dynamics. And as such, this set the tone for the third season also being the beginning of a change in the overall setup of the series as a whole.
And look what all happened in season three? We have a new hero partner to help Chat and get to see the two of them build their relationship. Alya and Nino get together. Kim and Odine get together. Marigold and Chat gain more popularity and recognition in their own right. Kagami and Luka make their appearances. Adrien’s situation starts to improve. Adrinette finally gets some forward momentum!
Season three wasn’t necessarily when everything changed and was better, but it was a starting point that set the foundation for the changes that occurred in the following two seasons. It was also the first big break from the Canon that Zoe had been following fairly closely up until that point.
Sabrina is an indicator of the direction of the rest of the series. She is the one who kicked off the changes. She started off as a symbol of Chloe‘s stability and turns into a signal of it starting to fall apart. She is a sign not just of change, but of permanence for the series when she finally broke off her friendship with Chloe.
No, this isn’t a joke.
No, this isn’t temporary.
No, this isn’t going to be fixed (or retconned) by the end of the episode and things just “go back to normal.“
This IS the new normal. It happened. It matters. And what we get from there are the characters simply having to live with it and figure out how to move forward.
Through Sabrina, we saw that not only is there continuity between one episode and the next, but that the things that happened have consequences that continue to impact the future. She is the first real indicator of Chloe‘s coming downfall. She is the biggest source of change in the story and the herald of further change to come.
If you think about it, it kind of says something when the season that starts with her “breaking up“ with Chloe ends with her forming a new friend group and two other couples getting together (with one more at least finally becoming recognized as an option).
It becomes a season of discovery and forming new relationships.
Which brings up my next point…
3. Relationships
Let’s go ahead and start by addressing the elephant in the room:
Chloe and Sabrina’s relationship is abusive. It is toxic, harmful, and has an entirely one-sided power dynamic that really only benefits one of the two involved. There is a LOT to be said about the problems of their dynamic in Canon, and most of it is needless to say.
In Scarlet Lady, there is no mistaking the issues in this friendship. As much as Sabrina may care about Chloe, it is clear that the feeling is not mutual and no amount of inconsequential “good” (aka not AS bad as usual) moments from Chloe or playing the abuse for laughs can hide that.
So Zoe didn’t.
Yes, the relationship is emotionally and physically abusive. It may be played with humor at times, but at no point did I get the impression that’s “just how it is” or “Chloe will be Chloe” or that it is in any way normal or acceptable. Because it ISN’T. It SHOULDN’T be.
And Sabrina KNOWS this. She knows and no, she is NOT okay with it. She never was. From the start until the end, we see her reacting to the things Chloe does like a person instead of a positive affirmation recording and we see how she feels about it. She doesn’t like the treatment, she puts up with it because she considers Chloe a friend. That makes it hit harder when eventually she comes to terms with the reality that Chloe…really isn’t. A friend wouldn’t treat her this way and someone who would isn’t a friend. Zoe herself says in one tag for a bonus that "not every bonus is funny" and "some are just cold hard sad truths".
SL puts the responsibility for the relationship on Sabrina. Not because it’s Sabrina’s fault that Chloe does what she does, but because it is in Sabrina’s power to change the situation and break it off. And that’s hard for Sabrina because more than just being the beta bitch or a bully’s follower, SL Sabrina is a friend. We see her WANT to be a friend. We even saw how she has tried to support Chloe without fully understanding what Chloe was doing or why. And we saw her floundering after the break up as she doesn’t know what response she’s going to get as she tries to reach out to other people. We see it in her title card!
This shows that Sabrina isn’t simply an extension of someone else’s will. (We see that in her responses to Chloe‘s antics.) Or a placeholder. (Chloe tries and fails to find a replacement.) Or a background to prop Chloe (Even if that’s all Chloe sees her as.) She is a person with her own ties and her own reasons for those ties. She gets to choose who her friends will be.
Even BEFORE the breakup with Chloe, we see Sabrina having interactions and building relationships with the other classmates.
We see "Sabrina will remember this" when Chloe throws her under the bus, but less obvious is that she will also remember how Alix defended her when Chloe tried to blame her.
She refused to sabotage Juleka or Marinette, helped the other classmates understand what was going on, and joined or rather was INVITED to join the group picture in Reflekta. We SEE how much that meant to her.
And in turn, she helped in the group huddle to try and fix Alix’s watch in Timebreaker.
We see her accept the job as “Chloe Wrangler” with all seriousness for Marinette’s party in Befana. And that she invited Lila even after what happened in Volpina.
And these were all instances while she was still friends with Chloe! It didn’t have to be an either/or thing. We saw Sabrina branching out and getting closer to the classmates while still trying to be Chloe’s friend.
With this in mind, the trio she ends up forming with Lila and Alix MAKES SENSE!
Alix defended her! Lila was in a similar position of uncertainty. I never would have considered it, much less expected it to work but it DOES! And Sabrina ends up with significantly healthier relationships because of it. Relationships that help make her stronger, too. And helped her to open up on what she felt inside.
4. Sabrina Reacts
Among many other things, Sabrina‘s reactions are one of the aspects of the series I most enjoy.
Even when she will follow Chloe’s orders, she has her own opinions about it, especially as things go wrong or she suffers some repercussion while Chloe is left relatively untouched. She’s not a puppet. She has feelings. She feels resentment. We see it early on in the comic that while she cares for Chloe and wants to support her, she isn’t immune to the effects of what Chloe does. She has thoughts and feelings that don’t align with Chloe’s.
She was icked out over the thought of touching gum. She internally whined about wanting to go home during a movie production. She was caught up in the clothes in Marinette’s room.
Here’s a comparison that hits the point home: *Rogercop*
In Rogercop, Canon Sabrina had no reaction to her dad being fired. She was focused on defending herself from accusation of theft, which is understandable. But this was a situation where even if she was cleared, her life would be irrevocably changed because her dad no longer had a job and she just…didn’t care? Didn’t show any concern for her dad’s wellbeing after being unjustly fired and didn’t show concern about how her family would afford to live. What did she think would happen, that Chloe would house her? I had to go back and confirm Roger was Sabrina’s dad because she was acting like he was a stranger and his firing meant nothing to her.
In Scarlet Lady, we see Sabrina immediately react. IMMEDIATELY and with great devastation. Not just that her dad was fired but that her BEST FRIEND was the one responsible. Heck, we saw her breakdown start the moment Chloe demanded Roger be fired rather than after the Mayor actually did so. She doesn’t care when she’s being accused, her life is already drastically impacted. And in her words, “over a bracelet that probably rolled under the table or something”.
Is her spiraling funny? Yeah kinda. But it is still a major indicator of Sabrina’s mentality and proof that she isn’t immune or amenable to Chloe’s selfishness. It goes to show that while she may be Chloe’s friend, she isn’t ONLY here to serve as Chloe’s satellite the way she was in canon. And we see these things stick with her through later episodes as well.
Sabrina tried. She legit tried to support Chloe even when it was wrong or she had no reason to or no understanding why Chloe was doing or saying the things she did. But Sabrina is a person and every person has a breaking point.
We see so many of these little moments leading up to the events of Vanisher. This affords buildup. And it also shows that there is an overall continuity throughout the story.
Of particular note would be Reflekta. A point when Sabrina hadn’t yet broken off from Chloe but was clearly reevaluating the relationship. Same thing with Darkblade. Her ending the relationship with Chloe was not a sudden thing. It wasn’t an impulse. It wasn’t even simply the “final straw“ that warranted an immediate response. It was calculated and something Sabrina had been clearly thinking about for a while.
Then Evilustrator happened and we saw Sabrina was finally done with Chloe and her antics. She even got to stand up for herself in a scene that was sweet, powerful, and long overdue. That yes, there are other people in the world besides Chloe, Sabrina is NOT limited in her options of friends, and that the way Chloe has treated her is not okay. Granted, it was mostly Sabrina defending the classmates rather than herself, but it was still everything I and I think many others had wished Canon had given us.
Sabrina had even warned Chloe she was on her last chance.
5. Sabrina’s Growth
Can we just take a moment to appreciate how Sabrina takes the experience she gained being friends with Chloe to use it against her? Sometimes the thing about changing is how we still hold onto the things we learned from our worse times. And Sabrina learned a lot from her time with Chloe but has changed in how she's able to utilize it. Or perhaps the purpose she is able to utilize it for?
Relationships and character growth aren’t just in how people get together, but in how they grow apart. Sabrina’s growth is a great deal evident through her relationships and her progression in them. We see her slowly change over time while she’s with Chloe until she finally breaks away and makes new and significantly better friends. But that doesn’t mean she’s “fixed” or fully developed.
The other part of Sabrina’s growth is clear by her confidence and the way she presents herself. Leaving Chloe doesn’t fix anything with her. Neither does replacing Chloe with someone else. Sabrina is still Sabrina and the core issues and flaws that make her who she is are still there. It's something that takes time to truly grow.
Even after having new friends—even when she is chosen to be a hero, Sabrina still talks down about herself. She blamed herself when Frighningale happened. Even after saving the day, she called herself a sidekick— showing that she still views herself as being in a role of a subordinate or “lesser”.
That’s not the sort of thing you can fix. It’s especially not the sort of thing that can be fixed in a single episode regardless of Marigold reassuring her or the “power of plot”.
Confidence and self-esteem are slow to build, but that’s what makes them so important. And we see that in Sabrina throughout the course of the series.
We see her go from silently suffering to open snark to outright defiance. She’s been in a toxic friendship. She’s been a loner. And finally, she’s found people that she can be herself with…even if she doesn’t quite know who that “self“ is yet.
But that’s okay! She has friends who will help her figure that out and support her in the meantime.
And I wish her nothing but the best in that.
Conclusion: Sabrina
She’s a girl.
She’s a friend.
She's emotional.
She’s supportive.
She can be dangerous.
She lacks confidence and isn’t quite there yet.
She is smart in her own right.
She is capable.
She has an inner wild side.
She is amazing when she is happy.
She is the classic teenager trying to figure herself out.
And the signs are there even long before she realizes it.
I just love her.
Whether she’s subservient and internally snarky or openly defiant and supportive, I find myself admiring Sabrina and cheering her on. That’s why I’m glad that among the characters who find their happiness and place in the course of the comic, Sabrina finally gets to be one of them. She deserves it. Not just because of what she was put through, but because of what she has accomplished in the process. For herself, for her classmates, and for Paris.
I don’t think I’ve properly expressed just how in love I am with @nionom-art’s Coccinella AU so I wanted to thank them with their oc (and future akuma victim), Zia! I’ve been loving the comic, and looking forward to each new installment! If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend it!
"Chat," Ladybug sighed, staring at the rose being extended to her. She was starting to wonder what would run out first: his resolve, or the amount of roses in Paris.
Also, she was fairly sure he'd taken that one from the guy they just saved.
"You know I can't take that," she said, rather than voicing any of those things.
"Why not?" He frowned, sliding his thumb along the rose's stem. His claw was sharp enough that it snipped off a thorn in the process, which landed at her feet. "You took the one after we fought Glaciator."
She pursed her lips, so many answers coming to mind but not a lot that she thought she could say. In contrast to the bodysuit's thick material protecting them every time they dealt with akuma, Chat was delicate like the petals of the rose he held. He put on a show of confidence that couldn't be shaken, but when it came to talking about feelings - or lack there of - where they disagreed, it was a field of landmines.
She didn't want to hurt him, but it was difficult to figure out where she could safely tread. Their roles as superheroes with secret identities meant she had no idea what his home life was like, so she pitied him in a way.
I want to keep it professional between us, and this isn't it, she wanted to tell him. You need to knock it off. I can't keep doing this all the time.
Above all else, she wanted to say: I already have a boyfriend.
——-
Marinette hurried down the street, checking the time once more with her phone as if it'd suddenly jump up ten minutes. That was just what happened when she juggled two different lives; the world seemed to move faster than she could handle.
The one nice thing about being Ladybug, at least, was that it let her travel as she pleased, much faster than she'd be able to normally. It meant that she was close enough to her intended destination to where she wouldn't have to worry about being sweaty.
Turning a corner, she could see the building with the ice rink in the distance. Excitement and relief burst in her chest, but she ducked into the nearest alley for one final "check." Since her phone was already out, she swapped to her camera and took a look at herself
Her bangs weren't quite right due to the run, but she easily smoothed them back to their original position. The only problem then was her expression, as she still had lingering stiffness from her unproductive conversation with Chat.
(It's fine,) she thought to herself. (Ladybug time's over. You're here now, you're going to have a great, distracting time, and it'll all be better.)
She tested out her smile, tilting her head side-to-side while eyeing her face. It wasn't as good as she'd like it to be, but she didn't have time to take an acting course. It'd have to do.
Making sure her back was straight, she put her phone away and strolled out of the alley with all the enthusiasm she could muster. Most of it was genuine, but it was frustrating when she couldn't be at her absolute best when she went out on a date.
Though, Luka had told her repeatedly that he was happy to be near her no matter her mood, and every time it somehow felt like a wedding vow. She shook her head to get rid of the thought before she had to consider using the ice rink to cool her face off.
It wasn't that hot outside, but it was refreshing pushing the double doors open into the air-conditioned room. Breathing felt fresh, like the first inhale after one's teeth were newly brushed with a minty toothpaste, and she eagerly looked around for her boyfriend since he tended to arrive early.
She spotted him before he spotted her, as he was sitting on a chair looking at his phone. It was almost automatic to call out to him, but she took the appropriate amount of time to admire his date attire.
Luka wasn't really a fancy dresser, but it was obvious when he put in extra effort to look conventionally nice as opposed to his typical punk look. Less rips in his clothes, hair brushed more while retaining that bit of fluff, and the shoes with random symbols all over being traded out for more "normal" shoes.
If he were ever to ask her on a clothes shopping date, she would die happily on the spot. Perhaps it was her nature as someone who fantasized about being a fashion designer one day, but the more she liked someone, the more she wanted to dress them up. She already felt better simply looking at him.
She approached, and he seemed to hear her first rather than see her, given the way his head suddenly darted up from his phone to make eye contact with her. She saw the signature sparkle in his eyes and the widening of his smile when he saw her, though it faltered momentarily in what seemed like suspicion.
Empaths; can't hide anything from them, apparently. After waving at him, she stood beside him and gestured at his ensemble. "I love the black jacket. I'm so used to seeing you in blue."
He stood up and took her hand, his back straighter than usual at the praise. "Thanks. I didn't know what you were going to wear, but you told me that black goes with almost everything. I thought it'd be a good idea in case you wanted to wear it home." He stared off into the distance, thoughtful. "If you don't think it'd be boring, we can go shopping for matching clothes when I get my next paycheck from my part-time job."
(Marry me,) she screamed in her head, eyes briefly shut tight as she reminded herself that they were in public. She could stand to have some decorum at least, settling for squeezing his hand and pulling him in for a quick but affectionate kiss.
Eyes half-lidded when they pulled away, she insisted, "I should be thanking you. I feel better already."
She knew that he knew something was up, so there was no point in denying it. Best to get it out right away before he started worrying.
"Good. Happy to help," he assured, voice low but full of love. He outstretched an arm towards the rest of the building, wordlessly asking if they should carry on with the date while they talked. At her nod, they both walked together as he asked, "Was it a rough day?"
"Not a rough day," she replied, aware how funny that would've sounded to anyone who knew she was Ladybug less than an hour ago. "There's this guy who keeps bothering me, and I don't know how to make him stop."
Luka's brows drew together in concern. "Is it someone at school? You can't get away from him?"
"S...sort of. It's complicated." She did her best to explain without revealing too much information. "I can't avoid him and it's better if we get along, but he likes me. He doesn't listen when I try to tell him that I'm not interested. It might be easier if I told him I was dating someone, but the less he knows about me, the better."
He listened and nodded along, though she didn't expect him to fully grasp the situation. Without all the details, she knew it must've been hard to understand why it was so complex in the first place.
After a moment, he pointed out, "You shouldn't have to tell him you're dating if you already rejected him."
"I know." She didn't actually know, but it was comforting to hear it, especially from him. "I don't think he's a terrible guy, but I don't want to deal with it every time we see each other."
They'd gotten their respective ice skates by that point and went towards the ice rink. It was relatively empty, so they picked two seats to sit next to each other in as they continued their conversation.
"Sorry if it's weird to talk about this," she said regretfully.
"Why would it be weird?" he wondered, so genuine and innocent that she wanted to kiss him again.
"You're my boyfriend? Listening to me talk about another guy?"
He snorted, putting his ice skates aside to pick up her hand again. He kissed her fingers, then grinned at the way she twitched from the tingling sensation it gave her. "A guy you don't even like. Why would I be upset about that? I'm just happy you're alright talking to me about your problems."
She blushed, partly from the sweetness but also embarrassment because he was right. Why did she have to assume that talking about guys was off-limits somehow?
Maybe it was how she grew up, she supposed. She didn't have any guy friends for a long time and, even in her superhero life, Chat hadn't made a big deal of it when she brought in a girl as another superhero to help out.
Luka, maybe not seeing her thought process exactly but getting the gist of it, intertwined their fingers and wondered, "Does he know you like guys?"
"I don't think so. I never said it, so he probably just hopes so."
"...Hm."
"Hm?" She tilted her head, amused. "That was a suspicious hm."
"No, I—" His free hand held his chin as he tried to explain himself. "I thought of something, but I don't know if you'll like it."
She pouted. "Well now I want to know even more."
"But..."
With a purposefully dramatic huff, she pulled her hand away from his so she could cross her arms. Abandoning her own ice skates, she got up from her seat and moved over to drop herself right onto his lap, effectively straddling him.
"Lukaaaa~" she pleaded, sliding her hands up his chest and to his shoulders. With all her anxiety, she'd always been worried about her ability to have a balanced relationship with someone, but Luka had a way of bolstering her confidence and she could see that she had him under her spell.
His hands found her waist instantly, and he gave in happily, "I know you don't like doing it, but you could lie."
"Lie?" The thought had never occurred to her beyond the basics of what she had to do to protect her identity.
"What if he thinks you're into girls?" He smirked mischievously, adding a lightness to his voice. "I'm happy to be your girlfriend whenever you need it, or whatever you want to call me."
That... wasn't a bad idea. He was right that it didn't feel good to lie about it, but it wasn't like she had to worry about slipping up, since she never talked about her personal life to him.
"I can't believe my 'girlfriend' is telling me to lie," she joked. "When did you become such a rebel?"
"It does bother me that someone's bothering you like that,*" he answered honestly, "so I think you should do whatever you have to. Let me know if it gets worse or not."
"Aw~" She pressed herself against him, feeling him move so she could wrap her arms around him. "Why? Are you going to take care of him for me?"
"...My mom might if she hears," he admitted. She laughed, and he tried not to smile as he continued, "She's happy for me finally getting a 'co-captain.' She knows I'm more happy with you than with anyone else."
The heartfelt statement sobered her up from the brief fit of mirth. She pulled away enough to look at his face, touched. "I make you that happy...?"
He stroked her cheek, but his eyes flicked down to her lips occasionally, seeming torn between whether he should kiss her face or simply admire it. "Yeah, and every next verse we play just makes me happier. I don't even want to move right now."
She brought a hand up to his wrist, running her thumb along his racing pulse. Voice tender, she said almost as a reminder, "But we came here to ice skate..."
Shaking his head, he disagreed, "I came here to spend time with you, and I'm doing that right now."
The position he was in might not've been fully comfortable - the seats were only so-so to sit on - yet he appeared to be in heavenly bliss with her on his lap as she was. She tried to remind herself about the money spent, the fact that they'd bothered to plan this date in the first place, and how much of a waste any reasonable person would tell them it was to not ice skate in an ice rink.
Then, she realized that she didn't care. With a coy smile, her hand slipped atop his shoulder and under his jacket to drag it down his arm. "Can I wear this after all?"
Luka was positively beaming, not minding the semi-awkward shifting they both had to do in order for him to get it off. She made herself more comfortable in the meantime, and he proceeded to throw the jacket over her shoulders, waiting for her to slip her arms into the sleeves before letting go.
"...Oh, Luka!" she fake-gasped, her hand flying up in front of her gaping mouth. "You forgot to bring a jacket to the ice rink! You must be freezing, I can't let you go out there when it'll be even colder."
The outer corners of his eyes creased up in delight. Teasingly, he wondered, "Should we leave?"
"Of course not! If I get up, you'll be more exposed." She cuddled against him, pointedly ignoring how warm he felt as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'll just have to share my body heat with you. It's the safest way."
His laughter so close to her ear was even more warm and, in the back of her mind, she thought that she might not have to lie after all.
——-
"I don't want you to give me roses anymore," Ladybug told Chat, firm but still as gentle as she could.
There was a twitch to his lips. He twirled the rose in his hand, asking, "A friend can't give another friend flowers?"
"It's not the same thing when I know you have feelings for me," she explained, "and we're superheroes. We can go on patrol, we can talk like friends do, but not this."
"I guess that includes hanging out?" The question was fine on its own, but there was a bitterness to his enunciation.
"Not dinner. No dates." She was tempted to point out that he'd asked her out last time and set it up as a clearly romantic date without her being aware of it, but resisted so as to not rock the boat any further than she already had. "Don't kiss my hand either."
"What did I do wrong?" he demanded, thoroughly baffling her with whatever angle he was looking at this from. "I'm doing my best. Chat Noir and Ladybug, Ladybug and Chat Noir; everyone loves seeing us together."
"I don't. Not like this. I don't expect Paris to respect that, but I hope you will." After making a motion with her foot to imitate drawing a line in sand, she pivoted on her heel to face her back to him. She took a few steps away, paused for effect, then turned her head to say, "And one more thing..."
His cat ears visibly perked, because somehow he must've still thought that this could've been something positive for him. "Yeah?"
She exhaled through her nose, waiting just long enough for his ears to relax again. Then, she dropped the bomb, "I'm not into guys."
"You—" Chat's lips parted, and one could almost see the gears turning in his head while he processed what she said. A solid ten seconds passed and his mouth dropped fully open, his face flushing red like she'd either embarrassed, shamed, or thoroughly scandalized him with the implications.
Without another word, she leapt from the roof and threw out her yoyo, satisfied where things had been left and feeling secure in the fact that she hadn't genuinely lied to him.
At the end of the day, she wasn't into guys; she was into one guy.
And we’re back, baby! Miraculous fanfic inception- Spiderverse, but if it were involving all of the Miraculous Ladybug AU's here on Tumblr.
That being said, I have a couple of ground rules that I need to put in place (so that it can stay up).
First off, this won’t operate like a regular au, seeing as how most of these au’s aren’t mine. I don’t plan on doing much in the way of writing a full length story for this (like I’m doing with Miraculous Coccinella). Maybe just a couple of comics. I’m hoping this will act as a creative springboard for everyone seeing this to create their own stories/artwork.
Feel free to send me your head cannons on how specific au’s depicted here might interact! (I have some fun ones in mind already)
I won’t be answering asks about adding specific au’s. Just assume all au’s are included in this, but I won’t be making comics for/theorizing about au’s that aren’t already in this artwork. Please don’t send me asks about au’s outside of this artwork in connection with this concept (not because I don’t love other au’s as well, but just for my own mental sanity).
Please do create your own artwork/stories based off of this concept! If you’re thinking you would love to explore how your au would fit into all of this, create your own art, comic, story, text chain, you name it, exploring just that! Tag me so I can see!!!
Now with that out of the way- go forth! Have fun with this concept!
AU’s involved:
Cannon’s Miraculous Re-Verse (by Zag)
Re-verse AU by @revolutionary-thoy
Scarlet Lady AU by @zoe-oneesama
Lady Fairy AU by @beebeebombam
Miraculous Coccinella AU by me :)
Villain/Villains AU by @bigfatbreak
Dad Villain AU by @bigfatbreak
Bakery “Enemies” AU by @buggachat
Lovey Bug AU by Miraculous Tumblr (jump-started by @pisoprano @wolflover2426 and @blur0se).
I'm planning to do a BIG series of Kwami swaps (80 additional designs, plz wish me luck 🙏) but first I needed some basics of my design principles for each character and Kwami, so here are all the designs I'm working with::
To make the 80 designs more manageable, my plan is to work by the Miraculous first, for example I'll do all of the bee & all of the snake designs rather than all of Chloe & all of Luka's designs, that way I'm working in slightly smaller batches of designs & I can keep them unique enough from one another
And if anyone is curious, here's my chart for organizing the swaps and also the hero names:
(and I'm allowing comments on the document if you have any thoughts or alternate names (bc I'm not sold on ALL of them) so plz feel free to do so)
P.S. I don't intend on doing anything with this in terms of a story or lore, or even full illustrations, it's just something I've wanted to do for a long time
Alya & Chloe gotta be my favs this round they're so gorge (honorable mentions to Luka and his cute little bob tail 🥺 and Kagami being named FURBALLL 😭😭😭)
For the Nino enjoyers, I'm sorry :(
And of course the chart of names, plz feel free to leave comments & suggestions
I needed to take a break from my mermaid melody art and decided the rational thing to do was to make 5 designs for each kwami plus some unification designs.
In all honesty, I'm not even active or up to date with miraculous ladybug. I just kinda watch some people and live ml through them lol. idk if I'll get back into it officially, who knows.
EDIT: changed file type bc I did save them as jpg so they looked bad. Also added background bc you couldn't really see the designs lol
Introducing two new kwami swaps, Juleka as Baaphomet and Rose as Juno! Someone had requested Juleka with the goat, so I got to have fun with this glam-rock look. I love how punk the new Purple Tigress is, so I wanted to give Baaphomet the same energy, and Juleka’s new design has bright green lipstick, so I feel like a white lip wouldn’t be out of her wheelhouse.
No one asked for Rose with the Peacock, but I haven’t seen too many versions of it, and thought if I were to do Juleka with the power to create any object, I could do Rose with the power to create any being. I like making the peacock all fancy, so she’s in a cute dress and hat, with her ribbons flowing out like feathers. Hope you like them!
Marinette is the bomb @miraculousl4dybug - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag