#I wanna see him get a little freaked out about being stuck in the Shackling Prison again heehee

[feroluce]

I have finally finished 2.4 and oh my GOD watching Dan Heng be so protective of his friends nearly killed me, MY HEART.

And yes, the cutscene where he pushes the trailblazer out of the way and even cushions their fall with his own body, but I mean even before that! When he was already trying to protect them and March 7th from Feixiao and Lingsha!!

Because if you watch the dango trio throughout the main quest, you'll notice that they often position themselves in the same way, which is a detail that makes me super happy that Hoyo thought to include- when the three of them aren't evenly spaced, March 7th and the trailblazer tend to gravitate towards each other and stand very close together, frequently side-by-side. And by comparison, Dan Heng usually stands slightly away, and often even slightly behind them, where he can pull on their leashes to wrangle them keep an eye on them.

This is probably a habit learned through experience, since March 7th said during Belobog she is the "queen of unannounced disappearances" fjdksajfkldjsak

And of course at least a little bit of it is just done for like, aesthetic purposes. It's a video game. Things have to look nice for the player. The trailblazer and Dan Heng are the same height, March 7th is a bit shorter, and Yanqing is even smaller. It makes sense to have the trailblazer and Dan Heng stand on the ends, with March 7th and Yanqing in the middle, it just looks nicer and more balanced that way. But still! Even when they're accommodating for Yanqing in this quest, they still all arrange themselves the same way, almost every time!

But this changes after Dan Heng and Yanqing become suspicious of the visitors from the Yaoqing.

The dango trio still stand around relaxed and in their usual manner when they go to the artisanship delve and meet Skott,

but Dan Heng takes notice of Lingsha when she arrives, and he and Yanqing mentioned her specifically when discussing their worries.

Yanqing worrying so much about Jing Yuan got me right in the heart, he's such a good boy WEH

And when the four of them go out to the alchemy delve to meet Lingsha for tea, the pattern breaks. Suddenly Dan Heng is standing right up front, and even walks in and enters the scene before March 7th and the trailblazer to get to Lingsha before them. He stays a step in front of them the whole time, too.

And then when Dan Heng and the trailblazer have to go be interrogated by Feixiao! The same deal! Dan Heng walks in ahead of them and stays in front of them! Noticeably so! Enough that even Feixiao takes note and voices it!

Dan Heng is so so fiercely protective of his companions, and I love it, I adore hyper vigilance in the wake of trauma like this, I'm so excited to see what else he does in 2.5, I hope we either get to see him get fucked up or the trailblazer gets fucked up in his place, I wanna see them run through the meat grinder!!!

[feminaexlux]

Branded

It’s the @lukanette-exchange fic! After a long while it’s here!! @kingsglaivian I hope you enjoy! Also thanks to LBSC and @quickspinner in particular for finding the cool soulmark prompt lol

I am super, super excited to share this with you!

Original prompts: “childhood friends AU, soulmate AU, and an AU of the exchangee's choice.”

∴

It’d been just a few minutes after they first met when she first wrote her name on him.

She had come closer and stared over his shoulder when she saw he’d been drawing something. Was it a drawing? It looked like he had been drawing circles on a bunch of lines. Oh, Maman had showed her how music was written, it was music! “Hi! Are you drawing music?” She had asked cheerfully.

The boy had startled, apparently not having seen Marinette earlier. His pencil had marked across the entire page. “Aah!”

“Oh no!” Marinette whined. “You messed up!”

“Y-you made me do that,” he frowned. “You scared me.”

“Are you drawing music?” Marinette continued asking.

“Oh, yeah, yeah I am,” he said, turning the pencil around and erasing the errant mark. “I think about music all the time.”

“So what does that mean?” she asked, poking at his paper.

“That’s uh… that's…” he thought a bit. “I think that’s D and the next one is F and another D but this one’s higher. It’s a song from a video game.”

“You play video games?! Papa and I play games too!”

They talked back and forth about a bunch of different little things and he completely forgot what he’d been doing. Then it got to the point where Marinette had pulled out one of her markers and started writing her name on his arm. “– and if stays tomorrow it means you found your true love!” Marinette smiled up at the boy she’d been talking to. He looked like he was a few years older. Maybe he was even 10? Maybe he was younger, he looked really kinda small to be 10.

She was at the playground next to her family’s bakery. She’d been running around and playing with a few other kids there, but she saw this one boy sitting by a tree in the shade. He looked like he was alone and Marinette wondered if he’d been bullied. She knew what that was like, even at the tender age of 5. But it was easy to talk to this boy, he was much less Crazy Mean Boy than Kim was. He was more like Nino! And Nino was nice.

“Is that your name?” the boy asked, staring at her neatly written letters. “Marinette?”

“Yeah!”

“So if it stays tomorrow you’re my true love?” He asked, confused. “Mom told me that writing names on other people is bad… But why?”

“Maman and Papa have their names on each other’s arms,” Marinette said. “It’s not bad! Oh but you have to draw over it ‘cause it’s important that you do it,” Marinette added.

“Why?”

“It’s important,” she clarified. It looked like he was going to keep asking why until his mom called out.

“Ay laddie, it’s time to go,” a lady with a long braid said in their general direction. She had a girl on her hip and was walking over to the boy. “Why hello there lass, are ye makin’ friends with me boy?”

“I’m Marinette,” she said up to the lady. She wasn’t Lass, she wanted to say.

Marinette saw the boy quickly pull down his sleeves from his hoodie to hide her name. “Itwasnicetomeetyoubye,” he said quickly, before Marinette could whine about him hiding her name. He ran away to hold onto his mom’s hand. “Let’s go mom,” he continued, pulling his mom away in a slightly embarrassed fashion.

“Don’t ye want to say farewell? We won’t be ashore fer a while son.” Well, she didn’t know at the time he had wanted to run away and hide so the nice new girl wouldn’t be weirded out by his mom like most people were.

“See you tomorrow!” Marinette yelled after him.

She didn’t.

∴

It’d been just a few days after they first met.

Luka scrubbed and scrubbed at the M on his wrist but it wasn’t coming out. He’d scrubbed himself raw at the sink, his flesh feeling tender and his skin close to bleeding. He’d written over the girl’s marker with a pen a few days ago, idly curious if the mark would stay. At least he’d written over just the M, thinking about the nice girl who’d been curious about him.

“Luka?” He heard his mom call out. No, no, no. It wasn’t coming out and his mom would see it and she’d freak out and he’d have to make an excuse or find some of her makeup or something. He’d been told to take off his hoodie by… that man and so he ran back to the bathroom to try to do something about the M on his wrist.

Anarka opened the door. “Luka, my boy what are ye–” Oh no oh no she saw the mark. He put his hands back in the sink and kept scrubbing, starting to cry. “Luka what…” His mom started, initially alarmed and then… and then she came over to hug him.

“Mom what do I do?” He cried. “It’s not coming out!”

“Who'd… no, it doesn’t matter. Luka stop doing that, it’s not going to come out. It doesn’t, lad.” His mom took his hands from the sink and started to dry them. “It stays no matter how hard ye try to get rid o’ it.” She spoke to him with the rare moment of solemnity. “Ye'e been Branded, and there’s nothin we can do about it.”

“I don’t wanna be Branded!” he wailed.

In a quiet, heated hiss Anarka whispered “This is why I told ye to never write names on yerself!” She looked at her son crying and sighed, shaking her head. Luka would realize later she’d been more disappointed in herself that she’d let him get Branded like he did. She thought she warned him, but how could she blame him for something no one ever thought would happen at 7 years old?

Who finds their soulmate at 7?

But it’d be a shackle for the rest of his life. Luka would grow up wondering if this M would ever be part of his life again, whether M would even want to be his partner. If he did find someone else to be his partner, they’d wonder if they’d ever be loved like whoever this M was. “Here,” Anarka sighed. “Ye can’t get rid of that Luka. But ye can cover it. Forget about it now, lad,” she said gently, taking off the wide leather cuff she had on that had covered her own Brand. “This 'ere’s yers now. I’ll get ye all freshened up. Granpa’s waitin for us,” Anarka said, pasting on a fake smile.

Luka hated that man. He was angry and hateful and mean, but Anarka had wanted to see her own Ma again, to have her Ma help guide Anarka in the raising of two children Anarka never originally planned to have. Granma was nice. But Granpa? No. Luka swore to himself he’d never be like Granpa.

His mom put the cuff around Luka’s Brand, looping twice to fit the small wrist better. “All covered up now. Is that fitting, Luka?” He nodded, staring at the “S” on his mom’s wrist.

“Was… that dad?” Luka asked, pointing at the Brand.

Anarka laughed. “It stands for Scotland,” she said lightly. “It stands for the Sea. It’s not yer da, no,” Anarka lied.

∴

It’d been a few weeks since Marinette met Adrien Agreste.

She’d been convinced Adrien was her True Love, and was continually disappointed every morning when his name disappeared off of her arm. “Tikki, it disappeared again,” Marinette sighed.

Tikki shrugged. “Maybe he’s not ready?” The Kwami had seen this before. The Brands were a form of magic that humans had that linked two souls together, signaling that they’d found their soul’s mate. A person would have to write another’s True Name on themselves somewhere, and it would disappear at sunrise if it wasn’t meant to be. Sometimes, though, it depended on if the other person was even capable of loving back. A Brand that had disappeared earlier might “take” later, when the soulmate was ready.

Tikki wasn’t sure if it was a good thing for Marinette that Adrien wasn’t capable of loving Marinette back yet. Maybe Adrien had a different name? The kwami wasn’t going to put forth the suggestion that it might not be Adrien at all. Marinette seemed convinced, and Tikki knew better than to doubt her bearers.

Marinette’s parents proudly wore the names they had on their arms, a very simple “Tom” on Sabine’s wrist and a beautifully formed script of “Sabine” scrawled across Tom’s massive forearm. Of course it simply encouraged Marinette into writing several names on her own arms throughout the years, even if most people found writing names on themselves taboo.

Recently, though, it’d just been Adrien’s.

None of the attempts ever stuck.

“It’ll happen one day!” Tikki said cheerfully. “I believe that you’ll find your soulmate one day. But right now you should get ready for school!”

∴

It’d been a few months after Juleka showed him that the picture curse was broken that he met the girl that’d been able to break it.

“I’m Ma-ma-ma-Marinette!”

He’d laughed a little and it hurt her feelings. Good job, Luka, that was a great first impression. Luckily he was able to apologize and smooth it over.

It tickled him, just a little bit, that he’d met another “M” in his life that he actually ended up liking. He ended up liking her a whole lot, which… ultimately kinda sucked because she’d been interested in someone else. Well, that was alright. He’d been used to the idea that he’d never find “the one” since he technically already had and lost them so many years ago.

But this one? This “M”? She was pretty cool and he found himself more interested than he’d ever been in anyone before.

There’d been one other “M” in his life a couple of years ago before his mom decided to move them all back to France, and Paris in particular. Her name had been Meryl and she was a pretty awesome girl, but she’d been several years older and already in University. She’d still given Luka some attention though, apparently finding it cute that she had a boy doting on her like he did. She was nice and she said he’d look good with some blue in his hair, and it’d been the last thing she said to him before she found herself her own soulmate. It hadn’t been Luka, of course.

He’d gotten into a fight with Granpa over his hair after Luka had dyed it. Juleka joined him by dying her hair purple. Anarka had finally had enough of her and her kids being put down and said she was going to go back “home”. It’d been a hard conversation with Granpa, but after Granma had passed Anarka and her kids had little reason to stick around in their Scottish family house. Anarka’s little wildlings were less little, and Juleka and Luka were both in their tweens to teens, largely old enough to handle themselves now.

Anarka had found some nearly-derelict fishing barge and spent a few weeks with her kids fixing up the ship, making it their new house, and they left Scotland as soon as they could. She sailed the newly christened Liberty back into Parisian waters, claiming the Seine as her new home. She gave a little wink to Luka, a nod to the new “S” in Anarka’s life that her Brand now represented.

It’d been good to see his mom coming back into her old self, the wild, chaotic, free spirit that she’d always been. He was no longer embarrassed of her like he’d been so many years ago. And he had to be honest to himself, the boat wasn’t the first choice he’d make in having a place to come home to, but something about Paris just felt right.

Juleka had been feeling better too. The younger Couffaines had been under their Granpa’s oppressive shadow for too long. And now they were slowly discovering more of themselves over time.

Rose was one of the first friends Juleka had made after coming back to Paris a few years ago, and they were “best friends” since. Today, Juleka showed him a neatly written “Rose” in a flourishing script on the back of her right hand. Juleka apparently hadn’t minded getting the Brand at all. “Marinette did this too,” Juleka smiled. “She’s been drawing names for people who ask. It’s so cool,” Juleka mumbled.

“She’s amazing,” Luka said out loud. Jules gave him a look and even he couldn’t figure out what it meant. “What?”

“She’s got eyes on Adrien, you know.”

“I’ve heard your schemes, I know.”

“I’m on team Adrienette.”

“Alright.”

“She deserves to be happy.”

“Sounds good.”

“It’d be weird if you two dated, anyway.”

“But we’re not dating. She doesn’t seem to notice me.”

Jules frowned at that and grumbled something that sounded to Luka like “she notices and it’s weird.”

He thought to himself, Not where it matters.

∴

It’d been a year since Adrien lost his mother, and Marinette finally said the words “I love you” to him.

Yes, it was a video recording and yes, Felix had apparently gone through and deleted it before Adrien ever got to see it, but she’d done it! She’d done the thing! She could do it again! It had to be easier the second time, right? The second… time.

She couldn’t bring herself to do it. It’d been nearly a full year of her attempting Adrien’s name on her arm, and nothing changed. She’d stayed up and watched it fade out when the sunlight hit it during a few fitful mornings. She wrote his name so often it stopped looking like a word and more like a familiar pattern. Just shapes and no meaning.

Marinette had tried out a few different names over the year as well, just so she’d be certain… in a slightly unsettling way. She kept it discreet, writing on her ankle or in another place easy to cover up in case it was… taking. She’d written “Nathaniel”, once. It disappeared. She’d written “Chat Noir” and nearly sighed in relief (and maybe deep down in slight surprise) when it disappeared. Not that it was his real name anyway.

She’d secretly tried “Nino” once, even though he and Alya had gotten together. It hadn’t stuck. Nino and Alya hadn’t asked for Marinette to write each other’s names down, and maybe… maybe that was actually healthy? Like they didn’t need any external validation in order to really enjoy time spent with each other.

There might have been a lesson in that.

She tried “Kim” and “Wayhem” and “Theo”, even though the last one kinda creeped her out a bit. She tried “Kagami.” Nothing stuck.

There was still one name she hadn’t tried but… but she’d been absolutely terrified of it. Luka had more or less admitted to the world at large that he loved her after he’d gotten akumatized. There’d been genuine affection that was unfiltered, unbiased, uninfluenced by whatever the magic was that made names stay on people. He didn’t seem to mind that she was so, so into Adrien. Even if she wasn’t his soulmate, he’d love her.

S-So she’d be able to do that for Adrien! Yes, that made sense. Yes, that soulmate stuff was all kid fantasy anyway. Even if it was demonstratively real.

But if Adrien found his soulmate and it wasn’t Marinette… what was she supposed to do? Just step out of the way?

∴

It’d been a decade since Marinette and Luka first met except neither remembered that first time when they were young children, even if they’d been in the same place: the park nearby the bakery.

He’d held onto her as she broke down crying about the heartbreak and how tired she was. Luka told her he’d listen and be there and hadn’t lied about any of it. It was why she chose to sit next to him after letting her infatuation go and stepping out of the way for Kagami, watching Adrien and Kagami have their Sweetheart’s ice cream together like it was always meant to be Adrien and Kagami instead of Adrien and Marinette.

Marinette chose to sit next to Luka instead of going home.

She went to bed that night deciding that the whole names and soulmates and True Love thing was just a big huge distraction from what she really needed to focus on, which was getting through school, defeating Hawkmoth, and getting her name out there as an up and coming Fashion Designer!

It lasted all of 3 days until she finally gave into her curiosity and wrote an L in the crook of her left arm before going to bed. She really had meant to write out the rest of his name, but then her phone buzzed and there’d been an akuma alert. She sighed and rolled into action.

Her Lucky Charm gave her a guitar pick. That was a little too on-the-nose, Tikki? Ladybug zipped over to the Liberty, somehow not surprised that Luka was still up and leaning against the Liberty to overlook the Seine, looking cool and thoughtful. Actually, scratch that. He looked a little haggard and worried, and he’d been expecting to see Ladybug. Well, at least it meant she didn’t have to go in and wake him up.

“… you must return the Miraculous after…” Ladybug trailed off, noticing as Luka reached out to take the bracelet that he hadn’t been wearing any of the normal… accessories he chose to wear most of the time, most notably the leather cuff he usually had on. Something bothered her and she caught his hand before he touched the bracelet. She turned his right hand over and looked at the pen mark on his wrist. “Is that an M or an E?”

Luka pulled back his hand immediately, embarrassed. “An… M,” he said reluctantly.

Then Ladybug remembered it’d been incredibly rude of her to ask. “Oh, I’m so sorry I-I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It's… been 10 years since I got that, I don’t even remember much about it,” he shrugged.

Ladybug smiled, biting back a sudden urge to scream, and offered Luka the snake Miraculous again. “If you agree… I’d like your help, Luka.”

Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Viperion were able to save the night and have everyone able to go to bed on time. She picked the Miraculous back up from Viperion, who seemed to be confused the akuma victim wasn’t who he’d expected it to be. “Anything wrong, Luka?”

“No… no, I’m glad I was able to help. I’m okay,” he said, clearly still a bit frazzled. Ladybug furrowed her eyebrows at him and he eventually sighed. “I guess I’m worried about a… friend. She’d been going through a lot so I’d been… I’d been waiting to see if she’d either call me or… or God, I don’t know,” he laughed, a little bit in disbelief. “I almost thought she’d been akumatized tonight. I’m so glad it wasn’t her. But it kinda makes me feel like crap for even thinking that.”

“It’s kind to be worried about your friend. W-Which friend by the way?” Ladybug asked. “I could pay her a visit if you’d like?”

“I don’t know if she’d appreciate that, actually,” he sighed. “She can kill me later if she wants, but yeah it’d be great if you’d check up on her. It’s Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Instead of being worried that Luka was worried over her, she asked “Is she your M?” Ladybug got blindsided by her own question, but she only felt the impact and implication after she asked it. “Oh no, no, I’m so sorry I’ve been so rude.”

He blew out a breath. “I wish,” he mumbled. “I don’t know,” he said, his tiredness making him slightly more obvious about being miserable. “I guess I could know for sure by writing out her name.” That was said like he had been convinced it’d disappear…

“I’m pretty good at writing out names. If you want I could write… the rest of her name out on your arm?” Ladybug offered impulsively.

“… Sure,” he agreed. He watched her as she grabbed a nearby marker and wrote out Marinette on his arm. “Wow, that… looks pretty dead on to her signature.”

“Pfft,” Ladybug laughed. “That’d be the worst identity reveal ever. Marinette’s signed a few things for me too, I’ll have you know.”

“You might have a future in crime with your forging skills if you ever decide to stop being a hero,” Luka chuckled.

“I’ll stick to saving Paris, don’t worry,” Ladybug giggled. “You do have to write over it yourself if you want it to stay. I mean… if she is… you know…”

Luka nodded. “I know. Probably a long shot. Thanks,” he said.

“I’ll check up on her. Thank you for caring, Luka,” Ladybug smiled. “And you know, I’ve got a good feeling about this one,” she said quietly, biting her lip while tapping his arm. “I’ll be off. Have a good night, 'Bug out!”

Ladybug landed in her bed and detransformed. Tikki floated back to her little nesting spot while the kwami watched Marinette pull out her phone.

hey luka just got a visit from LB! thanks for thinking of me

Marinette looked down into the crook of her arm, grabbing a marker and filling out the rest of Luka’s name. She’d recognized that M on his arm.

Had it really been 10 years when she first met him? It was kind of funny that she didn’t remember until now. He hadn’t given his name back then but she remembered the disappointment the next day when her new friend didn’t show.

Had it really been a whole year of writing… the wrong name on herself?

It’d been months since Luka told her she’d been the melody in his head. Months.

And she had spent a week in heartbreak over the wrong boy.

It’d just been a few days since she decided she was going to let Adrien go. And she found her soulmate after that? How lucky was she? Marinette looked up at the sleeping Tikki and squinted suspiciously. Maybe she was Lucky™, except that she had apparently met Luka when she was 5.

Marinette stared at her phone, watching the minutes go by. She wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight.

The sun rose after an agonizingly boring time of rolling back and forth in her bed, too excited to go to sleep but too tired to do anything productive. She kept checking the name on her arm and it’d still been there all throughout the night, but now at first light… she was… scared. She closed her eyes and covered her head with her pillow, half dreading what she’d see if she looked down at her left arm where she wrote his name.

“It’ll be there,” she said to herself, feeling more certain of that than anything. The warmth of sunlight hit her left arm. She lifted the pillow off of her face but kept her eyes closed. Slowly she opened one eye.

His name was still there. “It’s you,” she whispered, feeling the tears fall from her eyes.

She launched herself out of bed, turning into a little hurricane of activity. She threw her jacket on and ran downstairs, kissing her Maman and Papa on the cheek and telling them she’d be out for a while. They’d been too surprised to see her up at the crack of dawn to complain much, just insisting that she take her phone with her and that she wear proper shoes.

She ran down to the subway entrance and guessed the nearest station where Liberty would be moored, taking the subway train there. She emerged from an entrance about 10 minutes later, ignoring the confused looks the other commuters shot her since she’d been a mess of pigtails and pajamas. She ran toward the Liberty, climbed up and leapt over the railing onto the ship when she saw that the gangplank wasn’t extended.

“Marinette!” she heard Luka’s alarmed shout. She knew he’d be up. She knew it! He ran over to her. “What the heck–” He’d been wearing a different hoodie, a long sleeved one that covered up both his arms. She frowned at him, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.

“You’re up early,” she said.

“S-So are you! And you’re-you’re here? What’s wrong?” His voice had dropped from a high pitched panic to his deeper, concerned tone in the span of two words.

She took off her jacket and extended her left arm. She saw him flush but start pulling up his hoodie from the hem, taking it off and tossing it aside. He turned his right palm up to show her the name written across his forearm.

Their names had stayed. He breathed out. “Did Ladyb–” She cut him off, her hands on either side of his face to pull him down, planting a kiss on his lips. They pulled back a second after, looking at one another in surprise.

“It’s you,” she said, resting her forehead against his shoulder. To be honest she’d been embarrassed that she’d just kissed him in the disheveled state she was in, having left to see him as soon as she got out of bed, but she felt giddy and… right.

He pulled her in, wrapping his arms around her to hug her tight. “And… it’s you.”

[w3as3ly]

my Mac Miller theory, especially after listening to the album ‘Swimming’

 i’m pretty convinced that Malcolm’s Swimming album is all about his obtaining his self-worth externally, instead of from within himself. he based his happiness around being successful, respected, admired. but even when he reached his ideal height, the bliss was short-lived, and he knew he wouldn't ever be that high again, so he had to get high with drugs. the success had come and passed in September 2009, and he fell from it’s heights down into a deep depression. it's all there in his lyrics. trust me. 

“i remember, yes, i remember, yes, i remember it all, swear the height be too tall, so like September, I fall, down below, down low...”

the backbone of his identity was given too little of attention, and it appears his identity was based far more around a sort of “wish-bone” self. That wishbone identity was an ideal image of everything that he wanted to be, how he wanted to see himself. and he got the chance to have that wishbone identity realized and then stripped away from him. so after 2009 (all his praise, admiration, success), he never got that high up again. “climbing over that wall,” is after 2009, when he realized that wish-bone wasn’t going to be there for him. 

“i remember, yes, i remember, yes, i remember it all, swear the height be too tall, so like September, I fall, down below, down low...” 

he had experienced this false-identity, but it didn’t last very long, and after the ingredients for his ideal passed, he was left with who he was - his backbone.

Ok, well, you could have the world in the palm of your hands You still might drop it And everybody wanna reach inside your pockets, so it goes It's like, in every conversation, we the topic This narcissism, more like narcotics, so it goes

but he didn’t have much of a strong sense of self-assurance because of how he was raised. who he was had nothing to do with what he accomplished, what he had, who he loved, or who loved him. he thought that happiness was something he could run towards, he thought it was something he could obtain: 

The grass is always greener 'til I cut it all

I can't get no satisfaction, goddamn

“I switched the time zone, but what do I know? Spending nights hitchhikin', where will I go?”

he could see a better life, greener grass, over the horizon, but once he reaped the rewards, he was left with emptiness again. he couldn't buy his happiness with success. he couldn't run to it, no, not even in a different time zone; he still felt empty. so he had to figure out what the meaning of his life was, but he never broke free from oscillating between his achievement-based esteem and his true self-esteem, which he had little of, so this was his emptiness/depression. he was on a mission to figure it out, figure out who he was, what his backbone identity was, not what everyone wanted him to be, not what he wanted him to be, not what everyone saw him as. just him, that’s it. 

Man on a mission, figure it out Putting way too much on my shoulders, please hold me down I keep my head above the water (water) My eyes is gettin' bigger, so the world is gettin' smaller (smaller) I've been getting richer but that only made me crazy Mama told me I was different even when I was a baby That Mercedes through the PA when I pull up, sounded like a concert Or a, or a monster truck, I'm trippin' but I'm falling up I always said I want it all, but it's not enough

he would teeter-totter between being grandiose, spending money on things that were a symbol of his success. he was a workaholic, putting all this work on his shoulders, which he wanted, because it kept him grounded. success kept him grounded. but the richer he got, the more he realized that it wouldn't help him love himself. so he is literally freaking out, tripping, but falling up, climbing the ladder. and then he would fall into depression, and the money meant nothing to him, and he was empty. 

Down go the system, long live the king Turn the power off and get your water from the spring I'm bringing everyone with me when shit get iffy I give a hundred and fifty percent This is the shit that I'm dealing with, but I wish I forget Used to be feelin' depressed, now that I'm living and I'm a little obsessed

Here he’s saying fuck being a workaholic, fuck getting his self-worth from everyone around him, from his accomplishments. fuck the system that he was raised in. he wants to get his self-worth from himself, getting his water from the spring. the 150% is him being a workaholic, trying to forget that there's something wrong with him, so when he breaks free of his depression, he's just obsessed with accomplishment. his Mercedes literally driving him crazy. 

“Yeah, I been reading them signs I been losin' my, I been losin' my, I been losin' my mind, yeah Get the fuck out the way, must be this high to play It must be nice up above the lights, and what a lovely life that I made, yeah I know that feelin' like it's in my family tree, yeah That Mercedes drove me crazy, I was speedin' Somebody save me from myself, yeah Tell them they can take that bullshit elsewhere Self care, we gonna be good Hell yeah, they lettin' me go”

he said this shit runs in his family tree, which again is true of narcissistic tendencies. it’s like you are constantly searching for your self worth in others, and caring too much about the riches which reflect your success. 

I'm too grounded, push whips that move mountains, new crib, blue fountains These are my surroundings I've been going through it, you just go around it But it's really not that different when you think about it

So here he is oscillating between success/materialism reflecting self-worth, a capitalistic, western world. but he is actually thinking about it and how it relates to his self-worth. he is literally going through it, but everyone else is going around it. they don't realize that their obsession with materialism and success is literally eating them alive. 

when he was growing up, it was like “1-2-3, jump,” and that’s again true when you have a gifted child who is capable of keeping himself occupied. his mom always said he was “different,” and special. the kid (Malcolm) looks up and only receives attention when he accomplishes something. so the kid searches for love through accomplishment. he had to grow up quickly, and no one was holding his hand. with a kid raised by a narcisstic parent, they put their wants on the back burner. they are not as important as others. “all i ever want is what i need,” because he his wants were not given attention. he learned to only expect the bare minimum, otherwise, he was a burden and that burden might cost him the love that he wanted. he learned that the only way he got his attention was in his talents, in his success. that’s all he’s worth, is to perform. He is just improvising, playing by ear, and listening closely to see if anyone will notice him, or give him attention/love. And he loves so hard because he wants to be loved also. But he doesnt understand unconditional love, so he does his best to meet the conditions that were bestowed before him in order to earn his love, attention, importance. but if that condition isnt met, it can be stripped away at any time. so he doesnt trust anyone, he doesnt gamble with something that can change like the seasons. 

Water my seeds 'til the flower just grow, yeah Love so much that my heart get broke I don't really know how the normal shit go, so I guess I just play it by ear, silence is all that I hear Listenin' close as I can, growin' up (123) jump Nobody holdin' my hand, no Trust is a problem, never know how, yeah That's why I just keep to myself Get what I need, then I'll be out (please help me) Who can surf the the universe with me Lucifer is human and so are we All I ever want is what I need And that don't include your time and company Follow me, we on up and up Remember when I owed a hundred bucks Now, we look around like what the fuck? If you don't fuck with me, you fuckin' up. 

I know I need to watch my temper, so I Don't ever gamble on the weather but I, just, watch, well, look The sun is shinin', I can look at the horizon The walls keep gettin' wider, I just hope I never find 'em, no, no Hey, wellThese are my wings, these are my wings These are my wings

someone can live like this, teetering between grandiosity and depression/anxiety for a long time, but the minute that the object of someone’s self-worth comes crashing down, the person will be wrought with this extreme, terrible depression. he knew that he could never have his wishbone identity, and what he was left with was “oblivion, yeah yeah.” and that’s when he “kept the medicine on call.” so yes, he turned to drugs to escape the emptiness that followed him after 2009, after he realized that he would never get that successful again, and he realized that he had all the time in the world to figure it out. but he’s stuck in his head, and can’t get out. he was stuck in oblivion, and oblivion is not the way someone should live. 

“I got all the time in the world So for now I'm just chillin' Plus, I know it's a, it's a beautiful feelin' In oblivion, yeah, yeah Oblivion yeah, yeah Oblivion, yeah, yeah”

so it’s not just about his addiction to drugs. it’s about his addiction to being free from the shackles of his own mind. because he felt empty, and he just wanted to escape his emptiness. 

he was basically an extremely talented, and gifted kid, that never got the chance to grow. and because he was raised with narcissistic tendencies, and he obtained his self-worth through the admiration of others, he was always worried about what people would think. he was always reading the wants and needs of others, but ignoring his own. he just got what he needed and left, never what he wanted, because his desires were not as important as others. i’m convinced that his mother was narcissistic, and the kid had the biggest heart but didn’t know how to be loved, because he always had to earn his love and self-love. he never had it unconditionally. 

his story is one of the saddest stories when it comes to ego and narcissism. he was not on the side of the spectrum that most people recognize, which is a superiority complex. no, that was likely the thing that was in his family tree... superiority. instead, because he was raised as a kid by people on that side of the spectrum, he wound up on the opposite side of the spectrum. the co-narcissist, the co-dependent, an inferiority complex. 

anyway, i would bet money that this is what he went through, after listening to his album. it’s terrible that someone that talented and gifted could be left behind - he deserved self-love, self-care, but he just didn’t know how. 

the entire album just kills me. my fucking heart. it's so sad that he went through this. listen to his album with this stuff I’m mentioning in mind. it all fits together, like pieces to a puzzle. it all fits. 

if anyone is interested in reading about the things that I mentioned, here are a couple articles:

Co-Narcissism: How We Accommodate to Narcissistic Parents

Adult Children of Narcissistic Parents: The Echoes

if you’re still interested, and want more to read, try:

Will I Ever Be Good Enough?: Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers

or

Rethinking Narcissism: The Secret to Recognizing and Coping with Narcissists

i didn’t read that last one very fully, but I read about “echoism,” and everything that pertained to being raised as a kid by a narcisstistic parent. anyway, hope this was interesting for you. ive had Swimming on repeat for several months, and im realizing why. 

[whatarubberchicken]

Marichat May 26

(Sorry, not sorry for this. The plot bunnies wouldn’t let it go. If you’re just here for laughs, don’t read under the cut. There are feels and a bit of a songfic, though I didn’t post all the lyrics.)

Midnight Serenades

Chat Noir leapt down into Marinette’s room and abruptly stopped short at the sight and sounds before him.

“Cheesy American pop?” he laughed, watching Marinette dance and twirl around her dress form, singing along to a song that had been popular a few years ago.

“Hush, you,” she grinned back, barely even pausing in her dancing.

Chat belatedly noticed that she was also pinning fabric to the dress form while she danced and sang. Amused, he simply watched her until the song ended. Then he clapped, cheering and demanding an encore. Marinette laughed, giving him an exaggerated bow. Just then, the next song came on and Chat audibly gasped in delight.

It was “Macho Man” by the Village People.

“Oh, no,” Marinette groaned, stepping over to her desk to change the song.

“Oh, yes!” Chat sprang forward and got there first. He quickly grabbed her player and held it above his head, just as the lyrics started.

“’Body-body!’” he sang along, playing keep-away while Marinette tried to wrestle the stereo away from him, “’wanna feel my body, baby?’” He grinned at her teasingly.

“Oh. My. God. Stop,” she growled, trying hard not to laugh, “you do not need any encouragement!!”

“’It’s too much, my body!!’”

Marinette facepalmed.

“’Check it out, my body!’” Chat continued to sing shamelessly, dancing (admittedly-badly) while Marinette covered her face with her hands, trying to stop herself from laughing.

“If I let you sing the next song, will you turn this one off?!” she finally cried.

Chat, who had been considering twerking for the second verse, pondered her deal.

“What’s the next song?” he finally asked.

“I dunno. It’s on random.”

“Oooo, taking a chance against the bad luck of Chat Noir?” he whistled at her daring, even as his rubbed his hands together with glee. “Done! But you have to sing with me!”

“Ugh, fine,” Marinette said, rolling her eyes.

Chat pushed the NEXT button.

And started cackling as soon as the song came on. Marinette swore and banged her head against his chest.

“No, please no!” she begged.

But Chat was already singing “Sexyback” by Justin Timberlake. Snickering, he put the player back down on her desk and grabbed Marinette, dancing with her as he sang along.

“C’mon, princess,” he laughed gleefully, “there’s even a girl part!”

“There is no way in Hell I am calling you a ‘dirty babe,’” Marinette deadpanned.

“That’s the part you have a problem with?” he asked, sounding surprised. “Not the shackles?! Why, princess!!” He gasped dramatically.

“Next, please!”

“Fine, but you gotta promise to sing the next one! The whole song! No matter what it is!!”

“Fine, geez! I promise! Just turn this one off!!”

Chat Noir let her go to go push the button again, gleefully anticipating the next song. If his luck held, it would be even worse��.

He froze when he heard the first few notes, his mood immediately dropping. In front of him, Marinette paled.

Chat knew this song. He knew it by heart. He’d sung it on repeat on some of his darker, lonelier nights. Part of him wanted to wonder why she had it on her playlist as well, but… he already knew the answer. He stepped back over to Marinette and pulled her into a dancing position.

“First verse is mine,” he said, starting his part with a sad smile.

“’See, I can't wake up, I'm living a nightmare that keeps playing over again,’” he sang. “’Locked in a room, so hung up on you, and you're cool with just being friends….’”

He felt Marinette’s hand unconsciously grip his own tighter.

This was a bad idea, he thought as he automatically continued to sing his verse.

We need to stop. There’s no reason for us to go through this. We’ve cried to each other about who we love already.

I know who she wants. She knows who I want. There’s no way for us to win this game. Not unless…

Well, I can give her who she wants.

If I give up on Ladybug.

If I give up on all my hopes and dreams.

If I give up on my lady ever feeling the same way I do.

“’Why don't you love me?’” he sang louder into the night, hoping beyond hope that somewhere, somehow, Ladybug could hear these words that came from his heart. “Touch me? Tell me I'm your everything, the air you breathe in—why don't you love me? Baby? Open up your heart tonight, 'cause I could be all that you need. Ohhhhhhh… Why don't you love me?’”

“’Why don’t you love me?’” His voice faltered a bit when he realized what was next. The second verse. Marinette’s turn to sing. And he knew exactly who she’d be singing to in her heart…

Curse his bad luck. Why had he agreed to sing this song again?!

“’See, I'm just too scared, to tell you the truth, ‘cause my heart it can't take any more,” Marinette sang softly, trembling in his arms. “Broken and bruised, longing for you, and I don't know what I'm waiting for.”

Chat clutched her tighter as he felt her tears start to fall on the front of his suit.

“’Left on the sidelines. Stuck at a red light. Waiting for my time.’”

No, dammit! We were happy! Why’d I have to go and screw it up by insisting we sing this song together?! Marinette was happy! She was laughing and dancing around her room before I came in here!!

“’So just tell me…. Why don't you love me?’” Marinette was practically sobbing the lyrics at this point. Chat was about to pull away and tell her they could sing something else, but she stubbornly wrapped her arms around his neck and sang louder, seemingly determined to get through this.

“’Touch me,’” she sang, “’tell me I'm your everything, the air you breathe in. Why don't you love me? Baby?! Open up your heart tonight, 'cause I could be all that you need….’”

Her voice faltered again as she stood there, very nearly shaking in his arms. Once again, he had to admire her bravery. Trying to face your own feelings—especially unrequited love—was hard. He knew that from personal experience.

“’Why don’t you give me a reason?’” Her voice broke as she sang softly, sounding like she was talking directly to the part of him that was Adrien.

Chat smiled and imagined Ladybug.

“’Please tell me the truth,’” he sang, resting his cheek on Marinette’s head.

I know what you’re going through, he thought. I know it. I hate it. And I wish there was another way….

“’You know that I'll keep believing,’” her hand reached up to card through his hair and he echoed her in the song automatically.

“’Till I'm with you…’”

At this point, they were really just hugging and swaying slightly, not even enough to be considered a dance. Chat didn’t care. He loved these moments with her. When she offered him what little strength she could, even though she had her own heart break to deal with.

God, he loved her.

“’Why don't you love me?’” he sang softly, pulling back just enough to look at her.

She smiled back at him. “’Kiss me,’” she sang, closing her eyes as he kissed her forehead just in time to sing his next part.

“’I can feel your heart tonight; it's killing me, so—

“’Why don't you love me?’” They sang together on the last chorus, their voices growing in strength as they clung to each other. Chat felt his own smile grow when Marinette’s tears were replaced with a sad smile.

Then, to his delight, she laid her head on his shoulder as they continued to sing and sway to the song. He pulled her close, wishing for all the world that she was his. His to hold. His to kiss the tears away. His to laugh and dance with, even though they knew they were being silly. His to come home to, when his house grew too cold and lonely.

Then he nearly swore at himself.

She already was.

They already did those things.

They hung out alone together. He came here whenever he could, just to get away from the emptiness of his room. They danced and laughed and played and knew each other better than any of their other friends. They hugged and cuddled. They’d even kissed, each of them claiming they simply wanted to know what it felt like. (Which didn’t explain the extra kisses afterwards, but if she wasn’t gonna say anything, neither was he.)

You stupid cat, he thought, even as he continued to sing to her. She’s yours. Your girlfriend, in every way but in name. And she’d gladly be your official girlfriend if you’d just freaking let her! So, why…?

Ladybug.

He’d have to give up on Ladybug.

He nearly snorted. He’d have to give up on a woman who’d already admitted she was in love with someone else. Gee, what a hardship…

And, he belatedly realized, he hadn’t even been thinking of her this whole time. During the song he usually reserved for pouting about his love for Ladybug, he’d been thinking of Marinette instead.

“’…Open up your heart tonight, 'cause I could be all that you need….’”

The words of the song brought him back out of his thoughts, and he found himself stroking Marinette’s cheek with his thumb. All that I need, he thought. She’s been here all along….

“’Why don't you love me?’” the song sang, fading fast.

But I do, he thought back. He couldn’t deny it. And there was a simple, easy, astoundingly-terrifying way to prove it and make her completely his.

His breath caught as he considered it.

Marinette. His. –Again, his heart skipped a beat.

He could come here as a civilian, instead of hiding as a superhero.

He could talk to her in class like they did here, instead of being intensely-awkward, stuttering and begging their best friends with their eyes to just take me away already….

Because, no matter how many times they assured themselves that they’d still be friends, he understood it was hard for her to be around him when Adrien had already rejected her.

But this, this was another chance.

He could hold her. Touch her. Kiss her, if she’d let him!

His mouth went dry, and he clutched Marinette to him as his whole body ached.

Yes.

YES!

Yes, please!!

I want her so badly—oh God, is she gonna hate me??—Ladybug’s gonna kill me—no, if I explain it right, she’ll understand. Marinette’s trustworthy.

Marinette’s the one who’s gonna kill me, he thought frantically, his mind going a mile a minute. All those times she’s talked to me about Adrien. About her crush on Adrien! And I tried to let her down gently, I really did… and now, I have the nerve to—focus! Focus, Chat! Just tell her the truth. Tell her everything. She’ll understand. She’s amazing like that.

OH GOD, HOW LONG HAVE WE JUST BEEN STANDING HERE LIKE THIS? The song’s over—what the heck is even playing now?

His cat ears twitched as he listened for a moment. “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. Chat’s mouth twisted into a smile. How… well, utterly perfect. He took a deep breath.

“Princess, there’s something—”

“Chat, I have to tell you—”

He looked down at Marinette in surprise. She’d started talking at the same moment he had. He gave a little laugh.

“Go ahead,” he said. To his surprise, she looked away, blushing.

“Maybe you should go first,” she said nervously. “Mine’s kind of important. And shocking.”

Chat laughed again. “So is mine. Ladies first!” He stepped away from her and gave her a little bow.

She looked like she wanted to argue for a moment, but then shook her head and steeled herself, taking a deep breath.

“I—um… I just wanted you to know,” Marinette said nervously, “we’ve been together for a long time—well, not together-together, but just as friends! Or maybe more than friends, I dunno—I dunno how you feel about all of that, or me, or—UGH!!”

Chat smiled at her as she visibly shook herself out of it and took another deep breath, obviously trying to calm herself down.

“I love you,” she said, looking him in the eye and squaring her jaw. He felt his face break into a smile as giddiness rushed through him.

“I know I shouldn’t,” she continued, looking nervous again, “and I know this is gonna come as a big shock and all, but I—I love you,” her voice cracked and she looked down. “It just kinda snuck up on me! I didn’t mean for it to happen, but I do! And I want to be with you! …And I know you love Ladybug—”

“Marinette—” he began.

“No, please, for the love of God, let me finish!” she cried, shaking her head. “Because this—oh, please, oh please, if anything else, don’t hate me!—I didn’t do it out of spite or anything, it just happened, and I—oh, damn it, Tikki, spots on!!”

Chat stared at her in disbelief as a flash of pink enveloped Marinette, leaving his beloved, spotted partner in her wake.

Ladybug looked up at him nervously, swallowing.

“Please say something,” she whimpered. “I had a whole speech planned, but I just forgot it all.”

“You-you’re…,” Chat stammered. He swallowed, trying to make some sense of his spinning brain.

“I’m sorry,” Ladybug said weakly. “I never meant to lead you on or anything—”

“No, no, of course not!” Chat said. He’d never have thought that about her!

“And I’m sorry that I’m the one you spilled all your secrets about Ladybug to. No judgement from me, I swear!”

Chat laughed weakly, but let it get stronger and stronger as the whole irony of their situation crashed down around him. She was slowly listing off every excuse and apology he’d thought he’d have to make to her!!

“I love you and I want to be with you—and I understand if you need to be angry at me for a while, I really do,” she babbled on. “I know our identities are supposed to be a secret—and Tikki’s gonna kill me, by the way—but I figured, out of everyone who could possibly find out my secret identity, you’re definitely the most trustworthy—but you have to promise to make an extra effort not to get akumatized, you hear me??”

Chat Noir burst out laughing at that.

“Chat, I’m trying to be serious here,” Ladybug grumbled.

“I know, I know,” Chat laughed. “I’m just… processing all of it.” This was incredible. He’d never in his wildest dreams… But, wait. He licked his lips.

“What about Adrien?” he asked nervously, trying to sound casual.

Ladybug face drooped into true sadness. “I lost him,” she whispered, holding her hands to her heart. “To be honest, I never had him to begin with. It was a stupid celebrity crush. If I couldn’t even talk to him… well, I had no right to ask him to have a relationship with me. He’s still wonderful, and perfect, and I’m sure he’ll find someone just as perfect for himself… but, yeah. It won’t be me. Nino says he’s got a major crush on a secret-somebody anyway.

“It hurts, but,” she looked up at her partner again, “then I realized that if I did start going out with him, I’d probably have to stop seeing you so much. (No guy’s gonna want his girlfriend being visited by a superhero every night, after all.) And that hurt even worse. I well-and-truly fell in love with you, Chat. So... if you still want me, here I am!” She said cheerfully, holding her arms open.

Chat could only stare at her, dumb-struck by his own good luck.

“Please say something, kitty,” Ladybug said meekly, caving in on herself after a moment. “You’re being so quiet, it’s freaking me out.”

The uncertainly on her face broke Chat out of his reverie and he was finally able to move, walking right up to her and pulling her into a hug.

“Oh, my lady,” he sighed, relaxing in her embrace. “I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

“I know, I know, it’s a lot to take in—”

“You had the same idea I had.”

He felt Ladybug freeze in his arms. “Wha—?” she managed to say.

He chuckled in anticipation.

“Plagg, claws in!”

“Chat! What are you—AAAAAAAHHHHHHEEEEEEEIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!” she shrieked, flying away from him, only to trip over her chaise. Adrien watched in horror as the love of his life tumbled head-over-heels to land on the floor behind the little couch.

“Oh my—Ladybug, are you alright?!” he cried, desperately trying not to laugh.

Ladybug peeked up at him from behind the chaise, her eyes wide.

“You-you-you’re—”

“Amazing? Spectacular?” he teased, grinning at her winningly. “Truly the cat’s meow?”

“Chat?!?!”

“Hi,” he said simply, waving a bit. Beside him, Plagg snorted in laughter before disappearing, probably to find some cheese. Adrien bit his lip, suddenly nervous about this whole thing again. “So, about that whole… I’m-sorry-I-never-meant-to-lead-you-on-or-anything-and-please-don’t-hate-me-because-I-honestly-didn’t-mean-to-hurt-you-I-just-kinda-fell-in-love-with-you-by-accident thing? Yeah, um, ditto?”

He looked down at Ladybug to see her gaping at him.

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I see what you meant when you said you forgot your speech,” he said, feeling awkward. “That sounded a whole lot better in my head.”

“Adrien?!”

“Yup, it’s me,” he said sheepishly. “I guess fate has a weird sense of irony, huh? Either that or Master Fu is moonlighting as a fortune teller/soothsayer.”

Ladybug squeaked again and ducked her head under the chaise.

“Oh my God, oh my God, this isn’t happening, this can’t be happening!” she muttered to herself. “All those times you—actually this kinda makes a lot of sense…. Aww, Hell! Adrien, I just got over you!!” she exclaimed.

“Only to fall in love with me again,” he agreed, nodding solemnly. “Believe me, I get it.”

Ladybug groaned and whimpered as she rubbed her face against her chaise cushion.

“Do you want me to put the mask back on?” Adrien asked gently. “Will that help you?”

She looked up at him, her eyes softening. “My God. It’s really you, isn’t it?” she said, coming around the chaise lounge to stand in front of him.

“In the flesh.”

“Why aren’t you freaking out?” she asked indignantly.

“I learned to internalize my screaming awhile ago,” he admitted. “And I’m kinda used to all my plans being derailed somehow. Believe me, I’m a total wreck inside. But also… really, really happy.” He took her hand in his.

“Did you mean it?” he asked eagerly. “That you want to be with me?”

“Of course!” Ladybug exclaimed. “Why else would I reveal myself to you? I figured at least one of us could be happy! I just… didn’t… think… it’d be both of us….”

Just then, “Kiss Me” by Ed Sheeran came on Marinette’s player.

“Plagg,” Adrien growled. “Stop messing with the playlist!”

“You can prove nothing!!” Plagg called back. Adrien turned back to Ladybug and shrugged apologetically.

“That was him?” she gaped.

“Probably,” Adrien admitted. “I don’t know how he got ahold of your player when I was still in the suit, but I do know he likes Ed Sheeran, so….”

“Lies and slander!” Plagg called across the room.

“Wait a minute,” Ladybug said, thinking of something. “Tikki, spots off!” She de-transformed in another flash of pink light. “Tikki, did you—”

“You can prove nothing!” Tikki sang, already zipping across the room to be with Plagg. Adrien and Marinette watched her go with bemusement.

“Did she?” Adrien asked.

“Probably,” Marinette admitted, blushing. “She likes Ed Sheeran too.”

“Innocent until proven guilty!” Tikki called back.

Adrien and Marinette both gave long-suffering sighs. Then they looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“Oh, man, think of all the awkwardness we could’ve saved ourselves from if we’d just told each other earlier,” Adrien sighed.

“It’s still dangerous,” Marinette said softly. “Even more so… now that we both know.”

“I can’t think of anybody I’d rather take this on with, though,” Adrien said, smiling at her. Marinette blushed.

Adrien reveled in watching her for a moment, just marveling. She was his. Truly. Completely. He’d never been so happy in his life… there was only one thing that could make it better….

“Sooo, do I need to put the mask back on to get a kiss out of you?” he quipped, grinning. “I know you like the tail, so—"

Marinette sprang at him with a laugh, her lips finding his while her arms twined around his neck. Adrien wrapped his own arms around her tightly, returning the kiss fervently. He picked her up and twirled around with her, happiness bubbling out of him as they both laughed through their kisses.

“’I want a hippopotamus for Christmas! Only a hippopotamus will do….’”

“PLAGG!”

“Sorry! My paw slipped!”

End.

(A/N: If you want to listen to the songs, the youtube links are in the beginning of the lyrics in the story.)