For my readers of To Be A (Miraculous) Master, my Miraculous Ladybug x Pokémon AU, I was able to write this quick one before my upcoming laser eye surgery. After watching the Horrificator episode a few more times, I couldn't help but write this. I still had a day left. Enjoy!
It doesn't take much effort to notice the simplest and most meaningful things.
But this world throws a multitude of distractions that unfortunately detract the awareness of many, making it more difficult to notice subtle significant details.
Some people are gifted with heightened awareness, so no matter what interference comes their way, they don't lose sight of the bigger picture.
Others work hard to be able to notice the differences between picture A and picture B, usually by calming the storm of emotions and judgmental bias in their hearts and mind's eye to see the true picture.
Juleka Couffaine was gifted with strong awareness, but at the same time was capable of disregarding certain details out of convenience or lack of interest. Not that anyone would know that much of her because of her shy, reserved, and generally quiet personality. Not even her best friend and considerably her polar opposite in behavior, Rose Lavillant.
Whenever she wasn't involved with Rose at the back of the classroom, Juleka would tend to observe the activities of her fellow classmates that would reinforce and add onto the depths of their established reputations, whether or not the idiosyncrasies she would pick up were complementary to their characters or not. She just wanted to understand what made each classmate of hers special and how they stood out from each other, considering that she was regarded in the background and not given much thought.
If the quirk in question fell to the latter, it would just make the targeted person have a more interesting personality. It was simply enough for her to know what was going on while not prying into very personal boundaries. She knew her limits and when to back off when it got dangerous, though she often pushed beyond her set limit as she didn't fear easily.
Some things she knew, ranging from behavioral to physical, included Nathanaël Kurtzberg gaining a new interest in drawing Ladybug comics, the small scarring chip in Ivan Bruel's right eyebrow, Chloé Bourgeois and Sabrina Raincomprix coming up with scenarios for them to emulate Ladybug and Cat Noir before heading to the former's hotel, and Nino Lahiffe slowly having a particular interest on Marinette Dupain-Cheng despite how much similarity he had with Alya Césaire.
Speaking of feelings, it was painfully obvious to most unless they didn't care or were completely oblivious that Marinette was head-over-heels for Adrien Agreste, the latter falling on oblivious on her feelings due to his own interest in Ladybug.
Yep, she was very observant.
Juleka had the pleasure to be the makeup artist for their class's short horror film, which meant making sure the lead actors appeared photogenic before the camera. Mylène didn't require much maintenance and to be fair, neither did Adrien. However, at some instances when they had to do a new take, she took the opportunity to reapply makeup powder on Adrien's face to prevent the lighting from making his skin appear too bright.
Even she had to admit that the boy was blessed with good looks to the point that he was a radiant divine being, though she didn't fawn over the teen model like the majority of adolescent females did in all of Paris.
At least, she felt she didn't.
If she did, she was considerably very tame compared to the likes of Marinette and Chloé.
The first few takes in the beginning, he was quiet and content in letting her do her work in touching him up. However, due to Mylène being unable to control her fear when it came to Ivan's role, this was becoming a frequent habit.
As he was receiving his touchup after the fourth failed take, Adrien decided to strike a conversation with her. Nino was still working on motivating Mylène to get into character and it appeared it might take a while.
"You're really good with makeup, Juleka," he said when the brush was at a far side of his face. "Better than most makeup artists I've dealt with in past photoshoots."
"… Thanks, Adrien," the girl with purple streaks mumbled back with a small smile.
"Do you practice it often, I presume?"
"… Sometimes… On Rose or myself… And Mylène at times… Why?"
"I don't know. You just appear to know what you're doing and you have a pretty unique style compared to the rest of us."
"… It's just… mmm… yeah…"
"Sorry?"
"… It's nothing. What's it like? Doing photoshoots and being the center of attention?"
The question strangely caught Adrien off guard. He wasn't asked about his occupation often by his classmates since they already knew by virtue of Chloé. But aside from that, it sounded that Juleka didn't mumble her words this time around.
Maybe she was getting used to talking to him. It would be nice to have another good friend aside from Nino, Marinette, and Alya, even though Adrien was generally liked and respected in the class.
"A lot harder than it looks," Adrien quipped; Juleka appeared amused by his answer.
The blond model couldn't continue as Nino called in for the actors to take their places once more. Juleka went off to the side and they began redoing the monster scene a few more times. Unfortunately, Mylène still broke character and cowered again despite Ivan going easy on the roars and intimidating stances.
With Nino yelling cut on the seventh take, Adrien was able to resume conversing with Juleka while the others attempted to remedy Mylène. It didn't help that Chloé began to heckle them for wasting time and mocking Mylène's cowardice.
"As I was saying, it's not as easy as it looks in front of the camera," Adrien resumed, receiving another touchup from the makeup artist. "I feel restricted and fake whenever I have to do photoshoots. To be honest, modelling isn't something I would choose to do, but my father wants me to do so otherwise."
"Oh," Juleka smiled briefly before it turned into a frown. "… At least the camera loves you."
"What do you mean, Juleka?" Adrien prompted.
The quiet girl looked away while still expertly brushing light powder upon his cheeks, avoiding his lips, eyes, and nostrils while she appeared to be gathering courage.
"… Thing is… I'm no good in front of a camera," Juleka admitted, looking back at him in the eyes. "While you appear so… photogenic in your fashion magazines, my pictures… don't turn out as well. I never get a good picture as something always goes wrong whenever I get a photo taken, like someone's hand to a pigeon blocking my face. It's almost as though I'm… cursed or something."
"C'mon, you're exaggerating," Adrien attempted to comfort. "I don't think I look that great on the magazines. You can probably thank the world of editing for that."
"… No," Juleka remained unconvinced, though she did have a small good-natured smile after. "… You're just a natural at it."
"Heh, if you say so," Adrien waved off humbly. "Kinda strange thinking about it. According to Alya, she claimed that Marinette would say the same thing if she didn't stammer over her words. Don't know why that happens, but I guess she's trying to be nice since she's a fashion designer, or studying to be one at least."
"She would say that," Juleka agreed.
She often saw the bluebell-eyed designer's attempts at trying to start a conversation with him, only to turn into a stuttering blushing mess and relying on Alya to bail her out. She thought it was cute on how Marinette had such a huge crush on him. Of course, most of the other girls in the class were able to see it and through the unspoken girl code or something of the sort, they were going to respect Marinette and let her pursue Adrien, even though Chloé disregarded this code; to be fair, the brat didn't care about such things as long as she wanted Adrien.
Though this momentarily left Juleka to wonder if at another time or universe that Marinette didn't have an interest in Adrien if she herself would pursue him instead. Adrien was nothing but thoughtful and humble despite coming from an extravagant background like Chloé and had even gone out of his way to give everyone, including her, kindness and attention like Marinette usually would. Juleka had the wish to be noticed and accepted for who she was in spite of her quietness and Adrien was much of a gentleman to treat her with such respect, even if the boy had been homeschooled his whole life. In certain circumstances, his ignorance of some social customs would occasionally place him in the same level of social awkwardness as her, making him all the more relatable and approachable. In any case, this wasn't her story. That much she knew.
As such, it wasn't surprising why Marinette fell hard for him.
Adrien was called in again to reenact the scene. Juleka was back on standby, receiving a cup of juice from Rose to refresh herself with. She couldn't help but admire her handiwork once more as Adrien and Mylène got into action, even though the smaller girl didn't need a lot of makeup for the film. By the thirteenth take, Juleka stepped back into action on Adrien while Nino became more exasperated by the failures.
"What do you think of Marinette?" Juleka asked out of nowhere, dabbing her brush into her makeup compartment to reapply the powder.
"Oh… uh, she's really nice and consider towards others," Adrien admitted, having been caught off guard by the question. "She's a capable designer and can really stand up for herself whenever Chloé gives her a hard time, sad to say. Though she's kinda quiet whenever she's around me, much like you usually are. No offense."
"None taken," Juleka giggled; she knew how quiet she is and knew the blond model was sincere.
"You know, you're really capable of expressing yourself," Adrien continued. "I'm surprised I don't see you talk more, Juleka."
"Nah… I'm just… shy," Juleka shrugged again. "And I usually don't have much to say."
"Well, if you were given an option to speak your mind without being judged for it, would you?" Adrien asked.
It was a rhetorical question, but Juleka already knew her answer.
"… If I had the freedom to," she answered.
"That makes two of us then," Adrien replied, provoking a brief look of surprise from the tall girl with the large bang. "It's something I don't really tell others, but I can trust you with it."
"What do you mean?" Juleka prompted, covering the sides of his chin with her brush.
"Freedom is the one thing I've always wanted, maybe not since I was a child, but just to be like everyone else," Adrien explained. Juleka was genuinely confused. People naturally want to be the center of attention, to be noticed and remembered. "Thing is I'm suffocated with so much pressure from my father just so I can please him, which is why I have to be his ideal poster child and show myself off to the public as his greatest achievement."
"Oh… I never imagined," Juleka murmured. "So there are negative connotations to being the center of attention too?"
"Not all the time, but sometimes I just want to get away from it all," Adrien clarified. "I mean, I don't mind the modelling too much, but I'm pretty much constricted to a strict schedule."
"Whoa… I don't think I can deal with a strict schedule," Juleka mumbled.
"Not many can," Adrien sighed. "I'm actually envious of you, Juleka."
"R-Really?" Juleka widened her brown eyes. She never imagined making anyone envious because of how quiet and out of the way she was. "How?"
"Sometimes I just want to fade in the background if it means I can be free to be myself," Adrien answered until a thought came to mind. "But I imagine it's not fun being behind the scenes either, is it?"
"No," Juleka whispered, lowering her makeup brush.
"Then let's find a way to be in the center together," Adrien proposed, eliciting a surprised gasp from the tall girl.
"Together?" Juleka repeated.
"Wherein you are given more attention while I get less," Adrien explained. "Does that make sense?"
"Kind of," Juleka mumbled. "But how will that work?"
"We'll figure it out," Adrien smiled reassuringly. "And I know you have friends willing to help you out along with me. There's Rose, Alix, and Marinette just to name a few."
"Wow… why are you doing this much for me?" Juleka, though touched by his suggestion, had to inquire.
"I think you're cool, Juleka," Adrien grinned. "A little quiet at times, but you have a lot to share whenever you express yourself. Not to mention we have a bit in common. I'd really like having a friend like you."
"I'd like that too," Juleka smiled; it was a beautiful smile. Adrien enjoyed received such honest smiles in place of the fake ones he had to give on covers and to assure people he was alright when he had inner turmoil. Her smile could rival that of Marinette's. Of course, no one can beat Ladybug's sweet smiles. "Just one thing, Adrien."
"What's up?" Adrien followed.
"Just… pay slightly more attention to Marinette," Juleka winked with her exposed eye, finishing her final touches on his face.
Before Adrien could ask, Nino called him back to the set.
And throughout the whole time, Marinette watched Adrien leave Juleka with a fond smile. That handsome boy was so considerate. If Alya and the rest of the class weren't around, she would be over the moon and back replaying the scene of Adrien helping Juleka come out of her shell. The girl with purple streaks fortunately wasn't a threat, but another ally in helping her win over Adrien.
Marinette promised herself at a future opportunity to give the spotlight to Juleka someday.
I really hope for more interactions with the background characters in season two. Juleka is one of my favorite girls aside from Marinette and Alya. I really love her look and have come to appreciate her more from the Horrificator and Reflekta episodes.
I thought of Adrien and Juleka being a plausible friendship after a friend of mine referred me to a rival AU story here called Who Needs Love? by Kaorei, wherein Marinette and Adrien start off as bitter rivals instead and the love square is reversed with Adrien gaining a crush on Marinette and Ladybug falling for Cat Noir and Cat Noir is able to purify akumas, hence allowing the rivalry. In that AU, Juleka is a Cat Noir fan and in its version of the Reflekta episode, Adrien was the one to help her out with the class photo in place of Marinette. Really liked the rendition, to be honest.
I also entertained the possibility of shipping them even though Juleka is often paired with Rose and that Adrien/Cat Noir and Marinette/Ladybug are meant to be. I don't know. Maybe he just goes well with dark-haired girls? I also know that Juleka had stated disliking cats, but it could've also been that she was akumatized at the time and said it just to spite Cat Noir. I know the shipping's probably not likely, but it was interesting to think about.
Anyway, what do you think?