#and marinette is just sitting there watching them

[justaz]

ballerina marinette lives rent free in my head

[wield-the-mighty-pen]

I was watching 'Revelation' and I noticed something interesting

If you look closer at Adrien's lunch tray, you can see something very peculiar included in his meal choices

There's a whole large stack of camembert just sitting there on his tray, just out in the open for his friends to see, and being as how it has been inferred that Adrien doesn't like Camembert, this must be so confusing for them to watch.

Just imagine the bewildered and baffled faces of Marinette, Nino, and Alya as Adrien piles on the cheese onto his platter, only for him not to touch it and then surreptitiously toss it all into his backpack.

[mc-lukanette]

Marinette didn't know Luka's friends very well despite the years of the two of them knowing each other, so she tried to balance keeping herself "outside" of their friendly bubble while also chiming in whenever she was asked a question directly. It helped that she had her sketchpad with her, so she could mindlessly draw when she wasn't part of the conversation.

It was going well until Claudine spoke up, not at her specifically but it definitely got her attention.

"Hey, anyone know if Luka likes someone?"

Marinette's head snapped up, suddenly very aware of everyone in the room. "W-what?"

Roche acknowledged her with a glance, then raised a brow at Claudine. "Did he do anything to make you think that?"

Mito, who had made himself comfortable sitting on the backrest of the couch, tilted his head at her as well. "Why ask?"

"I'm curious!" Claudine raised a finger. "And because it's a crime! When you hear an amazing song, don't you hate when you learn it's not a hit?"

Roche nodded, but Mito and Marinette remained perplexed.

"That's Luka," Claudine clarified, arms spread. "The guy's soft as a marshmallow and so nice, but he's not dating anyone and can't hold a relationship to save his life!"

That, Marinette could understand. The whole being an adult thing had meant that they'd had to spend so much time getting their lives together, so she'd tried to ignore the pang in her chest when they met back up again, so certain that he would've been dating by then, but nothing. Luka always had so much love in his heart that it seemed like a shame that no one was on the receiving end of it.

Wait—

"Can't hold a relationship?" she repeated. "So he's been on dates?"

Roche answered rather than Claudine, "A few, when they ask."

They. So it wasn't Luka initiating, apparently. It was an oddly relieving feeling.

Claudine nodded at Roche. "And it usually ends after one or two dates."

"Isn't that because he's not interested?" Marinette figured.

"But he always lets them decide if they go on another, and you know how he is," Claudine argued. "He's a sweetheart. I bet he tends to their every need, shows them a good time... why wouldn't they follow up if they felt like they had a chance?"

"Hmmm," Mito hummed, tipping a hat he didn't have and miming smoking from a pipe. "A mystery."

"He might not be good at romance after all?" Roche suggested as an alternative theory. "He just seems like it."

Marinette raised a hand, adding on, "It doesn't sound very Luka to go on dates if he already likes someone."

"Maybe he wants to get over them?" Claudine shrugged. "Could be any reason."

"Who'd reject Luka?" Marinette countered. "Unless he never confessed?"

Mito adjusted his imaginary hat. "You know what they say: love is mute."

"That's—" Roche shook his head, deciding not to bother correcting him.

Marinette considered the information presented to her. The idea that Luka was in love with someone without her knowing sounded ridiculous, because while she'd been away from him for a while, he could've found time to say something to her if the crush had happened before then.

He could've brought it up when they'd watch romance movies together, like when they pressed against each other during one movie in particular where things were tense enough to feel like a horror movie. They'd turned to each other and pretended not to notice until the scene was over, so he could have made conversation then.

And he was so complimentary! He would call her "beautiful" when she was just in her pajamas, "cute" when all she'd done was make a little noise or wiggle excitedly, and constantly praised her intelligence. If he'd already been in love with someone, he would save such compliments for them, and what date of his would not ask for another one when he was like that?

It was as Mito said: a mystery, and one that was making her unconsciously draw Luka in her sketchpad, oops—

"Hey, I'm back," Luka called from the hallway, carrying a drink holder in his arm.

Marinette closed her sketchpad as casually yet quickly as possible, looking up at him with a beaming smile. "Oh! Hi!"

"Hey," he greeted, despite having already done so.

She bit her lower lip, eyeing Luka up and down. He was even more attractive than when they were teens and just as considerate, the size of drinks in the carrier varying depending on how much each person usually drank. She was so curious, wondering how such a man couldn't be dating anyone nor manage to keep his dates from coming back. She racked her brain, idly tapping on her sketchpad as she tried to figure out how she could resolve this for both her and his friends.

Then, something clicked, and the words came out before she could stop them.

"Luka, would you go on a test date with me?"

His smile faltered, shocked lips parting at the sudden request. She shifted anxiously in her seat while the eyes of his friends went to the both of them, and she wondered if it'd been too much. Was she so undateable that even calling it a test date was weird?

Luka's grip on the drink carrier unconsciously loosened. Mito, speeding off the couch towards him, ducked down and placed himself just under the nearly fallen carrier. Standing up fully, he took it from Luka by perfectly balancing it on his head, taking it back to the others so Roche could put it on the table.

The action made Luka move again, eyes darting over to his trio of friends. "What were you guys talking about?"

Marinette pushed herself up, leaving her sketches behind as she approached him. "We were wondering why you can't keep dates with anyone. I thought..." She blushed, gesturing between the two of them and already feeling silly. "If we went out on a date, I'd know?"

"Ah." He covered his mouth, making it harder to know exactly what was going on his head. She tried to peer into his eyes, but he evaded, staring off at a corner of the ceiling.

Were his cheeks pink? Was he thinking about his mystery crush just at the mention of a date? Was Claudine right?

Just as Marinette started to get worried, the hand on his chin lowered to reveal a lopsided smile. He made eye contact with her again, voice full of amusement. "We could do it, but I don't think you'd be able to tell."

She tilted her head at the emphasis, which implied that she specifically wouldn't be able to tell. Was it because she didn't know who he liked, or he thought she wasn't perceptive enough, or...

Eyes narrowing, she asked directly, "Is that a challenge?"

Luka went wide-eyed, his hand dropping from his chin and hovering awkwardly at chest level. Roche, Mito, and Claudine had already whipped out their drinks, sipping from them and huddled together as they watched the two intently.

"What?" Luka blinked helplessly. "No—"

"I accept." Marinette straightened, poking him in the chest as her competitive side came out front and center. "I'm going to figure you out. Looking forward to our date, Luka Couffaine."

With a huff, she turned back around and went to her seat, plopping down and reopening her sketchpad. She blushed seeing the sketch she'd just drawn of him, then hurriedly flipped to another page and started drawing something else.

She could handle this, she thought. Worst case scenario, she'd still get a date with her multi-year one-sided crush.

[fanfic-recs-01]

Miraculous LadyBug Fics

This is a list of Miraculous Ladybug fics I like on AO3, if you have any recs for me feel free to send me some!

I have a separate list for Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Damian Wayne Fics Here: Part 1 Part 2

Updated 11/2/24

Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Felix Graham De Vanily

Hey, Little Songbird by charlietheepic7 *Finished*

~Really, Felix couldn't believe his cousin sometimes. Marinette was talented, beautiful, kind, and had a crush on Adrien bigger than the mansion, yet Adrien was blind to the treasure right in front of him. "Just a friend," indeed.

Well, if Adrien wasn't going to do anything, it wouldn't matter if Felix... snatched her up?~

Welcome To The Back by Geeeny *Finished*

~Marinette Dupain-Cheng sits alone in the back. Until she doesn't.~

birds of a feather by WithLovePoohBear *Finished*

~When Mme Bustier’s class gets a new student, Marinette might just finally find true friends who love and support her for who she is.

But more accurately, she finds her home.~

Pen Pals by That_Kwami_plagg  *Finished*

~Marinette and Felix have been Pen Pals for two years. She tells him everything. All of the abuse, lies and manipulations. He became her sanctuary, and her his. What happens when Felix moves to France? Can he help her through her struggles, or will he be another victim of Lila?~

Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Tim Drake

Tiny Tim by LeoLeonte *Finished*

~Tim leaned back on the chair. Disrespect was a common occurrence at the meetings he attended but usually people were far more subtle about it.

In which sleep deprivation makes people do, and say stupid things.~

The Contingency by AbyssalGuardian *Finished*

~After Marinette loses the support of her parents she decides that it’s time for her to enact one of her contingency plans and disappear.

Where better to disappear than Gotham?~

coup de foudre (came with a lightning bug) by newdog14 *Finished*

~“So unfortunately I’m being forced to turn in my resignation without having a replacement trained just yet,” Marinette said, looking genuinely regretful.

“Marry me!” Tim blurted out, and Marinette blinked at him in shock~.

Damsel in Distress by Izanae *Finished*

~All Marinette wanted to do was check out the competition.

Instead, she finds herself at the mercy of a Rogue - and a certain Red bird.~

Misc.

No Hesitation by orphan_account *Finished*

~Marinette could never have foreseen just how quickly Lila's plan would work - but now a new school year has begun and she has transferred to a new school that could support her fashion career far better than Dupont ever could.~

Accidentally on Purpose by LadyLiterature

~When Marinette had been chosen to intern with Monsieur Wayne’s PA, she hadn’t been expecting anything special. Sure, the Waynes were an odd breed and generally considered strange, but Marinette hadn’t actually expected to have much contact with them, if any at all.~

Multi-mouse will multi-wreck your shit by Assassinscred, Bloodhungrywolfpack *Finished*

~The whole world is watching the live stream as Multi-mouse's miraculous is ripped from her neck. They are all watching as the girl underneath is revealed. The super hero community, specifically the Bat clan, are stunned as she continues to fight, berating her foe the whole way.

With this new public knowledge, Batman once again reaches out to offer his assistance with the situation. Unlike a few years ago, this time Ladybug accepts.~

Siren Song by MelsCalamity *Unfinished*

~Or the story how Marinette Dupain-Cheng one night randomly woke up in Gotham City and suddenly got adopted by the Gotham City Sirens.~

[imthepunchlord]

It's really funny how despite the things he did in his debut appearence, people were saying that Felix was better than Adrien because "the show never tried to justify what he did", and then comes Season 5 to say "Nope, every bad thing he did was ok! He's actually a good guy!"

I'm not sure you want to come to me about Felix being problematic then made good as I am one of those who really like Felix far more than Adrien, this including PV and canon's initial intro of him. There are definite issues of s4 finale and s5 and how they handled Felix, but I do still like him far more than Adrien, and I do still think he's a better lead option.

Keeping the topic on canon, Felix for the first few eps, based on what I heard, was doing everything that I've been wanting.

Adrien and Gabriel, who for some reason, are just unconditionally liked by characters? No one dislikes them at all?

Well in comes Felix who dislikes them both.

Adrien's been long due to have some sort of adversary, especially with Marinette technically getting 3 from Chloe, Lila, and sort of Kagami who was occasionally antagonistic to her. But Adrien never got one. Not even in Luka who isn't even an actual rival to him given Adrien had no romantic interest in Marinette.

So Felix came in and hit that want. Shame it didn't stay.

Then I get to hear that Felix comes back, dislikes Chloe, and messes with her?

And then his, what, 3rd appearance, Felix discovers Gabriel is HM, and plots a heist against him. Boy is doing the job Adrien was supposed to do back in s2 when he discovered his father had a Miraculous related book, and did nothing.

If anything, the inclusion of Felix just confirmed to me that we got the lesser lead.

And base on what I hear, the s4 finale and onwards just ruins Felix but hey, by how ML is with it's inconsistency, those are details I can choose to dismiss/ignore. Especially as those can clash with initial intro, which wouldn't be the first time (like Kagami and Trixx are very different form their initial intros).

But yeah, I agree that he was better than Adrien. He actually does stuff vs Adrien who spends most seasons sitting in his room watching the news. Plus, Felix was openly and acknowledged as problematic in contrast to Adrien who does problematic things but it's not acknowledged to be.

But that is just me as I've been disapproving of Adrien since s2.

[blueberry-bubbles130]

Art for the new au!

most of the kwamii are just assholes here. The main ones were mostly content to watch humanity fight. While Duusu sat on the sidelines preferring to not get involved as much as possible. But most of them decide (mainly led by Pollen) they’ve had enough of just watching and want to see the effects of their pure magic up close. So Pollen kidnaps a baby, raising it in the kwamii realm as an experiment.

Said baby is Chloe and as she grows up she isn’t well. she doesn’t know what species she is, nevermind who she actually is. She’s alone with no one apart from the Kwamii’s, as she’s never seen another human before. At a distance she may look normal, but at a closer glance, things are not quite right. Mainly the reddish brown roots she has and the pinkish reflections in her eyes. And the way things change to suit her will, such as plants withering around her when she’s sad.

Chloe doesn’t like the kwamii, apart from Duusu. They scare her a lot because they only thing they want are answers about their experiment. Duusu is a bit kinder to her, actually sitting with her. Doing fun activities with her like painting, sculpting and actually explaining what the things she feels are. Eventually Duusu “accidentally” leaves the tower door open, allowing Chloe to wander to the burrow and back to her timeline.

From there she finds Marinette and Adrien, where they alongside Felix and Kagami help her to try and fully understand humanity. All the while Gabriel’s quest to get the miraculous and an argument between the gods plays out.

[shysublimecoffee]

Marinette receiving the Ladybug mantle was an absolute mistake. I watched the special, and honestly, gurl is doing the most—and for what? A guy? One dude, and she’s ready to throw her common sense out the window. Like, how has Hawkmoth/Gabriel not used his own son more often as leverage against her by now? That’s villainy 101, and he’s just sitting on it. Like for the amount of times I've seen this show rag on ChatNoir because of his weakness in romance when that Ladybug biggest weakness not CN lol.

At this point, I don’t even care about what Marinette’s going through. Whatever emotional investment I had in her? Long gone. She’s out here spinning lies on top of lies, desperately trying to hold together her crumbling Adrien-obsessed empire, and for what? She lost. Game over.

Now, if this were a story about a girl slowly getting corrupted, spiraling into villainy, and intentionally written as a downfall arc? No problem. That would’ve been a compelling narrative with a real lesson for kids about the consequences of obsession and dishonesty. But nope, instead we’re stuck with this mess where her choices make it harder and harder to root for her.

Marinette's speech at the press conference—“Ladybug holds the truth, she holds the truth” —had me scratching my head cause it sound more like a villain then a hero. Like, did the writers forget she’s supposed to have hero-like qualities? She’s meant to be the messenger, the symbol of hope, the hero. But how often does she actually display that in her own show?

Lately, it feels like being Ladybug is more of an obligatory chore for her than something that brings her real joy or fulfillment. Isn’t the whole point of magical girls to inspire, to help others, and to grow through their journey? Where’s the sense of accomplishment, the spark, the joy of making a difference? It’s like they’ve stripped her of everything that should make her role uplifting and meaningful.

I've seen here and there about how MC was never meant to come off that way or the writers are trying to make her more complex or how dare you do you dislike complex female characters or the most used it was never her intention to come off that way it was a mistake.

I want you to picture this without the music just dialogue cause i'm going to be clearcut about this.

Ladybug went to an orphaned, grieving child—one who had been locked away in solitary confinement, surrounded by nothing but white walls and being sensory deprived—and lied to him about his father being a hero. Let that sink in. Gabriel, who systematically abused his own son, was painted as a noble martyr by Ladybug.

Adrien, a kid who was finally starting to question his father’s authority, even beginning to tear down the oppressive image of the man who controlled and hurt him, is now trapped in an even tighter mental cage. After all, if Paris sees his father as a hero, a savior, how could he possibly feel justified in blaming or resenting the man? Gabriel is now a martyr in the eyes of the world, and Adrien is left to wrestle with guilt and shame for ever having cruel thoughts about someone everyone else idolizes.

Ladybug’s decision to perpetuate this lie doesn’t just protect Gabriel’s image—it messes with Adrien’s already fragile mind. Instead of helping him heal or giving him the freedom to process the truth, she’s reinforced the very chains Gabriel used to control him. It’s not heroic; it’s delusional and harmful, all in the name of preserving some twisted version of peace in her head.

You want me to feel pity for a girl who I'm sorry if I sound harsh to yall at the end of the day just want to keep the peace to fill her delusions that everything is going to work out in her part at the end when really she's just the worst type of coward there is when it comes to confrontations lmao. Accountability? She avoids them like they’re some kind of plague. It’s almost impressive how someone can masquerade as a hero while being utterly incapable of facing the hard truths. Lmao, sure, let’s all pity her.

Honestly, in the earlier seasons, at least Marinette seemed to feel bad about her mistakes. Now? She’s only gotten worse. I headcanon that receiving the Ladybug mantle or becoming the Guardian inflated her ego, giving her a power trip. With no proper mentor to hold her accountable and everyone automatically deferring to her leadership, who’s left to challenge her? Well maybe CN if he has the guts to do so but he'd rather cower into his shell lol.

In hindsight, I don’t think Marinette should’ve become Ladybug—not because she lacks the capability, but because the role itself seems to have worsened her as a person. Instead of growing into the hero I though she was meant to be, she’s devolved, losing some of the humility and self-awareness she had at the start of the series.

Let’s be real—we’re in Season 6 now, and we all know the writers aren’t going to make Marinette face any real consequences. The whole universe bends over backward to accommodate her. If you’ve seen Season 5, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

That said, I’ll give credit where it’s due: the special was fun. Yes, despite all my ranting, I actually enjoyed it because it was funny in its own way.

At this point, though, I’m only sticking around for Adrien and Lila. Honestly? I’m rooting for Lila to be the one to drop the truth bomb and expose everything. It would be chef’s kiss poetic if she ended up being the one to set things straight. Lmao.

P.s For anyone who thinks there is a dilemma to be had about the whole thing its really not lol rip the bandaid off.

It reeks of a megalomaniac in the making, making her come off like a gaslighting psychopath. Ironically, it reminds me of Gabriel—especially with the way he used similar wording. Honestly, are we sure Marinette isn’t Gabriel’s true daughter? Because the parallels are man.

I’m genuinely angry that she is the one everyone feels sorry for, and it’s only because the show is stuck in her perspective. If we spent even a fraction of the screen time on Adrien’s pain, it would make for a far more compelling story. It’s infuriating. Marinette isn’t some helpless sheep/damsel victim here—no one forced her into this role at gunpoint. She made her choices, knowingly and willingly. How dare she act like the weight of the world was thrust upon her without her consent? When she very much messed with a grieving kid here?

And yet, Adrien’s pain—real, tangible, and far more tragic—is constantly sidelined. He’s an orphan, being lied to by nearly everyone around him, adults and teens alike, and his suffering is treated as a subplot to Marinette’s endless drama. Why should the audience feel more for her than for the boy who’s lost everything? Why is his pain has to be centered to her??

This isn't a small mistake this has far reaching consequences if the show had the balls to do it to lie to the entire world over a man who terrorized on people fear.

If Adrien ever became a villain, I wouldn’t blame him. In fact, I’d understand and give him the free ticket to go ahead and cataclysm and burned the world .

[ijustliketoreadstuff]

Lets talk about the London special trailer

Disney channel France released the trailer for the London special, lets dive in and see what's happening. I know TF1 also released another trailer but I want the majority of the special to be a surprise, so I'm just going to analyze one. I'm gonna try to piece together what parts of the trailer are in order, the first being of course Ladybug traveling to London with a very sad look on her face. The London special takes place in the season 5 finale, right after Monarch used the miraculous to make a wish , so of course she feels very troubled on account of that she just witnessed a lot of dark secrets unfold within the Agreste family, during her battle against Monarch at the Agreste mansion.

To top it all off, she even watched in horror as Gabriel chose to die to bring back Nathalie who we saw healthy and alive at the end of the season 5 finale, sitting alongside Amelie.

At this point in the London trailer, Ladybug is aware that Adrien needs to know his father is dead, but this reality will of course be very difficult for Ladybug to say and for Adrien to hear, since he has essentially now lost both his parents. Worst of all, Ladybug knows she cannot comfort Adrien as his girlfriend while she is still Ladybug, and must refrain from showing him too much emotion otherwise she will risk exposing her true identity.

Unfortunately, Adrien was just one part of the aftermath she has to confront, she also has to deal with the public who will of course find out on their own that Monarch is gone from his inactivity alone and will be needing some kind of answer to prevent them from trying to dig on their own about what really went on between Ladybug and Monarch's fight, especially once the entire world finds out that Gabriel Agreste had also gone missing the day Ladybug faced Monarch.

Marinette knows she cannot tell the public Gabriel was Monarch because the consequences from that truth alone would very quickly turn into a violent backlash against Adrien, who had no fault in his fathers choice to be the villain of Paris. She alone is fully aware there are people out there who will not listen to reason as many are already willing to turn against her alone, spreading misinformation and unnecessary hate about her ("Reunion").

Although many people close to Adrien know he would never try to harm anyone the way his father did, the pain and trauma Gabriel inflicted on so many citizens when he was Monarch, will of course leave some people more than willing to find someone to blame for his actions, and the closest to attack will be Adrien if they ever learn of Monarchs identity.

Gabriel left a great burden to Marinette when he asked her not to let Adrien find out he was Monarch, and as much as Marinette hated being asked to carry such a burden, Gabriel knew he left her no other choice, he knew Marinette's love for Adrien could be used to his advantage and force her to keep his identity a secret if she ever wanted to spare Adrien of the pain and consequences that would follow after he was gone.

Next we have what we can easily conclude is the antagonist of the special, this ghost looking person. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this is not Lila despite seeing them in Lila's hideout, the reason being is because at the end of the season 5 finale, we saw Lila in her lair caught by surprise as a bright light suddenly appeared behind her, whatever that light was must have been from this ghost person who did something to Lila.

We don't know who this ghost person is yet, but they know Marinette is Ladybug, knowing exactly where she lives and that her earrings are the ladybug miraculous despite the jewels being in camouflage. In addition to taking the earrings, they also took all the other miraculous that were reconfigured into rings, what they plan to do with all that power, we still wont know until the special releases.

Regardless, whatever this person is doing, it's something that was not meant to happen in the timeline as we can see that their actions have alerted Bunnyx, who very quickly pulls Marinette into the burrow not long after Marinette realizes her earrings and the other miraculous were taken.

In the burrow, Bunnyx and Marinette watch as the various timelines in the time stream are turning black and disappearing, of course they will need to handle whatever it is that messed up the river of time in the first place, but what caused it? If the time stream could be affected by an anomaly such as Ladybug writing her real name on her gift to Adrien back in "Cat Blanc", then this could mean someone out there did something, something small, that they were not supposed to.

Unfortunately, without her earrings, Marinette can't do much against whoever took the miraculous and is now messing up the timestream, she needs the ladybug earrings. The only way she can use them while they are missing, is by borrowing them from another point in time when she wasn't using them. It's not the first time she had to borrow a miraculous from another point in time, they asked Fu from the past to let them borrow the dog miraculous in "Evolution". The only point in Marinette's life when she wasn't wearing the earrings to use in case of an emergency was in "Origins" when she wasn't ready to take on the responsibility of a hero, and that's exactly where we see her travel to in the London trailer. Back in "Origins" Marinette left the earrings in her drawer for the rest of the day, a perfect time for future Marinette to take them temporarily without alerting anyone or causing any damage to the timeline.

Well that just about covers everything in the trailer, now to wait for the official release, see you all in therapy!

[mochinek0]

Unexpected Angel (2/4)

First

Marinette chugged the rest of her coffee, the moment she spotted Carrie by her desk. She threw the cup away and sighed.

Carrie smiled, "There you are. Here I was thinking that you left early. You're late coming back for lunch."

"Actually, I'm five minutes early." Marinette pointed out.

Carrie glared at her, "Copy all these papers and make sure there are at least twenty-five pages each. You should be able to do that in three hours, right?" and walked away.

Marinette looked at the stack of papers. There were at least fifty pages. Sure, she could do that and get it done in three hours, but she also had to finish a design by the time she clocked out of work today. Her boss was counting on her. They needed to start on the samples next week, if it was approved. Mairnette sat down at her desk and looked at the designs. The color green caught her eye. It reminded her of the stranger from the café.

'That place is survival of the fittest.'

Marinette looked between her design and the stack of paper. She smiled and turned towards the deisgn.

'Sorry, Carrie.'

Carrie smiled as she approached the new girl's desk. She expected to find her buried and scrambling to get the papers in order. Instead, she found her sitting at her desk and humming.

"Where are my papers?" she cried, "Did you leave them at the machine again?"

"They are right here." Marinette smiled, "Right where you left them."

"I told you to do them!" Carrie screamed, "There's a meeting in fifteen minutes."

"Then, you should get to it." Mari replied, "I can't imagine not having the correct information for a meeting. That sounds really important."

"You little bitch!" Carrie shouted, slapping Marinette.

Marinette just smiled at the vindictive lady, "Sorry, but I have my own job to do. I don't have time to do your job. What have you been doing for the last three hours? So much wasted time. I mean, is your job that hard that your can't copy papers? You've been at this for five years. No offense, but I don't want to be you in five years. Better get started, you have an important meeting in.....ten minutes."

Carrie snarled, grabbed the papers, and hurried away.

To say that Carrie was upset was an understatement. Her boss had yelled at her when the meeting was over. She had managed to print the first eight pages, but she was left entering and exiting the meeting to grab the other hot off the press. To top it off, she watched her boss praise Marinette.

"I knew I could count on you, Marinette." their boss spoke, "You had some difficulty this past month, but you have improved."

Marinette simply smiled, "Thank you for your kind words. I just....had to really focus on my work and not worry about other things."

Carried stomped out of Wayne Enterprise after that. All weekend she planned. She was going to leave her work with Mairnette and leave work as if she was sick, saying Marinette volunteered to do her work. If that didn't work, it wouldn't be her fault if her coffee accidentally spilled all over Marinette's desk. If the new girl was a better employee, her desk would be clean. Maybe it would help her with her time management skills. She was going to make Marinette miserable next week, as payback for making her look stupid in front of her boss.

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[bbutterflies]

alyanette kiss for drabble prompts 👀

hi kayla!!! sorry this took me a million years but I hope it’s worth the wait!! 🩷🤍🧡

Marinette’s life is complicated. Balancing being a teenage girl and a superhero and a student and the guardian and a daughter is hard. But even then, she knows what she likes.

Marinette likes designing, the sound of pencil on the page and the thrill of her ideas coming to life. Marinette likes baking, following recipes she’s had memorized for years and the easy way she can hold piping bags in her hands. Marinette likes sewing, the familiar whir of her machine soothing on even her worst days. Marinette likes Alya’s lip gloss.

But that one is new, so she’s not sure why she likes it so much.

Marinette likes boys – she knows that, has always known that. But she’s not with a boy today. She’s with Alya, alone. Having a picnic.

And Alya is wearing a really pretty lip gloss.

Marinette’s not quite sure why she’s so drawn to it. It’s subtle, a little pink, just a bit of shimmer, but she notices. She knows Alya doesn’t usually wear it. Alya doesn’t usually wear the floral spring dress she’s wearing, either, but Marinette quite likes it too. Well, of course she does – she designed it, a birthday present for Alya. But she really likes it when Alya wears it.

Marinette knows she doesn’t have it all figured out, of course, but… she’s more confused than usual right now.

Alya is sitting next to her, legs tucked against her side. Her hair is down, caught in the gentle breeze, and she keeps tucking it behind her ear. Marinette could watch her do that all day, she thinks. She’d be quite content.

Alya is peeling an orange, and she offers Marinette a slice. Marinette takes it, of course.

“I’m glad you could make it,” Alya says with a smile, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“Me, too,” Marinette says. “This is really nice.” She looks around at the blanket Alya has brought for them, baby pink and soft, and the wicker picnic basket sitting on top filled with snacks and drinks. She takes a bite of the orange in her hands.

Alya returns to peeling, carefully digging her nails into the skin of the orange and exposing the fruit. “I, um, I really like spending time with you,” she says.

Marinette watches her, mouth agape. She’s not quite sure how to respond.

“You’re incredible, Mari,” Alya continues as she pulls off the last piece of orange skin. “I’ve always thought that. I knew it from the day we met.”

“Oh,” Marinette breathes. Alya has complimented her before, but this… it’s different in a way she can’t put her finger on.

The wind picks up and pulls Alya’s hair loose. Marinette’s hand is there to fix it before Alya’s.

Marinette isn’t sure why she does it, but it’s happening before she even realizes it. She gently tucks the hair back in place, her fingers lingering near Alya’s cheek. She likes being close to Alya.

Alya smiles.

They don’t talk. The moment stretches into eternity. Marinette keeps her hand where it is, an offer, though she’s not sure what she’s asking for. She just knows she likes it, and it seems like Alya likes it, too.

But Alya doesn’t move, so Marinette lowers her hand. Her aim is to bring it back to her lap, but Alya catches it first. Gently, carefully, Alya holds her hand.

Marinette notices Alya’s nail polish. Warm pink, soft orange, the sunset encapsulated. Alya’s hand is soft and warm. Marinette already knows this, has felt Alya’s hands before when they paint each other’s nails or Alya holds her back from a wayward plan going awry.

But this is different. Alya holds gently, carefully. She’s making her own offer, Marinette realizes.

Marinette seizes it. She moves slowly, in case Alya wants to change her mind and pull away. But Alya doesn’t. They intertwine their fingers and hold each other tight.

Maybe… maybe Marinette likes Alya. Likes her as more than her best friend. Because she loves the way their hands fit together, and she’s still drawn to Alya’s lip gloss and maybe it’s less about the gloss and more about who’s wearing it.

“I really like you,” Alya whispers. She meets Marinette eyes and smiles, confident. Her voice is louder. “I really like you,” she repeats. “And if you just want to stay friends, that’s okay, too. But I wanted to tell you anyway.”

Oh.

The pieces fall into place like dominos to spell out a beautiful pattern, and Marinette realizes it all at once.

She likes girls. She likes Alya, actually. Of course she does.

Marinette scoots a little closer on the blanket. Alya responds with a breath let loose and a glowing smile. She’s never been good with words, always trips over her feet on her way to the point, but Marinette doesn’t think she needs to say anything right now to express herself quite clearly to Alya.

She leans closer. Alya meets her halfway.

Alya’s lips are soft. She tastes like cherry and oranges and pure bliss. She feels like home, familiar and safe and always pulling Marinette right back in. Marinette knows instantly she’s stuck in Alya’s orbit, and she’ll never need to be anywhere else.

Alya pulls back with a giddy smile, her heart bared between her teeth, and Marinette knows she’s a mirror image.

Marinette likes this. Loves it, even. And she’s quite sure about it.

[miraculousystuff]

Oops

Adrien was having a good day. It was relatively stress free, as Lila was ‘doing charity work with Prince Ali’, meaning she couldn’t come to school. She still had modeling with him, unfortunately, but his father had allowed him to bring his closest friend. Marinette! As he was walking with Marinette, she asked him about everything. She used to stutter all the time around him, but now she didn’t, but he didn’t know why. It was clear that Marinette was in awe of everything, and if he had thought that she had never been to a photoshoot, he certainly knew now. She smiled at her adorable curiosity, and he could have sworn he heard Plagg say “Just a friend, hey?”. 

Marinette noticed his staring and giggled. “As you can guess, I have never been to a photoshoot before.” Marinette smiled, and sat down next to him. Adrien could feel her excitement. It was so adorable. The moment was ruined, however, when a screeching voice came into play. “Adrien! Hi! I just arrived from charity work!” Lila yelled. Adrien looked up and rolled his eyes, while Marinette snapped her head towards the voice so fast she could’ve gotten whiplash. As Lila drew closer, Adrien had to restrain himself from moving back. It seemed that Mari noticed his uncomfort, because she leaned in and whispered. “It’s ok, just ignore her.” Then she began a conversation with him about Ladybug, knowing it would comfort him. Finally Lila reached them. 

“EXCUSE ME! WHY IS MARINETTE SITTING IN MY SEAT!” Lila shouted, sounding aghast,  mood changing completely. Adrien was this close from strangling her when Marinette spoke up. “Actually this is my seat. I got exclusive permission from Gabriel Agreste, so you can stand or sit on the floor. I really don’t care.” she said cooly, and went back to talking to Adrien, who soon became comfortable with the conversation. Lila, albeit dumbfounded, was persistent. It seemed she had a change in tactic, because then her entire demeanor changed as she started loudly so everyone could hear. “Ooh, are you talking about Ladybug! Yeah, I just had a picnic with her last Saturday and-” she was cut off by a rather bored Marinette “Wrong. She was out of town on Saturday. That’s why she used the horse miraculous to teleport back and forth.” she said lazily, as if Lila truly wasn’t worth the time of day. Adrien was in awe. Marinette’s version of the high road is better than his.  Lila, on the other hand, was furious, but couldn’t do anything because of the numerous staff watching her for her rather loud boast about her connection with Ladybug.

The entire solo photos, Adrien was thinking about that conversation. More importantly, the Marinette part of the conversation. Or, to sum it all up, Marinette. He watched with a genuine smile as Marinette sketched some designs, clearly inputting some knowledge she was learning from one of their head photographers, Claire, who she was currently talking to. It seemed that Claire was enjoying it too, telling so many details about how if you put a collar a certain way, it would look better in and out of photos. As the filming came to an end, Claire noticed the dopey grin on his face and whispered to Adrien “You like her!” Blushing profusely, Adrien responded with his just a friend crap, to which Claire rolled her eyes, but didn’t push it. 

“Either way, she is an absolute gem. And beautiful too. She could be a model. She’s perfect, and definitely better than Rossi. I don’t know what Gabriel see’s in her.” Claire smiled, before walking away. Adrien was in shock. Claire was one of the heads for a reason. She had a particular talent for choosing amazing models, and to hear that not only was Lila a bad model, Marinette would be perfect? Well that certainly puts things into perspective. Needless to say, Adrien’s constant daydreaming about Marinette continued, if not more so. “You’re thinking about Marinette aren’t you?” Plagg interrupted, almost bored at blondie’s sheer obliviousness. “How did you know?” Adrien said, shocked. “Well the dopey grin, the lovesick eyes, the sparkly thoughts-” Plagg smirked.

Before Adrien could respond however, it was time for the double shoots. Ugh. He walked in. “Romance! Summer Romance! That is what Parisians want!” Vincent bellowed cheerfully. Immediately, Lila clung to him and smiled sparkly as her death grip left marks. And it hurts. Through a grimace, Adrien forced out a smile, stringing along with Lila. But even that worm under the rock could tell that the photos were terrible. “No, no, no, no, NO! Zis is not right! Your mama brings you spaghetti not leftover, moldy cheese! That smile is not in love! It is fake! You know what, take 5 minutes, while I sort this mess out.” Vincent groaned as Adrien practically ran towards Marinette, who greeted him with her ever-so vibrant smile. He waved, but immediately her smile turned into concern as she noticed the bruises on his arm, and immediately got the first aid kit.

“Oh my god Adrien what happened to you!” she stressed, as she quickly rubbed some Dettol on it. It stung a little, and he hissed, but before Adrien knew it, the pain was gone and his dopey grin was back. And unfortunately or fortunately, depending on the perspective of whom you choose, Vincent noticed. “Oh my goffings! That smile! Zat is ze smile zat we want! This girl! She iz beautiful! Claire! She is perfect!” Vincent gushed. Lila, however, was not happy. “Excuse me! I am beautiful! Not Mari-trash! The audacity! I can get you fired!” Lila shrieked. Vincent rolled his eyes, and turned to Marinette again. “Oh please model for me! Please! I need you!” he pleaded to an incredibly shocked Marinette. But she took one look at Adrien’s pleading eyes, and didn’t even HESITATE to agree. “Sure!” Marinette said enthusiastically, much to Lila’s extreme displeasure.

“Yes!” Vincent cheered, but Lila was having none of it. “HOW DARE YOU LET MARITRASH DO THE PHOTOSHOOT! SHE IS UGLY! NONE OF HER FRIENDS LIKE HER! SHE HAS ALL THESE FAKE CONNECTIONS, YET SHE CALLS ME OUT ON MY LIES! LIKE IT’S MY FAULT THAT HER FRIENDS ARE IDIOTS! I WARNED YOU IN THE BATHROOM DUPAIN-CHENG! NOW YOU’LL PAY FOR STEALING MY JOB AND MY ADRIEN!” she lashed out at Marinette, about to punch her, when Mari caught her hand, then judo-flipped her so she landed on the floor. Lila, still throwing a tantrum, yelled indignantly. “ASSAULT!” she yelled, but no-one cared. “And done.” Claire smirked, as she played back the video of her confession. Lila went dead silent as she realized all her lies were about to come crumbling down. So she chose the easy way out. A threat.

“No! I WILL GET YOU FIRED IF YOU SHOW THAT VIDEO TO ANYONE, OR IF YOU LET MARINETTE DO THE SHOOT!” Lila screamed, but it had no effect. Eventually, Claire called security and she was kicked out. The video was sent to the class. They almost freaking flew to the park, about to literally murder her. Alya was so red and Marinette could literally see the steam coming out of Alya’s ears. Kim and Alix looked ready to beat her up, and even Mylene looked somewhat scary. They turned on Lila immediately, and apologized profusely, but Marinette forgave them easily. Adrien however, was not happy. “What did she mean she ‘warned’ you in the bathroom?” Adrien said, his voice so dangerously low that even Plagg was impressed. Marinette gave a squeak of surprise.

“Oh umm, I have to go, teach my umm fish to swim!” Marinette said twisting her ribbons and hurried away, but before she could get more than two steps away, Adrien grabbed her hand and pulled her back, making her turn towards him and making the ribbons fall out all together. His breath was temporarily taken away as Marinette’s hair fell loosley down to her shoulders. But he went back on task immediately. “What did Lila do to you Marinette?” he asked, and Marinette blushed. “Oh umm, I was about to trip and fall over a puddle of water and then she warned me and then now she thinks I owe her?” she said. Marinette knew it was a pathetic excuse and so did Adrien. He gave a scoff of disbelief. “Lila doesn’t HELP people Marinette. Tell me the truth.” Marinette’s blush reduced. “Adrien, I can’t.” she said, her head hanging low.  

It said everything to Adrien. “She threatened you!” Adrien growled, completely ignoring the angry shouts from behind them. “I-” Marinette tried to say, but once again was interrupted by Adrien. “Why didn’t you tell me!” Adrien almost yelled. “Well because you told me to take the high road and I listened and it probably wasn’t a good idea to tell you, plus then you would get mad and-” She was once again interrupted by Adrien. But not by words. No.

Because Adrien Agreste was kissing her. And needless to say-

She kissed back. 

They shared this moment for about 30 seconds before they were interrupted by loud cheers from behind them. “OMG ADRINETTE IS A THING! IT’S A THING! THE SHIP HAS SAILED!” Alya hollered over the cheers. And in the middle of all the blushing, cheering and awkwardness Vincent grinned in satisfaction. Why? He caught the whole thing on camera. He had a feeling Mr Agreste would like these photos.

Fin

[ali-annals]

Unexpected Visitors

Pairing: Damian Wayne x Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Rating: G | WC: 800 | CW: - | A/N: This is one of my first fics so I'm not super proud of it but the lovely peeps on ao3 seem to like it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I thought I'd cross-posted this already but apparently I haven't, oops :| | Ao3 |

An unknown woman shows up on Wayne Manor's doorstep asking for Damian Wayne…

And enjoy this lovely fanart made by @tinybrie 🥰

A bright light flashed through the windows of the manor, the echo of thunder sounding overhead almost immediately. The knocking on the wooden door echoed down the dimly lit hallway, almost covered by the sound of rain and wind gusting outside.

The family butler swung open the door, taking in the visitors.

A young woman was standing there, holding a baby. She had her mother’s dark hair, but her eyes... 

He tore his gaze away from the baby when the pale, tired woman asked, “Is Damian Wayne here?”

“I’m afraid he is not ‘in’ at the moment, Miss. May I say who called?”

“He’s alive?”

The butler blinked, hearing the note of relief underneath the urgency in her voice. “Yes, Miss..?”

“Oh, thank goodness! His tracker stopped working and I was…I thought…can I see him, please? I can help heal him.”

“How did you know he was injured, Miss?”

She stepped further inside, brushing raindrops off the baby’s and her clothing. “Tracker. If it stops working and he doesn't reply, he’s either dead or severely injured. And since you say he’s alive-”

Alfred still didn’t know her name, but he knew she was trustworthy. Call it an old man’s intuition, call it experience from sizing up every type of person under this roof (of which there were many), he could tell his youngest Master would be safe with her. 

“I’ll show you to his room, Miss.”

“Thank you, Alfred.”

~~~

Damian groggily opened his eyes. Owww… His muscles protested after all that had happened in the last short while. 

The faint sound of rain hitting the window by his bed provided soothing white noise, mixed with the soft breaths from the dark head resting on the bed by his hand. 

Marinette was fast asleep, like the baby in her arms.

He stroked her hair gently. “ Habibti , I’m awake.”

She jolted upright, carefully cradling the baby so as not to disturb her rest. “Ma lune? You’re okay?”

“Just fine, mon coeur . I take it you healed me?” He scooched into a half-sitting position.

She nodded. “I thought…Your tracker stopped, so I came to see…”

“Shh, it’s alright, habibti .” Damian cupped her face in his hand. “It broke when I was fighting. I would have immediately contacted you but they forced me to stay and heal, and drugged me so I would sleep and recover without protest.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” She leaned over to kiss him. “I brought Zara.”

After Marinette had reassured herself that he was well-healed thanks to her handiwork, he brought up the question niggling at the back of his mind.

“How many people know?”

“Alfred, and whoever’s watching your monitors right now.”

“You’re okay with them knowing, now?”

Marinette nodded. “I’d prefer to be close by if anything like this happens again. So what if Bruce doesn’t like magic users or the fact that we hid this from him? He can get over it or not, but I will be by your side,” she stated firmly.

He smiled softly at her, seeing the feisty woman he fell in love with. “Let’s go settle their disturbed brains, then, shall we?”

He removed all the health monitors and stood, stretching and enjoying the slight discomfort.

She handed Zara to him, whom he carefully cradled in his arm and stroked his finger over her tiny cheek, and then they headed down to the dining room, where the rest of his extended family were gathered for a celebratory meal. 

The entire Bat clan was there, in various stages of recovery from an assortment of injuries.

Alfred brought in the plates of crepes and casually announced, “There was a young lady here to see Master Damian this afternoon, just after your last check. She’s up with him right now.”

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?!” The ones who could, jumped up to check on their youngest.

“Hello, family. I am perfectly fine, so don’t scold me for getting up. Dinner looks delicious, Alfred.” Damian and the visitors strolled in.

“Why do you have a baby in your arms? How are you up?”

“This is Marinette Wayne, my wife, and our daughter, Zara. Marinette healed me; thus, I am awake and about.”

“Since when were you married? With a child? When did you get a girlfriend?” Questions echoed from all corners of the table.

“We met when I was in Paris to help Ladybug six years ago. We got married last year and Zara is nine months old now.”

“Jon helped Damian escape when he needed and covered for us. He’s quite good at illusions,” Marinette spoke up. “Hi, I’m Marinette Wayne; it’s nice to meet you all.”

Taglist (open): @jennifer-rose123 @questioning-blob-of-fog

[mochegato]

Forever Yours

It was bad. She knew it had to be bad. Why else wouldn't they have heard anything?  Why else would they keep her... them!  Keep them in the dark?  They wouldn't.  Unless there was a reason not to tell them... like something really bad had happened and they were trying to mitigate the fallout.

This was far from Adrien’s first mission for the Justice League.  They both frequently worked with various members.  It wasn’t even his first mission without Marinette.  In fact, they went on missions without one another a lot.  But there was just something about going on a two-person mission behind the Order’s worst enemy’s lines with someone neither Adrien nor Marinette knew well… or fully trusted if she was being honest, that kicked up the nerves.

It was supposed to be a quick mission.  “Two hours max”, they said.  “In and out,” they said.  “No real danger,” they lied.  But that was twelve hours and quite a few anxiety spirals ago.  The muscles in her hands were starting to cramp from her fidgeting, her fingers curling and flexing over and over like a compulsion.  She had paced around Mia’s apartment so many times, the carpet was beginning to show an indent from her perpetual path.

“It’ll be fine,” Dick assured her.  “Lack of information doesn't mean anything.  It's just standard operating procedure, really, especially for Constantine.”

Marinette shot him a flat, almost disgusted look.  “It’s standard procedure when something goes wrong,” she explained slowly, annoyance starting to seep through.  “No contact for twelve hours on a ‘two hour max’ mission, is NOT standard operating procedure.”

Dick held up his hands.  “I’m just saying I don’t think there’s a reason to panic yet.”

Zatanna sighed almost grudgingly.  She glared at Dick as she spoke up.  “I will admit, missions with Constantine often end like this.  Things get off track and I don’t think he ever communicates with anyone.  It’s kind of a blackout whenever you go out with him.”

Dick rapidly in agreement.  “Exactly!  It isn’t worth the worry.  I just think you should take a breath, let it out slowly, and relax.”  To his credit, Marinette did stop pacing, but it was to stare dumbfounded at him. 

Meanwhile, Roy let out a loud breath, almost a scoff, and dropped his head, but Mia was far more vocal.  “Did you just tell her to calm down?” she demanded.  “While she’s in the middle of an anxiety attack?”

Dick looked around, eyes wide.  “What?  No!”  He whipped around to face her.  “I would never… I just thought… It’s not productive to just pace here.  I thought maybe you might want to go home and relax.”

“Maybe you should go home,” Marinette snapped.

He looked around helplessly for anybody to back him up but nobody would meet his eyes, everyone looking determinedly away.  Finally, he nodded and took a seat meekly.  Marinette glared a few more seconds before returning to her circuit and abusing her lips and hands once again.

Roy watched her make a few more rounds before reaching his limit.  If she chewed any harder on her lip, she was going to draw blood.   Marinette was declining and he was not about to just sit back and let it continue.  Her purse had been tossed onto the coffee table in front of her so he took the opportunity to search through it until he found what he was looking for.  Like any artist, there was a sundry assemblage of drawing utensils at the bottom of her bag, always ready for when inspiration strikes and always too caught up in the euphoria of capturing their vision to put it away properly.

There were colored pencils, pens, markers, acrylic based markers, paint sticks, he even found a few crayons that he knew were likely for Alya’s infant.  He rummaged around for a few seconds before pulling out his target.  He waited until she passed by again to grab her arm and pull her onto the couch next to him.  She barely had a chance to scowl at him and snap, before he held the Sharpie from her bag out to her with one hand.  The other hand he settled across her lap, his bare, clean forearm facing up.

Marinette looked between the sharpie and his forearm, her brow furrowing further with each flick.  She finally lifted her eyes to his, the furrow deeply embedded and a light frown pulling down her lips.  “What are you doing?”

“You’re freaking out,” he said, like that was in any way an adequate or even logical answer to her question.  She blinked at him, utterly dumbfounded.  The completely nonsensical nature of his response knocked her out of her anxiety spiral, at least temporarily, allowing her to focus on his words.  But being able to focus didn’t help at all because no matter how much she focused on his words, she couldn’t make sense of it.  When she still hadn’t responded after a while, he continued, “You relax when you draw.  I don’t have paper, but you can use my skin.”

Her eyes flickered back and forth between his face and his forearm.  “What?”

He waved the sharpie again and motioned toward his forearm, flexing it as he did to accentuate it.  “Use my arm as your canvas.  Get your anxiety out with it.”

“Really?” she asked uncertainly.  “Are you sure?”

He smirked and leaned closer as he waggled his eyebrows.  “I mean, I’m willing to give you other ways to work out your anxiety…” he chuckled at the scowl she shot him, but his expression quickly softened into something more sincere.  “You can use me however you want, Fire Flower.  If what you want to use me for is as a drawing pad, I’m here for you.”

Marinette groaned and rolled her eyes but shot him a small smile as she grabbed the sharpie and repositioned herself so she faced him.  He could see it as soon as she got into position, the way her mind instantly settled, and a calm washed over her.  It was like the sharpie flipped a switch in her and gave her mind purpose.  Her entire body relaxed.  All the tension that had been building up for hours dissolved once she had a focus.

The moment the felt tip touched his skin, he could feel her exhale.  She held the sharpie in the spot for just a moment before gliding it up into a delicate but simple design.  She was drawing for a few minutes before he heard a whispered, “Thank you.”

The grateful tone in her voice, and maybe the way she was almost sitting in his lap or the way he could feel each exhale fan out over his skin, spread a warmth through his body like a wildfire.  He leaned forward to drop a lingering kiss on the crown of her head.  “Always,” he whispered into her hair.

Her hand faltered slightly at the contact, disrupting the line she had been drawing and breaking the perfect stroke, but she recovered almost flawlessly.  She almost seemed unaffected by the move otherwise, but after a few more seconds, she leaned her body against him and rested her head on his chest.  The movement almost seemed thoughtless, like a natural movement, made without taking her focus from her art.

She was too focused to notice the reaction in the room to their intimate proximity, but Roy wasn’t.  He was all too aware of the looks and knowing smiles.  It was a familiar sight.  Because this was a familiar position for them.  Not the drawing on the skin, but the familiarity and affection.  He had been harassed more than once about it.  But it hadn’t worked yet, and it wasn’t going to work that night either.  He glared at them with a one finger salute to make sure they knew it too.

><><><><><><><><>< 

It had been two weeks since Adrien had returned from his mission, a bit disheveled, a bit tired, and quite a bit traumatized.  But he had returned.  And most surprisingly, uninjured… physically anyway.  He still shuddered whenever he saw a headband and Marinette was positive she did not want to know the story behind that trauma.  Perhaps more disturbingly, since that mission she would occasionally find him staring blankly until she would shake him out of it.

So that night, there was a new mission: Cheer Adrien Up.  All of their friends in the area were invited to the party.  She’d ordered his favorite food and gotten Adrien’s favorite games and movies ready, she was even considering letting him win a few of them… maybe.

Maybe not.  Because not everybody else seemed to have that perspective.  A few… okay, maybe just one, brought their competitive spirit and once they started, she just couldn’t back down, especially when Roy started trash talking her.

That was NOT something she could let slide.  Roy didn’t need the ego boost and she refused to give up her gaming crown.

They were midway though their sixth head-to-head battle, everyone else having decided watching them play was far more fun than playing themselves, controllers held so tightly knuckles were white, both sitting on the very edge of their seats and still leaning forward to get closer, eyes for nothing but the screen and each other, and yet somehow the tension was getting even higher.

She smirked at him when a particularly creative combination caught him off guard and knocked his player down quite a few percentage points.  Unwilling to back down, he narrowed his eyes and pushed his sleeves up to remove any distractions.  However, the result was the opposite.  Marinette stared at his arm, the controller going lax in her hands.  She didn’t even notice when the game ended announcing his first win.  Roy jumped up and yelled in celebration, turning to Marinette to rub it in, but froze at the look on her face.  Her eyes snapped to his and without saying a word, she grabbed him and dragged him out of the room, still oblivious to the whispers and grins of the people around them.

She pulled him into her room, her hand a vice grip on his wrist.  As soon as the door was closed behind them, she rounded on him and shoved his sleeve up to his elbow before he could even react, exposing his newly healed, freshly inked forearm.  She stared at it for a few seconds, her eyes following the lines before lifting them up to him accusatorily.  “Is this… Did you get my drawing tattooed on your arm?”

“Yeah, a few weeks ago.”  He grinned proudly at her, not oblivious to her accusatory glare, if anything, it made his grin widen.  “Like it?”

Her face scrunched in an incredulous expression.  The action itself was baffling, but the cocky reaction was driving her from bewilderment to indignation.  “Why did you get this?”

His smile stayed firmly in place, but it eased into something softer.  “I liked it,” he shrugged like it was a no-brainer, an obvious resolution.  “I liked the way it looked on my skin, so I inked it.”

She let out a long-suffering breath, something of a cross between a sigh and a groan and pulled his arm closer to study it.  The tattoo was an almost perfect replica of her design.  The intensity of brush strokes was duplicated, heavier where she’d pushed harder with the marker, thinner where she’d almost ghosted the marker over his skin.  Her fingers traced the design with an almost reverent wonder.  She paused at an irregularity in an otherwise smooth, unbroken line.  “You even got where I messed up,” she murmured.

“Well, yeah,” he shrugged, extremely careful not to dislodge his arm from her grasp.  “It’s part of the memory.  It’s one of my favorite parts of the design, actually,” he added quietly.

She continued to stare at the imperfection, almost transfixed for a few moments before finally lifting her eyes to his, stealing the breath from his lungs from the awestricken look in her eyes.  He raised his other arm to wrap around her waist but dropped it when she finally spoke before he could make contact.  “What the hell were you thinking?” she demanded, her voice low and hissing.

He quirked his head to the side at the unexpected tone, taking a second to ascertain if she was serious.  “It’s beautiful and I want a piece of you on me forever…” he dropped his eyes to his tattoo, not only as a way to avoid her eyes but to seek a source of reinforcement before continuing with a bit more vulnerability than he usually showed, “and maybe I wanted you to mark me.”

It took a few seconds before he looked up to meet her eyes, hoping to see an affectionate gaze, but instead Marinette was staring daggers at him.  “That is the dumbest thing you’ve ever said!” she exclaimed, shoving his arm back at him.  She paced away and ran her hands through her hair before turning back to him, her eyes no longer blazing, now closer to pleading.  “You’re a hero!  You have incredibly dangerous enemies!  You can’t just…” she motioned helplessly toward his arm then threw her arms up in the air in frustration.  “If someone saw that, they’d know who you were.  They could trace your identity because of me!”

He stared at her dumbfounded for a few seconds before chuckling.  Cautiously, he approached her like he was afraid she might run away… or hit him.  “This is the most romantic thing I’ve ever done and you’re yelling at me?” he asked incredulously, eyes dancing with mirth.

“Dying is not romantic!” she yelled, pushing him away.  “You could get hurt because of me.  It would be my fault you were hurt!”  His chuckles died down at the tortured look in her eyes and the desperate tone to her voice.

He moved to her instantly, wrapping his arms around her before he’d even thought about it, unwilling to let her suffer at all, especially if he could comfort her.  He held her tighter when she didn’t pull away.  After a few moments he leaned back and ducked his head to catch her gaze.  “Marinette, Baby, have you seen my other tattoos?” he asked softly.  “Fire Flower, if I was going to get recognized for a tattoo, it’s probably the massive, conspicuous ones on my completely exposed biceps, not the one covered by my gloves that are part of my costume and that I never skip when I go out.”

She stared at him looking for the lie in his words.  Finding none, she shook her head and looked down gathering her thoughts, which clearly didn’t go in his favor based on her dipping out of his embrace and groaning.  “Roy, we’re not even together!”

His mouth lifted into a smile.  That response meant she had accepted that she hadn’t put him in danger.  Now, he just needed to convince her that he knew what his action implied and he meant it.  “We don’t need to be together for me to love you,” he answered simply. 

Marinette opened her mouth then closed it again with a groan and ran her hands through her hair.  “You can’t just say things like that,” she whined.

He edged towards her again as his smile morphed into something closer to a smirk.  “The truth?”

“Yes!  No!  Wait.”  She let out an exasperated huff then pouted at his widening grin.  She shoved him again, but with much less conviction this time.  “Stop smiling at me!”

He stepped closer to her, a move that forced her to crane her neck in order to continue to meet his eyes.  “No.  I like when you get flustered.”  He ghosted a finger over her cheek, keeping his touch just shy of making contact but close enough she could feel the movement in the air.  His eyes met hers in an intense gaze.  “I like everything about you.” 

The air left her lungs when he finally made fiery contact, running his knuckles along her jaw this time.  His eyes roamed over her face like he was memorizing every curve and contour, they caught on her cheeks when they flared the most delectable shade of pink, the shade quickly became his favorite color, until he met her eyes again and remembered that shade of blue was his favorite.

“Even if we never get together, I know I’ll always care about you.  You will always be important to me.  You are already carved into my soul.  The tattoo might be more visible, but that?”  He laid a hand over his heart and shook his head adoringly.  “There’s no amount of time or separation or drifting apart or conflict that will take that away.  I won’t regret this.  Not tomorrow, not next week, not next year, not next lifetime.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, his heart racing when she went to him easily.  “Do you know why that irregularity in the line is my favorite part of the design?”  It seemed like it took her a few seconds for her to snap out of her trance and register his words.  She shook her head slowly, refusing to break eye contact.  “Because it happened as a reaction to me.  I did that.  I had that effect on you.  My kiss did.  It was the moment I knew.”

“Knew what?” she asked, her voice soft, almost like she was afraid anything rougher would burst their intimate bubble.

“That I had to act,” he answered in the same tone.  “I got the tattoo because I wanted you forever on my body, like you’re forever in my heart, and what I want now is you forever in my life.  I’m tired of waiting for the exact right moment for it to happen.  I’m tired of waiting for fate or destiny or whatever is out there to provide.  I’m taking my fate.  I’m creating my own destiny and that’s you.  A lifetime of happiness and teasing and laughter and loving together.”

He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear to give her a few moments to let his words sink in, let her internalize them, and consider them fully.  “The question is, what do you want?”

She stared at him dumbfounded.  The idea of acting was scary.  They had always danced along the edge of doing more, flirting with each other and with crossing the line.  They’d always shied away just before tipping over.  There was so much that was at risk if they did.  They were always together, either as part of their larger friend group or by themselves.  If anything happened, Marinette didn’t know how she would be able to experience each day.  But the prospect of not acting was even more terrifying.

She pushed up to brush her lips against his tentatively.  Even after his most ardent declaration, she was still apprehensive of how he would react, terrified he would suddenly realize this wasn’t what he wanted.  She wasn’t what he wanted.  But before her mind could sabotage her, he wound his hand behind her head, running his fingers into her hair and pulling her harder against him to intensify the kiss.  His lips moved greedily against hers like he was afraid he would never get the chance again, almost devouring her.  She responded instantly, pulling his body against hers by his shirt then sliding her hands up his chest in part to settle the electricity that was humming through her veins.

After a long, highly pleasurable, while he pulled away just enough to press his forehead to hers, his breathing, like hers, ragged.  “I think I want that,” she panted.  She opened her eyes to find his already staring at her.  The hope in his eyes stole her breath and steeled her resolve.  “I want that version of forever.”

His responding grin lit up the dim room.  “Let’s start tonight.  Will you go on a date with me?”

She opened her mouth to respond but instead of her voice, Adrien’s floated through the apartment.  “Dinner’s here!”  She snickered and dropped her head to his chest for a few seconds before looking back up, resigned but happy.  “I’d love to, tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” Roy agreed.  He pecked her lips quickly and led her out to the party, fingers intertwined and smile beaming.

@maribat-calendar-events

[mc-lukanette]

"Clear as a music note, sincere as a melody. You've been the song stuck in my head since the day we first met."

Luka meant every word of it. He hadn't known Marinette for long but he knew people. Whether one called it intuition, a sixth sense, or nothing more than a "feeling," he didn't care. Marinette was a special girl and anyone who didn't know didn't understand her. It was the way she talked, the way she laughed, and even the way she was constantly stumbling over herself because she cared so much about others.

He felt it in her designs and had seen the process himself, how she would sit in the same spot for hours until someone snapped her out of it. He wore his Kitty Section costume proudly because of it and swore that it made him play better, just by having a piece of her with him.

That was all he needed, as far as he was concerned. Whether she loved him or not was irrelevant, and he only confessed at all in the first place because he wanted to alleviate whatever doubts she'd had. He was just happy to know her and to be called her friend.

She looked so beautiful against the colorful stage lights too. Had he not needed to leave, he might've told her so. He only hoped she wouldn't run off to let them take all the credit if there were any interviews afterward. She was just as big a part of the band as he was.

He smiled and released her shoulder, turning around to face the stage where he was set to play with the others. He took one step, two steps—

and then his wrist was snagged, pulling him back. He tried to keep his balance, especially as another hand grabbed at his jacket to bring him downwards. Everything was happening too fast, his vision only able to register the blur that was Marinette's face coming towards him.

Heat flooded his system as her lips came into contact with his skin, just to the side of his mouth. She'd kissed him on the cheek before, but that had come off entirely friendly as opposed to the one she'd given him now.

"Worse" still was that he knew she'd missed her intended target in her rush, which was definitely not his cheek.

It was over too soon, but he registered the voices behind him calling him to the stage as Marinette let him go and pulled away. Despite the bold move, she looked away sheepishly and cleared her throat, her blush obvious even in the lighting.

"U-um... good luck?" she said, giving him a fluttery wave.

His shoes felt like they were filled with very selective lead, keeping him firmly in place unless he was moving towards her specifically. Alas, his bandmates were still calling and not going would've ruined all the effort Marinette had put into getting them to this point.

Thus, he turned - for real this time - and went to set up with the others.

—————

Luka somehow managed to concentrate throughout the entire performance. The nice thing about his Kitty Section mask was that he could look around freely without being noticed, particularly at the siren of a girl standing in the background watching his every move. Her fingers were steepled in front of her mouth, making it hard to gauge her exact expression, but her eyes never left his.

Each note he played felt like a pleasant shock through his body, a positive feedback loop that kept going throughout the whole song. It'd happened before when he was in a good mood, playing his feelings through the strings, but not like this.

Not after being kissed by the one he was in love with, and not on a stage where the energy surrounding him was so high. Whenever he turned to the other bandmates, they were staring at him in bewilderment, but not in any bad way. He wasn't overshadowing them or throwing off the song, he was just more of what was already there, and the stage crew was getting into it.

It was fantastic.

By the time everything was over and the recording was done, there was nothing stopping him anymore. He wordlessly passed his guitar to a confused Rose, then walked off the stage, past the crew, and past a reporter who had snuck in and was asking him questions he didn't bother listening to. He pushed his mask up and took a straight path directly towards Marinette, who was bouncing from the thrill of the moment.

"That was incredible, Luka!" she squealed. "It sounded even better than in the video! People are going to love it, I—"

He grabbed her face and kissed her. It momentarily occurred to him that he could've said something romantic like, "I only played so well because you were there," which was true, but kissing her the way she'd tried to kiss him seemed like a far more appropriate response to what she'd done.

It felt equivalent to getting to play a song she'd written just for him, which was almost a shame. Had he known she could've made noises like she was just by him kissing her, he would've suggested a different type of song for the music video.

There was a shriek in the background that was probably Rose, which he paid no mind to. He broke the kiss, but remained hunched over to Marinette's level, still holding her blushing face and cherishing the warmth against his palms.

"Did you love it?" he asked quietly, stroking her cheeks. "That's all I care about."

Her voice had raised an octave when she replied, "O-of course? I said it was incredible! I love you—it! A lot!"

She managed to fit her hands between his, covering her face with an embarrassed whine. He sighed blissfully, dropping his hands to wrap his arms around her and bury his face into her shoulder.

"I can't believe you tried to kiss me," he began, then added even though he could've left it at that, "right before I had to go on stage."

"Sorry," came the muffled apology behind her hands, though he smirked when he caught the hint of not actually being sorry in her voice. She returned his embrace, squeezing and shaking a little as she whispered, "I should've done it sooner."

When Luka had thought just a few minutes ago that he would've been perfectly happy just getting to know Marinette and be her friend, he meant it, but he wasn't about to complain about being thrice as perfectly happy either.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Sorry if you answered this before but do you plan on watching S6 of Miraculous ?

I'm not sure. I'm certainly not planning to watch it as it comes out, but I may watch it once it's streaming. While I'm clearly quite critical of canon, I did genuinely enjoy a lot of things prior to season five. Little moments and character interactions that made it worth watching the individual episodes even though the overall plot kinda sucked. It was a good blend of entertaining in the micro and bad in the macro, making it something enjoyable for my partner and I to watch and then talk about.

Season five wasn't like that. There are a mere handful of good moments and most episodes gave me nothing of value, so I'm very hesitant to give canon more of my time. This is extra true because season five ended the show's first big arc, making it a really good off point as I'll fully admit that seeing Gabriel's ultimate fate was a draw for me. Now? There's really nothing left to look forward to. I no longer care about the canon square, Lila is one of the most obnoxious villains ever written, and both of our "leads" have been character assassinated into characters I don't really want to watch, mostly because they're not allowed to learn and grow, but they have the kind of character flaws that desperately need them to learn and grow for their characters to stay engaging.

Marinette's issues are pretty obvious, but Adrien was done equally dirty, just in the exact opposite way. It's really hard to get excited about for a male lead who isn't strong enough to make it to the final fight after five seasons of promising that it was "us against the world." Especially when every other character was able to overcome the nightmare dust! At least Marinette is doing things and talking to people even if those people aren't necessarily the people she should talk to and her actions aren't the ones she should be taking. Adrien just keeps sitting stuff out and doing nothing to change his situation because one of his big flaws is his passivity and it's aggravating! He's supposed to be an action hero!

And before anyone rants at me about victim blaming, please remember that this is a story and Adrien is a fictional character who - as best I can tell - isn't even intentionally written as a victim. While he is one in terms of what actually happened, the story does not seem to view him as one so I don't think his writing is some active choice to rep victims and, even if it was, I'd still have issues with their choices.

Either way, Miraculous is not the type of show that is here to give us deep character analysis. It's a rom-com superhero show for kids and that is the type of content I tuned in to watch. I was here for Ladybug-the-smart-badass and her faithful, flirty hero partner, but the show is giving me nothing on either front. Ladynoir was barely a thing in season five and I don't think we got a single Ladrien moment. Those relationship dynamics were my two biggest draws. My third tier dynamic was Adrienette and even that failed me because they didn't even give us Marinette growing up enough to be the one to ask Adrien out because, as stated above, the characters are not allowed to grow because that would mean that the episodes have to be watched in a specific order and it leads to terrible writing choices.

I've honestly given the show way more time than I ever planned while running this blog! I didn't expect it to get popular enough where I'd go away for a week and come back to over a dozen asks! I just wanted to vent about season five for a bit because the writing was just so incredibly bad that I needed an outlet to stop stewing over it. I've found that writing a thing down and throwing it into the ether is a great way to get my brain to move on and stop thinking about it, thus the blog.

[ggomos-maribat]

1 | a perfect day

Part 1 of Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Dead | Masterlist

The place they reserved was beautiful: the greenhouse-type of dining with ferns and orchids hanging from the glass ceiling and walls, a lush green against the pristine white of their chairs and table napkins. The day was blessed with fair weather so just the right amount of sunlight was cascading down on them which fit the light hum of the festive music from the speakers. Even the hostess herself was a sight to behold—a flowery off-shoulder dress, curled brown hair, and pastel manicured nails.

Sabrina truly felt she was in another world.

Their hostess stood up, holding her wine glass in one hand. "I'd like to make a toast." She beamed. "To everyone here, who accepted my invitation for a humble reunion."

She looked at them on by one, first at Alya who seemed to cling at her every word, then moved down the table to Nino, Rose, Juleka, Max, Kim, and so on. These were faces of now acclaimed people, successful in their respective fields. "It seems it was just yesterday when we were only students in Ms. Bustier's class," she continued, "But in reality, we've been through a lot. Ups and downs, pains and losses. But I'm proud of us for sticking together, for keeping in touch after all these years."

A star in the social media field, and a proud founder and CEO of her brand. Lilia Ross. That was the alias she had been using when she was stepping into fame. But to Sabrina, she'll always be Lila, the charming girl who once was a transfer student in their class.

"To us!" Lila cheered, raising her glass up in the air. They all followed suit, some laughing a little and others bursting into lively conversation.

Sabrina took a sip of her drink, turning to her left. "It really has been so long, hasn't it, Chloe?"

The blonde appeared to be in some kind of stupor, but her friend's words shook her out of it. "Huh?"

"I said it's been so long."

Chloe rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Uh, yeah, you're right."

"Are you okay?"

She gave a smile of reassurance. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, it's just . . . stress from work."

Sabrina was about to suggest she get some rest first when the wooden doors opened, revealing another familiar face from their teen years. Large sweater over a collared piece. A priceless watch. Golden hair fixed to look stylishly unkempt.

The man greeted them, "Hey, I hope I'm not too late?"

At the head of the table, Lila's jaw dropped open. "A—Adrien?"

"That's me," he chuckled lowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Long time no see, everyone."

The others, too, couldn't mask their shock—understandably so. Adrien Agreste had been out of the public eye for the past seven months, halting his modeling career and laying low in god knows where. Even Sabrina couldn't remember when she had last seen him.

It was Alya who stood up, grabbing a seat for their new guest. "It's been so long!" She said. "Come here, sit. Where have you been and why were you so unreachable?"

"Yeah, man, I even tried visiting your old house in Paris. They said you weren't there." Kim, meanwhile, passed a plate to him.

"I'm really sorry for that." Adrien gave a sheepish look. "I was too focused on taking time for myself. I'm on hiatus from modeling—I didn't mean to cut everyone off. But I wanted to make it to this reunion!"

At that second, Sabrina's phone began to buzz a notification.

"It's alright to take a break sometimes," Mylene consoled. "Are you going back to modeling soon?"

Adrien shrugged. "I'm not sure yet; I might try out other things and see what works for me."

The phone vibrated again, a few times in succession this time.

"What about working with me?" Alix offered. "I need some extra hands around the museum. Minimal experience needed! I'll teach you everything I know."

The nth buzz sounded and Sabrina pulled out her phone from her purse to completely silence it but then she caught a glimpse of Chloe. She looked pale as a sheet, staring down at her unfinished plate.

Sabrina leaned. "Chlo—"

Buzz. Buzz.

Frowning, Sabrina unlocked her phone to check what the incessant ringing was all about. There were tweets, articles, posts, and messages filling up the screen like something had blown up. And something might as well have.

Her eyes widened when she tapped on an article.

Alya's voice rang out. She, too, was looking at her phone. "Hey, Lila, what's this all about?"

"Hm? Is it about my magazine feature?"

"No, it's not," Sabrina whispered.

There in bold letters the words were summoning up a storm: 'The Truth About Lilia Ross: She's Not Who You Think She Is' .

***

Saturday morning saw Jason Todd at the Wayne manor's dining table, munching on a piece of toast with jam. He stayed the night after patrol upon Alfred's insistence, and then remained for breakfast after some more badgering.

The second eldest raised an eyebrow when Bruce strolled into room wearing office clothes.

"Event at WE today," Bruce explained, making a coffee for himself. "Tim, feet off the table please."

Tim, who was stuck to his phone, let out an incoherent mumble before putting his feet down.

"Lilia Ross," uttered Bruce. "Does that name ring a bell?"

"French-Italian, founder and CEO of Lilia Designs, sells clothing and cosmetics," Tim supplied in a monotonous voice. "She's more famous as an influencer though. In the past few days, there have been a lot of rumors popping up about her. Why do you ask?"

"PR at WE asked me. They wondered if I knew her."

"What does she have to do with Wayne Enterprises?" Damian chimed in.

Celebrities and trends never piqued Jason's interest—he focused on eating, debating internally if he should purchase more handguns to replace a couple that he lost.

"She's been promoting our products even if she's not legally affiliated with WE," Tim explained whilst gulping down his daily dose of caffeine. "She's just trying to fish for a real sponsorship or partnership. Her brand's getting famous in Gotham, you know."

"It's not much of a concern for the company then. Our lawyers will be able to handle it if her so-called scandals affect WE," said Bruce.

"True, but it's still weird. This is her first major backlash on the internet and there's a lot of—" Tim did air quotes with his fingers, "—'anonymous witnesses' coming forward to show her 'true colors'."

"How is that different from the usual celebrity rumors?" asked Damian.

Okay, maybe Jason was a little curious.

He discreetly pulled his phone out to check the articles popping out online. And there were many, as if testimonies were spewing from a never-ending fountain.

'eiffelparis12: don't fall for it. she bought all those views and likes. fake *****'

'coffeecake: I worked as a stylist in a studio once. She was at our show...I didn't expect her to be so two-faced! She was so rude to the producer's assistant and kept bossing her around. The poor guy didn't even get to eat.'

'seaasss: her products arent even that good. lol.'

'venusred: she bought her way to be in our blog's feature. i'm pretty sure she has an anonymous sponsor.'

'harpyre: OMG! does she even pay her employees enough?'

'silverberry640: no way, lilia doesn't deserve this! there's no proof.'

'ngc5195: this is what fame does to all of them......sad.'

Jason looked up again when Bruce spoke. "For now, WE isn't obligated to proceed with legal action and we're not actually involved anyway. I'm sure this will pass on its own."

He wasn't wrong. Scandals came and went; people liked to throw stones at one person then move on to the next after the damage was done.

"Or not," Tim suddenly said, staring at something on his phone "Shit."

"What is it?" asked Bruce.

Tim read the words aloud. "Influencer Lilia Ross, accused of murdering former classmate."