Nino Lahiffe | Angelii Essay

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It had been quite a special day when Nino first awakened. It was not only Friday the 13th, but also Adrien's birthday. In a way, it almost seemed like he was brought there to be Adrien's birthday present. It had been Christmas night before he awakened. It was weird, but Nino quickly managed to settle in.

But shortly after, the monsters happened. While he stayed safe and the lack of bending didn't really affect Nino, it shattered the illusion of Nautilus being like a dream vacation for him. Sure he was told that it wasn't all great, but it took this to make him believe that.

Then in November came one of the first major events that would change Nino. The Mirror AU Storm.

During that storm, he was given memories of another life. A life where he became Chat Noir instead of Adrien. Where his parents weren't nearly as loving and put a lot of pressure on him, similar to Gabriel Agreste. He even was given the actual ring and powers. Aside from a fight with Renard that resulted in a loss and an incident where he accidentally got high on cat nip briefly, it had been a peaceful week. But a couple days before the storm ended, he ran into Renard late at night while on patrol.

At first it was just a small talk, but then it turned into a huge fight. Burns and crashing through the roof of a burning building later, he got defeated again and even briefly lost his ring. Luckily for him, Renard freaked out when he saw who he was and dropped the ring, fleeing. After the storm, he managed to figure out Adrien's secret identity, with that other life helping him solve it. Nino forgave him for what happened and things were okay again.

Then on the first night of December, another thing happened that would greatly affect Nino to this day. His first late night Chat training with Adrien.

While Nino had a good idea of what he would be getting into, there was harsh realities he had to face. Mainly on how dangerous the job really is, and how deadly the power of destruction can be. The mental image of Alya rotting by his hand still haunts him to this day, and that would be the start of common nightmares he would face on some nights.

The next day however came the real test. Papillion akumaized two people at the same time, Knuckles and Adela, so Chat had no choice but to recruit both Deux and Bandanna Ladybug to take care of one akuma while he and the original Ladybug dealt with the other. Both Deux and Bandanna struggled (along with Deux getting muted after making a Little Mermaid joke at Son Muet's expense), but they succeeded.

It gave him quite a bit of confidence. However that wouldn't last.

When he attempted to do a public PSA as Deux on the network, he ended up causing quite a bit of arguments and even accidentally inspiring Papillion to akumaize someone, a robot guy that just came into the city. This and finding out there was a new akuma out really shook his confidence. Thankfully Chat managed to restore it enough so that Deux could focus and fight. He and Chat managed to purify him with Bandanna's help, who came in to save both Chats. Deux had thought Bandanna was missing, but clearly was not the case.

For many months Nino had to deal with guilt of having romantic feelings for Bandanna Ladybug despite being with Alya. While it was leftovers from that AU, it still stuck to him as much as he tried to push those feelings away. It got worse when Adrien showed him a picture of Rena Rouge and he found her instantly hot. He even got screamed at by Rena Rouge proper when she arrived in the city.

Thankfully those feelings would get resolved but not until later.

There was a storm where he and Adrien suffered a cat curse, along with having false memories again. It hadn't been so bad, but it has inspired Nino to try to figure out how to turn himself into a cat. As of this writing, he's almost managed to turn himself into an actual cat boy.

Then came the final major event that would change Nino greatly. The Bad Luck Storm and Friday the 13th.

When he and Adrien tried to prank Gabriel Agreste, the man faints and hurts his head, requiring them to get him to Medbay. Even before that, Nino was having some bad luck. Sadly that bad luck wouldn't end and not even changing Deux would help with that. Then came Friday the 13th.

Deux was on patrol when he spotted Adrien getting chased by Cuccos. He jumped in to help but ended up attacked and then having to run with Adrien into a nearby building. One that turned out to have been rebuilt by Chat after he fought a brainwashed Papillion. Unfortunately for them, the combination of their bad luck powers, the storm and Friday the 13th would prove deadly. Despite their best efforts to escape, they both never made it out.

He was forced to watch Adrien die in his arms after the blond pushed him out of the way of a falling piece of the ceiling, and got crushed himself in the process. Shortly after Adrien died, he died as well when another piece falls on top of them and he's crushed to death instantly.

A week later, they both come back to life but quite traumatized by the event. During their reunion, Nino had his first kiss with another guy and had kissed Adrien on the lips. Adrien quickly snapped him out of it, but it made clear that Nino is not 100% straight. He had earlier found himself both confused and physically attracted when Adrien tried out the punk look in the box.

During his recovery the rest of April, he figured out how to fix his eyesight with Adrien's help and got drunk for the first time in his life thanks to Dirk. During a visit for bending practice, Gar made him realize that he may or may actually be in love with his best friend despite already being in a relationship. He still hasn't yet confessed to Adrien yet.

When he tried to make a public apology to himself on the network, it proved to be a big mistake and his confidence as Deux was shaken again. Part of him considered quitting but he knew Adrien and his Ladybug needed him. He still hasn't fully recovered from that.

On the bright side, Bandanna Ladybug revealed to him that she's also Rena Rouge so that brought some relief to his conscience.

During the last storm before Nino went home, he ended up accidentally sharing memories with a few people. Including Alya, who not only found out he's Deux, but then he found out she's both Bandanna and Rena Rouge. Getting rid of the guilt he was feeling better. Sure there's still the matter of Adrien, but otherwise he finally had some weight off his shoulders.

Nino has gone through quite the emotional journey. In some ways, he's more vulnerable than he has been before. But in other ways, he's stronger than when he originally started. Before when there was danger or an akuma attack, he would run and hide to stay out of danger. Now, while he won't run straight into it like Alya, he can fight back and defend others from malevolent forces.

He may have emotional baggage and been traumatized by dying once, but he has become a hero in his own right. Even if he does mess up a lot and is not exactly popular. Either way, he's come quite a long way from being just a kid DJ.