#ladynoir nation we are SO BACK

[bugsandboos]

no you don’t understand years from now we’ll be asking “where were you the day the ladynoir gap closed”

this is historic. we are living history guys

[litcrazh]

if mlb was a more… mature show and realistic AND THE CHARACTERS WERE OF AGE! it would be sooo much better

like here are some headcannons

ladynoir??? hooked up 100%

marichat??? SNEAKY LINK!!

ladrien… don’t get me started. HOOKED UP

adrienette but u alr know they go ham imagine new york scenes and they like sneak into each other rooms and stuff but i’m not talking about the devils tango!! no no no!

and like more realistic parts

like fucking gaberial being a little less controlling, marinette ACTUSLLY being able to speak to adrien without dying, THE FRIEND GROUP and high school parties bc adrien and nino are 100% a dynamic duo that drinks so much that alya and marinette think they are going to have to get there stomach pumped but then they are back at it again next friday

also there group dynamic?????? immaculate

nino and marinette have been friends since diapers so they have a platonic- sibling like relationship i’m just going to pretend that nino tried to go on a date to make alya and adrien jealous

alya is a sworn #adrienagrestehater but ofc they are best friends, so much so thst in interviews adrien will praise alya for her work ethic and in the same breath say how he hates her more than hawkmoth. adrien just loves how alya is so real with him bc he’s so used to being worshiped.

alya and nino are obviously “so grossly in love i want to jump off a cliff” - marinette and adrien at some point- while adrien and mari and low key FWB

adrien specifically is low key a douche, playboy chat noiry but in the best way possible. like he flirts RELENTLESSLY with marinette after they become close, but MARINETTE FLIRTS BACK LIKE THE LEGEND SHE IS. she finds out what makes him blush and become bashful and stuff and goes OFF. they both are complétive so sometimes you would just walk into this type of conversation.

“- i thought you said you wouldn’t fall in love mari, but this blush of yours is telling me different,”

“maybe i’m just thinking of last night, hot stuff”

“what did you do? dream about us?”

“wouldn’t you like to know,”

“cmon baby, you know curiosity killed the cat. i know that i was dreaming about us,”

“who did i do, sunny. asking the wrong questions, but don’t worry! a blond head of hair was always in my mind”

“blond hair? what hot guys have hot hair?? oh? didn’t know you had a thing for chat noir,”

“you have said on national television how much you like ladybug, but ive always had a thing for lea-“

“guys we aRE RIGHT HERE”

also, the FRIEND GROUP all hate LIELA. like guys… CMON. alya is a investigation journalist and nino is the bestest friend like ever. but no one, and i mean NO ONE hates lila as much as adrien, especially if she fucks with mari.

*before class, adrian and mari and joking about something sitting rather close!! and lila walks in, seeing this, and wants to ruin it”

“wow marinette! i’m suprised adrien would be so close to you after last night”

adrien and marinette look at each other in confusion, and adrien tries (and fails) he best not to laugh at her

“what happ- PSHH- what happened- mari i rea- what happened last night lila,”

(marichat was in full effect last night)

“i saw marinette with chat noir last night on her balcony, doing less than appropriate things on the balcony”

at this point both of there cheeks burst red- because oh shit she’s not lying, well some parts at least- and people are gathering around, and some are believing her, meanwhile our two superheroes are trying to figure out if it was ACC true

adrien in his head, no doubt: did i kiss her last night? we watched that american movie and i kissed her forehead, but not mari also in her head- I WISH HE DID GIRL.

but some people in the class are dumb so they are like

“wow mari that’s low”

“didn’t know you were such a player”

“like she could pull him, ridiculous, utterly ridiculous”

mari starts to get a little stressed, her breathing picks up and adrien being adrien notices and causally slings his arm around her, a smug smile on his face

“trust me” he whispers in her ear.

“not possible”

“and how would you know?” lila has no longer trying to woo adrien, because tbh he’s so loyal it was too hard

“because i was with mari last night”

“well- well uh i was really late at night, like 2 am,”

“no no no lila, all night”

she scoffs

“and what were you doing last night,?”

“what do you think two tennagers who are very attractive and hot would be doing at 2 in the morning lila”

and that shuts everyone up real fast, and no one dares question it because his smug face with mari hiding in his chest beat red tell the whole story

“way to really tone down the situation,”

“my specialty darling,”

sarcastically she adds “nice ‘hot’ addition, btw”

he just laughs

imagine ms bustiers suprised walking into that class a minute later

also, tik tok love THE GROUP and lb and cn themselves. i imagine adrien having 10.2 mil on insta, alya 2.4 but the ladyblog 8 mil (she LOVED THAT SHE HAS MORE THEN ADRIEN combined “pucker up and kiss my ass buttercup”) nino’s producer acc has like 15 mil bc he collars with top artists like kanye, frank ocean, tyler and kendrick lamar and mari having 6.8 mil.

everyone thinks mari and adrien are ducking and post edits/ proof videos as to why.

adrien does in fact post thirst traps

mari had them all saved and downloaded.

adrien has some of maris too

they all have secret accounts where they post the funniest shit ever and comment on tiktok’s about them like “adrien i didn’t know you and mari have a child???? why didn’t you tell me!!”

don’t get me started on lb and cn on tik tok

*edit of chat being hot*

@ chatnoirfanpage : omg wow he’s so hot @ ladybugoffical you should definitely see this and marry him and have his kids

— @ ladybugoffical : omg chat get off your phone your late for patrol

[ladytheebug]

9 Very Specific Things I'd love to see in Miraculous Season 5

Disclaimer: these are strictly my personal opinions, and obviously spoilers for the S4 Finale: Strike Back are below...

1. Everything L A D Y N O I R

Oops, not very specific, but there's sooooo much to unpack now that we're back to the cat and bug team. They have to rebuild their trust in one another after a season of distance, secrets and lies. They need to plan together. They need to discuss Chat Blanc. They need to lean on each other while all the odds are against them.

Ladynoir Nation is set up to thrive and I can't wait. Speaking of these two...

2. The Guardian Trains Chat Noir to Upgrade Powers

It's essential, with only two heroes left, that the remaining heroes are at their strongest. Season 4 showed us how Ladybug was able to elevate her abilities to create charms, while Hawkmoth created mega-akumas. Maybe I've just been reading too much 'Truth and Consequences' by @siderealscribblings (major fic rec alert), but it's time for Chat to get his power upgrade. We've been told many times just how powerful the Black Cat Miraculous is. Will there be new weapons? Different magical abilities? Let's see this in action.

Season 4 was about Ladybug building out her team. Now, she needs to build UP her partner. I believe it's necessary for Marinette to step up and help Chat reach his full potential, as he is willing to do for her.

Plus, I want to see what his upgraded suit might look like. It's gonna be sick.

3. Identity Reveal IN THE FIRST 6 EPISODES

No waiting. No season finale reveal garbage. Let's get the ball rolling and get AT LEAST a one-sided reveal in the first mini-arc of the season. Maybe Ladybug and Chat Noir are putting in the work and growing closer. Marinette is seeing how much she can trust Chat to have her back in battle and in their daily interactions (curtesy of some premium Marichat nonsense).

Then they win a Miraculous or two back. Their plan works, the plan they built together and something clicks in Marinette's brain. It's time to reveal. We get the rest of the season for post-reveal pre-relationship development, dorky interactions on all sides of the love square, and the shippers get the last laugh mwahahhaha.

In summary, I want this meme: NO SLEEP. REVEAL. REVEAL. ANOTHER REVEAL. CHAT BLANC. CONFESSION. NEXT REVEAL.

4. Adrien vs Felix Smack Down

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Adrien knows Felix betrayed Ladybug to steal the Miraculous for Hawkmoth, but Felix doesn't know that. Felix doesn't know how personally he's betrayed Adrien, or that Adrien is Chat Noir and saw him up close during the final battle.

Game of Thrones had the Cleganebowl. Miraculous has the Senti Smackdown. Yes I am open to alternative names suggestions.

Eventually these two need to duke it out, and once Felix knows everything he is going to hit Adrien with THIS:

Adrien, honey, I am so sorry.

5. Adrien Evolves from Smooth-Brain Boi to Maximum Surface Area-Brain Boi

Or, we see Adrien put the pieces together of 'what the hell is going on in this family.' He has the spy device Felix left behind to discover the painting. He knows his cousin helped Hawkmoth, but he doesn't know why. He investigates and finds answers, because he's the spy on the inside that Gabriel will never seen coming. And when the time comes, I hope Adrien is able to confront his father.

6. Ladybug and Adrien Establish 2-Factor Authentication

Ladrien know Felix can (very successfully) impersonate Adrien. They know Hawkmoth (even though he's very stupid) has the Miraculous of illusion. Please, kids, come up with code words or something to ensure you know who you're talking to. A secret handshake would be adorable.

7. Gabriel vs Marinette but it's stupid

One of my favorite television scenes of all time is in the Trollhunters episode Recipe for Disaster. Jim and Strickler have a literal battle at the dinner table while Jim's mom is totally oblivious. She leaves, they fight. She returns with the next course of the meal, they detransform and pretend like they weren't just trying to literally stab each other. Imagine Marinette and Gabriel rapidly feeding kwamis under the table while Adrien is clueless to the fight happening every time he leaves the room. You can't convince me that this wouldn't be hilarious.

I know we will never have this exact scene, but I need something just as weird. Gabriel is an idiot, Adrien is oblivious, and Marinette is a walking disaster. It's what we deserve.

8. Kwami Shenanigans in the Mansion

This one is simple: I hope the Kwamis fuck with Gabe. Hawkmoth hurt the Guardian and deserves zero rights. If the Kwamis get the zoomies and annoy the shit out of him, so be it. With 16 Kwamis hidden in that house (not counting Plagg binge-eating cheese upstairs) there is bound to be some chaos.

9. Paris' #1 Dad Goes to JAIL BABYYY WOOO!!!

Really can't wait for smooth-brained Gabe to rot in prison. NO REDEMPTION ARC. GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL. Bye LOSER!

Shameless self promo: here's a very relevant playlist.

[🗑 gabriel agreste is going to jail party - Spotify]

In conclusion: I loved Season 4 of Miraculous and I'm so pumped for Season 5. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[edendaphne]

“Discordant Sonata” Chapter 19

>>Click here to read on Ao3<<

>>Click here to read on Wattpad<<

–––––

CHAPTER 19: ATTACCA

Music glossary:        Attacca - "To attack at once"; used as a direction in music at the end of a movement to begin the next without pause

–––––

(Mood music: "The Conversation" - Pearl Django)

Being mere months away from graduating lycée meant that their group of friends didn’t have as many classes together, due to their diverse individual interests and talents. However, they always made sure to make time to hang out after school before their extracurricular activities began.

And thus, Adrien, Nino, and Alya made their way to the classroom where the art club gathered to meet up with Marinette. From there, Adrien would make his way to either fencing lessons or Chinese, depending on the day of the week. Marinette would join him on days when he had Chinese (as she’d become determined to master the language ever since her uncle visited from Shanghai a few years back), Alya would go to her journalism club, and Nino would travel to his part-time internship at the local recording studio.

“–and the backlogs just keep piling up!” Alya spoke as they walked, voice full of vigor and excitement. “I’ve had to recruit yet another mod to help me keep order in the forums! Especially since the Ladyblog has started going international and we’ve had to organize servers in different languages. You wouldn’t believe how crazy it’s gotten in there recently!”

“Dang, babe,” Nino interjected. “Sounds like things are super rough for you right now.”

“Not really, more busy than anything. Especially because I have that big research article due next week, there’s just not enough hours in the day to try to read everything that goes on in there. But I have my mods report to me daily, ‘cause I always like to stay on top of everything that goes on in the chats!”

“What’s gotten everyone so riled up in the Ladyblog lately?” Adrien chimed in. “I don’t recall it being nearly this busy last year.”

The trio entered the art club’s classroom and settled down at the table where Marinette sat, getting her various sketches organized. The art teacher was quite easy going, so they didn’t have to talk in hushed whispers and could come and go as they pleased.

“Well, to be honest, it’s because of Chat Noir,” Alya replied.

Adrien tried to contain his surprise. “R-really? What– uhhh, what do people have to say about him?”

He winced inwardly. He knew he shouldn’t ask. But curiosity got the better of him today. Maybe learning the news through the filter or Alya’s paraphrasing instead of reading the negative comments firsthand would lessen the sting of what people said about him.

Marinette whipped her head around at the mention of his alter ego. “Wait, what about Chat Noir?” she inquired.

“Girl,” Alya replied, her voice filled with renewed exuberance. “You would not believe how much we’ve had to censor and moderate all the inappropriate things people have been saying!”

Adrien flinched in his seat. “Wow… do people really hate him that much?” he asked, trying to conceal the dejection in his voice.

Alya busted out into loud guffaws. “Hate?! Dude, most people don’t hate him; they LOVE him! By ‘inappropriate’ comments, I mean the kinda stuff you wouldn’t want your grandma to catch you reading! There’s a whole giant section dedicated to his new fan club!” she said as she removed her glasses so she could wipe away the tears of laughter.

“WHAT?!” Adrien squawked in confusion, his face feeling hotter than the ovens back at the bakery. “A fan club??”

Marinette burst into uncontrollable snickering. “Has it really gotten that bad?!”

Nino joined in, “Bro! Adrien, I can’t believe you haven’t heard Alya rant about these rabid fans before! They call themselves the ‘Noir Nation’, and the kind of things they’ve been writing would make adult romance authors blush like schoolgirls!”

Alya nodded, thoroughly amused. “And that’s not including all the fanfiction people have been writing.”

“Wait– the WHAT?! There’s fanfiction?!!” Marinette gaped in shock, as if she’d been hit in the face with an enormous pie. “Alya, how come I never knew about this?!”

“Why? You wanna read em? Girl, you’ll get no judgment from me. If you wanna check ‘em out for yourself, just go check under the hashtag ‘Ladynoir’.”

Marinette stammered as her arms flailed in her bewilderment, accidentally knocking her phone off the table and onto the floor, her eyes bigger and rounder than Adrien had ever seen them. “They have a ship name?!” she screeched.

“Just mind the ratings though,” Alya advised. “Some of them can get pretty steamy. You wouldn’t want someone to catch you reading those in public,” she added with a wink.

Marinette continued to sputter incoherently. “NO, I am NOT gonna read it!! It would be different if they were fictional characters, but I could never read fanfiction about real people!”

Alya raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. “Mm-hmm… Sure.”

Marinette’s hands flew to her face, trying to hide how red her entire face had gotten, and released a long squeak that resembled a hamster on helium. As shocked as Adrien was about these rather unexpected news, seeing Marinette’s over-the-top reaction brought a wide grin to his face and he busted out laughing.

He bent over to retrieve Marinette’s phone, since she was too busy being mortified to notice it had fallen to the floor. As he was about to hand it back, the screen lit up and Adrien saw the lockscreen wallpaper: it was the same photo of Ladybug and Chat Noir that he himself had saved earlier that day. He smiled, not exactly sure what to make of it, but finding it adorable that she’d liked the photo enough to set it as her lockscreen.

He tapped her shoulder, waiting for her to respond. She emerged from behind her impromptu hand shield and turned her head, then her eyes widened once again as soon as she saw what Adrien was showing her. She jolted straight up, stiff as a board, and her eyes met his, cheeks turning tomato red. He winked at her, amused about this little secret between them, and handed back her phone without a word.

Marinette accepted it with a meek-sounding, “Thanks,” looking like she wanted to explain the photo, but not able to do so unless she wanted Alya and Nino to find out that she was potentially a… ahem– “Ladynoir” shipper.

Switching the conversation to something else (which Marinette seemed to be eternally grateful for), the group chatted until it became time for them to scatter to their next destinations.

With a wave, Adrien exited the classroom and headed towards fencing practice, one of the few activities he decided to stick with despite not being forced to participate. Fencing, along with Chinese lessons, were not only enjoyable, but were also quite useful. Sadly, he didn’t have access to a piano anymore, so he wasn’t able to pursue that hobby for the time being. Hopefully later down the line, when things had settled down and he’d found his own place to live, he’d be able to finance one.

Thinking about the future had become an exciting pastime instead of an anxiety-inducing one, and it was all thanks to his friends and those he cared about. He smiled as he reached the door to the locker rooms, continuing to daydream of what was to come.

(Mood music: "Recollection 3" - Shirō Sagisu (BLEACH OST, "The Diamond Dust Rebellion")

Adrien finished getting dressed for fencing, his head still blissfully floating in the clouds. He stored his belongings into his assigned locker, shutting it with a loud clang, which echoed through the empty room.

Huh...? Empty?

He swiveled his head around, surprised that there was no one beside him. He stood up and began walking down the large room, peeking down the other locker rows looking for his classmates; but there was nobody.

Where was everyone? There’s no way that every single one of them was running late. Had his lessons been cancelled and he’d somehow missed a text message or email? He began heading back towards his locker to check his phone for any schedule changes.

Before he reached his destination, however, heavy thudding footsteps broke the eerie silence. Adrien whipped his body around to greet whoever they belonged to.

The owner of those footsteps was one of the last people Adrien expected to meet here.

“Gaspard?!”

Adrien stood agape, face to face with his old bodyguard, whom he hadn’t seen in a couple of years; not since he’d resigned and moved out of the country. Nathalie had mentioned that in his resignation letter, Gaspard said that he’d become involved in an overseas business venture involving the market of rare action figures. Nevertheless, Adrien couldn’t help but suspect that his father’s ill temper and poor treatment of their employees was the true reason for his departure.

Adrien’s first reaction was surprise and joy, and he rushed forward to greet and embrace him. However, as he approached and got a better look at the man’s face, Adrien’s mood instantly morphed into confusion and apprehension. There was something odd about his eyes.

Something wasn’t right. Why was Gaspard here? And why now?

He came to a halt about a meter before reaching him. An oppressive weight seemed to press in all around him, and he had to suppress a shiver. “Wait. Gaspard, did–” he gulped, “–did my father send you?”

His old bodyguard did not reply, but took a heavy step towards him. Adrien stepped back.

“Please… I can’t go back. I live somewhere else now, and I’m very happy there. Whatever he told you about the situation, it’s a lie.”

His bodyguard continued to approach him, his stare vacant and unsettling.

Fighting the urge to panic, he pleaded, “You don’t have to do this. If he’s offered you compensation, I can match it; it’ll just take me a bit of time. But we can work something out, right?? For old time’s sake?”

He continued walking backwards until he bumped into something firm, but it wasn’t a wall; it was another person. Before he could turn around, they grabbed him by the shoulders, detaining him and preventing him from running away.

He was about to shout for help when something sharp jabbed him on the side of the neck, injecting a cold liquid. Adrien’s eyes grew wide in terror.

Shit.

Adrien swore as he jerked away, elbowing whoever was behind him and managing to break free. Rubbing at the spot where the syringe had stabbed him, he glanced back to take a look at his other assailant, only to see... another Gaspard?

Why are there two of him??

This was wrong. Gaspard didn’t have a twin; he knew that for a fact. He’d worked for the Agrestes ever since Adrien was a toddler and was too young to even pronounce his name correctly (hence the nickname “Gorille”, which stuck around for years afterwards). Additionally, there was something uncanny, otherworldly, even, about the way these two men looked and moved.

He shook himself out of his stupor. He didn’t have time to contemplate any possible explanations. He had to get out of there fast.

He sprinted towards the exit, but only managed to travel a few paces before he lost his footing and tripped. He fell to the ground hard, almost hitting his head on a nearby bench. As he struggled to get up, he realized that his fingers and toes had already gone numb.

Not good.

Time was running out. Adrenaline coursed through him and, with a grunt, he hefted himself to his feet and scrambled towards the exit, as fast as he could despite a heavy limp. Though his heart was hammering and his legs felt like they were filled with sand, he pushed himself, concentrating on reaching the door.

After taking a few steps, however, he realized that even if he did manage to exit the locker room, the area beyond was an open courtyard. Meaning he wasn’t going to be able to reach someplace safe before getting caught. He had no choice but to transform into Chat Noir, and hopefully Plagg’s powers and strength could help him escape and find somewhere to hide.

He’d scarcely uttered the first syllable in the transformation phrase when he was tackled to the ground. A giant hand swiftly covered his mouth and Adrien felt his hands get bound together with thick zip ties behind his back. A muffled scream of writhing frustration made its way up his throat as his limbs became more and more useless by the second.

No… This can’t be happening! Please, this can’t be how it all ends!

Just when his life had finally gained a semblance of normalcy and he’d found happiness again, it would get ripped away and he would disappear without a trace, leaving everyone to wonder what had happened to him. Leaving his friends to think that Gabriel had pulled him from school and they would never see him again. Leaving Ladybug to wonder if Chat had abandoned her forever. Leaving her to fight Hawkmoth alone. Again.

He couldn’t let that happen. He thrashed and struggled as furiously as he could, fighting the feelings of overwhelming helplessness that threatened to consume him. Nearing despair, he was too distracted to notice Plagg phrasing through the wall, away from the skirmish, in search of the only person who could save him.

(Mood music: "Run" - Ludovico Einaudi)

Marinette fidgeted with her pencil, her feet wiggled and bounced under her desk. She didn’t understand; when she’d arrived at the art club, her head had been filled with inspiration and ideas that she’d been excited to draw and execute. However, at the moment, her mind was filled with noise and disquietude.

Having had enough, she excused herself to visit the restroom. Once she’d walked far enough from the classroom, she opened her purse to talk to Tikki about her current dilemma.

“It’s the same feeling as last night, Tikki! Except that would mean one of three possibilities. Option A.) It’s nothing and I’m going crazy. And— don’t give me that look, Tikki! I can see what you’re thinking and I don’t have time for your cheeky sass right now!” The kwami snickered while Marinette cleared her throat and continued, “Option B.) that Chat is here, at this school, which is impossible because his school’s on the other side of the city, that’s why he always leaves the house super early for his long commute.”

Tikki opened her mouth and looked like she was about to say something, but then didn’t (...or couldn’t?).

Marinette resumed, “Or, C.) that my–– what do I even call it? My ‘Spidey sense’??–– that it’s got a long distance mode, and Chat is all the way across Paris and he’s in trouble! But what am I supposed to do about that from here?! I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking!”

Tikki shrugged. “Follow your instincts, Marinette. There’s no harm in taking a quick look around the school, right?”

Marinette groaned. “UGH! It doesn’t make sense!! Am I going to get interrupted like this all the time from now on?” She shook her head resolutely. “No. I can’t just go off on random field trips every single time I feel a random fit of anxiety. I’m sure it’s just leftover jitters from last night. I’m supposed to call Master Fu after school anyway; he can help me figure everything out. I’m just gonna go back to class and forget about it.”

Tikki frowned, not quite convinced, but deciding not to press further.

Marinette made her way back to the classroom in a frustrated huff. But as her hand reached to turn the handle, the feelings of danger and urgency multiplied tenfold. Without a word, she sprinted away in the opposite direction, not even knowing where she was running to, only knowing she had to get there immediately.

She reached the large common area of the school downstairs. Her head whipped around, frantically searching for something, anything. In her haste, she didn’t notice a small black creature zoom into her open purse.

A few moments later, she felt a frantic tugging at her shirt from below.

“Marinette!! Over there! Check the locker room, quick!!!” Tikki whisper-screamed as she peeked outside the purse, her tone uncharacteristically frantic.

Marinette nodded, then sprinted to the locker room.

“Wait! You should transform first!” Tikki added.

No time!

“Marinette, wait!!”

Despite Tikki’s protests, Marinette raced towards the double doors, tackling them open.

Three sets of eyes landed on her as she skidded to a halt, but only one pair consumed her entire attention. She gasped in horror, hands flying to her face as she stared at what was occurring in front of her. Adrien let out a desperate, muffled scream urging her to run.

His panicked voice snapped her out of her dazed shock; but instead of running, she stood her ground, eyes darting back and forth across the area searching for something useful. The room was remarkably barren except for a lone broom a short distance away from her. She grabbed it and leaped towards the closest attacker (the one holding Adrien down), swinging it like a baseball bat.

The man didn’t even try to avoid the hit; the broomstick merely bounced off the side of his face where Marinette had hit him. She frowned in confusion, then tried hitting him again, bringing the stick down on the top of his head like an axe.

SNAP.

The end of the broom flew off, and Marinette stared in shock at the broken broomstick.

“What the hell are you?!” Marinette exclaimed, shifting her grip on the shortened wooden stub.

She pounced at the second bodyguard, bringing her weapon down in a stabbing motion; but he swatted at her hand, disarming her. She yelped in pain, leaping backwards to get some distance between them.

She was outmatched. The only strategy available was to use their own size against them. With a feint to the side, she shot at his legs for a takedown, hoping to catch him off balance. He called her bluff and shoved her backwards with his giant palm, then kneed her in the stomach.

Winded from the impact, Marinette doubled over with a gasping wheeze, fighting with all her might to keep herself from collapsing onto the ground. She forced herself upright and attacked again. With a clumsy jerk, she lunged forward, swinging wild punches at her opponent. The shots connected but his expression barely changed; it was like beating a breathing punching bag.

The bodyguard backhanded Marinette across the face. Pain shooting across her cheek, she staggered, almost losing her balance. In her daze, she watched helplessly as the man reared his arm back. There was no chance to dodge. His fist connected with her abdomen, delivering a liver shot that shut down her entire body. She crumpled to the floor as if boneless. She tried to call out Adrien’s name, but her mouth merely opened in a silent scream.

Marinette could hear Adrien’s distressed screaming, but it sounded distant, like they were underwater. The edges of her vision grew black and fuzzy, the entire room dissolving around her. She had to consciously force her lungs to inhale, but couldn’t fill them all the way, as if a boulder had been placed on top of her chest.

Faintly, she felt herself getting picked up off the ground and carried away over someone’s shoulder. Disoriented and semi-blinded, the sudden movement and rough jostling made her head spin and gave her vertigo. She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block it all out.

A few moments later, they stopped moving, and she heard a door burst open. Where were they? Before she could gather her senses, she was in the air, thrown several meters away, landing with a hard thud. A sharp pain traveled down her body as she rolled into the wall across them. The shriek that tried to escape her throat emerged as a strained, shallow whine.

The man stomped out, leaving her alone in the room. “Stop…!” she rasped out, managing to tilt her neck upwards, head pounding.

The bodyguard slammed the door shut, followed by a bang and a clattering sound that could only mean he’d broken the doorknob of whatever room she was in.

Marinette's vision became more and more blurred. At the verge of losing consciousness, she fought to keep her eyes open as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

No, she couldn’t pass out! She had to save Adrien! Stay awake, Marinette, stay awake!!

She bit down on her lip hard, focusing on the sharp sting, on the swelling that was already forming around her right eye, forcing herself to feel the pain her body was in. At this moment, feeling pain was better than falling unconscious. She concentrated on her breathing, slowly regaining her senses.

She reached down to open her purse and get Tikki’s help… only to be met with emptiness. Panic settled in her gut as she realized that sometime during the skirmish, the purse had slipped off her shoulder. She sat up, slowly, so she wouldn’t risk feeling faint again from the change in positions.

She squinted, adjusting her eyesight to the darkness of the room. It seemed to be some sort of supply closet. After a failed few attempts to stand, she crawled towards the door instead, careful not to bump into the crates and shelves that filled the area.

The girl eyed the broken doorknob wearily. She was pretty proficient at lockpicking and breaking into things, but not as good at breaking out. Her only hope was that Tikki would be able to find her… if she was even nearby.

She swore to herself. Why had she rushed in and attacked two grown ass men (who, incidentally, may or may not be supernatural to boot!) instead of hiding and creating a strategy?! Now she was useless, Tikki was gone, and Adrien was surely on his way to get auctioned to the highest bidder in the criminal black market and ransomed off for an enormous sum. Great job, Marinette. Adrien’s been abducted and it’s all your fault.

Gathering all the determination she could muster, she tried to call out for help. But her voice was still too hoarse, and only a weak croak came out. She clenched her fists, grumbling irritably. Time for a different approach. Somehow, she needed to make noise.

After a brief search, she found a hard, metallic object that she could use to hammer on the door. She tested it out; it was surprisingly effective. She doubled her efforts, making as big a racket as possible. Hopefully, it would only be a matter of time before somebody heard her, let her out, and she could go find Adrien.

She couldn’t let anything else happen to another loved one. Not again.

–––––

I'M REEEAAAAALLY SORRY FOR THAT CLIFFHANGER JSHDKFJHSKDF ᕕ(╯°д°)ᕗ  I tried splitting up the sections differently but it didn't really flow as well.

But the next chapter is almost done, so I'll have it ready by next weekend!!

[bklily]

MLB Shanghai Special!

Here are my thoughts ™ as I watched:

- FEI'S SO CUTE OMG QUEEN SLAY

- Ladybug and Chat Noir literally going on dates for the summer Ladynoir nation we are being well fed

- omg Mari sweetie kfnskcns calm down on the adrien high please

- GORILLA BACK WITH THE AUDIO BOOKS I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

- gabriel's been plotting his revenge plan for 15 years?? The fuck?? I thought Adrien's mom vanished while he was already grown up he even has pictures with her :/

- yeah this part still lightly upsets me cuz the whole thing should've been a family trip but i digress

- adrien is so excited for this trip and to spend some time with his father gabriel ffs

- huh sabine has another name? That's interesting

- god marinette is ballsy I'd be scared shitless of even going to the bathroom in a foreign country

- "are you planning to put adrien in a soup" TIKKI NO

- more Kwamis lore! Tho it makes sense they can speak every language. Tikki should teach some to Marinette

- gorilla is too precious for this world I'm sobbing he just wanted some dolls

- fei's either got the smoothest hands on the planet of marinette has shot nerves how the fuck do you not notice your earrings getting stolen

- adrien wanting to make a surprise for marinette is so cute

- tikkis sees in red??? Are kwamis like animals with different eye color perception??

- okay for real i like that the guys are trying to help but you don't just trust two guys on a bike that's how you get robbed

- gorilla. My beloved. He deserves all the happiness

- every time this guy calls fei baby i wanna punch him into a hole

- her face when she saw chats message i wanna cry

- her outfit, as usual, is just the colorful spandex. Why can't we have nice things sob

- HOLY SHIT HE JUST GOT EVAPORATED GET DUNKED ON HAWKMOTH

- lmao chat "is that good news or bad news" if only you knew

- NOOOOO CHAT GOT THANOSED

- ....I never thought I'd see the day where ladybug got vored.

- Renren! So cuuute

- LMAO they're trying to fool each other the absolute fools

- fei n marinette are the sister duo i didn't know we needed

---

Overall this was a really fuckin good special! I might've liked it even better than the NY one cuz it focused more on Marinette individually. I also liked Fei more than the bunch of characters (except Aeon and Jess) that the NY special tried to introduce. Tldr, it was a fun ride, highly recommend!

[2manyfandoms2count]

The set up - Chapter 3

Alya being a good friendTM to Marinette; she can't really launch operation: Ladrien without checking that her friend isn't secretly harbouring feelings for one Chat Noir (or anybody else, for that matter)... Actual Ladrien to come next chapter. Hope you enjoy this one in the meantime!

First | Previous | AO3

---

Chapter 3

Alya felt like she was walking on air (and really, she probably would have been, were she not sitting at her desk, browsing through the Ladyblog archive).

Her week was just unironically the gift that kept on giving; every day seemed to bring something to extend her smile a little further towards her ears. People really weren’t kidding when they said things had to get worse before they got better; after having witnessed her relationship with her best friend slowly unravel, before full on ripping, things had indeed become better, the stitching between them feeling tighter than ever. It felt like she’d simultaneously won the national lottery and the Euromillion, and that she’d received a personal invitation to intern for the most competitive news channel in Paris, without having applied for any of it. Really, things were good.

As she waited for a new tab to load (she was far from the maximum she’d ever reached while conducting research, but evidently it was enough for her computer to protest), she spared a loving thought for Nino. She hoped he hadn’t taken the fact that she’d been very antsy the whole time he’d been hanging out with her, and then that she’d almost literally slammed the door behind him when he’d left badly; her urge to go and scream excitedly into a pillow had just been too strong, and even though she was usually all for being sappy at the door, she'd had to take her leave to avoid risking Marinette's secret.

She understood her boyfriend's disarray and his distress at the news that his friends probably wouldn’t end up together, no matter how hard he tried, and she couldn’t really blame him. In fact, she actually supposed that she should take the blame for his reaction; she'd maybe, somewhat, oversold double dates with Adrien and Marinette in the past, and maybe even triple dates involving the duo and Ladybug and Chat Noir. She’d had to grieve the latter, but she was hell-bent on making the former happen, although maybe not the way she’d considered it before - if Marinette was still open to the idea, of course.

She picked up her phone, dialled her friend’s number, and stuck it between her ear and her shoulder, opening an email tab on her computer and starting to copy and paste links in it.

“Heyyyy girl, how’s my favourite Lady doing?” She smirked upon hearing Marinette's greeting.

There was an audible sigh on the other end of the line. “Alya, I know you’re trying to be subtle, but please don’t call me that.” Alya knew her friend well enough to discern the slight warning edge underlying her joking tone.

“Why? Because that nickname’s saved for a certain catboy?” She stuck her tongue out cheekily, even though her friend couldn’t see it.

Marinette paused, and Alya was almost certain that if she turned the camera on, she’d witness her cheeks flaming up at the mere mention of romance between her and her partner. Man, it’s good to be back, she sighed happily. She’d missed teasing her best friend.

“Come on, Alya, you know that’s ridiculous,” the latter scoffed.

“Is it, though?” Alya hit the send button. “Check your email.”

“What are you - oh Kwami,” she gasped. Alya leaned back in her chair, a satisfied smile playing on her lips as she went through the content her friend was discovering. “Alya, why did you send me all these romantic collages of me and Chat?”

“Because I wanted you to see why I thought you guys were a thing.” She overheard Nadja Chamack’s voice on Marinette’s side and quickly started the footage of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s interview herself.

Marinette grunted. “Ugh, I really didn’t need to be reminded of that. It was so embarrassing.”

“Because it's hard to deny the evidence, maybe?” Alya was aware that she was starting to push a little far, but she promised herself she’d change the subject soon, if Marinette didn’t take care of it herself.

“I know what it looks like, okay?” She could almost see her friend rubbing her temples in frustration. “But I promise you, he’s really just a friend.”

“Okay! Noted.” Alya closed her Ladynoir tabs, and was greeted with two pictures, side by side: Adrien and Marinette dancing in the moonlight in New York, and Adrien clutching Ladybug in his arms as they descended along the Tour Montparnasse.

“It’s unlike you to give up so easily, what are you up to?” Alya knew her friend was probably squinting suspiciously as she spoke.

“Nothing! Can’t a girl just believe her best friend when she tells her about her feelings?” Marinette harrumphed doubtfully, which Alya took as a cue to move on to the crispier matter at stake. “But speaking of ‘just a friend’s, I kind of want to circle back to something - I’m happy with you swearing off love for the time being if you really think that's what's best for you right now, even though I’ll miss planning double dates, but are you sure it’s what you want?”

The couple of minutes it took for Marinette to organise her thoughts had Alya think she’d be sent packing. She was surprised when her friend replied softly. “I just don’t think it would be very wise. It's kind of tiring, you know? Like, I really enjoyed dating Luka, he was so patient with me and so thoughtful, but it taught me that without revealing my secret, I can’t make myself available enough to have a healthy relationship. Add to that the fact that I don’t even know if Adrien likes me that way, if it’s worth going through the pain of the lies again… I’d rather just wait it out.”

Alya nodded silently. “So it’s mostly the fact that you can’t reveal your secret identity that’s making you feel that way.”

“I guess so, yes.”

“Well I’ll be damned,” Alya chuckled. “Not so long ago, you were practically ready to give away your first child if it meant you’d end up with Adrien, and now look at you. I’m proud of you, Marinette. You’re being so strong.”

“I’m pretty sure it was my first three children, actually, but yeah.��� She could tell her friend was smiling, and she was glad that she’d made that happen.

“Okay, well. We’re just going to have to work harder to take down Hawkmoth, aren’t we? Which won't be too problematic, given that we have all the time we used to dedicate to the variations of operation: secret garden that's now free,” Alya replied with as much affection as she could so it would carry over without the smile it was associated with.

“Sounds like a plan!” Marinette chuckled. “Want to come over tomorrow after school, to help me with the Grimoire?”

“That sounds great. See you tomorrow, bestie!”

“Thanks, Alya.”

Alya hung up and made a mental note to hug her friend the next day, just to remind her that she was happy to help and that she’d always be there. The girl really deserved it.

Then, she zoomed in on the picture of Adrien and Ladybug.

She understood Marinette’s reluctance to start a relationship if she couldn’t be as honest as possible with her partner. But what her friend failed to see was that she had a massive loophole on her side; for all intents and purposes, she had two secret identities - Ladybug, as Marinette, and Marinette, as Ladybug. And hiding Ladybug’s "secret" identity seemed a lot easier to achieve, especially if Adrien really worshipped the ground she walked on. Knowing him, he'd probably be very respectful of the boundaries the superhero set regarding the mask.

She just needed to get the two of them together somehow, reverse Uno card-ing her friend with the technique that had gotten her and Nino together.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, she mentally sing-sang as she started jotting down her ideas on a blank document. Looking at the list, she declared operation: Ladrien a go.

[radishearts]

ladynoir july: Confession week

Read on Ao3:

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Confession week day 3, part 4: Babysitting. 

Analyse the following sentences:

“No Manon, you can’t play mecha strike three.”

“No Manon, don’t touch that!”

“No Manon, i’m not a fairy.”

Do they have anything in common?

The correct answer is yes,

‘No Manon’, seemed to be the one thing marinette had been repeating all night, other than the dread of events that had occurred earlier that evening, she told herself she was going to give him a chance, one chance, to win her over. She seemed to be a little flustered around him now, god knows why, but it was for the sake of herself, yeah, that sounded righ-

Her thoughts were cut short by a buzz in her pocket.

@Ladyofspots_official - evening m’lady, nice night to stargaze

@Chatnoir_official - we literally just saw each other kitty! - if that's what you're suggesting

@Ladyofspots_official- can’t blame a cat for trying?

She paused for a second,

@Chatnoir_official - it actually is really pretty out there, shame i’m on babysitting duties

@Ladyofspots_official - the saviour of Paris, babysitting? I never would have picked that as one of the things you spend your time with on a sunday night

@Chatnoir_official - a lot of things about me would surprise you,

Again she hesitated, looking at Manon who was now bundling herself in fabric. She deleted what she was about to send.

@Chatnoir_official- how good are you at lullabies kitty?

His response was almost instantaneous

@Ladyofspots_official- shall we say the eiffel tower in 15 minutes

@Chatnoir_official- great, thanks for the help, I may be a national disaster when it comes to babysitting

@Ladyofspots_official - you gotta handle children like akumas, dual style, you and me against the chirren m’lady

@Chatnoir_official - don’t start quoting vines.

@Ladyofspots - that's how I roll, see you soon!

Marinette didn’t reply, turning her attention to the monstrosity of Manon. She sighed.

“Hey Manon, would you like Ladybug and Chat noir to come and sing you some lullabies?”

“Really!” her eyes lit up “goody, goody!” she stopped making a mess and ran over to marinette.

“Just stay here, i’m gonna call ladybug!”

“You two are friends right?”

“Yeah, were friends!” marinette chuckled, “just remember to do what she says!”

“Yes marinette!”

“I’ll go get her then. Stay here Manon!”

She walked out of her room, quickly finding a place to transform. “Are you sure you don’t like him?” Tiki teased, pointing to the dreamy expression on her face

“Oh, shush up!” she said playfully “tiki spots on!”

A pink flash of light flooded the corridor and she knocked on the door to see Manon peeking through from the other side.

“Marinette said you would come.”

“Would you like to go stargazing with me and chat noir?”

“Really i can come.”

Ladybug nodded her head as she picked up a call from chat.

“You ready m’lady?”

“I’ll be there in a sec!”

“I’ll be waiting!”

Ladybug hoisted Manon up onto her back,

“Just remember, don’t tell chatnoir who you are, infact-” she stole a mask from the table, “you can wear this!”

“I get to pretend I'm a superhero?”

“Yeah, something like that, just hold on tight.”

She walked up the stairs onto the balcony and yo-yoed away.

“Evening again m’lady!” chatnoir greeted, running his hands through his blonde hair.

“Your right the stars are amazing!” she exclaimed, placing Manon down carefully on a beam

“And who is pigtails here?”

“Ladybug said i can’t tell you, that's why I'm wearing this mask, like a superhero!”

“ I suppose you need a code name in, i mean we can’t keep calling you pigtails, that's ladybugs nickname!”

“Ladybug has a nickname?”

“Several, now, how about kitten noir?”

“Your gonna adopt her aren’t you?”

“Why jealous much bugaboo?”

“No, absolutely not, it’s cute actually.”

“And what are you referring too?”

She rolled her eyes sarcastically.

“You didn’t.”

“I did.” he turned back to ‘kitten noir’ “can you see all the stars?”

“Yeah there pretty!”

“Would you say there as pretty as her?”

“Sure.” she replied gazing at the stars and not really paying attention to him.

Chat gave a side smile to ladybug.

“Chat…”

“A childs wisdom, beyond all of our understanding.”

“Really?”

“Yes-” chat glanced over at her, she was standing up in a hero pose, slightly shivering, “-are you cold?”

“ Even july get’s a little chilly.”

“Sit.”

“What?”

“Sit, and wait here with her, you must be freezing,i’ll be back soon.”

“No, it’s ok.” she sat down next to him.

“Would you prefer cuddles?” he joked

“Your just a flirt.”

“Only with you, just wait here ,” he said.

“What could he be up to?” she whispered

“Probably planning to kiss you.” Manon giggled

Ladybug gulped, her cheeks heating up. Minutes later he returned with bundles of blankets.

“rug up!” he exclaimed, thrusting a throw over at her.

“A little over the top kitty!”

“I’m not going to let you freeze am i?”

She sighed resting her head upon his shoulder, ‘kitty noir’ curled up in his lap.

“Stargazing was a good idea.”

“You can thank my inner genius.”

“More like inner flirt, we both know this was all just a plan for you too spend time with me.”

“If you figured it out, why did you come.”

“Like you said, you gotta handle children like akumas, dual style, you and me against the chirren my kitty!”

“I love when you call me that.”

“Call you what?”

“My kitty, it sounds like i’m your’s which you are but like-”

“True."

“I should shut up.” he sighed

“No keep talking, otherwise i'll fall asleep.”

“How about a story then?”

“Sounds good, shoot kitty.”

“Ok so like, once upon a time there was a lady and her knight,”

“And….”

“And the knight was head over heels for her,”

“but…”

“But the lady would not return her feelings.”

“Soo….”

“So, one day the royal scribe and her assistant asked some questions.”

“What type of questions?”

“The awkward type, they kept on asking whether he was courting her, after all she was a fair lady and many of the men were enchanted by her beauty.”

“Interesting,”

“Indeed, the lady denied it, however the scribes assistant challenged the knight to win the lady over in one week, the knight accepted, and in turn challenged the rest of the kingdom to confess their feelings to the ones they loved.”

“This story sounds familiar.”

“...By a blue bird this message was carried and delivered to all the land, each accepting the challenge.”

“What happened next?”

“Well in turn the knight won over her heart and her hand, and they all lived happily ever after.”

“I wonder where your inspiration came from?”

“Call it a retell?”

“Of an event that hasn’t occurred yet?”

“are you suggesting it might happen?”

“Who knows? It’s confession week chat, anything can happen!”

she stood up scooping Manon up into her arms.

“Even the things that seem...miraculous.” she winked at him, extracting the yo yo from her waist.

Now it was chat’s turn to run after her.

“Wait…” he pleaded, grabbing her wrist. “See you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow sounds amazing.”

He turned around, to collapse in sheer excitement. He wasn’t being rejected for once, and that was worth a celebration.

“And chat..” she said spinning her yoyo, “thanks for the story!”

And with that she zipped away leaving chat noir weak at the knees.

She was giving him a chance.

A chance to win her over.

he was going to take it.

And he was going to win it.

@ladynoirjuly2019

[teamsavingmyles]

Sing, Rival!

Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays to @luminousinthedark! I hope you’ll enjoy this fic and stay awesome and have a great everyday! 

Characters: Chat Noir, Ladybug, Jagged Stone, some OCs

Words: 4k 

Tags: Fluff, Humor, some behind the lyrics commentary by the lyricists, Implied Romance i guess?,  Ladynoir partnership right here ;)  

link to ao3 

link to the song via google drive is here. (The video there just shows how i think the song in the fic would sound like.) 

(the song in the fic is inspired by: Death Should Not Have Taken Thee! and Tokyo Summer Session)

 Enjoy!

“We’re home!” Chat shouted as they landed to the random rooftop and pretended to drop their ‘bags’ before lying down. 

“What a cozy bed of..tiles.” Ladybug said, sitting down beside him. 

“Woah look!” He sprang up and there was the sun, glimmers of it rising through the dark clouds. His heartbeat rang loudly as he waited for another peek of the sun, still small like a new born flower. It was the same sun and yet not. 

“Yeah.” Ladybug suddenly said and he glanced at her, staring at the sun slowly rising and it’s weird that there’s no beeping of a ring or earrings that they could spend time like this and that—it’s the first time they watched a sunrise together.

The first time that Adrien watched a sunrise. 

“Do we have to go?” He found himself asking, pleading to stay and let the sun pass by just for once. 

Slowly she glanced down and to him, opening her mouth to breathe in and out and— she smiled. 

“I guess not.”

His smile almost split his lips as he bounced and sat down, patting the space beside him. 

“I’m already seated, Chaton.” He blinked dumbly. 

“Oh, right.” She laughed as he scooted over to her, still grinning. So much so that he couldn’t help singing whatever song came to mind. He sang it low, not wanting to destroy the peace but she still looked at him, bewildered. 

“What? It’s a beautiful place we’re in.” He shrugged. She shook her head and turned back to the sun but he could tell she was listening to him. A warm feeling seeped through him. 

“Wooohooo!” 

Chat yelped and glanced down to find a drunken man and his friends stumbling across the streets. They flashed him a thumbs-up and a grin. 

Ladybug glanced at Chat and he glanced back. They laughed and the drunken man and his friends continued off to where Chat stopped singing. 

“Woah, they sure have great memory.” Chat said as they watched them perform.

Ladybug nudged him. “Chat, it’s the national anthem.” 

He shrugged. “Who knows? Some people may forget it like how you forgot Jagged Stone’s debut song.” 

“It was an accident, okay!” 

“An accident? How does escaping from a bet by saying that you ‘forgot the lyrics’ count as an accident?” Chat huffed. 

Ladybug blushed and rubbed her right arm before retorting back. “I was about to sing it but I got mind blocked!” 

“Oh sure, sure.” He shook his head quickly and waved away her excuses. She huffed, pouting and Chat was pretty sure his heart melted by then. 

A silence fell after that, Chat felt his whole body melting from her pout before she stopped and just looked at the sun again and— 

“Hey Chat...Chat Noir!” 

“Hmm yes?” Chat looked around and glanced down the rooftop. The drunk man and his friends were right below them. 

“Sing, s-sing me a song before I sleep.” The drunk man said, shuffling his feet a little. Chat chuckled and shook his head fondly. 

“But you’re not yet home, Monsieur.” The drunk man looked confused for a moment before he stomped on his foot and pointed at both Chat Noir and Ladybug. 

“You’re on top of my home, Ch-Chat Noir. And uh, bug lady.” They glanced at each other and amid Chat trying not to laugh at their predicament and the man’s name calling of Ladybug, they decided to go down. 

Once the hopped down, his friends pulled out their phones and started filming.

Ladybug shrugged and gestured for Chat to talk to the man since the man recognized him and not her. 

Chat cleared his throat and faced the man, “So what song do you want me to sing, Monsieur?” 

“Christmas...Merry Chatmas, Chris.” The man answered immediately and Chat stifled a laugh, furrowing his eyebrows. 

Merry Christmas, right? 

He glanced back at Ladybug who was smiling and gestured for him to proceed. The man’s friends giggled. 

“Okay, Monsieur.” Chat said and took a breath. Here goes his choral performance. 

“We wish you a merry chatmas, we wish you a merry chat mas, we wish you a merry chatmas and a happy new year!” 

“What tidings we bring, for you and your friends!” He deepened his voice and clasped his hands together much to the laughter of everyone except the drunk man. The drunk man stared deeply to Chat, a constant chill threatening to run down Chat’s spins. 

“Woo!” Ladybug cheered and Chat swallowed, preparing to sing one more round. 

“We wish you a merry chatmas and a happy new year!” He bowed and the claps that followed made it feel like a bombastic performance. Chat grinned but it soon faded as the man stomped on the floor again. 

“No! Sing it, infinite times!” Oh no. Chat shook his head as gently as he could to refuse. 

“No wait, uh, how about we make this video on loop?” He then pointed to the various cameras. 

The man seemed to consider this and sat down on the floor to think. 

“Ah, should we...?” Chat asked worriedly but the man’s friends simply gathered a little closer to the man. 

“Do I just, uh, stand here?” He asked again. Ladybug patted his back and shrugged. 

“Um, apparently they’re used to handling drunk friends so we can just leave it up to them. Nice singing there, partner.” 

“Of course! I plan to serenade you, my Lady.” He wiggled his eyebrows and knelt down. She immediately pulled him up though and shook her head. 

“Save your meowling for the infinite times, kitty. You’ll need it.” Wait, what— 

“No, you have to sing it in infinity!” The man suddenly insisted and his friends apologized but he kept insisting. 

Chat grimaced. Oh no...

"Oh, well aren't you early this time, my Lady?" Chat smiled and opened the door to the stage. Cold air burst past them and a flicker of stage lights flashed. 

"It's a contest this time." 

"Ooh, ready to win this?" He asked, leaning against the door frame. 

"Against Jagged Stone?" She quietly laughed. There was no way they would beat the legendary rock star, especially in making and performing original music.

“Just so you know, I totally believe in us.” He winked. 

She scoffed. “Isn’t it just you who’s performing though? This is your first big stage.” At the mention of his stage, Chat blushed and scratched the back of his neck. 

“I’m still kind of shocked on how we got here.” He admitted. That was true. It was pretty wild to think that the drunk man was the host of this competitive television show who lost a bet and ended up drinking too much. After he got sober, he immediately apologized and offered for both Ladybug and Chat Noir to get free slots to be part of an episode of the show where Chat could sing all he wanted.

They agreed but had no idea that their opponent was Jagged Stone— 

“Oh they’re starting! We should go now.” Chat interrupted and excitedly peeked out the door. She followed. 

“Here with us tonight is Jagged Stone!" The host announced with massive clapping especially from them. 

“Let’s do this.” They fist bumped and nodded at each other when suddenly bright light flashed at them. 

“Our aspiring and lovely singers, Chat Noir and Ladybug!” The whole place reverberated with excitement and the camera focused on them. They walked up to the stage, the little stairs leading up to a massive stage where Jagged Stone and the host were. 

The host bowed to their arrival and they as well before he turned to the camera and grinned.

Ladybug let out a breath and smiled too. 

“What theme what you want them to have, Mr. Jagged Stone?" Jagged Stone scratched his beard a little and a tiny voice in Ladybug wanted him to say none, they can do whatever they want! but the sudden smirk on his face squashed it out. 

“Rivalry.” Ladybug gaped and glanced at Chat, who gaped as well. Everything felt like it dropped down on her. Rivalry? Oh shoot. 

“Ladybug? Chat Noir?” Suddenly the host poked them and Ladybug shook her head and realized that he had been asking them something. 

“Uh, yes what?” 

“And how about you two? What would you want Jagged Stone to perform?”

"Farmers." Chat said abruptly and Ladybug snorted at the sudden thought. 

He huffed. “Why? Farmers is a great topic to sing about. Planting crops, tending to animals, um, having the time of their lives!” 

“You want to settle down so quickly, kitty. When you grow up, I expect a farm.” She said. 

Chat’s eyes lightened up and he grasped one of her hands. 

“Yes! A catnip farm!” 

She burst into laughter. 

“Chat Noir’s catnip! The most attractive cat in the world is back with the most attractive catnip!” He proudly said and suddenly turned to the camera. 

“Buy now and get it one in the future!” 

Numerous applause crashed down and they couldn’t stop laughing even when the host called back their attention. 

“You’ll have 24 hours to prepare. Good luck!” 

The host trailed on with the other contestants as they went down the stage and into the hallway once more. What could they do for this? It would be nice to have a conversational-type song for rivalry with Chat boasting and her bragging too and having some rock would hype them up too. They’d need to establish their own verses and styles though and— 

"Chat! Would you be okay with a rock style with a bit of rap?” Chat grinned.

“Yup! Where can we produce it though?” 

“We could do parts on our own and then meet up or video call and discuss—“ 

"That's it m'lady!" Chat bounced. "It's a rivalry too, to who can think and compose a song first than the other!"

 A grin stuck to Ladybug's cheeks. "Game on." 

After a few rings, Chat finally answered. 

"Chat?" She called out. 

"Can't talk right now, rival!" She rolled her eyes and tapped her pencil to her notebook. She kind of wrote a chorus and a verse but it didn’t seem that well polished. It was just her bragging about her powers and her abilities and it didn’t really make sense—they needed each other and they always saved the day with one another. So how could they be better than one another when they weren’t complete without each other? 

Ladybug felt an incoming headache. She heard the shuffling of paper and glanced at the video call. Chat was hunched over, scribbling into a lot of papers. A far off filled up trash can was on the edge of the dark room, probably an attic.

 "Is that—is that a trash can full of papers?" Ladybug asked. Chat flinched and stared at the camera guiltily. Ah, he was having difficulty too. But the guilt in his face even though it’s okay to struggle...Ladybug decided to wipe it away. 

"My, what an honorable citizen!" She exclaimed. 

"Yes, of course m'la—I mean, my rival!" Chat puffed up his chest. 

"I hope you're preparing a lot, rival." She said and offered him a smile. 

Chat's eyes widened before he nodded mutely.

A warm feeling filled her as he went back to scribbling but smiled all the way. The room looked like a mess...that’s it! Ladybug grinned and got back to work, finding inspiration from seeing Chat. 

“You can play?” Ladybug asked, as she noticed the piano when she entered his ‘workshop’. 

“I have lessons, m’lady. Want me to teach you?” He offered, playing a few notes.

She shook her head but smiled, “Maybe when we’re not time pressured.” 

“It’ll be a lot cleaner here, I promise.” He crossed his heart. 

“I’ll hold you to that in whatever place we are.” 

“Secret identities like you said.” Chat said and turned back to the piano. 

A small sigh escaped from Ladybug though she couldn’t figure out why and instead she leaned closer to Chat as he started playing. 

“So this might be the base melody of the guitar which I don’t have at all.” 

“Don’t worry, we can find one.” She patted his shoulder. He pouted. 

“I really want to rock it out!” Chat said and played the piano anyway. Short but powerful piece with a few unrestrained notes was the one Chat played and it was amazing to imagine it in guitar, it really did rock out. 

“Wow that was great.” Chat beamed and scribbled something down the notebook. 

“Are those your verses?” 

“I, I know how to write poems!” Chat said, blushing, the paper pressed to his chest. Hmm? 

“Yeah, I know.” Ladybug said and Chat seemed to calm down, the paper falling down to his lap as he let go. 

“O-Okay.” He nodded slowly, a small cute smile blooming on his relieved face. 

“Then can I see?” 

“No!” 

“Why not? I won’t judge. Unless…” 

“No!” 

“I didn’t even say anything!” She said in between laughs and dodged as Chat tried to push her away. In a flash though, she stole the paper away and took a quick read on it before he steals it back again. 

[ ] - Ladybug, { } - Chat, ( ) - what it actually sounds like/ extra stuff 

Woohooo (like an ambulance sound) x2 

(Sound of boots clanging to the ground serving as the drum/beat) 

Imma beat that [the guitar starts playing along with the bass's riff] {the bass is rlly fun here} 

Red warning signs, all this danger's going flat 

(Where the bad guys at?) 

It's safe when you call Chat 

Back, back, just relax 

It's all over in a flash 

Don't worry, danger's at the final point of max 

I'm saving all the flowers 

From the highest towers 

So you don't need to cower (cower-cower--cower~) 

“You dork!” Laughter bursted out of her as she imagined softer voices of Chat following after his very confident bravado. 

"You didn't even finish reading! How about my rap verse!" Chat complained.

 A gasp fell out of Ladybug. "Wait, you wrote a rap verse?" 

"Y-Yes of course!" Chat exclaimed, hunching forward a little. There were no signs of a rap verse in the paper. 

"It's not here though." 

"That's cause I knew you'd be looking for it! Chorus first then the rap." He scoffed at her eyebrow raise and waved his paper like an angry boss. 

"It's called a process, m'lady!" A process called hiding, he thought, a shiver running down his spine as Ladybug narrowed her eyes at him. A swirling bright blue star that wouldn't stop shining on him. Chat swallowed. 

"Fine, fine." She said, smiling. She went back to her earlier position, close to him. A small silence fell as Chat tried to think of what to say and what to do because ahg, she already read his! What was a gentlecat to do?

Before his confidence would fade even more, Chat asked, "So can I read yours?" He smiled eagerly and leaned forward. 

"-Sure." She passed him the paper. Success! 

Woah, Chat almost toppled off his chair. He could feel the beat right here and suddenly he started snapping his fingers and sang— 

Nobody ever believe his lies 

All his acting's got his tail, claws, whiskers tied 

None of his choices bring full peace 

It's a fake, shallow, pint-sized ease 

"Wow that worked really well with my own part, m'lady—" 

She clapped loudly and smiled before interjecting, "If you add a part where I suddenly enter the song and greet you like 'Hey!' and you go 'no way!' and there's where it switches to my chorus rather than yours."

 "Yes! That works." Chat nodded eagerly, that little idea and clap of hers hyping him up as he scribbled down the chorus and the part she suggested. 

"What else did you write?" He asked. 

She flashed him a smile and handed him the paper. He read through it and commented on her comments which she insightfully did at one point and she commented on his and they couldn’t stop laughing by the end of it. 

Swoosh swoosh swooshh! [Plucked notes from violin go along, then restart]

Swinging, swinging I can see 

From sky to ground of Paris! (French pronounced which is Par-ree or Pa-ri)

Oh I can reach you in time, [guitar strings vibrate and slow down, goes a little high] don't worry!

 This villain may be tough 

And it may get real rough [this gets really high] {wowowowo wait you can sing so high ah, you don't just swing high, you sing high!} [thanks Monsieur :)] 

But I can fight and think enough 

To heal what's broken by some! 

So trust in me, the spotted Lady— [prolong it] 

Bug! [instrumentals go off the rails here] {like screamo music!!} [scream in this part too, Chaton] {you better not regret this!!} 

Fly off! 

"That was so loud!" They both laughed as Chat inhaled as much as he could to scream again— 

This villain too rough 

You're just not enough 

So get out! 

"You okay there?" 

"Good, it's great screaming my heart out about complete lies that m'lady isn't good enough to beat people."

 Patting his back, Ladybug sighed. "This is a really hard challenge." 

"We're not even with the instrumentals yet." Chat weakly chuckled before nudging Ladybug away. 

He shot her a wink. "Let's finish it!" 

[sounds of Chat falling to someplace or since we're performing it, you fall to a trashcan] {meowch! I'm becoming a stray cat ;-;} 

Oh would you look at this mess! 

Damage from getting hit, I guess? 

If you know who did it, please do confess 

(It's Chat!) Oh why don't you just go and rest?

No, no, no, no! 

You can't steal this show! 

You're stooping so low! 

What kind of blow-- 

I fought him first but you had to quench your thirst 

Claiming to be the one who fought from square one 

No you can't kill steal! That's against our code, for real! 

'Don't waste the moves used, to fight the bad dudes!

If he fought it first, better luck next time, stop your burst!' [the last parts are spoken by an annoyed Chat] 

[the violin/strings here are rapid before I start] 

Well, when you end up not hitting anyway 

It's time for me to join the fray! (No, I'm okay!) 

It's time for me to save the day! (No, not today!) 

Save the day-y (not today!) 

Day-y (not today!) 

Day-y-y! (No way!) 

Nobody ever believe her lies 

She's failing and twists us to blinds 

Her overthinking leads to misuse 

It keeps up the big bad ruse! 

Hey! {it's-a me, Chat Noir! this time it's me surprising you, Buginette ;))} [...here's my surprised face : >:-( ] {afhhgjh code red! Never surprise the Lady! i repeat hajdkd} 

No way! [this is sang through instead of some lil heys and no ways] {its an upgrade or no wait, its a glow up! The biggest glow up of 2017} [you sure its not the execution of the plot and animation now? Seems even cooler and smoother than before] {no need to be so meta m'lady plus it isn't a glow up if you were beautiful already :)} [if i were beautiful before, but-] {please just take the compliment!!} 

Nobody ever believe his lies 

"No, no, no that is not part of the song. The second chorus should have different words so let's change that to 'nobody oppose to what Chat says, cause he's so great and never skips leg day!'" 

Ladybug stifled a laugh. "Maybe that's why you always jump around and land well, you silly cat. Leg day is the solution for all." 

 Chat tried not to giggle. "Yes! Now go and change the lyrics to it!" 

Ladybug seemed to consider this for a moment."'Nobody oppose to what Chat says, cause he's so great and never skips leg day! His puns and jokes fill up the empty space, of a sad akumatized fate.'"

 Chat sprang from his seat and clapped. "So, so beautiful!" 

"Then after this, we do an ultimate sing-off exchange right?" She grinned and put down the pen.

 "Yup." 

"Get ready to go down." She said confidently and Chat held out his fist. 

She bumped it with her own and they quickly settled to writing their own lines. Finding rhyme words were really hard which is why Chat brought a dictionary but even then it felt unnatural. 

With a sigh, he reached to sharpen his pencil when Ladybug suddenly poked him and whispered, "It's really hard to write bad stuff about you."

 "...Y-Yeah." Chat tried not to blush and scratched the back of his neck, nodding. It was the same for him except... 

"It's really hard not to compliment you right now." 

“Is it loading?” Ladybug asked, nervousness sparking off as Chat uploaded the instrumentals once more. They freaked out once they heard that there was a small waiting time before the performance and rushed to tweak one last thing in the audio. 

“Yes. Yes! Let’s go, m’lady!” He triumphantly closed the laptop and they made their way to the door to the stage where they could hear the host loud and clear.

 The host remarked on some random things and the many fingers Ladybug counted off as the seconds before they would perform kept increasing. Ah, was she getting worked up over nothing? Maybe Jagged would perform before them? No, not they wouldn’t just change the schedule out of the blue. 

“And now our next performers is the legendary superheroes....Ladybug and Chat Noir!” 

Ladybug’s heartbeat surely beat faster than the background music. She glanced at Chat and he glanced back at her. 

“They’ll be performing with the theme of ‘rivalry’ with original composed music, lyrics, and choreography! Let’s welcome them onstage!” They nodded at each other and ran to the stage. 

The loud drums played almost immediately after they arrived to positions and Chat Noir jumped from the bottom of the stairs to the stage and sang.

 (She silently gazed at him in awe.) 

“Imma beat that, red warning signs all this danger’s going flat! Where the bad guys at?” He looked around and shrugged. This dork. 

“It’s safe when you call Chat!” He took a quick breath, (almost like you’re drowning!, she had said to him), before he continued on the verse and started using his baton to his choreography. 

Ladybug snorted as Chat jumped around with his baton and once the ‘so you don’t need to cower (cower-cower--cower~)’ part came, Chat increased his baton’s height after every cower that she sang.

 He waved at the crowd when she threw her yoyo to one of the fixed stage lights and swung down. 

“Hey.” She greeted.

 “No way!” He pouted. 

Ladybug hid a laugh behind her hand as the music paved way to her chorus. 

“Nobody ever believe his lies! All his acting's got his tail, claws, whiskers tied. None of his choices bring full peace, it's a fake, shallow, pint-sized ease.” 

 “Ah!” Chat yelped and fell down like he was shot as she pointed at him and smirked. On her other hand, she swung her yoyo around, making every swing loud enough to sound like a swoosh. 

“Swinging, swinging, I can see, from sky to ground of Paris!” 

Emerging from the crowd was Chat bringing an audience member and she swung her yoyo to them, “Oh I can reach you in time, don’t worry!” 

The young boy grinned and clapped his hands before ‘wayward’ pellets of flowers was shot to their direction and Ladybug blocked it. “This villain may be tough, and it may get real rough,” Chat tried to go up to see the ‘enemy’ but Ladybug swung her yoyo to his baton and threw it to the pellet machine. 

Everyone gasped but Chat just stood there, looking so lost without his baton. Ladybug smirked. (He’s okay! she reminded herself.) 

“But I can fight and think enough, to heal what’s broken by some!” She sang out, “So trust in me,” she looked to the shocked boy and patted his head, “the spotted Lady—“ 

“Bug!” Chat screamed and she had to focus on his furrowed eyebrows to not burst into laughter. “Fly off!” He took another breath like he was drowning and screeched again. 

“This villain’s too rough, you’re just not enough, so get out!”

Ladybug backed away, glaring at him. The lights flickered to different colors as Chat grabbed his baton and jumped to the stage before getting knocked out by flowers from the still alive pellet machine.

The flowers littered all over the stage, such a honorable citizen. (She silently hopes that camerawoman zoomed in on the flowers on the stage like they asked her to.) 

Ladybug clicked her tongue as she walked there. “Oh would you look at this mess? Damage from getting hit, I guess?” 

She turned to the crowd, particularly to one woman, “If you know who did it, please do confess!” 

The woman stared at her agape before answering, smiling sheepishly, “It’s Chat Noir!” 

Ladybug shot her a smile and a small wave before turning to that silly cat. “Oh, why don't you just go and rest?”

 In perfect timing, Chat sat up and made an x sign. “No, no, no, no! You can't steal this show!” He turned to the camera and pouted. “You're stooping so low!” 

“What kind of blow--“ 

“I fought him first but you had to quench your thirst! Claiming to be the one who fought from square one.” He threw up his hands as she shook her head. 

“No, you can't kill steal! That's against our code, for real! 'Don't waste the moves used, to fight the bad dudes! If he fought it first, better luck next time, stop your burst!'” 

Ladybug retorted. “Well, when you end up not hitting anyway,” 

She grinned and belted out. “It's time for me to join the fray!”

“No, I'm okay!”

“It's time for me to save the day!”

“No, not today!” He shouted.

“Save the day-y” 

“Not today!”

“Day-y, Day-y-y!” She belted out, her voice reverberating on her chest. 

“No way!” He belted out too and jumped on his feet to stand up. Ladybug threw her yoyo to him and he wrapped his baton around it. 

He pointed the baton to her, “Nobody ever believe her lies! She's failing and twists us to blinds.” Then suddenly he loosened his stance and hung off the ground. 

“What the--“ he glanced back to her and climbed nearer using the yoyo’s string.

“Her overthinking leads to misuse, it keeps up the big bad ruse!” She dropped her yoyo and he tumbled down and back flipped back to standing. 

“Hey!” He said, grinning.

She turned to him, “No way~” 

She threw up her hands and sang sarcastically, “Oh, nobody oppose to what Chat says, cause he's so great and never skips leg day!”

“Ah yeah!” Chat tried to flex his legs. She pushed them away.

“His puns and jokes fill up the empty space, of a sad akumatized fate.”

“Wait!” Chat called out and the music faded out. He gazed at Ladybug with moist eyes. And he smiled. 

“So you see, me clearly, I’m Paris’s need!” 

Ladybug nodded. “Yes I see, you’re really, silly indeed.”

Chat fell down. The music kickstarted back. 

“Nobody ever believe [his]/{her} lies!” They sang higher at the last word and paused for a moment. Chat was panting for breath and his eyes smiled. She dared to glance at the audience a little, their faces alit. They...did it. Ladybug almost cleared her throat, trying not to smile. 

They pointed to each other. “Cause [he’s]/{she’s} probably a meanie in disguise!”

“Disguise!” They prolonged the note and claps overtook them. Singing their hearts out, they bowed. 

Suddenly people in the audience stood and clapped, a standing ovation? 

Ladybug waved at them and they cheered, the musical sound tickling her ears.

“Thank you!”

“This is beautiful,” Ladybug hears an amazed voice whisper and she turns to Chat, wondering if it was him. 

His smile is like wildfire and his bow doesn’t falter one bit. His hands that squeeze hers are secure and just right and everything is so alive. 

“Your voice really goes so high, Buginette. I’d hope to hear it in singing again.” He comments. 

“Yours too, rival.” 

“Next time, we should go karaoke. Wouldn’t you love to hear me meow throughout the night?” 

“You want to deal with drunk men again during the night?” 

“The afternoon then! We should hang out.” Chat says and she finds herself agreeing. 

“After this, sure.” The bright beam he sends makes her giggle and remember their honorary tradition. 

Offering a fist bump, she smiles. “We did a great job.” 

He bumps his fist to hers and the show goes on. 

[valiantlyjollynightmare]

I'm back, sorry for spamming you, but I love so much to find mysic for specific scenarios!!! And sorry, I've got a lot of indie here, sorry if that's not exactly your jam oop

What you do to my soul is still my top choice, but there are a couple more I wanted to mention.

Monsters of the North by The National Parks - such amazing lyrics and such a nice viiiiiibe. Like, it's got these lyrics like I've seen monsters chasing dreams/ and that's where I saw me/ I was chasing too/ You /Cause I wanna be like the wind/ I wanna run with you and more, more, more - spotify, youtube

Ti volevo dedicare by Rocco Hunt - which is in Italian so I'm not sure if the lyrics i found are translated correctly but if anything, it DEFINITELY HAS A PRPR VIBE where they're just. Bursting to confess. Imagine theeeem they're pretty sure the other likes them back and they're planning a grand gesture to confess but in the end it's just the two of them and it's night and there are a lot of lights around -like, fairy lights, caught in trees and urghhhh god is music inspiring. anyway - youtube, spotify

Carry on by Young Rising Sons - spotify, youtube

Cherry Street - Icarus Account - youtube, spotify

Synesthesia by Andrew McMahon - DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THIS SONG BECAUSE I'LL NEVER STOP IT'S JUST SO AMAZING HOW CAN SO MUCH LOVE FIT INTO A 3 MINS SONG HOW "I see colors when I hear your voice" PLEASE SO MUCH SIMP ENERGY PLEAAAAASE Plus it's not just about love and uhhh my heart - spotify, youtube

Promises by Handsome Ghost - do you know that ladynoir "i'll shout it to the whole world" comic from like 2016 where chat goes to Ladybug and whispers I love you to her instead because she's his whole world? That. Spotify, youtube.

Outta My Head by Magic Giant - "i want you out of my head and into my heart" that says it all XD- spotify, youtube

Honey - Magic Man - THIS SONG KILLS ME EVERY TIME THERE'S SO MUUUUUUCH LOOOOOOVE IN IT SO MUCH - "break me open like the sky/ in the sunrise" is my favourite line in this one. Just. Just imegine the pining but like, towards the end of the pre relationship phase, they're at their breaking point - spotify, youtube

Now this, is not technically prpr. Likez there's nothing in it that really makes you think of it as such from the get go, but this is how i see it because it's about changes and dealibg with them and it's painful and it always puts me on edge in a way. Anyway, Used to Be by Arrows to Athens - spotify, youtube

Hurt Somebody by Noah Kahan - THE MELODY GIVES ME SUCH PRPR VIBES ISTG NOAH KAHAN IN GENERAL GIVES ME PRPR VIBES EVEN THOUGH HIS SONGS AREN.T TECHNICALLY ROMANTIC. spotify, youtube

I'll only give the instrumental to this song because it feels so dreamy, it makes me want to dream a lot and it feels really prpr to me. Like, it's like, i'm imagining them in this in between state where they're trying really hard not to think about a life together with the other because they don't know if the other lives them back, and like, they hope but they're afraid, but they hooooope - Snow Shovels by Droloe - youtube

C'mon by Panic at the Disco and Fun. Like. LIKE. Imagine a really angsty scenario. Prpr but their identies have been revealed to the world and they feel a bit lost and they're stressed out of their minds and SAD and it's angsty angsty angsty BUT THEY LOVE EACH OTHEEEEEER. Anyway, "may we stay lost on our way home" kills me every time. Youtube (it's not available on spotify in my country which i'll forever be angry about)

Sorry for spamming you. Again. I hope you like these and that they prove as inspiring to you as they are to me kwsjksjekskw

Anyone got prpr specific love square songs to recommend?

[breeeliss]

[Miraculous Ladybug]: It’s All Hype!

congrats this story is officially getting out of my control and turning into crack. i hope that’s not a bad thing ^^;

--

[Day 3: Explosive] [Day 5: Right Hook]

Link to Archive of Our Own: [AO3]

--

Title: It’s All Hype! Pairings: Ladynoir (Ladybug x Chat Noir), Adrienette (Adrien x Marinette) Summary: Alya accidentally gets the Internet in a frenzy after announcing that Ladybug and Chat Noir are dating, but the two heroes are adamant about correcting the error and making sure the world knows that they’re just friends. So Alya proposes a staged public break up to set everything right.

In hindsight, she really underestimated how utterly freaking difficult that would be.

Day 4: Common Interests

After Ladybug had to literally peel Chat Noir away from the shelter after the kittens were cleaned, fed, and given a place to sleep, Alya was about at capacity in terms of excitement and decided to call it a day. Ladybug and Chat Noir typically started their Sunday night patrols at around that time and Alya needed to get home and brainstorm some other gimmick to break those two up that was hopefully immune to their antics.

She stayed up late to upload all of the videos and pictures from the day. While she idly watched all of the gushing comments filter into her computer and fill up her phone with walls of notifications, Alya couldn’t help but review everything she captured.

It wasn’t that she didn’t respect the fact that Ladybug and Chat Noir apparently weren’t a couple. If they said they weren’t, they weren’t, and the reason Alya was even helping them stage this break up in the first place was because she accepted that fact. She respected them as heroes and as people and she was doing her part to help them out.

On the other hand, this whole “not dating” thing made no sense on about fifty different levels.

By all accounts, it just didn’t add up. Sure, obviously, friends were allowed to be close and were allowed to be platonically intimate without it having to mean anything. But Alya was picking up on this energy between them. It was hard to explain and she couldn’t put her finger on what that energy actually was but it was there dammit and there was something else going on she was sure of it. Maybe there had been something between them before they started dating. Or maybe they’d talked about wanting to date and found partners before they could even explore the possibilities. There was a whole section of Ladynoir fanfiction on the Internet that loved to play on those tropes. It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that there was some truth to that.

There were all of these pictures of Ladybug smiling at Chat Noir while he fed the kittens, of Chat Noir wrapping his arms around Ladybug’s waist while they smiled at the camera phones snapping pics of them, and of the two of them leaning their heads on each other’s shoulders while they watched the kittens play. It was just so sweet and affectionate and proof that there was something brewing underneath the surface.

Alya bit her lip, stared at her cellphone sitting on her desk, and decided that Marinette probably wasn’t going to bed anytime soon if there was no school tomorrow.

She FaceTimed her and was met with an annoyed looking Marinette sitting at her desk with the lamp shining on her face. “ It is three in the goddamn morning, Alya .”

“You’re awake too!”

Marinette held up her sketchbook. “ I’m sketching out winter break projects. What are you doing? ”

Alya leaned back in her desk chair and propped her feet on the desk. “So I’ve got this question, right….”

“ I’m afraid to ask….”

“What are your opinions on the possibility that Ladybug and Chat Noir are dating?”

Marinette snorted, not looking up from her sketch. “ They’re not .”

Alya scowled. “Don’t you start with your cynicism, you kill joy. I’m being serious!”

“ So am I, ” Marinette said, maintaining the calm that was only possible after having suffered through this exact conversation no less than seventeen times. “ I don’t know why you freaked out and suggested they were dating on the Ladyblog. They’re obviously not. ”

“How are they obviously not dating?” Alya argued. “They look coupley literally 99 percent of the time. It’s ridiculous.”

“ They’re friends Alya. And partners who have to entrust their lives to one another. I’d be worried if they weren’t close.”

“Nah, girlie. I’m telling you. There’s something up. Can you keep a secret?”

Marinette smirked. “ Who am I going to tell? ”

“Fair point. So after I posted that picture of them on the roof the other day, Ladybug and Chat Noir came up to me asking me to take down the post because they’re dating other people!”

Marinette looked on either side of her. “....and?”

Alya sputtered. “ And!? What do you mean and? They’re dating other people and not each other! Is that not the most insane and improbable thing you’ve ever heard?”

“ No, it’s not?” Marinette insisted. “ Look, stop trying to ship those two so hard. You’re going to give yourself a migraine. If they’re dating other people, then they’re dating other people.”

“But what if they’re not?” Alya grinned. “What if they’re secretly dating each other but they don’t want the world to know about it yet so they’re pretending they’re uncomfortable with the situation by saying they’re actually dating other people when they’re really not.”

“ ....or they’re really dating other people.”

Alya sighed. “Marinette, you’re no fun.”

“ Listen. We’re close and affectionate and hang off of each other all the time, don’t we? But I’m still dating Adrien and you and I are just friends.”

“That’s different, Marinette. You and Adrien are literally soulmates. Plus you and I don’t have the thing that Ladybug and Chat Noir have. Oh my God, what if the people they’re dating are actually their own alter egos? What if Ladybug and Chat Noir are actually dating each other but as civilians, and they just don’t know it!?”

“ Are you listening to yourself? Do you know how downright unlikely that is?”

Alya grumbled. “Yeah, okay, fine, that’s a stretch I’ll admit. Ugh, this is so annoying! Did you know that I spent all day today trying to fake a break up for the two of them just to smooth out all of these dating rumors I accidentally started? Did you know that I spent a whole day trying and was unsuccessful? It’s because they’re not meant to break up, Marinette! They’re perfect for each other.”

Marinette smiled sweetly into the camera. “ Save it for your Ladynoir fanfiction, my dear.”

“You’re no help,” Alya pouted. “Can you at least help me break these two up?”

“ Not my expertise, if I’m being honest.”

“Well, what would be a viable reason for two people to want to break up?”

Marinette shrugged and set her sketch book down. “ I dunno. I mean there’s plenty of reasons. They drift apart, the timing was wrong, they don’t have common interests, their personalities conflict �� “

“Waitwaitwait,” Alya interrupted. “What was that last one?”

“ Different personalities?”

“Before that.”

“ Not having any common interests?”

“Yes! That’s it!” Alya said. “That’s the angle! Thanks, babe, you’re literally a superstar.”

“ What the heck are you planning now?”

“Nothing you have to worry your gorgeous little head over,” Alya assured, grabbing a notepad from her desk and quickly jotting a few ideas down. “If it’s successful, you’ll be reading about it in the Ladyblog tomorrow.”

At noon sharp, Alya grabbed her bike and rode over to the Champs-Élysées and found Ladybug and Chat Noir sitting on top of the Arc de Triomphe, kicking their legs as they hung off the edge. Ladybug waved at her as she chained her bike to a nearby bike rack and dropped her yoyo down so that Alya could hitch a ride and sit on top with them.

“Holy hell,” Alya whistled as she looked at the view of the busy avenue below them. “I keep forgetting that you guys just casually hang out on top of buildings and bridges and junk.”

“Perks of being a superhero: you don’t get charged with loitering on top of national monuments,” Ladybug grinned.

Chat Noir was holding his baton up to his ear and listening to what sounded like voices speaking through a thick haze of static. “Uh, it sounds like there’s a purse snatching happening in the 12th arrondissement. The cops are already after the guy though. Worth it?”

“If the cops are after him already, I don’t think they need us,” Ladybug reasoned. “Besides, the 12th arrondissement is too far away.”

“Kay kay,” Chat Noir nodded. “It’s a pretty slow day this morning. It’s just them talking for the most part. Nothing too crazy.”

Alya frowned. “Are you two listening to police scanners?”

Chat Noir perked up. “Cool, right? I’m telling you our weapons are capable of some really cool stuff. We spent an entire day just playing around with them and figuring out what they do.”

“Hawkmoth sometimes goes into these really random periods where he’s very quiet,” Ladybug explained. “So if the two of us happen to be hanging out with nothing to do, we’ll tune into police scanners and see if we can help people out. We dealt with a robbery we overheard on the scanners this morning when we were on our way here. Not as complicated as dealing with an akuma but we try to help wherever we can.”

“Sure I’m not bothering you guys?”

“Oh no way,” Chat Noir waved off, clicking a button on his baton and slipping it back into his belt. “We were just waiting for you to get here. We’re all yours.”

“You seem eager,” Alya snorted. “That excited to break up with Ladybug?”

“Yesterday was oddly entertaining,” Ladybug said. “It was like one long fail compilation. You kind of have to admire that.”

“That’s hardly my fault!” Alya defended. “You two are impossible to break up. All of those videos and pictures that I posted yesterday? It just made people ship you more. It’s like you guys are physically incapable of looking like anything other than a couple.”

“Hey, that’s not true,” Chat Noir defended. “You should see her when I tell puns. She wants nothing to do with me! It’s because she’s a pun hater.”

“I’m not a pun hater. I just think your puns are terrible.”

“That’s so rude I can’t even believe this!”

Ladybug ignored him. “Look, trust me, we totally get where the confusion comes in. But this is just how we are. It’s not our faults that people read into it.”

“I’m just in shock because you two have the deepest friendship I’ve ever seen in my life. And I’m talking as someone who loves the crap out of her best friend. Don’t you guys disagree on anything?”

“I mean of course we do,” Chat Noir explained. “Especially in the heat of the battle, the two of us have different approaches and different ways of doing things. But if we’re just talking normal stuff, there’s not much we don’t see eye to eye on.”

“You know, if we could find something that the two of you didn’t see eye to eye on, that might be a good angle for us to break you guys up,” Alya reasoned. “Sort of like something that would be a deal breaker for either of you. Like if my future partner ever told me that they didn’t like chocolate, that’s grounds for a divorce.”

“Ooooh! Do you think we have deal breakers?” Chat Noir asked, turning to Ladybug.

“Not sure. We tend to not talk too much about our personal lives. Gotta keep the identities secret, you know?”

“Eh, deal breakers don’t have to be super serious,” Alya shrugged. “There was a couple in my school who broke up because one of them didn’t like cats and it was the most dramatic thing I’ve seen in my life. Like if you two broke up over something like that, I’d totally buy it.”

Chat Noir glared at Ladybug. “Please tell me you like cats.”

“I sat with you gushing over those kittens for two hours yesterday, Chat. What do you think?”

He nodded carefully. “Just checking.”

“Listen, there’s some prime footage of you two out there bickering about puns of all things. It was about the only time I’ve ever seen you two look like you were genuinely annoyed at each other. Obviously it was harmless, but if we can present it as evidence of you two clearly being incompatible, I can totally spin that in our favor and get everyone buzzing over a potential break up.”

Ladybug turned to Chat Noir. “Is there anything that we don’t agree on?”

“I can’t think of anything, but to be honest, I don’t think we’ve ever had the opportunity to figure out all of our common interests. Or uncommon interests as it were.”

Ladybug snapped her fingers. “Oh! Food discourse usually starts big fights!”

“Is that enough to warrant a break up?” Chat Noir asked.

Alya shrugged. “At this point, anything is possible with the two of you. I have no doubt the two of you would get into a petty shouting match over something stupid like salt and vinegar chips.”

“Oh those are gross,” Chat Noir said shaking his head.

Ladybug shrugged. “Eh. Don’t love them, don’t hate them. Definitely not my first chip flavor of choice though.”

“Oh. Do you like pineapples on pizza?” Chat Noir asked.

“Oh of course.”

“Oh thank goodness, same.”

“What about olives?” Ladybug asked.

“Indifferent. I never really liked them when I was a kid but I’ll eat them now.”

“I like them, but not enough to kill someone over, you know?”

“No doubt, no doubt.”

“You guys are disgusting,” Alya said wrinkling her nose. “Like, leave alone the fact that you guys are being nauseating just because you’re still agreeing with each other on everything: salt and vinegar chips are amazing, pineapple pizza is an abomination, and olives are literally so effing delicious. God you guys are just like my friend Marinette. Totally disgusting it’s a miracle I still hang out with her.”

Ladybug laughed. “Fine then you come up with something.”

“Do you guys like mayonnaise?”

“Oh absolutely not,” Ladybug winced. “It’s such a weird taste and smell. Whenever they put it on sandwiches I want to vomit.”

“I get that, but it’s because you’re having plain mayonnaise,” Chat Noir explained. “You have to get the fancy mayo.”

“What the heck is fancy mayo?”

“You know, like chipotle mayo? Or balsamic mayo? Much better taste. Makes your sandwiches fancy.”

“What about chocolate with nuts?” Alya asked

“Yes!” Chat Noir cheered. “With almonds!”

“Perfect blend of sweet and salty, plus it diversifies the texture of the chocolate,” Ladybug said.

Alya raised a brow. “Yeah okay, Gordon Ramsay.”

“Coffee?” Chat Noir asked.

“I literally subsist off of it,” Ladybug said. “I love the stuff.”

“Same,” agreed Alya. “There was one time I woke up and we were out of coffee beans and I legit started tearing up right in front of my coffee pressor.”

Chat Noir blinked. “Okay, you two need an intervention. But yeah, I’ll give you that. Coffee’s great.”

“Tea,” Alya tried.

“I like it,” Ladybug smiled.

“Same,” Chat Noir agreed.

“God, you two are making this really freaking difficult,” Alya complained. “What about eggs?”

Chat Noir made a disgusted sound and shook his head. “No way. Won’t eat them.”

Alya was waiting for an agreement from Ladybug, but instead watched in amusement when Ladybug very slowly turned her head to Chat Noir and narrowed her eyes at him. “Excuse me?”

“Eggs? Yeah they’re gross. I never eat them.”

Ladybug backed away from Chat Noir until she was leaning against Alya. “Who doesn’t like eggs? It’s such a versatile breakfast food and you can put it into so many things.”

“I don’t have eggs for breakfast,” Chat Noir said.

“So what the hell do you eat for breakfast?!”

“Cereals?” he said as if the answer were obvious to everyone else listening. “Fruits. Pancakes. Toast with spreads. Literally a bunch of other things that don’t involve eggs.”

“This is literally the worst thing you’ve ever said to me,” Ladybug shot back. “What is your issue with eggs?”

“They’re bland! They taste like nothing and they have this weird texture.”

“You season them! Eggs aren’t bland, you’re just eating them wrong. You always season eggs! And what do you mean they have a weird texture? They’re fluffy! There’s nothing weird about fluffiness.”

“Eggs aren’t fluffy. I don’t understand that comparison. Cotton candy is fluffy. Bunnies are fluffy. Eggs are not fluffy.”

Alya bit down on her bottom lip and tried to contain her laughter while she surreptitiously lifted her cell phone and started recording.

“I don’t understand how you can totally discount eggs in their entirety. There are about a dozen different ways you can enjoy eggs by themselves, and that’s not even counting all the dishes that you can find eggs in. Soft boiled, hard boiled, poached, sunny side up, omelets, scrambled — ”

“Oh scrambled is the worst!” Chat Noir argued.

“What is even coming out of your mouth? How are scrambled eggs worse?”

“Let’s be real, it’s basically a botched omelet. Second of all, it’s just pieces of cooked egg thrown on a plate and called breakfast. Plus it’s always dry and rubbery.”

“You have been eating scrambled eggs all wrong. If they’re dry and rubbery that means they’re overcooked.”

“I don’t like runny eggs! They make me sick to my stomach!”

“You can make fully cooked scrambled eggs without making them runny! Do you not watch any cooking shows or look up recipes?”

“No, because I love myself and know how to stay away from ridiculous foods like eggs.”

Ladybug gasped and placed a hand on her chest. “That’s is deplorable,” she whispered. “You’re deplorable. This whole conversation is a huge seven car pile up that’s spontaneously caught on fire.”

“Over eggs. Really?”

“Yes really! I can’t even believe we’re having this discussion right now.”

Chat Noir lifted his hands. “Listen, you can talk on and on about this all you want, but you are never convincing me that eggs taste good. I don’t care how you cook them or how you prepare them. I’m not going to like them.”

Ladybug held out her hand. “Is that a bet?”

“What are you even talking about?”

“Is that a bet? If I can get you to like an egg dish you owe me ten euros.”

Chat Noir scoffed and shook her hand. “Please, twenty euros says you won’t change my mind.”

Ladybug puffed out her cheeks. “You disgust me.”

Chat Noir reached into the pocket of his suit and pulled out a crisp note, waving it tauntingly in front of Ladybug’s face. “You’re never getting this. Ever. Not in a million years. You can’t convince me.”

“Oh, that’s it!” Ladybug stood up from her seat and pulled out her yoyo. “Pack up your things everyone, we’re grabbing brunch.”

Alya snickered. “You’re not serious….”

“Deathly serious,” Ladybug announced. “Come on. You’re riding with me. And we’re going to the nearest diner and we’re ordering eggs .”

Chat Noir puffed out his chest. “I won’t eat them!”

“Oh yes you will,” Ladybug said. “You’re going to get your ass kicked by the flavor of the eggs I’m about to order for you.”

Alya kept filming during the whole journey to a small diner located only a few blocks away from their school. It was rather funny, because she didn’t think that anyone was ever expecting to see two disgruntled superheroes — charged with defending the lives of Paris — arguing over something as petty as eggs and seating themselves down at their own table while brushing past one of the waiters who attempted to cut into the argument. Ladybug was angrily drinking her water, Chat Noir was glaring at the brunch menu, and Alya was happily filming all of this, ecstatic that she had finally found something to make these two look like they were one disagreement away from a full on war.

Ladybug was very adamant in being read off every single egg dish that the diner offered and finally settled with something that she was positive Chat Noir would like: scrambled eggs cooked in butter and creme fraiche, served on top of whole wheat toast sprinkled with tomato chunks and chives. Admittedly, when it finally arrived at the table, it looked a million times better than any scrambled eggs Alya had ever tried to cook over the stove. She surreptitiously dug into her own plate of scrambled eggs and kept the camera rolling while Chat Noir stared skeptically at the plate in front of him.

“It looks like mush,” he complained.

Ladybug spoke through the mouthful of eggs she’d already started eating. “Just try it, you baby. It’s good. Because all eggs are good. Because I know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“The only thing good on this plate right now, to be totally honest, is the toast.”

“You’re the actual worst!” Ladybug complained. “Just eat the eggs. We have a bet to settle.”

Chat Noir rolled his eyes, picked up his fork, and make a huge show of taking a huge bite of the eggs and savoring the taste before he swallowed. He stayed sitting in his seat, rolling his tongue around in his mouth, and staring down at the rest of the food left on his plate. Ladybug stared at him expectantly and kicked him under the table to speed up his response. “Well? They’re good aren’t they?”

“I’ll admit,” Chat Noir decided. “These are the best scrambled eggs I’ve ever had.”

Ladybug started beaming. “Yes!!”

“But!” he clarified, lifting a finger. “I still don’t like them.”

Ladybug slammed her fork on the table. “You just said they were delicious!”

“I didn’t say they were delicious. I said they were the best I’ve ever had. That doesn’t mean I like them. Just that all the scrambled eggs I’ve had before this have been terrible.”

“You monster,” she said in awe. “Literally the best eggs in all of Paris and you’re going to sit here and tell me you didn’t like them.”

“I don’t like eggs, Ladybug!” he insisted once more. “I don’t know what else you want me to tell you other than the fact that you officially owe me twenty euros.”

“You only said you don’t like them so that I could pay you!”

“The fact that you think I would do that is insulting. I’m giving you my honest opinion that I still don’t like eggs.” He used his knife to scrape the eggs onto Alya’s plate and calmly bit into his toast.

“I’m cancelling you,” Ladybug muttered. “Blocked. Reported.”

Alya chuckled at the scene in front of her and finally ended the recording, pulling up her blog and making a new post for the video she was about to upload. “Well, would you look at that,” she said to herself. “Guess Marinette was right.”