#if I could draw people I would draw chat noirs reaction

[the-coffee-fandom]

This is exactly what happened. Canon. I accept nothing else.

I literally cannot stop thinking about this prompt @burnt-toast2

please this is too funny this totally happened

please someone draw Chat Noir's reaction to it I can't :,D

I know you guys love Felix content so I tag you here hope it's ok @consistent-chaos-corporation @ninadove @noctie @moonieratty @halfahelix @paracosmicfawn @imperfect-storm you asked to tag u :3

[anormalgirlwithanormallife]

everyone is sharing their s5 finale hot takes rn lol so i guess it's my turn

tbh, i think that @buggachat's recent posts about the finale mirror my thoughts (here and here) and are really really well said. in short, she argues that the decisions made in the s5 finale mesh really well with adrien and marinette's respective character arcs, and that it sets up future seasons to have more conflict and tension.

i wanted to elaborate on a few things that she said. first, i wanna talk about the role of emotion in the viewing experience of miraculous ladybug as a whole, and especially the s5 finale. miraculous has always been a show of building tension and denied catharsis. the entire premise of the show–that these two superhero kids have crushes on each other but their secret identities keep them from being together–is basically designed to be a frustrating experience. but while it's frustrating, it's not necessarily unenjoyable! in fact i think that the frustration is what draws people to it; we keep watching in-part because we want the tension to resolve, but we also watch in-part to see the tension build and build and build. speaking personally, it's an experience that i really enjoy, and i like how s4 and s5 both found ways to progress the narrative and create interesting new dynamics while still maintaining the central tensions of the show.

one of the main points of tension is, obviously, that adrien's dad was the villain all along. as viewers, it becomes very easy to hate gabriel as both a dad and a villain because he sucks in both domains. so of course, the show implicitly posits the questions, "what would happen if adrien finds out that his dad was monarch? what would happen if gabriel finds out that his son was chat noir? (of course we have seen what would happen there in the chat blanc ep) what would happen in the final battle when ladybug and chat noir defeat monarch and see his true identity?"

a lot of people found the writing decisions made in the s5 finale risky and unexpected (myself included!) but in retrospect, it really makes perfect sense when you consider that miraculous ladybug's emotional pull is to tantalize its viewers with catharsis, and then deny them that. i don't think that it's inherently bad or good, but i do think that it is effective at getting people emotionally invested, and it is an experience that i enjoy. but i do think it could lead to some negative or uncomfortable feelings, esp when viewing the finale. i remember watching the end and feeling...kinda bad at first. it left a bad taste in my mouth, watching gabriel being celebrated as a hero when we, the viewers, know him to be an abusive piece of shit. it also felt so uncomfortable and heartbreaking and adrien doesn't know anything!! he's operating under the assumption that his dad was a martyr, and there is something that feels so unjust and wrong about that.

and i think that a big reason for these emotional reactions to the finale was that it denied the viewers catharsis. we thought that we would get a big cathartic reveal moment but the show said, "nope! not happening :)" just like it always does. and that experience can feel really uncomfortable and turn some people off from the show, but it isn't indicative of bad writing. if anything, it's consistent with the way that the show has always operated from an emotional standpoint, and it sets up future seasons to explore interesting dynamics and conflicts.

i’ll make another post about how i think the finale’s decisions ties into the character arcs and the themes later!!

[fortuna-et-cataclysmos]

This episode was a manifesto on post-truth society and I DIG IT.

I'll go ahead and overanalyse.

First, on the radicalising role of social media. We, as the watchers, know that the Monarch is the villain, right? It should have been obvious to the Parisians with all the akumatisations too? Well, apparently not. Here are the translations of some of the in-universe social media comments and why they are problematic within the context of the show (the show isn't problematic, in fact, it is brilliant for incorporating them!)

The Monarch only wants the Miraculouses to make a wish, and many people think that he wants to wish world peace. But Ladybug and Chat Noir don't want that because then no one would need them.

This one is wrong at three counts: first of all, the whole argument is based on an opinion, not a fact ("many people think that"), but also, just because "many people" agree on something, it doesn't make it right (looking at you, Nazi Germany). In addition, we see a good example of echo chamber here: in Strike Back, thousands of Parisians took the streets to show support to our heroes. So we know that the "many people" here aren't as many as they claim to be (not that it would have made them right in any case). Lastly, we, as the watchers, know especially well the superhero role is an immense burden on Ladybug and Chat Noir. The recognition on the hardships of being a superhero comes from Lila of all people in Multiplication, when she says somewhat condescendingly that Ladybug is young and we shouldn't put so much responsability on her. Moving on to the next.

Who is Ladybug really? Why does she wear a mask? If she had nothing to hide, she wouldn't hide behind a mask.

This one seems to refer to the discourse used by groups who want to favour "security" and state control over personal rights and privacy. Personal rights (and privacy) are, rights. Doh, you say. What I mean by that is that, they are supposed to be non-breachable: every human being has a right to live their own life without someone continuously monitoring them or breaching into their peaceful existence. Ladybug included. You can say that her case is different because she is, in a way, a civil servant (she isn't: technically she is a vigilante, but her and the heroes' monopoly over the superpowers are recognised by the public authorities). But that also makes her unveiling her identity even more dangerous: one must acknowledge that the heroes are still humans, and if the Monarch knew their true identities, he could easily monitor their private life and attack their weaknesses, a no brainer really. Besides, the argument can go both ways: if the Monarch is so benevolent, then why is he hiding behind a mask?

So we see that there is a toxic social media culture in the ml universe which antagonise the heroes despite all the good they did. Here is a post I made specifically expanding on this antagonism by drawing upon similarities between Ladybug and Joan of Arc.

But to continue with post-truth: now let's take Jalil more specifically. The lexicon he uses when arguing with his father is very much associated with alt-right discourse.

Jalil: Ladybug enlisted [Alix] in a crusade that's not ours.

-> Speech with military and religious terms.

Jalil: Alix got brainwashed by Ladybug.

-> I guess this one goes without saying.

Jalil: Don't you see that it doesn't hold?

-> Admittedly, this one doesn't sound too loaded when translated. But it is basically along the lines of refuting other narratives. Think of it this context: "if vaccines make you immune to illness, then why do vaccinated people still get ill? It doesn't hold!"

Jalil: Father, open your eyes!

-> "Wake up, sheeple!"

Jalil: people are talking about this! Listen!

-> Again, argumentum ad populum. Others say so too so it must be true.

And his father's reaction to these:

Mr. Kubdel: social media is affecting your judgment!

It very much is.

And how does Jalil get deakumatised? By getting convinced that he had been tricked, and not by force: Ladybug and Chat Noir don't break his akuma, Jalil frees himself. Because you cannot counter hate speech and extreme narratives by force, it will only give them more legitimacy. In this sense, Ladybug's Lucky Charm is extremely fitting: a pen. "The pen is mightier than the sword" is even implied when Joan of Arc refers to Ladybug's pen as a "ridiculous sword".

In the end, the Miraculous universe has something that completely refutes all the post-truth narratives: the Book of Truth. When Jalil realises that all the social media arguments in favour of the Monarch were unrefutable lies, he deakumatises himself.

Unfortunately in the real world, we have no Book of Truth. Even the most trustworthy sources can be wrong, new information may emerge and prove our previously checked facts wrong. That's why we can't as simply bring the extremist people in our world to their senses. Our only way is critical thinking and judgement based on our moral compass.

But I love that the show is tackling all these manipulation techniques and toxicity of social media in a critical light. It implicitly informs the viewers on the dangers of social media.

[mc-lukanette]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6]

—————

A few days had passed since Marinette had burned the Adrien photos, and Luka was relieved to note that they hadn't come back since. Marinette seemed equally at ease, their daily calls becoming more and more relaxed with each time she told him about her still-empty wall. He did wish he could do a little more concerning the red string around her neck, but his mind was drawing a blank and she was happier than before regardless.

The main problem however, was the relation to the miraculouses. Everyone knew that Ladybug wasn't interested in Chat Noir, a fact that made the knowledge of the red string even worse. He wasn't sure if the red strings were tied to the miraculouses or not - or how if they were indeed connected - but he speculated that it was about more than just talking to Marinette about Adrien; Chat was a factor as well. He couldn’t imagine the societal pressure of Ladybug and Chat Noir being a couple, and no one had to do much research to realize that Chat Noir was okay with it while Ladybug was very much not.

He'd have to take on the red string from both sides of the masks, and it took one particular day for him to get his chance.

"You want me to go on patrol with you?"

Ladybug nodded, balancing herself on his windowsill as she replied, "If you'd like to. Chat Noir is busy tonight, so the position's opened and you're one of the people used to having a miraculous."

Luka caught himself before he could start smiling too much, knowing that it was Marinette under that mask and she wanted him to go on patrol because they were friends.

"I'd be honored to."

She beamed at him, and after the snake miraculous was on his wrist, he was transformed and the two set off for the rooftops together.

—————

Viperion glanced left and right as he went along with Ladybug. He'd been called enough by then to have gotten used to superheroing, though it was his first time actually on patrol. Given the situation they were in, he was thankful that Adrien was busy that particular night with what Viperion could only guess was Gabriel's orders.

The red string was still dangling around Ladybug's neck, though Viperion'd grown attuned enough with his fate sensing that he could stop focusing on it and simply see her if he chose to. It didn't stop him from thinking about it, but it helped.

Ladybug seemed to know the route to take, so he mostly followed after her, but it was partway through where she'd decided that they should take a break. Paris was always quiet right after akuma attacks, meaning that they could afford to take it easy since there'd been one just that afternoon.

They leaped buildings until they reached the Eiffel Tower, scaling the monument until they reached the top platform. He didn't miss that she'd avoided using her yoyo for the job, possibly to put them on an even playing field.

Letting out a breath, Ladybug leaned against the railing and she gazed over the city. Gesturing to the view, she explained, "We'll have a good vantage point from here in case anything happens."

Viperion chuckled. "You really do think of everything."

She blushed faintly, but took the compliment casually. "I'm just doing my job." She turned her hip to more easily grab her yoyo, then opened it and reached inside. "Anyway, are you hungry?"

He tilted his head in curiosity, then grinned as she pulled out a bag of macarons from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. It wasn't anything suspicious given that it was known as the best bakery around.

"Thanks," he replied gratefully, taking one of the macarons she offered him.

She grabbed one as well and they took a simultaneous bite of their respective treats. He was a little surprised to hear that she brought along snacks, but supposed it made sense if breaks during patrol were a common thing after akuma.

They settled down on the ground, Ladybug placing the open bag in-between them so they could pick them out at equal leisure. Tossing him an apologetic but teasing smile, she added, "Sorry, but cushions wouldn't fit in the yoyo."

He raised his brows at her, then glanced down at the hard ground below them. He snorted at her joke, noting, "It's nice to see you outside of akuma battles, where you can relax and play around more."

She smiled shyly at him, in a way that was so Marinette that he couldn't believe he hadn't figured her out sooner. "Thanks. Chat says I have no sense of humor."

He frowned, replying without hesitation, "Chat's wrong."

She waved him off, though he could tell that she appreciated the comment. Hearing that Chat had told her something like that was news to him, despite all the research he'd done into their relationship. Granted, he imagined that anything could be said off-camera and he couldn't have known.

"Does he say things like that a lot?" he asked, hoping he wasn't prodding too much. There was just something about how casually she'd said it that unnerved him.

"Huh?" She blinked, thrown off by the question, then rubbed the back of her neck. "Well... most of the time, he flirts instead. It's..." She hesitated, like she wasn't sure that she could talk about it. Glancing at him, then back to the open sky, she relented and added, "—it's a lot sometimes, but he does his job well enough, so it’s not like it’s a serious problem. I don’t know, it’s not like I’ve never wondered about the what ifs of having someone else, but whenever I think about it, I just—"

She squinted at nothing, Viperion's gaze flickering down to the string, which had became visible now that he was focusing on it.

It had tightened, pressing into the black of her bodysuit in a way only he could see, and he found himself squinting just like she was.

"—I can't imagine being Ladybug without him," she said.

He pressed his lips together, trying to suppress any reaction to the comment. He'd suspected it for a while, but actually seeing it was something else entirely.

The red string demanded dependency on Ladybug's part. He wasn't sure how much it pulled Chat on the other end, but judging from what he'd gathered from Marinette's luck and fate's blatant favoring of Adrien, he could guess.

Ladybug peeked up from her macaron when he remained silent, confusion passing over her features. "What? You look like you have something to say."

"Ah—" He looked down, brows furrowing as he hoped even more that he wasn't pushing boundaries. "—just... I know that he's been with you since the beginning, but I don’t think you need Chat Noir to be an amazing Ladybug."

She straightened, dropping her treat in surprise and then fumbling to catch it. Perhaps she hadn’t caught onto what her words implied, or had said them without thinking due to the string and was now facing it head-on.

He continued, "You've dealt with akuma plenty of times without him, and you work well with all your heroes. I'm sure you could make the best out of any partner you had." He smiled reassuringly at her. "Maybe Chat Noir only seems as good as he does because he's at your command."

Ladybug's cheeks tinted red, nearly matching her mask, as she ducked her head at the high praise. She raised the macaron back to her lips, chewing on it as if that helped hide her face.

It was only after she'd slowly nibbled the treat all the way down and swallowed that she replied, "T-thank you."

He shrugged, having only been honest.

"Chat Noir..." She cleared her throat. "Well, Paris would disagree with you."

"Paris is wrong too," he replied in the exact same tone as when he was discussing Chat. After careful consideration, he asked cautiously, "Do you mean how—"

"Yeah, the—" She frowned and waved both hands vaguely in a gesture that no one but him would've understood. "Yeah."

So she was all too aware of their status of a "couple" in the eyes of Parisians. It made sense with everything he already knew, but he hadn't wanted to be right.

The phrase she'd used when talking about Adrien resurfaced in his mind: made for each other.

He clenched his fist. She was being pressured on both sides of the mask, towards both sides of Adrien's mask.

"I don't like it," she admitted, "but Chat drinks it up and I guess the public is into the idea of this superhero couple. They see us like celebrities."

"It's not right," Viperion hissed, and Sass would've been proud of it. "You save Paris every week and you deserve to be respected."

"There's nothing I can do about it," she told him, almost in defeat. "Besides, Chat... he needs a pick-me-up every now and my pep talks don't always work on him. He pouted when I brought in a male hero for the first time."

"That's not your fault!" he argued. "Chat needs to be confident on his own. He can't keep relying on you or make you feel like you can't do anything without him doubting himself. You're under enough stress as it is, and—!"

He caught himself, his mouth shutting tight before he could reveal exactly how much he knew. Ladybug blinked at him, seeming puzzled by the outburst but not suspicious at least.

He took a breath, reminding himself to stay calm. Reaching back, he grabbed hold of his lyre and brought it in front of him, strumming a few notes and letting them settle the discordant song that was playing in his stomach.

"My point is... Chat shouldn't be someone adding onto the pressure. That's not a partnership."

Her shoulders relaxed, her eyes darting around as she processed his words. She looked conflicted.

"...I'm sorry," he added, settling his lyre in his lap. "Not for what I said, but—I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

"No, no." She shook her head, pulling her knees to her chest. "It's good that you did. I've actually—" Her voice grew quiet. "—been thinking about it lately."

"About what?"

She made the same vague gesture from before. "All of that. There's been a lot going on and it's given me a lot to think about."

He knew immediately what she meant.

"It's... frustrating," she groaned. "I don't like Chat that way. I mean, maybe sometimes he said or did something that I found charming, but that's just—not enough for me, you know? To only feel something like that for a second or two." She averted her gaze, growing distant. "Everyone seems to think we belong together, and... I hate that they might be right."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Well, I'm a hero; a permanent one. I need to be there all the time. Every akuma, every purification, every Miraculous Ladybug. Only I can do it." She hugged her legs closer, burying her face in her knees. "I want a relationship. I want someone to date and be close to, but I can't have it. I'm always running away; always going somewhere with some excuse so I can go deal with the akuma, and I can't tell anyone! Can you imagine how that'd make my date feel?"

He opened his mouth, but a thought occurred to him at the last second that gave him pause.

"You... so you think..."

Once again, he hoped to be wrong. He wanted so badly to be wrong.

But Ladybug looked up, her expression pained as she confirmed, "There's only one person I could be with where it wouldn't have to happen."

His blood ran cold, he felt sick, and the memory of the red string flashed in his mind, wrapped around Adrien's ring.

Fate didn't just tie her to him; it wanted to make her believe that he was her only choice.

Viperion's grip on his lyre tightened, his teeth grinding together behind closed lips as he tried to maintain an aura of calm. He wasn't just angry anymore, he was livid, and he silently wished that the face on the other side of the butterfly miraculous was the universe so he could give it a piece of his mind.

How could you do that? How could you take a girl who's always worked so hard and tried her best, and treat her like she's nothing? No, not nothing, because then at least she'd be left alone. How could you treat her like a plaything, as if she's some prize for a guy to win no matter what? How could you manipulate her to think that everything's her fault, just so she never thinks to fight back against the ones putting pressure on her?

What's love if it's gotten through such force?

"V-viperion?"

A hand falling upon his jolted him back to reality, his head snapping up to see Ladybug there, her pupils shrunken in and her brows knitted in worry. Whatever his face had looked like, it'd scared her.

His first instinct was to feel guilty. He was supposed to be comforting her, not making things worse by letting all of his emotions show on his face.

His second instinct...

He tossed his lyre off to the side, Ladybug's gaze briefly following it until his hands fell upon her shoulders. Her eyes widened, and she let out a squeak as he pulled her onto his lap and into a hug.

The only thing he was grateful for in terms of her superhero status was that he could hug her as tightly as possible without hurting her.

"A-ah..." She seemed tempted to say something, but fell silent soon after and hugged him back, burying her face into the side of his neck. He felt her strength in the way she squeezed him, like she was starved for his affection despite them being in a similar position not too long ago.

He understood. Before, they were tackling her problems when she was Marinette, but Ladybug had never had someone to personally confide in concerning Chat.

She'd needed this.

"You already do so much," he whispered. "You should be allowed to be with whoever you want, and you shouldn't have to settle when it comes to love."

She sighed against him, like she knew deep down that he was right. "You don't know how bad it could get. Some hypothetical boyfriend wouldn't deserve that kind of treatment."

"I get why you'd feel that way," he said, "but I'd hope that this hypothetical boyfriend would know that you're worth it."

Her fingers twitched against his spine. "...You don't even know me."

"I know that you're creative. I know you're smart. I know you work harder than anyone else to keep Paris safe. I know you have a right to feel however you want, and if you think you need to earn being with someone who's not Chat, then you've more than done that." He slid his hand up to squeeze her shoulder. "I also know that you'll find a way to make it work, if you put in even half the care into it as you put into Paris."

"Vi—" She paused, her voice softening. "Luka..."

They stayed like that for a while, the bag of macarons going untouched an arm's reach away. Viperion just held her, sensing that she was feeling out what he'd said and that they didn't need words for it. That was fine with him; her love life was none of his business. He only wanted to help her have the choice to live it.

A breeze blew by, their bodysuits protecting them from the wind chill factor as their hair was lightly shifted by the gentle air. Ladybug stirred, letting out a noise like she felt personally slighted by the wind, then pushed herself up, her hands on his shoulders as she pulled away from him.

"We...we should get back to patrol," she admitted.

He offered her a small smile, noting that she seemed to be in better spirits at least. "Alright." He let her out of his lap, leaning over to the side to pick up his lyre.

He heard her retreating footsteps, along with a light, "You can keep the macarons."

He glanced up at her, surprised. "Are you sure?" he asked, knowing that he was mostly responsible for them not eating all of them. "Is that what you usually do on your breaks: let Chat have them?"

"Oh." She stood awkwardly in place, looking off at the sky before dropping her gaze to the ground. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she grinned sheepishly and replied, "Actually..."

He tilted his head, curious.

She peeked over at him, eyes half-lidded as she told him, "I've never done this with Chat."

He raised his brows, as if that would make her clarify, but she simply turned away from him and started doing a few stretches, clearly prepping to head back out.

Pursing his lips in thought, Viperion turned his back to her, giving attention to the little plastic bag resting neatly on the ground. Even though it was open, the little ribbon that had held it shut was still around it, suddenly feeling more special now that Ladybug had said something so... cryptic.

He looked out at the view they had, then Ladybug, then back at the bag, feeling extremely slow on the uptake as his brain pieced things together based on what information he had.

Then, suddenly his brain supplied: Wait... was this a date?

He buried the thought just as quickly, shaking his head and scolding himself for jumping to that so fast.

"Are you ready to go back to leaping rooftops?" Ladybug asked behind him, her tone light even if she was still in her own head.

"Yeah," Viperion replied, picking up the little bag like it was something precious. Hoping to lighten things further, he then added, "I'm new to this, so I might lag behind."

She chuckled. "You might. Apparently I'm a really amazing hero according to someone I know."

He grinned to himself. Even if she was just teasing, it felt good to hear her compliment herself in a way.

He had just tightened the ribbon to seal the bag back up, listening to the sound of Ladybug's foosteps, when he felt a sudden niggling sensation at the back of his head, or—behind him? He turned, puzzled, then leaped up as he caught sight of a teal wisp in Ladybug's path.

He rushed over as she yelped and tripped over what would seem like nothing according to her. Catching her just in time, he also realized belatedly that it may've been an overreaction, given that she was in superhero form; he could only blame it on reflex.

Ladybug stood up with a start, covering the lower half of her face in shame. "Ugh, that was so embarrassing, I'm sor—"

"It's not your fault," he hurried to say, not explaining further as he grew lost in thought, staring silently at the place where the wisp had formed itself.

He hadn't just seen the wisps this time; he had sensed them. That was new, and he wouldn't have questioned a new addition to his fate sensing had it not been the fact that he hadn't particularly done anything as Viperion; it usually took an instance or two of him using his power for something to manifest, but here...

He glanced up when he realized that Ladybug was looking at him curiously. Debating with himself for a moment, he ultimately trusted his gut and met her gaze, asking,

"Do you mind if I talk to Sass again after this?"

[mochegato]

Even the Losers

Chapter 18

Chapter 1     Chapter 17

Mari waved up at Nightwing before turning toward the café.  He grinned and waved back.  No sense of embarrassment at getting caught like Red Robin had the day before.  She didn’t know enough about him to know if it was because he wasn’t hiding, Red Robin had given him a warning that she knew someone would be there, or because he had no sense of embarrassment, or most likely, a combination of all of those.

Adrien looked up and grinned too.  “What time did he take over?”

Marinette shrugged and cut through the café’s outdoor seating.  “Later than yesterday.  When did Dick leave?  It was some time after that.”

Adrien looked at him for a moment and shook his head. He looked back at Marinette before the memory of sleep deprived Marinette hit him.  He grimaced.  It was hit or miss whether she would be funny, emotional, or a danger to herself. If Batman was the same… “I really hope Batman doesn’t have a day job because with all the all-nighters he’s pulling, he would have to be a zombie at work.”

Marinette giggled at the idea.  “Can you imagine Batman with a day job?  What do you think he does?  Like, could you imagine him as a kindergarten teacher?”  Marinette’s giggles grew into full blown laughter. She finally was able to gasp out, “Batman complimenting some little kid’s rainbow and assuring them that making the entire rainbow the same color was extremely creative and beautiful.  Or trying to guess what animal they drew.”

Adrien laughed and patted her arm to get her to stop.  “Wait, wait. Batman crouching next to a toddler and explaining for the eighth time in the last three minutes that Pete the Cat is in fact a cat, not a dog before patting them on the head and walking away to scream into a nap mat.”

Marinette Laughed hard enough she almost missed the door handle.  She jumped when Adrien suddenly grabbed her arm.  She turned to him wide eyed but she immediately relaxed.  He was bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement.  “No, no, no.  A PA to some… NO, to M. Wayne!  Batman as M. Wayne’s PA.  Oh my God, can you imagine?”

Marinette giggled and shook her head at him, pushing through the door.  Well, that would certainly explain why the bats seemed so close to the Waynes.  She spotted Duke and waved.  He jumped up and waved them over.  “Hey, Duke.  I hope you don’t mind that I brought Adrien.”

“Not at all,” Duke gave them both a hug.  He looked toward the bathroom with a smile. “Good to see you again, man.  I hope you don’t mind that Cass and I both brought someones too.”  Cass and Stephanie were walking toward them with a red headed woman in a wheelchair. Duke leaned toward them and lowered his voice so the women approaching couldn’t hear him.  “Brought is a really liberal term for what happened.  I am so sorry.  I knew we shouldn’t have mentioned meeting with you in front of Stephanie.”

“Hey Cass,” Marinette called out.  She and Adrien waved at her.  “Good to see you again, Stephanie.”

Cass waved back and nodded with a wide smile. “Marinette!” Stephanie chirped. “I’d say what a coincidence we ran into you guys here…”

“But that would be a lie,” Barbara finished for her. “Hi,” she held out her hand for them, “I’m Barbara.”

Marinette smiled and stepped forward to shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.  I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Well yeah we crashed,” Stephanie rolled her eyes and dropped into a seat across from Marinette.  She sent a playful glare toward Duke.  “You guys have been keeping her all to yourselves all week.  It’s our turn to hang out with her again.  Not to mention I wanted to catch up with the woman who fed the Riddler’s own balls to him for everyone to see.”

“And we wanted to see how you’re doing after it,” Barbara added with a chastising look to Stephanie.  She turned to side eye Duke.  “We tried to check with the boys but they were less than helpful.”

Marinette shrugged and leaned back slightly, not enough for anyone else in the café to notice but everyone else at the table picked up on it.  “I’m fine. It wasn’t bad.  More embarrassed he caught me in the first place.”

Stephanie waved her off.  “Please,” she scoffed.  “He had to knock out like an entire block just to get you.  That’s better than some of the bats.”

“Well, you look like you’re healing well,” Barbara nodded with a supportive smile.

Marinette smiled as naturally as she could and tried to control how much she was shifting in her seat.  She really, really hated talking about the whole thing with not only people who didn’t know she had been a superhero, but with the Waynes after that dinner, so that was two strikes against discussing this right now.

She’d been able to joke about it and moan about how contrived the whole setup with Alya and Nino.  They’d laughed all night about the audacity.  Not only had he thought he could stump her with a question about Chat Noir, he thought he would win against her in a game that relied on luck or rather bad luck not striking.  It was almost enough to make her forget the way the dinner had ended.  It was exactly what she had needed.  But she couldn’t do that here.

“Yeah,” she chuckled anxiously.  “My cheek seems to be doing well.  I’m hoping I can cover it with makeup by next week.”

“How’s your shoulder?” Duke asked motioning toward the shoulder she’d rammed into the doorframe when she was running away.

Marinette blinked at him a few times before she quirked her head to the side, her face scrunching in confusion.  “How did you know about that?”

She could see the rest of the table tense up, Adrien included but for the same reason as her, confusion on how he’d known. She had no idea why the rest were tensing up.  Duke chuckled awkwardly, sending looks over to the women at the table.  “He’s covering for me,” Barbara finally spoke up.

“Why is… what is he covering up for?” Marinette asked cautiously.

“My father is the police commissioner,” she said quietly.  “I may have snuck a look at the police report… slightly illegally… and read about your injuries.”

Marinette shook her head.  “But, I didn’t tell them about that.”

“No,” Barbara acknowledged, “but Signal did.”

Marinette nodded, trying to process that information. “Huh,” was all she managed to eke out. Her mind raced trying to figure out what to say next.  She was saved from trying to figure out how to move the conversation along by the waiter. The topic seemed to fade away naturally as everyone put in their order.

As soon as the waiter left, Duke clapped his hands with a bright smile.  “So, Steph, you said again.  I take it you guys have met before?”

“At the gala,” Adrien nodded.  “Only briefly though.  We,” he motioned between him and Stephanie, “spoke for a little bit, but Marinette only spoke with her for a few seconds.”

Stephanie grimaced at the reminder.  “Yeah… not exactly the ideal meeting.”

Marinette waved her off.  “Not your fault.  Don’t worry about it.”  She sent her a sincere smile.

“No,” Stephanie agreed.  “It’s Bruce’s.”

Cass pulled out a credit card with a wicked grin. “On Bruce.”

Barbara nodded.  “Exactly.  Therefore, this lunch is on Bruce.  Maybe we should go shopping after this too?”  She raised an eyebrow at Marinette.

Marinette giggled and shook her head.  “No, thank you.  That’s okay.  I’m good.”

Stephanie’s eyes lit up.  She leaned closer to Marinette like she was sharing a secret. “Speaking of the gala, how did you get tickets to the gala anyway?  We never figured it out.”  Barbara groaned lightly and smacked her on the shoulder.  They had just changed the subject.  Marinette probably did not want to talk about the gala, where they raved about their family and the newest member, which was not her and did not did not include her.

Instead of freezing up or withdrawing, like Barbara worried she would, Marinette started laughing.  Her eyes were sparkling with mirth.  She leaned closer to them over the table and lowered her voice. “I pimped out my friend,” she confided with a smirk.

The rest of the table froze until Adrien groaned and Stephanie and Duke started laughing loud enough to draw disapproving looks from neighboring tables.  Cass raised an eyebrow, but her lips were quirked up in amusement.  “Say that again,” Barbara prompted.

Marinette shrugged and took a sip of her drink.  “I don’t know if it counts as pimping if he did it willingly.  He was willing to do it for Max.”

“Oh my God, Marinette.”  Adrien ran his hand over his face in exasperation.

“What exactly was he willing to do?” Barbara’s voice was now less amused and more wary.

“That was the worst possible way to say it,” Adrien groaned.

“You know, maybe I don’t want to know the answer to that…” Barbara hedged.  She leaned away from Marinette cautiously.

Marinette laughed at Adrien’s frustration and bumped his shoulder with hers.  “I offered up a date with Luka Coffaine to Audrey Bourgeois’ PA in exchange for the tickets she turned down,” she explained.

There was absolute silence for a few seconds until Stephanie broke the silence.  “You know Luka Coffaine?” she yelled.  

Everyone in the café turned slowly to look at them. Marinette’s eyes widened and looked around at them.  She gave them an awkward smile and a wave before turning back to the table.  Before she could chastise Stephanie, Cass was already on top of it.  She pointed sternly around the restaurant and back at Stephanie.  Stephanie nodded guiltily.  “Yeah, yeah.  Sorry.” She turned back to Marinette excitedly. “I just…” she lowered her voice and leaned closer to Marinette.  “You know Luka Coffaine?”

Marinette rolled her eyes at her excitement.  It was always so bizarre to see people’s reaction to Luka.  It was Luka. Just Luka.  Calm, reserved, laidback Luka.  The hysteria around his name just never seemed to fit.  “Yeah, I mean, we dated for a while so… yeah.”

“You dated Luka Coffaine!” Stephanie yelled again, receiving glares from everyone at the table.  Marinette shrunk down in her chair and gave a strained, apologetic smile to the rest of the café.  Cass slapped Stephanie’s shoulder and shook her head.  Stephanie waved her off and focused back on Marinette.  “Yeah, yeah.  Discretion.  Whatever. She dated Luka freaking Coffaine,” Stephanie insisted, motioning to Marinette.

“You dated Tim Drake,” Duke pointed out.

Stephanie snorted.  “That’s just Tim.  He’s just a big dork.  She dated…”

“Yeah we got it,” Barbara cut her off.

“Really, so is Luka,” Adrien shrugged.  “Probably more so, just about music.”  Marinette cocked her head to the side in thought for a few seconds before nodding in agreement.  He really was.

“Holy shit.  Did he introduce you to his dad?”  Stephanie was bouncing in her seat at the idea and the potential for an inside scoop on Jagged Stone.

“No,” Marinette answered.  She smiled internally at the way all their faces, except for Adrien’s fell, just a bit, almost imperceptibly, as if trying to hide their disappointment.  “I already knew him.”

“You know Jagged Stone?” Stephanie yelled. Marinette cringed as she sent the other patrons another apologetic smile.

Duke leaned over closer to her so he could whisper in her ear, though his voice intentionally carried across the table. “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this anymore.”

“No!” Stephanie screeched, before catching what she did and settling down, a mask of composure settling on her face.  “I’m fine now.  I just needed to get that out.  I’m calm.” She stared at them for a few seconds before almost lunging across the table.  Adrien deftly moved his and Marinette’s drinks before she knocked them over in her zeal.  “Please tell me more.”

Marinette’s eyes widened and she started laughing.  “You realize you’re basically a daughter to the richest man in the world.  If you wanted to meet Jagged Stone, you could.”

Cass shook her head.  “Different.”

Barbara nodded.  “She’s right it is different.  You dated his son.  That’s a different type of knowing someone.”

“So you met Luka through Jagged?” Stephanie pressed.

Marinette suddenly looked uncomfortable.  She was not really excited to talk about their family dynamic and secrets.  It was a little too close to her own and she really, really wanted to move past that, not dwell on it more.  “No… I met Luka through my friend Juleka, his sister.  We went to school together for ages.  They’re both some of my best friends.”

“And she introduced you to Jagged?” Duke asked curiously.  He could tell something was off about this based on the way Marinette responded, but he wasn’t sure what.

“No… um…” she stuttered.  “I met Jagged through a school project.  Designed some sunglasses for him and we’ve been close ever since.”  Adrien grabbed her hand and squeezed it under the table

Stephanie looked between the two of them and plastered on a bright smile.  “So what I’m hearing is you can hook us up with some tickets next time he comes into town.”

Marinette laughed lightly.  “Either one of us could, yes.”

“Or for Clara Nightengale,” Adrien added in. “She loves Marinette, too.  She wanted her in one of her videos.”

“She wanted you in it too,” Marinette reminded him.

“No,” he corrected her, “Gabriel got me into it. She just had to deal with it.  She didn’t choose me.  She chose you.  She worked to get you in the video.”

Marinette opened her mouth to refute that but snapped it shut quickly as the words resonated in her head.  She meant more because Clara chose her.  He was thrust on Clara.  But it didn’t mean he was unwanted.  She looked down at her food and took a bite, trying to cover her sudden inability to breathe.  Trying to give herself time to process.  She needed to pack that away for later when she could properly unpack that statement, deconstruct it, and then finally reconstruct it in some skewed, perverted version of the original situation.

Adrien immediately froze seeing her reaction. He opened his mouth to say something but Marinette squeezed his hand under the table before he could, a silent message they could talk about it later, when they were alone, or at least not with an audience comprised of Waynes.

“So how did you meet Mons…” she stuttered.  It felt strange to call him M. Wayne when everyone else at the table was calling him Bruce.  Should she call him Bruce too?  Like they did.  Like Dick did?  Or B, like Jason did?  “…M. Wayne?” she finally settled on.

Duke grimaced.  They had a cover story, but was he really going to give Bruce’s daughter the cover story?  The truth involved Batman.  But Bruce hadn’t told her about that part of their lives yet, and even if he had told her, he certainly hadn’t told Adrien.  “It’s a long story…”

Marinette smiled encouragingly at him.  “We have time.” She saw him falter and felt her own smile falter.  She took note of the way the women had frozen up as well.  God, what was she doing?  M. Wayne had said how they met.  Why was she bringing that up now?  What was she thinking?  Even if he was okay discussing that trauma, he probably didn’t want to open up about it with a stranger.  

“You don’t have to tell me,” she assured him.  “It’s… it’s fine.”  She looked around desperately for something else to talk about, a change of topic to make the conversation not so awkward.  “You graduate from school next year, right?”  Duke blinked a few times before he let out a breath and nodded.  She let out a breath as well when the rest of the table seemed to relax at her question.  “Do you have plans for after you graduate?  Are you going to take a gap year or go to university or get a job?”

“I haven’t really decided yet.  Go to Gotham University, I guess,” he shrugged.

Marinette smiled disarmingly at him.  “You don’t have to decide now.  You have time.”

The waiter interrupted Marinette’s response with their food.  They gave their thanks and started eating.  “So what have you missed the most while you’ve been here?” Barbara asked.

“My parents’ cooking definitely,” Marinette grinned as she looked at her food. It didn’t look bad, but compared to her parents’ cooking… well not much compared.  “And the atmosphere.  Gotham is…” she looked around them as she thought of an unoffensive way to end that sentence.

“Dreary as Hell,” Stephanie finished for her.  “Yeah, we know.”

“I swear you guys have more gargoyles than we do though, which is just strange to me,” Adrien added.  “We were supposed to have the market cornered on gothic architecture.”

“Oh, you still do.  We just took the most depressing, dismal, gloomy, nightmare inducing parts and ran with it,” Duke grinned.  “But I would like to see Paris sometime.  Go see the Eiffel Tower… and jump off it.”

Barbara, Stephanie, and Cass all groaned at him.  Barbara gave him a stern look and pointed a warning finger in his face. “Not during the day.”

Duke laughed at her.  “Well I’m not going to do it at night.”

“Do it at sunrise,” Marinette advised.  “Less gendarmerie around then and if you angle it correctly, you get the most gorgeous view of the sunrise.”

“Bring sunglasses if you jump that way though.  I didn’t and I saw spots for hours.  Oh, and stretch first too,” Adrien added.  “You’re going to have to parkour for quite a while to try to ditch the GN.”

The rest of the table stared at them, jaws dropped in shock.  There was absolute silence at the table except for the sounds of Marinette sipping her drink and Adrien chewing his food. “You’ve…” Duke started almost too in awe to be able to finish the sentence.  “You’ve jumped off the Eiffel Tower?”

Marinette nodded and motioned between the two of them.  “Both of us have.  Both during an akuma attack and not.  Not was much preferable to during.”

“Isn’t that illegal?” Stephanie asked slowly.  She was like 90% positive it was but during akuma attacks, who knew what was legal anymore and Hell, maybe they had days where they gave exceptions. Stranger things have happened.

Marinette speared a bit of food and pointed it at her.  “Only if you get caught.”  She popped the food in her mouth with a triumphant grin.

Barbara blinked at her a few times and shook her head because dear God, there was another one.  She was going to fit right in.  No wonder she and Duke got along so well.  Both creative, smart, kind, thrill seeking, dumbasses.  “I’m pretty sure that’s not how that works,” she deadpanned.

Adrien shrugged and took a sip of his drink.  “I don’t know.  We didn’t get arrested, so I’m pretty sure it is.”

Duke and Stephanie started laughing hysterically.  They looked over at Cass with raised eyebrows when they settled down. Cass stared intently at Marinette and Adrien for a few seconds, staring into them like she was reading their souls. Marinette and Adrien looked at each other with identical unsure looks and subconsciously leaned back at the same time, shuffling in their seats.  Cass stared at them for just a few more seconds before she nodded.

“Holy shit,” Duke muttered in awe.  “You were telling the truth.”

Marinette looked back over at Adrien for an explanation he clearly didn’t have, judging by the blank look on his face before looking back at Duke.  “Uh… yeah?”

“What just happened?” Adrien asked tentatively.

“Sorry about that,” Barbara sent them a disarming smile.  “Cass is kind of like a human lie detector.  She is exceptionally good at telling if someone is lying.  She just confirmed that you two were not.”

Marinette blinked at Barbara a few times before turning to Cass and blinking at her.  “Huh… good to know,” she nodded slowly.  Her eyes stayed on Cass but it was clear her mind was running a mile a minute behind them.  After a few seconds she spoke up again.  “Can you tell the lies people tell themselves too?”

Cass quirked her head to the side and studied Marinette for a moment and shook her head.  “Have to know.”

Marinette nodded and silently took a bite of her food. “Well, that has to come in handy,” Adrien chirped.  “Remind me to take you with me when I meet people.”

Marinette could feel eyes boring into her.  She looked back over at Cass and raised a curious eyebrow at her.  “Hero,” she finally said.

Marinette coughed for a second and looked back at her with her most convincing blank look.  “I’m sorry.  What?”

Cass nodded toward Marinette.  “Eiffel Tower.”

Marinette chuckled disarmingly and shook her head. “You think I’m a lot more honorable than I am.  You think it’s more likely that I was a hero than that I knowingly, intentionally, purposefully violated the law for fun.”  She leaned closer to Cass with a smirk.  “But I can assure you, I regularly did.”

The others at the table looked to Cass.  She quirked her head to the side and gave a small smile before nodding.  “Truth.”  Cass pointed to herself.  “Next time.”

Marinette grinned and nodded excitedly. “Absolutely.”

Duke cleared his throat.  “And Duke,” Cass added.

Marinette chuckled.  “Of course.  We can make a New Kids Club event out of it.”

“And me!” Stephanie chirped.

Barbara sighed and turned to Adrien.  “Dick said you had a job interview yesterday.  How did it go?”

Marinette beamed at Adrien as he responded. Adrien’s face lit up.  “It went well I think.  I think I’d really enjoy working there!  I met the department chair and other professors.  It looks like a really supportive department and University, very research oriented.”

“Where is it?” Duke asked between bites.

“Metropolis,” Adrien answered, his fondness he’d already developed for the city bleeding into his tone.

“Oooh, Conner lives there.  If you’re still deciding if you want to live there or if you need a tour guide, or recommendations on where to eat, he’d be more than happy to help,” Stephanie offered.

Marinette’s smile turned into a pointed smirk and Adrien groaned quietly.  “Conner, did you say?”

Stephanie looked between them, her brow furrowing in confusion.  “Yeah?”

“That wouldn’t happen to be Tim’s single friend would it?”  Her eyes never left Adrien as she asked, her smirk somehow getting even sharper.

Adrien groaned even louder when he looked over and saw Cass’ smile matched Marinette’s and Duke and Stephanie both had devious, familiar looking glints in their eyes.  This was clearly payback for all his attempts to set Marinette and Chloe up with different people.  “Why yes, yes it is.  How about that,” Duke grinned.

Cass pulled out her phone and moved her finger around the screen for a second then finally looked up with an innocent looking smile.  Adrien groaned and dropped his head into his hands.  “I’m not even in this family.  Why am I being punished?”

Barbara laughed and popped a bit of food in her mouth. “That’s funny.  You think just because there’s no paperwork, you haven’t been adopted already.  I made that mistake at first too.”

Chapter 19

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[wield-the-mighty-pen]

Analyzing Marinette’s hairstyles

So, I’ve actually seen a bunch of different posts and takes of what Marinette’s hairstyles represent and symbolize especially in regard to the episode “Heart Hunter”, but I wanted to go through all the different styles of hair instead of solely focusing on the pigtails/hair down of that particular episode.

With that being said, in no particular order, here we go:

The Bun

This hairstyle is almost exclusively seen in the episode “Animaestro”. However if you’re paying close attention, you will see Marinette wearing this hairstyle, in the old class picture, featured in “Reflekta”. I find the fact that the show made this connection between these two (scenes? examples?) incredibly interesting and very telling. Putting the class picture aside for a moment, one must analyze Marinette’s behavior in the episode “Animaestro”. To be sure, it isn’t great. For the most part, Marinette acts foolishly and immaturely and her actions in this episode, indirectly lead to the akumatization. Marinette, in her jealous state, goes so far as to join up with Chloe (a person she despises), and attempt childish pranks on Kagami. In short, I think that the bun hairstyle symbolizes a sort of immaturity for Marinette. The fact that she wore this hairstyle when she was younger only goes to prove my point. Marinette is not a perfect character, but her actions in “Animaestro” are arguably some of her worst, and naturally when she has hit a low in her maturity level, she reverts back to a hairstyle of her youth.

The Braid

The braid can be easily shoved aside as not holding any symbolism, as just a way the design team chose to incorporate the tail in her costume. However, there were a number of ways the tail could have been incorporated into the Ladynoir costume, and as such the braid must be analyzed. Now, a braid can be considered an almost restricting thing, it carefully tucks back locks of hair and traps them better than an ordinary ponytail can. However, the Ladynoir braid almost has a ‘fun’ twist to it (pun not intended but appreciated). It is long (like really long), and we even see her flick it playfully over her shoulder. I think that the braid is supposed to represent that dualism between responsibility and fun that the job of superhero can have. I have heard a lot of people criticize “Reflekdoll” for its lack of parallels. In other words, Chat Noir learns something and better appreciates Ladybug, but the reverse isn’t true, and I would say that in many ways this is true, Ladybug is not privy to the lesson that Chat Noir is. However, I would argue that she did learn something. Ladybug learned that it’s okay for her to have fun and to joke around. Towards the beginning of the episode we see Ladybug chastising Chat Noir for his joking around, however by the end we see Ladybug embrace this approach and even make some jokes herself. The braid shows Marinette acceptance of balance, of the combination of enjoyment and responsibility within her life.

The Space Buns

This design as well can be attributed to the design team finding a way to show mouse ears, but I’m still going to try to analyze this. I have two different ways to possibly explain this hairstyle. The first being to draw parallels to the bun hairstyle as this is essentially the same thing but two instead of one. The correspondence between the two hairstyles could be seen through Marinette’s feigned naivety in front of Chat Noir. She “accidentally” reveals herself as Marinette and pretends to be less informed than she really is. The other way to translate this hairstyle is as a security blanket so to speak. I haven’t gotten into the metaphorical interpretation of Marinette’s pigtails yet, but I will briefly explain a part of it now (and go into depth a little later). The pigtails serve as a sense of security for Marinette, as a source of status quo. The space buns are that, but elevated. In the episode this hairstyle is featured, “Kwamibuster” (I don’t think I mentioned this before), Marinette is desperate to keep her identity a secret from Chat Noir and develops a convoluted plan (including Multi-mouse) to accomplish this. She wants the security of her identity and wants to use her comfort style at this moment. However, Marinette is trying to distance herself from Ladybug and as such she uses a slight variation of her pigtails in her alternate hero form.

The Ponytail

I’m gonna be honest and say that I can’t fully analyze this hairstyle as we have not yet seen the episode where this hairstyle makes its second appearance. So I’m just focusing here on the ponytail from “Optigami”. I might make another analysis on the ponytail after “Sentibubbler” comes out but it might make more sense to wait until after the whole season comes out, in case there are new examples of ponytails (or other hairstyles for that matter). I don’t want to say anything about Pegabug’s ponytail, because as I’m sure you know, Miraculous trailers can be very misleading. Anyways, after that ramble, I now focus on Ladybee’s ponytail. To be frank “Optigami” was a bit of a doozy. I watched that episode with a sense of dread that did not lighten by the end of the episode. This isn’t a bad thing, but it was intense for a typical episode of Miraculous, a show where my usual reaction is a mix of “oh this is cute” and cringe (to be fair I cringe easily). But what I like so much about season 4 is that we get more than that (I won’t go into this now because I’m straying from the topic too much). Ladybee comes at a time of great stress for Marinette, she gets stuck in an elevator with someone and is thus unable to transform (let alone the fact that that “someone” is Adrien), she is without the help of Chat Noir and most of the other heroes, and (unbeknownst to her for a majority of the episode) her friend has been replaced with a sentimonster. Yet, despite all of this, Marinette remains cool, calm, and collected. She, unlike Alya, does not fall apart and despair when Senti-Nino is revealed, she knows she has to get the job done. A ponytail gives an image of “getting the job done” of focus. Although the situation is dire and dangerous, Marinette displays her competence in crisis and the ponytail magnifies that trait. I have a feeling that the same will be true for Pegabug, but only time (and the episode coming out) will tell.

Hair Down

In the two episodes that we have seen Marinette wearing her hair down, they were both in connection with Adrien and her relationship with her. I want to separate the two examples because though they both wind up achieving similar goals in regard to their symbolism, they do it in different ways. Focusing first on “Chat Blanc” Marinette wears her hair down in part to distinguish to the audience the difference between the two timelines. Though the surface level explanation of her hair would be sufficient explanation, this choice of hairstyle also has a deeper interpretation. This being as a metaphor for Marinette’s vulnerability. She is allowing her feelings to be known to Adrien, she is allowing herself to be open and honest about her emotions and with that freedom she lets her hair free as well. It is also significant that she is free from her secret identity (albeit unknowingly) and as she allows Adrien to see the full spectrum of her personality, she frees her hair from its restraint. In “Heart Hunter” too, this hairstyle signifies vulnerability and freedom. In this episode we see Marinette having fun with Adrien and Kagami, without the worry of how she is being perceived by Adrien, without the stress about her feelings for him. It is of great significance that when she lets her guard down, when she “lets her hair down” (both literally and metaphorically), Adrien comments on her beauty. We already know, as viewers, that Adrien has fallen in love with Marinette’s personality as Ladybug. But as Marinette, Adrien has not been privy to her full personality. He has only been given glimpses, as in this episode, to the full extent of her persona. Marinette is seen later on in the episode to revert back to her old hairstyle once she is no longer comfortable, when she feels inadequate compared to Kagami. She puts back on her guise when she feels she needs the security. Which leads us to that source of security.

Pigtails

I feel a bit bad as I have simplified this hairstyle in earlier paragraphs to a symbol for security. While this definition is a correct one, this hairstyle has more than one explanation. As Marinette’s primary hairstyle, in both her every day and hero outfits, we see this hairstyle A LOT. Because of this, there is an array of interpretation as to what this hairstyle could mean. Starting with the aforementioned, this hairstyle works as a form of security for Marinette. The style required her to hold her hair back, to keep it in check, away from possible disasters and viewers (wind can tangle hair very easily). The pigtails are the antithesis of letting her hair down, a common symbol for freedom and relaxation. The pigtails therefore show that she is on her guard and is protecting herself. The pigtails also represent her quality of being a do-er. She likes to do things, she is an active person, she doesn’t stand aside or wait for things to happen, she works to make them happen. As a do-er she needs focus, she needs a restraint for her hair that could get in her line of sight, and the pigtails do that well. As Ladybug, the same is true. She is focused and determined to accomplish her goals, to succeed in her battles and she needs to tie her hair back to best accomplish this. There is importance in the fact that she chooses to focus herself with pigtails rather than the equally practical ponytail. This can be attributed to the child-like quality that pigtails have. Marinette, simply put, is still a child. Though as a whole she is particularly mature for her age, at times she can show a bit of immaturity. It is interesting to note that as the seasons progress, the more we see her with other hairstyles. As she matures she wears the pigtails less. The pigtails are also a girly hairstyle and show how Marinette is a girly-girl in a plain and easy way. Additionally, the pigtails give her the approachable, girl-next-door look. In simply looking at Marinette one gets the image of her sweetness and good nature. In visual media, it is important to make a connection between personality and visage. In cartoons especially, a character’s design should fit with how they interact with their world, and the pigtails are an immediate signifier as to Marinette’s character. This about sums up my analysis of her pigtails. I know that there are more ways to interpret them, and feel free to comment if you think of any other interpretations!

[ml-salt-central]

"Gabriel Agreste" Salt (I forgot this episode came out today):

Gabriel, please die...

Okay, Canon! Felix might be an asshole but he makes Gabriel miserable and that alone honestly makes him one of the best characters in this godforsaken show (Although a line in this episode makes me worry about him a lot...)

Nathalie, please die...

Oh yay! The class is enabling Marinette's stalking... AGAIN! ISN'T THAT JUST LOVELY?!

Okay but why the fuck do the 2D drawings Nathaniel made for his and Marc's dumbass plan look so GOOD?! They have no right to be this amazing

Ew, Zoé

Okay, I hate how Chloé keeps being portrayed as a complete asshole but her coming down a vent on a harness like a goddamn super spy was iconic ngl, that's some queen shit

I know Chloé is supposed to be in the wrong here but like... Gabriel taking Adrien out of the school over seeing the video Chloé filmed of Marinette and co scheeming would actually be a reasonable reaction? Like as a parent how would you react if you found out that not only was one of your son's classmates stalking him but that the rest of the class was enabling and encouraging said stalker? Like I'm not rooting for Marinette and her friends here! What they're doing is GROSS!!!!

Okay, I'm getting tired of people being blind in this show, Marinette putting on a moustache is apparently enough to convice everyone that she's a male server, what the fuck?!

God, I love Felix being a sneaky little shit! Yes, Gabriel, keep throwing those tantrums! Seeing you suffer brings me so much joy!!!!!

Okay but it's so wild to me that Felix has only been in TWO episodes so far and has done more investigating on Hawkmoth than our two main heroes have done in FOUR SEASONS!!!!

Again, I am not rooting for Marinette to stop Chloé from showing Gabriel evidence of her and her enablers being creepy

Okay so, the scene where Gabriel threatens Felix can mean two things with the way it was worded, acording to the subtitles I got Gabriel said that he could make Felix disappear with just a snap of his finger which means that either 1. Felix is a sentimonster or 2. Gabriel is threatening an actual literal child, I really hope it's the second option... because if it's the first one then Felix, the only character who has put any effort into finding out who Hawkmoth is, can now just be erased from existence whenever the writers feel like it, isn't that great?! Like this show's writing is so bad that I wouldn't put it pass them...

Felix resisted both an Akuma and an Amok, we stan

Okay, the Collector using a tablet instead of a book this time around is a neat twists to his power but... he still has the same power as many other akumatized villains and I'm not a fan of repeat akumas so... yeah

Why the fuck did Kagami even try to fight the Collector? Like, girl, you don't even have a miraculous, what the fuck are you even hoping to accomplish?

The akuma battle is nothing special so it's not worth talking about

Chloé's plans are ruined because of course they are

Gabriel's plan to make the magical charms useless in the same season they were introduced in begins

Felix still knows that Gabriel is Hawkmoth, good thing that stuck at least (I am still incredibly worried about him...)

The stalker and her enablers came out victorious, yay...

Tfw Felix feels more like Gabriel's archenemy than Ladybug and Chat Noir

In conclusion:

Felix being a sentimonster is just as stupid of a concept as Adrien being one like... WHY?! WHAT'S EVEN THE POINT OF THIS?! WHY COULDN'T AMELIE AND EMELIE HAVE HUMAN CHILDREN?! WHAT WOULD THIS EVEN ADD TO THE PLOT?! WHAT EVEN IS THIS WRITING?! But, these concepts are stupid and nonsensical enough to actually be canon... considering the writing of this show so... I am afraid.

[liquid-luck-00]

WonderBug

Angst Edition

Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) x Marinette Dupain-Cheng (Ladybug)

I am late. SO, so , so late but here it is

1: Soulmates @maribat-angst-fluff-april

My partner is the wonderful @thedragonbug

Ao3

Fuffy Edition

Soulmates exist, and Marinette hates hers. You see everyone is born with their half or part of a complete soul mark. The other parts would appear when you were closer to your soulmate and be permanent when they were close emotionally. For everyone, the appearance or 'drawing' of the mark was light and warm. But not for her, no her drawing was heavy and hot, like a hot knife digging into her arm.

Her parents knew this, and it was concerning, to know that their child was in pain because of their soulmate. Seeing as the marks were not supposed to be painful. Yet as there was no good reason given by medical and mark professionals, and the fact that her soulmate didn't stay near her for long there was nothing that they could do. They did tell her that few, this phenomenon affects one in a million people and she was just lucky enough to be one of them.

Over the years she grew used to the pain, but every time she did it would come back even stronger than the last. She slowly hated her mark and in turn her soulmate. Marinette would cover her mark, ignore it, even wish it away. All her soulmate did was bring her pain. Sure, it upped her pain tolerance, but it hurt her still.

When she turned fourteen, she became Ladybug. She then recognized that her mark was actually the wire of her yo-yo.

The first time Chat Noir claimed they were soulmates she broke down in tears. luckily for her he told her during patrol and not an attack.

"We aren't soulmates, Chat, and I'm glad we aren't." She nearly whispered.

"Why Bug?"

"Because I hate my soulmate, and I don’t want to ever hate you."

"Why would you hate your soulmate?" He seemed genuinely curious. But no one outside her parents knew, not a single person knew what happens to her.

"Because it hurts when they are close, it hurts so badly. The drawing is painful. I never want to meet the person who keeps hunting me." Tears formed in her eyes and Chat hugged her.

"I'm not your soulmate, then." She shook her head. "Good thing I'm your partner, and Plagg help me I am going to be your best friend. Got that Bugaboo?"

A half-hearted chuckle and a small smile escaped her. "Sounds good Kitty." The first person she has ever told, the person who was convinced that they were soulmates, cares for her, to help alleviate some of her pain.

The two became inseparable after that, to the point that most of Paris believed they were in a relationship.

When Nadia asked them about it during an interview, their reactions were memorable. Both all but gagged, turned to face each other, and then laughed almost falling out of the seats.

"I believe we have missed the joke." Nadia commented, worried, and confused.

"Why would I date my sister?"

"Sister?"

"Ladybug and I consider each other siblings in all but blood."

"Everything between us is simply platonic, not even close to romantic.” Ladybug answered after Chat.

“Then why would the whole of Paris believe you to be soulmates?” She may be good at hiding her pain, but the question must have made her react slightly, or Chat knew how sensitive the topic was to her.

“We aren’t soulmates, not the bonded ones that everyone thinks of.” He began. “We are the holders of the black cat and ladybug respectively because our souls resonate with the miraculous. Sure, they are two parts of a whole, but we are practically twins, two halves of coin. She is the sister I choose, she is my partner, and that is our relationship.”

“He’s completely right, now I think it’s time for us to start our patrol, BugOut!” Her smile now in place and their excuse to leave perfectly timed and respectful they made their exit.

They went on their patrol as normal, except just as they arrived at the Eiffel Tower to end the patrol. She was about to land on the platform when a searing pain flashed and radiating affecting her entire body blinding her momentarily. A single moment caused her to collapse on the tower landing, crumpling on the platform.

“LB!” Her breath came out in short bursts, she was clutching her upper arm eyes squeezed shut. This was the worst it has ever happened before, and she wanted it to end. As soon as the cause of pain came it disappeared. Leaving only the memory and a phantom pain.

"Just give me a minute." She slowly got her breathing under control, starting to get accustomed to the new level of pain.

"You weren't kidding that is the worst I’ve ever seen you hurt."

"Yeah not fun."

---

A month after that her mark burned again. This time during class. The teachers knew she would randomly stop due to pain, but they were told they were random migraines. To the point Mari would hold her head and rub her arm to sooth herself, while playing up a headache. Adrien stayed back after the class let out." You know you don't always need to put on a brave face Bugaboo."

Her attention snapped to him. "Well it's easier than constantly answering questions Kitty." She figured quickly.

Sure, they found out one another's identity, but that worked in their favor. After Tikki got sick, Fu started training Mari, and after a month Marinette was given guardianship. Fu still hasn’t lost his memories because Mari let Wayzz stay with him, for the time being, he eventually returns it to Mari in order to move on with his life, his memories fading gradually.

When Adrien got his hands on the grimoire, he of course showed it to Marinette.

“Kitty I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think your dad might be Hawkmoth.” This seemed to perfect for him to have without him being a villain.

“I know, but…”

“Adrien is there any motive anything that might be what he would wish for?”

“My mom. Dad closed himself off when she disappeared. I bet he would wish for her back.”

“Okay, so I’m going to be blunt okay.” He nodded. “So, if your mom is dead there isn’t anything that can be done without the wish, meaning at least one other person is dying.”

“So…”

“But if she is anything but.” She flipped through the grimoire recalling the studies she’s did with Fu. “There are ways we can find or even heal her.”

“This is all riding on an if.” He looked unsure as if this was too much to accept.

“Do you trust me?”

“If I didn’t, I would have turned tail and run a long time ago.”

“You dork.” She lightly shoved him, but he swayed dramatically.

“You two are close.” The new student in their class came up to them.

“Lila, right?”

“That’s right.” She answered sickly sweet, almost fake. “Are you two soulmates by any chance?”

“No.” Adrien answered. “Why?”

“You’re Adrien Agreste! Why would you be in public school?” She finally seemed to recognize.

“Let’s just say it’s a bit of rebellion.” He chuckled.

“We’re still on for video games, right?” She brought up to end the conversation seeing that Adrien was getting uncomfortable.

“Your winning streak is going down.” He announced.

“You want to join us, Lila?” She offered.

“Why?”

“Because your new and I want to get to know you.” Marinette answered honestly.

“Why?”

“Because we know you lied but still want to know you, the real you.” Adrien added.

“Why?” She asked suspiciously now.

“Question! Is it a felony to kidnap her to play video games, have snacks, get to know her, then let her go?”

“Well the kidnapping part is but if she goes willingly, I call that a hangout session.” Adrien mused.

“True, true.” She hummed. “So, what do you say, because now I am determined to get to know you.”

“Wh…”

“Kidnapping it is.” Adrien decided and grabbed the new girl’s wrist pulling her out of the library. Mari picking up their bags.

Lila herself wasn’t too bad once she started telling the truth, lying is a coping mechanism she created, because she is constantly moving schools, cities, and even countries. She is pretty interesting when she isn’t exaggerating. She was on a Hollywood movie set, but she was there on accident, she was looking for the bathroom in a restaurant and they were filming there that day. She did save a kitten on a tarmac once, but one it wasn’t Jagged Stones, it was a kitten who spooked out of their carrier and rushed down the stairs. Lila dove and caught it before it could leave the passenger unloading area to get the tram to the airport. (Some small airports unload passengers in a certain area of the tarmac and either shuttle them to the building or have a sectioned of walkway that is cleared for passengers, to walk back in only.)

After almost two hours Lila left for home when Adrien’s father called, and he was angry. Together she and Adrien ran back to the Agreste Mansion.

“Adrien!” Gabriel came out disheveled and slightly panicked. “And Miss Dupain-Cheng.” He slightly composed himself.

“Sorry I kept him.” She apologized. “He showed me this really cool book and you know how it is when inspiration hits.”

“Ah yes the inspiring fashion designer friend.” Adrien had walked up and handed his father the grimoire.

“It’s quite an interesting spell book.”

“You can read it?”

“Yes, I can. (Come on out little butterfly.)” Nooroo flew out from his hiding spot. “Hello kwamii of transmission and to you as well Hawkmoth.” She was calm deathly calm.

“How?!” Gabriel growled.

“Calm down. I have a question for you first. You want the jewels used by Ladybug and Chat Noir, why?”

“Would my answer change your plan of action to urn me into authorities and to the heroes?”

“My response may change, but you’ll have to answer to find out.”

“My wife wielder the peacock miraculous, it is broken, and she fell ill, and is in a comatose state.”

“Ah! So here is what is going to happen.” She took the grimoire from Gabriel and flipped over pages. “There is a way to revive her without resorting to using the wish.”

“How do you know this?”

She simply smiled. “You mind gathering these ingredients please Adrien?” She text him a list.

“Sure.”

“How do I know that this isn’t a ruse?”

“One I hate liars, and two because all magic has a cost, and this way is less than if you were to use the wish.”

“What do you mean cost?”

“Just like using your transformation wears on the kwamii, and the power affects your limit. Magic has its cost. The wish because it will always rewrite reality, the price is steep. Bringing back one life means you lose at minimum one other person from your life most likely more.”

“And this?”

“From what I understand. Everyone involved in the spell will have their energies deprecated so they will sleep for a day to a week.”

“Randomly?”

“No, the more people the less each person sleeps.”

“Here they are!” Adrien burst back in the room.

“Do you have the peacock miraculous?” Gabriel nodded. “Okay we’ll need that first, so lead the way to the kitchen.” Both men shuffled confused. “You do know where the kitchen is right?”

“Um well find it eventually.” Adrien chuckled. They were lucky and form it easily and Gabriel left while she and Adrien began to individually brew two separate potions. Adrien the more complex one for his mother’s revival. And she did the simpler one to fix the miraculous. Sue her Adrien is the better one in chemistry, sure he can’t cook to save himself, but he has a gift for chem, and Tikki help her she will teach him to cook. It’s practically edible chemistry, right?!

She took the Brock from Gabriel and fixed it, allowing Duusu out. “Okay so who is going to do this?”

“We will,” Adrien answered for himself and his Father, who nodded.

“Please let be help as well.” Miss Sancoeur offered.

Nooroo, Duusu, Tikki, and Plagg (they came out of hiding now) came to her. “We can help.”

She nodded and saw that Gabriel and Natalie were staring wide eyed between her and Adrien. She thought she heard Natalie say, ‘That explains so much’ but she isn’t sure.

Long story short they were able to wake up Emile, but she took back the peacock and butterfly, leaving Plagg with Adrien. Funnily enough the Agreste’s became a second family to her, once Gabriel finally grasped how to be a father. They told Paris that they had found Hawkmoth, but he would be tried by the order of Miraculous, meaning he would be stripped of the gem and his memories of the miraculous erased. It was a lie but Tikki told her that was what would have happened. There was some outcry, but they explained that they would have no recollection of it, and it wouldn’t make sense to try them.

The next few years of her life were blissfully normal, aside from the fact she had a contract under the Gabriel brand as the designer MDC, who was also endorsed by Style Queen. Chloe isn’t as bad as she puts on when she isn’t masking the hurt of being constantly ignored and bought by her parents.

- - -

It wasn’t until she was twenty-two and accompanying Adrien to a Wayne charity gala, one he didn’t want to go alone and two she was invited anyways, Chloe, Kagami, and Luka were also there on their own merits and invitations so they all stuck relatively together. Since arriving there Marinette was a constant pain, her arm burned and ached, but she forced herself to simply breathe and tried her hardest to push it out of her mind. But her luck wouldn’t hold, three hours into the event she was approached by who she recognized as Bruce Wayne, the host of the gala, and a woman to his left, the pain was almost unbearable the closer the two approached. Her friends noticed, they knew what her pain actually meant, as she opened up to them about it after a while, but she grit her teeth and tried to push through it.

“Mr. Agreste, Miss Bourgeois It is good to see you both again.” Bruce Wayne acknowledged. “It’s nice to meet all of you as well, Bruce Wayne.” He introduced to the rest, shaking hands. “And this is a good friend of mine.”

“Diana Prince.” She also went to shake everyone’s hands and had left Marinette for the last. The moment their hands touched she almost crumpled, she shrunk back and into Adrien and Chloe. “Is she okay?”

“Diana?” Bruce pointed towards her upper arm, the mark most of them overlooked before was now complete and glowing lightly. What Marinette remembered was that there was her yo-yo string and a golden rope that she only saw once before on her own arm. She felt sick, Diana was staring at her now, she recognized that Marinette was her soulmate.

“Melody?” Luka now stepped up.

“I want to leave.” She answered flatly.

“You are…”

She completely turned away, but by now her friends knew what was going on and were glaring at Diana. “I want to leave, now.” She repeated.

“Come on bug, let’s get you away from… this.” He threw a look at Diana, who was looking confused and seemingly alarmed.

The other three were putting as much space as they could between their friend and who is unknowingly causing her pain.

“Please is she alright?” Diana asked stepping forward barely grazing her hand covering her mark. This time it felt as if the skin itself was burning and stung almost like it was being pricked over and over and over again.

“Don’t touch me and stay away from me.” On the outside she looks clam and relaxed, but her voice was soft and raw, her eyes burned in pain. “You and that completed mark can stay far from me.”

“Luka, Kagami mind taking her back to the house?” The two in question led her away and once a safe distance away she broke down in tears, sobbing from the pain she was biting down.

- - -

The two that stayed were simultaneously glaring at her and watching their friends leave the gala.

“Is she alright?” Bruce finally bole the tension.

“As soon as she is far enough away from her.” The girl, Chloe, snapped at her. “Now that we know who is the the person causing her pain, we can keep her from them.” She snapped towards her, but it was a slap to Diana.

“I don’t follow. We are…”

“Soulmates, yeah we figured.” Adrien this time spoke.

“They why would she want to leave, without speaking?”

“One one in a million people are in pain when they are close to their soulmates.” Adrien spoke calmly but stoically. “No one knows why.” He began to fidget with a ring on hi# finger, she couldn’t recall if she saw any jewelry on her soulmate, Marinette, but she has a suspicion. After all she feels similar to her Mother’s aura and presence, that of a Ladybug.

“You are wrong. There is an explanation, but only a few know why that is.” She feels certain that she knows what this is.

“Let me guess you know why.” Chloe remarked, sarcastically and unamused.

“Allow me to explain this another time and place, as this is neither.”

“Fine call this number at noon est tomorrow.” Adrien handed her a phone number and the two turned and left.

“Diana?” Bruce snapped her attention. “What was that about?” He was still calm and collected but she knew he would be the one to ask, figuring out what was the next step, what had the best options of success.

“Magic.”

- - -

The next day she called the number and she was invited to a video call by the recipient. It turned out to be Marinette.

“Hello Diana.” Her voice was not cold but it was emotionless, as if she was forced into this conversation. Granted she did think she would be speaking with Adrien and Chloe.

“I never wanted to harm you, I swear that on the river Styx.” she began but before she could continue Marinette cut in.

“Let’s be clear, I don’t care about your apologies. I just want to know why this is happening and how to either get rid of it or to never have contact with you in any way or proximity.”

“I am apologizing because this is known as the curse of the ladybug and black cat.” She saw the young woman tense at that. “The reason I know of this is from by Mother, Queen Hippolyta Of the Amazon’s.” She allowed that to sink in and the other woman allowed her to drop her defense, nodding to what is said.

“When you say the curse of the ladybug and black cat what do you mean by that?”

“True souls of the miraculous, when in their life they come into contract with their given gems, cause a reaction.” Diana explained. “For the ladybug they receive the pain of their soulmate through their marks. Which is what I assume is going on.”

“Yes you’re right, but this has been going ever since I could remember.”

“Call it what you will fate, destiny, but you were always going to wield the ladybug jewel, that is why the curse manifested itself.”

“What about the black cat?”

“I am unsure, the black cat of my Mother’s time died before meeting their soulmate, but I would assume it would be similar to our situation.”

“Then how do we solve this?”

~~~~~~~~~~

Permanent Taglist: @itsmeevie01 @adrestar @miraculouspenta @vixen-uchiha @animegirlweeb @jumpingjoy82 @thedragonbug@astoriaandroses @icerosecrystal @t1dwarrior-of-earth @moon5606 @zalladane

[xhanisai]

got any Lovesquare headcanons for any AUs you havent had the chance to work on in a while?

Actually, I do! Remember the really old doodles I did of Chibi Noir and Chibi Bug? 

This Chibi AU is something I’ve always wanted to expand on as a comic but never got the chance to do so- I may go off tangent here lel

- They are equivalent to sprites/chao/fairy. They suddenly appeared in Marinette’s and Adrien’s life after they’ve been working as heroes for a while solely because their love for each other is SO strong, that the magic was able to create these chibis. 

- They are no bigger than a newborn baby but they are still quite a challenge to hide from other people. They make only little sounds; Chibi Noir meows like a kitten and Chibi Bug only hums quietly. The latter is so much more shy and quiet than the former.

- Chibi Noir appeared first in Marinette’s room because Adrien has deep down inside, acknowledged his romantic feelings for her which are on the same par as his feelings for Ladybug. Of course, Marinette was freaked out at first but she was quick to fall for Chibi Noir’s cuteness and pretty much adopted him as her own son/pet? The only explanation that Tikki gave for the being’s existence is that it’s because Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s partnership is very, very strong. (She’ll give the full explanation after the reveal).

- Marinette has named him Chaton Noir and loves him a lot. He’s very attached to her, a glutton for sweets and loves cuddling her. He also hates that he has to hide away from other people and would sometimes cause trouble. Basically an equivalent to a naughty kitten. Regardless, Marinette can’t stay mad at him for long and is thankful that he’s there with her.

- Marinette also has no choice but to bring him along to akuma fights and patrols because a) Chaton wouldn’t let her leave him alone and would cling to her leg with watery eyes, b) If she did leave him alone at home, there’s 100% chance that he would be found out by her parents or that he’d sneak out looking for her and get lost.

- So, the night after Chaton appeared, Ladybug brought him with her to patrol to meet her partner and explain what’s been going on. Chat’s first reaction:

“...WE HAVE A KID!? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!?!?? MON DIEU- I have no idea how to be a Papa! I haven’t even done any research and I don’t even know how to change nappies and-”

“Chat Noir-”

“-I will also cover every expense fee and love him the way he deserves-”

“Ch-aaaaat-”

“-And I will also most definitely look for a job but I also don’t mind being a stay at home dad- hey wait! I could be a stay at home dad, Buguinette-”

“CHAT NOIR.”

- Of course, Ladybug finally corrects him and explains what really happened. At first, Chat is awed by Chaton’s existence and marvels about how cool all of this is, however, he does start to get irritated with how close and sweet the being was with Ladybug. He’s even miffed by the fact that he doesn’t have his own Chibi rendition of his Lady. 

- Chaton Noir is also a little shit and loves teasing Chat Noir and riling him up. They have a love-hate dynamic.

“Why does HE get to kiss you and get kisses in return???”

“Because he’s cute and I love him,”

“I’m cute too! Why don’t you love me!? ;A; ”

“My Lady, he stuck his tongue out at me!”

“So? Just ignore him,”

“MY LADY!?”

“Bug...You let HIM take a bath with YOU!?!? WHAT!?!?!”

“Your point?”

“OH I HAVE A MILLION POINTS TO MAKE!”

- Chaton Noir helps out a tad during akuma battles. Though he’s not capable of any sort of power, he can distract the villains. No matter how many times Ladybug tries to keep him in a place where it’s safe, he always runs out to try and help. Many times, he ends up in trouble and gets saved by Chat Noir. So just imagine an annoyed Chat leaping away with the Chibi held by the crook of his arm lmao.

- It’s only a few weeks after Chaton Noir’s appearance does Chibi Bug finally come to life (this is because Marinette is no longer in denial of her feelings for her partner). Adrien wakes up to the sight of an annoyed Plagg and the new Chibi fast asleep on his pillow. It took the boy everything to not squeal out loud like an obsessed fangirl. 

“Plagg! I finally have a daughter!”

“You know that’s not how it works, kid.”

“I’m gonna name her Baby Bug!”

“...You better not give her any of MY cheese.”

- When Baby Bug finally woke up, she was quick to run away and hide from Adrien’s super excited face. He didn’t give up. He managed to coax her out with his hidden stash of sweets and she allowed him to pet her hair. At that moment, Adrien dramatically vowed that he would die for her, ignoring Plagg’s grumbles on “I never saw you pledging that to ME, a literal GOD.”

- Despite Plagg’s annoyances at first, he too fell for the Chibi and also vowed that he’d protect her no matter what. This happened because whilst he was eating cheese mid-air, he accidentally dropped it, only for Baby Bug to catch it and give it back to him. 

- Baby Bug is very well behaved, full of affection, loves to draw and create. She also has a strange habit of eating flowers (especially if they’re full of aphids). She does have a mischievous side, especially with her impromptu hide and seek games and “borrowing” Adrien’s belongings (mainly his phone UwU).

- She hates Gabriel Agreste. She hates how upset he makes Adrien so whenever Gabe is mentioned or if she hears him or sees him, she pulls a face.

- Chat Noir obviously couldn’t wait to show her off to Ladybug. They met up at a late patrol with Chat arriving like a proud father. 

“Miau, My Lady! Meet our daughter!”

“Chat, how many times do I have to tell you that THAT’S not how it works- oh- Oh! Oh wow! She’s so cute!!!”

“I know right!?”

“Mon Dieu she is so adorable!!!”

“YES! Her name is Baby Bug!”

“SO CUTE!”

- Chaton Noir is a bit confused with all of this at first, even gets stupidly jealous with seeing Ladybug fawning over someone else that’s not him to the point where he hisses at Baby Bug. The little shit makes her cry.

“Why you!? My Lady, you need to teach YOUR son some manners- hmmph!”

“Quoi!? Why don’t you teach YOUR daughter to stop being a crybaby!? It was only an itty bitty hiss!”

- Thankfully, Ladynoir quickly settles their bickering after they realised how silly they were being. Baby Bug manages to win Chaton Noir over by sharing a macaron with him. 

- She regrets it now. He’s never stopped fawning over her and chasing her for a hug since then. 

“Awww, don’t you think they remind you of us~?”

“They do, especially when I’m trying to get away from your terrible jokes, Minou~ :)”

“You love my jokes and you know it! >:(”

- During akuma battles, even Baby Bug refuses to sit still in a safe space and runs out to help Ladynoir. A lot of it is just keeping Chaton Noir out of trouble, however.

- Both Chibis also go to school with their holders, hiding in their school bags. They don’t like to be alone. 

I think I went a bit overboard with this lmao...if you want a reveal with this AU or a different AU, feel free to ask lol :’D

[cornholio4]

Scarlet Lady Au: Two Halves of Marinette’s Heart

Author’s Note: Based on Zoe-Oneesama's Tumblr comic Scarlet Lady which is my fave Ladybug fan content or tied along with LadyBugOut. Only there and the amnesiac Adrien in the episode Oblivion do I ship Adrienette. Also happy birthday to Zoe.

@zoe-oneesama

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was smiling as he was riding on the back of one of her boyfriends Luka Couffaine's bike as he had insisted on giving her a ride to school. He and Adrien Agreste had recently revealed their feelings to her and she was torn between them: the cute and nice Adrien and the cool but also dorky like her Luka. It was tough to think it through even after they had both assured her that they don't want to hurt their friendship with her no matter what she choose. It was Alya who stepped in after healing her dilemma had said that she can just date them both since she had two hands for the each of them. Luka and Adrien were fine with this as long as Marinette was happy and it was then their relationship happened over the weekend.

They had let their family know and they accepted it well: Anarka was quite over the top in her excitement, Marinette's parents and embarrassed her by saying that she had got them 2 sons in law; Juleka had likewise already claimed Marinette as her sister in law and Adrien's father... Marinette and Luka looked at him in sympathy when he just shook his head saying that he was too busy to get a chance to tell him. Marinette comforted him with a hug not really liking how her favourite designer was so cold to his own son. Pollen was more than happy about his Miraculous' owner's new relationship and said his queen deserved all the love that she gets.

Marinette kissed Luka on the cheek after she got off and Adrien was there to greet them as they posed together for a picture smiling which Juleka took with Adrien's photo. Luka and Adrien showed off their custom necklaces around their necks made by Marinette of two halves of a heart with "Marinette's heart" inscribed on them.

"Are you sure that you are ready for everyone to know about you three?" Juleka asked giving Adrien back his phone and they nodded without hesitation.

"I don't really care as much for father's opinion but he seems to like Marinette as an up and coming designer so I think he will give approval." Adrien said with a huffed voice which had them silent.

"I wouldn't want to hide being with Marinette at all; I would sing it with my soul." Luka said Adrien posted the picture on social media with the caption:

Me with Luka Couffaine and our amazing new girlfriend Marinette Dupain-Cheng!

They got in and as students saw the notice they began crowding Marinette and Adrien as they came in holding hands as they went to their classroom. There were students wanting to get a look at 2 3rds of the new couple as they heard the comments:

"Marinette scored herself with 2 cute guys!"

"Are you going to be modelling Marinette's designs now Adrien?"

"So are you going to be Marinette Dupain-Cheng-Agreste-Couffaine in the future?"

They ignored them and walked into class with Juleka not far behind them to see their excited classmates wanting to know the details.

"So Adrien, will you and Luka be fighting eachother to get the most out of Marinette's time?" Alix asked as Marinette glared at her while Rose was squealing about how romantic it was. Marinette was taken aback when she noticed Lila and Sabrina glaring at their direction while looking quite jealous.

She was shocked by this thinking that she was getting along with Lila and Sabrina was forming a good friendship with her while helping her start over from her toxic so called 'friendship' that she had with Chloe. Marinette's eyes widened when she noticed that Adrien went to get to his seat and their looks were going to his direction, so it was Adrien they were angry at?

"Can I please ask if Adrien has done something to anger you?" Marinette asked as they both shook their heads and there were laughter.

"Marinette, they are just jealous that Adrien and Luka got to you first!" Alya told her grinning as they ended up nodding slightly a bit embarrassed.

"You helped me be more truthful about myself and I still remember how in love that I felt when I heard you badmouth that terrible Scarlet Lady!" Lila said as Marinette was open mouthed wondering just could she possibly remember that since she was Volpina at the time. Marinette did remember that while she was telling the love struck Volpina that she hated Hawk Moth more than Scarlet Lady, that she a bit scared that Volpina was going to kidnap her as a bride for her comment alone.

"You've always been so nice to me Marinette and never held what I did for Chloe against me, even when I tried to steal your diary for her and lied my way into your room. You've been more of a friend to me than Chloe ever was and you are so amazing." Sabrina told her as Marinette didn't know what to say.

"I bet Luka and Adrien wouldn't mind if you wanted to date Marinette as well, if Marc is alright with Nathaniel wanting to go after Marinette as well." Rose suggested as Marinette, Sabrina, Lila and Nathaniel were now red in the face.

"Dupain-Cheng!" screamed an unwelcome voice as the entire class groaned in unison as they should have dreaded this reaction as Chloe came in looking angrier than they had ever saw her which was quite an accomplishment for her. "How dare you steal my Adrikins away from me! I could care less if you wanted to waste your time with that loser with the guitar as losers belong together, that do you think that I was going to sit back and let you keep them both for yourself when Adrien is mine!" Chloe thundered as the class glared at her.

"Watch what you say about Marinette or my brother!" Juleka said speaking up using courage that almost never comes to her.

"Adrien is not a prize to be won or yours to claim Chloe; it's his choice who he wants to be with!" Marinette told her as Chloe smirked getting out her phone.

"Managed to get a picture of your little notebook when you had it open and wasn't looking Dupain-Cheng." Chloe said showing off a drawing of a love heart around Chat Noir as Marinette was open mouthed at that picture being shown to the class and red in her face but while angry at Chloe, Adrien couldn't help but smile a bit at the picture. "So do you want to claim the mangy cat as well Dupain-Cheng with how pathetic you are?" Chloe snarked looking victorious but Adrien spoke up.

"Nothing wrong with having a celebrity crush Chloe, I have one on Marigold myself." Adrien said taking out his notebook and showing that it had a photo of the Bee heroine Marigold with a heart drawing around it as Marinette was redder in the face while Chloe was open mouthed.

"Nothing wrong with that dude, she is pretty much the best hero that Paris has now!" Nino said with everyone smiling and nodding in agreement besides Chloe and Marinette. Marigold has with her fighting tenacity, warm comforting words to Akuma victims after they were being freed and happy to help civilians in need made her a more popular hero. She had given interviews and how valued Chat Noir was as a partner and helped Paris realise how hard he had to fight against the Akumas.

"Excuse me but Scarlet Lady is by far Paris' best hero!" Chloe retorted by Alya got out her phone and showed the poll that the news station had made asking Paris citizens who they liked the best.

Marigold was in the lead followed by Chat Noir, Maotif the one time temporary Chat Noir was in 3rd place and in a very distant 4th place with barely 1% vote was Scarlet Lady. "Paris disagrees Chloe." Alya told her and Chloe was furious. People were being interviewed and the stories of people's interactions with Scarlet Lady were now circulating.

"Adrien, you can't seriously be okay with this! I'm your friend and we would be much better than stupid Dupain-Cheng!" Chloe told Adrien but he shook his head.

"'Were' your friend Chloe, 'were' as in we used to be and haven't really been friends for a long time but I am just making it official!" Adrien thundered and Chloe was open mouthed and this surprised the class. "Sorry Chloe, I have tried to give you some time to better yourself but you keep pulling these stunts while being a cruel bully to our classmates and treating me like a possession of yours. Calling my girlfriend and my new bro losers was me losing all patience and I can't pretend anymore. I am sorry Chloe but I can't be friends with you anymore, you are different from the friend that I used to have." Adrien said and Chloe furiously charged at Marinette.

Adrien caught her hand and glared at her hard before letting go, Chloe began ranting and shouting on the spot while kicking the desk and Ms Bustier had to tell her off and send her to the principal's office.

"Sorry about that Adrien..." Marinette said since as much bad blood as there was between her and Chloe, the bully did used to be a friend to Adrien.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, just keep being the girl that I love." Adrien told her and she smiled back.

Later in the week, after school they were at a park bench as Marinette was at Luka's lap and Adrien was in Marinette's as the three relaxed together. However they heard screaming and saw an Akuma attacking people in the streets.

Marinette jumped out of Luka's lap and helped Adrien up who was in a similar panic as her's. "Sorry guys, I hate to break up a perfect moment but... I have to get a cake to Nadja and I don't want to be earlier than I was last time since it didn't go so well..." Marinette said thinking on the spot.

"Don't worry... I just remembered an event that my dad would want me to be at..." Adrien said as they both ran off in separate directions.

Luka smiled as she dusted himself off and went home chuckling at them, after a few days of this did they really think that he would not pierce it together? No matter, this means that he could talk to Adrien about Marigold and bond over them crushing on her.

[alexiessan]

Senses - Chapter Three - Soulmate AU

AO3

Previous - Here - Next

Master List

Damian was sitting in front of the computer in the Batcave, his hand on the mouse, the pointer hovering on a file with his soulmate’s name. He was hesitating and it annoyed him. He never hesitated, so why now?

After his family met Marinette when she had briefly taken over his body at dinner three days ago, Tim has made his research on the girl, and it was very easy to find everything he needed. His father and his brothers all knew everything there was to know about Marinette Dupain-Cheng, but Damian had yet to open the file.

It wasn’t the first time that they did research on someone like that. It was even a common occurrence, they couldn’t afford to trust people easily, and a background check was the bare minimum they did when a Wayne met someone they would have to interact with more than once. So, of course, they would do the same for Marinette, since she would be a permanent addition to Damian’s life, and that she would one day come to know their secret.

And yet, as Damian looked at the screen, he was hesitating. For three days now, he had sit at the computer, looked at the unopened file for long minutes before leaving the room, unable to open it. There was something in him that screamed at him to not open the file. That he should get to know the girl without checking every aspect of her life.

It also screamed at him that Marinette was respectful of his boundaries, letting him decide if he wanted to share things about him with her and never asking for his last name when he didn’t give her one.

His gut feeling told him that he shouldn’t open this file. Plus, if something were wrong with the girl, if she was dangerous for them or anything, his family would have found it and would have told him right away, not caring about his opinion on the matter.

Damian left the room and the file stayed unopened on the computer screen.

When he left the room, however, he didn’t find himself in the corridor as he should have, but in a very pink room. Marinette was sitting at her desk, scribbling something in a notebook.

Even if he couldn’t see what she was doing, deep inside, he knew exactly what she was doing.

“So, you’re into fashion,” he asked, his voice breaking the silence in her room.

He watched as she stiffened, not jumping at his voice this time. She turned around to face him, frowning.

“How do you know that?”

He shrugged, not really sure how he knew himself. “The bond, probably. I know it because you do?”

Her blue eyes met his green ones and she seemed to analyze him for long minutes before she tilted her head and said, “You like drawing, don’t you?”

He stiffened before forcing himself to relax. So it was really the bond that made them know stuff like that. He nodded and she kept watching him. She turned around abruptly, picking her pen up, and started drawing again, not asking him questions.

On one hand, it was a good thing. He didn’t want her asking questions. On another hand, he didn’t like how good she was at reading him.

“A friend’s birthday is coming up so I’m going to make her a dress. She likes pink and cute things so I’m trying to make it super cute.”

He nodded, not really listening. He didn’t care about her friends. He looked around, wincing at all the pink before his eyes stopped on her bed. There were a lot of animal plushies on it. A big cat, a dog, a hamster…

“You like animals,” he asked, his eyes not leaving the plushies. That’s something they could have in common.

He glanced her way when he felt her eyes on him and she had a fond look and a soft smile on her face.

“Yeah, I do. I always wished we could have a pet, but with the bakery, it’s not possible. I wanted a hamster for the longest time because it wouldn’t leave hair everywhere as a cat or a dog would, but even that was a big nope,” she sighed. “You like animals too, right? You seemed to love Titus very much.”

He nodded. “I also have a cat and a cow,” he shared with her. That was the only thing he was willing to share at the moment, he didn’t trust her with anything else.

“That’s nice,” she said softly.

But then, he wasn’t in her room anymore but in his, aware that he had made his way back to his room when the other part of him was with Marinette.

Alfred the cat was napping on his bed next to him and Damian sighed as he petted him softly, careful not to wake him up.

“I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t open that file…” he whispered to himself.

Just this once, Damian decided it would be better to learn to know Marinette the normal way.

Who knows how long it would take for her to gain his trust, or for him to gain hers — even if she shared things about herself with him, it was obvious that her trust was not easily gained. Something told him that it wasn’t always like that though — but he would do it the normal way.

Ladybug cursed at the sight in front of her. Paris was completely destroyed. Buildings had collapsed on themselves, people were screaming in the street, and Chat Noir was panting beside her, just as exhausted as she was.

An Akuma had appeared a little bit less than an hour ago and had done so much damage already. She didn’t care about their name and she didn’t think that this particular Akuma even gave them one in the first place, she only cared about how they were going to defeat him.

The Akuma could create shock waves, small ones, and big ones, which explained the collapsed buildings. Whenever they approached the Akuma, they would create a small one that would throw them away from her, and damn did it hurt.

She had hurt her head pretty badly earlier, and she was sure that she had a concussion if the way her vision blurred and how she struggled to speak full sentences were any indicators.

And then, to make things worse, Damian had to appear beside her right in the middle of an Akuma attack.

“What the hell…” was his reaction when he saw the amount of destruction in the French capital.

He then looked at her, his eyes widening. Yeah, she knew that she looked like hell, and like she was about to collapse any second now, thank you very much.

“You’re a hero,” he said in a serious voice.

Not really what she was expecting him to say, but then again, he was seeing her as Ladybug and not Marinette, so fair enough.

So much for secret identities.

“Now is not the time for that,” she said or tried to at least as her words came out in yogurt.

“What did you say,” asked Chat beside her but she paid him no mind.

Damian was in front of her in an instant, his hand cupping her face, inspecting the left side of her head where the blood was coming from. It was the first time they touched, she thought, and she could actually feel him, feel his warmth and it was weird but right at the same time and… And she couldn’t think straight with her head pounding like that.

The green-eyed boy cursed. “You got a concussion. A pretty bad one. Your partner needs to end this as soon as possible.”

Ladybug shook her head, making Damian release her face. “I can’t. I have to help him. I need to call my luck charm,” she said, but the look on her soulmate’s face told her that her words were yogurt once again.

She turned away from him and towards her partner who was looking at her, waiting for her to form a plan, to go back into the action, to just do something, but Ladybug didn’t know what to do anymore, she just wanted to lie down and sleep, and her head was killing her and-

And before her thoughts could spiral more, she called her lucky charm.

She honestly couldn’t remember what her lucky charm was, what her plan was nor what they did, but the Akuma was dealt with, the white butterfly released, and the Miraculous cure cast.

And Damian was still there, staring at her, his left eyebrow raised as if he was judging her.

“Are you going to talk?”

Ladybug sighed. It’s not like she had much of a choice now, did she?

Damian found himself on the Bat computer once again, researching Hawkmoth and the Akumas. Marinette had told him about the day the terrorist appeared, taking control of one of her classmates to wreak havoc in the city. How she had found her Miraculous and was basically told to go save the city. Her, a thirteen-year-old at the time, without any training or adult supervising her.

Who could be so stupid to throw a teenager in such a mess like that?

Yeah, Damian was younger than she was when he became Robin, but he’s been raised in the League of Assassins since his birth, he knew what he was doing, unlike Marinette who was acting on instinct.

Tim appeared behind him, his footsteps were silent.

“So you found out about her being Ladybug?”

Damian glared at him. “You knew?”

Tim raised an eyebrow at his younger brother. “You didn’t?”

Damian scowled and turned his attention back to the screen. “I didn’t open your file. I found out because I visited in the middle of an attack and she was in her hero persona.”

Drake was silent for a moment before he asked, a bit hesitant. “Why didn’t you open the file?”

“I just didn’t!” he snapped.

The oldest of the two raised both his hands as if surrendering. “Fine, fine! Is the situation there as bad as it’s shown in the French media?”

Damian nodded. “The city was completely destroyed when I was there. The Akumas are very violent and it’s only to Ladybug’s cure that it doesn’t stay like it or that they’re all still alive.”

“Nothing we can do, though,” said Tim, “the guy took control of a fucking baby more than once. Just a little bit of negative emotion is enough to be at his mercy. Better not get there.”

Damian had to agree with his statement.

It was supposed to be a good day, Marinette thought with a frown. She had woke up on time and got in class with five minutes to spare. Ms. Bustier wasn’t even here yet! She had told Damian everything about her situation two weeks ago already, and she was relieved that such a big secret was revealed already. That meant that she could be a little bit more open with him.

And she had been, in the last two weeks, they had seen a little bit more of each other. He opened up a little, but he really didn’t trust her enough to give her more than a little bit of information about what he liked or didn’t like here and there.

It was okay, she didn’t trust him 100% yet either. They would get there when they would.

Damian was cold and rude but she could tell that he was a good person. He was brutally honest, but she kinda liked that.

Getting to know her soulmate helped her move on from Adrien. She didn’t blush anymore around him, and her heart didn’t miss a beat or sped up anymore when he was around.

That was such a relief, to her, and to her friends, who were happy to see her moving on.

It didn’t mean that she was falling in love with Damian, though. She couldn’t even call him a friend yet.

But even if things were looking good and that it was supposed to be a good day, the sight in front of her told her that it would be anything but a good day.

Marinette frowned as she looked around. Everyone had changed their seats, the only one open was next to Adrien. She frowned even more at that. She was moving on from the model, she hoped that it wasn’t Alya deciding all of the sudden to pair them or something.

Speaking of, Alya waved at her in an attempt to get her attention.

“Hey, girl! Sorry, we moved the seats! Lila is coming back today, you see, and with her ear problem we thought she should get a seat in the front row, so we all moved to accommodate her,” she smiled at Marinette before pointing to the desk on the last row. “You’re over there by the way.”

Marinette looked at the back of the classroom to see the empty desk. They had put her alone in the back without even asking her.

“Alya,” she started, her hesitation obvious in her voice. “It’s not that I mind accommodating for Lila,” she did, because Lila was a liar, she probably didn’t have a hearing problem, but she was willing to give the girl a chance. “But why did we have to move everyone? Only one person needed to move,” she said in a small voice.

She noticed that Damian has appeared beside her, scowling at her friend.

“Well, Adrien volunteered to help Lila so Nino had to move but I didn’t want him to be alone. And then, Mylène wanted to sit with Ivan, and you know how it is, when more than two persons move seats, everyone wants to move too.”

Marinette bit at her lips. “But…”

But what about me? She wanted to ask, but wasn’t it selfish, to ask that? They all moved seats for selfless reasons, to accommodate a disabled classmate and they didn’t know that Lila was probably lying about that.

She didn’t have the time to say anything else as Ms. Bustier entered the room with Lila.

“Everyone, please, give Lila a warm welcome!”

Everyone talked at the same time, making it hard to understand anything, but Lila beamed at her classmates, clasping her hands together. Her voice alone made everyone shut theirs to listen to her.

“Thank you, everyone! I’m so happy to be back! My trip to Achu was amazing but so tiring! Helping Prince Ali to come up with ideas to fight world pollution was exhausting!”

Rose squealed somewhere in the class but she could only focus on Damian who scoffed. “The guy only works with children.”

“Tell me about it,” she whispered to him. Thankfully, no one heard her. Everyone knew about her soulmate and wouldn’t question her when she talked to herself, but she didn’t want Lila to know about this particular information.

“Oh!” Lila’s cheerful voice caught their attention again. “Did you leave the front seat open for me?” Everyone nodded and Lila smiled again, delighted. “Oh, guys! I’m so glad you remembered that I got tinnitus from saving Jagged’s cat from getting run over by a plane! Thank you so much!” She exclaimed as she took her seat next to Adrien and got closer to him until only a few inches separated them.

Damian let out a humorless laugh next to her, “As if. If that happened, she wouldn’t get tinnitus from it, she would be deaf. Engineers wear ear protection for a reason, imbecile.”

Marinette almost smiled at Damian’s comment but she was feeling a bit too bitter to let herself smile.

“Marinette,” Ms. Bustier’s voice resonated in the room. “Get in your seat so I can start the lesson!”

Reluctantly, Marinette did as she was told, and Damian followed, not wanting to just stand in the middle of the classroom, even though no one could see him.

“What, are you just going to let them order you around like that?”

Marinette just shrugged. She didn’t want to make a fuss about it. She would talk to Alya later about them forcing her to the back without asking her first. She knew that Alya only had the best intentions when she did it, so she wasn’t really mad about it, but she was a bit bitter with how easily she’s been disregarded, and she didn’t want to leave that unsaid. Alya would understand where she’s coming from.

Damian raised an eyebrow at her, watching her as she took her things out of her bad. Bustier was still getting ready to start the class and her classmates were whispering to each other waiting for the teacher to begin the lesson.

“So, what, you’ll let that slide?” he taunted. In the last few weeks, he had learned to know that she hated liars — he had laughed at the irony, what with her being Ladybug — and injustice.

The blue-eyed girl looked at him. “I’ll talk to Alya later. It’s not like I can just yell that she’s a liar.”

Damian’s eyes narrowed at her and suddenly it felt like she was forced out of her body. She was where Damian was supposed to be and Damian was in her place.

“Did you-” she sputtered indignantly, “did you just take over my body?!”

Damian looked at his hand — her hand — in wonder. “Huh. So I can do that on purpose,” he whispered. “Good to know.”

He then looked at the front of the class, where Lila was discussing happily with Alya, Nino, and Adrien — and why was Bustier taking so long to begin teaching, damn it?! — and he smirked.

Marinette shuddered at the sight.

He was going to get her in so much trouble, wasn’t he?

His voice — her voice — resonated in the class, getting everyone’s attention.

“You know that if you really were that close to a moving plane, you would have gone deaf, right?” he said in perfect French, his gaze locked with Lila’s.

Marinette gripped his arm — her arm, damn it, even if he was in her body, she saw him and not herself, and how weird was that? — and shook it a little, panicking.

“Stop. Please, stop!” She begged him.

She could see some of her friends scowling faces and, Gods, she hated that it was meant for her.

“What- What are you talking about, Marinette? I mean, I get where you’re coming from. I was lucky that I only got tinnitus from that incident.”

Damian scoffed in her body. Some of her classmates were confused, and she couldn’t blame them, it was so out of character of her.

“Bullshit,” he said and some gasps could be heard.

“Marinette!” the teacher exclaimed as Lila’s eyes were gathering tears. Clearly fake, Marinette and Damian could tell. “Apologize to Lila immediately.”

Damian was about to say something else, Marinette didn’t know what, but it wouldn’t be good for her, so she tried to control the bond, however it could be done, she just wanted her body back.

And she got it back, she realized.

Thanks, God.

“I’m sorry,” she said as soon as she got her body back, averting her eyes from the rest of her classmates.

She glanced at Damian, who was pursing his lips and frowning and he looked back at her, ready to say something.

But then he was gone.

She didn’t want to be mean or anything, but she was relieved that he was gone for the moment. He got her in enough trouble as it is.

Lila made a big scene of forgiving her and Ms. Bustier finally began her lesson.

She saw Alya giving her a look that told her they would talk later.

Marinette sighed. It was going to be a long day.

Next

Tag List:

@justafanwarrior @animegirlweeb @demonicbusiness @miracleofadisaster @iloontjeboontje @mochinek0 @lozzybowe @eliza-bich @faunrasthewinterelf @iamablinkmarvelarmy @thatonecroc​ @dood-space​ @clumsy-owl-4178​

[aloeverified]

Miraculous Fighting Styles Analysis:

I love superhero media, it's one of my favorite types of content. Something that really makes it stand out to me is being able to see the different types of fighting styles between the characters. It can show a lot about them; ranging from their experience, personality, and even to their morals.

So one thing that really disappoints me about Miraculous is that the characters all seem to fight similarly ― or at least in a bland enough way that it all blurs together.

Which is why I'm giving them their own fighting styles. Starting off with Adrien.

With Adrien, it's important to remember his background. Adrien is a fencer, so he would have a fighting style that reflects that. However, there are three types of fencing styles ― all of which use different weapons and rules. These three styles are called Épée Fencing, Foil Fencing, and Sabre Fencing.

In the Dark Knight episode (S1E14), we can clearly see from the shape of the bell guard that Adrien is a sabreur, or sabre fencer. Sabre fencing is styled after the more formalized duelling setup of old, where the winner was the one to draw first blood. With that in mind, sabre fencing is fast and uses a lot of slashing with the blade (whereas foil uses thrusts meant to kill with one blow).

The maximum legal weight of a sabre is 500 grams (1.102 pounds). The entire weapon is generally 105 cm (41 inches) long. The hand guard on the sabre extends from pommel to the base of where the blade connects to the hilt. This guard is generally turned outwards during sport to protect the sword arm from touches. Hits with the entire blade or point are valid. Touches that land outside of the target area are not scored, off-target touches do not stop the action, and the fencing continues.

Sabre offense usually consists of the following basics:

Attack ― a thrust or slash to land a touch upon an opponent.

Beat attack ― where the attacker beats the opponent’s blade to gain priority (right of way) and continues the attack against the target area.

Lunge ― a thrust while propelling the body forward with the back leg.

Riposte ― an attack by the defender after a successful parry. The defender then has the opportunity to make an attack and take right of way.

Feint ― an attack with the purpose of provoking a reaction from the opposing fencer.

Disengage ― beginning an attack in one direction, then quickly moving the point down in a semi-circle to attack a different location. This is used to trick the opponent into blocking the wrong direction.

Remise ― a second attack immediately after the first has missed or been parried. A remise is considered to have lost right of way, and if there are simultaneous touches the defender’s riposte will always score instead of the attacker’s remise.

Sabre defense comprises the three primary parries:

Tierce ― high outside.

Quarte ― high inside.

Quinte ― head.

And three secondary parries:

Prime ― generally taken in a sweeping motion to cover the entire inside line.

Seconde ― guarding the low outside line.

Sixte ― blade up and to the outside, wrist supinated. (There is debate over whether this guarde actually exists, or whether it’s just a slightly extended tierce.)

With sabre, it is generally easier to attack than to defend, and high-level international sabre fencing is often very fast and very simple. It follows from the nature of sabre parries (they block an incoming attack rather than deflecting it) that they are static and must be taken as late as possible to avoid being duped by a feint attack.

Okay, now that I've given you a fencing 101 lesson, let's talk about how this would impact Adrien's fighting style.

Adrien wouldn't hesitate in a fight, he'd always be the one to charge first. In fencing, he's fast ― but that could have something to do with the fact he's covering such short ground. I think his Miraculous would make up for this, though, and Adrien would still be only of the fastest Miraculous holders. Also, since fencing has specific rules on how you have to move your feet, Adrien would also have near perfect coordination; he moves with purpose and doesn't stumble on his feet. He has good foot work and fast reflexes.

Now before I go into more detail on how this would look in a fight, let's talk about Adrien's other fighting experiences; Karate and Kung Fu. Like fencing, these have many different types of styles within them ― however, unlike fencing, we don't have any hints as to which specific styles Adrien knows, so because of this I'll be basing his knowledge off of the overall martial artstyles themselves.

Karate is now predominantly a striking art using punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes and open hand techniques such as hand-knives, spear-hands and palm-heel strikes. It focuses on concentration and self-discipline. It's well known for its usage of the hips and breathing techniques, along with being very strick. Karate is not about victory or defeat, but about hard work, training, effort and self-control.

Kung Fu is a martial art that focuses on self-defense and self-discipline. Although it usually incorporates weapons, it's much less common when taking place outside of Asia ― so for Adrien's case, we'll imagine it only focuses on hand and foot movements. It's one of the softer martial art styles, and is often described to be better underpracticed than overpracticed. The movements are round and continuous, with slow and quick strikes. Kung Fu's name originates from the rough phrasing of "using weapons to stop violence."

Now, due to our vague understanding of how skilled Adrien is in these fighting styles, this will be mostly guesswork based of the styles themselves rather than his skill level in them.

Fencing doesn't use much involvement from his hands, but Adrien's experience from Karate and Kung Fu make up for that. He can move his body very fluidly, using his hips and sharp movements from his arms. However, Adrien isn't as mastered nor does he spend as much time practicing Karate and Kung Fu as he does with fencing, so they don't affect his fighting style as much.

So based off of all that information, here is my head-canon on how Chat Noir would typically fight.

He would be the first to move in during fights, fast and with purpose. He goes all-out, saving only his Miraculous powers for later, in an attempt to end the fight as quickly as possible. He's very light on his feet, and doesn't stumble or fall. However, he most likely uses the same or very similar foot movements in each fight, which Hawkmoth could pick up on and use against him in a close-range battle.

Due to his usage of a sabre in fencing, Chat would use his baton to try and hit the weak spots on his opponent. This could be by striking places that would cut off their hand or foot attacks, knock them off balance, or to try and break or remove their akumatized object.

Chat Noir fights a lot more fiercely with his baton, since fencing is the most aggressive of the martial arts he practices. He uses his baton mostly in fights where his goal is to attack. When it comes to self-defense, he leans more on his hands to counter the other.

The exceptions lie when he is fighting someone he knows that he would hurt with his baton, such as children or someone with a non-protective akumatized form. In these situations, he would use his baton less to attack ― usually leaving it up to Ladybug. The other exception is when he knows that he needs extra-protection, in which case he uses his baton as a way to separate himself from his opponent.

When people see him fighting, their impressions of his fighting style can be summarized as fast, well-coordinated, and powerful. Characters from other forms of media who may be used as an example of his fighting style could be Ojiro from My Hero Academia and Nightwing from DC Comics.

[chicoriii]

Season 4, Episode 2 - Mensonge (Lies)

Welcome again. I had been logged out from Tumblr for the whole weekend, because I was afraid of untagged spoilers, as I've seen one screenshot here accidentally, fortunately it wasn't spoilerish. And I've watched the Lies today. Again without reading other's people opinion about the episode, so I probably write things that have been said before.

I enjoyed it more than Truth. But not because it's better written, I think the overall quality of both is similar. Lies is about characters I care about more, so it's natural that the episode is automatically more interesting to me. I dislike both Luka and Jagged (to be fair the only member of the Couffaine family I like is Juleka) and that would be hard to make me caring about them, the best thing I could say about any of those characters is that I tolerate them on screen. Sometimes. Don't get me wrong, Truth was the best episode for Luka and Jagged, but they are still dull and/or annoying to me. Creators need to develop son-father relationship more to make me interested in it, that arc was too shallow in Truth.

But the post is about Adrigami episode, not Lukanette one.

I'm surprised that we got only one not very long scene with civilian Marinette. But not surprised that she's still pining over Adrien. Just like Chat is pining over Ladybug. As I'm keeping saying, it's not gonna change. But really, Marinette thinks that Adrien's life is perfect? She should know that tight schedule could be a big problem and has she forgotten what terrible father is Gabriel? Of course she doesn't know details we know, but she should be aware that he isn't as good parent like her own. So probably her enamored brain can't see bad sides of life of her loved one. She still can't think rational when it comes to him. Another reason why she should stop putting him on a pedestal. We need some friendly Adrienette so badly, we need to see Adrien telling her more bad things in his life. He isn't used to complain, but I think he needs to tell someone the truth about his family life. I hope Marinette will be that person.

I had been tired of clown Chat in Truth, but this episode lets us to see the situation from his point of view and now I understand more why he behaves like that. I think that he tries to hide from Ladybug how much he miss spending time with her that way. He is aware that's because of her new responsibility and he doesn't want to make her feel bad for it. Those scenes were so sweet. How much Chat wants an Akuma to appear just to see his lady. Not very noble, but I can't blame him. It only shows that Adrien is a normal human being. We all are selfish from time to time and it's healthy (you only have to find a good balance, being as selfish as Chloé and as selfless as Luka is not good).

Geez, why they can't put the right title of the piece? That's a different composition than that one used back in season 2, but the smartphone's screen says the same. And none of them is actually Raindrop Prelude. This is Raindrop Prelude. They are not even any of Chopin's preludes. I won't be surprised if both are not Fryderyk Chopin's compositions either (although I haven't heard all the solo piano pieces composed by him, so I can't be sure). I love classical music, so I'd love to know what pieces Adrien's playing! By the way, I recommend to listen to all of the 24 preludes, they are usually very short but interesting compositions. If you're too lazy to listen to all, check out number 20 at least, that's a pure, very atmospheric, beauty. One of my favourites melodies ever created.

I have always thought that Adrigami has more chemistry and it's generally more entertaining to watch than Lukanette (sorry stans, but you probably don't even follow me and read my posts,  there's a reason why I'm warning that my blog is not Luka and Lukanette friendly in its description). I feel that in this episode as well. Absolutely it's not a perfect relationship and it can't be, as Adrien is still into Ladybug. It's clear that Kagami is the one who really cares, Adrien is more distant. It seems that he's abashed of Kagami's physical intimacy, like he can't be open to her when he's still in love with Ladybug. That was really sad to hear Kagami's words that she's lying to be more often with him and he lies to not spend time with her. But relationship can't work if only one side is invested in it and they both need to learn it. They have some things in common, I like how they spending time together, so I'm sure they would work much better as friends. I'm sorry for Kagami and I wish her a better boyfriend who would love her truly. In some way it was a repeat of Truth, as we've seen Adrien leaving Kagami all of sudden, because of Akuma's attacks, but this time it's not as heavily portrayed like it's not working only because of superhero responsibility, that I didn't like in the previous episode. Another reason why I liked how Adrigami is shown more.

I really, really loved that we've learnt something new about Kagami and that's amazing it's something I have in common with her. I'm really surprised, since she didn't seem to have an artistic soul before. I also love seeing she likes draw animals, it's like me, I'm trying practise it. I enjoy drawing animals (and creatures like Kwamis or Pokémon) more than humans. But at the same time I feel angry at her mother. How could she dare to say that Kagami isn't good enough? Trying to kill a child's hobby is always unforgivable. She's much better than me (I'm a little jealous, but that's not the first time when a teen has much better skill than me), but my family and some others I know in real life often say that I'm talented and some people try to convince me to take pay commissions. That’s me who knows the best than I'm not skilled enough to take money for my art (they don't know really good artists in person and they don’t draw themselves, so no wonder they are not aware that my works aren't that good they think). Maybe some day, but not now, so I only enjoy drawing gifts for others. I'm also got interested in a real French artist she mentioned - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and I've seen some of his works. Very good for Miraculous for mentioning artist like him, I have never heard about him before, but maybe French students learn about him in school.

Seeing Adrien making Chat's pose was hilarious. I'm sure it's food for true selves trope supporters, but I also agree with Kagami that both model poses and Chat's poses are not ALL Adrien poses. He's more than that. That seemed like he has problems with being natural when he's on the pressure. He's learned how to make model poses, but I also think that when he is in full clown mode is also an act. But that's a mask which he has putted all by himself. In which he tries to be as much different than his public image as he can. Of course being dorky is also a true Adrien side, but not all the time. Being just a cute and polite boy is also true him. It seems that Adrien is not aware of it.

Marinette's lucky charm bracelet is an akumatised object once more. That and the fact she was asking him what he was doing on the boat tell us that Kagami probably think that Adrien is in love with Marinette (it could make also her wonder what stop them from being together if she knows that Marinette likes him as well).

I also liked her reaction to imminent breaking up more. It's more human reaction in my opinion. Some anger, but not too much. She says she doesn't want to see him for a while and that's completely understandable. Adrien has broken her heart, so she need some time to take care of herself without being interrupted by him. I'm going to say something that could be seen controversial, but in my opinion her attitude is way more healthy than Luka's. He still waits for a girl who clearly likes another boy much, but she's trying to really give up on him. And I would like to see a scene in which she says him that Marinette is not worth his waiting, he should be open for another love instead. Uff, I was really worried that they might kill Adrien and Kagami characters. But nothing really bad happened in the episode between them, everything was in-character. Of course salters will still find reasons to hate Kagami, they can say she's possessive towards him (that's true to some extent, but I think it's not really toxic, as she's still cares about his true feelings).

I need to say that Lies is the worst S4 Akuma design we've seen till now. Riposte and Oni-chan were much better. Also the battle was the worst part of this episode in my opinion. It wasn't completely bad, but it felt somewhat boring to me. I definitely enjoyed fights against Truth and Furious Fu more. The thing about that I liked the most what how they made use of Fang.

So the season 4 version of Chat Noir's transformation theme is exactly the same they used in the Shanghai special. It wasn't obvious, since Ladybug's one is a different one than that in the show. I noticed that that Ladybug's theme feels more like a new composition which only uses parts of an original version, while Chat's is clearly "just" an arrangement of the theme we know since season 1. Maybe that's because it's supposed to symbolise that she has even more responsibility now, as she's the Guardian as well. Chat's role hasn't changed that much as hers. I also think the new arrangement sounds cooler, it's more electric guitar-driven. I can't wait to get any of the episodes in which there's his transformation sequence with 5.1 audio to rip it.

All three released episodes are nice for Ladynoir a lot, their scenes are all sweet and wholesome. It almost feel like Ladynoir is close to happen. But I feel that's just calm before the storm. Marinette hasn't reached to her worst moment yet. I'm sure Ladybug will have more breakdowns like that in the season 3 finale.

Three episodes aired and I'm not amazed by any of them. But I don't want to be salty, I'm not worried about that. That's true for season 3 as well, I enjoy the second part of the season more as well. It's important to save the best episodes for later. And I have never expected that I would love all the S4 episodes, despite of pre-release statements, it's impossible. I'm not disappointed. Yet. Just give me some Adrienette food. Please.

[dessarious]

The Angel of Death Pt40

Inspired by this Story Starter by @someone-ev

AO3   Prologue   Beginning   Previous   Next

“So are you going to tell us what the hell is going on?” Chloe’s bruskness was hiding fear. As far as Tris was concerned that was a good thing. Rather than say anything she handed Chloe Tikki’s earrings then gave Adrien Plagg’s ring. They looked at the Miraculous in shock for a moment before sharing a look.

“It’s that bad?” Adrien sounded hesitant and Luka and Kagami just looked confused.

“It’s worse.” She turned her attention to Luka and Kagami. The Kwami said she had good instincts, now was the time to prove it. Luka was quiet but he saw far more than people thought. He could read people and situations better than any civilian she’d ever met. Kagami was harder to describe. On the outside she was calm and collected, cold even. But Tris knew there was far more underneath that no one ever saw. Finding a match was… difficult.

“Longg or Roaar will work well with her.”

“What is that?” Kagami and Luka were staring over her left shoulder where Nooroo’s voice had come from.

“I think Longg is more versatile. What do you think about Sass for Luka?” Nooroo gave an approving hum.

“They’re very well suited. Though I don’t think the Guardian will approve.” Tris just let out an annoyed sigh.

“Given that he put this entire chain of events into motion when he enrolled me here I’m not inclined to care.” Fu was by far the least of her problems. Getting these four ready for a confrontation with the League of Assassins was the only real priority. That or hiding them.

“Seriously, what is that? And what are you talking about?” Kagami sounded slightly annoyed but it was still mostly confusion.

“This is Nooroo. They’re a Kwami which are what power the Miraculous.”

“Miraculous? As in Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

“Yes. Nooroo inhabits the Butterfly Miraculous, which is the one Hawkmoth was abusing for power.” Kagami frowned at the Kwami causing them to burrow into Tris’s neck.

“That creature caused all that damage?”

“No, my father caused that damage. Nooroo had no say or control in the matter.” Tris frowned at Adrien but realized neither Kagami or Luka looked surprised.

“You told them?” It was not something she understood. Information that could be used against you should never be given voluntarily.

“Only about my father. They’re my friends and they knew I was far more upset than I should have been about his death, especially since it gave me my mother back.” Tris just wrinkled her nose in annoyance. Not at him but herself. She still didn’t understand how people could let their guard down at all, let alone be so transparent that the people around them could read them that well. For her that was a death sentence.

“Well I suppose it’s a moot point now anyway. We have far bigger problems to worry about, and for that I’m truly sorry.” Those words didn’t seem like nearly enough.

“Tris what’s going on?” The question came from Luka and her guilt multiplied. Of all of them he was the least equipped to deal with this, and if she was being honest, the most innocent.

“There is a very high probability that people will be coming after me. You could all be in danger so I need to either teach you to defend yourselves or make you disappear.” They all just stared at her. Too blunt?

“What do you mean by disappear?” Adrien actually sounded scared and it took her a minute to realize he was scared of her. It wasn’t surprising but it hurt for some reason.

“New identities, relocation. I can make sure you and your families are moved somewhere safe.” There was complete silence but she refused to look at them. She wasn’t entirely certain why but she didn’t want to see their reactions.

“I already asked you to teach me to fight once, I’m certainly not going to turn down the opportunity now.” When Tris looked up she expected amusement or excitement in Kagami’s expression but all she saw was determination.

“Are you going to tell them what you are and what they’re up against? Or were you just planning on making them decide without all the relevant information?” Adrien’s hostile tone was strange. It didn’t suit him at all. She thought it was because he was worried though because the string between them was still green.

“I will tell what I can, but at the same time it’s best if no one person has too much information. There is far more at stake here than any of you realize. Honestly it would probably be better for everyone if I just confronted my past and let it kill me. At least then the world would return to its normal state.” Tris had been running and surviving for so long she didn’t have any other function anymore. She didn’t even consider the possibility of going after Talia to end this that way, but it did make the most sense if she wanted to keep them and the Miraculous safe.

“No, absolutely not, I won’t allow it.” Tris just frowned at Chloe in confusion.

“There’s nothing you could do to stop me and it would be the safest option.”

“You dying is the safe option? What kind of nonsense is that? No, that’s not happening. We’ll learn to fight or hide or whatever we need to but I’m not going to stand by and let you sacrifice yourself for no reason.” She sounded near hysterical and Tris couldn’t understand why. It was simple really. If Talia didn’t come looking for her, none of them would be in any danger. Then Luka spoke up.

“Chloe’s right. As long as there are other options you getting killed is out of the question. I may not know what’s going on but I do know that if you’re willing to sacrifice yourself to protect us the least we can do is learn to protect ourselves.”

AO3   Prologue   Beginning   Previous    Next

Ko-Fi

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[giuliafc]

When Magic Fails - chapter 2

Read on A03 || FFN || Wattpad (links to chapter 1)

Summary: The Miraculous Cure can fix the damage caused by a specific akuma. But what happens when said damage comes after the Miraculous Cure? When the damage isn't caused by an akuma? Follow Marinette through the worst day of her life. The day where her identity, or Chat's, won't matter any more. The day when she will discover what's really important. But at what price? Lovesquare story.

Warning: VERY intense! Read previous chapter here on Tumblr

Betas: KhanOfAllOrcs, Agrestebug, Etoile-Lead-Sama, Speckleflower, AmberLambda, Anonymousfriend27 and MiniNoire

Big thanks to: Momo|MarinetteAgresteBrand and Genxha

Cover art and chapter art credit: Rosehealer02 on Deviantart.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc; TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

oOo

Chapter 2 - Code Polkadot

It was a race against time. His ring beeped when she passed the Ministère de la Santé, and her own Miraculous beeped in front of the ambassade des Pays-Bas. People watched in horror as she jumped and zipped across the road. She could see their stares, could hear their whispers. They were probably wondering what Ladybug was doing, holding Chat Noir and running madly across the road, both covered in blood, dust and rubble. She glared at anybody that came within a glaring distance.

“WHERE’S THE HOSPITAL?” she shouted at someone who had just stopped on a bike next to her. A familiar face, but her vision was so blurred by tears and sweat that she couldn’t quite make out who the person was. She shrugged off the idea. Four different hands pointed in the same direction, immediately followed by another dozen. She attempted a grateful smile, but was certain, from the frightened reactions of the people on the road, that she had barely managed to put up a painful grimace.

She jumped across in the direction shown and immediately saw her reflection glaring at her from the windows of the building in front of her. She didn’t even stop to consider what she looked like. The words on the building's windows said Hôpital Necker, but they also mentioned "University". She looked around to find the blue "H" that clearly marked a public hospital and saw it just a few metres away, at the side of a small marble arched gate, which led into a courtyard.

She landed in front of it and burst inside; her eyes scanned the courtyard until she saw at her left a door manning the sign “Accueil”. As she walked inside and looked around, she saw lines of metallic black seats. Mothers and children moved to give her space, as well as the people queuing and standing in front of the reception check in. She heard whispers around the room, mothers consoling their children who were asking what happened to Chat Noir. Why were there so many kids? All the patients had children with them; that was weird.

“I need a doctor, quickly!” she said bluntly at the woman sitting at the check in desk. To her disappointment the receptionist was on the phone, so taken with looking at the screen in front of her that she hadn’t even glanced in her direction. Marinette’s gaze quickly ran to Chat Noir’s face. The side of his head was covered in blood, which had mixed together with the dirt and the pieces of mortar in his hair and had made a sort of paste that had glued to his and even to her own suit. Her heart raced faster in her chest. She needed to hurry.

“Have you got your child’s carnet de santé and carte mutuelle, and your carte vitale please?” came from behind the green desk the voice of said receptionist, who stretched her left hand out to her, her eyes still focused on the screen in front of her, her ear still glued to the phone receiver.

Marinette gulped. Child? She looked around again. There were plenty of colourful drawings and cartoon characters embossed on the walls of the reception desk and pictures of children with many different types of illnesses.

Oh yes. Hôpital Necker, the child hospital. That’s right. She had heard of it in the news so many times, looking for donations for their research.

“He’s not my child…” she said. If the situation hadn’t been so serious she was sure Chat would have found it funny.

The middle aged brunette in front of her took her eyes off her screen, put a thick pair of glasses on and gave her a practised look of pure boredom before her brown eyes widened. “Excuse me ma’am,” she said to the person she was talking to on the phone. “I have an emergency here. You will need to redial.” She hung up and dropped the phone receiver.

“La… Ladybug? Oh Jesus… Chat Noir? What… This is a child’s hospital Ladybug… we have adult patients, but they...they’re not our speciality...” She started stammering and paled considerably.

Marinette felt a gush of anger spreading all over her gut as she admitted it, hastily, “I’m fifteen… and I expect him to be around my age. I don’t care if it’s a hospital for children, for aliens or for wild animals. He could die if we don’t act fast. He needs help. NOW.”

People all around started whispering.

“Fifteen?”

“Oh my God.”

“They are kids.”

“Only kids.”

“Maman is Chat Noir really younger than my big brother?”

“Sure.” The woman at the desk picked up the phone and pushed a couple of buttons on it. “Dr. Richter? Yes, Sylvie here at reception. We have an emergency. Oh you know already? Good… code polkadot you say? What is it, I’ve never heard of it. Ah okay... Cool. Yes, they know. They’re 15! Yes. I hear you, yes. Crazy! I’ll tell her. Leave it to me.” She stood and ran out of the accueil’s room; Marinette could only follow. “They’re already waiting for you in front of the SUSI (2).”

Marinette paled. “But I thought this was…” she muttered, but the woman interrupted her.

“Ladybug, you’re in the wrong place. This is the reception for booked appointments and routine visits. The SUSI is over there.” She pointed to the left. “You’re probably going to be faster than the bed. It’s the other side of that rooftop.”

Marinette gave her a grateful look and a nod. “Thank you… Sylvie?”

“Good luck, Ladybug,” she said smiling warmly. “You saved my boyfriend when he was akumatised. This is the least I can do.”

Marinette nodded again and held Chat firmly, jumping on the rooftop as fast as her legs could take her. She immediately saw that three men dressed in blue were waiting at the back entrance of the next building, near what looked like a gurney and an ambulance. She jumped off right beside them.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Ladybug. Nadja Chamack rang the hospital to warn us of your arrival. Please allow me to take him,” one of the nurses said, as he tried to take Chat from her arms.

She initially resisted, but then heard Chat’s ring giving a louder beep, so she gave in. “Please, we need to hurry. One minute and our transformations will fall,” she pleaded. The man’s gaze became stern. He held Chat firmly and moved steadily towards the gurney next to him. He carefully put Chat on it and quickly pushed the gurney inside the building, trying to move it hastily to the corridor leading to a door labelled ‘PU - Urgences’ (1).

A loud beep came from her earrings, and in a flash of pink, Marinette’s transformation fell as she sped next to the nurses, not even trying to hide her face from the crowd that had gathered all around her. Her gaze stayed firmly focused on Chat and on the nurses who were putting what she thought could be an oxygen mask on his mouth and nose, taking advantage of a moment when the gurney stopped because of the crowd. She didn’t even pay any attention to Tikki, who had come out of the earrings and had looked at her worryingly before flying into her purse.

“Ew, what’s that?”

“A giant bug maman!”

“Does Ladybug keep bugs in her purse?”

“WILL YOU ALL PLEASE GO FASTER? HIS SUIT HELPS HIM, BUT THIS COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIS LIFE OR HIS DEATH! HE’S ONLY GOT A FEW MORE SECONDS TO SPARE!” She could swear that she saw a few flashes and tried to cover her face as best she could. Suddenly she felt someone’s arms wrap around her as a jacket was thrown over her head.

“There’s nothing else to see people, let the gurney pass!” a male voice said. She knew that voice… where had she heard that voice before?

They went through the doors of the PU and walked hastily a little longer until the gurney stopped and moved ninety degrees. The jacket was removed from her head as she heard the zipping sound of curtains being pulled all around them. A quick glance to her surroundings made her realise that they were in a sort of cubicle, protected from the view by a set of blue paper curtains, and the doctors and nurses were surrounding Chat, plugging different cables and machines all around him.

“Where do I plug the oximeter?” one of the nurses asked. She looked very young and a bit pale. She held a sort of peg in her hands, plugged into a machine and tried to attach it to one of Chat’s cat ears. “Nope. Does he have human ears?” She moved his hair at the side of his head and Marinette heard her sighing in relief as she attached the peg to something.

“What happened to him, how did he get hurt, Miss Ladybug?” she heard a doctor ask and she suddenly looked up, realising that the man was talking to her.

“Oh… he fell off the Eiffel Tower…” she started to say. Then she heard the last beep of her partner’s ring and in a flash of green his transformation fell. As Plagg twirled out of the ring and fell with a loud sob on top of Chat’s head, Marinette couldn’t stop her gaze from following the black kwami and running straight to the blond boy laying on the bed.

The plastic mask covered almost all his face, but even with that on, there was not a chance in hell that Marinette wouldn’t recognise his blond mane, now combed neatly to the side of his head and clean from the dirt, but not from the blood that plastered the side of his face. Pale; he was as pale as a ghost. She only caught a glimpse of his face before someone’s arms wrapped around her and held her tight. But that glimpse was enough.

No.

NO!

NOO! It couldn’t be...

“Gamin? Talk to me! Are you okay?” she heard Plagg say. Then, she saw something red dashing around the room, grabbing Plagg, oblivious of his objections, and disappearing behind the curtain. “Tikki, you don’t understand! I need to tell Pigtails! He’s been poi—” the little God of destruction whimpered as he was dragged away. She wasn't sure, but she thought she had seen tears at the corner of Plagg’s electric green eyes. Even her own eyes filled with tears, her chest shaken by loud sobs.

“Mar-Ladybug, it’s okay. He will be safe,” someone said, hugging her tight, but it sounded far away, like a whisper from a different time. "Marinette can you hear me? It's me, Luka," he added in a lower tone of voice. But all Marinette could hear were the sudden angry beeps of the machines in front of her, having gone mad the second Chat's transformation fell. A horde of doctors and nurses rushed to the gurney, busying themselves with plugging in more cables and hooking up strange machines to Chat's body and face.

“Sorry, Mlle. Ladybug, can you please wait over there? We need space!” Marinette heard the voice of one of the doctors say, and she felt Luka’s arms wrapping tighter around her as he tried to move her backwards.

She resisted sternly. That face. She had just given one quick glance to that face. She had to see it again, to see that it wasn’t the face she thought. She wriggled out of Luka’s hold and jerked towards the gurney, peeking around the doctors at work and trying to give another quick look, earning quite a few glares from a couple of nurses.

The neatly combed blond mane framed the handsome face of the boy she would recognise among thousands. As pale as a ghost. His once peachy lips now dry and blue under the transparent plastic mask. His beautiful green eyes closed. Why of all people did it have to be him?

She screamed.

"It's okay, Mar-Ladybug! He will be alright!" Luka's voice said again, his arms firmly wrapped around her shoulders to stop her from lunging straight to the bedside.

"ADRIEEEEN!!!" Her heart-wrenching screams came loud and clear in between the sobs that rocked her chest and lungs.

"Marinette? What… Adrien? Oh girl you must be kidding me! Mar… La-Ladybug?" This was Alya's voice. She heard Luka shushing her, and Alya’s eyes widened, as she corrected herself. What was Alya doing here?

Suddenly, a pair of extra arms wrapped around her from her left side. Another pair from the right, in a vice grip that kept her from going to him, that kept pushing her backwards.

A female voice spoke, the masked emotions trickling in through the tremble in her voice. “You can't go over there! You'll only get in the way of the doctors working on him! Stay here!”

“ADRIE—” A hand cupped over her mouth, barely able to muffle the sounds of heartbreak seeping out of her.

"Shhhhh! Do you want everyone to know, Ma-Ladybug?" It was Kagami's voice. She nearly didn’t recognise it, as the usually confident and blunt tone of the Japanese girl was missing completely. She sounded shaken and emotionally drained. Marinette darted her gaze around to notice that Alya was standing at her right and Kagami at her left, and they were both holding her tight, supporting Luka who held her from behind.

They were all there with her. She wondered when they arrived and how they knew where they were. Nadja probably had told them where she was heading, and they were allowed through the door of the PU before detransforming, Marinette thought, but the sight of Adrien being picked up carefully by one of the nurses and transferred into a hospital bed stopped the last of her rational thoughts from coming through. New sobs shook her chest, as new tears rolled off her cheeks. She buried her face in Alya's chest not even attempting to stop sobbing desperately.

Because Chat was Adrien. And Adrien could die. And it was her fault…

------------------------------------

Notes:

(1) PU - Pavillon des Urgences (A&E/ER)

(2) SUSI - Service d'Urgences et de Soins Intensifs (A&E/ER, Emergency and Intensive Care department)

-------------------------------------

Author's Note:

Hi! *Keeps hiding*

I know, I know, this is probably the most catastrophic reveal ever. Please don't hate me!

I'll cut the fluff and get straight to the point. In the next instalment of "When Magic fails", “Secrets in the Open”:

— “We will need to put stitches on this cut at the side of his head.”

— “He has the right to choose how to live his own life!”

— “Chat Noir hasn’t just been injured. He’s been poisoned. And it’s not just an average poison. It’s extremely dangerous.”

I know, I'm cruel. If you want to kill m—, I mean, if you read this and you’re not part of our wonderful Discord server already, but you enjoy reading, writing and talking about Miraculous, please join our Discord server, Miraculous Fanworks (for people on FFN, discord dot gg slash mlfanworks). See you there soon, and see you soon here with the next chapters of this story. Won’t be too long. Promise!

[mikauzoran]

Lukadrien: Zebras Can’t Change Their Stripes: Chapter Seven

Read it on AO3: Zebras Can’t Change Their Stripes: Chapter Seven

“Aren’t you done yet?” Luka half laughed, half groaned, banging his head against the bathroom door.

“Perfection takes time,” Adrien informed primly from within. “It’s my first show. I want to make a good impression.”

Luka clicked his tongue. “Perfect Fifth, they’re going to love you, but you take longer in the bathroom than my ex, and I still need to do my makeup.”

There was a beat before Adrien tentatively asked, “…Are we at a point where we can make jokes about your ex?”

Luka contemplated this for a moment and winced, admitting, “No. No, I actually don’t think we are.”

“…Okay. That’s okay,” Adrien assured, opening the bathroom door.

Luka, still resting his head against the door in question, nearly fell over into Adrien.

Afterwards, he was equal parts glad and disappointed that he hadn’t crashed into his roommate because, if he had, Luka would not have been able to control himself.

As things stood, Luka got an eyeful of Adrien in ripped, black skinny jeans and punk couture topped off with messy, wild hair and a generous helping of eyeliner.

Luka’s temperature shot through the roof as all the blood in his body rushed south.

A frown slowly knitted Adrien’s eyebrows together as he watched his friend closely for a reaction and didn’t seem to get a positive one.

“…How…do I look?” he pressed tentatively, beginning to shift his weight uneasily back and forth, fidgeting under Luka’s intense gaze.

Luka was preoccupied with fantasies of pushing Adrien up against a wall and sticking his tongue down Adrien’s throat.

…Better yet, Adrien pushing Luka up against a wall and sticking his tongue down Luka’s throat.

“Is it that bad?” Adrien demanded, beginning to panic as he took the shocked silence the wrong way. “Did I put on too much eyeliner? I’m sorry. I should have asked for your help, but I thought I knew what I was doing because I’ve seen the way you dress, so I thought—”

“—Sorry. What?” Luka cut him off, managing to shake himself loose from his daydreams. “I’m sorry. I spaced for a minute there. What are we talking about?”

Adrien blinked twice slowly. “…Um… Do I look bad? You were staring.”

“Oh! No! Nonono,” Luka assured, waving his hands in an attempt to clear up the misunderstanding. “Sorry. NO. You look great. I was just…”

Some of the blood deigned to come back up into his face to make him look like a cherry tomato.

He cleared his throat. “Sorry. I’m a little out of it. You look perfect. I love you—your eyeliner. And the hair,” Luka covered, mentally smacking himself.

“Oh,” Adrien responded uncertainly. “Thank you? I was kind of going for a Chat Noir vibe.”

“You look amazing.” Luka finally got it together and replied with an earnest smile. “You really nailed it. Jacob and Josie are going to coo and fuss over you.”

“Are you going to coo and fuss over me?” Adrien hummed, resting his forearm on the wall and leaning so that he very much resembled Chat Noir: lithe and predatory and very dangerous to Luka’s sanity in such tight clothing.

“I don’t think your ego really needs it,” Luka countered, “but I’ll consider it if you don’t make us late and we have a few minutes before we need to leave for the show.”

Adrien pulled out his phone and winced at the time. “Looks like my ego will have to wait to be stroked because we’re cutting it close as is.”

“Pity,” Luka sighed, not sure if he’d dodged a bullet or been deprived of an opportunity.

 True to Luka’s word, Josie and Jacob did, in fact, coo and fuss over Adrien when he and Luka arrived at the bar where they’d be playing.

“Look at him!” Jacob exclaimed, showing Adrien to Marc like a prize being revealed on a gameshow. “He’s so precious! He looks like a real baby punk!”

Josie shot Luka a lascivious grin and quietly teased, “So, how are you holding up with him wearing those pants?”

Luka took her by surprise by answering honestly: “I’m going out of my freaking mind. Thank you for asking.”

The smirk promptly dropped off of Josie’s face to be replaced by a look of concern. “Luc, are you okay?”

Luka shook his head. “Adrien is the guy Marinette never got over, and Adrien had feelings for her too in the past, so when they meet up again, I can only guess at what will happen.”

Josie winced. “That…really sucks.”

“Yeah, so there’s no point in letting my feelings for him come back only so he can break my heart too,” Luka sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Kind of hard with him looking like that.”

“Everything okay?” Marc called out, drawing Jacob and Adrien’s attention to Luka.

Adrien’s eyes narrowed, and he came over to touch Luka’s cheeks and forehead, testing for fever. “Are you still feeling out of it, Orpheus? You do feel a little warm.”

Adrien’s hands on Luka’s skin only served to make Luka’s temperature jump an additional degree or two.

“I’ll be all right. Thanks,” Luka lied, slipping out of Adrien’s reach. “Probably just a twenty-four-hour bug. I’m going to go start the equipment check.”

Jacob opened his mouth to comment, but Josie caught him by the sleeve and whispered in his ear.

Marc quirked an eyebrow, and Josie repeated what Luka had told her for him as well.

Collectively, the group grimaced.

“What’s going on, guys?” Adrien inquired, looking back and forth worriedly between Luka’s retreating back and the rest of their bandmates.

“He’s just feeling a little depressed and hopeless right now,” Marc explained with a sad but kind smile. “We’ll have to figure out some way to make him feel better and lighten up a bit.”

“We should do something fun together,” Jacob agreed, going to sling an arm around Adrien’s shoulders. “No need to worry about it now, though. Right now, we just need to get through the show.”

Adrien nodded as Jacob led him over to the equipment to prepare for the performance.

 “That was amazing!” Josie squealed, throwing her arms around Adrien as soon as they made it off stage.

“I can’t believe we pulled that off without a hitch,” Jacob laughed giddily, carding a hand through his spikey hair.

Marc rolled his eyes, giving everyone pats on the back. “I mean, we have been practicing every day this week for hours.”

“Still, Adrien was incredible,” Luka chimed in, giving Adrien’s arm a squeeze. “That was flawless.”

“Not completely flawless,” Adrien protested sheepishly. “But thank you. Seriously. Everyone…”

He looked around at his bandmates with an enormous, grateful grin. “Thank you so much for your patience with me this week. Thank you for letting me be a part of your group. This was really a team effort, and I never could have done it without you.”

“Aww. He’s so modest,” Jacob chuckled, pulling Adrien into a side hug and ruffling his hair.

“You could have managed without Jacob,” Josie snickered, giving the bassist a teasing elbow.

“Josephine, play nice,” Marc sighed in exasperation, shaking his head with a fond smile.

“We should celebrate!” Josie announced, pointedly ignoring Marc’s reprimand. “Who wants to get some drinks and dance?”

“Me!” Jacob’s hand shot up, and he proceeded to bounce up and down in place. “Me-me! Me!”

Luka winced. “I…can’t. I drove over here, and I need to be able to get Adrien home safe.”

“I could get you guys home,” Marc volunteered. “I need to bow out so I can go tuck my little girl in, but I can come back later and drive you home.”

“Hold up,” Adrien demanded. “You have a daughter?”

“I’m surprised he hasn’t shown you pictures yet,” Josie scoffed.

“Her name is Antoinette,” Marc gushed, beaming with pride. “She’s two years old, and she’s the best thing I’ve done in my entire life.” He whipped out his phone and navigated to his photos.

“Aww,” Adrien cooed as he looked at the picture of a pale toddler with ink black hair and even darker eyes in a green party dress with her arms wrapped around a fluffy white Maltese. “Marc, she’s adorable!”

“Thank you,” Marc preened. “I wish I could take the credit, but that’s all my wife Wakana.”

“Her smile is yours, though,” Adrien observed.

“You are the sweetest thing,” Marc laughed, patting Adrien on the shoulder before turning to Luka. “I should be back in about an hour, but you can stay later, if you feel like it. You feeling emotionally well enough to drink responsibly?”

Luka’s teeth sank into his bottom lip. “Maybe?” he fibbed.

Honestly, he was on the edge and could easily go either way. It could turn out to be a fun night with friends or the start of another drunken grief spiral.

Marc pursed his lips.

“Don’t fret so much,” Jacob chided, clicking his tongue as he slung his arm around Luka’s shoulders. “You’re no fun, Maman. I’ll look after Luc.”

“This does not inspire confidence,” Marc sighed.

“I’ll keep an eye on Luka,” Adrien volunteered. “I don’t drink, so I can play babysitter and make sure everyone’s okay until you get back, Marc.”

“Thank you,” Marc replied, only slightly exaggerating his relief. “I feel better leaving an adult in charge.”

“You don’t drink?” Josie pressed, ignoring Marc’s slight as she looped her arm through Adrien’s.

Adrien shook his head and smiled in embarrassment. “Yeah…I kind of don’t like not being in control. It’s dangerous, making yourself vulnerable like that. It would be different if we were somewhere safe and it was just people I trusted, but…”

Josie’s eyes narrowed. “Chéri, are you okay? Who hurt you?”

Adrien shrugged, averting his gaze, still not quite ready to admit that he’d been on the streets until just a few days prior.

Luka broke away from Jacob and went to Adrien’s side, resting a hand on his shoulder and looking him in the eye intently. “We don’t have to stay, if you’re uncomfortable. Just say the word, and I’ll take you home. It’s totally fine, Perfect Fifth. I don’t mind, honestly.”

“No, no,” Adrien assured, waving away Luka’s concern with one hand. “It’s good. I’m not uncomfortable, but thank you so much for always being so considerate. I appreciate it. No, I like dancing, so I have no problem hanging out with everyone.”

Luka let go of the breath he’d been holding, and the tension slowly faded from his body. “Okay. Good. Just let me know if you start feeling uncomfortable, though. Any time. I want to make sure you feel safe.”

Adrien smiled brightly, gratitude and affection filling his eyes. “Thank you.”

“Can we meditate for a moment on the fact that he calls him ‘Perfect Fifth’?” Jacob demanded, unable to hold in his laughter. “That is the sappiest thing, and I’m kind of jealous because I never got a cute pet name like that when I was dating him.”

“Ouch,” Adrien snickered, pulling away from Josie to wrap his arms possessively around Luka. “Sucks to be you. Guess Luka just loves me more.”

Marc shoot Luka a pitying look as he wondered if it were really okay to let Luka drink that night after all.

Meanwhile, Jacob cackled. “Ow! I am wounded. Even more so because it’s probably true.”

“So…if you’re Luka’s perfect fifth,” Josie puzzled, “does that make Luka your tonic?”

Adrien hummed softly in thought, not noticing as Luka tried not to spontaneously combust in mortification.

Not for the first time, Luka thanked the heavens that he was taller than Adrien so that Adrien couldn’t see the look on Luka’s face as Adrien embraced him.

“I mean…yeah,” Adrien replied softly, resting his head on Luka’s chest. “Luka’s always been my ‘tonal center’ in a way. Whenever I felt frazzled or lost as a teen, I knew I could go to him to help me find my way again…so I guess he is my tonic.”

“Aww,” Josie cooed. “That’s adorable. I was teasing, but you are just too cute.”

“Yeah,” Jacob sighed with a shrug. “I know when I’ve been beat. You win, Adrien. I could never say something that gooey with a straight face. You and Luka deserve each other.”

Adrien made a move to pull back to reply, but Luka hugged him in tighter, afraid that how he felt for Adrien was written plainly all over his face and that if Adrien saw it, he wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing a flat with Luka anymore.

“Sorry,” Luka whispered, burying his face in Adrien’s hair. “That’s…That’s really sweet. It means a lot to me that you think of me that way.”

“Of course,” Adrien chuckled, not minding the affection in the least. “You’re one of the few people in my life I’ve always been able to count on.”

“Okay, seriously,” Josie huffed. “Who hurt you? Who do I need to go beat up?”

Adrien broke away from Luka and turned to placate Josie. “It’s really not that bad. Please don’t assault anyone on my behalf.”

Luka turned away and quickly attempted to compose himself.

Marc gave him a questioning look, a silent offer of assistance, but Luka shook his head.

Jacob quirked an eyebrow.

“I reserve my right to assault whoever I determine deserves it,” Josie insisted indignantly, reaching out to ruffle Adrien’s hair.

Adrien gave up and submitted to Josie’s attentions with a small sigh and a reluctant smile. “Thank you, but I really am fine.”

“You’ll never convince her of that,” Luka informed, briskly changing the subject. “Let’s go get some drinks, shall we?”

 Luka had regrets.

At that moment, his regrets were named Whiskey and Adrien.

More specifically, Adrien’s dancing.

Adrien dancing like that while wearing skinny jeans that reminded Luka how he had worshipped Chat Noir’s butt back in the day.

Luka didn’t really dance, but Jacob and Adrien had hit the dance floor, and seeing them together made Luka irrationally jealous, so he’d gone over there and started dancing with Adrien…and the alcohol in Luka’s blood was trying to convince him that it would be a good idea to tug Adrien in gently so that their bodies were pressed flush together and then kiss him for all he was worth.

Objectively, Luka knew that this was a very, very bad plan…but the way Adrien was swiveling his hips gave Luka ideas that would be easier to shake if he were sober.

And Luka was not sober.

“Where did you learn to dance?” he asked over the music in an attempt to distract himself from the bad ideas.

Adrien’s face flushed. “Mostly Chloé. She had alternating phases where she was really obsessed with pole dancing, belly dancing, and burlesque.”

“Oh,” Luka replied dumbly.

“Alya taught me a little too, though. Nino tried, but our styles are different,” Adrien elaborated, body flowing like liquid to the beat as he spoke. “I don’t think all of my lessons in ballroom and Latin dance count, but…I’m sure you’ll recognize where I stole this cute butt wiggle from.”

Luka did indeed recognize Marinette’s patented butt wiggle, and it made him feel all kinds of things he didn’t want to feel.

“Is that Marc over by the bar?” Luka asked, craning his neck as if trying to get a better view.

Adrien frowned and stopped dancing to look too. “…I don’t…think I see him?”

“I think that was him,” Luka lied. “You go ahead and keep dancing with Jacob and Josie. I’m going to meet up with Marc and take a seat.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Adrien inquired uncertainly. “Want me to walk you?”

Luka shook his head, needing to get away so that he could stop feeling so much. “Nah. He’s just over there. I can make it across the room by myself. You keep having fun, Angel.”

“O…Okay,” Adrien replied, still uneasy as Luka smiled reassuringly before turning to go.

Luka was quickly swallowed up by the crowd, and Adrien couldn’t quite relax after losing sight of him.

Luka made a beeline for the bar, numbing himself with more alcohol.

Fortunately, Marc really did show up within a few minutes and found Luka before too much harm could be done.

“I take it the evening took a turn for the worse?” Marc sighed, gently taking Luka’s glass away from him.

Luka groaned, resting his forehead on the counter. “I’m in love with him. I never stopped loving him, and now he’s going to start dating Marinette, and I’m going to have to pretend to be okay with this, to be happy for them, and I can’t do it. I can’t do this.”

“I think you’re catastrophizing,” Marc informed softly, reaching out to rub soothing circles between Luka’s shoulder blades. “I know it feels hopeless now, but hang in there, okay? Things will look a little less dark in the morning. You’re going to get through this.”

Luka shook his head.

“Shhh,” Marc cooed, giving Luka’s shoulder a squeeze. “Yes, you will. You’re strong, Luc. You’re tough, and you’re going to make it if I have to drag you out the other side.”

 “What happened?!” Adrien gasped, stunned at the state he found Luka in fifteen minutes later.

Marc winced. “I think the alcohol suddenly hit him all at once.”

“Luka, are you okay?!” Adrien was at his side, fussing and carrying on, in seconds.

“No,” Luka moaned.

“He’ll be okay in the morning,” Marc promised through a doubtful grimace. “Or…at least by tomorrow evening. He just needs to throw up and sleep it off.”

Marc’s reassuring words did nothing to loosen Adrien’s pinched frown.

“Don’t worry,” Marc soothed, reaching out to rest a hand on Adrien’s upper arm. “He’s going to be okay. Trust me.”

Slowly, tentatively, Adrien nodded.

 They packed Josie and Jacob into a cab to Josie’s house to take care of one another for the night and then loaded Luka into the backseat of Luka’s car, most of his weight supported by Adrien.

“You’re beautiful,” Luka purred as he played dazedly with Adrien’s hair. “So pretty.”

“Thank you,” Adrien replied self-consciously, not sure how to respond. “You’re pretty too.”

“You’re going to-to hurt me,” Luka chuckled darkly.

Adrien gave a start. “No, I’m not. I would never do anything to hurt you, Luka.”

“Not on purpose,” Luka hummed, dropping his head to Adrien’s shoulder. “Not on purpose…porpoise.” He laughed at that.

“Not on porpoise,” Adrien agreed, still feeling like he was on shaky ground.

“…I love you,” Luka snickered, giving Adrien’s neck a wet kiss.

Adrien gasped, his nerve endings lighting up as his stomach flipped involuntarily.

It wasn’t like the other times Luka had said those words or given Adrien a platonic kiss on the cheek or temple or forehead. It felt different and wrong and right all at the same time.

Adrien wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

“I…I love you too, Luka,” Adrien answered in the most conversational tone he could manage.

Luka only laughed, further unsettling Adrien.

When they got back to the apartment building, it took both Marc and Adrien to awkwardly trundle Luka up the stairs, down the hall, and into his bedroom.

That accomplished, Marc turned to Adrien with a delicate smile.

Adrien recognized it as the kind of smile he’d often received when the person smiling was about to attempt to manage Adrien.

His defences automatically went up.

“I think I’ve got it from here,” Marc informed with a tired sigh. “Thanks for your help.”

Adrien blinked, thrown off balance. “Uh…you’re welcome. I was actually about to say the same thing to you. I think I’m okay now, if you want to go home.”

Marc shook his head. “It’s okay, Adrien. I’ll stay with him.”

It sounded like a polite implication that Adrien should leave, and Adrien wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

Luka had repeated over and over again that this was Adrien’s home now as much as Luka’s, but, suddenly, Adrien was feeling like an intruder all over again.

He turned to Luka. “Orpheus, do you want me to stay with you, or do you want Marc?”

“Marc can stay,” Luka grumbled out from under the arm he had tossed over his face. “Go ahead and go to bed, Perfect Fifth.”

Adrien pulled away, averting his gaze and wrapping his arms around himself. “Well…okay, then. I guess I’m no use here, so…um…I’ll just be in the other room if you need help finding things or something.”

“Thank you, Adrien. I’m pretty familiar with the house, though,” Marc replied with a strained smile.

“Right. Of course,” Adrien muttered, cheeks bursting into flames of humiliation. “Sorry. I’ll just…I’ll get out of your way.”

He’d gotten halfway to the door before Marc caught up and caught Adrien by the shoulder.

“You are not in the way, Adrien,” Marc assured gently, quietly so that Luka wouldn’t hear. “I have no doubt you’d do an amazing job of taking care of him. It’s not about you being capable or not. It’s just that he’s going through some stuff, and he wouldn’t want you to see him like this. He cares about what you think of him, and he doesn’t want you to see him as a mess.”

Adrien’s eyes rounded as he saw the sincerity in Marc’s expression.

“He doesn’t care if I see him gripping the edges of the toilet seat and puking his guts out,” Marc explained, “but he’d die if you saw him like that. He wants you to respect him and think he’s cool and all that.”

Adrien gave a soft snort. “I do respect him and think he’s cool.”

“Good,” Marc chuckled tiredly. “I’m glad to hear that…but he probably still wouldn’t want you to see him like this…you know?”

Adrien stuck out his lip in a pout but begrudgingly nodded anyway. “I just want to help, though.”

“You have been helping,” Marc assured, resting his hands on Adrien’s shoulders. “Everything you’ve done for him since you moved in has been tremendous. Trust me. I’ve seen him before and after you coming back into his life, and he has been doing so much better these past few days. You are a miracle worker…but I think it’s best if I take this one tonight…if that’s okay?”

Reluctantly, Adrien agreed. “…Yeah. I don’t like it, but I get it. I’ve…I’ve not reached out for help before when I needed it because I was afraid to let people see how bad things had gotten, so I do get it.”

“Good.” Marc gave Adrien’s shoulders an encouraging squeeze before pulling back. “You can help out again in the morning. He’ll need breakfast and aspirin and plenty of water. I’ll turn him over to you in the morning, but I’ll go ahead and take the night shift, all right?”

“All right,” Adrien affirmed, finally feeling a little better about it all.

So long as Luka still needed him. So long as Adrien wasn’t in the way.

“Perfect Fiiiiiifth,” Luka groaned deliriously.

Adrien was back at his side in an instant. “I’m here. What’s wrong? What do you need?”

“I love you,” Luka choked, and it sounded more like a lament than an affectionate remark.

“Love you too,” Adrien answered anyway, leaning in to press a light peck to Luka’s forehead. “Marc’s going to take care of you now, so you be good, okay? See you in the morning.”

“I love you,” Luka repeated balefully.

Adrien gave Luka an encouraging smile and patted him on the shoulder. “I love you too. Feel better, Orpheus.”

On his way out, Adrien sent Marc a worried look.

Marc did his best to inspire confidence and optimism, but Adrien wasn’t easily convinced.

Needless to say, no one slept well that night.