all or nothing (Miraculous Ladybug story)
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | all or nothing |
| Author(s): | archekoeln |
| Date(s): | May 24, 2020 |
| Length: | 11,536 words |
| Genre: | het |
| Fandom: | Miraculous Ladybug |
| External Links: | fic, archived vers.; art, archived vers. |
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all or nothing is a GabeNath fanfiction written for the GabeNath Mini Bang. It is rated T for Teen And Up Audiences. It is a Canon Divergence AU work and also has tags for "Non-Chronological, Confusing Narratives, Emilie Agreste is alive, Agreste family fluff." The fic was beta-read by gabriel-fucking-agreste and art was provided by ShadowMayura.
Summary
When he looked up from his design tablet, he could see someone standing by the window. Familiarity gnawed against his knuckles. He tried to pin the feeling down but only succeeded in making it grow.
With nothing else to do, he began to draw.
A full figure. Long sleeves. Turtleneck. A business suit. Red and dark blue.
Pumps. Long legs.
A smart blazer, buttoned-up.
Lashes. Blue eyeshadow. A thin coating of blush on her cheeks. Red lips.
Hair pinned into a tight bun. Dark blue. A clump covering her eyes.
Red highlights. A streak just above her short bangs.
Red and dark blue. Red and blue. Red.
A smile meant for him. The twist of her lips when he told her about his plan. The way she shivered when he lifted her up; when he knelt in front of her; when he held her hand; when he—
Stop.
or
Gabriel wins.
Reception
By July 2020, all or nothing had 32 comments, the majority of which were positive.
Oh my god this was such a treat to read...I've been looking forward to the Minibang for so long now, and the past few days I was anxiously awaiting for it to start. First story of the collection, and oh my god, I'm at an absolute loss for words. This was beautiful and it took me for such an emotional roller coaster. The idea behind this was amazing, and the way you took it and turned it into something huge and unique is just so incredible! The way you wrote all the characters; the way everything seemed to bleed together; the back-and-forth between the "canon" world and the "divergent" world; the little details of Emilie modelling Nathalie's habits... I honestly don't know what to say I'm so at a loss for coherent thoughts. The only thing that I can say (that's going to sound weird cri, and I apologize) is that this story was like drinking water after being really dehydrated. I've been needing content that shows me why I love Miraculous and GabeNath so much... and reading this reminded me of that love. This was a wonderful fic, one that just gave me so much life and inspiration, and I can't thank you enough for writing this. :,) Thank you thank you for participating in the GabeNath Minibang, and thank you for giving me a story I'll remember well into the coming years. Incredible job on this story! Keep up the amazing work! :)
AaahhhSo many good things here, I don't even know where to begin. First of all, the non-chronological order really works here. It might be a bit confusing, but only a right amount. Once I got hold of the main narrative lines, it all came together pretty naturally, thanks to the smooth transitions and very clear and direct language.
As for the other things, I like how the idea of Sun-Emilie developed through the text, especially with the introduction of Night-Mayura (Night-Nathalie) as its counterpart. Like... the fact that the scene in which Nathalie confronts the inevitability of her death is happening at dawn holds so much raw power, oh god. I know it's a very basic observation, but I live for those things, so thank you. (Not to mention how good Sun-Moon symbolism works with them generally, considering the Moon revolves around the Earth and the Earth revolves around the Sun. It has nothing to do with this specific fic and is rather about that other drabble of yours, but this realization suddenly came to me and I thought I might as well share. That drabble is also very good.)
The scenes with Gabriel's false-true memories gave me chills, especially Emilie's confused reactions. Also, the idea of hero Papillon seems very fun. I think there're many interesting places this open end could lead, so if there's ever a continuation, I'll be up for it. (No pressure, though. It still reads pretty complete the way it is.)
Thank you!
Ooh, this is such an interesting take on a Gabriel Wins AU.
The subtle wrongness running through is fic is really well done. No one's happy-not even Emilie, who's keeps having Gabriel react unexpectedly because he's still responding as he's got accustomed before the Wish, to the expectations of a totally different woman And she herself isn't even clearly Emilie-As-Was with how she fills Nathalie's role and even physically starts to reflect Nathalie.
And, I love how we get the sense that the Wish has given Gabriel a lot of things he'd want, not just Emilie back, but Nathalie healthy, sucessful, and recognised for her talent, a better relationship with Adrien, maybe he still doesn't know Chat Moir's identity but here he's his mentor not his enemy, and yet he's still trying to full the gap in his life with these meetings with Mayura even though it jeopardises so much of that.
And poor Nathalie because if the Agrestes are confused....she doesn't even know why she's doing what she's doing, or where her changing feelings are coming from, and tbh even her sucessful business is Gabriel's idea of success.