#Kaalki and Luka

[celestiall0tus]

Long Road - Chapter 12 - Coming Soon

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            Marinette rushed down into Liberty’s hold to meet Luka for their date. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Alix with Juleka and Rose. They all turned and waved her over.

            “Hey, girls, what’s up?” Marinette asked.

            “You’re just in time! Alix was about to share some amazing news!” Rose cheered.

            “Oh? What’s that?” Marinette asked.

            “Get this. There’s this new exhibit coming to the museum and my dad’s letting me get a look at it early before it goes live tomorrow. Mylene and some of the guys are already going to meet me there. What about you girls?” Alix asked.

            “What’s so special about this exhibit?” Juleka muttered.

            “Oh, right. Let me just get… here!”

            Alix held up a picture of a bizarre white box lined with silver and peculiar black markings on its surface.

            “Woah. Creepy,” Juleka cooed.

            “It is a little, yes,” Rose agreed.

            “That’s… strange. Uh, when will you be seeing it today?” Marinette asked.

            “Soon. Actually, right after this. I figured I’d stop in before I went back to the Louvre. Care to join?”

            “Count me in,” Juleka said.

            “Me too!” Rose cheered.

            “Uh, one moment. Juleka, is Luka-?” Marinette started.

            “Yeah. He should be done by now. Go ahead,” Juleka said.

            Marinette nodded and trotted over to Luka and Juleka’s room. She turned the corner and jumped back. Luka sat on his bed in meditation like the first time she saw him, but with a man sitting beside him with his eyes closed. She paled at the sharp, serpentine features of the man, pale skin like he was ill, black rocker clothes, and unnaturally long hair.

            “S-sass?” Marinette whispered.

            Sass’s eyes shot open with his snake green eyes and pupils narrowed into slits. Luka’s eyes opened as Marinette flinched and stepped back. Luka shot to his feet and approached Marinette.

            “Are you ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Luka commented.

            “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Just… surprised by Sass,” Marinette reassured.

            Sass grumbled and hissed. He slinked off the bed and headed to the living room when Kaalki blocked his path.

            “Hey, lovebirds! We’re getting ready to head out. Let’s go!”

            “Oh, right. Hey, Luka, would you be ok with a small detour before our date? Alix’s dad is letting her see a new exhibit early and she’s invited us along with some other friends,” Marinette explained.

            “Yeah, that sounds like fun,” Luka said.

            “Alright! You’re coming too, scales,” Kaalki demanded.

            “No, I don’t think I will,” Sass hissed.

            “Oh, but you are. You know who is coming too and she’ll be very sad if you don’t show up. I wonder what she’ll do.”

            Sass sighed and growled. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

            “Oi, Mari, where’s little Velze?” Kaalki asked.

            “Huh? Oh, Gimmi? She’s at home. She, uh, didn’t want to listen to our, uh, sickening lovey words?” Marinette attempted.

            Kaalki looked Marinette over, then at the mini purse at Marinette’s side. She rushed at Marinette and snatched it before Marinette could react. She reached into it and pulled Gimmi from it. She beamed and tossed Marinette the purse back.

            “There you are, mini Velze! Come, join us. Stretch your legs with the rest of us.”

            Gimmi shot Kaalki a menacing look. She didn’t respond but phased through Kaalki’s grip and shifted into her human form. Marinette reached out for Gimmi as Gimmi navigated Liberty while avoiding the windows. Kaalki whooped and ran out after Gimmi. Marinette grimaced as she looked on, worried.

            “Everything alright?” Luka asked.

            “Not exactly. Gimmi has been avoiding all reflective surfaces. She won’t even look me in the eyes long either. When I ask, she doesn’t tell me why, but it’s clear something is wrong. I just don’t know what to do to help her,” Marinette explained.

            “I think the best you can do is let her approach you when she’s ready. There may be something wrong, but if she hasn’t shared, she isn’t ready. Give her time and she will be.”

            Marinette looked at the ground, then at Luka with a smile. “I’ll try. I’m just worried.”

            Luka returned the smile and took Marinette’s hand. “It’s ok to be worried. You care for her, just like you did with Tikki.”

            “I mean, I still do, but yeah, I do care for Gimmi. We clash and she’s never shy about reminding me about the reality of things, but I appreciate her for it.”

            “Oi, let’s go!” Kaalki yelled.

            Luka and Marinette jumped at Kaalki’s voice, then laughed. They joined the others on the deck before they headed to the Louvre. Marinette chatted with Luka along the way, but her eyes never left Gimmi as Gimmi avoided all reflective surfaces. When they approached the Louvre, Gimmi fell back behind Luka and Marinette.

            “Hey, are you ok?” Marinette asked.

            “Peachy. Just avoiding that,” Gimmi hissed.

            Marinette turned back and saw Mylene with Longg along with Marc with Tikki, Nathaniel with Vana, and Kim with Xuppu.

            “Finally, Alix! We’ve been waiting forever! You know this report is due tomorrow, right?” Kim yelled.

            “You should have done it sooner, idiot,” Alix spat.

            “It’s not my fault. I was supposed to do it with Ondine’s help, but everything just keeps coming up and she did it on her own. So, I’m all on my own.”

            “Not my problem, meathead. Anyway, everyone read-,” Alix started.

            “Sass!” Longg yelled.

            Sass stopped and sighed. Longg charged at him and scooped him up. She laughed and flung him around like a doll before she hugged him and bit his arm. Everyone flinched, but he didn’t react. She grinned and put him on her back like a backpack. She joined the others as everyone headed in. Luka and Marinette took up the rear with Gimmi.

            “That was… quite the scene. Have you ever seen that?” Marinette asked.

            “No. Mylene doesn’t come around very often. Even when she does, she’s just meeting with Juleka and Rose, so I never see Sass and Longg interact. Still, even though he’s unbothered, I hope he’s ok,” Luka said.

            “Sass is fine. I know he enjoys Longg’s bizarre affections, even if he never lets on about them,” Gimmi butted in.

            “Are you saying Sass enjoys being bitten?” Luka asked.

            “Yes,” Gimmi answered.

            Marinette hummed as a thought crossed her mind and she smirked. “You know, Luka, I’ve come to understand that we begin to mirror our kwamis in many aspects the longer that we’re with them. Does this mean you also like to be bitten?”

            Luka’s face flushed. “Ah, well, uh, y-you see, uh, I… I wouldn’t know, you know? I mean! You were the only girl I had dated before our breakup… and there was no one else. Even when we were together, we never… you know, so I… I don’t know.”

            Gimmi peered up at Luka. “You’re telling me a however old teenage boy you are has never thought with his other head? Never not once?”

            Luka’s blush deepened while Marinette blushed. “Gimmi!”

            “What? You aren’t seriously that surprised, are you? You both are transitioning into adults. Him sooner than you. You are going to have to address the topic of physical intimacy sooner or later. Sooner rather than later. And not by these little teasing jokes you seem to think are amusing,” Gimmi snapped.

            “She’s right, you know,” Sass yelled back.

            “Alright, enough. Can we talk about literally anything else?” Marinette asked.

            “Yes, please. I don’t want to think about my brother’s sex life,” Juleka said with a shutter.

            Luka pursed his lips as his face turned bright red.

            “Yeah, no one wants to talk about their likely boring, vanilla ass love like Nathan and Marc. I’d rather talk about Kim’s failing relationship,” Alix pointed out.

            “Failing? Oh no! What happened with you and Ondine?” Rose asked.

            “Nothing. She’s just been busy with Terra,” Kim said.

            “I don’t know. Sounds like she doesn’t want to see you,” Alix commented.

            “What? No. Who wouldn’t want to see me when she gets all of this?” Kim asked as he flexed.

            “Is that supposed to be impressive?” Longg asked.

            “Well, I mean, yes! Ondine thought it was impressive.”

            “I’m sorry on her behalf.”

            Kim’s jaw dropped. He was about to respond when Alim Kubdel approached them with the director.

            “Welcome, everyone. We’ve been waiting for you guys,” Alim said.

            Kim raised his hand. “Mr. Alix’s Dad, is this exhibit related to anything historical and can I use it for my report?”

            “Of course. Come along.”

            Everyone followed Alim and the director to a back room. They approached a table with the box on it. Everyone stared at it while the kwamis stood back.

            “Hey, any of you feel something… off?” Fluff asked.

            Mullo nodded.

            “Kaalki, you brought us here for a reason,” Sass said.

            “Did you, Kaalki?” Tikki asked.

            Kaalki smiled and pulled Gimmi close to her. “Mini Velze, look upon the box. What do you see? What do you feel?”

            Gimmi sneered and opened her mouth, but paused when her eyes landed on the box. Her eyes widened as familiar presences washed over her. Their presences were accompanied by a vile repulsion and betrayal she had never felt, but had at the same time. She knotted her brows as her pupils constricted.

            “Oh no.”

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[goldenlaurelleaveswrites]

Chords and Courtship ch 12

Spring, Recomposed

Chords and Courtship (AO3)

If you want a longer version of the song, here's a one hour loop version.

Hello everyone! I know it's been a very, very, very long time since I've updated this. When this story went on hiatus, I thought it would be a matter of a few months. Obviously, things didn't quite work out that way... But I've decided to come back to this story before finishing Juleka vs. the Forces of the Universe because quite frankly, I need to go where the inspiration is. And right now, the inspiration is hitting me with this story.

I unfortunately can't give any estimates on when the next chapter (for this and all my other stories) will be up, but I promise I haven't forgotten about any of them.

To those of you who have been with this story since the start, thank you so much for your patience and support. And to all reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

The room swirled around him in a dizzying array of colour and light, blending until they were so much like the watercolours Marinette had been paining with when he had stumbled upon her and Juleka having tea in the gardens for a second time. Everything was soft and hazy.

Except her eyes. 

Her eyes, vivid and sparkling, were the epicentre of everything. They were steadying and grounding, yet dizzying in their own way. 

She beamed up at him, the corners of her eyes crinkling in the most captivating way, and he stumbled over a step. He had been stumbling over himself for what seemed the entire evening, since the moment he had seen her drift into the ballroom in her ethereal white gown that made her look like an angel. Or a faerie from the poetry Jules liked to read and write. She looked beautiful in white. She looked beautiful in anything. But the image had been made all the sweeter by the lilac sash at her waist, and the ribbon lilacs once again adorning her hair.  

He could almost smell the sweet perfume of lilacs, bringing him back to that moment in the woods, when he had blurted out an open invitation to his heart. To that moment he had no longer been able to deny that his world had shifted. Was that what it had been like for Eros, when he had first met Psyche? Or when Eurydice had first heard Orpheus play? 

“Are you thinking of a new song, Luka?” Marinette asked, a little breathlessly from the skipping steps. “You look as if you are hearing music. Music other than what is playing,” she added with a small laugh. 

He could not blame his own breathlessness entirely on the dance. “I am.” 

Her smile grew even brighter at his words. “I hope I will hear it, once you have it.”

“I promise,” he said as they skipped up and back down the line of dancers, “you will.” 

Even as the music guided their steps, music of their dance was swirling in his mind. The dips as they parted to spin with their neighbours, and the soaring notes with every reunion. With every spin, skip, and step, the music wrapped itself around his mind, settling into the very depths of his soul. 

He was guiding her through another pirouette, when and a prickling sensation along the back of his neck pulled his gaze from Marinette’s eyes and bobbing curls to the spectators crowded by the edges of the dance floor.  

Mme. Graham de Vanily’s face was stony, and there was something cold and calculated in her eyes. Her eyes were unnervingly similar to Felix’s. He strained his ears, trying to pick out the sound of her heart from the cacophony of the crowd. But what traces he could hear were slippery, and intent on eluding him. Her face suddenly shifted into a syrupy, sickly sweet smile as her eyes met his- 

The way she had been looking at him- the way her eyes had so suddenly shifted- the notes of a song he couldn’t quite hear from across the room- 

His foot—which Kaalki still deemed to be a second left foot—travelled a little too far for the step, and suddenly he found himself stumbling and tripping over both of his feet to correct himself. 

Marinette laughed lightly as he rushed to right himself, leaning a little closer into him to steady him. And then they were off again, skipping across the floor of the Graham de Vanily ballroom. He had been… surprised would not be the right word, as it would have been a social snub that would have certainly caused gossip in the village if Felix had not invited him to his family’s ball. So while the invitation had been expected in that sense, he had had some trepidation about the invitation. A sense of general unease had settled over his shoulders when he had been handed the invitation, and it had returned as he had entered through the grand doors of the Graham de Vanily estate. 

The home was a grand place, lavish with marble and dripping crystal  The most up to date and expensive decor, like the apartments of the aristocracy in so many of the cities he had played in, left the impression of great style. But it had felt empty and oppressive. The house held a general air about it of grandeur; it was as if the house was trying to remind its visitors of their insignificance in comparison to it and its inhabitants.  

And its inhabitants…. 

Felix had greeted him with cool disdain under his guise of manners and propriety. But his facade had not been able to hide the coldness in Felix’s eyes as he had attempted to look down his nose at him. A difficult feat given he was half a head taller than Felix. It was not until he had turned to greet Mme. Graham de Vanily that his unease had grown. He had turned from Felix to find her watching him with calculating eyes and a saccharine smile. She had been perfectly polite, and in contrast to her son, seemed a warm and welcoming hostess. But something- 

“Luka?” 

Marinette’s voice shook him from his thoughts, and he snapped his attention away from Mme. Graham de Vanily to focus on her. Her brows were furrowed, a little crease of worry forming between them.

“Is everything alright?” The way she squeezed his hand as she asked, so gently but strong at the same time was almost enough to send him stumbling again. What was he doing, letting himself be distracted and unnerved by Felix and his mother? He knew Felix did not care for him, he had felt the daggers of his eyes in his back ever since he had arrived, sharpened by the fact that he had beaten his host to asking Marinette for the first dance and the last waltz of the night. And given Felix held no love for him, it was of no great surprise that Mme. Graham de Vanily would be… off-putting. 

“Everything is fine.” Marinette’s brows were still furrowed. “I just had a thought, something that didn’t quite fit the song. Nothing to worry about,” he said, hoping to convince himself as much as Marinette. 

Her face melted into a smile, and all he could do was chastise himself again for ever letting such thoughts cloud the light of the evening. 

***

She did her best to suppress her smile as she took a bite of her bread, but it was difficult not to smile at the silly joke her papa had just told. And if it was difficult not to laugh at her papa’s joke… well, then it was impossible not to smile at the way the corners of Luka’s eyes crinkled as he laughed heartily. 

Ever since his ball, her parents had been quite vocal in their approval of Luka. She had been… not worried per se, but she would be a liar to deny that she had felt some anxiety. What if her parents had not liked Luka? What if he had not liked them? Those whispered thoughts had been quickly silenced at the ball, when she had seen the way her papa clapped Luka on the back from across the ballroom. And now… 

She couldn’t help but laugh at herself for ever having had such anxieties. 

Especially now… this was the third time she and her parents were dining with Luka and Juleka, and it seemed her parents approval and fondness of the Couffaine’s grew with every shared breaking of bread.  

“And so,” he papa continued with his story, his soup seemingly entirely forgotten as he regaled them all with tales from the day to day running of the bakery. Many of which he had… embellished. Or as he would say, decorated. ‘Even the best tasting cake is sweeter with an added touch here and there,’ was what he always said whenever her maman pointed out that things hadn’t happened quite the way he told them. “There I was, with ten dozen profiteroles in the kitchen, half of them already filled when I realized that the order had been for five dozen profiteroles.” 

“That sounds like quite the conundrum,” Luka laughed. It was a genuine laugh too, not the polite and indifferent smile of someone who was only humouring her papa’s tales. Beside her, Juleka’s quiet chuckle joined Luka’s laughter. 

“It sounds like the time Luka mistook a request for a song written for a string quartet for an entire symphony. You should have seen the Duke’s face,” Juleka laughed quietly as her papa laughed himself into a fresh tale. One of exaggerated proportions like all the rest. 

She looked down at her bowl as she took a sip of her soup, and when she glanced up, she caught Sass’s eye.   

It was always an odd sensation, to be waited upon. Neither she nor her parents were used to it. Whenever she was at the Agreste manor, she could never shake the discomfort of being waited on. But from the night in the music room, and again earlier this evening when Luka and Juleka had both seemed almost surprised themselves when their staff had started to wait on them, she had come to suspect that perhaps they were not used to it themselves. 

Sass’s face was the impassively neutral look every butler she had ever met wore. But when he caught her eye, a genuine smile flashed in his eyes and he shot her a subtle wink as he made a show of smothering a laugh at another one of her papa’s terrible jokes.  

Laughing, she turned her attention back to the- not the conversation. It would not even be fair to say she returned her attention back to the table. 

Her attention was wholly focused on Luka; on the way his eyes sparkled with laughter as he quipped with her father and the way his melodic laugh warmed the room. Her mind drifted back to the way he had greeted her mother with a courteous smile that had been so warm and guanine. The way he listened so closely to everything that was said, regardless of whether it was her, her parents, or his sister who had spoken.

In the warm and cozy glow of the candlelit dining room, she was lost somewhere between the past and the present. And perhaps, she wasn’t lost only in the past and present; it felt… More than anything, it felt like home. And perhaps, more than the past and present, it felt like… 

Luka glanced her way once again as he laughed at something her papa had just said, though she was not sure what it was he had said. His words had been lost to the dreamlike quality of the room; everything felt so far away and fuzzy around the edges. Like a waking dream. 

Everything, except Luka. 

The moment his eyes caught hers, it was like time, which was already so muddled about, slowed. If she didn’t know any better, she would think he was a magician, the way he always seemed to make time slow around them. 

His bright smile softened into something altogether more private. His eyes were still glimmering and sparkling, but even their light had softened to a gentle glow. Her cheeks warmed as her own smile spread across her face. If she had been lost in the moment before… she was truly lost in his eyes. 

And yet, even lost in his eyes things had never been clearer. 

“…what do you think, Marinette dear?” 

She jumped at the sound of her mother’s voice. Turning in her seat, she found her mother watching her with a sly grin, one which, to her utmost mortification, was mirrored on her papa’s face. Suddenly, her cheeks were aflame with an entirely different sort of heat. Her eyes darted back to Luka, whose face and ears were suddenly glowing an unexpectedly becoming shade of pink. 

A quiet voice broke the silence that had come to, at least on her part, awkwardly hang in the air.“I do believe that croquembouche is rather the trend, now.” Slowly, she turned the other direction in her seat to find Juleka, quiet and shy Juleka, smiling slyly as she swirled her spoon in her soup thoughtfully.“At least, that is what was served at the society weddings in Paris,” she added with a smirk sent in Luka’s direction. 

“Jules!” Luka’s voice was closer in tone to that of a squawk. 

“I am merely saying, brother…” 

Juleka’s words trailed off to hang smugly in the air. 

And then… 

“I knew I liked you, Mlle. Couffaine,” her papa said before throwing his head back in a roar of laughter. 

“Yes,” her maman added with laughter of her own, “I can see why Marinette has been enjoying spending time with you both.” 

Her cheeks were flaming as her parents and Juleka’s laughter rang through the air. Even Sass was chuckling. The start of a groan began to escape her, but then, once more she turned to find Luka looking at her from across the table. Even with the heat of embarrassment warming her face, and his as well, she could not help but smile once more. 

***

“In some ways, I suppose it’s a good thing it’s raining,” Luka said quietly as they trailed behind Nooroo. “Nooroo is too shy to admit it, but he’s been hoping for you to see the orangery and to hear your thoughts on it.” 

She couldn’t help but smile at the thought. Since her tea in the gardens with Juleka and her unexpected stay at the estate the night of the storm, she had met Nooroo twice more. He had been as fluttery and shy as when she first met him, but his kindness shone through in his every mannerism, from the way he spoke of each plant in the gardens he tended to, to the way he described his plans for the gardens. 

“I’m looking forward to seeing it,” she replied, just as quietly before sharing a private smile with Luka. She would never grow tired of the way his eyes crinkled at the corners every time he smiled. Nor would she ever grow tired of the way his hair always seemed to escape his obvious efforts to comb and tidy it, to sweep across his forehead. And the way it tempted her to brush it from his eyes…

“I hope you will love it in here, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng,” Nooroo said shyly as he pushed open a heavy looking set of doors. 

Luka smiled at her before leading her into the room after Nooroo. 

The first thing that struck her was the humidity and warmth; while it was warm and there was noticeable moisture in the air, it was not stifling or unpleasant. The second thing that struck her was the smell. The fresh scent of greenery and flowers and the richness of soil was undercut by a bright and citrusy scent. 

She gazed at the room in wonder. Three of the walls were almost entirely made of glass, letting the bright grey light of the drizzly day light the room. Neatly planted in wide beds, organized neatly into rows, were trees abundant with leaves, blossoms, and the green beginnings of small fruits. Other plants, some that she recognized, others that she didn’t know at all also occupied the room. Small white flowers she recognized as jasmine climbed along trellises attached to the wall of the house proper. From somewhere deeper in the conservatory, she could hear the trickling of water in a fountain. In the very centre of the room, there was a break in the rows of trees to form a circular clearing with a table and chairs. 

The table was set with china. Kaalki was placing a teapot on the table, while Juleka and Sass stood by the table, deep in conversation. Juleka was holding a small, black notebook and she was nodding at what Sass was saying. 

“What do you think?” Luka asked quietly. 

“It’s wonderful,” she murmured, letting go of his arm to take a few steps further into the room. She had never seen anything like it.  

***

Their tea had already gone to dregs twice, and they still had not run out of things to discuss. She had traded stories of growing up in the bakery and all her favourite, secret places amongst the meadows and hills for stories of their childhood in the highlands and their travels across the continent and beyond. Juleka had told her of some of her writing, and had offered an extensive list of novels and poetry collections she might like to borrow from their library, and she had promised her new friend they would make another day of painting and writing in the gardens.

And Luka… 

When she had mentioned offhandedly how she wished she could hear the symphony he was composing for King Ali, he had played for them- for her. Bashfully, and with an endearing flush to his face, he had played a small piece from the symphony he was working on on a violin Sass had brought in from the music room. He had told her the night of Felix’s ball that words often evaded him, or complicated his meaning. That music was his first language. And though she had never found his words left her doubting, she fully understood. 

His music transcended language. 

Every time she heard him play, it was like the world was waking up. The melody had painted spring skies and rolling meadows with perfect clarity. Around them, the colours had seemed somehow softer and brighter in the music. And she had sworn the flowers climbing the trellises along the walls had bloomed a little brighter when he had begun to play. 

Though he had only played a small piece, she knew that  King Ali- that any king would be lucky to have such a symphony composed and performed for them.  

And when he set his violin aside, she had not been able to help but think of how everyone at the assembly halls had been so disappointed when he had returned the instrument to its original owner. And how foolish they had all been. For everything that his music was, and all that it filled the world with, it all came from him. 

It was him. 

There was music in everything he did; it was in the cadence of his voice as he told stories and jokes, in his quiet laughter and attentive eyes as she told stories and jokes of her own. It was even in his half-exasperated sighs when Juleka prodded him with affectionate teasing. 

“Duusuu thought you all might like some more tea sandwiches,” a cheery voice said, cutting into the pause between Luka’s words as he recounted a story of their childhood dog. She turned to look as the rosy cheeked girl she had come to recognize as Daizzi place a plate piled high with more finger sandwiches on the table between them. As she always seemed to be whenever she saw her, Daizzi seemed to be holding back giggles. And where Daizzi went… 

“And more tea for you,” Mullo said, her voice tinged with the giggles that always seemed to permeate the air around the two girls. Mullo slid a new teapot on the table before picking up the empty one. 

“Thank you,” she said, smiling at them both. For some reason, both girls seemed to find her thanking them uproariously funny, because both burst into familiar giggles. 

“Thank you, Daizzi. Mullo.” Luka half-sighed, which only make the girls erupt into more giggles as they both bobbed curtsies and them turned to leave, giggling as they made their way out. 

“You’ll have to excuse them,” Juleka said, poorly concealed laughter of her own colouring her voice. “More tea?” 

“Yes, please,” she said, turning back to Luka and Juleka. 

“Luka, you can pour,” Juleka said with a nod, the corners of her eyes still crinkled with laughter.  

“I like them,” she said as Luka, his cheeks dusted again with a flush, began pouring the tea. “They’re…” her mind drifted to M. Agreste’s housekeeper Mme. Sancouer and her chilly gaze, and Felix’s frigid and silent staff members whose names she didn’t even know because they refused to speak to her. “They’re warm. They’re like a family.” 

“They are our family,” Luka said, notes of affection overpowering the traces of bashfulness in his voice. 

She smiled thoughtfully at the china on the table, none of which matched. But that suited Luka and Juleka perfectly. Just as the way their staff was their family suited them all so perfectly. 

“How did they come to be your family- what I mean to say is,” she hurried to clarify, “how did you all meet? If I may ask.” 

Luka smiled. “We met most of them on our travels with James, and then on our own travels. Sass joined us when I was- I would have been twelve.” Juleka nodded in agreement. “He started as my, well, our tutor. We met him in Budapest, he had been studying at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, but the funding for his research had been cut and he could no longer support himself. But he detested putting his skills to use in the banks and no one wanted to hire a penniless nineteen year old student for an engineering position. So when he met us by happy coincidence, he joined us. We met Nooroo in Switzerland…” 

She listened with rapt attention as he laid out the stories—with interjections from Juleka to correct and confirm details— of how they had found a family of their own throughout their years travelling. They went through another pot of tea as they recounted the adventures that had brought them all together from every corner of the continent and beyond. How they had all come to join their odd yet beautiful, and ever growing family from all walks of life. 

All but one. 

“What about Kaalki?” she asked quietly. Luka and Juleka had described how they had met all of their staff- their family, even those she hadn’t yet met. Except for Kaalki. Of its own accord, her gaze drifted towards the door to the orangery, and Sass and Kaalki’s retreating figures. Sass, with Luka’s violin tucked carefully in his arm and the empty sandwich plate in his other hand, was already at the door. Hiss tall and lean form was outlined by the door he was holding ajar as he looked back at Kaalki. Kaalki… her brows furrowed as she took in the wistful and… almost forlorn way Kaalki was lingering by the orange tree closest to the door. Her tray with the empty teapot was balanced effortlessly in one hand as she brushed the leaves on the tree. Before she could try to make sense of the look on Kaalki’s face, or the way the housekeeper who always seemed so set on propriety despite how relaxed Luka and Juleka were, lingered, Kaalki shook her head and continued her way towards the door, her dark curls bouncing primly. She watched as Sass bent to murmur something to Kaalki as she passed him, to which Kaalki nodded before they both disappeared through the door. “She…” she hesitated, “she looked sad just now. Is everything all right?” 

“The orangery reminds her of home sometimes. We met her in Achu,” Juleka explained.  

“It was hard for her to leave, she was only sixteen and, well, she does not like to dwell on it.” The way he was so careful with Kaalki’s story, and respectful and sensitive to Kaalki’s privacy, she couldn’t help falling a little bit more in love with him. “She’s been with us almost as long as Sass, we met her a I believe it was three months after Sass joined us?” Luka looked to Juleka, who nodded. “She started as Juleka’s governess-”

“Though she did insist on taking over Luka’s instruction in deportment,” Juleka said with a mischievous smile. 

Luka groaned, shaking his head at whatever memories had been dredged up. “What was it she had said?“ he asked with rueful laughter in his voice. 

“M. Stone, if you are intending to have Luka play in every court of Europe one day, he simply must be able to tell the difference between a fish and dessert fork,” Juleka laughed. She found herself laughing as well; Juleka had perfectly mimicked Kaalki’s prim cadence. 

“She also took over our instruction in languages,” Luka continued. “And when Jules no longer had need for a governess, she took on the of housekeeper. I think the role suits her rather well. Perhaps too well sometimes…” 

“And she is still able to tutor Luka in his deportment lessons,” Juleka snickered. “And his dancing.” 

There must have been some hidden joke in Juleka’s words, because Luka’s face flushed. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight. He was so honest with his feelings, so sincere. And though he did not fluster as easily as she did, she would be lying if she denied she enjoyed having someone be flustered in her presence, given how often she was the one blushing. 

As if reading her thoughts, Juleka turned from Luka to catch her eye, and smiled a smile that was somehow so sweetly devious, it left her blushing without her friend even needing to utter a word.  

“They are lucky to have you- you are all lucky to have each other. I can see how much they love you both.” It was true; if it wasn’t plain enough how much Luka and Juleka cared for their family from the way they spoke of them, it was clear from the way the staff were so friendly and familiar with them. More than anything, it was clear from the warmth that the estate was brimming with. 

It reminded her of her own home. And her own family. 

“They’re rather fond of you, as well Marinette.” 

Something in Juleka’s voice made fresh heat flood her cheeks. She glanced at Juleka, who was daintily sipping from her tea cup. It wasn't possible to smirk while sipping tea so primly. Yet she could not shake the feeling that somehow, Juleka was smirking.

And yet, it felt so different from the teasing she endured from Alya, which erred too far so easily and so often. There was something… warm about it. Whereas Alya’s teasing often came at her expense, particularly what it came to her stumbling words and two left feet, Juleka’s teasing and her word’s implications… She had never had a sister before, but she imagined this is what it would feel like, to have a sister who teased her. 

Privately, on many occasions she had thought that she would rather like having Juleka as a sister. And those occasions were growing more frequent with very passing day. 

She glanced back at Luka, and her face warmed again for an entirely different reason. His cheeks and ears were still aglow, and there were still traces of embarrassment around the corners of his smile. But as his eyes met hers, the last traces of embarrassment fled his face, and the brightness of laughter in his eyes was replaced by something altogether sweeter. Something that tugged at her heartstrings.   

And for a moment, she swore she heard music the way Luka did.

***

The rain had long since stopped, leaving the world fresh and glowing in the late afternoon sun as she walked home. Luka had offered her a ride home in their carriage, but ever since the storm, she had found her fondness for the smell of fresh rain had grown. She had not wanted to waste such a beautiful walk home. 

And perhaps, she had wanted a moment of privacy to let her giddy laughter and smiles escape her with no one but the sun and clouds and the flowers and creatures of the meadow bear witness. She still could not believe how late in the day it was; their tea had gone on for well over four hours. And yet, it could have been mere minutes, the way the time passed so blissfully. 

She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the rain on the grass and flowers. Sighing, she smiled up at the sky. A flock of warbles flew across the sky, singing their hearts out as if they were sharing in her joy. 

“Marinette!” She snapped her head to look to the side at the sound of the familiar voice. Alya was hurrying towards her, waving her hand to catch her attention. “Marinette, wait for me!” She watched apprehensively as Alya approached, unable to keep herself from biting her lip. “Marinette,” Alya puffed as she tried to catch her breath, “I’ve been looking all over for you.” 

“I’ve been-” 

“At the Couffaine’s. I know.” 

She frowned at the note in Alya’s voice. The one that was somehow both a demand and a reprimand at once. “I was having tea,” she said tersely. Ever since she had run out of Adrien’s sitting room and into the storm, there had been an unspoken tension between her and Alya. Alya had been relieved that she had been alright. But that had not stopped Alya from pointing out that if she hadn’t run out into the storm, she would have spent the night at the Agreste’s instead of the Couffaine’s.    

“But your mother said you left for tea at noon,” Alya said as she linked their arms. “What could M. Couffaine possibly have to talk about for that long besides music?” Alya added with a laugh as she began to walk forward, pulling her along. “And his sister. She’s so quiet- I barely got ten words from her at their ball-”

“Plenty,” she said, cutting Alya off. “The conversation did not leave me wanting.”

Alya turned to eye her. “Well, I suppose you were able to keep the conversation going. Though for that long? I was waiting for you, you know.” 

“You were?” She and Alya hadn’t had any plans together today. Perhaps she was a bad friend for it, but she had been avoiding spending time with Alya—just Alya—lately. They had spent time together with the rest of their friends, but they hadn’t spent much time in just each other’s company as of late. 

“Of course I was!” Alya laughed, tugging her along to continue walking towards the village. She hadn’t even realized she had stopped until Alya tugged on her arm. “I had it all planned. Adrien and Nino went out for a ride early this afternoon after the rain stopped, and you and I were going to have a picnic. Then, they would come across us and join us. I even had the perfect spot planned, it’s so incredibly romantic!” Irritation and an unexpected protectiveness surged through her. Alya had gone ahead and made plans again without consulting her or even asking her if she was available. And the thought that Alya might have tried to plan a romantic set up between her and Adrien in the lilac woods- in her and Luka’s woods… “You know the hill that overlooks the village, the view is so beautiful, it would have been so romantic. It would have been perfect.”

At least the lilac woods hadn’t been sullied by Alya’s schemes. But that small comfort did little to quell her irritation. 

“But Nino said he’ll convince Adrien to go out for an evening ride…” 

Alya had not once consulted her on her ill-fated schemes. 

Alya had not once truly apologized for all the times the plots had gone wrong. 

Alya had not once asked her if she still wanted to try and win Adrien’s affections. 

Alya had not once noticed how things had changed, how happy she had been since Luka came into her life. 

“…just think, a sunset picnic would be even more romantic than and afternoon-”

She stopped short, yet again. But this time, she pulled her arm free from Alya’s, cutting her friend’s words off without uttering a sound. 

Alya turned to look at her, confusion clear across her face. “Marinette?” 

Her nails were biting into her palms, her fisted hands shaking ever so much. “No.” She could not remember the last time she had told Alya no. 

It seemed Alya didn’t remember either. Her friend stared at her, flabbergasted. “What do you mean, ‘no’?” 

“I don’t want to go out on a picnic.” 

Alya stared at her incredulously, but then she began to laugh. “I suppose if you had tea that lasted that long you would not be particularly hungry,” Alya laughed, all traces of worry gone. “We can do it tomorrow evening then. That might be better, actually. Then the ground will be fully dry.”  

Alya had just accepted- assumed that she did not want to go on a picnic because she was not hungry. And yet again, Alya had made a new plan without consulting her, or even asking her. 

“I have a prior engagement for dinner tomorrow,” she said coolly. Her papa had insisted that Luka and Juleka dine at the bakery, and neither of the Couffaine’s had been particularly hard pressed to accept. Especially with her papa’s promise of his famous quiche. 

“Well then, we do it- no, the night after is the assembly halls… then we do it the night after the assembly halls.” She opened her mouth, a protest barely past her lips when Alya narrowed her eyes. “Or do you have another engagement that evening as well? You have had many plans recently,” Alya said pointedly. 

It was true, she was expecting she and Luke or perhaps she and Juleka would make arrangements to spend time in each other’s company. They would be leaving for Achu soon, and she wanted to spend as much time with them, with Luka, as she could before they left. But more than that… “I don’t want to go on a picnic with Adrien.” 

“Of course you do-” 

“I do not!” 

Alya stared at her.”Very well, then what would you like to do with Adrien?” 

“Nothing. There are other things I wish to spend my time on. Other people I wish to spend my time with. And I don’t want any more of your plots or schemes.”

Alya stared at her incredulously. And then, the familiar look of pensive frustration —the one Alya bore when things did not go according to her plans and she was trying to tangle out the reason why—crossed her face. “The dancing… all the outings… the teas and dinners…” Alya muttered, almost to herself, her brows furrowing more and more with ever word she uttered. “Marinette.” A sudden epiphany must have struck Alya, because she snapped her gaze up from the ground where it had drifted during her mutterings. Alya stared—almost glared—at her with accusatory eyes. “If you don’t stop this… this plot of yours, you will lose your chance with Adrien forever!” 

Alya’s words struck her so hard, she took a step back. Plot? Alya thought this was all some, some plot? That she had been using Luka just to- She had to force herself to take a breath before she said something she would regret. Once she had quashed the hot and angry indignation that was flaring through her as best as she could, she rounded on Alya. “It isn’t some plot!” she cried. “I am weary- exhausted of plots!

“Then what is this? Marinette,” there was that awful, condescending note in her voice. That horrible, look in Alya’s eyes that told her her friend thought she knew what was best. “I don’t want to see you waste your chance. After all these years of loving Adrien and pining for him, you’re going to lose it all! And to some… some newcomer who has barely been here three months! Do you really want all your love to go to-“

“I don’t love Adrien!” she hated how she could hear the tears in her voice. But she couldn’t hold this in any longer. She couldn’t take it anymore. Alya gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth as she stepped back.  

“What do you mean, of course you love him-“

“I don’t. I don’t know if I ever did. And even if I did love him once, I don’t anymore. And I refuse to spend the rest of my life chasing someone who doesn’t love me.” 

“Marinette, of course he loves you. He just has to realize-“

“No, Alya. He doesn’t. He has never once paid me any attention. No matter how hard I tried,” she clutched her hands to her chest, trying to hold in the heartbreak she had bottled up over the years. The world blurred with her held back tears. “And I don’t want to spend my life trying to convince someone to love me. I want- I deserve to have someone who sees me. Who loves me without having to be convinced and tricked into it!”

“And he will-“

“No. He won’t.” Alya started to protest, but she cut her off before she could. “And even if he did, I don’t care. I have something. Something special. Luka saw me. He loves me, and I love him-“

“Luka?” Alya looked caught between indigence and flabbergasted. But it seemed she was quickly leaning towards incredulity. “When did that happen?” 

She remained silent, not trusting herself to speak. But Alya was undeterred. 

“And isn’t it a bit fast? You barely know him, you’ve known Adrien for-“

“I don’t know Adrien. Not really. And he doesn’t know me. Not like Luka. Luka understands me, he makes me happy! I see a future for myself with him.”

“But after all this time pining for Adrien!”

“You aren’t listening! I haven’t loved Adrien for a long time. I don’t think I ever truly did love him in the first place. Now that I know what love is… please,” she added quietly, “I am happy. Can you be happy for me too?”

Alya sighed. She still did not look convinced. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Marinette.”  

“I have never been more sure,” she said quietly before turning and heading towards the path that would take her to the village the long way. Those words were long overdue. She just hoped Alya would listen. And that things would change. 

For the better. 

***

It was warmer in the sun, but it was comfortable with the breeze. Everything was comfortable when he was with Marinette. When he was with her, everything made sense. Except, perhaps, the language of flowers and fans and handkerchiefs, and all the other rules of courtship. But then, in many ways, it felt like those rules did not matter. Like they did not apply to the two of them, despite what Kaalki and Juleka said. Though that did not quell his curiosity regarding the lilacs and what Juleka had said- 

“I do,” she said abruptly, breaking him from his musings before adding in explanation, “want children, that is. I’ve always dreamed of having them. Having a family of my own. Maybe two; I always wanted a sister.”

“They are more headache than anything,” he half chuckled, half mumbled, ignoring the feeling of Juleka’s eyes boring into his back.   

He turned when he felt Marinette’s eyes on him. “Perhaps, but I think the headaches would be worth it, don’t you think?” 

“They are,” he said softly, “I couldn’t imagine a childhood- a life without my sister. I couldn’t imagine my own children not having siblings.”

The smile that curled across her face was dazzling and gentle, and it lit up her eyes and the world around them. The world was suddenly… more. The songs of the birds and the voice of the breeze were clearer, the colours of the meadow were brighter. Everything… 

They were all familiar notes: the songs of the birds, the breeze whispering in the grass, the wildflowers that carpeted the meadow like stained glass, the endless blue sky with its lazily drifting clouds, the warmth of the sun on his face.

Though the notes themselves were familiar, he was suddenly seeing them in a new light. As if a veil had been lifted from his eyes and he was seeing the world for the first time all over again.

The notes were rearranging themselves before his very eyes; suddenly he was seeing just how many shades of blue the sky held all at once, and the colours of the world were singing with new clarity. 

This new arrangement was illuminating new truths in the notes. Truths that had been hidden in what he had once thought was the complete song. 

And at the very centre of the recomposition, was Marinette. 

***

The meadow had sung with new music the day before, when Marinette answered his question. He could still hear it now, singing with resplendent clarity even over the sound of Polaris and Nyx’s hooves.  

King Ali may have commissioned him to compose the symphony, but the symphony was no longer for King Ali anymore than it was for the all the heavens above or all the water in the oceans and seas. 

It was all for Marinette. 

It was all because of Marinette. 

Even now, the wind against his face and the soft thud of hooves against grass held the promise of a new song. Music permeated the world in a way it never had. Or at least, it never had before he had met Marinette. 

She saw him. His mind wandered to the portrait she had done of him. He had almost not recognized his own likeness. She had seen him not just as he was but all and more than he had ever he hoped to be. And she heard him. As entwined as music was in the very essence of his soul, she heard more than his music. She heard him. She cherished his words and quiet as much as she cherished his music.  

Beside him, Juleka and Nyx slowed as they approached one of the hills surrounding the meadow. He quickly followed suit. They ascended the hill in amicable silence, and once they reach the top they made a silent agreement to stop and take in the view of the sprawling hills and meadows and farms, the lilac woods, and in the distance, home. 

It was such a short word. And yet, it held more meaning than one would expect of just a few letters. 

“Luka?” 

“Yes?” he answered, not turning away from the foundation of what would perhaps be another symphony in front of him. 

“You haven’t proposed to Marinette, yet.” It was both a question and an accusation at once. 

Looking away from the view in front of him, he turned to find his sister staring at him inquisitorially. His smile was all the answer she needed.   

[wonderwoman6199]

Looks like Luka attended the “Chat Noir school of yeeting things at akumas”😂🤣

It's time to m*ther f*cking SMASH!

Episode 46 Part 12 First < Previous > Next Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5 Ep 41, Ep 42, Ep 43, Ep 44, Ep 45

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[carpetbug]

Feline Blue AU Masterpost

What is FBAU?

FBAU is my own alternate universe where, before the events of origins, Master Fu is hunted down and killed by Hawkmoth. Moments before his death, he transfers guardianship to the first person to cross his path, who ends up being Marinette Dupain Cheng. Marinette learns about the miraculous and what being a guardian means from the kwamis, and eventually decides to wield the black cat ring. After a silly turn of events, Adrien Agreste, famous model and Marinettes new friend/classmate, becomes the wielder of the ladybug earrings.

Update schedule?

The actual fic updates whenever I’m ready to update it (that is to say it has absolutely no schedule), but I tend to draw a fair amount for this au! If you’d like to enjoy the au as I write it (without spoilers) I suggest sticking to the fic!! Most art and almost all ‘extra’ content has to do with later aspects of the story, so avoid those if you don’t want spoilers. (kwami swap pairings, hero names, love square dynamics, etc).

What tags do you/should I use?

I use the tags #ml fbau and #ml feline blue au, but certain characters have their own tags as well (#feline blue, #beetle rouge, etc).

You are welcome to make art of this au!! If you do, please tag me for credit and so I can be sure to see it! I’m also always taking asks/questions/requests for this au! I love to ramble <3.

Fic Chapters

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four [wip]

Art

Feline Blue and Beetle Rouge

Marinette and Adrien go swimming

A single mom who works two jobs, who loves her kids and never stops

FBAU!Nino

FBAU!Alya

Alya redraw

Bee!Alya rough design

FBAU!Chloe

FBAU!Alix

FBAU!Luka

Tempore Lapin / Rabbit!Luka

FBAU!Kagami

FBAU!Juleka

FBAU!Rose

Mini comic 1

Mini comic 2

Kwami and holder interactions 1

Kwami and holder interactions 2

Kwami and holder interactions 3

Kim doodle

Felix and Duusu

Doodles 1

Doodles 2

Finger doodle

Catgirl stares at you

Beetle sketches

Beetle doodles

Beetleline doodle

Beetleline

Marirouge glaciator

Art dump

Tikki

He’s so fucked

Plagg

Literally kick her in the head

Nooroo

Duusu

Wayzz

Trixx

Trixx 2.0

Pollen

Longg

Sass

Fluff

Mullo

Kaalki

Ziggy

Orikko

Stompp

Barkk

Roaar

Daizzi

Xuppu

Miracle Tree

Extra

Spotify Playlists Folder [wip]

Song ask 1!

Song ask 2!

Pinterest Boards [always being updated!]

thimbleb3rries Beetleline genderbend!

bbutterflies commission!

wisteriasymphony art!

aeoluuus art!

d011zk1ll art 1!

d011zk1ll art 2!

d011zk1ll art 3!

d011zk1ll art 4!

d011zk1ll art 5!

d011zk1ll art 6!

d011zk1ll cysaw x fbau 1!

d011zk1ll cysaw x fbau 2!

d011zk1ll cysaw x fbau 3!

d011zk1ll cysaw x fbau 4!

d011zk1ll cysaw x fbau 5!

d011zk1ll cysaw x fbau 6!

d011zk1ll cysaw x fbau 7!

d011zk1ll cysaw x fbau 8!

graythegreyt art 1!

graythegreyt art 2!

isabugs art!

friend art!

Ask 1 - favorite things

Ask 2 - difference between canon

Ask 3 - q+a

Ask 4 - chloe and zoe regarding the fox 1

Ask 5 - q+a

Ask 6 - Chloe and Zoe regarding the fox 2

Ask 7 - feline reacting to chloe

Ask 8 - marinettes taste in drinks

Ask 9 - first akuma

Ask 10 - real

Ask 11 - chapter 3 debrief

[last updated: August 16th, 2024]

[verfound]

FIC: "The Dorm" (MLB; Lukanette; LBSC Lukanette Month 2024)

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers is doing a Lukanette Month for September 2024, and we all just kinda tossed some prompts in the disco to compile a list?  We ended up with 71 prompts, so I decided I’d roll some dice to pick a prompt, do a twenty minute (ish, bc we all know sometimes they run away from me) sprint, and try to get some short fics out this month?

Read on Ao3

Prompt 22: Dorm

Luka wasn’t sure who was banging on his door at…seven o’clock on a Sunday morning, but he had Words for whoever the hell it was.  Colorful words he had learned at entirely too young an age from the Captain that he probably shouldn’t use in polite company, but it was seven o-fucking-clock in the fucking morning on a fucking Sunday, and he wasn’t feeling very polite.

The banging continued, and Luka groaned as he scrubbed at his face.  He finally reached the door and yanked it open, ready to chew out whoever the hell was on the other side.

He swore to God, if it was Dingo…

Except it wasn’t.

It was Tom.

Still wearing a flour-dusted apron and looking…kind of desperate.

What the fuck…?

“Luka!” he cried, his smile as wide as ever but filled with too much nervous energy.  He looked like…well, Marinette stressing the night before a big project was due.  “So glad you’re up!  Can I come in?”

“…I was not up,” Luka said, numbly, as he blinked at the man.  “Just because I’m ‘up’ now doesn’t mean I was ‘up’ when you…Tom.  Tom.  Do you realize what time it is?”

“I would have come earlier, but Sabine seemed to think you’d still be asleep,” Tom said, and a strangled laugh was startled out of Luka.  And Tom HADN’T?  Hadn’t he known him long enough to know better?  On a SUNDAY?  “Please, son.  It’s important.  I have a huge favor to ask you.  It’s about Marinette.”

Luka was suddenly very ‘up’.

…awake!

Alert!

Not…God-fucking-dammit he needed some coffee…

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his brow furrowing.  “Is Marinette all right?”

“Luka.  Son,” Tom started, wringing his hands anxiously in front of him, “have you seen her dorm???”

– V –

The problem had started about a month ago, when Marinette was first looking into student housing.  Technically she lived close enough to ESMOD that she could commute from her home at the bakery, but it had been important to her to live away from home while she was studying.  After so many years fighting Hawkmoth, she had wanted that freedom.  That independence.

Luka could understand that.

Her mother could understand that.

Her father, on the other hand…Tom had always been protective of his little girl.  And that was fine, usually.  He just loved her fiercely and unapologetically.  It was one of the things Luka loved about him.

It was also one of the things Marinette was finding particularly…well.  Smothering.  At the moment.  And she desperately wanted the chance to live on her own.

Student housing was usually reserved for international students or special cases, so she had had to start looking for nearby flats to share with fellow students.  Juleka and Rose were moving in together and would have offered a spare room, but their own respective universities were far enough away that it made commuting just a bit trickier, and Marinette hadn’t been willing to risk exposing the Miracle Box using Kaalki for transport every day.

“You could portal your scooter,” Luka had suggested, shrugging, but she had just rolled her eyes and nudged his ribs with her elbow.

“Kaalki would throw a fit,” she insisted, “and it’s still too risky.  Yeah, Hawkmoth…Gabriel’s in prison now, but the city is still tense.  Gabriel had his Miraculous too long for Paris to not be.  Ladybug is still needed, at least for now, and I can’t just go tossing portals all over the place.  You know better, Luka.”

He did, and he usually respected and supported her decisions when it came to the Miracle Box  - she was the Guardian, after all – but he was still…concerned.  The places she had been looking at weren’t…well.  He would rather her risk a portal and live with his sister, where he knew she’d be safe, than stay at half the places she’d looked at.

He had never really thought Paris was so…dangerous.  Before.

She had eventually found a place, although it wasn’t…it didn’t…they all had concerns.  To put it nicely.

“…why don’cha have her move in with you?” Dingo had asked him when she had first brought them over.  Well.  She had invited him, but he had been with Dingo when he’d gotten her call, and Dingo had refused to buzz off.  Something about how he ‘hadn’t seen his baby girl in months, Lulu – stop hogging her!’  Or something.

“I can’t do that, Ding,” he had sighed.  “She’s not…we’re not…”

He wasn’t quite sure what they were anymore.  Less than what he wanted but more than what he’d ever hoped for.  Asking her to move in felt like it would tip that delicate balance, but he wasn’t sure in which direction.  He wasn’t sure he could live with it, if she said no.

“You barely live here,” Dingo had sniffed.  “She could keep your bed warm for you while you’re on the road.”

He had said it with an impressive waggle of his eyebrows.  It was almost a shame Luka had had to shove him into an alley (and a pile of overripe garbage bags tossed next to a dumpster) as they passed.

(He had resumed the argument the day before, when they’d helped Marinette move in, and had kept it up well into the night – which was part of why Luka was so cranky that Sunday morning.)

Still.  The place was…fine.  It was fine.  For a first flat.  A ‘dorm’.  Her roommates were…all right.  He was trusting her, and she had looked so happy as she’d showed off her room with the kinda-sorta-maybe broken window (it was just the lock, not the glass, and Luka wasn’t sure how he felt about that) that he couldn’t just…declare it a shithole and insist she find somewhere else.  Somewhere like his flat, with its locking windows and running water.

“It’s a work in progress,” she had conceded when she’d seen their expressions, “but it’s home!  I’ll make it work!”

Which is what led him to Sunday morning, barely awake after staying out with Dingo until entirely too late (early) Saturday Night and listening to Marinette’s father rant in his living room.

“Make it work?” Tom parroted, staring at Luka with wide eyes.  Apparently he had tried to surprise her with a ‘First Day Breakfast’ – but she had still been asleep, still wiped from the day before, and he had left her coffee soaking into the welcome mat when one of her neighbors had come out of his own door and asked if Tom was the new dealer.  “She’s going to make it work?!  Luka, you’ve seen the place – she’s going to get herself murdered!”

“She can handle herself,” Luka had offered, even though he very much had the same concerns.  Still.  It was Marinette’s choice, and he was trying to respect that.  “She’s going to pick up some pepper spray.  She knows how to hold her keys.”

“Oh, yes, because that will make it all right when some ruffian mugs her on her way home from the library!” Tom scoffed, still fuming.  He stalked over to the couch and sat down on the crates Luka used a coffee table directly across from Luka.  “Luka.  Son.  I need you to do something for me.  For Marinette.”

“Anything,” Luka said automatically, without hesitation, because of course he would.  If it was for Marinette.

“I need you to ask her to move in with you,” Tom said, and Luka froze.

Well.

He almost froze.

He was pretty sure his eyes bugged out and his mouth dropped open.  Then he froze.

“She will, Luka.  If you ask.  I’ve already tried to convince her – Dingo���s already tried,” Tom said, shaking his head.  And Luka was surprised by that, because Dingo hadn’t said anything and…he actually hadn’t realized Tom knew who Dingo was.  He hadn’t thought they’d met.  There must have been some kind of look on his face, because Tom rolled his eyes and smiled at him.  “It was adorable that he thought letting his hair down and removing the shades would fool us.  I give him points for trying, though.”

“…I don’t think I want to know,” Luka sighed, shaking his head.  “Look.  Tom.  I can’t –”

“You can, Luka,” Tom said, frowning.  “She’ll say yes.  If it’s you.  If you ask.  She won’t ask you herself – believe me, I’ve tried to convince her to – but if you ask her…”

“…you told her to ask me?” he asked, sitting up a bit straighter and blinking at him.  “You…you’d be ok with it?  Her living here?  Us living…together?”

“Luka,” Tom said, giving him a Look that Luka was ninety percent sure was supposed to mean something, but he was still a little too caught up on Tom’s fine with us living together to pick up on it.  “Son.  Please.”

He pushed something into Luka’s hand, and he looked down to see it was his phone.  He had forgotten he had left it on the coffee table the night…earlier that morning.  There were a few notifications on the screen – from Marinette, he saw, from the night before.  Quickly reading through them, he noted they all sounded too…falsely cheerful to be really convincing.

“She hasn’t even unpacked yet, Luka,” Tom said.  “We could have her settled in by this afternoon.  I’ll close the bakery, and we’ll use the van.”

…his building didn’t have rats.

It would be nice to spend more time with Sass again.

It would be really nice, having all that extra time with Marinette…

Juleka had never complained about having him as a bunkmate, either – well.  Nothing too serious, at least, and he didn’t loiter in the stairwell selling questionable substances.  Most of her complaints stemmed from being his sister.

“…go get the van,” he sighed, massaging his temples.  “I’ll call her.”

When he showed up at her door fifteen minutes later – without calling, because it had gone straight to voicemail (like his would have, if she had tried calling him at seven o’clock on a fucking Sunday morning) – she was already up.  He had an entire speech about how he had a spare room within a reasonable walking distance to her school and the bakery and how important things like dependable plumbing and pest control are and the dangers of questionable doo-wop groups prepared, but when she flung the door open and stood there, panting, with…a kitchen knife held in her hand like she was ready to attack someone?

What the shit?

But she stood there, knife in hand and a look of terrified panic on her face, and he’d barely gotten her name out – never mind his speech – before she threw the knife behind her and flung her arms around his neck, holding onto him tightly as she started sobbing.

“Please, Luka, I can’t stay here there are rats bigger than Sass please let me live with you,” she gasped in a rush.  Her ‘roommate’ – the stoner with the septum piercing that had called Marinette by a different name every time he’d been over – was sitting on the couch behind them, and she rolled her eyes before turning back to the television and muttering something that sounded suspiciously like ‘pussy’ in their direction.  “I swear the unit the landlord showed me wasn’t this bad, and it was so cheap, but I never thought…I didn’t want to overstep, but I hate this place, and I haven’t even been here a whole day but the shower was brown, Luka, and I didn’t sleep because of the screaming and the rat –”

“Hey, hey, it’s ok,” he said, rubbing her back.  “Mari.  It’s ok.  I wanted to ask, but you…it’s ok.  Tom’s getting the van.  We’ll have you out before noon.  It’s ok.”

She was still crying when she looked up at him, but there was a hesitant smile on her face that was enough to break his heart.  He brushed her bangs back and kissed her forehead, and when she sucked in a breath and her hand fisted in his shirt…it was a little too easy, when he started to pull away and saw how wide and blue her eyes were, staring up at him like that…her hand twisted in his shirt to pull him closer, and he wasn’t kissing her forehead that time.

“…come on,” he said, his voice soft and low when the finally separated.  He swallowed, his eyes flicking back down to her lips for a moment before returning to her eyes.  Her smile felt easier, and it was too easy to steal another quick kiss.  “Let’s get you home.”

[imthepunchlord]

God, I REALLY hope Juleka wins the Butterfly poll when it’s time for it - she’s the only one out of ALL the girls whose main color is actually Violet (as opposed to Pink or Indigo), and I feel like her character development wasn’t handled as well as it could’ve been (NONE of the character arcs were, but she sticks out to me in that she’s one of the more recurring supporting characters due to being Luka’s sister yet is simultaneously forgotten by both the canon show and the fandom in how things would affect HER SPECIFICALLY instead of adjacently through the people around her). I also feel like she would be a good match with whatever you’re going to solidify for Bugettes!Nooroo based on the tiny hints you’ve teased about him, both in itself and compared to Roaar, with whom I feel there were existing avenues for it to work but could’ve been sold to us much better in-show. Plus, I’d really just like to see her in a hero suit that’s actually purple; it still bugs me personally that PURPLE Tigress is far more magenta in actuality, almost red even, and very much like REFLEKTA’S main color at that.

Yeah we will see, as ultimately it'll come down to how the polls go, and I know Marinette and Rose have also gotten mentioned for Butterfly.

Juleka will also appear in the poll for Mantis, as Indigo is that in between blue and violet. So it's all kinda up in the air on how it'll go.

I also do agree. Juleka is one of the classmates that does stand out to me in her potential, and yeah it's butchered. So badly. This is primarily on the writers, but one of the things I dislike about Luka is the factor that, for the Couffaines, he's the priority. You could cut out Juleka and you wouldn't miss much. Like, the worst aspect is learning Jagged is their dad, but it was more Jagged and Luka's story than Jagged with both kids. Like, what was the point of making them both his kids when only kid really got priority in this revelation?

And yeah... Juleka with Tiger isn't really my go to pick either. I get her whole thing is trying to find her voice, to be heard and stand out. And with a kwami named Roaar, that does technically work off that agenda, but the power is One Punch Man vs doing something tied to vocals or sound. Which kinda makes the kwami's name a little random (honestly all Zodiac kwamis have really strange names that don't relate to their powers or themes).

The other odd detail is that, when you think of felines that are about roaring, tigers aren't what immediately come to mind, it's the lion. They roar to establish territory, to be heard and say "I'm here!", unless Roaar is meant to be a sort of mix of a tiger and lion? As she doesn't have a body covered in stripes?

I know that, supposedly, there's a Lion Miraculous coming, but it's not official yet.

Either way, tigers I more associate with hunting, stealthy ambush. Not really speaking out. I'll give it, tigers can be tied to leadership which does involve being heard, but it's more military leadership. They're more tied to war, aggression, and strength.

As for the kwami, to me, Roaar came off a bit of a bully. Which maybe Juleka just needs that tough love/push to speak up, but I personally didn't really care for their interactions. Though I still say Mullo and Mylene were the worst paired characters out of all kwamis and humans.

And yeah, Roaar visually doesn't really match with Juleka.

Technically, she matches with Cat the most.

Her main color is black, with bits of purple and green.

While Plagg is meant to be a black cat, there are times he's purple. And of course he has them big green eyes.

I could also see Juleka visually working with Kaalki. I see a hue of purple in her gray, and there is the green eyes to work off as well.

There's also the intrigue that Juleka wants to be a model and Kaalki expects someone famous or wealthy, getting a holder who isn't but wants to be, Kaalki would have to work with them to get them to where they both want Juleka to be; though I do see them butting heads a bit as it's pairing two of high and low status, but that could be fun. Plus, there's the pun potential of Juleka learning to be a show pony with Kaalki's help (she could've also called herself Knightmare).

And yeah, with Butterfly, Juleka could've done well. You do have to communicate with others, so Juleka would have to work at talking with others, to express her thoughts and to be heard, and there's some pressure to be taken off as it's more long range communication vs close, but the option is there for close range communication whenever Juleka is ready for it. And Nooroo would be a gentle and patient guide.

We'll have to see if it happens though.

[beezonia]

Gonna ramble about the rom au here for a bit (ignore if you don’t wanna read)

——

Bee! Chloe is now called Honeycomb, post redemption she needed a new name, because she felt queen bee had to many negative connotations with her past

Honeycomb or Honey for short is a lot more mellow, willing to work with others more now. Doesn’t mean she won’t show off, she’s even more insufferable when it comes to impressing everyone

Chloe herself is more willing to bond with others now (she and luka meet up and chat shit for hours, her and Mari like to go shopping & chloe and Adrien have oboe and piano jam sessions)

Pollen & Chloe are still and always will be peas in a pod

Also she may or may not be dating kagami, they are push and pull atm

——

Zoe is still her anxious ball of fluff self

although a lot more confident now because they’ve all grown zoe still has a fear of fitting in with her new peers ( the guild and with her new friends!)

Roo absolutely loves their holder, she’s soft and kind everything the Kwami of comfort looks for in a human

Zoe knows Karate, she’s in the middle of a theatre course and literally balances being Lila’s sort of gretchen and her own person

she’s about to snap tbh

——

Alix, Max and Kim share an apartment, well it’s mostly now just Max and Kim’s since Alix sort of hops from place to place

but they always keep her room nice and tidy for when she comes back and crashes. After all it will always be her home

Ondine and Kim broke up once they left school, but their good friends still! They don’t see each other often because she went to the us and joined a swim team there

Max is a programmer, he’s living his best life and kaalki adores him

honestly he’s vibing, until shit hits the fan and Alix gets hurt

(these 3 are my favourite trio tbh I need to write more for them)

——

Alya and Nino broke up too! They realised they were better off as friends and their whole pathways were drastically different

(also the two of them admitted their relationship was very much a teenage rushed love sort of thing)

They are like ultimate bros now (of course nino would never admit that to Adrien)

Alya works with Nadja, and is working on her biggest scoop yet

nino is balancing being an events manager and his uprising dj career

wayzz sometimes has to help him relax

trixx and alya just get into huge shit half the time

also this duo get up to all sorts when they are together, like digging up dirt sort of thing

——-

That’s it thanks for reaching this point!

[princess-of-the-corner]

https://www.tumblr.com/princess-of-the-corner/758478494334369792/ehn-horse-miraculous-is-just-sitting-on-maxs?source=share

Yeah it was pretty much this as my logic, Chloe knows who some of the original holders were and the fact Ladybug was willing to re-use her, Kagami & Alya. Along with the unchanged costumes or names & that does suggest it could be them again.

So I kind of just imagine Akuma Chloe is launched in Max's general direction and there may not even be time for a fight. Or if there is its not much of one as Chloe's got the edge in surprise, experience and is seemingly quite a natural in combat, plus unless one gets tricksy, Max's power isn't great for fighting.

It would probably have been a toss up between going for horse or snake first, but if you lose at getting snake then you're fucked forever, fail at getting horse and if you move fast enough you can still get a different win. I debated them having others, but they could have been taken by the enemy, or would have just cluttered the general idea up with their presence, so I kept it to Kaalki.

Horse also makes sense because it's unclear if Chloé knows who Luka is.

Like she saw him during the Miracle Queen thing and knows he's Viperion. But she has no idea who he is outside of that?

[cringecorekitty]

hmmmm.... what kind of snacks

im so glad the louvre dropped all charges against me after the copycat disaster.... now i can touch the mona lisa for myself :]

[msweebyness]

MiracOlympus- Extras!!!

Here’s a special bonus, with some extra characters of importance! @artzychic27 @imsparky2002

Gabriel: Cronos

The god of time and the former king of the titans, and father of Adrien (Zeus), Kim (Poseidon), and Nathaniel (Hades). He locked his sons away in Tartarus as children to secure his power, but was defeated and imprisoned by them. Nath makes time every week to go down and troll him.

Emilie: Rhea

The former queen of the titans, ex-wife of Gabriel. She despised him for imprisoning her sons and helped overthrow him. Still mothers the heck out of her boys (and the new gods in general), regardless of how powerful they are.

Anarka: Leto

Goddess of motherhood and mother to Juleka (Artemis) and Luka (Apollo). Will eff you up if you mess with her kids, and vice versa. Still a chaotic free spirit.

Jagged: Aeolus

God of the winds and father of Luka and Juleka. Serves as mentor and teacher to the four young wind deities, telling them where the winds are needed that day. Still loves music.

Clara: Euterpe

Muse of Music, and eldest of the nine. Her younger siblings all adore her and she helped them all to embrace and master their special talent.

Vivica: Calliope

Second eldest muse, muse of poetry and epics. A bit shy, but loves to perform with her siblings.

Lucien: Zelus

God of envy and jealousy. In love with obsessed with Marc (Persephone), and couldn't handle it when he chose to be with Nathaniel. (Mylene (Demeter) feckin' HATES him, and has threatened him with a pitchfork more than once.)

Emani: Dolos

God of manipulation and control. Former lover of Nathaniel who would do anything to have him back.

Duusu: Argus

Marinette's (Hera) sacred peacock, and beloved companion.

Liiri: Aetos Dios

Adrien's sacred eagle, who carries messages for him and serves as a companion.

Xuppu: Delphinius

Immortal Dolphin, and Kim's best friend. Was his wingman and helped him get together with Ondine (Amphitrite).

Kaalki: Pegasus

Immortal winged horse, famed mount of heroes. Found as a foal and reared by Max (Athena).

Socqueline: Heracles

Greatest mortal hero who ever lived, had the strength of a god. Wore a lion pelt.

Aeon: Helen of Troy

Most beautiful mortal woman who ever lived, kidnapped as a teen by the Trojans for their prince. The Gods sided with the Greeks in the war to bring her back.

Jess: Atalanta

Mortal hero who could run as fast as the wind. A renowned hunter who killed a monstrous boar terrorizing her kingdom, and she refuses to marry unless you can beat her in a race.

Fei: Hippolyta

Queen of the Amazons, and total badass. Has never lost a battle with any mortal that dared challenge her.

Master Fu: Chiron

Immortal centaur, the wise and kind teacher of the greatest heroes.

Bustier, Mendeliev, and Winters: The Moirai (aka the Fates)

Winters- Clotho, Bustier- Lachesis, Mendeliev- Atropos

Three incredibly powerful goddesses who decide the fates and lifespans of all mortals.

Baark: Cerberus

Three-headed, enormous guard dog of the Underworld. Nathaniel and Marc's fluffy baby girl child.

Leave your thoughts in the comments and reblogs!

[mymiraclebox]

since you changed up some of the canon miraculouses, do you think the lineup would change up as well, either switching around or replacing characters?

I think the biggest impact that would come from my changes to the canon Miraculouses would be with Felix and the Peacock Miraculous. Since my Peacock Miraculous does not create new individual lives but rather a physical manifestations of one's mind, Felix would have no need to claim the Peacock Miraculous since it isn't being used to control sentient beings, nor would Felix be a sentibeing, so he couldn't be killed by it being in the wrong hands. (Felix and Adrien's births are still connected to the Peacock Miraculous, with it being used to help the Graham de Vanily sisters with their fertility struggles, but the boys are not creations of the Peacock themselves).

I can also think of some other changes I would make based around this and a few other concept changes, so I think the hero lineup (including the Butterfly and Peacock being rescued) would be like this if canon used my version of the canon Miraculouses:

Ladybug - Marinette (Ladybug) Black Cat - Adrien (Chat Noir) Fox - Alya (Rena Rouge) Turtle - Nino (Carapace) Bee - Chloe (Queen Bee) Butterfly - Felix (Viceroy) Peacock - Luka (Panoptes*) Ox - Ivan (Minotaurox) Tiger - Juleka (Violet Tigress) Rabbit - Alix (Bunnyx) Dragon - Kagami (Ryuko) Cobra - Max (Python) Horse - Zoe (Shire) Goat - Marc (Satyr) Monkey - Kim (Roi Singe) Dog - Mylene (Lassie) Mouse - Sabrina (Muroidea) Rooster - Nathaniel (Red Quill) Pig - Rose (Pigella)

I think the OG five have great match up with their original Miraculouses, whose concepts and powers stayed the same in my AU, so really no need to make any changes here.

First up we have Butterfly!Felix. Even if he has no reason for the Peacock, I still think he’d be down to steal magic from his uncle. I like this match because I think Felix and Nooroo could connect to each other with their similar pasts, and also I think they'd be a good influence on each other. Nooroo being Generosity could help Felix who is more self centered, while Felix could help Nooroo with his low confidence and pride.

Next is Peacock!Luka. Luka would be such a good Peacock. And seeing how canon treats Luka like everyone's therapist, and his whole ability to understand people and express it with music, why shouldn't he get the kwami of Psyche? Honestly I think he'd be a good match up with the canon concept Emotion as well.

Next up is Cobra!Max, I just always thought Max would do so well with these time powers, his ability to analyze, remember, and strategize would benefit with the gathered information and Opportunity he could create from the Cobra Miraculous. I also thought he didn't have a particularly strong connection with the Horse Miraculous, like it's okay, but not as perfect as some other pairings in canon, so with the Cobra opened up this was a no brainer.

Then we have Horse!Zoe, who I think matches this Miraculous a lot better than Max. As Zoe is someone who has never had much freedom and was always hiding herself to fit in I think the Horse would be perfect for her, and I think Kaalki would absolutely adore Zoe as well.

Is the main reason why Goat!Marc and Rooster!Nathaniel are here because I thought this was going to be canon? Maybe. But also with Marc as a writer I just can't see him not being a good holder for Imagination. I love the idea of Orikko and Nathaniel together, I think he'd be such a good confidence booster for Nath. Also I think Marc and Ziggy would get along so well too, both having a very sweet side.

For Dog!Mylene I picked this because I never saw the Mouse as an overly good fit for her, and with the Mouse no longer shrinking holders down I felt it lost the visual match as well with Mylene being one of the shorter classmates. Then with my Dog as Detection rather than Adoration I don't think it fits Sabrina as much anymore. I swapped these two because I felt Detection would fit Mylene well seeing how active she is with trying to do good in the world, and maybe it could help her with her fears if she was more aware of her surroundings. Mouse!Sabrina I think would definitely maximize the possibilities of being able to be in multiple places at once. She’s very smart, and plus I think Mullo would help her stand up for herself.

And for everyone else... well, canon gave them a really good fit, even with the changes I made to my headcanons. Like with the Pig now being Love, it still fits Rose well, etc.

*Credit to @silverslate221 for the name of Peacock!Luka.

[celestiall0tus]

Rapture - A Reverse Harem Fantasy AU

Alright, let's get into this.

Synopsis:

Marinette, a 21-year-old crown empress, has been prepared her whole life to take over ruling the empire. Before she can take the throne, she must attend an annual gathering for all nobility across the realm known as the Diamond Gala. It is at this event she will find her royal consort before she can rule. All eyes will be on her as she navigates the dangerous world of courting nobility.

Cast:

Prince Adrien Agreste is the heir to the kingdom of Creation and Destruction, blessed by the kwamis Plagg and Tikki. Sweet, kind, caring, and eyes full of wonder, he has his heart set on earning Marinette's love, and to give her all his love.

Princess Kagami Tsurugi is the heir to the kingdom of Oblivion and Memory, blessed by the kwamis Memoria and Lethe. Reckless, stoic, thoughtful, stubborn, and fighting an ever-losing battle to hold onto her memories. She is set on earning Marinette's heart to hold onto the one memory she refuses to be forgotten.

Prince Kim Ature is the heir of the kingdom of Drudgery and Revelry, blessed by the kwamis Mill and Ziggy, but is personally cursed by Invidia. Bold, over-confident, envious, jealous, rude, and hot-headed, he is determined to show that he is the proper choice for Marinette.

Prince Luka Coufffaine is the crown heir of the kingdom of Paradise, blessed by the kwamis Duusu, Nooroo, Wayzz, Longg, and Sass, and personally cursed by Humilitas. Charming, calm, charismatic, and adaptive, he aims to steal Marinette's heart for personal gains until everything backfires.

Princess Juleka Couffaine is the younger twin and heir of the kingdom of Paradise, blessed by the kwamis Duusu, Nooroo, Wayzz, Longg, and Sass, and personally cursed by Superbia. Flirty, calculating, harsh, and observant. She aims for a prize greater than Marinette's hand.

Princess Chloe Bourgeois is the crown heir of the kingdom of Determination and Lethargy, blessed by the kwamis Stompp and Mell. Bold, arrogant, loud, determined, and outgoing, she aims to prove herself the best, win Marinette's heart, but is deterred when her conscious gets the better of her.

Princess Zoe Bourgeois is the young heir of the kingdom of Determination and Lethargy, blessed by the kwamis of Stompp and Mell, and personally cursed by Patientia. Hesitant, quiet, shy, and patient, she longs to win Marinette's heart, but is unable to until she gets help.

Princess Lila Rossi is the heir of the kingdom of Deception and Honesty, blessed by the kwamis Trixx and Luz, and personally cursed by Gula. Overzealous, bold, charismatic, and a drama queen, she is here to stir up shit and have a good time.

Prince Nathaniel Kurtzberg is the heir of the kingdom of Perception and Ignorance, blessed by the kwamis Mullo and Daizzi. Shy, hesitant, imaginative, and perceptive, he pines over Marinette, desperate for ways to get her attention that always seem to fail.

Prince Marc Anciel is the heir of the kingdom of Body and Soul, blessed by the kwamis Psyche and Terra. Anxious, shy, quiet, and deeply unsure, he is forced to pursue Marinette due to his parents despite his own desires.

Vagabond Queen Alya Cesaire rules over a band of roaming nomads that seek to establish connections, guided and blessed by the kwamis of Freedom and Connection, Kaalki and Fluff. Adventurous, self-assured, brave, and courageous, she aims to forge a bond with Marinette to bring their two kingdoms together.

King Felix Fathom is the ruling monarch of the kingdom of Love and Animosity, blessed by the kwamis Barkk and Orikko, and personally cursed by Libidine. Rude, intuitive, adaptive, and desperate for connection, Felix attends the Gala on Amelie's request to seek bonds that would last him a lifetime and win the heart of the belle of the ball.

King Gabriel Agreste is the ruling monarch of the kingdom of Creation and Destruction, blessed by the kwamis Plagg and Tikki, and personally cursed by Avaritia. Cold, calculating, harsh, dull, and ambitious, he aims to steal away the crown empress to further his own gains for his kingdom.

Ondine is an outcast of mysterious origin, blessed and cursed by kwamis. Bubbly, playful, cheerful, wounded, and set on a quest, she aims to earn more than Marinette's heart.

Rose Lavillant is the personal handmaiden to Marinette that sees to everything for her generous curse and deep-seeded love for Marinette. Eccentric, fiercely loyal, lovesick, and bubbly, she will keep Marinette safe and deter any and all suitors to keep Marinette all to herself.

Alix Kubdel is a wandering Knight-Errant, stopping by the empire's heart for work during the Diamond's Gala. She is contacted by royal consort, Tom Dupain-Cheng, and given the job to be Marinette's personal bodyguard, and to win her love to keep her safe from the other nobles that may seek to use Marinette. Bound by her diligence curse, she accepts the job and takes her place beside Marinette.

[lovebugs-and-snakecharmers]

LBSC Sprint Challenge September 2023

The LBSC Sprint Challenge is now open for writers and artists! The prompts are:

1. Visual Prompt: Heart-shaped log 2. Things Luka finds in his hoodie pockets after Marinette borrows it 3. "No, you don't understand. I don't want you to fix it, I want you to teach me to fix it. It seems like something I should know how to do myself." 4. Luka always thought, when it came to Marinette, the one he had to worry about impressing was Tom. He never thought his biggest hurdle for Marinette's hand would be Kaalki. 5. Social media prompt (see below) 6. Wildcard - pick any of the prompts available from our sister blog, @mlweeklyprompts, or any previous challenge prompt.

You have until Wednesday, September 27 to complete your 3 15-minute sprints/45 minute art sprint and post the results. Once you’ve completed the sprints, you have 24 hours to edit (which can include some new writing to smooth transitions and make it feel complete, and whatever work you feel appropriate to get your art to a state you consider ‘finished’).

Please note you may sprint in the language of your choice, and you can either translate the final fic before posting, post it in the original language, or both as you choose. You can join us on the LBSC discord or sprint on your own! Just be sure to tag @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers in your final post so we will see it and reblog it. The rest of the rules can be found here under the cut. (Note: You are welcome to join the discord even if you are not participating in the sprint challenge. Participation is not a requirement.)

Rules!

We’ll post a beginning and end date to the challenge, and a prompt.

Writers, If you choose to participate in the event, write for that prompt in up to three 15 minute sprints. No writing outside the sprints until you have completed all three! After the 3 sprints are complete, you have 24 hours to edit (which can include some new writing to smooth transitions, etc). You can also choose to break that 45 minutes up differently if you find a different split works better for you.  After those 24 hours, post what you’ve got. Tag your posts with @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers so we can reblog it to the LBSC blog. If you post your work on AO3 or somewhere other than Tumblr, you can leave a link in our ask box or in the appropriate discord channel so we can be sure to promote it. After the designated challenge end date, we’ll compile a listing of the submissions and post it to the LBSC blog.

Feel free to sprint in whatever language is most comfortable to you! You can post it in your own language or translate it before posting, or both!

Artists, you have 45 minutes to sketch and 24 hours to do any cleanup or coloring you’d like to complete. You can split your 45 minutes up however you like, or not at all. There’s no requirements on your finished piece, just aim for whatever goal seems challenging but achievable to you.  Tag your posts with @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers so we can reblog it to the LBSC blog. If you post your work on Instagram or somewhere other than Tumblr, you can leave a link in our ask box or in the appropriate discord channel so we can be sure to promote it. After the designated challenge end date, we’ll compile a listing of the submissions and post it to the LBSC blog.

If you’re wavering as to whether or not you think you can accomplish anything in 45 minutes, we really encourage you to give the challenge a try. You may be surprised what you can do! Feel free to join us in the discord linked above so we can encourage and cheer you on.

Obviously, this has to run a bit on the honor system and we won’t be tracking your times, but please do your best to honor the spirit of the challenge! If your sprint fic becomes an Entire Thing (these things happen sometimes) and you want to continue it, feel free! However, please still post whatever you’ve got after your 3 sprints with the tag. No fair busting out a fully polished fic or art without showing us what it looked like at the challenge stage!

We want to keep this a positive space and event! This does NOT mean that you can’t write or draw anything critical of a character or episode, but it isn’t the space for character bashing or hate either. Please keep the characters in character and save the more speculative work for another time. NSFW sprint works are permitted but must be tagged appropriately (please use “NSFW LBSC sprint challenge” for easy filtering on the blog) and with appropriate warnings.  (More FAQ about the process here)

This is a Lukanette blog and a Lukanette event, so while Lukanette does not need to be the main ship, it needs to at least be included or referenced and considered endgame (in other words, they don’t have to be together by the end of your work, but the intent is that they’re headed in that direction). The decision about what qualifies for reblog rests solely with the LBSC moderators. If a piece hasn’t been reblogged within a couple of days, either the mods felt the piece didn’t meet the criteria or it was simply missed; you are welcome to reach out in the asks to inquire which. There are plenty of other spaces out there for other ships and OT3s, and people are welcome to use the challenge rules and prompts to write for their own ships! They just won’t be reblogged to the LBSC blog, and we ask that you please not use the event tag (a modified form is fine - “InsertAlternateShipName sprint challenge” instead of “LBSC sprint challenge,” for example).

Happy sprinting!

[zombiemonroe]

Information about the kwamis in A BURNING ROSE

Bonus notes:

Miraculous Ladybug does not exist. Everything that gets destroyed during the fight stays that way.

Instead of Gabriel being an absent father, he is an alcoholic father. A chronically depressed father who can't take care of his son.

Felix and Zoe don't exist because I don't know them that much.

Fluff is missing because they are so overpowered.

Changed some meanings because they or A) felt too powerful or B) I wanted that power to go to another kwami.

My reasoning for changing the meaning of kwamis/owners:

Tikki and Plagg: More room for development

Nooroo: Transmission is a shit thing to live for. Transmitting what? I like empathy because it means Nathalie wants everything to be better for her boss. She hates negative emotions. But when she uses the brooch, she feels everyone. She just wants to make everything ever.

Lila and Chloe have Trixx and Wayzz because this AU is about them. :) (The actual reason we will find out later)

Baark is friendship because they are a dog.

Kaalki is movement because it's easier to remember.

Xuppu is fun. He's just fun. And Nino likes fun. But he also likes to protect. Xuppu will have to learn that not everything is fun. But I think he already knows it.

Alya has sisters and is determined to help them. To save them.

Pollen is cooperation because they are a bee. Kagami likes people.

Loong is a dragon, and dragons usually are alone. And Fu has learned to be alone.

Roarr and Sass are examples of siblinghood. Just like Juleka and Luka.

Orikko is bravery because they are a rooster, who have fights. Alix is there.

Mullo is fear and Mylene is scared. But that doesn't mean that she won't fight.

Daizzi is hope because it's better for desperate people. Who want to live but can't. Daizzi is their hope.

Ziggy acts and re-acts. You do something, they do something.

[di-daynamic]

Part 1 of 3

Adrinette April: Day 8

“And the winner of the first prize is. . .” The anchor paused, and everyone in the auditorium collectively held a breath. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”

Marinette smoothed her skirt down as she stood up to head to the stage. Her heart burst with excitement. Alya whistled, and her parents and Juleka applauded enthusiastically.

The trophy was heavy in her hand as she held it up to rousing cheers. Two months of mind-bending work now felt absolutely worth it.

“As you all know, the prizes include a cash sum as well as an internship opportunity. . .” The anchor continued. “And we are proud to announce that Mlle. Dupain-Cheng will get the chance to intern at Gabriel!”

Marinette gaped in amazement. She heard the four other winners gasp and mutter in envy. Gabriel was notoriously exclusive with its internship opportunities. Marinette wouldn’t have any trouble getting into an art school after an internship there. She hadn’t even finished lycée. This was something out of a dream.

“Way to go, girl!” Alya laughed, hugging her as she stepped off. “Gabriel! That’s ridiculous!”

“Also a callback to our college days,” Juleka muttered, and then smiled at her. “Congrats, Marinette.”

Marinette couldn’t pretend her mind didn’t jump to Adrien every time Gabriel or the name Agreste was mentioned. A mix of nervousness and excitement caused her stomach to turn as she considered the prospect that she might be seeing Adrien more regularly. Then she shook herself out of it. Adrien had always hated being associated with his father’s company back in college, and there was no indication that that had changed.

“Thanks, Jule,” she said mildly as her parents swept her up.

“We’re so, so proud of you Marinette!” Papa said, beaming.

“Congratulations! Gabriel is such a prestigious posting! You certainly deserve this after all your hard work,” Maman said, taking up her hands.

“Thank you!” She laughed.

“Hey, Mari, I see some people you’ll be wanting to talk to,” Alya said, pointing at the stage. Marinette turned and gasped. Alya was right. There were several CEOs and fashion business and modeling agency representatives.

“Right! I’ll see you later. Come on, Juleka.” She dragged her protesting friend over to the people laughing and chatting by the stage.

“Ah! Mlle. Dupain-Cheng!” Alessandro Lesatz smiled at her, and Marinette just about died on the inside. “Congratulations on your win. I saw your portfolio, and I must say I wish to steal you from the Agrestes.” He noticed Juleka as Marinette blushed and thanked him. “Ah. Your model?”

“Yes,” Marinette nodded, “This is Juleka Couffaine.”

“Luka Couffaine’s sister!” Mlle. Rivera scrutinized the girl. “Well, you do good as a model. Would you like an interview some time?”

As Juleka stammered out a stunned answer, Marinette began to schmooze. She got half a dozen business cards and scores of compliments on her work, and even a few critiques. She hoped she took them all with a grace befitting someone about to intern at the most famous fashion company in the city. A couple actually gave her constructive feedback about something to improve on rather than just derision, which was useful even though disheartening.

“I’m so happy for you Marinette!” Tikki giggled, zooming out of her purse as she climbed up the trapdoor to her room after a celebratory dessert with her parents.

“Did she win? Did she win?” Pollen demanded.

“Right here, Poll,” Marinette smiled at the kwami. “And yes, I did. First prize!”

“Yipppppeeeeee!” Mullo and Kaalki screamed.

“Congratulations, Master Marinette,” Wayzz said sagely. “Didn’t you say an internship was also part of your prize?”

“Not just any internship, an internship at Gabriel!” Tikki said excitedly.

“Oh, this is so exciting!” Xuppu squealed.

“And romantic!” Added Ziggy.

“What? Why is that a big deal?” asked Longg.

“Aren’t in-interm-internships unpaid work?” Sass asked irritably. “It’s unfair and degrading – why are we celebrating this?”

Marinette laughed as several of the kwamis began to explain over one another, over the squeals and the begging for details Tikki was happy to provide. She was used to this chaos now.

She leaned back in her chair, considering her trophy. When would the internship begin? According to the anchor, the winners would receive emails near instantly. And Gabriel Agreste – or Nathalie Sancoeur rather – had always been scarily efficient.

Sure enough, when she clicked on her unread emails, she caught one from the Gabriel company, titled CONGRATULATIONS.

There was a list of instructions and rules after the typical congratulatory message and the attachment of the Non-Disclosure Agreement and Internship Contract she and her parents would have to sign. Marinette read through them carefully. To her immense shock, they said that if she managed to create a piece or a portfolio of pieces in the duration of her internship, whether for school or for competition or – she supposed – one of Jagged’s commissions, they would help and possibly put forth a model of their own and release it as part of the brand, with her name attached!

Marinette was speechless. These were excellent terms for an internship. Then again, the competition she had won was rather prestigious.

She began on Monday, right after lycée.

Nerves began to take over the excitement as Monday approached. Alya greeted her cheerfully after dragging her out of bed as they headed to school. “Internship first day today, huh?” Her friend asked. “Are you nervous?”

“No,” Marinette denied. Alya raised an eyebrow and she relented. “Fine. Maybe a little.” It wasn’t much more than the anxiety always swirling in her stomach – just the feeling of pins and needles, clamminess and a deep sense of dread.

“Want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Alright. Want to rehearse what you’ll say to Adrien if you run into him?”

“Alya!” Marinette exclaimed, and the girl tossed her head back and laughed. “That was years ago! I’m fine around him now.”

“Just joking, girl,” Alya smirked, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Did you finish the English homework?”

The day seemed to speed by and yet crawl inexorably. Practically before she knew it, she was standing in front of the Gabriel office – a building spanning twenty-two floors.

“ID?” Asked a bored voice.

Marinette jumped. “Er. .  .” She started tentatively. “I – I don’t have one.”

The security guard frowned. “You don’t—”

“She’s our new intern,” interrupted someone Marinette knew very well. She turned to see Adrien smiling, walking forward with a purpose he hadn’t had back in college. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng? She should be on the notice given out to you.”

“Y-Yes, Monsieur Agreste,” the guard said, fumbling with papers. “You can go up, Mademoiselle. Please visit the office to get your ID and submit the signed papers and meet your supervisor.”

“Great!” Adrien beamed. “By the way, how is your daughter? Recovered from the flu?”

“Yes, she’s well now, thank you for asking,” The guard replied, clearly put at ease by Adrien’s easy demeanour.

“That’s good,” Adrien said, “Come on, Marinette. I’ll show you to the office.” Thanking the guard, she hurried after him. “Congratulations on the win! I’m glad you’re the one who’s going to work with us.”

“Us?” Marinette interrupted. “Last I heard, you weren’t at all interested in your dad’s company?”

And that had been only three weeks ago, at Luka’s concert. She didn’t see how things could have changed so quickly.

Adrien turned sheepish, ruffling his hair. Marinette pushed down the flutter of her heart at the motion. “Well, two weeks ago the winners of your competition were announced to the industries, so that they could say if and whom they wanted as an intern. And as much as I’m pleased you won and Father actually decided picking an intern was worth it, the lecture I received about deciding my path and focusing on my career now itself wasn’t very fun. He knows we’re friends, see, so he thinks I should be following your example.”

“Sorry about that,” Marinette laughed.

“Helping out in the business side of things made Father decide my modelling engagements are cancelled for the time being, so please, don’t be,” Adrien insisted.

“I remember you really hated modelling,” her voice softened with sympathy. “I’m glad you don’t have to do it anymore.”

Adrien smiled at her, and it was like sunshine. “I am too! It gives me some free time, too. At least business has a fixed number of hours. Modelling doesn’t. I’ll be able to attend Rose’s birthday party after all.”

“Oh, she’ll be so happy!” Marinette exclaimed. “She was hoping that all our old classmates could make it.”

“It’ll be fun to get together,” he agreed, and pressed an arm to hold the elevator. “After you, mademoiselle.”

Marinette giggled as she stepped in. “Such a gentleman.”

He smirked. “Glad my manners haven’t faded since college.” The elevator closed with a ding. Marinette felt a blush rising. She’d imagined various scenarios in college that included this: her and Adrien alone in an elevator. The only thing needed to complete the fantasy was the elevator to get stuck.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Gabriel had higher standards in elevators.

“The office is just to the left,” he stepped out of the elevator, pointing at the sign that listed various locations on the floor, including the office.  “M. Ducasse should be there. He’ll probably be the one to do intern orientation.”

“Alright,” Marinette smiled up at him. “Thanks so much, Adrien. I’ll see you at Rose’s party?”

He hesitated, looking for a moment younger like he’d been in college. “I’m – uh, I’m hoping before that?” She could only blink at him, taken aback. “C’mon, Marinette, this place and the business is boring enough. Really boring, if you promise never to tell my father or Nathalie I said that. Having a friend around would be fun. You always make things better.”

Marinette felt heat pool in her cheeks. In an effort to remain nonchalant, she turned away from him, towards the sign, “Well, I’m certainly not opposed to having one of my best friends keep me company in my first internship. I’m sure us running into one another would be complete coincidences.”

Adrien grinned. “See you around, then. I have to go, I’m already late.” With a wave, he strode to the staircase.

Marinette waved back until he was out of sight, sighing in hopeless, unfading love.

“You are Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” M. Ducasse asked as she stepped inside the office. 

“Yes, M. Ducasse.” She replied, taking out the documents signed by her and her parents.

“Very well,” he said, comparing her profile to the photo on the ID. “Please hand over the NDA and employment contract, and take the ID card. This will give you access till the fifteenth floor. Your supervisor is Mme. Oppenord. She will decide the days and timings of your internship, as well as discuss other details.”

“Okay. Thank you,” she took the ID card and pinned it to her blouse. “Where can I find Mme. Oppenord?”

“She should be here any minute now,” he responded. “Have a seat. There’s some orange juice in the jug.”

She did so, marveling at the décor and the professional hospitality. Then again, there was a reason Gabriel was the most popular company in the design industry. The receptionist was right; her supervisor arrived within three minutes, and took a seat opposite and briskly introduced herself.

The next half an hour was a discussion regarding the responsibilities, duties, duration and timings of the internship. Marinette would apparently be mostly working in the clothes design and PR departments, which pleased her. She asked if she could help out in jewellery department as well, and was warned that going beyond coffee and typing jobs would perhaps be regarded as rudely overstepping by some, but that she was welcome to try.

“Onto the final matter,” Mme. Oppenord seemed like the type of efficient which got things accomplished in the snap of a fingers and left disorganized messes like Marinette staring after them in awe. “The unusual portion of the contract, if I may say so. You are promised help in any ongoing or future projects, including but not limited to a reasonable amount of resources, publishing, selling, modelling, wardrobe. . .?” She trailed off in a question mark.

“Er, yes,” Marinette answered, not sure what the woman was looking for.

“Very well. Do you have anything ongoing?” She couldn’t read Mme. Oppenord’s tone. Tired of this, or just the methodical need to move on to the next thing?

“Well, Jagged Stone has commissioned a few designs that I’ve only just completed,” she said slowly. “And usually, I post them on my website so my followers can get the ‘scoop’ of sorts – the things that the famous rockstar will probably, you know, start a trend with.” She finished weakly and winced.

“If your name is going to be associated with the Gabriel brand, you will have to make a few modifications to the process,” she commented, furrowing her eyebrows. Marinette bristled at that, but had to concede that she had a point. “And – Jagged Stone is okay with you publicizing his commissions like this?” She asked severely.

Marinette wasn’t sure if Mme. Oppenord actually hoped she was committing a crime. “He’s … known me since I was a child, and hence I think was rather indulgent when it came to contracts. He says it’s my designs, so I can do as I wish.” Jagged had always been like the brash, spoiling uncle to her. There was also the fact that Penny had a soft spot for her.

“Hmm.” That apparently garnered a raised eyebrow. “Very well. Bring me your finished designs – I’m your supervisor, dear, I can assure you I won’t be blabbing or copying,” she added when Marinette opened her mouth in instinctive indignation. She blushed, and the woman continued. “And I’ll see what I can do with regards to modelling and publicizing. I’ll have your contact with Jagged Stone as well, and your usual model—”

“I … don’t really have a contact?” Marinette said sheepishly. “I usually just call Penny.”

“As in Jagged Stone’s personal assistant?” Mme. Oppenord seemed a woman of few reactions, and Marinette wondered what it meant that she was giving so many only in their first meeting.

“Erm. Yes.”

“I suppose you’ll have to be there when I call then. . . And your model?”

“Juleka Couffaine.”

Mme. Oppenord stared at her. “The famous Luka Couffaine’s sister? Jagged Stone’s daughter?”

“. . . That’s the one,” Marinette said feebly. It really was a start to remember how well-connected she was. She certainly hadn’t though much of it back in college.

The older woman shook her head with – again, Marinette couldn’t read her expression. Which was frustrating. As Ladybug, she was used to dealing with akumas by reading their emotions and body language.

She was sent off to work soon enough. She spent the next couple hours brewing coffee and typing and sending e-mails, with one exciting excursion to the wardrobe department to help in an ongoing shoot. Mme. Oppenord told her that when she came on Thursday she would be helping organize the wardrobes used by the designers with the other interns, and that she could eat in the cafeteria before she left.

She sat down with two girls only a couple years older than her called Juliet and Andy, who were very friendly. She’d texted her parents that she would be home by eight-thirty, so she had half an hour before she had to leave. The girls were amazing sources about future schooling: Juliet went to university while Andy pursued jewellery making in a specialized school. Marinette had to consider her own options after lycée, so it was helpful.

“Oh my God,” came a squeal, “Oh, God, look! Everyone, look!”

 There were instantly several other screeches and a hushed, “It’s Adrien Agreste!”

Sure enough, the blond was at the door, frowning as he looked around. When he caught her eye, she waved tentatively. His face brightened and he headed straight there.

“Why is he coming here?” Andy asked, voice reaching a previously undiscovered pitch. “Marinette, did you just wave ADRIEN AGRESTE over to our table?”

“You know him?” Juliet asked, sounding impressed but not as slavish as the others. Marinette had barely nodded when Adrien beamed at her, sitting next to Juliet.

“Hi, Marinette! How was your first day of work?”

“Good,” Marinette smiled back at him – it was pretty much impossible not to. Adrien always had a way of making her fluster and smile. “How was your day? As boring as you expected?”

“Pretty much,” he replied, making a face. “Except I had the prospect of seeing you to tide me over.” His eyes sparkled and her face burned. Adrien flirted with everyone, apparently having gained confidence after he entered lycée. Thankfully more lowkey than Chat Noir, though her partner had stopped declaiming his love to her recently.

“What exactly do you do here anyway?” She asked, putting her head on her chin to consider him. “Oh, and this is Juliet and Andy by the way.”

“I remember you helped in the jewellery in my last shoot,” Adrien said in recognition to Andy. She gulped, looking like she was about to faint, and nodded wildly. “Nice to meet you, Juliet.”

“You as well,” Juliet replied politely.

“As for your question,” he turned to Marinette. “I usually just shadow Nathalie, though Father has been coming here to show me the ropes.”

“Gabriel Agreste is outside the mansion?” Andy gasped, dropping her fork. “Here?”

“Right?” Adrien said enthusiastically, clearly not understanding the fangirling. “It’s a miracle! The last time he came out was nearly five years ago, during that fashion show. . . The one where I wore the hat you designed, Marinette.”

“Oh right,” she laughed sheepishly. “The one inspired by Mr. Pigeon.”

“That was inspired by Mr. Pigeon?” Adrien laughed too. “Right, the feather in the hat. Literally,” he winked. She giggled. “My father really did admire your work, especially the signature. I remember he called it ‘masterful’.”

“That’s a feather in the cap of any designer,” Juliet said, smiling, looking between Marinette and Adrien with shrewd eyes.

“Definitely,” Marinette agreed. “I think that competition was around the time when Mr. Ramier was first Akumatized.”

“You … know his actual name?” Adrien blinked in surprise.

“Well. . . The poor man’s been Akumatized enough times,” she joked. “I help him feed the pigeons sometimes.” She felt sorry for the man, as Ladybug and as herself. It was a bit of a joke, but loving pigeons that much to get Akumatized even with the charm she gave out? That was some commitment. Adrien’s face softened, looking at her.

“Nearly seventy, I believe,” Andy laughed.

“Seventy-three,” Both Marinette and Adrien corrected together. They grinned at one another.

“If you’ve already had a Gabriel model,” Juliet gestured to Adrien, “Then doing it again shouldn’t be much of a problem, should it?” Marinette hadn’t known her long, but she was fairly certain that wicked glint in her eye meant nothing good.

“What do you mean?” He frowned.

 Marinette cleared her throat. “There was a clause in the internship contract that any ongoing or future projects while I’m interning here will be supported by Gabriel, including but not limited to—”

“Modelling,” he finished.

“Right. And she has one now,” Andy said, nodding. “Mme. Oppenord told you to bring your sketches in next time you’re here for deciding the model and everything?” She and Juliet exchanged a glance and then looked at Adrien. . . expectantly?

“I can do the modelling for you,” Adrien offered instantly.

“What?” Marinette gaped unflatteringly at him. “Adrien – you hate modelling! You really don’t need to do something like this for me!”

“No, really, it’s no problem. I’ll talk to my father about it. He knows we’re friends. He’ll probably be glad I want to model at all. In fact, he may thank you on bended knee,” he said, smiling crookedly.

“Well, that’ll be the day,” Marinette joked. “And a sight worth seeing. But you don’t have to.” She said again, feeling speechless at how unhesitatingly he offered to do something he hated for her sake.

“I’m happy to,” he replied. “Mme. Oppenord’s your supervisor? I’ll get Nathalie to tell her—” his phone rang. “Speaking of which. I have to go. I’ll see you?” He added hopefully.

Marinette wasn’t sure why he wanted to, but she would never object to seeing Adrien. If she did, the people around her ought to check for Akumatization or something of the sort. “Of course.”

Juliet and Andy pounced on her the moment Adrien left the table. “You didn’t tell us you were dating Adrien Agreste!” Andy cried.

“I’m not,” she protested. “We went to college together, and our best friends are dating. We’re just friends.” The words didn’t give her pain as they had back in college. Yes, she still loved Adrien, but he didn’t have to return her feelings. She liked being friends. It was fine.

“Didn’t look like it,” Juliet said, her eyes glittering. “But okay. Looks like we have a matchmaking job, Andy.”

Marinette crossed her arms. “Don’t you dare,” she scolded.

They dared.

When the son of the owner of the company requested something, things apparently moved rather fast. The very next time she went to her internship with her designs, Mme. Oppenord had frostily declared that an appointment with Adrien Agreste for modelling her designs had been set. She’d been rather hurtful about the fact that she clearly thought it was nepotism and not talent until she took a look at Marinette’s designs. Then she gaped, and behaved much nicer.

She was also pretty supportive. Marinette had stocked and organized the wardrobe, making friends with a couple of the interns helping, though some had looked down on her, all of them obviously being out of lycée. Mme. Oppenord had also let her select the colour palette of decoration of somebody’s party (with plenty of criticism, of course, but it was the thought that counted).

Adrien had met her at the cafeteria once more, this time walking her down to the gate. Andy had giggled and pushed her at him once.

After all these years, you’d think she’d be used to pushy friends shoving her at him. But nope.

He caught her by the waist, and just laughed while she stammered in apology and embarrassment. “Don’t worry about it, Marinette. After all these years, I’ve kind of grown used to it.”

“I really am madly clumsy,” Marinette tried to laugh it off. An odd look passed over his face.

“That can be an endearing quality,” he said softly. She nearly had a heart attack. Did he mean to call her endearing? Did he--? But no, he couldn’t. “I’ll see you Saturday evening for the shoot?”

“Why is it so soon?” She frowned, glad to get off-topic from her ‘endearing’ clumsiness.

Adrien smiled ruefully. “Father’s overjoyed, like I said he would be. He’s taking the opportunity to start the new advertising campaign he wanted me to star in. He wasn’t very happy with cutting down my modelling, even if it was for learning about the business instead.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, unable to think of anything else. At this point, as bad as it sounded, she was used to the way Adrien’s father acted with him.

He ruffled his hair. “Well, at least it’s for a good cause. Can’t wait to wear something of your design again,” he winked and headed back to the building, leaving her blushing.

“And she says there’s nothing romantic between them,” Juliet giggled.

Marinette scolded her all the way to the train station where they were leaving Andy and walking home.

Somehow, Juliet and Andy weaseled their way into the photoshoot. Andy was there helping with the jewellery anyway, but Juliet winked at her, rushing after the photographer in an effort to ‘assist’.

Marinette loved her new friends, but really.

Adrien had been right that one time: photoshoots and modelling were long and boring. Although assisting with the wardrobe, and exchanging glances and smiles with Adrien, and making sure her pieces were done justice and were right for Jagged and her website and glaring at Andy and Juliet made them less so.

The photoshoot went well enough, despite a couple hiccups and Vincent’s despairing that Adrien had had such a long break from modelling (exactly two weeks) and would continue taking a break after this (indefinitely).

What Juliet and Andy did afterwards though? The. Last. Straw.

She was going to kill them. Painfully. Despite Tikki’s admonishments about Ladybug having to be a model for good behaviour.

And now she was facing a celebratory dinner date with Adrien.

Great.

[goldenlaurelleaveswrites]

Requesting B, F, I, and/or Y from your latest reblog

Thanks for the ask!

Ask me about my writing.

I answered these out of order so I could put F under a cut incase of spoilers.

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

Not exactly whole stories, but there are a lot of elements across my stories that I've pulled from my own life. Especially in terms of conveying character emotions or relationships, I tend to pull quote a bit from my experiences. For example, whenever I'm writing about character experiencing anxiety, I do draw from my own experiences with how my anxiety manifests itself and the strategies I use to quell it. Or, when I'm writing Juleka and Luka being the Chaos Couffaine siblings. I don't write Luka and Juleka's relationship to be exactly the same as my relationships with my sisters (in fact, they're very different), but I'm able to pull from my own experiences of having sisters who I love and would do anything for, but also love to annoy (just like they do for/to me) to enrich the dynamic between Luka and Jules in my own writing. So it's not so much that things are inspired by my personal experiences, but I use my experience to flavour and enrich my writing.

And of course, there are things in my life or moments that spark ideas (for example, I love playing D&D so that's sparked a few ideas, but I wouldn't say it's inspired by my personal experiences).

Honestly, I think a story based on my personal experiences would be pretty boring 😂

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

This will come as a shock to absolutely no one, but writing Jules and Luka teasing each other and just being siblings is easily one of my guilty pleasure (except I don't feel guilty about it 😂). I also love writing fluffy moments, and I always have a great time writing Kaalki and Sass playing off of each other, but again I don't know if I could really call that a guilty pleasure. I enjoy what I enjoy 😂

Y: A character you want to protect.

Can I say all of them? (except that characters I can't stand)

I have to say Juleka because I love our resident Queen of Darkness. And of course, Luka and Marinette. And Tom and Sabine. And Kim. And the kwamis. Not going to lie, I'm also throwing my OCs in here.

That being said, I do make them struggle (and sometimes suffer) for the sake of the story, but there's always a reason!

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Ok, I'm not going to lie, this one was really hard to answer. Even in just a single story, there are always multiple pieces of dialogue that I love and/or am really proud of. And if you could see the state of my hoard...

So I'll cheat and do two! 😁

This is from chapter 3 of I Should be Asleep (which I need to do some more work on)

A series of loud thumps on the door, accompanied by a very annoyed voice broke him from his thoughts. “Are you done in there or what? Some of us need showers too, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m-” he started to call back, but Juleka didn’t wait for him to finish. The door swung open to reveal his irate sister, her long hair braided and piled on top of her head, with her towel , shower cap, and a bundle of black he assumed was a change of clothes in her arms. “Come on in,” he sighed sarcastically, gesturing in invitation as she barged past him. 

“You’ve been in here for half an hour.” 

“Sorry.” He hadn’t meant to be quite that long. It was just… “What?” 

Juleka was looking at him with a raised brow. “This is the part where I kick you out so I can shower, remember?” 

“Yeah. Right. Sorry,” he said sheepishly, his ears growing warm as he hurried out. 

He made his way back to his bunk as the door to the bathroom slammed shut behind him. Why his sister insisted on doing yoga in the mornings when she was not a morning person was beyond him

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This is a piece that's in the hoard, and I think it's actually the first time I've shown it to anybody besides @verfound (but I'm kind of banking on her having forgotten about it by now). Sorry about the redacted, but I don't want to spoil anything too badly!

“I- it is just… last night brought back memories. It has been a long time since I danced…” 

“I believe [redacted] would disagree with that statement.” 

“You know perfectly well what I mean.”

“I do,” he admitted with a smile. “Then may I ask you for this dance?” He held his hand out to her, hoping his face and the beating of his heart would not betray him.

“I- there is no music.”

“That did not stop you before,” he said with a smile.

Her face softened into a smile. “Then you may.”