Plance Steampunk/Fantasy AU

@carpisuns Heard you wanted Ladrien sugar so here you go

I love Ladrien because, though it's often called boring (and I used to think it was too), it has the potential for some of the most complex conflicts in the love square.

First of all, it seems like the side of the love square most likely to happen, but it's actually the least sustainable. Ladybug and Adrien are each in their least free states with Ladrien: Adrien is micromanaged by his father, Ladybug has duty she has to focus on. (Not to mention they're both hunted by the paparazzi.) That's not to say they can't be real or truly in love; but a Ladrien relationship is the hardest to maintain, even though it's the easiest to begin.

It's been mentioned that Ladrien tension can be drawn out, since Mari doesn't know Adrien likes Ladybug, and Adrien doesn't know Ladybug likes him. They don't necessarily have to get together immediately. And yeah, that has a lot of potential. But also, Ladrien has potential if they do get together immediately. Established relationships can still have complex, interesting, or even conflicting and tense dynamics. Most fiction only shows the buildup to a relationship, but in the real world, most relationships are . . . you know. Relationships. Not endless will-they-won't-they nonsense. Even if Ladrien got together immediately, that doesn't make their relarionship boring. In reality, it could make their relationship interesting in a very unique way; interesting, because it actually shows what real relationships are like, instead of just the buildup.

Also, Ladrien has insane angst potential. First of all, both of them could easily think the other just has a celebrity crush, since Ladybug doesn't know Adrien knows her as Chat, and Adrien doesn't know she knows him as Marinette. It would hurt so much to think the person you love only likes you on the shallow surface level. They could also pull out a "well I have concrete evidence that you don't love me when you see my flirty/awkward/reckless/clumsy side. No, I can't tell you what that evidence is, but I promise it's definitely real and very conclusive," which could be very painful for either party.

Finally, even ignoring this complexity, Ladrien is a good ship because it's good. The shameless love is heartwarming; it's sweet, it's cute, it can range anywhere from awkward and blushy "strangers" to best-friends/old-married-couple vibes. (And let me tell you, anything on that spectrum is perfect.) Their selfless support of each other through Ladybug's duty and stress as the protector of Paris and Adrien's exhaustion and pain from being Gabriel's son is so calming and comforting. When I'm feeling down, I read or write Ladrien. It's just that good.

TL;DR: Ladrien isn't boring. It has so much potential for complexity, conflict, and depth. And even if it didn't (which it totally does) . . . so what? It's such a soft, cute, comforting, feel-good ship. I absolutely love it. And this is why.

I meant to draw this back in November when I first read the asexual Jasnah chapter, but uh . . . better late than never, right?

Reading the chapter that revealed Jasnah was ace was one of the happiest moments of my life. No joke, I went to bed that night grinning so hard it hurt the next morning. If there was any doubt about it before, Brandon Sanderson is definitely my favorite author now. Ace Jasnah is awesome.

I understand people being a little disappointed she's not homoromantic or 100% lesbian, but just remember that's she's not heteroromantic either--since the only romances she's ever been in (in any iteration of the Stormlight archive) have been with Taln (WoKP) and Hoid (RoW), she's clearly actually infiniromantic--romantically attracted to people who are at least a few millennia old and way too knowledgeable for anyone's good.

(Also, yes, I will be using ace Jasnah as an excuse to draw her exclusively using purple palettes. I mean, I would've anyway because something about her is just purple, but now I have an excuse.)

Alright, here's a survey question for my fellow Plance shippers. Which plot thread do you prefer:

Lance starts flirting with Pidge as he slowly realizes his feelings for her, and she finds it extraordinarily confusing

or

Lance never flirts with Pidge, because he sees her as a friend instead of just a girl, which highlights how unique their relationship is to him

You. Yes, you. The person reading this right now.

You need to go watch this Miraculous animatic by @izzyjdraws right now.

Your life will get better. The beautiful, clean art will heal you. The clever storytelling will improve your grades, the smooth animation will make you more graceful, the adorable art style will turn you into a supermodel.

All of her animatics are masterpieces. Please go watch them, her work is so amazing and she needs love!

Sometimes I wonder if it took the citizens of Paris time to adjust to their new superhero's look.

Here are some Plance kisses I doodled!

(and now the last one, but with glasses:)

map of europa with drawings of my fellow soldiers from back during the ice war

way back when I got promoted to sergeant my captain gave me the company guidebook on europan warfare and all these maps. neither of them were worth anything except as a canvas. thing is, ink and paint freezes in those tunnels, so I drew the other soldiers all in pencil. I've been going through these old sketches from my time on the ice and thinking I might share some of them, so I'll have a few more for you soon, because the ice was hell and this was the only thing that made it gentler

Source for map (Global Geologic Map of Europa by USGS in conjunction with NASA):

https://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3513/sim3513_sheet.pdf

(I love USGS so much)

Steris, my queen