Prince Charming
is a Miraculous Ladybug Alternate Universe fanfic by MiniMinou.
Contains examples of:
- Anywhere but Their Lips: While True Love's Kiss will break any curse, such a kiss very specifically has to be on the lips to count. As such, when Marinette and Cat Noir wish to play for the night, Marinette takes care to kiss her cat anywhere but on the lips.
- Benevolent Genie: When Marinette tries to trade Tikki her blessing of luck in exchange for turning Cat Noir human (she believes him to be a cat granted human form), Tikki not only gives it back to her, she also throws in two other blessings (one for Marinette, making her immune to glamour and mind magic for as long as she possesses her new Lucky Charm, and one for Adrien, telling him how he may dilute the power of his blessing).
- Blessed with Suck: Adrien's blessing of charm and beauty, which renders it impossible for him to ever have a normal life. As he puts it:This damn spell denies me the very thing I long for! [...] It's not that I want people to treat me badly, but I – I want them to be able to. And choose not to. I want my soldiers to follow me because I'm worthy of it. I want to be thought kind because I am. I want them to laugh at my jokes because they're funny, not because magic whispers in their ear that I'm the wittiest man who ever lived. I want something real. [...] I want my father to be able to bear my presence.
- Born Lucky: As a result of an ancient blessing given by Tikki, every Cheng woman has a "Lucky Charm", a sealed container that appears out of thin air shortly after they are born. As long as it is intact and close at hand, the woman will be blessed with good luck all their days. Alternately, they can open it to trade the good luck for another blessing.
- Bullying a Dragon: Really, Gabriel? Dragging one of the two mightiest Fae in existence before you, and compelling her at sword-point to bless your child? And you didn't expect that to spectacularly backfire?
- Cursed Item: The ring Plagg gives Adrien. Every night, if Adrien is wearing the ring he will turn into a cat-human hybrid and be stripped of his blessing of charm until the sun rises again. Notably, since Adrien sought this curse out Plagg didn't make the ring a Clingy McGuffin: Adrien can choose not to wear the ring if he doesn't want to be a werecat for the night.
- Curse That Cures: Plagg's werecat curse transforms Adrien so fundamentally that he no longer is "Prince Adrien", and as such Prince Adrien's blessings do not apply to him.
- Cursed with Awesome: Plagg's curse on Adrien: giving him enhanced physical abilities, inhumanly acute senses, and liberation from his blessing of charm. Adrien doesn't even have to transform if he doesn't want to, since the curse is tied to a ring that he can choose to not wear. The only real downside is his inhuman appearance.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Despite being the incarnation of destruction and bad luck, Plagg is actually a pretty decent person. While he tends to level horrific prices to those who summon him, that's simply because there aren't a lot of reasons a decent person would be calling on the spirit of Misfortune in the first place, and so Plagg is rarely summoned by anyone not already beyond redemption.
- Deal with the Devil: Adrien's bargain with Plagg. Plagg gives Adrien a cursed ring that will transform him into a cat-human hybrid and strip away his blessing each night he wears it. In return, Adrien must provide Plagg with as much cheese as he wants for as long as he lives.
- Disability Immunity: The Akumas created by the Bound Oblivion curse have had all human desire burnt away, and magic set in place to govern their movements. This makes them the only ones who aren't affected by Adrien's blessing.
- Exact Words: Highly important in dealing with Fae magic:
- Tikki blessed Prince Adrien, by that name and title. Therefore, something which causes Adrien to cease to be "Prince Adrien" (such as, for example, a cursed ring that shall turn him into a cat-human hybrid), shall also strip him of his blessing. And when Prince Adrien becomes King Adrien, the power of his blessing is permanently reduced to something manageable.
- True Love's Kiss can break any curse... And even if he wants the one and loathes the other, Adrien's Cat Noir transformation is the curse and his aura of enthrallment the blessing.
- The Fair Folk: Tikki and Plagg are powerful Fae in this setting, and have something of the usual Fae mindset. Tikki in particular seems to see nothing wrong with giving Adrien a blessing that will ruin his life, and requiring that his father die in order to get rid of it.
- I Love You Because I Can't Control You: Adrien's core motivation. He wants to be loved and valued for himself, not because of his blessing yanking on the puppet strings.
- It's What I Do: Plagg warns Adrien that even if he genuinely doesn't mean the Prince any harm, he is still Misfortune. His gifts are going to be double-edged, even if he doesn't want them to be.
- Laser-Guided Karma: According to Plagg, this is the true price invoking him usually carries. Whatever curse his summoners try to lay on their enemies will be returned three-fold on the summoner himself. Of course, in Adrien's case that would just be a four-for-one deal, so he has to get a bit more creative.
- More than Mind Control: It's mentioned that Adrien's blessing hits Marinette even harder than most because she's legitimately in love with him in her own right.
- No-Sell:
- Tikki's second blessing makes Marinette immune to glamours and mind control as long as she wears her Lucky Charm earrings.
- After being restored from the Bound Oblivion, the former akumas are immune to Adrien's blessing.
- Not the Intended Use: Plagg mentions that he's never had someone summon him to lay a curse on themselves before.
- The Farmer and the Viper: Discussed by Adrien after Marinette breaks his curse and he realizes that he can never be with the girl he loves.Adrien: Thank you for this gift, Misfortune. My compliments to you, you really know how to turn a wish into a double-edged sword.Plagg: Hm. You say that as if I did it on purpose. I did not grant your wish with malice.Adrien: I know. It's your nature. You can't help it, just like I can't help enslaving those around me.
- True Love's Kiss: In this setting, true love's kiss can break any curse, up to and including the Bound Oblivion. Unfortunately, Adrien's Cat Noir transformation is technically a curse...
- Adrien and Marinette later discover that a True Love's Kiss has to be on the mouth to count. And there are so many other wonderful places to kiss...
